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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1372 ***
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE
+
+Digested from his journal
+
+by Washington Irving
+
+
+Originally published in 1837
+
+
+
+
+Introductory Notice
+
+
+WHILE ENGAGED in writing an account of the grand enterprise of Astoria,
+it was my practice to seek all kinds of oral information connected with
+the subject. Nowhere did I pick up more interesting particulars than at
+the table of Mr. John Jacob Astor; who, being the patriarch of the fur
+trade in the United States, was accustomed to have at his board various
+persons of adventurous turn, some of whom had been engaged in his own
+great undertaking; others, on their own account, had made expeditions to
+the Rocky Mountains and the waters of the Columbia.
+
+Among these personages, one who peculiarly took my fancy was Captain
+Bonneville, of the United States army; who, in a rambling kind of
+enterprise, had strangely ingrafted the trapper and hunter upon the
+soldier. As his expeditions and adventures will form the leading theme
+of the following pages, a few biographical particulars concerning him
+may not be unacceptable.
+
+Captain Bonneville is of French parentage. His father was a worthy old
+emigrant, who came to this country many years since, and took up his
+abode in New York. He is represented as a man not much calculated for
+the sordid struggle of a money-making world, but possessed of a happy
+temperament, a festivity of imagination, and a simplicity of heart, that
+made him proof against its rubs and trials. He was an excellent scholar;
+well acquainted with Latin and Greek, and fond of the modern classics.
+His book was his elysium; once immersed in the pages of Voltaire,
+Corneille, or Racine, or of his favorite English author, Shakespeare, he
+forgot the world and all its concerns. Often would he be seen in summer
+weather, seated under one of the trees on the Battery, or the portico of
+St. Paul’s church in Broadway, his bald head uncovered, his hat lying by
+his side, his eyes riveted to the page of his book, and his whole soul
+so engaged, as to lose all consciousness of the passing throng or the
+passing hour.
+
+Captain Bonneville, it will be found, inherited something of his
+father’s bonhommie, and his excitable imagination; though the latter
+was somewhat disciplined in early years, by mathematical studies. He
+was educated at our national Military Academy at West Point, where he
+acquitted himself very creditably; thence, he entered the army, in which
+he has ever since continued.
+
+The nature of our military service took him to the frontier, where, for
+a number of years, he was stationed at various posts in the Far West.
+Here he was brought into frequent intercourse with Indian traders,
+mountain trappers, and other pioneers of the wilderness; and became so
+excited by their tales of wild scenes and wild adventures, and their
+accounts of vast and magnificent regions as yet unexplored, that an
+expedition to the Rocky Mountains became the ardent desire of his heart,
+and an enterprise to explore untrodden tracts, the leading object of his
+ambition.
+
+By degrees he shaped his vague day-dream into a practical reality.
+Having made himself acquainted with all the requisites for a trading
+enterprise beyond the mountains, he determined to undertake it. A leave
+of absence, and a sanction of his expedition, was obtained from the
+major general in chief, on his offering to combine public utility with
+his private projects, and to collect statistical information for the War
+Department concerning the wild countries and wild tribes he might visit
+in the course of his journeyings.
+
+Nothing now was wanting to the darling project of the captain, but the
+ways and means. The expedition would require an outfit of many thousand
+dollars; a staggering obstacle to a soldier, whose capital is seldom
+any thing more than his sword. Full of that buoyant hope, however, which
+belongs to the sanguine temperament, he repaired to New-York, the great
+focus of American enterprise, where there are always funds ready for any
+scheme, however chimerical or romantic. Here he had the good fortune to
+meet with a gentleman of high respectability and influence, who had been
+his associate in boyhood, and who cherished a schoolfellow friendship
+for him. He took a general interest in the scheme of the captain;
+introduced him to commercial men of his acquaintance, and in a little
+while an association was formed, and the necessary funds were raised
+to carry the proposed measure into effect. One of the most efficient
+persons in this association was Mr. Alfred Seton, who, when quite a
+youth, had accompanied one of the expeditions sent out by Mr. Astor to
+his commercial establishments on the Columbia, and had distinguished
+himself by his activity and courage at one of the interior posts. Mr.
+Seton was one of the American youths who were at Astoria at the time
+of its surrender to the British, and who manifested such grief and
+indignation at seeing the flag of their country hauled down. The hope
+of seeing that flag once more planted on the shores of the Columbia, may
+have entered into his motives for engaging in the present enterprise.
+
+Thus backed and provided, Captain Bonneville undertook his expedition
+into the Far West, and was soon beyond the Rocky Mountains. Year after
+year elapsed without his return. The term of his leave of absence
+expired, yet no report was made of him at head quarters at Washington.
+He was considered virtually dead or lost and his name was stricken from
+the army list.
+
+It was in the autumn of 1835 at the country seat of Mr. John Jacob
+Astor, at Hellgate, that I first met with Captain Bonneville He was
+then just returned from a residence of upwards of three years among the
+mountains, and was on his way to report himself at head quarters, in the
+hopes of being reinstated in the service. From all that I could learn,
+his wanderings in the wilderness though they had gratified his curiosity
+and his love of adventure had not much benefited his fortunes. Like
+Corporal Trim in his campaigns, he had “satisfied the sentiment,”
+ and that was all. In fact, he was too much of the frank, freehearted
+soldier, and had inherited too much of his father’s temperament, to make
+a scheming trapper, or a thrifty bargainer.
+
+There was something in the whole appearance of the captain that
+prepossessed me in his favor. He was of the middle size, well made and
+well set; and a military frock of foreign cut, that had seen service,
+gave him a look of compactness. His countenance was frank, open,
+and engaging; well browned by the sun, and had something of a French
+expression. He had a pleasant black eye, a high forehead, and, while he
+kept his hat on, the look of a man in the jocund prime of his days; but
+the moment his head was uncovered, a bald crown gained him credit for a
+few more years than he was really entitled to.
+
+Being extremely curious, at the time, about every thing connected with
+the Far West, I addressed numerous questions to him. They drew from him
+a number of extremely striking details, which were given with mingled
+modesty and frankness; and in a gentleness of manner, and a soft tone of
+voice, contrasting singularly with the wild and often startling nature
+of his themes. It was difficult to conceive the mild, quiet-looking
+personage before you, the actual hero of the stirring scenes related.
+
+In the course of three or four months, happening to be at the city of
+Washington, I again came upon the captain, who was attending the slow
+adjustment of his affairs with the War Department. I found him quartered
+with a worthy brother in arms, a major in the army. Here he was writing
+at a table, covered with maps and papers, in the centre of a large
+barrack room, fancifully decorated with Indian arms, and trophies, and
+war dresses, and the skins of various wild animals, and hung round with
+pictures of Indian games and ceremonies, and scenes of war and hunting.
+In a word, the captain was beguiling the tediousness of attendance at
+court, by an attempt at authorship; and was rewriting and extending his
+travelling notes, and making maps of the regions he had explored. As he
+sat at the table, in this curious apartment, with his high bald head of
+somewhat foreign cast, he reminded me of some of those antique pictures
+of authors that I have seen in old Spanish volumes.
+
+The result of his labors was a mass of manuscript, which he subsequently
+put at my disposal, to fit it for publication and bring it before
+the world. I found it full of interesting details of life among the
+mountains, and of the singular castes and races, both white men and red
+men, among whom he had sojourned. It bore, too, throughout, the impress
+of his character, his bonhommie, his kindliness of spirit, and his
+susceptibility to the grand and beautiful.
+
+That manuscript has formed the staple of the following work. I have
+occasionally interwoven facts and details, gathered from various
+sources, especially from the conversations and journals of some of the
+captain’s contemporaries, who were actors in the scenes he describes.
+I have also given it a tone and coloring drawn from my own observation,
+during an excursion into the Indian country beyond the bounds of
+civilization; as I before observed, however, the work is substantially
+the narrative of the worthy captain, and many of its most graphic
+passages are but little varied from his own language.
+
+I shall conclude this notice by a dedication which he had made of his
+manuscript to his hospitable brother in arms, in whose quarters I
+found him occupied in his literary labors; it is a dedication which,
+I believe, possesses the qualities, not always found in complimentary
+documents of the kind, of being sincere, and being merited.
+
+To JAMES HARVEY HOOK, Major, U. S. A., whose jealousy of its honor,
+whose anxiety for its interests, and whose sensibility for its wants,
+have endeared him to the service as The Soldier’s Friend; and whose
+general amenity, constant cheerfulness, disinterested hospitality, and
+unwearied benevolence, entitle him to the still loftier title of The
+Friend of Man, this work is inscribed, etc.
+
+
+WASHINGTON IRVING
+
+
+
+
+1.
+
+     State of the fur trade of the--Rocky Mountains--American
+     enterprises--General--Ashley and his associates--Sublette, a
+     famous leader--Yearly rendezvous among the mountains--
+     Stratagems and dangers of the trade--Bands of trappers--
+     Indian banditti--Crows and Blackfeet Mountaineers--Traders
+     of the--Far West--Character and habits of the trapper
+
+IN A RECENT WORK we have given an account of the grand enterprise of Mr.
+John Jacob Astor to establish an American emporium for the fur trade
+at the mouth of the Columbia, or Oregon River; of the failure of that
+enterprise through the capture of Astoria by the British, in 1814; and
+of the way in which the control of the trade of the Columbia and its
+dependencies fell into the hands of the Northwest Company. We have
+stated, likewise, the unfortunate supineness of the American government
+in neglecting the application of Mr. Astor for the protection of the
+American flag, and a small military force, to enable him to reinstate
+himself in the possession of Astoria at the return of peace; when the
+post was formally given up by the British government, though still
+occupied by the Northwest Company. By that supineness the sovereignty
+in the country has been virtually lost to the United States; and it will
+cost both governments much trouble and difficulty to settle matters on
+that just and rightful footing on which they would readily have been
+placed had the proposition of Mr. Astor been attended to. We shall now
+state a few particulars of subsequent events, so as to lead the reader
+up to the period of which we are about to treat, and to prepare him for
+the circumstances of our narrative.
+
+In consequence of the apathy and neglect of the American government, Mr.
+Astor abandoned all thoughts of regaining Astoria, and made no further
+attempt to extend his enterprises beyond the Rocky Mountains; and the
+Northwest Company considered themselves the lords of the country.
+They did not long enjoy unmolested the sway which they had somewhat
+surreptitiously attained. A fierce competition ensued between them and
+their old rivals, the Hudson’s Bay Company; which was carried on at
+great cost and sacrifice, and occasionally with the loss of life. It
+ended in the ruin of most of the partners of the Northwest Company; and
+the merging of the relics of that establishment, in 1821, in the rival
+association. From that time, the Hudson’s Bay Company enjoyed a
+monopoly of the Indian trade from the coast of the Pacific to the Rocky
+Mountains, and for a considerable extent north and south. They removed
+their emporium from Astoria to Fort Vancouver, a strong post on the left
+bank of the Columbia River, about sixty miles from its mouth; whence
+they furnished their interior posts, and sent forth their brigades of
+trappers.
+
+The Rocky Mountains formed a vast barrier between them and the United
+States, and their stern and awful defiles, their rugged valleys, and the
+great western plains watered by their rivers, remained almost a terra
+incognita to the American trapper. The difficulties experienced in 1808,
+by Mr. Henry of the Missouri Company, the first American who trapped
+upon the head-waters of the Columbia; and the frightful hardships
+sustained by Wilson P. Hunt, Ramsay Crooks, Robert Stuart, and other
+intrepid Astorians, in their ill-fated expeditions across the mountains,
+appeared for a time to check all further enterprise in that direction.
+The American traders contented themselves with following up the head
+branches of the Missouri, the Yellowstone, and other rivers and streams
+on the Atlantic side of the mountains, but forbore to attempt those
+great snow-crowned sierras.
+
+One of the first to revive these tramontane expeditions was General
+Ashley, of Missouri, a man whose courage and achievements in the
+prosecution of his enterprises have rendered him famous in the Far West.
+In conjunction with Mr. Henry, already mentioned, he established a post
+on the banks of the Yellowstone River in 1822, and in the following year
+pushed a resolute band of trappers across the mountains to the banks of
+the Green River or Colorado of the West, often known by the Indian name
+of the Seeds-ke-dee Agie. This attempt was followed up and sustained by
+others, until in 1825 a footing was secured, and a complete system of
+trapping organized beyond the mountains.
+
+It is difficult to do justice to the courage, fortitude, and
+perseverance of the pioneers of the fur trade, who conducted these
+early expeditions, and first broke their way through a wilderness where
+everything was calculated to deter and dismay them. They had to traverse
+the most dreary and desolate mountains, and barren and trackless wastes,
+uninhabited by man, or occasionally infested by predatory and cruel
+savages. They knew nothing of the country beyond the verge of their
+horizon, and had to gather information as they wandered. They beheld
+volcanic plains stretching around them, and ranges of mountains piled
+up to the clouds, and glistening with eternal frost: but knew nothing
+of their defiles, nor how they were to be penetrated or traversed. They
+launched themselves in frail canoes on rivers, without knowing whither
+their swift currents would carry them, or what rocks and shoals and
+rapids they might encounter in their course. They had to be continually
+on the alert, too, against the mountain tribes, who beset every
+defile, laid ambuscades in their path, or attacked them in their night
+encampments; so that, of the hardy bands of trappers that first entered
+into these regions, three-fifths are said to have fallen by the hands of
+savage foes.
+
+In this wild and warlike school a number of leaders have sprung up,
+originally in the employ, subsequently partners of Ashley; among these
+we may mention Smith, Fitzpatrick, Bridger, Robert Campbell, and William
+Sublette; whose adventures and exploits partake of the wildest spirit of
+romance. The association commenced by General Ashley underwent various
+modifications. That gentleman having acquired sufficient fortune, sold
+out his interest and retired; and the leading spirit that succeeded
+him was Captain William Sublette; a man worthy of note, as his name has
+become renowned in frontier story. He is a native of Kentucky, and of
+game descent; his maternal grandfather, Colonel Wheatley, a companion of
+Boon, having been one of the pioneers of the West, celebrated in Indian
+warfare, and killed in one of the contests of the “Bloody Ground.” We
+shall frequently have occasion to speak of this Sublette, and always to
+the credit of his game qualities. In 1830, the association took the name
+of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, of which Captain Sublette and Robert
+Campbell were prominent members.
+
+In the meantime, the success of this company attracted the attention and
+excited the emulation of the American Fur Company, and brought them once
+more into the field of their ancient enterprise. Mr. Astor, the founder
+of the association, had retired from busy life, and the concerns of the
+company were ably managed by Mr. Ramsay Crooks, of Snake River renown,
+who still officiates as its president. A competition immediately ensued
+between the two companies for the trade with the mountain tribes and
+the trapping of the head-waters of the Columbia and the other great
+tributaries of the Pacific. Beside the regular operations of these
+formidable rivals, there have been from time to time desultory
+enterprises, or rather experiments, of minor associations, or of
+adventurous individuals beside roving bands of independent trappers,
+who either hunt for themselves, or engage for a single season, in the
+service of one or other of the main companies.
+
+The consequence is that the Rocky Mountains and the ulterior regions,
+from the Russian possessions in the north down to the Spanish
+settlements of California, have been traversed and ransacked in every
+direction by bands of hunters and Indian traders; so that there is
+scarcely a mountain pass, or defile, that is not known and threaded in
+their restless migrations, nor a nameless stream that is not haunted by
+the lonely trapper.
+
+The American fur companies keep no established posts beyond the
+mountains. Everything there is regulated by resident partners; that
+is to say, partners who reside in the tramontane country, but who move
+about from place to place, either with Indian tribes, whose traffic
+they wish to monopolize, or with main bodies of their own men, whom they
+employ in trading and trapping. In the meantime, they detach bands,
+or “brigades” as they are termed, of trappers in various directions,
+assigning to each a portion of country as a hunting or trapping ground.
+In the months of June and July, when there is an interval between the
+hunting seasons, a general rendezvous is held, at some designated place
+in the mountains, where the affairs of the past year are settled by the
+resident partners, and the plans for the following year arranged.
+
+To this rendezvous repair the various brigades of trappers from their
+widely separated hunting grounds, bringing in the products of their
+year’s campaign. Hither also repair the Indian tribes accustomed to
+traffic their peltries with the company. Bands of free trappers resort
+hither also, to sell the furs they have collected; or to engage their
+services for the next hunting season.
+
+To this rendezvous the company sends annually a convoy of supplies from
+its establishment on the Atlantic frontier, under the guidance of some
+experienced partner or officer. On the arrival of this convoy, the
+resident partner at the rendezvous depends to set all his next year’s
+machinery in motion.
+
+Now as the rival companies keep a vigilant eye upon each other, and are
+anxious to discover each other’s plans and movements, they generally
+contrive to hold their annual assemblages at no great distance apart.
+An eager competition exists also between their respective convoys of
+supplies, which shall first reach its place of rendezvous. For this
+purpose, they set off with the first appearance of grass on the Atlantic
+frontier and push with all diligence for the mountains. The company that
+can first open its tempting supplies of coffee, tobacco, ammunition,
+scarlet cloth, blankets, bright shawls, and glittering trinkets has the
+greatest chance to get all the peltries and furs of the Indians and free
+trappers, and to engage their services for the next season. It is able,
+also, to fit out and dispatch its own trappers the soonest, so as to
+get the start of its competitors, and to have the first dash into the
+hunting and trapping grounds.
+
+A new species of strategy has sprung out of this hunting and trapping
+competition. The constant study of the rival bands is to forestall and
+outwit each other; to supplant each other in the good will and custom of
+the Indian tribes; to cross each other’s plans; to mislead each other as
+to routes; in a word, next to his own advantage, the study of the Indian
+trader is the disadvantage of his competitor.
+
+The influx of this wandering trade has had its effects on the habits of
+the mountain tribes. They have found the trapping of the beaver their
+most profitable species of hunting; and the traffic with the white man
+has opened to them sources of luxury of which they previously had no
+idea. The introduction of firearms has rendered them more successful
+hunters, but at the same time, more formidable foes; some of them,
+incorrigibly savage and warlike in their nature, have found the
+expeditions of the fur traders grand objects of profitable adventure.
+To waylay and harass a band of trappers with their pack-horses, when
+embarrassed in the rugged defiles of the mountains, has become as
+favorite an exploit with these Indians as the plunder of a caravan to
+the Arab of the desert. The Crows and Blackfeet, who were such terrors
+in the path of the early adventurers to Astoria, still continue their
+predatory habits, but seem to have brought them to greater system. They
+know the routes and resorts of the trappers; where to waylay them on
+their journeys; where to find them in the hunting seasons, and where to
+hover about them in winter quarters. The life of a trapper, therefore,
+is a perpetual state militant, and he must sleep with his weapons in his
+hands.
+
+A new order of trappers and traders, also, has grown out of this system
+of things. In the old times of the great Northwest Company, when the
+trade in furs was pursued chiefly about the lakes and rivers, the
+expeditions were carried on in batteaux and canoes. The voyageurs or
+boatmen were the rank and file in the service of the trader, and even
+the hardy “men of the north,” those great rufflers and game birds, were
+fain to be paddled from point to point of their migrations.
+
+A totally different class has now sprung up:--“the Mountaineers,” the
+traders and trappers that scale the vast mountain chains, and pursue
+their hazardous vocations amidst their wild recesses. They move from
+place to place on horseback. The equestrian exercises, therefore, in
+which they are engaged, the nature of the countries they traverse, vast
+plains and mountains, pure and exhilarating in atmospheric qualities,
+seem to make them physically and mentally a more lively and mercurial
+race than the fur traders and trappers of former days, the self-vaunting
+“men of the north.” A man who bestrides a horse must be essentially
+different from a man who cowers in a canoe. We find them, accordingly,
+hardy, lithe, vigorous, and active; extravagant in word, and thought,
+and deed; heedless of hardship; daring of danger; prodigal of the
+present, and thoughtless of the future.
+
+A difference is to be perceived even between these mountain hunters and
+those of the lower regions along the waters of the Missouri. The latter,
+generally French creoles, live comfortably in cabins and log-huts, well
+sheltered from the inclemencies of the seasons. They are within
+the reach of frequent supplies from the settlements; their life is
+comparatively free from danger, and from most of the vicissitudes of
+the upper wilderness. The consequence is that they are less hardy,
+self-dependent and game-spirited than the mountaineer. If the latter by
+chance comes among them on his way to and from the settlements, he
+is like a game-cock among the common roosters of the poultry-yard.
+Accustomed to live in tents, or to bivouac in the open air, he despises
+the comforts and is impatient of the confinement of the log-house. If
+his meal is not ready in season, he takes his rifle, hies to the forest
+or prairie, shoots his own game, lights his fire, and cooks his repast.
+With his horse and his rifle, he is independent of the world, and spurns
+at all its restraints. The very superintendents at the lower posts
+will not put him to mess with the common men, the hirelings of the
+establishment, but treat him as something superior.
+
+There is, perhaps, no class of men on the face of the earth, says
+Captain Bonneville, who lead a life of more continued exertion, peril,
+and excitement, and who are more enamored of their occupations, than the
+free trappers of the West. No toil, no danger, no privation can turn the
+trapper from his pursuit. His passionate excitement at times resembles
+a mania. In vain may the most vigilant and cruel savages beset his
+path; in vain may rocks and precipices and wintry torrents oppose
+his progress; let but a single track of a beaver meet his eye, and he
+forgets all dangers and defies all difficulties. At times, he may be
+seen with his traps on his shoulder, buffeting his way across rapid
+streams, amidst floating blocks of ice: at other times, he is to be
+found with his traps swung on his back clambering the most rugged
+mountains, scaling or descending the most frightful precipices,
+searching, by routes inaccessible to the horse, and never before trodden
+by white man, for springs and lakes unknown to his comrades, and where
+he may meet with his favorite game. Such is the mountaineer, the hardy
+trapper of the West; and such, as we have slightly sketched it, is the
+wild, Robin Hood kind of life, with all its strange and motley populace,
+now existing in full vigor among the Rocky Mountains.
+
+Having thus given the reader some idea of the actual state of the fur
+trade in the interior of our vast continent, and made him acquainted
+with the wild chivalry of the mountains, we will no longer delay the
+introduction of Captain Bonneville and his band into this field of their
+enterprise, but launch them at once upon the perilous plains of the Far
+West.
+
+
+
+
+2.
+
+     Departure from--Fort Osage--Modes of transportation--Pack-
+     horses--Wagons--Walker and Cerre; their characters--Buoyant
+     feelings on launching upon the prairies--Wild equipments of
+     the trappers--Their gambols and antics--Difference of
+     character between the American and French trappers--Agency
+     of the Kansas--General--Clarke--White Plume, the Kansas
+     chief--Night scene in a trader’s camp--Colloquy between--
+     White Plume and the captain--Bee-hunters--Their
+     expeditions--Their feuds with the Indians--Bargaining talent
+     of White Plume
+
+
+IT WAS ON THE FIRST of May, 1832, that Captain Bonneville took his
+departure from the frontier post of Fort Osage, on the Missouri. He had
+enlisted a party of one hundred and ten men, most of whom had been
+in the Indian country, and some of whom were experienced hunters and
+trappers. Fort Osage, and other places on the borders of the western
+wilderness, abound with characters of the kind, ready for any
+expedition.
+
+The ordinary mode of transportation in these great inland expeditions
+of the fur traders is on mules and pack-horses; but Captain Bonneville
+substituted wagons. Though he was to travel through a trackless
+wilderness, yet the greater part of his route would lie across open
+plains, destitute of forests, and where wheel carriages can pass in
+every direction. The chief difficulty occurs in passing the deep ravines
+cut through the prairies by streams and winter torrents. Here it is
+often necessary to dig a road down the banks, and to make bridges for
+the wagons.
+
+In transporting his baggage in vehicles of this kind, Captain Bonneville
+thought he would save the great delay caused every morning by packing
+the horses, and the labor of unpacking in the evening. Fewer horses also
+would be required, and less risk incurred of their wandering away, or
+being frightened or carried off by the Indians. The wagons, also, would
+be more easily defended, and might form a kind of fortification in case
+of attack in the open prairies. A train of twenty wagons, drawn by oxen,
+or by four mules or horses each, and laden with merchandise, ammunition,
+and provisions, were disposed in two columns in the center of the party,
+which was equally divided into a van and a rear-guard. As sub-leaders or
+lieutenants in his expedition, Captain Bonneville had made choice of Mr.
+J. R. Walker and Mr. M. S. Cerre. The former was a native of Tennessee,
+about six feet high, strong built, dark complexioned, brave in spirit,
+though mild in manners. He had resided for many years in Missouri, on
+the frontier; had been among the earliest adventurers to Santa Fe, where
+he went to trap beaver, and was taken by the Spaniards. Being liberated,
+he engaged with the Spaniards and Sioux Indians in a war against the
+Pawnees; then returned to Missouri, and had acted by turns as
+sheriff, trader, trapper, until he was enlisted as a leader by Captain
+Bonneville.
+
+Cerre, his other leader, had likewise been in expeditions to Santa Fe,
+in which he had endured much hardship. He was of the middle size,
+light complexioned, and though but about twenty-five years of age, was
+considered an experienced Indian trader. It was a great object with
+Captain Bonneville to get to the mountains before the summer heats
+and summer flies should render the travelling across the prairies
+distressing; and before the annual assemblages of people connected
+with the fur trade should have broken up, and dispersed to the hunting
+grounds.
+
+The two rival associations already mentioned, the American Fur Company
+and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, had their several places of
+rendezvous for the present year at no great distance apart, in Pierre’s
+Hole, a deep valley in the heart of the mountains, and thither Captain
+Bonneville intended to shape his course.
+
+It is not easy to do justice to the exulting feelings of the worthy
+captain at finding himself at the head of a stout band of hunters,
+trappers, and woodmen; fairly launched on the broad prairies, with his
+face to the boundless West. The tamest inhabitant of cities, the veriest
+spoiled child of civilization, feels his heart dilate and his pulse beat
+high on finding himself on horseback in the glorious wilderness; what
+then must be the excitement of one whose imagination had been stimulated
+by a residence on the frontier, and to whom the wilderness was a region
+of romance!
+
+His hardy followers partook of his excitement. Most of them had already
+experienced the wild freedom of savage life, and looked forward to a
+renewal of past scenes of adventure and exploit. Their very appearance
+and equipment exhibited a piebald mixture, half civilized and half
+savage. Many of them looked more like Indians than white men in their
+garbs and accoutrements, and their very horses were caparisoned in
+barbaric style, with fantastic trappings. The outset of a band of
+adventurers on one of these expeditions is always animated and joyous.
+The welkin rang with their shouts and yelps, after the manner of the
+savages; and with boisterous jokes and light-hearted laughter. As they
+passed the straggling hamlets and solitary cabins that fringe the skirts
+of the frontier, they would startle their inmates by Indian yells and
+war-whoops, or regale them with grotesque feats of horsemanship,
+well suited to their half-savage appearance. Most of these abodes were
+inhabited by men who had themselves been in similar expeditions; they
+welcomed the travellers, therefore, as brother trappers, treated them
+with a hunter’s hospitality, and cheered them with an honest God speed
+at parting.
+
+And here we would remark a great difference, in point of character
+and quality, between the two classes of trappers, the “American” and
+“French,” as they are called in contradistinction. The latter is meant
+to designate the French creole of Canada or Louisiana; the former, the
+trapper of the old American stock, from Kentucky, Tennessee, and others
+of the western States. The French trapper is represented as a lighter,
+softer, more self-indulgent kind of man. He must have his Indian wife,
+his lodge, and his petty conveniences. He is gay and thoughtless, takes
+little heed of landmarks, depends upon his leaders and companions to
+think for the common weal, and, if left to himself, is easily perplexed
+and lost.
+
+The American trapper stands by himself, and is peerless for the service
+of the wilderness. Drop him in the midst of a prairie, or in the heart
+of the mountains, and he is never at a loss. He notices every landmark;
+can retrace his route through the most monotonous plains, or the most
+perplexed labyrinths of the mountains; no danger nor difficulty can
+appal him, and he scorns to complain under any privation. In equipping
+the two kinds of trappers, the Creole and Canadian are apt to prefer the
+light fusee; the American always grasps his rifle; he despises what
+he calls the “shot-gun.” We give these estimates on the authority of
+a trader of long experience, and a foreigner by birth. “I consider one
+American,” said he, “equal to three Canadians in point of sagacity,
+aptness at resources, self-dependence, and fearlessness of spirit. In
+fact, no one can cope with him as a stark tramper of the wilderness.”
+
+Beside the two classes of trappers just mentioned, Captain Bonneville
+had enlisted several Delaware Indians in his employ, on whose hunting
+qualifications he placed great reliance.
+
+On the 6th of May the travellers passed the last border habitation,
+and bade a long farewell to the ease and security of civilization. The
+buoyant and clamorous spirits with which they had commenced their march
+gradually subsided as they entered upon its difficulties. They found
+the prairies saturated with the heavy cold rains, prevalent in certain
+seasons of the year in this part of the country, the wagon wheels sank
+deep in the mire, the horses were often to the fetlock, and both steed
+and rider were completely jaded by the evening of the 12th, when they
+reached the Kansas River; a fine stream about three hundred yards wide,
+entering the Missouri from the south. Though fordable in almost every
+part at the end of summer and during the autumn, yet it was necessary to
+construct a raft for the transportation of the wagons and effects. All
+this was done in the course of the following day, and by evening, the
+whole party arrived at the agency of the Kansas tribe. This was under
+the superintendence of General Clarke, brother of the celebrated
+traveller of the same name, who, with Lewis, made the first expedition
+down the waters of the Columbia. He was living like a patriarch,
+surrounded by laborers and interpreters, all snugly housed, and provided
+with excellent farms. The functionary next in consequence to the
+agent was the blacksmith, a most important, and, indeed, indispensable
+personage in a frontier community. The Kansas resemble the Osages in
+features, dress, and language; they raise corn and hunt the buffalo,
+ranging the Kansas River, and its tributary streams; at the time of the
+captain’s visit, they were at war with the Pawnees of the Nebraska, or
+Platte River.
+
+The unusual sight of a train of wagons caused quite a sensation among
+these savages; who thronged about the caravan, examining everything
+minutely, and asking a thousand questions: exhibiting a degree of
+excitability, and a lively curiosity totally opposite to that apathy
+with which their race is so often reproached.
+
+The personage who most attracted the captain’s attention at this place
+was “White Plume,” the Kansas chief, and they soon became good friends.
+White Plume (we are pleased with his chivalrous soubriquet) inhabited
+a large stone house, built for him by order of the American government:
+but the establishment had not been carried out in corresponding style.
+It might be palace without, but it was wigwam within; so that, between
+the stateliness of his mansion and the squalidness of his furniture, the
+gallant White Plume presented some such whimsical incongruity as we see
+in the gala equipments of an Indian chief on a treaty-making embassy
+at Washington, who has been generously decked out in cocked hat and
+military coat, in contrast to his breech-clout and leathern legging;
+being grand officer at top, and ragged Indian at bottom.
+
+White Plume was so taken with the courtesy of the captain, and pleased
+with one or two presents received from him, that he accompanied him
+a day’s journey on his march, and passed a night in his camp, on the
+margin of a small stream. The method of encamping generally observed by
+the captain was as follows: The twenty wagons were disposed in a square,
+at the distance of thirty-three feet from each other. In every interval
+there was a mess stationed; and each mess had its fire, where the men
+cooked, ate, gossiped, and slept. The horses were placed in the centre
+of the square, with a guard stationed over them at night.
+
+The horses were “side lined,” as it is termed: that is to say, the fore
+and hind foot on the same side of the animal were tied together, so as
+to be within eighteen inches of each other. A horse thus fettered is for
+a time sadly embarrassed, but soon becomes sufficiently accustomed to
+the restraint to move about slowly. It prevents his wandering; and his
+being easily carried off at night by lurking Indians. When a horse that
+is “foot free” is tied to one thus secured, the latter forms, as it
+were, a pivot, round which the other runs and curvets, in case of alarm.
+The encampment of which we are speaking presented a striking scene.
+The various mess-fires were surrounded by picturesque groups, standing,
+sitting, and reclining; some busied in cooking, others in cleaning their
+weapons: while the frequent laugh told that the rough joke or merry
+story was going on. In the middle of the camp, before the principal
+lodge, sat the two chieftains, Captain Bonneville and White Plume, in
+soldier-like communion, the captain delighted with the opportunity of
+meeting on social terms with one of the red warriors of the wilderness,
+the unsophisticated children of nature. The latter was squatted on his
+buffalo robe, his strong features and red skin glaring in the broad
+light of a blazing fire, while he recounted astounding tales of the
+bloody exploits of his tribe and himself in their wars with the Pawnees;
+for there are no old soldiers more given to long campaigning stories
+than Indian “braves.”
+
+The feuds of White Plume, however, had not been confined to the red men;
+he had much to say of brushes with bee hunters, a class of offenders
+for whom he seemed to cherish a particular abhorrence. As the species
+of hunting prosecuted by these worthies is not laid down in any of
+the ancient books of venerie, and is, in fact, peculiar to our western
+frontier, a word or two on the subject may not be unacceptable to the
+reader.
+
+The bee hunter is generally some settler on the verge of the prairies; a
+long, lank fellow, of fever and ague complexion, acquired from living
+on new soil, and in a hut built of green logs. In the autumn, when the
+harvest is over, these; frontier settlers form parties of two or three,
+and prepare for a bee hunt. Having provided themselves with a wagon, and
+a number of empty casks, they sally off, armed with their rifles, into
+the wilderness, directing their course east, west, north, or south,
+without any regard to the ordinance of the American government, which
+strictly forbids all trespass upon the lands belonging to the Indian
+tribes.
+
+The belts of woodland that traverse the lower prairies and border the
+rivers are peopled by innumerable swarms of wild bees, which make their
+hives in hollow trees and fill them with honey tolled from the rich
+flowers of the prairies. The bees, according to popular assertion,
+are migrating like the settlers, to the west. An Indian trader, well
+experienced in the country, informs us that within ten years that he has
+passed in the Far West, the bee has advanced westward above a hundred
+miles. It is said on the Missouri, that the wild turkey and the wild bee
+go up the river together: neither is found in the upper regions. It is
+but recently that the wild turkey has been killed on the Nebraska, or
+Platte; and his travelling competitor, the wild bee, appeared there
+about the same time.
+
+Be all this as it may: the course of our party of bee hunters is to
+make a wide circuit through the woody river bottoms, and the patches
+of forest on the prairies, marking, as they go out, every tree in which
+they have detected a hive. These marks are generally respected by any
+other bee hunter that should come upon their track. When they have
+marked sufficient to fill all their casks, they turn their faces
+homeward, cut down the trees as they proceed, and having loaded their
+wagon with honey and wax, return well pleased to the settlements.
+
+Now it so happens that the Indians relish wild honey as highly as do the
+white men, and are the more delighted with this natural luxury from its
+having, in many instances, but recently made its appearance in their
+lands. The consequence is numberless disputes and conflicts between them
+and the bee hunters: and often a party of the latter, returning, laden
+with rich spoil, from one of their forays, are apt to be waylaid by the
+native lords of the soil; their honey to be seized, their harness cut
+to pieces, and themselves left to find their way home the best way
+they can, happy to escape with no greater personal harm than a sound
+rib-roasting.
+
+Such were the marauders of whose offences the gallant White Plume made
+the most bitter complaint. They were chiefly the settlers of the western
+part of Missouri, who are the most famous bee hunters on the frontier,
+and whose favorite hunting ground lies within the lands of the Kansas
+tribe. According to the account of White Plume, however, matters were
+pretty fairly balanced between him and the offenders; he having as often
+treated them to a taste of the bitter, as they had robbed him of the
+sweets.
+
+It is but justice to this gallant chief to say that he gave proofs of
+having acquired some of the lights of civilization from his proximity
+to the whites, as was evinced in his knowledge of driving a bargain. He
+required hard cash in return for some corn with which he supplied the
+worthy captain, and left the latter at a loss which most to admire, his
+native chivalry as a brave, or his acquired adroitness as a trader.
+
+
+
+
+3.
+
+     Wide prairies Vegetable productions Tabular hills--Slabs of
+     sandstone Nebraska or Platte River--Scanty fare--Buffalo
+     skulls--Wagons turned into boats--Herds of buffalo--Cliffs
+     resembling castles--The chimney--Scott’s Bluffs Story
+     connected with them--The bighorn or ahsahta--Its nature and
+     habits--Difference between that and the “woolly sheep,” or
+     goat of the mountains
+
+FROM THE MIDDLE to the end of May, Captain Bonneville pursued a western
+course over vast undulating plains, destitute of tree or shrub, rendered
+miry by occasional rain, and cut up by deep water-courses where they had
+to dig roads for their wagons down the soft crumbling banks and to throw
+bridges across the streams. The weather had attained the summer heat;
+the thermometer standing about fifty-seven degrees in the morning,
+early, but rising to about ninety degrees at noon. The incessant
+breezes, however, which sweep these vast plains render the heats
+endurable. Game was scanty, and they had to eke out their scanty fare
+with wild roots and vegetables, such as the Indian potato, the wild
+onion, and the prairie tomato, and they met with quantities of “red
+root,” from which the hunters make a very palatable beverage. The only
+human being that crossed their path was a Kansas warrior, returning from
+some solitary expedition of bravado or revenge, bearing a Pawnee scalp
+as a trophy.
+
+The country gradually rose as they proceeded westward, and their route
+took them over high ridges, commanding wide and beautiful prospects.
+The vast plain was studded on the west with innumerable hills of conical
+shape, such as are seen north of the Arkansas River. These hills have
+their summits apparently cut off about the same elevation, so as to
+leave flat surfaces at top. It is conjectured by some that the whole
+country may originally have been of the altitude of these tabular hills;
+but through some process of nature may have sunk to its present level;
+these insulated eminences being protected by broad foundations of solid
+rock.
+
+Captain Bonneville mentions another geological phenomenon north of
+Red River, where the surface of the earth, in considerable tracts of
+country, is covered with broad slabs of sandstone, having the form and
+position of grave-stones, and looking as if they had been forced up by
+some subterranean agitation. “The resemblance,” says he, “which these
+very remarkable spots have in many places to old church-yards is curious
+in the extreme. One might almost fancy himself among the tombs of the
+pre-Adamites.”
+
+On the 2d of June, they arrived on the main stream of the Nebraska or
+Platte River; twenty-five miles below the head of the Great Island. The
+low banks of this river give it an appearance of great width. Captain
+Bonneville measured it in one place, and found it twenty-two hundred
+yards from bank to bank. Its depth was from three to six feet, the
+bottom full of quicksands. The Nebraska is studded with islands covered
+with that species of poplar called the cotton-wood tree. Keeping up
+along the course of this river for several days, they were obliged,
+from the scarcity of game, to put themselves upon short allowance,
+and, occasionally, to kill a steer. They bore their daily labors and
+privations, however, with great good humor, taking their tone, in all
+probability, from the buoyant spirit of their leader. “If the weather
+was inclement,” said the captain, “we watched the clouds, and hoped
+for a sight of the blue sky and the merry sun. If food was scanty,
+we regaled ourselves with the hope of soon falling in with herds of
+buffalo, and having nothing to do but slay and eat.” We doubt whether
+the genial captain is not describing the cheeriness of his own breast,
+which gave a cheery aspect to everything around him.
+
+There certainly were evidences, however, that the country was not always
+equally destitute of game. At one place, they observed a field decorated
+with buffalo skulls, arranged in circles, curves, and other mathematical
+figures, as if for some mystic rite or ceremony. They were almost
+innumerable, and seemed to have been a vast hecatomb offered up in
+thanksgiving to the Great Spirit for some signal success in the chase.
+
+On the 11th of June, they came to the fork of the Nebraska, where
+it divides itself into two equal and beautiful streams. One of these
+branches rises in the west-southwest, near the headwaters of the
+Arkansas. Up the course of this branch, as Captain Bonneville was well
+aware, lay the route to the Camanche and Kioway Indians, and to the
+northern Mexican settlements; of the other branch he knew nothing. Its
+sources might lie among wild and inaccessible cliffs, and tumble and
+foam down rugged defiles and over craggy precipices; but its direction
+was in the true course, and up this stream he determined to prosecute
+his route to the Rocky Mountains. Finding it impossible, from
+quicksands and other dangerous impediments, to cross the river in this
+neighborhood, he kept up along the south fork for two days, merely
+seeking a safe fording place. At length he encamped, caused the bodies
+of the wagons to be dislodged from the wheels, covered with buffalo
+hide, and besmeared with a compound of tallow and ashes; thus forming
+rude boats. In these, they ferried their effects across the stream,
+which was six hundred yards wide, with a swift and strong current. Three
+men were in each boat, to manage it; others waded across pushing the
+barks before them. Thus all crossed in safety. A march of nine miles
+took them over high rolling prairies to the north fork; their eyes being
+regaled with the welcome sight of herds of buffalo at a distance, some
+careering the plain, others grazing and reposing in the natural meadows.
+
+Skirting along the north fork for a day or two, excessively annoyed by
+musquitoes and buffalo gnats, they reached, in the evening of the 17th,
+a small but beautiful grove, from which issued the confused notes of
+singing birds, the first they had heard since crossing the boundary
+of Missouri. After so many days of weary travelling through a naked,
+monotonous and silent country, it was delightful once more to hear
+the song of the bird, and to behold the verdure of the grove. It was
+a beautiful sunset, and a sight of the glowing rays, mantling the
+tree-tops and rustling branches, gladdened every heart. They pitched
+their camp in the grove, kindled their fires, partook merrily of their
+rude fare, and resigned themselves to the sweetest sleep they had
+enjoyed since their outset upon the prairies.
+
+The country now became rugged and broken. High bluffs advanced upon the
+river, and forced the travellers occasionally to leave its banks and
+wind their course into the interior. In one of the wild and solitary
+passes they were startled by the trail of four or five pedestrians, whom
+they supposed to be spies from some predatory camp of either Arickara
+or Crow Indians. This obliged them to redouble their vigilance at
+night, and to keep especial watch upon their horses. In these rugged
+and elevated regions they began to see the black-tailed deer, a
+species larger than the ordinary kind, and chiefly found in rocky and
+mountainous countries. They had reached also a great buffalo range;
+Captain Bonneville ascended a high bluff, commanding an extensive view
+of the surrounding plains. As far as his eye could reach, the country
+seemed absolutely blackened by innumerable herds. No language, he says,
+could convey an adequate idea of the vast living mass thus presented to
+his eye. He remarked that the bulls and cows generally congregated in
+separate herds.
+
+Opposite to the camp at this place was a singular phenomenon, which
+is among the curiosities of the country. It is called the chimney. The
+lower part is a conical mound, rising out of the naked plain; from the
+summit shoots up a shaft or column, about one hundred and twenty feet
+in height, from which it derives its name. The height of the whole,
+according to Captain Bonneville, is a hundred and seventy-five yards.
+It is composed of indurated clay, with alternate layers of red and white
+sandstone, and may be seen at the distance of upward of thirty miles.
+
+On the 21st, they encamped amidst high and beetling cliffs of indurated
+clay and sandstone, bearing the semblance of towers, castles, churches,
+and fortified cities. At a distance, it was scarcely possible to
+persuade one’s self that the works of art were not mingled with these
+fantastic freaks of nature. They have received the name of Scott’s
+Bluffs, from a melancholy circumstance. A number of years since, a party
+were descending the upper part of the river in canoes, when their frail
+barks were overturned and all their powder spoiled. Their rifles being
+thus rendered useless, they were unable to procure food by hunting
+and had to depend upon roots and wild fruits for subsistence. After
+suffering extremely from hunger, they arrived at Laramie’s Fork, a small
+tributary of the north branch of the Nebraska, about sixty miles above
+the cliffs just mentioned. Here one of the party, by the name of Scott,
+was taken ill; and his companions came to a halt, until he should
+recover health and strength sufficient to proceed. While they were
+searching round in quest of edible roots, they discovered a fresh trail
+of white men, who had evidently but recently preceded them. What was to
+be done? By a forced march they might overtake this party, and thus be
+able to reach the settlements in safety. Should they linger, they might
+all perish of famine and exhaustion. Scott, however, was incapable of
+moving; they were too feeble to aid him forward, and dreaded that such
+a clog would prevent their coming up with the advance party. They
+determined, therefore, to abandon him to his fate. Accordingly, under
+presence of seeking food, and such simples as might be efficacious in
+his malady, they deserted him and hastened forward upon the trail.
+They succeeded in overtaking the party of which they were in quest, but
+concealed their faithless desertion of Scott; alleging that he had died
+of disease.
+
+On the ensuing summer, these very individuals visiting these parts in
+company with others, came suddenly upon the bleached bones and grinning
+skull of a human skeleton, which, by certain signs they recognized for
+the remains of Scott. This was sixty long miles from the place where
+they had abandoned him; and it appeared that the wretched man had
+crawled that immense distance before death put an end to his miseries.
+The wild and picturesque bluffs in the neighborhood of his lonely grave
+have ever since borne his name.
+
+Amidst this wild and striking scenery, Captain Bonneville, for the first
+time, beheld flocks of the ahsahta or bighorn, an animal which frequents
+these cliffs in great numbers. They accord with the nature of such
+scenery, and add much to its romantic effect; bounding like goats from
+crag to crag, often trooping along the lofty shelves of the mountains,
+under the guidance of some venerable patriarch with horns twisted lower
+than his muzzle, and sometimes peering over the edge of a precipice,
+so high that they appear scarce bigger than crows; indeed, it seems
+a pleasure to them to seek the most rugged and frightful situations,
+doubtless from a feeling of security.
+
+This animal is commonly called the mountain sheep, and is often
+confounded with another animal, the “woolly sheep,” found more to the
+northward, about the country of the Flatheads. The latter likewise
+inhabits cliffs in summer, but descends into the valleys in the winter.
+It has white wool, like a sheep, mingled with a thin growth of long
+hair; but it has short legs, a deep belly, and a beard like a goat. Its
+horns are about five inches long, slightly curved backwards, black as
+jet, and beautifully polished. Its hoofs are of the same color. This
+animal is by no means so active as the bighorn; it does not bound much,
+but sits a good deal upon its haunches. It is not so plentiful either;
+rarely more than two or three are seen at a time. Its wool alone gives
+a resemblance to the sheep; it is more properly of the flesh is said to
+have a musty flavor; some have thought the fleece might be valuable, as
+it is said to be as fine as that of the goat Cashmere, but it is not to
+be procured in sufficient quantities.
+
+The ahsahta, argali, or bighorn, on the contrary, has short hair like a
+deer, and resembles it in shape, but has the head and horns of a sheep,
+and its flesh is said to be delicious mutton. The Indians consider it
+more sweet and delicate than any other kind of venison. It abounds in
+the Rocky Mountains, from the fiftieth degree of north latitude,
+quite down to California; generally in the highest regions capable of
+vegetation; sometimes it ventures into the valleys, but on the least
+alarm, regains its favorite cliffs and precipices, where it is perilous,
+if not impossible for the hunter to follow.
+
+
+
+
+4.
+
+     An alarm--Crow--Indians--Their appearance--Mode of approach
+     --Their vengeful errand--Their curiosity--Hostility between
+     the Crows and Blackfeet--Loving conduct of the Crows--
+     Laramie’s Fork--First navigation of the--Nebraska--Great
+     elevation of the country--Rarity of the atmosphere--Its
+     effect on the wood-work of wagons--Black Hills--Their wild
+     and broken scenery--Indian dogs--Crow trophies--Sterile and
+     dreary country--Banks of the Sweet Water--Buffalo hunting--
+     Adventure of Tom Cain the Irish cook
+
+WHEN ON THE MARCH, Captain Bonneville always sent some of his best
+hunters in the advance to reconnoitre the country, as well as to look
+out for game. On the 24th of May, as the caravan was slowly journeying
+up the banks of the Nebraska, the hunters came galloping back, waving
+their caps, and giving the alarm cry, Indians! Indians!
+
+The captain immediately ordered a halt: the hunters now came up and
+announced that a large war-party of Crow Indians were just above, on the
+river. The captain knew the character of these savages; one of the
+most roving, warlike, crafty, and predatory tribes of the mountains;
+horse-stealers of the first order, and easily provoked to acts of
+sanguinary violence. Orders were accordingly given to prepare for
+action, and every one promptly took the post that had been assigned him
+in the general order of the march, in all cases of warlike emergency.
+
+Everything being put in battle array, the captain took the lead of his
+little band, and moved on slowly and warily. In a little while he beheld
+the Crow warriors emerging from among the bluffs. There were about sixty
+of them; fine martial-looking fellows, painted and arrayed for war, and
+mounted on horses decked out with all kinds of wild trappings. They
+came prancing along in gallant style, with many wild and dexterous
+evolutions, for none can surpass them in horsemanship; and their
+bright colors, and flaunting and fantastic embellishments, glaring
+and sparkling in the morning sunshine, gave them really a striking
+appearance.
+
+Their mode of approach, to one not acquainted with the tactics and
+ceremonies of this rude chivalry of the wilderness, had an air of direct
+hostility. They came galloping forward in a body, as if about to make a
+furious charge, but, when close at hand, opened to the right and left,
+and wheeled in wide circles round the travellers, whooping and yelling
+like maniacs.
+
+This done, their mock fury sank into a calm, and the chief, approaching
+the captain, who had remained warily drawn up, though informed of the
+pacific nature of the maneuver, extended to him the hand of friendship.
+The pipe of peace was smoked, and now all was good fellowship.
+
+The Crows were in pursuit of a band of Cheyennes, who had attacked their
+village in the night and killed one of their people. They had already
+been five and twenty days on the track of the marauders, and were
+determined not to return home until they had sated their revenge.
+
+A few days previously, some of their scouts, who were ranging the
+country at a distance from the main body, had discovered the party of
+Captain Bonneville. They had dogged it for a time in secret, astonished
+at the long train of wagons and oxen, and especially struck with the
+sight of a cow and calf, quietly following the caravan; supposing them
+to be some kind of tame buffalo. Having satisfied their curiosity, they
+carried back to their chief intelligence of all that they had seen. He
+had, in consequence, diverged from his pursuit of vengeance to behold
+the wonders described to him. “Now that we have met you,” said he to
+Captain Bonneville, “and have seen these marvels with our own eyes, our
+hearts are glad.” In fact, nothing could exceed the curiosity evinced by
+these people as to the objects before them. Wagons had never been seen
+by them before, and they examined them with the greatest minuteness; but
+the calf was the peculiar object of their admiration. They watched it
+with intense interest as it licked the hands accustomed to feed it, and
+were struck with the mild expression of its countenance, and its perfect
+docility.
+
+After much sage consultation, they at length determined that it must
+be the “great medicine” of the white party; an appellation given by the
+Indians to anything of supernatural and mysterious power that is guarded
+as a talisman. They were completely thrown out in their conjecture,
+however, by an offer of the white men to exchange the calf for a horse;
+their estimation of the great medicine sank in an instant, and they
+declined the bargain.
+
+At the request of the Crow chieftain the two parties encamped together,
+and passed the residue of the day in company. The captain was
+well pleased with every opportunity to gain a knowledge of the
+“unsophisticated sons of nature,” who had so long been objects of his
+poetic speculations; and indeed this wild, horse-stealing tribe is one
+of the most notorious of the mountains. The chief, of course, had
+his scalps to show and his battles to recount. The Blackfoot is the
+hereditary enemy of the Crow, toward whom hostility is like a cherished
+principle of religion; for every tribe, besides its casual
+antagonists, has some enduring foe with whom there can be no permanent
+reconciliation. The Crows and Blackfeet, upon the whole, are enemies
+worthy of each other, being rogues and ruffians of the first water. As
+their predatory excursions extend over the same regions, they often come
+in contact with each other, and these casual conflicts serve to keep
+their wits awake and their passions alive.
+
+The present party of Crows, however, evinced nothing of the invidious
+character for which they are renowned. During the day and night that
+they were encamped in company with the travellers, their conduct was
+friendly in the extreme. They were, in fact, quite irksome in their
+attentions, and had a caressing manner at times quite importunate. It
+was not until after separation on the following morning that the captain
+and his men ascertained the secret of all this loving-kindness. In the
+course of their fraternal caresses, the Crows had contrived to empty the
+pockets of their white brothers; to abstract the very buttons from their
+coats, and, above all, to make free with their hunting knives.
+
+By equal altitudes of the sun, taken at this last encampment, Captain
+Bonneville ascertained his latitude to be 41 47’ north. The thermometer,
+at six o’clock in the morning, stood at fifty-nine degrees; at two
+o’clock, P. M., at ninety-two degrees; and at six o’clock in the
+evening, at seventy degrees.
+
+The Black Hills, or Mountains, now began to be seen at a distance,
+printing the horizon with their rugged and broken outlines; and
+threatening to oppose a difficult barrier in the way of the travellers.
+
+On the 26th of May, the travellers encamped at Laramie’s Fork, a clear
+and beautiful stream, rising in the west-southwest, maintaining an
+average width of twenty yards, and winding through broad meadows
+abounding in currants and gooseberries, and adorned with groves and
+clumps of trees.
+
+By an observation of Jupiter’s satellites, with a Dolland reflecting
+telescope, Captain Bonneville ascertained the longitude to be 102 57’
+west of Greenwich.
+
+We will here step ahead of our narrative to observe that about three
+years after the time of which we are treating, Mr. Robert Campbell,
+formerly of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, descended the Platte
+from this fork, in skin canoes, thus proving, what had always been
+discredited, that the river was navigable. About the same time, he built
+a fort or trading post at Laramie’s Fork, which he named Fort William,
+after his friend and partner, Mr. William Sublette. Since that time, the
+Platte has become a highway for the fur traders.
+
+For some days past, Captain Bonneville had been made sensible of the
+great elevation of country into which he was gradually ascending by the
+effect of the dryness and rarefaction of the atmosphere upon his wagons.
+The wood-work shrunk; the paint boxes of the wheels were continually
+working out, and it was necessary to support the spokes by stout props
+to prevent their falling asunder. The travellers were now entering one
+of those great steppes of the Far West, where the prevalent aridity
+of the atmosphere renders the country unfit for cultivation. In these
+regions there is a fresh sweet growth of grass in the spring, but it is
+scanty and short, and parches up in the course of the summer, so that
+there is none for the hunters to set fire to in the autumn. It is a
+common observation that “above the forks of the Platte the grass does
+not burn.” All attempts at agriculture and gardening in the neighborhood
+of Fort William have been attended with very little success. The grain
+and vegetables raised there have been scanty in quantity and poor in
+quality. The great elevation of these plains, and the dryness of the
+atmosphere, will tend to retain these immense regions in a state of
+pristine wildness.
+
+In the course of a day or two more, the travellers entered that wild and
+broken tract of the Crow country called the Black Hills, and here their
+journey became toilsome in the extreme. Rugged steeps and deep ravines
+incessantly obstructed their progress, so that a great part of the
+day was spent in the painful toil of digging through banks, filling up
+ravines, forcing the wagons up the most forbidding ascents, or swinging
+them with ropes down the face of dangerous precipices. The shoes of
+their horses were worn out, and their feet injured by the rugged and
+stony roads. The travellers were annoyed also by frequent but brief
+storms, which would come hurrying over the hills, or through the
+mountain defiles, rage with great fury for a short time, and then pass
+off, leaving everything calm and serene again.
+
+For several nights the camp had been infested by vagabond Indian dogs,
+prowling about in quest of food. They were about the size of a large
+pointer; with ears short and erect, and a long bushy tail--altogether,
+they bore a striking resemblance to a wolf. These skulking visitors
+would keep about the purlieus of the camp until daylight; when, on the
+first stir of life among the sleepers, they would scamper off until they
+reached some rising ground, where they would take their seats, and keep
+a sharp and hungry watch upon every movement. The moment the travellers
+were fairly on the march, and the camp was abandoned, these starving
+hangers-on would hasten to the deserted fires, to seize upon the
+half-picked bones, the offal and garbage that lay about; and, having
+made a hasty meal, with many a snap and snarl and growl, would follow
+leisurely on the trail of the caravan. Many attempts were made to coax
+or catch them, but in vain. Their quick and suspicious eyes caught
+the slightest sinister movement, and they turned and scampered off. At
+length one was taken. He was terribly alarmed, and crouched and trembled
+as if expecting instant death. Soothed, however, by caresses, he began
+after a time to gather confidence and wag his tail, and at length was
+brought to follow close at the heels of his captors, still, however,
+darting around furtive and suspicious glances, and evincing a
+disposition to scamper off upon the least alarm.
+
+On the first of July the band of Crow warriors again crossed their path.
+They came in vaunting and vainglorious style; displaying five Cheyenne
+scalps, the trophies of their vengeance. They were now bound homewards,
+to appease the manes of their comrade by these proofs that his death had
+been revenged, and intended to have scalp-dances and other triumphant
+rejoicings. Captain Bonneville and his men, however, were by no means
+disposed to renew their confiding intimacy with these crafty savages,
+and above all, took care to avoid their pilfering caresses. They
+remarked one precaution of the Crows with respect to their horses; to
+protect their hoofs from the sharp and jagged rocks among which they had
+to pass, they had covered them with shoes of buffalo hide.
+
+The route of the travellers lay generally along the course of the
+Nebraska or Platte, but occasionally, where steep promontories advanced
+to the margin of the stream, they were obliged to make inland circuits.
+One of these took them through a bold and stern country, bordered by a
+range of low mountains, running east and west. Everything around bore
+traces of some fearful convulsion of nature in times long past. Hitherto
+the various strata of rock had exhibited a gentle elevation toward the
+southwest, but here everything appeared to have been subverted, and
+thrown out of place. In many places there were heavy beds of white
+sandstone resting upon red. Immense strata of rocks jutted up into crags
+and cliffs; and sometimes formed perpendicular walls and overhanging
+precipices. An air of sterility prevailed over these savage wastes. The
+valleys were destitute of herbage, and scantily clothed with a stunted
+species of wormwood, generally known among traders and trappers by the
+name of sage. From an elevated point of their march through this region,
+the travellers caught a beautiful view of the Powder River Mountains
+away to the north, stretching along the very verge of the horizon, and
+seeming, from the snow with which they were mantled, to be a chain of
+small white clouds, connecting sky and earth.
+
+Though the thermometer at mid-day ranged from eighty to ninety, and even
+sometimes rose to ninety-three degrees, yet occasional spots of snow
+were to be seen on the tops of the low mountains, among which the
+travellers were journeying; proofs of the great elevation of the whole
+region.
+
+The Nebraska, in its passage through the Black Hills, is confined to
+a much narrower channel than that through which it flows in the plains
+below; but it is deeper and clearer, and rushes with a stronger current.
+The scenery, also, is more varied and beautiful. Sometimes it glides
+rapidly but smoothly through a picturesque valley, between wooded banks;
+then, forcing its way into the bosom of rugged mountains, it rushes
+impetuously through narrow defiles, roaring and foaming down rocks and
+rapids, until it is again soothed to rest in some peaceful valley.
+
+On the 12th of July, Captain Bonneville abandoned the main stream of the
+Nebraska, which was continually shouldered by rugged promontories, and
+making a bend to the southwest, for a couple of days, part of the time
+over plains of loose sand, encamped on the 14th on the banks of the
+Sweet Water, a stream about twenty yards in breadth, and four or five
+feet deep, flowing between low banks over a sandy soil, and forming one
+of the forks or upper branches of the Nebraska. Up this stream they now
+shaped their course for several successive days, tending, generally, to
+the west. The soil was light and sandy; the country much diversified.
+Frequently the plains were studded with isolated blocks of rock,
+sometimes in the shape of a half globe, and from three to four hundred
+feet high. These singular masses had occasionally a very imposing, and
+even sublime appearance, rising from the midst of a savage and lonely
+landscape.
+
+As the travellers continued to advance, they became more and more
+sensible of the elevation of the country. The hills around were more
+generally capped with snow. The men complained of cramps and colics,
+sore lips and mouths, and violent headaches. The wood-work of the wagons
+also shrank so much that it was with difficulty the wheels were kept
+from falling to pieces. The country bordering upon the river was
+frequently gashed with deep ravines, or traversed by high bluffs, to
+avoid which, the travellers were obliged to make wide circuits through
+the plains. In the course of these, they came upon immense herds of
+buffalo, which kept scouring off in the van, like a retreating army.
+
+Among the motley retainers of the camp was Tom Cain, a raw Irishman, who
+officiated as cook, whose various blunders and expedients in his novel
+situation, and in the wild scenes and wild kind of life into which he
+had suddenly been thrown, had made him a kind of butt or droll of
+the camp. Tom, however, began to discover an ambition superior to his
+station; and the conversation of the hunters, and their stories of their
+exploits, inspired him with a desire to elevate himself to the dignity
+of their order. The buffalo in such immense droves presented a tempting
+opportunity for making his first essay. He rode, in the line of march,
+all prepared for action: his powder-flask and shot-pouch knowingly slung
+at the pommel of his saddle, to be at hand; his rifle balanced on his
+shoulder. While in this plight, a troop of Buffalo came trotting by in
+great alarm. In an instant, Tom sprang from his horse and gave chase on
+foot. Finding they were leaving him behind, he levelled his rifle and
+pulled [the] trigger. His shot produced no other effect than to increase
+the speed of the buffalo, and to frighten his own horse, who took to his
+heels, and scampered off with all the ammunition. Tom scampered after
+him, hallooing with might and main, and the wild horse and wild Irishman
+soon disappeared among the ravines of the prairie. Captain Bonneville,
+who was at the head of the line, and had seen the transaction at a
+distance, detached a party in pursuit of Tom. After a long interval they
+returned, leading the frightened horse; but though they had scoured the
+country, and looked out and shouted from every height, they had seen
+nothing of his rider.
+
+As Captain Bonneville knew Tom’s utter awkwardness and inexperience,
+and the dangers of a bewildered Irishman in the midst of a prairie, he
+halted and encamped at an early hour, that there might be a regular hunt
+for him in the morning.
+
+At early dawn on the following day scouts were sent off in every
+direction, while the main body, after breakfast, proceeded slowly on its
+course. It was not until the middle of the afternoon that the hunters
+returned, with honest Tom mounted behind one of them. They had found him
+in a complete state of perplexity and amazement. His appearance caused
+shouts of merriment in the camp,--but Tom for once could not join in
+the mirth raised at his expense: he was completely chapfallen, and
+apparently cured of the hunting mania for the rest of his life.
+
+
+
+
+5.
+
+     Magnificent scenery--Wind River--Mountains--Treasury of
+     waters--A stray horse--An Indian trail--Trout streams--The
+     Great Green River Valley--An alarm--A band of trappers--
+     Fontenelle, his information--Sufferings of thirst--
+     Encampment on the Seedskedee--Strategy of rival traders--
+     Fortification of the camp--The--Blackfeet--Banditti of the
+     mountains--Their character and habits
+
+IT WAS ON THE 20TH of July that Captain Bonneville first came in sight
+of the grand region of his hopes and anticipations, the Rocky Mountains.
+He had been making a bend to the south, to avoid some obstacles along
+the river, and had attained a high, rocky ridge, when a magnificent
+prospect burst upon his sight. To the west rose the Wind River
+Mountains, with their bleached and snowy summits towering into the
+clouds. These stretched far to the north-northwest, until they melted
+away into what appeared to be faint clouds, but which the experienced
+eyes of the veteran hunters of the party recognized for the rugged
+mountains of the Yellowstone; at the feet of which extended the wild
+Crow country: a perilous, though profitable region for the trapper.
+
+To the southwest, the eye ranged over an immense extent of wilderness,
+with what appeared to be a snowy vapor resting upon its horizon. This,
+however, was pointed out as another branch of the Great Chippewyan, or
+Rocky chain; being the Eutaw Mountains, at whose basis the wandering
+tribe of hunters of the same name pitch their tents. We can imagine the
+enthusiasm of the worthy captain when he beheld the vast and mountainous
+scene of his adventurous enterprise thus suddenly unveiled before him.
+We can imagine with what feelings of awe and admiration he must have
+contemplated the Wind River Sierra, or bed of mountains; that great
+fountainhead from whose springs, and lakes, and melted snows some of
+those mighty rivers take their rise, which wander over hundreds of miles
+of varied country and clime, and find their way to the opposite waves of
+the Atlantic and the Pacific.
+
+The Wind River Mountains are, in fact, among the most remarkable of the
+whole Rocky chain; and would appear to be among the loftiest. They form,
+as it were, a great bed of mountains, about eighty miles in length,
+and from twenty to thirty in breadth; with rugged peaks, covered with
+eternal snows, and deep, narrow valleys full of springs, and brooks, and
+rock-bound lakes. From this great treasury of waters issue forth limpid
+streams, which, augmenting as they descend, become main tributaries of
+the Missouri on the one side, and the Columbia on the other; and give
+rise to the Seeds-ke-dee Agie, or Green River, the great Colorado of the
+West, that empties its current into the Gulf of California.
+
+The Wind River Mountains are notorious in hunters’ and trappers’
+stories: their rugged defiles, and the rough tracts about their
+neighborhood, having been lurking places for the predatory hordes of the
+mountains, and scenes of rough encounter with Crows and Blackfeet. It
+was to the west of these mountains, in the valley of the Seeds-ke-dee
+Agie, or Green River, that Captain Bonneville intended to make a halt
+for the purpose of giving repose to his people and his horses after
+their weary journeying; and of collecting information as to his future
+course. This Green River valley, and its immediate neighborhood, as
+we have already observed, formed the main point of rendezvous, for
+the present year, of the rival fur companies, and the motley populace,
+civilized and savage, connected with them. Several days of rugged
+travel, however, yet remained for the captain and his men before they
+should encamp in this desired resting-place.
+
+On the 21st of July, as they were pursuing their course through one of
+the meadows of the Sweet Water, they beheld a horse grazing at a little
+distance. He showed no alarm at their approach, but suffered himself
+quietly to be taken, evincing a perfect state of tameness. The scouts of
+the party were instantly on the look-out for the owners of this animal;
+lest some dangerous band of savages might be lurking in the vicinity.
+After a narrow search, they discovered the trail of an Indian party,
+which had evidently passed through that neighborhood but recently. The
+horse was accordingly taken possession of, as an estray; but a more
+vigilant watch than usual was kept round the camp at nights, lest his
+former owners should be upon the prowl.
+
+The travellers had now attained so high an elevation that on the 23d of
+July, at daybreak, there was considerable ice in the waterbuckets,
+and the thermometer stood at twenty-two degrees. The rarefy of the
+atmosphere continued to affect the wood-work of the wagons, and the
+wheels were incessantly falling to pieces. A remedy was at length
+devised. The tire of each wheel was taken off; a band of wood was nailed
+round the exterior of the felloes, the tire was then made red hot,
+replaced round the wheel, and suddenly cooled with water. By this means,
+the whole was bound together with great compactness.
+
+The extreme elevation of these great steppes, which range along the
+feet of the Rocky Mountains, takes away from the seeming height of their
+peaks, which yield to few in the known world in point of altitude above
+the level of the sea.
+
+On the 24th, the travellers took final leave of the Sweet Water, and
+keeping westwardly, over a low and very rocky ridge, one of the most
+southern spurs of the Wind River Mountains, they encamped, after a march
+of seven hours and a half, on the banks of a small clear stream, running
+to the south, in which they caught a number of fine trout.
+
+The sight of these fish was hailed with pleasure, as a sign that they
+had reached the waters which flow into the Pacific; for it is only on
+the western streams of the Rocky Mountains that trout are to be taken.
+The stream on which they had thus encamped proved, in effect, to be
+tributary to the Seeds-ke-dee Agie, or Green River, into which it flowed
+at some distance to the south.
+
+Captain Bonneville now considered himself as having fairly passed the
+crest of the Rocky Mountains; and felt some degree of exultation in
+being the first individual that had crossed, north of the settled
+provinces of Mexico, from the waters of the Atlantic to those of the
+Pacific, with wagons. Mr. William Sublette, the enterprising leader
+of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, had, two or three years previously,
+reached the valley of the Wind River, which lies on the northeast of the
+mountains; but had proceeded with them no further.
+
+A vast valley now spread itself before the travellers, bounded on one
+side by the Wind River Mountains, and to the west, by a long range of
+high hills. This, Captain Bonneville was assured by a veteran hunter
+in his company, was the great valley of the Seedske-dee; and the same
+informant would have fain persuaded him that a small stream, three feet
+deep, which he came to on the 25th, was that river. The captain was
+convinced, however, that the stream was too insignificant to drain so
+wide a valley and the adjacent mountains: he encamped, therefore, at an
+early hour, on its borders, that he might take the whole of the next day
+to reach the main river; which he presumed to flow between him and the
+distant range of western hills.
+
+On the 26th of July, he commenced his march at an early hour, making
+directly across the valley, toward the hills in the west; proceeding at
+as brisk a rate as the jaded condition of his horses would permit. About
+eleven o’clock in the morning, a great cloud of dust was descried in the
+rear, advancing directly on the trail of the party. The alarm was given;
+they all came to a halt, and held a council of war. Some conjectured
+that the band of Indians, whose trail they had discovered in the
+neighborhood of the stray horse, had been lying in wait for them in some
+secret fastness of the mountains; and were about to attack them on
+the open plain, where they would have no shelter. Preparations
+were immediately made for defence; and a scouting party sent off to
+reconnoitre. They soon came galloping back, making signals that all was
+well. The cloud of dust was made by a band of fifty or sixty mounted
+trappers, belonging to the American Fur Company, who soon came up,
+leading their pack-horses. They were headed by Mr. Fontenelle, an
+experienced leader, or “partisan,” as a chief of a party is called in
+the technical language of the trappers.
+
+Mr. Fontenelle informed Captain Bonneville that he was on his way from
+the company’s trading post on the Yellowstone to the yearly rendezvous,
+with reinforcements and supplies for their hunting and trading parties
+beyond the mountains; and that he expected to meet, by appointment, with
+a band of free trappers in that very neighborhood. He had fallen
+upon the trail of Captain Bonneville’s party, just after leaving the
+Nebraska; and, finding that they had frightened off all the game, had
+been obliged to push on, by forced marches, to avoid famine: both men
+and horses were, therefore, much travel-worn; but this was no place to
+halt; the plain before them he said was destitute of grass and water,
+neither of which would be met with short of the Green River, which was
+yet at a considerable distance. He hoped, he added, as his party
+were all on horseback, to reach the river, with hard travelling, by
+nightfall: but he doubted the possibility of Captain Bonneville’s
+arrival there with his wagons before the day following. Having imparted
+this information, he pushed forward with all speed.
+
+Captain Bonneville followed on as fast as circumstances would permit.
+The ground was firm and gravelly; but the horses were too much fatigued
+to move rapidly. After a long and harassing day’s march, without pausing
+for a noontide meal, they were compelled, at nine o’clock at night,
+to encamp in an open plain, destitute of water or pasturage. On the
+following morning, the horses were turned loose at the peep of day; to
+slake their thirst, if possible, from the dew collected on the sparse
+grass, here and there springing up among dry sand-banks. The soil of a
+great part of this Green River valley is a whitish clay, into which the
+rain cannot penetrate, but which dries and cracks with the sun. In
+some places it produces a salt weed, and grass along the margins of the
+streams; but the wider expanses of it are desolate and barren. It
+was not until noon that Captain Bonneville reached the banks of the
+Seeds-ke-dee, or Colorado of the West; in the meantime, the sufferings
+of both men and horses had been excessive, and it was with almost
+frantic eagerness that they hurried to allay their burning thirst in the
+limpid current of the river.
+
+Fontenelle and his party had not fared much better; the chief part had
+managed to reach the river by nightfall, but were nearly knocked up
+by the exertion; the horses of others sank under them, and they were
+obliged to pass the night upon the road.
+
+On the following morning, July 27th, Fontenelle moved his camp across
+the river; while Captain Bonneville proceeded some little distance
+below, where there was a small but fresh meadow yielding abundant
+pasturage. Here the poor jaded horses were turned out to graze, and take
+their rest: the weary journey up the mountains had worn them down in
+flesh and spirit; but this last march across the thirsty plain had
+nearly finished them.
+
+The captain had here the first taste of the boasted strategy of the
+fur trade. During his brief, but social encampment, in company with
+Fontenelle, that experienced trapper had managed to win over a number of
+Delaware Indians whom the captain had brought with him, by offering them
+four hundred dollars each for the ensuing autumnal hunt. The captain was
+somewhat astonished when he saw these hunters, on whose services he had
+calculated securely, suddenly pack up their traps, and go over to the
+rival camp. That he might in some measure, however, be even with his
+competitor, he dispatched two scouts to look out for the band of free
+trappers who were to meet Fontenelle in this neighborhood, and to
+endeavor to bring them to his camp.
+
+As it would be necessary to remain some time in this neighborhood, that
+both men and horses might repose, and recruit their strength; and as it
+was a region full of danger, Captain Bonneville proceeded to fortify his
+camp with breastworks of logs and pickets.
+
+These precautions were, at that time, peculiarly necessary, from the
+bands of Blackfeet Indians which were roving about the neighborhood.
+These savages are the most dangerous banditti of the mountains, and the
+inveterate foe of the trappers. They are Ishmaelites of the first order,
+always with weapon in hand, ready for action. The young braves of the
+tribe, who are destitute of property, go to war for booty; to gain
+horses, and acquire the means of setting up a lodge, supporting a
+family, and entitling themselves to a seat in the public councils.
+The veteran warriors fight merely for the love of the thing, and the
+consequence which success gives them among their people.
+
+They are capital horsemen, and are generally well mounted on short,
+stout horses, similar to the prairie ponies to be met with at St. Louis.
+When on a war party, however, they go on foot, to enable them to skulk
+through the country with greater secrecy; to keep in thickets and
+ravines, and use more adroit subterfuges and stratagems. Their mode
+of warfare is entirely by ambush, surprise, and sudden assaults in the
+night time. If they succeed in causing a panic, they dash forward with
+headlong fury: if the enemy is on the alert, and shows no signs of fear,
+they become wary and deliberate in their movements.
+
+Some of them are armed in the primitive style, with bows and arrows; the
+greater part have American fusees, made after the fashion of those of
+the Hudson’s Bay Company. These they procure at the trading post of the
+American Fur Company, on Marias River, where they traffic their peltries
+for arms, ammunition, clothing, and trinkets. They are extremely fond
+of spirituous liquors and tobacco; for which nuisances they are ready
+to exchange not merely their guns and horses, but even their wives and
+daughters. As they are a treacherous race, and have cherished a lurking
+hostility to the whites ever since one of their tribe was killed by
+Mr. Lewis, the associate of General Clarke, in his exploring expedition
+across the Rocky Mountains, the American Fur Company is obliged
+constantly to keep at that post a garrison of sixty or seventy men.
+
+Under the general name of Blackfeet are comprehended several tribes:
+such as the Surcies, the Peagans, the Blood Indians, and the Gros
+Ventres of the Prairies: who roam about the southern branches of the
+Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, together with some other tribes further
+north.
+
+The bands infesting the Wind River Mountains and the country adjacent
+at the time of which we are treating, were Gros Ventres of the Prairies,
+which are not to be confounded with Gros Ventres of the Missouri, who
+keep about the lower part of that river, and are friendly to the white
+men.
+
+This hostile band keeps about the headwaters of the Missouri, and
+numbers about nine hundred fighting men. Once in the course of two or
+three years they abandon their usual abodes, and make a visit to the
+Arapahoes of the Arkansas. Their route lies either through the Crow
+country, and the Black Hills, or through the lands of the Nez Perces,
+Flatheads, Bannacks, and Shoshonies. As they enjoy their favorite state
+of hostility with all these tribes, their expeditions are prone to be
+conducted in the most lawless and predatory style; nor do they hesitate
+to extend their maraudings to any party of white men they meet with;
+following their trails; hovering about their camps; waylaying and
+dogging the caravans of the free traders, and murdering the solitary
+trapper. The consequences are frequent and desperate fights between them
+and the “mountaineers,” in the wild defiles and fastnesses of the Rocky
+Mountains.
+
+The band in question was, at this time, on their way homeward from one
+of their customary visits to the Arapahoes; and in the ensuing chapter
+we shall treat of some bloody encounters between them and the trappers,
+which had taken place just before the arrival of Captain Bonneville
+among the mountains.
+
+
+
+
+6.
+
+     Sublette and his band--Robert--Campbell--Mr. Wyeth and a
+     band of “down-easters”--Yankee enterprise--Fitzpatrick--His
+     adventure with the Blackfeet--A rendezvous of mountaineers--
+     The battle of--Pierre’s Hole--An Indian ambuscade--
+     Sublette’s return
+
+LEAVING CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE and his band ensconced within their fortified
+camp in the Green River valley, we shall step back and accompany a party
+of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in its progress, with supplies
+from St. Louis, to the annual rendezvous at Pierre’s Hole. This
+party consisted of sixty men, well mounted, and conducting a line of
+packhorses. They were commanded by Captain William Sublette, a partner
+in the company, and one of the most active, intrepid, and renowned
+leaders in this half military kind of service. He was accompanied by
+his associate in business, and tried companion in danger, Mr. Robert
+Campbell, one of the pioneers of the trade beyond the mountains, who had
+commanded trapping parties there in times of the greatest peril.
+
+As these worthy compeers were on their route to the frontier, they fell
+in with another expedition, likewise on its way to the mountains. This
+was a party of regular “down-easters,” that is to say, people of New
+England, who, with the all-penetrating and all-pervading spirit of their
+race, were now pushing their way into a new field of enterprise with
+which they were totally unacquainted. The party had been fitted out and
+was maintained and commanded by Mr. Nathaniel J. Wyeth, of Boston. This
+gentleman had conceived an idea that a profitable fishery for salmon
+might be established on the Columbia River, and connected with the fur
+trade. He had, accordingly, invested capital in goods, calculated, as he
+supposed, for the Indian trade, and had enlisted a number of eastern men
+in his employ, who had never been in the Far West, nor knew anything of
+the wilderness. With these, he was bravely steering his way across the
+continent, undismayed by danger, difficulty, or distance, in the same
+way that a New England coaster and his neighbors will coolly launch
+forth on a voyage to the Black Sea, or a whaling cruise to the Pacific.
+
+With all their national aptitude at expedient and resource, Wyeth and
+his men felt themselves completely at a loss when they reached the
+frontier, and found that the wilderness required experience and
+habitudes of which they were totally deficient. Not one of the party,
+excepting the leader, had ever seen an Indian or handled a rifle; they
+were without guide or interpreter, and totally unacquainted with “wood
+craft” and the modes of making their way among savage hordes, and
+subsisting themselves during long marches over wild mountains and barren
+plains.
+
+In this predicament, Captain Sublette found them, in a manner becalmed,
+or rather run aground, at the little frontier town of Independence,
+in Missouri, and kindly took them in tow. The two parties travelled
+amicably together; the frontier men of Sublette’s party gave their
+Yankee comrades some lessons in hunting, and some insight into the art
+and mystery of dealing with the Indians, and they all arrived without
+accident at the upper branches of the Nebraska or Platte River.
+
+In the course of their march, Mr. Fitzpatrick, the partner of the
+company who was resident at that time beyond the mountains, came
+down from the rendezvous at Pierre’s Hole to meet them and hurry them
+forward. He travelled in company with them until they reached the Sweet
+Water; then taking a couple of horses, one for the saddle, and the
+other as a pack-horse, he started off express for Pierre’s Hole, to make
+arrangements against their arrival, that he might commence his hunting
+campaign before the rival company.
+
+Fitzpatrick was a hardy and experienced mountaineer, and knew all the
+passes and defiles. As he was pursuing his lonely course up the Green
+River valley, he described several horsemen at a distance, and came to
+a halt to reconnoitre. He supposed them to be some detachment from the
+rendezvous, or a party of friendly Indians. They perceived him, and
+setting up the war-whoop, dashed forward at full speed: he saw at once
+his mistake and his peril--they were Blackfeet. Springing upon his
+fleetest horse, and abandoning the other to the enemy, he made for
+the mountains, and succeeded in escaping up one of the most dangerous
+defiles. Here he concealed himself until he thought the Indians had gone
+off, when he returned into the valley. He was again pursued, lost his
+remaining horse, and only escaped by scrambling up among the cliffs. For
+several days he remained lurking among rocks and precipices, and almost
+famished, having but one remaining charge in his rifle, which he kept
+for self-defence.
+
+In the meantime, Sublette and Campbell, with their fellow traveller,
+Wyeth, had pursued their march unmolested, and arrived in the Green
+River valley, totally unconscious that there was any lurking enemy at
+hand. They had encamped one night on the banks of a small stream, which
+came down from the Wind River Mountains, when about midnight, a band
+of Indians burst upon their camp, with horrible yells and whoops, and
+a discharge of guns and arrows. Happily no other harm was done than
+wounding one mule, and causing several horses to break loose from their
+pickets. The camp was instantly in arms; but the Indians retreated with
+yells of exultation, carrying off several of the horses under cover of
+the night.
+
+This was somewhat of a disagreeable foretaste of mountain life to some
+of Wyeth’s band, accustomed only to the regular and peaceful life of New
+England; nor was it altogether to the taste of Captain Sublette’s men,
+who were chiefly creoles and townsmen from St. Louis. They continued
+their march the next morning, keeping scouts ahead and upon their
+flanks, and arrived without further molestation at Pierre’s Hole.
+
+The first inquiry of Captain Sublette, on reaching the rendezvous,
+was for Fitzpatrick. He had not arrived, nor had any intelligence been
+received concerning him. Great uneasiness was now entertained, lest
+he should have fallen into the hands of the Blackfeet who had made
+the midnight attack upon the camp. It was a matter of general joy,
+therefore, when he made his appearance, conducted by two half-breed
+Iroquois hunters. He had lurked for several days among the mountains,
+until almost starved; at length he escaped the vigilance of his enemies
+in the night, and was so fortunate as to meet the two Iroquois hunters,
+who, being on horseback, conveyed him without further difficulty to
+the rendezvous. He arrived there so emaciated that he could scarcely be
+recognized.
+
+The valley called Pierre’s Hole is about thirty miles in length and
+fifteen in width, bounded to the west and south by low and broken
+ridges, and overlooked to the east by three lofty mountains, called the
+three Tetons, which domineer as landmarks over a vast extent of country.
+
+A fine stream, fed by rivulets and mountain springs, pours through
+the valley toward the north, dividing it into nearly equal parts. The
+meadows on its borders are broad and extensive, covered with willow and
+cotton-wood trees, so closely interlocked and matted together as to be
+nearly impassable.
+
+In this valley was congregated the motley populace connected with the
+fur trade. Here the two rival companies had their encampments,
+with their retainers of all kinds: traders, trappers, hunters, and
+half-breeds, assembled from all quarters, awaiting their yearly
+supplies, and their orders to start off in new directions. Here, also,
+the savage tribes connected with the trade, the Nez Perces or Chopunnish
+Indians, and Flatheads, had pitched their lodges beside the streams, and
+with their squaws, awaited the distribution of goods and finery. There
+was, moreover, a band of fifteen free trappers, commanded by a gallant
+leader from Arkansas, named Sinclair, who held their encampment a little
+apart from the rest. Such was the wild and heterogeneous assemblage,
+amounting to several hundred men, civilized and savage, distributed in
+tents and lodges in the several camps.
+
+The arrival of Captain Sublette with supplies put the Rocky Mountain Fur
+Company in full activity. The wares and merchandise were quickly opened,
+and as quickly disposed of to trappers and Indians; the usual excitement
+and revelry took place, after which all hands began to disperse to their
+several destinations.
+
+On the 17th of July, a small brigade of fourteen trappers, led by
+Milton Sublette, brother of the captain, set out with the intention of
+proceeding to the southwest. They were accompanied by Sinclair and his
+fifteen free trappers; Wyeth, also, and his New England band of beaver
+hunters and salmon fishers, now dwindled down to eleven, took this
+opportunity to prosecute their cruise in the wilderness, accompanied
+with such experienced pilots. On the first day, they proceeded about
+eight miles to the southeast, and encamped for the night, still in the
+valley of Pierre’s Hole. On the following morning, just as they were
+raising their camp, they observed a long line of people pouring down a
+defile of the mountains. They at first supposed them to be Fontenelle
+and his party, whose arrival had been daily expected. Wyeth, however,
+reconnoitred them with a spy-glass, and soon perceived they were
+Indians. They were divided into two parties, forming, in the whole,
+about one hundred and fifty persons, men, women, and children. Some were
+on horseback, fantastically painted and arrayed, with scarlet blankets
+fluttering in the wind. The greater part, however, were on foot. They
+had perceived the trappers before they were themselves discovered, and
+came down yelling and whooping into the plain. On nearer approach, they
+were ascertained to be Blackfeet.
+
+One of the trappers of Sublette’s brigade, a half-breed named Antoine
+Godin, now mounted his horse, and rode forth as if to hold a conference.
+He was the son of an Iroquois hunter, who had been cruelly murdered by
+the Blackfeet at a small stream below the mountains, which still bears
+his name. In company with Antoine rode forth a Flathead Indian, whose
+once powerful tribe had been completely broken down in their wars with
+the Blackfeet. Both of them, therefore, cherished the most vengeful
+hostility against these marauders of the mountains. The Blackfeet came
+to a halt. One of the chiefs advanced singly and unarmed, bearing the
+pipe of peace. This overture was certainly pacific; but Antoine and the
+Flathead were predisposed to hostility, and pretended to consider it a
+treacherous movement.
+
+“Is your piece charged?” said Antoine to his red companion.
+
+“It is.”
+
+“Then cock it, and follow me.”
+
+They met the Blackfoot chief half way, who extended his hand in
+friendship. Antoine grasped it.
+
+“Fire!” cried he.
+
+The Flathead levelled his piece, and brought the Blackfoot to the
+ground. Antoine snatched off his scarlet blanket, which was richly
+ornamented, and galloped off with it as a trophy to the camp, the
+bullets of the enemy whistling after him. The Indians immediately threw
+themselves into the edge of a swamp, among willows and cotton-wood
+trees, interwoven with vines. Here they began to fortify themselves;
+the women digging a trench, and throwing up a breastwork of logs
+and branches, deep hid in the bosom of the wood, while the warriors
+skirmished at the edge to keep the trappers at bay.
+
+The latter took their station in a ravine in front, whence they kept up
+a scattering fire. As to Wyeth, and his little band of “downeasters,”
+ they were perfectly astounded by this second specimen of life in the
+wilderness; the men, being especially unused to bushfighting and the use
+of the rifle, were at a loss how to proceed. Wyeth, however, acted as
+a skilful commander. He got all his horses into camp and secured them;
+then, making a breastwork of his packs of goods, he charged his men to
+remain in garrison, and not to stir out of their fort. For himself,
+he mingled with the other leaders, determined to take his share in the
+conflict.
+
+In the meantime, an express had been sent off to the rendezvous for
+reinforcements. Captain Sublette, and his associate, Campbell, were at
+their camp when the express came galloping across the plain, waving his
+cap, and giving the alarm; “Blackfeet! Blackfeet! a fight in the upper
+part of the valley!--to arms! to arms!”
+
+The alarm was passed from camp to camp. It was a common cause. Every one
+turned out with horse and rifle. The Nez Perces and Flatheads joined.
+As fast as horseman could arm and mount he galloped off; the valley was
+soon alive with white men and red men scouring at full speed.
+
+Sublette ordered his men to keep to the camp, being recruits from St.
+Louis, and unused to Indian warfare. He and his friend Campbell prepared
+for action. Throwing off their coats, rolling up their sleeves, and
+arming themselves with pistols and rifles, they mounted their horses
+and dashed forward among the first. As they rode along, they made their
+wills in soldier-like style; each stating how his effects should be
+disposed of in case of his death, and appointing the other his executor.
+
+The Blackfeet warriors had supposed the brigade of Milton Sublette all
+the foes they had to deal with, and were astonished to behold the
+whole valley suddenly swarming with horsemen, galloping to the field
+of action. They withdrew into their fort, which was completely hid from
+sight in the dark and tangled wood. Most of their women and children
+had retreated to the mountains. The trappers now sallied forth and
+approached the swamp, firing into the thickets at random; the Blackfeet
+had a better sight at their adversaries, who were in the open field, and
+a half-breed was wounded in the shoulder.
+
+When Captain Sublette arrived, he urged to penetrate the swamp and storm
+the fort, but all hung back in awe of the dismal horrors of the place,
+and the danger of attacking such desperadoes in their savage den. The
+very Indian allies, though accustomed to bushfighting, regarded it as
+almost impenetrable, and full of frightful danger. Sublette was not to
+be turned from his purpose, but offered to lead the way into the swamp.
+Campbell stepped forward to accompany him. Before entering the perilous
+wood, Sublette took his brothers aside, and told them that in case he
+fell, Campbell, who knew his will, was to be his executor. This done,
+he grasped his rifle and pushed into the thickets, followed by Campbell.
+Sinclair, the partisan from Arkansas, was at the edge of the wood with
+his brother and a few of his men. Excited by the gallant example of the
+two friends, he pressed forward to share their dangers.
+
+The swamp was produced by the labors of the beaver, which, by damming
+up a stream, had inundated a portion of the valley. The place was all
+overgrown with woods and thickets, so closely matted and entangled that
+it was impossible to see ten paces ahead, and the three associates in
+peril had to crawl along, one after another, making their way by putting
+the branches and vines aside; but doing it with caution, lest they
+should attract the eye of some lurking marksman. They took the lead by
+turns, each advancing about twenty yards at a time, and now and then
+hallooing to their men to follow. Some of the latter gradually entered
+the swamp, and followed a little distance in their rear.
+
+They had now reached a more open part of the wood, and had glimpses of
+the rude fortress from between the trees. It was a mere breastwork, as
+we have said, of logs and branches, with blankets, buffalo robes, and
+the leathern covers of lodges, extended round the top as a screen. The
+movements of the leaders, as they groped their way, had been descried
+by the sharp-sighted enemy. As Sinclair, who was in the advance, was
+putting some branches aside, he was shot through the body. He fell on
+the spot. “Take me to my brother,” said he to Campbell. The latter gave
+him in charge to some of the men, who conveyed him out of the swamp.
+
+Sublette now took the advance. As he was reconnoitring the fort, he
+perceived an Indian peeping through an aperture. In an instant his rifle
+was levelled and discharged, and the ball struck the savage in the eye.
+While he was reloading, he called to Campbell, and pointed out to him
+the hole; “Watch that place,” said he, “and you will soon have a fair
+chance for a shot.” Scarce had he uttered the words, when a ball struck
+him in the shoulder, and almost wheeled him around. His first thought
+was to take hold of his arm with his other hand, and move it up and
+down. He ascertained, to his satisfaction, that the bone was not broken.
+The next moment he was so faint that he could not stand. Campbell took
+him in his arms and carried him out of the thicket. The same shot that
+struck Sublette wounded another man in the head.
+
+A brisk fire was now opened by the mountaineers from the wood, answered
+occasionally from the fort. Unluckily, the trappers and their allies, in
+searching for the fort, had got scattered, so that Wyeth, and a number
+of Nez Perces, approached the fort on the northwest side, while others
+did the same on the opposite quarter. A cross-fire thus took place,
+which occasionally did mischief to friends as well as foes. An Indian
+was shot down, close to Wyeth, by a ball which, he was convinced, had
+been sped from the rifle of a trapper on the other side of the fort.
+
+The number of whites and their Indian allies had by this time so much
+increased by arrivals from the rendezvous, that the Blackfeet were
+completely overmatched. They kept doggedly in their fort, however,
+making no offer of surrender. An occasional firing into the breastwork
+was kept up during the day. Now and then, one of the Indian allies, in
+bravado, would rush up to the fort, fire over the ramparts, tear off a
+buffalo robe or a scarlet blanket, and return with it in triumph to his
+comrades. Most of the savage garrison that fell, however, were killed in
+the first part of the attack.
+
+At one time it was resolved to set fire to the fort; and the squaws
+belonging to the allies were employed to collect combustibles. This
+however, was abandoned; the Nez Perces being unwilling to destroy the
+robes and blankets, and other spoils of the enemy, which they felt sure
+would fall into their hands.
+
+The Indians, when fighting, are prone to taunt and revile each other.
+During one of the pauses of the battle, the voice of the Blackfeet chief
+was heard.
+
+“So long,” said he, “as we had powder and ball, we fought you in the
+open field: when those were spent, we retreated here to die with our
+women and children. You may burn us in our fort; but, stay by our ashes,
+and you who are so hungry for fighting will soon have enough. There
+are four hundred lodges of our brethren at hand. They will soon be
+here--their arms are strong--their hearts are big--they will avenge us!”
+
+This speech was translated two or three times by Nez Perce and creole
+interpreters. By the time it was rendered into English, the chief was
+made to say that four hundred lodges of his tribe were attacking
+the encampment at the other end of the valley. Every one now was for
+hurrying to the defence of the rendezvous. A party was left to keep
+watch upon the fort; the rest galloped off to the camp. As night came
+on, the trappers drew out of the swamp, and remained about the skirts of
+the wood. By morning, their companions returned from the rendezvous with
+the report that all was safe. As the day opened, they ventured within
+the swamp and approached the fort. All was silent. They advanced up to
+it without opposition. They entered: it had been abandoned in the night,
+and the Blackfeet had effected their retreat, carrying off their wounded
+on litters made of branches, leaving bloody traces on the herbage. The
+bodies of ten Indians were found within the fort; among them the one
+shot in the eye by Sublette. The Blackfeet afterward reported that they
+had lost twenty-six warriors in this battle. Thirty-two horses were
+likewise found killed; among them were some of those recently carried
+off from Sublette’s party, in the night; which showed that these were
+the very savages that had attacked him. They proved to be an advance
+party of the main body of Blackfeet, which had been upon the trail of
+Sublette’s party. Five white men and one halfbreed were killed, and
+several wounded. Seven of the Nez Perces were also killed, and six
+wounded. They had an old chief, who was reputed as invulnerable. In the
+course of the action he was hit by a spent ball, and threw up blood; but
+his skin was unbroken. His people were now fully convinced that he was
+proof against powder and ball.
+
+A striking circumstance is related as having occurred the morning
+after the battle. As some of the trappers and their Indian allies were
+approaching the fort through the woods, they beheld an Indian woman, of
+noble form and features, leaning against a tree. Their surprise at
+her lingering here alone, to fall into the hands of her enemies, was
+dispelled, when they saw the corpse of a warrior at her feet. Either
+she was so lost in grief as not to perceive their approach; or a proud
+spirit kept her silent and motionless. The Indians set up a yell, on
+discovering her, and before the trappers could interfere, her mangled
+body fell upon the corpse which she had refused to abandon. We have
+heard this anecdote discredited by one of the leaders who had been in
+the battle: but the fact may have taken place without his seeing it, and
+been concealed from him. It is an instance of female devotion, even to
+the death, which we are well disposed to believe and to record.
+
+After the battle, the brigade of Milton Sublette, together with the
+free trappers, and Wyeth’s New England band, remained some days at the
+rendezvous, to see if the main body of Blackfeet intended to make an
+attack; nothing of the kind occurring, they once more put themselves
+in motion, and proceeded on their route toward the southwest. Captain
+Sublette having distributed his supplies, had intended to set off on
+his return to St. Louis, taking with him the peltries collected from
+the trappers and Indians. His wound, however obliged him to postpone his
+departure. Several who were to have accompanied him became impatient of
+this delay. Among these was a young Bostonian, Mr. Joseph More, one of
+the followers of Mr. Wyeth, who had seen enough of mountain life and
+savage warfare, and was eager to return to the abodes of civilization.
+He and six others, among whom were a Mr. Foy, of Mississippi, Mr. Alfred
+K. Stephens, of St. Louis, and two grandsons of the celebrated Daniel
+Boon, set out together, in advance of Sublette’s party, thinking they
+would make their way through the mountains.
+
+It was just five days after the battle of the swamp that these seven
+companions were making their way through Jackson’s Hole, a valley not
+far from the three Tetons, when, as they were descending a hill, a party
+of Blackfeet that lay in ambush started up with terrific yells. The
+horse of the young Bostonian, who was in front, wheeled round with
+affright, and threw his unskilled rider. The young man scrambled up
+the side of the hill, but, unaccustomed to such wild scenes, lost his
+presence of mind, and stood, as if paralyzed, on the edge of a bank,
+until the Blackfeet came up and slew him on the spot. His comrades had
+fled on the first alarm; but two of them, Foy and Stephens, seeing
+his danger, paused when they got half way up the hill, turned back,
+dismounted, and hastened to his assistance. Foy was instantly killed.
+Stephens was severely wounded, but escaped, to die five days afterward.
+The survivors returned to the camp of Captain Sublette, bringing tidings
+of this new disaster. That hardy leader, as soon as he could bear the
+journey, set out on his return to St. Louis, accompanied by Campbell. As
+they had a number of pack-horses richly laden with peltries to convoy,
+they chose a different route through the mountains, out of the way, as
+they hoped, of the lurking bands of Blackfeet. They succeeded in making
+the frontier in safety. We remember to have seen them with their band,
+about two or three months afterward, passing through a skirt of woodland
+in the upper part of Missouri. Their long cavalcade stretched in single
+file for nearly half a mile. Sublette still wore his arm in a sling.
+The mountaineers in their rude hunting dresses, armed with rifles
+and roughly mounted, and leading their pack-horses down a hill of the
+forest, looked like banditti returning with plunder. On the top of some
+of the packs were perched several half-breed children, perfect little
+imps, with wild black eyes glaring from among elf locks. These, I was
+told, were children of the trappers; pledges of love from their squaw
+spouses in the wilderness.
+
+
+
+
+7.
+
+     Retreat of the Blackfeet--Fontenelle’s camp in danger--
+     Captain Bonneville and the Blackfeet--Free trappers--Their
+     character, habits, dress, equipments, horses--Game fellows
+     of the mountains--Their visit to the camp--Good fellowship
+     and good cheer--A carouse--A swagger, a brawl, and a
+     reconciliation
+
+THE BLACKFEET WARRIORS, when they effected their midnight retreat from
+their wild fastness in Pierre’s Hole, fell back into the valley of the
+Seeds-ke-dee, or Green River where they joined the main body of their
+band. The whole force amounted to several hundred fighting men, gloomy
+and exasperated by their late disaster. They had with them their wives
+and children, which incapacitated them from any bold and extensive
+enterprise of a warlike nature; but when, in the course of their
+wanderings they came in sight of the encampment of Fontenelle, who
+had moved some distance up Green River valley in search of the free
+trappers, they put up tremendous war-cries, and advanced fiercely as if
+to attack it. Second thoughts caused them to moderate their fury. They
+recollected the severe lesson just received, and could not but remark
+the strength of Fontenelle’s position; which had been chosen with great
+judgment.
+
+A formal talk ensued. The Blackfeet said nothing of the late battle, of
+which Fontenelle had as yet received no accounts; the latter, however,
+knew the hostile and perfidious nature of these savages, and took care
+to inform them of the encampment of Captain Bonneville, that they might
+know there were more white men in the neighborhood. The conference
+ended, Fontenelle sent a Delaware Indian of his party to conduct fifteen
+of the Blackfeet to the camp of Captain Bonneville. There was [sic]
+at that time two Crow Indians in the captain’s camp, who had recently
+arrived there. They looked with dismay at this deputation from their
+implacable enemies, and gave the captain a terrible character of them,
+assuring him that the best thing he could possibly do, was to put those
+Blackfeet deputies to death on the spot. The captain, however, who had
+heard nothing of the conflict at Pierre’s Hole, declined all compliance
+with this sage counsel. He treated the grim warriors with his usual
+urbanity. They passed some little time at the camp; saw, no doubt, that
+everything was conducted with military skill and vigilance; and that
+such an enemy was not to be easily surprised, nor to be molested with
+impunity, and then departed, to report all that they had seen to their
+comrades.
+
+The two scouts which Captain Bonneville had sent out to seek for the
+band of free trappers, expected by Fontenelle, and to invite them to
+his camp, had been successful in their search, and on the 12th of August
+those worthies made their appearance.
+
+To explain the meaning of the appellation, free trapper, it is necessary
+to state the terms on which the men enlist in the service of the fur
+companies. Some have regular wages, and are furnished with weapons,
+horses, traps, and other requisites. These are under command, and bound
+to do every duty required of them connected with the service; such as
+hunting, trapping, loading and unloading the horses, mounting guard;
+and, in short, all the drudgery of the camp. These are the hired
+trappers.
+
+The free trappers are a more independent class; and in describing them,
+we shall do little more than transcribe the graphic description of them
+by Captain Bonneville. “They come and go,” says he, “when and where they
+please; provide their own horses, arms, and other equipments; trap and
+trade on their own account, and dispose of their skins and peltries
+to the highest bidder. Sometimes, in a dangerous hunting ground, they
+attach themselves to the camp of some trader for protection. Here they
+come under some restrictions; they have to conform to the ordinary rules
+for trapping, and to submit to such restraints, and to take part in such
+general duties, as are established for the good order and safety of the
+camp. In return for this protection, and for their camp keeping, they
+are bound to dispose of all the beaver they take, to the trader who
+commands the camp, at a certain rate per skin; or, should they prefer
+seeking a market elsewhere, they are to make him an allowance, of from
+thirty to forty dollars for the whole hunt.”
+
+There is an inferior order, who, either from prudence or poverty, come
+to these dangerous hunting grounds without horses or accoutrements, and
+are furnished by the traders. These, like the hired trappers, are bound
+to exert themselves to the utmost in taking beaver, which, without
+skinning, they render in at the trader’s lodge, where a stipulated price
+for each is placed to their credit. These though generally included in
+the generic name of free trappers, have the more specific title of skin
+trappers.
+
+The wandering whites who mingle for any length of time with the savages
+have invariably a proneness to adopt savage habitudes; but none more so
+than the free trappers. It is a matter of vanity and ambition with them
+to discard everything that may bear the stamp of civilized life, and to
+adopt the manners, habits, dress, gesture, and even walk of the Indian.
+You cannot pay a free trapper a greater compliment, than to persuade
+him you have mistaken him for an Indian brave; and, in truth, the
+counterfeit is complete. His hair suffered to attain to a great length,
+is carefully combed out, and either left to fall carelessly over
+his shoulders, or plaited neatly and tied up in otter skins, or
+parti-colored ribands. A hunting-shirt of ruffled calico of bright dyes,
+or of ornamented leather, falls to his knee; below which, curiously
+fashioned legging, ornamented with strings, fringes, and a profusion of
+hawks’ bells, reach to a costly pair of moccasons of the finest Indian
+fabric, richly embroidered with beads. A blanket of scarlet, or some
+other bright color, hangs from his shoulders, and is girt around his
+waist with a red sash, in which he bestows his pistols, knife, and the
+stem of his Indian pipe; preparations either for peace or war. His gun
+is lavishly decorated with brass tacks and vermilion, and provided with
+a fringed cover, occasionally of buckskin, ornamented here and there
+with a feather. His horse, the noble minister to the pride, pleasure,
+and profit of the mountaineer, is selected for his speed and spirit,
+and prancing gait, and holds a place in his estimation second only to
+himself. He shares largely of his bounty, and of his pride and pomp of
+trapping. He is caparisoned in the most dashing and fantastic style; the
+bridles and crupper are weightily embossed with beads and cockades; and
+head, mane, and tail, are interwoven with abundance of eagles’ plumes,
+which flutter in the wind. To complete this grotesque equipment, the
+proud animal is bestreaked and bespotted with vermilion, or with white
+clay, whichever presents the most glaring contrast to his real color.
+
+Such is the account given by Captain Bonneville of these rangers of
+the wilderness, and their appearance at the camp was strikingly
+characteristic. They came dashing forward at full speed, firing their
+fusees, and yelling in Indian style. Their dark sunburned faces, and
+long flowing hair, their legging, flaps, moccasons, and richly-dyed
+blankets, and their painted horses gaudily caparisoned, gave them
+so much the air and appearance of Indians, that it was difficult to
+persuade one’s self that they were white men, and had been brought up in
+civilized life.
+
+Captain Bonneville, who was delighted with the game look of these
+cavaliers of the mountains, welcomed them heartily to his camp, and
+ordered a free allowance of grog to regale them, which soon put them in
+the most braggart spirits. They pronounced the captain the finest fellow
+in the world, and his men all bons garcons, jovial lads, and swore they
+would pass the day with them. They did so; and a day it was, of boast,
+and swagger, and rodomontade. The prime bullies and braves among the
+free trappers had each his circle of novices, from among the captain’s
+band; mere greenhorns, men unused to Indian life; mangeurs de lard,
+or pork-eaters; as such new-comers are superciliously called by the
+veterans of the wilderness. These he would astonish and delight by the
+hour, with prodigious tales of his doings among the Indians; and of
+the wonders he had seen, and the wonders he had performed, in his
+adventurous peregrinations among the mountains.
+
+In the evening, the free trappers drew off, and returned to the camp
+of Fontenelle, highly delighted with their visit and with their new
+acquaintances, and promising to return the following day. They kept
+their word: day after day their visits were repeated; they became
+“hail fellow well met” with Captain Bonneville’s men; treat after treat
+succeeded, until both parties got most potently convinced, or rather
+confounded, by liquor. Now came on confusion and uproar. The free
+trappers were no longer suffered to have all the swagger to themselves.
+The camp bullies and prime trappers of the party began to ruffle up, and
+to brag, in turn, of their perils and achievements. Each now tried
+to out-boast and out-talk the other; a quarrel ensued as a matter
+of course, and a general fight, according to frontier usage. The two
+factions drew out their forces for a pitched battle. They fell to work
+and belabored each other with might and main; kicks and cuffs and dry
+blows were as well bestowed as they were well merited, until, having
+fought to their hearts’ content, and been drubbed into a familiar
+acquaintance with each other’s prowess and good qualities, they ended
+the fight by becoming firmer friends than they could have been rendered
+by a year’s peaceable companionship.
+
+While Captain Bonneville amused himself by observing the habits and
+characteristics of this singular class of men, and indulged them, for
+the time, in all their vagaries, he profited by the opportunity to
+collect from them information concerning the different parts of the
+country about which they had been accustomed to range; the characters
+of the tribes, and, in short, everything important to his enterprise. He
+also succeeded in securing the services of several to guide and aid him
+in his peregrinations among the mountains, and to trap for him during
+the ensuing season. Having strengthened his party with such valuable
+recruits, he felt in some measure consoled for the loss of the Delaware
+Indians, decoyed from him by Mr Fontenelle.
+
+
+
+
+8.
+
+     Plans for the winter--Salmon River--Abundance of salmon west
+     of the mountains--New arrangements--Caches--Cerre’s
+     detachment--Movements in--Fontenelle’s camp--Departure of
+     the--Blackfeet--Their fortunes--Wind--Mountain streams--
+     Buckeye, the Delaware hunter, and the grizzly bear--Bones of
+     murdered travellers--Visit to Pierre’s Hole--Traces of the
+     battle--Nez--Perce--Indians--Arrival at--Salmon River
+
+THE INFORMATION derived from the free trappers determined Captain
+Bonneville as to his further movements. He learned that in the Green
+River valley the winters were severe, the snow frequently falling to the
+depth of several feet; and that there was no good wintering ground in
+the neighborhood. The upper part of Salmon River was represented as far
+more eligible, besides being in an excellent beaver country; and thither
+the captain resolved to bend his course.
+
+The Salmon River is one of the upper branches of the Oregon or Columbia;
+and takes its rise from various sources, among a group of mountains to
+the northwest of the Wind River chain. It owes its name to the immense
+shoals of salmon which ascend it in the months of September and October.
+The salmon on the west side of the Rocky Mountains are, like the buffalo
+on the eastern plains, vast migratory supplies for the wants of man,
+that come and go with the seasons. As the buffalo in countless throngs
+find their certain way in the transient pasturage on the prairies, along
+the fresh banks of the rivers, and up every valley and green defile of
+the mountains, so the salmon, at their allotted seasons, regulated by a
+sublime and all-seeing Providence, swarm in myriads up the great
+rivers, and find their way up their main branches, and into the minutest
+tributory streams; so as to pervade the great arid plains, and to
+penetrate even among barren mountains. Thus wandering tribes are fed in
+the desert places of the wilderness, where there is no herbage for the
+animals of the chase, and where, but for these periodical supplies, it
+would be impossible for man to subsist.
+
+The rapid currents of the rivers which run into the Pacific render the
+ascent of them very exhausting to the salmon. When the fish first run
+up the rivers, they are fat and in fine order. The struggle against
+impetuous streams and frequent rapids gradually renders them thin and
+weak, and great numbers are seen floating down the rivers on their
+backs. As the season advances and the water becomes chilled, they are
+flung in myriads on the shores, where the wolves and bears assemble to
+banquet on them. Often they rot in such quantities along the river banks
+as to taint the atmosphere. They are commonly from two to three feet
+long.
+
+Captain Bonneville now made his arrangements for the autumn and the
+winter. The nature of the country through which he was about to travel
+rendered it impossible to proceed with wagons. He had more goods
+and supplies of various kinds, also, than were required for present
+purposes, or than could be conveniently transported on horseback; aided,
+therefore, by a few confidential men, he made caches, or secret pits,
+during the night, when all the rest of the camp were asleep, and in
+these deposited the superfluous effects, together with the wagons. All
+traces of the caches were then carefully obliterated. This is a common
+expedient with the traders and trappers of the mountains. Having no
+established posts and magazines, they make these caches or deposits at
+certain points, whither they repair, occasionally, for supplies. It is
+an expedient derived from the wandering tribes of Indians.
+
+Many of the horses were still so weak and lame, as to be unfit for
+a long scramble through the mountains. These were collected into one
+cavalcade, and given in charge to an experienced trapper, of the name
+of Matthieu. He was to proceed westward, with a brigade of trappers, to
+Bear River; a stream to the west of the Green River or Colorado, where
+there was good pasturage for the horses. In this neighborhood it was
+expected he would meet the Shoshonie villages or bands, on their yearly
+migrations, with whom he was to trade for peltries and provisions. After
+he had traded with these people, finished his trapping, and recruited
+the strength of the horses, he was to proceed to Salmon River and rejoin
+Captain Bonneville, who intended to fix his quarters there for the
+winter.
+
+While these arrangements were in progress in the camp of Captain
+Bonneville, there was a sudden bustle and stir in the camp of
+Fontenelle. One of the partners of the American Fur Company had arrived,
+in all haste, from the rendezvous at Pierre’s Hole, in quest of the
+supplies. The competition between the two rival companies was just now
+at its height, and prosecuted with unusual zeal. The tramontane concerns
+of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company were managed by two resident
+partners, Fitzpatrick and Bridger; those of the American Fur Company,
+by Vanderburgh and Dripps. The latter were ignorant of the mountain
+regions, but trusted to make up by vigilance and activity for their want
+of knowledge of the country.
+
+Fitzpatrick, an experienced trader and trapper, knew the evils of
+competition in the same hunting grounds, and had proposed that the
+two companies should divide the country, so as to hunt in different
+directions: this proposition being rejected, he had exerted himself to
+get first into the field. His exertions, as have already been shown,
+were effectual. The early arrival of Sublette, with supplies, had
+enabled the various brigades of the Rocky Mountain Company to start
+off to their respective hunting grounds. Fitzpatrick himself, with his
+associate, Bridger, had pushed off with a strong party of trappers, for
+a prime beaver country to the north-northwest.
+
+This had put Vanderburgh upon his mettle. He had hastened on to
+meet Fontenelle. Finding him at his camp in Green River valley, he
+immediately furnished himself with the supplies; put himself at the
+head of the free trappers and Delawares, and set off with all speed,
+determined to follow hard upon the heels of Fitzpatrick and Bridger. Of
+the adventures of these parties among the mountains, and the disastrous
+effects of their competition, we shall have occasion to treat in a
+future chapter.
+
+Fontenelle having now delivered his supplies and accomplished his
+errand, struck his tents and set off on his return to the Yellowstone.
+Captain Bonneville and his band, therefore, remained alone in the Green
+River valley; and their situation might have been perilous, had the
+Blackfeet band still lingered in the vicinity. Those marauders, however,
+had been dismayed at finding so many resolute and well-appointed parties
+of white men in the neighborhood. They had, therefore, abandoned this
+part of the country, passing over the headwaters of the Green River, and
+bending their course towards the Yellowstone. Misfortune pursued them.
+Their route lay through the country of their deadly enemies, the Crows.
+In the Wind River valley, which lies east of the mountains, they were
+encountered by a powerful war party of that tribe, and completely put
+to rout. Forty of them were killed, many of their women and children
+captured, and the scattered fugitives hunted like wild beasts until they
+were completely chased out of the Crow country.
+
+On the 22d of August Captain Bonneville broke up his camp, and set out
+on his route for Salmon River. His baggage was arranged in packs, three
+to a mule, or pack-horse; one being disposed on each side of the animal
+and one on the top; the three forming a load of from one hundred and
+eighty to two hundred and twenty pounds. This is the trappers’ style of
+loading pack-horses; his men, however, were inexpert at adjusting
+the packs, which were prone to get loose and slip off, so that it was
+necessary to keep a rear-guard to assist in reloading. A few days’
+experience, however, brought them into proper training.
+
+Their march lay up the valley of the Seeds-ke-dee, overlooked to the
+right by the lofty peaks of the Wind River Mountains. From bright little
+lakes and fountain-heads of this remarkable bed of mountains poured
+forth the tributary streams of the Seeds-ke-dee. Some came rushing
+down gullies and ravines; others tumbled in crystal cascades from
+inaccessible clefts and rocks, and others winding their way in rapid and
+pellucid currents across the valley, to throw themselves into the main
+river. So transparent were these waters that the trout with which they
+abounded could be seen gliding about as if in the air; and their pebbly
+beds were distinctly visible at the depth of many feet. This beautiful
+and diaphanous quality of the Rocky Mountain streams prevails for a long
+time after they have mingled their waters and swollen into important
+rivers.
+
+Issuing from the upper part of the valley, Captain Bonneville continued
+to the east-northeast, across rough and lofty ridges, and deep rocky
+defiles, extremely fatiguing both to man and horse. Among his hunters
+was a Delaware Indian who had remained faithful to him. His name was
+Buckeye. He had often prided himself on his skill and success in coping
+with the grizzly bear, that terror of the hunters. Though crippled in
+the left arm, he declared he had no hesitation to close with a wounded
+bear, and attack him with a sword. If armed with a rifle, he was
+willing to brave the animal when in full force and fury. He had twice
+an opportunity of proving his prowess, in the course of this mountain
+journey, and was each time successful. His mode was to seat himself
+upon the ground, with his rifle cocked and resting on his lame arm. Thus
+prepared, he would await the approach of the bear with perfect coolness,
+nor pull trigger until he was close at hand. In each instance, he laid
+the monster dead upon the spot.
+
+A march of three or four days, through savage and lonely scenes, brought
+Captain Bonneville to the fatal defile of Jackson’s Hole, where poor
+More and Foy had been surprised and murdered by the Blackfeet. The
+feelings of the captain were shocked at beholding the bones of these
+unfortunate young men bleaching among the rocks; and he caused them to
+be decently interred.
+
+On the 3d of September he arrived on the summit of a mountain which
+commanded a full view of the eventful valley of Pierre’s Hole; whence he
+could trace the winding of its stream through green meadows, and
+forests of willow and cotton-wood, and have a prospect, between distant
+mountains, of the lava plains of Snake River, dimly spread forth like a
+sleeping ocean below.
+
+After enjoying this magnificent prospect, he descended into the valley,
+and visited the scenes of the late desperate conflict. There were the
+remains of the rude fortress in the swamp, shattered by rifle shot, and
+strewed with the mingled bones of savages and horses. There was the late
+populous and noisy rendezvous, with the traces of trappers’ camps and
+Indian lodges; but their fires were extinguished, the motley assemblage
+of trappers and hunters, white traders and Indian braves, had all
+dispersed to different points of the wilderness, and the valley had
+relapsed into its pristine solitude and silence.
+
+That night the captain encamped upon the battle ground; the next day he
+resumed his toilsome peregrinations through the mountains. For upwards
+of two weeks he continued his painful march; both men and horses
+suffering excessively at times from hunger and thirst. At length, on the
+19th of September, he reached the upper waters of Salmon River.
+
+The weather was cold, and there were symptoms of an impending storm. The
+night set in, but Buckeye, the Delaware Indian, was missing. He had left
+the party early in the morning, to hunt by himself, according to his
+custom. Fears were entertained lest he should lose his way and become
+bewildered in tempestuous weather. These fears increased on the
+following morning, when a violent snow-storm came on, which soon covered
+the earth to the depth of several inches. Captain Bonneville immediately
+encamped, and sent out scouts in every direction. After some search
+Buckeye was discovered, quietly seated at a considerable distance in the
+rear, waiting the expected approach of the party, not knowing that they
+had passed, the snow having covered their trail.
+
+On the ensuing morning they resumed their march at an early hour, but
+had not proceeded far when the hunters, who were beating up the country
+in the advance, came galloping back, making signals to encamp, and
+crying Indians! Indians!
+
+Captain Bonneville immediately struck into a skirt of wood and prepared
+for action. The savages were now seen trooping over the hills in great
+numbers. One of them left the main body and came forward singly,
+making signals of peace. He announced them as a band of Nez Perces or
+Pierced-nose Indians, friendly to the whites, whereupon an invitation
+was returned by Captain Bonneville for them to come and encamp with him.
+They halted for a short time to make their toilette, an operation as
+important with an Indian warrior as with a fashionable beauty. This
+done, they arranged themselves in martial style, the chiefs leading the
+van, the braves following in a long line, painted and decorated, and
+topped off with fluttering plumes. In this way they advanced, shouting
+and singing, firing off their fusees, and clashing their shields.
+The two parties encamped hard by each other. The Nez Perces were on a
+hunting expedition, but had been almost famished on their march. They
+had no provisions left but a few dried salmon, yet finding the white
+men equally in want, they generously offered to share even this meager
+pittance, and frequently repeated the offer, with an earnestness that
+left no doubt of their sincerity. Their generosity won the heart of
+Captain Bonneville, and produced the most cordial good will on the part
+of his men. For two days that the parties remained in company, the most
+amicable intercourse prevailed, and they parted the best of friends.
+Captain Bonneville detached a few men, under Mr. Cerre, an able leader,
+to accompany the Nez Perces on their hunting expedition, and to trade
+with them for meat for the winter’s supply. After this, he proceeded
+down the river, about five miles below the forks, when he came to a halt
+on the 26th of September, to establish his winter quarters.
+
+
+
+
+9.
+
+     Horses turned loose--Preparations for winter quarters--
+     Hungry times--Nez-Perces, their honesty, piety, pacific
+     habits, religious ceremonies--Captain Bonneville’s
+     conversations with them--Their love of gambling
+
+IT WAS GRATIFYING to Captain Bonneville, after so long and toilsome a
+course of travel, to relieve his poor jaded horses of the burden under
+which they were almost ready to give out, and to behold them rolling
+upon the grass, and taking a long repose after all their sufferings.
+Indeed, so exhausted were they, that those employed under the saddle
+were no longer capable of hunting for the daily subsistence of the camp.
+
+All hands now set to work to prepare a winter cantonment. A temporary
+fortification was thrown up for the protection of the party; a secure
+and comfortable pen, into which the horses could be driven at night; and
+huts were built for the reception of the merchandise.
+
+This done, Captain Bonneville made a distribution of his forces: twenty
+men were to remain with him in garrison to protect the property; the
+rest were organized into three brigades, and sent off in different
+directions, to subsist themselves by hunting the buffalo, until the snow
+should become too deep.
+
+Indeed, it would have been impossible to provide for the whole party in
+this neighborhood. It was at the extreme western limit of the buffalo
+range, and these animals had recently been completely hunted out of the
+neighborhood by the Nez Perces, so that, although the hunters of the
+garrison were continually on the alert, ranging the country round, they
+brought in scarce game sufficient to keep famine from the door. Now
+and then there was a scanty meal of fish or wild-fowl, occasionally an
+antelope; but frequently the cravings of hunger had to be appeased with
+roots, or the flesh of wolves and muskrats. Rarely could the inmates
+of the cantonment boast of having made a full meal, and never of having
+wherewithal for the morrow. In this way they starved along until the
+8th of October, when they were joined by a party of five families of Nez
+Perces, who in some measure reconciled them to the hardships of their
+situation by exhibiting a lot still more destitute. A more forlorn set
+they had never encountered: they had not a morsel of meat or fish; nor
+anything to subsist on, excepting roots, wild rosebuds, the barks of
+certain plants, and other vegetable production; neither had they any
+weapon for hunting or defence, excepting an old spear: yet the poor
+fellows made no murmur nor complaint; but seemed accustomed to their
+hard fare. If they could not teach the white men their practical
+stoicism, they at least made them acquainted with the edible properties
+of roots and wild rosebuds, and furnished them a supply from their
+own store. The necessities of the camp at length became so urgent that
+Captain Bonneville determined to dispatch a party to the Horse
+Prairie, a plain to the north of his cantonment, to procure a supply of
+provisions. When the men were about to depart, he proposed to the Nez
+Perces that they, or some of them, should join the hunting-party. To
+his surprise, they promptly declined. He inquired the reason for their
+refusal, seeing that they were in nearly as starving a situation as his
+own people. They replied that it was a sacred day with them, and the
+Great Spirit would be angry should they devote it to hunting. They
+offered, however, to accompany the party if it would delay its departure
+until the following day; but this the pinching demands of hunger would
+not permit, and the detachment proceeded.
+
+A few days afterward, four of them signified to Captain Bonneville that
+they were about to hunt. “What!” exclaimed he, “without guns or arrows;
+and with only one old spear? What do you expect to kill?” They smiled
+among themselves, but made no answer. Preparatory to the chase, they
+performed some religious rites, and offered up to the Great Spirit a
+few short prayers for safety and success; then, having received the
+blessings of their wives, they leaped upon their horses and departed,
+leaving the whole party of Christian spectators amazed and rebuked by
+this lesson of faith and dependence on a supreme and benevolent Being.
+“Accustomed,” adds Captain Bonneville, “as I had heretofore been, to
+find the wretched Indian revelling in blood, and stained by every vice
+which can degrade human nature, I could scarcely realize the scene which
+I had witnessed. Wonder at such unaffected tenderness and piety, where
+it was least to have been sought, contended in all our bosoms with shame
+and confusion, at receiving such pure and wholesome instructions from
+creatures so far below us in the arts and comforts of life.” The simple
+prayers of the poor Indians were not unheard. In the course of four or
+five days they returned, laden with meat. Captain Bonneville was curious
+to know how they had attained such success with such scanty means. They
+gave him to understand that they had chased the buffalo at full speed,
+until they tired them down, when they easily dispatched them with the
+spear, and made use of the same weapon to flay the carcasses. To carry
+through their lessons to their Christian friends, the poor savages were
+as charitable as they had been pious, and generously shared with them
+the spoils of their hunting, giving them food enough to last for several
+days.
+
+A further and more intimate intercourse with this tribe gave Captain
+Bonneville still greater cause to admire their strong devotional
+feeling. “Simply to call these people religious,” says he, “would convey
+but a faint idea of the deep hue of piety and devotion which pervades
+their whole conduct. Their honesty is immaculate, and their purity of
+purpose, and their observance of the rites of their religion, are most
+uniform and remarkable. They are, certainly, more like a nation of
+saints than a horde of savages.”
+
+In fact, the antibelligerent policy of this tribe may have sprung from
+the doctrines of Christian charity, for it would appear that they had
+imbibed some notions of the Christian faith from Catholic missionaries
+and traders who had been among them. They even had a rude calendar of
+the fasts and festivals of the Romish Church, and some traces of its
+ceremonials. These have become blended with their own wild rites, and
+present a strange medley; civilized and barbarous. On the Sabbath, men,
+women, and children array themselves in their best style, and assemble
+round a pole erected at the head of the camp. Here they go through a
+wild fantastic ceremonial; strongly resembling the religious dance of
+the Shaking Quakers; but from its enthusiasm, much more striking and
+impressive. During the intervals of the ceremony, the principal chiefs,
+who officiate as priests, instruct them in their duties, and exhort them
+to virtue and good deeds.
+
+“There is something antique and patriarchal,” observes Captain
+Bonneville, “in this union of the offices of leader and priest; as there
+is in many of their customs and manners, which are all strongly imbued
+with religion.”
+
+The worthy captain, indeed, appears to have been strongly interested by
+this gleam of unlooked for light amidst the darkness of the wilderness.
+He exerted himself, during his sojourn among this simple and
+well-disposed people, to inculcate, as far as he was able, the gentle
+and humanizing precepts of the Christian faith, and to make them
+acquainted with the leading points of its history; and it speaks highly
+for the purity and benignity of his heart, that he derived unmixed
+happiness from the task.
+
+“Many a time,” says he, “was my little lodge thronged, or rather piled
+with hearers, for they lay on the ground, one leaning over the other,
+until there was no further room, all listening with greedy ears to the
+wonders which the Great Spirit had revealed to the white man. No
+other subject gave them half the satisfaction, or commanded half the
+attention; and but few scenes in my life remain so freshly on my memory,
+or are so pleasurably recalled to my contemplation, as these hours
+of intercourse with a distant and benighted race in the midst of the
+desert.”
+
+The only excesses indulged in by this temperate and exemplary people,
+appear to be gambling and horseracing. In these they engage with an
+eagerness that amounts to infatuation. Knots of gamblers will assemble
+before one of their lodge fires, early in the evening, and remain
+absorbed in the chances and changes of the game until long after dawn
+of the following day. As the night advances, they wax warmer and warmer.
+Bets increase in amount, one loss only serves to lead to a greater,
+until in the course of a single night’s gambling, the richest chief may
+become the poorest varlet in the camp.
+
+
+
+
+10.
+
+     Black feet in the Horse Prairie--Search after the hunters--
+     Difficulties and dangers--A card party in the wilderness--
+     The card party interrupted--“Old Sledge” a losing game--
+     Visitors to the camp--Iroquois hunters--Hanging-eared
+     Indians
+
+ON the 12th of October, two young Indians of the Nez Perce tribe arrived
+at Captain Bonneville’s encampment. They were on their way homeward,
+but had been obliged to swerve from their ordinary route through the
+mountains, by deep snows. Their new route took them though the Horse
+Prairie. In traversing it, they had been attracted by the distant smoke
+of a camp fire, and on stealing near to reconnoitre, had discovered a
+war party of Blackfeet. They had several horses with them; and, as they
+generally go on foot on warlike excursions, it was concluded that these
+horses had been captured in the course of their maraudings.
+
+This intelligence awakened solicitude on the mind of Captain Bonneville
+for the party of hunters whom he had sent to that neighborhood; and the
+Nez Perces, when informed of the circumstances, shook their heads, and
+declared their belief that the horses they had seen had been stolen
+from that very party. Anxious for information on the subject, Captain
+Bonneville dispatched two hunters to beat up the country in that
+direction. They searched in vain; not a trace of the men could be found;
+but they got into a region destitute of game, where they were well-nigh
+famished. At one time they were three entire days with-out a mouthful
+of food; at length they beheld a buffalo grazing at the foot of the
+mountain. After manoeuvring so as to get within shot, they fired, but
+merely wounded him. He took to flight, and they followed him over hill
+and dale, with the eagerness and per-severance of starving men. A more
+lucky shot brought him to the ground. Stanfield sprang upon him, plunged
+his knife into his throat, and allayed his raging hunger by drinking
+his blood: A fire was instantly kindled beside the carcass, when the two
+hunters cooked, and ate again and again, until, perfectly gorged, they
+sank to sleep before their hunting fire. On the following morning they
+rose early, made another hearty meal, then loading themselves with
+buffalo meat, set out on their return to the camp, to report the
+fruitlessness of their mission.
+
+At length, after six weeks’ absence, the hunters made their appearance,
+and were received with joy proportioned to the anxiety that had been
+felt on their account. They had hunted with success on the prairie,
+but, while busy drying buffalo meat, were joined by a few panic-stricken
+Flatheads, who informed them that a powerful band of Blackfeet was at
+hand. The hunters immediately abandoned the dangerous hunting ground,
+and accompanied the Flatheads to their village. Here they found Mr.
+Cerre, and the detachment of hunters sent with him to accompany the
+hunting party of the Nez Perces.
+
+After remaining some time at the village, until they supposed the
+Blackfeet to have left the neighborhood, they set off with some of
+Mr. Cerre’s men for the cantonment at Salmon River, where they arrived
+without accident. They informed Captain Bonneville, however, that not
+far from his quarters they had found a wallet of fresh meat and a cord,
+which they supposed had been left by some prowling Blackfeet. A few days
+afterward Mr. Cerre, with the remainder of his men, likewise arrived at
+the cantonment.
+
+Mr. Walker, one of his subleaders, who had gone with a band of twenty
+hunters to range the country just beyond the Horse Prairie, had likewise
+his share of adventures with the all-pervading Blackfeet. At one of his
+encampments the guard stationed to keep watch round the camp grew weary
+of their duty, and feeling a little too secure, and too much at home on
+these prairies, retired to a small grove of willows to amuse themselves
+with a social game of cards called “old sledge,” which is as popular
+among these trampers of the prairies as whist or ecarte among the polite
+circles of the cities. From the midst of their sport they were suddenly
+roused by a discharge of firearms and a shrill war-whoop. Starting on
+their feet, and snatching up their rifles, they beheld in dismay their
+horses and mules already in possession of the enemy, who had stolen upon
+the camp unperceived, while they were spell-bound by the magic of old
+sledge. The Indians sprang upon the animals barebacked, and endeavored
+to urge them off under a galling fire that did some execution. The
+mules, however, confounded by the hurly-burly and disliking their new
+riders kicked up their heels and dismounted half of them, in spite of
+their horsemanship. This threw the rest into confusion; they endeavored
+to protect their unhorsed comrades from the furious assaults of the
+whites; but, after a scene of “confusion worse confounded,” horses and
+mules were abandoned, and the Indians betook themselves to the bushes.
+Here they quickly scratched holes in the earth about two feet deep, in
+which they prostrated themselves, and while thus screened from the shots
+of the white men, were enabled to make such use of their bows and arrows
+and fusees, as to repulse their assailants and to effect their retreat.
+This adventure threw a temporary stigma upon the game of “old sledge.”
+
+In the course of the autumn, four Iroquois hunters, driven by the snow
+from their hunting grounds, made their appearance at the cantonment.
+They were kindly welcomed, and during their sojourn made themselves
+useful in a variety of ways, being excellent trappers and first-rate
+woodsmen. They were of the remnants of a party of Iroquois hunters that
+came from Canada into these mountain regions many years previously,
+in the employ of the Hudson’s Bay Company. They were led by a brave
+chieftain, named Pierre, who fell by the hands of the Blackfeet, and
+gave his name to the fated valley of Pierre’s Hole. This branch of the
+Iroquois tribe has ever since remained among these mountains, at mortal
+enmity with the Blackfeet, and have lost many of their prime hunters in
+their feuds with that ferocious race. Some of them fell in with
+General Ashley, in the course of one of his gallant excursions into the
+wilderness, and have continued ever since in the employ of the company.
+
+Among the motley Visitors to the winter quarters of Captain Bonneville
+was a party of Pends Oreilles (or Hanging-ears) and their chief. These
+Indians have a strong resemblance, in character and customs, to the Nez
+Perces. They amount to about three hundred lodges, are well armed, and
+possess great numbers of horses. During the spring, summer, and autumn,
+they hunt the buffalo about the head-waters of the Missouri, Henry’s
+Fork of the Snake River, and the northern branches of Salmon River.
+Their winter quarters are upon the Racine Amere, where they subsist upon
+roots and dried buffalo meat. Upon this river the Hudson’s Bay Company
+have established a trading post, where the Pends Oreilles and the
+Flatheads bring their peltries to exchange for arms, clothing and
+trinkets.
+
+This tribe, like the Nez Perces, evince strong and peculiar feelings
+of natural piety. Their religion is not a mere superstitious fear, like
+that of most savages; they evince abstract notions of morality; a deep
+reverence for an overruling spirit, and a respect for the rights of
+their fellow men. In one respect their religion partakes of the pacific
+doctrines of the Quakers. They hold that the Great Spirit is displeased
+with all nations who wantonly engage in war; they abstain, therefore,
+from all aggressive hostilities. But though thus unoffending in their
+policy, they are called upon continually to wage defensive warfare;
+especially with the Blackfeet; with whom, in the course of their hunting
+expeditions, they come in frequent collision and have desperate battles.
+Their conduct as warriors is without fear or reproach, and they can
+never be driven to abandon their hunting grounds.
+
+Like most savages they are firm believers in dreams, and in the power
+and efficacy of charms and amulets, or medicines as they term them. Some
+of their braves, also, who have had numerous hairbreadth ‘scapes, like
+the old Nez Perce chief in the battle of Pierre’s Hole, are believed
+to wear a charmed life, and to be bullet-proof. Of these gifted beings
+marvelous anecdotes are related, which are most potently believed
+by their fellow savages, and sometimes almost credited by the white
+hunters.
+
+
+
+
+11.
+
+     Rival trapping parties--Manoeuvring--A desperate game--
+     Vanderburgh and the Blackfeet--Deserted camp fire--A dark
+     defile--An Indian ambush--A fierce melee--Fatal
+     consequences--Fitzpatrick and Bridger--Trappers precautions
+     --Meeting with the Blackfeet--More fighting--Anecdote of a
+     young--Mexican and an Indian girl.
+
+WHILE Captain Bonneville and his men are sojourning among the Nez
+Perces, on Salmon River, we will inquire after the fortunes of those
+doughty rivals of the Rocky Mountains and American Fur Companies, who
+started off for the trapping grounds to the north-northwest.
+
+Fitzpatrick and Bridger, of the former company, as we have already
+shown, having received their supplies, had taken the lead, and hoped
+to have the first sweep of the hunting grounds. Vanderburgh and
+Dripps, however, the two resident partners of the opposite company, by
+extraordinary exertions were enabled soon to put themselves upon their
+traces, and pressed forward with such speed as to overtake them just
+as they had reached the heart of the beaver country. In fact, being
+ignorant of the best trapping grounds, it was their object to follow on,
+and profit by the superior knowledge of the other party.
+
+Nothing could equal the chagrin of Fitzpatrick and Bridger at being
+dogged by their inexperienced rivals, especially after their offer
+to divide the country with them. They tried in every way to blind and
+baffle them; to steal a march upon them, or lead them on a wrong scent;
+but all in vain. Vanderburgh made up by activity and intelligence for
+his ignorance of the country; was always wary, always on the alert;
+discovered every movement of his rivals, however secret and was not to
+be eluded or misled.
+
+Fitzpatrick and his colleague now lost all patience; since the
+others persisted in following them, they determined to give them an
+unprofitable chase, and to sacrifice the hunting season rather than
+share the products with their rivals. They accordingly took up their
+line of march down the course of the Missouri, keeping the main
+Blackfoot trail, and tramping doggedly forward, without stopping to set
+a single trap. The others beat the hoof after them for some time, but
+by degrees began to perceive that they were on a wild-goose chase, and
+getting into a country perfectly barren to the trapper. They now came
+to a halt, and be-thought themselves how to make up for lost time, and
+improve the remainder of the season. It was thought best to divide their
+forces and try different trapping grounds. While Dripps went in one
+direction, Vanderburgh, with about fifty men, proceeded in another.
+The latter, in his headlong march had got into the very heart of the
+Blackfoot country, yet seems to have been unconscious of his danger. As
+his scouts were out one day, they came upon the traces of a recent band
+of savages. There were the deserted fires still smoking, surrounded
+by the carcasses of buffaloes just killed. It was evident a party
+of Blackfeet had been frightened from their hunting camp, and had
+retreated, probably to seek reinforcements. The scouts hastened back to
+the camp, and told Vanderburgh what they had seen. He made light of the
+alarm, and, taking nine men with him, galloped off to reconnoitre for
+himself. He found the deserted hunting camp just as they had represented
+it; there lay the carcasses of buffaloes, partly dismembered; there
+were the smouldering fires, still sending up their wreaths of smoke;
+everything bore traces of recent and hasty retreat; and gave reason to
+believe that the savages were still lurking in the neighborhood. With
+heedless daring, Vanderburgh put himself upon their trail, to trace them
+to their place of concealment: It led him over prairies, and through
+skirts of woodland, until it entered a dark and dangerous ravine.
+Vanderburgh pushed in, without hesitation, followed by his little
+band. They soon found themselves in a gloomy dell, between steep banks
+overhung with trees, where the profound silence was only broken by the
+tramp of their own horses.
+
+Suddenly the horrid war-whoop burst on their ears, mingled with the
+sharp report of rifles, and a legion of savages sprang from their
+concealments, yelling, and shaking their buffalo robes to frighten
+the horses. Vanderburgh’s horse fell, mortally wounded by the first
+discharge. In his fall he pinned his rider to the ground, who called
+in vain upon his men to assist in extricating him. One was shot down
+scalped a few paces distant; most of the others were severely wounded,
+and sought their safety in flight. The savages approached to dispatch
+the unfortunate leader, as he lay struggling beneath his horse.. He
+had still his rifle in his hand and his pistols in his belt. The first
+savage that advanced received the contents of the rifle in his breast,
+and fell dead upon the spot; but before Vanderburgh could draw a pistol,
+a blow from a tomahawk laid him prostrate, and he was dispatched by
+repeated wounds.
+
+Such was the fate of Major Henry Vanderburgh, one of the best and
+worthiest leaders of the American Fur Company, who by his manly bearing
+and dauntless courage is said to have made himself universally popular
+among the bold-hearted rovers of the wilderness.
+
+Those of the little band who escaped fled in consternation to the camp,
+and spread direful reports of the force and ferocity of the enemy. The
+party, being without a head, were in complete confusion and dismay, and
+made a precipitate retreat, without attempting to recover the remains
+of their butchered leader. They made no halt until they reached the
+encampment of the Pends Oreilles, or Hanging-ears, where they offered a
+reward for the recovery of the body, but without success; it never could
+be found.
+
+In the meantime Fitzpatrick and Bridger, of the Rocky Mountain Company,
+fared but little better than their rivals. In their eagerness to
+mislead them they betrayed themselves into danger, and got into a region
+infested with the Blackfeet. They soon found that foes were on the watch
+for them; but they were experienced in Indian warfare, and not to be
+surprised at night, nor drawn into an ambush in the daytime. As the
+evening advanced, the horses were all brought in and picketed, and a
+guard was stationed round the camp. At the earliest streak of day one of
+the leaders would mount his horse, and gallop off full speed for about
+half a mile; then look round for Indian trails, to ascertain whether
+there had been any lurkers round the camp; returning slowly, he would
+reconnoitre every ravine and thicket where there might be an ambush.
+This done, he would gallop off in an opposite direction and repeat the
+same scrutiny. Finding all things safe, the horses would be turned loose
+to graze, but always under the eye of a guard.
+
+A caution equally vigilant was observed in the march, on approaching any
+defile or place where an enemy might lie in wait; and scouts were always
+kept in the advance, or along the ridges and rising grounds on the
+flanks.
+
+At length, one day, a large band of Blackfeet appeared in the open
+field, but in the vicinity of rocks and cliffs. They kept at a wary
+distance, but made friendly signs. The trappers replied in the same way,
+but likewise kept aloof. A small party of Indians now advanced, bearing
+the pipe of peace; they were met by an equal number of white men, and
+they formed a group midway between the two bands, where the pipe was
+circulated from hand to hand, and smoked with all due ceremony. An
+instance of natural affection took place at this pacific meeting.
+Among the free trappers in the Rocky Mountain band was a spirited
+young Mexican named Loretto, who, in the course of his wanderings, had
+ransomed a beautiful Blackfoot girl from a band of Crows by whom she had
+been captured. He made her his wife, after the Indian style, and she had
+followed his fortunes ever since, with the most devoted affection.
+
+Among the Blackfeet warriors who advanced with the calumet of peace she
+recognized a brother. Leaving her infant with Loretto she rushed forward
+and threw herself upon her brother’s neck, who clasped his long-lost
+sister to his heart with a warmth of affection but little compatible
+with the reputed stoicism of the savage.
+
+While this scene was taking place, Bridger left the main body of
+trappers and rode slowly toward the group of smokers, with his rifle
+resting across the pommel of his saddle. The chief of the Blackfeet
+stepped forward to meet him. From some unfortunate feeling of distrust
+Bridger cocked his rifle just as the chief was extending his hand in
+friendship. The quick ear of the savage caught the click of the lock; in
+a twinkling he grasped the barrel, forced the muzzle downward, and the
+contents were discharged into the earth at his feet. His next movement
+was to wrest the weapon from the hand of Bridger and fell him with it to
+the earth. He might have found this no easy task had not the unfortunate
+leader received two arrows in his back during the struggle.
+
+The chief now sprang into the vacant saddle and galloped off to his
+band. A wild hurry-skurry scene ensued; each party took to the banks,
+the rocks and trees, to gain favorable positions, and an irregular
+firing was kept up on either side, without much effect. The Indian girl
+had been hurried off by her people at the outbreak of the affray. She
+would have returned, through the dangers of the fight, to her husband
+and her child, but was prevented by her brother. The young Mexican
+saw her struggles and her agony, and heard her piercing cries. With a
+generous impulse he caught up the child in his arms, rushed forward,
+regardless of Indian shaft or rifle, and placed it in safety upon her
+bosom. Even the savage heart of the Blackfoot chief was reached by this
+noble deed. He pronounced Loretto a madman for his temerity, but bade
+him depart in peace. The young Mexican hesitated; he urged to have his
+wife restored to him, but her brother interfered, and the countenance of
+the chief grew dark. The girl, he said, belonged to his tribe-she must
+remain with her people. Loretto would still have lingered, but his wife
+implored him to depart, lest his life should be endangered. It was with
+the greatest reluctance that he returned to his companions.
+
+The approach of night put an end to the skirmishing fire of the adverse
+parties, and the savages drew off without renewing their hostilities. We
+cannot but remark that both in this affair and that of Pierre’s Hole the
+affray commenced by a hostile act on the part of white men at the moment
+when the Indian warrior was extending the hand of amity. In neither
+instance, as far as circumstances have been stated to us by different
+persons, do we see any reason to suspect the savage chiefs of perfidy in
+their overtures of friendship. They advanced in the confiding way usual
+among Indians when they bear the pipe of peace, and consider themselves
+sacred from attack. If we violate the sanctity of this ceremonial,
+by any hostile movement on our part, it is we who incur the charge of
+faithlessness; and we doubt not that in both these instances the white
+men have been considered by the Blackfeet as the aggressors, and have,
+in consequence, been held up as men not to be trusted.
+
+A word to conclude the romantic incident of Loretto and his Indian
+bride. A few months subsequent to the event just related, the young
+Mexican settled his accounts with the Rocky Mountain Company, and
+obtained his discharge. He then left his comrades and set off to rejoin
+his wife and child among her people; and we understand that, at the time
+we are writing these pages, he resides at a trading-house established of
+late by the American Fur Company in the Blackfoot country, where he acts
+as an interpreter, and has his Indian girl with him.
+
+
+
+
+12.
+
+     A winter camp in the wilderness--Medley of trappers,
+     hunters, and Indians--Scarcity of game--New arrangements in
+     the camp--Detachments sent to a distance--Carelessness of
+     the Indians when encamped--Sickness among the Indians--
+     Excellent character of the Nez-Perces--The Captain’s effort
+     as a pacificator--A Nez-Perce’s argument in favor of war--
+     Robberies, by the Black feet--Long suffering of the Nez-
+     Perces--A hunter’s Elysium among the mountains--More
+     robberies--The Captain preaches up a crusade--The effect
+     upon his hearers.
+
+FOR the greater part of the month of November Captain Bonneville
+remained in his temporary post on Salmon River. He was now in the full
+enjoyment of his wishes; leading a hunter’s life in the heart of the
+wilderness, with all its wild populace around him. Beside his own
+people, motley in character and costume--creole, Kentuckian, Indian,
+half-breed, hired trapper, and free trapper--he was surrounded by
+encampments of Nez Perces and Flatheads, with their droves of horses
+covering the hills and plains. It was, he declares, a wild and bustling
+scene. The hunting parties of white men and red men, continually
+sallying forth and returning; the groups at the various encampments,
+some cooking, some working, some amusing themselves at different games;
+the neighing of horses, the braying of asses, the resounding strokes of
+the axe, the sharp report of the rifle, the whoop, the halloo, and the
+frequent burst of laughter, all in the midst of a region suddenly roused
+from perfect silence and loneliness by this transient hunters’ sojourn,
+realized, he says, the idea of a “populous solitude.”
+
+The kind and genial character of the captain had, evidently, its
+influence on the opposite races thus fortuitously congregated together.
+The most perfect harmony prevailed between them. The Indians, he says,
+were friendly in their dispositions, and honest to the most scrupulous
+degree in their intercourse with the white men. It is true they were
+somewhat importunate in their curiosity, and apt to be continually in
+the way, examining everything with keen and prying eye, and watching
+every movement of the white men. All this, however, was borne with great
+good-humor by the captain, and through his example by his men. Indeed,
+throughout all his transactions he shows himself the friend of the poor
+Indians, and his conduct toward them is above all praise.
+
+The Nez Perces, the Flatheads, and the Hanging-ears pride themselves
+upon the number of their horses, of which they possess more in
+proportion than any other of the mountain tribes within the buffalo
+range. Many of the Indian warriors and hunters encamped around Captain
+Bonneville possess from thirty to forty horses each. Their horses are
+stout, well-built ponies, of great wind, and capable of enduring the
+severest hardship and fatigue. The swiftest of them, however, are those
+obtained from the whites while sufficiently young to become acclimated
+and inured to the rough service of the mountains.
+
+By degrees the populousness of this encampment began to produce its
+inconveniences. The immense droves of horses owned by the Indians
+consumed the herbage of the surrounding hills; while to drive them to
+any distant pasturage, in a neighborhood abounding with lurking and
+deadly enemies, would be to endanger the loss both of man and beast.
+Game, too, began to grow scarce. It was soon hunted and frightened out
+of the vicinity, and though the Indians made a wide circuit through
+the mountains in the hope of driving the buffalo toward the cantonment,
+their expedition was unsuccessful. It was plain that so large a party
+could not subsist themselves there, nor in any one place throughout the
+winter. Captain Bonneville, therefore, altered his whole arrangements.
+He detached fifty men toward the south to winter upon Snake River, and
+to trap about its waters in the spring, with orders to rejoin him in the
+month of July at Horse Creek, in Green River Valley, which he had fixed
+upon as the general rendezvous of his company for the ensuing year.
+
+Of all his late party, he now retained with him merely a small number of
+free trappers, with whom he intended to sojourn among the Nez Perces and
+Flatheads, and adopt the Indian mode of moving with the game and grass.
+Those bands, in effect, shortly afterward broke up their encampments
+and set off for a less beaten neighborhood. Captain Bonneville remained
+behind for a few days, that he might secretly prepare caches, in which
+to deposit everything not required for current use. Thus lightened
+of all superfluous encumbrance, he set off on the 20th of November to
+rejoin his Indian allies. He found them encamped in a secluded part of
+the country, at the head of a small stream. Considering themselves
+out of all danger in this sequestered spot from their old enemies, the
+Blackfeet, their encampment manifested the most negligent security.
+Their lodges were scattered in every direction, and their horses covered
+every hill for a great distance round, grazing upon the upland bunch
+grass which grew in great abundance, and though dry, retained its
+nutritious properties instead of losing them like other grasses in the
+autumn.
+
+When the Nez Perces, Flatheads, and Pends Oreilles are encamped in a
+dangerous neighborhood, says Captain Bonneville, the greatest care
+is taken of their horses, those prime articles of Indian wealth, and
+objects of Indian depredation. Each warrior has his horse tied by one
+foot at night to a stake planted before his lodge. Here they remain
+until broad daylight; by that time the young men of the camp are already
+ranging over the surrounding hills. Each family then drives its horses
+to some eligible spot, where they are left to graze unattended. A young
+Indian repairs occasionally to the pasture to give them water, and to
+see that all is well. So accustomed are the horses to this management,
+that they keep together in the pasture where they have been left. As
+the sun sinks behind the hills, they may be seen moving from all points
+toward the camp, where they surrender themselves to be tied up for the
+night. Even in situations of danger, the Indians rarely set guards over
+their camp at night, intrusting that office entirely to their vigilant
+and well-trained dogs.
+
+In an encampment, however, of such fancied security as that in which
+Captain Bonneville found his Indian friends, much of these precautions
+with respect to their horses are omitted. They merely drive them, at
+nightfall, to some sequestered little dell, and leave them there, at
+perfect liberty, until the morning.
+
+One object of Captain Bonneville in wintering among these Indians was
+to procure a supply of horses against the spring. They were, however,
+extremely unwilling to part with any, and it was with great difficulty
+that he purchased, at the rate of twenty dollars each, a few for the use
+of some of his free trappers who were on foot and dependent on him for
+their equipment.
+
+In this encampment Captain Bonneville remained from the 21st of November
+to the 9th of December. During this period the thermometer ranged from
+thirteen to forty-two degrees. There were occasional falls of snow; but
+it generally melted away almost immediately, and the tender blades
+of new grass began to shoot up among the old. On the 7th of December,
+however, the thermometer fell to seven degrees.
+
+The reader will recollect that, on distributing his forces when in
+Green River Valley, Captain Bonneville had detached a party, headed by
+a leader of the name of Matthieu, with all the weak and disabled horses,
+to sojourn about Bear River, meet the Shoshonie bands, and afterward to
+rejoin him at his winter camp on Salmon River.
+
+More than sufficient time had elapsed, yet Matthieu failed to make his
+appearance, and uneasiness began to be felt on his account. Captain
+Bonneville sent out four men, to range the country through which he
+would have to pass, and endeavor to get some information concerning
+him; for his route lay across the great Snake River plain, which spreads
+itself out like an Arabian desert, and on which a cavalcade could be
+descried at a great distance. The scouts soon returned, having proceeded
+no further than the edge of the plain, pretending that their horses were
+lame; but it was evident they had feared to venture, with so small a
+force, into these exposed and dangerous regions.
+
+A disease, which Captain Bonneville supposed to be pneumonia, now
+appeared among the Indians, carrying off numbers of them after an
+illness of three or four days. The worthy captain acted as physician,
+prescribing profuse sweatings and copious bleedings, and uniformly with
+success, if the patient were subsequently treated with proper care. In
+extraordinary cases, the poor savages called in the aid of their own
+doctors or conjurors, who officiated with great noise and mummery, but
+with little benefit. Those who died during this epidemic were buried in
+graves, after the manner of the whites, but without any regard to the
+direction of the head. It is a fact worthy of notice that, while this
+malady made such ravages among the natives, not a single white man had
+the slightest symptom of it.
+
+A familiar intercourse of some standing with the Pierced-nose and
+Flathead Indians had now convinced Captain Bonneville of their amicable
+and inoffensive character; he began to take a strong interest in them,
+and conceived the idea of becoming a pacificator, and healing the deadly
+feud between them and the Blackfeet, in which they were so deplorably
+the sufferers. He proposed the matter to some of the leaders, and
+urged that they should meet the Blackfeet chiefs in a grand pacific
+conference, offering to send two of his men to the enemy’s camp with
+pipe, tobacco and flag of truce, to negotiate the proposed meeting.
+
+The Nez Perces and Flathead sages upon this held a council of war of two
+days’ duration, in which there was abundance of hard smoking and long
+talking, and both eloquence and tobacco were nearly exhausted. At length
+they came to a decision to reject the worthy captain’s proposition, and
+upon pretty substantial grounds, as the reader may judge.
+
+“War,” said the chiefs, “is a bloody business, and full of evil; but
+it keeps the eyes of the chiefs always open, and makes the limbs of the
+young men strong and supple. In war, every one is on the alert. If we
+see a trail we know it must be an enemy; if the Blackfeet come to us, we
+know it is for war, and we are ready. Peace, on the other hand, sounds
+no alarm; the eyes of the chiefs are closed in sleep, and the young men
+are sleek and lazy. The horses stray into the mountains; the women and
+their little babes go about alone. But the heart of a Blackfoot is a
+lie, and his tongue is a trap. If he says peace it is to deceive; he
+comes to us as a brother; he smokes his pipe with us; but when he sees
+us weak, and off our guard, he will slay and steal. We will have no such
+peace; let there be war!”
+
+With this reasoning Captain Bonneville was fain to acquiesce; but, since
+the sagacious Flatheads and their allies were content to remain in
+a state of warfare, he wished them at least to exercise the boasted
+vigilance which war was to produce, and to keep their eyes open. He
+represented to them the impossibility that two such considerable clans
+could move about the country without leaving trails by which they might
+be traced. Besides, among the Blackfeet braves were several Nez Perces,
+who had been taken prisoners in early youth, adopted by their captors,
+and trained up and imbued with warlike and predatory notions; these had
+lost all sympathies with their native tribe, and would be prone to lead
+the enemy to their secret haunts. He exhorted them, therefore, to keep
+upon the alert, and never to remit their vigilance while within the
+range of so crafty and cruel a foe. All these counsels were lost upon
+his easy and simple-minded hearers. A careless indifference reigned
+throughout their encampments, and their horses were permitted to range
+the hills at night in perfect freedom. Captain Bonneville had his own
+horses brought in at night, and properly picketed and guarded. The
+evil he apprehended soon took place. In a single night a swoop was made
+through the neighboring pastures by the Blackfeet, and eighty-six of the
+finest horses carried off. A whip and a rope were left in a conspicuous
+situation by the robbers, as a taunt to the simpletons they had
+unhorsed.
+
+Long before sunrise the news of this calamity spread like wildfire
+through the different encampments. Captain Bonneville, whose own horses
+remained safe at their pickets, watched in momentary expectation of an
+outbreak of warriors, Pierced-nose and Flathead, in furious pursuit
+of the marauders; but no such thing--they contented themselves with
+searching diligently over hill and dale, to glean up such horses as
+had escaped the hands of the marauders, and then resigned themselves to
+their loss with the most exemplary quiescence.
+
+Some, it is true, who were entirely unhorsed, set out on a begging visit
+to their cousins, as they called them, the Lower Nez Perces, who inhabit
+the lower country about the Columbia, and possess horses in abundance.
+To these they repair when in difficulty, and seldom fail, by dint of
+begging and bartering, to get themselves once more mounted on horseback.
+
+Game had now become scarce in the neighborhood of the camp, and it was
+necessary, according to Indian custom, to move off to a less beaten
+ground. Captain Bonneville proposed the Horse Prairie; but his Indian
+friends objected that many of the Nez Perces had gone to visit their
+cousins, and that the whites were few in number, so that their united
+force was not sufficient to Venture upon the buffalo grounds, which were
+infested by bands of Blackfeet.
+
+They now spoke of a place at no great distance, which they represented
+as a perfect hunter’s elysium. It was on the right branch, or head
+stream of the river, locked up among cliffs and precipices where there
+was no danger from roving bands, and where the Blackfeet dare not enter.
+Here, they said, the elk abounded, and the mountain sheep were to be
+seen trooping upon the rocks and hills. A little distance beyond it,
+also, herds of buffalo were to be met with, Out of range of danger.
+Thither they proposed to move their camp.
+
+The proposition pleased the captain, who was desirous, through the
+Indians, of becoming acquainted with all the secret places of the land.
+Accordingly, on the 9th of December, they struck their tents, and moved
+forward by short stages, as many of the Indians were yet feeble from the
+late malady.
+
+Following up the right fork of the river they came to where it entered
+a deep gorge of the mountains, up which lay the secluded region so much
+valued by the Indians. Captain Bonneville halted and encamped for three
+days before entering the gorge. In the meantime he detached five of
+his free trappers to scour the hills, and kill as many elk as possible,
+before the main body should enter, as they would then be soon frightened
+away by the various Indian hunting parties.
+
+While thus encamped, they were still liable to the marauds of the
+Blackfeet, and Captain Bonneville admonished his Indian friends to be
+upon their guard. The Nez Perces, however, notwithstanding their recent
+loss, were still careless of their horses; merely driving them to some
+secluded spot, and leaving them there for the night, without setting any
+guard upon them. The consequence was a second swoop, in which forty-one
+were carried off. This was borne with equal philosophy with the
+first, and no effort was made either to recover the horses, or to take
+vengeance on the thieves.
+
+The Nez Perces, however, grew more cautious with respect to their
+remaining horses, driving them regularly to the camp every evening, and
+fastening them to pickets. Captain Bonneville, however, told them that
+this was not enough. It was evident they were dogged by a daring and
+persevering enemy, who was encouraged by past impunity; they should,
+therefore, take more than usual precautions, and post a guard at night
+over their cavalry. They could not, however, be persuaded to depart from
+their usual custom. The horse once picketed, the care of the owner was
+over for the night, and he slept profoundly. None waked in the camp but
+the gamblers, who, absorbed in their play, were more difficult to be
+roused to external circumstances than even the sleepers.
+
+The Blackfeet are bold enemies, and fond of hazardous exploits. The band
+that were hovering about the neighborhood, finding that they had such
+pacific people to deal with, redoubled their daring. The horses being
+now picketed before the lodges, a number of Blackfeet scouts penetrated
+in the early part of the night into the very centre of the camp. Here
+they went about among the lodges as calmly and deliberately as if at
+home, quietly cutting loose the horses that stood picketed by the lodges
+of their sleeping owners. One of these prowlers, more adventurous than
+the rest, approached a fire round which a group of Nez Perces were
+gambling with the most intense eagerness. Here he stood for some time,
+muffled up in his robe, peering over the shoulders of the players,
+watching the changes of their countenances and the fluctuations of
+the game. So completely engrossed were they, that the presence of this
+muffled eaves-dropper was unnoticed and, having executed his bravado, he
+retired undiscovered.
+
+Having cut loose as many horses as they could conveniently carry off,
+the Blackfeet scouts rejoined their comrades, and all remained patiently
+round the camp. By degrees the horses, finding themselves at liberty,
+took their route toward their customary grazing ground. As they emerged
+from the camp they were silently taken possession of, until, having
+secured about thirty, the Blackfeet sprang on their backs and scampered
+off. The clatter of hoofs startled the gamblers from their game. They
+gave the alarm, which soon roused the sleepers from every lodge. Still
+all was quiescent; no marshalling of forces, no saddling of steeds
+and dashing off in pursuit, no talk of retribution for their repeated
+outrages. The patience of Captain Bonneville was at length exhausted. He
+had played the part of a pacificator without success; he now altered his
+tone, and resolved, if possible, to rouse their war spirit.
+
+Accordingly, convoking their chiefs, he inveighed against their craven
+policy, and urged the necessity of vigorous and retributive measures
+that would check the confidence and presumption of their enemies, if
+not inspire them with awe. For this purpose, he advised that a war party
+should be immediately sent off on the trail of the marauders, to follow
+them, if necessary, into the very heart of the Blackfoot country, and
+not to leave them until they had taken signal vengeance. Beside this, he
+recommended the organization of minor war parties, to make reprisals to
+the extent of the losses sustained. “Unless you rouse yourselves from
+your apathy,” said he, “and strike some bold and decisive blow, you will
+cease to be considered men, or objects of manly warfare. The very squaws
+and children of the Blackfeet will be set against you, while their
+warriors reserve themselves for nobler antagonists.”
+
+This harangue had evidently a momentary effect upon the pride of the
+hearers. After a short pause, however, one of the orators arose. It was
+bad, he said, to go to war for mere revenge. The Great Spirit had given
+them a heart for peace, not for war. They had lost horses, it was true,
+but they could easily get others from their cousins, the Lower Nez
+Perces, without incurring any risk; whereas, in war they should lose
+men, who were not so readily replaced. As to their late losses, an
+increased watchfulness would prevent any more misfortunes of the kind.
+He disapproved, therefore, of all hostile measures; and all the other
+chiefs concurred in his opinion.
+
+Captain Bonneville again took up the point. “It is true,” said he, “the
+Great Spirit has given you a heart to love your friends; but he has
+also given you an arm to strike your enemies. Unless you do something
+speedily to put an end to this continual plundering, I must say
+farewell. As yet I have sustained no loss; thanks to the precautions
+which you have slighted; but my property is too unsafe here; my turn
+will come next; I and my people will share the contempt you are bringing
+upon yourselves, and will be thought, like you, poor-spirited beings,
+who may at any time be plundered with impunity.”
+
+The conference broke up with some signs of excitement on the part of
+the Indians. Early the next morning, a party of thirty men set off in
+pursuit of the foe, and Captain Bonneville hoped to hear a good account
+of the Blackfeet marauders. To his disappointment, the war party came
+lagging back on the following day, leading a few old, sorry, broken-down
+horses, which the free-booters had not been able to urge to sufficient
+speed. This effort exhausted the martial spirit, and satisfied the
+wounded pride of the Nez Perces, and they relapsed into their usual
+state of passive indifference.
+
+
+
+
+13.
+
+     Story of Kosato, the Renegade Blackfoot.
+
+IF the meekness and long-suffering of the Pierced-noses grieved the
+spirit of Captain Bonneville, there was another individual in the camp
+to whom they were still more annoying. This was a Blackfoot renegado,
+named Kosato, a fiery hot-blooded youth who, with a beautiful girl of
+the same tribe, had taken refuge among the Nez Perces. Though adopted
+into the tribe, he still retained the warlike spirit of his race,
+and loathed the peaceful, inoffensive habits of those around him. The
+hunting of the deer, the elk, and the buffalo, which was the height of
+their ambition, was too tame to satisfy his wild and restless nature.
+His heart burned for the foray, the ambush, the skirmish, the scamper,
+and all the haps and hazards of roving and predatory warfare.
+
+The recent hoverings of the Blackfeet about the camp, their nightly
+prowls and daring and successful marauds, had kept him in a fever and
+a flutter, like a hawk in a cage who hears his late companions swooping
+and screaming in wild liberty above him. The attempt of Captain
+Bonneville to rouse the war spirit of the Nez Perces, and prompt them
+to retaliation, was ardently seconded by Kosato. For several days he
+was incessantly devising schemes of vengeance, and endeavoring to set
+on foot an expedition that should carry dismay and desolation into the
+Blackfeet town. All his art was exerted to touch upon those springs
+of human action with which he was most familiar. He drew the listening
+savages round him by his nervous eloquence; taunted them with recitals
+of past wrongs and insults; drew glowing pictures of triumphs and
+trophies within their reach; recounted tales of daring and romantic
+enterprise, of secret marchings, covert lurkings, midnight surprisals,
+sackings, burnings, plunderings, scalpings; together with the triumphant
+return, and the feasting and rejoicing of the victors. These wild tales
+were intermingled with the beating of the drum, the yell, the war-whoop
+and the war-dance, so inspiring to Indian valor. All, however, were
+lost upon the peaceful spirits of his hearers; not a Nez Perce was to be
+roused to vengeance, or stimulated to glorious war. In the bitterness
+of his heart, the Blackfoot renegade repined at the mishap which had
+severed him from a race of congenial spirits, and driven him to take
+refuge among beings so destitute of martial fire.
+
+The character and conduct of this man attracted the attention of Captain
+Bonneville, and he was anxious to hear the reason why he had deserted
+his tribe, and why he looked back upon them with such deadly hostility.
+Kosato told him his own story briefly: it gives a picture of the deep,
+strong passions that work in the bosoms of these miscalled stoics.
+
+“You see my wife,” said he, “she is good; she is beautiful--I love her.
+Yet she has been the cause of all my troubles. She was the wife of
+my chief. I loved her more than he did; and she knew it. We talked
+together; we laughed together; we were always seeking each other’s
+society; but we were as innocent as children. The chief grew jealous,
+and commanded her to speak with me no more. His heart became hard toward
+her; his jealousy grew more furious. He beat her without cause and
+without mercy; and threatened to kill her outright if she even looked at
+me. Do you want traces of his fury? Look at that scar! His rage against
+me was no less persecuting. War parties of the Crows were hovering
+round us; our young men had seen their trail. All hearts were roused for
+action; my horses were before my lodge. Suddenly the chief came, took
+them to his own pickets, and called them his own. What could I do? he
+was a chief. I durst not speak, but my heart was burning. I joined no
+longer in the council, the hunt, or the war-feast. What had I to do
+there? an unhorsed, degraded warrior. I kept by myself, and thought of
+nothing but these wrongs and outrages.
+
+“I was sitting one evening upon a knoll that overlooked the meadow where
+the horses were pastured. I saw the horses that were once mine grazing
+among those of the chief. This maddened me, and I sat brooding for a
+time over the injuries I had suffered, and the cruelties which she I
+loved had endured for my sake, until my heart swelled and grew sore, and
+my teeth were clinched. As I looked down upon the meadow I saw the chief
+walking among his horses. I fastened my eyes upon him as a hawk’s; my
+blood boiled; I drew my breath hard. He went among the willows. In an
+instant I was on my feet; my hand was on my knife--I flew rather than
+ran--before he was aware I sprang upon him, and with two blows laid him
+dead at my feet. I covered his body with earth, and strewed bushes over
+the place; then I hastened to her I loved, told her what I had done, and
+urged her to fly with me. She only answered me with tears. I reminded
+her of the wrongs I had suffered, and of the blows and stripes she had
+endured from the deceased; I had done nothing but an act of justice. I
+again urged her to fly; but she only wept the more, and bade me go. My
+heart was heavy, but my eyes were dry. I folded my arms. ‘’Tis well,’
+said I; ‘Kosato will go alone to the desert. None will be with him but
+the wild beasts of the desert. The seekers of blood may follow on his
+trail. They may come upon him when he sleeps and glut their revenge; but
+you will be safe. Kosato will go alone.’
+
+“I turned away. She sprang after me, and strained me in her arms. ‘No,’
+she cried, ‘Kosato shall not go alone! Wherever he goes I will go--he
+shall never part from me.’
+
+“We hastily took in our hands such things as we most needed, and
+stealing quietly from the village, mounted the first horses we
+encountered. Speeding day and night, we soon reached this tribe. They
+received us with welcome, and we have dwelt with them in peace. They
+are good and kind; they are honest; but their hearts are the hearts of
+women.”
+
+Such was the story of Kosato, as related by him to Captain Bonneville.
+It is of a kind that often occurs in Indian life; where love elopements
+from tribe to tribe are as frequent as among the novel-read heroes and
+heroines of sentimental civilization, and often give rise to bloods and
+lasting feuds.
+
+
+
+
+14.
+
+     The party enters the mountain gorge--A wild fastness among
+     hills--Mountain mutton--Peace and plenty--The amorous
+     trapper-A piebald wedding--A free trapper’s wife--Her gala
+     equipments--Christmas in the wilderness.
+
+ON the 19th of December Captain Bonneville and his confederate Indians
+raised their camp, and entered the narrow gorge made by the north fork
+of Salmon River. Up this lay the secure and plenteous hunting region so
+temptingly described by the Indians.
+
+Since leaving Green River the plains had invariably been of loose sand
+or coarse gravel, and the rocky formation of the mountains of primitive
+limestone. The rivers, in general, were skirted with willows and bitter
+cottonwood trees, and the prairies covered with wormwood. In the hollow
+breast of the mountains which they were now penetrating, the surrounding
+heights were clothed with pine; while the declivities of the lower hills
+afforded abundance of bunch grass for the horses.
+
+As the Indians had represented, they were now in a natural fastness of
+the mountains, the ingress and egress of which was by a deep gorge, so
+narrow, rugged, and difficult as to prevent secret approach or rapid
+retreat, and to admit of easy defence. The Blackfeet, therefore,
+refrained from venturing in after the Nez Perces, awaiting a better
+chance, when they should once more emerge into the open country.
+
+Captain Bonneville soon found that the Indians had not exaggerated the
+advantages of this region. Besides the numerous gangs of elk, large
+flocks of the ahsahta or bighorn, the mountain sheep, were to be
+seen bounding among the precipices. These simple animals were easily
+circumvented and destroyed. A few hunters may surround a flock and kill
+as many as they please. Numbers were daily brought into camp, and the
+flesh of those which were young and fat was extolled as superior to the
+finest mutton.
+
+Here, then, there was a cessation from toil, from hunger, and alarm.
+Past ills and dangers were forgotten. The hunt, the game, the song, the
+story, the rough though good-humored joke, made time pass joyously away,
+and plenty and security reigned throughout the camp.
+
+Idleness and ease, it is said, lead to love, and love to matrimony,
+in civilized life, and the same process takes place in the wilderness.
+Filled with good cheer and mountain mutton, one of the free trappers
+began to repine at the solitude of his lodge, and to experience the
+force of that great law of nature, “it is not meet for man to live
+alone.”
+
+After a night of grave cogitation he repaired to Kowsoter, the
+Pierced-nose chief, and unfolded to him the secret workings of his
+bosom.
+
+“I want,” said he, “a wife. Give me one from among your tribe. Not a
+young, giddy-pated girl, that will think of nothing but flaunting and
+finery, but a sober, discreet, hard-working squaw; one that will share
+my lot without flinching, however hard it may be; that can take care of
+my lodge, and be a companion and a helpmate to me in the wilderness.”
+ Kowsoter promised to look round among the females of his tribe, and
+procure such a one as he desired. Two days were requisite for the
+search. At the expiration of these, Kowsoter, called at his lodge, and
+informed him that he would bring his bride to him in the course of
+the afternoon. He kept his word. At the appointed time he approached,
+leading the bride, a comely copper-colored dame attired in her Indian
+finery. Her father, mother, brothers by the half dozen and cousins by
+the score, all followed on to grace the ceremony and greet the new and
+important relative.
+
+The trapper received his new and numerous family connection with proper
+solemnity; he placed his bride beside him, and, filling the pipe, the
+great symbol of peace, with his best tobacco, took two or three whiffs,
+then handed it to the chief who transferred it to the father of the
+bride, from whom it was passed on from hand to hand and mouth to mouth
+of the whole circle of kinsmen round the fire, all maintaining the most
+profound and becoming silence.
+
+After several pipes had been filled and emptied in this solemn
+ceremonial, the chief addressed the bride, detailing at considerable
+length the duties of a wife which, among Indians, are little less
+onerous than those of the pack-horse; this done, he turned to her
+friends and congratulated them upon the great alliance she had made.
+They showed a due sense of their good fortune, especially when the
+nuptial presents came to be distributed among the chiefs and relatives,
+amounting to about one hundred and eighty dollars. The company soon
+retired, and now the worthy trapper found indeed that he had no green
+girl to deal with; for the knowing dame at once assumed the style and
+dignity of a trapper’s wife: taking possession of the lodge as her
+undisputed empire, arranging everything according to her own taste and
+habitudes, and appearing as much at home and on as easy terms with the
+trapper as if they had been man and wife for years.
+
+We have already given a picture of a free trapper and his horse, as
+furnished by Captain Bonneville: we shall here subjoin, as a companion
+picture, his description of a free trapper’s wife, that the reader
+may have a correct idea of the kind of blessing the worthy hunter in
+question had invoked to solace him in the wilderness.
+
+“The free trapper, while a bachelor, has no greater pet than his horse;
+but the moment he takes a wife (a sort of brevet rank in matrimony
+occasionally bestowed upon some Indian fair one, like the heroes of
+ancient chivalry in the open field), he discovers that he has a still
+more fanciful and capricious animal on which to lavish his expenses.
+
+“No sooner does an Indian belle experience this promotion, than all her
+notions at once rise and expand to the dignity of her situation, and the
+purse of her lover, and his credit into the bargain, are taxed to the
+utmost to fit her out in becoming style. The wife of a free trapper to
+be equipped and arrayed like any ordinary and undistinguished squaw?
+Perish the grovelling thought! In the first place, she must have a horse
+for her own riding; but no jaded, sorry, earth-spirited hack, such as
+is sometimes assigned by an Indian husband for the transportation of his
+squaw and her pappooses: the wife of a free trader must have the
+most beautiful animal she can lay her eyes on. And then, as to his
+decoration: headstall, breast-bands, saddle and crupper are lavishly
+embroidered with beads, and hung with thimbles, hawks’ bells, and
+bunches of ribbons. From each side of the saddle hangs an esquimoot,
+a sort of pocket, in which she bestows the residue of her trinkets and
+nick-nacks, which cannot be crowded on the decoration of her horse or
+herself. Over this she folds, with great care, a drapery of scarlet and
+bright-colored calicoes, and now considers the caparison of her steed
+complete.
+
+“As to her own person, she is even still more extravagant. Her hair,
+esteemed beautiful in proportion to its length, is carefully plaited,
+and made to fall with seeming negligence over either breast. Her
+riding hat is stuck full of parti-colored feathers; her robe, fashioned
+somewhat after that of the whites, is of red, green, and sometimes
+gray cloth, but always of the finest texture that can be procured.
+Her leggings and moccasins are of the most beautiful and expensive
+workman-ship, and fitted neatly to the foot and ankle, which with the
+Indian woman are generally well formed and delicate. Then as to jewelry:
+in the way of finger-rings, ear-rings, necklaces, and other female
+glories, nothing within reach of the trapper’s means is omitted that can
+tend to impress the beholder with an idea of the lady’s high estate. To
+finish the whole, she selects from among her blankets of various dyes
+one of some glowing color, and throwing it over her shoulders with a
+native grace, vaults into the saddle of her gay, prancing steed, and
+is ready to follow her mountaineer ‘to the last gasp with love and
+loyalty.’”
+
+Such is the general picture of the free trapper’s wife, given by Captain
+Bonneville; how far it applied in its details to the one in question
+does not altogether appear, though it would seem from the outset of her
+connubial career, that she was ready to avail herself of all the pomp
+and circumstance of her new condition. It is worthy of mention that
+wherever there are several wives of free trappers in a camp, the keenest
+rivalry exists between them, to the sore detriment of their husbands’
+purses. Their whole time is expended and their ingenuity tasked by
+endeavors to eclipse each other in dress and decoration. The jealousies
+and heart-burnings thus occasioned among these so-styled children of
+nature are equally intense with those of the rival leaders of style and
+fashion in the luxurious abodes of civilized life.
+
+The genial festival of Christmas, which throughout all Christendom
+lights up the fireside of home with mirth and jollity, followed hard
+upon the wedding just described. Though far from kindred and friends,
+Captain Bonneville and his handful of free trappers were not disposed
+to suffer the festival to pass unenjoyed; they were in a region of good
+cheer, and were disposed to be joyous; so it was determined to “light
+up the yule clog,” and celebrate a merry Christmas in the heart of the
+wilderness.
+
+On Christmas eve, accordingly, they began their rude fetes and
+rejoicings. In the course of the night the free trappers surrounded the
+lodge of the Pierced-nose chief and in lieu of Christmas carols, saluted
+him with a feude joie.
+
+Kowsoter received it in a truly Christian spirit, and after a speech, in
+which he expressed his high gratification at the honor done him, invited
+the whole company to a feast on the following day. His invitation was
+gladly accepted. A Christmas dinner in the wigwam of an Indian chief!
+There was novelty in the idea. Not one failed to be present. The banquet
+was served up in primitive style: skins of various kinds, nicely dressed
+for the occasion, were spread upon the ground; upon these were heaped up
+abundance of venison, elk meat, and mountain mutton, with various bitter
+roots which the Indians use as condiments.
+
+After a short prayer, the company all seated themselves cross-legged, in
+Turkish fashion, to the banquet, which passed off with great hilarity.
+After which various games of strength and agility by both white men and
+Indians closed the Christmas festivities.
+
+
+
+
+15.
+
+     A hunt after hunters--Hungry times--A voracious repast--
+     Wintry weather--Godin’s River--Splendid winter scene on the
+     great--Lava Plain of Snake River--Severe travelling and
+     tramping in the snow--Manoeuvres of a solitary Indian
+     horseman--Encampment on Snake River--Banneck Indians--The
+     horse chief--His charmed life.
+
+THE continued absence of Matthieu and his party had, by this time,
+caused great uneasiness in the mind of Captain Bonneville; and, finding
+there was no dependence to be placed upon the perseverance and courage
+of scouting parties in so perilous a quest, he determined to set
+out himself on the search, and to keep on until he should ascertain
+something of the object of his solicitude.
+
+Accordingly on the 20th December he left the camp, accompanied by
+thirteen stark trappers and hunters, all well mounted and armed for
+dangerous enterprise. On the following morning they passed out at the
+head of the mountain gorge and sallied forth into the open plain. As
+they confidently expected a brush with the Blackfeet, or some other
+predatory horde, they moved with great circumspection, and kept vigilant
+watch in their encampments.
+
+In the course of another day they left the main branch of Salmon River,
+and proceeded south toward a pass called John Day’s defile. It was
+severe and arduous travelling. The plains were swept by keen and bitter
+blasts of wintry wind; the ground was generally covered with snow, game
+was scarce, so that hunger generally prevailed in the camp, while the
+want of pasturage soon began to manifest itself in the declining vigor
+of the horses.
+
+The party had scarcely encamped on the afternoon of the 28th, when two
+of the hunters who had sallied forth in quest of game came galloping
+back in great alarm. While hunting they had perceived a party of
+savages, evidently manoeuvring to cut them off from the camp; and
+nothing had saved them from being entrapped but the speed of their
+horses.
+
+These tidings struck dismay into the camp. Captain Bonneville endeavored
+to reassure his men by representing the position of their encampment,
+and its capability of defence. He then ordered the horses to be driven
+in and picketed, and threw up a rough breastwork of fallen trunks of
+trees and the vegetable rubbish of the wilderness. Within this barrier
+was maintained a vigilant watch throughout the night, which passed away
+without alarm. At early dawn they scrutinized the surrounding plain, to
+discover whether any enemies had been lurking about during the night;
+not a foot-print, however, was to be discovered in the coarse gravel
+with which the plain was covered.
+
+Hunger now began to cause more uneasiness than the apprehensions of
+surrounding enemies. After marching a few miles they encamped at the
+foot of a mountain, in hopes of finding buffalo. It was not until the
+next day that they discovered a pair of fine bulls on the edge of the
+plain, among rocks and ravines. Having now been two days and a half
+without a mouthful of food, they took especial care that these animals
+should not escape them. While some of the surest marksmen advanced
+cautiously with their rifles into the rough ground, four of the best
+mounted horsemen took their stations in the plain, to run the bulls down
+should they only be maimed.
+
+The buffalo were wounded and set off in headlong flight. The
+half-famished horses were too weak to overtake them on the frozen
+ground, but succeeded in driving them on the ice, where they slipped
+and fell, and were easily dispatched. The hunters loaded themselves with
+beef for present and future supply, and then returned and encamped
+at the last nights’s fire. Here they passed the remainder of the day,
+cooking and eating with a voracity proportioned to previous starvation,
+forgetting in the hearty revel of the moment the certain dangers with
+which they were environed.
+
+The cravings of hunger being satisfied, they now began to debate about
+their further progress. The men were much disheartened by the hardships
+they had already endured. Indeed, two who had been in the rear guard,
+taking advantage of their position, had deserted and returned to the
+lodges of the Nez Perces. The prospect ahead was enough to stagger the
+stoutest heart. They were in the dead of winter. As far as the eye
+could reach the wild landscape was wrapped in snow, which was evidently
+deepening as they advanced. Over this they would have to toil, with the
+icy wind blowing in their faces: their horses might give out through
+want of pasturage, and they themselves must expect intervals of horrible
+famine like that they had already experienced.
+
+With Captain Bonneville, however, perseverance was a matter of pride;
+and, having undertaken this enterprise, nothing could turn him back
+until it was accomplished: though he declares that, had he anticipated
+the difficulties and sufferings which attended it, he should have
+flinched from the undertaking.
+
+Onward, therefore, the little band urged their way, keeping along the
+course of a stream called John Day’s Creek. The cold was so intense that
+they had frequently to dismount and travel on foot, lest they should
+freeze in their saddles. The days which at this season are short enough
+even in the open prairies, were narrowed to a few hours by the high
+mountains, which allowed the travellers but a brief enjoyment of the
+cheering rays of the sun. The snow was generally at least twenty inches
+in depth, and in many places much more: those who dismounted had to beat
+their way with toilsome steps. Eight miles were considered a good day’s
+journey. The horses were almost famished; for the herbage was covered by
+the deep snow, so that they had nothing to subsist upon but scanty wisps
+of the dry bunch grass which peered above the surface, and the small
+branches and twigs of frozen willows and wormwood.
+
+In this way they urged their slow and painful course to the south down
+John Day’s Creek, until it lost itself in a swamp. Here they encamped
+upon the ice among stiffened willows, where they were obliged to beat
+down and clear away the snow to procure pasturage for their horses.
+
+Hence they toiled on to Godin River; so called after an Iroquois hunter
+in the service of Sublette, who was murdered there by the Blackfeet.
+Many of the features of this remote wilderness are thus named after
+scenes of violence and bloodshed that occurred to the early pioneers. It
+was an act of filial vengeance on the part of Godin’s son Antoine that,
+as the reader may recollect, brought on the recent battle at Pierre’s
+Hole.
+
+From Godin’s River, Captain Bonneville and his followers came out upon
+the plain of the Three Butes, so called from three singular and isolated
+hills that rise from the midst. It is a part of the great desert of
+Snake River, one of the most remarkable tracts beyond the mountains.
+Could they have experienced a respite from their sufferings and
+anxieties, the immense landscape spread out before them was calculated
+to inspire admiration. Winter has its beauties and glories as well as
+summer; and Captain Bonneville had the soul to appreciate them.
+
+Far away, says he, over the vast plains, and up the steep sides of the
+lofty mountains, the snow lay spread in dazzling whiteness: and whenever
+the sun emerged in the morning above the giant peaks, or burst forth
+from among clouds in his midday course, mountain and dell, glazed rock
+and frosted tree, glowed and sparkled with surpassing lustre. The tall
+pines seemed sprinkled with a silver dust, and the willows, studded with
+minute icicles reflecting the prismatic rays, brought to mind the fairy
+trees conjured up by the caliph’s story-teller to adorn his vale of
+diamonds.
+
+The poor wanderers, however, nearly starved with hunger and cold, were
+in no mood to enjoy the glories of these brilliant scenes; though they
+stamped pictures on their memory which have been recalled with delight
+in more genial situations.
+
+Encamping at the west Bute, they found a place swept by the winds, so
+that it was bare of snow, and there was abundance of bunch grass. Here
+the horses were turned loose to graze throughout the night. Though for
+once they had ample pasturage, yet the keen winds were so intense that,
+in the morning, a mule was found frozen to death. The trappers gathered
+round and mourned over him as over a cherished friend. They feared their
+half-famished horses would soon share his fate, for there seemed scarce
+blood enough left in their veins to withstand the freezing cold. To beat
+the way further through the snow with these enfeebled animals seemed
+next to impossible; and despondency began to creep over their hearts,
+when, fortunately, they discovered a trail made by some hunting party.
+Into this they immediately entered, and proceeded with less difficulty.
+Shortly afterward, a fine buffalo bull came bounding across the snow and
+was instantly brought down by the hunters. A fire was soon blazing and
+crackling, and an ample repast soon cooked, and sooner dispatched; after
+which they made some further progress and then encamped. One of the men
+reached the camp nearly frozen to death; but good cheer and a blazing
+fire gradually restored life, and put his blood in circulation.
+
+Having now a beaten path, they proceeded the next morning with more
+facility; indeed, the snow decreased in depth as they receded from the
+mountains, and the temperature became more mild. In the course of the
+day they discovered a solitary horseman hovering at a distance before
+them on the plain. They spurred on to overtake him; but he was better
+mounted on a fresher steed, and kept at a wary distance, reconnoitring
+them with evident distrust; for the wild dress of the free trappers,
+their leggings, blankets, and cloth caps garnished with fur and topped
+off with feathers, even their very elf-locks and weather-bronzed
+complexions, gave them the look of Indians rather than white men, and
+made him mistake them for a war party of some hostile tribe.
+
+After much manoeuvring, the wild horseman was at length brought to a
+parley; but even then he conducted himself with the caution of a knowing
+prowler of the prairies. Dismounting from his horse, and using him as a
+breastwork, he levelled his gun across his back, and, thus prepared for
+defence like a wary cruiser upon the high seas, he permitted himself to
+be approached within speaking distance.
+
+He proved to be an Indian of the Banneck tribe, belonging to a band at
+no great distance. It was some time before he could be persuaded that
+he was conversing with a party of white men and induced to lay aside his
+reserve and join them. He then gave them the interesting intelligence
+that there were two companies of white men encamped in the neighborhood.
+This was cheering news to Captain Bonneville; who hoped to find in one
+of them the long-sought party of Matthieu. Pushing forward, therefore,
+with renovated spirits, he reached Snake River by nightfall, and there
+fixed his encampment.
+
+Early the next morning (13th January, 1833), diligent search was made
+about the neighborhood for traces of the reported parties of white men.
+An encampment was soon discovered about four miles farther up the river,
+in which Captain Bonneville to his great joy found two of Matthieu’s
+men, from whom he learned that the rest of his party would be there
+in the course of a few days. It was a matter of great pride and
+self-gratulation to Captain Bonneville that he had thus accomplished his
+dreary and doubtful enterprise; and he determined to pass some time
+in this encampment, both to await the return of Matthieu, and to give
+needful repose to men and horses.
+
+It was, in fact, one of the most eligible and delightful wintering
+grounds in that whole range of country. The Snake River here wound
+its devious way between low banks through the great plain of the Three
+Butes; and was bordered by wide and fertile meadows. It was studded with
+islands which, like the alluvial bottoms, were covered with groves
+of cotton-wood, thickets of willow, tracts of good lowland grass, and
+abundance of green rushes. The adjacent plains were so vast in extent
+that no single band of Indians could drive the buffalo out of them;
+nor was the snow of sufficient depth to give any serious inconvenience.
+Indeed, during the sojourn of Captain Bonneville in this neighborhood,
+which was in the heart of winter, he found the weather, with the
+exception of a few cold and stormy days, generally mild and pleasant,
+freezing a little at night but invariably thawing with the morning’s
+sun-resembling the spring weather in the middle parts of the United
+States.
+
+The lofty range of the Three Tetons, those great landmarks of the Rocky
+Mountains rising in the east and circling away to the north and west
+of the great plain of Snake River, and the mountains of Salt River and
+Portneuf toward the south, catch the earliest falls of snow. Their white
+robes lengthen as the winter advances, and spread themselves far into
+the plain, driving the buffalo in herds to the banks of the river in
+quest of food; where they are easily slain in great numbers.
+
+Such were the palpable advantages of this winter encampment; added to
+which, it was secure from the prowlings and plunderings of any petty
+band of roving Blackfeet, the difficulties of retreat rendering it
+unwise for those crafty depredators to venture an attack unless with an
+overpowering force.
+
+About ten miles below the encampment lay the Banneck Indians; numbering
+about one hundred and twenty lodges. They are brave and cunning warriors
+and deadly foes of the Blackfeet, whom they easily overcome in battles
+where their forces are equal. They are not vengeful and enterprising
+in warfare, however; seldom sending war parties to attack the Blackfeet
+towns, but contenting themselves with defending their own territories
+and house. About one third of their warriors are armed with fusees, the
+rest with bows and arrows.
+
+As soon as the spring opens they move down the right bank of Snake River
+and encamp at the heads of the Boisee and Payette. Here their horses wax
+fat on good pasturage, while the tribe revels in plenty upon the flesh
+of deer, elk, bear, and beaver. They then descend a little further, and
+are met by the Lower Nez Perces, with whom they trade for horses; giving
+in exchange beaver, buffalo, and buffalo robes. Hence they strike upon
+the tributary streams on the left bank of Snake River, and encamp at the
+rise of the Portneuf and Blackfoot streams, in the buffalo range. Their
+horses, although of the Nez Perce breed, are inferior to the parent
+stock from being ridden at too early an age, being often bought when but
+two years old and immediately put to hard work. They have fewer horses,
+also, than most of these migratory tribes.
+
+At the time that Captain Bonneville came into the neighborhood of these
+Indians, they were all in mourning for their chief, surnamed The
+Horse. This chief was said to possess a charmed life, or rather, to be
+invulnerable to lead; no bullet having ever hit him, though he had been
+in repeated battles, and often shot at by the surest marksmen. He had
+shown great magnanimity in his intercourse with the white men. One of
+the great men of his family had been slain in an attack upon a band of
+trappers passing through the territories of his tribe. Vengeance had
+been sworn by the Bannecks; but The Horse interfered, declaring himself
+the friend of white men and, having great influence and authority among
+his people, he compelled them to forego all vindictive plans and to
+conduct themselves amicably whenever they came in contact with the
+traders.
+
+This chief had bravely fallen in resisting an attack made by the
+Blackfeet upon his tribe, while encamped at the head of Godin River. His
+fall in nowise lessened the faith of his people in his charmed life; for
+they declared that it was not a bullet which laid him low, but a bit of
+horn which had been shot into him by some Blackfoot marksman aware, no
+doubt, of the inefficacy of lead. Since his death there was no one with
+sufficient influence over the tribe to restrain the wild and predatory
+propensities of the young men. The consequence was they had become
+troublesome and dangerous neighbors, openly friendly for the sake of
+traffic, but disposed to commit secret depredations and to molest any
+small party that might fall within their reach.
+
+
+
+
+16.
+
+     Misadventures of Matthieu and his party--Return to the
+     caches at Salmon River--Battle between Nez Perces and Black
+     feet--Heroism of a Nez Perce woman--Enrolled among the
+     braves.
+
+ON the 3d of February, Matthieu, with the residue of his band, arrived
+in camp. He had a disastrous story to relate. After parting with Captain
+Bonneville in Green River Valley he had proceeded to the westward,
+keeping to the north of the Eutaw Mountains, a spur of the great Rocky
+chain. Here he experienced the most rugged travelling for his horses,
+and soon discovered that there was but little chance of meeting the
+Shoshonie bands. He now proceeded along Bear River, a stream much
+frequented by trappers, intending to shape his course to Salmon River to
+rejoin Captain Bonneville.
+
+He was misled, however, either through the ignorance or treachery of
+an Indian guide, and conducted into a wild valley where he lay encamped
+during the autumn and the early part of the winter, nearly buried in
+snow and almost starved. Early in the season he detached five men, with
+nine horses, to proceed to the neighborhood of the Sheep Rock, on Bear
+River, where game was plenty, and there to procure a supply for the
+camp.
+
+They had not proceeded far on their expedition when their trail was
+discovered by a party of nine or ten Indians, who immediately commenced
+a lurking pursuit, dogging them secretly for five or six days. So long
+as their encampments were well chosen and a proper watch maintained
+the wary savages kept aloof; at length, observing that they were badly
+encamped, in a situation where they might be approached with secrecy,
+the enemy crept stealthily along under cover of the river bank,
+preparing to burst suddenly upon their prey.
+
+They had not advanced within striking distance, however, before they
+were discovered by one of the trappers. He immediately but silently
+gave the alarm to his companions. They all sprang upon their horses and
+prepared to retreat to a safe position. One of the party, however, named
+Jennings, doubted the correctness of the alarm, and before he mounted
+his horse wanted to ascertain the fact. His companions urged him to
+mount, but in vain; he was incredulous and obstinate. A volley of
+firearms by the savages dispelled his doubts, but so overpowered his
+nerves that he was unable to get into his saddle. His comrades, seeing
+his peril and confusion, generously leaped from their horses to protect
+him. A shot from a rifle brought him to the earth; in his agony he
+called upon the others not to desert him. Two of them, Le Roy and Ross,
+after fighting desperately, were captured by the savages; the remaining
+two vaulted into their saddles and saved themselves by headlong flight,
+being pursued for nearly thirty miles. They got safe back to Matthieu’s
+camp, where their story inspired such dread of lurking Indians that the
+hunters could not be prevailed upon to undertake another foray in quest
+of provisions. They remained, therefore, almost starving in their camp;
+now and then killing an old or disabled horse for food, while the
+elk and the mountain sheep roamed unmolested among the surrounding
+mountains.
+
+The disastrous surprisal of this hunting party is cited by Captain
+Bonneville to show the importance of vigilant watching and judicious
+encampments in the Indian country. Most of this kind of disasters to
+traders and trappers arise from some careless inattention to the state
+of their arms and ammunition, the placing of their horses at night,
+the position of their camping ground, and the posting of their night
+watches. The Indian is a vigilant and crafty foe, by no means given
+to hair-brained assaults; he seldom attacks when he finds his foe
+well prepared and on the alert. Caution is at least as efficacious a
+protection against him as courage.
+
+The Indians who made this attack were at first supposed to be Blackfeet;
+until Captain Bonneville found subsequently, in the camp of the
+Bannecks, a horse, saddle, and bridle, which he recognized as having
+belonged to one of the hunters. The Bannecks, however, stoutly denied
+having taken these spoils in fight, and persisted in affirming that the
+outrage had been perpetrated by a Blackfoot band.
+
+Captain Bonneville remained on Snake River nearly three weeks after the
+arrival of Matthieu and his party. At length his horses having recovered
+strength sufficient for a journey, he prepared to return to the Nez
+Perces, or rather to visit his caches on Salmon River; that he might
+take thence goods and equipments for the opening season. Accordingly,
+leaving sixteen men at Snake River, he set out on the 19th of February
+with sixteen others on his journey to the caches.
+
+Fording the river, he proceeded to the borders of the deep snow, when he
+encamped under the lee of immense piles of burned rock. On the 21st he
+was again floundering through the snow, on the great Snake River
+plain, where it lay to the depth of thirty inches. It was sufficiently
+incrusted to bear a pedestrian, but the poor horses broke through the
+crust, and plunged and strained at every step. So lacerated were they by
+the ice that it was necessary to change the front every hundred yards,
+and put a different one in advance to break the way. The open prairies
+were swept by a piercing and biting wind from the northwest. At night,
+they had to task their ingenuity to provide shelter and keep from
+freezing. In the first place, they dug deep holes in the snow, piling
+it up in ramparts to windward as a protection against the blast. Beneath
+these they spread buffalo skins, upon which they stretched themselves
+in full dress, with caps, cloaks, and moccasins, and covered themselves
+with numerous blankets; notwithstanding all which they were often
+severely pinched with the cold.
+
+On the 28th of February they arrived on the banks of Godin River. This
+stream emerges from the mountains opposite an eastern branch of the
+Malade River, running southeast, forms a deep and swift current about
+twenty yards wide, passing rapidly through a defile to which it gives
+its name, and then enters the great plain where, after meandering about
+forty miles, it is finally lost in the region of the Burned Rocks.
+
+On the banks of this river Captain Bonneville was so fortunate as to
+come upon a buffalo trail. Following it up, he entered the defile, where
+he remained encamped for two days to allow the hunters time to kill and
+dry a supply of buffalo beef. In this sheltered defile the weather was
+moderate and grass was already sprouting more than an inch in height.
+There was abundance, too, of the salt weed which grows most plentiful
+in clayey and gravelly barrens. It resembles pennyroyal, and derives its
+name from a partial saltness. It is a nourishing food for the horses
+in the winter, but they reject it the moment the young grass affords
+sufficient pasturage.
+
+On the 6th of March, having cured sufficient meat, the party resumed
+their march, and moved on with comparative ease, excepting where they
+had to make their way through snow-drifts which had been piled up by the
+wind.
+
+On the 11th, a small cloud of smoke was observed rising in a deep part
+of the defile. An encampment was instantly formed and scouts were
+sent out to reconnoitre. They returned with intelligence that it was a
+hunting party of Flatheads, returning from the buffalo range laden with
+meat. Captain Bonneville joined them the next day, and persuaded them
+to proceed with his party a few miles below to the caches, whither he
+proposed also to invite the Nez Perces, whom he hoped to find somewhere
+in this neighborhood. In fact, on the 13th, he was rejoined by that
+friendly tribe who, since he separated from them on Salmon River, had
+likewise been out to hunt the buffalo, but had continued to be haunted
+and harassed by their old enemies the Blackfeet, who, as usual, had
+contrived to carry off many of their horses.
+
+In the course of this hunting expedition, a small band of ten lodges
+separated from the main body in search of better pasturage for their
+horses. About the 1st of March, the scattered parties of Blackfoot
+banditti united to the number of three hundred fighting men, and
+determined upon some signal blow. Proceeding to the former camping
+ground of the Nez Perces, they found the lodges deserted; upon which
+they hid themselves among the willows and thickets, watching for some
+straggler who might guide them to the present “whereabout” of their
+intended victims. As fortune would have it Kosato, the Blackfoot
+renegade, was the first to pass along, accompanied by his blood-bought
+bride. He was on his way from the main body of hunters to the little
+band of ten lodges. The Blackfeet knew and marked him as he passed; he
+was within bowshot of their ambuscade; yet, much as they thirsted for
+his blood, they forbore to launch a shaft; sparing him for the moment
+that he might lead them to their prey. Secretly following his trail,
+they discovered the lodges of the unfortunate Nez Perces, and assailed
+them with shouts and yellings. The Nez Perces numbered only twenty men,
+and but nine were armed with fusees. They showed themselves, however,
+as brave and skilful in war as they had been mild and long-suffering in
+peace. Their first care was to dig holes inside of their lodges; thus
+ensconced they fought desperately, laying several of the enemy dead upon
+the ground; while they, though Some of them were wounded, lost not a
+single warrior.
+
+During the heat of the battle, a woman of the Nez Perces, seeing her
+warrior badly wounded and unable to fight, seized his bow and arrows,
+and bravely and successfully defended his person, contributing to the
+safety of the whole party.
+
+In another part of the field of action, a Nez Perce had crouched behind
+the trunk of a fallen tree, and kept up a galling fire from his covert.
+A Blackfoot seeing this, procured a round log, and placing it before
+him as he lay prostrate, rolled it forward toward the trunk of the
+tree behind which his enemy lay crouched. It was a moment of breathless
+interest; whoever first showed himself would be in danger of a shot.
+The Nez Perce put an end to the suspense. The moment the logs touched he
+Sprang upon his feet and discharged the contents of his fusee into the
+back of his antagonist. By this time the Blackfeet had got possession of
+the horses, several of their warriors lay dead on the field, and the Nez
+Perces, ensconced in their lodges, seemed resolved to defend themselves
+to the last gasp. It so happened that the chief of the Blackfeet party
+was a renegade from the Nez Perces; unlike Kosato, however, he had no
+vindictive rage against his native tribe, but was rather disposed, now
+he had got the booty, to spare all unnecessary effusion of blood. He
+held a long parley, therefore, with the besieged, and finally drew off
+his warriors, taking with him seventy horses. It appeared, afterward,
+that the bullets of the Blackfeet had been entirely expended in the
+course of the battle, so that they were obliged to make use of stones as
+substitute.
+
+At the outset of the fight Kosato, the renegade, fought with fury rather
+than valor, animating the others by word as well as deed. A wound in the
+head from a rifle ball laid him senseless on the earth. There his body
+remained when the battle was over, and the victors were leading off the
+horses. His wife hung over him with frantic lamentations. The conquerors
+paused and urged her to leave the lifeless renegade, and return with
+them to her kindred. She refused to listen to their solicitations, and
+they passed on. As she sat watching the features of Kosato, and giving
+way to passionate grief, she thought she perceived him to breathe. She
+was not mistaken. The ball, which had been nearly spent before it struck
+him, had stunned instead of killing him. By the ministry of his faithful
+wife he gradually recovered, reviving to a redoubled love for her, and
+hatred of his tribe.
+
+As to the female who had so bravely defended her husband, she was
+elevated by the tribe to a rank far above her sex, and beside other
+honorable distinctions, was thenceforward permitted to take a part in
+the war dances of the braves!
+
+
+
+
+17.
+
+     Opening of the caches--Detachments of Cerre and Hodgkiss
+     Salmon River Mountains--Superstition of an Indian trapper--
+     Godin’s River--Preparations for trapping--An alarm--An
+     interruption--A rival band--Phenomena of Snake River Plain
+     Vast clefts and chasms--Ingulfed streams--Sublime scenery--A
+     grand buffalo hunt.
+
+CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE found his caches perfectly secure, and having
+secretly opened them he selected such articles as were necessary to
+equip the free trappers and to supply the inconsiderable trade with
+the Indians, after which he closed them again. The free trappers, being
+newly rigged out and supplied, were in high spirits, and swaggered gayly
+about the camp. To compensate all hands for past sufferings, and to give
+a cheerful spur to further operations, Captain Bonneville now gave the
+men what, in frontier phrase, is termed “a regular blow-out.” It was a
+day of uncouth gambols and frolics and rude feasting. The Indians joined
+in the sports and games, and all was mirth and good-fellowship.
+
+It was now the middle of March, and Captain Bonneville made preparations
+to open the spring campaign. He had pitched upon Malade River for his
+main trapping ground for the season. This is a stream which rises among
+the great bed of mountains north of the Lava Plain, and after a winding
+course falls into Snake River. Previous to his departure the captain
+dispatched Mr. Cerre, with a few men, to visit the Indian villages and
+purchase horses; he furnished his clerk, Mr. Hodgkiss, also, with a
+small stock of goods, to keep up a trade with the Indians during the
+spring, for such peltries as they might collect, appointing the caches
+on Salmon River as the point of rendezvous, where they were to rejoin
+him on the 15th of June following.
+
+This done he set out for Malade River, with a band of twenty-eight men
+composed of hired and free trappers and Indian hunters, together with
+eight squaws. Their route lay up along the right fork of Salmon River,
+as it passes through the deep defile of the mountains. They travelled
+very slowly, not above five miles a day, for many of the horses were
+so weak that they faltered and staggered as they walked. Pasturage,
+however, was now growing plentiful. There was abundance of fresh grass,
+which in some places had attained such height as to wave in the wind.
+The native flocks of the wilderness, the mountain sheep, as they are
+called by the trappers, were continually to be seen upon the hills
+between which they passed, and a good supply of mutton was provided by
+the hunters, as they were advancing toward a region of scarcity.
+
+In the course of his journey Captain Bonneville had occasion to remark
+an instance of the many notions, and almost superstitions, which prevail
+among the Indians, and among some of the white men, with respect to
+the sagacity of the beaver. The Indian hunters of his party were in the
+habit of exploring all the streams along which they passed, in search of
+“beaver lodges,” and occasionally set their traps with some success.
+One of them, however, though an experienced and skilful trapper, was
+invariably unsuccessful. Astonished and mortified at such unusual bad
+luck, he at length conceived the idea that there was some odor about his
+person of which the beaver got scent and retreated at his approach.
+He immediately set about a thorough purification. Making a rude
+sweating-house on the banks of the river, he would shut himself up until
+in a reeking perspiration, and then suddenly emerging, would plunge
+into the river. A number of these sweatings and plungings having, as
+he supposed, rendered his person perfectly “inodorous,” he resumed his
+trapping with renovated hope.
+
+About the beginning of April they encamped upon Godin’s River, where
+they found the swamp full of “musk-rat houses.” Here, therefore, Captain
+Bonneville determined to remain a few days and make his first regular
+attempt at trapping. That his maiden campaign might open with spirit, he
+promised the Indians and free trappers an extra price for every musk-rat
+they should take. All now set to work for the next day’s sport. The
+utmost animation and gayety prevailed throughout the camp. Everything
+looked auspicious for their spring campaign. The abundance of musk-rats
+in the swamp was but an earnest of the nobler game they were to find
+when they should reach the Malade River, and have a capital beaver
+country all to themselves, where they might trap at their leisure
+without molestation.
+
+In the midst of their gayety a hunter came galloping into the camp,
+shouting, or rather yelling, “A trail! a trail!--lodge poles! lodge
+poles!”
+
+These were words full of meaning to a trapper’s ear. They intimated that
+there was some band in the neighborhood, and probably a hunting party,
+as they had lodge poles for an encampment. The hunter came up and told
+his story. He had discovered a fresh trail, in which the traces made by
+the dragging of lodge poles were distinctly visible. The buffalo, too,
+had just been driven out of the neighborhood, which showed that the
+hunters had already been on the range.
+
+The gayety of the camp was at an end; all preparations for musk-rat
+trapping were suspended, and all hands sallied forth to examine the
+trail. Their worst fears were soon confirmed. Infallible signs showed
+the unknown party in the advance to be white men; doubtless, some rival
+band of trappers! Here was competition when least expected; and that
+too by a party already in the advance, who were driving the game before
+them. Captain Bonneville had now a taste of the sudden transitions
+to which a trapper’s life is subject. The buoyant confidence in an
+uninterrupted hunt was at an end; every countenance lowered with gloom
+and disappointment.
+
+Captain Bonneville immediately dispatched two spies to overtake the
+rival party, and endeavor to learn their plans; in the meantime, he
+turned his back upon the swamp and its musk-rat houses and followed
+on at “long camps”, which in trapper’s language is equivalent to long
+stages. On the 6th of April he met his spies returning. They had kept on
+the trail like hounds until they overtook the party at the south end of
+Godin’s defile. Here they found them comfortably encamped: twenty-two
+prime trappers, all well appointed, with excellent horses in capital
+condition led by Milton Sublette, and an able coadjutor named Jarvie,
+and in full march for the Malade hunting ground. This was stunning news.
+The Malade River was the only trapping ground within reach; but to have
+to compete there with veteran trappers, perfectly at home among the
+mountains, and admirably mounted, while they were so poorly provided
+with horses and trappers, and had but one man in their party acquainted
+with the country-it was out of the question.
+
+The only hope that now remained was that the snow, which still lay deep
+among the mountains of Godin’s River and blocked up the usual pass
+to the Malade country, might detain the other party until Captain
+Bonneville’s horses should get once more into good condition in their
+present ample pasturage.
+
+The rival parties now encamped together, not out of companionship, but
+to keep an eye upon each other. Day after day passed by without any
+possibility of getting to the Malade country. Sublette and Jarvie
+endeavored to force their way across the mountain; but the snows lay
+so deep as to oblige them to turn back. In the meantime the captain’s
+horses were daily gaining strength, and their hoofs improving, which
+had been worn and battered by mountain service. The captain, also was
+increasing his stock of provisions; so that the delay was all in his
+favor.
+
+To any one who merely contemplates a map of the country this difficulty
+of getting from Godin to Malade River will appear inexplicable, as the
+intervening mountains terminate in the great Snake River plain, so that,
+apparently, it would be perfectly easy to proceed round their bases.
+
+Here, however, occur some of the striking phenomena of this wild and
+sublime region. The great lower plain which extends to the feet of
+these mountains is broken up near their bases into crests, and ridges
+resembling the surges of the ocean breaking on a rocky shore.
+
+In a line with the mountains the plain is gashed with numerous and
+dangerous chasms, from four to ten feet wide, and of great depth.
+Captain Bonneville attempted to sound some of these openings, but
+without any satisfactory result. A stone dropped into one of them
+reverberated against the sides for apparently a very great depth, and,
+by its sound, indicated the same kind of substance with the surface, as
+long as the strokes could be heard. The horse, instinctively sagacious
+in avoiding danger, shrinks back in alarm from the least of these
+chasms, pricking up his ears, snorting and pawing, until permitted to
+turn away.
+
+We have been told by a person well acquainted with the country that it
+is sometimes necessary to travel fifty and sixty miles to get round one
+of these tremendous ravines. Considerable streams, like that of Godin’s
+River, that run with a bold, free current, lose themselves in this
+plain; some of them end in swamps, others suddenly disappear, finding,
+no doubt, subterranean outlets.
+
+Opposite to these chasms Snake River makes two desperate leaps over
+precipices, at a short distance from each other; one twenty, the other
+forty feet in height.
+
+The volcanic plain in question forms an area of about sixty miles in
+diameter, where nothing meets the eye but a desolate and awful waste;
+where no grass grows nor water runs, and where nothing is to be seen but
+lava. Ranges of mountains skirt this plain, and, in Captain Bonneville’s
+opinion, were formerly connected, until rent asunder by some convulsion
+of nature. Far to the east the Three Tetons lift their heads sublimely,
+and dominate this wide sea of lava--one of the most striking features
+of a wilderness where everything seems on a scale of stern and simple
+grandeur.
+
+We look forward with impatience for some able geologist to explore this
+sublime but almost unknown region.
+
+It was not until the 25th of April that the two parties of trappers
+broke up their encampments, and undertook to cross over the southwest
+end of the mountain by a pass explored by their scouts. From various
+points of the mountain they commanded boundless prospects of the lava
+plain, stretching away in cold and gloomy barrenness as far as the eye
+could reach. On the evening of the 26th they reached the plain west
+of the mountain, watered by the Malade, the Boisee, and other streams,
+which comprised the contemplated trapping-ground.
+
+The country about the Boisee (or Woody) River is extolled by Captain
+Bonneville as the most enchanting he had seen in the Far West,
+presenting the mingled grandeur and beauty of mountain and plain, of
+bright running streams and vast grassy meadows waving to the breeze.
+
+We shall not follow the captain throughout his trapping campaign, which
+lasted until the beginning of June, nor detail all the manoeuvres of the
+rival trapping parties and their various schemes to outwit and out-trap
+each other. Suffice it to say that, after having visited and camped
+about various streams with varying success, Captain Bonneville set
+forward early in June for the appointed rendezvous at the caches. On
+the way, he treated his party to a grand buffalo hunt. The scouts had re
+ported numerous herds in a plain beyond an intervening height. There was
+an immediate halt; the fleetest horses were forthwith mounted and the
+party advanced to the summit of the hill. Hence they beheld the great
+plain below; absolutely swarming with buffalo. Captain Bonneville now
+appointed the place where he would encamp; and toward which the hunters
+were to drive the game. He cautioned the latter to advance slowly,
+reserving the strength and speed of the horses until within a moderate
+distance of the herds. Twenty-two horsemen descended cautiously into
+the plain, conformably to these directions. “It was a beautiful sight,”
+ says the captain, “to see the runners, as they are called, advancing in
+column, at a slow trot, until within two hundred and fifty yards of the
+outskirts of the herd, then dashing on at full speed until lost in the
+immense multitude of buffaloes scouring the plain in every direction.”
+ All was now tumult and wild confusion. In the meantime Captain
+Bonneville and the residue of the party moved on to the appointed
+camping ground; thither the most expert runners succeeded in driving
+numbers of buffalo, which were killed hard by the camp, and the flesh
+transported thither without difficulty. In a little while the whole camp
+looked like one great slaughter-house; the carcasses were skilfully
+cut up, great fires were made, scaffolds erected for drying and jerking
+beef, and an ample provision was made for future subsistence. On the
+15th of June, the precise day appointed for the rendezvous, Captain
+Bonneville and his party arrived safely at the caches.
+
+Here he was joined by the other detachments of his main party, all
+in good health and spirits. The caches were again opened, supplies
+of various kinds taken out, and a liberal allowance of aqua vitae
+distributed throughout the camp, to celebrate with proper conviviality
+this merry meeting.
+
+
+
+
+18.
+
+     Meeting with Hodgkiss--Misfortunes of the Nez Perces--
+     Schemes of Kosato, the renegado--His foray into the Horse
+     Prairie--Invasion of Black feet--Blue John and his forlorn
+     hope--Their generous enterprise--Their fate--Consternation
+     and despair of the village--Solemn obsequies--Attempt at
+     Indian trade--Hudson’s Bay Company’s monopoly--Arrangements
+     for autumn--Breaking up of an encampment.
+
+HAVING now a pretty strong party, well armed and equipped, Captain
+Bonneville no longer felt the necessity of fortifying himself in the
+secret places and fastnesses of the mountains; but sallied forth boldly
+into the Snake River plain, in search of his clerk, Hodgkiss, who had
+remained with the Nez Perces. He found him on the 24th of June, and
+learned from him another chapter of misfortunes which had recently
+befallen that ill-fated race.
+
+After the departure of Captain Bonneville in March, Kosato, the renegade
+Blackfoot, had recovered from the wound received in battle; and with his
+strength revived all his deadly hostility to his native tribe. He now
+resumed his efforts to stir up the Nez Perces to reprisals upon
+their old enemies; reminding them incessantly of all the outrages and
+robberies they had recently experienced, and assuring them that such
+would continue to be their lot until they proved themselves men by some
+signal retaliation.
+
+The impassioned eloquence of the desperado at length produced an effect;
+and a band of braves enlisted under his guidance, to penetrate into the
+Blackfoot country, harass their Villages, carry off their horses, and
+commit all kinds of depredations.
+
+Kosato pushed forward on his foray as far as the Horse Prairie, where he
+came upon a strong party of Blackfeet. Without waiting to estimate
+their force, he attacked them with characteristic fury, and was bravely
+seconded by his followers. The contest, for a time, was hot and bloody;
+at length, as is customary with these two tribes, they paused, and held
+a long parley, or rather a war of words.
+
+“What need,” said the Blackfoot chief, tauntingly, “have the Nez Perces
+to leave their homes, and sally forth on war parties, when they have
+danger enough at their own doors? If you want fighting, return to your
+villages; you will have plenty of it there. The Blackfeet warriors have
+hitherto made war upon you as children. They are now coming as men. A
+great force is at hand; they are on their way to your towns, and
+are determined to rub out the very name of the Nez Perces from the
+mountains. Return, I say, to your towns, and fight there, if you wish to
+live any longer as a people.”
+
+Kosato took him at his word; for he knew the character of his native
+tribe. Hastening back with his band to the Nez Perces village, he told
+all that he had seen and heard, and urged the most prompt and strenuous
+measures for defence. The Nez Perces, however, heard him with their
+accustomed phlegm; the threat of the Blackfeet had been often made, and
+as often had proved a mere bravado; such they pronounced it to be at
+present, and, of course, took no precautions.
+
+They were soon convinced that it was no empty menace. In a few days a
+band of three hundred Blackfeet warriors appeared upon the hills. All
+now was consternation in the village. The force of the Nez Perces was
+too small to cope with the enemy in open fight; many of the young men
+having gone to their relatives on the Columbia to procure horses. The
+sages met in hurried council. What was to be done to ward off a blow
+which threatened annihilation? In this moment of imminent peril, a
+Pierced-nose chief, named Blue John by the whites, offered to approach
+secretly with a small, but chosen band, through a defile which led to
+the encampment of the enemy, and, by a sudden onset, to drive off the
+horses. Should this blow be successful, the spirit and strength of the
+invaders would be broken, and the Nez Perces, having horses, would be
+more than a match for them. Should it fail, the village would not be
+worse off than at present, when destruction appeared inevitable.
+
+Twenty-nine of the choicest warriors instantly volunteered to follow
+Blue John in this hazardous enterprise. They prepared for it with the
+solemnity and devotion peculiar to the tribe. Blue John consulted his
+medicine, or talismanic charm, such as every chief keeps in his lodge
+as a supernatural protection. The oracle assured him that his enterprise
+would be completely successful, provided no rain should fall before he
+had passed through the defile; but should it rain, his band would be
+utterly cut off.
+
+The day was clear and bright; and Blue John anticipated that the skies
+would be propitious. He departed in high spirits with his forlorn hope;
+and never did band of braves make a more gallant display-horsemen and
+horses being decorated and equipped in the fiercest and most glaring
+style-glittering with arms and ornaments, and fluttering with feathers.
+
+The weather continued serene until they reached the defile; but just as
+they were entering it a black cloud rose over the mountain crest, and
+there was a sudden shower. The warriors turned to their leader, as if to
+read his opinion of this unlucky omen; but the countenance of Blue John
+remained unchanged, and they continued to press forward. It was
+their hope to make their way undiscovered to the very vicinity of the
+Blackfoot camp; but they had not proceeded far in the defile, when they
+met a scouting party of the enemy. They attacked and drove them among
+the hills, and were pursuing them with great eagerness when they heard
+shouts and yells behind them, and beheld the main body of the Blackfeet
+advancing.
+
+The second chief wavered a little at the sight and proposed an instant
+retreat. “We came to fight!” replied Blue John, sternly. Then giving his
+war-whoop, he sprang forward to the conflict. His braves followed
+him. They made a headlong charge upon the enemy; not with the hope of
+victory, but the determination to sell their lives dearly. A frightful
+carnage, rather than a regular battle, succeeded. The forlorn band laid
+heaps of their enemies dead at their feet, but were overwhelmed with
+numbers and pressed into a gorge of the mountain; where they continued
+to fight until they were cut to pieces. One only, of the thirty,
+survived. He sprang on the horse of a Blackfoot warrior whom he had
+slain, and escaping at full speed, brought home the baleful tidings to
+his village.
+
+Who can paint the horror and desolation of the inhabitants? The flower
+of their warriors laid low, and a ferocious enemy at their doors. The
+air was rent by the shrieks and lamentations of the women, who, casting
+off their ornaments and tearing their hair, wandered about, frantically
+bewailing the dead and predicting destruction to the living. The
+remaining warriors armed themselves for obstinate defence; but showed
+by their gloomy looks and sullen silence that they considered defence
+hopeless. To their surprise the Blackfeet refrained from pursuing
+their advantage; perhaps satisfied with the blood already shed, or
+disheartened by the loss they had themselves sustained. At any rate,
+they disappeared from the hills, and it was soon ascertained that they
+had returned to the Horse Prairie.
+
+The unfortunate Nez Perces now began once more to breathe. A few of
+their warriors, taking pack-horses, repaired to the defile to bring away
+the bodies of their slaughtered brethren. They found them mere headless
+trunks; and the wounds with which they were covered showed how bravely
+they had fought. Their hearts, too, had been torn out and carried off;
+a proof of their signal valor; for in devouring the heart of a foe
+renowned for bravery, or who has distinguished himself in battle, the
+Indian victor thinks he appropriates to himself the courage of the
+deceased.
+
+Gathering the mangled bodies of the slain, and strapping them across
+their pack-horses, the warriors returned, in dismal procession, to the
+village. The tribe came forth to meet them; the women with piercing
+cries and wailings; the men with downcast countenances, in which gloom
+and sorrow seemed fixed as if in marble. The mutilated and almost
+undistinguishable bodies were placed in rows upon the ground, in the
+midst of the assemblage; and the scene of heart-rending anguish and
+lamentation that ensued would have confounded those who insist on Indian
+stoicism.
+
+Such was the disastrous event that had overwhelmed the Nez Perces tribe
+during the absence of Captain Bonneville; and he was informed that
+Kosato, the renegade, who, being stationed in the village, had been
+prevented from going on the forlorn hope, was again striving to rouse
+the vindictive feelings of his adopted brethren, and to prompt them to
+revenge the slaughter of their devoted braves.
+
+During his sojourn on the Snake River plain, Captain Bonneville made one
+of his first essays at the strategy of the fur trade. There was at
+this time an assemblage of Nez Perces, Flatheads, and Cottonois Indians
+encamped together upon the plain; well provided with beaver, which they
+had collected during the spring. These they were waiting to traffic with
+a resident trader of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who was stationed among
+them, and with whom they were accustomed to deal. As it happened, the
+trader was almost entirely destitute of Indian goods; his spring supply
+not having yet reached him. Captain Bonneville had secret intelligence
+that the supplies were on their way, and would soon arrive; he hoped,
+how-ever, by a prompt move, to anticipate their arrival, and secure the
+market to himself. Throwing himself, therefore, among the Indians, he
+opened his packs of merchandise and displayed the most tempting wares:
+bright cloths, and scarlet blankets, and glittering ornaments, and
+everything gay and glorious in the eyes of warrior or squaw; all,
+however, was in vain. The Hudson’s Bay trader was a perfect master of
+his business, thoroughly acquainted with the Indians he had to deal
+with, and held such control over them that none dared to act openly in
+opposition to his wishes; nay, more--he came nigh turning the tables
+upon the captain, and shaking the allegiance of some of his free
+trappers, by distributing liquors among them. The latter, therefore, was
+glad to give up a competition, where the war was likely to be carried
+into his own camp.
+
+In fact, the traders of the Hudson’s Bay Company have advantages over
+all competitors in the trade beyond the Rocky Mountains. That huge
+monopoly centers within itself not merely its own hereditary and
+long-established power and influence; but also those of its ancient
+rival, but now integral part, the famous Northwest Company. It has thus
+its races of traders, trappers, hunters, and voyageurs, born and brought
+up in its service, and inheriting from preceding generations a knowledge
+and aptitude in everything connected with Indian life, and Indian
+traffic. In the process of years, this company has been enabled to
+spread its ramifications in every direction; its system of intercourse
+is founded upon a long and intimate knowledge of the character and
+necessities of the various tribes; and of all the fastnesses, defiles,
+and favorable hunting grounds of the country. Their capital, also, and
+the manner in which their supplies are distributed at various posts,
+or forwarded by regular caravans, keep their traders well supplied, and
+enable them to furnish their goods to the Indians at a cheap rate. Their
+men, too, being chiefly drawn from the Canadas, where they enjoy great
+influence and control, are engaged at the most trifling wages, and
+supported at little cost; the provisions which they take with them being
+little more than Indian corn and grease. They are brought also into the
+most perfect discipline and subordination, especially when their
+leaders have once got them to their scene of action in the heart of the
+wilderness.
+
+These circumstances combine to give the leaders of the Hudson’s Bay
+Company a decided advantage over all the American companies that come
+within their range, so that any close competition with them is almost
+hopeless.
+
+Shortly after Captain Bonneville’s ineffectual attempt to participate
+in the trade of the associated camp, the supplies of the Hudson’s Bay
+Company arrived; and the resident trader was enabled to monopolize the
+market.
+
+It was now the beginning of July; in the latter part of which month
+Captain Bonneville had appointed a rendezvous at Horse Creek in Green
+River Valley, with some of the parties which he had detached in the
+preceding year. He now turned his thoughts in that direction, and
+prepared for the journey.
+
+The Cottonois were anxious for him to proceed at once to their country;
+which, they assured him, abounded in beaver. The lands of this tribe lie
+immediately north of those of the Flatheads and are open to the inroads
+of the Blackfeet. It is true, the latter professed to be their allies;
+but they had been guilty of so many acts of perfidy, that the Cottonois
+had, latterly, renounced their hollow friendship and attached themselves
+to the Flatheads and Nez Perces. These they had accompanied in their
+migrations rather than remain alone at home, exposed to the outrages
+of the Blackfeet. They were now apprehensive that these marauders would
+range their country during their absence and destroy the beaver; this
+was their reason for urging Captain Bonneville to make it his autumnal
+hunting ground. The latter, however, was not to be tempted; his
+engagements required his presence at the rendezvous in Green River
+Valley; and he had already formed his ulterior plans.
+
+An unexpected difficulty now arose. The free trappers suddenly made a
+stand, and declined to accompany him. It was a long and weary journey;
+the route lay through Pierre’s Hole, and other mountain passes infested
+by the Blackfeet, and recently the scenes of sanguinary conflicts. They
+were not disposed to undertake such unnecessary toils and dangers,
+when they had good and secure trapping grounds nearer at hand, on the
+head-waters of Salmon River.
+
+As these were free and independent fellows, whose will and whim were apt
+to be law--who had the whole wilderness before them, “where to choose,”
+ and the trader of a rival company at hand, ready to pay for their
+services--it was necessary to bend to their wishes. Captain Bonneville
+fitted them out, therefore, for the hunting ground in question;
+appointing Mr. Hodgkiss to act as their partisan, or leader, and fixing
+a rendezvous where he should meet them in the course of the ensuing
+winter. The brigade consisted of twenty-one free trappers and four or
+five hired men as camp-keepers. This was not the exact arrangement of
+a trapping party; which when accurately organized is composed of two
+thirds trappers whose duty leads them continually abroad in pursuit of
+game; and one third camp-keepers who cook, pack, and unpack; set up the
+tents, take care of the horses and do all other duties usually assigned
+by the Indians to their women. This part of the service is apt to
+be fulfilled by French creoles from Canada and the valley of the
+Mississippi.
+
+In the meantime the associated Indians having completed their trade
+and received their supplies, were all ready to disperse in various
+directions. As there was a formidable band of Blackfeet just over a
+mountain to the northeast, by which Hodgkiss and his free trappers would
+have to pass; and as it was known that those sharp-sighted marauders had
+their scouts out watching every movement of the encampments, so as to
+cut off stragglers or weak detachments, Captain Bonneville prevailed
+upon the Nez Perces to accompany Hodgkiss and his party until they
+should be beyond the range of the enemy.
+
+The Cottonois and the Pends Oreilles determined to move together at
+the same time, and to pass close under the mountain infested by the
+Blackfeet; while Captain Bonneville, with his party, was to strike in
+an opposite direction to the southeast, bending his course for Pierre’s
+Hole, on his way to Green River.
+
+Accordingly, on the 6th of July, all the camps were raised at the same
+moment; each party taking its separate route. The scene was wild and
+picturesque; the long line of traders, trappers, and Indians, with their
+rugged and fantastic dresses and accoutrements; their varied weapons,
+their innumerable horses, some under the saddle, some burdened with
+packages, others following in droves; all stretching in lengthening
+cavalcades across the vast landscape, making for different points of the
+plains and mountains.
+
+
+
+
+19.
+
+     Precautions in dangerous defiles--Trappers’ mode of defence
+     on a prairie--A mysterious visitor--Arrival in Green River
+     Valley--Adventures of the detachments--The forlorn partisan
+     --His tale of disasters.
+
+AS the route of Captain Bonneville lay through what was considered the
+most perilous part of this region of dangers, he took all his measures
+with military skill, and observed the strictest circumspection. When
+on the march, a small scouting party was thrown in the advance to
+reconnoitre the country through which they were to pass. The encampments
+were selected with great care, and a watch was kept up night and day.
+The horses were brought in and picketed at night, and at daybreak a
+party was sent out to scour the neighborhood for half a mile round,
+beating up every grove and thicket that could give shelter to a lurking
+foe. When all was reported safe, the horses were cast loose and turned
+out to graze. Were such precautions generally observed by traders and
+hunters, we should not so often hear of parties being surprised by the
+Indians.
+
+Having stated the military arrangements of the captain, we may here
+mention a mode of defence on the open prairie, which we have heard from
+a veteran in the Indian trade. When a party of trappers is on a journey
+with a convoy of goods or peltries, every man has three pack-horses
+under his care; each horse laden with three packs. Every man is provided
+with a picket with an iron head, a mallet, and hobbles, or leathern
+fetters for the horses. The trappers proceed across the prairie in a
+long line; or sometimes three parallel lines, sufficiently distant from
+each other to prevent the packs from interfering. At an alarm, when
+there is no covert at hand, the line wheels so as to bring the front to
+the rear and form a circle. All then dismount, drive their pickets into
+the ground in the centre, fasten the horses to them, and hobble their
+forelegs, so that, in case of alarm, they cannot break away. Then they
+unload them, and dispose of their packs as breastworks on the periphery
+of the circle; each man having nine packs behind which to shelter
+himself. In this promptly-formed fortress, they await the assault of the
+enemy, and are enabled to set large bands of Indians at defiance.
+
+The first night of his march, Captain Bonneville encamped upon Henry’s
+Fork; an upper branch of Snake River, called after the first American
+trader that erected a fort beyond the mountains. About an hour after all
+hands had come to a halt the clatter of hoofs was heard, and a solitary
+female, of the Nez Perce tribe, came galloping up. She was mounted on
+a mustang or half wild horse, which she managed by a long rope hitched
+round the under jaw by way of bridle. Dismounting, she walked silently
+into the midst of the camp, and there seated herself on the ground,
+still holding her horse by the long halter.
+
+The sudden and lonely apparition of this woman, and her calm yet
+resolute demeanor, awakened universal curiosity. The hunters and
+trappers gathered round, and gazed on her as something mysterious. She
+remained silent, but maintained her air of calmness and self-possession.
+Captain Bonneville approached and interrogated her as to the object
+of her mysterious visit. Her answer was brief but earnest--“I love the
+whites--I will go with them.” She was forthwith invited to a lodge,
+of which she readily took possession, and from that time forward was
+considered one of the camp.
+
+In consequence, very probably, of the military precautions of Captain
+Bonneville, he conducted his party in safety through this hazardous
+region. No accident of a disastrous kind occurred, excepting the loss of
+a horse, which, in passing along the giddy edge of a precipice, called
+the Cornice, a dangerous pass between Jackson’s and Pierre’s Hole, fell
+over the brink, and was dashed to pieces.
+
+On the 13th of July (1833), Captain Bonneville arrived at Green River.
+As he entered the valley, he beheld it strewed in every direction with
+the carcasses of buffaloes. It was evident that Indians had recently
+been there, and in great numbers. Alarmed at this sight, he came to
+a halt, and as soon as it was dark, sent out spies to his place of
+rendezvous on Horse Creek, where he had expected to meet with his
+detached parties of trappers on the following day. Early in the morning
+the spies made their appearance in the camp, and with them came three
+trappers of one of his bands, from the rendezvous, who told him his
+people were all there expecting him. As to the slaughter among the
+buffaloes, it had been made by a friendly band of Shoshonies, who had
+fallen in with one of his trapping parties, and accompanied them to the
+rendezvous. Having imparted this intelligence, the three worthies from
+the rendezvous broached a small keg of “alcohol,” which they had brought
+with them to enliven this merry meeting. The liquor went briskly round;
+all absent friends were toasted, and the party moved forward to the
+rendezvous in high spirits.
+
+The meeting of associated bands, who have been separated from each other
+on these hazardous enterprises, is always interesting; each having its
+tales of perils and adventures to relate. Such was the case with the
+various detachments of Captain Bonneville’s company, thus brought
+together on Horse Creek. Here was the detachment of fifty men which
+he had sent from Salmon River, in the preceding month of November, to
+winter on Snake River. They had met with many crosses and losses in the
+course of their spring hunt, not so much from Indians as from white men.
+They had come in competition with rival trapping parties, particularly
+one belonging to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company; and they had long
+stories to relate of their manoeuvres to forestall or distress each
+other. In fact, in these virulent and sordid competitions, the trappers
+of each party were more intent upon injuring their rivals, than
+benefitting themselves; breaking each other’s traps, trampling and
+tearing to pieces the beaver lodges, and doing every thing in their
+power to mar the success of the hunt. We forbear to detail these pitiful
+contentions.
+
+The most lamentable tale of disasters, however, that Captain Bonneville
+had to hear, was from a partisan, whom he had detached in the preceding
+year, with twenty men, to hunt through the outskirts of the Crow
+country, and on the tributary streams of the Yellowstone; whence he was
+to proceed and join him in his winter quarters on Salmon River. This
+partisan appeared at the rendezvous without his party, and a sorrowful
+tale of disasters had he to relate. In hunting the Crow country, he fell
+in with a village of that tribe; notorious rogues, jockeys, and horse
+stealers, and errant scamperers of the mountains. These decoyed most of
+his men to desert, and carry off horses, traps, and accoutrements. When
+he attempted to retake the deserters, the Crow warriors ruffled up to
+him and declared the deserters were their good friends, had determined
+to remain among them, and should not be molested. The poor partisan,
+therefore, was fain to leave his vagabonds among these birds of their
+own feather, and being too weak in numbers to attempt the dangerous
+pass across the mountains to meet Captain Bonneville on Salmon River, he
+made, with the few that remained faithful to him, for the neighborhood
+of Tullock’s Fort, on the Yellowstone, under the protection of which he
+went into winter quarters.
+
+He soon found out that the neighborhood of the fort was nearly as bad
+as the neighborhood of the Crows. His men were continually stealing
+away thither, with whatever beaver skins they could secrete or lay their
+hands on. These they would exchange with the hangers-on of the fort for
+whiskey, and then revel in drunkeness and debauchery.
+
+The unlucky partisan made another move. Associating with his party a
+few free trappers, whom he met with in this neighborhood, he started off
+early in the spring to trap on the head waters of Powder River. In the
+course of the journey, his horses were so much jaded in traversing a
+steep mountain, that he was induced to turn them loose to graze during
+the night. The place was lonely; the path was rugged; there was not the
+sign of an Indian in the neighborhood; not a blade of grass that had
+been turned by a footstep. But who can calculate on security in the
+midst of the Indian country, where the foe lurks in silence and secrecy,
+and seems to come and go on the wings of the wind? The horses had scarce
+been turned loose, when a couple of Arickara (or Rickaree) warriors
+entered the camp. They affected a frank and friendly demeanor; but their
+appearance and movements awakened the suspicions of some of the veteran
+trappers, well versed in Indian wiles. Convinced that they were spies
+sent on some sinister errand, they took them in custody, and set to work
+to drive in the horses. It was too late--the horses were already gone.
+In fact, a war party of Arickaras had been hovering on their trail for
+several days, watching with the patience and perseverance of Indians,
+for some moment of negligence and fancied security, to make a successful
+swoop. The two spies had evidently been sent into the camp to create a
+diversion, while their confederates carried off the spoil.
+
+The unlucky partisan, thus robbed of his horses, turned furiously on his
+prisoners, ordered them to be bound hand and foot, and swore to put them
+to death unless his property were restored. The robbers, who soon
+found that their spies were in captivity, now made their appearance on
+horseback, and held a parley. The sight of them, mounted on the very
+horses they had stolen, set the blood of the mountaineers in a ferment;
+but it was useless to attack them, as they would have but to turn their
+steeds and scamper out of the reach of pedestrians. A negotiation was
+now attempted. The Arickaras offered what they considered fair terms; to
+barter one horse, or even two horses, for a prisoner. The mountaineers
+spurned at their offer, and declared that, unless all the horses were
+relinquished, the prisoners should be burnt to death. To give force to
+their threat, a pyre of logs and fagots was heaped up and kindled into a
+blaze.
+
+The parley continued; the Arickaras released one horse and then another,
+in earnest of their proposition; finding, however, that nothing short of
+the relinquishment of all their spoils would purchase the lives of
+the captives, they abandoned them to their fate, moving off with many
+parting words and lamentable howlings. The prisoners seeing them depart,
+and knowing the horrible fate that awaited them, made a desperate effort
+to escape. They partially succeeded, but were severely wounded and
+retaken; then dragged to the blazing pyre, and burnt to death in the
+sight of their retreating comrades.
+
+Such are the savage cruelties that white men learn to practise, who
+mingle in savage life; and such are the acts that lead to terrible
+recrimination on the part of the Indians. Should we hear of any
+atrocities committed by the Arickaras upon captive white men, let this
+signal and recent provocation be borne in mind. Individual cases of the
+kind dwell in the recollections of whole tribes; and it is a point of
+honor and conscience to revenge them.
+
+The loss of his horses completed the ruin of the unlucky partisan. It
+was out of his power to prosecute his hunting, or to maintain his party;
+the only thought now was how to get back to civilized life. At the first
+water-course, his men built canoes, and committed themselves to the
+stream. Some engaged themselves at various trading establishments
+at which they touched, others got back to the settlements. As to the
+partisan, he found an opportunity to make his way to the rendezvous
+at Green River Valley; which he reached in time to render to Captain
+Bonneville this forlorn account of his misadventures.
+
+
+
+
+20.
+
+     Gathering in Green River valley--Visitings and feastings of
+     leaders--Rough wassailing among the trappers--Wild blades of
+     the mountains--Indian belles--Potency of bright beads and
+     red blankets--Arrival of supplies--Revelry and extravagance
+     --Mad wolves--The lost Indian
+
+THE GREEN RIVER VALLEY was at this time the scene of one of those
+general gatherings of traders, trappers, and Indians, that we have
+already mentioned. The three rival companies, which, for a year past
+had been endeavoring to out-trade, out-trap and out-wit each other, were
+here encamped in close proximity, awaiting their annual supplies. About
+four miles from the rendezvous of Captain Bonneville was that of the
+American Fur Company, hard by which, was that also of the Rocky Mountain
+Fur Company.
+
+After the eager rivalry and almost hostility displayed by these
+companies in their late campaigns, it might be expected that, when thus
+brought in juxtaposition, they would hold themselves warily and sternly
+aloof from each other, and, should they happen to come in contact, brawl
+and bloodshed would ensue.
+
+No such thing! Never did rival lawyers, after a wrangle at the bar,
+meet with more social good humor at a circuit dinner. The hunting
+season over, all past tricks and maneuvres are forgotten, all feuds and
+bickerings buried in oblivion. From the middle of June to the middle of
+September, all trapping is suspended; for the beavers are then shedding
+their furs and their skins are of little value. This, then, is the
+trapper’s holiday, when he is all for fun and frolic, and ready for a
+saturnalia among the mountains.
+
+At the present season, too, all parties were in good humor. The year had
+been productive. Competition, by threatening to lessen their profits,
+had quickened their wits, roused their energies, and made them turn
+every favorable chance to the best advantage; so that, on assembling
+at their respective places of rendezvous, each company found itself in
+possession of a rich stock of peltries.
+
+The leaders of the different companies, therefore, mingled on terms of
+perfect good fellowship; interchanging visits, and regaling each other
+in the best style their respective camps afforded. But the rich
+treat for the worthy captain was to see the “chivalry” of the various
+encampments, engaged in contests of skill at running, jumping,
+wrestling, shooting with the rifle, and running horses. And then their
+rough hunters’ feastings and carousels. They drank together, they sang,
+they laughed, they whooped; they tried to out-brag and out-lie each
+other in stories of their adventures and achievements. Here the free
+trappers were in all their glory; they considered themselves the “cocks
+of the walk,” and always carried the highest crests. Now and then
+familiarity was pushed too far, and would effervesce into a brawl, and a
+“rough and tumble” fight; but it all ended in cordial reconciliation and
+maudlin endearment.
+
+The presence of the Shoshonie tribe contributed occasionally to cause
+temporary jealousies and feuds. The Shoshonie beauties became objects
+of rivalry among some of the amorous mountaineers. Happy was the trapper
+who could muster up a red blanket, a string of gay beads, or a paper
+of precious vermilion, with which to win the smiles of a Shoshonie fair
+one.
+
+The caravans of supplies arrived at the valley just at this period
+of gallantry and good fellowship. Now commenced a scene of eager
+competition and wild prodigality at the different encampments. Bales
+were hastily ripped open, and their motley contents poured forth.
+A mania for purchasing spread itself throughout the several
+bands--munitions for war, for hunting, for gallantry, were seized upon
+with equal avidity--rifles, hunting knives, traps, scarlet cloth, red
+blankets, garish beads, and glittering trinkets, were bought at any
+price, and scores run up without any thought how they were ever to be
+rubbed off. The free trappers, especially, were extravagant in their
+purchases. For a free mountaineer to pause at a paltry consideration of
+dollars and cents, in the attainment of any object that might strike his
+fancy, would stamp him with the mark of the beast in the estimation of
+his comrades. For a trader to refuse one of these free and flourishing
+blades a credit, whatever unpaid scores might stare him in the face,
+would be a flagrant affront scarcely to be forgiven.
+
+Now succeeded another outbreak of revelry and extravagance. The trappers
+were newly fitted out and arrayed, and dashed about with their horses
+caparisoned in Indian style. The Shoshonie beauties also flaunted
+about in all the colors of the rainbow. Every freak of prodigality
+was indulged to its fullest extent, and in a little while most of
+the trappers, having squandered away all their wages, and perhaps
+run knee-deep in debt, were ready for another hard campaign in the
+wilderness.
+
+During this season of folly and frolic, there was an alarm of mad wolves
+in the two lower camps. One or more of these animals entered the camps
+for three nights successively, and bit several of the people.
+
+Captain Bonneville relates the case of an Indian, who was a universal
+favorite in the lower camp. He had been bitten by one of these animals.
+Being out with a party shortly afterwards, he grew silent and gloomy,
+and lagged behind the rest as if he wished to leave them. They halted
+and urged him to move faster, but he entreated them not to approach him,
+and, leaping from his horse, began to roll frantically on the earth,
+gnashing his teeth and foaming at the mouth. Still he retained his
+senses, and warned his companions not to come near him, as he should not
+be able to restrain himself from biting them. They hurried off to obtain
+relief; but on their return he was nowhere to be found. His horse and
+his accoutrements remained upon the spot. Three or four days afterwards
+a solitary Indian, believed to be the same, was observed crossing a
+valley, and pursued; but he darted away into the fastnesses of the
+mountains, and was seen no more.
+
+Another instance we have from a different person who was present in the
+encampment. One of the men of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company had been
+bitten. He set out shortly afterwards in company with two white men on
+his return to the settlements. In the course of a few days he showed
+symptoms of hydrophobia, and became raving toward night. At length,
+breaking away from his companions, he rushed into a thicket of willows,
+where they left him to his fate!
+
+
+
+
+21.
+
+     Schemes of Captain Bonneville--The Great Salt Lake
+     Expedition to explore it--Preparations for a journey to the
+     Bighorn
+
+CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE now found himself at the head of a hardy,
+well-seasoned and well-appointed company of trappers, all benefited
+by at least one year’s experience among the mountains, and capable of
+protecting themselves from Indian wiles and stratagems, and of providing
+for their subsistence wherever game was to be found. He had, also, an
+excellent troop of horses, in prime condition, and fit for hard service.
+He determined, therefore, to strike out into some of the bolder parts of
+his scheme. One of these was to carry his expeditions into some of the
+unknown tracts of the Far West, beyond what is generally termed the
+buffalo range. This would have something of the merit and charm of
+discovery, so dear to every brave and adventurous spirit. Another
+favorite project was to establish a trading post on the lower part
+of the Columbia River, near the Multnomah valley, and to endeavor to
+retrieve for his country some of the lost trade of Astoria.
+
+The first of the above mentioned views was, at present, uppermost in his
+mind--the exploring of unknown regions. Among the grand features of the
+wilderness about which he was roaming, one had made a vivid impression
+on his mind, and been clothed by his imagination with vague and ideal
+charms. This is a great lake of salt water, laving the feet of the
+mountains, but extending far to the west-southwest, into one of those
+vast and elevated plateaus of land, which range high above the level of
+the Pacific.
+
+Captain Bonneville gives a striking account of the lake when seen from
+the land. As you ascend the mountains about its shores, says he, you
+behold this immense body of water spreading itself before you, and
+stretching further and further, in one wide and far-reaching expanse,
+until the eye, wearied with continued and strained attention, rests
+in the blue dimness of distance, upon lofty ranges of mountains,
+confidently asserted to rise from the bosom of the waters. Nearer to
+you, the smooth and unruffled surface is studded with little islands,
+where the mountain sheep roam in considerable numbers. What extent of
+lowland may be encompassed by the high peaks beyond, must remain for the
+present matter of mere conjecture though from the form of the summits,
+and the breaks which may be discovered among them, there can be little
+doubt that they are the sources of streams calculated to water large
+tracts, which are probably concealed from view by the rotundity of the
+lake’s surface. At some future day, in all probability, the rich harvest
+of beaver fur, which may be reasonably anticipated in such a spot, will
+tempt adventurers to reduce all this doubtful region to the palpable
+certainty of a beaten track. At present, however, destitute of the means
+of making boats, the trapper stands upon the shore, and gazes upon a
+promised land which his feet are never to tread.
+
+Such is the somewhat fanciful view which Captain Bonneville gives to
+this great body of water. He has evidently taken part of his ideas
+concerning it from the representations of others, who have somewhat
+exaggerated its features. It is reported to be about one hundred and
+fifty miles long, and fifty miles broad. The ranges of mountain peaks
+which Captain Bonneville speaks of, as rising from its bosom, are
+probably the summits of mountains beyond it, which may be visible at
+a vast distance, when viewed from an eminence, in the transparent
+atmosphere of these lofty regions. Several large islands certainly exist
+in the lake; one of which is said to be mountainous, but not by any
+means to the extent required to furnish the series of peaks above
+mentioned.
+
+Captain Sublette, in one of his early expeditions across the mountains,
+is said to have sent four men in a skin canoe, to explore the lake,
+who professed to have navigated all round it; but to have suffered
+excessively from thirst, the water of the lake being extremely salt, and
+there being no fresh streams running into it.
+
+Captain Bonneville doubts this report, or that the men accomplished
+the circumnavigation, because, he says, the lake receives several large
+streams from the mountains which bound it to the east. In the spring,
+when the streams are swollen by rain and by the melting of the snows,
+the lake rises several feet above its ordinary level during the summer,
+it gradually subsides again, leaving a sparkling zone of the finest salt
+upon its shores.
+
+The elevation of the vast plateau on which this lake is situated, is
+estimated by Captain Bonneville at one and three-fourths of a mile above
+the level of the ocean. The admirable purity and transparency of the
+atmosphere in this region, allowing objects to be seen, and the report
+of firearms to be heard, at an astonishing distance; and its extreme
+dryness, causing the wheels of wagons to fall in pieces, as instanced
+in former passages of this work, are proofs of the great altitude of the
+Rocky Mountain plains. That a body of salt water should exist at such a
+height is cited as a singular phenomenon by Captain Bonneville, though
+the salt lake of Mexico is not much inferior in elevation.
+
+To have this lake properly explored, and all its secrets revealed, was
+the grand scheme of the captain for the present year; and while it was
+one in which his imagination evidently took a leading part, he believed
+it would be attended with great profit, from the numerous beaver streams
+with which the lake must be fringed.
+
+This momentous undertaking he confided to his lieutenant, Mr. Walker, in
+whose experience and ability he had great confidence. He instructed him
+to keep along the shores of the lake, and trap in all the streams on his
+route; also to keep a journal, and minutely to record the events of his
+journey, and everything curious or interesting, making maps or charts of
+his route, and of the surrounding country.
+
+No pains nor expense were spared in fitting out the party, of forty men,
+which he was to command. They had complete supplies for a year, and were
+to meet Captain Bonneville in the ensuing summer, in the valley of Bear
+River, the largest tributary of the Salt Lake, which was to be his point
+of general rendezvous.
+
+The next care of Captain Bonneville was to arrange for the safe
+transportation of the peltries which he had collected to the Atlantic
+States. Mr. Robert Campbell, the partner of Sublette, was at this time
+in the rendezvous of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, having brought up
+their supplies. He was about to set off on his return, with the peltries
+collected during the year, and intended to proceed through the Crow
+country, to the head of navigation on the Bighorn River, and to descend
+in boats down that river, the Missouri, and the Yellowstone, to St.
+Louis.
+
+Captain Bonneville determined to forward his peltries by the same
+route, under the especial care of Mr. Cerre. By way of escort, he would
+accompany Cerre to the point of embarkation, and then make an autumnal
+hunt in the Crow country.
+
+
+
+
+22.
+
+     The Crow country--A Crow paradise Habits of the Crows--
+     Anecdotes of Rose, the renegade white man--His fights with
+     the Blackfeet--His elevation--His death--Arapooish, the Crow
+     chief--His eagle Adventure of Robert Campbell--Honor among
+     Crows
+
+BEFORE WE ACCOMPANY Captain Bonneville into the Crow country, we will
+impart a few facts about this wild region, and the wild people who
+inhabit it. We are not aware of the precise boundaries, if there are
+any, of the country claimed by the Crows; it appears to extend from
+the Black Hills to the Rocky Mountains, including a part of their lofty
+ranges, and embracing many of the plains and valleys watered by the Wind
+River, the Yellowstone, the Powder River, the Little Missouri, and the
+Nebraska. The country varies in soil and climate; there are vast plains
+of sand and clay, studded with large red sand-hills; other parts are
+mountainous and picturesque; it possesses warm springs, and coal mines,
+and abounds with game.
+
+But let us give the account of the country as rendered by Arapooish, a
+Crow chief, to Mr. Robert Campbell, of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
+
+“The Crow country,” said he, “is a good country. The Great Spirit has
+put it exactly in the right place; while you-are in it you fare well;
+whenever you go out of it, whichever way you travel, you fare worse.
+
+“If you go to the south, you have to wander over great barren plains;
+the water is warm and bad, and you meet the fever and ague.
+
+“To the north it is cold; the winters are long and bitter, with no
+grass; you cannot keep horses there, but must travel with dogs. What is
+a country without horses?
+
+“On the Columbia they are poor and dirty, paddle about in canoes, and
+eat fish. Their teeth are worn out; they are always taking fish-bones
+out of their mouths. Fish is poor food.
+
+“To the east, they dwell in villages; they live well; but they drink the
+muddy water of the Missouri--that is bad. A Crow’s dog would not drink
+such water.
+
+“About the forks of the Missouri is a fine country; good water; good
+grass; plenty of buffalo. In summer, it is almost as good as the Crow
+country; but in winter it is cold; the grass is gone; and there is no
+salt weed for the horses.
+
+“The Crow country is exactly in the right place. It has snowy mountains
+and sunny plains; all kinds of climates and good things for every
+season. When the summer heats scorch the prairies, you can draw up under
+the mountains, where the air is sweet and cool, the grass fresh, and the
+bright streams come tumbling out of the snow-banks. There you can
+hunt the elk, the deer, and the antelope, when their skins are fit for
+dressing; there you will find plenty of white bears and mountain sheep.
+
+“In the autumn, when your horses are fat and strong from the mountain
+pastures, you can go down into the plains and hunt the buffalo, or trap
+beaver on the streams. And when winter comes on, you can take shelter in
+the woody bottoms along the rivers; there you will find buffalo meat for
+yourselves, and cotton-wood bark for your horses: or you may winter in
+the Wind River valley, where there is salt weed in abundance.
+
+“The Crow country is exactly in the right place. Everything good is to
+be found there. There is no country like the Crow country.”
+
+Such is the eulogium on his country by Arapooish.
+
+We have had repeated occasions to speak of the restless and predatory
+habits of the Crows. They can muster fifteen hundred fighting men, but
+their incessant wars with the Blackfeet, and their vagabond, predatory
+habits, are gradually wearing them out.
+
+In a recent work, we related the circumstance of a white man named Rose,
+an outlaw, and a designing vagabond, who acted as guide and interpreter
+to Mr. Hunt and his party, on their journey across the mountains to
+Astoria, who came near betraying them into the hands of the Crows, and
+who remained among the tribe, marrying one of their women, and adopting
+their congenial habits. A few anecdotes of the subsequent fortunes of
+that renegade may not be uninteresting, especially as they are connected
+with the fortunes of the tribe.
+
+Rose was powerful in frame and fearless in spirit; and soon by his
+daring deeds took his rank among the first braves of the tribe. He
+aspired to command, and knew it was only to be attained by desperate
+exploits. He distinguished himself in repeated actions with Blackfeet.
+On one occasion, a band of those savages had fortified themselves within
+a breastwork, and could not be harmed. Rose proposed to storm the work.
+“Who will take the lead?” was the demand. “I!” cried he; and putting
+himself at their head, rushed forward. The first Blackfoot that opposed
+him he shot down with his rifle, and, snatching up the war-club of his
+victim, killed four others within the fort. The victory was complete,
+and Rose returned to the Crow village covered with glory, and bearing
+five Blackfoot scalps, to be erected as a trophy before his lodge. From
+this time, he was known among the Crows by the name of Che-ku-kaats,
+or “the man who killed five.” He became chief of the village, or rather
+band, and for a time was the popular idol. His popularity soon awakened
+envy among the native braves; he was a stranger, an intruder, a white
+man. A party seceded from his command. Feuds and civil wars succeeded
+that lasted for two or three years, until Rose, having contrived to set
+his adopted brethren by the ears, left them, and went down the Missouri
+in 1823. Here he fell in with one of the earliest trapping expeditions
+sent by General Ashley across the mountains. It was conducted by
+Smith, Fitzpatrick, and Sublette. Rose enlisted with them as guide
+and interpreter. When he got them among the Crows, he was exceedingly
+generous with their goods; making presents to the braves of his adopted
+tribe, as became a high-minded chief.
+
+This, doubtless, helped to revive his popularity. In that expedition,
+Smith and Fitzpatrick were robbed of their horses in Green River valley;
+the place where the robbery took place still bears the name of Horse
+Creek. We are not informed whether the horses were stolen through the
+instigation and management of Rose; it is not improbable, for such was
+the perfidy he had intended to practice on a former occasion toward Mr.
+Hunt and his party.
+
+The last anecdote we have of Rose is from an Indian trader. When General
+Atkinson made his military expedition up the Missouri, in 1825, to
+protect the fur trade, he held a conference with the Crow nation,
+at which Rose figured as Indian dignitary and Crow interpreter. The
+military were stationed at some little distance from the scene of the
+“big talk”; while the general and the chiefs were smoking pipes and
+making speeches, the officers, supposing all was friendly, left the
+troops, and drew near the scene of ceremonial. Some of the more knowing
+Crows, perceiving this, stole quietly to the camp, and, unobserved,
+contrived to stop the touch-holes of the field-pieces with dirt. Shortly
+after, a misunderstanding occurred in the conference: some of the
+Indians, knowing the cannon to be useless, became insolent. A tumult
+arose. In the confusion, Colonel O’Fallan snapped a pistol in the face
+of a brave, and knocked him down with the butt end. The Crows were all
+in a fury. A chance-medley fight was on the point of taking place, when
+Rose, his natural sympathies as a white man suddenly recurring, broke
+the stock of his fusee over the head of a Crow warrior, and laid so
+vigorously about him with the barrel, that he soon put the whole throng
+to flight. Luckily, as no lives had been lost, this sturdy rib roasting
+calmed the fury of the Crows, and the tumult ended without serious
+consequences.
+
+What was the ultimate fate of this vagabond hero is not distinctly
+known. Some report him to have fallen a victim to disease, brought on by
+his licentious life; others assert that he was murdered in a feud
+among the Crows. After all, his residence among these savages, and
+the influence he acquired over them, had, for a time, some beneficial
+effects. He is said, not merely to have rendered them more formidable
+to the Blackfeet, but to have opened their eyes to the policy of
+cultivating the friendship of the white men.
+
+After Rose’s death, his policy continued to be cultivated, with
+indifferent success, by Arapooish, the chief already mentioned, who
+had been his great friend, and whose character he had contributed
+to develope. This sagacious chief endeavored, on every occasion, to
+restrain the predatory propensities of his tribe when directed against
+the white men. “If we keep friends with them,” said he, “we have nothing
+to fear from the Blackfeet, and can rule the mountains.” Arapooish
+pretended to be a great “medicine man”, a character among the Indians
+which is a compound of priest, doctor, prophet, and conjurer. He carried
+about with him a tame eagle, as his “medicine” or familiar. With the
+white men, he acknowledged that this was all charlatanism, but said it
+was necessary, to give him weight and influence among his people.
+
+Mr. Robert Campbell, from whom we have most of these facts, in the
+course of one of his trapping expeditions, was quartered in the
+village of Arapooish, and a guest in the lodge of the chieftain. He had
+collected a large quantity of furs, and, fearful of being plundered,
+deposited but a part in the lodge of the chief; the rest he buried in a
+cache. One night, Arapooish came into the lodge with a cloudy brow, and
+seated himself for a time without saying a word. At length, turning to
+Campbell, “You have more furs with you,” said he, “than you have brought
+into my lodge?”
+
+“I have,” replied Campbell.
+
+“Where are they?”
+
+Campbell knew the uselessness of any prevarication with an Indian; and
+the importance of complete frankness. He described the exact place where
+he had concealed his peltries.
+
+“‘Tis well,” replied Arapooish; “you speak straight. It is just as you
+say. But your cache has been robbed. Go and see how many skins have been
+taken from it.”
+
+Campbell examined the cache, and estimated his loss to be about one
+hundred and fifty beaver skins.
+
+Arapooish now summoned a meeting of the village. He bitterly reproached
+his people for robbing a stranger who had confided to their honor; and
+commanded that whoever had taken the skins, should bring them back:
+declaring that, as Campbell was his guest and inmate of his lodge, he
+would not eat nor drink until every skin was restored to him.
+
+The meeting broke up, and every one dispersed. Arapooish now charged
+Campbell to give neither reward nor thanks to any one who should bring
+in the beaver skins, but to keep count as they were delivered.
+
+In a little while, the skins began to make their appearance, a few at
+a time; they were laid down in the lodge, and those who brought them
+departed without saying a word. The day passed away. Arapooish sat
+in one corner of his lodge, wrapped up in his robe, scarcely moving a
+muscle of his countenance. When night arrived, he demanded if all
+the skins had been brought in. Above a hundred had been given up, and
+Campbell expressed himself contented. Not so the Crow chieftain. He
+fasted all that night, nor tasted a drop of water. In the morning, some
+more skins were brought in, and continued to come, one and two at a
+time, throughout the day, until but a few were wanting to make the
+number complete. Campbell was now anxious to put an end to this fasting
+of the old chief, and again declared that he was perfectly satisfied.
+Arapooish demanded what number of skins were yet wanting. On being told,
+he whispered to some of his people, who disappeared. After a time the
+number were brought in, though it was evident they were not any of the
+skins that had been stolen, but others gleaned in the village.
+
+“Is all right now?” demanded Arapooish.
+
+“All is right,” replied Campbell.
+
+“Good! Now bring me meat and drink!”
+
+When they were alone together, Arapooish had a conversation with his
+guest.
+
+“When you come another time among the Crows,” said he, “don’t hide your
+goods: trust to them and they will not wrong you. Put your goods in the
+lodge of a chief, and they are sacred; hide them in a cache, and any one
+who finds will steal them. My people have now given up your goods for
+my sake; but there are some foolish young men in the village, who may
+be disposed to be troublesome. Don’t linger, therefore, but pack your
+horses and be off.”
+
+Campbell took his advice, and made his way safely out of the Crow
+country. He has ever since maintained that the Crows are not so black
+as they are painted. “Trust to their honor,” says he, “and you are safe:
+trust to their honesty, and they will steal the hair off your head.”
+
+Having given these few preliminary particulars, we will resume the
+course of our narrative.
+
+
+
+
+23.
+
+     Departure from--Green River valley--Popo-Agie--Its course--
+     The rivers into which it runs--Scenery of the Bluffs the
+     great Tar Spring--Volcanic tracts in the Crow country--
+     Burning Mountain of Powder River--Sulphur springs--Hidden
+     fires--Colter’s Hell-Wind River--Campbell’s party--
+     Fitzpatrick and his trappers--Captain Stewart, an amateur
+     traveller--Nathaniel Wyeth--Anecdotes of his expedition to
+     the Far West--Disaster of Campbell’s party--A union of
+     bands--The Bad Pass--The rapids--Departure of Fitzpatrick--
+     Embarkation of peltries--Wyeth and his bull boat--Adventures
+     of Captain--Bonneville in the Bighorn Mountains--Adventures
+     in the plain--Traces of Indians--Travelling precautions--
+     Dangers of making a smoke--The rendezvous
+
+ON THE 25TH of July, Captain Bonneville struck his tents, and set out
+on his route for the Bighorn, at the head of a party of fifty-six men,
+including those who were to embark with Cerre. Crossing the Green River
+valley, he proceeded along the south point of the Wind River range of
+mountains, and soon fell upon the track of Mr. Robert Campbell’s party,
+which had preceded him by a day. This he pursued, until he perceived
+that it led down the banks of the Sweet Water to the southeast. As this
+was different from his proposed direction, he left it; and turning to
+the northeast, soon came upon the waters of the Popo Agie. This stream
+takes its rise in the Wind River Mountains. Its name, like most Indian
+names, is characteristic. Popo, in the Crow language, signifies head;
+and Agie, river. It is the head of a long river, extending from the
+south end of the Wind River Mountains in a northeast direction, until it
+falls into the Yellowstone. Its course is generally through plains,
+but is twice crossed by chains of mountains; the first called the
+Littlehorn; the second, the Bighorn. After it has forced its way through
+the first chain, it is called the Horn River; after the second chain,
+it is called the Bighorn River. Its passage through this last chain
+is rough and violent; making repeated falls, and rushing down long and
+furious rapids, which threaten destruction to the navigator; though a
+hardy trapper is said to have shot down them in a canoe. At the foot of
+these rapids, is the head of navigation; where it was the intention of
+the parties to construct boats, and embark.
+
+Proceeding down along the Popo Agie, Captain Bonneville came again in
+full view of the “Bluffs,” as they are called, extending from the base
+of the Wind River Mountains far away to the east, and presenting to the
+eye a confusion of hills and cliffs of red sandstone, some peaked and
+angular, some round, some broken into crags and precipices, and piled up
+in fantastic masses; but all naked and sterile. There appeared to be no
+soil favorable to vegetation, nothing but coarse gravel; yet, over all
+this isolated, barren landscape, were diffused such atmospherical tints
+and hues, as to blend the whole into harmony and beauty.
+
+In this neighborhood, the captain made search for “the great Tar
+Spring,” one of the wonders of the mountains; the medicinal properties
+of which, he had heard extravagantly lauded by the trappers. After a
+toilsome search, he found it at the foot of a sand-bluff, a little east
+of the Wind River Mountains; where it exuded in a small stream of the
+color and consistency of tar. The men immediately hastened to collect
+a quantity of it, to use as an ointment for the galled backs of
+their horses, and as a balsam for their own pains and aches. From the
+description given of it, it is evidently the bituminous oil, called
+petrolium or naphtha, which forms a principal ingredient in the potent
+medicine called British Oil. It is found in various parts of Europe and
+Asia, in several of the West India islands, and in some places of the
+United States. In the state of New York, it is called Seneca Oil, from
+being found near the Seneca lake.
+
+The Crow country has other natural curiosities, which are held in
+superstitious awe by the Indians, and considered great marvels by the
+trappers. Such is the Burning Mountain, on Powder River, abounding
+with anthracite coal. Here the earth is hot and cracked; in many places
+emitting smoke and sulphurous vapors, as if covering concealed fires. A
+volcanic tract of similar character is found on Stinking River, one of
+the tributaries of the Bighorn, which takes its unhappy name from the
+odor derived from sulphurous springs and streams. This last mentioned
+place was first discovered by Colter, a hunter belonging to Lewis and
+Clarke’s exploring party, who came upon it in the course of his lonely
+wanderings, and gave such an account of its gloomy terrors, its hidden
+fires, smoking pits, noxious streams, and the all-pervading “smell
+of brimstone,” that it received, and has ever since retained among
+trappers, the name of “Colter’s Hell!”
+
+Resuming his descent along the left bank of the Popo Agie, Captain
+Bonneville soon reached the plains; where he found several large streams
+entering from the west. Among these was Wind River, which gives its name
+to the mountains among which it takes its rise. This is one of the most
+important streams of the Crow country. The river being much swollen,
+Captain Bonneville halted at its mouth, and sent out scouts to look for
+a fording place. While thus encamped, he beheld in the course of the
+afternoon a long line of horsemen descending the slope of the hills on
+the opposite side of the Popo Agie. His first idea was that they were
+Indians; he soon discovered, however, that they were white men, and,
+by the long line of pack-horses, ascertained them to be the convoy of
+Campbell, which, having descended the Sweet Water, was now on its way to
+the Horn River.
+
+The two parties came together two or three days afterwards, on the
+4th of August, after having passed through the gap of the Littlehorn
+Mountain. In company with Campbell’s convoy was a trapping party of the
+Rocky Mountain Company, headed by Fitzpatrick; who, after Campbell’s
+embarkation on the Bighorn, was to take charge of all the horses,
+and proceed on a trapping campaign. There were, moreover, two chance
+companions in the rival camp. One was Captain Stewart, of the British
+army, a gentleman of noble connections, who was amusing himself by a
+wandering tour in the Far West; in the course of which, he had lived
+in hunter’s style; accompanying various bands of traders, trappers, and
+Indians; and manifesting that relish for the wilderness that belongs to
+men of game spirit.
+
+The other casual inmate of Mr. Campbell’s camp was Mr. Nathaniel Wyeth;
+the self-same leader of the band of New England salmon fishers, with
+whom we parted company in the valley of Pierre’s Hole, after the battle
+with the Blackfeet. A few days after that affair, he again set out
+from the rendezvous in company with Milton Sublette and his brigade of
+trappers. On his march, he visited the battle ground, and penetrated to
+the deserted fort of the Blackfeet in the midst of the wood. It was a
+dismal scene. The fort was strewed with the mouldering bodies of the
+slain; while vultures soared aloft, or sat brooding on the trees around;
+and Indian dogs howled about the place, as if bewailing the death
+of their masters. Wyeth travelled for a considerable distance to the
+southwest, in company with Milton Sublette, when they separated; and the
+former, with eleven men, the remnant of his band, pushed on for Snake
+River; kept down the course of that eventful stream; traversed the Blue
+Mountains, trapping beaver occasionally by the way, and finally, after
+hardships of all kinds, arrived, on the 29th of October, at Vancouver,
+on the Columbia, the main factory of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
+
+He experienced hospitable treatment at the hands of the agents of that
+company; but his men, heartily tired of wandering in the wilderness, or
+tempted by other prospects, refused, for the most part, to continue
+any longer in his service. Some set off for the Sandwich Islands; some
+entered into other employ. Wyeth found, too, that a great part of the
+goods he had brought with him were unfitted for the Indian trade; in a
+word, his expedition, undertaken entirely on his own resources, proved a
+failure. He lost everything invested in it, but his hopes. These were as
+strong as ever. He took note of every thing, therefore, that could be of
+service to him in the further prosecution of his project; collected
+all the information within his reach, and then set off, accompanied by
+merely two men, on his return journey across the continent. He had got
+thus far “by hook and by crook,” a mode in which a New England man can
+make his way all over the world, and through all kinds of difficulties,
+and was now bound for Boston; in full confidence of being able to form a
+company for the salmon fishery and fur trade of the Columbia.
+
+The party of Mr. Campbell had met with a disaster in the course of
+their route from the Sweet Water. Three or four of the men, who were
+reconnoitering the country in advance of the main body, were visited one
+night in their camp, by fifteen or twenty Shoshonies. Considering this
+tribe as perfectly friendly, they received them in the most cordial and
+confiding manner. In the course of the night, the man on guard near the
+horses fell sound asleep; upon which a Shoshonie shot him in the head,
+and nearly killed him. The savages then made off with the horses,
+leaving the rest of the party to find their way to the main body on
+foot.
+
+The rival companies of Captain Bonneville and Mr. Campbell, thus
+fortuitously brought together, now prosecuted their journey in great
+good fellowship; forming a joint camp of about a hundred men. The
+captain, however, began to entertain doubts that Fitzpatrick and his
+trappers, who kept profound silence as to their future movements,
+intended to hunt the same grounds which he had selected for his autumnal
+campaign; which lay to the west of the Horn River, on its tributary
+streams. In the course of his march, therefore, he secretly detached
+a small party of trappers, to make their way to those hunting grounds,
+while he continued on with the main body; appointing a rendezvous, at
+the next full moon, about the 28th of August, at a place called the
+Medicine Lodge.
+
+On reaching the second chain, called the Bighorn Mountains, where
+the river forced its impetuous way through a precipitous defile, with
+cascades and rapids, the travellers were obliged to leave its banks,
+and traverse the mountains by a rugged and frightful route, emphatically
+called the “Bad Pass.” Descending the opposite side, they again made for
+the river banks; and about the middle of August, reached the point below
+the rapids where the river becomes navigable for boats. Here Captain
+Bonneville detached a second party of trappers, consisting of ten
+men, to seek and join those whom he had detached while on the route;
+appointing for them the same rendezvous, (at the Medicine Lodge,) on the
+28th of August.
+
+All hands now set to work to construct “bull boats,” as they are
+technically called; a light, fragile kind of bark, characteristic of
+the expedients and inventions of the wilderness; being formed of buffalo
+skins, stretched on frames. They are sometimes, also, called skin boats.
+Wyeth was the first ready; and, with his usual promptness and hardihood,
+launched his frail bark, singly, on this wild and hazardous voyage, down
+an almost interminable succession of rivers, winding through countries
+teeming with savage hordes. Milton Sublette, his former fellow
+traveller, and his companion in the battle scenes of Pierre’s Hole,
+took passage in his boat. His crew consisted of two white men, and two
+Indians. We shall hear further of Wyeth, and his wild voyage, in the
+course of our wanderings about the Far West.
+
+The remaining parties soon completed their several armaments. That
+of Captain Bonneville was composed of three bull boats, in which he
+embarked all his peltries, giving them in charge of Mr. Cerre, with a
+party of thirty-six men. Mr. Campbell took command of his own boats, and
+the little squadrons were soon gliding down the bright current of the
+Bighorn.
+
+The secret precautions which Captain Bonneville had taken to throw his
+men first into the trapping ground west of the Bighorn, were, probably,
+superfluous. It did not appear that Fitzpatrick had intended to hunt in
+that direction. The moment Mr. Campbell and his men embarked with the
+peltries, Fitzpatrick took charge of all the horses, amounting to above
+a hundred, and struck off to the east, to trap upon Littlehorn, Powder,
+and Tongue rivers. He was accompanied by Captain Stewart, who was
+desirous of having a range about the Crow country. Of the adventures
+they met with in that region of vagabonds and horse stealers, we shall
+have something to relate hereafter.
+
+Captain Bonneville being now left to prosecute his trapping campaign
+without rivalry, set out, on the 17th of August, for the rendezvous at
+Medicine Lodge. He had but four men remaining with him, and forty-six
+horses to take care of; with these he had to make his way over mountain
+and plain, through a marauding, horse-stealing region, full of peril
+for a numerous cavalcade so slightly manned. He addressed himself to his
+difficult journey, however, with his usual alacrity of spirit.
+
+In the afternoon of his first day’s journey, on drawing near to the
+Bighorn Mountain, on the summit of which he intended to encamp for the
+night, he observed, to his disquiet, a cloud of smoke rising from
+its base. He came to a halt, and watched it anxiously. It was very
+irregular; sometimes it would almost die away; and then would mount up
+in heavy volumes. There was, apparently, a large party encamped there;
+probably, some ruffian horde of Blackfeet. At any rate, it would not do
+for so small a number of men, with so numerous a cavalcade, to venture
+within sight of any wandering tribe. Captain Bonneville and his
+companions, therefore, avoided this dangerous neighborhood; and,
+proceeding with extreme caution, reached the summit of the mountain,
+apparently without being discovered. Here they found a deserted
+Blackfoot fort, in which they ensconced themselves; disposed of every
+thing as securely as possible, and passed the night without molestation.
+Early the next morning they descended the south side of the mountain
+into the great plain extending between it and the Littlehorn range. Here
+they soon came upon numerous footprints, and the carcasses of buffaloes;
+by which they knew there must be Indians not far off. Captain Bonneville
+now began to feel solicitude about the two small parties of trappers
+which he had detached, lest the Indians should have come upon them
+before they had united their forces. But he felt still more solicitude
+about his own party; for it was hardly to be expected he could traverse
+these naked plains undiscovered, when Indians were abroad; and should
+he be discovered, his chance would be a desperate one. Everything now
+depended upon the greatest circumspection. It was dangerous to discharge
+a gun, or light a fire, or make the least noise, where such quick-eared
+and quick-sighted enemies were at hand. In the course of the day they
+saw indubitable signs that the buffalo had been roaming there in great
+numbers, and had recently been frightened away. That night they encamped
+with the greatest care; and threw up a strong breastwork for their
+protection.
+
+For the two succeeding days they pressed forward rapidly, but
+cautiously, across the great plain; fording the tributary streams of the
+Horn River; encamping one night among thickets; the next, on an island;
+meeting, repeatedly, with traces of Indians; and now and then, in
+passing through a defile, experiencing alarms that induced them to cock
+their rifles.
+
+On the last day of their march hunger got the better of their caution,
+and they shot a fine buffalo bull at the risk of being betrayed by the
+report. They did not halt to make a meal, but carried the meat on with
+them to the place of rendezvous, the Medicine Lodge, where they arrived
+safely, in the evening, and celebrated their arrival by a hearty supper.
+
+The next morning they erected a strong pen for the horses, and a
+fortress of logs for themselves; and continued to observe the greatest
+caution. Their cooking was all done at mid-day, when the fire makes no
+glare, and a moderate smoke cannot be perceived at any great distance.
+In the morning and the evening, when the wind is lulled, the smoke rises
+perpendicularly in a blue column, or floats in light clouds above the
+tree-tops, and can be discovered from afar.
+
+In this way the little party remained for several days, cautiously
+encamped, until, on the 29th of August, the two detachments they had
+been expecting, arrived together at the rendezvous. They, as usual, had
+their several tales of adventures to relate to the captain, which we
+will furnish to the reader in the next chapter.
+
+
+
+
+24.
+
+     Adventures of the party of ten--The--Balaamite mule--A dead
+     point--The mysterious elks--A night attack--A retreat--
+     Travelling under an alarm--A joyful meeting--Adventures of
+     the other party--A decoy elk--Retreat to an island--A savage
+     dance of triumph--Arrival at Wind River
+
+THE ADVENTURES of the detachment of ten are the first in order. These
+trappers, when they separated from Captain Bonneville at the place where
+the furs were embarked, proceeded to the foot of the Bighorn Mountain,
+and having encamped, one of them mounted his mule and went out to set
+his trap in a neighboring stream. He had not proceeded far when his
+steed came to a full stop. The trapper kicked and cudgelled, but to
+every blow and kick the mule snorted and kicked up, but still refused
+to budge an inch. The rider now cast his eyes warily around in search of
+some cause for this demur, when, to his dismay, he discovered an Indian
+fort within gunshot distance, lowering through the twilight. In a
+twinkling he wheeled about; his mule now seemed as eager to get on as
+himself, and in a few moments brought him, clattering with his traps,
+among his comrades. He was jeered at for his alacrity in retreating;
+his report was treated as a false alarm; his brother trappers contented
+themselves with reconnoitring the fort at a distance, and pronounced
+that it was deserted.
+
+As night set in, the usual precaution, enjoined by Captain Bonneville on
+his men, was observed. The horses were brought in and tied, and a guard
+stationed over them. This done, the men wrapped themselves in their
+blankets, stretched themselves before the fire, and being fatigued with
+a long day’s march, and gorged with a hearty supper, were soon in a
+profound sleep.
+
+The camp fires gradually died away; all was dark and silent; the
+sentinel stationed to watch the horses had marched as far, and supped
+as heartily as any of his companions, and while they snored, he began to
+nod at his post. After a time, a low trampling noise reached his ear. He
+half opened his closing eyes, and beheld two or three elks moving about
+the lodges, picking, and smelling, and grazing here and there. The sight
+of elk within the purlieus of the camp caused some little surprise; but
+having had his supper, he cared not for elk meat, and, suffering them to
+graze about unmolested, soon relapsed into a doze.
+
+Suddenly, before daybreak, a discharge of firearms, and a struggle and
+tramp of horses, made every one start to his feet. The first move was to
+secure the horses. Some were gone; others were struggling, and kicking,
+and trembling, for there was a horrible uproar of whoops, and yells, and
+firearms. Several trappers stole quietly from the camp, and succeeded
+in driving in the horses which had broken away; the rest were tethered
+still more strongly. A breastwork was thrown up of saddles, baggage,
+and camp furniture, and all hands waited anxiously for daylight. The
+Indians, in the meantime, collected on a neighboring height, kept up
+the most horrible clamor, in hopes of striking a panic into the camp, or
+frightening off the horses. When the day dawned, the trappers attacked
+them briskly and drove them to some distance. A desultory fire was kept
+up for an hour, when the Indians, seeing nothing was to be gained, gave
+up the contest and retired. They proved to be a war party of Blackfeet,
+who, while in search of the Crow tribe, had fallen upon the trail of
+Captain Bonneville on the Popo Agie, and dogged him to the Bighorn; but
+had been completely baffled by his vigilance. They had then waylaid the
+present detachment, and were actually housed in perfect silence within
+their fort, when the mule of the trapper made such a dead point.
+
+The savages went off uttering the wildest denunciations of hostility,
+mingled with opprobrious terms in broken English, and gesticulations of
+the most insulting kind.
+
+In this melee, one white man was wounded, and two horses were killed.
+On preparing the morning’s meal, however, a number of cups, knives, and
+other articles were missing, which had, doubtless, been carried off by
+the fictitious elk, during the slumber of the very sagacious sentinel.
+As the Indians had gone off in the direction which the trappers had
+intended to travel, the latter changed their route, and pushed forward
+rapidly through the “Bad Pass,” nor halted until night; when, supposing
+themselves out of the reach of the enemy, they contented themselves with
+tying up their horses and posting a guard. They had scarce laid down to
+sleep, when a dog strayed into the camp with a small pack of moccasons
+tied upon his back; for dogs are made to carry burdens among the
+Indians. The sentinel, more knowing than he of the preceding night,
+awoke his companions and reported the circumstance. It was evident that
+Indians were at hand. All were instantly at work; a strong pen was soon
+constructed for the horses, after completing which, they resumed their
+slumbers with the composure of men long inured to dangers.
+
+In the next night, the prowling of dogs about the camp, and various
+suspicious noises, showed that Indians were still hovering about them.
+Hurrying on by long marches, they at length fell upon a trail, which,
+with the experienced eye of veteran woodmen, they soon discovered to be
+that of the party of trappers detached by Captain Bonneville when on his
+march, and which they were sent to join. They likewise ascertained from
+various signs, that this party had suffered some maltreatment from the
+Indians. They now pursued the trail with intense anxiety; it carried
+them to the banks of the stream called the Gray Bull, and down along its
+course, until they came to where it empties into the Horn River. Here,
+to their great joy, they discovered the comrades of whom they were in
+search, all strongly fortified, and in a state of great watchfulness and
+anxiety.
+
+We now take up the adventures of this first detachment of trappers.
+These men, after parting with the main body under Captain Bonneville,
+had proceeded slowly for several days up the course of the river,
+trapping beaver as they went. One morning, as they were about to visit
+their traps, one of the camp-keepers pointed to a fine elk, grazing at a
+distance, and requested them to shoot it. Three of the trappers started
+off for the purpose. In passing a thicket, they were fired upon by some
+savages in ambush, and at the same time, the pretended elk, throwing off
+his hide and his horn, started forth an Indian warrior.
+
+One of the three trappers had been brought down by the volley; the
+others fled to the camp, and all hands, seizing up whatever they could
+carry off, retreated to a small island in the river, and took refuge
+among the willows. Here they were soon joined by their comrade who had
+fallen, but who had merely been wounded in the neck.
+
+In the meantime the Indians took possession of the deserted camp, with
+all the traps, accoutrements, and horses. While they were busy among
+the spoils, a solitary trapper, who had been absent at his work, came
+sauntering to the camp with his traps on his back. He had approached
+near by, when an Indian came forward and motioned him to keep away; at
+the same moment, he was perceived by his comrades on the island, and
+warned of his danger with loud cries. The poor fellow stood for a
+moment, bewildered and aghast, then dropping his traps, wheeled and
+made off at full speed, quickened by a sportive volley which the Indians
+rattled after him.
+
+In high good humor with their easy triumph, the savages now formed
+a circle round the fire and performed a war dance, with the unlucky
+trappers for rueful spectators. This done, emboldened by what they
+considered cowardice on the part of the white men, they neglected their
+usual mode of bush-fighting, and advanced openly within twenty paces of
+the willows. A sharp volley from the trappers brought them to a sudden
+halt, and laid three of them breathless. The chief, who had stationed
+himself on an eminence to direct all the movements of his people,
+seeing three of his warriors laid low, ordered the rest to retire. They
+immediately did so, and the whole band soon disappeared behind a point
+of woods, carrying off with them the horses, traps, and the greater part
+of the baggage.
+
+It was just after this misfortune that the party of ten men discovered
+this forlorn band of trappers in a fortress, which they had thrown up
+after their disaster. They were so perfectly dismayed, that they could
+not be induced even to go in quest of their traps, which they had set in
+a neighboring stream. The two parties now joined their forces, and made
+their way, without further misfortune, to the rendezvous.
+
+Captain Bonneville perceived from the reports of these parties, as well
+as from what he had observed himself in his recent march, that he was in
+a neighborhood teeming with danger. Two wandering Snake Indians, also,
+who visited the camp, assured him that there were two large bands of
+Crows marching rapidly upon him. He broke up his encampment, therefore,
+on the 1st of September, made his way to the south, across the
+Littlehorn Mountain, until he reached Wind River, and then turning
+westward, moved slowly up the banks of that stream, giving time for his
+men to trap as he proceeded. As it was not in the plan of the present
+hunting campaigns to go near the caches on Green River, and as the
+trappers were in want of traps to replace those they had lost, Captain
+Bonneville undertook to visit the caches, and procure a supply. To
+accompany him in this hazardous expedition, which would take him through
+the defiles of the Wind River Mountains, and up the Green River valley,
+he took but three men; the main party were to continue on trapping up
+toward the head of Wind River, near which he was to rejoin them, just
+about the place where that stream issues from the mountains. We shall
+accompany the captain on his adventurous errand.
+
+
+
+
+25.
+
+     Captain Bonneville sets out for Green River valley--Journey
+     up the Popo Agie--Buffaloes--The staring white bears--The
+     smok--The warm springs--Attempt to traverse the Wind River
+     Mountains--The Great Slope Mountain dells and chasms--
+     Crystal lakes--Ascent of a snowy peak--Sublime prospect--A
+     panorama “Les dignes de pitie,” or wild men of the mountains
+
+HAVING FORDED WIND RIVER a little above its mouth, Captain Bonneville
+and his three companions proceeded across a gravelly plain, until they
+fell upon the Popo Agie, up the left bank of which they held their
+course, nearly in a southerly direction. Here they came upon numerous
+droves of buffalo, and halted for the purpose of procuring a supply of
+beef. As the hunters were stealing cautiously to get within shot of the
+game, two small white bears suddenly presented themselves in their path,
+and, rising upon their hind legs, contemplated them for some time with a
+whimsically solemn gaze. The hunters remained motionless; whereupon the
+bears, having apparently satisfied their curiosity, lowered themselves
+upon all fours, and began to withdraw. The hunters now advanced, upon
+which the bears turned, rose again upon their haunches, and repeated
+their serio-comic examination. This was repeated several times, until
+the hunters, piqued at their unmannerly staring, rebuked it with a
+discharge of their rifles. The bears made an awkward bound or two, as
+if wounded, and then walked off with great gravity, seeming to commune
+together, and every now and then turning to take another look at the
+hunters. It was well for the latter that the bears were but half grown,
+and had not yet acquired the ferocity of their kind.
+
+The buffalo were somewhat startled at the report of the firearms; but
+the hunters succeeded in killing a couple of fine cows, and, having
+secured the best of the meat, continued forward until some time after
+dark, when, encamping in a large thicket of willows, they made a great
+fire, roasted buffalo beef enough for half a score, disposed of the
+whole of it with keen relish and high glee, and then “turned in” for the
+night and slept soundly, like weary and well fed hunters.
+
+At daylight they were in the saddle again, and skirted along the river,
+passing through fresh grassy meadows, and a succession of beautiful
+groves of willows and cotton-wood. Toward evening, Captain Bonneville
+observed a smoke at a distance rising from among hills, directly in the
+route he was pursuing. Apprehensive of some hostile band, he concealed
+the horses in a thicket, and, accompanied by one of his men, crawled
+cautiously up a height, from which he could overlook the scene of
+danger. Here, with a spy-glass, he reconnoitred the surrounding
+country, but not a lodge nor fire, not a man, horse, nor dog, was to be
+discovered; in short, the smoke which had caused such alarm proved to
+be the vapor from several warm, or rather hot springs of considerable
+magnitude, pouring forth streams in every direction over a bottom of
+white clay. One of the springs was about twenty-five yards in diameter,
+and so deep that the water was of a bright green color.
+
+They were now advancing diagonally upon the chain of Wind River
+Mountains, which lay between them and Green River valley. To coast round
+their southern points would be a wide circuit; whereas, could they
+force their way through them, they might proceed in a straight line. The
+mountains were lofty, with snowy peaks and cragged sides; it was hoped,
+however, that some practicable defile might be found. They attempted,
+accordingly, to penetrate the mountains by following up one of the
+branches of the Popo Agie, but soon found themselves in the midst of
+stupendous crags and precipices that barred all progress. Retracing
+their steps, and falling back upon the river, they consulted where to
+make another attempt. They were too close beneath the mountains to scan
+them generally, but they now recollected having noticed, from the plain,
+a beautiful slope rising, at an angle of about thirty degrees, and
+apparently without any break, until it reached the snowy region. Seeking
+this gentle acclivity, they began to ascend it with alacrity, trusting
+to find at the top one of those elevated plains which prevail among the
+Rocky Mountains. The slope was covered with coarse gravel, interspersed
+with plates of freestone. They attained the summit with some toil, but
+found, instead of a level, or rather undulating plain, that they were
+on the brink of a deep and precipitous ravine, from the bottom of which
+rose a second slope, similar to the one they had just ascended. Down
+into this profound ravine they made their way by a rugged path, or
+rather fissure of the rocks, and then labored up the second slope. They
+gained the summit only to find themselves on another ravine, and now
+perceived that this vast mountain, which had presented such a sloping
+and even side to the distant beholder on the plain, was shagged by
+frightful precipices, and seamed with longitudinal chasms, deep and
+dangerous.
+
+In one of these wild dells they passed the night, and slept soundly
+and sweetly after their fatigues. Two days more of arduous climbing and
+scrambling only served to admit them into the heart of this mountainous
+and awful solitude; where difficulties increased as they proceeded.
+Sometimes they scrambled from rock to rock, up the bed of some mountain
+stream, dashing its bright way down to the plains; sometimes they
+availed themselves of the paths made by the deer and the mountain sheep,
+which, however, often took them to the brinks of fearful precipices, or
+led to rugged defiles, impassable for their horses. At one place, they
+were obliged to slide their horses down the face of a rock, in which
+attempt some of the poor animals lost their footing, rolled to the
+bottom, and came near being dashed to pieces.
+
+In the afternoon of the second day, the travellers attained one of the
+elevated valleys locked up in this singular bed of mountains. Here were
+two bright and beautiful little lakes, set like mirrors in the midst of
+stern and rocky heights, and surrounded by grassy meadows, inexpressibly
+refreshing to the eye. These probably were among the sources of those
+mighty streams which take their rise among these mountains, and wander
+hundreds of miles through the plains.
+
+In the green pastures bordering upon these lakes, the travellers halted
+to repose, and to give their weary horses time to crop the sweet and
+tender herbage. They had now ascended to a great height above the level
+of the plains, yet they beheld huge crags of granite piled one upon
+another, and beetling like battlements far above them. While two of
+the men remained in the camp with the horses, Captain Bonneville,
+accompanied by the other men [man], set out to climb a neighboring
+height, hoping to gain a commanding prospect, and discern some
+practicable route through this stupendous labyrinth. After much toil, he
+reached the summit of a lofty cliff, but it was only to behold gigantic
+peaks rising all around, and towering far into the snowy regions of the
+atmosphere. Selecting one which appeared to be the highest, he crossed a
+narrow intervening valley, and began to scale it. He soon found that
+he had undertaken a tremendous task; but the pride of man is never more
+obstinate than when climbing mountains. The ascent was so steep and
+rugged that he and his companion were frequently obliged to clamber on
+hands and knees, with their guns slung upon their backs. Frequently,
+exhausted with fatigue, and dripping with perspiration, they threw
+themselves upon the snow, and took handfuls of it to allay their
+parching thirst. At one place, they even stripped off their coats and
+hung them upon the bushes, and thus lightly clad, proceeded to scramble
+over these eternal snows. As they ascended still higher, there were cool
+breezes that refreshed and braced them, and springing with new ardor to
+their task, they at length attained the summit.
+
+Here a scene burst upon the view of Captain Bonneville, that for a time
+astonished and overwhelmed him with its immensity. He stood, in fact,
+upon that dividing ridge which Indians regard as the crest of the world;
+and on each side of which, the landscape may be said to decline to the
+two cardinal oceans of the globe. Whichever way he turned his eye, it
+was confounded by the vastness and variety of objects. Beneath him, the
+Rocky Mountains seemed to open all their secret recesses: deep, solemn
+valleys; treasured lakes; dreary passes; rugged defiles, and foaming
+torrents; while beyond their savage precincts, the eye was lost in an
+almost immeasurable landscape; stretching on every side into dim and
+hazy distance, like the expanse of a summer’s sea. Whichever way he
+looked, he beheld vast plains glimmering with reflected sunshine; mighty
+streams wandering on their shining course toward either ocean, and snowy
+mountains, chain beyond chain, and peak beyond peak, till they melted
+like clouds into the horizon. For a time, the Indian fable seemed
+realized: he had attained that height from which the Blackfoot warrior,
+after death, first catches a view of the land of souls, and beholds the
+happy hunting grounds spread out below him, brightening with the abodes
+of the free and generous spirits. The captain stood for a long while
+gazing upon this scene, lost in a crowd of vague and indefinite ideas
+and sensations. A long-drawn inspiration at length relieved him from
+this enthralment of the mind, and he began to analyze the parts of this
+vast panorama. A simple enumeration of a few of its features may give
+some idea of its collective grandeur and magnificence.
+
+The peak on which the captain had taken his stand commanded the whole
+Wind River chain; which, in fact, may rather be considered one immense
+mountain, broken into snowy peaks and lateral spurs, and seamed with
+narrow valleys. Some of these valleys glittered with silver lakes
+and gushing streams; the fountain heads, as it were, of the mighty
+tributaries to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Beyond the snowy peaks,
+to the south, and far, far below the mountain range, the gentle river,
+called the Sweet Water, was seen pursuing its tranquil way through the
+rugged regions of the Black Hills. In the east, the head waters of Wind
+River wandered through a plain, until, mingling in one powerful current,
+they forced their way through the range of Horn Mountains, and were lost
+to view. To the north were caught glimpses of the upper streams of the
+Yellowstone, that great tributary of the Missouri. In another direction
+were to be seen some of the sources of the Oregon, or Columbia, flowing
+to the northwest, past those towering landmarks the Three Tetons, and
+pouring down into the great lava plain; while, almost at the captain’s
+feet, the Green River, or Colorado of the West, set forth on its
+wandering pilgrimage to the Gulf of California; at first a mere mountain
+torrent, dashing northward over a crag and precipice, in a succession
+of cascades, and tumbling into the plain where, expanding into an ample
+river, it circled away to the south, and after alternately shining out
+and disappearing in the mazes of the vast landscape, was finally lost
+in a horizon of mountains. The day was calm and cloudless, and the
+atmosphere so pure that objects were discernible at an astonishing
+distance. The whole of this immense area was inclosed by an outer range
+of shadowy peaks, some of them faintly marked on the horizon, which
+seemed to wall it in from the rest of the earth.
+
+It is to be regretted that Captain Bonneville had no instruments with
+him with which to ascertain the altitude of this peak. He gives it
+as his opinion that it is the loftiest point of the North American
+continent; but of this we have no satisfactory proof. It is certain
+that the Rocky Mountains are of an altitude vastly superior to what was
+formerly supposed. We rather incline to the opinion that the highest
+peak is further to the northward, and is the same measured by Mr.
+Thompson, surveyor to the Northwest Company; who, by the joint means
+of the barometer and trigonometric measurement, ascertained it to be
+twenty-five thousand feet above the level of the sea; an elevation only
+inferior to that of the Himalayas.
+
+For a long time, Captain Bonneville remained gazing around him with
+wonder and enthusiasm; at length the chill and wintry winds, whirling
+about the snow-clad height, admonished him to descend. He soon regained
+the spot where he and his companions [companion] had thrown off their
+coats, which were now gladly resumed, and, retracing their course down
+the peak, they safely rejoined their companions on the border of the
+lake.
+
+Notwithstanding the savage and almost inaccessible nature of these
+mountains, they have their inhabitants. As one of the party was out
+hunting, he came upon the solitary track of a man in a lonely valley.
+Following it up, he reached the brow of a cliff, whence he beheld three
+savages running across the valley below him. He fired his gun to call
+their attention, hoping to induce them to turn back. They only fled
+the faster, and disappeared among the rocks. The hunter returned and
+reported what he had seen. Captain Bonneville at once concluded that
+these belonged to a kind of hermit race, scanty in number, that inhabit
+the highest and most inaccessible fastnesses. They speak the Shoshonie
+language, and probably are offsets from that tribe, though they have
+peculiarities of their own, which distinguish them from all other
+Indians. They are miserably poor; own no horses, and are destitute of
+every convenience to be derived from an intercourse with the whites.
+Their weapons are bows and stone-pointed arrows, with which they
+hunt the deer, the elk, and the mountain sheep. They are to be found
+scattered about the countries of the Shoshonie, Flathead, Crow, and
+Blackfeet tribes; but their residences are always in lonely places, and
+the clefts of the rocks.
+
+Their footsteps are often seen by the trappers in the high and solitary
+valleys among the mountains, and the smokes of their fires descried
+among the precipices, but they themselves are rarely met with, and still
+more rarely brought to a parley, so great is their shyness, and their
+dread of strangers.
+
+As their poverty offers no temptation to the marauder, and as they are
+inoffensive in their habits, they are never the objects of warfare:
+should one of them, however, fall into the hands of a war party, he
+is sure to be made a sacrifice, for the sake of that savage trophy, a
+scalp, and that barbarous ceremony, a scalp dance. These forlorn beings,
+forming a mere link between human nature and the brute, have been looked
+down upon with pity and contempt by the creole trappers, who have
+given them the appellation of “les dignes de pitie,” or “the objects
+of pity.”; They appear more worthy to be called the wild men of the
+mountains.
+
+
+
+
+26.
+
+     A retrogade move Channel of a mountain torrent--Alpine
+     scenery--Cascades--Beaver valleys--Beavers at work--Their
+     architecture--Their modes of felling trees--Mode of trapping
+     beaver--Contests of skill--A beaver “up to trap”--Arrival at
+     the Green River caches
+
+THE VIEW from the snowy peak of the Wind River Mountains, while it had
+excited Captain Bonneville’s enthusiasm, had satisfied him that it would
+be useless to force a passage westward, through multiplying barriers
+of cliffs and precipices. Turning his face eastward, therefore, he
+endeavored to regain the plains, intending to make the circuit round
+the southern point of the mountain. To descend, and to extricate himself
+from the heart of this rock-piled wilderness, was almost as difficult as
+to penetrate it. Taking his course down the ravine of a tumbling stream,
+the commencement of some future river, he descended from rock to rock,
+and shelf to shelf, between stupendous cliffs and beetling crags that
+sprang up to the sky. Often he had to cross and recross the rushing
+torrent, as it wound foaming and roaring down its broken channel, or
+was walled by perpendicular precipices; and imminent was the hazard of
+breaking the legs of the horses in the clefts and fissures of slippery
+rocks. The whole scenery of this deep ravine was of Alpine wildness
+and sublimity. Sometimes the travellers passed beneath cascades which
+pitched from such lofty heights that the water fell into the stream like
+heavy rain. In other places, torrents came tumbling from crag to crag,
+dashing into foam and spray, and making tremendous din and uproar.
+
+On the second day of their descent, the travellers, having got beyond
+the steepest pitch of the mountains, came to where the deep and rugged
+ravine began occasionally to expand into small levels or valleys, and
+the stream to assume for short intervals a more peaceful character.
+Here, not merely the river itself, but every rivulet flowing into it,
+was dammed up by communities of industrious beavers, so as to inundate
+the neighborhood, and make continual swamps.
+
+During a mid-day halt in one of these beaver valleys, Captain Bonneville
+left his companions, and strolled down the course of the stream to
+reconnoitre. He had not proceeded far when he came to a beaver pond, and
+caught a glimpse of one of its painstaking inhabitants busily at work
+upon the dam. The curiosity of the captain was aroused, to behold
+the mode of operating of this far-famed architect; he moved forward,
+therefore, with the utmost caution, parting the branches of the water
+willows without making any noise, until having attained a position
+commanding a view of the whole pond, he stretched himself flat on the
+ground, and watched the solitary workman. In a little while, three
+others appeared at the head of the dam, bringing sticks and bushes. With
+these they proceeded directly to the barrier, which Captain Bonneville
+perceived was in need of repair. Having deposited their loads upon the
+broken part, they dived into the water, and shortly reappeared at the
+surface. Each now brought a quantity of mud, with which he would plaster
+the sticks and bushes just deposited. This kind of masonry was continued
+for some time, repeated supplies of wood and mud being brought, and
+treated in the same manner. This done, the industrious beavers indulged
+in a little recreation, chasing each other about the pond, dodging and
+whisking about on the surface, or diving to the bottom; and in their
+frolic, often slapping their tails on the water with a loud clacking
+sound. While they were thus amusing themselves, another of the
+fraternity made his appearance, and looked gravely on their sports for
+some time, without offering to join in them. He then climbed the bank
+close to where the captain was concealed, and, rearing himself on his
+hind quarters, in a sitting position, put his forepaws against a young
+pine tree, and began to cut the bark with his teeth. At times he would
+tear off a small piece, and holding it between his paws, and retaining
+his sedentary position, would feed himself with it, after the fashion of
+a monkey. The object of the beaver, however, was evidently to cut down
+the tree; and he was proceeding with his work, when he was alarmed by
+the approach of Captain Bonneville’s men, who, feeling anxious at the
+protracted absence of their leader, were coming in search of him. At the
+sound of their voices, all the beavers, busy as well as idle, dived
+at once beneath the surface, and were no more to be seen. Captain
+Bonneville regretted this interruption. He had heard much of the
+sagacity of the beaver in cutting down trees, in which, it is said,
+they manage to make them fall into the water, and in such a position and
+direction as may be most favorable for conveyance to the desired point.
+In the present instance, the tree was a tall straight pine, and as it
+grew perpendicularly, and there was not a breath of air stirring the
+beaver could have felled it in any direction he pleased, if really
+capable of exercising a discretion in the matter. He was evidently
+engaged in “belting” the tree, and his first incision had been on the
+side nearest to the water.
+
+Captain Bonneville, however, discredits, on the whole, the alleged
+sagacity of the beaver in this particular, and thinks the animal has
+no other aim than to get the tree down, without any of the subtle
+calculation as to its mode or direction of falling. This attribute, he
+thinks, has been ascribed to them from the circumstance that most trees
+growing near water-courses, either lean bodily toward the stream, or
+stretch their largest limbs in that direction, to benefit by the space,
+the light, and the air to be found there. The beaver, of course, attacks
+those trees which are nearest at hand, and on the banks of the stream or
+pond. He makes incisions round them, or in technical phrase, belts them
+with his teeth, and when they fall, they naturally take the direction in
+which their trunks or branches preponderate.
+
+“I have often,” says Captain Bonneville, “seen trees measuring eighteen
+inches in diameter, at the places where they had been cut through by the
+beaver, but they lay in all directions, and often very inconveniently
+for the after purposes of the animal. In fact, so little ingenuity do
+they at times display in this particular, that at one of our camps on
+Snake River, a beaver was found with his head wedged into the cut which
+he had made, the tree having fallen upon him and held him prisoner until
+he died.”
+
+Great choice, according to the captain, is certainly displayed by
+the beaver in selecting the wood which is to furnish bark for winter
+provision. The whole beaver household, old and young, set out upon this
+business, and will often make long journeys before they are suited.
+Sometimes they cut down trees of the largest size and then cull the
+branches, the bark of which is most to their taste. These they cut into
+lengths of about three feet, convey them to the water, and float them to
+their lodges, where they are stored away for winter. They are studious
+of cleanliness and comfort in their lodges, and after their repasts,
+will carry out the sticks from which they have eaten the bark, and throw
+them into the current beyond the barrier. They are jealous, too, of
+their territories, and extremely pugnacious, never permitting a strange
+beaver to enter their premises, and often fighting with such virulence
+as almost to tear each other to pieces. In the spring, which is the
+breeding season, the male leaves the female at home, and sets off on a
+tour of pleasure, rambling often to a great distance, recreating himself
+in every clear and quiet expanse of water on his way, and climbing
+the banks occasionally to feast upon the tender sprouts of the young
+willows. As summer advances, he gives up his bachelor rambles, and
+bethinking himself of housekeeping duties, returns home to his mate and
+his new progeny, and marshals them all for the foraging expedition in
+quest of winter provisions.
+
+After having shown the public spirit of this praiseworthy little animal
+as a member of a community, and his amiable and exemplary conduct as
+the father of a family, we grieve to record the perils with which he is
+environed, and the snares set for him and his painstaking household.
+
+Practice, says Captain Bonneville, has given such a quickness of eye to
+the experienced trapper in all that relates to his pursuit, that he
+can detect the slightest sign of beaver, however wild; and although the
+lodge may be concealed by close thickets and overhanging willows, he can
+generally, at a single glance, make an accurate guess at the number of
+its inmates. He now goes to work to set his trap; planting it upon the
+shore, in some chosen place, two or three inches below the surface of
+the water, and secures it by a chain to a pole set deep in the mud. A
+small twig is then stripped of its bark, and one end is dipped in the
+“medicine,” as the trappers term the peculiar bait which they employ.
+This end of the stick rises about four inches above the surface of
+the water, the other end is planted between the jaws of the trap. The
+beaver, possessing an acute sense of smell, is soon attracted by the
+odor of the bait. As he raises his nose toward it, his foot is caught
+in the trap. In his fright he throws a somerset into the deep water. The
+trap, being fastened to the pole, resists all his efforts to drag it
+to the shore; the chain by which it is fastened defies his teeth; he
+struggles for a time, and at length sinks to the bottom and is drowned.
+
+Upon rocky bottoms, where it is not possible to plant the pole, it is
+thrown into the stream. The beaver, when entrapped, often gets fastened
+by the chain to sunken logs or floating timber; if he gets to shore, he
+is entangled in the thickets of brook willows. In such cases, however,
+it costs the trapper diligent search, and sometimes a bout at swimming,
+before he finds his game.
+
+Occasionally it happens that several members of a beaver family are
+trapped in succession. The survivors then become extremely shy, and
+can scarcely be “brought to medicine,” to use the trapper’s phrase for
+“taking the bait.” In such case, the trapper gives up the use of the
+bait, and conceals his traps in the usual paths and crossing places of
+the household. The beaver now being completely “up to trap,” approaches
+them cautiously, and springs them ingeniously with a stick. At other
+times, he turns the traps bottom upwards, by the same means, and
+occasionally even drags them to the barrier and conceals them in the
+mud. The trapper now gives up the contest of ingenuity, and shouldering
+his traps, marches off, admitting that he is not yet “up to beaver.”
+
+On the day following Captain Bonneville’s supervision of the industrious
+and frolicsome community of beavers, of which he has given so edifying
+an account, he succeeded in extricating himself from the Wind River
+Mountains, and regaining the plain to the eastward, made a great bend
+to the south, so as to go round the bases of the mountains, and arrived
+without further incident of importance, at the old place of rendezvous
+in Green River valley, on the 17th of September.
+
+He found the caches, in which he had deposited his superfluous goods
+and equipments, all safe, and having opened and taken from them the
+necessary supplies, he closed them again; taking care to obliterate all
+traces that might betray them to the keen eyes of Indian marauders.
+
+
+
+
+27.
+
+     Route toward--Wind River--Dangerous neighborhood--Alarms and
+     precautions--A sham encampment--Apparition of an Indian spy--
+     Midnight move--A mountain defile--The Wind River valley--
+     Tracking a party--Deserted camps--Symptoms of Crows--Meeting
+     of comrades--A trapper entrapped--Crow pleasantry--Crow
+     spies--A decampment--Return to Green River valley--Meeting
+     with Fitzpatrick’s party--Their adventures among the Crows--
+     Orthodox Crows
+
+ON THE 18TH of September, Captain Bonneville and his three companions
+set out, bright and early, to rejoin the main party, from which they had
+parted on Wind River. Their route lay up the Green River valley, with
+that stream on their right hand, and beyond it, the range of Wind River
+Mountains. At the head of the valley, they were to pass through a defile
+which would bring them out beyond the northern end of these mountains,
+to the head of Wind River; where they expected to meet the main party,
+according to arrangement.
+
+We have already adverted to the dangerous nature of this neighborhood,
+infested by roving bands of Crows and Blackfeet; to whom the numerous
+defiles and passes of the country afford capital places for ambush and
+surprise. The travellers, therefore, kept a vigilant eye upon everything
+that might give intimation of lurking danger.
+
+About two hours after mid-day, as they reached the summit of a hill,
+they discovered buffalo on the plain below, running in every direction.
+One of the men, too, fancied he heard the report of a gun. It was
+concluded, therefore, that there was some party of Indians below,
+hunting the buffalo.
+
+The horses were immediately concealed in a narrow ravine; and the
+captain, mounting an eminence, but concealing himself from view,
+reconnoitred the whole neighborhood with a telescope. Not an Indian was
+to be seen; so, after halting about an hour, he resumed his journey.
+Convinced, however, that he was in a dangerous neighborhood, he advanced
+with the utmost caution; winding his way through hollows and ravines,
+and avoiding, as much as possible, any open tract, or rising ground,
+that might betray his little party to the watchful eye of an Indian
+scout.
+
+Arriving, at length, at the edge of the open meadow-land bordering
+on the river, he again observed the buffalo, as far as he could see,
+scampering in great alarm. Once more concealing the horses, he and his
+companions remained for a long time watching the various groups of the
+animals, as each caught the panic and started off; but they sought in
+vain to discover the cause.
+
+They were now about to enter the mountain defile, at the head of Green
+River valley, where they might be waylaid and attacked; they, therefore,
+arranged the packs on their horses, in the manner most secure and
+convenient for sudden flight, should such be necessary. This done, they
+again set forward, keeping the most anxious look-out in every direction.
+
+It was now drawing toward evening; but they could not think of encamping
+for the night, in a place so full of danger. Captain Bonneville,
+therefore, determined to halt about sunset, kindle a fire, as if for
+encampment, cook and eat supper; but, as soon as it was sufficiently
+dark, to make a rapid move for the summit of the mountain, and seek some
+secluded spot for their night’s lodgings.
+
+Accordingly, as the sun went down, the little party came to a halt, made
+a large fire, spitted their buffalo meat on wooden sticks, and, when
+sufficiently roasted, planted the savory viands before them; cutting
+off huge slices with their hunting knives, and supping with a hunter’s
+appetite. The light of their fire would not fail, as they knew, to
+attract the attention of any Indian horde in the neighborhood; but they
+trusted to be off and away, before any prowlers could reach the place.
+While they were supping thus hastily, however, one of their party
+suddenly started up and shouted “Indians!” All were instantly on their
+feet, with their rifles in their hands; but could see no enemy. The
+man, however, declared that he had seen an Indian advancing, cautiously,
+along the trail which they had made in coming to the encampment; who,
+the moment he was perceived, had thrown himself on the ground, and
+disappeared. He urged Captain Bonneville instantly to decamp. The
+captain, however, took the matter more coolly. The single fact, that the
+Indian had endeavored to hide himself, convinced him that he was not
+one of a party, on the advance to make an attack. He was, probably, some
+scout, who had followed up their trail, until he came in sight of their
+fire. He would, in such case, return, and report what he had seen to his
+companions. These, supposing the white men had encamped for the night,
+would keep aloof until very late, when all should be asleep. They would,
+then, according to Indian tactics, make their stealthy approaches, and
+place themselves in ambush around, preparatory to their attack, at the
+usual hour of daylight.
+
+Such was Captain Bonneville’s conclusion; in consequence of which, he
+counselled his men to keep perfectly quiet, and act as if free from
+all alarm, until the proper time arrived for a move. They, accordingly,
+continued their repast with pretended appetite and jollity; and then
+trimmed and replenished their fire, as if for a bivouac. As soon,
+however, as the night had completely set in, they left their fire
+blazing; walked quietly among the willows, and then leaping into their
+saddles, made off as noiselessly as possible. In proportion as they left
+the point of danger behind them, they relaxed in their rigid and anxious
+taciturnity, and began to joke at the expense of their enemy; whom they
+pictured to themselves mousing in the neighborhood of their deserted
+fire, waiting for the proper time of attack, and preparing for a grand
+disappointment.
+
+About midnight, feeling satisfied that they had gained a secure
+distance, they posted one of their number to keep watch, in case the
+enemy should follow on their trail, and then, turning abruptly into a
+dense and matted thicket of willows, halted for the night at the foot of
+the mountain, instead of making for the summit, as they had originally
+intended.
+
+A trapper in the wilderness, like a sailor on the ocean, snatches
+morsels of enjoyment in the midst of trouble, and sleeps soundly when
+surrounded by danger. The little party now made their arrangements for
+sleep with perfect calmness; they did not venture to make a fire and
+cook, it is true, though generally done by hunters whenever they come
+to a halt, and have provisions. They comforted themselves, however,
+by smoking a tranquil pipe; and then calling in the watch, and turning
+loose the horses, stretched themselves on their pallets, agreed that
+whoever should first awake, should rouse the rest, and in a little while
+were all as sound asleep as though in the midst of a fortress.
+
+A little before day, they were all on the alert; it was the hour for
+Indian maraud. A sentinel was immediately detached, to post himself at
+a little distance on their trail, and give the alarm, should he see or
+hear an enemy.
+
+With the first blink of dawn, the rest sought the horses; brought them
+to the camp, and tied them up, until an hour after sunrise; when, the
+sentinel having reported that all was well, they sprang once more into
+their saddles, and pursued the most covert and secret paths up the
+mountain, avoiding the direct route.
+
+At noon, they halted and made a hasty repast; and then bent their course
+so as to regain the route from which they had diverged. They were now
+made sensible of the danger from which they had just escaped. There were
+tracks of Indians, who had evidently been in pursuit of them; but had
+recently returned, baffled in their search.
+
+Trusting that they had now got a fair start, and could not be overtaken
+before night, even in case the Indians should renew the chase, they
+pushed briskly forward, and did not encamp until late; when they
+cautiously concealed themselves in a secure nook of the mountains.
+
+Without any further alarm, they made their way to the head waters of
+Wind River, and reached the neighborhood in which they had appointed
+the rendezvous with their companions. It was within the precincts of the
+Crow country; the Wind River valley being one of the favorite haunts of
+that restless tribe. After much searching, Captain Bonneville came upon
+a trail which had evidently been made by his main party. It was so old,
+however, that he feared his people might have left the neighborhood;
+driven off, perhaps by some of those war parties which were on the
+prowl. He continued his search with great anxiety, and no little
+fatigue; for his horses were jaded, and almost crippled, by their forced
+marches and scramblings through rocky defiles.
+
+On the following day, about noon, Captain Bonneville came upon a
+deserted camp of his people, from which they had, evidently, turned
+back; but he could find no signs to indicate why they had done so;
+whether they had met with misfortune, or molestation, or in what
+direction they had gone. He was now, more than ever, perplexed.
+
+On the following day, he resumed his march with increasing anxiety. The
+feet of his horses had by this time become so worn and wounded by the
+rocks, that he had to make moccasons for them of buffalo hide. About
+noon, he came to another deserted camp of his men; but soon after lost
+their trail. After great search, he once more found it, turning in a
+southerly direction along the eastern bases of the Wind River Mountains,
+which towered to the right. He now pushed forward with all possible
+speed, in hopes of overtaking the party. At night, he slept at another
+of their camps, from which they had but recently departed. When the day
+dawned sufficiently to distinguish objects, he perceived the danger that
+must be dogging the heels of his main party. All about the camp were
+traces of Indians who must have been prowling about it at the time his
+people had passed the night there; and who must still be hovering about
+them. Convinced, now, that the main party could not be at any great
+distance, he mounted a scout on the best horse, and sent him forward to
+overtake them, to warn them of their danger, and to order them to halt,
+until he should rejoin them.
+
+In the afternoon, to his great joy, he met the scout returning, with
+six comrades from the main party, leading fresh horses for his
+accommodation; and on the following day (September 25th), all hands
+were once more reunited, after a separation of nearly three weeks. Their
+meeting was hearty and joyous; for they had both experienced dangers and
+perplexities.
+
+The main party, in pursuing their course up the Wind River valley, had
+been dogged the whole way by a war party of Crows. In one place, they
+had been fired upon, but without injury; in another place, one of their
+horses had been cut loose, and carried off. At length, they were so
+closely beset, that they were obliged to make a retrogade move, lest
+they should be surprised and overcome. This was the movement which had
+caused such perplexity to Captain Bonneville.
+
+The whole party now remained encamped for two or three days, to give
+repose to both men and horses. Some of the trappers, however, pursued
+their vocations about the neighboring streams. While one of them was
+setting his traps, he heard the tramp of horses, and looking up,
+beheld a party of Crow braves moving along at no great distance, with a
+considerable cavalcade. The trapper hastened to conceal himself, but was
+discerned by the quick eye of the savages. With whoops and yells,
+they dragged him from his hiding-place, flourished over his head their
+tomahawks and scalping-knives, and for a time, the poor trapper gave
+himself up for lost. Fortunately, the Crows were in a jocose, rather
+than a sanguinary mood. They amused themselves heartily, for a while,
+at the expense of his terrors; and after having played off divers Crow
+pranks and pleasantries, suffered him to depart unharmed. It is true,
+they stripped him completely, one taking his horse, another his gun,
+a third his traps, a fourth his blanket, and so on, through all his
+accoutrements, and even his clothing, until he was stark naked; but then
+they generously made him a present of an old tattered buffalo robe, and
+dismissed him, with many complimentary speeches, and much laughter. When
+the trapper returned to the camp, in such sorry plight, he was greeted
+with peals of laughter from his comrades and seemed more mortified by
+the style in which he had been dismissed, than rejoiced at escaping with
+his life. A circumstance which he related to Captain Bonneville, gave
+some insight into the cause of this extreme jocularity on the part
+of the Crows. They had evidently had a run of luck, and, like winning
+gamblers, were in high good humor. Among twenty-six fine horses, and
+some mules, which composed their cavalcade, the trapper recognized a
+number which had belonged to Fitzpatrick’s brigade, when they parted
+company on the Bighorn. It was supposed, therefore, that these vagabonds
+had been on his trail, and robbed him of part of his cavalry.
+
+On the day following this affair, three Crows came into Captain
+Bonneville’s camp, with the most easy, innocent, if not impudent air
+imaginable; walking about with the imperturbable coolness and unconcern,
+in which the Indian rivals the fine gentleman. As they had not been of
+the set which stripped the trapper, though evidently of the same band,
+they were not molested. Indeed, Captain Bonneville treated them with his
+usual kindness and hospitality; permitting them to remain all day in the
+camp, and even to pass the night there. At the same time, however, he
+caused a strict watch to be maintained on all their movements; and at
+night, stationed an armed sentinel near them. The Crows remonstrated
+against the latter being armed. This only made the captain suspect
+them to be spies, who meditated treachery; he redoubled, therefore, his
+precautions. At the same time, he assured his guests, that while they
+were perfectly welcome to the shelter and comfort of his camp, yet,
+should any of their tribe venture to approach during the night, they
+would certainly be shot; which would be a very unfortunate circumstance,
+and much to be deplored. To the latter remark, they fully assented; and
+shortly afterward commenced a wild song, or chant, which they kept up
+for a long time, and in which they very probably gave their friends, who
+might be prowling round the camp, notice that the white men were on the
+alert. The night passed away without disturbance. In the morning, the
+three Crow guests were very pressing that Captain Bonneville and his
+party should accompany them to their camp, which they said was close
+by. Instead of accepting their invitation, Captain Bonneville took his
+departure with all possible dispatch, eager to be out of the vicinity
+of such a piratical horde; nor did he relax the diligence of his march,
+until, on the second day, he reached the banks of the Sweet Water,
+beyond the limits of the Crow country, and a heavy fall of snow had
+obliterated all traces of his course.
+
+He now continued on for some few days, at a slower pace, round the point
+of the mountain toward Green River, and arrived once more at the caches,
+on the 14th of October.
+
+Here they found traces of the band of Indians who had hunted them in the
+defile toward the head waters of Wind River. Having lost all trace of
+them on their way over the mountains, they had turned and followed back
+their trail down the Green River valley to the caches. One of these they
+had discovered and broken open, but it fortunately contained nothing but
+fragments of old iron, which they had scattered about in all directions,
+and then departed. In examining their deserted camp, Captain Bonneville
+discovered that it numbered thirty-nine fires, and had more reason than
+ever to congratulate himself on having escaped the clutches of such a
+formidable band of freebooters.
+
+He now turned his course southward, under cover of the mountains, and on
+the 25th of October reached Liberge’s Ford, a tributary of the Colorado,
+where he came suddenly upon the trail of this same war party, which
+had crossed the stream so recently that the banks were yet wet with the
+water that had been splashed upon them. To judge from their tracks, they
+could not be less than three hundred warriors, and apparently of the
+Crow nation.
+
+Captain Bonneville was extremely uneasy lest this overpowering force
+should come upon him in some place where he would not have the means of
+fortifying himself promptly. He now moved toward Hane’s Fork, another
+tributary of the Colorado, where he encamped, and remained during the
+26th of October. Seeing a large cloud of smoke to the south, he supposed
+it to arise from some encampment of Shoshonies, and sent scouts to
+procure information, and to purchase a lodge. It was, in fact, a band
+of Shoshonies, but with them were encamped Fitzpatrick and his party
+of trappers. That active leader had an eventful story to relate of
+his fortunes in the country of the Crows. After parting with Captain
+Bonneville on the banks of the Bighorn, he made for the west, to trap
+upon Powder and Tongue Rivers. He had between twenty and thirty men with
+him, and about one hundred horses. So large a cavalcade could not
+pass through the Crow country without attracting the attention of its
+freebooting hordes. A large band of Crows was soon on their traces,
+and came up with them on the 5th of September, just as they had reached
+Tongue River. The Crow chief came forward with great appearance
+of friendship, and proposed to Fitzpatrick that they should encamp
+together. The latter, however, not having any faith in Crows, declined
+the invitation, and pitched his camp three miles off. He then rode over
+with two or three men, to visit the Crow chief, by whom he was received
+with great apparent cordiality. In the meantime, however, a party of
+young braves, who considered them absolved by his distrust from all
+scruples of honor, made a circuit privately, and dashed into his
+encampment. Captain Stewart, who had remained there in the absence of
+Fitzpatrick, behaved with great spirit; but the Crows were too numerous
+and active. They had got possession of the camp, and soon made booty
+of every thing--carrying off all the horses. On their way back they met
+Fitzpatrick returning to his camp; and finished their exploit by rifling
+and nearly stripping him.
+
+A negotiation now took place between the plundered white men and the
+triumphant Crows; what eloquence and management Fitzpatrick made use of,
+we do not know, but he succeeded in prevailing upon the Crow chieftain
+to return him his horses and many of his traps; together with his rifles
+and a few rounds of ammunition for each man. He then set out with all
+speed to abandon the Crow country, before he should meet with any fresh
+disasters.
+
+After his departure, the consciences of some of the most orthodox Crows
+pricked them sorely for having suffered such a cavalcade to escape out
+of their hands. Anxious to wipe off so foul a stigma on the reputation
+of the Crow nation, they followed on his trial, nor quit hovering about
+him on his march until they had stolen a number of his best horses and
+mules. It was, doubtless, this same band which came upon the lonely
+trapper on the Popo Agie, and generously gave him an old buffalo robe in
+exchange for his rifle, his traps, and all his accoutrements. With these
+anecdotes, we shall, for present, take our leave of the Crow country and
+its vagabond chivalry.
+
+
+
+
+28.
+
+     A region of natural curiosities--The plain of white clay--
+     Hot springs--The Beer Spring--Departure to seek the free
+     trappers--Plain of Portneuf--Lava--Chasms and gullies--
+     Bannack Indians--Their hunt of the buffalo--Hunter’s feast--
+     Trencher heroes--Bullying of an absent foe--The damp
+     comrade--The Indian spy--Meeting with Hodgkiss--His
+     adventures--Poordevil Indians--Triumph of the Bannacks--
+     Blackfeet policy in war
+
+CROSSING AN ELEVATED RIDGE, Captain Bonneville now came upon Bear
+River, which, from its source to its entrance into the Great Salt Lake,
+describes the figure of a horse-shoe. One of the principal head waters
+of this river, although supposed to abound with beaver, has never
+been visited by the trapper; rising among rugged mountains, and being
+barricadoed [sic] by fallen pine trees and tremendous precipices.
+
+Proceeding down this river, the party encamped, on the 6th of November,
+at the outlet of a lake about thirty miles long, and from two to three
+miles in width, completely imbedded in low ranges of mountains, and
+connected with Bear River by an impassable swamp. It is called the
+Little Lake, to distinguish it from the great one of salt water.
+
+On the 10th of November, Captain Bonneville visited a place in the
+neighborhood which is quite a region of natural curiosities. An area
+of about half a mile square presents a level surface of white clay or
+fuller’s earth, perfectly spotless, resembling a great slab of Parian
+marble, or a sheet of dazzling snow. The effect is strikingly beautiful
+at all times: in summer, when it is surrounded with verdure, or in
+autumn, when it contrasts its bright immaculate surface with the
+withered herbage. Seen from a distant eminence, it then shines like
+a mirror, set in the brown landscape. Around this plain are clustered
+numerous springs of various sizes and temperatures. One of them, of
+scalding heat, boils furiously and incessantly, rising to the height of
+two or three feet. In another place, there is an aperture in the earth,
+from which rushes a column of steam that forms a perpetual cloud. The
+ground for some distance around sounds hollow, and startles the solitary
+trapper, as he hears the tramp of his horse giving the sound of a
+muffled drum. He pictures to himself a mysterious gulf below, a place of
+hidden fires, and gazes round him with awe and uneasiness.
+
+The most noted curiosity, however, of this singular region, is the Beer
+Spring, of which trappers give wonderful accounts. They are said to turn
+aside from their route through the country to drink of its waters, with
+as much eagerness as the Arab seeks some famous well of the desert.
+Captain Bonneville describes it as having the taste of beer. His men
+drank it with avidity, and in copious draughts. It did not appear to him
+to possess any medicinal properties, or to produce any peculiar effects.
+The Indians, however, refuse to taste it, and endeavor to persuade the
+white men from doing so.
+
+We have heard this also called the Soda Spring, and described as
+containing iron and sulphur. It probably possesses some of the
+properties of the Ballston water.
+
+The time had now arrived for Captain Bonneville to go in quest of the
+party of free trappers, detached in the beginning of July, under the
+command of Mr. Hodgkiss, to trap upon the head waters of Salmon River.
+His intention was to unite them with the party with which he was at
+present travelling, that all might go into quarters together for the
+winter. Accordingly, on the 11th of November, he took a temporary leave
+of his band, appointing a rendezvous on Snake River, and, accompanied by
+three men, set out upon his journey. His route lay across the plain
+of the Portneuf, a tributary stream of Snake River, called after an
+unfortunate Canadian trapper murdered by the Indians. The whole country
+through which he passed bore evidence of volcanic convulsions and
+conflagrations in the olden time. Great masses of lava lay scattered
+about in every direction; the crags and cliffs had apparently been under
+the action of fire; the rocks in some places seemed to have been in
+a state of fusion; the plain was rent and split with deep chasms and
+gullies, some of which were partly filled with lava.
+
+They had not proceeded far, however, before they saw a party of
+horsemen, galloping full tilt toward them. They instantly turned, and
+made full speed for the covert of a woody stream, to fortify themselves
+among the trees. The Indians came to a halt, and one of them came
+forward alone. He reached Captain Bonneville and his men just as they
+were dismounting and about to post themselves. A few words dispelled all
+uneasiness. It was a party of twenty-five Bannack Indians, friendly to
+the whites, and they proposed, through their envoy, that both parties
+should encamp together, and hunt the buffalo, of which they had
+discovered several large herds hard by. Captain Bonneville cheerfully
+assented to their proposition, being curious to see their manner of
+hunting.
+
+Both parties accordingly encamped together on a convenient spot, and
+prepared for the hunt. The Indians first posted a boy on a small hill
+near the camp, to keep a look-out for enemies. The “runners,” then,
+as they are called, mounted on fleet horses, and armed with bows and
+arrows, moved slowly and cautiously toward the buffalo, keeping as much
+as possible out of sight, in hollows and ravines. When within a proper
+distance, a signal was given, and they all opened at once like a pack
+of hounds, with a full chorus of yells, dashing into the midst of the
+herds, and launching their arrows to the right and left. The plain
+seemed absolutely to shake under the tramp of the buffalo, as they
+scoured off. The cows in headlong panic, the bulls furious with rage,
+uttering deep roars, and occasionally turning with a desperate rush upon
+their pursuers. Nothing could surpass the spirit, grace, and dexterity,
+with which the Indians managed their horses; wheeling and coursing among
+the affrighted herd, and launching their arrows with unerring aim. In
+the midst of the apparent confusion, they selected their victims with
+perfect judgment, generally aiming at the fattest of the cows, the flesh
+of the bull being nearly worthless, at this season of the year. In a few
+minutes, each of the hunters had crippled three or four cows. A single
+shot was sufficient for the purpose, and the animal, once maimed, was
+left to be completely dispatched at the end of the chase. Frequently, a
+cow was killed on the spot by a single arrow. In one instance, Captain
+Bonneville saw an Indian shoot his arrow completely through the body of
+a cow, so that it struck in the ground beyond. The bulls, however, are
+not so easily killed as the cows, and always cost the hunter several
+arrows; sometimes making battle upon the horses, and chasing them
+furiously, though severely wounded, with the darts still sticking in
+their flesh.
+
+The grand scamper of the hunt being over, the Indians proceeded to
+dispatch the animals that had been disabled; then cutting up the
+carcasses, they returned with loads of meat to the camp, where the
+choicest pieces were soon roasting before large fires, and a hunters’
+feast succeeded; at which Captain Bonneville and his men were qualified,
+by previous fasting, to perform their parts with great vigor.
+
+Some men are said to wax valorous upon a full stomach, and such seemed
+to be the case with the Bannack braves, who, in proportion as they
+crammed themselves with buffalo meat, grew stout of heart, until, the
+supper at an end, they began to chant war songs, setting forth their
+mighty deeds, and the victories they had gained over the Blackfeet.
+Warming with the theme, and inflating themselves with their own
+eulogies, these magnanimous heroes of the trencher would start up,
+advance a short distance beyond the light of the fire, and apostrophize
+most vehemently their Blackfeet enemies, as though they had been within
+hearing. Ruffling, and swelling, and snorting, and slapping their
+breasts, and brandishing their arms, they would vociferate all their
+exploits; reminding the Blackfeet how they had drenched their towns in
+tears and blood; enumerate the blows they had inflicted, the warriors
+they had slain, the scalps they had brought off in triumph. Then, having
+said everything that could stir a man’s spleen or pique his valor, they
+would dare their imaginary hearers, now that the Bannacks were few
+in number, to come and take their revenge--receiving no reply to
+this valorous bravado, they would conclude by all kinds of sneers and
+insults, deriding the Blackfeet for dastards and poltroons, that
+dared not accept their challenge. Such is the kind of swaggering and
+rhodomontade in which the “red men” are prone to indulge in their
+vainglorious moments; for, with all their vaunted taciturnity, they are
+vehemently prone at times to become eloquent about their exploits, and
+to sound their own trumpet.
+
+Having vented their valor in this fierce effervescence, the Bannack
+braves gradually calmed down, lowered their crests, smoothed their
+ruffled feathers, and betook themselves to sleep, without placing a
+single guard over their camp; so that, had the Blackfeet taken them at
+their word, but few of these braggart heroes might have survived for any
+further boasting.
+
+On the following morning, Captain Bonneville purchased a supply of
+buffalo meat from his braggadocio friends; who, with all their vaporing,
+were in fact a very forlorn horde, destitute of firearms, and of
+almost everything that constitutes riches in savage life. The bargain
+concluded, the Bannacks set off for their village, which was situated,
+they said, at the mouth of the Portneuf, and Captain Bonneville and his
+companions shaped their course toward Snake River.
+
+Arrived on the banks of that river, he found it rapid and boisterous,
+but not too deep to be forded. In traversing it, however, one of the
+horses was swept suddenly from his footing, and his rider was flung from
+the saddle into the midst of the stream. Both horse and horseman were
+extricated without any damage, excepting that the latter was completely
+drenched, so that it was necessary to kindle a fire to dry him. While
+they were thus occupied, one of the party looking up, perceived
+an Indian scout cautiously reconnoitring them from the summit of a
+neighboring hill. The moment he found himself discovered, he disappeared
+behind the hill. From his furtive movements, Captain Bonneville
+suspected him to be a scout from the Blackfeet camp, and that he had
+gone to report what he had seen to his companions. It would not do
+to loiter in such a neighborhood, so the kindling of the fire was
+abandoned, the drenched horseman mounted in dripping condition, and the
+little band pushed forward directly into the plain, going at a smart
+pace, until they had gained a considerable distance from the place of
+supposed danger. Here encamping for the night, in the midst of abundance
+of sage, or wormwood, which afforded fodder for their horses, they
+kindled a huge fire for the benefit of their damp comrade, and then
+proceeded to prepare a sumptuous supper of buffalo humps and ribs, and
+other choice bits, which they had brought with them. After a hearty
+repast, relished with an appetite unknown to city epicures, they
+stretched themselves upon their couches of skins, and under the starry
+canopy of heaven, enjoyed the sound and sweet sleep of hardy and
+well-fed mountaineers.
+
+They continued on their journey for several days, without any incident
+worthy of notice, and on the 19th of November, came upon traces of the
+party of which they were in search; such as burned patches of prairie,
+and deserted camping grounds. All these were carefully examined, to
+discover by their freshness or antiquity the probable time that
+the trappers had left them; at length, after much wandering and
+investigating, they came upon the regular trail of the hunting party,
+which led into the mountains, and following it up briskly, came about
+two o’clock in the afternoon of the 20th, upon the encampment of
+Hodgkiss and his band of free trappers, in the bosom of a mountain
+valley.
+
+It will be recollected that these free trappers, who were masters
+of themselves and their movements, had refused to accompany Captain
+Bonneville back to Green River in the preceding month of July,
+preferring to trap about the upper waters of the Salmon River,
+where they expected to find plenty of beaver, and a less dangerous
+neighborhood. Their hunt had not been very successful. They had
+penetrated the great range of mountains among which some of the upper
+branches of Salmon River take their rise, but had become so entangled
+among immense and almost impassable barricades of fallen pines, and so
+impeded by tremendous precipices, that a great part of their season had
+been wasted among these mountains. At one time, they had made their way
+through them, and reached the Boisee River; but meeting with a band of
+Bannack Indians, from whom they apprehended hostilities, they had again
+taken shelter among the mountains, where they were found by Captain
+Bonneville. In the neighborhood of their encampment, the captain had the
+good fortune to meet with a family of those wanderers of the mountains,
+emphatically called “les dignes de pitie,” or Poordevil Indians. These,
+however, appear to have forfeited the title, for they had with them
+a fine lot of skins of beaver, elk, deer, and mountain sheep. These,
+Captain Bonneville purchased from them at a fair valuation, and sent
+them off astonished at their own wealth, and no doubt objects of envy to
+all their pitiful tribe.
+
+Being now reinforced by Hodgkiss and his band of free trappers, Captain
+Bonneville put himself at the head of the united parties, and set out
+to rejoin those he had recently left at the Beer Spring, that they might
+all go into winter quarters on Snake River. On his route, he encountered
+many heavy falls of snow, which melted almost immediately, so as not to
+impede his march, and on the 4th of December, he found his other party,
+encamped at the very place where he had partaken in the buffalo hunt
+with the Bannacks.
+
+That braggart horde was encamped but about three miles off, and were
+just then in high glee and festivity, and more swaggering than ever,
+celebrating a prodigious victory. It appeared that a party of their
+braves being out on a hunting excursion, discovered a band of Blackfeet
+moving, as they thought, to surprise their hunting camp. The Bannacks
+immediately posted themselves on each side of a dark ravine, through
+which the enemy must pass, and, just as they were entangled in the midst
+of it, attacked them with great fury. The Blackfeet, struck with sudden
+panic, threw off their buffalo robes and fled, leaving one of their
+warriors dead on the spot. The victors eagerly gathered up the spoils;
+but their greatest prize was the scalp of the Blackfoot brave. This they
+bore off in triumph to their village, where it had ever since been an
+object of the greatest exultation and rejoicing. It had been elevated
+upon a pole in the centre of the village, where the warriors had
+celebrated the scalp dance round it, with war feasts, war songs, and
+warlike harangues. It had then been given up to the women and boys; who
+had paraded it up and down the village with shouts and chants and antic
+dances; occasionally saluting it with all kinds of taunts, invectives,
+and revilings.
+
+The Blackfeet, in this affair, do not appear to have acted up to the
+character which has rendered them objects of such terror. Indeed,
+their conduct in war, to the inexperienced observer, is full of
+inconsistencies; at one time they are headlong in courage, and heedless
+of danger; at another time cautious almost to cowardice. To understand
+these apparent incongruities, one must know their principles of warfare.
+A war party, however triumphant, if they lose a warrior in the fight,
+bring back a cause of mourning to their people, which casts a shade over
+the glory of their achievement. Hence, the Indian is often less fierce
+and reckless in general battle, than he is in a private brawl; and
+the chiefs are checked in their boldest undertakings by the fear of
+sacrificing their warriors.
+
+This peculiarity is not confined to the Blackfeet. Among the Osages,
+says Captain Bonneville, when a warrior falls in battle, his comrades,
+though they may have fought with consummate valor, and won a glorious
+victory, will leave their arms upon the field of battle, and returning
+home with dejected countenances, will halt without the encampment, and
+wait until the relatives of the slain come forth and invite them to
+mingle again with their people.
+
+
+
+
+29.
+
+     Winter camp at the Portneuf--Fine springs--The Bannack
+     Indians--Their honesty--Captain--Bonneville prepares for an
+     expedition--Christmas--The American--Falls--Wild scenery--
+     Fishing Falls--Snake Indians--Scenery on the Bruneau--View
+     of volcanic country from a mountain--Powder River--
+     Shoshokoes, or Root Diggers--Their character, habits,
+     habitations, dogs--Vanity at its last shift
+
+IN ESTABLISHING his winter camp near the Portneuf, Captain Bonneville
+had drawn off to some little distance from his Bannack friends, to avoid
+all annoyance from their intimacy or intrusions. In so doing, however,
+he had been obliged to take up his quarters on the extreme edge of the
+flat land, where he was encompassed with ice and snow, and had nothing
+better for his horses to subsist on than wormwood. The Bannacks, on the
+contrary, were encamped among fine springs of water, where there was
+grass in abundance. Some of these springs gush out of the earth in
+sufficient quantity to turn a mill; and furnish beautiful streams, clear
+as crystal, and full of trout of a large size, which may be seen darting
+about the transparent water.
+
+Winter now set in regularly. The snow had fallen frequently, and in
+large quantities, and covered the ground to a depth of a foot; and the
+continued coldness of the weather prevented any thaw.
+
+By degrees, a distrust which at first subsisted between the Indians and
+the trappers, subsided, and gave way to mutual confidence and good
+will. A few presents convinced the chiefs that the white men were their
+friends; nor were the white men wanting in proofs of the honesty and
+good faith of their savage neighbors. Occasionally, the deep snow and
+the want of fodder obliged them to turn their weakest horses out to roam
+in quest of sustenance. If they at any time strayed to the camp of the
+Bannacks, they were immediately brought back. It must be confessed,
+however, that if the stray horse happened, by any chance, to be in
+vigorous plight and good condition, though he was equally sure to be
+returned by the honest Bannacks, yet it was always after the lapse of
+several days, and in a very gaunt and jaded state; and always with the
+remark that they had found him a long way off. The uncharitable were apt
+to surmise that he had, in the interim, been well used up in a
+buffalo hunt; but those accustomed to Indian morality in the matter of
+horseflesh, considered it a singular evidence of honesty that he should
+be brought back at all.
+
+Being convinced, therefore, from these, and other circumstances, that
+his people were encamped in the neighborhood of a tribe as honest as
+they were valiant, and satisfied that they would pass their winter
+unmolested, Captain Bonneville prepared for a reconnoitring expedition
+of great extent and peril. This was, to penetrate to the Hudson’s
+Bay establishments on the banks of the Columbia, and to make himself
+acquainted with the country and the Indian tribes; it being one part of
+his scheme to establish a trading post somewhere on the lower part of
+the river, so as to participate in the trade lost to the United States
+by the capture of Astoria. This expedition would, of course, take him
+through the Snake River country, and across the Blue Mountains, the
+scenes of so much hardship and disaster to Hunt and Crooks, and their
+Astorian bands, who first explored it, and he would have to pass through
+it in the same frightful season, the depth of winter.
+
+The idea of risk and hardship, however, only served to stimulate the
+adventurous spirit of the captain. He chose three companions for his
+journey, put up a small stock of necessaries in the most portable form,
+and selected five horses and mules for themselves and their baggage. He
+proposed to rejoin his band in the early part of March, at the winter
+encampment near the Portneuf. All these arrangements being completed,
+he mounted his horse on Christmas morning, and set off with his three
+comrades. They halted a little beyond the Bannack camp, and made their
+Christmas dinner, which, if not a very merry, was a very hearty one,
+after which they resumed their journey.
+
+They were obliged to travel slowly, to spare their horses; for the snow
+had increased in depth to eighteen inches; and though somewhat packed
+and frozen, was not sufficiently so to yield firm footing. Their route
+lay to the west, down along the left side of Snake River; and they were
+several days in reaching the first, or American Falls. The banks of the
+river, for a considerable distance, both above and below the falls,
+have a volcanic character: masses of basaltic rock are piled one upon
+another; the water makes its way through their broken chasms, boiling
+through narrow channels, or pitching in beautiful cascades over ridges
+of basaltic columns.
+
+Beyond these falls, they came to a picturesque, but inconsiderable
+stream, called the Cassie. It runs through a level valley, about four
+miles wide, where the soil is good; but the prevalent coldness and
+dryness of the climate is unfavorable to vegetation. Near to this stream
+there is a small mountain of mica slate, including garnets. Granite,
+in small blocks, is likewise seen in this neighborhood, and white
+sandstone. From this river, the travellers had a prospect of the snowy
+heights of the Salmon River Mountains to the north; the nearest, at
+least fifty miles distant.
+
+In pursuing his course westward, Captain Bonneville generally kept
+several miles from Snake River, crossing the heads of its tributary
+streams; though he often found the open country so encumbered by
+volcanic rocks, as to render travelling extremely difficult. Whenever he
+approached Snake River, he found it running through a broad chasm, with
+steep, perpendicular sides of basaltic rock. After several days’ travel
+across a level plain, he came to a part of the river which filled him
+with astonishment and admiration. As far as the eye could reach, the
+river was walled in by perpendicular cliffs two hundred and fifty
+feet high, beetling like dark and gloomy battlements, while blocks and
+fragments lay in masses at their feet, in the midst of the boiling and
+whirling current. Just above, the whole stream pitched in one cascade
+above forty feet in height, with a thundering sound, casting up a volume
+of spray that hung in the air like a silver mist. These are called
+by some the Fishing Falls, as the salmon are taken here in immense
+quantities. They cannot get by these falls.
+
+After encamping at this place all night, Captain Bonneville, at sunrise,
+descended with his party through a narrow ravine, or rather crevice, in
+the vast wall of basaltic rock which bordered the river; this being the
+only mode, for many miles, of getting to the margin of the stream.
+
+The snow lay in a thin crust along the banks of the river, so that their
+travelling was much more easy than it had been hitherto. There were
+foot tracks, also, made by the natives, which greatly facilitated their
+progress. Occasionally, they met the inhabitants of this wild region;
+a timid race, and but scantily provided with the necessaries of life.
+Their dress consisted of a mantle about four feet square, formed
+of strips of rabbit skins sewed together; this they hung over their
+shoulders, in the ordinary Indian mode of wearing the blanket. Their
+weapons were bows and arrows; the latter tipped with obsidian, which
+abounds in the neighborhood. Their huts were shaped like haystacks, and
+constructed of branches of willow covered with long grass, so as to
+be warm and comfortable. Occasionally, they were surrounded by small
+inclosures of wormwood, about three feet high, which gave them
+a cottage-like appearance. Three or four of these tenements were
+occasionally grouped together in some wild and striking situation, and
+had a picturesque effect. Sometimes they were in sufficient number
+to form a small hamlet. From these people, Captain Bonneville’s party
+frequently purchased salmon, dried in an admirable manner, as were
+likewise the roes. This seemed to be their prime article of food; but
+they were extremely anxious to get buffalo meat in exchange.
+
+The high walls and rocks, within which the travellers had been so long
+inclosed, now occasionally presented openings, through which they were
+enabled to ascend to the plain, and to cut off considerable bends of the
+river.
+
+Throughout the whole extent of this vast and singular chasm, the scenery
+of the river is said to be of the most wild and romantic character.
+The rocks present every variety of masses and grouping. Numerous small
+streams come rushing and boiling through narrow clefts and ravines:
+one of a considerable size issued from the face of a precipice, within
+twenty-five feet of its summit; and after running in nearly a horizontal
+line for about one hundred feet, fell, by numerous small cascades, to
+the rocky bank of the river.
+
+In its career through this vast and singular defile, Snake River is
+upward of three hundred yards wide, and as clear as spring water.
+Sometimes it steals along with a tranquil and noiseless course; at other
+times, for miles and miles, it dashes on in a thousand rapids, wild
+and beautiful to the eye, and lulling the ear with the soft tumult of
+plashing waters.
+
+Many of the tributary streams of Snake River, rival it in the wildness
+and picturesqueness of their scenery. That called the Bruneau; is
+particularly cited. It runs through a tremendous chasm, rather than a
+valley, extending upwards of a hundred and fifty miles. You come upon it
+on a sudden, in traversing a level plain. It seems as if you could throw
+a stone across from cliff to cliff; yet, the valley is near two thousand
+feet deep: so that the river looks like an inconsiderable stream.
+Basaltic rocks rise perpendicularly, so that it is impossible to get
+from the plain to the water, or from the river margin to the plain. The
+current is bright and limpid. Hot springs are found on the borders of
+this river. One bursts out of the cliffs forty feet above the river, in
+a stream sufficient to turn a mill, and sends up a cloud of vapor.
+
+We find a characteristic picture of this volcanic region of mountains
+and streams, furnished by the journal of Mr. Wyeth, which lies before
+us; who ascended a peak in the neighborhood we are describing. From this
+summit, the country, he says, appears an indescribable chaos; the tops
+of the hills exhibit the same strata as far as the eye can reach; and
+appear to have once formed the level of the country; and the valleys
+to be formed by the sinking of the earth, rather than the rising of the
+hills. Through the deep cracks and chasms thus formed, the rivers and
+brooks make their way, which renders it difficult to follow them. All
+these basaltic channels are called cut rocks by the trappers. Many of
+the mountain streams disappear in the plains; either absorbed by their
+thirsty soil, and by the porous surface of the lava, or swallowed up in
+gulfs and chasms.
+
+On the 12th of January (1834), Captain Bonneville reached Powder River;
+much the largest stream that he had seen since leaving the Portneuf. He
+struck it about three miles above its entrance into Snake River. Here he
+found himself above the lower narrows and defiles of the latter river,
+and in an open and level country. The natives now made their appearance
+in considerable numbers, and evinced the most insatiable curiosity
+respecting the white men; sitting in groups for hours together, exposed
+to the bleakest winds, merely for the pleasure of gazing upon the
+strangers, and watching every movement. These are of that branch of
+the great Snake tribe called Shoshokoes, or Root Diggers, from their
+subsisting, in a great measure, on the roots of the earth; though they
+likewise take fish in great quantities, and hunt, in a small way. They
+are, in general, very poor; destitute of most of the comforts of life,
+and extremely indolent: but a mild, inoffensive race. They differ, in
+many respects, from the other branch of the Snake tribe, the Shoshonies;
+who possess horses, are more roving and adventurous, and hunt the
+buffalo.
+
+On the following day, as Captain Bonneville approached the mouth
+of Powder River, he discovered at least a hundred families of these
+Diggers, as they are familiarly called, assembled in one place. The
+women and children kept at a distance, perched among the rocks and
+cliffs; their eager curiosity being somewhat dashed with fear. From
+their elevated posts, they scrutinized the strangers with the most
+intense earnestness; regarding them with almost as much awe as if they
+had been beings of a supernatural order.
+
+The men, however, were by no means so shy and reserved; but importuned
+Captain Bonneville and his companions excessively by their curiosity.
+Nothing escaped their notice; and any thing they could lay their hands
+on underwent the most minute examination. To get rid of such inquisitive
+neighbors, the travellers kept on for a considerable distance, before
+they encamped for the night.
+
+The country, hereabout, was generally level and sandy; producing very
+little grass, but a considerable quantity of sage or wormwood. The
+plains were diversified by isolated hills, all cut off, as it were,
+about the same height, so as to have tabular summits. In this they
+resembled the isolated hills of the great prairies, east of the Rocky
+Mountains; especially those found on the plains of the Arkansas.
+
+The high precipices which had hitherto walled in the channel of Snake
+River had now disappeared; and the banks were of the ordinary height. It
+should be observed, that the great valleys or plains, through which the
+Snake River wound its course, were generally of great breadth, extending
+on each side from thirty to forty miles; where the view was bounded by
+unbroken ridges of mountains.
+
+The travellers found but little snow in the neighborhood of Powder
+River, though the weather continued intensely cold. They learned a
+lesson, however, from their forlorn friends, the Root Diggers, which
+they subsequently found of great service in their wintry wanderings.
+They frequently observed them to be furnished with long ropes, twisted
+from the bark of the wormwood. This they used as a slow match, carrying
+it always lighted. Whenever they wished to warm themselves, they would
+gather together a little dry wormwood, apply the match, and in an
+instant produce a cheering blaze.
+
+Captain Bonneville gives a cheerless account of a village of these
+Diggers, which he saw in crossing the plain below Powder River. “They
+live,” says he, “without any further protection from the inclemency
+of the season, than a sort of break-weather, about three feet high,
+composed of sage (or wormwood), and erected around them in the shape
+of a half moon.” Whenever he met with them, however, they had always a
+large suite of half-starved dogs: for these animals, in savage as well
+as in civilized life, seem to be the concomitants of beggary.
+
+These dogs, it must be allowed, were of more use than the beggary curs
+of cities. The Indian children used them in hunting the small game of
+the neighborhood, such as rabbits and prairie dogs; in which mongrel
+kind of chase they acquitted themselves with some credit.
+
+Sometimes the Diggers aspire to nobler game, and succeed in entrapping
+the antelope, the fleetest animal of the prairies. The process by which
+this is effected is somewhat singular. When the snow has disappeared,
+says Captain Bonneville, and the ground become soft, the women go into
+the thickest fields of wormwood, and pulling it up in great quantities,
+construct with it a hedge, about three feet high, inclosing about a
+hundred acres. A single opening is left for the admission of the game.
+This done, the women conceal themselves behind the wormwood, and wait
+patiently for the coming of the antelopes; which sometimes enter this
+spacious trap in considerable numbers. As soon as they are in, the women
+give the signal, and the men hasten to play their part. But one of them
+enters the pen at a time; and, after chasing the terrified animals round
+the inclosure, is relieved by one of his companions. In this way
+the hunters take their turns, relieving each other, and keeping up a
+continued pursuit by relays, without fatigue to themselves. The poor
+antelopes, in the end, are so wearied down, that the whole party of men
+enter and dispatch them with clubs; not one escaping that has entered
+the inclosure. The most curious circumstance in this chase is, that an
+animal so fleet and agile as the antelope, and straining for its life,
+should range round and round this fated inclosure, without attempting to
+overleap the low barrier which surrounds it. Such, however, is said to
+be the fact; and such their only mode of hunting the antelope.
+
+Notwithstanding the absence of all comfort and convenience in their
+habitations, and the general squalidness of their appearance, the
+Shoshokoes do not appear to be destitute of ingenuity. They manufacture
+good ropes, and even a tolerably fine thread, from a sort of weed found
+in their neighborhood; and construct bowls and jugs out of a kind of
+basket-work formed from small strips of wood plaited: these, by the aid
+of a little wax, they render perfectly water tight. Beside the roots on
+which they mainly depend for subsistence, they collect great quantities
+of seed, of various kinds, beaten with one hand out of the tops of the
+plants into wooden bowls held for that purpose. The seed thus collected
+is winnowed and parched, and ground between two stones into a kind of
+meal or flour; which, when mixed with water, forms a very palatable
+paste or gruel.
+
+Some of these people, more provident and industrious than the rest, lay
+up a stock of dried salmon, and other fish, for winter: with these, they
+were ready to traffic with the travellers for any objects of utility in
+Indian life; giving a large quantity in exchange for an awl, a knife,
+or a fish-hook. Others were in the most abject state of want and
+starvation; and would even gather up the fish-bones which the travellers
+threw away after a repast, warm them over again at the fire, and pick
+them with the greatest avidity.
+
+The farther Captain Bonneville advanced into the country of these
+Root Diggers, the more evidence he perceived of their rude and forlorn
+condition. “They were destitute,” says he, “of the necessary covering
+to protect them from the weather; and seemed to be in the most
+unsophisticated ignorance of any other propriety or advantage in the
+use of clothing. One old dame had absolutely nothing on her person but a
+thread round her neck, from which was pendant a solitary bead.”
+
+What stage of human destitution, however, is too destitute for vanity!
+Though these naked and forlorn-looking beings had neither toilet to
+arrange, nor beauty to contemplate, their greatest passion was for a
+mirror. It was a “great medicine,” in their eyes. The sight of one was
+sufficient, at any time, to throw them into a paroxysm of eagerness and
+delight; and they were ready to give anything they had for the smallest
+fragment in which they might behold their squalid features. With this
+simple instance of vanity, in its primitive but vigorous state, we shall
+close our remarks on the Root Diggers.
+
+
+
+
+30.
+
+     Temperature of the climate--Root Diggers on horseback--An
+     Indian guide--Mountain prospects--The Grand Rond--
+     Difficulties on Snake River--A scramble over the Blue
+     Mountains--Sufferings from hunger--Prospect of the Immahah
+     Valley--The exhausted traveller
+
+THE TEMPERATURE of the regions west of the Rocky Mountains is much
+milder than in the same latitudes on the Atlantic side; the upper
+plains, however, which lie at a distance from the sea-coast, are
+subject in winter to considerable vicissitude; being traversed by lofty
+“sierras,” crowned with perpetual snow, which often produce flaws and
+streaks of intense cold This was experienced by Captain Bonneville and
+his companions in their progress westward. At the time when they left
+the Bannacks Snake River was frozen hard: as they proceeded, the ice
+became broken and floating; it gradually disappeared, and the weather
+became warm and pleasant, as they approached a tributary stream called
+the Little Wyer; and the soil, which was generally of a watery clay,
+with occasional intervals of sand, was soft to the tread of the horses.
+After a time, however, the mountains approached and flanked the
+river; the snow lay deep in the valleys, and the current was once more
+icebound.
+
+Here they were visited by a party of Root Diggers, who were apparently
+rising in the world, for they had “horse to ride and weapon to wear,”
+ and were altogether better clad and equipped than any of the tribe that
+Captain Bonneville had met with. They were just from the plain of Boisee
+River, where they had left a number of their tribe, all as well provided
+as themselves; having guns, horses, and comfortable clothing. All these
+they obtained from the Lower Nez Perces, with whom they were in habits
+[sic] of frequent traffic. They appeared to have imbibed from that
+tribe their non-combative principles, being mild and inoffensive in their
+manners. Like them, also, they had something of religious feelings;
+for Captain Bonneville observed that, before eating, they washed their
+hands, and made a short prayer; which he understood was their invariable
+custom. From these Indians, he obtained a considerable supply of fish,
+and an excellent and well-conditioned horse, to replace one which had
+become too weak for the journey.
+
+The travellers now moved forward with renovated spirits; the snow, it
+is true, lay deeper and deeper as they advanced, but they trudged on
+merrily, considering themselves well provided for the journey, which
+could not be of much longer duration.
+
+They had intended to proceed up the banks of Gun Creek, a stream which
+flows into Snake River from the west; but were assured by the natives
+that the route in that direction was impracticable. The latter advised
+them to keep along Snake River, where they would not be impeded by the
+snow. Taking one of the Diggers for a guide, they set off along the
+river, and to their joy soon found the country free from snow, as
+had been predicted, so that their horses once more had the benefit of
+tolerable pasturage. Their Digger proved an excellent guide, trudging
+cheerily in the advance. He made an unsuccessful shot or two at a deer
+and a beaver; but at night found a rabbit hole, whence he extracted
+the occupant, upon which, with the addition of a fish given him by the
+travellers, he made a hearty supper, and retired to rest, filled with
+good cheer and good humor.
+
+The next day the travellers came to where the hills closed upon the
+river, leaving here and there intervals of undulating meadow land. The
+river was sheeted with ice, broken into hills at long intervals. The
+Digger kept on ahead of the party, crossing and recrossing the river
+in pursuit of game, until, unluckily, encountering a brother Digger, he
+stole off with him, without the ceremony of leave-taking.
+
+Being now left to themselves, they proceeded until they came to some
+Indian huts, the inhabitants of which spoke a language totally different
+from any they had yet heard. One, however, understood the Nez Perce
+language, and through him they made inquiries as to their route. These
+Indians were extremely kind and honest, and furnished them with a small
+quantity of meat; but none of them could be induced to act as guides.
+
+Immediately in the route of the travellers lay a high mountain, which
+they ascended with some difficulty. The prospect from the summit was
+grand but disheartening. Directly before them towered the loftiest peaks
+of Immahah, rising far higher than the elevated ground on which they
+stood: on the other hand, they were enabled to scan the course of the
+river, dashing along through deep chasms, between rocks and precipices,
+until lost in a distant wilderness of mountains, which closed the savage
+landscape.
+
+They remained for a long time contemplating, with perplexed and anxious
+eye, this wild congregation of mountain barriers, and seeking to
+discover some practicable passage. The approach of evening obliged them
+to give up the task, and to seek some camping ground for the night.
+Moving briskly forward, and plunging and tossing through a succession of
+deep snow-drifts, they at length reached a valley known among trappers
+as the “Grand Rond,” which they found entirely free from snow.
+
+This is a beautiful and very fertile valley, about twenty miles long and
+five or six broad; a bright cold stream called the Fourche de Glace,
+or Ice River, runs through it. Its sheltered situation, embosomed in
+mountains, renders it good pasturaging ground in the winter time; when
+the elk come down to it in great numbers, driven out of the mountains by
+the snow. The Indians then resort to it to hunt. They likewise come
+to it in the summer time to dig the camash root, of which it produces
+immense quantities. When this plant is in blossom, the whole valley is
+tinted by its blue flowers, and looks like the ocean when overcast by a
+cloud.
+
+After passing a night in this valley, the travellers in the morning
+scaled the neighboring hills, to look out for a more eligible route
+than that upon which they had unluckily fallen; and, after much
+reconnoitring, determined to make their way once more to the river, and
+to travel upon the ice when the banks should prove impassable.
+
+On the second day after this determination, they were again upon Snake
+River, but, contrary to their expectations, it was nearly free from ice.
+A narrow riband ran along the shore, and sometimes there was a kind of
+bridge across the stream, formed of old ice and snow. For a short time,
+they jogged along the bank, with tolerable facility, but at length
+came to where the river forced its way into the heart of the
+mountains, winding between tremendous walls of basaltic rock, that rose
+perpendicularly from the water’s edge, frowning in bleak and gloomy
+grandeur. Here difficulties of all kinds beset their path. The snow was
+from two to three feet deep, but soft and yielding, so that the horses
+had no foothold, but kept plunging forward, straining themselves by
+perpetual efforts. Sometimes the crags and promontories forced them upon
+the narrow riband of ice that bordered the shore; sometimes they had to
+scramble over vast masses of rock which had tumbled from the impending
+precipices; sometimes they had to cross the stream upon the hazardous
+bridges of ice and snow, sinking to the knee at every step; sometimes
+they had to scale slippery acclivities, and to pass along narrow
+cornices, glazed with ice and sleet, a shouldering wall of rock on one
+side, a yawning precipice on the other, where a single false step would
+have been fatal. In a lower and less dangerous pass, two of their horses
+actually fell into the river; one was saved with much difficulty, but
+the boldness of the shore prevented their rescuing the other, and he was
+swept away by the rapid current.
+
+In this way they struggled forward, manfully braving difficulties and
+dangers, until they came to where the bed of the river was narrowed to
+a mere chasm, with perpendicular walls of rock that defied all further
+progress. Turning their faces now to the mountain, they endeavored to
+cross directly over it; but, after clambering nearly to the summit,
+found their path closed by insurmountable barriers.
+
+Nothing now remained but to retrace their steps. To descend a cragged
+mountain, however, was more difficult and dangerous than to ascend it.
+They had to lower themselves cautiously and slowly, from steep to steep;
+and, while they managed with difficulty to maintain their own footing,
+to aid their horses by holding on firmly to the rope halters, as
+the poor animals stumbled among slippery rocks, or slid down icy
+declivities. Thus, after a day of intense cold, and severe and incessant
+toil, amidst the wildest of scenery, they managed, about nightfall, to
+reach the camping ground, from which they had started in the morning,
+and for the first time in the course of their rugged and perilous
+expedition, felt their hearts quailing under their multiplied hardships.
+
+A hearty supper, a tranquillizing pipe, and a sound night’s sleep, put
+them all in better mood, and in the morning they held a consultation as
+to their future movements. About four miles behind, they had remarked
+a small ridge of mountains approaching closely to the river. It was
+determined to scale this ridge, and seek a passage into the valley which
+must lie beyond. Should they fail in this, but one alternative remained.
+To kill their horses, dry the flesh for provisions, make boats of
+the hides, and, in these, commit themselves to the stream--a measure
+hazardous in the extreme.
+
+A short march brought them to the foot of the mountain, but its steep
+and cragged sides almost discouraged hope. The only chance of scaling
+it was by broken masses of rock, piled one upon another, which formed
+a succession of crags, reaching nearly to the summit. Up these they
+wrought their way with indescribable difficulty and peril, in a zigzag
+course, climbing from rock to rock, and helping their horses up after
+them; which scrambled among the crags like mountain goats; now and then
+dislodging some huge stone, which, the moment they had left it, would
+roll down the mountain, crashing and rebounding with terrific din. It
+was some time after dark before they reached a kind of platform on the
+summit of the mountain, where they could venture to encamp. The winds,
+which swept this naked height, had whirled all the snow into the valley
+beneath, so that the horses found tolerable winter pasturage on the
+dry grass which remained exposed. The travellers, though hungry in the
+extreme, were fain to make a very frugal supper; for they saw their
+journey was likely to be prolonged much beyond the anticipated term.
+
+In fact, on the following day they discerned that, although already at
+a great elevation, they were only as yet upon the shoulder of the
+mountain. It proved to be a great sierra, or ridge, of immense height,
+running parallel to the course of the river, swelling by degrees to
+lofty peaks, but the outline gashed by deep and precipitous ravines.
+This, in fact, was a part of the chain of Blue Mountains, in which the
+first adventurers to Astoria experienced such hardships.
+
+We will not pretend to accompany the travellers step by step in this
+tremendous mountain scramble, into which they had unconsciously betrayed
+themselves. Day after day did their toil continue; peak after peak had
+they to traverse, struggling with difficulties and hardships known only
+to the mountain trapper. As their course lay north, they had to ascend
+the southern faces of the heights, where the sun had melted the snow,
+so as to render the ascent wet and slippery, and to keep both men and
+horses continually on the strain; while on the northern sides, the snow
+lay in such heavy masses, that it was necessary to beat a track down
+which the horses might be led. Every now and then, also, their way was
+impeded by tall and numerous pines, some of which had fallen, and lay in
+every direction.
+
+In the midst of these toils and hardships, their provisions gave out.
+For three days they were without food, and so reduced that they could
+scarcely drag themselves along. At length one of the mules, being about
+to give out from fatigue and famine, they hastened to dispatch him.
+Husbanding this miserable supply, they dried the flesh, and for three
+days subsisted upon the nutriment extracted from the bones. As to the
+meat, it was packed and preserved as long as they could do without it,
+not knowing how long they might remain bewildered in these desolate
+regions.
+
+One of the men was now dispatched ahead, to reconnoitre the country, and
+to discover, if possible, some more practicable route. In the meantime,
+the rest of the party moved on slowly. After a lapse of three days, the
+scout rejoined them. He informed them that Snake River ran immediately
+below the sierra or mountainous ridge, upon which they were travelling;
+that it was free from precipices, and was at no great distance from them
+in a direct line; but that it would be impossible for them to reach it
+without making a weary circuit. Their only course would be to cross the
+mountain ridge to the left.
+
+Up this mountain, therefore, the weary travellers directed their steps;
+and the ascent, in their present weak and exhausted state, was one of
+the severest parts of this most painful journey. For two days were they
+toiling slowly from cliff to cliff, beating at every step a path through
+the snow for their faltering horses. At length they reached the summit,
+where the snow was blown off; but in descending on the opposite side,
+they were often plunging through deep drifts, piled in the hollows and
+ravines.
+
+Their provisions were now exhausted, and they and their horses almost
+ready to give out with fatigue and hunger; when one afternoon, just as
+the sun was sinking behind a blue line of distant mountain, they came
+to the brow of a height from which they beheld the smooth valley of the
+Immahah stretched out in smiling verdure below them.
+
+The sight inspired almost a frenzy of delight. Roused to new ardor,
+they forgot, for a time, their fatigues, and hurried down the mountain,
+dragging their jaded horses after them, and sometimes compelling them
+to slide a distance of thirty or forty feet at a time. At length they
+reached the banks of the Immahah. The young grass was just beginning to
+sprout, and the whole valley wore an aspect of softness, verdure, and
+repose, heightened by the contrast of the frightful region from which
+they had just descended. To add to their joy, they observed Indian
+trails along the margin of the stream, and other signs, which gave them
+reason to believe that there was an encampment of the Lower Nez Perces
+in the neighborhood, as it was within the accustomed range of that
+pacific and hospitable tribe.
+
+The prospect of a supply of food stimulated them to new exertion, and
+they continued on as fast as the enfeebled state of themselves and their
+steeds would permit. At length, one of the men, more exhausted than the
+rest, threw himself upon the grass, and declared he could go no further.
+It was in vain to attempt to rouse him; his spirit had given out, and
+his replies only showed the dogged apathy of despair. His companions,
+therefore, encamped on the spot, kindled a blazing fire, and searched
+about for roots with which to strengthen and revive him. They all then
+made a starveling repast; but gathering round the fire, talked over past
+dangers and troubles, soothed themselves with the persuasion that all
+were now at an end, and went to sleep with the comforting hope that the
+morrow would bring them into plentiful quarters.
+
+
+
+
+31.
+
+     Progress in the valley--An Indian cavalier--The captain
+     falls into a lethargy--A Nez-Perce patriarch--Hospitable
+     treatment--The bald head--Bargaining--Value of an old plaid
+     cloak--The family horse--The cost of an Indian present
+
+A TRANQUIL NIGHT’S REST had sufficiently restored the broken down
+traveller to enable him to resume his wayfaring, and all hands set
+forward on the Indian trail. With all their eagerness to arrive within
+reach of succor, such was their feeble and emaciated condition, that
+they advanced but slowly. Nor is it a matter of surprise that they
+should almost have lost heart, as well as strength. It was now (the 16th
+of February) fifty-three days that they had been travelling in the midst
+of winter, exposed to all kinds of privations and hardships: and for
+the last twenty days, they had been entangled in the wild and desolate
+labyrinths of the snowy mountains; climbing and descending icy
+precipices, and nearly starved with cold and hunger.
+
+All the morning they continued following the Indian trail, without
+seeing a human being, and were beginning to be discouraged, when, about
+noon, they discovered a horseman at a distance. He was coming directly
+toward them; but on discovering them, suddenly reined up his steed,
+came to a halt, and, after reconnoitring them for a time with great
+earnestness, seemed about to make a cautious retreat. They eagerly made
+signs of peace, and endeavored, with the utmost anxiety, to induce him
+to approach. He remained for some time in doubt; but at length, having
+satisfied himself that they were not enemies, came galloping up to them.
+He was a fine, haughty-looking savage, fancifully decorated, and mounted
+on a high-mettled steed, with gaudy trappings and equipments. It was
+evident that he was a warrior of some consequence among his tribe.
+His whole deportment had something in it of barbaric dignity; he felt,
+perhaps, his temporary superiority in personal array, and in the spirit
+of his steed, to the poor, ragged, travel-worn trappers and their
+half-starved horses. Approaching them with an air of protection, he gave
+them his hand, and, in the Nez Perce language, invited them to his camp,
+which was only a few miles distant; where he had plenty to eat, and
+plenty of horses, and would cheerfully share his good things with them.
+
+His hospitable invitation was joyfully accepted: he lingered but a
+moment, to give directions by which they might find his camp, and then,
+wheeling round, and giving the reins to his mettlesome steed, was soon
+out of sight. The travellers followed, with gladdened hearts, but at a
+snail’s pace; for their poor horses could scarcely drag one leg after
+the other. Captain Bonneville, however, experienced a sudden and
+singular change of feeling. Hitherto, the necessity of conducting his
+party, and of providing against every emergency, had kept his mind upon
+the stretch, and his whole system braced and excited. In no one instance
+had he flagged in spirit, or felt disposed to succumb. Now, however,
+that all danger was over, and the march of a few miles would bring them
+to repose and abundance, his energies suddenly deserted him; and every
+faculty, mental and physical, was totally relaxed. He had not proceeded
+two miles from the point where he had had the interview with the Nez
+Perce chief, when he threw himself upon the earth, without the power
+or will to move a muscle, or exert a thought, and sank almost instantly
+into a profound and dreamless sleep. His companions again came to a
+halt, and encamped beside him, and there they passed the night.
+
+The next morning, Captain Bonneville awakened from his long and heavy
+sleep, much refreshed; and they all resumed their creeping progress.
+They had not long been on the march, when eight or ten of the Nez Perce
+tribe came galloping to meet them, leading fresh horses to bear them
+to their camp. Thus gallantly mounted, they felt new life infused into
+their languid frames, and dashing forward, were soon at the lodges of
+the Nez Perces. Here they found about twelve families living together,
+under the patriarchal sway of an ancient and venerable chief. He
+received them with the hospitality of the golden age, and with something
+of the same kind of fare; for, while he opened his arms to make them
+welcome, the only repast he set before them consisted of roots. They
+could have wished for something more hearty and substantial; but, for
+want of better, made a voracious meal on these humble viands. The repast
+being over, the best pipe was lighted and sent round: and this was a
+most welcome luxury, having lost their smoking apparatus twelve days
+before, among the mountains.
+
+While they were thus enjoying themselves, their poor horses were led to
+the best pastures in the neighborhood, where they were turned loose to
+revel on the fresh sprouting grass; so that they had better fare than
+their masters.
+
+Captain Bonneville soon felt himself quite at home among these quiet,
+inoffensive people. His long residence among their cousins, the Upper
+Nez Perces, had made him conversant with their language, modes of
+expression, and all their habitudes. He soon found, too, that he
+was well known among them, by report, at least, from the constant
+interchange of visits and messages between the two branches of the
+tribe. They at first addressed him by his name; giving him his title of
+captain, with a French accent: but they soon gave him a title of their
+own; which, as usual with Indian titles, had a peculiar signification.
+In the case of the captain, it had somewhat of a whimsical origin.
+
+As he sat chatting and smoking in the midst of them, he would
+occasionally take off his cap. Whenever he did so, there was a sensation
+in the surrounding circle. The Indians would half rise from their
+recumbent posture, and gaze upon his uncovered head, with their usual
+exclamation of astonishment. The worthy captain was completely bald; a
+phenomenon very surprising in their eyes. They were at a loss to know
+whether he had been scalped in battle, or enjoyed a natural immunity
+from that belligerent infliction. In a little while, he became
+known among them by an Indian name, signifying “the bald chief.” “A
+sobriquet,” observes the captain, “for which I can find no parallel in
+history since the days of ‘Charles the Bald.’”
+
+Although the travellers had banqueted on roots, and been regaled
+with tobacco smoke, yet their stomachs craved more generous fare. In
+approaching the lodges of the Nez Perces, they had indulged in fond
+anticipations of venison and dried salmon; and dreams of the kind still
+haunted their imaginations, and could not be conjured down. The keen
+appetites of mountain trappers, quickened by a fortnight’s fasting, at
+length got the better of all scruples of pride, and they fairly begged
+some fish or flesh from the hospitable savages. The latter, however,
+were slow to break in upon their winter store, which was very limited;
+but were ready to furnish roots in abundance, which they pronounced
+excellent food. At length, Captain Bonneville thought of a means of
+attaining the much-coveted gratification.
+
+He had about him, he says, a trusty plaid; an old and valued travelling
+companion and comforter; upon which the rains had descended, and the
+snows and winds beaten, without further effect than somewhat to
+tarnish its primitive lustre. This coat of many colors had excited the
+admiration, and inflamed the covetousness of both warriors and squaws,
+to an extravagant degree. An idea now occurred to Captain Bonneville,
+to convert this rainbow garment into the savory viands so much desired.
+There was a momentary struggle in his mind, between old associations and
+projected indulgence; and his decision in favor of the latter was
+made, he says, with a greater promptness, perhaps, than true taste and
+sentiment might have required. In a few moments, his plaid cloak was
+cut into numerous strips. “Of these,” continues he, “with the newly
+developed talent of a man-milliner, I speedily constructed turbans a
+la Turque, and fanciful head-gears of divers conformations. These,
+judiciously distributed among such of the womenkind as seemed of most
+consequence and interest in the eyes of the patres conscripti, brought
+us, in a little while, abundance of dried salmon and deers’ hearts; on
+which we made a sumptuous supper. Another, and a more satisfactory
+smoke, succeeded this repast, and sweet slumbers answering the peaceful
+invocation of our pipes, wrapped us in that delicious rest, which is
+only won by toil and travail.” As to Captain Bonneville, he slept in
+the lodge of the venerable patriarch, who had evidently conceived a most
+disinterested affection for him; as was shown on the following morning.
+The travellers, invigorated by a good supper, and “fresh from the bath
+of repose,” were about to resume their journey, when this affectionate
+old chief took the captain aside, to let him know how much he loved him.
+As a proof of his regard, he had determined to give him a fine horse,
+which would go further than words, and put his good will beyond all
+question. So saying, he made a signal, and forthwith a beautiful young
+horse, of a brown color, was led, prancing and snorting, to the place.
+Captain Bonneville was suitably affected by this mark of friendship; but
+his experience in what is proverbially called “Indian giving,” made him
+aware that a parting pledge was necessary on his own part, to prove that
+his friendship was reciprocated. He accordingly placed a handsome
+rifle in the hands of the venerable chief, whose benevolent heart was
+evidently touched and gratified by this outward and visible sign of
+amity.
+
+Having now, as he thought, balanced this little account of friendship,
+the captain was about to shift his saddle to this noble gift-horse when
+the affectionate patriarch plucked him by the sleeve, and introduced to
+him a whimpering, whining, leathern-skinned old squaw, that might have
+passed for an Egyptian mummy, without drying. “This,” said he, “is
+my wife; she is a good wife--I love her very much.--She loves the
+horse--she loves him a great deal--she will cry very much at losing
+him.--I do not know how I shall comfort her--and that makes my heart
+very sore.”
+
+What could the worthy captain do, to console the tender-hearted old
+squaw, and, peradventure, to save the venerable patriarch from a curtain
+lecture? He bethought himself of a pair of ear-bobs: it was true, the
+patriarch’s better-half was of an age and appearance that seemed to
+put personal vanity out of the question, but when is personal vanity
+extinct? The moment he produced the glittering earbobs, the whimpering
+and whining of the sempiternal beldame was at an end. She eagerly placed
+the precious baubles in her ears, and, though as ugly as the Witch of
+Endor, went off with a sideling gait and coquettish air, as though she
+had been a perfect Semiramis.
+
+The captain had now saddled his newly acquired steed, and his foot was
+in the stirrup, when the affectionate patriarch again stepped forward,
+and presented to him a young Pierced-nose, who had a peculiarly sulky
+look. “This,” said the venerable chief, “is my son: he is very good; a
+great horseman--he always took care of this very fine horse--he brought
+him up from a colt, and made him what he is.--He is very fond of this
+fine horse--he loves him like a brother--his heart will be very heavy
+when this fine horse leaves the camp.”
+
+What could the captain do, to reward the youthful hope of this venerable
+pair, and comfort him for the loss of his foster-brother, the horse?
+He bethought him of a hatchet, which might be spared from his slender
+stores. No sooner did he place the implement into the hands of the young
+hopeful, than his countenance brightened up, and he went off rejoicing
+in his hatchet, to the full as much as did his respectable mother in her
+ear-bobs.
+
+The captain was now in the saddle, and about to start, when the
+affectionate old patriarch stepped forward, for the third time, and,
+while he laid one hand gently on the mane of the horse, held up the
+rifle in the other. “This rifle,” said he, “shall be my great medicine.
+I will hug it to my heart--I will always love it, for the sake of my
+good friend, the bald-headed chief.--But a rifle, by itself, is dumb--I
+cannot make it speak. If I had a little powder and ball, I would take it
+out with me, and would now and then shoot a deer; and when I brought the
+meat home to my hungry family, I would say--This was killed by the
+rifle of my friend, the bald-headed chief, to whom I gave that very fine
+horse.”
+
+There was no resisting this appeal; the captain, forthwith, furnished
+the coveted supply of powder and ball; but at the same time, put spurs
+to his very fine gift-horse, and the first trial of his speed was to
+get out of all further manifestation of friendship, on the part of the
+affectionate old patriarch and his insinuating family.
+
+
+
+
+32.
+
+     Nez-Perce camp--A chief with a hard name--The Big Hearts of
+     the East--Hospitable treatment--The Indian guides--
+     Mysterious councils--The loquacious chief--Indian tomb--
+     Grand Indian reception--An Indian feast--Town-criers--
+     Honesty of the Nez-Perces--The captain’s attempt at
+     healing.
+
+FOLLOWING THE COURSE of the Immahah, Captain Bonneville and his three
+companions soon reached the vicinity of Snake River. Their route now lay
+over a succession of steep and isolated hills, with profound valleys. On
+the second day, after taking leave of the affectionate old patriarch, as
+they were descending into one of those deep and abrupt intervals,
+they descried a smoke, and shortly afterward came in sight of a small
+encampment of Nez Perces.
+
+The Indians, when they ascertained that it was a party of white men
+approaching, greeted them with a salute of firearms, and invited them to
+encamp. This band was likewise under the sway of a venerable chief
+named Yo-mus-ro-y-e-cut; a name which we shall be careful not to inflict
+oftener than is necessary upon the reader This ancient and hard-named
+chieftain welcomed Captain Bonneville to his camp with the same
+hospitality and loving kindness that he had experienced from his
+predecessor. He told the captain he had often heard of the Americans
+and their generous deeds, and that his buffalo brethren (the Upper Nez
+Perces) had always spoken of them as the Big-hearted whites of the East,
+the very good friends of the Nez Perces.
+
+Captain Bonneville felt somewhat uneasy under the responsibility of
+this magnanimous but costly appellation; and began to fear he might be
+involved in a second interchange of pledges of friendship. He hastened,
+therefore, to let the old chief know his poverty-stricken state, and how
+little there was to be expected from him.
+
+He informed him that he and his comrades had long resided among the
+Upper Nez Perces, and loved them so much, that they had thrown their
+arms around them, and now held them close to their hearts. That he had
+received such good accounts from the Upper Nez Perces of their cousins,
+the Lower Nez Perces, that he had become desirous of knowing them as
+friends and brothers. That he and his companions had accordingly loaded
+a mule with presents and set off for the country of the Lower Nez
+Perces; but, unfortunately, had been entrapped for many days among the
+snowy mountains; and that the mule with all the presents had fallen into
+Snake River, and been swept away by the rapid current. That instead,
+therefore, of arriving among their friends, the Nez Perces, with light
+hearts and full hands, they came naked, hungry, and broken down; and
+instead of making them presents, must depend upon them even for food.
+“But,” concluded he, “we are going to the white men’s fort on the
+Wallah-Wallah, and will soon return; and then we will meet our Nez Perce
+friends like the true Big Hearts of the East.”
+
+Whether the hint thrown out in the latter part of the speech had any
+effect, or whether the old chief acted from the hospitable feelings
+which, according to the captain, are really inherent in the Nez Perce
+tribe, he certainly showed no disposition to relax his friendship on
+learning the destitute circumstances of his guests. On the contrary, he
+urged the captain to remain with them until the following day, when he
+would accompany him on his journey, and make him acquainted with all
+his people. In the meantime, he would have a colt killed, and cut up for
+travelling provisions. This, he carefully explained, was intended not
+as an article of traffic, but as a gift; for he saw that his guests were
+hungry and in need of food.
+
+Captain Bonneville gladly assented to this hospitable arrangement.
+The carcass of the colt was forthcoming in due season, but the captain
+insisted that one half of it should be set apart for the use of the
+chieftain’s family.
+
+At an early hour of the following morning, the little party resumed
+their journey, accompanied by the old chief and an Indian guide.
+Their route was over a rugged and broken country; where the hills were
+slippery with ice and snow. Their horses, too, were so weak and jaded,
+that they could scarcely climb the steep ascents, or maintain their
+foothold on the frozen declivities. Throughout the whole of the journey,
+the old chief and the guide were unremitting in their good offices,
+and continually on the alert to select the best roads, and assist them
+through all difficulties. Indeed, the captain and his comrades had to be
+dependent on their Indian friends for almost every thing, for they had
+lost their tobacco and pipes, those great comforts of the trapper, and
+had but a few charges of powder left, which it was necessary to husband
+for the purpose of lighting their fires.
+
+In the course of the day the old chief had several private consultations
+with the guide, and showed evident signs of being occupied with some
+mysterious matter of mighty import. What it was, Captain Bonneville
+could not fathom, nor did he make much effort to do so. From some casual
+sentences that he overheard, he perceived that it was something from
+which the old man promised himself much satisfaction, and to which he
+attached a little vainglory but which he wished to keep a secret; so he
+suffered him to spin out his petty plans unmolested.
+
+In the evening when they encamped, the old chief and his privy
+counsellor, the guide, had another mysterious colloquy, after which the
+guide mounted his horse and departed on some secret mission, while the
+chief resumed his seat at the fire, and sat humming to himself in a
+pleasing but mystic reverie.
+
+The next morning, the travellers descended into the valley of the
+Way-lee-way, a considerable tributary of Snake River. Here they met the
+guide returning from his secret errand. Another private conference
+was held between him and the old managing chief, who now seemed more
+inflated than ever with mystery and self-importance. Numerous fresh
+trails, and various other signs, persuaded Captain Bonneville that there
+must be a considerable village of Nez Perces in the neighborhood; but as
+his worthy companion, the old chief, said nothing on the subject, and as
+it appeared to be in some way connected with his secret operations,
+he asked no questions, but patiently awaited the development of his
+mystery.
+
+As they journeyed on, they came to where two or three Indians were
+bathing in a small stream. The good old chief immediately came to a
+halt, and had a long conversation with them, in the course of which he
+repeated to them the whole history which Captain Bonneville had related
+to him. In fact, he seems to have been a very sociable, communicative
+old man; by no means afflicted with that taciturnity generally charged
+upon the Indians. On the contrary, he was fond of long talks and long
+smokings, and evidently was proud of his new friend, the bald-headed
+chief, and took a pleasure in sounding his praises, and setting forth
+the power and glory of the Big Hearts of the East.
+
+Having disburdened himself of everything he had to relate to his bathing
+friends, he left them to their aquatic disports, and proceeded onward
+with the captain and his companions. As they approached the Way-lee-way,
+however, the communicative old chief met with another and a very
+different occasion to exert his colloquial powers. On the banks of the
+river stood an isolated mound covered with grass. He pointed to it with
+some emotion. “The big heart and the strong arm,” said he, “lie buried
+beneath that sod.”
+
+It was, in fact, the grave of one of his friends; a chosen warrior of
+the tribe; who had been slain on this spot when in pursuit of a war
+party of Shoshokoes, who had stolen the horses of the village. The enemy
+bore off his scalp as a trophy; but his friends found his body in
+this lonely place, and committed it to the earth with ceremonials
+characteristic of their pious and reverential feelings. They gathered
+round the grave and mourned; the warriors were silent in their grief;
+but the women and children bewailed their loss with loud lamentations.
+“For three days,” said the old man, “we performed the solemn dances for
+the dead, and prayed the Great Spirit that our brother might be happy
+in the land of brave warriors and hunters. Then we killed at his grave
+fifteen of our best and strongest horses, to serve him when he should
+arrive at the happy hunting grounds; and having done all this, we
+returned sorrowfully to our homes.”
+
+While the chief was still talking, an Indian scout came galloping up,
+and, presenting him with a powder-horn, wheeled round, and was speedily
+out of sight. The eyes of the old chief now brightened; and all his
+self-importance returned. His petty mystery was about to explode.
+Turning to Captain Bonneville, he pointed to a hill hard by, and
+informed him, that behind it was a village governed by a little chief,
+whom he had notified of the approach of the bald-headed chief, and a
+party of the Big Hearts of the East, and that he was prepared to receive
+them in becoming style. As, among other ceremonials, he intended to
+salute them with a discharge of firearms, he had sent the horn of
+gunpowder that they might return the salute in a manner correspondent to
+his dignity.
+
+They now proceeded on until they doubled the point of the hill, when the
+whole population of the village broke upon their view, drawn out in the
+most imposing style, and arrayed in all their finery. The effect of the
+whole was wild and fantastic, yet singularly striking. In the front rank
+were the chiefs and principal warriors, glaringly painted and decorated;
+behind them were arranged the rest of the people, men, women, and
+children.
+
+Captain Bonneville and his party advanced slowly, exchanging salutes of
+firearms. When arrived within a respectful distance, they dismounted.
+The chiefs then came forward successively, according to their respective
+characters and consequence, to offer the hand of good fellowship; each
+filing off when he had shaken hands, to make way for his successor.
+Those in the next rank followed in the same order, and so on, until all
+had given the pledge of friendship. During all this time, the chief,
+according to custom, took his stand beside the guests. If any of his
+people advanced whom he judged unworthy of the friendship or confidence
+of the white men, he motioned them off by a wave of the hand, and they
+would submissively walk away. When Captain Bonneville turned upon him an
+inquiring look, he would observe, “he was a bad man,” or something quite
+as concise, and there was an end of the matter.
+
+Mats, poles, and other materials were now brought, and a comfortable
+lodge was soon erected for the strangers, where they were kept
+constantly supplied with wood and water, and other necessaries; and
+all their effects were placed in safe keeping. Their horses, too, were
+unsaddled, and turned loose to graze, and a guard set to keep watch upon
+them.
+
+All this being adjusted, they were conducted to the main building or
+council house of the village, where an ample repast, or rather banquet,
+was spread, which seemed to realize all the gastronomical dreams that
+had tantalized them during their long starvation; for here they beheld
+not merely fish and roots in abundance, but the flesh of deer and elk,
+and the choicest pieces of buffalo meat. It is needless to say
+how vigorously they acquitted themselves on this occasion, and how
+unnecessary it was for their hosts to practice the usual cramming
+principle of Indian hospitality.
+
+When the repast was over, a long talk ensued. The chief showed the
+same curiosity evinced by his tribe generally, to obtain information
+concerning the United States, of which they knew little but what they
+derived through their cousins, the Upper Nez Perces; as their traffic is
+almost exclusively with the British traders of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
+Captain Bonneville did his best to set forth the merits of his nation,
+and the importance of their friendship to the red men, in which he was
+ably seconded by his worthy friend, the old chief with the hard name,
+who did all that he could to glorify the Big Hearts of the East.
+
+The chief, and all present, listened with profound attention, and
+evidently with great interest; nor were the important facts thus
+set forth, confined to the audience in the lodge; for sentence after
+sentence was loudly repeated by a crier for the benefit of the whole
+village.
+
+This custom of promulgating everything by criers, is not confined to the
+Nez Perces, but prevails among many other tribes. It has its advantage
+where there are no gazettes to publish the news of the day, or to report
+the proceedings of important meetings. And in fact, reports of this
+kind, viva voce, made in the hearing of all parties, and liable to
+be contradicted or corrected on the spot, are more likely to convey
+accurate information to the public mind than those circulated through
+the press. The office of crier is generally filled by some old man,
+who is good for little else. A village has generally several of these
+walking newspapers, as they are termed by the whites, who go about
+proclaiming the news of the day, giving notice of public councils,
+expeditions, dances, feasts, and other ceremonials, and advertising
+anything lost. While Captain Bonneville remained among the Nez Perces,
+if a glove, handkerchief, or anything of similar value, was lost or
+mislaid, it was carried by the finder to the lodge of the chief, and
+proclamation was made by one of their criers, for the owner to come and
+claim his property.
+
+How difficult it is to get at the true character of these wandering
+tribes of the wilderness! In a recent work, we have had to speak of this
+tribe of Indians from the experience of other traders who had casually
+been among them, and who represented them as selfish, inhospitable,
+exorbitant in their dealings, and much addicted to thieving; Captain
+Bonneville, on the contrary, who resided much among them, and had
+repeated opportunities of ascertaining their real character, invariably
+speaks of them as kind and hospitable, scrupulously honest, and
+remarkable, above all other Indians that he had met with, for a strong
+feeling of religion. In fact, so enthusiastic is he in their praise,
+that he pronounces them, all ignorant and barbarous as they are by their
+condition, one of the purest hearted people on the face of the earth.
+
+Some cures which Captain Bonneville had effected in simple cases, among
+the Upper Nez Perces, had reached the ears of their cousins here, and
+gained for him the reputation of a great medicine man. He had not been
+long in the village, therefore, before his lodge began to be the resort
+of the sick and the infirm. The captain felt the value of the reputation
+thus accidentally and cheaply acquired, and endeavored to sustain it. As
+he had arrived at that age when every man is, experimentally, something
+of a physician, he was enabled to turn to advantage the little knowledge
+in the healing art which he had casually picked up; and was sufficiently
+successful in two or three cases, to convince the simple Indians that
+report had not exaggerated his medical talents. The only patient that
+effectually baffled his skill, or rather discouraged any attempt at
+relief, was an antiquated squaw with a churchyard cough, and one leg
+in the grave; it being shrunk and rendered useless by a rheumatic
+affection. This was a case beyond his mark; however, he comforted the
+old woman with a promise that he would endeavor to procure something to
+relieve her, at the fort on the Wallah-Wallah, and would bring it on his
+return; with which assurance her husband was so well satisfied, that he
+presented the captain with a colt, to be killed as provisions for the
+journey: a medical fee which was thankfully accepted.
+
+While among these Indians, Captain Bonneville unexpectedly found an
+owner for the horse which he had purchased from a Root Digger at the Big
+Wyer. The Indian satisfactorily proved that the horse had been stolen
+from him some time previous, by some unknown thief. “However,” said the
+considerate savage, “you got him in fair trade--you are more in want
+of horses than I am: keep him; he is yours--he is a good horse; use him
+well.”
+
+Thus, in the continued experience of acts of kindness and generosity,
+which his destitute condition did not allow him to reciprocate, Captain
+Bonneville passed some short time among these good people, more and more
+impressed with the general excellence of their character.
+
+
+
+
+33.
+
+     Scenery of the Way-lee-way--A substitute for tobacco--
+     Sublime scenery of--Snake River--The garrulous old chief and
+     his cousin--A Nez-Perce meeting--A stolen skin--The
+     scapegoat dog--Mysterious conferences--The little chief--His
+     hospitality--The captain’s account of the United States--His
+     healing skill
+
+IN RESUMING HIS JOURNEY, Captain Bonneville was conducted by the
+same Nez Perce guide, whose knowledge of the country was important
+in choosing the routes and resting places. He also continued to be
+accompanied by the worthy old chief with the hard name, who seemed
+bent upon doing the honors of the country, and introducing him to every
+branch of his tribe. The Way-lee-way, down the banks of which Captain
+Bonneville and his companions were now travelling, is a considerable
+stream winding through a succession of bold and beautiful scenes.
+Sometimes the landscape towered into bold and mountainous heights that
+partook of sublimity; at other times, it stretched along the water side
+in fresh smiling meadows, and graceful undulating valleys.
+
+Frequently in their route they encountered small parties of the Nez
+Perces, with whom they invariably stopped to shake hands; and who,
+generally, evinced great curiosity concerning them and their adventures;
+a curiosity which never failed to be thoroughly satisfied by the replies
+of the worthy Yo-mus-ro-y-e-cut, who kindly took upon himself to be
+spokesman of the party.
+
+The incessant smoking of pipes incident to the long talks of this
+excellent, but somewhat garrulous old chief, at length exhausted all his
+stock of tobacco, so that he had no longer a whiff with which to regale
+his white companions. In this emergency, he cut up the stem of his
+pipe into fine shavings, which he mixed with certain herbs, and thus
+manufactured a temporary succedaneum to enable him to accompany his long
+colloquies and harangues with the customary fragrant cloud.
+
+If the scenery of the Way-lee-way had charmed the travellers with its
+mingled amenity and grandeur, that which broke upon them on once more
+reaching Snake River, filled them with admiration and astonishment. At
+times, the river was overhung by dark and stupendous rocks, rising like
+gigantic walls and battlements; these would be rent by wide and yawning
+chasms, that seemed to speak of past convulsions of nature. Sometimes
+the river was of a glassy smoothness and placidity; at other times it
+roared along in impetuous rapids and foaming cascades. Here, the rocks
+were piled in the most fantastic crags and precipices; and in another
+place, they were succeeded by delightful valleys carpeted with
+green-award. The whole of this wild and varied scenery was dominated
+by immense mountains rearing their distant peaks into the clouds. “The
+grandeur and originality of the views, presented on every side,” says
+Captain Bonneville, “beggar both the pencil and the pen. Nothing we had
+ever gazed upon in any other region could for a moment compare in wild
+majesty and impressive sternness, with the series of scenes which
+here at every turn astonished our senses, and filled us with awe and
+delight.”
+
+Indeed, from all that we can gather from the journal before us, and the
+accounts of other travellers, who passed through these regions in the
+memorable enterprise of Astoria, we are inclined to think that Snake
+River must be one of the most remarkable for varied and striking scenery
+of all the rivers of this continent. From its head waters in the Rocky
+Mountains, to its junction with the Columbia, its windings are upward
+of six hundred miles through every variety of landscape. Rising in a
+volcanic region, amid extinguished craters, and mountains awful with the
+traces of ancient fires, it makes its way through great plains of lava
+and sandy deserts, penetrates vast sierras or mountainous chains, broken
+into romantic and often frightful precipices, and crowned with eternal
+snows; and at other times, careers through green and smiling meadows,
+and wide landscapes of Italian grace and beauty. Wildness and sublimity,
+however, appear to be its prevailing characteristics.
+
+Captain Bonneville and his companions had pursued their journey a
+considerable distance down the course of Snake River, when the old chief
+halted on the bank, and dismounting, recommended that they should turn
+their horses loose to graze, while he summoned a cousin of his from
+a group of lodges on the opposite side of the stream. His summons was
+quickly answered. An Indian, of an active elastic form, leaped into a
+light canoe of cotton-wood, and vigorously plying the paddle, soon shot
+across the river. Bounding on shore, he advanced with a buoyant air and
+frank demeanor, and gave his right hand to each of the party in turn.
+The old chief, whose hard name we forbear to repeat, now presented
+Captain Bonneville, in form, to his cousin, whose name, we regret to
+say, was no less hard being nothing less than Hay-she-in-cow-cow. The
+latter evinced the usual curiosity to know all about the strangers,
+whence they came whither they were going, the object of their journey,
+and the adventures they had experienced. All these, of course, were
+ample and eloquently set forth by the communicative old chief. To all
+his grandiloquent account of the bald-headed chief and his countrymen,
+the Big Hearts of the East, his cousin listened with great attention,
+and replied in the customary style of Indian welcome. He then desired
+the party to await his return, and, springing into his canoe, darted
+across the river. In a little while he returned, bringing a most
+welcome supply of tobacco, and a small stock of provisions for the road,
+declaring his intention of accompanying the party. Having no horse, he
+mounted behind one of the men, observing that he should procure a steed
+for himself on the following day.
+
+They all now jogged on very sociably and cheerily together. Not many
+miles beyond, they met others of the tribe, among whom was one, whom
+Captain Bonneville and his comrades had known during their residence
+among the Upper Nez Perces, and who welcomed them with open arms. In
+this neighborhood was the home of their guide, who took leave of them
+with a profusion of good wishes for their safety and happiness. That
+night they put up in the hut of a Nez Perce, where they were visited by
+several warriors from the other side of the river, friends of the old
+chief and his cousin, who came to have a talk and a smoke with the white
+men. The heart of the good old chief was overflowing with good will at
+thus being surrounded by his new and old friends, and he talked with
+more spirit and vivacity than ever. The evening passed away in perfect
+harmony and good-humor, and it was not until a late hour that the
+visitors took their leave and recrossed the river.
+
+After this constant picture of worth and virtue on the part of the Nez
+Perce tribe, we grieve to have to record a circumstance calculated to
+throw a temporary shade upon the name. In the course of the social
+and harmonious evening just mentioned, one of the captain’s men,
+who happened to be something of a virtuoso in his way, and fond of
+collecting curiosities, produced a small skin, a great rarity in the
+eyes of men conversant in peltries. It attracted much attention among
+the visitors from beyond the river, who passed it from one to the other,
+examined it with looks of lively admiration, and pronounced it a great
+medicine.
+
+In the morning, when the captain and his party were about to set off,
+the precious skin was missing. Search was made for it in the hut, but it
+was nowhere to be found; and it was strongly suspected that it had been
+purloined by some of the connoisseurs from the other side of the river.
+
+The old chief and his cousin were indignant at the supposed delinquency
+of their friends across the water, and called out for them to come over
+and answer for their shameful conduct. The others answered to the call
+with all the promptitude of perfect innocence, and spurned at the idea
+of their being capable of such outrage upon any of the Big-hearted
+nation. All were at a loss on whom to fix the crime of abstracting the
+invaluable skin, when by chance the eyes of the worthies from beyond the
+water fell upon an unhappy cur, belonging to the owner of the hut. He
+was a gallows-looking dog, but not more so than most Indian dogs, who,
+take them in the mass, are little better than a generation of vipers. Be
+that as it may, he was instantly accused of having devoured the skin
+in question. A dog accused is generally a dog condemned; and a dog
+condemned is generally a dog executed. So was it in the present
+instance. The unfortunate cur was arraigned; his thievish looks
+substantiated his guilt, and he was condemned by his judges from across
+the river to be hanged. In vain the Indians of the hut, with whom he was
+a great favorite, interceded in his behalf. In vain Captain Bonneville
+and his comrades petitioned that his life might be spared. His judges
+were inexorable. He was doubly guilty: first, in having robbed their
+good friends, the Big Hearts of the East; secondly, in having brought
+a doubt on the honor of the Nez Perce tribe. He was, accordingly,
+swung aloft, and pelted with stones to make his death more certain.
+The sentence of the judges being thoroughly executed, a post mortem
+examination of the body of the dog was held, to establish his
+delinquency beyond all doubt, and to leave the Nez Perces without a
+shadow of suspicion. Great interest, of course, was manifested by all
+present, during this operation. The body of the dog was opened, the
+intestines rigorously scrutinized, but, to the horror of all concerned,
+not a particle of the skin was to be found--the dog had been unjustly
+executed!
+
+A great clamor now ensued, but the most clamorous was the party from
+across the river, whose jealousy of their good name now prompted them
+to the most vociferous vindications of their innocence. It was with the
+utmost difficulty that the captain and his comrades could calm their
+lively sensibilities, by accounting for the disappearance of the skin
+in a dozen different ways, until all idea of its having been stolen was
+entirely out of the question.
+
+The meeting now broke up. The warriors returned across the river, the
+captain and his comrades proceeded on their journey; but the spirits
+of the communicative old chief, Yo-mus-ro-y-e-cut, were for a time
+completely dampened, and he evinced great mortification at what had just
+occurred. He rode on in silence, except, that now and then he would give
+way to a burst of indignation, and exclaim, with a shake of the head
+and a toss of the hand toward the opposite shore--“bad men, very bad
+men across the river”; to each of which brief exclamations, his worthy
+cousin, Hay-she-in-cow-cow, would respond by a guttural sound of
+acquiescence, equivalent to an amen.
+
+After some time, the countenance of the-old chief again cleared up, and
+he fell into repeated conferences, in an under tone, with his cousin,
+which ended in the departure of the latter, who, applying the lash to
+his horse, dashed forward and was soon out of sight. In fact, they were
+drawing near to the village of another chief, likewise distinguished by
+an appellation of some longitude, O-pushy-e-cut; but commonly known as
+the great chief. The cousin had been sent ahead to give notice of their
+approach; a herald appeared as before, bearing a powder-horn, to
+enable them to respond to the intended salute. A scene ensued, on their
+approach to the village, similar to that which had occurred at the
+village of the little chief. The whole population appeared in the
+field, drawn up in lines, arrayed with the customary regard to rank and
+dignity. Then came on the firing of salutes, and the shaking of hands,
+in which last ceremonial every individual, man, woman, and child,
+participated; for the Indians have an idea that it is as indispensable
+an overture of friendship among the whites as smoking of the pipe is
+among the red men. The travellers were next ushered to the banquet,
+where all the choicest viands that the village could furnish, were
+served up in rich profusion. They were afterwards entertained by feats
+of agility and horseraces; indeed, their visit to the village seemed the
+signal for complete festivity. In the meantime, a skin lodge had been
+spread for their accommodation, their horses and baggage were taken care
+of, and wood and water supplied in abundance. At night, therefore, they
+retired to their quarters, to enjoy, as they supposed, the repose of
+which they stood in need. No such thing, however, was in store for them.
+A crowd of visitors awaited their appearance, all eager for a smoke and
+a talk. The pipe was immediately lighted, and constantly replenished
+and kept alive until the night was far advanced. As usual, the utmost
+eagerness was evinced by the guests to learn everything within the scope
+of their comprehension respecting the Americans, for whom they professed
+the most fraternal regard. The captain, in his replies, made use of
+familiar illustrations, calculated to strike their minds, and impress
+them with such an idea of the might of his nation, as would induce them
+to treat with kindness and respect all stragglers that might fall in
+their path. To their inquiries as to the numbers of the people of the
+United States, he assured them that they were as countless as the blades
+of grass in the prairies, and that, great as Snake River was, if they
+were all encamped upon its banks, they would drink it dry in a single
+day. To these and similar statistics, they listened with profound
+attention, and apparently, implicit belief. It was, indeed, a striking
+scene: the captain, with his hunter’s dress and bald head in the midst,
+holding forth, and his wild auditors seated around like so many statues,
+the fire lighting up their painted faces and muscular figures, all
+fixed and motionless, excepting when the pipe was passed, a question
+propounded, or a startling fact in statistics received with a movement
+of surprise and a half-suppressed ejaculation of wonder and delight.
+
+The fame of the captain as a healer of diseases, had accompanied him to
+this village, and the great chief, O-push-y-e-cut, now entreated him to
+exert his skill on his daughter, who had been for three days racked with
+pains, for which the Pierced-nose doctors could devise no alleviation.
+The captain found her extended on a pallet of mats in excruciating pain.
+Her father manifested the strongest paternal affection for her, and
+assured the captain that if he would but cure her, he would place the
+Americans near his heart. The worthy captain needed no such inducement.
+His kind heart was already touched by the sufferings of the poor girl,
+and his sympathies quickened by her appearance; for she was but about
+sixteen years of age, and uncommonly beautiful in form and feature.
+The only difficulty with the captain was, that he knew nothing of her
+malady, and that his medical science was of a most haphazard kind. After
+considering and cogitating for some time, as a man is apt to do when
+in a maze of vague ideas, he made a desperate dash at a remedy. By his
+directions, the girl was placed in a sort of rude vapor bath, much used
+by the Nez Perces, where she was kept until near fainting. He then gave
+her a dose of gunpowder dissolved in cold water, and ordered her to
+be wrapped in buffalo robes and put to sleep under a load of furs and
+blankets. The remedy succeeded: the next morning she was free from pain,
+though extremely languid; whereupon, the captain prescribed for her a
+bowl of colt’s head broth, and that she should be kept for a time on
+simple diet.
+
+The great chief was unbounded in his expressions of gratitude for the
+recovery of his daughter. He would fain have detained the captain a
+long time as his guest, but the time for departure had arrived. When the
+captain’s horse was brought for him to mount, the chief declared that
+the steed was not worthy of him, and sent for one of his best horses,
+which he presented in its stead; declaring that it made his heart glad
+to see his friend so well mounted. He then appointed a young Nez Perce
+to accompany his guest to the next village, and “to carry his talk”
+ concerning them; and the two parties separated with mutual expressions
+of good will.
+
+The vapor bath of which we have made mention is in frequent use among
+the Nez Perce tribe, chiefly for cleanliness. Their sweating houses, as
+they call them, are small and close lodges, and the vapor is produced by
+water poured slowly upon red-hot stones.
+
+On passing the limits of O-push-y-e-cut’s domains, the travellers left
+the elevated table-lands, and all the wild and romantic scenery which
+has just been described. They now traversed a gently undulating country,
+of such fertility that it excited the rapturous admiration of two of the
+captain’s followers, a Kentuckian and a native of Ohio. They declared
+that it surpassed any land that they had ever seen, and often exclaimed
+what a delight it would be just to run a plough through such a rich and
+teeming soil, and see it open its bountiful promise before the share.
+
+Another halt and sojourn of a night was made at the village of a
+chief named He-mim-el-pilp, where similar ceremonies were observed and
+hospitality experienced, as at the preceding villages. They now pursued
+a west-southwest course through a beautiful and fertile region, better
+wooded than most of the tracts through which they had passed. In their
+progress, they met with several bands of Nez Perces, by whom they were
+invariably treated with the utmost kindness. Within seven days after
+leaving the domain of He-mim-el-pilp, they struck the Columbia River at
+Fort Wallah-Wallah, where they arrived on the 4th of March, 1834.
+
+
+
+
+34.
+
+     Fort Wallah-Wallah--Its commander--Indians in its
+     neighborhood--Exertions of Mr. Pambrune for their
+     improvement--Religion--Code of laws--Range of the Lower Nez
+     Perces--Camash, and other roots--Nez--Perce horses--
+     Preparations for departure--Refusal of supplies--Departure--
+     A laggard and glutton
+
+FORT WALLAH-WALLAH is a trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company,
+situated just above the mouth of the river by the same name, and on the
+left bank of the Columbia. It is built of drift-wood, and calculated
+merely for defence against any attack of the natives. At the time of
+Captain Bonneville’s arrival, the whole garrison mustered but six or
+eight men; and the post was under the superintendence of Mr. Pambrune,
+an agent of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
+
+The great post and fort of the company, forming the emporium of its
+trade on the Pacific, is Fort Vancouver; situated on the right bank of
+the Columbia, about sixty miles from the sea, and just above the mouth
+of the Wallamut. To this point, the company removed its establishment
+from Astoria, in 1821, after its coalition with the Northwest Company.
+
+Captain Bonneville and his comrades experienced a polite reception from
+Mr. Pambrune, the superintendent: for, however hostile the members of
+the British Company may be to the enterprises of American traders, they
+have always manifested great courtesy and hospitality to the traders
+themselves.
+
+Fort Wallah-Wallah is surrounded by the tribe of the same name, as
+well as by the Skynses and the Nez Perces; who bring to it the furs and
+peltries collected in their hunting expeditions. The Wallah-Wallahs are
+a degenerate, worn-out tribe. The Nez Perces are the most numerous and
+tractable of the three tribes just mentioned. Mr. Pambrune informed
+Captain Bonneville that he had been at some pains to introduce the
+Christian religion, in the Roman Catholic form, among them, where it had
+evidently taken root; but had become altered and modified, to suit their
+peculiar habits of thought, and motives of action; retaining, however,
+the principal points of faith, and its entire precepts of morality. The
+same gentleman had given them a code of laws, to which they conformed
+with scrupulous fidelity. Polygamy, which once prevailed among them to
+a great extent, was now rarely indulged. All the crimes denounced by the
+Christian faith met with severe punishment among them. Even theft,
+so venial a crime among the Indians, had recently been punished with
+hanging, by sentence of a chief.
+
+There certainly appears to be a peculiar susceptibility of moral and
+religious improvement among this tribe, and they would seem to be one
+of the very, very few that have benefited in morals and manners by an
+intercourse with white men. The parties which visited them about twenty
+years previously, in the expedition fitted out by Mr. Astor, complained
+of their selfishness, their extortion, and their thievish propensities.
+The very reverse of those qualities prevailed among them during the
+prolonged sojourns of Captain Bonneville.
+
+The Lower Nez Perces range upon the Way-lee-way, Immahah, Yenghies, and
+other of the streams west of the mountains. They hunt the beaver,
+elk, deer, white bear, and mountain sheep. Besides the flesh of these
+animals, they use a number of roots for food; some of which would be
+well worth transplanting and cultivating in the Atlantic States. Among
+these is the camash, a sweet root, about the form and size of an onion,
+and said to be really delicious. The cowish, also, or biscuit root,
+about the size of a walnut, which they reduce to a very palatable flour;
+together with the jackap, aisish, quako, and others; which they cook by
+steaming them in the ground.
+
+In August and September, these Indians keep along the rivers, where they
+catch and dry great quantities of salmon; which, while they last, are
+their principal food. In the winter, they congregate in villages formed
+of comfortable huts, or lodges, covered with mats. They are generally
+clad in deer skins, or woollens, and extremely well armed. Above all,
+they are celebrated for owning great numbers of horses; which they mark,
+and then suffer to range in droves in their most fertile plains. These
+horses are principally of the pony breed; but remarkably stout and
+long-winded. They are brought in great numbers to the establishments of
+the Hudson’s Bay Company, and sold for a mere trifle.
+
+Such is the account given by Captain Bonneville of the Nez Perces; who,
+if not viewed by him with too partial an eye, are certainly among the
+gentlest, and least barbarous people of these remote wildernesses. They
+invariably signified to him their earnest wish that an American post
+might be established among them; and repeatedly declared that they would
+trade with Americans, in preference to any other people.
+
+Captain Bonneville had intended to remain some time in this
+neighborhood, to form an acquaintance with the natives, and to collect
+information, and establish connections that might be advantageous in
+the way of trade. The delays, however, which he had experienced on his
+journey, obliged him to shorten his sojourn, and to set off as soon as
+possible, so as to reach the rendezvous at the Portneuf at the appointed
+time. He had seen enough to convince him that an American trade might
+be carried on with advantage in this quarter; and he determined soon to
+return with a stronger party, more completely fitted for the purpose.
+
+As he stood in need of some supplies for his journey, he applied to
+purchase them of Mr. Pambrune; but soon found the difference
+between being treated as a guest, or as a rival trader. The worthy
+superintendent, who had extended to him all the genial rites of
+hospitality, now suddenly assumed a withered-up aspect and demeanor, and
+observed that, however he might feel disposed to serve him, personally,
+he felt bound by his duty to the Hudson’s Bay Company, to do nothing
+which should facilitate or encourage the visits of other traders among
+the Indians in that part of the country. He endeavored to dissuade
+Captain Bonneville from returning through the Blue Mountains; assuring
+him it would be extremely difficult and dangerous, if not impracticable,
+at this season of the year; and advised him to accompany Mr. Payette,
+a leader of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who was about to depart with a
+number of men, by a more circuitous, but safe route, to carry supplies
+to the company’s agent, resident among the Upper Nez Perces. Captain
+Bonneville, however, piqued at his having refused to furnish him with
+supplies, and doubting the sincerity of his advice, determined to return
+by the more direct route through the mountains; though varying his
+course, in some respects, from that by which he had come, in consequence
+of information gathered among the neighboring Indians.
+
+Accordingly, on the 6th of March, he and his three companions,
+accompanied by their Nez Perce guides, set out on their return. In the
+early part of their course, they touched again at several of the Nez
+Perce villages, where they had experienced such kind treatment on their
+way down. They were always welcomed with cordiality; and everything was
+done to cheer them on their journey.
+
+On leaving the Way-lee-way village, they were joined by a Nez Perce,
+whose society was welcomed on account of the general gratitude and
+good will they felt for his tribe. He soon proved a heavy clog upon the
+little party, being doltish and taciturn, lazy in the extreme, and a
+huge feeder. His only proof of intellect was in shrewdly avoiding all
+labor, and availing himself of the toil of others. When on the march,
+he always lagged behind the rest, leaving to them the task of breaking
+a way through all difficulties and impediments, and leisurely and lazily
+jogging along the track, which they had beaten through the snow. At the
+evening encampment, when others were busy gathering fuel, providing for
+the horses, and cooking the evening repast, this worthy Sancho of the
+wilderness would take his seat quietly and cosily by the fire, puffing
+away at his pipe, and eyeing in silence, but with wistful intensity of
+gaze, the savory morsels roasting for supper.
+
+When meal-time arrived, however, then came his season of activity. He
+no longer hung back, and waited for others to take the lead, but
+distinguished himself by a brilliancy of onset, and a sustained vigor
+and duration of attack, that completely shamed the efforts of his
+competitors--albeit, experienced trenchermen of no mean prowess. Never
+had they witnessed such power of mastication, and such marvellous
+capacity of stomach, as in this native and uncultivated gastronome.
+Having, by repeated and prolonged assaults, at length completely
+gorged himself, he would wrap himself up and lie with the torpor of an
+anaconda; slowly digesting his way on to the next repast.
+
+The gormandizing powers of this worthy were, at first, matters of
+surprise and merriment to the travellers; but they soon became too
+serious for a joke, threatening devastation to the fleshpots; and he
+was regarded askance, at his meals, as a regular kill-crop, destined to
+waste the substance of the party. Nothing but a sense of the obligations
+they were under to his nation induced them to bear with such a guest;
+but he proceeded, speedily, to relieve them from the weight of these
+obligations, by eating a receipt in full.
+
+
+
+
+35.
+
+     The uninvited guest--Free and easy manners--Salutary jokes--
+     A prodigal son--Exit of the glutton--A sudden change in
+     fortune--Danger of a visit to poor relations--Plucking of a
+     prosperous man--A vagabond toilet--A substitute for the very
+     fine horse--Hard travelling--The uninvited guest and the
+     patriarchal colt--A beggar on horseback--A catastrophe--Exit
+     of the merry vagabond
+
+As CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE and his men were encamped one evening among the
+hills near Snake River, seated before their fire, enjoying a hearty
+supper, they were suddenly surprised by the visit of an uninvited guest.
+He was a ragged, half-naked Indian hunter, armed with bow and arrows,
+and had the carcass of a fine buck thrown across his shoulder. Advancing
+with an alert step, and free and easy air, he threw the buck on the
+ground, and, without waiting for an invitation, seated himself at their
+mess, helped himself without ceremony, and chatted to the right and left
+in the liveliest and most unembarrassed manner. No adroit and veteran
+dinner hunter of a metropolis could have acquitted himself more
+knowingly. The travellers were at first completely taken by surprise,
+and could not but admire the facility with which this ragged cosmopolite
+made himself at home among them. While they stared he went on, making
+the most of the good cheer upon which he had so fortunately alighted;
+and was soon elbow deep in “pot luck,” and greased from the tip of his
+nose to the back of his ears.
+
+As the company recovered from their surprise, they began to feel annoyed
+at this intrusion. Their uninvited guest, unlike the generality of his
+tribe, was somewhat dirty as well as ragged and they had no relish
+for such a messmate. Heaping up, therefore, an abundant portion of the
+“provant” upon a piece of bark, which served for a dish, they invited
+him to confine himself thereto, instead of foraging in the general mess.
+
+He complied with the most accommodating spirit imaginable; and went on
+eating and chatting, and laughing and smearing himself, until his whole
+countenance shone with grease and good-humor. In the course of his
+repast, his attention was caught by the figure of the gastronome, who,
+as usual, was gorging himself in dogged silence. A droll cut of the
+eye showed either that he knew him of old, or perceived at once his
+characteristics. He immediately made him the butt of his pleasantries;
+and cracked off two or three good hits, that caused the sluggish dolt
+to prick up his ears, and delighted all the company. From this time, the
+uninvited guest was taken into favor; his jokes began to be relished;
+his careless, free and easy air, to be considered singularly amusing;
+and in the end, he was pronounced by the travellers one of the merriest
+companions and most entertaining vagabonds they had met with in the
+wilderness.
+
+Supper being over, the redoubtable Shee-wee-she-ouaiter, for such was
+the simple name by which he announced himself, declared his intention
+of keeping company with the party for a day or two, if they had no
+objection; and by way of backing his self-invitation, presented the
+carcass of the buck as an earnest of his hunting abilities. By this
+time, he had so completely effaced the unfavorable impression made by
+his first appearance, that he was made welcome to the camp, and the
+Nez Perce guide undertook to give him lodging for the night. The next
+morning, at break of day, he borrowed a gun, and was off among the
+hills, nor was anything more seen of him until a few minutes after the
+party had encamped for the evening, when he again made his appearance,
+in his usual frank, careless manner, and threw down the carcass of
+another noble deer, which he had borne on his back for a considerable
+distance.
+
+This evening he was the life of the party, and his open communicative
+disposition, free from all disguise, soon put them in possession of
+his history. He had been a kind of prodigal son in his native village;
+living a loose, heedless life, and disregarding the precepts and
+imperative commands of the chiefs. He had, in consequence, been expelled
+from the village, but, in nowise disheartened at this banishment, had
+betaken himself to the society of the border Indians, and had led a
+careless, haphazard, vagabond life, perfectly consonant to his humors;
+heedless of the future, so long as he had wherewithal for the present;
+and fearing no lack of food, so long as he had the implements of the
+chase, and a fair hunting ground.
+
+Finding him very expert as a hunter, and being pleased with his
+eccentricities, and his strange and merry humor, Captain Bonneville
+fitted him out handsomely as the Nimrod of the party, who all soon
+became quite attached to him. One of the earliest and most signal
+services he performed, was to exorcise the insatiate kill-crop that
+hitherto oppressed the party. In fact, the doltish Nez Perce, who had
+seemed so perfectly insensible to rough treatment of every kind, by
+which the travellers had endeavored to elbow him out of their society,
+could not withstand the good-humored bantering, and occasionally sharp
+wit of She-wee-she. He evidently quailed under his jokes, and sat
+blinking like an owl in daylight, when pestered by the flouts and
+peckings of mischievous birds. At length his place was found vacant at
+meal-time; no one knew when he went off, or whither he had gone, but he
+was seen no more, and the vast surplus that remained when the repast was
+over, showed what a mighty gormandizer had departed.
+
+Relieved from this incubus, the little party now went on cheerily.
+She-wee-she kept them in fun as well as food. His hunting was always
+successful; he was ever ready to render any assistance in the camp or
+on the march; while his jokes, his antics, and the very cut of
+his countenance, so full of whim and comicality, kept every one in
+good-humor.
+
+In this way they journeyed on until they arrived on the banks of the
+Immahah, and encamped near to the Nez Perce lodges. Here She-wee-she
+took a sudden notion to visit his people, and show off the state of
+worldly prosperity to which he had so suddenly attained. He accordingly
+departed in the morning, arrayed in hunter’s style, and well appointed
+with everything benefitting his vocation. The buoyancy of his gait, the
+elasticity of his step, and the hilarity of his countenance, showed that
+he anticipated, with chuckling satisfaction, the surprise he was about
+to give those who had ejected him from their society in rags. But what
+a change was there in his whole appearance when he rejoined the party in
+the evening! He came skulking into camp like a beaten cur, with his tail
+between his legs. All his finery was gone; he was naked as when he was
+born, with the exception of a scanty flap that answered the purpose of a
+fig leaf. His fellow-travellers at first did not know him, but supposed
+it to be some vagrant Root Digger sneaking into the camp; but when they
+recognized in this forlorn object their prime wag, She-wee-she, whom
+they had seen depart in the morning in such high glee and high feather,
+they could not contain their merriment, but hailed him with loud and
+repeated peals of laughter.
+
+She-wee-she was not of a spirit to be easily cast down; he soon joined
+in the merriment as heartily as any one, and seemed to consider his
+reverse of fortune an excellent joke. Captain Bonneville, however,
+thought proper to check his good-humor, and demanded, with some degree
+of sternness, the cause of his altered condition. He replied in the most
+natural and self-complacent style imaginable, “that he had been among
+his cousins, who were very poor; they had been delighted to see him;
+still more delighted with his good fortune; they had taken him to their
+arms; admired his equipments; one had begged for this; another for
+that”--in fine, what with the poor devil’s inherent heedlessness, and
+the real generosity of his disposition, his needy cousins had succeeded
+in stripping him of all his clothes and accoutrements, excepting the fig
+leaf with which he had returned to camp.
+
+Seeing his total want of care and forethought, Captain Bonneville
+determined to let him suffer a little, in hopes it might prove a
+salutary lesson; and, at any rate, to make him no more presents while in
+the neighborhood of his needy cousins. He was left, therefore, to shift
+for himself in his naked condition; which, however, did not seem to give
+him any concern, or to abate one jot of his good-humor. In the course of
+his lounging about the camp, however, he got possession of a deer skin;
+whereupon, cutting a slit in the middle, he thrust his head through it,
+so that the two ends hung down before and behind, something like a South
+American poncho, or the tabard of a herald. These ends he tied together,
+under the armpits; and thus arrayed, presented himself once more before
+the captain, with an air of perfect self-satisfaction, as though he
+thought it impossible for any fault to be found with his toilet.
+
+A little further journeying brought the travellers to the petty village
+of Nez Perces, governed by the worthy and affectionate old patriarch who
+had made Captain Bonneville the costly present of the very fine horse.
+The old man welcomed them once more to his village with his usual
+cordiality, and his respectable squaw and hopeful son, cherishing
+grateful recollections of the hatchet and ear-bobs, joined in a chorus
+of friendly gratulation.
+
+As the much-vaunted steed, once the joy and pride of this interesting
+family, was now nearly knocked up by travelling, and totally inadequate
+to the mountain scramble that lay ahead, Captain Bonneville restored
+him to the venerable patriarch, with renewed acknowledgments for the
+invaluable gift. Somewhat to his surprise, he was immediately supplied
+with a fine two years’ old colt in his stead, a substitution which he
+afterward learnt, according to Indian custom in such cases, he might
+have claimed as a matter of right. We do not find that any after claims
+were made on account of this colt. This donation may be regarded,
+therefore, as a signal punctilio of Indian honor; but it will be found
+that the animal soon proved an unlucky acquisition to the party.
+
+While at this village, the Nez Perce guide had held consultations with
+some of the inhabitants as to the mountain tract the party were about
+to traverse. He now began to wear an anxious aspect, and to indulge in
+gloomy forebodings. The snow, he had been told, lay to a great depth
+in the passes of the mountains, and difficulties would increase as
+he proceeded. He begged Captain Bonneville, therefore, to travel very
+slowly, so as to keep the horses in strength and spirit for the
+hard times they would have to encounter. The captain surrendered the
+regulation of the march entirely to his discretion, and pushed on in the
+advance, amusing himself with hunting, so as generally to kill a deer
+or two in the course of the day, and arriving, before the rest of the
+party, at the spot designated by the guide for the evening’s encampment.
+
+In the meantime, the others plodded on at the heels of the guide,
+accompanied by that merry vagabond, She-wee-she. The primitive garb worn
+by this droll left all his nether man exposed to the biting blasts of
+the mountains. Still his wit was never frozen, nor his sunshiny temper
+beclouded; and his innumerable antics and practical jokes, while they
+quickened the circulation of his own blood, kept his companions in high
+good-humor.
+
+So passed the first day after the departure from the patriarch’s. The
+second day commenced in the same manner; the captain in the advance, the
+rest of the party following on slowly. She-wee-she, for the greater part
+of the time, trudged on foot over the snow, keeping himself warm by hard
+exercise, and all kinds of crazy capers. In the height of his foolery,
+the patriarchal colt, which, unbroken to the saddle, was suffered to
+follow on at large, happened to come within his reach. In a moment, he
+was on his back, snapping his fingers, and yelping with delight. The
+colt, unused to such a burden, and half wild by nature, fell to prancing
+and rearing and snorting and plunging and kicking; and, at length,
+set off full speed over the most dangerous ground. As the route led
+generally along the steep and craggy sides of the hills, both horse and
+horseman were constantly in danger, and more than once had a hairbreadth
+escape from deadly peril. Nothing, however, could daunt this madcap
+savage. He stuck to the colt like a plaister [sic], up ridges, down
+gullies; whooping and yelling with the wildest glee. Never did beggar
+on horseback display more headlong horsemanship. His companions followed
+him with their eyes, sometimes laughing, sometimes holding in their
+breath at his vagaries, until they saw the colt make a sudden plunge or
+start, and pitch his unlucky rider headlong over a precipice. There was
+a general cry of horror, and all hastened to the spot. They found the
+poor fellow lying among the rocks below, sadly bruised and mangled.
+It was almost a miracle that he had escaped with life. Even in this
+condition, his merry spirit was not entirely quelled, and he summoned up
+a feeble laugh at the alarm and anxiety of those who came to his relief.
+He was extricated from his rocky bed, and a messenger dispatched to
+inform Captain Bonneville of the accident. The latter returned with all
+speed, and encamped the party at the first convenient spot. Here the
+wounded man was stretched upon buffalo skins, and the captain, who
+officiated on all occasions as doctor and surgeon to the party,
+proceeded to examine his wounds. The principal one was a long and deep
+gash in the thigh, which reached to the bone. Calling for a needle and
+thread, the captain now prepared to sew up the wound, admonishing the
+patient to submit to the operation with becoming fortitude. His gayety
+was at an end; he could no longer summon up even a forced smile; and,
+at the first puncture of the needle, flinched so piteously, that the
+captain was obliged to pause, and to order him a powerful dose of
+alcohol. This somewhat rallied up his spirit and warmed his heart; all
+the time of the operation, however, he kept his eyes riveted on the
+wound, with his teeth set, and a whimsical wincing of the countenance,
+that occasionally gave his nose something of its usual comic curl.
+
+When the wound was fairly closed, the captain washed it with rum, and
+administered a second dose of the same to the patient, who was tucked in
+for the night, and advised to compose himself to sleep. He was restless
+and uneasy, however; repeatedly expressing his fears that his leg would
+be so much swollen the next day, as to prevent his proceeding with the
+party; nor could he be quieted, until the captain gave a decided opinion
+favorable to his wishes.
+
+Early the next morning, a gleam of his merry humor returned, on finding
+that his wounded limb retained its natural proportions. On attempting
+to use it, however, he found himself unable to stand. He made several
+efforts to coax himself into a belief that he might still continue
+forward; but at length, shook his head despondingly, and said, that
+“as he had but one leg,” it was all in vain to attempt a passage of the
+mountain.
+
+Every one grieved to part with so boon a companion, and under such
+disastrous circumstances. He was once more clothed and equipped, each
+one making him some parting present. He was then helped on a horse,
+which Captain Bonneville presented to him; and after many parting
+expressions of good will on both sides, set off on his return to his old
+haunts; doubtless, to be once more plucked by his affectionate but needy
+cousins.
+
+
+
+
+36.
+
+     The difficult mountain--A smoke and consultation--The
+     captain’s speech--An icy turnpike--Danger of a false step--
+     Arrival on Snake River--Return to--Portneuf--Meeting of
+     comrades
+
+CONTINUING THEIR JOURNEY UP the course of the Immahah, the travellers
+found, as they approached the headwaters, the snow increased in
+quantity, so as to lie two feet deep. They were again obliged,
+therefore, to beat down a path for their horses, sometimes travelling
+on the icy surface of the stream. At length they reached the place where
+they intended to scale the mountains; and, having broken a pathway to
+the foot, were agreeably surprised to find that the wind had drifted the
+snow from off the side, so that they attained the summit with but little
+difficulty. Here they encamped, with the intention of beating a track
+through the mountains. A short experiment, however, obliged them to give
+up the attempt, the snow lying in vast drifts, often higher than the
+horses’ heads.
+
+Captain Bonneville now took the two Indian guides, and set out to
+reconnoitre the neighborhood. Observing a high peak which overtopped the
+rest, he climbed it, and discovered from the summit a pass about
+nine miles long, but so heavily piled with snow, that it seemed
+impracticable. He now lit a pipe, and, sitting down with the two guides,
+proceeded to hold a consultation after the Indian mode. For a long while
+they all smoked vigorously and in silence, pondering over the subject
+matter before them. At length a discussion commenced, and the opinion in
+which the two guides concurred was, that the horses could not possibly
+cross the snows. They advised, therefore, that the party should proceed
+on foot, and they should take the horses back to the village, where they
+would be well taken care of until Captain Bonneville should send for
+them. They urged this advice with great earnestness; declaring that
+their chief would be extremely angry, and treat them severely, should
+any of the horses of his good friends, the white men, be lost, in
+crossing under their guidance; and that, therefore, it was good they
+should not attempt it.
+
+Captain Bonneville sat smoking his pipe, and listening to them with
+Indian silence and gravity. When they had finished, he replied to them
+in their own style of language.
+
+“My friends,” said he, “I have seen the pass, and have listened to your
+words; you have little hearts. When troubles and dangers lie in your
+way, you turn your backs. That is not the way with my nation. When great
+obstacles present, and threaten to keep them back, their hearts swell,
+and they push forward. They love to conquer difficulties. But enough for
+the present. Night is coming on; let us return to our camp.”
+
+He moved on, and they followed in silence. On reaching the camp, he
+found the men extremely discouraged. One of their number had been
+surveying the neighborhood, and seriously assured them that the snow was
+at least a hundred feet deep. The captain cheered them up, and diffused
+fresh spirit in them by his example. Still he was much perplexed how to
+proceed. About dark there was a slight drizzling rain. An expedient now
+suggested itself. This was to make two light sleds, place the packs on
+them, and drag them to the other side of the mountain, thus forming
+a road in the wet snow, which, should it afterward freeze, would be
+sufficiently hard to bear the horses. This plan was promptly put into
+execution; the sleds were constructed, the heavy baggage was drawn
+backward and forward until the road was beaten, when they desisted
+from their fatiguing labor. The night turned out clear and cold, and by
+morning, their road was incrusted with ice sufficiently strong for their
+purpose. They now set out on their icy turnpike, and got on well enough,
+excepting that now and then a horse would sidle out of the track, and
+immediately sink up to the neck. Then came on toil and difficulty, and
+they would be obliged to haul up the floundering animal with ropes. One,
+more unlucky than the rest, after repeated falls, had to be abandoned in
+the snow. Notwithstanding these repeated delays, they succeeded, before
+the sun had acquired sufficient power to thaw the snow, in getting all
+the rest of their horses safely to the other side of the mountain.
+
+Their difficulties and dangers, however, were not yet at an end. They
+had now to descend, and the whole surface of the snow was glazed with
+ice. It was necessary; therefore, to wait until the warmth of the sun
+should melt the glassy crust of sleet, and give them a foothold in
+the yielding snow. They had a frightful warning of the danger of
+any movement while the sleet remained. A wild young mare, in her
+restlessness, strayed to the edge of a declivity. One slip was fatal
+to her; she lost her balance, careered with headlong velocity down the
+slippery side of the mountain for more than two thousand feet, and was
+dashed to pieces at the bottom. When the travellers afterward sought
+the carcass to cut it up for food, they found it torn and mangled in the
+most horrible manner.
+
+It was quite late in the evening before the party descended to the
+ultimate skirts of the snow. Here they planted large logs below them
+to prevent their sliding down, and encamped for the night. The next day
+they succeeded in bringing down their baggage to the encampment; then
+packing all up regularly, and loading their horses, they once more
+set out briskly and cheerfully, and in the course of the following day
+succeeded in getting to a grassy region.
+
+Here their Nez Perce guides declared that all the difficulties of the
+mountains were at an end, and their course was plain and simple, and
+needed no further guidance; they asked leave, therefore, to return
+home. This was readily granted, with many thanks and presents for their
+faithful services. They took a long farewell smoke with their white
+friends, after which they mounted their horses and set off, exchanging
+many farewells and kind wishes.
+
+On the following day, Captain Bonneville completed his journey down the
+mountain, and encamped on the borders of Snake River, where he found
+the grass in great abundance and eight inches in height. In this
+neighborhood, he saw on the rocky banks of the river several prismoids
+of basaltes, rising to the height of fifty or sixty feet.
+
+Nothing particularly worthy of note occurred during several days as the
+party proceeded up along Snake River and across its tributary streams.
+After crossing Gun Creek, they met with various signs that white people
+were in the neighborhood, and Captain Bonneville made earnest exertions
+to discover whether they were any of his own people, that he might join
+them. He soon ascertained that they had been starved out of this tract
+of country, and had betaken themselves to the buffalo region, whither he
+now shaped his course. In proceeding along Snake River, he found small
+hordes of Shoshonies lingering upon the minor streams, and living upon
+trout and other fish, which they catch in great numbers at this season
+in fish-traps. The greater part of the tribe, however, had penetrated
+the mountains to hunt the elk, deer, and ahsahta or bighorn.
+
+On the 12th of May, Captain Bonneville reached the Portneuf River, in
+the vicinity of which he had left the winter encampment of his company
+on the preceding Christmas day. He had then expected to be back by the
+beginning of March, but circumstances had detained him upward of two
+months beyond the time, and the winter encampment must long ere this
+have been broken up. Halting on the banks of the Portneuf, he dispatched
+scouts a few miles above, to visit the old camping ground and search for
+signals of the party, or of their whereabouts, should they actually
+have abandoned the spot. They returned without being able to ascertain
+anything.
+
+Being now destitute of provisions, the travellers found it necessary
+to make a short hunting excursion after buffalo. They made caches,
+therefore, on an island in the river, in which they deposited all their
+baggage, and then set out on their expedition. They were so fortunate as
+to kill a couple of fine bulls, and cutting up the carcasses, determined
+to husband this stock of provisions with the most miserly care, lest
+they should again be obliged to venture into the open and dangerous
+hunting grounds. Returning to their island on the 18th of May, they
+found that the wolves had been at the caches, scratched up the contents,
+and scattered them in every direction. They now constructed a more
+secure one, in which they deposited their heaviest articles, and then
+descended Snake River again, and encamped just above the American Falls.
+Here they proceeded to fortify themselves, intending to remain here,
+and give their horses an opportunity to recruit their strength with good
+pasturage, until it should be time to set out for the annual rendezvous
+in Bear River valley.
+
+On the first of June they descried four men on the other side of the
+river, opposite to the camp, and, having attracted their attention by
+a discharge of rifles, ascertained to their joy that they were some of
+their own people. From these men Captain Bonneville learned that the
+whole party which he had left in the preceding month of December were
+encamped on Blackfoot River, a tributary of Snake River, not very far
+above the Portneuf. Thither he proceeded with all possible dispatch,
+and in a little while had the pleasure of finding himself once more
+surrounded by his people, who greeted his return among them in the
+heartiest manner; for his long-protracted absence had convinced them
+that he and his three companions had been cut off by some hostile tribe.
+
+The party had suffered much during his absence. They had been pinched by
+famine and almost starved, and had been forced to repair to the caches
+at Salmon River. Here they fell in with the Blackfeet bands, and
+considered themselves fortunate in being able to retreat from the
+dangerous neighborhood without sustaining any loss.
+
+Being thus reunited, a general treat from Captain Bonneville to his
+men was a matter of course. Two days, therefore, were given up to such
+feasting and merriment as their means and situation afforded. What was
+wanting in good cheer was made up in good will; the free trappers in
+particular, distinguished themselves on the occasion, and the saturnalia
+was enjoyed with a hearty holiday spirit, that smacked of the game
+flavor of the wilderness.
+
+
+
+
+37.
+
+     Departure for the rendezvous--A war party of Blackfeet--A
+     mock bustle--Sham fires at night--Warlike precautions--
+     Dangers of a night attack--A panic among horses--Cautious
+     march--The Beer Springs--A mock carousel--Skirmishing with
+     buffaloes--A buffalo bait--Arrival at the rendezvous--
+     Meeting of various bands
+
+AFTER THE TWO DAYS of festive indulgence, Captain Bonneville broke
+up the encampment, and set out with his motley crew of hired and free
+trappers, half-breeds, Indians, and squaws, for the main rendezvous in
+Bear River valley. Directing his course up the Blackfoot River, he soon
+reached the hills among which it takes its rise. Here, while on the
+march, he descried from the brow of a hill, a war party of about
+sixty Blackfeet, on the plain immediately below him. His situation was
+perilous; for the greater part of his people were dispersed in various
+directions. Still, to betray hesitation or fear would be to discover his
+actual weakness, and to invite attack. He assumed, instantly, therefore,
+a belligerent tone; ordered the squaws to lead the horses to a small
+grove of ashen trees, and unload and tie them; and caused a great bustle
+to be made by his scanty handful; the leaders riding hither and thither,
+and vociferating with all their might, as if a numerous force was
+getting under way for an attack.
+
+To keep up the deception as to his force, he ordered, at night, a number
+of extra fires to be made in his camp, and kept up a vigilant watch. His
+men were all directed to keep themselves prepared for instant action. In
+such cases the experienced trapper sleeps in his clothes, with his rifle
+beside him, the shot-belt and powder-flask on the stock: so that, in
+case of alarm, he can lay his hand upon the whole of his equipment at
+once, and start up, completely armed.
+
+Captain Bonneville was also especially careful to secure the horses,
+and set a vigilant guard upon them; for there lies the great object and
+principal danger of a night attack. The grand move of the lurking savage
+is to cause a panic among the horses. In such cases one horse frightens
+another, until all are alarmed, and struggle to break loose. In camps
+where there are great numbers of Indians, with their horses, a night
+alarm of the kind is tremendous. The running of the horses that have
+broken loose; the snorting, stamping, and rearing of those which remain
+fast; the howling of dogs; the yelling of Indians; the scampering of
+white men, and red men, with their guns; the overturning of lodges, and
+trampling of fires by the horses; the flashes of the fires, lighting up
+forms of men and steeds dashing through the gloom, altogether make
+up one of the wildest scenes of confusion imaginable. In this way,
+sometimes, all the horses of a camp amounting to several hundred will be
+frightened off in a single night.
+
+The night passed off without any disturbance; but there was no
+likelihood that a war party of Blackfeet, once on the track of a camp
+where there was a chance for spoils, would fail to hover round it. The
+captain, therefore, continued to maintain the most vigilant precautions;
+throwing out scouts in the advance, and on every rising ground.
+
+In the course of the day he arrived at the plain of white clay, already
+mentioned, surrounded by the mineral springs, called Beer Springs, by
+the trappers. Here the men all halted to have a regale. In a few moments
+every spring had its jovial knot of hard drinkers, with tin cup in hand,
+indulging in a mock carouse; quaffing, pledging, toasting, bandying
+jokes, singing drinking songs, and uttering peals of laughter, until it
+seemed as if their imaginations had given potency to the beverage, and
+cheated them into a fit of intoxication. Indeed, in the excitement of
+the moment, they were loud and extravagant in their commendations of
+“the mountain tap”; elevating it above every beverage produced from hops
+or malt. It was a singular and fantastic scene; suited to a region
+where everything is strange and peculiar:--These groups of trappers, and
+hunters, and Indians, with their wild costumes, and wilder countenances;
+their boisterous gayety, and reckless air; quaffing, and making merry
+round these sparkling fountains; while beside them lay their weapons,
+ready to be snatched up for instant service. Painters are fond of
+representing banditti at their rude and picturesque carousels; but here
+were groups, still more rude and picturesque; and it needed but a sudden
+onset of Blackfeet, and a quick transition from a fantastic revel to
+a furious melee, to have rendered this picture of a trapper’s life
+complete.
+
+The beer frolic, however, passed off without any untoward circumstance;
+and, unlike most drinking bouts, left neither headache nor heartache
+behind. Captain Bonneville now directed his course up along Bear River;
+amusing himself, occasionally, with hunting the buffalo, with which
+the country was covered. Sometimes, when he saw a huge bull taking his
+repose in a prairie, he would steal along a ravine, until close upon
+him; then rouse him from his meditations with a pebble, and take a shot
+at him as he started up. Such is the quickness with which this animal
+springs upon his legs, that it is not easy to discover the muscular
+process by which it is effected. The horse rises first upon his fore
+legs; and the domestic cow, upon her hinder limbs; but the buffalo
+bounds at once from a couchant to an erect position, with a celerity
+that baffles the eye. Though from his bulk, and rolling gait, he does
+not appear to run with much swiftness; yet, it takes a stanch horse to
+overtake him, when at full speed on level ground; and a buffalo cow is
+still fleeter in her motion.
+
+Among the Indians and half-breeds of the party, were several admirable
+horsemen and bold hunters; who amused themselves with a grotesque kind
+of buffalo bait. Whenever they found a huge bull in the plains, they
+prepared for their teasing and barbarous sport. Surrounding him on
+horseback, they would discharge their arrows at him in quick succession,
+goading him to make an attack; which, with a dexterous movement of the
+horse, they would easily avoid. In this way, they hovered round him,
+feathering him with arrows, as he reared and plunged about, until he was
+bristled all over like a porcupine. When they perceived in him signs
+of exhaustion, and he could no longer be provoked to make battle, they
+would dismount from their horses, approach him in the rear, and seizing
+him by the tail, jerk him from side to side, and drag him backward;
+until the frantic animal, gathering fresh strength from fury, would
+break from them, and rush, with flashing eyes and a hoarse bellowing,
+upon any enemy in sight; but in a little while, his transient excitement
+at an end, would pitch headlong on the ground, and expire. The arrows
+were then plucked forth, the tongue cut out and preserved as a dainty,
+and the carcass left a banquet for the wolves.
+
+Pursuing his course up Bear River, Captain Bonneville arrived, on the
+13th of June, at the Little Snake Lake; where he encamped for four or
+five days, that he might examine its shores and outlets. The latter, he
+found extremely muddy, and so surrounded by swamps and quagmires, that
+he was obliged to construct canoes of rushes, with which to explore
+them. The mouths of all the streams which fall into this lake from the
+west, are marshy and inconsiderable; but on the east side, there is
+a beautiful beach, broken, occasionally, by high and isolated bluffs,
+which advance upon the lake, and heighten the character of the scenery.
+The water is very shallow, but abounds with trout, and other small fish.
+
+Having finished his survey of the lake, Captain Bonneville proceeded on
+his journey, until on the banks of the Bear River, some distance higher
+up, he came upon the party which he had detached a year before, to
+circumambulate the Great Salt Lake, and ascertain its extent, and the
+nature of its shores. They had been encamped here about twenty days;
+and were greatly rejoiced at meeting once more with their comrades,
+from whom they had so long been separated. The first inquiry of Captain
+Bonneville was about the result of their journey, and the information
+they had procured as to the Great Salt Lake; the object of his intense
+curiosity and ambition. The substance of their report will be found in
+the following chapter.
+
+
+
+
+38.
+
+     Plan of the Salt Lake expedition--Great sandy deserts--
+     Sufferings from thirst--Ogden’s--River--Trails and smoke of
+     lurking savages--Thefts at night--A trapper’s revenge--
+     Alarms of a guilty conscience--A murderous victory--
+     Californian mountains--Plains along the--Pacific--Arrival
+     at--Monterey--Account of the place and neighborhood--Lower--
+     California--Its extent--The Peninsula--Soil--Climate--
+     Production--Its settlements by the Jesuits--Their sway over
+     the Indians--Their expulsion--Ruins of a missionary
+     establishment--Sublime scenery--Upper California Missions--
+     Their power and policy--Resources of the country--Designs of
+     foreign nations
+
+IT WAS ON THE 24TH of July, in the preceding year (1833), that the
+brigade of forty men set out from Green River valley, to explore the
+Great Salt Lake. They were to make the complete circuit of it, trapping
+on all the streams which should fall in their way, and to keep journals
+and make charts, calculated to impart a knowledge of the lake and the
+surrounding country. All the resources of Captain Bonneville had been
+tasked to fit out this favorite expedition. The country lying to the
+southwest of the mountains, and ranging down to California, was as yet
+almost unknown; being out of the buffalo range, it was untraversed
+by the trapper, who preferred those parts of the wilderness where
+the roaming herds of that species of animal gave him comparatively an
+abundant and luxurious life. Still it was said the deer, the elk, and
+the bighorn were to be found there, so that, with a little diligence and
+economy, there was no danger of lacking food. As a precaution, however,
+the party halted on Bear River and hunted for a few days, until they had
+laid in a supply of dried buffalo meat and venison; they then passed by
+the head waters of the Cassie River, and soon found themselves launched
+on an immense sandy desert. Southwardly, on their left, they beheld the
+Great Salt Lake, spread out like a sea, but they found no stream running
+into it. A desert extended around them, and stretched to the southwest,
+as far as the eye could reach, rivalling the deserts of Asia and Africa
+in sterility. There was neither tree, nor herbage, nor spring, nor pool,
+nor running stream, nothing but parched wastes of sand, where horse and
+rider were in danger of perishing.
+
+Their sufferings, at length, became so great that they abandoned
+their intended course, and made towards a range of snowy mountains,
+brightening in the north, where they hoped to find water. After a time,
+they came upon a small stream leading directly towards these mountains.
+Having quenched their burning thirst, and refreshed themselves and their
+weary horses for a time, they kept along this stream, which gradually
+increased in size, being fed by numerous brooks. After approaching the
+mountains, it took a sweep toward the southwest, and the travellers
+still kept along it, trapping beaver as they went, on the flesh of which
+they subsisted for the present, husbanding their dried meat for future
+necessities.
+
+The stream on which they had thus fallen is called by some, Mary River,
+but is more generally known as Ogden’s River, from Mr. Peter Ogden, an
+enterprising and intrepid leader of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who
+first explored it. The wild and half-desert region through which the
+travellers were passing, is wandered over by hordes of Shoshokoes, or
+Root Diggers, the forlorn branch of the Snake tribe. They are a shy
+people, prone to keep aloof from the stranger. The travellers frequently
+met with their trails, and saw the smoke of their fires rising in
+various parts of the vast landscape, so that they knew there were great
+numbers in the neighborhood, but scarcely ever were any of them to be
+met with.
+
+After a time, they began to have vexatious proofs that, if the
+Shoshokoes were quiet by day, they were busy at night. The camp was
+dogged by these eavesdroppers; scarce a morning, but various articles
+were missing, yet nothing could be seen of the marauders. What
+particularly exasperated the hunters, was to have their traps stolen
+from the streams. One morning, a trapper of a violent and savage
+character, discovering that his traps had been carried off in the night,
+took a horrid oath to kill the first Indian he should meet, innocent
+or guilty. As he was returning with his comrades to camp, he beheld two
+unfortunate Diggers, seated on the river bank, fishing. Advancing upon
+them, he levelled his rifle, shot one upon the spot, and flung his
+bleeding body into the stream. The other Indian fled and was suffered
+to escape. Such is the indifference with which acts of violence are
+regarded in the wilderness, and such the immunity an armed ruffian
+enjoys beyond the barriers of the laws, that the only punishment this
+desperado met with, was a rebuke from the leader of the party. The
+trappers now left the scene of this infamous tragedy, and kept on
+westward, down the course of the river, which wound along with a range
+of mountains on the right hand, and a sandy, but somewhat fertile plain,
+on the left. As they proceeded, they beheld columns of smoke rising,
+as before, in various directions, which their guilty consciences now
+converted into alarm signals, to arouse the country and collect the
+scattered bands for vengeance.
+
+After a time, the natives began to make their appearance, and sometimes
+in considerable numbers, but always pacific; the trappers, however,
+suspected them of deep-laid plans to draw them into ambuscades; to crowd
+into and get possession of their camp, and various other crafty and
+daring conspiracies, which, it is probable, never entered into the heads
+of the poor savages. In fact, they are a simple, timid, inoffensive
+race, unpractised in warfare, and scarce provided with any weapons,
+excepting for the chase. Their lives are passed in the great sand plains
+and along the adjacent rivers; they subsist sometimes on fish, at other
+times on roots and the seeds of a plant, called the cat’s-tail. They
+are of the same kind of people that Captain Bonneville found upon Snake
+River, and whom he found so mild and inoffensive.
+
+The trappers, however, had persuaded themselves that they were making
+their way through a hostile country, and that implacable foes hung round
+their camp or beset their path, watching for an opportunity to surprise
+them. At length, one day they came to the banks of a stream emptying
+into Ogden’s River, which they were obliged to ford. Here a great number
+of Shoshokoes were posted on the opposite bank. Persuaded they were
+there with hostile intent, they advanced upon them, levelled their
+rifles, and killed twenty five of them upon the spot. The rest fled to
+a short distance, then halted and turned about, howling and whining like
+wolves, and uttering the most piteous wailings. The trappers chased them
+in every direction; the poor wretches made no defence, but fled with
+terror; neither does it appear from the accounts of the boasted victors,
+that a weapon had been wielded or a weapon launched by the Indians
+throughout the affair. We feel perfectly convinced that the poor savages
+had no hostile intention, but had merely gathered together through
+motives of curiosity, as others of their tribe had done when Captain
+Bonneville and his companions passed along Snake River.
+
+The trappers continued down Ogden’s River, until they ascertained that
+it lost itself in a great swampy lake, to which there was no apparent
+discharge. They then struck directly westward, across the great chain of
+California mountains intervening between these interior plains and the
+shores of the Pacific.
+
+For three and twenty days they were entangled among these mountains,
+the peaks and ridges of which are in many places covered with perpetual
+snow. Their passes and defiles present the wildest scenery, partaking
+of the sublime rather than the beautiful, and abounding with frightful
+precipices. The sufferings of the travellers among these savage
+mountains were extreme: for a part of the time they were nearly starved;
+at length, they made their way through them, and came down upon the
+plains of New California, a fertile region extending along the coast,
+with magnificent forests, verdant savannas, and prairies that looked
+like stately parks. Here they found deer and other game in abundance,
+and indemnified themselves for past famine. They now turned toward the
+south, and passing numerous small bands of natives, posted upon various
+streams, arrived at the Spanish village and post of Monterey.
+
+This is a small place, containing about two hundred houses, situated in
+latitude 37 north. It has a capacious bay, with indifferent anchorage.
+The surrounding country is extremely fertile, especially in the valleys;
+the soil is richer, the further you penetrate into the interior, and
+the climate is described as a perpetual spring. Indeed, all California,
+extending along the Pacific Ocean from latitude 19 30’ to 42 north, is
+represented as one of the most fertile and beautiful regions in North
+America.
+
+Lower California, in length about seven hundred miles, forms a great
+peninsula, which crosses the tropics and terminates in the torrid zone.
+It is separated from the mainland by the Gulf of California, sometimes
+called the Vermilion Sea; into this gulf empties the Colorado of the
+West, the Seeds-ke-dee, or Green River, as it is also sometimes called.
+The peninsula is traversed by stern and barren mountains, and has many
+sandy plains, where the only sign of vegetation is the cylindrical
+cactus growing among the clefts of the rocks. Wherever there is water,
+however, and vegetable mould, the ardent nature of the climate quickens
+everything into astonishing fertility. There are valleys luxuriant with
+the rich and beautiful productions of the tropics. There the sugar-cane
+and indigo plant attain a perfection unequalled in any other part of
+North America. There flourish the olive, the fig, the date, the
+orange, the citron, the pomegranate, and other fruits belonging to the
+voluptuous climates of the south; with grapes in abundance, that yield a
+generous wine. In the interior are salt plains; silver mines and scanty
+veins of gold are said, likewise, to exist; and pearls of a beautiful
+water are to be fished upon the coast.
+
+The peninsula of California was settled in 1698, by the Jesuits, who,
+certainly, as far as the natives were concerned, have generally proved
+the most beneficent of colonists. In the present instance, they gained
+and maintained a footing in the country without the aid of military
+force, but solely by religious influence. They formed a treaty,
+and entered into the most amicable relations with the natives, then
+numbering from twenty-five to thirty thousand souls, and gained a hold
+upon their affections, and a control over their minds, that effected
+a complete change in their condition. They built eleven missionary
+establishments in the various valleys of the peninsula, which formed
+rallying places for the surrounding savages, where they gathered
+together as sheep into the fold, and surrendered themselves and their
+consciences into the hands of these spiritual pastors. Nothing, we are
+told, could exceed the implicit and affectionate devotion of the Indian
+converts to the Jesuit fathers, and the Catholic faith was disseminated
+widely through the wilderness. The growing power and influence of the
+Jesuits in the New World at length excited the jealousy of the Spanish
+government, and they were banished from the colonies. The governor, who
+arrived at California to expel them, and to take charge of the country,
+expected to find a rich and powerful fraternity, with immense treasures
+hoarded in their missions, and an army of Indians ready to defend them.
+On the contrary, he beheld a few venerable silver-haired priests coming
+humbly forward to meet him, followed by a throng of weeping, but
+submissive natives. The heart of the governor, it is said, was so
+touched by this unexpected sight, that he shed tears; but he had to
+execute his orders. The Jesuits were accompanied to the place of their
+embarkation by their simple and affectionate parishioners, who took
+leave of them with tears and sobs. Many of the latter abandoned their
+hereditary abodes, and wandered off to join their southern brethren,
+so that but a remnant remained in the peninsula. The Franciscans
+immediately succeeded the Jesuits, and subsequently the Dominicans;
+but the latter managed their affairs ill. But two of the missionary
+establishments are at present occupied by priests; the rest are all in
+ruins, excepting one, which remains a monument of the former power and
+prosperity of the order. This is a noble edifice, once the seat of the
+chief of the resident Jesuits. It is situated in a beautiful valley,
+about half way between the Gulf of California and the broad ocean, the
+peninsula being here about sixty miles wide. The edifice is of hewn
+stone, one story high, two hundred and ten feet in front, and about
+fifty-five feet deep. The walls are six feet thick, and sixteen feet
+high, with a vaulted roof of stone, about two feet and a half in
+thickness. It is now abandoned and desolate; the beautiful valley is
+without an inhabitant--not a human being resides within thirty miles of
+the place!
+
+In approaching this deserted mission-house from the south, the traveller
+passes over the mountain of San Juan, supposed to be the highest peak
+in the Californias. From this lofty eminence, a vast and magnificent
+prospect unfolds itself; the great Gulf of California, with the dark
+blue sea beyond, studded with islands; and in another direction, the
+immense lava plain of San Gabriel. The splendor of the climate gives an
+Italian effect to the immense prospect. The sky is of a deep blue color,
+and the sunsets are often magnificent beyond description. Such is a
+slight and imperfect sketch of this remarkable peninsula.
+
+Upper California extends from latitude 31 10’ to 42 on the Pacific, and
+inland, to the great chain of snow-capped mountains which divide it from
+the sand plains of the interior. There are about twenty-one missions in
+this province, most of which were established about fifty years since,
+and are generally under the care of the Franciscans. These exert a
+protecting sway over about thirty-five thousand Indian converts, who
+reside on the lands around the mission houses. Each of these houses has
+fifteen miles square of land allotted to it, subdivided into small lots,
+proportioned to the number of Indian converts attached to the mission.
+Some are enclosed with high walls; but in general they are open hamlets,
+composed of rows of huts, built of sunburnt bricks; in some instances
+whitewashed and roofed with tiles. Many of them are far in the interior,
+beyond the reach of all military protection, and dependent entirely on
+the good will of the natives, which never fails them. They have made
+considerable progress in teaching the Indians the useful arts. There
+are native tanners, shoemakers, weavers, blacksmiths, stonecutters,
+and other artificers attached to each establishment. Others are taught
+husbandry, and the rearing of cattle and horses; while the females card
+and spin wool, weave, and perform the other duties allotted to their
+sex in civilized life. No social intercourse is allowed between the
+unmarried of the opposite sexes after working hours; and at night they
+are locked up in separate apartments, and the keys delivered to the
+priests.
+
+The produce of the lands, and all the profits arising from sales, are
+entirely at the disposal of the priests; whatever is not required for
+the support of the missions, goes to augment a fund which is under
+their control. Hides and tallow constitute the principal riches of the
+missions, and, indeed, the main commerce of the country. Grain might
+be produced to an unlimited extent at the establishments, were there
+a sufficient market for it. Olives and grapes are also reared at the
+missions.
+
+Horses and horned cattle abound throughout all this region; the former
+may be purchased at from three to five dollars, but they are of an
+inferior breed. Mules, which are here of a large size and of valuable
+qualities, cost from seven to ten dollars.
+
+There are several excellent ports along this coast. San Diego, San
+Barbara, Monterey, the bay of San Francisco, and the northern port of
+Bondago; all afford anchorage for ships of the largest class. The port
+of San Francisco is too well known to require much notice in this place.
+The entrance from the sea is sixty-seven fathoms deep, and within, whole
+navies might ride with perfect safety. Two large rivers, which take
+their rise in mountains two or three hundred miles to the east, and run
+through a country unsurpassed for soil and climate, empty themselves
+into the harbor. The country around affords admirable timber for
+ship-building. In a word, this favored port combines advantages which
+not only fit it for a grand naval depot, but almost render it capable of
+being made the dominant military post of these seas.
+
+Such is a feeble outline of the Californian coast and country, the value
+of which is more and more attracting the attention of naval powers. The
+Russians have always a ship of war upon this station, and have already
+encroached upon the Californian boundaries, by taking possession of the
+port of Bondago, and fortifying it with several guns. Recent surveys
+have likewise been made, both by the Russians and the English; and we
+have little doubt, that, at no very distant day, this neglected, and,
+until recently, almost unknown region, will be found to possess sources
+of wealth sufficient to sustain a powerful and prosperous empire. Its
+inhabitants, themselves, are but little aware of its real riches;
+they have not enterprise sufficient to acquaint themselves with a vast
+interior that lies almost a terra incognita; nor have they the skill and
+industry to cultivate properly the fertile tracts along the coast; nor
+to prosecute that foreign commerce which brings all the resources of a
+country into profitable action.
+
+
+
+
+39.
+
+     Gay life at Monterey--Mexican horsemen--A bold dragoon--Use
+     of the lasso--Vaqueros--Noosing a bear--Fight between a bull
+     and a bear--Departure from Monterey--Indian horse stealers--
+     Outrages committed by the travellers--Indignation of Captain
+     Bonneville
+
+THE WANDERING BAND of trappers was well received at Monterey, the
+inhabitants were desirous of retaining them among them, and offered
+extravagant wages to such as were acquainted with any mechanic art. When
+they went into the country, too, they were kindly treated by the priests
+at the missions; who are always hospitable to strangers, whatever may be
+their rank or religion. They had no lack of provisions; being permitted
+to kill as many as they pleased of the vast herds of cattle that graze
+the country, on condition, merely, of rendering the hides to the owners.
+They attended bull-fights and horseraces; forgot all the purposes of
+their expedition; squandered away freely the property that did not
+belong to them; and, in a word, revelled in a perfect fool’s paradise.
+
+What especially delighted them was the equestrian skill of the
+Californians. The vast number and the cheapness of the horses in this
+country makes every one a cavalier. The Mexicans and halfbreeds of
+California spend the greater part of their time in the saddle. They are
+fearless riders; and their daring feats upon unbroken colts and wild
+horses, astonished our trappers; though accustomed to the bold riders of
+the prairies.
+
+A Mexican horseman has much resemblance, in many points, to the
+equestrians of Old Spain; and especially to the vain-glorious caballero
+of Andalusia. A Mexican dragoon, for instance, is represented as arrayed
+in a round blue jacket, with red cuffs and collar; blue velvet breeches,
+unbuttoned at the knees to show his white stockings; bottinas of deer
+skin; a round-crowned Andalusian hat, and his hair cued. On the pommel
+of his saddle, he carries balanced a long musket, with fox skin round
+the lock. He is cased in a cuirass of double-fold deer skin, and carries
+a bull’s hide shield; he is forked in a Moorish saddle, high before
+and behind; his feet are thrust into wooden box stirrups, of Moorish
+fashion, and a tremendous pair of iron spurs, fastened by chains, jingle
+at his heels. Thus equipped, and suitably mounted, he considers himself
+the glory of California, and the terror of the universe.
+
+The Californian horsemen seldom ride out without the laso [sic]; that
+is to say, a long coil of cord, with a slip noose; with which they are
+expert, almost to a miracle. The laso, now almost entirely confined to
+Spanish America, is said to be of great antiquity; and to have come,
+originally, from the East. It was used, we are told, by a pastoral
+people of Persian descent; of whom eight thousand accompanied the
+army of Xerxes. By the Spanish Americans, it is used for a variety of
+purposes; and among others, for hauling wood. Without dismounting,
+they cast the noose around a log, and thus drag it to their houses. The
+vaqueros, or Indian cattle drivers, have also learned the use of the
+laso from the Spaniards; and employ it to catch the half-wild cattle by
+throwing it round their horns.
+
+The laso is also of great use in furnishing the public with a favorite,
+though barbarous sport; the combat between a bear and a wild bull.
+For this purpose, three or four horsemen sally forth to some wood,
+frequented by bears, and, depositing the carcass of a bullock, hide
+themselves in the vicinity. The bears are soon attracted by the bait. As
+soon as one, fit for their purpose, makes his appearance, they run out,
+and with the laso, dexterously noose him by either leg. After
+dragging him at full speed until he is fatigued, they secure him more
+effectually; and tying him on the carcass of the bullock, draw him in
+triumph to the scene of action. By this time, he is exasperated to such
+frenzy, that they are sometimes obliged to throw cold water on him, to
+moderate his fury; and dangerous would it be, for horse and rider, were
+he, while in this paroxysm, to break his bonds.
+
+A wild bull, of the fiercest kind, which has been caught and exasperated
+in the same manner, is now produced; and both animals are turned loose
+in the arena of a small amphitheatre. The mortal fight begins instantly;
+and always, at first, to the disadvantage of Bruin; fatigued, as he is,
+by his previous rough riding. Roused, at length, by the repeated goring
+of the bull, he seizes his muzzle with his sharp claws, and clinging to
+this most sensitive part, causes him to bellow with rage and agony.
+In his heat and fury, the bull lolls out his tongue; this is instantly
+clutched by the bear; with a desperate effort he overturns his huge
+antagonist; and then dispatches him without difficulty.
+
+Beside this diversion, the travellers were likewise regaled with
+bull-fights, in the genuine style of Old Spain; the Californians being
+considered the best bull-fighters in the Mexican dominions.
+
+After a considerable sojourn at Monterey, spent in these very edifying,
+but not very profitable amusements, the leader of this vagabond party
+set out with his comrades, on his return journey. Instead of retracing
+their steps through the mountains, they passed round their southern
+extremity, and, crossing a range of low hills, found themselves in the
+sandy plains south of Ogden’s River; in traversing which, they again
+suffered, grievously, for want of water.
+
+In the course of their journey, they encountered a party of Mexicans in
+pursuit of a gang of natives, who had been stealing horses. The savages
+of this part of California are represented as extremely poor, and
+armed only with stone-pointed arrows; it being the wise policy of the
+Spaniards not to furnish them with firearms. As they find it difficult,
+with their blunt shafts, to kill the wild game of the mountains, they
+occasionally supply themselves with food, by entrapping the Spanish
+horses. Driving them stealthily into fastnesses and ravines, they
+slaughter them without difficulty, and dry their flesh for provisions.
+Some they carry off to trade with distant tribes; and in this way, the
+Spanish horses pass from hand to hand among the Indians, until they even
+find their way across the Rocky Mountains.
+
+The Mexicans are continually on the alert, to intercept these marauders;
+but the Indians are apt to outwit them, and force them to make long and
+wild expeditions in pursuit of their stolen horses.
+
+Two of the Mexican party just mentioned joined the band of trappers,
+and proved themselves worthy companions. In the course of their journey
+through the country frequented by the poor Root Diggers, there seems to
+have been an emulation between them, which could inflict the greatest
+outrages upon the natives. The trappers still considered them in the
+light of dangerous foes; and the Mexicans, very probably, charged them
+with the sin of horse-stealing; we have no other mode of accounting for
+the infamous barbarities of which, according to their own story, they
+were guilty; hunting the poor Indians like wild beasts, and killing them
+without mercy. The Mexicans excelled at this savage sport; chasing their
+unfortunate victims at full speed; noosing them round the neck with
+their lasos, and then dragging them to death!
+
+Such are the scanty details of this most disgraceful expedition; at
+least, such are all that Captain Bonneville had the patience to collect;
+for he was so deeply grieved by the failure of his plans, and so
+indignant at the atrocities related to him, that he turned, with disgust
+and horror, from the narrators. Had he exerted a little of the Lynch
+law of the wilderness, and hanged those dexterous horsemen in their
+own lasos, it would but have been a well-merited and salutary act of
+retributive justice. The failure of this expedition was a blow to his
+pride, and a still greater blow to his purse. The Great Salt Lake
+still remained unexplored; at the same time, the means which had been
+furnished so liberally to fit out this favorite expedition, had all been
+squandered at Monterey; and the peltries, also, which had been collected
+on the way. He would have but scanty returns, therefore, to make this
+year, to his associates in the United States; and there was great danger
+of their becoming disheartened, and abandoning the enterprise.
+
+
+
+
+40.
+
+     Traveller’s tales--Indian lurkers--Prognostics of Buckeye
+     Signs and portents--The medicine wolf--An alarm--An ambush
+     The captured provant--Triumph of Buckeye--Arrival of
+     supplies Grand carouse--Arrangements for the year--Mr. Wyeth
+     and his new-levied band.
+
+THE horror and indignation felt by Captain Bonneville at the excesses
+of the Californian adventurers were not participated by his men; on
+the contrary, the events of that expedition were favorite themes in the
+camp. The heroes of Monterey bore the palm in all the gossipings among
+the hunters. Their glowing descriptions of Spanish bear-baits and
+bull-fights especially, were listened to with intense delight; and had
+another expedition to California been proposed, the difficulty would
+have been to restrain a general eagerness to volunteer.
+
+The captain had not long been at the rendezvous when he perceived, by
+various signs, that Indians were lurking in the neighborhood. It was
+evident that the Blackfoot band, which he had seen when on his march,
+had dogged his party, and were intent on mischief. He endeavored to keep
+his camp on the alert; but it is as difficult to maintain discipline
+among trappers at a rendezvous as among sailors when in port.
+
+Buckeye, the Delaware Indian, was scandalized at this heedlessness of
+the hunters when an enemy was at hand, and was continually preaching up
+caution. He was a little prone to play the prophet, and to deal in signs
+and portents, which occasionally excited the merriment of his white
+comrades. He was a great dreamer, and believed in charms and talismans,
+or medicines, and could foretell the approach of strangers by the
+howling or barking of the small prairie wolf. This animal, being driven
+by the larger wolves from the carcasses left on the hunting grounds by
+the hunters, follows the trail of the fresh meat carried to the camp.
+Here the smell of the roast and broiled, mingling with every breeze,
+keeps them hovering about the neighborhood; scenting every blast,
+turning up their noses like hungry hounds, and testifying their
+pinching hunger by long whining howls and impatient barkings. These are
+interpreted by the superstitious Indians into warnings that strangers
+are at hand; and one accidental coincidence, like the chance fulfillment
+of an almanac prediction, is sufficient to cover a thousand failures.
+This little, whining, feast-smelling animal is, therefore, called among
+Indians the “medicine wolf;” and such was one of Buckeye’s infallible
+oracles.
+
+One morning early, the soothsaying Delaware appeared with a gloomy
+countenance. His mind was full of dismal presentiments, whether from
+mysterious dreams, or the intimations of the medicine wolf, does not
+appear. “Danger,” he said, “was lurking in their path, and there would
+be some fighting before sunset.” He was bantered for his prophecy, which
+was attributed to his having supped too heartily, and been visited by
+bad dreams. In the course of the morning a party of hunters set out in
+pursuit of buffaloes, taking with them a mule, to bring home the meat
+they should procure. They had been some few hours absent, when they came
+clattering at full speed into camp, giving the war cry of Blackfeet!
+Blackfeet! Every one seized his weapon and ran to learn the cause of the
+alarm. It appeared that the hunters, as they were returning leisurely,
+leading their mule well laden with prime pieces of buffalo meat, passed
+close by a small stream overhung with trees, about two miles from
+the camp. Suddenly a party of Blackfeet, who lay in ambush along the
+thickets, sprang up with a fearful yell, and discharged a volley at the
+hunters. The latter immediately threw themselves flat on their horses,
+put them to their speed, and never paused to look behind, until they
+found themselves in camp. Fortunately they had escaped without a wound;
+but the mule, with all the “provant,” had fallen into the hands of the
+enemy This was a loss, as well as an insult, not to be borne. Every
+man sprang to horse, and with rifle in hand, galloped off to punish
+the Blackfeet, and rescue the buffalo beef. They came too late; the
+marauders were off, and all that they found of their mule was the dents
+of his hoofs, as he had been conveyed off at a round trot, bearing his
+savory cargo to the hills, to furnish the scampering savages with a
+banquet of roast meat at the expense of the white men.
+
+The party returned to camp, balked of their revenge, but still more
+grievously balked of their supper. Buckeye, the Delaware, sat smoking by
+his fire, perfectly composed. As the hunters related the particulars
+of the attack, he listened in silence, with unruffled countenance, then
+pointing to the west, “the sun has not yet set,” said he: “Buckeye did
+not dream like a fool!”
+
+All present now recollected the prediction of the Indian at daybreak,
+and were struck with what appeared to be its fulfilment. They called to
+mind, also, a long catalogue of foregone presentiments and predictions
+made at various times by the Delaware, and, in their superstitious
+credulity, began to consider him a veritable seer; without thinking how
+natural it was to predict danger, and how likely to have the prediction
+verified in the present instance, when various signs gave evidence of a
+lurking foe.
+
+The various bands of Captain Bonneville’s company had now been assembled
+for some time at the rendezvous; they had had their fill of feasting,
+and frolicking, and all the species of wild and often uncouth
+merrymaking, which invariably take place on these occasions. Their
+horses, as well as themselves, had recovered from past famine and
+fatigue, and were again fit for active service; and an impatience began
+to manifest itself among the men once more to take the field, and set
+off on some wandering expedition.
+
+At this juncture M. Cerre arrived at the rendezvous at the head of a
+supply party, bringing goods and equipments from the States. This active
+leader, it will be recollected, had embarked the year previously in
+skin-boats on the Bighorn, freighted with the year’s collection of
+peltries. He had met with misfortune in the course of his voyage: one of
+his frail barks being upset, and part of the furs lost or damaged.
+
+The arrival of the supplies gave the regular finish to the annual
+revel. A grand outbreak of wild debauch ensued among the mountaineers;
+drinking, dancing, swaggering, gambling, quarrelling, and fighting.
+Alcohol, which, from its portable qualities, containing the greatest
+quantity of fiery spirit in the smallest compass, is the only liquor
+carried across the mountains, is the inflammatory beverage at these
+carousals, and is dealt out to the trappers at four dollars a pint. When
+inflamed by this fiery beverage, they cut all kinds of mad pranks
+and gambols, and sometimes burn all their clothes in their drunken
+bravadoes. A camp, recovering from one of these riotous revels, presents
+a seriocomic spectacle; black eyes, broken heads, lack-lustre visages.
+Many of the trappers have squandered in one drunken frolic the
+hard-earned wages of a year; some have run in debt, and must toil on to
+pay for past pleasure. All are sated with this deep draught of pleasure,
+and eager to commence another trapping campaign; for hardship and hard
+work, spiced with the stimulants of wild adventures, and topped off with
+an annual frantic carousal, is the lot of the restless trapper.
+
+The captain now made his arrangements for the current year. Cerre and
+Walker, with a number of men who had been to California, were to proceed
+to St. Louis with the packages of furs collected during the past year.
+Another party, headed by a leader named Montero, was to proceed to the
+Crow country, trap upon its various streams, and among the Black Hills,
+and thence to proceed to the Arkansas, where he was to go into winter
+quarters.
+
+The captain marked out for himself a widely different course. He
+intended to make another expedition, with twenty-three men to the
+lower part of the Columbia River, and to proceed to the valley of the
+Multnomah; after wintering in those parts, and establishing a trade with
+those tribes, among whom he had sojourned on his first visit, he would
+return in the spring, cross the Rocky Mountains, and join Montero and
+his party in the month of July, at the rendezvous of the Arkansas; where
+he expected to receive his annual supplies from the States.
+
+If the reader will cast his eye upon a map, he may form an idea of the
+contempt for distance which a man acquires in this vast wilderness, by
+noticing the extent of country comprised in these projected wanderings.
+Just as the different parties were about to set out on the 3d of July,
+on their opposite routes, Captain Bonneville received intelligence that
+Wyeth, the indefatigable leader of the salmon-fishing enterprise, who
+had parted with him about a year previously on the banks of the Bighorn,
+to descend that wild river in a bull boat, was near at hand, with a new
+levied band of hunters and trappers, and was on his way once more to the
+banks of the Columbia.
+
+As we take much interest in the novel enterprise of this “eastern man,”
+ and are pleased with his pushing and persevering spirit; and as his
+movements are characteristic of life in the wilderness, we will, with
+the reader’s permission, while Captain Bonneville is breaking up his
+camp and saddling his horses, step back a year in time, and a few
+hundred miles in distance to the bank of the Bighorn, and launch
+ourselves with Wyeth in his bull boat; and though his adventurous voyage
+will take us many hundreds of miles further down wild and wandering
+rivers; yet such is the magic power of the pen, that we promise to bring
+the reader safe to Bear River Valley, by the time the last horse is
+saddled.
+
+
+
+
+41.
+
+     A voyage in a bull boat.
+
+IT was about the middle of August (1833) that Mr. Nathaniel J. Wyeth,
+as the reader may recollect, launched his bull boat at the foot of
+the rapids of the Bighorn, and departed in advance of the parties of
+Campbell and Captain Bonneville. His boat was made of three buffalo
+skins, stretched on a light frame, stitched together, and the seams paid
+with elk tallow and ashes. It was eighteen feet long, and about five
+feet six inches wide, sharp at each end, with a round bottom, and drew
+about a foot and a half of water-a depth too great for these upper
+rivers, which abound with shallows and sand-bars. The crew consisted of
+two half-breeds, who claimed to be white men, though a mixture of the
+French creole and the Shawnee and Potawattomie. They claimed, moreover,
+to be thorough mountaineers, and first-rate hunters--the common boast of
+these vagabonds of the wilderness. Besides these, there was a Nez Perce
+lad of eighteen years of age, a kind of servant of all work, whose great
+aim, like all Indian servants, was to do as little work as possible;
+there was, moreover, a half-breed boy, of thirteen, named Baptiste, son
+of a Hudson’s Bay trader by a Flathead beauty; who was travelling with
+Wyeth to see the world and complete his education. Add to these, Mr.
+Milton Sublette, who went as passenger, and we have the crew of the
+little bull boat complete.
+
+It certainly was a slight armament with which to run the gauntlet
+through countries swarming with hostile hordes, and a slight bark to
+navigate these endless rivers, tossing and pitching down rapids, running
+on snags and bumping on sand-bars; such, however, are the cockle-shells
+with which these hardy rovers of the wilderness will attempt the wildest
+streams; and it is surprising what rough shocks and thumps these
+boats will endure, and what vicissitudes they will live through. Their
+duration, however, is but limited; they require frequently to be
+hauled out of the water and dried, to prevent the hides from becoming
+water-soaked; and they eventually rot and go to pieces.
+
+The course of the river was a little to the north of east; it ran about
+five miles an hour, over a gravelly bottom. The banks were generally
+alluvial, and thickly grown with cottonwood trees, intermingled
+occasionally with ash and plum trees. Now and then limestone cliffs
+and promontories advanced upon the river, making picturesque headlands.
+Beyond the woody borders rose ranges of naked hills.
+
+Milton Sublette was the Pelorus of this adventurous bark; being somewhat
+experienced in this wild kind of navigation. It required all his
+attention and skill, however, to pilot her clear of sand-bars and snags
+of sunken trees. There was often, too, a perplexity of choice, where
+the river branched into various channels, among clusters of islands; and
+occasionally the voyagers found themselves aground and had to turn back.
+
+It was necessary, also, to keep a wary eye upon the land, for they were
+passing through the heart of the Crow country, and were continually in
+reach of any ambush that might be lurking on shore. The most formidable
+foes that they saw, however, were three grizzly bears, quietly
+promenading along the bank, who seemed to gaze at them with surprise as
+they glided by. Herds of buffalo, also, were moving about, or lying
+on the ground, like cattle in a pasture; excepting such inhabitants as
+these, a perfect solitude reigned over the land. There was no sign
+of human habitation; for the Crows, as we have already shown, are a
+wandering people, a race of hunters and warriors, who live in tents and
+on horseback, and are continually on the move. At night they landed,
+hauled up their boat to dry, pitched their tent, and made a rousing
+fire. Then, as it was the first evening of their voyage, they indulged
+in a regale, relishing their buffalo beef with inspiring alcohol; after
+which, they slept soundly, without dreaming of Crows or Blackfeet. Early
+in the morning, they again launched the boat and committed themselves to
+the stream.
+
+In this way they voyaged for two days without any material occurrence,
+excepting a severe thunder storm, which compelled them to put to shore,
+and wait until it was passed. On the third morning they descried
+some persons at a distance on the river bank. As they were now, by
+calculation, at no great distance from Fort Cass, a trading post of the
+American Fur Company, they supposed these might be some of its people. A
+nearer approach showed them to be Indians. Descrying a woman apart from
+the rest, they landed and accosted her. She informed them that the main
+force of the Crow nation, consisting of five bands, under their several
+chiefs, were but about two or three miles below, on their way up along
+the river. This was unpleasant tidings, but to retreat was impossible,
+and the river afforded no hiding place. They continued forward,
+therefore, trusting that, as Fort Cass was so near at hand, the Crows
+might refrain from any depredations.
+
+Floating down about two miles further, they came in sight of the first
+band, scattered along the river bank, all well mounted; some armed with
+guns, others with bows and arrows, and a few with lances. They made
+a wildly picturesque appearance managing their horses with their
+accustomed dexterity and grace. Nothing can be more spirited than a band
+of Crow cavaliers. They are a fine race of men averaging six feet in
+height, lithe and active, with hawks’ eyes and Roman noses. The
+latter feature is common to the Indians on the east side of the Rocky
+Mountains; those on the western side have generally straight or flat
+noses.
+
+Wyeth would fain have slipped by this cavalcade unnoticed; but the
+river, at this place, was not more than ninety yards across; he was
+perceived, therefore, and hailed by the vagabond warriors, and,
+we presume, in no very choice language; for, among their other
+accomplishments, the Crows are famed for possessing a Billingsgate
+vocabulary of unrivalled opulence, and for being by no means sparing
+of it whenever an occasion offers. Indeed, though Indians are generally
+very lofty, rhetorical, and figurative in their language at all great
+talks, and high ceremonials, yet, if trappers and traders may be
+believed, they are the most unsavory vagabonds in their ordinary
+colloquies; they make no hesitation to call a spade a spade; and when
+they once undertake to call hard names, the famous pot and kettle, of
+vituperating memory, are not to be compared with them for scurrility of
+epithet.
+
+To escape the infliction of any compliments of this kind, or the
+launching, peradventure, of more dangerous missiles, Wyeth landed with
+the best grace in his power and approached the chief of the band. It was
+Arapooish, the quondam friend of Rose the outlaw, and one whom we have
+already mentioned as being anxious to promote a friendly intercourse
+between his tribe and the white men. He was a tall, stout man, of good
+presence, and received the voyagers very graciously. His people, too,
+thronged around them, and were officiously attentive after the Crow
+fashion. One took a great fancy to Baptiste the Flathead boy, and a
+still greater fancy to a ring on his finger, which he transposed to his
+own with surprising dexterity, and then disappeared with a quick step
+among the crowd.
+
+Another was no less pleased with the Nez Perce lad, and nothing would do
+but he must exchange knives with him; drawing a new knife out of the Nez
+Perce’s scabbard, and putting an old one in its place. Another stepped
+up and replaced this old knife with one still older, and a third helped
+himself to knife, scabbard and all. It was with much difficulty that
+Wyeth and his companions extricated themselves from the clutches of
+these officious Crows before they were entirely plucked.
+
+Falling down the river a little further, they came in sight of the
+second band, and sheered to the opposite side, with the intention of
+passing them. The Crows were not to be evaded. Some pointed their guns
+at the boat, and threatened to fire; others stripped, plunged into the
+stream, and came swimming across. Making a virtue of necessity, Wyeth
+threw a cord to the first that came within reach, as if he wished to be
+drawn to the shore.
+
+In this way he was overhauled by every band, and by the time he and his
+people came out of the busy hands of the last, they were eased of most
+of their superfluities. Nothing, in all probability, but the proximity
+of the American trading post, kept these land pirates from making a good
+prize of the bull boat and all its contents.
+
+These bands were in full march, equipped for war, and evidently full of
+mischief. They were, in fact, the very bands that overran the land in
+the autumn of 1833; partly robbed Fitzpatrick of his horses and effects;
+hunted and harassed Captain Bonneville and his people; broke up their
+trapping campaigns, and, in a word, drove them all out of the Crow
+country. It has been suspected that they were set on to these pranks by
+some of the American Fur Company, anxious to defeat the plans of
+their rivals of the Rocky Mountain Company; for at this time, their
+competition was at its height, and the trade of the Crow country was a
+great object of rivalry. What makes this the more probable, is, that the
+Crows in their depredation seemed by no means bloodthirsty, but intent
+chiefly on robbing the parties of their traps and horses, thereby
+disabling them from prosecuting their hunting.
+
+We should observe that this year, the Rocky Mountain Company were
+pushing their way up the rivers, and establishing rival posts near those
+of the American Company; and that, at the very time of which we are
+speaking, Captain Sublette was ascending the Yellowstone with a keel
+boat, laden with supplies; so that there was every prospect of this
+eager rivalship being carried to extremes.
+
+The last band of Crow warriors had scarcely disappeared in the clouds
+of dust they had raised, when our voyagers arrived at the mouth of the
+river and glided into the current of the Yellowstone. Turning down this
+stream, they made for Fort Cass, which is situated on the right bank,
+about three miles below the Bighorn. On the opposite side they beheld
+a party of thirty-one savages, which they soon ascertained to be
+Blackfeet. The width of the river enabled them to keep at a sufficient
+distance, and they soon landed at Fort Cass. This was a mere
+fortification against Indians; being a stockade of about one hundred and
+thirty feet square, with two bastions at the extreme corners. M’Tulloch,
+an agent of the American Company, was stationed there with twenty men;
+two boats of fifteen tons burden were lying here; but at certain seasons
+of the year a steamboat can come up to the fort.
+
+They had scarcely arrived, when the Blackfeet warriors made their
+appearance on the opposite bank, displaying two American flags in token
+of amity. They plunged into the river, swam across, and were kindly
+received at the fort. They were some of the very men who had been
+engaged, the year previously, in the battle at Pierre’s Hole, and a
+fierce-looking set of fellows they were; tall and hawk-nosed, and very
+much resembling the Crows. They professed to be on an amicable errand,
+to make peace with the Crows, and set off in all haste, before night, to
+overtake them. Wyeth predicted that they would lose their scalps; for he
+had heard the Crows denounce vengeance on them, for having murdered two
+of their warriors who had ventured among them on the faith of a treaty
+of peace. It is probable, however, that this pacific errand was all a
+pretence, and that the real object of the Blackfeet braves was to hang
+about the skirts of the Crow band, steal their horses, and take the
+scalps of stragglers.
+
+At Fort Cass, Mr. Wyeth disposed of some packages of beaver, and a
+quantity of buffalo robes. On the following morning (August 18th), he
+once more launched his bull boat, and proceeded down the Yellowstone,
+which inclined in an east-northeast direction. The river had alluvial
+bottoms, fringed with great quantities of the sweet cotton-wood,
+and interrupted occasionally by “bluffs” of sandstone. The current
+occasionally brings down fragments of granite and porphyry.
+
+In the course of the day, they saw something moving on the bank among
+the trees, which they mistook for game of some kind; and, being in want
+of provisions, pulled toward shore. They discovered, just in time,
+a party of Blackfeet, lurking in the thickets, and sheered, with all
+speed, to the opposite side of the river.
+
+After a time, they came in sight of a gang of elk. Wyeth was
+immediately for pursuing them, rifle in hand, but saw evident signs
+of dissatisfaction in his half-breed hunters; who considered him as
+trenching upon their province, and meddling with things quite above
+his capacity; for these veterans of the wilderness are exceedingly
+pragmatical, on points of venery and woodcraft, and tenacious of their
+superiority; looking down with infinite contempt upon all raw beginners.
+The two worthies, therefore, sallied forth themselves, but after a time
+returned empty-handed. They laid the blame, however, entirely on their
+guns; two miserable old pieces with flint locks, which, with all their
+picking and hammering, were continually apt to miss fire. These great
+boasters of the wilderness, however, are very often exceeding bad shots,
+and fortunate it is for them when they have old flint guns to bear the
+blame.
+
+The next day they passed where a great herd of buffalo was bellowing on
+a prairie. Again the Castor and Pollux of the wilderness sallied forth,
+and again their flint guns were at fault, and missed fire, and nothing
+went off but the buffalo. Wyeth now found there was danger of losing
+his dinner if he depended upon his hunters; he took rifle in hand,
+therefore, and went forth himself. In the course of an hour he returned
+laden with buffalo meat, to the great mortification of the two regular
+hunters, who were annoyed at being eclipsed by a greenhorn.
+
+All hands now set to work to prepare the midday repast. A fire was made
+under an immense cotton-wood tree, that overshadowed a beautiful piece
+of meadow land; rich morsels of buffalo hump were soon roasting before
+it; in a hearty and prolonged repast, the two unsuccessful hunters
+gradually recovered from their mortification; threatened to discard
+their old flint guns as soon as they should reach the settlements, and
+boasted more than ever of the wonderful shots they had made, when they
+had guns that never missed fire.
+
+Having hauled up their boat to dry in the sun, previous to making their
+repast, the voyagers now set it once more afloat, and proceeded on
+their way. They had constructed a sail out of their old tent, which they
+hoisted whenever the wind was favorable, and thus skimmed along down the
+stream. Their voyage was pleasant, notwithstanding the perils by sea and
+land, with which they were environed. Whenever they could they encamped
+on islands for the greater security. If on the mainland, and in a
+dangerous neighborhood, they would shift their camp after dark, leaving
+their fire burning, dropping down the river some distance, and making
+no fire at their second encampment. Sometimes they would float all night
+with the current; one keeping watch and steering while the rest slept.
+in such case, they would haul their boat on shore, at noon of the
+following day to dry; for notwithstanding every precaution, she was
+gradually getting water-soaked and rotten.
+
+There was something pleasingly solemn and mysterious in thus floating
+down these wild rivers at night. The purity of the atmosphere in these
+elevated regions gave additional splendor to the stars, and heightened
+the magnificence of the firmament. The occasional rush and laving of
+the waters; the vague sounds from the surrounding wilderness; the dreary
+howl, or rather whine of wolves from the plains; the low grunting and
+bellowing of the buffalo, and the shrill neighing of the elk, struck the
+ear with an effect unknown in the daytime.
+
+The two knowing hunters had scarcely recovered from one mortification
+when they were fated to experience another. As the boat was gliding
+swiftly round a low promontory, thinly covered with trees, one of them
+gave the alarm of Indians. The boat was instantly shoved from shore and
+every one caught up his rifle. “Where are they?” cried Wyeth.
+
+“There--there! riding on horseback!” cried one of the hunters.
+
+“Yes; with white scarfs on!” cried the other.
+
+Wyeth looked in the direction they pointed, but descried nothing but
+two bald eagles, perched on a low dry branch beyond the thickets, and
+seeming, from the rapid motion of the boat, to be moving swiftly in an
+opposite direction. The detection of this blunder in the two veterans,
+who prided themselves on the sureness and quickness of their sight,
+produced a hearty laugh at their expense, and put an end to their
+vauntings.
+
+The Yellowstone, above the confluence of the Bighorn, is a clear stream;
+its waters were now gradually growing turbid, and assuming the yellow
+clay color of the Missouri. The current was about four miles an hour,
+with occasional rapids; some of them dangerous, but the voyagers passed
+them all without accident. The banks of the river were in many places
+precipitous with strata of bituminous coal. They now entered a region
+abounding with buffalo--that ever-journeying animal, which moves in
+countless droves from point to point of the vast wilderness; traversing
+plains, pouring through the intricate defiles of mountains, swimming
+rivers, ever on the move, guided on its boundless migrations by some
+traditionary knowledge, like the finny tribes of the ocean, which, at
+certain seasons, find their mysterious paths across the deep and revisit
+the remotest shores.
+
+These great migratory herds of buffalo have their hereditary paths
+and highways, worn deep through the country, and making for the surest
+passes of the mountains, and the most practicable fords of the rivers.
+When once a great column is in full career, it goes straight forward,
+regardless of all obstacles; those in front being impelled by the moving
+mass behind. At such times they will break through a camp, trampling
+down everything in their course.
+
+It was the lot of the voyagers, one night, to encamp at one of these
+buffalo landing places, and exactly on the trail. They had not been long
+asleep, when they were awakened by a great bellowing, and tramping, and
+the rush, and splash, and snorting of animals in the river. They had
+just time to ascertain that a buffalo army was entering the river on the
+opposite side, and making toward the landing place. With all haste they
+moved their boat and shifted their camp, by which time the head of the
+column had reached the shore, and came pressing up the bank.
+
+It was a singular spectacle, by the uncertain moonlight, to behold
+this countless throng making their way across the river, blowing,
+and bellowing, and splashing. Sometimes they pass in such dense and
+continuous column as to form a temporary dam across the river, the
+waters of which rise and rush over their backs, or between their
+squadrons. The roaring and rushing sound of one of these vast herds
+crossing a river, may sometimes in a still night be heard for miles.
+
+The voyagers now had game in profusion. They could kill as many
+buffaloes as they pleased, and, occasionally, were wanton in their
+havoc; especially among scattered herds, that came swimming near the
+boat. On one occasion, an old buffalo bull approached so near that the
+half-breeds must fain try to noose him as they would a wild horse. The
+noose was successfully thrown around his head, and secured him by the
+horns, and they now promised themselves ample sport. The buffalo
+made prodigious turmoil in the water, bellowing, and blowing, and
+floundering; and they all floated down the stream together. At length he
+found foothold on a sandbar, and taking to his heels, whirled the boat
+after him like a whale when harpooned; so that the hunters were obliged
+to cast off their rope, with which strange head-gear the venerable bull
+made off to the prairies.
+
+On the 24th of August, the bull boat emerged, with its adventurous crew,
+into the broad bosom of the mighty Missouri. Here, about six miles above
+the mouth of the Yellowstone, the voyagers landed at Fort Union, the
+distributing post of the American Fur Company in the western country.
+It was a stockaded fortress, about two hundred and twenty feet
+square, pleasantly situated on a high bank. Here they were hospitably
+entertained by Mr. M’Kenzie, the superintendent, and remained with him
+three days, enjoying the unusual luxuries of bread, butter, milk, and
+cheese, for the fort was well supplied with domestic cattle, though it
+had no garden. The atmosphere of these elevated regions is said to be
+too dry for the culture of vegetables; yet the voyagers, in coming down
+the Yellowstone, had met with plums, grapes, cherries, and currants, and
+had observed ash and elm trees. Where these grow the climate cannot be
+incompatible with gardening.
+
+At Fort Union, Wyeth met with a melancholy memento of one of his men.
+This was a powder-flask, which a clerk had purchased from a Blackfoot
+warrior. It bore the initials of poor More, the unfortunate youth
+murdered the year previously, at Jackson’s Hole, by the Blackfeet, and
+whose bones had been subsequently found by Captain Bonneville. This
+flask had either been passed from hand to hand of the youth, or,
+perhaps, had been brought to the fort by the very savage who slew him.
+
+As the bull boat was now nearly worn out, and altogether unfit for the
+broader and more turbulent stream of the Missouri, it was given up,
+and a canoe of cottonwood, about twenty feet long, fabricated by the
+Blackfeet, was purchased to supply its place. In this Wyeth hoisted his
+sail, and bidding adieu to the hospitable superintendent of Fort Union,
+turned his prow to the east, and set off down the Missouri.
+
+He had not proceeded many hours, before, in the evening, he came to a
+large keel boat at anchor. It proved to be the boat of Captain William
+Sublette, freighted with munitions for carrying on a powerful opposition
+to the American Fur Company. The voyagers went on board, where they
+were treated with the hearty hospitality of the wilderness, and passed a
+social evening, talking over past scenes and adventures, and especially
+the memorable fight at Pierre’s Hole.
+
+Here Milton Sublette determined to give up further voyaging in the
+canoe, and remain with his brother; accordingly, in the morning, the
+fellow-voyagers took kind leave of each other and Wyeth continued on
+his course. There was now no one on board of his boat that had ever
+voyaged on the Missouri; it was, however, all plain sailing down the
+stream, without any chance of missing the way.
+
+All day the voyagers pulled gently along, and landed in the evening and
+supped; then re-embarking, they suffered the canoe to float down with
+the current; taking turns to watch and sleep. The night was calm and
+serene; the elk kept up a continual whinnying or squealing, being the
+commencement of the season when they are in heat. In the midst of the
+night the canoe struck on a sand-bar, and all hands were roused by the
+rush and roar of the wild waters, which broke around her. They were
+all obliged to jump overboard, and work hard to get her off, which was
+accomplished with much difficulty.
+
+In the course of the following day they saw three grizzly bears at
+different times along the bank. The last one was on a point of land, and
+was evidently making for the river, to swim across. The two half-breed
+hunters were now eager to repeat the manoeuvre of the noose; promising
+to entrap Bruin, and have rare sport in strangling and drowning him.
+Their only fear was, that he might take fright and return to land before
+they could get between him and the shore. Holding back, therefore, until
+he was fairly committed in the centre of the stream, they then pulled
+forward with might and main, so as to cut off his retreat, and take him
+in the rear. One of the worthies stationed himself in the bow, with the
+cord and slip-noose, the other, with the Nez Perce, managed the paddles.
+There was nothing further from the thoughts of honest Bruin, however,
+than to beat a retreat. Just as the canoe was drawing near, he turned
+suddenly round and made for it, with a horrible snarl and a tremendous
+show of teeth. The affrighted hunter called to his comrades to paddle
+off. Scarce had they turned the boat when the bear laid his enormous
+claws on the gunwale, and attempted to get on board. The canoe was
+nearly overturned, and a deluge of water came pouring over the gunwale.
+All was clamor, terror, and confusion. Every one bawled out--the bear
+roared and snarled--one caught up a gun; but water had rendered it
+useless. Others handled their paddles more effectually, and beating old
+Bruin about the head and claws, obliged him to relinquish his hold. They
+now plied their paddles with might and main, the bear made the best
+of his way to shore, and so ended the second exploit of the noose; the
+hunters determined to have no more naval contests with grizzly bears.
+
+The voyagers were now out of range of Crows and Black-feet; but they
+were approaching the country of the Rees, or Arickaras; a tribe no less
+dangerous; and who were, generally, hostile to small parties.
+
+In passing through their country, Wyeth laid by all day, and drifted
+quietly down the river at night. In this way he passed on, until he
+supposed himself safely through the region of danger; when he resumed
+his voyage in the open day. On the 3d of September he had landed, at
+midday, to dine; and while some were making a fire, one of the hunters
+mounted a high bank to look out for game. He had scarce glanced his
+eye round, when he perceived horses grazing on the opposite side of the
+river. Crouching down he slunk back to the camp, and reported what he
+had seen. On further reconnoitering, the voyagers counted twenty-one
+lodges; and from the number of horses, computed that there must be
+nearly a hundred Indians encamped there. They now drew their boat, with
+all speed and caution, into a thicket of water willows, and remained
+closely concealed all day. As soon as the night closed in they
+re-embarked. The moon would rise early; so that they had but about two
+hours of darkness to get past the camp. The night, however, was cloudy,
+with a blustering wind. Silently, and with muffled oars, they glided
+down the river, keeping close under the shore opposite to the camp;
+watching its various lodges and fires, and the dark forms passing to
+and fro between them. Suddenly, on turning a point of land, they found
+themselves close upon a camp on their own side of the river. It appeared
+that not more than one half of the band had crossed. They were within a
+few yards of the shore; they saw distinctly the savages--some standing,
+some lying round the fire. Horses were grazing around. Some lodges were
+set up, others had been sent across the river. The red glare of the
+fires upon these wild groups and harsh faces, contrasted with the
+surrounding darkness, had a startling effect, as the voyagers suddenly
+came upon the scene. The dogs of the camp perceived them, and barked;
+but the Indians fortunately, took no heed of their clamor. Wyeth
+instantly sheered his boat out into the stream; when, unluckily it
+struck upon a sand-bar, and stuck fast. It was a perilous and trying
+situation; for he was fixed between the two camps, and within rifle
+range of both. All hands jumped out into the water, and tried to get
+the boat off; but as no one dared to give the word, they could not pull
+together, and their labor was in vain. In this way they labored for a
+long time; until Wyeth thought of giving a signal for a general heave,
+by lifting his hat. The expedient succeeded. They launched their canoe
+again into deep water, and getting in, had the delight of seeing the
+camp fires of the savages soon fading in the distance.
+
+They continued under way the greater part of the night, until far beyond
+all danger from this band, when they pulled to shore, and encamped.
+
+The following day was windy, and they came near upsetting their boat in
+carrying sail. Toward evening, the wind subsided and a beautiful calm
+night succeeded. They floated along with the current throughout the
+night, taking turns to watch and steer. The deep stillness of the night
+was occasionally interrupted by the neighing of the elk, the hoarse
+lowing of the buffalo, the hooting of large owls, and the screeching
+of the small ones, now and then the splash of a beaver, or the gonglike
+sound of the swan.
+
+Part of their voyage was extremely tempestuous; with high winds,
+tremendous thunder, and soaking rain; and they were repeatedly in
+extreme danger from drift-wood and sunken trees. On one occasion, having
+continued to float at night, after the moon was down, they ran under
+a great snag, or sunken tree, with dry branches above the water. These
+caught the mast, while the boat swung round, broadside to the stream,
+and began to fill with water. Nothing saved her from total wreck, but
+cutting away the mast. She then drove down the stream, but left one of
+the unlucky half-breeds clinging to the snag, like a monkey to a pole.
+It was necessary to run in shore, toil up, laboriously, along the eddies
+and to attain some distance above the snag, when they launched forth
+again into the stream and floated down with it to his rescue.
+
+We forbear to detail all the circumstances and adventures of upward of
+a months voyage, down the windings and doublings of this vast river; in
+the course of which they stopped occasionally at a post of one of the
+rival fur companies, or at a government agency for an Indian tribe.
+Neither shall we dwell upon the changes of climate and productions, as
+the voyagers swept down from north to south, across several degrees of
+latitude; arriving at the regions of oaks and sycamores; of mulberry
+and basswood trees; of paroquets and wild turkeys. This is one of the
+characteristics of the middle and lower part of the Missouri; but still
+more so of the Mississippi, whose rapid current traverses a succession
+of latitudes so as in a few days to float the voyager almost from the
+frozen regions to the tropics.
+
+The voyage of Wyeth shows the regular and unobstructed flow of the
+rivers, on the east side of the Rocky Mountains, in contrast to those of
+the western side; where rocks and rapids continually menace and obstruct
+the voyager. We find him in a frail bark of skins, launching himself
+in a stream at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and floating down from
+river to river, as they empty themselves into each other; and so he
+might have kept on upward of two thousand miles, until his little
+bark should drift into the ocean. At present we shall stop with him at
+Cantonment Leavenworth, the frontier post of the United States; where he
+arrived on the 27th of September.
+
+Here his first care was to have his Nez Perce Indian, and his half-breed
+boy, Baptiste, vaccinated. As they approached the fort, they were
+hailed by the sentinel. The sight of a soldier in full array, with what
+appeared to be a long knife glittering on the end of a musket, struck
+Baptiste with such affright that he took to his heels, bawling for mercy
+at the top of his voice. The Nez Perce would have followed him, had not
+Wyeth assured him of his safety. When they underwent the operation
+of the lancet, the doctor’s wife and another lady were present; both
+beautiful women. They were the first white women that they had seen, and
+they could not keep their eyes off of them. On returning to the boat,
+they recounted to their companions all that they had observed at the
+fort; but were especially eloquent about the white squaws, who, they
+said, were white as snow, and more beautiful than any human being they
+had ever beheld.
+
+We shall not accompany the captain any further in his Voyage; but will
+simply state that he made his way to Boston, where he succeeded in
+organizing an association under the name of “The Columbia River Fishing
+and Trading Company,” for his original objects of a salmon fishery and
+a trade in furs. A brig, the May Dacres, had been dispatched for the
+Columbia with supplies; and he was now on his way to the same point, at
+the head of sixty men, whom he had enlisted at St. Louis; some of whom
+were experienced hunters, and all more habituated to the life of the
+wilderness than his first band of “down-easters.”
+
+We will now return to Captain Bonneville and his party, whom we left,
+making up their packs and saddling their horses, in Bear River Valley.
+
+
+
+
+42.
+
+     Departure of Captain Bonneville for the Columbia--Advance of
+     Wyeth--Efforts to keep the lead--Hudson’s Bay party--A
+     junketing--A delectable beverage--Honey and alcohol--High
+     carousing--The Canadian “bon vivant”--A cache--A rapid move
+     Wyeth and his plans--His travelling companions--Buffalo
+     hunting More conviviality--An interruption.
+
+IT was the 3d of July that Captain Bonneville set out on his second
+visit to the banks of the Columbia, at the head of twenty-three men. He
+travelled leisurely, to keep his horses fresh, until on the 10th of July
+a scout brought word that Wyeth, with his band, was but fifty miles in
+the rear, and pushing forward with all speed. This caused some bustle
+in the camp; for it was important to get first to the buffalo ground to
+secure provisions for the journey. As the horses were too heavily laden
+to travel fast, a cache was digged, as promptly as possible, to receive
+all superfluous baggage. Just as it was finished, a spring burst out of
+the earth at the bottom. Another cache was therefore digged, about two
+miles further on; when, as they were about to bury the effects, a line
+of horsemen with pack-horses, were seen streaking over the plain, and
+encamped close by.
+
+It proved to be a small band in the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company,
+under the command of a veteran Canadian; one of those petty leaders,
+who, with a small party of men, and a small supply of goods, are
+employed to follow up a band of Indians from one hunting ground to
+another, and buy up their peltries.
+
+Having received numerous civilities from the Hudson’s Bay Company, the
+captain sent an invitation to the officers of the party to an evening
+regale; and set to work to make jovial preparations. As the night air in
+these elevated regions is apt to be cold, a blazing fire was soon
+made, that would have done credit to a Christmas dinner, instead of a
+midsummer banquet. The parties met in high good-fellowship. There was
+abundance of such hunters’ fare as the neighborhood furnished; and it
+was all discussed with mountain appetites. They talked over all the
+events of their late campaigns; but the Canadian veteran had been
+unlucky in some of his transactions; and his brow began to grow cloudy.
+Captain Bonneville remarked his rising spleen, and regretted that he had
+no juice of the grape to keep it down.
+
+A man’s wit, however, is quick and inventive in the wilderness; a
+thought suggested itself to the captain, how he might brew a delectable
+beverage. Among his stores was a keg of honey but half exhausted.
+This he filled up with alcohol, and stirred the fiery and mellifluous
+ingredients together. The glorious results may readily be imagined;
+a happy compound of strength and sweetness, enough to soothe the most
+ruffled temper and unsettle the most solid understanding.
+
+The beverage worked to a charm; the can circulated merrily; the first
+deep draught washed out every care from the mind of the veteran; the
+second elevated his spirit to the clouds. He was, in fact, a boon
+companion; as all veteran Canadian traders are apt to be. He now became
+glorious; talked over all his exploits, his huntings, his fightings
+with Indian braves, his loves with Indian beauties; sang snatches of old
+French ditties, and Canadian boat songs; drank deeper and deeper, sang
+louder and louder; until, having reached a climax of drunken gayety,
+he gradually declined, and at length fell fast asleep upon the ground.
+After a long nap he again raised his head, imbibed another potation of
+the “sweet and strong,” flashed up with another slight blaze of French
+gayety, and again fell asleep.
+
+The morning found him still upon the field of action, but in sad and
+sorrowful condition; suffering the penalties of past pleasures, and
+calling to mind the captain’s dulcet compound, with many a retch and
+spasm. It seemed as if the honey and alcohol, which had passed so glibly
+and smoothly over his tongue, were at war within his stomach; and
+that he had a swarm of bees within his head. In short, so helpless
+and woebegone was his plight, that his party proceeded on their march
+without him; the captain promised to bring him on in safety in the after
+part of the day.
+
+As soon as this party had moved off, Captain Bonneville’s men proceeded
+to construct and fill their cache; and just as it was completed the
+party of Wyeth was descried at a distance. In a moment all was activity
+to take the road. The horses were prepared and mounted; and being
+lightened of a great part of their burdens, were able to move with
+celerity. As to the worthy convive of the preceding evening, he was
+carefully gathered up from the hunter’s couch on which he lay, repentant
+and supine, and, being packed upon one of the horses, was hurried
+forward with the convoy, groaning and ejaculating at every jolt.
+
+In the course of the day, Wyeth, being lightly mounted, rode ahead of
+his party, and overtook Captain Bonneville. Their meeting was friendly
+and courteous; and they discussed, sociably, their respective fortunes
+since they separated on the banks of the Bighorn. Wyeth announced his
+intention of establishing a small trading post at the mouth of the
+Portneuf, and leaving a few men there, with a quantity of goods, to
+trade with the neighboring Indians. He was compelled, in fact, to this
+measure, in consequence of the refusal of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company
+to take a supply of goods which he had brought out for them according
+to contract; and which he had no other mode of disposing of. He further
+informed Captain Bonneville that the competition between the Rocky
+Mountain and American Fur Companies which had led to such nefarious
+stratagems and deadly feuds, was at an end; they having divided the
+country between them, allotting boundaries within which each was to
+trade and hunt, so as not to interfere with the other.
+
+In company with Wyeth were travelling two men of science; Mr. Nuttall,
+the botanist; the same who ascended the Missouri at the time of the
+expedition to Astoria; and Mr. Townshend, an ornithologist; from these
+gentlemen we may look forward to important information concerning these
+interesting regions. There were three religious missionaries, also,
+bound to the shores of the Columbia, to spread the light of the Gospel
+in that far wilderness.
+
+After riding for some time together, in friendly conversation, Wyeth
+returned to his party, and Captain Bonneville continued to press
+forward, and to gain ground. At night he sent off the sadly sober and
+moralizing chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company, under a proper escort, to
+rejoin his people; his route branching off in a different direction.
+The latter took a cordial leave of his host, hoping, on some future
+occasion, to repay his hospitality in kind.
+
+In the morning the captain was early on the march; throwing scouts
+out far ahead, to scour hill and dale, in search of buffalo. He had
+confidently expected to find game in abundance, on the head-waters of
+the Portneuf; but on reaching that region, not a track was to be seen.
+
+At length, one of the scouts, who had made a wide sweep away to the
+head-waters of the Blackfoot River, discovered great herds quietly
+grazing in the adjacent meadows. He set out on his return, to report
+his discoveries; but night overtaking him, he was kindly and hospitably
+entertained at the camp of Wyeth. As soon as day dawned he hastened to
+his own camp with the welcome intelligence; and about ten o’clock of the
+same morning, Captain Bonneville’s party were in the midst of the game.
+
+The packs were scarcely off the backs of the mules, when the runners,
+mounted on the fleetest horses, were full tilt after the buffalo. Others
+of the men were busied erecting scaffolds, and other contrivances, for
+jerking or drying meat; others were lighting great fires for the same
+purpose; soon the hunters began to make their appearance, bringing
+in the choicest morsels of buffalo meat; these were placed upon the
+scaffolds, and the whole camp presented a scene of singular hurry and
+activity. At daylight the next morning, the runners again took the
+field, with similar success; and, after an interval of repose made their
+third and last chase, about twelve o’clock; for by this time, Wyeth’s
+party was in sight. The game being now driven into a valley, at some
+distance, Wyeth was obliged to fix his camp there; but he came in the
+evening to pay Captain Bonneville a visit. He was accompanied by Captain
+Stewart, the amateur traveller; who had not yet sated his appetite for
+the adventurous life of the wilderness. With him, also, was a Mr. M’Kay,
+a half-breed; son of the unfortunate adventurer of the same name who
+came out in the first maritime expedition to Astoria and was blown up
+in the Tonquin. His son had grown up in the employ of the British fur
+companies; and was a prime hunter, and a daring partisan. He held,
+moreover, a farm in the valley of the Wallamut.
+
+The three visitors, when they reached Captain Bonneville’s camp, were
+surprised to find no one in it but himself and three men; his party
+being dispersed in all directions, to make the most of their present
+chance for hunting. They remonstrated with him on the imprudence of
+remaining with so trifling a guard in a region so full of danger.
+Captain Bonneville vindicated the policy of his conduct. He never
+hesitated to send out all his hunters, when any important object was to
+be attained; and experience had taught him that he was most secure when
+his forces were thus distributed over the surrounding country. He then
+was sure that no enemy could approach, from any direction, without
+being discovered by his hunters; who have a quick eye for detecting the
+slightest signs of the proximity of Indians; and who would instantly
+convey intelligence to the camp.
+
+The captain now set to work with his men, to prepare a suitable
+entertainment for his guests. It was a time of plenty in the camp; of
+prime hunters’ dainties; of buffalo humps, and buffalo tongues; and
+roasted ribs, and broiled marrow-bones: all these were cooked in
+hunters’ style; served up with a profusion known only on a plentiful
+hunting ground, and discussed with an appetite that would astonish the
+puny gourmands of the cities. But above all, and to give a bacchanalian
+grace to this truly masculine repast, the captain produced his
+mellifluous keg of home-brewed nectar, which had been so potent over
+the senses of the veteran of Hudson’s Bay. Potations, pottle deep, again
+went round; never did beverage excite greater glee, or meet with more
+rapturous commendation. The parties were fast advancing to that
+happy state which would have insured ample cause for the next day’s
+repentance; and the bees were already beginning to buzz about their
+ears, when a messenger came spurring to the camp with intelligence that
+Wyeth’s people had got entangled in one of those deep and frightful
+ravines, piled with immense fragments of volcanic rock, which gash the
+whole country about the head-waters of the Blackfoot River. The revel
+was instantly at an end; the keg of sweet and potent home-brewed was
+deserted; and the guests departed with all speed to aid in extricating
+their companions from the volcanic ravine.
+
+
+
+
+43.
+
+     A rapid march--A cloud of dust--Wild horsemen--“High Jinks”
+      Horseracing and rifle-shooting--The game of hand--The
+     fishing season--Mode of fishing--Table lands--Salmon
+     fishers--The captain’s visit to an Indian lodge--The Indian
+     girl--The pocket mirror--Supper--Troubles of an evil
+     conscience.
+
+“UP and away!” is the first thought at daylight of the Indian trader,
+when a rival is at hand and distance is to be gained. Early in the
+morning, Captain Bonneville ordered the half dried meat to be packed
+upon the horses, and leaving Wyeth and his party to hunt the scattered
+buffalo, pushed off rapidly to the east, to regain the plain of the
+Portneuf. His march was rugged and dangerous; through volcanic hills,
+broken into cliffs and precipices; and seamed with tremendous chasms,
+where the rocks rose like walls.
+
+On the second day, however, he encamped once more in the plain, and
+as it was still early some of the men strolled out to the neighboring
+hills. In casting their eyes round the country, they perceived a great
+cloud of dust rising in the south, and evidently approaching. Hastening
+back to the camp, they gave the alarm. Preparations were instantly made
+to receive an enemy; while some of the men, throwing themselves upon
+the “running horses” kept for hunting, galloped off to reconnoitre. In
+a little while, they made signals from a distance that all was friendly.
+By this time the cloud of dust had swept on as if hurried along by a
+blast, and a band of wild horsemen came dashing at full leap into the
+camp, yelling and whooping like so many maniacs. Their dresses, their
+accoutrements, their mode of riding, and their uncouth clamor, made
+them seem a party of savages arrayed for war; but they proved to be
+principally half-breeds, and white men grown savage in the wilderness,
+who were employed as trappers and hunters in the service of the Hudson’s
+Bay Company.
+
+Here was again “high jinks” in the camp. Captain Bonneville’s men hailed
+these wild scamperers as congenial spirits, or rather as the very game
+birds of their class. They entertained them with the hospitality of
+mountaineers, feasting them at every fire. At first, there were mutual
+details of adventures and exploits, and broad joking mingled with peals
+of laughter. Then came on boasting of the comparative merits of horses
+and rifles, which soon engrossed every tongue. This naturally led to
+racing, and shooting at a mark; one trial of speed and skill succeeded
+another, shouts and acclamations rose from the victorious parties,
+fierce altercations succeeded, and a general melee was about to take
+place, when suddenly the attention of the quarrellers was arrested by a
+strange kind of Indian chant or chorus, that seemed to operate upon them
+as a charm. Their fury was at an end; a tacit reconciliation succeeded
+and the ideas of the whole mongrel crowd whites, half-breeds and squaws
+were turned in a new direction. They all formed into groups and taking
+their places at the several fires, prepared for one of the most exciting
+amusements of the Nez Perces and the other tribes of the Far West.
+
+The choral chant, in fact, which had thus acted as a charm, was a kind
+of wild accompaniment to the favorite Indian game of “Hand.” This is
+played by two parties drawn out in opposite platoons before a blazing
+fire. It is in some respects like the old game of passing the ring or
+the button, and detecting the hand which holds it. In the present game,
+the object hidden, or the cache as it is called by the trappers, is a
+small splint of wood, or other diminutive article that may be concealed
+in the closed hand. This is passed backward and forward among the party
+“in hand,” while the party “out of hand” guess where it is concealed. To
+heighten the excitement and confuse the guessers, a number of dry poles
+are laid before each platoon, upon which the members of the party “in
+hand” beat furiously with short staves, keeping time to the choral chant
+already mentioned, which waxes fast and furious as the game proceeds. As
+large bets are staked upon the game, the excitement is prodigious.
+Each party in turn bursts out in full chorus, beating, and yelling, and
+working themselves up into such a heat that the perspiration rolls down
+their naked shoulders, even in the cold of a winter night. The bets
+are doubled and trebled as the game advances, the mental excitement
+increases almost to madness, and all the worldly effects of the gamblers
+are often hazarded upon the position of a straw.
+
+These gambling games were kept up throughout the night; every fire
+glared upon a group that looked like a crew of maniacs at their frantic
+orgies, and the scene would have been kept up throughout the succeeding
+day, had not Captain Bonneville interposed his authority, and, at the
+usual hour, issued his marching orders.
+
+Proceeding down the course of Snake River, the hunters regularly
+returned to camp in the evening laden with wild geese, which were yet
+scarcely able to fly, and were easily caught in great numbers. It was
+now the season of the annual fish-feast, with which the Indians in these
+parts celebrate the first appearance of the salmon in this river. These
+fish are taken in great numbers at the numerous falls of about four feet
+pitch. The Indians flank the shallow water just below, and spear them
+as they attempt to pass. In wide parts of the river, also, they place a
+sort of chevaux-de-frize, or fence, of poles interwoven with withes, and
+forming an angle in the middle of the current, where a small opening
+is left for the salmon to pass. Around this opening the Indians station
+themselves on small rafts, and ply their spears with great success.
+
+The table lands so common in this region have a sandy soil,
+inconsiderable in depth, and covered with sage, or more properly
+speaking, wormwood. Below this is a level stratum of rock, riven
+occasionally by frightful chasms. The whole plain rises as it approaches
+the river, and terminates with high and broken cliffs, difficult to
+pass, and in many places so precipitous that it is impossible, for days
+together, to get down to the water’s edge, to give drink to the horses.
+This obliges the traveller occasionally to abandon the vicinity of the
+river, and make a wide sweep into the interior.
+
+It was now far in the month of July, and the party suffered extremely
+from sultry weather and dusty travelling. The flies and gnats, too, were
+extremely troublesome to the horses; especially when keeping along the
+edge of the river where it runs between low sand-banks. Whenever the
+travellers encamped in the afternoon, the horses retired to the gravelly
+shores and remained there, without attempting to feed until the cool of
+the evening. As to the travellers, they plunged into the clear and cool
+current, to wash away the dust of the road and refresh themselves after
+the heat of the day. The nights were always cool and pleasant.
+
+At one place where they encamped for some time, the river was nearly
+five hundred yards wide, and studded with grassy islands, adorned with
+groves of willow and cotton-wood. Here the Indians were assembled in
+great numbers, and had barricaded the channels between the islands, to
+enable them to spear the salmon with greater facility. They were a timid
+race, and seemed unaccustomed to the sight of white men. Entering one
+of the huts, Captain Bonneville found the inhabitants just proceeding
+to cook a fine salmon. It is put into a pot filled with cold water, and
+hung over the fire. The moment the water begins to boil, the fish is
+considered cooked.
+
+Taking his seat unceremoniously, and lighting his pipe, the captain
+awaited the cooking of the fish, intending to invite himself to the
+repast. The owner of the hut seemed to take his intrusion in good part.
+While conversing with him the captain felt something move behind him,
+and turning round and removing a few skins and old buffalo robes,
+discovered a young girl, about fourteen years of age, crouched beneath,
+who directed her large black eyes full in his face, and continued to
+gaze in mute surprise and terror. The captain endeavored to dispel her
+fears, and drawing a bright ribbon from his pocket, attempted repeatedly
+to tie it round her neck. She jerked back at each attempt, uttering a
+sound very much like a snarl; nor could all the blandishments of the
+captain, albeit a pleasant, good-looking, and somewhat gallant man,
+succeed in conquering the shyness of the savage little beauty. His
+attentions were now turned toward the parents, whom he presented with
+an awl and a little tobacco, and having thus secured their good-will,
+continued to smoke his pipe, and watch the salmon. While thus seated
+near the threshold, an urchin of the family approached the door, but
+catching a sight of the strange guest, ran off screaming with terror and
+ensconced himself behind the long straw at the back of the hut.
+
+Desirous to dispel entirely this timidity, and to open a trade with the
+simple inhabitants of the hut, who, he did not doubt, had furs somewhere
+concealed, the captain now drew forth that grand lure in the eyes of
+a savage, a pocket mirror. The sight of it was irresistible. After
+examining it for a long time with wonder and admiration, they produced
+a musk-rat skin, and offered it in exchange. The captain shook his head;
+but purchased the skin for a couple of buttons--superfluous trinkets! as
+the worthy lord of the hovel had neither coat nor breeches on which to
+place them.
+
+The mirror still continued the great object of desire, particularly in
+the eyes of the old housewife, who produced a pot of parched flour and
+a string of biscuit roots. These procured her some trifle in return;
+but could not command the purchase of the mirror. The salmon being
+now completely cooked, they all joined heartily in supper. A bounteous
+portion was deposited before the captain by the old woman, upon some
+fresh grass, which served instead of a platter; and never had he tasted
+a salmon boiled so completely to his fancy.
+
+Supper being over, the captain lighted his pipe and passed it to
+his host, who, inhaling the smoke, puffed it through his nostrils
+so assiduously, that in a little while his head manifested signs of
+confusion and dizziness. Being satisfied, by this time, of the
+kindly and companionable qualities of the captain, he became easy and
+communicative; and at length hinted something about exchanging beaver
+skins for horses. The captain at once offered to dispose of his steed,
+which stood fastened at the door. The bargain was soon concluded,
+whereupon the Indian, removing a pile of bushes under which his
+valuables were concealed, drew forth the number of skins agreed upon as
+the price.
+
+Shortly afterward, some of the captain’s people coming up, he ordered
+another horse to be saddled, and, mounting it, took his departure from
+the hut, after distributing a few trifling presents among its simple
+inhabitants. During all the time of his visit, the little Indian girl
+had kept her large black eyes fixed upon him, almost without winking,
+watching every movement with awe and wonder; and as he rode off,
+remained gazing after him, motionless as a statue. Her father, however,
+delighted with his new acquaintance, mounted his newly purchased horse,
+and followed in the train of the captain, to whom he continued to be a
+faithful and useful adherent during his sojourn in the neighborhood.
+
+The cowardly effects of an evil conscience were evidenced in the conduct
+of one of the captain’s men, who had been in the California expedition.
+During all their intercourse with the harmless people of this place,
+he had manifested uneasiness and anxiety. While his companions mingled
+freely and joyously with the natives, he went about with a restless,
+suspicious look; scrutinizing every painted form and face and starting
+often at the sudden approach of some meek and inoffensive savage, who
+regarded him with reverence as a superior being. Yet this was ordinarily
+a bold fellow, who never flinched from danger, nor turned pale at the
+prospect of a battle. At length he requested permission of Captain
+Bonneville to keep out of the way of these people entirely. Their
+striking resemblance, he said, to the people of Ogden’s River, made
+him continually fear that some among them might have seen him in that
+expedition; and might seek an opportunity of revenge. Ever after this,
+while they remained in this neighborhood, he would skulk out of the way
+and keep aloof when any of the native inhabitants approached. “Such,”
+ observed Captain Bonneville, “is the effect of self-reproach, even upon
+the roving trapper in the wilderness, who has little else to fear than
+the stings of his own guilty conscience.”
+
+
+
+
+44.
+
+     Outfit of a trapper--Risks to which he is subjected--
+     Partnership of trappers--Enmity of Indians--Distant smoke--A
+     country on fire--Gun Greek--Grand Rond--Fine pastures--
+     Perplexities in a smoky country--Conflagration of forests.
+
+IT had been the intention of Captain Bonneville, in descending along
+Snake River, to scatter his trappers upon the smaller streams. In this
+way a range of country is trapped by small detachments from a main body.
+The outfit of a trapper is generally a rifle, a pound of powder,
+and four pounds of lead, with a bullet mould, seven traps, an axe,
+a hatchet, a knife and awl, a camp kettle, two blankets, and, where
+supplies are plenty, seven pounds of flour. He has, generally, two
+or three horses, to carry himself and his baggage and peltries. Two
+trappers commonly go together, for the purposes of mutual assistance and
+support; a larger party could not easily escape the eyes of the Indians.
+It is a service of peril, and even more so at present than formerly, for
+the Indians, since they have got into the habit of trafficking peltries
+with the traders, have learned the value of the beaver, and look
+upon the trappers as poachers, who are filching the riches from their
+streams, and interfering with their market. They make no hesitation,
+therefore, to murder the solitary trapper, and thus destroy a
+competitor, while they possess themselves of his spoils. It is
+with regret we add, too, that this hostility has in many cases been
+instigated by traders, desirous of injuring their rivals, but who have
+themselves often reaped the fruits of the mischief they have sown.
+
+When two trappers undertake any considerable stream, their mode of
+proceeding is, to hide their horses in some lonely glen, where they can
+graze unobserved. They then build a small hut, dig out a canoe from a
+cotton-wood tree, and in this poke along shore silently, in the evening,
+and set their traps. These they revisit in the same silent way at
+daybreak. When they take any beaver they bring it home, skin it, stretch
+the skins on sticks to dry, and feast upon the flesh. The body, hung up
+before the fire, turns by its own weight, and is roasted in a superior
+style; the tail is the trapper’s tidbit; it is cut off, put on the end
+of a stick, and toasted, and is considered even a greater dainty than
+the tongue or the marrow-bone of a buffalo.
+
+With all their silence and caution, however, the poor trappers cannot
+always escape their hawk-eyed enemies. Their trail has been discovered,
+perhaps, and followed up for many a mile; or their smoke has been seen
+curling up out of the secret glen, or has been scented by the savages,
+whose sense of smell is almost as acute as that of sight. Sometimes they
+are pounced upon when in the act of setting their traps; at other times,
+they are roused from their sleep by the horrid war-whoop; or, perhaps,
+have a bullet or an arrow whistling about their ears, in the midst of
+one of their beaver banquets. In this way they are picked off, from time
+to time, and nothing is known of them, until, perchance, their bones are
+found bleaching in some lonely ravine, or on the banks of some nameless
+stream, which from that time is called after them. Many of the small
+streams beyond the mountains thus perpetuate the names of unfortunate
+trappers that have been murdered on their banks.
+
+A knowledge of these dangers deterred Captain Bonneville, in the present
+instance, from detaching small parties of trappers as he had intended;
+for his scouts brought him word that formidable bands of the Banneck
+Indians were lying on the Boisee and Payette Rivers, at no great
+distance, so that they would be apt to detect and cut off any
+stragglers. It behooved him, also, to keep his party together, to guard
+against any predatory attack upon the main body; he continued on his
+way, therefore, without dividing his forces. And fortunate it was that
+he did so; for in a little while he encountered one of the phenomena of
+the western wilds that would effectually have prevented his scattered
+people from finding each other again. In a word, it was the season of
+setting fire to the prairies. As he advanced he began to perceive great
+clouds of smoke at a distance, rising by degrees, and spreading over the
+whole face of the country. The atmosphere became dry and surcharged
+with murky vapor, parching to the skin, and irritating to the eyes. When
+travelling among the hills, they could scarcely discern objects at the
+distance of a few paces; indeed, the least exertion of the vision was
+painful. There was evidently some vast conflagration in the direction
+toward which they were proceeding; it was as yet at a great distance,
+and during the day they could only see the smoke rising in larger and
+denser volumes, and rolling forth in an immense canopy. At night the
+skies were all glowing with the reflection of unseen fires, hanging in
+an immense body of lurid light high above the horizon.
+
+Having reached Gun Creek, an important stream coming from the left,
+Captain Bonneville turned up its course, to traverse the mountain and
+avoid the great bend of Snake River. Being now out of the range of the
+Bannecks, he sent out his people in all directions to hunt the antelope
+for present supplies; keeping the dried meats for places where game
+might be scarce.
+
+During four days that the party were ascending Gun Creek, the smoke
+continued to increase so rapidly that it was impossible to distinguish
+the face of the country and ascertain landmarks. Fortunately, the
+travellers fell upon an Indian trail which led them to the head-waters
+of the Fourche de Glace or Ice River, sometimes called the Grand
+Rond. Here they found all the plains and valleys wrapped in one vast
+conflagration; which swept over the long grass in billows of flame, shot
+up every bush and tree, rose in great columns from the groves, and set
+up clouds of smoke that darkened the atmosphere. To avoid this sea of
+fire, the travellers had to pursue their course close along the foot
+of the mountains; but the irritation from the smoke continued to be
+tormenting.
+
+The country about the head-waters of the Grand Rond spreads out into
+broad and level prairies, extremely fertile, and watered by mountain
+springs and rivulets. These prairies are resorted to by small bands of
+the Skynses, to pasture their horses, as well as to banquets upon the
+salmon which abound in the neighboring waters. They take these fish in
+great quantities and without the least difficulty; simply taking them
+out of the water with their hands, as they flounder and struggle in
+the numerous long shoals of the principal streams. At the time the
+travellers passed over these prairies, some of the narrow, deep streams
+by which they were intersected were completely choked with salmon, which
+they took in great numbers. The wolves and bears frequent these streams
+at this season, to avail themselves of these great fisheries.
+
+The travellers continued, for many days, to experience great
+difficulties and discomforts from this wide conflagration, which seemed
+to embrace the whole wilderness. The sun was for a great part of the
+time obscured by the smoke, and the loftiest mountains were hidden from
+view. Blundering along in this region of mist and uncertainty, they were
+frequently obliged to make long circuits, to avoid obstacles which they
+could not perceive until close upon them. The Indian trails were their
+safest guides, for though they sometimes appeared to lead them out of
+their direct course, they always conducted them to the passes.
+
+On the 26th of August, they reached the head of the Way-lee-way River.
+Here, in a valley of the mountains through which this head-water makes
+its way, they found a band of the Skynses, who were extremely sociable,
+and appeared to be well disposed, and as they spoke the Nez Perce
+language, an intercourse was easily kept up with them.
+
+In the pastures on the bank of this stream, Captain Bonneville encamped
+for a time, for the purpose of recruiting the strength of his horses.
+Scouts were now sent out to explore the surrounding country, and search
+for a convenient pass through the mountains toward the Wallamut or
+Multnomah. After an absence of twenty days they returned weary and
+discouraged. They had been harassed and perplexed in rugged mountain
+defiles, where their progress was continually impeded by rocks and
+precipices. Often they had been obliged to travel along the edges of
+frightful ravines, where a false step would have been fatal. In one of
+these passes, a horse fell from the brink of a precipice, and would have
+been dashed to pieces had he not lodged among the branches of a tree,
+from which he was extricated with great difficulty. These, however, were
+not the worst of their difficulties and perils. The great conflagration
+of the country, which had harassed the main party in its march, was
+still more awful the further this exploring party proceeded. The flames
+which swept rapidly over the light vegetation of the prairies assumed
+a fiercer character and took a stronger hold amid the wooded glens and
+ravines of the mountains. Some of the deep gorges and defiles sent up
+sheets of flame, and clouds of lurid smoke, and sparks and cinders that
+in the night made them resemble the craters of volcanoes. The groves and
+forests, too, which crowned the cliffs, shot up their towering columns
+of fire, and added to the furnace glow of the mountains. With these
+stupendous sights were combined the rushing blasts caused by the
+rarefied air, which roared and howled through the narrow glens, and
+whirled forth the smoke and flames in impetuous wreaths. Ever and anon,
+too, was heard the crash of falling trees, sometimes tumbling from crags
+and precipices, with tremendous sounds.
+
+In the daytime, the mountains were wrapped in smoke so dense and
+blinding, that the explorers, if by chance they separated, could only
+find each other by shouting. Often, too, they had to grope their way
+through the yet burning forests, in constant peril from the limbs and
+trunks of trees, which frequently fell across their path. At length
+they gave up the attempt to find a pass as hopeless, under actual
+circumstances, and made their way back to the camp to report their
+failure.
+
+
+
+
+45.
+
+     The Skynses--Their traffic--Hunting--Food--Horses--A horse-
+     race--Devotional feeling of the Skynses, Nez Perces and
+     Flatheads--Prayers--Exhortations--A preacher on horseback
+     Effect of religion on the manners of the tribes--A new
+     light.
+
+DURING the absence of this detachment, a sociable intercourse had been
+kept up between the main party and the Skynses, who had removed into
+the neighborhood of the camp. These people dwell about the waters of
+the Way-lee-way and the adjacent country, and trade regularly with
+the Hudson’s Bay Company; generally giving horses in exchange for the
+articles of which they stand in need. They bring beaver skins, also, to
+the trading posts; not procured by trapping, but by a course of internal
+traffic with the shy and ignorant Shoshokoes and Too-el-icans, who keep
+in distant and unfrequented parts of the country, and will not venture
+near the trading houses. The Skynses hunt the deer and elk occasionally;
+and depend, for a part of the year, on fishing. Their main subsistence,
+however, is upon roots, especially the kamash. This bulbous root is said
+to be of a delicious flavor, and highly nutritious. The women dig it
+up in great quantities, steam it, and deposit it in caches for winter
+provisions. It grows spontaneously, and absolutely covers the plains.
+
+This tribe was comfortably clad and equipped. They had a few rifles
+among them, and were extremely desirous of bartering for those of
+Captain Bonneville’s men; offering a couple of good running horses for
+a light rifle. Their first-rate horses, however, were not to be procured
+from them on any terms. They almost invariably use ponies; but of a
+breed infinitely superior to any in the United States. They are fond of
+trying their speed and bottom, and of betting upon them.
+
+As Captain Bonneville was desirous of judging of the comparative merit
+of their horses, he purchased one of their racers, and had a trial of
+speed between that, an American, and a Shoshonie, which were supposed to
+be well matched. The race-course was for the distance of one mile and a
+half out and back. For the first half mile the American took the lead
+by a few hands; but, losing his wind, soon fell far behind; leaving the
+Shoshonie and Skynse to contend together. For a mile and a half they
+went head and head: but at the turn the Skynse took the lead and won the
+race with great ease, scarce drawing a quick breath when all was over.
+
+The Skynses, like the Nez Perces and the Flatheads, have a strong
+devotional feeling, which has been successfully cultivated by some
+of the resident personages of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Sunday is
+invariably kept sacred among these tribes. They will not raise their
+camp on that day, unless in extreme cases of danger or hunger: neither
+will they hunt, nor fish, nor trade, nor perform any kind of labor on
+that day. A part of it is passed in prayer and religious ceremonies.
+Some chief, who is generally at the same time what is called a “medicine
+man,” assembles the community. After invoking blessings from the Deity,
+he addresses the assemblage, exhorting them to good conduct; to be
+diligent in providing for their families; to abstain from lying and
+stealing; to avoid quarrelling or cheating in their play, and to be
+just and hospitable to all strangers who may be among them. Prayers
+and exhortations are also made, early in the morning, on week days.
+Sometimes, all this is done by the chief from horseback; moving slowly
+about the camp, with his hat on, and uttering his exhortations with
+a loud voice. On all occasions, the bystanders listen with profound
+attention; and at the end of every sentence respond one word in unison,
+apparently equivalent to an amen. While these prayers and exhortations
+are going on, every employment in the camp is suspended. If an Indian
+is riding by the place, he dismounts, holds his horse, and attends with
+reverence until all is done. When the chief has finished his prayer
+or exhortation, he says, “I have done,” upon which there is a general
+exclamation in unison. With these religious services, probably derived
+from the white men, the tribes above-mentioned mingle some of their old
+Indian ceremonials, such as dancing to the cadence of a song or ballad,
+which is generally done in a large lodge provided for the purpose.
+Besides Sundays, they likewise observe the cardinal holidays of the
+Roman Catholic Church.
+
+Whoever has introduced these simple forms of religions among these poor
+savages, has evidently understood their characters and capacities, and
+effected a great melioration of their manners. Of this we speak not
+merely from the testimony of Captain Bonneville, but likewise from
+that of Mr. Wyeth, who passed some months in a travelling camp of the
+Flatheads. “During the time I have been with them,” says he, “I have
+never known an instance of theft among them: the least thing, even to
+a bead or pin, is brought to you, if found; and often, things that have
+been thrown away. Neither have I known any quarrelling, nor lying. This
+absence of all quarrelling the more surprised me, when I came to see the
+various occasions that would have given rise to it among the whites: the
+crowding together of from twelve to eighteen hundred horses, which have
+to be driven into camp at night, to be picketed, to be packed in the
+morning; the gathering of fuel in places where it is extremely scanty.
+All this, however, is done without confusion or disturbance.
+
+“They have a mild, playful, laughing disposition; and this is portrayed
+in their countenances. They are polite, and unobtrusive. When one
+speaks, the rest pay strict attention: when he is done, another assents
+by ‘yes,’ or dissents by ‘no;’ and then states his reasons, which are
+listened to with equal attention. Even the children are more peaceable
+than any other children. I never heard an angry word among them, nor
+any quarrelling; although there were, at least, five hundred of them
+together, and continually at play. With all this quietness of spirit,
+they are brave when put to the test; and are an overmatch for an equal
+number of Blackfeet.”
+
+The foregoing observations, though gathered from Mr. Wyeth as relative
+to the Flatheads, apply, in the main, to the Skynses also. Captain
+Bonneville, during his sojourn with the latter, took constant occasion,
+in conversing with their principal men, to encourage them in the
+cultivation of moral and religious habits; drawing a comparison between
+their peaceable and comfortable course of life and that of other tribes,
+and attributing it to their superior sense of morality and religion. He
+frequently attended their religious services, with his people; always
+enjoining on the latter the most reverential deportment; and he observed
+that the poor Indians were always pleased to have the white men present.
+
+The disposition of these tribes is evidently favorable to a considerable
+degree of civilization. A few farmers settled among them might lead
+them, Captain Bonneville thinks, to till the earth and cultivate grain;
+the country of the Skynses and Nez Perces is admirably adapted for the
+raising of cattle. A Christian missionary or two, and some trifling
+assistance from government, to protect them from the predatory and
+warlike tribes, might lay the foundation of a Christian people in the
+midst of the great western wilderness, who would “wear the Americans
+near their hearts.”
+
+We must not omit to observe, however, in qualification of the sanctity
+of this Sabbath in the wilderness, that these tribes who are all
+ardently addicted to gambling and horseracing, make Sunday a peculiar
+day for recreations of the kind, not deeming them in any wise out of
+season. After prayers and pious ceremonies are over, there is scarce an
+hour in the day, says Captain Bonneville, that you do not see several
+horses racing at full speed; and in every corner of the camp are groups
+of gamblers, ready to stake everything upon the all-absorbing game of
+hand. The Indians, says Wyeth, appear to enjoy their amusements with
+more zest than the whites. They are great gamblers; and in proportion to
+their means, play bolder and bet higher than white men.
+
+The cultivation of the religious feeling, above noted, among the
+savages, has been at times a convenient policy with some of the more
+knowing traders; who have derived great credit and influence among them
+by being considered “medicine men;” that is, men gifted with mysterious
+knowledge. This feeling is also at times played upon by religious
+charlatans, who are to be found in savage as well as civilized life. One
+of these was noted by Wyeth, during his sojourn among the Flat-heads.
+A new great man, says he, is rising in the camp, who aims at power
+and sway. He covers his designs under the ample cloak of religion;
+inculcating some new doctrines and ceremonials among those who are more
+simple than himself. He has already made proselytes of one-fifth of
+the camp; beginning by working on the women, the children, and the
+weak-minded. His followers are all dancing on the plain, to their own
+vocal music. The more knowing ones of the tribe look on and laugh;
+thinking it all too foolish to do harm; but they will soon find that
+women, children, and fools, form a large majority of every community,
+and they will have, eventually, to follow the new light, or be
+considered among the profane. As soon as a preacher or pseudo prophet of
+the kind gets followers enough, he either takes command of the tribe, or
+branches off and sets up an independent chief and “medicine man.”
+
+
+
+
+46.
+
+     Scarcity in the camp--Refusal of supplies by the Hudson’s
+     Bay Company--Conduct of the Indians--A hungry retreat--John
+     Day’s River--The Blue Mountains--Salmon fishing on Snake
+     River Messengers from the Crow country--Bear River Valley--
+     immense migration of buffalo--Danger of buffalo hunting--A
+     wounded Indian--Eutaw Indians--A “surround” of antelopes.
+
+PROVISIONS were now growing scanty in the camp, and Captain Bonneville
+found it necessary to seek a new neighborhood. Taking leave, therefore,
+of his friends, the Skynses, he set off to the westward, and, crossing
+a low range of mountains, encamped on the head-waters of the Ottolais.
+Being now within thirty miles of Fort Wallah-Wallah, the trading post of
+the Hudson’s Bay Company, he sent a small detachment of men thither
+to purchase corn for the subsistence of his party. The men were well
+received at the fort; but all supplies for their camp were peremptorily
+refused. Tempting offers were made them, however, if they would leave
+their present employ, and enter into the service of the company; but
+they were not to be seduced.
+
+When Captain Bonneville saw his messengers return empty-handed, he
+ordered an instant move, for there was imminent danger of famine. He
+pushed forward down the course of the Ottolais, which runs diagonal
+to the Columbia, and falls into it about fifty miles below the
+Wallah-Wallah. His route lay through a beautiful undulating country,
+covered with horses belonging to the Skynses, who sent them there for
+pasturage.
+
+On reaching the Columbia, Captain Bonneville hoped to open a trade with
+the natives, for fish and other provisions, but to his surprise they
+kept aloof, and even hid themselves on his approach. He soon discovered
+that they were under the influence of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who had
+forbidden them to trade, or hold any communion with him. He proceeded
+along the Columbia, but it was everywhere the same; not an article of
+provisions was to be obtained from the natives, and he was at length
+obliged to kill a couple of his horses to sustain his famishing people.
+He now came to a halt, and consulted what was to be done. The broad and
+beautiful Columbia lay before them, smooth and unruffled as a mirror; a
+little more journeying would take them to its lower region; to the noble
+valley of the Wallamut, their projected winter quarters. To advance
+under present circumstances would be to court starvation. The resources
+of the country were locked against them, by the influence of a jealous
+and powerful monopoly. If they reached the Wallamut, they could scarcely
+hope to obtain sufficient supplies for the winter; if they lingered any
+longer in the country the snows would gather upon the mountains and
+cut off their retreat. By hastening their return, they would be able to
+reach the Blue Mountains just in time to find the elk, the deer, and the
+bighorn; and after they had supplied themselves with provisions, they
+might push through the mountains before they were entirely blocked by
+snow. Influenced by these considerations, Captain Bonneville reluctantly
+turned his back a second time on the Columbia, and set off for the Blue
+Mountains. He took his course up John Day’s River, so called from one
+of the hunters in the original Astorian enterprise. As famine was at
+his heels, he travelled fast, and reached the mountains by the 1st of
+October. He entered by the opening made by John Day’s River; it was a
+rugged and difficult defile, but he and his men had become accustomed
+to hard scrambles of the kind. Fortunately, the September rains had
+extinguished the fires which recently spread over these regions; and the
+mountains, no longer wrapped in smoke, now revealed all their grandeur
+and sublimity to the eye.
+
+They were disappointed in their expectation of finding abundant game in
+the mountains; large bands of the natives had passed through, returning
+from their fishing expeditions, and had driven all the game before them.
+It was only now and then that the hunters could bring in sufficient to
+keep the party from starvation.
+
+To add to their distress, they mistook their route, and wandered for
+ten days among high and bald hills of clay. At length, after much
+perplexity, they made their way to the banks of Snake River, following
+the course of which, they were sure to reach their place of destination.
+
+It was the 20th of October when they found themselves once more upon
+this noted stream. The Shoshokoes, whom they had met with in such scanty
+numbers on their journey down the river, now absolutely thronged its
+banks to profit by the abundance of salmon, and lay up a stock for
+winter provisions. Scaffolds were everywhere erected, and immense
+quantities of fish drying upon them. At this season of the year,
+however, the salmon are extremely poor, and the travellers needed their
+keen sauce of hunger to give them a relish.
+
+In some places the shores were completely covered with a stratum of dead
+salmon, exhausted in ascending the river, or destroyed at the falls; the
+fetid odor of which tainted the air.
+
+It was not until the travellers reached the head-waters of the Portneuf
+that they really found themselves in a region of abundance. Here the
+buffaloes were in immense herds; and here they remained for three days,
+slaying and cooking, and feasting, and indemnifying themselves by an
+enormous carnival, for a long and hungry Lent. Their horses, too, found
+good pasturage, and enjoyed a little rest after a severe spell of hard
+travelling.
+
+During this period, two horsemen arrived at the camp, who proved to be
+messengers sent express for supplies from Montero’s party; which had
+been sent to beat up the Crow country and the Black Hills, and to winter
+on the Arkansas. They reported that all was well with the party, but
+that they had not been able to accomplish the whole of their mission,
+and were still in the Crow country, where they should remain until
+joined by Captain Bonneville in the spring. The captain retained the
+messengers with him until the 17th of November, when, having reached the
+caches on Bear River, and procured thence the required supplies, he sent
+them back to their party; appointing a rendezvous toward the last of
+June following, on the forks of Wind River Valley, in the Crow country.
+
+He now remained several days encamped near the caches, and having
+discovered a small band of Shoshonies in his neighborhood, purchased
+from them lodges, furs, and other articles of winter comfort, and
+arranged with them to encamp together during the winter.
+
+The place designed by the captain for the wintering ground was on the
+upper part of Bear River, some distance off. He delayed approaching it
+as long as possible, in order to avoid driving off the buffaloes, which
+would be needed for winter provisions. He accordingly moved forward but
+slowly, merely as the want of game and grass obliged him to shift his
+position. The weather had already become extremely cold, and the snow
+lay to a considerable depth. To enable the horses to carry as much dried
+meat as possible, he caused a cache to be made, in which all the baggage
+that could be spared was deposited. This done, the party continued to
+move slowly toward their winter quarters.
+
+They were not doomed, however, to suffer from scarcity during the
+present winter. The people upon Snake River having chased off the
+buffaloes before the snow had become deep, immense herds now came
+trooping over the mountains; forming dark masses on their sides, from
+which their deep-mouthed bellowing sounded like the low peals and
+mutterings from a gathering thunder-cloud. In effect, the cloud broke,
+and down came the torrent thundering into the valley. It is utterly
+impossible, according to Captain Bonneville, to convey an idea of the
+effect produced by the sight of such countless throngs of animals of
+such bulk and spirit, all rushing forward as if swept on by a whirlwind.
+
+The long privation which the travellers had suffered gave uncommon ardor
+to their present hunting. One of the Indians attached to the party,
+finding himself on horseback in the midst of the buffaloes, without
+either rifle, or bow and arrows, dashed after a fine cow that was
+passing close by him, and plunged his knife into her side with such
+lucky aim as to bring her to the ground. It was a daring deed; but
+hunger had made him almost desperate.
+
+The buffaloes are sometimes tenacious of life, and must be wounded
+in particular parts. A ball striking the shagged frontlet of a
+bull produces no other effect than a toss of the head and greater
+exasperation; on the contrary, a ball striking the forehead of a cow
+is fatal. Several instances occurred during this great hunting bout,
+of bulls fighting furiously after having received mortal wounds.
+Wyeth, also, was witness to an instance of the kind while encamped
+with Indians. During a grand hunt of the buffaloes, one of the Indians
+pressed a bull so closely that the animal turned suddenly on him. His
+horse stopped short, or started back, and threw him. Before he could
+rise the bull rushed furiously upon him, and gored him in the chest so
+that his breath came out at the aperture. He was conveyed back to the
+camp, and his wound was dressed. Giving himself up for slain, he called
+round him his friends, and made his will by word of mouth. It was
+something like a death chant, and at the end of every sentence those
+around responded in concord. He appeared no ways intimidated by the
+approach of death. “I think,” adds Wyeth, “the Indians die better than
+the white men; perhaps from having less fear about the future.”
+
+The buffaloes may be approached very near, if the hunter keeps to the
+leeward; but they are quick of scent, and will take the alarm and
+move off from a party of hunters to the windward, even when two miles
+distant.
+
+The vast herds which had poured down into the Bear River Valley were now
+snow-bound, and remained in the neighborhood of the camp throughout the
+winter. This furnished the trappers and their Indian friends a perpetual
+carnival; so that, to slay and eat seemed to be the main occupations of
+the day. It is astonishing what loads of meat it requires to cope with
+the appetite of a hunting camp.
+
+The ravens and wolves soon came in for their share of the good cheer.
+These constant attendants of the hunter gathered in vast numbers as
+the winter advanced. They might be completely out of sight, but at the
+report of a gun, flights of ravens would immediately be seen hovering
+in the air, no one knew whence they came; while the sharp visages of
+the wolves would peep down from the brow of every hill, waiting for the
+hunter’s departure to pounce upon the carcass.
+
+Besides the buffaloes, there were other neighbors snow-bound in the
+valley, whose presence did not promise to be so advantageous. This was a
+band of Eutaw Indians who were encamped higher up on the river. They
+are a poor tribe that, in a scale of the various tribes inhabiting these
+regions, would rank between the Shoshonies and the Shoshokoes or Root
+Diggers; though more bold and warlike than the latter. They have but few
+rifles among them, and are generally armed with bows and arrows.
+
+As this band and the Shoshonies were at deadly feud, on account of
+old grievances, and as neither party stood in awe of the other, it was
+feared some bloody scenes might ensue. Captain Bonneville, therefore,
+undertook the office of pacificator, and sent to the Eutaw chiefs,
+inviting them to a friendly smoke, in order to bring about a
+reconciliation. His invitation was proudly declined; whereupon he
+went to them in person, and succeeded in effecting a suspension of
+hostilities until the chiefs of the two tribes could meet in
+council. The braves of the two rival camps sullenly acquiesced in the
+arrangement. They would take their seats upon the hill tops, and watch
+their quondam enemies hunting the buffalo in the plain below, and
+evidently repine that their hands were tied up from a skirmish. The
+worthy captain, however, succeeded in carrying through his benevolent
+mediation. The chiefs met; the amicable pipe was smoked, the hatchet
+buried, and peace formally proclaimed. After this, both camps united
+and mingled in social intercourse. Private quarrels, however, would
+occasionally occur in hunting, about the division of the game, and blows
+would sometimes be exchanged over the carcass of a buffalo; but the
+chiefs wisely took no notice of these individual brawls.
+
+One day the scouts, who had been ranging the hills, brought news of
+several large herds of antelopes in a small valley at no great distance.
+This produced a sensation among the Indians, for both tribes were in
+ragged condition, and sadly in want of those shirts made of the skin
+of the antelope. It was determined to have “a surround,” as the mode of
+hunting that animal is called. Everything now assumed an air of mystic
+solemnity and importance. The chiefs prepared their medicines or charms
+each according to his own method, or fancied inspiration, generally
+with the compound of certain simples; others consulted the entrails of
+animals which they had sacrificed, and thence drew favorable auguries.
+After much grave smoking and deliberating it was at length proclaimed
+that all who were able to lift a club, man, woman, or child, should
+muster for “the surround.” When all had congregated, they moved in rude
+procession to the nearest point of the valley in question, and there
+halted. Another course of smoking and deliberating, of which the Indians
+are so fond, took place among the chiefs. Directions were then issued
+for the horsemen to make a circuit of about seven miles, so as to
+encompass the herd. When this was done, the whole mounted force dashed
+off simultaneously, at full speed, shouting and yelling at the top of
+their voices. In a short space of time the antelopes, started from
+their hiding-places, came bounding from all points into the valley. The
+riders, now gradually contracting their circle, brought them nearer and
+nearer to the spot where the senior chief, surrounded by the elders,
+male and female, were seated in supervision of the chase. The antelopes,
+nearly exhausted with fatigue and fright, and bewildered by perpetual
+whooping, made no effort to break through the ring of the hunters, but
+ran round in small circles, until man, woman, and child beat them down
+with bludgeons. Such is the nature of that species of antelope hunting,
+technically called “a surround.”
+
+
+
+
+47.
+
+     A festive winter--Conversion of the Shoshonies--Visit of two
+     free trappers--Gayety in the camp--A touch of the tender
+     passion--The reclaimed squaw--An Indian fine lady--An
+     elopement--A pursuit--Market value of a bad wife.
+
+GAME continued to abound throughout the winter, and the camp was
+overstocked with provisions. Beef and venison, humps and haunches,
+buffalo tongues and marrow-bones, were constantly cooking at every fire;
+and the whole atmosphere was redolent with the savory fumes of roast
+meat. It was, indeed, a continual “feast of fat things,” and though
+there might be a lack of “wine upon the lees,” yet we have shown that a
+substitute was occasionally to be found in honey and alcohol.
+
+Both the Shoshonies and the Eutaws conducted themselves with great
+propriety. It is true, they now and then filched a few trifles from
+their good friends, the Big Hearts, when their backs were turned; but
+then, they always treated them to their faces with the utmost deference
+and respect, and good-humoredly vied with the trappers in all kinds of
+feats of activity and mirthful sports. The two tribes maintained toward
+each other, also a friendliness of aspect which gave Captain Bonneville
+reason to hope that all past animosity was effectually buried.
+
+The two rival bands, however, had not long been mingled in this social
+manner before their ancient jealousy began to break out in a new form.
+The senior chief of the Shoshonies was a thinking man, and a man of
+observation. He had been among the Nez Perces, listened to their new
+code of morality and religion received from the white men, and attended
+their devotional exercises. He had observed the effect of all this, in
+elevating the tribe in the estimation of the white men; and determined,
+by the same means, to gain for his own tribe a superiority over their
+ignorant rivals, the Eutaws. He accordingly assembled his people, and
+promulgated among them the mongrel doctrines and form of worship of the
+Nez Perces; recommending the same to their adoption. The Shoshonies were
+struck with the novelty, at least, of the measure, and entered into it
+with spirit. They began to observe Sundays and holidays, and to have
+their devotional dances, and chants, and other ceremonials, about
+which the ignorant Eutaws knew nothing; while they exerted their usual
+competition in shooting and horseracing, and the renowned game of hand.
+
+Matters were going on thus pleasantly and prosperously, in this motley
+community of white and red men, when, one morning, two stark free
+trappers, arrayed in the height of savage finery, and mounted on steeds
+as fine and as fiery as themselves, and all jingling with hawks’ bells,
+came galloping, with whoop and halloo, into the camp.
+
+They were fresh from the winter encampment of the American Fur Company,
+in the Green River Valley; and had come to pay their old comrades of
+Captain Bonneville’s company a visit. An idea may be formed from the
+scenes we have already given of conviviality in the wilderness, of the
+manner in which these game birds were received by those of their
+feather in the camp; what feasting, what revelling, what boasting,
+what bragging, what ranting and roaring, and racing and gambling, and
+squabbling and fighting, ensued among these boon companions. Captain
+Bonneville, it is true, maintained always a certain degree of law and
+order in his camp, and checked each fierce excess; but the trappers, in
+their seasons of idleness and relaxation require a degree of license and
+indulgence, to repay them for the long privations and almost incredible
+hardships of their periods of active service.
+
+In the midst of all this feasting and frolicking, a freak of the tender
+passion intervened, and wrought a complete change in the scene. Among
+the Indian beauties in the camp of the Eutaws and Shoshonies, the free
+trappers discovered two, who had whilom figured as their squaws. These
+connections frequently take place for a season, and sometimes continue
+for years, if not perpetually; but are apt to be broken when the free
+trapper starts off, suddenly, on some distant and rough expedition.
+
+In the present instance, these wild blades were anxious to regain
+their belles; nor were the latter loath once more to come under their
+protection. The free trapper combines, in the eye of an Indian girl, all
+that is dashing and heroic in a warrior of her own race--whose gait, and
+garb, and bravery he emulates--with all that is gallant and glorious
+in the white man. And then the indulgence with which he treats her, the
+finery in which he decks her out, the state in which she moves, the sway
+she enjoys over both his purse and person; instead of being the drudge
+and slave of an Indian husband, obliged to carry his pack, and build his
+lodge, and make his fire, and bear his cross humors and dry blows.
+No; there is no comparison in the eyes of an aspiring belle of the
+wilderness, between a free trapper and an Indian brave.
+
+With respect to one of the parties the matter was easily arranged. ‘The
+beauty in question was a pert little Eutaw wench, that had been taken
+prisoner, in some war excursion, by a Shoshonie. She was readily
+ransomed for a few articles of trifling value; and forthwith figured
+about the camp in fine array, “with rings on her fingers, and bells
+on her toes,” and a tossed-up coquettish air that made her the envy,
+admiration, and abhorrence of all the leathern-dressed, hard-working
+squaws of her acquaintance.
+
+As to the other beauty, it was quite a different matter. She had become
+the wife of a Shoshonie brave. It is true, he had another wife, of
+older date than the one in question; who, therefore, took command in his
+household, and treated his new spouse as a slave; but the latter was
+the wife of his last fancy, his latest caprice; and was precious in his
+eyes. All attempt to bargain with him, therefore, was useless; the
+very proposition was repulsed with anger and disdain. The spirit of
+the trapper was roused, his pride was piqued as well as his passion. He
+endeavored to prevail upon his quondam mistress to elope with him. His
+horses were fleet, the winter nights were long and dark, before daylight
+they would be beyond the reach of pursuit; and once at the encampment
+in Green River Valley, they might set the whole band of Shoshonies at
+defiance.
+
+The Indian girl listened and longed. Her heart yearned after the ease
+and splendor of condition of a trapper’s bride, and throbbed to be free
+from the capricious control of the premier squaw; but she dreaded the
+failure of the plan, and the fury of a Shoshonie husband. They parted;
+the Indian girl in tears, and the madcap trapper more than ever, with
+his thwarted passion.
+
+Their interviews had, probably, been detected, and the jealousy of
+the Shoshonie brave aroused: a clamor of angry voices was heard in his
+lodge, with the sound of blows, and of female weeping and lamenting. At
+night, as the trapper lay tossing on his pallet, a soft voice whispered
+at the door of his lodge. His mistress stood trembling before him. She
+was ready to follow whithersoever he should lead.
+
+In an instant he was up and out. He had two prime horses, sure and swift
+of foot, and of great wind. With stealthy quiet, they were brought up
+and saddled; and in a few moments he and his prize were careering over
+the snow, with which the whole country was covered. In the eagerness of
+escape, they had made no provision for their journey; days must elapse
+before they could reach their haven of safety, and mountains and
+prairies be traversed, wrapped in all the desolation of winter. For the
+present, however they thought of nothing but flight; urging their horses
+forward over the dreary wastes, and fancying, in the howling of every
+blast, they heard the yell of the pursuer.
+
+At early dawn, the Shoshonie became aware of his loss. Mounting his
+swiftest horse, he set off in hot pursuit. He soon found the trail of
+the fugitives, and spurred on in hopes of overtaking them. The winds,
+however, which swept the valley, had drifted the light snow into the
+prints made by the horses’ hoofs. In a little while he lost all trace of
+them, and was completely thrown out of the chase. He knew, however, the
+situation of the camp toward which they were bound, and a direct course
+through the mountains, by which he might arrive there sooner than the
+fugitives. Through the most rugged defiles, therefore, he urged his
+course by day and night, scarce pausing until he reached the camp. It
+was some time before the fugitives made their appearance. Six days had
+they traversed the wintry wilds. They came, haggard with hunger and
+fatigue, and their horses faltering under them. The first object that
+met their eyes on entering the camp was the Shoshonie brave. He rushed,
+knife in hand, to plunge it in the heart that had proved false to him.
+The trapper threw himself before the cowering form of his mistress,
+and, exhausted as he was, prepared for a deadly struggle. The Shoshonie
+paused. His habitual awe of the white man checked his arm; the trapper’s
+friends crowded to the spot, and arrested him. A parley ensued. A kind
+of crim. con. adjudication took place; such as frequently occurs
+in civilized life. A couple of horses were declared to be a fair
+compensation for the loss of a woman who had previously lost her heart;
+with this, the Shoshonie brave was fain to pacify his passion. He
+returned to Captain Bonneville’s camp, somewhat crestfallen, it is true;
+but parried the officious condolements of his friends by observing that
+two good horses were very good pay for one bad wife.
+
+
+
+
+48.
+
+     Breaking up of winter quarters--Move to Green River--A
+     trapper and his rifle--An arrival in camp--A free trapper
+     and his squaw in distress--Story of a Blackfoot belle.
+
+THE winter was now breaking up, the snows were melted, from the hills,
+and from the lower parts of the mountains, and the time for decamping
+had arrived. Captain Bonneville dispatched a party to the caches, who
+brought away all the effects concealed there, and on the 1st of April
+(1835), the camp was broken up, and every one on the move. The white
+men and their allies, the Eutaws and Shoshonies, parted with many
+regrets and sincere expressions of good-will; for their intercourse
+throughout the winter had been of the most friendly kind.
+
+Captain Bonneville and his party passed by Ham’s Fork, and reached the
+Colorado, or Green River, without accident, on the banks of which they
+remained during the residue of the spring. During this time, they were
+conscious that a band of hostile Indians were hovering about their
+vicinity, watching for an opportunity to slay or steal; but the vigilant
+precautions of Captain Bonneville baffled all their manoeuvres. In such
+dangerous times, the experienced mountaineer is never without his rifle
+even in camp. On going from lodge to lodge to visit his comrades, he
+takes it with him. On seating himself in a lodge, he lays it beside him,
+ready to be snatched up; when he goes out, he takes it up as regularly
+as a citizen would his walking-staff. His rifle is his constant friend
+and protector.
+
+On the 10th of June, the party was a little to the east of the Wind
+River Mountains, where they halted for a time in excellent pasturage, to
+give their horses a chance to recruit their strength for a long journey;
+for it was Captain Bonneville’s intention to shape his course to the
+settlements; having already been detained by the complication of his
+duties, and by various losses and impediments, far beyond the time
+specified in his leave of absence.
+
+While the party was thus reposing in the neighborhood of the Wind River
+Mountains, a solitary free trapper rode one day into the camp, and
+accosted Captain Bonneville. He belonged, he said, to a party of thirty
+hunters, who had just passed through the neighborhood, but whom he had
+abandoned in consequence of their ill treatment of a brother trapper;
+whom they had cast off from their party, and left with his bag and
+baggage, and an Indian wife into the bargain, in the midst of a desolate
+prairie. The horseman gave a piteous account of the situation of this
+helpless pair, and solicited the loan of horses to bring them and their
+effects to the camp.
+
+The captain was not a man to refuse assistance to any one in distress,
+especially when there was a woman in the case; horses were immediately
+dispatched, with an escort, to aid the unfortunate couple. The next day
+they made their appearance with all their effects; the man, a stalwart
+mountaineer, with a peculiarly game look; the woman, a young Blackfoot
+beauty, arrayed in the trappings and trinketry of a free trapper’s
+bride.
+
+Finding the woman to be quick-witted and communicative, Captain
+Bonneville entered into conversation with her, and obtained from
+her many particulars concerning the habits and customs of her tribe;
+especially their wars and huntings. They pride themselves upon being the
+“best legs of the mountains,” and hunt the buffalo on foot. This is done
+in spring time, when the frosts have thawed and the ground is soft. The
+heavy buffaloes then sink over their hoofs at every step, and are easily
+overtaken by the Blackfeet, whose fleet steps press lightly on the
+surface. It is said, however, that the buffaloes on the Pacific side
+of the Rocky Mountains are fleeter and more active than on the Atlantic
+side; those upon the plains of the Columbia can scarcely be overtaken by
+a horse that would outstrip the same animal in the neighborhood of the
+Platte, the usual hunting ground of the Blackfeet. In the course of
+further conversation, Captain Bonneville drew from the Indian woman her
+whole story; which gave a picture of savage life, and of the drudgery
+and hardships to which an Indian wife is subject.
+
+“I was the wife,” said she, “of a Blackfoot warrior, and I served
+him faithfully. Who was so well served as he? Whose lodge was so well
+provided, or kept so clean? I brought wood in the morning, and placed
+water always at hand. I watched for his coming; and he found his meat
+cooked and ready. If he rose to go forth, there was nothing to delay
+him. I searched the thought that was in his heart, to save him the
+trouble of speaking. When I went abroad on errands for him, the chiefs
+and warriors smiled upon me, and the young braves spoke soft things,
+in secret; but my feet were in the straight path, and my eyes could see
+nothing but him.
+
+“When he went out to hunt, or to war, who aided to equip him, but I?
+When he returned, I met him at the door; I took his gun; and he entered
+without further thought. While he sat and smoked, I unloaded his horses;
+tied them to the stakes, brought in their loads, and was quickly at his
+feet. If his moccasins were wet I took them off and put on others which
+were dry and warm. I dressed all the skins he had taken in the chase.
+He could never say to me, why is it not done? He hunted the deer, the
+antelope, and the buffalo, and he watched for the enemy. Everything else
+was done by me. When our people moved their camp, he mounted his horse
+and rode away; free as though he had fallen from the skies. He had
+nothing to do with the labor of the camp; it was I that packed the
+horses and led them on the journey. When we halted in the evening,
+and he sat with the other braves and smoked, it was I that pitched his
+lodge; and when he came to eat and sleep, his supper and his bed were
+ready.
+
+“I served him faithfully; and what was my reward? A cloud was always on
+his brow, and sharp lightning on his tongue. I was his dog; and not his
+wife.
+
+“Who was it that scarred and bruised me? It was he. My brother saw how
+I was treated. His heart was big for me. He begged me to leave my tyrant
+and fly. Where could I go? If retaken, who would protect me? My brother
+was not a chief; he could not save me from blows and wounds, perhaps
+death. At length I was persuaded. I followed my brother from the
+village. He pointed away to the Nez Perces, and bade me go and live in
+peace among them. We parted. On the third day I saw the lodges of the
+Nez Perces before me. I paused for a moment, and had no heart to go on;
+but my horse neighed, and I took it as a good sign, and suffered him to
+gallop forward. In a little while I was in the midst of the lodges. As
+I sat silent on my horse, the people gathered round me, and inquired
+whence I came. I told my story. A chief now wrapped his blanket close
+around him, and bade me dismount. I obeyed. He took my horse to lead him
+away. My heart grew small within me. I felt, on parting with my horse,
+as if my last friend was gone. I had no words, and my eyes were dry. As
+he led off my horse a young brave stepped forward. ‘Are you a chief of
+the people?’ cried he. ‘Do we listen to you in council, and follow
+you in battle? Behold! a stranger flies to our camp from the dogs of
+Blackfeet, and asks protection. Let shame cover your face! The stranger
+is a woman, and alone. If she were a warrior, or had a warrior at her
+side, your heart would not be big enough to take her horse. But he is
+yours. By right of war you may claim him; but look!’--his bow was
+drawn, and the arrow ready!--‘you never shall cross his back!’ The arrow
+pierced the heart of the horse, and he fell dead.
+
+“An old woman said she would be my mother. She led me to her lodge; my
+heart was thawed by her kindness, and my eyes burst forth with tears;
+like the frozen fountains in springtime. She never changed; but as the
+days passed away, was still a mother to me. The people were loud in
+praise of the young brave, and the chief was ashamed. I lived in peace.
+
+“A party of trappers came to the village, and one of them took me for
+his wife. This is he. I am very happy; he treats me with kindness, and
+I have taught him the language of my people. As we were travelling this
+way, some of the Blackfeet warriors beset us, and carried off the horses
+of the party. We followed, and my husband held a parley with them. The
+guns were laid down, and the pipe was lighted; but some of the white
+men attempted to seize the horses by force, and then a battle began.
+The snow was deep, the white men sank into it at every step; but the
+red men, with their snow-shoes, passed over the surface like birds, and
+drove off many of the horses in sight of their owners. With those that
+remained we resumed our journey. At length words took place between the
+leader of the party and my husband. He took away our horses, which had
+escaped in the battle, and turned us from his camp. My husband had one
+good friend among the trappers. That is he (pointing to the man who had
+asked assistance for them). He is a good man. His heart is big. When he
+came in from hunting, and found that we had been driven away, he gave up
+all his wages, and followed us, that he might speak good words for us to
+the white captain.”
+
+
+
+
+49.
+
+     Rendezvous at Wind River--Campaign of Montero and his
+     brigade in the Crow country--Wars between the Crows and
+     Blackfeet--Death--of Arapooish--Blackfeet lurkers--Sagacity
+     of the horse--Dependence of the hunter on his horse--Return
+     to the settlements.
+
+ON the 22d of June Captain Bonneville raised his camp, and moved to the
+forks of Wind River; the appointed place of rendezvous. In a few days he
+was joined there by the brigade of Montero, which had been sent, in the
+preceding year, to beat up the Crow country, and afterward proceed to
+the Arkansas. Montero had followed the early part of his instructions;
+after trapping upon some of the upper streams, he proceeded to Powder
+River. Here he fell in with the Crow villages or bands, who treated
+him with unusual kindness, and prevailed upon him to take up his winter
+quarters among them.
+
+The Crows at that time were struggling almost for existence with their
+old enemies, the Blackfeet; who, in the past year, had picked off the
+flower of their warriors in various engagements, and among the rest,
+Arapooish, the friend of the white men. That sagacious and magnanimous
+chief had beheld, with grief, the ravages which war was making in
+his tribe, and that it was declining in force, and must eventually
+be destroyed unless some signal blow could be struck to retrieve its
+fortunes. In a pitched battle of the two tribes, he made a speech to his
+warriors, urging them to set everything at hazard in one furious charge;
+which done, he led the way into the thickest of the foe. He was
+soon separated from his men, and fell covered with wounds, but his
+self-devotion was not in vain. The Blackfeet were defeated; and
+from that time the Crows plucked up fresh heart, and were frequently
+successful.
+
+Montero had not been long encamped among them, when he discovered that
+the Blackfeet were hovering about the neighborhood. One day the hunters
+came galloping into the camp, and proclaimed that a band of the enemy
+was at hand. The Crows flew to arms, leaped on their horses, and dashed
+out in squadrons in pursuit. They overtook the retreating enemy in the
+midst of a plain. A desperate fight ensued. The Crows had the advantage
+of numbers, and of fighting on horseback. The greater part of the
+Blackfeet were slain; the remnant took shelter in a close thicket of
+willows, where the horse could not enter; whence they plied their bows
+vigorously.
+
+The Crows drew off out of bow-shot, and endeavored, by taunts and
+bravadoes, to draw the warriors Out of their retreat. A few of the best
+mounted among them rode apart from the rest. One of their number then
+advanced alone, with that martial air and equestrian grace for which
+the tribe is noted. When within an arrow’s flight of the thicket, he
+loosened his rein, urged his horse to full speed, threw his body on the
+opposite side, so as to hang by one leg, and present no mark to the foe;
+in this way he swept along in front of the thicket, launching his arrows
+from under the neck of his steed. Then regaining his seat in the saddle,
+he wheeled round and returned whooping and scoffing to his companions,
+who received him with yells of applause.
+
+Another and another horseman repeated this exploit; but the Blackfeet
+were not to be taunted out of their safe shelter. The victors feared
+to drive desperate men to extremities, so they forbore to attempt
+the thicket. Toward night they gave over the attack, and returned
+all-glorious with the scalps of the slain. Then came on the usual feasts
+and triumphs, the scalp-dance of warriors round the ghastly trophies,
+and all the other fierce revelry of barbarous warfare. When the braves
+had finished with the scalps, they were, as usual, given up to the women
+and children, and made the objects of new parades and dances. They were
+then treasured up as invaluable trophies and decorations by the braves
+who had won them.
+
+It is worthy of note, that the scalp of a white man, either through
+policy or fear, is treated with more charity than that of an Indian. The
+warrior who won it is entitled to his triumph if he demands it. In such
+case, the war party alone dance round the scalp. It is then taken down,
+and the shagged frontlet of a buffalo substituted in its place, and
+abandoned to the triumph and insults of the million.
+
+To avoid being involved in these guerillas, as well as to escape
+from the extremely social intercourse of the Crows, which began to be
+oppressive, Montero moved to the distance of several miles from their
+camps, and there formed a winter cantonment of huts. He now maintained a
+vigilant watch at night. Their horses, which were turned loose to graze
+during the day, under heedful eyes, were brought in at night, and shut
+up in strong pens, built of large logs of cotton-wood. The snows, during
+a portion of the winter, were so deep that the poor animals could find
+but little sustenance. Here and there a tuft of grass would peer above
+the snow; but they were in general driven to browse the twigs and tender
+branches of the trees. When they were turned out in the morning, the
+first moments of freedom from the confinement of the pen were spent in
+frisking and gambolling. This done, they went soberly and sadly to work,
+to glean their scanty subsistence for the day. In the meantime the men
+stripped the bark of the cotton-wood tree for the evening fodder. As the
+poor horses would return toward night, with sluggish and dispirited air,
+the moment they saw their owners approaching them with blankets filled
+with cotton-wood bark, their whole demeanor underwent a change. A
+universal neighing and capering took place; they would rush forward,
+smell to the blankets, paw the earth, snort, whinny and prance round
+with head and tail erect, until the blankets were opened, and the
+welcome provender spread before them. These evidences of intelligence
+and gladness were frequently recounted by the trappers as proving the
+sagacity of the animal.
+
+These veteran rovers of the mountains look upon their horses as in some
+respects gifted with almost human intellect. An old and experienced
+trapper, when mounting guard upon the camp in dark nights and times
+of peril, gives heedful attention to all the sounds and signs of the
+horses. No enemy enters nor approaches the camp without attracting their
+notice, and their movements not only give a vague alarm, but it is said,
+will even indicate to the knowing trapper the very quarter whence the
+danger threatens.
+
+In the daytime, too, while a hunter is engaged on the prairie, cutting
+up the deer or buffalo he has slain, he depends upon his faithful horse
+as a sentinel. The sagacious animal sees and smells all round him,
+and by his starting and whinnying, gives notice of the approach of
+strangers. There seems to be a dumb communion and fellowship, a sort of
+fraternal sympathy between the hunter and his horse. They mutually
+rely upon each other for company and protection; and nothing is more
+difficult, it is said, than to surprise an experienced hunter on the
+prairie while his old and favorite steed is at his side.
+
+Montero had not long removed his camp from the vicinity of the Crows,
+and fixed himself in his new quarters, when the Blackfeet marauders
+discovered his cantonment, and began to haunt the vicinity, He kept up a
+vigilant watch, however, and foiled every attempt of the enemy, who,
+at length, seemed to have given up in despair, and abandoned the
+neighborhood. The trappers relaxed their vigilance, therefore, and one
+night, after a day of severe labor, no guards were posted, and the whole
+camp was soon asleep. Toward midnight, however, the lightest sleepers
+were roused by the trampling of hoofs; and, giving the alarm, the whole
+party were immediately on their legs and hastened to the pens. The bars
+were down; but no enemy was to be seen or heard, and the horses being
+all found hard by, it was supposed the bars had been left down through
+negligence. All were once more asleep, when, in about an hour there was
+a second alarm, and it was discovered that several horses were missing.
+The rest were mounted, and so spirited a pursuit took place, that
+eighteen of the number carried off were regained, and but three remained
+in possession of the enemy. Traps for wolves, had been set about
+the camp the preceding day. In the morning it was discovered that a
+Blackfoot was entrapped by one of them, but had succeeded in dragging
+it off. His trail was followed for a long distance which he must have
+limped alone. At length he appeared to have fallen in with some of his
+comrades, who had relieved him from his painful encumbrance.
+
+These were the leading incidents of Montero’s campaign in the Crow
+country. The united parties now celebrated the 4th of July, in rough
+hunters’ style, with hearty conviviality; after which Captain Bonneville
+made his final arrangements. Leaving Montero with a brigade of trappers
+to open another campaign, he put himself at the head of the residue
+of his men, and set off on his return to civilized life. We shall not
+detail his journey along the course of the Nebraska, and so, from point
+to point of the wilderness, until he and his band reached the frontier
+settlements on the 22d of August.
+
+Here, according to his own account, his cavalcade might have been taken
+for a procession of tatterdemalion savages; for the men were ragged
+almost to nakedness, and had contracted a wildness of aspect during
+three years of wandering in the wilderness. A few hours in a populous
+town, however, produced a magical metamorphosis. Hats of the most ample
+brim and longest nap; coats with buttons that shone like mirrors, and
+pantaloons of the most ample plenitude, took place of the well-worn
+trapper’s equipments; and the happy wearers might be seen strolling
+about in all directions, scattering their silver like sailors just from
+a cruise.
+
+The worthy captain, however, seems by no means to have shared the
+excitement of his men, on finding himself once more in the thronged
+resorts of civilized life, but, on the contrary, to have looked back
+to the wilderness with regret. “Though the prospect,” says he, “of once
+more tasting the blessings of peaceful society, and passing days and
+nights under the calm guardianship of the laws, was not without its
+attractions; yet to those of us whose whole lives had been spent in
+the stirring excitement and perpetual watchfulness of adventures in
+the wilderness, the change was far from promising an increase of that
+contentment and inward satisfaction most conducive to happiness. He who,
+like myself, has roved almost from boyhood among the children of the
+forest, and over the unfurrowed plains and rugged heights of the western
+wastes, will not be startled to learn, that notwithstanding all the
+fascinations of the world on this civilized side of the mountains, I
+would fain make my bow to the splendors and gayeties of the metropolis,
+and plunge again amidst the hardships and perils of the wilderness.”
+
+We have only to add that the affairs of the captain have been
+satisfactorily arranged with the War Department, and that he is actually
+in service at Fort Gibson, on our western frontier, where we hope he may
+meet with further opportunities of indulging his peculiar tastes, and of
+collecting graphic and characteristic details of the great western wilds
+and their motley inhabitants.
+
+We here close our picturings of the Rocky Mountains and their wild
+inhabitants, and of the wild life that prevails there; which we have
+been anxious to fix on record, because we are aware that this singular
+state of things is full of mutation, and must soon undergo great
+changes, if not entirely pass away. The fur trade itself, which has
+given life to all this portraiture, is essentially evanescent.
+Rival parties of trappers soon exhaust the streams, especially when
+competition renders them heedless and wasteful of the beaver. The
+furbearing animals extinct, a complete change will come over the scene;
+the gay free trapper and his steed, decked out in wild array, and
+tinkling with bells and trinketry; the savage war chief, plumed and
+painted and ever on the prowl; the traders’ cavalcade, winding through
+defiles or over naked plains, with the stealthy war party lurking on its
+trail; the buffalo chase, the hunting camp, the mad carouse in the
+midst of danger, the night attack, the stampede, the scamper, the fierce
+skirmish among rocks and cliffs--all this romance of savage life, which
+yet exists among the mountains, will then exist but in frontier story,
+and seem like the fictions of chivalry or fairy tale.
+
+Some new system of things, or rather some new modification, will succeed
+among the roving people of this vast wilderness; but just as opposite,
+perhaps, to the inhabitants of civilization. The great Chippewyan chain
+of mountains, and the sandy and volcanic plains which extend on either
+side, are represented as incapable of cultivation. The pasturage which
+prevails there during a certain portion of the year, soon withers under
+the aridity of the atmosphere, and leaves nothing but dreary wastes.
+An immense belt of rocky mountains and volcanic plains, several
+hundred miles in width, must ever remain an irreclaimable wilderness,
+intervening between the abodes of civilization, and affording a last
+refuge to the Indian. Here roving tribes of hunters, living in tents
+or lodges, and following the migrations of the game, may lead a life of
+savage independence, where there is nothing to tempt the cupidity of the
+white man. The amalgamation of various tribes, and of white men of every
+nation, will in time produce hybrid races like the mountain Tartars of
+the Caucasus. Possessed as they are of immense droves of horses should
+they continue their present predatory and warlike habits, they may in
+time become a scourge to the civilized frontiers on either side of the
+mountains, as they are at present a terror to the traveller and trader.
+
+The facts disclosed in the present work clearly manifest the policy of
+establishing military posts and a mounted force to protect our traders
+in their journeys across the great western wilds, and of pushing the
+outposts into the very heart of the singular wilderness we have laid
+open, so as to maintain some degree of sway over the country, and to put
+an end to the kind of “blackmail,” levied on all occasions by the savage
+“chivalry of the mountains.”
+
+
+
+
+Appendix
+
+Nathaniel J. Wyeth, and the Trade of the Far West
+
+WE HAVE BROUGHT Captain Bonneville to the end of his western
+campaigning; yet we cannot close this work without subjoining some
+particulars concerning the fortunes of his contemporary, Mr. Wyeth;
+anecdotes of whose enterprise have, occasionally, been interwoven in
+the party-colored web of our narrative. Wyeth effected his intention of
+establishing a trading post on the Portneuf, which he named Fort Hall.
+Here, for the first time, the American flag was unfurled to the breeze
+that sweeps the great naked wastes of the central wilderness. Leaving
+twelve men here, with a stock of goods, to trade with the neighboring
+tribes, he prosecuted his journey to the Columbia; where he established
+another post, called Fort Williams, on Wappatoo Island, at the mouth
+of the Wallamut. This was to be the head factory of his company; whence
+they were to carry on their fishing and trapping operations, and their
+trade with the interior; and where they were to receive and dispatch
+their annual ship.
+
+The plan of Mr. Wyeth appears to have been well concerted. He had
+observed that the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, the bands of free
+trappers, as well as the Indians west of the mountains, depended for
+their supplies upon goods brought from St. Louis; which, in consequence
+of the expenses and risks of a long land carriage, were furnished them
+at an immense advance on first cost. He had an idea that they might be
+much more cheaply supplied from the Pacific side. Horses would cost
+much less on the borders of the Columbia than at St. Louis: the
+transportation by land was much shorter; and through a country much more
+safe from the hostility of savage tribes; which, on the route from and
+to St. Louis, annually cost the lives of many men. On this idea, he
+grounded his plan. He combined the salmon fishery with the fur trade. A
+fortified trading post was to be established on the Columbia, to carry
+on a trade with the natives for salmon and peltries, and to fish and
+trap on their own account. Once a year, a ship was to come from the
+United States, to bring out goods for the interior trade, and to take
+home the salmon and furs which had been collected. Part of the goods,
+thus brought out, were to be dispatched to the mountains, to supply the
+trapping companies and the Indian tribes, in exchange for their furs;
+which were to be brought down to the Columbia, to be sent home in
+the next annual ship: and thus an annual round was to be kept up. The
+profits on the salmon, it was expected, would cover all the expenses
+of the ship; so that the goods brought out, and the furs carried home,
+would cost nothing as to freight.
+
+His enterprise was prosecuted with a spirit, intelligence, and
+perseverance, that merited success. All the details that we have met
+with, prove him to be no ordinary man. He appears to have the mind to
+conceive, and the energy to execute extensive and striking plans. He had
+once more reared the American flag in the lost domains of Astoria;
+and had he been enabled to maintain the footing he had so gallantly
+effected, he might have regained for his country the opulent trade of
+the Columbia, of which our statesmen have negligently suffered us to be
+dispossessed.
+
+It is needless to go into a detail of the variety of accidents and
+cross-purposes, which caused the failure of his scheme. They were such
+as all undertakings of the kind, involving combined operations by sea
+and land, are liable to. What he most wanted, was sufficient capital
+to enable him to endure incipient obstacles and losses; and to hold
+on until success had time to spring up from the midst of disastrous
+experiments.
+
+It is with extreme regret we learn that he has recently been compelled
+to dispose of his establishment at Wappatoo Island, to the Hudson’s
+Bay Company; who, it is but justice to say, have, according to his own
+account, treated him throughout the whole of his enterprise, with great
+fairness, friendship, and liberality. That company, therefore, still
+maintains an unrivalled sway over the whole country washed by the
+Columbia and its tributaries. It has, in fact, as far as its chartered
+powers permit, followed out the splendid scheme contemplated by Mr.
+Astor, when he founded his establishment at the mouth of the Columbia.
+From their emporium of Vancouver, companies are sent forth in every
+direction, to supply the interior posts, to trade with the natives, and
+to trap upon the various streams. These thread the rivers, traverse
+the plains, penetrate to the heart of the mountains, extend their
+enterprises northward, to the Russian possessions, and southward, to the
+confines of California. Their yearly supplies are received by sea, at
+Vancouver; and thence their furs and peltries are shipped to London.
+They likewise maintain a considerable commerce, in wheat and
+lumber, with the Pacific islands, and to the north, with the Russian
+settlements.
+
+Though the company, by treaty, have a right to a participation only, in
+the trade of these regions, and are, in fact, but tenants on sufferance;
+yet have they quietly availed themselves of the original oversight,
+and subsequent supineness of the American government, to establish
+a monopoly of the trade of the river and its dependencies; and are
+adroitly proceeding to fortify themselves in their usurpation, by
+securing all the strong points of the country.
+
+Fort George, originally Astoria, which was abandoned on the removal of
+the main factory to Vancouver, was renewed in 1830; and is now kept
+up as a fortified post and trading house. All the places accessible to
+shipping have been taken possession of, and posts recently established
+at them by the company.
+
+The great capital of this association; their long established system;
+their hereditary influence over the Indian tribes; their internal
+organization, which makes every thing go on with the regularity of a
+machine; and the low wages of their people, who are mostly Canadians,
+give them great advantages over the American traders: nor is it likely
+the latter will ever be able to maintain any footing in the land, until
+the question of territorial right is adjusted between the two countries.
+The sooner that takes place, the better. It is a question too serious
+to national pride, if not to national interests, to be slurred over; and
+every year is adding to the difficulties which environ it.
+
+The fur trade, which is now the main object of enterprise west of the
+Rocky Mountains, forms but a part of the real resources of the country.
+Beside the salmon fishery of the Columbia, which is capable of being
+rendered a considerable source of profit; the great valleys of the lower
+country, below the elevated volcanic plateau, are calculated to give
+sustenance to countless flocks and herds, and to sustain a great
+population of graziers and agriculturists.
+
+Such, for instance, is the beautiful valley of the Wallamut; from which
+the establishment at Vancouver draws most of its supplies. Here,
+the company holds mills and farms; and has provided for some of its
+superannuated officers and servants. This valley, above the falls, is
+about fifty miles wide, and extends a great distance to the south. The
+climate is mild, being sheltered by lateral ranges of mountains; while
+the soil, for richness, has been equalled to the best of the Missouri
+lands. The valley of the river Des Chutes, is also admirably calculated
+for a great grazing country. All the best horses used by the company for
+the mountains are raised there. The valley is of such happy temperature,
+that grass grows there throughout the year, and cattle may be left out
+to pasture during the winter.
+
+These valleys must form the grand points of commencement of the future
+settlement of the country; but there must be many such, en folded in the
+embraces of these lower ranges of mountains; which, though at present
+they lie waste and uninhabited, and to the eye of the trader and
+trapper, present but barren wastes, would, in the hands of skilful
+agriculturists and husbandmen, soon assume a different aspect, and teem
+with waving crops, or be covered with flocks and herds.
+
+The resources of the country, too, while in the hands of a company
+restricted in its trade, can be but partially called forth; but in the
+hands of Americans, enjoying a direct trade with the East Indies, would
+be brought into quickening activity; and might soon realize the dream of
+Mr. Astor, in giving rise to a flourishing commercial empire.
+
+
+
+
+Wreck of a Japanese Junk on the Northwest Coast
+
+THE FOLLOWING EXTRACT of a letter which we received, lately, from Mr.
+Wyeth, may be interesting, as throwing some light upon the question as
+to the manner in which America has been peopled.
+
+“Are you aware of the fact, that in the winter of 1833, a Japanese
+junk was wrecked on the northwest coast, in the neighborhood of Queen
+Charlotte’s Island; and that all but two of the crew, then much reduced
+by starvation and disease, during a long drift across the Pacific, were
+killed by the natives? The two fell into the hands of the Hudson’s
+Bay Company, and were sent to England. I saw them, on my arrival at
+Vancouver, in 1834.”
+
+
+
+
+Instructions to Captain Bonneville
+
+from the Major-General Commanding the Army of the United States.
+
+Copy
+
+Head Quarters of the Army. Washington 29th July 1831.
+
+Sir,
+
+The leave of absence which you have asked for the purpose of enabling
+you to carry into execution your designs of exploring the country to the
+Rocky Mountains, and beyond with a view of ascertaining the nature and
+character of the various tribes of Indians inhabiting those regions; the
+trade which might be profitably carried on with them, the quality of the
+soil, the productions, the minerals, the natural history, the climate,
+the Geography, and Topography, as well as Geology of the various parts
+of the Country within the limits of the Territories belonging to the
+United States, between our frontier, and the Pacific; has been duly
+considered, and submitted to the War Department, for approval, and has
+been sanctioned.
+
+You are therefore authorised to be absent from the Army until October
+1833.
+
+It is understood that the Government is to be at no expence, in
+reference to your proposed expedition, it having originated with
+yourself, and all that you required was the permission from the proper
+authority to undertake the enterprise. You will naturally in providing
+yourself for the expedition, provide suitable instruments, and
+especially the best Maps of the interior to be found. It is desirable
+besides what is enumerated as the object of enterprise that you note
+particularly the number of Warriors that may belong to each tribe, or
+nation that you may meet with: their alliances with other tribes and
+their relative position as to a state of peace or war, and whether their
+friendly or warlike dispositions towards each other are recent or of
+long standing. You will gratify us by describing the manner of their
+making War, of the mode of subsisting themselves during a state of war,
+and a state of peace, their Arms, and the effect of them, whether they
+act on foot or on horse back, detailing the discipline, and manuvers
+of the war parties, the power of their horses, size and general
+discription; in short any information which you may conceive would be
+useful to the Government. You will avail yourself of every opportunity
+of informing us of your position and progress, and at the expiration of
+your leave of absence will join your proper station.
+
+I have the honor to be Sir, Your Ot St
+
+(Signed) Alexr Macomb Maj Genl Comg
+
+To Cap: B. L E Bonneville 7th Regt Infantry New York
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, by
+Washington Irving
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1372 ***