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diff --git a/39465-8.txt b/39465-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d0e835a --- /dev/null +++ b/39465-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18797 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and Life +on the Frontier, by Frances Fuller Victor + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and Life on the Frontier + Also a History of the Sioux War, and a Life of Gen. George A. Custer with Full Account of His Last Battle + + +Author: Frances Fuller Victor + + + +Release Date: April 17, 2012 [eBook #39465] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ELEVEN YEARS IN THE ROCKY +MOUNTAINS AND LIFE ON THE FRONTIER*** + + +E-text prepared by Greg Bergquist, Cathy Maxam, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 39465-h.htm or 39465-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39465/39465-h/39465-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39465/39465-h.zip) + + + + + +[Illustration: ENGLISH TOURISTS' CAMP--DOUBTFUL FRIENDS.] + + +ELEVEN YEARS IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS +AND LIFE ON THE FRONTIER. + +by + +FRANCES F. VICTOR. + +Also +A History of the Sioux War, and a Life of Gen. George A. Custer +with Full Account of His Last Battle. + +Illustrated by Engravings and Maps. + + + + + + + +Published by Subscription Only. + +Columbian Book Company, +Hartford, Conn. +1877. + +Copyright by +Columbian Book Company. +1877. + + + + +PART I. + +MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES AND FRONTIER LIFE. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +When the author of this book has been absorbed in the elegant narratives +of Washington Irving, reading and musing over _Astoria_ and +_Bonneville_, in the cozy quiet of a New York study, no prescient motion +of the mind ever gave prophetic indication of that personal acquaintance +which has since been formed with the scenes, and even with some of the +characters which figure in the works just referred to. Yet so have +events shaped themselves that to me Astoria is familiar ground; Forts +Vancouver and Walla-Walla pictured forever in my memory; while such +journeys as I have been enabled to make into the country east of the +last named fort, have given me a fair insight into the characteristic +features of its mountains and its plains. + +To-day, a railroad traverses the level stretch between the Missouri +River and the Rocky Mountains, along which, thirty years ago, the +fur-traders had worn a trail by their annual excursions with men, +pack-horses, and sometimes wagons, destined to the Rocky Mountains. +Then, they had to guard against the attacks of the Savages; and in this +respect civilization is behind the railroad, for now, as then, it is not +safe to travel without a sufficient escort. To-day, also, we have new +Territories called by several names cut out of the identical +hunting-grounds of the fur-traders of thirty years ago; and steamboats +plying the rivers where the mountain-men came to set their traps for +beaver; or cities growing up like mushrooms from a soil made quick by +gold, where the hardy mountain-hunter pursued the buffalo herds in +search of his winter's supply of food. + +The wonderful romance which once gave enchantment to stories of hardship +and of daring deeds, suffered and done in these then distant wilds, is +fast being dissipated by the rapid settlement of the new Territories, +and by the familiarity of the public mind with tales of stirring +adventure encountered in the search for glittering ores. It was, then, +not without an emotion of pleased surprise that I first encountered in +the fertile plains of Western Oregon the subject of this biography, a +man fifty-eight years of age, of fine appearance and buoyant temper, +full of anecdote, and with a memory well stored with personal +recollections of all the men of note who have formerly visited the old +Oregon Territory, when it comprised the whole country west of the Rocky +Mountains lying north of California and south of the forty-ninth +parallel. This man is _Joseph L. Meek_, to whose stories of +mountain-life I have listened for days together; and who, after having +figured conspicuously, and not without considerable fame, in the early +history of Oregon, still prides himself most of all on having been a +"mountain-man." + +It has frequently been suggested to Mr. Meek, who has now come to be +known by the familiar title of "Uncle Joe" to all Oregon, that a history +of his varied adventures would make a readable book, and some of his +neighbors have even undertaken to become his historian, yet with so +little well-directed efforts that the task after all has fallen to a +comparative stranger. I confess to having taken hold of it with some +doubts as to my claims to the office; and the best recommendation I can +give my work is the interest I myself felt in the subject of it; and the +only apology I can offer for anything incredible in the narrative which +it may contain, is that I "tell the tale as 'twas told to me," and that +I have no occasion to doubt the truth of it. + +Seeing that the incidents I had to record embraced a period of a score +and a half of years, and that they extended over those years most +interesting in Oregon history, as well as of the history of the Fur +Trade in the West, I have concluded to preface Mr. Meek's adventures +with a sketch of the latter, believing that the information thus +conveyed to the reader will give an additional degree of interest to +their narration. The impression made upon my own mind as I gained a +knowledge of the facts which I shall record in this book relating to the +early occupation of Oregon, was that they were not only profoundly +romantic, but decidedly unique. + +Mr. Meek was born in Washington Co., Virginia, in 1810, one year before +the settlement of _Astoria_, and at a period when Congress was much +interested in the question of our Western possessions and their +boundary. "Manifest destiny" seemed to have raised him up, together with +many others, bold, hardy, and fearless men, to become sentinels on the +outposts of civilization, securing to the United States with comparative +ease a vast extent of territory, for which, without them, a long +struggle with England would have taken place, delaying the settlement of +the Pacific Coast for many years, if not losing it to us altogether. It +is not without a feeling of genuine self-congratulation, that I am able +to bear testimony to the services, hitherto hardly recognized, of the +"mountain-men" who have settled in Oregon. Whenever there shall arise a +studious and faithful historian, their names shall not be excluded from +honorable mention, nor least illustrious will appear that of Joseph L. +Meek, the Rocky Mountain Hunter and Trapper. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +PREFATORY CHAPTER. + + Astoria--Fort Vancouver--Its isolated Position--Precautions against + Indians--The Hudson's Bay Company--Its Policy and Intercourse with + the Indians--The Arrival of the "Brigade"--Other Yearly + Arrivals--Punishment of Indian Offenders--Indian Strategy--A + Hero--The American Fur Companies--Their Dealings with the + Indians--Ashley's Expeditions to Green River--Attack on Smith's + Party--Wyeth's Expeditions--Fort Hall--Decline of the Fur + Trade--Causes of the Indians' Hostility--Dangers attending the + Trapper's Life, 23 + + +CHAPTER I. + + Early Life of Meek--He leaves Home--Enlists in a Fur Company--On + the March--A Warning Voice--Frontier Sports--Last Vestige of + Civilization--On the Plains--A first Adventure--A firm Front--A + Parley--The Summer Rendezvous--An enchanting Picture--The Free + Trapper's Indian Wife--Wild Carousals--Routine of Camp Life--Smoked + Moccasins versus Green Ones--A "Trifling Fellow," 41 + + +CHAPTER II. + + The Camp in Motion--A Trapping Expedition--Opposition to the + Hudson's Bay Company--Beautiful Scenery--The Lost Leader + Found--Rejoicings in Camp--The "Luck" of the Trappers--Conference + of Leaders--The "Devil's Own"--Blackfoot Character--Account of the + Tribes, 57 + + +CHAPTER III. + + How Beaver are Taken--Beaver Dams--Formation of Meadows--Beaver + Lodges--"Bachelors"--Trapping in Winter--"Up to Trap"--Blackfeet on + the Trail--On Guard--The Trapper's Ruse--A disappointed Bear--A + Fight with Blackfeet--"Out of Luck"--Alone in the + Mountains--Splendid Views--A Miserable Night--The last Luxury of + Life--The Awfulness of Solitude--A Singular Discovery--A Hell on + Earth--A Joyful Recognition--Hard Times in Camp--The Negro's + Porcupine--Craig's Rabbit--Deep Snows--What the Scout saw--Bighorn + River--"Colter's Hell"--An Alarm--Arrival at Wind River--Christmas, + 64 + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Removal to Powder River--A Trapper's Paradise--The Transformation + in the Wilderness--The Encampment by Night--Meek takes to + Study--On the Move--Loss of Horses and Traps--Robbed and Insulted + by a Bear--Crossing the Yellowstone--A Novel Ferriage--Annoyance + from Blackfeet--A Cache Opened--A Comrade Killed--Rude Burial + Service--Return to Rendezvous--Gay Times--The old Partners take + Leave, 82 + + +CHAPTER V. + + Grizzly Bears--An Adventure with a Grizzly--The Three "Bares"--The + Mountain-Man's Manners--Joking the Leaders--The Irishman and the + Booshway--How Sublette climbed a Tree and escaped a Bear--Rival + Trappers--Whisky as a Strong Card--Ogden's Indian Wife--Her Courage + and Escape--Winter Quarters--Crow Horse-Thieves--An Expedition on + Foot--Night Attack on the Indian Fort--Fitzpatrick + Missing--Destitution in Camp--A "Medicine-Man" consulted--"Making + Medicine"--A Vision Obtained--Fitzpatrick Found--Death of Smith--An + Expedition on Snow-Shoes, 90 + + +CHAPTER VI + + Annoying Competition--The Chief's Daughter--Sublette Wounded--Forty + Days of Isolation--Sublette and Meek captured by Snake Indians--A + Solemn Council--Sentence of Death--Hope Deferred--A Rescue--The + "Mountain Lamb"--An Obstinate Rival--Blackfeet + Marauders--Fitzpatrick's Adventures in the Mountains--"When the Pie + was opened the Birds began to Sing"--Rough Sports--A Man on + Fire--Brigades ready for the Start--Blackfeet Caravan--Peaceful + Overtures--The Half-Breed's Revenge--A + Battle--Reinforcements--Death of Sinclair--Sublette + Wounded--Greenhorns--A false Alarm--Indian Adroitness--A Deserted + Fort--Incident of the Blackfoot Woman--Murder of a Party by + Blackfeet, 103 + + +CHAPTER VII. + + The March to the Humboldt--Scarcity of Game--Terrible + Sufferings--The Horrors of Thirst and Famine--Eating Ants, Crickets + and Mules--Return to Snake River--A lucky Discovery--A Trout + Supper--The Country of the Diggers--Some Account of Them--Anecdote + of Wyeth and Meek--Comparison of Indian Tribes--The Blackfeet--The + Crows--The Coast Tribes and the Mountain Tribes--The Columbia River + Indians--Their Habits, Customs, and Dress--Indian Commerce--The + Indians of the Plains--Their Dress, Manners, and Wealth--The Horses + of the Plains--Language--The Indian's Moral Nature--Hungry and + Hospitable Savages--A Trap set for a Rival--An Ambush--Death of + Vanderburg--Skirmish with Blackfeet--The Woman Interpreter taken + Prisoner--Bravery of her Husband--Happy Finale--Meek Rescues the + "Mountain Lamb"--Intense Cold--Threatened by Famine--The Den of + Grizzlys--Second Daniels, 119 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + A Visit from Blackfeet--The Green River Rendezvous--A "Powerful + Drunk"--Mad Wolf--A Friendly Warning--A Trip to the Salt Lake + Country--Meek Joins Jo. Walker's California Expedition--Instinct of + the Mule--On the Humboldt River--Massacre of Diggers at Mary's + River--Vain Explorations--Crossing the Sierra Nevadas--Hardships + and Sufferings--The Sacramento Valley--Delight of the + Trappers--Meeting with Spanish Soldiers--A Parley--Escorted to + Monterey--A Hospitable Reception--The Native Californians--Visit to + the Mohave Village--Meeting with Trapp and Jervais--Infamous + Conduct at the Moquis Village--The Return March, 141 + + +CHAPTER IX. + + In the Camanche Country--A Surprise and a Rapid Movement--The Mule + Fort--A Camanche Charge--Sure Aim--Another Charge--More Dead + Indians--Woman's Weapon, the Tongue--Fearful Heat and Sufferings + from Thirst--The Escape by Night--The South Park--Death of + Guthrie--Meeting with Bonneville--Indignant Reproaches, 154 + + +CHAPTER X. + + Gossip at Rendezvous--Adventures in the Crow Country--Fitzpatrick + Picked by the Crows and Flies from Them--Honor among + Thieves--Unfair Treatment of Wyeth--Bonneville Snubbed at + Walla-Walla--He Rejects good Counsel--Wyeth's Threat, and its + Fulfillment--Division of Territory, 160 + + +CHAPTER XI. + + In the Blackfoot Country--A Visit to Wyeth's Trappers--Sorry + Experiences--Condolence and its Effect--The Visitors become + Defenders--A Battle with Fire and Sword--Fighting for Life--The + Trappers' Victory--A Trapping Excursion--Meek Plays a Trick and has + one Played on Him--A Run to Camp--Taking up Traps--A Blackfoot + Ambush--A Running Fire--A lucky Escape--Winter Camp on the + Yellowstone--Interpretation of a Dream--A Buffalo Hunt and a + Blackfoot Surprise--Meek's Mule Story, 166 + + +CHAPTER XII. + + Setting up as a Family Man--First Love--Cut out by the + Booshway--Reward of Constancy--Beauty of Umentucken--Her Dress, Her + Horse and Equipments--Anecdotes of the Mountain Lamb--Her Quarrel + with The Trapper--Capture by Crows--Her Rescue--Meek Avenges an + Insult--A Row in Camp--The Female Element--Death of Umentucken, + 175 + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + Visitors at Rendezvous--Advent of Missionaries--What Brought + Them--Bonneville's account of the Nez Perces and Flatheads--An + Enthusiastic View of Their Characters--Origin of some of Their + Religious Observances--An Indian's Idea of a God--Material Good + Desired--Mistake of the Missionaries--First Sermon in the Rocky + Mountains--Interrupted by Buffaloes--Precept and Example--Dr. + Whitman's Character--The Missionaries Separate--Dr. Whitman Returns + to the States, 181 + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + Meek Falls into the Hands of Crows--The Story as He tells It--He + Packs Moccasins, and Bears the Jeers of the Fair Sex--Bridger's + Camp Discovered and the Lie Found out--A Desperate + Situation--Signaling the Horse-Guard--A Parley with + Bridger--Successful Strategy--Capture of Little-Gun--Meek Set at + Liberty with a New Name--A Fort Besieged by Bears--A Lazy + Trapper--The Decoy of the Delawares--Winter Amusements--The + Ishmaelite of the Wilderness--March through the Crow + Country--Return to Green River--Punishment of the + Bannacks--Consolidation--An Excursion--Intercepted by Crows--A + Scattered Camp--The Escape, 189 + + +CHAPTER XV. + + An Express from Fitzpatrick--The Approach of Missionaries + Announced--The Caravan Welcomed by a Party of Trappers--Noisy + Demonstrations--Curiosity of the Indians--The Missionary + Ladies--Preparations in the Indian Villages--Reception of the + Missionaries by the Nez Perces and Flatheads--Kind Treatment from + the Hudson's Bay Company--The Missionaries' Land of Promise--Visit + to Fort Vancouver--Selection of Missionary Stations, 201 + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + The Den of Rattlesnakes--The Old Frenchman--How to Keep Snakes out + of Bed--The Prairie Dog's Tenants at Will--Fight with + Blackfeet--Policy of War--A Duel Averted--A Run-away Bear--Meek's + Best Bear Fight--Winter Quarters on Powder River--Robbing + Bonneville's Men, 214 + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + A Dissipated Camp--A Crow Carousal--Picked Crows--A Fight with + Blackfeet--Manhead Killed--Night Visit to the Blackfoot + Village--"Cooning a River"--Stanley the Indian Painter--Desperate + Fight with Blackfeet--"The Trapper's Last Shot"--War and Peace--In + the Wrong Camp--To Rendezvous on Wind River--Mr. Gray, and His + Adventures--Massacre of Indian Allies--Capt. Stuart Robbed by + Crows--Newell's Address to the Chiefs, 225 + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + Decline of the Fur Trade--Wild Scenes at Rendezvous--A Missionary + Party--Entertained by a War Dance--Meek in Armor--Deserted by his + Indian Spouse--The Pursuit--Meek abuses a Missionary and Kidnaps + his Wife--Meek's Black Eyed Daughter--Singing for a + Biscuit--Trapping Again--A hot March, and Fearful Suffering from + Thirst--The Old Flathead Woman--Water at Last, 237 + +CHAPTER XIX. + + A Chat about Buffalo Hunting--Buffalo Horses--The Start--The + Pursuit--The Charge--Tumbles--Horsemanship--The Glory of Mountain + Life--How a Nez Perce Village Hunts Buffalo--Kit Carson and the + Frenchman on a Run--Mountain Manners, 246 + + +CHAPTER XX. + + The Solitary Trapper--A Jest--Among the Nez Perces--Their Eagerness + to be Taught--Meek is Called upon to Preach--He modestly + Complies--Asks for a Wife--Polygamy Defended--Meek Gets a Wife--The + Preacher's Salary--Surprised by Blackfeet--Death of Allen--The Last + Rendezvous--Anecdote of Shawnee Jim--The new Wife Missing--Meeting + with Farnham--Cold and Famine--Succor and Food--Parties at Fort + Crockett--Setting up in Trade--How Al. Saved His Bacon--Bad + Times--War upon Horse Thieves--In Search of Adventures--Green River + Canyon--Running Antelope--Gambling--Vain Hunt for + Rendezvous--Reflections and Half-Resolves--The last Trapping + Expedition, 251 + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + A new Start in Life--Mountain-Men for Pioneers--Discovery of the + Columbia River--What Capt. Gray Did--What Vancouver Did--The United + States' Claim to Oregon--First Missionaries to the Wallamet--John + McLaughlin--Hospitalities of Fort Vancouver--The Mission + Reinforced--Other Settlers in the Wallamet Valley--How they + Regarded the Mission--The California Cattle Company--Distribution + of Settlers, 264 + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + Westward Ho!--Opening Wagon Roads--Republicanism--Fat Pork for + Preachers--Mission Work at Waiilatpu--Helen Mar--Off for the + Wallamet--Wagons Left at Walla-Walla--The Dalles Mission--Indian + Prayers--The Missionaries and the Mountain-Men--The Impious + Canadian--Doing Penance--Down the Columbia--Trouble with + Indians--Arrival at the Wallamet--Hunger, and Dependence on Fort + Vancouver--Meeting Old Comrades--Settling on the Tualatin Plains--A + disagreeable Winter--Taking Claims--Who furnished the Seed Wheat, + 271 + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + Scarcity of Employment--Wilkes' Exploring Expedition--Meek Employed + as Pilot--Interchange of Courtesies at Vancouver--"The + Peacock"--Unpleasant Reminder--Exploring the Cowelitz--Wilkes' + Chronometer--Land Expedition to California--Meek + Discharged--Gleaning Wheat--Fifty Miles for an Axe--Visit to the + New Mission--Praying for a Cow--Marriage Ceremony, 280 + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + The Brooding of Events--Arrival of the Chenamus--Meek Celebrates + the Fourth of July--Dr. Whitman Goes to Washington--An Alarming + Feature--Mission Stations of the Upper Country--Discontent of the + Indians--The Missionaries Insulted and Threatened--Mrs. Whitman + Frightened Away from Waiilatpu, 285 + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + The Plot Thickens--The Wolf Association--Suspicions of the + Canadians--"Who's for a Divide?"--The Die Cast--A Shout for + Freedom--Meek Appointed Sheriff--The Provisional Government, 291 + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + Arrival of the Immigration at the Dalles--Wagons + Abandoned--Pitiable Condition of the Women and Children--Aid from + the Hudson's Bay Company--Perils of the Columbia--Wreck of the + Boat--Wonderful Escape--Trials of the New Colonists--The Generous + Savage--The Barefoot Lawyer--Meek's Pumpkin--Privation of the + Settlers--Shopping under Difficulties--Attempt to Manufacture + Ardent Spirits--Dilemma of the People--An Appeal--The Sheriff + Destroys the Distillery--Anecdote of Dr. White and Madam + Cooper--Meek Levies on Her Whisky--First Official Act of the + Sheriff, 294 + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + + Excitement about Indians--Dr. White's Flogging Law--Indian + Revenge--Raid of the Klamaths--Massacre of Indians--Affray at the + Falls--Death of Cockstock--Death of LeBreton and Rogers--"You'd + Better Run"--Meek's Policy with the Indians--Meek and the + Agent--The Borrowed Horse--Solemn Audacity--Wonderful + Transformation--Temperance--Courts--Anecdote of Judge + Nesmith--Early Days of Portland--An Indian Carousal--Meek "Settles + the Indians"--The Immigration of 1845--The Cascade Mountain + Road-Hunters--Hunger and Peril--A Last Request--Succor at the Last + Moment--A Reason for Patriotism, 306 + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + + Difficulty of Collecting Taxes--A Ponderous Currency--Dr. + McLaughlin's Ox--An Exciting Year--The Boundary + Question--"Fifty-four-forty or Fight"--War Vessels in the + Columbia--Loss of the Shark--Meek Receives a Salute--Schenck + Arrested--The Color-Stand of the Shark--"Sunset at the Mouth of the + Columbia," 320 + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + + "The Adventures of a Columbia River Salmon"--History of the + Immigration of 1846--Opening of Southern Route to the + Wallamet--Tragic Fate of the California Immigrants--Sufferings of + the Oregon Immigrants--Tardy Relief--Celebrating the Fourth of + July--Visit to the Ship Brutus--An Insult to the Mountain-Men--The + Indignity Resented with a Twelve-Pounder--Dr. McLaughlin + Interferes--Re-election of Meek--Large Immigration--Failure of the + Territorial Bill--Affray between Immigrants and Indians at the + Dalles--Meeting of the Legislature--Falling of the Thunderbolt, + 325 + + +CHAPTER XXX. + + Trouble with the Up-Country Indians--Causes of their + Disquiet--Their Opinion of the Americans--"Humbugged and + Cheated"--Fear of Greater Frauds in the Future--Resolve not to + Submit--Their Feelings Toward Dr. Whitman--Acts of + Violence--Influence of the Catholic Missionaries--A Season of + Severe Sickness--What Provoked the Massacre--Joe Lewis the + Half-Breed--The Fatal Test--Sickness Among the Immigrants--Dr. + Whitman's Family--Persons at the Mission and Mill--Helen + Mar--Arrival of Mr. Whitman and his Daughter--A Night Visit to the + Umatilla--In the Lodge of Stickas, the Walla-Walla Chief--The + Warning of Stickas and His Family--The Death Song--"Beware of the + Cayuses at the Mission!"--Mr. Spaulding meets Brouillet, the + Catholic Bishop--News of the Massacre--Escape to the Woods--Night + Journeys to Lapwai, 334 + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + + The Tragedy at Waiilatpu--Dr. Whitman's Arrival at Home--Monday + Morning at the Mission--Commencement of the Massacre--The First + Victim--"Oh, the Indians!"--Horrors of the Attack--Shooting of Mrs. + Whitman--Treachery of Jo Lewis--Sufferings of the Children--Indian + Orgies--The Victims Tortured--The Two Compassionate Indians--A + Night of Horror--Remarkable Escape of Mr. Osborne and + Family--Escape and Fate of Mr. Hall--Cruel Treatment of + Fugitives--Kindness of Mr. Stanley--Inhospitable Reception at Fort + Walla-Walla--Touching Kindness of Stickas, 344 + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + + Horrors of the Waiilatpu Massacre--Exemption of the + Catholics--Charges of the Protestants--Natural Suspicions--Further + Particulars of the Massacre--Cruelty to the Children--Fate of the + Young Women--Miss Bulee and the Priests--Lapwai Mission--Arrival of + Mr. Camfield--An Indian Trait--Heroism of Mrs. Spalding--Appeal to + the Chiefs--Arrival of the News--Lapwai Plundered--Treachery of + Joseph--Arrival of Mr. Spalding--Detained as Hostages--Ransomed by + the H.B. Company--The "Blood of the Martyrs"--Country Abandoned to + the Indians--Subsequent Return of Mr. Spalding to the Nez Perces, + 353 + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + + The Call to Arms--Meetings and Speeches--Ways and Means of + Defence--The first Regiment of Oregon Riflemen--Messenger to the + Governor of California--Meek Chosen Messenger to the President of + the United States--He Proceeds to the Dalles--The Army Marches to + Waiilatpu--A Skirmish with the Des Chutes--Burial of the + Victims--Meek Escorted to the Blue Mountains, 362 + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + + Meek's Party--Precautions against Indians--Meeting with + Bannacks--White Lies--Fort Hall--Deep Snows--Horses Abandoned--The + Mountain Spirit Returning--Meeting with Peg-Leg Smith--A Mountain + Revel--Meeting with An Old Leader--Reception at Fort + Laramie--Passing the Sioux Village--Courtesy of a French + Trader--Reflections on Nearing the Settlements--Resolve to Remain + Joe Meek--Reception at St. Joseph--"The Quickest Trip Yet"--Arrival + at St. Louis--Meek as Steamboat Runner--Interview with the Stage + Agent at Wheeling--Astonishing the Natives--The Puzzled + Conductor--Arrival at Washington, 368 + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + + Meek Dines at Coleman's--A Sensation--An Amusing Scene--Recognized + by Senator Underwood--Visit to the President--Cordial Reception by + the Family of Polk--Some Doubts of Himself--Rapid Recovery of + Self-Possession--Action of the Friends of Oregon--The Two Oregon + Representatives--The Oregon Bill in the Senate--Mr. + Thornton--Meek's Successful Debut in Society--Curiosity of + Ladies--Kit Carson and the "Contingent Fund"--Meek's Remarkable + Popularity--Invited to Baltimore by the City Council--Escorts the + President--Visit to Lowell--The Factory Girls--Some Natural + Regrets--Kindness of Mrs. Polk and Mrs. Walker--Commodore + Wilkes--Oregon Lies--Getting Franked--Champagne Suppers, 381 + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + + Meek Appointed U.S. Marshal for Oregon--"Home Sweet Home"--Pay of + the Delegates--The Lion's Share--Meek's Interview with Gov. + Lane--Buying out a Peddler--The Escort of Riflemen--The Start from + St. Louis, and the Route--Meeting Price's Army--An Adventure and a + Pleasant Surprise--Leaving the Wagons--Desertion of + Soldiers--Drought--The Trick of the Yumas--Demoralization of the + Train--Rumors of Gold--Gen. Lane's Coffee--The Writer's + Reflection--The Party on Foot--Extreme Sufferings--Arrival at + William's Ranch--Speculation in Silks and Jack-Knives--Miners at + Los Angelos--Oregonians at San Francisco--Nat Lane and Meek Take + the Gold Fever--Meek's Investment--The Governor and Marshal + Quarrel--Pranks with a Jew--A Salute--Arrival in Oregon City, + 394 + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + + Lane's Course with the Cayuse Indians--Magnanimity of the + Savages--Rebuke to Their Captors--Their Statements to Meek--The + Puzzle of Indian Ethics--Incidents of the Trial and + Execution--State of the Upper Country for A Term of Years--How Meek + Was Received in Oregon--His Incurable Waggishness--Scene in a + Court-Room--Contempt of Court--Judge Nelson and the Carpenters--Two + Hundred Lies--An Excursion by the Oregon Court--Indians Tried for + Murder--Proceedings of a Jury--Sentence and Execution of the + Indians--The Chief's Wife--Cost of Proceedings--Lane's Career in + Oregon--Gov. Davis, 408 + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + Meek as U.S. Marshal--The Captain of the Melvin--The British + Smuggler--Returning a Compliment--"Barly Enough for the Officers of + the Court"--Misused Confidence--Indian Disturbances--The Indian War + of 1855-6--Gen. Wool and Gov. Curry--Officers of the War--How the + Volunteers Fared--Meek as a Volunteer--Feasting and Fun--"Marking + Time"--End of Meek's Public Career, 417 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE. + + ENGLISH TOURISTS' CAMP--DOUBTFUL FRIENDS.--_Frontispiece._ + + WINTER COURIERS OF THE NORTH-WEST FUR COMPANY, 23 + + A STATION OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY, 30 + + WATCHING FOR INDIAN HORSE-THIEVES, 38 + + MAP OF THE FUR COUNTRY, 40 + + THE ENLISTMENT, 42 + + THE SUMMER RENDEZVOUS, 48 + + BEAVERS AT WORK, 66 + + HUNTERS' WINTER CAMP, 81 + + THE THREE "BARES," 92 + + THE WRONG END OF THE TREE, 94 + + SCOUTS IN THE BLACKFOOT COUNTRY--"ELK OR INDIANS?", 132 + + BRANDING CATTLE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, 150 + + A FIGHT WITH CAMANCHES--THE MULE FORT, 155 + + VIEW ON THE COLUMBIA, 165 + + THE FREE TRAPPER'S INDIAN WIFE, 177 + + "INDIANS, BY JOVE!" 200 + + DESCENDING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, 211 + + THE BEAR IN CAMP, 219 + + SATISFIED WITH BEAR FIGHTING, 221 + + CACHE, 227 + + THE TRAPPER'S LAST SHOT, 230 + + THE SQUAW'S ESCAPE, 231 + + HORSE-TAIL FALLS, 245 + + A BUFFALO HUNT, 246 + + CASTLE ROCK, COLUMBIA RIVER, 263 + + WRECKED IN THE RAPIDS, 294 + + A WILD INDIAN IN TOWN, 307 + + THE CASCADE MOUNTAIN ROAD-HUNTERS, 317 + + MOUNT HOOD FROM THE DALLES, 343 + + MASSACRE OF THE WHITMAN FAMILY, 344 + + MEEK AS A STEAMBOAT RUNNER, 375 + + "TAKE CARE KNOX," 385 + + A MOUNTAIN-MAN IN CLOVER, 392 + + GOV. LANE AND MEEK ON THE COLORADO DESERT, 401 + + MEEK AS U.S. MARSHAL--SCENE IN A COURT-ROOM, 413 + + + + +[Illustration: WINTER COURIERS OF THE NORTH-WEST FUR COMPANY.] + + + + +PREFATORY CHAPTER. + + AN ACCOUNT OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S INTERCOURSE WITH THE + INDIANS OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST; WITH A SKETCH OF THE DIFFERENT + AMERICAN FUR COMPANIES, AND THEIR DEALINGS WITH THE TRIBES OF THE + ROCKY MOUNTAINS. + + +In the year 1818, Mr. Prevost, acting for the United States, received +Astoria back from the British, who had taken possession, as narrated by +Mr. Irving, four years previous. The restoration took place in +conformity with the treaty of Ghent, by which those places captured +during the war were restored to their original possessors. Mr. Astor +stood ready at that time to renew his enterprise on the Columbia River, +had Congress been disposed to grant him the necessary protection which +the undertaking required. Failing to secure this, when the United States +sloop of war Ontario sailed away from Astoria, after having taken formal +possession of that place for our Government, the country was left to the +occupancy, (scarcely a joint-occupancy, since there were then no +Americans here,) of the British traders. After the war, and while +negotiations were going on between Great Britain and the United States, +the fort at Astoria had remained in possession of the North-West +Company, as their principal establishment west of the mountains. It had +been considerably enlarged since it had come into their possession, and +was furnished with artillery enough to have frightened into friendship a +much more warlike people than the subjects of old king Comcomly; who, it +will be remembered, was not at first very well disposed towards the +"King George men," having learned to look upon the "Boston men" as his +friends in his earliest intercourse with the whites. At this time +Astoria, or _Fort George_, as the British traders called it, contained +sixty-five inmates, twenty-three of whom were whites, and the remainder +Canadian half-breeds and Sandwich Islanders. Besides this number of men, +there were a few women, the native wives of the men, and their +half-breed offspring. The situation of Astoria, however, was not +favorable, being near the sea coast, and not surrounded with good +farming lands such as were required for the furnishing of provisions to +the fort. Therefore, when in 1821 it was destroyed by fire, it was only +in part rebuilt, but a better and more convenient location for the +headquarters of the North-West Company was sought for in the interior. + +About this time a quarrel of long standing between the Hudson's Bay and +North-West Companies culminated in a battle between their men in the +Red River country, resulting in a considerable loss of life and +property. This affair drew the attention of the Government at home; the +rights of the rival companies were examined into, the mediation of the +Ministry secured, and a compromise effected, by which the North-West +Company, which had succeeded in dispossessing the Pacific Fur Company +under Mr. Astor, was merged into the Hudson's Bay Company, whose name +and fame are so familiar to all the early settlers of Oregon. + +At the same time, Parliament passed an act by which the hands of the +consolidated company were much strengthened, and the peace and security +of all persons greatly insured; but which became subsequently, in the +joint occupancy of the country, a cause of offence to the American +citizens, as we shall see hereafter. This act allowed the commissioning +of Justices of the Peace in all the territories not belonging to the +United States, nor already subject to grants. These justices were to +execute and enforce the laws and decisions of the courts of Upper +Canada; to take evidence, and commit and send to Canada for trial the +guilty; and even in some cases, to hold courts themselves for the trial +of criminal offences and misdemeanors not punishable with death, or of +civil causes in which the amount at issue should not exceed two hundred +pounds. + +Thus in 1824, the North-West Company, whose perfidy had occasioned such +loss and mortification to the enterprising New York merchant, became +itself a thing of the past, and a new rule began in the region west of +the Rocky Mountains. The old fort at Astoria having been only so far +rebuilt as to answer the needs of the hour, after due consideration, a +site for head-quarters was selected about one hundred miles from the +sea, near the mouth of the Wallamet River, though opposite to it. Three +considerations went to make up the eligibility of the point selected. +First, it was desirable, even necessary, to settle upon good +agricultural lands, where the Company's provisions could be raised by +the Company's servants. Second, it was important that the spot chosen +should be upon waters navigable for the Company's vessels, or upon +tide-water. Lastly, and not leastly, the Company had an eye to the +boundary question between Great Britain and the United States; and +believing that the end of the controversy would probably be to make the +Columbia River the northern limit of the United States territory, a spot +on the northern bank of that river was considered a good point for their +fort, and possible future city. + +The site chosen by the North-West Company in 1821, for their new fort, +combined all these advantages, and the further one of having been +already commenced and named. Fort Vancouver became at once on the +accession of the Hudson's Bay Company, the metropolis of the northwest +coast, the center of the fur trade, and the seat of government for that +immense territory, over which roamed the hunters and trappers in the +employ of that powerful corporation. This post was situated on the edge +of a beautiful sloping plain on the northern bank of the Columbia, about +six miles above the upper mouth of the Wallamet. At this point the +Columbia spreads to a great width, and is divided on the south side into +bayous by long sandy islands, covered with oak, ash, and cotton-wood +trees, making the noble river more attractive still by adding the charm +of curiosity concerning its actual breadth to its natural and ordinary +magnificence. Back of the fort the land rose gently, covered with +forests of fir; and away to the east swelled the foot-hills of the +Cascade range, then the mountains themselves, draped in filmy azure, and +over-topped five thousand feet by the snowy cone of Mt. Hood. + +In this lonely situation grew up, with the dispatch which characterized +the acts of the Company, a fort in most respects similar to the original +one at Astoria. It was not, however, thought necessary to make so great +a display of artillery as had served to keep in order the subjects of +Comcomly. A stockade enclosed a space about eight hundred feet long by +five hundred broad, having a bastion at one corner, where were mounted +three guns, while two eighteen pounders and two swivels were planted in +front of the residence of the Governor and chief factors. These +commanded the main entrance to the fort, besides which there were two +other gates in front, and another in the rear. Military precision was +observed in the precautions taken against surprises, as well as in all +the rules of the place. The gates were opened and closed at certain +hours, and were always guarded. No large number of Indians were +permitted within the enclosure at the same time, and every employee at +the fort knew and performed his duty with punctuality. + +The buildings within the stockade were the Governor's and chief factors' +residences, stores, offices, work-shops, magazines, warehouses, &c. + +Year by year, up to 1835 or '40, improvements continued to go on in and +about the fort, the chief of which was the cultivation of the large farm +and garden outside the enclosure, and the erection of a hospital +building, large barns, servants' houses, and a boat-house, all outside +of the fort; so that at the period when the Columbia River was a romance +and a mystery to the people of the United States, quite a flourishing +and beautiful village adorned its northern shore, and that too erected +and sustained by the enemies of American enterprise on soil commonly +believed to belong to the United States: fair foes the author firmly +believes them to have been in those days, yet foes nevertheless. + +The system on which the Hudson's Bay Company conducted its business was +the result of long experience, and was admirable for its method and its +justice also. When a young man entered its service as a clerk, his wages +were small for several years, increasing only as his ability and good +conduct entitled him to advancement. When his salary had reached one +hundred pounds sterling he became eligible to a chief-tradership as a +partner in the concern, from which position he was promoted to the rank +of a chief factor. No important business was ever intrusted to an +inexperienced person, a policy which almost certainly prevented any +serious errors. A regular tariff was established on the Company's goods, +comprising all the articles used in their trade with the Indians; nor +was the quality of their goods ever allowed to deteriorate. A price was +also fixed upon furs according to their market value, and an Indian +knowing this, knew exactly what he could purchase. No bartering was +allowed. When skins were offered for sale at the fort they were handed +to the clerk through a window like a post-office delivery-window, and +their value in the article desired, returned through the same aperture. +All these regulations were of the highest importance to the good order, +safety, and profit of the Company. The confidence of the Indians was +sure to be gained by the constancy and good faith always observed toward +them, and the Company obtained thereby numerous and powerful allies in +nearly all the tribes. + +As soon as it was possible to make the change, the Indians were denied +the use of intoxicating drinks, the appetite for which had early been +introduced among them by coasting vessels, and even continued by the +Pacific Fur Company at Astoria. It would have been dangerous to have +suddenly deprived them of the coveted stimulus; therefore the practice +must be discontinued by many wise arts and devices. A public notice was +given that the sale of it would be stopped, and the reasons for this +prohibition explained to the Indians. Still, not to come into direct +conflict with their appetites, a little was sold to the chiefs, now and +then, by the clerks, who affected to be running the greatest risks in +violating the order of the company. The strictest secrecy was enjoined +on the lucky chief who, by the friendship of some under-clerk, was +enabled to smuggle off a bottle under his blanket. But the cunning clerk +had generally managed to get his "good friend" into a state so cleverly +between drunk and sober, before he entrusted him with the precious +bottle, that he was sure to betray himself. Leaving the shop with a mien +even more erect than usual, with a gait affected in its majesty, and his +blanket tightened around him to conceal his secret treasure, the +chuckling chief would start to cross the grounds within the fort. If he +was a new customer, he was once or twice permitted to play his little +game with the obliging clerk whose particular friend he was, and to +escape detection. + +But by-and-by, when the officers had seen the offence repeated more than +once from their purposely contrived posts of observation, one of them +would skillfully chance to intercept the guilty chief at whose comical +endeavors to appear sober he was inwardly laughing, and charge him with +being intoxicated. Wresting away the tightened blanket, the bottle +appeared as evidence that could not be controverted, of the duplicity of +the Indian and the unfaithfulness of the clerk, whose name was instantly +demanded, that he might be properly punished. When the chief again +visited the fort, his particular friend met him with a sorrowful +countenance, reproaching him for having been the cause of his disgrace +and loss. This reproach was the surest means of preventing another +demand for rum, the Indian being too magnanimous, probably, to wish to +get his friend into trouble; while the clerk affected to fear the +consequences too much to be induced to take the risk another time. Thus +by kind and careful means the traffic in liquors was at length broken +up, which otherwise would have ruined both Indian and trader. + +To the company's servants liquor was sold or allowed at certain times: +to those on the sea-board, one half-pint two or three times a year, to +be used as medicine,--not that it was always needed or used for this +purpose, but too strict inquiry into its use was wisely avoided,--and +for this the company demanded pay. To their servants in the interior no +liquor was sold, but they were furnished as a gratuity with one pint on +leaving rendezvous, and another on arriving at winter quarters. By this +management, it became impossible for them to dispose of drink to the +Indians; their small allowance being always immediately consumed in a +meeting or parting carouse. + +The arrival of men from the interior at Fort Vancouver usually took +place in the month of June, when the Columbia was high, and a stirring +scene it was. The chief traders generally contrived their march through +the upper country, their camps, and their rendezvous, so as to meet the +Express which annually came to Vancouver from Canada and the Red River +settlements. They then descended the Columbia together, and arrived in +force at the Fort. This annual fleet went by the name of Brigade--a name +which suggested a military spirit in the crews that their appearance +failed to vindicate. Yet, though there was nothing warlike in the scene, +there was much that was exciting, picturesque, and even brilliant; for +these _couriers de bois_, or wood-rangers, and the _voyageurs_, or +boatmen, were the most foppish of mortals when they came to rendezvous. +Then, too, there was an exaltation of spirits on their safe arrival at +head-quarters, after their year's toil and danger in wildernesses, among +Indians and wild beasts, exposed to famine and accident, that almost +deprived them of what is called "common sense," and compelled them to +the most fantastic excesses. + +Their well-understood peculiarities did not make them the less welcome +at Vancouver. When the cry was given--"the Brigade! the Brigade!"--there +was a general rush to the river's bank to witness the spectacle. In +advance came the chief-trader's barge, with the company's flag at the +bow, and the cross of St. George at the stern: the fleet as many abreast +as the turnings of the river allowed. With strong and skillful strokes +the boatmen governed their richly laden boats, keeping them in line, and +at the same time singing in chorus a loud and not unmusical hunting or +boating song. The gay ribbons and feathers with which the singers were +bedecked took nothing from the picturesqueness of their appearance. The +broad, full river, sparkling in the sunlight, gemmed with emerald +islands, and bordered with a rich growth of flowering shrubbery; the +smiling plain surrounding the Fort; the distant mountains, where +glittered the sentinel Mt. Hood, all came gracefully into the picture, +and seemed to furnish a fitting back-ground and middle distance for the +bright bit of coloring given by the moving life in the scene. As with a +skillful sweep the brigade touched the bank, and the traders and men +sprang on shore, the first cheer which had welcomed their appearance was +heartily repeated, while a gay clamor of questions and answers followed. + +After the business immediately incident to their arrival had been +dispatched, then took place the regale of pork, flour, and spirits, +which was sure to end in a carouse, during which blackened eyes and +broken noses were not at all uncommon; but though blood was made to +flow, life was never put seriously in peril, and the belligerent parties +were the best of friends when the fracas was ended. + +The business of exchange being completed in three or four weeks--the +rich stores of peltries consigned to their places in the warehouse, and +the boats reladen with goods for the next year's trade with the Indians +in the upper country, a parting carouse took place, and with another +parade of feathers, ribbons, and other finery, the brigade departed +with songs and cheers as it had come, but with probably heavier hearts. + +It would be a stern morality indeed which could look upon the excesses +of this peculiar class as it would upon the same excesses committed by +men in the enjoyment of all the comforts and pleasures of civilized +life. For them, during most of the year, was only an out-door life of +toil, watchfulness, peril, and isolation. When they arrived at the +rendezvous, for the brief period of their stay they were allowed perfect +license because nothing else would content them. Although at +head-quarters they were still in the wilderness, thousands of miles from +civilization, with no chance of such recreations as men in the continual +enjoyment of life's sweetest pleasures would naturally seek. For them +there was only one method of seeking and finding temporary oblivion of +the accustomed hardship; and whatever may be the strict rendering of +man's duty as an immortal being, we cannot help being somewhat lenient +at times to his errors as a mortal. + +After the departure of the boats, there was another arrival at the Fort, +of trappers from the Snake River country. Previous to 1832, such were +the dangers of the fur trade in this region, that only the most +experienced traders were suffered to conduct a party through it; and +even they were frequently attacked, and sometimes sustained serious +losses of men and animals. Subsequently, however, the Hudson's Bay +Company obtained such an influence over even these hostile tribes as to +make it safe for a party of no more than two of their men to travel +through this much dreaded region. + +There was another important arrival at Fort Vancouver, usually in +midsummer. This was the Company's supply ship from London. In the +possible event of a vessel being lost, one cargo was always kept on +store at Vancouver; but for which wise regulation much trouble and +disaster might have resulted, especially in the early days of the +establishment. Occasionally a vessel foundered at sea or was lost on the +bar of the Columbia; but these losses did not interrupt the regular +transaction of business. The arrival of a ship from London was the +occasion of great bustle and excitement also. She brought not only goods +for the posts throughout the district of the Columbia, but letters, +papers, private parcels, and all that seemed of so much value to the +little isolated world at the Fort. + +A company conducting its business with such method and regularity as has +been described, was certain of success. Yet some credit also must attach +to certain individuals in its service, whose faithfulness, zeal, and +ability in carrying out its designs, contributed largely to its welfare. +Such a man was at the head of the Hudson's Bay Company's affairs in the +large and important district west of the Rocky Mountains. The Company +never had in its service a more efficient man than Gov. John McLaughlin, +more commonly called Dr. McLaughlin. + +To the discipline, at once severe and just, which Dr. McLaughlin +maintained in his district, was due the safety and prosperity of the +company he served, and the servants of that company generally; as well +as, at a later period, of the emigration which followed the hunter and +trapper into the wilds of Oregon. Careful as were all the officers of +the Hudson's Bay Company, they could not always avoid conflicts with the +Indians; nor was their kindness and justice always sufficiently +appreciated to prevent the outbreak of savage instincts. Fort Vancouver +had been threatened in an early day; a vessel or two had been lost in +which the Indians were suspected to have been implicated; at long +intervals a trader was murdered in the interior; or more frequently, +Indian insolence put to the test both the wisdom and courage of the +officers to prevent an outbreak. + +When murders and robberies were committed, it was the custom at Fort +Vancouver to send a strong party to demand the offenders from their +tribe; Such was the well known power and influence of the Company, and +such the wholesome fear of the "King George men," that this demand was +never resisted, and if the murderer could be found he was given up to be +hung according to "King George" laws. They were almost equally impelled +to good conduct by the state of dependence on the company into which +they had been brought. Once they had subsisted and clothed themselves +from the spoils of the rivers and forest; since they had tasted of the +tree of knowledge of good and evil, they could no more return to skins +for raiment, nor to game alone for food. Blankets and flour, beads, +guns, and ammunition had become dear to their hearts: for all these +things they must love and obey the Hudson's Bay Company. Another fine +stroke of policy in the Company was to destroy the chieftain-ships in +the various tribes; thus weakening them by dividing them and preventing +dangerous coalitions of the leading spirits: for in savage as well as +civilized life, the many are governed by the few. + +It may not be uninteresting in this place to give a few anecdotes of the +manner in which conflicts with the Indians were prevented, or offences +punished by the Hudson's Bay Company. In the year 1828 the ship _William +and Ann_ was cast away just inside the bar of the Columbia, under +circumstances which seemed to direct suspicion to the Indians in that +vicinity. Whether or not they had attacked the ship, not a soul was +saved from the wreck to tell how she was lost. On hearing that the ship +had gone to pieces, and that the Indians had appropriated a portion of +her cargo, Dr. McLaughlin sent a message to the chiefs, demanding +restitution of the stolen goods. Nothing was returned by the messenger +except one or two worthless articles. Immediately an armed force was +sent to the scene of the robbery with a fresh demand for the goods, +which the chiefs, in view of their spoils, thought proper to resist by +firing upon the reclaiming party. But they were not unprepared; and a +swivel was discharged to let the savages know what they might expect in +the way of firearms. The argument was conclusive, the Indians fleeing +into the woods. While making search for the goods, a portion of which +were found, a chief was observed skulking near, and cocking his gun; on +which motion one of the men fired, and he fell. This prompt action, the +justice of which the Indians well understood, and the intimidating power +of the swivel, put an end to the incipient war. Care was then taken to +impress upon their minds that they must not expect to profit by the +disasters of vessels, nor be tempted to murder white men for the sake of +plunder. The _William and Ann_ was supposed to have got aground, when +the savages seeing her situation, boarded her and murdered the crew for +the cargo which they knew her to contain. Yet as there were no positive +proofs, only such measures were taken as would deter them from a similar +attempt in future. That the lesson was not lost, was proven two years +later, when the _Isabella_, from London, struck on the bar, her crew +deserting her. In this instance no attempt was made to meddle with the +vessel's cargo; and as the crew made their way to Vancouver, the goods +were nearly all saved. + +In a former voyage of the _William and Ann_ to the Columbia River, she +had been sent on an exploring expedition to the Gulf of Georgia to +discover the mouth of Frazier's River, having on board a crew of forty +men. Whenever the ship came to anchor, two sentries were kept constantly +on deck to guard against any surprise or misconduct on the part of the +Indians; so adroit, however, were they in the light-fingered art, that +every one of the eight cannon with which the ship was armed was robbed +of its ammunition, as was discovered on leaving the river! Such +incidents as these served to impress the minds of the Company's officers +and servants with the necessity of vigilance in their dealings with the +savages. + +Not all their vigilance could at all times avail to prevent mischief. +When Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, was on a +visit to Vancouver in 1829, he was made aware of this truism. The +Governor was on his return to Canada by way of the Red River Settlement, +and had reached the Dalles of the Columbia with his party. In making the +portage at this place, all the party except Dr. Tod gave their guns into +the charge of two men to prevent their being stolen by the Indians, who +crowded about, and whose well-known bad character made great care +needful. All went well, no attempt to seize either guns or other +property being made until at the end of the portage the boats had been +reloaded. As the party were about to re-embark, a simultaneous rush was +made by the Indians who had dogged their steps, to get possession of the +boats. Dr. Tod raised his gun immediately, aiming at the head chief, +who, not liking the prospect of so speedy dissolution, ordered his +followers to desist, and the party were suffered to escape. It was soon +after discovered that every gun belonging to the party in the boat had +been wet, excepting the one carried by Dr. Tod; and to the fact that the +Doctor did carry his gun, all the others owed their lives. + +The great desire of the Indians for guns and ammunition led to many +stratagems which were dangerous to the possessors of the coveted +articles. Much more dangerous would it have been to have allowed them a +free supply of these things; nor could an Indian purchase from the +Company more than a stated supply, which was to be used, not for the +purposes of war, but to keep himself in game. + +[Illustration: A STATION OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.] + +Dr. McLaughlin was himself once quite near falling into a trap of the +Indians, so cunningly laid as to puzzle even him. This was a report +brought to him by a deputation of Columbia River Indians, stating the +startling fact that the fort at Nesqually had been attacked, and every +inmate slaughtered. To this horrible story, told with every appearance +of truth, the Doctor listened with incredulity mingled with apprehension. +The Indians were closely questioned and cross-questioned, but did not +conflict in their testimony. The matter assumed a very painful aspect. +Not to be deceived, the Doctor had the unwelcome messengers committed to +custody while he could bring other witnesses from their tribe. But they +were prepared for this, and the whole tribe were as positive as those +who brought the tale. Confounded by this cloud of witnesses, Dr. +McLaughlin had almost determined upon sending an armed force to +Nesqually to inquire into the matter, and if necessary, punish the +Indians, when a detachment of men arrived from that post, and the plot +was exposed! The design of the Indians had been simply to cause a +division of the force at Vancouver, after which they believed they might +succeed in capturing and plundering the fort. Had they truly been +successful in this undertaking, every other trading-post in the country +would have been destroyed. But so long as the head-quarters of the +Company remained secure and powerful, the other stations were +comparatively safe. + +An incident which has been several times related, occurred at fort +Walla-Walla, and shows how narrow escapes the interior traders sometimes +made. The hero of this anecdote was Mr. McKinlay, one of the most +estimable of the Hudson's Bay Company's officers, in charge of the fort +just named. An Indian was one day lounging about the fort, and seeing +some timbers lying in a heap that had been squared for pack saddles, +helped himself to one and commenced cutting it down into a whip handle +for his own use. To this procedure Mr. McKinlay's clerk demurred, first +telling the Indian its use, and then ordering him to resign the piece of +timber. The Indian insolently replied that the timber was his, and he +should take it. At this the clerk, with more temper than prudence, +struck the offender, knocking him over, soon after which the savage left +the fort with sullen looks boding vengeance. The next day Mr. McKinlay, +not being informed of what had taken place, was in a room of the fort +with his clerk when a considerable party of Indians began dropping +quietly in until there were fifteen or twenty of them inside the +building. The first intimation of anything wrong McKinlay received was +when he observed the clerk pointed out in a particular manner by one of +the party. He instantly comprehended the purpose of his visitors, and +with that quickness of thought which is habitual to the student of +savage nature, he rushed into the store room and returned with a powder +keg, flint and steel. By this time the unlucky clerk was struggling for +his life with his vindictive foes. Putting down the powder in their +midst and knocking out the head of the keg with a blow, McKinlay stood +over it ready to strike fire with his flint and steel. The savages +paused aghast. They knew the nature of the "perilous stuff," and also +understood the trader's purpose. "Come," said he with a clear, +determined voice, "you are twenty braves against us two: now touch him +if you dare, and see who dies first." In a moment the fort was cleared, +and McKinlay was left to inquire the cause of what had so nearly been a +tragedy. It is hardly a subject of doubt whether or not his clerk got a +scolding. Soon after, such was the powerful influence exerted by these +gentlemen, the chief of the tribe flogged the pilfering Indian for the +offence, and McKinlay became a great brave, a "big heart" for his +courage. + +It was indeed necessary to have courage, patience, and prudence in +dealing with the Indians. These the Hudson's Bay officers generally +possessed. Perhaps the most irascible of them all in the Columbia +District, was their chief, Dr. McLaughlin; but such was his goodness and +justice that even the savages recognized it, and he was _hyas tyee_, or +great chief, in all respects to them. Being on one occasion very much +annoyed by the pertinacity of an Indian who was continually demanding +pay for some stones with which the Doctor was having a vessel ballasted, +he seized one of some size, and thrusting it in the Indian's mouth, +cried out in a furious manner, "pay, pay! if the stones are yours, take +them and eat them, you rascal! Pay, pay! the devil! the devil!" upon +which explosion of wrath, the native owner of the soil thought it +prudent to withdraw his immediate claims. + +There was more, however, in the Doctor's action than mere indulgence of +wrath. He understood perfectly that the savage values only what he can +eat and wear, and that as he could not put the stones to either of these +uses, his demand for pay was an impudent one. + +Enough has been said to give the reader an insight into Indian +character, to prepare his mind for events which are to follow, to convey +an idea of the influence of the Hudson's Bay Company, and to show on +what it was founded. The American Fur Companies will now be sketched, +and their mode of dealing with the Indians contrasted with that of the +British Company. The comparison will not be favorable; but should any +unfairness be suspected, a reference to Mr. Irving's _Bonneville_, will +show that the worthy Captain was forced to witness against his own +countrymen in his narrative of his hunting and trading adventures in the +Rocky Mountains. + + * * * * * + +The dissolution of the Pacific Fur Company, the refusal of the United +States Government to protect Mr. Astor in a second attempt to carry on a +commerce with the Indians west of the Rocky Mountains, and the +occupation of that country by British traders, had the effect to deter +individual enterprise from again attempting to establish commerce on the +Pacific coast. The people waited for the Government to take some steps +toward the encouragement of a trans-continental trade; the Government +beholding the lion (British) in the way, waited for the expiration of +the convention of 1818, in the Micawber-like hope that something would +"turn up" to settle the question of territorial sovereignty. The war of +1812 had been begun on the part of Great Britain, to secure the great +western territories to herself for the profits of the fur trade, almost +solely. Failing in this, she had been compelled, by the treaty of Ghent, +to restore to the United States all the places and forts captured during +that war. Yet the forts and trading posts in the west remained +practically in the possession of Great Britain; for her traders and fur +companies still roamed the country, excluding American trade, and +inciting (so the frontiers-men believed), the Indians to acts of blood +and horror. + +Congress being importuned by the people of the West, finally, in 1815, +passed an act expelling British traders from American territory east of +the Rocky Mountains. Following the passage of this act the hunters and +trappers of the old North American Company, at the head of which Mr. +Astor still remained, began to range the country about the head waters +of the Mississippi and the upper Missouri. Also a few American traders +had ventured into the northern provinces of Mexico, previous to the +overthrow of the Spanish Government; and after that event, a thriving +trade grew up between St. Louis and Santa Fé. + +At length, in 1823, Mr. W.H. Ashley, of St. Louis, a merchant for a long +time engaged in the fur trade on the Missouri and its tributaries, +determined to push a trading party up to or beyond the Rocky Mountains. +Following up the Platte River, Mr. Ashley proceeded at the head of a +large party with horses and merchandise, as far as the northern branch +of the Platte, called the Sweetwater. This he explored to its source, +situated in that remarkable depression in the Rocky Mountains, known as +the South Pass--the same which Fremont _discovered_ twenty years later, +during which twenty years it was annually traveled by trading parties, +and just prior to Fremont's discovery, by missionaries and emigrants +destined to Oregon. To Mr. Ashley also belongs the credit of having +first explored the head-waters of the Colorado, called the Green River, +afterwards a favorite rendezvous of the American Fur Companies. The +country about the South Pass proved to be an entirely new hunting +ground, and very rich in furs, as here many rivers take their rise, +whose head-waters furnished abundant beaver. Here Mr. Ashley spent the +summer, returning to St. Louis in the fall with a valuable collection of +skins. + +In 1824, Mr. Ashley repeated the expedition, extending it this time +beyond Green River as far as Great Salt Lake, near which to the south he +discovered another smaller lake, which he named Lake Ashley, after +himself. On the shores of this lake he built a fort for trading with the +Indians, and leaving in it about one hundred men, returned to St. Louis +the second time with a large amount of furs. During the time the fort +was occupied by Mr. Ashley's men, a period of three years, more than one +hundred and eighty thousand dollars worth of furs were collected and +sent to St. Louis. In 1827, the fort, and all Mr. Ashley's interest in +the business, was sold to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, at the head of +which were Jedediah Smith, William Sublette, and David Jackson, Sublette +being the leading spirit in the Company. + +The custom of these enterprising traders, who had been in the mountains +since 1824, was to divide their force, each taking his command to a good +hunting ground, and returning at stated times to rendezvous, generally +appointed on the head-waters of Green River. Frequently the other fur +companies, (for there were other companies formed on the heels of +Ashley's enterprise,) learning of the place appointed for the yearly +rendezvous, brought their goods to the same resort, when an intense +rivalry was exhibited by the several traders as to which company should +soonest dispose of its goods, getting, of course, the largest amount of +furs from the trappers and Indians. So great was the competition in the +years between 1826 and 1829, when there were about six hundred American +trappers in and about the Rocky Mountains, besides those of the Hudson's +Bay Company, that it was death for a man of one company to dispose of +his furs to a rival association. Even a "free trapper"--that is, one not +indentured, but hunting upon certain terms of agreement concerning the +price of his furs and the cost of his outfit, only, dared not sell to +any other company than the one he had agreed with. + +Jedediah Smith, of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, during their first +year in the mountains, took a party of five trappers into Oregon, being +the first American, trader or other, to cross into that country since +the breaking up of Mr. Astor's establishment. He trapped on the +head-waters of the Snake River until autumn, when he fell in with a +party of Hudson's Bay trappers, and going with them to their post in the +Flathead country, wintered there. + +Again, in 1826, Smith, Sublette, and Jackson, brought out a large number +of men to trap in the Snake River country, and entered into direct +competition with the Hudson's Bay Company, whom they opposed with hardly +a degree more of zeal than they competed with rival American traders: +this one extra degree being inspired by a "spirit of '76" toward +anything British. + +After the Rocky Mountain Fur Company had extended its business by the +purchase of Mr. Ashley's interest, the partners determined to push their +enterprise to the Pacific coast, regardless of the opposition they were +likely to encounter from the Hudson's Bay traders. Accordingly, in the +spring of 1827, the Company was divided up into three parts, to be led +separately, by different routes, into the Indian Territory, nearer the +ocean. + +Smith's route was from the Platte River, southwards to Santa Fé, thence +to the bay of San Francisco, and thence along the coast to the Columbia +River. His party were successful, and had arrived in the autumn of the +following year at the Umpqua River, about two hundred miles south of the +Columbia, in safety. Here one of those sudden reverses to which the +"mountain-man" is liable at any moment, overtook him. His party at this +time consisted of thirteen men, with their horses, and a collection of +furs valued at twenty thousand dollars. Arrived at the Umpqua, they +encamped for the night on its southern bank, unaware that the natives in +this vicinity (the Shastas) were more fierce and treacherous than the +indolent tribes of California, for whom, probably, they had a great +contempt. All went well until the following morning, the Indians hanging +about the camp, but apparently friendly. Smith had just breakfasted, and +was occupied in looking for a fording-place for the animals, being on a +raft, and having with him a little Englishman and one Indian. When they +were in the middle of the river the Indian snatched Smith's gun and +jumped into the water. At the same instant a yell from the camp, which +was in sight, proclaimed that it was attacked. Quick as thought Smith +snatched the Englishman's gun, and shot dead the Indian in the river. + +To return to the camp was certain death. Already several of his men had +fallen; overpowered by numbers he could not hope that any would escape, +and nothing was left him but flight. He succeeded in getting to the +opposite shore with his raft before he could be intercepted, and fled +with his companion, on foot and with only one gun, and no provisions, to +the mountains that border the river. With great good fortune they were +enabled to pass through the remaining two hundred miles of their journey +without accident, though not without suffering, and reach Fort Vancouver +in a destitute condition, where they were kindly cared for. + +Of the men left in camp, only two escaped. One man named Black defended +himself until he saw an opportunity for flight, when he escaped to the +cover of the woods, and finally to a friendly tribe farther north, near +the coast, who piloted him to Vancouver. The remaining man was one +Turner, of a very powerful frame, who was doing camp duty as cook on +this eventful morning. When the Indians rushed upon him he defended +himself with a huge firebrand, or half-burnt poplar stick, with which he +laid about him like Sampson, killing four red-skins before he saw a +chance of escape. Singularly, for one in his extremity, he did escape, +and also arrived at Vancouver that winter. + +Dr. McLaughlin received the unlucky trader and his three surviving men +with every mark and expression of kindness, and entertained them through +the winter. Not only this, but he dispatched a strong, armed party to +the scene of the disaster to punish the Indians and recover the stolen +goods; all of which was done at his own expense, both as an act of +friendship toward his American rivals, and as necessary to the +discipline which they everywhere maintained among the Indians. Should +this offence go unpunished, the next attack might be upon one of his own +parties going annually down into California. Sir George Simpson, the +Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, chanced to be spending the winter +at Vancouver. He offered to send Smith to London the following summer, +in the Company's vessel, where he might dispose of his furs to +advantage; but Smith declined this offer, and finally sold his furs to +Dr. McLaughlin, and returned in the spring to the Rocky Mountains. + +On Sublette's return from St. Louis, in the summer of 1829, with men and +merchandise for the year's trade, he became uneasy on account of Smith's +protracted absence. According to a previous plan, he took a large party +into the Snake River country to hunt. Among the recruits from St. Louis +was Joseph L. Meek, the subject of the narrative following this chapter. +Sublette not meeting with Smith's party on its way from the Columbia, as +he still hoped, at length detailed a party to look for him on the +head-waters of the Snake. Meek was one of the men sent to look for the +missing partner, whom he discovered at length in Pierre's Hole, a deep +valley in the mountains, from which issues the Snake River in many +living streams. Smith returned with the men to camp, where the tale of +his disasters was received after the manner of mountain-men, simply +declaring with a momentarily sobered countenance, that their comrade has +not been "in luck;" with which brief and equivocal expression of +sympathy the subject is dismissed. To dwell on the dangers incident to +their calling would be to half disarm themselves of their necessary +courage; and it is only when they are gathered about the fire in their +winter camp, that they indulge in tales of wild adventure and +"hair-breadth 'scapes," or make sorrowful reference to a comrade lost. + +Influenced by the hospitable treatment which Smith had received at the +hands of the Hudson's Bay Company, the partners now determined to +withdraw from competition with them in the Snake country, and to trap +upon the waters of the Colorado, in the neighborhood of their fort. But +"luck," the mountain-man's Providence, seemed to have deserted Smith. In +crossing the Colorado River with a considerable collection of skins, he +was again attacked by Indians, and only escaped by losing all his +property. He then went to St. Louis for a supply of merchandise, and +fitted out a trading party for Santa Fé; but on his way to that place +was killed in an encounter with the savages. + +Turner, the man who so valiantly wielded the firebrand on the Umpqua +River, several years later met with a similar adventure on the Rogue +River, in Southern Oregon, and was the means of saving the lives of his +party by his courage, strength, and alertness. He finally, when trapping +had become unprofitable, retired upon a farm in the Wallamet Valley, as +did many other mountain-men who survived the dangers of their perilous +trade. + +After the death of Smith, the Rocky Mountain Fur Company continued its +operations under the command of Bridger, Fitzpatrick, and Milton +Sublette, brother of William. In the spring of 1830 they received about +two hundred recruits, and with little variation kept up their number of +three or four hundred men for a period of eight or ten years longer, or +until the beaver were hunted out of every nook and corner of the Rocky +Mountains. + +Previous to 1835, there were in and about the Rocky Mountains, beside +the "American" and "Rocky Mountain" companies, the St. Louis Company, +and eight or ten "lone traders." Among these latter were William +Sublette, Robert Campbell, J.O. Pattie, Mr. Pilcher, Col. Charles Bent, +St. Vrain, William Bent, Mr. Gant, and Mr. Blackwell. All these +companies and traders more or less frequently penetrated into the +countries of New Mexico, Old Mexico, Sonora, and California; returning +sometimes through the mountain regions of the latter State, by the +Humboldt River to the head-waters of the Colorado. Seldom, in all their +journeys, did they intrude on that portion of the Indian Territory lying +within three hundred miles of Fort Vancouver, or which forms the area of +the present State of Oregon. + +Up to 1832, the fur trade in the West had been chiefly conducted by +merchants from the frontier cities, especially by those of St. Louis. +The old "North American" was the only exception. But in the spring of +this year, Captain Bonneville, an United States officer on furlough, led +a company of a hundred men, with a train of wagons, horses and mules, +with merchandise, into the trapping grounds of the Rocky Mountains. His +wagons were the first that had ever crossed the summit of these +mountains, though William Sublette had, two or three years previous, +brought wagons as far as the valley of the Wind River, on the east side +of the range. Captain Bonneville remained nearly three years in the +hunting and trapping grounds, taking parties of men into the Colorado, +Humboldt, and Sacramento valleys; but he realized no profits from his +expedition, being opposed and competed with by both British and American +traders of larger experience. + +But Captain Bonneville's venture was a fortunate one compared with that +of Mr. Nathaniel Wyeth of Massachusetts, who also crossed the continent +in 1832, with the view of establishing a trade on the Columbia River. +Mr. Wyeth brought with him a small party of men, all inexperienced in +frontier or mountain life, and destined for a salmon fishery on the +Columbia. He had reached Independence, Missouri, the last station before +plunging into the wilderness, and found himself somewhat at a loss how +to proceed, until, at this juncture, he was overtaken by the party of +William Sublette, from St. Louis to the Rocky Mountains, with whom he +travelled in company to the rendezvous at Pierre's Hole. + +When Wyeth arrived at the Columbia River, after tarrying until he had +acquired some mountain experiences, he found that his vessel, which was +loaded with merchandise for the Columbia River trade, had not arrived. +He remained at Vancouver through the winter, the guest of the Hudson's +Bay Company, and either having learned or surmised that his vessel was +wrecked, returned to the United States in the following year. Not +discouraged, however, he made another venture in 1834, despatching the +ship _May Dacre_, Captain Lambert, for the Columbia River, with another +cargo of Indian goods, traveling himself overland with a party of two +hundred men, and a considerable quantity of merchandise which he +expected to sell to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. In this expectation +he was defeated by William Sublette, who had also brought out a large +assortment of goods for the Indian trade, and had sold out, supplying +the market, before Mr. Wyeth arrived. + +Wyeth then built a post, named Fort Hall, on Snake River, at the +junction of the Portneuf, where he stored his goods, and having detached +most of his men in trapping parties, proceeded to the Columbia River to +meet the _May Dacre_. He reached the Columbia about the same time with +his vessel, and proceeded at once to erect a salmon fishery. To forward +this purpose he built a post, called Fort William, on the lower end of +Wappatoo (now known as Sauvie's) Island, near where the Lower Wallamet +falls into the Columbia. But for various reasons he found the business +on which he had entered unprofitable. He had much trouble with the +Indians, his men were killed or drowned, so that by the time he had half +a cargo of fish, he was ready to abandon the effort to establish a +commerce with the Oregon Indians, and was satisfied that no enterprise +less stupendous and powerful than that of the Hudson's Bay Company could +be long sustained in that country. + +Much complaint was subsequently made by Americans, chiefly Missionaries, +of the conduct of that company in not allowing Mr. Wyeth to purchase +beaver skins of the Indians, but Mr. Wyeth himself made no such +complaint. Personally, he was treated with unvarying kindness, courtesy, +and hospitality. As a trader, they would not permit him to undersell +them. In truth, they no doubt wished him away; because competition would +soon ruin the business of either, and they liked not to have the Indians +taught to expect more than their furs were worth, nor to have the +Indians' confidence in themselves destroyed or tampered with. + +The Hudson's Bay Company were hardly so unfriendly to him as the +American companies; since to the former he was enabled to sell his goods +and fort on the Snake River, before he returned to the United States, +which he did in 1835. + +The sale of Fort Hall to the Hudson's Bay Company was a finishing blow +at the American fur trade in the Rocky Mountains, which after two or +three years of constantly declining profits, was entirely abandoned. + +Something of the dangers incident to the life of the hunter and trapper +may be gathered from the following statements, made by various parties +who have been engaged in it. In 1808, a Missouri Company engaged in fur +hunting on the three forks of the river Missouri, were attacked by +Blackfeet, losing twenty-seven men, and being compelled to abandon the +country. In 1823, Mr. Ashley was attacked on the same river by the +Arickaras, and had twenty-six men killed. About the same time the +Missouri company lost seven men, and fifteen thousand dollars' worth of +merchandise on the Yellowstone River. A few years previous, Major Henry +lost, on the Missouri River, six men and fifty horses. In the sketch +given of Smith's trading adventures is shown how uncertain were life and +property at a later period. Of the two hundred men whom Wyeth led into +the Indian country, only about forty were alive at the end of three +years. There was, indeed, a constant state of warfare between the +Indians and the whites, wherever the American Companies hunted, in which +great numbers of both lost their lives. Add to this cause of decimation +the perils from wild beasts, famine, cold, and all manner of accidents, +and the trapper's chance of life was about one in three. + +Of the causes which have produced the enmity of the Indians, there are +about as many. It was found to be the case almost universally, that on +the first visit of the whites the natives were friendly, after their +natural fears had been allayed. But by degrees their cupidity was +excited to possess themselves of the much coveted dress, arms, and goods +of their visitors. As they had little or nothing to offer in exchange, +which the white man considered an equivalent, they took the only method +remaining of gratifying their desire of possession, and _stole_ the +coveted articles which they could not purchase. When they learned that +the white men punished theft, they murdered to prevent the punishment. +Often, also, they had wrongs of their own to avenge. White men did not +always regard their property-rights. They were guilty of infamous +conduct toward Indian women. What one party of whites told them was +true, another plainly contradicted, leaving the lie between them. They +were overbearing toward the Indians on their own soil, exciting to +irrepressible hostility the natural jealousy of the inferior toward the +superior race, where both are free, which characterizes all people. In +short, the Indians were not without their grievances; and from barbarous +ignorance and wrong on one side, and intelligent wrong-doing on the +other, together with the misunderstandings likely to arise between two +entirely distinct races, grew constantly a thousand abuses, which +resulted in a deadly enmity between the two. + +For several reasons this evil existed to a greater degree among the +American traders and trappers than among the British. The American +trapper was not, like the Hudson's Bay employees, bred to the business. +Oftener than any other way he was some wild youth who, after an +_escapade_ in the society of his native place, sought safety from +reproach or punishment in the wilderness. Or he was some disappointed +man who, with feelings embittered towards his fellows, preferred the +seclusion of the forest and mountain. Many were of a class disreputable +everywhere, who gladly embraced a life not subject to social laws. A few +were brave, independent, and hardy spirits, who delighted in the +hardships and wild adventures their calling made necessary. All these +men, the best with the worst, were subject to no will but their own; and +all experience goes to prove that a life of perfect liberty is apt to +degenerate into a life of license. Even their own lives, and those of +their companions, when it depended upon their own prudence, were but +lightly considered. The constant presence of danger made them reckless. +It is easy to conceive how, under these circumstances, the natives and +the foreigners grew to hate each other, in the Indian country; +especially after the Americans came to the determination to "shoot an +Indian at sight," unless he belonged to some tribe with whom they had +intermarried, after the manner of the trappers. + +[Illustration: WATCHING FOR INDIAN HORSE-THIEVES.] + +On the other hand, the employees of the Hudson's Bay Company were many +of them half-breeds or full-blooded Indians of the Iroquois nation, +towards whom nearly all the tribes were kindly disposed. Even the +Frenchmen who trapped for this company were well liked by the Indians on +account of their suavity of manner, and the ease with which they adapted +themselves to savage life. Besides most of them had native wives and +half-breed children, and were regarded as relatives. They were trained +to the life of a trapper, were subject to the will of the Company, and +were generally just and equitable in their dealings with the Indians, +according to that company's will, and the dictates of prudence. Here was +a wide difference. + +Notwithstanding this, there were many dangers to be encountered. The +hostility of some of the tribes could never be overcome; nor has it ever +abated. Such were the Crows, the Blackfeet, the Cheyennes, the Apaches, +the Camanches. Only a superior force could compel the friendly offices +of these tribes for any white man, and then their treachery was as +dangerous as their open hostility. + +It happened, therefore, that although the Hudson's Bay Company lost +comparatively few men by the hands of the Indians, they sometimes found +them implacable foes in common with the American trappers; and +frequently one party was very glad of the others' assistance. +Altogether, as has before been stated, the loss of life was immense in +proportion to the number employed. + +Very few of those who had spent years in the Rocky Mountains ever +returned to the United States. With their Indian wives and half-breed +children, they scattered themselves throughout Oregon, until when, a +number of years after the abandonment of the fur trade, Congress donated +large tracts of land to actual settlers, they laid claim, each to his +selected portion, and became active citizens of their adopted state. + +[Illustration: MAP OF THE FUR COUNTRY.] + + + + +A TRAPPER AND PIONEER'S LIFE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +As has been stated in the Introduction, Joseph L. Meek was a native of +Washington Co., Va. Born in the early part of the present century, and +brought up on a plantation where the utmost liberty was accorded to the +"young massa;" preferring out-door sports with the youthful bondsmen of +his father, to study with the bald-headed schoolmaster who furnished him +the alphabet on a paddle; possessing an exhaustless fund of waggish +humor, united to a spirit of adventure and remarkable personal strength, +he unwittingly furnished in himself the very material of which the +heroes of the wilderness were made. Virginia, "the mother of +Presidents," has furnished many such men, who, in the early days of the +now populous Western States, became the hardy frontiers-men, or the +fearless Indian fighters who were the bone and sinew of the land. + +When young Joe was about eighteen years of age, he wearied of the +monotony of plantation life, and jumping into the wagon of a neighbor +who was going to Louisville, Ky., started out in life for himself. He +"reckoned they did not grieve for him at home;" at which conclusion +others besides Joe naturally arrive on hearing of his heedless +disposition, and utter contempt for the ordinary and useful employments +to which other men apply themselves. + +Joe probably believed that should his father grieve for him, his +step-mother would be able to console him; this step-mother, though a +pious and good woman, not being one of the lad's favorites, as might +easily be conjectured. It was such thoughts as these that kept up his +resolution to seek the far west. In the autumn of 1828 he arrived in St. +Louis, and the following spring he fell in with Mr. Wm. Sublette, of the +Rocky Mountain Fur Company, who was making his annual visit to that +frontier town to purchase merchandise for the Indian country, and pick +up recruits for the fur-hunting service. To this experienced leader he +offered himself. + +[Illustration: THE ENLISTMENT.] + +"How old are you?" asked Sublette. + +"A little past eighteen." + +"And you want to go to the Rocky Mountains?" + +"Yes." + +"You don't know what you are talking about, boy. You'll be killed before +you get half way there." + +"If I do, I reckon I can die!" said Joe, with a flash of his fall dark +eyes, and throwing back his shoulders to show their breadth. + +"Come," exclaimed the trader, eyeing the youthful candidate with +admiration, and perhaps a touch of pity also; "that is the game spirit. +I think you'll do, after all. Only be prudent, and keep your wits about +you." + +"Where else should they be?" laughed Joe, as he marched off, feeling an +inch or two taller than before. + +Then commenced the business of preparing for the journey--making +acquaintance with the other recruits--enjoying the novelty of owning an +outfit, being initiated into the mysteries of camp duty by the few old +hunters who were to accompany the expedition, and learning something of +their swagger and disregard of civilized observances. + +On the 17th of March, 1829, the company, numbering about sixty men, left +St. Louis, and proceeded on horses and mules, with pack-horses for the +goods, up through the state of Missouri. Camp-life commenced at the +start; and this being the season of the year when the weather is most +disagreeable, its romance rapidly melted away with the snow and sleet +which varied the sharp spring wind and the frequent cold rains. The +recruits went through all the little mishaps incident to the business +and to their inexperience, such as involuntary somersaults over the +heads of their mules, bloody noses, bruises, dusty faces, bad colds, +accidents in fording streams,--yet withal no very serious hurts or +hindrances. Rough weather and severe exercise gave them wolfish +appetites, which sweetened the coarse camp-fare and amateur cooking. + +Getting up at four o'clock of a March morning to kindle fires and +attend to the animals was not the most delectable duty that our +labor-despising young recruit could have chosen; but if he repented of +the venture he had made nobody was the wiser. Sleeping of stormy nights +in corn-cribs or under sheds, could not be by any stretch of imagination +converted into a highly romantic or heroic mode of lodging one's self. +The squalid manner of living of the few inhabitants of Missouri at this +period, gave a forlorn aspect to the country which is lacking in the +wilderness itself;--a thought which sometimes occurred to Joe like a +hope for the future. Mountain-fare he began to think must be better than +the boiled corn and pork of the Missourians. Antelope and buffalo meat +were more suitable viands for a hunter than coon and opossum. Thus those +very duties which seemed undignified, and those hardships without danger +or glory, which marked the beginning of his career made him ambitious of +a more free and hazardous life on the plains and in the mountains. + +Among the recruits was a young man not far from Joe's own age, named +Robert Newell, from Ohio. One morning, when the company was encamped +near Boonville, the two young men were out looking for their mules, when +they encountered an elderly woman returning from the milking yard with a +gourd of milk. Newell made some remark on the style of vessel she +carried, when she broke out in a sharp voice,-- + +"Young chap, I'll bet you run off from your mother! Who'll mend them +holes in the elbow of your coat? You're a purty looking chap to go to +the mountains, among them Injuns! They'll _kill_ you. You'd better go +back home!" + +Considering that these frontier people knew what Indian fighting was, +this was no doubt sound and disinterested advice, notwithstanding it +was given somewhat sharply. And so the young men felt it to be; but it +was not in the nature of either of them to turn back from a course +because there was danger in it. The thought of home, and somebody to +mend their coats, was, however, for the time strongly presented. But the +company moved on, with undiminished numbers, stared at by the few +inhabitants, and having their own little adventures, until they came to +Independence, the last station before committing themselves to the +wilderness. + +At this place, which contained a dwelling-house, cotton-gin, and +grocery, the camp tarried for a few days to adjust the packs, and +prepare for a final start across the plains. On Sunday the settlers got +together for a shooting-match, in which some of the travelers joined, +without winning many laurels. Coon-skins, deer-skins, and bees-wax +changed hands freely among the settlers, whose skill with the rifle was +greater than their hoard of silver dollars. This was the last vestige of +civilization which the company could hope to behold for years; and rude +as it was, yet won from them many a parting look as they finally took +their way across the plains toward the Arkansas River. + +Often on this part of the march a dead silence fell upon the party, +which remained unbroken for miles of the way. Many no doubt were +regretting homes by them abandoned, or wondering dreamily how many and +whom of that company would ever see the Missouri country again. Many +indeed went the way the woman of the gourd had prophesied; but not the +hero of this story, nor his comrade Newell. + +The route of Captain Sublette led across the country from near the mouth +of the Kansas River to the River Arkansas; thence to the South Fork of +the Platte; thence on to the North Fork of that River, to where Ft. +Laramie now stands; thence up the North Fork to the Sweetwater, and +thence across in a still northwesterly direction to the head of Wind +River. + +The manner of camp-travel is now so well known through the writings of +Irving, and still more from the great numbers which have crossed the +plains since _Astoria_ and _Bonneville_ were written, that it would be +superfluous here to enter upon a particular description of a train on +that journey. A strict half-military discipline had to be maintained, +regular duties assigned to each person, precautions taken against the +loss of animals either by straying or Indian stampeding, etc. Some of +the men were appointed as camp-keepers, who had all these things to look +after, besides standing guard. A few were selected as hunters, and these +were free to come and go, as their calling required. None but the most +experienced were chosen for hunters, on a march; therefore our recruit +could not aspire to that dignity yet. + +The first adventure the company met with worthy of mention after leaving +Independence, was in crossing the country between the Arkansas and the +Platte. Here the camp was surprised one morning by a band of Indians a +thousand strong, that came sweeping down upon them in such warlike style +that even Captain Sublette was fain to believe it his last battle. Upon +the open prairie there is no such thing as flight, nor any cover under +which to conceal a party even for a few moments. It is always fight or +die, if the assailants are in the humor for war. + +Happily on this occasion the band proved to be more peaceably disposed +than their appearance indicated, being the warriors of several +tribes--the Sioux, Arapahoes, Kiowas, and Cheyennes, who had been +holding a council to consider probably what mischief they could do to +some other tribes. The spectacle they presented as they came at full +speed on horseback, armed, painted, brandishing their weapons, and +yelling in first-rate Indian style, was one which might well strike with +a palsy the stoutest heart and arm. What were a band of sixty men +against a thousand armed warriors in full fighting trim, with spears, +shields, bows, battle-axes, and not a few guns? + +But it is the rule of the mountain-men to _fight_--and that there is a +chance for life until the breath is out of the body; therefore Captain +Sublette had his little force drawn up in line of battle. On came the +savages, whooping and swinging their weapons above their heads. Sublette +turned to his men. "When you hear my shot, then fire." Still they came +on, until within about fifty paces of the line of waiting men. Sublette +turned his head, and saw his command with their guns all up to their +faces ready to fire, then raised his own gun. Just at this moment the +principal chief sprang off his horse and laid his weapon on the ground, +making signs of peace. Then followed a talk, and after the giving of a +considerable present, Sublette was allowed to depart. This he did with +all dispatch, the company putting as much distance as possible between +themselves and their visitors before making their next camp. Considering +the warlike character of these tribes and their superior numbers, it was +as narrow an escape on the part of the company as it was an exceptional +freak of generosity on the part of the savages to allow it. But Indians +have all a great respect for a man who shows no fear; and it was most +probably the warlike movement of Captain Sublette and his party which +inspired a willingness on the part of the chief to accept a present, +when he had the power to have taken the whole train. Besides, according +to Indian logic, the present cost him nothing, and it might cost him +many warriors to capture the train. Had there been the least wavering +on Sublette's part, or fear in the countenances of his men, the end of +the affair would have been different. This adventure was a grand +initiation of the raw recruits, giving them both an insight into savage +modes of attack, and an opportunity to test their own nerve. + +The company proceeded without accident, and arrived, about the first of +July, at the rendezvous, which was appointed for this year on the Popo +Agie, one of the streams which form the head-waters of Bighorn River. + +Now, indeed, young Joe had an opportunity of seeing something of the +life upon which he had entered. As customary, when the traveling partner +arrived at rendezvous with the year's merchandise, there was a meeting +of all the partners, if they were within reach of the appointed place. +On this occasion Smith was absent on his tour through California and +Western Oregon, as has been related in the prefatory chapter. Jackson, +the resident partner, and commander for the previous year, was not yet +in; and Sublette had just arrived with the goods from St. Louis. + +All the different hunting and trapping parties and Indian allies were +gathered together, so that the camp contained several hundred men, with +their riding and pack-horses. Nor were Indian women and children wanting +to give variety and an appearance of domesticity to the scene. + +[Illustration: _THE SUMMER RENDEZVOUS._] + +The Summer rendezvous was always chosen in some valley where there was +grass for the animals, and game for the camp. The plains along the Popo +Agie, besides furnishing these necessary bounties, were bordered by +picturesque mountain ranges, whose naked bluffs of red sandstone glowed +in the morning and evening sun with a mellowness of coloring charming to +the eye of the Virginia recruit. The waving grass of the plain, +variegated with wild flowers; the clear summer heavens flecked with +white clouds that threw soft shadows in passing; the grazing animals +scattered about the meadows; the lodges of the _Booshways_,[A] around +which clustered the camp in motley garb and brilliant coloring; gay +laughter, and the murmur of soft Indian voices, all made up a most +spirited and enchanting picture, in which the eye of an artist could not +fail to delight. + + [A] Leaders or chiefs--corrupted from the French of Bourgeois, and + borrowed from the Canadians. + +But as the goods were opened the scene grew livelier. All were eager to +purchase, most of the trappers to the full amount of their year's wages; +and some of them, generally free trappers, went in debt to the company +to a very considerable amount, after spending the value of a year's +labor, privation, and danger, at the rate of several hundred dollars in +a single day. + +The difference between a hired and a free trapper was greatly in favor +of the latter. The hired trapper was regularly indentured, and bound not +only to hunt and trap for his employers, but also to perform any duty +required of him in camp. The Booshway, or the trader, or the partisan, +(leader of the detachment,) had him under his command, to make him take +charge of, load and unload the horses, stand guard, cook, hunt fuel, or, +in short, do any and every duty. In return for this toilsome service he +received an outfit of traps, arms and ammunition, horses, and whatever +his service required. Besides his outfit, he received no more than three +or four hundred dollars a year as wages. + +There was also a class of free trappers, who were furnished with their +outfit by the company they trapped for, and who were obliged to agree to +a certain stipulated price for their furs before the hunt commenced. +But the genuine free trapper regarded himself as greatly the superior of +either of the foregoing classes. He had his own horses and +accoutrements, arms and ammunition. He took what route he thought fit, +hunted and trapped when and where he chose; traded with the Indians; +sold his furs to whoever offered highest for them; dressed flauntingly, +and generally had an Indian wife and half-breed children. They prided +themselves on their hardihood and courage; even on their recklessness +and profligacy. Each claimed to own the best horse; to have had the +wildest adventures; to have made the most narrow escapes; to have killed +the greatest number of bears and Indians; to be the greatest favorite +with the Indian belles, the greatest consumer of alcohol, and to have +the most money to spend, _i. e._ the largest credit on the books of the +company. If his hearers did not believe him, he was ready to run a race +with him, to beat him at "old sledge," or to fight, if fighting was +preferred,--ready to prove what he affirmed in any manner the company +pleased. + +If the free trapper had a wife, she moved with the camp to which he +attached himself, being furnished with a fine horse, caparisoned in the +gayest and costliest manner. Her dress was of the finest goods the +market afforded, and was suitably ornamented with beads, ribbons, +fringes, and feathers. Her rank, too, as a free trapper's wife, gave her +consequence not only in her own eyes, but in those of her tribe, and +protected her from that slavish drudgery to which as the wife of an +Indian hunter or warrior she would have been subject. The only authority +which the free trapper acknowledged was that of his Indian spouse, who +generally ruled in the lodge, however her lord blustered outside. + +One of the free trapper's special delights was to take in hand the raw +recruits, to gorge their wonder with his boastful tales, and to amuse +himself with shocking his pupil's civilized notions of propriety. Joe +Meek did not escape this sort of "breaking in;" and if it should appear +in the course of this narrative that he proved an apt scholar, it will +but illustrate a truth--that high spirits and fine talents tempt the +tempter to win them over to his ranks. But Joe was not won over all at +once. He beheld the beautiful spectacle of the encampment as it has been +described, giving life and enchantment to the summer landscape, changed +into a scene of the wildest carousal, going from bad to worse, until +from harmless noise and bluster it came to fighting and loss of life. At +this first rendezvous he was shocked to behold the revolting exhibition +of four trappers playing at a game of cards with the dead body of a +comrade for a card-table! Such was the indifference to all the natural +and ordinary emotions which these veterans of the wilderness cultivated +in themselves, and inculcated in those who came under their influence. +Scenes like this at first had the effect to bring feelings of +home-sickness, while it inspired by contrast a sort of penitential and +religious feeling also. According to Meek's account of those early days +in the mountains, he said some secret prayers, and shed some secret +tears. But this did not last long. The force of example, and especially +the force of ridicule, is very potent with the young; nor are we quite +free from their influence later in life. + +If the gambling, swearing, drinking, and fighting at first astonished +and alarmed the unsophisticated Joe, he found at the same time something +to admire, and that he felt to be congenial with his own disposition, in +the fearlessness, the contempt of sordid gain, the hearty merriment and +frolicsome abandon of the better portion of the men about him. A spirit +of emulation arose in him to become as brave as the bravest, as hardy as +the hardiest, and as gay as the gayest, even while his feelings still +revolted at many things which his heroic models were openly guilty of. +If at any time in the future course of this narrative, Joe is discovered +to have taken leave of his early scruples, the reader will considerately +remember the associations by which he was surrounded for years, until +the memory of the pious teachings of his childhood was nearly, if not +quite, obliterated. To "nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in +malice," should be the frame of mind in which both the writer and reader +of Joe's adventures should strive to maintain himself. + +Before our hero is ushered upon the active scenes of a trapper's life, +it may be well to present to the reader a sort of _guide to camp life_, +in order that he may be able to understand some of its technicalities, +as they may be casually mentioned hereafter. + +When the large camp is on the march, it has a leader, generally one of +the Booshways, who rides in advance, or at the head of the column. +Near him is a led mule, chosen for its qualities of speed and +trustworthiness, on which are packed two small trunks that balance each +other like panniers, and which contain the company's books, papers, and +articles of agreement with the men. Then follow the pack animals, each +one bearing three packs--one on each side, and one on top--so nicely +adjusted as not to slip in traveling. These are in charge of certain men +called camp-keepers, who have each three of these to look after. The +trappers and hunters have two horses, or mules, one to ride, and one to +pack their traps. If there are women and children in the train, all are +mounted. Where the country is safe, the caravan moves in single file, +often stretching out for half or three-quarters of a mile. At the end +of the column rides the second man, or "little Booshway," as the men +call him; usually a hired officer, whose business it is to look after +the order and condition of the whole camp. + +[Illustration: MULE PACKING.] + +On arriving at a suitable spot to make the night camp, the leader stops, +dismounts in the particular space which is to be devoted to himself in +its midst. The others, as they come up, form a circle; the "second man" +bringing up the rear, to be sure all are there. He then proceeds to +appoint every man a place in the circle, and to examine the horses' +backs to see if any are sore. The horses are then turned out, under a +guard, to graze; but before darkness comes on are placed inside the +ring, and picketed by a stake driven in the earth, or with two feet so +tied together as to prevent easy or free locomotion. The men are divided +into messes: so many trappers and so many camp-keepers to a mess. The +business of eating is not a very elaborate one, where the sole article +of diet is meat, either dried or roasted. By a certain hour all is quiet +in camp, and only the guard is awake. At times during the night, the +leader, or the officer of the guard, gives the guard a challenge--"all's +well!" which is answered by "all's well!" + +In the morning at daylight, or sometimes not till sunrise, according to +the safe or dangerous locality, the second man comes forth from his +lodge and cries in French, "_leve, leve, leve, leve, leve!_" fifteen or +twenty times, which is the command to rise. In about five minutes more +he cries out again, in French, "_leche lego, leche lego!_" or turn out, +turn out; at which command all come out from the lodges, and the horses +are turned loose to feed; but not before a horseman has galloped all +round the camp at some distance, and discovered every thing to be safe +in the neighborhood. Again, when the horses have been sufficiently fed, +under the eye of a guard, they are driven up, the packs replaced, the +train mounted, and once more it moves off, in the order before +mentioned. + +In a settled camp, as in winter, there are other regulations. The leader +and the second man occupy the same relative positions; but other minor +regulations are observed. The duty of a trapper, for instance, in the +trapping season, is only to trap, and take care of his own horses. When +he comes in at night, he takes his beaver to the clerk, and the number +is counted off, and placed to his credit. Not he, but the camp-keepers, +take off the skins and dry them. In the winter camp there are six +persons to a lodge: four trappers and two camp-keepers; therefore the +trappers are well waited upon, their only duty being to hunt, in turns, +for the camp. When a piece of game is brought in,--a deer, an antelope, +or buffalo meat,--it is thrown down on the heap which accumulates in +front of the Booshway's lodge; and the second man stands by and cuts it +up, or has it cut up for him. The first man who chances to come along, +is ordered to stand still and turn his back to the pile of game, while +the "little Booshway" lays hold of a piece that has been cut off, and +asks in a loud voice--"who will have this?"--and the man answering for +him, says, "the Booshway," or perhaps "number six," or "number +twenty"--meaning certain messes; and the number is called to come and +take their meat. In this blind way the meat is portioned off; strongly +reminding one of the game of "button, button, who has the button?" In +this chance game of the meat, the Booshway fares no better than his men; +unless, in rare instances, the little Booshway should indicate to the +man who calls off, that a certain choice piece is designed for the mess +of the leader or the second man. + +A gun is never allowed to be fired in camp under any provocation, short +of an Indian raid; but the guns are frequently inspected, to see if they +are in order; and woe to the careless camp-keeper who neglects this or +any other duty. When the second man comes around, and finds a piece of +work imperfectly done, whether it be cleaning the firearms, making a +hair rope, or a skin lodge, or washing a horse's back, he does not +threaten the offender with personal chastisement, but calls up another +man and asks him, "Can _you_ do this properly?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"I will give you ten dollars to do it;" and the ten dollars is set down +to the account of the inefficient camp-keeper. But he does not risk +forfeiting another ten dollars in the same manner. + +In the spring, when the camp breaks up, the skins which have been used +all winter for lodges are cut up to make moccasins: because from their +having been thoroughly smoked by the lodge fires they do not shrink in +wetting, like raw skins. This is an important quality in a moccasin, as +a trapper is almost constantly in the water, and should not his +moccasins be smoked they will close upon his feet, in drying, like a +vice. Sometimes after trapping all day, the tired and soaked trapper +lies down in his blankets at night, still wet. But by-and-by he is +wakened by the pinching of his moccasins, and is obliged to rise and +seek the water again to relieve himself of the pain. For the same +reason, when spring comes, the trapper is forced to cut off the lower +half of his buckskin breeches, and piece them down with blanket leggins, +which he wears all through the trapping season. + +Such were a few of the peculiarities, and the hardships also, of a life +in the Rocky Mountains. If the camp discipline, and the dangers and +hardships to which a raw recruit was exposed, failed to harden him to +the service in one year, he was rejected as a "trifling fellow," and +sent back to the settlement the next year. It was not probable, +therefore, that the mountain-man often was detected in complaining at +his lot. If he was miserable, he was laughed at; and he soon learned to +laugh at his own miseries, as well as to laugh back at his comrades. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +The business of the rendezvous occupied about a month. In this period +the men, Indian allies, and other Indian parties who usually visited the +camp at this time, were all supplied with goods. The remaining +merchandise was adjusted for the convenience of the different traders +who should be sent out through all the country traversed by the company. +Sublette then decided upon their routes, dividing up his forces into +camps, which took each its appointed course, detaching as it proceeded +small parties of trappers to all the hunting grounds in the +neighborhood. These smaller camps were ordered to meet at certain times +and places, to report progress, collect and cache their furs, and "count +noses." If certain parties failed to arrive, others were sent out in +search for them. + +This year, in the absence of Smith and Jackson, a considerable party was +dispatched, under Milton Sublette, brother of the Captain, and two other +free trappers and traders, Frapp and Jervais, to traverse the country +down along the Bighorn River. Captain Sublette took a large party, among +whom was Joe Meek, across the mountains to trap on the Snake River, in +opposition to the Hudson's Bay Company. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company +had hitherto avoided this country, except when Smith had once crossed to +the head-waters of the Snake with a small party of five trappers. But +Smith and Sublette had determined to oppose themselves to the British +traders who occupied so large an extent of territory presumed to be +American; and it had been agreed between them to meet this year on Snake +River on Sublette's return from St. Louis, and Smith's from his +California tour. What befel Smith's party before reaching the Columbia, +has already been related; also his reception by the Hudson's Bay +Company, and his departure from Vancouver. + +Sublette led his company up the valley of the Wind River, across the +mountains, and on to the very head-waters of the Lewis or Snake River. +Here he fell in with Jackson, in the valley of Lewis Lake, called +Jackson's Hole, and remained on the borders of this lake for some time, +waiting for Smith, whose non-appearance began to create a good deal of +uneasiness. At length runners were dispatched in all directions looking +for the lost Booshway. + +The detachment to which Meek was assigned had the pleasure and honor of +discovering the hiding place of the missing partner, which was in +Pierre's Hole, a mountain valley about thirty miles long and of half +that width, which subsequently was much frequented by the camps of the +various fur companies. He was found trapping and exploring, in company +with four men only, one of whom was Black, who with him escaped from the +Umpqua Indians, as before related. + +Notwithstanding the excitement and elation attendant upon the success of +his party, Meek found time to admire the magnificent scenery of the +valley, which is bounded on two sides by broken and picturesque ranges, +and overlooked by that magnificent group of mountains, called the Three +Tetons, towering to a height of fourteen thousand feet. This emerald cup +set in its rim of amethystine mountains, was so pleasant a sight to the +mountain-men that camp was moved to it without delay, where it remained +until some time in September, recruiting its animals and preparing for +the fall hunt. + +Here again the trappers indulged in their noisy sports and rejoicing, +ostensibly on account of the return of the long-absent Booshway. There +was little said of the men who had perished in that unfortunate +expedition. "Poor fellow! out of luck;" was the usual burial rite which +the memory of a dead comrade received. So much and no more. They could +indulge in noisy rejoicings over a lost comrade restored; but the dead +one was not mentioned. Nor was this apparently heartless and heedless +manner so irrational or unfeeling as it seemed. Everybody understood one +thing in the mountains--that he must keep his life by his own courage +and valor, or at the least by his own prudence. Unseen dangers always +lay in wait for him. The arrow or tomahawk of the Indian, the blow of +the grizzly bear, the mis-step on the dizzy or slippery height, the rush +of boiling and foaming floods, freezing cold, famine--these were the +most common forms of peril, yet did not embrace even then all the forms +in which Death sought his victims in the wilderness. The avoidance of +painful reminders, such as the loss of a party of men, was a natural +instinct, involving also a principle of self defence--since to have weak +hearts would be the surest road to defeat in the next dangerous +encounter. To keep their hearts "big," they must be gay, they must not +remember the miserable fate of many of their one-time comrades. Think of +that, stern moralist and martinet in propriety! Your fur collar hangs in +the gas-lighted hall. In your luxurious dressing gown and slippers, by +the warmth of a glowing grate, you muse upon the depravity of your +fellow men. But imagine yourself, if you can, in the heart of an +interminable wilderness. Let the snow be three or four feet deep, game +scarce, Indians on your track: escaped from these dangers, once more +beside a camp fire, with a roast of buffalo meat on a stick before it, +and several of your companions similarly escaped, and destined for the +same chances to-morrow, around you. Do you fancy you should give much +time to lamenting the less lucky fellows who were left behind frozen, +starved, or scalped? Not you. You would be fortifying yourself against +to-morrow, when the same terrors might lay in wait for you. Jedediah +Smith was a pious man; one of the few that ever resided in the Rocky +Mountains, and led a band of reckless trappers; but he did not turn back +to his camp when he saw it attacked on the Umpqua, nor stop to lament +his murdered men. The law of self-preservation is strong in the +wilderness. "Keep up your heart to-day, for to-morrow you may die," is +the motto of the trapper. + +In the conference which took place between Smith and Sublette, the +former insisted that on account of the kind services of the Hudson's Bay +Company toward himself and the three other survivors of his party, they +should withdraw their trappers and traders from the western side of the +mountains for the present, so as not to have them come in conflict with +those of that company. To this proposition Sublette reluctantly +consented, and orders were issued for moving once more to the east, +before going into winter camp, which was appointed for the Wind River +Valley. + +In the meantime Joe Meek was sent out with a party to take his first +hunt for beaver as a hired trapper. The detachment to which he belonged +traveled down Pierre's fork, the stream which watered the valley of +Pierre's Hole, to its junction with Lewis' and Henry's forks where they +unite to form the great Snake River. While trapping in this locality the +party became aware of the vicinity of a roving band of Blackfeet, and in +consequence, redoubled their usual precautions while on the march. + +The Blackfeet were the tribe most dreaded in the Rocky Mountains, and +went by the name of "Bugs Boys," which rendered into good English, meant +"the devil's own." They are now so well known that to mention their +characteristics seems like repeating a "twice-told tale;" but as they +will appear so often in this narrative, Irving's account of them as he +had it from Bonneville when he was fresh from the mountains, will, after +all, not be out of place. "These savages," he says, "are the most +dangerous banditti of the mountains, and the inveterate foe of the +trapper. 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 in +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 Maria's 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 their 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 the 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 head-waters 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 trail, 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." Such were the Blackfeet at the period of which we are +writing; nor has their character changed at this day, as many of the +Montana miners know to their cost. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +1830. Sublette's camp commenced moving back to the east side of the +Rocky Mountains in October. Its course was up Henry's fork of the Snake +River, through the North Pass to Missouri Lake, in which rises the +Madison fork of the Missouri River. The beaver were very plenty on +Henry's fork, and our young trapper had great success in making up his +packs; having learned the art of setting his traps very readily. The +manner in which the trapper takes his game is as follows:-- + +He has an ordinary steel trap weighing five pounds, attached to a chain +five feet long, with a swivel and ring at the end, which plays round +what is called the _float_, a dry stick of wood, about six feet long. +The trapper wades out into the stream, which is shallow, and cuts with +his knife a bed for the trap, five or six inches under water. He then +takes the float out the whole length of the chain in the direction of +the centre of the stream, and drives it into the mud, so fast that the +beaver cannot draw it out; at the same time tying the other end by a +thong to the bank. A small stick or twig, dipped in musk or castor, +serves for bait, and is placed so as to hang directly above the trap, +which is now set. The trapper then throws water plentifully over the +adjacent bank to conceal any foot prints or scent by which the beaver +would be alarmed, and going to some distance wades out of the stream. + +In setting a trap, several things are to be observed with care:--first, +that the trap is firmly fixed, and the proper distance from the +bank--for if the beaver can get on shore with the trap, he will cut off +his foot to escape: secondly, that the float is of dry wood, for should +it not be, the little animal will cut it off at a stroke, and swimming +with the trap to the middle of the dam, be drowned by its weight. In the +latter case, when the hunter visits his traps in the morning, he is +under the necessity of plunging into the water and swimming out to dive +for the missing trap, and his game. Should the morning be frosty and +chill, as it very frequently is in the mountains, diving for traps is +not the pleasantest exercise. In placing the bait, care must be taken to +fix it just where the beaver in reaching it will spring the trap. If the +bait-stick be placed high, the hind foot of the beaver will be caught: +if low, his fore foot. + +The manner in which the beavers make their dam, and construct their +lodge, has long been reckoned among the wonders of the animal creation; +and while some observers have claimed for the little creature more +sagacity than it really possesses, its instinct is still sufficiently +wonderful. It is certainly true that it knows how to keep the water of a +stream to a certain level, by means of an obstruction; and that it cuts +down trees for the purpose of backing up the water by a dam. It is not +true, however, that it can always fell a tree in the direction required +for this purpose. The timber about a beaver dam is felled in all +directions; but as trees that grow near the water, generally lean +towards it, the tree, when cut, takes the proper direction by +gravitation alone. The beaver then proceeds to cut up the fallen timber +into lengths of about three feet, and to convey them to the spot where +the dam is to be situated, securing them in their places by means of mud +and stones. The work is commenced when the water is low, and carried on +as it rises, until it has attained the desired height. And not only is +it made of the requisite height and strength, but its shape is suited +exactly to the nature of the stream in which it is built. If the water +is sluggish the dam is straight; if rapid and turbulent, the barrier is +constructed of a convex form, the better to resist the action of the +water. + +[Illustration: BEAVER-DAM.] + +When the beavers have once commenced a dam, its extent and thickness are +continually augmented, not only by their labors, but by accidental +accumulations; thus accommodating itself to the size of the growing +community. At length, after a lapse of many years, the water being +spread over a considerable tract, and filled up by yearly accumulations +of drift-wood and earth, seeds take root in the new made ground, and the +old beaver-dams become green meadows, or thickets of cotton-wood and +willow. + +The food on which the beaver subsists, is the bark of the young trees in +its neighborhood; and when laying up a winter store, the whole community +join in the labor of selecting, cutting up, and carrying the strips to +their store-houses under water. They do not, as some writers have +affirmed, when cutting wood for a dam strip off the bark and store it in +their lodges for winter consumption; but only carry under water the +stick with the bark on. + + "The beaver has two incisors and eight molars in each jaw; and + empty hollows where the canine teeth might be. The upper pair of + cutting teeth extend far into the jaw, with a curve of rather more + than a semicircle; and the lower pair of incisors form rather less + than a semicircle. Sometimes, one of these teeth gets broken and + then the opposite tooth continues growing until it forms a nearly + complete circle. The chewing muscle of the beaver is strengthened + by tendons in such a way as to give it great power. But more is + needed to enable the beaver to eat wood. The insalivation of the + dry food is provided for by the extraordinary size of the salivary + glands. + + "Now, every part of these instruments is of vital importance to the + beavers. The loss of an incisor involves the formation of an + obstructive circular tooth; deficiency of saliva renders the food + indigestible; and when old age comes and the enamel is worn down + faster than it is renewed, the beaver is not longer able to cut + branches for its support. Old, feeble and poor, unable to borrow, + and ashamed to beg, he steals cuttings, and subjects himself to the + penalty assigned to theft. Aged beavers are often found dead with + gashes in their bodies, showing that they have been killed by their + mates. In the fall of 1864, a very aged beaver was caught in one of + the dams of the Esconawba River, and this was the reflection of a + great authority on the occasion, one Ah-she-goes, an Ojibwa + trapper: 'Had he escaped the trap he would have been killed before + the winter was over, by other beavers, for stealing cuttings.' + + "When the beavers are about two or three years old, their teeth are + in their best condition for cutting. On the Upper Missouri, they + cut the cotton tree and the willow bush; around Hudson's Bay and + Lake Superior, in addition to the willow they cut the poplar and + maple, hemlock, spruce and pine. The cutting is round and round, + and deepest upon the side on which they wish the tree to fall. + Indians and trappers have seen beavers cutting trees. The felling + of a tree is a family affair. No more than a single pair with two + or three young ones are engaged at a time. The adults take the + cutting in turns, one gnawing and the other watching; and + occasionally a youngster trying his incisors. The beaver whilst + gnawing sits on his plantigrade hind legs, which keep him + conveniently upright. When the tree begins to crackle the beavers + work cautiously, and when it crashes down they plunge into the + pond, fearful lest the noise should attract an enemy to the spot. + After the tree-fall, comes the lopping of the branches. A single + tree may be winter provision for a family. Branches five or six + inches thick have to be cut into proper lengths for transport, and + are then taken home." + +The lodge of a beaver is generally about six feet in diameter, on the +inside, and about half as high. They are rounded or dome-shaped on the +outside, with very thick walls, and communicate with the land by +subterranean passages, below the depth at which the water freezes in +winter. Each lodge is made to accommodate several inmates, who have +their beds ranged round the walls, much as the Indian does in his tent. +They are very cleanly, too, and after eating, carry out the sticks that +have been stripped, and either use them in repairing their dam, or throw +them into the stream below. + +During the summer months the beavers abandon their lodges, and disport +themselves about the streams, sometimes going on long journeys; or if +any remain at home, they are the mothers of young families. About the +last of August the community returns to its home, and begins +preparations for the domestic cares of the long winter months. + +An exception to this rule is that of certain individuals, who have no +families, make no dam, and never live in lodges, but burrow in +subterranean tunnels. They are always found to be males, whom the French +trappers call "les parasseux," or idlers; and the American trappers, +"bachelors." Several of them are sometimes found in one abode, which the +trappers facetiously denominate "bachelor's hall." Being taken with less +difficulty than the more domestic beaver, the trapper is always glad to +come upon their habitations. + +The trapping season is usually in the spring and autumn. But should the +hunters find it necessary to continue their work in winter, they capture +the beaver by sounding on the ice until an aperture is discovered, when +the ice is cut away and the opening closed up. Returning to the bank, +they search for the subterranean passage, tracing its connection with +the lodge; and by patient watching succeed in catching the beaver on +some of its journeys between the water and the land. This, however, is +not often resorted to when the hunt in the fall has been successful; or +when not urged by famine to take the beaver for food. + +"Occasionally it happens," says Captain Bonneville, "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 trappers' 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 being now 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." + +Before the camp moved from the forks of the Snake River, the haunting +Blackfeet made their appearance openly. It was here that Meek had his +first battle with that nation, with whom he subsequently had many a +savage contest. They attacked the camp early in the morning, just as the +call to turn out had sounded. But they had miscalculated their +opportunity: the design having evidently been to stampede the horses and +mules, at the hour and moment of their being turned loose to graze. They +had been too hasty by a few minutes, so that when they charged on the +camp pell-mell, firing a hundred guns at once, to frighten both horses +and men, it happened that only a few of the animals had been turned out, +and they had not yet got far off. The noise of the charge only turned +them back to camp. + +In an instant's time, Fitzpatrick was mounted, and commanding the men to +follow, he galloped at headlong speed round and round the camp, to drive +back such of the horses as were straying, or had been frightened from +their pickets. In this race, two horses were shot under him; but he +escaped, and the camp-horses were saved. The battle now was to punish +the thieves. They took their position, as usual with Indian fighters, in +a narrow ravine; from whence the camp was forced to dislodge them, at a +great disadvantage. This they did do, at last, after six hours of hard +fighting, in which a few men were wounded, but none killed. The thieves +skulked off, through the canyon, when they found themselves defeated, +and were seen no more until the camp came to the woods which cover the +western slope of the Rocky Mountains. + +But as the camp moved eastward, or rather in a northeasterly direction, +through the pine forests between Pierre's Hole and the head-waters of +the Missouri, it was continually harrassed by Blackfeet, and required a +strong guard at night, when these marauders delighted to make an attack. +The weather by this time was very cold in the mountains, and chilled the +marrow of our young Virginian. The travel was hard, too, and the +recruits pretty well worn out. + +One cold night, Meek was put on guard on the further side of the camp, +with a veteran named Reese. But neither the veteran nor the youngster +could resist the approaches of "tired Nature's sweet restorer," and went +to sleep at their post of duty. When, during the night, Sublette came +out of his tent and gave the challenge--"All's well!" there was no +reply. To quote Meek's own language, "Sublette came round the horse-pen +swearing and snorting. He was powerful mad. Before he got to where Reese +was, he made so much noise that he waked him; and Reese, in a loud +whisper, called to him, 'Down, Billy! Indians!' Sublette got down on his +belly mighty quick. 'Whar? whar?' he asked. + +"'They were right there when you hollered so,' said Reese. + +"'Where is Meek?' whispered Sublette. + +"'He is trying to shoot one,' answered Reese, still in a whisper. + +"Reese then crawled over to whar I war, and told me what had been said, +and informed me what to do. In a few minutes I crept cautiously over to +Reese's post, when Sublette asked me how many Indians had been thar, and +I told him I couldn't make out their number. In the morning a pair of +Indian moccasins war found whar Reese _saw the Indians_, which I had +_taken care to leave there_; and thus confirmed, our story got us the +credit of vigilance, instead of our receiving our just dues for neglect +of duty." + +It was sometime during the fall hunt in the Pine Woods, on the west side +of the Rocky Mountains, that Meek had one of his earliest adventures +with a bear. Two comrades, Craig and Nelson, and himself, while out +trapping, left their horses, and traveled up a creek on foot, in search +of beaver. They had not proceeded any great distance, before they came +suddenly face to face with a red bear; so suddenly, indeed, that the men +made a spring for the nearest trees. Craig and Meek ascended a large +pine, which chanced to be nearest, and having many limbs, was easy to +climb. Nelson happened to take to one of two small trees that grew close +together; and the bear, fixing upon him for a victim, undertook to climb +after him. With his back against one of these small trees, and his feet +against the other, his bearship succeeded in reaching a point not far +below Nelson's perch, when the trees opened with his weight, and down +he went, with a shock that fairly shook the ground. But this bad luck +only seemed to infuriate the beast, and up he went again, with the same +result, each time almost reaching his enemy. With the second tumble he +was not the least discouraged; but started up the third time, only to be +dashed once more to the ground when he had attained a certain height. At +the third fall, however, he became thoroughly disgusted with his want of +success, and turned and ran at full speed into the woods. + +"Then," says Meek, "Craig began to sing, and I began to laugh; but +Nelson took to swearing. 'O yes, you can laugh and sing now,' says +Nelson; 'but you war quiet enough when the bear was around.' 'Why, +Nelson,' I answered, 'you wouldn't have us noisy before that +distinguished guest of yours?' But Nelson damned the wild beast; and +Craig and I laughed, and said he didn't seem wild a bit. That's the way +we hector each other in the mountains. If a man gets into trouble he is +only laughed at: 'let him keep out; let him have better luck,' is what +we say." + +The country traversed by Sublette in the fall of 1829, was unknown at +that period, even to the fur companies, they having kept either farther +to the south or to the north. Few, if any, white men had passed through +it since Lewis and Clarke discovered the head-waters of the Missouri and +the Snake Rivers, which flow from the opposite sides of the same +mountain peaks. Even the toils and hardships of passing over mountains +at this season of the year, did not deprive the trapper of the enjoyment +of the magnificent scenery the region afforded. Splendid views, however, +could not long beguile men who had little to eat, and who had yet a long +journey to accomplish in cold, and surrounded by dangers, before +reaching the wintering ground. + +In November the camp left Missouri Lake on the east side of the +mountains, and crossed over, still northeasterly, on to the Gallatin +fork of the Missouri River, passing over a very rough and broken +country. They were, in fact, still in the midst of mountains, being +spurs of the great Rocky range, and equally high and rugged. A +particularly high mountain lay between them and the main Yellowstone +River. This they had just crossed, with great fatigue and difficulty, +and were resting the camp and horses for a few days on the river's bank, +when the Blackfeet once more attacked them in considerable numbers. Two +men were killed in this fight, and the camp thrown into confusion by the +suddenness of the alarm. Capt. Sublette, however, got off, with most of +his men, still pursued by the Indians. + +Not so our Joe, who this time was not in luck, but was cut off from +camp, alone, and had to flee to the high mountains overlooking the +Yellowstone. Here was a situation for a nineteen-year-old raw recruit! +Knowing that the Blackfeet were on the trail of the camp, it was death +to proceed in that direction. Some other route must be taken to come up +with them; the country was entirely unknown to him; the cold severe; his +mule, blanket, and gun, his only earthly possessions. On the latter he +depended for food, but game was scarce; and besides, he thought the +sound of his gun would frighten himself, so alone in the wilderness, +swarming with stealthy foes. + +Hiding his mule in a thicket, he ascended to the mountain top to take a +view of the country, and decide upon his course. And what a scene was +that for the miserable boy, whose chance of meeting with his comrades +again was small indeed! At his feet rolled the Yellowstone River, +coursing away through the great plain to the eastward. To the north his +eye follows the windings of the Missouri, as upon a map, but playing at +hide-and-seek in amongst the mountains. Looking back, he saw the River +Snake stretching its serpentine length through lava plains, far away, to +its junction with the Columbia. To the north, and to the south, one +white mountain rose above another as far as the eye could reach. What a +mighty and magnificent world it seemed, to be alone in! Poor Joe +succumbed to the influence of the thought, and wept. + +Having indulged in this sole remaining luxury of life, Joe picked up his +resolution, and decided upon his course. To the southeast lay the Crow +country, a land of plenty,--as the mountain-man regards plenty,--and +there he could at least live; provided the Crows permitted him to do so. +Besides, he had some hopes of falling in with one of the camps, by +taking that course. + +Descending the mountain to the hiding-place of his mule, by which time +it was dark night, hungry and freezing, Joe still could not light a +fire, for fear of revealing his whereabouts to the Indians; nor could he +remain to perish with cold. Travel he must, and travel he did, going he +scarcely knew whither. Looking back upon the terrors and discomforts of +that night, the veteran mountaineer yet regards it as about the most +miserable one of his life. When day at length broke, he had made, as +well as he could estimate the distance, about thirty miles. Traveling on +toward the southeast, he had crossed the Yellowstone River, and still +among the mountains, was obliged to abandon his mule and accoutrements, +retaining only one blanket and his gun. Neither the mule nor himself had +broken fast in the last two days. Keeping a southerly course for twenty +miles more, over a rough and elevated country, he came, on the evening +of the third day, upon a band of mountain sheep. With what eagerness did +he hasten to kill, cook, and eat! Three days of fasting was, for a +novice, quite sufficient to provide him with an appetite. + +Having eaten voraciously, and being quite overcome with fatigue, Joe +fell asleep in his blanket, and slumbered quite deeply until morning. +With the morning came biting blasts from the north, that made motion +necessary if not pleasant. Refreshed by sleep and food, our traveler +hastened on upon his solitary way, taking with him what sheep-meat he +could carry, traversing the same rough and mountainous country as +before. No incidents nor alarms varied the horrible and monotonous +solitude of the wilderness. The very absence of anything to alarm was +awful; for the bravest man is wretchedly nervous in the solitary +presence of sublime Nature. Even the veteran hunter of the mountains can +never entirely divest himself of this feeling of awe, when his single +soul comes face to face with God's wonderful and beautiful handiwork. + +At the close of the fourth day, Joe made his lonely camp in a deep +defile of the mountains, where a little fire and some roasted mutton +again comforted his inner and outer man, and another night's sleep still +farther refreshed his wearied frame. On the following morning, a very +bleak and windy one, having breakfasted on his remaining piece of +mutton, being desirous to learn something of the progress he had made, +he ascended a low mountain in the neighborhood of his camp--and behold! +the whole country beyond was smoking with the vapor from boiling +springs, and burning with gasses, issuing from small craters, each of +which was emitting a sharp whistling sound. + +When the first surprise of this astonishing scene had passed, Joe began +to admire its effect in an artistic point of view. The morning being +clear, with a sharp frost, he thought himself reminded of the city of +Pittsburg, as he had beheld it on a winter morning, a couple of years +before. This, however, related only to the rising smoke and vapor; for +the extent of the volcanic region was immense, reaching far out of +sight. The general face of the country was smooth and rolling, being a +level plain, dotted with cone-shaped mounds. On the summits of these +mounds were small craters from four to eight feet in diameter. +Interspersed among these, on the level plain, were larger craters, some +of them from four to six miles across. Out of these craters issued blue +flames and molten brimstone. + +For some minutes Joe gazed and wondered. Curious thoughts came into his +head, about hell and the day of doom. With that natural tendency to +reckless gayety and humorous absurdities which some temperaments are +sensible of in times of great excitement, he began to soliloquize. Said +he, to himself, "I have been told the sun would be blown out, and the +earth burnt up. If this infernal wind keeps up, I shouldn't be surprised +if the sun war blown out. If the earth is _not_ burning up over thar, +then it is that place the old Methodist preacher used to threaten me +with. Any way it suits me to go and see what it's like." + +On descending to the plain described, the earth was found to have a +hollow sound, and seemed threatening to break through. But Joe found the +warmth of the place most delightful, after the freezing cold of the +mountains, and remarked to himself again, that "if it war hell, it war a +more agreeable climate than he had been in for some time." + +He had thought the country entirely desolate, as not a living creature +had been seen in the vicinity; but while he stood gazing about him in +curious amazement, he was startled by the report of two guns, followed +by the Indian yell. While making rapid preparations for defence and +flight, if either or both should be necessary, a familiar voice greeted +him with the exclamation, "It _is_ old Joe!" When the adjective "old" is +applied to one of Meek's age at that time, it is generally understood to +be a term of endearment. "My feelings you may imagine," says the "old +Uncle Joe" of the present time, in recalling the adventure. + +Being joined by these two associates, who had been looking for him, our +traveler, no longer simply a raw recruit, but a hero of wonderful +adventures, as well as the rest of the men, proceeded with them to camp, +which they overtook the third day, attempting to cross the high +mountains between the Yellowstone and the Bighorn Rivers. If Meek had +seen hard times in the mountains alone, he did not find them much +improved in camp. The snow was so deep that the men had to keep in +advance, and break the road for the animals; and to make their condition +still more trying, there were no provisions in camp, nor any prospect of +plenty, for men or animals, until they should reach the buffalo country +beyond the mountains. + +During this scarcity of provisions, some of those amusing incidents took +place with which the mountaineer will contrive to lighten his own and +his comrades' spirits, even in periods of the greatest suffering. One +which we have permission to relate, has reference to what Joe Meek calls +the "meanest act of his life." + +While the men were starving, a negro boy, belonging to Jedediah Smith, +by some means was so fortunate as to have caught a porcupine, which he +was roasting before the fire. Happening to turn his back for a moment, +to observe something in camp, Meek and Reese snatched the tempting +viand and made off with it, before the darkey discovered his loss. But +when it was discovered, what a wail went up for the embezzled porcupine! +Suspicion fixed upon the guilty parties, but as no one would 'peach on +white men to save a "nigger's" rights, the poor, disappointed boy could +do nothing but lament in vain, to the great amusement of the men, who +upon the principle that "misery loves company," rather chuckled over +than condemned Meek's "mean act." + +There was a sequel, however, to this little story. So much did the negro +dwell upon the event, and the heartlessness of the men towards him, that +in the following summer, when Smith was in St. Louis, he gave the boy +his freedom and two hundred dollars, and left him in that city; so that +it became a saying in the mountains, that "the nigger got his freedom +for a porcupine." + +During this same march, a similar joke was played upon one of the men +named Craig. He had caught a rabbit and put it up to roast before the +fire--a tempting looking morsel to starving mountaineers. Some of his +associates determined to see how it tasted, and Craig was told that the +Booshways wished to speak with him at their lodge. While he obeyed this +supposed command, the rabbit was spirited away, never more to be seen by +mortal man. When Craig returned to the camp-fire, and beheld the place +vacant where a rabbit so late was nicely roasting, his passion knew no +bounds, and he declared his intention of cutting it out of the stomach +that contained it. But as finding the identical stomach which contained +it involved the cutting open of many that probably did not, in the +search, he was fain to relinquish that mode of vengeance, together with +his hopes of a supper. As Craig is still living, and is tormented by the +belief that he knows the man who stole his rabbit, Mr. Meek takes this +opportunity of assuring him, upon the word of a gentleman, that _he_ is +not the man. + +While on the march over these mountains, owing to the depth of the snow, +the company lost a hundred head of horses and mules, which sank in the +yet unfrozen drifts, and could not be extricated. In despair at their +situation, Jedediah Smith one day sent a man named Harris to the top of +a high peak to take a view of the country, and ascertain their position. +After a toilsome scramble the scout returned. + +"Well, what did you see, Harris?" asked Smith anxiously. + +"I saw the city of St. Louis, and one fellow taking a drink!" replied +Harris; prefacing the assertion with a shocking oath. + +Smith asked no more questions. He understood by the man's answer that he +had made no pleasing discoveries; and knew that they had still a weary +way before them to reach the plains below. Besides, Smith was a +religious man, and the coarse profanity of the mountaineers was very +distasteful to him. "A very mild man, and a christian; and there were +very few of them in the mountains," is the account given of him by the +mountaineers themselves. + +The camp finally arrived without loss of life, except to the animals, on +the plains of the Bighorn River, and came upon the waters of the +Stinking Fork, a branch of this river, which derives its unfortunate +appellation from the fact that it flows through a volcanic tract similar +to the one discovered by Meek on the Yellowstone plains. This place +afforded as much food for wonder to the whole camp, as the former one +had to Joe; and the men unanimously pronounced it the "back door to that +country which divines preach about." As this volcanic district had +previously been seen by one of Lewis and Clarke's men, named Colter, +while on a solitary hunt, and by him also denominated "hell," there must +certainly have been something very suggestive in its appearance. + +If the mountains had proven barren, and inhospitably cold, this hot and +sulphurous country offered no greater hospitality. In fact, the fumes +which pervaded the air rendered it exceedingly noxious to every living +thing, and the camp was fain to push on to the main stream of the +Bighorn River. Here signs of trappers became apparent, and spies having +been sent out discovered a camp of about forty men, under Milton +Sublette, brother of Captain William Sublette, the same that had been +detached the previous summer to hunt in that country. Smith and Sublette +then cached their furs, and moving up the river joined the camp of M. +Sublette. + +The manner of caching furs is this: A pit is dug to a depth of five or +six feet in which to stand. The men then drift from this under a bank of +solid earth, and excavate a room of considerable dimensions, in which +the furs are deposited, and the apartment closed up. The pit is then +filled up with earth, and the traces of digging obliterated or +concealed. These caches are the only storehouses of the wilderness. + +While the men were recruiting themselves in the joint camp, the alarm of +"Indians!" was given, and hurried cries of "shoot! shoot!" were uttered +on the instant. Captain Sublette, however, checked this precipitation, +and ordering the men to hold, allowed the Indians to approach, making +signs of peace. They proved to be a war party of Crows, who after +smoking the pipe of peace with the Captain, received from him a present +of some tobacco, and departed. + +As soon as the camp was sufficiently recruited for traveling, the united +companies set out again toward the south, and crossed the Horn mountains +once more into Wind River Valley; having had altogether, a successful +fall hunt, and made some important explorations, notwithstanding the +severity of the weather and the difficulty of mountain traveling. It was +about Christmas when the camp arrived on Wind River, and the cold +intense. While the men celebrated Christmas, as best they might under +the circumstances, Capt. Sublette started to St. Louis with one man, +Harris, called among mountain-men Black Harris, on snowshoes, with a +train of pack-dogs. Such was the indomitable energy and courage of this +famous leader! + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +1830. The furs collected by Jackson's company were cached on the Wind +River; and the cold still being very severe, and game scarce, the two +remaining leaders, Smith and Jackson, set out on the first of January +with the whole camp, for the buffalo country, on the Powder River, a +distance of about one hundred and fifty miles. "Times were hard in +camp," when mountains had to be crossed in the depth of winter. + +The animals had to be subsisted on the bark of the sweet cotton-wood, +which grows along the streams and in the valleys on the east side of the +Rocky Mountains, but is nowhere to be found west of that range. This way +of providing for his horses and mules involved no trifling amount of +labor, when each man had to furnish food for several of them. To collect +this bark, the men carried the smooth limbs of the cotton-wood to camp, +where, beside the camp-fire, they shaved off the sweet, green bark with +a hunting-knife transformed into a drawing-knife by fastening a piece of +wood to its point; or, in case the cotton-wood was not convenient, the +bark was peeled off, and carried to camp in a blanket. So nutritious is +it, that animals fatten upon it quite as well as upon oats. + +[Illustration: HUNTER'S WINTER CAMP.] + +In the large cotton-wood bottoms on the Yellowstone River, it sometimes +became necessary to station a double guard to keep the buffalo out of +camp, so numerous were they, when the severity of the cold drove them +from the prairies to these cotton-wood thickets for subsistence. It +was, therefore, of double importance to make the winter camp where the +cotton-wood was plenty; since not only did it furnish the animals of the +camp with food, but by attracting buffalo, made game plenty for the men. +To such a hunter's paradise on Powder River, the camp was now traveling, +and arrived, after a hard, cold march, about the middle of January, when +the whole encampment went into winter quarters, to remain until the +opening of spring. + +This was the occasion when the mountain-man "lived fat" and enjoyed +life: a season of plenty, of relaxation, of amusement, of +acquaintanceship with all the company, of gayety, and of "busy +idleness." Through the day, hunting parties were coming and going, men +were cooking, drying meat, making moccasins, cleaning their arms, +wrestling, playing games, and, in short, everything that an isolated +community of hardy men could resort to for occupation, was resorted to +by these mountaineers. Nor was there wanting, in the appearance of the +camp, the variety, and that picturesque air imparted by a mingling of +the native element; for what with their Indian allies, their native +wives, and numerous children, the mountaineers' camp was a motley +assemblage; and the trappers themselves, with their affectation of +Indian coxcombry, not the least picturesque individuals. + +The change wrought in a wilderness landscape by the arrival of the grand +camp was wonderful indeed. Instead of Nature's superb silence and +majestic loneliness, there was the sound of men's voices in boisterous +laughter, or the busy hum of conversation; the loud-resounding stroke of +the axe; the sharp report of the rifle; the neighing of horses, and +braying of mules; the Indian whoop and yell; and all that not unpleasing +confusion of sound which accompanies the movements of the creature man. +Over the plain, only dotted until now with shadows of clouds, or the +transitory passage of the deer, the antelope, or the bear, were +scattered hundreds of lodges and immense herds of grazing animals. Even +the atmosphere itself seemed changed from its original purity, and +became clouded with the smoke from many camp-fires. And all this change +might go as quickly as it came. The tent struck and the march resumed, +solitude reigned once more, and only the cloud dotted the silent +landscape. + +If the day was busy and gleesome, the night had its charms as well. +Gathered about the shining fires, groups of men in fantastic costumes +told tales of marvelous adventures, or sung some old-remembered song, or +were absorbed in games of chance. Some of the better educated men, who +had once known and loved books, but whom some mishap in life had +banished to the wilderness, recalled their favorite authors, and recited +passages once treasured, now growing unfamiliar; or whispered to some +chosen confrere the saddened history of his earlier years, and charged +him thus and thus, should ever-ready death surprise himself in the next +spring's hunt. + +It will not be thought discreditable to our young trapper, Joe, that he +learned to read by the light of the camp-fire. Becoming sensible, even +in the wilderness, of the deficiencies of his early education, he found +a teacher in a comrade, named Green, and soon acquired sufficient +knowledge to enjoy an old copy of Shakspeare; which, with a Bible, was +carried about with the property of the camp. + +In this life of careless gayety and plenty, the whole company was +allowed to remain without interruption, until the first of April, when +it was divided, and once more started on the march. Jackson, or "Davey," +as he was called by the men, with about half the company, left for the +Snake country. The remainder, among whom was Meek, started north, with +Smith for commander, and James Bridger as pilot. + +Crossing the mountains, ranges of which divide the tributary streams of +the Yellowstone from each other, the first halt was made on Tongue +River. From thence the camp proceeded to the Bighorn River. Through all +this country game was in abundance,--buffalo, elk, and bear, and beaver +also plenty. In mountain phrase, "times were good on this hunt:" beaver +packs increased in number, and both men and animals were in excellent +condition. + +A large party usually hunted out the beaver and frightened away the game +in a few weeks, or days, from any one locality. When this happened the +camp moved on; or, should not game be plenty, it kept constantly on the +move, the hunters and trappers seldom remaining out more than a day or +two. Should the country be considered dangerous on account of Indians, +it was the habit of the men to return every night to the encampment. + +It was the design of Smith to take his command into the Blackfoot +country, a region abounding in the riches which he sought, could they +only be secured without coming into too frequent conflict with the +natives: always a doubtful question concerning these savages. He had +proceeded in this direction as far as Bovey's Fork of the Bighorn, when +the camp was overtaken by a heavy fall of snow, which made traveling +extremely difficult, and which, when melted, caused a sudden great rise +in the mountain streams. In attempting to cross Bovey's Fork during the +high water, he had thirty horses swept away, with three hundred traps: a +serious loss in the business of hunting beaver. + +In the manner described, pushing on through an unknown country, hunting +and trapping as they moved, the company proceeded, passing another low +chain of mountains, through a pass called Pryor's Gap, to Clark's Fork +of the Yellowstone, thence to Rose-Bud River, and finally to the main +Yellowstone River, where it makes a great bend to the east, enclosing a +large plain covered with grass, and having also extensive cotton-wood +bottoms, which subsequently became a favorite wintering ground of the +fur companies. + +It was while trapping up in this country, on the Rose-Bud River, that an +amusing adventure befel our trapper Joe. Being out with two other +trappers, at some distance from the great camp, they had killed and +supped off a fat buffalo cow. The night was snowy, and their camp was +made in a grove of young aspens. Having feasted themselves, the +remaining store of choice pieces was divided between, and placed, hunter +fashion, under the heads of the party, on their betaking themselves to +their blanket couches for the night. Neither Indian nor wild beast +disturbed their repose, as they slept, with their guns beside them, +filled with comfort and plenty. But who ever dreams of the presence of a +foe under such circumstances? Certainly not our young trapper, who was +only awakened about day-break by something very large and heavy walking +over him, and snuffing about him with a most insulting freedom. It did +not need Yankee powers of guessing to make out who the intruder in camp +might be: in truth, it was only too disagreeably certain that it was a +full sized grizzly bear, whose keenness of smell had revealed to him the +presence of fat cow-meat in that neighborhood. + +"You may be sure," says Joe, "that I kept very quiet, while that bar +helped himself to some of my buffalo meat, and went a little way off to +eat it. But Mark Head, one of the men, raised up, and back came the +bar. Down went our heads under the blankets, and I kept mine covered +pretty snug, while the beast took another walk over the bed, but finally +went off again to a little distance. Mitchel then wanted to shoot; but I +said, 'no, no; hold on, or the brute will kill us, sure.' When the bar +heard our voices, back he run again, and jumped on the bed as before. +I'd have been happy to have felt myself sinking ten feet under ground, +while that bar promenaded over and around us! However, he couldn't quite +make out our style, and finally took fright, and ran off down the +mountain. Wanting to be revenged for his impudence, I went after him, +and seeing a good chance, shot him dead. Then I took my turn at running +over him awhile!" + +Such are the not infrequent incidents of the trapper's life, which +furnish him with material, needing little embellishment to convert it +into those wild tales with which the nights are whiled away around the +winter camp-fire. + +Arrived at the Yellowstone with his company, Smith found it necessary, +on account of the high water, to construct Bull-boats for the crossing. +These are made by stitching together buffalo hides, stretching them over +light frames, and paying the seams with elk tallow and ashes. In these +light wherries the goods and people were ferried over, while the horses +and mules were crossed by swimming. + +The mode usually adopted in crossing large rivers, was to spread the +lodges on the ground, throwing on them the light articles, saddles, etc. +A rope was then run through the pin-holes around the edge of each, when +it could be drawn up like a reticule. It was then filled with the +heavier camp goods, and being tightly drawn up, formed a perfect ball. A +rope being tied to it, it was launched on the water, the children of the +camp on top, and the women swimming after and clinging to it, while a +man, who had the rope in his hand, swam ahead holding on to his horse's +mane. In this way, dancing like a cork on the waves, the lodge was +piloted across; and passengers as well as freight consigned, undamaged, +to the opposite shore. A large camp of three hundred men, and one +hundred women and children were frequently thus crossed in one hour's +time. + +The camp was now in the excellent but inhospitable country of the +Blackfeet, and the commander redoubled his precautions, moving on all +the while to the Mussel Shell, and thence to the Judith River. Beaver +were plenty and game abundant; but the vicinity of the large village of +the Blackfeet made trapping impracticable. Their war upon the trappers +was ceaseless; their thefts of traps and horses ever recurring: and +Smith, finding that to remain was to be involved in incessant warfare, +without hope of victory or gain, at length gave the command to turn +back, which was cheerfully obeyed: for the trappers had been very +successful on the spring hunt, and thinking discretion some part at +least of valor, were glad to get safe out of the Blackfoot country with +their rich harvest of beaver skins. + +The return march was by the way of Pryor's Gap, and up the Bighorn, to +Wind River, where the cache was made in the previous December. The furs +were now taken out and pressed, ready for transportation across the +plains. A party was also dispatched, under Mr. Tullock, to raise the +cache on the Bighorn River. Among this party was Meek, and a Frenchman +named Ponto. While digging to come at the fur, the bank above caved in, +falling upon Meek and Ponto, killing the latter almost instantly. Meek, +though severely hurt, was taken out alive: while poor Ponto was "rolled +in a blanket, and pitched into the river." So rude were the burial +services of the trapper of the Rocky Mountains. + +Meek was packed back to camp, along with the furs, where he soon +recovered. Sublette arrived from St. Louis with fourteen wagons loaded +with merchandise, and two hundred additional men for the service. +Jackson also arrived from the Snake country with plenty of beaver, and +the business of the yearly rendezvous began. Then the scenes previously +described were re-enacted. Beaver, the currency of the mountains, was +plenty that year, and goods were high accordingly. A thousand dollars a +day was not too much for some of the most reckless to spend on their +squaws, horses, alcohol, and themselves. For "alcohol" was the beverage +of the mountaineers. Liquors could not be furnished to the men in that +country. Pure alcohol was what they "got tight on;" and a desperate +tight it was, to be sure! + +An important change took place in the affairs of the Rocky Mountain +Company at this rendezvous. The three partners, Smith, Sublette, and +Jackson, sold out to a new firm, consisting of Milton Sublette, James +Bridger, Fitzpatrick, Frapp, and Jervais; the new company retaining the +same name and style as the old. + +The old partners left for St. Louis, with a company of seventy men, to +convoy the furs. Two of them never returned to the Rocky Mountains; one +of them, Smith, being killed the following year, as will hereafter be +related; and Jackson remaining in St. Louis, where, like a true +mountain-man, he dissipated his large and hard-earned fortune in a few +years. Captain Sublette, however, continued to make his annual trips to +and from the mountains for a number of years; and until the +consolidation of another wealthy company with the Rocky Mountain +Company, continued to furnish goods to the latter, at a profit on St. +Louis prices; his capital and experience enabling him to keep the new +firm under his control to a large degree. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +1830. The whole country lying upon the Yellowstone and its tributaries, +and about the head-waters of the Missouri, at the time of which we are +writing, abounded not only in beaver, but in buffalo, bear, elk, +antelope, and many smaller kinds of game. Indeed the buffalo used then +to cross the mountains into the valleys about the head-waters of the +Snake and Colorado Rivers, in such numbers that at certain seasons of +the year, the plains and river bottoms swarmed with them. Since that day +they have quite disappeared from the western slope of the Rocky +Mountains, and are no longer seen in the same numbers on the eastern +side. + +Bear, although they did not go in herds, were rather uncomfortably +numerous, and sometimes put the trapper to considerable trouble, and +fright also; for very few were brave enough to willingly encounter the +formidable grizzly, one blow of whose terrible paw, aimed generally at +the hunter's head, if not arrested, lays him senseless and torn, an easy +victim to the wrathful monster. A gunshot wound, if not directed with +certainty to some vulnerable point, has only the effect to infuriate the +beast, and make him trebly dangerous. From the fact that the bear always +bites his wound, and commences to run with his head thus brought in the +direction from which the ball comes, he is pretty likely to make a +straight wake towards his enemy, whether voluntarily or not; and woe be +to the hunter who is not prepared for him, with a shot for his eye, +or the spot just behind the ear, where certain death enters. + +[Illustration: _THE THREE "BARES."_] + +In the frequent encounters of the mountain-men with these huge beasts, +many acts of wonderful bravery were performed, while some tragedies, and +not a few comedies were enacted. + +From something humorous in Joe Meek's organization, or some wonderful +"luck" to which he was born, or both, the greater part of his adventures +with bears, as with men, were of a humorous complexion; enabling him not +only to have a story to tell, but one at which his companions were bound +to laugh. One of these which happened during the fall hunt of 1830, we +will let him tell for himself: + +"The first fall on the Yellowstone, Hawkins and myself were coming up +the river in search of camp, when we discovered a very large bar on the +opposite bank. We shot across, and thought we had killed him, fur he +laid quite still. As we wanted to take some trophy of our victory to +camp, we tied our mules and left our guns, clothes, and everything +except our knives and belts, and swum over to whar the bar war. But +instead of being dead, as we expected, he sprung up as we come near him, +and took after us. Then you ought to have seen two naked men run! It war +a race for life, and a close one, too. But we made the river first. The +bank war about fifteen feet high above the water, and the river ten or +twelve feet deep; but we didn't halt. Overboard we went, the bar after +us, and in the stream about as quick as we war. The current war very +strong, and the bar war about half way between Hawkins and me. Hawkins +was trying to swim down stream faster than the current war carrying the +bar, and I war a trying to hold back. You can reckon that I swam! Every +moment I felt myself being washed into the yawning jaws of the mighty +beast, whose head war up the stream, and his eyes on me. But the +current war too strong for him, and swept him along as fast as it did +me. All this time, not a long one, we war looking for some place to land +where the bar could not overtake us. Hawkins war the first to make the +shore, unknown to the bar, whose head war still up stream; and he set up +such a whooping and yelling that the bar landed too, but on the opposite +side. I made haste to follow Hawkins, who had landed on the side of the +river we started from, either by design or good luck: and then we +traveled back a mile and more to whar our mules war left--a bar on one +side of the river, and _two bares_ on the other!" + +Notwithstanding that a necessary discipline was observed and maintained +in the fur traders' camp, there was at the same time a freedom of manner +between the Booshways and the men, both hired and free, which could not +obtain in a purely military organization, nor even in the higher walks +of civilized life in cities. In the mountain community, motley as it +was, as in other communities more refined, were some men who enjoyed +almost unlimited freedom of speech and action, and others who were the +butt of everybody's ridicule or censure. The leaders themselves did not +escape the critical judgment of the men; and the estimation in which +they were held could be inferred from the manner in which they +designated them. Captain Sublette, whose energy, courage, and kindness +entitled him to the admiration of the mountaineers, went by the name of +_Billy_: his partner Jackson, was called _Davey_; Bridger, _old Gabe_, +and so on. In the same manner the men distinguished favorites or +oddities amongst themselves, and to have the adjective _old_ prefixed to +a man's name signified nothing concerning his age, but rather that he +was an object of distinction; though it did not always indicate, except +by the tone in which it was pronounced, whether that distinction were an +enviable one or not. + +Whenever a trapper could get hold of any sort of story reflecting on the +courage of a leader, he was sure at some time to make him aware of it, +and these anecdotes were sometimes sharp answers in the mouths of +careless camp-keepers. Bridger was once waylaid by Blackfeet, who shot +at him, hitting his horse in several places. The wounds caused the +animal to rear and pitch, by reason of which violent movements Bridger +dropped his gun, and the Indians snatched it up; after which there was +nothing to do except to run, which Bridger accordingly did. Not long +after this, as was customary, the leader was making a circuit of the +camp examining the camp-keeper's guns, to see if they were in order, and +found that of one Maloney, an Irishman, in a very dirty condition. + +"What would you do," asked Bridger, "with a gun like that, if the +Indians were to charge on the camp?" + +"Be ----, I would throw it to them, and run the way ye did," answered +Maloney, quickly. It was sometime after this incident before Bridger +again examined Maloney's gun. + +A laughable story in this way went the rounds of the camp in this fall +of 1830. Milton Sublette was out on a hunt with Meek after buffalo, and +they were just approaching the band on foot, at a distance apart of +about fifty yards, when a large grizzly bear came out of a thicket and +made after Sublette, who, when he perceived the creature, ran for the +nearest cotton-wood tree. Meek in the meantime, seeing that Sublette was +not likely to escape, had taken sure aim, and fired at the bear, +fortunately killing him. On running up to the spot where it laid, +Sublette was discovered sitting at the foot of a cotton-wood, with his +legs and arms clasped tightly around it. + +"Do you always climb a tree in that way?" asked Meek. + +"I reckon you took the wrong end of it, that time, Milton!" + +"I'll be ----, Meek, if I didn't think I was twenty feet up that tree +when you shot;" answered the frightened Booshway; and from that time the +men never tired of alluding to Milton's manner of climbing a tree. + +[Illustration: THE WRONG END OF THE TREE.] + +These were some of the mirthful incidents which gave occasion for a +gayety which had to be substituted for happiness, in the checkered life +of the trapper; and there were like to be many such, where there were +two hundred men, each almost daily in the way of adventures by flood or +field. + +On the change in the management of the Company which occurred at the +rendezvous this year, three of the new partners, Fitzpatrick, Sublette, +and Bridger, conducted a large party, numbering over two hundred, from +the Wind River to the Yellowstone; crossing thence to Smith's River, the +Falls of the Missouri, three forks of the Missouri, and to the Big +Blackfoot River. The hunt proved very successful; beaver were plentiful; +and the Blackfeet shy of so large a traveling party. Although so long in +their country, there were only four men killed out of the whole company +during this autumn. + +From the Blackfoot River the company proceeded down the west side of the +mountains to the forks of the Snake River, and after trapping for a +short time in this locality, continued their march southward as far as +Ogden's Hole, a small valley among the Bear River Mountains. + +At this place they fell in with a trading and trapping party, under Mr. +Peter Skeen Ogden, of the Hudson's Bay Company. And now commenced that +irritating and reprehensible style of rivalry with which the different +companies were accustomed to annoy one another. Accompanying Mr. Ogden's +trading party were a party of Rockway Indians, who were from the North, +and who were employed by the Hudson's Bay Company, as the Iroquois and +Crows were, to trap for them. Fitzpatrick and associates camped in the +neighborhood of Ogden's company, and immediately set about endeavoring +to purchase from the Rockways and others, the furs collected for Mr. +Ogden. Not succeeding by fair means, if the means to such an end could +be called fair,--they opened a keg of whiskey, which, when the Indians +had got a taste, soon drew them away from the Hudson's Bay trader, the +regulations of whose company forbade the selling or giving of liquors to +the Indians. Under its influence, the furs were disposed of to the Rocky +Mountain Company, who in this manner obtained nearly the whole product +of their year's hunt. This course of conduct was naturally exceedingly +disagreeable to Mr. Ogden, as well as unprofitable also; and a feeling +of hostility grew up and increased between the two camps. + +While matters were in this position, a stampede one day occurred among +the horses in Ogden's camp, and two or three of the animals ran away, +and ran into the camp of the rival company. Among them was the horse of +Mr. Ogden's Indian wife, which had escaped, with her babe hanging to the +saddle. + +Not many minutes elapsed, before the mother, following her child and +horse, entered the camp, passing right through it, and catching the now +halting steed by the bridle. At the same moment she espied one of her +company's pack-horses, loaded with beaver, which had also run into the +enemy's camp. The men had already begun to exult over the circumstance, +considering this chance load of beaver as theirs, by the laws of war. +But not so the Indian woman. Mounting her own horse, she fearlessly +seized the pack-horse by the halter, and led it out of camp, with its +costly burden. + +At this undaunted action, some of the baser sort of men cried out "shoot +her, shoot her!" but a majority interfered, with opposing cries of "let +her go; let her alone; she's a brave woman: I glory in her pluck;" and +other like admiring expressions. While the clamor continued, the wife of +Ogden had galloped away, with her baby and her pack-horse. + +As the season advanced, Fitzpatrick, with his other partners, returned +to the east side of the mountains, and went into winter quarters on +Powder river. In this trapper's "land of Canaan" they remained between +two and three months. The other two partners, Frapp and Jervais, who +were trapping far to the south, did not return until the following year. + +While wintering it became necessary to send a dispatch to St. Louis on +the company's business. Meek and a Frenchman named Legarde, were chosen +for this service, which was one of trust and peril also. They proceeded +without accident, however, until the Pawnee villages were reached, when +Legarde was taken prisoner. Meek, more cautious, escaped, and proceeded +alone a few days' travel beyond, when he fell in with an express on its +way to St. Louis, to whom he delivered his dispatches, and returned to +camp, accompanied only by a Frenchman named Cabeneau; thus proving +himself an efficient mountaineer at twenty years of age. + +1831. As soon as the spring opened, sometime in March, the whole company +started north again, for the Blackfoot country. But on the night of the +third day out, they fell unawares into the neighborhood of a party of +Crow Indians, whose spies discovered the company's horses feeding on the +dry grass of a little bottom, and succeeded in driving off about three +hundred head. Here was a dilemma to be in, in the heart of an enemy's +country! To send the remaining horses after these, might be "sending the +axe after the helve;" besides most of them belonged to the free +trappers, and could not be pressed into the service. + +The only course remaining was to select the best men and dispatch them +on foot, to overtake and retake the stolen horses. Accordingly one +hundred trappers were ordered on this expedition, among whom were Meek, +Newell, and Antoine Godin, a half-breed and brave fellow, who was to +lead the party. Following the trail of the Crows for two hundred miles, +traveling day and night, on the third day they came up with them on a +branch of the Bighorn river. The trappers advanced cautiously, and being +on the opposite side of the stream, on a wooded bluff, were enabled to +approach close enough to look into their fort, and count the +unsuspecting thieves. There were sixty of them, fine young braves, who +believed that now they had made a start in life. Alas, for the vanity of +human, and especially of Crow expectations! Even then, while they were +grouped around their fires, congratulating themselves on the sudden +wealth which had descended upon them, as it were from the skies, an +envious fate, in the shape of several roguish white trappers, was +laughing at them and their hopes, from the overhanging bluff opposite +them. And by and by, when they were wrapped in a satisfied slumber, two +of these laughing rogues, Robert Newell, and Antoine Godin, stole under +the very walls of their fort, and setting the horses free, drove them +across the creek. + +The Indians were awakened by the noise of the trampling horses, and +sprang to arms. But Meek and his fellow-trappers on the bluff fired into +the fort with such effect that the Crows were appalled. Having delivered +their first volley, they did not wait for the savages to recover from +their recoil. Mounting in hot haste, the cavalcade of bare-back riders, +and their drove of horses, were soon far away from the Crow fort, +leaving the ambitious braves to finish their excursion on foot. It was +afterwards ascertained that the Crows lost seven men by that one volley +of the trappers. + +Flushed with success, the trappers yet found the backward journey more +toilsome than the outward; for what with sleeplessness and fatigue, and +bad traveling in melted snow, they were pretty well exhausted when they +reached camp. Fearing, however, another raid from the thieving Crows, +the camp got in motion again with as little delay as possible. They had +not gone far, when Fitzpatrick turned back, with only one man, to go to +St. Louis for supplies. + +After the departure of Fitzpatrick, Bridger and Sublette completed their +spring and summer campaign without any material loss in men or animals, +and with considerable gain in beaver skins. Having once more visited the +Yellowstone, they turned to the south again, crossing the mountains into +Pierre's Hole, on to Snake river; thence to Salt river; thence to Bear +river; and thence to Green river, to rendezvous. + +It was expected that Fitzpatrick would have arrived from St. Louis with +the usual annual recruits and supplies of merchandise, in time for the +summer rendezvous; but after waiting for some time in vain, Bridger and +Sublette determined to send out a small party to look for him. The large +number of men now employed, had exhausted the stock of goods on hand. +The camp was without blankets and without ammunition; knives were not to +be had; traps were scarce; but worse than all, the tobacco had given +out, and alcohol was not! In such a case as this, what could a +mountain-man do? + +To seek the missing Booshway became not only a duty, but a necessity; +and not only a necessity of the physical man, but in an equal degree a +need of the moral and spiritual man, which was rusting with the tedium +of waiting. In the state of uncertainty in which the minds of the +company were involved, it occurred to that of Frapp to consult a great +"medicine-man" of the Crows, one of those recruits filched from Mr. +Ogden's party by whiskey the previous year. + +Like all eminent professional men, the Crow chief required a generous +fee, of the value of a horse or two, before he would begin to make +"medicine." This peculiar ceremony is pretty much alike among all the +different tribes. It is observed first in the making of a medicine man, +_i. e._, qualifying him for his profession; and afterwards is practiced +to enable him to heal the sick, to prophecy, and to dream dreams, or +even to give victory to his people. To a medicine-man was imputed great +power, not only to cure, but to kill; and if, as it sometimes happened, +the relatives of a sick man suspected the medicine-man of having caused +his death, by the exercise of evil powers, one of them, or all of them, +pursued him to the death. Therefore, although it might be honorable, it +was not always safe to be a great "medicine." + +The Indians placed a sort of religious value upon the practice of +fasting; a somewhat curious fact, when it is remembered how many +compulsory fasts they are obliged to endure, which must train them to +think lightly of the deprivation of food. Those, however, who could +endure voluntary abstinence long enough, were enabled to become very +wise and very brave. The manner of making a "medicine" among some of the +interior tribes, is in certain respects similar to the practice gone +through with by some preachers, in making a convert. A sort of +camp-meeting is held, for several nights, generally about five, during +which various dances are performed, with cries, and incantations, bodily +exercises, singing, and nervous excitement; enough to make many +patients, instead of one doctor. But the native's constitution is a +strong one, and he holds out well. At last, however, one or more are +overcome with the mysterious _power_ which enters into them at that +time; making, instead of a saint, only a superstitious Indian doctor. + +The same sort of exercises which had made the Cree man a doctor were now +resorted to, in order that he might obtain a more than natural sight, +enabling him to see visions of the air, or at the least to endow him +with prophetic dreams. After several nights of singing, dancing, +hopping, screeching, beating of drums, and other more violent exercises +and contortions, the exhausted medicine-man fell off to sleep, and when +he awoke he announced to Frapp that Fitzpatrick was not dead. He was on +the road; some road; but not the right one; etc., etc. + +Thus encouraged, Frapp determined to take a party, and go in search of +him. Accordingly Meek, Reese, Ebarts, and Nelson, volunteered to +accompany him. This party set out, first in the direction of Wind +River; but not discovering any signs of the lost Booshway in that +quarter, crossed over to the Sweetwater, and kept along down to the +North Fork of the Platte, and thence to the Black Hills, where they +found a beautiful country full of game; but not the hoped-for train, +with supplies. After waiting for a short time at the Black Hills, +Frapp's party returned to the North Fork of the Platte, and were +rejoiced to meet at last, the long absent partner, with his pack train. +Urged by Frapp, Fitzpatrick hastened forward, and came into camp on +Powder River after winter had set in. + +Fitzpatrick had a tale to tell the other partners, in explanation of his +unexpected delay. When he had started for St. Louis in the month of +March previous, he had hoped to have met the old partners, Capt. +Sublette and Jedediah Smith, and to have obtained the necessary supplies +from them, to furnish the Summer rendezvous with plenty. But these +gentlemen, when he fell in with them, used certain arguments which +induced him to turn back, and accompany them to Santa Fe, where they +promised to furnish him goods, as he desired, and to procure for him an +escort at that place. The journey had proven tedious, and unfortunate. +They had several times been attacked by Indians, and Smith had been +killed. While they were camped on a small tributary of the Simmaron +River, Smith had gone a short distance from camp to procure water, and +while at the stream was surprised by an ambush, and murdered on the +spot, his murderers escaping unpunished. Sublette, now left alone in the +business, finally furnished him; and he had at last made his way back to +his Rocky Mountain camp. + +But Fitzpatrick's content at being once more with his company was +poisoned by the disagreeable proximity of a rival company. If he had +annoyed Mr. Ogden of the Hudson's Bay Company, in the previous autumn, +Major Vanderburg and Mr. Dripps, of the American Company, in their turn +annoyed him. This company had been on their heels, from the Platte +River, and now were camped in the same neighborhood, using the Rocky +Mountain Company as pilots to show them the country. As this was just +what it was not for their interest to do, the Rocky Mountain Company +raised camp, and fairly ran away from them; crossing the mountains to +the Forks of the Snake River, where they wintered among the Nez Perces +and Flathead Indians. + +Some time during this winter, Meek and Legarde, who had escaped from the +Pawnees, made another expedition together; traveling three hundred miles +on snowshoes, to the Bitter Root River, to look for a party of free +trappers, whose beaver the company wished to secure. They were absent +two months and a half, on this errand, and were entirely successful, +passing a Blackfoot village in the night, but having no adventures worth +recounting. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +1832. In the following spring, the Rocky Mountain Fur Company commenced +its march, first up Lewis' Fork, then on to Salt River, thence to Gray's +River, and thence to Bear River. They fell in with the North American +Fur Company on the latter river, with a large lot of goods, but no +beaver. The American Company's resident partners were ignorant of the +country, and were greatly at a loss where to look for the good trapping +grounds. These gentlemen, Vanderburg and Dripps, were therefore inclined +to keep an eye on the movements of the Rocky Mountain Company, whose +leaders were acquainted with the whole region lying along the mountains, +from the head-waters of the Colorado to the northern branches of the +Missouri. On the other hand, the Rocky Mountain Company were anxious to +"shake the dust from off their feet," which was trodden by the American +Company, and to avoid the evils of competition in an Indian country. But +they found the effort quite useless; the rival company had a habit of +turning up in the most unexpected places, and taking advantage of the +hard-earned experience of the Rocky Mountain Company's leaders. They +tampered with the trappers, and ferreted out the secret of their next +rendezvous; they followed on their trail, making them pilots to the +trapping grounds; they sold goods to the Indians, and what was worse, to +the hired trappers. In this way grew up that fierce conflict of +interests, which made it "as much as his life was worth" for a trapper +to suffer himself to be inveigled into the service of a rival company, +which about this time or a little later, was at its highest, and which +finally ruined the fur-trade for the American companies in the Rocky +Mountains. + +Finding their rivals in possession of the ground, Bridger and Milton +Sublette resolved to spend but a few days in that country. But so far as +Sublette was concerned, circumstances ordered differently. A Rockway +Chief, named Gray, and seven of his people, had accompanied the camp +from Ogden's Hole, in the capacity of trappers. But during the sojourn +on Bear River, there was a quarrel in camp on account of some indignity, +real or fancied, which had been offered to the chief's daughter, and in +the affray Gray stabbed Sublette so severely that it was thought he must +die. + +It thus fell out that Sublette had to be left behind; and Meek who was +his favorite, was left to take care of him while he lived, and bury him +if he died; which trouble Sublette saved him, however, by getting well. +But they had forty lonesome days to themselves after the camps had moved +off,--one on the heels of the other, to the great vexation of Bridger. +Time passed slowly in Sublette's lodge, while waiting for his wound to +heal. Day passed after day, so entirely like each other that the +monotony alone seemed sufficient to invite death to an easy conquest. +But the mountain-man's blood, like the Indians, is strong and pure, and +his flesh heals readily, therefore, since death would not have him, the +wounded man was forced to accept of life in just this monotonous form. +To him Joe Meek was everything,--hands, feet, physician, guard, caterer, +hunter, cook, companion, friend. What long talks they had, when Sublette +grew better: what stories they told; what little glimpses of a secret +chamber in their hearts, and a better than the every-day spirit, in +their bosoms, was revealed,--as men will reveal such things in the +isolation of sea-voyages, or the solitary presence of majestic Nature. + +To the veteran mountaineer there must have been something soothing in +the care and friendship of the youth of twenty-two, with his daring +disposition, his frankness, his cheerful humor, and his good looks;--for +our Joe was growing to be a maturely handsome man--tall, +broad-shouldered, straight, with plenty of flesh, and none too much of +it; a Southerner's olive complexion; frank, dark eyes, and a classical +nose and chin. What though in the matter of dress he was ignorant of the +latest styles?--grace imparts elegance even to the trapper's beaver-skin +cap and blanket capote. + +At the end of forty days, as many as it took to drown a world, Sublette +found himself well enough to ride; and the two set out on their search +for camp. But now other adventures awaited them. On a fork of Green +River, they came suddenly upon a band of Snake Indians feeding their +horses. As soon as the Snakes discovered the white men, they set up a +yell, and made an instinctive rush for their horses. Now was the +critical moment. One word passed between the travelers, and they made a +dash past the savages, right into the village, and never slacked rein +until they threw themselves from their horses at the door of the +Medicine lodge. This is a large and fancifully decorated lodge, which +stands in the centre of a village, and like the churches of Christians, +is sacred. Once inside of this, the strangers were safe for the present; +their blood could not be shed there. + +The warriors of the village soon followed Sublette and Meek into their +strange house of refuge. In half an hour it was filled. Not a word was +addressed to the strangers; nor by them to the Indians, who talked +among themselves with a solemn eagerness, while they smoked the +medicine pipe, as inspiration in their councils. Great was the +excitement in the minds of the listeners, who understood the Snake +tongue, as the question of their life or death was gravely discussed; +yet in their countenances appeared only the utmost serenity. To show +fear, is to whet an Indian's appetite for blood: coolness confounds and +awes him when anything will. + +If Sublette had longed for excitement, while an invalid in his lonely +lodge on Bear River, he longed equally now for that blissful seclusion. +Listening for, and hearing one's death-warrant from a band of +blood-thirsty savages, could only prove with bitter sharpness how sweet +was life, even the most uneventful. For hours the council continued, and +the majority favored the death-sentence. But one old chief, called the +good _Gotia_, argued long for an acquittal: he did not see the necessity +of murdering two harmless travelers of the white race. Nothing availed, +however, and just at sunset their doom was fixed. + +The only hope of escape was, that, favored by darkness, they might elude +the vigilance of their jailers; and night, although so near, seemed ages +away, even at sundown. Death being decreed, the warriors left the lodge +one by one to attend to the preparation of the preliminary ceremonies. +Gotia, the good, was the last to depart. As he left the Medicine lodge +he made signs to the captives to remain quiet until he should return; +pointing upwards to signify that there was a chance of life; and +downwards to show that possibly they must die. + +What an age of anxiety was that hour of waiting! Not a word had been +exchanged between the prisoners since the Indians entered the lodge, +until now; and now very little was said, for speech would draw upon them +the vigilance of their enemy, by whom they desired most ardently to be +forgotten. + +About dusk there was a great noise, and confusion, and clouds of dust, +in the south end of the village. Something was going wrong among the +Indian horses. Immediately all the village ran to the scene of the +disorder, and at the same moment Gotia, the good, appeared at the door +of the Medicine lodge, beckoning the prisoners to follow him. With +alacrity they sprang up and after him, and were led across the stream, +to a thicket on the opposite side, where their horses stood, ready to +mount, in the charge of a young Indian girl. They did not stop for +compliments, though had time been less precious, they might well have +bestowed some moments of it in admiration of _Umentucken Tukutsey +Undewatsey_, the Mountain Lamb. Soon after, the beautiful Snake girl +became the wife of Milton Sublette; and after his return to the States, +of the subject of this narrative; from which circumstance the incident +above related takes on something of the rosy hue of romance. + +As each released captive received his bridle from the delicate hand of +the Mountain Lamb, he sprang to the saddle. By this time the chief had +discovered that the strangers understood the Snake dialect. "Ride, if +you wish to live," said he: "ride without stopping, all night: and +to-morrow linger not." With hurried thanks our mountain-men replied to +this advice, and striking into a gallop, were soon far away from the +Snake village. The next day at noon found them a hundred and fifty miles +on their way to camp. Proceeding without further accident, they crossed +the Teton Mountains, and joined the company at Pierre's Hole, after an +absence of nearly four months. + +Here they found the ubiquitous if not omnipresent American Fur Company +encamped at the rendezvous of the Rocky Mountain Company. The partners +being anxious to be freed from this sort of espionage, and obstinate +competition on their own ground, made a proposition to Vanderburg and +Dripps to divide the country with them, each company to keep on its own +territory. This proposition was refused by the American Company; perhaps +because they feared having the poorer portion set off to themselves by +their more experienced rivals. On this refusal, the Rocky Mountain +Company determined to send an express to meet Capt. William Sublette, +who was on his way out with a heavy stock of merchandise, and hurry him +forward, lest the American Company should have the opportunity of +disposing of its goods, when the usual gathering to rendezvous began. On +this decision being formed, Fitzpatrick determined to go on this errand +himself; which he accordingly did, falling in with Sublette, and +Campbell, his associate, somewhere near the Black Hills. To them he +imparted his wishes and designs, and receiving the assurance of an early +arrival at rendezvous, parted from them at the Sweetwater, and hastened +back, alone, as he came, to prepare for business. + +Captain Sublette hurried forward with his train, which consisted of +sixty men with pack-horses, three to a man. In company with him, was Mr. +Nathaniel Wyeth, a history of whose fur-trading and salmon-fishing +adventures has already been given. Captain Sublette had fallen in with +Mr. Wyeth at Independence, Missouri; and finding him ignorant of the +undertaking on which he was launched, offered to become pilot and +traveling companion, an offer which was gratefully accepted. + +The caravan had reached the foot-hills of the Wind River Mountains, when +the raw recruits belonging to both these parties were treated to a +slight foretaste of what Indian fighting would be, should they ever have +to encounter it. Their camp was suddenly aroused at midnight by the +simultaneous discharge of guns and arrows, and the frightful whoops and +yells with which the savages make an attack. Nobody was wounded, +however; but on springing to arms, the Indians fled, taking with them a +few horses which their yells had frightened from their pickets. These +marauders were Blackfeet, as Captain Sublette explained to Mr. Wyeth, +their moccasin tracks having betrayed them; for as each tribe has a +peculiar way of making or shaping the moccasin, the expert in Indian +habits can detect the nationality of an Indian thief by his foot-print. +After this episode of the night assault, the leaders redoubled their +watchfulness, and reached their destination in Pierre's hole about the +first of July. + +When Sublette arrived in camp, it was found that Fitzpatrick was +missing. If the other partners had believed him to be with the Captain, +the Captain expected to find him with them; but since neither could +account to the other for his non-appearance, much anxiety was felt, and +Sublette remembered with apprehension the visit he had received from +Blackfeet. However, before anything had been determined upon with regard +to him, he made his appearance in camp, in company with two Iroquois +half-breeds, belonging to the camp, who had been out on a hunt. + +Fitzpatrick had met with an adventure, as had been conjectured. While +coming up the Green river valley, he descried a small party of mounted +men, whom he mistook for a company of trappers, and stopped to +reconnoitre; but almost at the same moment the supposed trappers, +perceiving him, set up a yell that quickly undeceived him, and compelled +him to flight. Abandoning his pack-horse, he put the other to its +topmost speed, and succeeded in gaining the mountains, where in a deep +and dark defile he secreted himself until he judged the Indians had +left that part of the valley. In this he was deceived, for no sooner did +he emerge again into the open country, than he was once more pursued, +and had to abandon his horse, to take refuge among the cliffs of the +mountains. Here he remained for several days, without blankets or +provisions, and with only one charge of ammunition, which was in his +rifle, and kept for self-defense. At length, however, by frequent +reconnoitering, he managed to elude his enemies, traveling by night, +until he fortunately met with the two hunters from camp, and was +conveyed by them to the rendezvous. + +All the parties were now safely in. The lonely mountain valley was +populous with the different camps. The Rocky Mountain and American +companies had their separate camps; Wyeth had his; a company of free +trappers, fifteen in number, led by a man named Sinclair, from Arkansas, +had the fourth; the Nez Perces and Flatheads, the allies of the Rocky +Mountain company, and the friends of the whites, had their lodges along +all the streams; so that altogether there could not have been less than +one thousand souls, and two or three thousand horses and mules gathered +in this place. + +"When the pie was opened then the birds began to sing." When Captain +Sublette's goods were opened and distributed among the trappers and +Indians, then began the usual gay carousal; and the "fast young men" of +the mountains outvied each other in all manner of mad pranks. In the +beginning of their spree many feats of horsemanship and personal +strength were exhibited, which were regarded with admiring wonder by the +sober and inexperienced New Englanders under Mr. Wyeth's command. And as +nothing stimulated the vanity of the mountain-men like an audience of +this sort, the feats they performed were apt to astonish themselves. In +exhibitions of the kind, the free trappers took the lead, and usually +carried off the palm, like the privileged class that they were. + +But the horse-racing, fine riding, wrestling, and all the manlier +sports, soon degenerated into the baser exhibitions of a "crazy drunk" +condition. The vessel in which the trapper received and carried about +his supply of alcohol was one of the small camp kettles. "Passing round" +this clumsy goblet very freely, it was not long before a goodly number +were in the condition just named, and ready for any mad freak whatever. +It is reported by several of the mountain-men that on the occasion of +one of these "frolics," one of their number seized a kettle of alcohol, +and poured it over the head of a tall, lank, redheaded fellow, repeating +as he did so the baptismal ceremony. No sooner had he concluded, than +another man with a lighted stick, touched him with the blaze, when in an +instant he was enveloped in flames. Luckily some of the company had +sense enough left to perceive his danger, and began beating him with +pack-saddles to put out the blaze. But between the burning and the +beating, the unhappy wretch nearly lost his life, and never recovered +from the effects of his baptism by fire. + +Beaver being plenty in camp, business was correspondingly lively, there +being a great demand for goods. When this demand was supplied, as it was +in the course of about three weeks, the different brigades were set in +motion. One of the earliest to move was a small party under Milton +Sublette, including his constant companion, Meek. With this company, no +more than thirty in number, Sublette intended to explore the country to +the south-west, then unknown to the fur companies, and to proceed as far +as the Humboldt river in that direction. + +On the 17th of July they set out toward the south end of the valley, and +having made but about eight miles the first day, camped that night near +a pass in the mountains. Wyeth's party of raw New Englanders, and +Sinclair's free trappers, had joined themselves to the company of Milton +Sublette, and swelled the number in camp to about sixty men, many of +them new to the business of mountain life. + +Just as the men were raising camp for a start the next morning, a +caravan was observed moving down the mountain pass into the valley. No +alarm was at first felt, as an arrival was daily expected of one of the +American company's partisans, Mr. Fontenelle, and his company. But on +reconnoitering with a glass, Sublette discovered them to be a large +party of Blackfeet, consisting of a few mounted men, and many more, men, +women, and children, on foot. At the instant they were discovered, they +set up the usual yell of defiance, and rushed down like a mountain +torrent into the valley, flourishing their weapons, and fluttering their +gay blankets and feathers in the wind. There was no doubt as to the +warlike intentions of the Blackfeet in general, nor was it for a moment +to be supposed that any peaceable overture on their part meant anything +more than that they were not prepared to fight at that particular +juncture; therefore let not the reader judge too harshly of an act which +under ordinary circumstances would have been infamous. In Indian +fighting, every man is his own leader, and the bravest take the front +rank. On this occasion there were two of Sublette's men, one a +half-breed Iroquois, the other a Flathead Indian, who had wrongs of +their own to avenge, and they never let slip a chance of killing a +Blackfoot. These two men rode forth alone to meet the enemy, as if to +hold a "talk" with the principal chief, who advanced to meet them, +bearing the pipe of peace. When the chief extended his hand, Antonio +Godin, the half-breed, took it, but at the same moment he ordered the +Flathead to fire, and the chief fell dead. The two trappers galloped +back to camp, Antoine bearing for a trophy the scarlet blanket of his +enemy. + +This action made it impossible to postpone the battle, as the dead chief +had meant to do by peaceful overtures, until the warriors of his nation +came up. The Blackfeet immediately betook themselves to a swamp formed +by an old beaver dam, and thickly overgrown with cotton-wood and willow, +matted together with tough vines. On the edge of this dismal covert the +warriors skulked, and shot with their guns and arrows, while in its very +midst the women employed themselves in digging a trench and throwing up +a breastwork of logs, and whatever came to hand. Such a defence as the +thicket afforded was one not easy to attack; its unseen but certain +dangers being sufficient to appal the stoutest heart. + +Meantime, an express had been sent off to inform Captain Sublette of the +battle, and summon assistance. Sinclair and his free trappers, with +Milton Sublette's small company, were the only fighting men at hand. Mr. +Wyeth, knowing the inefficiency of his men in an Indian fight, had them +entrenched behind their packs, and there left them to take care of +themselves, but charged them not to appear in open field. As for the +fighting men, they stationed themselves in a ravine, where they could +occasionally pick off a Blackfoot, and waited for reinforcements. + +Great was the astonishment of the Blackfeet, who believed they had only +Milton Sublette's camp to fight, when they beheld first one party of +white men and then another; and not only whites, but Nez Perces and +Flatheads came galloping up the valley. If before it had been a battle +to destroy the whites, it was now a battle to defend themselves. +Previous to the arrival of Captain Sublette, the opposing forces had +kept up only a scattering fire, in which nobody on the side of the +trappers had been either killed or wounded. But when the impetuous +captain arrived on the battle-field, he prepared for less guarded +warfare. Stripped as if for the prize-ring, and armed _cap-a-pie_, he +hastened to the scene of action, accompanied by his intimate friend and +associate in business, Robert Campbell. + +At sight of the reinforcements, and their vigorous movements, the +Indians at the edge of the swamp fell back within their fort. To +dislodge them was a dangerous undertaking, but Captain Sublette was +determined to make the effort. Finding the trappers generally +disinclined to enter the thicket, he set the example, together with +Campbell, and thus induced some of the free trappers, with their leader, +Sinclair, to emulate his action. However, the others took courage at +this, and advanced near the swamp, firing at random at their invisible +foe, who, having the advantage of being able to see them, inflicted some +wounds on the party. + +The few white "braves" who had resolved to enter the swamp, made their +wills as they went, feeling that they were upon perilous business. +Sublette, Campbell, and Sinclair succeeded in penetrating the thicket +without alarming the enemy, and came at length to a more open space from +whence they could get a view of the fort. From this they learned that +the women and children had retired to the mountains, and that the fort +was a slight affair, covered with buffalo robes and blankets to keep out +prying eyes. Moving slowly on, some slight accident betrayed their +vicinity, and the next moment a shot struck Sinclair, wounding him +mortally. He spoke to Campbell, requesting to be taken to his brother. +By this time some of the men had come up, and he was given in charge to +be taken back to camp. Sublette then pressed forward, and seeing an +Indian looking through an aperture, aimed at him with fatal effect. No +sooner had he done so, and pointed out the opening to Campbell, than he +was struck with a ball in the shoulder, which nearly prostrated him, and +turned him so faint that Campbell took him in his arms and carried him, +assisted by Meek, out of the swamp. At the same time one of the men +received a wound in the head. The battle was now carried on with spirit, +although from the difficulty of approaching the fort, the firing was +very irregular. + +The mountaineers who followed Sublette, took up their station in the +woods on one side of the fort, and the Nez Perces, under Wyeth, on the +opposite side, which accidental arrangement, though it was fatal to many +of the Blackfeet in the fort, was also the occasion of loss to +themselves by the cross-fire. The whites being constantly reinforced by +fresh arrivals from the rendezvous, were soon able to silence the guns +of the enemy, but they were not able to drive them from their fort, +where they remained silent and sullen after their ammunition was +exhausted. + +Seeing that the women of the Nez Perces and Flatheads were gathering up +sticks to set fire to their breastwork of logs, an old chief proclaimed +in a loud voice from within, the startling intelligence that there were +four hundred lodges of his people close at hand, who would soon be there +to avenge their deaths, should the whites choose to reduce them to +ashes. This harangue, delivered in the usual high-flown style of Indian +oratory, either was not clearly understood, or was wrongly interpreted, +and the impression got abroad that an attack was being made on the great +encampment. This intelligence occasioned a diversion, and a division of +forces; for while a small party was left to watch the fort, the rest +galloped in hot haste to the rescue of the main camp. When they arrived, +they found it had been a false alarm, but it was too late to return that +night, and the several camps remained where they were until the next +day. + +Meantime the trappers left to guard the fort remained stationed within +the wood all night, firmly believing they had their enemy "corraled," as +the horsemen of the plains would say. On the return, in the morning, of +their comrades from the main camp, they advanced cautiously up to the +breastwork of logs, and behold! not a buffalo skin nor red blanket was +to be seen! Through the crevices among the logs was seen an empty fort. +On making this discovery there was much chagrin among the white +trappers, and much lamentation among the Indian allies, who had +abandoned the burning of the fort expressly to save for themselves the +fine blankets and other goods of their hereditary foes. + +From the reluctance displayed by the trappers, in the beginning of the +battle, to engage with the Indians while under cover of the woods, it +must not be inferred that they were lacking in courage. They were too +well informed in Indian modes of warfare to venture recklessly into the +den of death, which a savage ambush was quite sure to be. The very +result which attended the impetuosity of their leaders, in the death of +Sinclair and the wounding of Captain Sublette, proved them not over +cautious. + +On entering the fort, the dead bodies of ten Blackfeet were found, +besides others dead outside the fort, and over thirty horses, some of +which were recognized as those stolen from Sublette's night camp on the +other side of the mountains, besides those abandoned by Fitzpatrick. +Doubtless the rascals had followed his trail to Pierre's Hole, not +thinking, however, to come upon so large a camp as they found at last. +The savage garrison which had so cunningly contrived to elude the guard +set upon them, carried off some of their wounded, and, perhaps, also +some of their dead; for they acknowledged afterwards a much larger loss +than appeared at the time. Besides Sinclair, there were five other white +men killed, one half-breed, and seven Nez Perces. About the same number +of whites and their Indian allies were wounded. + +An instance of female devotion is recorded by Bonneville's historian as +having occurred at this battle. On the morning following it, as the +whites were exploring the thickets about the fort, they discovered a +Blackfoot woman leaning silent and motionless against a tree. According +to Mr. Irving, whose fine feeling for the sex would incline him to put +faith in this bit of romance, "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." This version is true in the main incidents, +but untrue in the sentiment. The woman's leg had been broken by a ball, +and she was unable to move from the spot where she leaned. When the +trappers approached her, she stretched out her hands supplicatingly, +crying out in a wailing voice, "kill me! kill me! O white men, kill +me!"--but this the trappers had no disposition to do. While she was +entreating them, and they refusing, a ball from some vengeful Nez Perce +or Flathead put an end to her sufferings. + +Still remembering the threats of the Blackfoot chief, that four hundred +lodges of his brethren were advancing on the valley, all the companies +returned to rendezvous, and remained for several days, to see whether an +attack should take place. But if there had ever been any such intention +on the part of the Blackfoot nation, the timely lesson bestowed on their +advance guard had warned them to quit the neighborhood of the whites. + +Captain Sublette's wound was dressed by Mr. Wyeth's physician, and +although it hindered his departure for St. Louis for some time, it did +not prevent his making his usual journey later in the season. It was as +well, perhaps, that he did not set out earlier, for of a party of seven +who started for St. Louis a few days after the battle, three were killed +in Jackson's Hole, where they fell in with the four hundred warriors +with whom the Blackfoot chief threatened the whites at the battle of +Pierre's Hole. From the story of the four survivors who escaped and +returned to camp, there could no longer be any doubt that the big +village of the Blackfeet had actually been upon the trail of Capt. +Sublette, expecting an easy victory when they should overtake him. How +they were disappointed by the reception met with by the advance camp, +has already been related. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +1832. On the 23d of July, Milton Sublette's brigade and the company of +Mr. Wyeth again set out for the southwest, and met no more serious +interruptions while they traveled in company. On the head-waters of the +Humboldt River they separated, Wyeth proceeding north to the Columbia, +and Sublette continuing on into a country hitherto untraversed by +American trappers. + +It was the custom of a camp on the move to depend chiefly on the men +employed as hunters to supply them with game, the sole support of the +mountaineers. When this failed, the stock on hand was soon exhausted, +and the men reduced to famine. This was what happened to Sublette's +company in the country where they now found themselves, between the +Owyhee and Humboldt Rivers. Owing to the arid and barren nature of these +plains, the largest game to be found was the beaver, whose flesh proved +to be poisonous, from the creature having eaten of the wild parsnip in +the absence of its favorite food. The men were made ill by eating of +beaver flesh, and the horses were greatly reduced from the scarcity of +grass and the entire absence of the cotton-wood. + +In this plight Sublette found himself, and finally resolved to turn +north, in the hope of coming upon some better and more hospitable +country. The sufferings of the men now became terrible, both from hunger +and thirst. In the effort to appease the former, everything was eaten +that could be eaten, and many things at which the well-fed man would +sicken with disgust. "I have," says Joe Meek, "held my hands in an +ant-hill until they were covered with the ants, then greedily licked +them off. I have taken the soles off my moccasins, crisped them in the +fire, and eaten them. In our extremity, the large black crickets which +are found in this country were considered game. We used to take a kettle +of hot water, catch the crickets and throw them in, and when they +stopped kicking, eat them. That was not what we called _cant tickup ko +hanch_, (good meat, my friend), but it kept us alive." + +Equally abhorrent expedients were resorted to in order to quench thirst, +some of which would not bear mention. In this condition, and exposed to +the burning suns and the dry air of the desert, the men now so nearly +exhausted began to prey upon their almost equally exhausted animals. At +night when they made their camp, by mutual consent a mule was bled, and +a soup made from its blood. About a pint was usually taken, when two or +three would mess together upon this reviving, but scanty and not very +palatable dish. But this mode of subsistence could not be long depended +on, as the poor mules could ill afford to lose blood in their famishing +state; nor could the men afford to lose their mules where there was a +chance of life: therefore hungry as they were, the men were cautious in +this matter; and it generally caused a quarrel when a man's mule was +selected for bleeding by the others. + +A few times a mule had been sacrificed to obtain meat; and in this case +the poorest one was always selected, so as to economise the chances for +life for the whole band. In this extremity, after four days of almost +total abstinence and several weeks of famine, the company reached the +Snake River, about fifty miles above the fishing falls, where it boils +and dashes over the rocks, forming very strong rapids. Here the company +camped, rejoiced at the sight of the pure mountain water, but still in +want of food. During the march a horse's back had become sore from some +cause; probably, his rider thought, because the saddle did not set well; +and, although that particular animal was selected to be sacrificed on +the morrow, as one that could best be spared, he set about taking the +stuffing out of his saddle and re-arranging the padding. While engaged +in this considerate labor, he uttered a cry of delight and held up to +view a large brass pin, which had accidentally got into the stuffing, +when the saddle was made, and had been the cause of all the mischief to +his horse. + +The same thought struck all who saw the pin: it was soon converted into +a fish-hook, a line was spun from horse-hair, and in a short time there +were trout enough caught to furnish them a hearty and a most delicious +repast. "In the morning," says Meek, "we went on our way rejoicing;" +each man with the "five fishes" tied to his saddle, if without any +"loaves." This was the end of their severest suffering, as they had now +reached a country where absolute starvation was not the normal condition +of the inhabitants; and which was growing more and more bountiful, as +they neared the Rocky Mountains, where they at length joined camp, not +having made a very profitable expedition. + +It may seem incredible to the reader that any country so poor as that in +which our trappers starved could have native inhabitants. Yet such was +the fact; and the people who lived in and who still inhabit this barren +waste, were called _Diggers_, from their mode of obtaining their food--a +few edible roots growing in low grounds, or marshy places. When these +fail them they subsist as did our trappers, by hunting crickets and +field mice. + +Nothing can be more abject than the appearance of the Digger Indian, in +the fall, as he roams about, without food and without weapons, save +perhaps a bow and arrows, with his eyes fixed upon the ground, looking +for crickets! So despicable is he, that he has neither enemies nor +friends; and the neighboring tribes do not condescend to notice his +existence, unless indeed he should come in their way, when they would +not think it more than a mirthful act to put an end to his miserable +existence. And so it must be confessed the trappers regarded him. When +Sublette's party first struck the Humboldt, Wyeth's being still with +them, Joe Meek one day shot a Digger who was prowling about a stream +where his traps were set. + +"Why did you shoot him?" asked Wyeth. + +"To keep him from stealing traps." + +"Had he stolen any?" + +"No: but he _looked as if he was going to_!" + +This recklessness of life very properly distressed the just minded New +Englander. Yet it was hard for the trappers to draw lines of distinction +so nice as his. If a tribe was not known to be friendly, it was a rule +of necessity to consider it unfriendly. The abjectness and cowardice of +the Diggers was the fruit of their own helpless condition. That they had +the savage instinct, held in check only by circumstances, was +demonstrated about the same time that Meek shot one, by his being +pursued by four of them when out trapping alone, and only escaping at +last by the assistance of one of his comrades who came to the rescue. +They could not fight, like the Crows and Blackfeet, but they could steal +and murder, when they had a safe opportunity. + +It would be an interesting study, no doubt, to the philanthropist, to +ascertain in how great a degree the habits, manners, and morals of a +people are governed by their resources, especially by the quality and +quantity of their diet. But when diet and climate are both taken into +consideration, the result is striking. + +The character of the Blackfeet who inhabited the good hunting grounds on +the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, is already pretty well given. +They were tall, sinewy, well-made fellows; good horsemen, and good +fighters, though inclined to marauding and murdering. They dressed +comfortably and even handsomely, as dress goes amongst savages, and +altogether were more to be feared than despised. + +The Crows resembled the Blackfeet, whose enemies they were, in all the +before-mentioned traits, but were if possible, even more predatory in +their habits. Unlike the Blackfeet, however, they were not the enemies +of all mankind; and even were disposed to cultivate some friendliness +with the white traders and trappers, in order, as they acknowledged, to +strengthen their own hands against the Blackfeet. They too inhabited a +good country, full of game, and had horses in abundance. These were the +mountain tribes. + +Comparing these with the coast tribes, there was a striking difference. +The natives of the Columbia were not a tall and robust people, like +those east of the Rocky Mountains, who lived by hunting. Their height +rarely exceeded five feet six inches; their forms were good, rather +inclining to fatness, their faces round, features coarse, but complexion +light, and their eyes large and intelligent. The custom of flattening +their heads in infancy gave them a grotesque and unnatural appearance, +otherwise they could not be called ill-looking. On the first advent of +white men among them, they were accustomed to go entirely naked, except +in winter, when a panther skin, or a mantle of other skins sewed +together, served to protect them from the cold: or if the weather was +rainy, as it generally was in that milder climate, a long mantle of +rush mats, like the toga of the ancient Romans, took the place of that +made of skins. To this was added a conical hat, woven of fibrous roots, +and gaily painted. + +For defensive armor they were provided with a tunic of elkskin double, +descending to the ankles, with holes in it for the arms, and quite +impenetrable to arrows. A helmet of similar material covered the head, +rendering them like Achilles, invulnerable except in the heels. In this +secure dress they went to battle in their canoes, notice being first +given to the enemy of the intended attack. Their battles might therefore +be termed compound duels, in which each party observed great +punctiliousness and decorum. Painted and armor-encased, the warriors in +two flotillas of canoes were rowed to the battle ground by their women, +when the battle raged furiously for some time; not, however, doing any +great harm to either side. If any one chanced to be killed, that side +considered itself beaten, and retired from the conflict to mourn over +and bury the estimable and departed brave. If the case was a stubborn +one, requiring several days fighting, the opponents encamped near each +other, keeping up a confusion of cries, taunts, menaces, and raillery, +during the whole night; after which they resumed the conflict, and +continued it until one was beaten. If a village was to be attacked, +notice being received, the women and children were removed; and if the +village was beaten they made presents to their conquerors. Such were the +decorous habits of the warriors of the lower Columbia. + +These were the people who lived almost exclusively by fishing, and whose +climate was a mild and moist one. Fishing, in which both sexes engaged +about equally, was an important accomplishment, since it was by fish +they lived in this world; and by being good fishermen that they had +hopes of the next one. The houses in which they lived, instead of being +lodges made of buffalo skins, were of a large size and very well +constructed, being made out of cedar planks. An excavation was first +made in the earth two or three feet deep, probably to secure greater +warmth in winter. A double row of cedar posts was then planted firmly +all round the excavation, and between these the planks were laid, or, +sometimes cedar bark, so overlapped as to exclude the rain and wind. The +ridge-pole of the roof was supported on a row of taller posts, passing +through the centre of the building, and notched to receive it. The +rafters were then covered with planks or bark, fastened down with ropes +made of the fibre of the cedar bark. A house made in this manner, and +often a hundred feet long by thirty or forty wide, accommodated several +families, who each had their separate entrance and fireplace; the +entrance being by a low oval-shaped door, and a flight of steps. + +The canoes of these people were each cut out of a single log of cedar; +and were often thirty feet long and five wide at midships. They were +gaily painted, and their shape was handsome, with a very long bow so +constructed as to cut the surf in landing with the greatest ease, or the +more readily to go through a rough sea. The oars were about five feet +long, and bent in the shape of a crescent; which shape enabled them to +draw them edgewise through the water with little or no noise--this +noiselessness being an important quality in hunting the sea otter, which +is always caught sleeping on the rocks. + +The single instrument which sufficed to build canoes and houses was the +chisel; generally being a piece of old iron obtained from some vessel +and fixed in a wooden handle. A stone mallet aided them in using the +chisel; and with this simple "kit" of tools they contrived to +manufacture plates, bowls, carved oars, and many ornamental things. + +Like the men of all savage nations, they made slaves of their captives, +and their women. The dress of the latter consisted merely of a short +petticoat, manufactured from the fibre of the cedar bark, previously +soaked and prepared. This material was worked into a fringe, attached to +a girdle, and only long enough to reach the middle of the thigh. When +the season required it, they added a mantle of skins. Their bodies were +anointed with fish-oil, and sometimes painted with red ochre in +imitation of the men. For ornaments they wore strings of glass beads, +and also of a white shell found on the northern coast, called _haiqua_. +Such were the _Chinooks_, who lived upon the coast. + +Farther up the river, on the eastern side of the Cascade range of +mountains, a people lived, the same, yet different from the Chinooks. +They resembled them in form, features, and manner of getting a living. +But they were more warlike and more enterprising; they even had some +notions of commerce, being traders between the coast Indians and those +to the east of them. They too were great fishermen, but used the net +instead of fishing in boats. Great scaffoldings were erected every year +at the narrows of the Columbia, known as the Dalles, where, as the +salmon passed up the river in the spring, in incredible numbers, they +were caught and dried. After drying, the fish were then pounded fine +between two stones, pressed tightly into packages or bales of about a +hundred pounds, covered with matting, and corded up for transportation. +The bales were then placed in storehouses built to receive them, where +they awaited customers. + +By and by there came from the coast other Indians, with different +varieties of fish, to exchange for the salmon in the Wish-ram +warehouses. And by and by there came from the plains to the eastward, +others who had horses, camas-root, bear-grass, fur robes, and whatever +constituted the wealth of the mountains and plains, to exchange for the +rich and nutritious salmon of the Columbia. These Wish-ram Indians were +sharp traders, and usually made something by their exchanges; so that +they grew rich and insolent, and it was dangerous for the unwary +stranger to pass their way. Of all the tribes of the Columbia, they +perpetrated the most outrages upon their neighbors, the passing +traveler, and the stranger within their gates. + +Still farther to the east, on the great grassy plains, watered by +beautiful streams, coming down from the mountains, lived the Cayuses, +Yakimas, Nez Perces, Wallah-Wallahs, and Flatheads; as different in +their appearance and habits as their different modes of living would +naturally make them. Instead of having many canoes, they had many +horses; and in place of drawing the fishing net, or trolling lazily +along with hook and line, or spearing fish from a canoe, they rode +pell-mell to the chase, or sallied out to battle with the hostile +Blackfeet, whose country lay between them and the good hunting-grounds, +where the great herds of buffalo were. Being Nimrods by nature, they +were dressed in complete suits of skins, instead of going naked, like +their brethren in the lower country. Being wandering and pastoral in +their habits, they lived in lodges, which could be planted every night +and raised every morning. + +Their women, too, were good riders, and comfortably clad in dressed +skins, kept white with chalk. So wealthy were some of the chiefs that +they could count their fifteen hundred head of horses grazing on their +grassy uplands. Horse-racing was their delight, and betting on them +their besetting vice. For bridles they used horse-hair cords, attached +around the animal's mouth. This was sufficient to check him, and by +laying a hand on this side or that of the horse's neck, the rider could +wheel him in either direction. The simple and easy-fitting saddle was a +stuffed deer-skin, with stirrups of wood, resembling in shape those used +by the Mexicans, and covered with deer-skin sewed on wet, so as to +tighten in drying. The saddles of the women were furnished with a pair +of deer's antlers for the pommel. + +In many things their customs and accoutrements resembled those of the +Mexicans, from whom, no doubt, they were borrowed. Like the Mexican, +they threw the lasso to catch the wild horse. Their horses, too, were of +Mexican stock, and many of them bore the brand of that country, having +been obtained in some of their not infrequent journeys into California +and New Mexico. + +As all the wild horses of America are said to have sprung from a small +band, turned loose upon the plains by Cortez, it would be interesting to +know at what time they came to be used by the northern Indians, or +whether the horse and the Indian did not emigrate together. If the horse +came to the Indian, great must have been the change effected by the +advent of this new element in the savage's life. It is impossible to +conceive, however, that the Indian ever could have lived on these +immense plains, barren of everything but wild grass, without his horse. +With him he does well enough, for he not only "lives on horseback," by +which means he can quickly reach a country abounding in game, but he +literally lives on horse-flesh, when other game is scarce. + +Curious as the fact may seem, the Indians at the mouth of the Columbia +and those of New Mexico speak languages similar in construction to that +of the Aztecs; and from this fact, and the others before mentioned, it +may be very fairly inferred that difference of circumstances and +localities have made of the different tribes what they are. + +As to the Indian's moral nature, that is pretty much alike everywhere; +and with some rare exceptions, the rarest of which is, perhaps, the +Flathead and Nez Perces nations, all are cruel, thieving, and +treacherous. The Indian gospel is literally the "gospel of blood"; an +"eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." Vengeance is as much a +commandment to him as any part of the decalogue is to the Christian. But +we have digressed far from our narrative; and as it will be necessary to +refer to the subject of the moral code of savages further on in our +narrative, we leave it for the present. + +After the incident of the pin and the fishes, Sublette's party kept on +to the north, coursing along up Payette's River to Payette Lake, where +he camped, and the men went out trapping. A party of four, consisting of +Meek, Antoine Godin, Louis Leaugar, and Small, proceeded to the north as +far as the Salmon river and beyond, to the head of one of its +tributaries, where the present city of Florence is located. While camped +in this region, three of the men went out one day to look for their +horses, which had strayed away, or been stolen by the Indians. During +their absence, Meek, who remained in camp, had killed a fine fat deer, +and was cooking a portion of it, when he saw a band of about a hundred +Indians approaching, and so near were they that flight was almost +certainly useless; yet as a hundred against one was very great odds, and +running away from them would not increase their number, while it gave +him something to do in his own defence, he took to his heels and ran as +only a mountain-man can run. Instead, however, of pursuing him, the +practical-minded braves set about finishing his cooking for him, and +soon had the whole deer roasting before the fire. + +This procedure provoked the gastronomic ire of our trapper, and after +watching them for some time from his hiding-place, he determined to +return and share the feast. On reaching camp again, and introducing +himself to his not over-scrupulous visitors, he found they were from the +Nez Perces tribe inhabiting that region, who, having been so rude as to +devour his stock of provisions, invited him to accompany them to their +village, not a great way off, where they would make some return for his +involuntary hospitality. This he did, and there found his three comrades +and all their horses. While still visiting at the Nez Perces village, +they were joined by the remaining portion of Sublette's command, when +the whole company started south again. Passing Payette's lake to the +east, traversing the Boise Basin, going to the head-waters of that +river, thence to the Malade, thence to Godin's river, and finally to the +forks of the Salmon, where they found the main camp. Captain Bonneville, +of whose three years wanderings in the wilderness Mr. Irving has given a +full and interesting account, was encamped in the same neighborhood, and +had built there a small fort or trading-house, and finally wintered in +the neighborhood. + +An exchange of men now took place, and Meek went east of the mountains +under Fitzpatrick and Bridger. When these famous leaders had first set +out for the summer hunt, after the battle of Pierre's Hole, their course +had been to the head-waters of the Missouri, to the Yellowstone lake, +and the forks of the Missouri, some of the best beaver grounds known to +them. But finding their steps dogged by the American Fur Company, and +not wishing to be made use of as pilots by their rivals, they had +flitted about for a time like an Arab camp, in the endeavor to blind +them, and finally returned to the west side of the mountains, where Meek +fell in with them. + +Exasperated by the perseverance of the American Company, they had come +to the determination of leading them a march which should tire them of +the practice of keeping at their heels. They therefore planned an +expedition, from which they expected no other profit than that of +shaking off their rivals. Taking no pains to conceal their expedition, +they rather held out the bait to the American Company, who, unsuspicious +of their purpose, took it readily enough. They led them along across the +mountains, and on to the head-waters of the Missouri. Here, packing up +their traps, they tarried not for beaver, nor even tried to avoid the +Blackfeet, but pushed right ahead, into the very heart of their country, +keeping away from any part of it where beaver might be found, and going +away on beyond, to the elevated plains, quite destitute of that small +but desirable game, but followed through it by their rivals. + +However justifiable on the part of trade this movement of the Rocky +Mountain Company might have been, it was a cruel device as concerned the +inexperienced leaders of the other company, one of whom lost his life in +consequence. Not knowing of their danger, they only discovered their +situation in the midst of Blackfeet, after discovering the ruse that had +been played upon them. They then halted, and being determined to find +beaver, divided their forces and set out in opposite directions for that +purpose. Unhappily, Major Vanderburg took the worst possible direction +for a small party to take, and had not traveled far when his scouts came +upon the still smoking camp-fires of a band of Indians who were +returning from a buffalo hunt. From the "signs" left behind them, the +scout judged that they had become aware of the near neighborhood of +white men, and from their having stolen off, he judged that they were +only gone for others of their nation, or to prepare for war. + +But Vanderburg, with the fool-hardiness of one not "up to Blackfeet," +determined to ascertain for himself what there was to fear; and taking +with him half a score of his followers, put himself upon their trail, +galloping hard after them, until, in his rashness, he found himself +being led through a dark and deep defile, rendered darker and gloomier +by overhanging trees. In the midst of this dismal place, just where an +ambush might have been expected, he was attacked by a horde of savages, +who rushed upon his little party with whoops and frantic gestures, +intended not only to appal the riders, but to frighten their horses, and +thus make surer their bloody butchery. It was but the work of a few +minutes to consummate their demoniac purpose. Vanderburg's horse was +shot down at once, falling on his rider, whom the Indians quickly +dispatched. One or two of the men were instantly tomahawked, and the +others wounded while making their escape to camp. The remainder of +Vanderburg's company, on learning the fate of their leader, whose place +there was no one to fill, immediately raised camp and fled with all +haste to the encampment of the Pends Oreille Indians for assistance. +Here they waited, while those Indians, a friendly tribe, made an effort +to recover the body of their unfortunate leader; but the remains were +never recovered, probably having first been fiendishly mutilated, and +then left to the wolves. + +Fitzpatrick and Bridger, finding they were no longer pursued by their +rivals, as the season advanced began to retrace their steps toward the +good trapping grounds. Being used to Indian wiles and Blackfeet +maraudings and ambushes, they traveled in close columns, and never +camped or turned out their horses to feed, without the greatest caution. +Morning and evening scouts were sent out to beat up every thicket or +ravine that seemed to offer concealment to a foe, and the horizon was +searched in every direction for signs of an Indian attack. The +complete safety of the camp being settled almost beyond a peradventure, +the horses were turned loose, though never left unguarded. + +[Illustration: SCOUTS IN THE BLACKFOOT COUNTRY--"ELK OR INDIANS?"] + +It was not likely, however, that the camp should pass through the +Blackfoot country without any encounters with that nation. When it had +reached the head-waters of the Missouri, on the return march, a party of +trappers, including Meek, discovered a small band of Indians in a bend +of the lake, and thinking the opportunity for sport a good one, +commenced firing on them. The Indians, who were without guns, took to +the lake for refuge, while the trappers entertained themselves with the +rare amusement of keeping them in the water, by shooting at them +occasionally. But it chanced that these were only a few stragglers from +the main Blackfoot camp, which soon came up and put an end to the sport +by putting the trappers to flight in their turn. The trappers fled to +camp, the Indians pursuing, until the latter discovered that they had +been led almost into the large camp of the whites. This occasioned a +halt, the Blackfeet not caring to engage with superior numbers. + +In the pause which ensued, one of the chiefs came out into the open +space, bearing the peace pipe, and Bridger also advanced to meet him, +but carrying his gun across the pommel of his saddle. He was accompanied +by a young Blackfoot woman, wife of a Mexican in his service, as +interpreter. The chief extended his hand in token of amity; but at that +moment Bridger saw a movement of the chiefs, which he took to mean +treachery, and cocked his rifle. But the lock had no sooner clicked than +the chief, a large and powerful man, seized the gun and turned the +muzzle downward, when the contents were discharged into the earth. With +another dexterous movement he wrested it from Bridger's hand, and +struck him with it, felling him to the ground. In an instant all was +confusion. The noise of whoops, yells, of fire-arms, and of running +hither and thither, gathered like a tempest. At the first burst of this +demoniac blast, the horse of the interpreter became frightened, and, by +a sudden movement, unhorsed her, wheeling and running back to camp. In +the melee which now ensued, the woman was carried off by the Blackfeet, +and Bridger was wounded twice in the back with arrows. A chance medley +fight now ensued, continuing until night put a period to the contest. So +well matched were the opposing forces, that each fought with caution +firing from the cover of thickets and from behind rocks, neither side +doing much execution. The loss on the part of the Blackfeet was nine +warriors, and on that of the whites, three men and six horses. + +As for the young Blackfoot woman, whose people retained her a prisoner, +her lamentations and struggles to escape and return to her husband and +child so wrought upon the young Mexican, who was the pained witness of +her grief, that he took the babe in his arms, and galloped with it into +the heart of the Blackfoot camp, to place it in the arms of the +distracted mother. This daring act, which all who witnessed believed +would cause his death, so excited the admiration of the Blackfoot chief, +that he gave him permission to return, unharmed, to his own camp. +Encouraged by this clemency, Loretta begged to have his wife restored to +him, relating how he had rescued her, a prisoner, from the Crows, who +would certainly have tortured her to death. The wife added her +entreaties to his, but the chief sternly bade him depart, and as sternly +reminded the Blackfoot girl that she belonged to his tribe, and could +not go with his enemies. Loretta was therefore compelled to abandon his +wife and child, and return to camp. + +It is, however, gratifying to know that so true an instance of affection +in savage life was finally rewarded; and that when the two rival fur +companies united, as they did in the following year, Loretta was +permitted to go to the American Company's fort on the Missouri, in the +Blackfoot country, where he was employed as interpreter, assisted by his +Blackfoot wife. + +Such were some of the incidents that signalized this campaign in the +wilderness, where two equally persistent rivals were trying to outwit +one another. Subsequently, when several years of rivalry had somewhat +exhausted both, the Rocky Mountain and American companies consolidated, +using all their strategy thereafter against the Hudson's Bay Company, +and any new rival that chanced to enter their hunting grounds. + +After the fight above described, the Blackfeet drew off in the night, +showing no disposition to try their skill next day against such +experienced Indian fighters as Bridger's brigade had shown themselves. +The company continued in the Missouri country, trapping and taking many +beaver, until it reached the Beaver Head Valley, on the head-waters of +the Jefferson fork of the Missouri. Here the lateness of the season +compelled a return to winter-quarters, and by Christmas all the +wanderers were gathered into camp at the forks of the Snake River. + +1833. In the latter part of January it became necessary to move to the +junction of the Portneuf to subsist the animals. The main body of the +camp had gone on in advance, while some few, with pack horses, or women +with children, were scattered along the trail. Meek, with five others, +had been left behind to gather up some horses that had strayed. When +about a half day's journey from camp, he overtook _Umentucken_, the +Mountain Lamb, now the wife of Milton Sublette, with her child, on +horseback. The weather was terribly cold, and seeming to grow colder. +The naked plains afforded no shelter from the piercing winds, and the +air fairly glittered with frost. Poor Umentucken was freezing, but more +troubled about her babe than herself. The camp was far ahead, with all +the extra blankets, and the prospect was imminent that they would +perish. Our gallant trapper had thought himself very cold until this +moment, but what were his sufferings compared to those of the Mountain +Lamb and her little Lambkin? Without an instant's hesitation, he +divested himself of his blanket capote, which he wrapped round the +mother and child, and urged her to hasten to camp. For himself, he could +not hasten, as he had the horses in charge, but all that fearful +afternoon rode naked above the waist, exposed to the wind, and the fine, +dry, icy hail, which filled the air as with diamond needles, to pierce +the skin; and, probably, to the fact that the hail _was_ so stinging, +was owing the fact that his blood did not congeal. + +"O what a day was that!" said Meek to the writer; "why, the air war +thick with fine, sharp hail, and the sun shining, too! not one sun only, +but three suns--there were _three_ suns! And when night came on, the +northern lights blazed up the sky! It was the most beautiful sight I +ever saw. That is the country for northern lights!" + +When some surprise was expressed that he should have been obliged to +expose his naked skin to the weather, in order to save Umentucken--"In +the mountains," he answered, "we do not have many garments. Buckskin +breeches, a blanket capote, and a beaver skin cap makes up our rig." + +"You do not need a laundress, then? But with such clothing how could you +keep free of vermin?" + +"We didn't always do that. Do you want to know how we got rid of lice in +the mountains? We just took off our clothes and laid them on an +ant-hill, and you ought to see how the ants would carry off the lice!" + +But to return to our hero, frozen, or nearly so. When he reached camp at +night, so desperate was his condition that the men had to roll him and +rub him in the snow for some time before allowing him to approach the +fire. But Umentucken was saved, and he became heroic in her eyes. +Whether it was the glory acquired by the gallant act just recorded, or +whether our hero had now arrived at an age when the tender passion has +strongest sway, the writer is unprepared to affirm: for your +mountain-man is shy of revealing his past gallantries; but from this +time on, there are evidences of considerable susceptibility to the +charms of the dusky beauties of the mountains and the plains. + +The cold of this winter was very severe, insomuch that men and mules +were frozen to death. "The frost," says Meek, "used to hang from the +roofs of our lodges in the morning, on first waking, in skeins two feet +long, and our blankets and whiskers were white with it. But we trappers +laid still, and called the camp-keepers to make a fire, and in our close +lodges it was soon warm enough. + +"The Indians suffered very much. Fuel war scarce on the Snake River, and +but little fire could be afforded--just sufficient for the children and +their mothers to get warm by, for the fire was fed only with buffalo fat +torn in strips, which blazed up quickly and did not last long. Many a +time I have stood off, looking at the fire, but not venturing to +approach, when a chief would say, 'Are you cold, my friend? come to the +fire'--so kind are these Nez Perces and Flatheads." + +The cold was not the only enemy in camp that winter, but famine +threatened them. The buffalo had been early driven east of the +mountains, and other game was scarce. Sometimes a party of hunters were +absent for days, even weeks, without finding more game than would +subsist themselves. As the trappers were all hunters in the winter, it +frequently happened that Meek and one or more of his associates went on +a hunt in company, for the benefit of the camp, which was very hungry at +times. + +On one of these hunting expeditions that winter, the party consisting of +Meek, Hawkins, Doughty, and Antoine Claymore, they had been out nearly a +fortnight without killing anything of consequence, and had clambered up +the side of the mountains on the frozen snow, in hopes of finding some +mountain sheep. As they traveled along under a projecting ledge of +rocks, they came to a place where there were the impressions in the snow +of enormous grizzly bear feet. Close by was an opening in the rocks, +revealing a cavern, and to this the tracks in the snow conducted. +Evidently the creature had come out of its winter den, and made +just one circuit back again. At these signs of game the hunters +hesitated--certain it was there, but doubtful how to obtain it. + +At length Doughty proposed to get up on the rocks above the mouth of the +cavern and shoot the bear as he came out, if somebody would go in and +dislodge him. + +"I'm your man," answered Meek. + +"And I too," said Claymore. + +"I'll be ---- if we are not as brave as you are," said Hawkins, as he +prepared to follow. + +On entering the cave, which was sixteen or twenty feet square, and high +enough to stand erect in, instead of one, three bears were discovered. +They were standing, the largest one in the middle, with their eyes +staring at the entrance, but quite quiet, greeting the hunters only +with a low growl. Finding that there was a bear apiece to be disposed +of, the hunters kept close to the wall, and out of the stream of light +from the entrance, while they advanced a little way, cautiously, towards +their game, which, however, seemed to take no notice of them. After +maneuvering a few minutes to get nearer, Meek finally struck the large +bear on the head with his wiping-stick, when it immediately moved off +and ran out of the cave. As it came out, Doughty shot, but only wounded +it, and it came rushing back, snorting, and running around in a circle, +till the well directed shots from all three killed it on the spot. Two +more bears now remained to be disposed of. + +The successful shot put Hawkins in high spirits. He began to hallo and +laugh, dancing around, and with the others striking the next largest +bear to make him run out, which he soon did, and was shot by Doughty. By +this time their guns were reloaded, the men growing more and more +elated, and Hawkins declaring they were "all Daniels in the lions' den, +and no mistake." This, and similar expressions, he constantly +vociferated, while they drove out the third and smallest bear. As it +reached the cave's mouth, three simultaneous shots put an end to the +last one, when Hawkins' excitement knew no bounds. "Daniel was a +humbug," said he. "Daniel in the lions' den! Of course it was winter, +and the lions were sucking their paws! Tell me no more of Daniel's +exploits. We are as good Daniels as he ever dared to be. Hurrah for +these Daniels!" With these expressions, and playing many antics by way +of rejoicing, the delighted Hawkins finally danced himself out of his +"lion's den," and set to work with the others to prepare for a return to +camp. + +Sleds were soon constructed out of the branches of the mountain willow, +and on these light vehicles the fortunate find of bear meat was soon +conveyed to the hungry camp in the plain below. And ever after this +singular exploit of the party, Hawkins continued to aver, in language +more strong than elegant, that the Scripture Daniel was a humbug +compared to himself, and Meek, and Claymore. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +1833. In the spring the camp was visited by a party of twenty Blackfeet, +who drove off most of the horses; and among the stolen ones, Bridger's +favorite race-horse, Grohean, a Camanche steed of great speed and +endurance. To retake the horses, and if possible punish the thieves, a +company of the gamest trappers, thirty in number, including Meek, and +Kit Carson, who not long before had joined the Rocky Mountain Company, +was dispatched on their trail. They had not traveled long before they +came up with the Blackfeet, but the horses were nowhere to be seen, +having been secreted, after the manner of these thieves, in some defile +of the mountains, until the skirmish was over which they knew well +enough to anticipate. Accordingly when the trappers came up, the wily +savages were prepared for them. Their numbers were inferior to that of +the whites; accordingly they assumed an innocent and peace-desiring air, +while their head man advanced with the inevitable peace-pipe, to have a +"talk." But as their talk was a tissue of lies, the trappers soon lost +patience, and a quarrel quickly arose. The Indians betook themselves to +the defences which were selected beforehand, and a fight began, which +without giving to either party the victory of arms, ended in the killing +of two or three of the Blackfeet, and the wounding very severely of Kit +Carson. The firing ceased with nightfall; and when morning came, as +usual the Blackfeet were gone, and the trappers returned to camp without +their horses. + +The lost animals were soon replaced by purchase from the Nez Perces, and +the company divided up into brigades, some destined for the country east +of the mountains, and others for the south and west. In this year Meek +rose a grade above the hired trapper, and became one of the order +denominated skin trappers. These, like the hired trappers, depend upon +the company to furnish them an outfit; but do not receive regular wages, +as do the others. They trap for themselves, only agreeing to sell their +beaver to the company which furnishes the outfit, and to no other. In +this capacity, our Joe, and a few associates, hunted this spring, in the +Snake River and Salt Lake countries; returning as usual to the annual +rendezvous, which was appointed this summer to meet on Green River. Here +were the Rocky Mountain and American Companies; the St. Louis Company, +under Capt. Wm. Sublette and his friend Campbell; the usual camp of +Indian allies; and, a few miles distant, that of Captain Bonneville. In +addition to all these, was a small company belonging to Capt. Stuart, an +Englishman of noble family, who was traveling in the far west only to +gratify his own love of wild adventure, and admiration of all that is +grand and magnificent in nature. With him was an artist named Miller, +and several servants; but he usually traveled in company with one or +another of the fur companies; thus enjoying their protection, and at the +same time gaining a knowledge of the habits of mountain life. + +The rendezvous, at this time, furnished him a striking example of some +of the ways of mountain-men, least to their honorable fame; and we fear +we must confess that our friend Joe Meek, who had been gathering laurels +as a valiant hunter and trapper during the three or four years of his +apprenticeship, was also becoming fitted, by frequent practice, to +graduate in some of the vices of camp life, especially the one of +conviviality during rendezvous. Had he not given his permission, we +should not perhaps have said what he says of himself, that he was at +such times often very "powerful drunk." + +During the indulgence of these excesses, while at this rendezvous, there +occurred one of those incidents of wilderness life which make the blood +creep with horror. Twelve of the men were bitten by a mad wolf, which +hung about the camp for two or three nights. Two of these were seized +with madness in camp, sometime afterwards, and ran off into the +mountains, where they perished. One was attacked by the paroxysm while +on a hunt; when, throwing himself off his horse, he struggled and foamed +at the mouth, gnashing his teeth, and barking like a wolf. Yet he +retained consciousness enough to warn away his companions, who hastened +in search of assistance; but when they returned he was nowhere to be +found. It was thought that he was seen a day or two afterwards, but no +one could come up with him, and of course, he too, perished. Another +died on his journey to St. Louis; and several died at different times +within the next two years. + +At the time, however, immediately following the visit of the wolf to +camp, Captain Stuart was admonishing Meek on the folly of his ways, +telling him that the wolf might easily have bitten him, he was so drunk. + +"It would have killed him,--sure, if it hadn't cured him!" said +Meek,--alluding to the belief that alcohol is a remedy for the poison of +hydrophobia. + +When sobriety returned, and work was once more to be resumed, Meek +returned with three or four associates to the Salt Lake country, to trap +on the numerous streams that flow down from the mountains to the east of +Salt Lake. He had not been long in this region when he fell in on Bear +River with a company of Bonneville's men, one hundred and eighteen in +number, under Jo Walker, who had been sent to explore the Great Salt +Lake, and the adjacent country; to make charts, keep a journal, and, in +short, make a thorough discovery of all that region. Great expectations +were cherished by the Captain concerning this favorite expedition, which +were, however, utterly blighted, as his historian has recorded. The +disappointment and loss which Bonneville suffered from it, gave a tinge +of prejudice to his delineations of the trapper's character. It was true +that they did not explore Salt Lake; and that they made a long and +expensive journey, collecting but few peltries. It is true also, that +they caroused in true mountain style, while among the Californians: but +that the expedition was unprofitable was due chiefly to the difficulties +attending the exploration of a new country, a large portion of which was +desert and mountain. + +But let us not anticipate. When Meek and his companions fell in with Jo +Walker and his company, they resolved to accompany the expedition; for +it was "a feather in a man's cap," and made his services doubly valuable +to have become acquainted with a new country, and fitted himself for a +pilot. + +On leaving Bear River, where the hunters took the precaution to lay in a +store of dried meat, the company passed down on the west side of Salt +Lake, and found themselves in the Salt Lake desert, where their store, +insufficiently large, soon became reduced to almost nothing. Here was +experienced again the sufferings to which Meek had once before been +subjected in the Digger country, which, in fact, bounded this desert on +the northwest. "There was," says Bonneville, "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." Many an +emigrant has since confirmed the truth of this account. + +It could not be expected that men would continue on in such a country, +in that direction which offered no change for the better. Discerning at +last a snowy range to the northwest, they traveled in that direction; +pinched with famine, and with tongues swollen out of their mouths with +thirst. They came at last to a small stream, into which both men and +animals plunged to quench their raging thirst. + +The instinct of a mule on these desert journeys is something wonderful. +We have heard it related by others besides the mountain-men, that they +will detect the neighborhood of water long before their riders have +discovered a sign; and setting up a gallop, when before they could +hardly walk, will dash into the water up to their necks, drinking in the +life-saving moisture through every pore of the skin, while they +prudently refrain from swallowing much of it. If one of a company has +been off on a hunt for water, and on finding it has let his mule drink, +when he returns to camp, the other animals will gather about it, and +snuff its breath, and even its body, betraying the liveliest interest +and envy. It is easy to imagine that in the case of Jo Walker's company, +not only the animals but the men were eager to steep themselves in the +reviving waters of the first stream which they found on the border of +this weary desert. + +It proved to be a tributary of Mary's or Ogden's River, along which the +company pursued their way, trapping as they went, and living upon the +flesh of the beaver. They had now entered upon the same country +inhabited by Digger Indians, in which Milton Sublette's brigade had so +nearly perished with famine the previous year. It was unexplored, and +the natives were as curious about the movements of their white visitors, +as Indians always are on the first appearance of civilized men. + +They hung about the camps, offering no offences by day, but contriving +to do a great deal of thieving during the night-time. Each day, for +several days, their numbers increased, until the army which dogged the +trappers by day, and filched from them at night, numbered nearly a +thousand. They had no guns; but carried clubs, and some bows and arrows. +The trappers at length became uneasy at this accumulation of force, even +though they had no fire-arms, for was it not this very style of people, +armed with clubs, that attacked Smith's party on the Umpqua, and killed +all but four? + +"We must kill a lot of them, boys," said Jo Walker. "It will never do to +let that crowd get into camp." Accordingly, as the Indians crowded round +at a ford of Mary's River, always a favorite time of attack with the +savages, Walker gave the order to fire, and the whole company poured a +volley into the jostling crowd. The effect was terrible. Seventy-five +Diggers bit the dust; while the others, seized with terror and horror at +this new and instantaneous mode of death, fled howling away, the +trappers pursuing them until satisfied that they were too much +frightened to return. This seemed to Captain Bonneville, when he came to +hear of it, like an unnecessary and ferocious act. But Bonneville was +not an experienced Indian fighter. His views of their character were +much governed by his knowledge of the Flatheads and Nez Perces; and also +by the immunity from harm he enjoyed among the Shoshonies on the Snake +River, where the Hudson's Bay Company had brought them into subjection, +and where even two men might travel in safety at the time of his +residence in that country. + +Walker's company continued on down to the main or Humboldt River, +trapping as they went, both for the furs, and for something to eat; and +expecting to find that the river whose course they were following +through these barren plains, would lead them to some more important +river, or to some large lake or inland sea. This was a country entirely +unknown, even to the adventurous traders and trappers of the fur +companies, who avoided it because it was out of the buffalo range; and +because the borders of it, along which they sometimes skirted, were +found to be wanting in water-courses in which beaver might be looked +for. Walker's company therefore, now determined to prosecute their +explorations until they came to some new and profitable beaver grounds. + +But after a long march through an inhospitable country they came at last +to where the Humboldt sinks itself in a great swampy lake, in the midst +of deserts of sage-brush. Here was the end of their great expectations. +To the west of them, however, and not far off, rose the lofty summits of +the Sierra Nevada range, some of whose peaks were covered with eternal +snows. Since they had already made an unprofitable business of their +expedition, and failed in its principal aim, that of exploring Salt +Lake, they resolved upon crossing the mountains into California, and +seeking new fields of adventure on the western side of the Nevada +mountains. + +Accordingly, although it was already late in the autumn, the party +pushed on toward the west, until they came to Pyramid Lake, another of +those swampy lakes which are frequently met with near the eastern base +of these Sierras. Into this flowed a stream similar to the Humboldt, +which came from the south, and, they believed, had its rise in the +mountains. As it was important to find a good pass, they took their +course along this stream, which they named Trucker's River, and +continued along it to its head-waters in the Sierras. + +And now began the arduous labor of crossing an unknown range of lofty +mountains. Mountaineers as they were, they found it a difficult +undertaking, and one attended with considerable peril. For a period of +more than three weeks they were struggling with these dangers; hunting +paths for their mules and horses, traveling around canyons thousands of +feet deep; sometimes sinking in new fallen snow; always hungry, and +often in peril from starvation. Sometimes they scrambled up almost +smooth declivities of granite, that offered no foothold save the +occasional seams in the rock; at others they traveled through pine +forests made nearly impassable by snow; and at other times on a ridge +which wind and sun made bare for them. All around rose rocky peaks and +pinnacles fretted by ages of denudation to very spears and needles of a +burnt looking, red colored rock. Below, were spread out immense fields, +or rather oceans, of granite that seemed once to have been a molten sea, +whose waves were suddenly congealed. From the fissures between these +billows grew stunted pines, which had found a scanty soil far down in +the crevices of the rock for their hardy roots. Following the course of +any stream flowing in the right direction for their purpose, they came +not infrequently to some small fertile valley, set in amidst the rocks +like a cup, and often containing in its depth a bright little lake. +These are the oases in the mountain deserts. But the lateness of the +season made it necessary to avoid the high valleys on account of the +snow, which in winter accumulates to a depth of twenty feet. + +Great was the exultation of the mountaineers when they emerged from the +toils and dangers, safe into the bright and sunny plains of California; +having explored almost the identical route since fixed upon for the +Union Pacific Railroad. + +They proceeded down the Sacramento valley, toward the coast, after +recruiting their horses on the ripe wild oats, and the freshly springing +grass which the December rains had started into life, and themselves on +the plentiful game of the foot-hills. Something of the stimulus of the +Californian climate seemed to be imparted to the ever buoyant blood of +these hardy and danger-despising men. They were mad with delight on +finding themselves, after crossing the stern Sierras, in a land of +sunshine and plenty; a beautiful land of verdant hills and tawny plains; +of streams winding between rows of alder and willow, and valleys dotted +with picturesque groves of the evergreen oak. Instead of the wild blasts +which they were used to encounter in December, they experienced here +only those dainty and wooing airs which poets have ascribed to spring, +but which seldom come even with the last May days in an eastern climate. + +In the San José valley they encountered a party of one hundred soldiers, +which the Spanish government at Monterey had sent out to take a party of +Indians accused of stealing cattle. The soldiers were native +Californians, descendants of the mixed blood of Spain and Mexico, a +wild, jaunty looking set of fellows, who at first were inclined to take +Walker's party for a band of cattle thieves, and to march them off to +Monterey. But the Rocky Mountain trapper was not likely to be taken +prisoner by any such brigade as the dashing _cabelleros_ of Monterey. + +After astonishing them with a series of whoops and yells, and trying to +astonish them with feats of horsemanship, they began to discover that +when it came to the latter accomplishment, even mountain-men could learn +something from a native Californian. In this latter frame of mind they +consented to be conducted to Monterey as prisoners or not, just as the +Spanish government should hereafter be pleased to decree; and they had +confidence in themselves that they should be able to bend that high and +mighty authority to their own purposes thereafter. + +Nor were they mistaken in their calculations. Their fearless, free and +easy style, united to their complete furnishing of arms, their numbers, +and their superior ability to stand up under the demoralizing effect of +the favorite _aguadiente_, soon so far influenced the soldiery at least, +that the trappers were allowed perfect freedom under the very eyes of +the jealous Spanish government, and were treated with all hospitality. + +The month which the trappers spent at Monterey was their "red letter +day" for a long time after. The habits of the Californians accorded with +their own, with just difference enough to furnish them with novelties +and excitements such as gave a zest to their intercourse. The +Californian, and the mountain-men, were alike centaurs. Horses were +their necessity, and their delight; and the plains swarmed with them, as +also with wild cattle, descendants of those imported by the Jesuit +Fathers in the early days of the Missions. These horses and cattle were +placed at the will and pleasure of the trappers. They feasted on one, +and bestrode the other as it suited them. They attended bull-fights, ran +races, threw the lasso, and played monte, with a relish that delighted +the inhabitants of Monterey. + +The partial civilization of the Californians accorded with every feeling +to which the mountain-men could be brought to confess. To them the +refinements of cities would have been oppressive. The adobe houses of +Monterey were not so restraining in their elegance as to trouble the +sensations of men used to the heavens for a roof in summer, and a skin +lodge for shelter in winter. Some fruits and vegetables, articles not +tasted for years, they obtained at the missions, where the priests +received them courteously and hospitably, as they had done Jedediah +Smith and his company, five years before, when on their long and +disastrous journey they found themselves almost destitute of the +necessaries of life, upon their arrival in California. There was +something too, in the dress of the people, both men and women, which +agreed with, while differing from, the dress of the mountaineers and +their now absent Indian dulcineas. + +[Illustration: _BRANDING CATTLE._] + +The men wore garments of many colors, consisting of blue velveteen +breeches and jacket, the jacket having a scarlet collar and cuffs, and +the breeches being open at the knee to display the stocking of white. +Beneath these were displayed high buskins made of deer skin, fringed +down the outside of the ankle, and laced with a cord and tassels. On the +head was worn a broad brimmed _sombrero_; and over the shoulders the +jaunty Mexican _sarape_. When they rode, the Californians wore enormous +spurs, fastened on by jingling chains. Their saddles were so shaped that +it was difficult to dislodge the rider, being high before and behind; +and the indispensable lasso hung coiled from the pommel. Their stirrups +were of wood, broad on the bottom, with a guard of leather that +protected the fancy buskin of the horseman from injury. Thus accoutred, +and mounted on a wild horse, the Californian was a suitable comrade, in +appearance, at least, for the buckskin clad trapper, with his high +beaver-skin cap, his gay scarf, and moccasins, and profusion of arms. + +The dress of the women was a gown of gaudy calico or silk, and a bright +colored shawl, which served for mantilla and bonnet together. They were +well formed, with languishing eyes and soft voices; and doubtless +appeared charming in the eyes of our band of trappers, with whom they +associated freely at fandangoes, bull-fights, or bear-baitings. In such +company, what wonder that Bonneville's men lingered for a whole month! +What wonder that the California expedition was a favorite theme by +camp-fires, for a long time subsequent? + +1834. In February the trappers bethought themselves of returning to the +mountains. The route fixed upon was one which should take them through +Southern California, and New Mexico, along the course of all the +principal rivers. Crossing the coast mountains, into the valley of the +San Joaquin, they followed its windings until they came to its rise in +the Lulare Lake. Thence turning in a southeasterly course, they came to +the Colorado, at the Mohave villages, where they traded with the +natives, whom they found friendly. Keeping on down the Colorado, to the +mouth of the Gila, they turned back from that river, and ascended the +Colorado once more, to Williams' Fork, and up the latter stream to some +distance, when they fell in with a company of sixty men under Frapp and +Jervais, two of the partners in the Rocky Mountain Company. The meeting +was joyful on all sides; but particularly so between Meek and some of +his old comrades, with whom he had fought Indians and grizzly bears, or +set beaver traps on some lonely stream in the Blackfoot country. A +lively exchange of questions and answers took place, while gaiety and +good feeling reigned. + +Frapp had been out quite as long as the Monterey party. It was seldom +that the brigade which traversed the southern country, on the Colorado, +and its large tributaries, returned to winter quarters; for in the +region where they trapped winter was unknown, and the journey to the +northern country a long and hazardous one. But the reunited trappers had +each their own experiences to relate. + +The two companies united made a party nearly two hundred strong. Keeping +with Frapp, they crossed over from Williams' Fork to the Colorado +Chiquito river, at the Moquis village, where some of the men disgraced +themselves far more than did Jo Walker's party at the crossing of Mary's +River. For the Moquis were a half-civilized nation, who had houses and +gardens, and conducted themselves kindly, or at the worst peaceably, +toward properly behaved strangers. These trappers, instead of +approaching them with offers of purchase, lawlessly entered their +gardens, rifling them of whatever fruit or melons were ripe, and not +hesitating to destroy that which was not ripe. To this, as might be +expected, the Moquises objected; and were shot down for so doing. In +this truly infamous affair fifteen or twenty of them were killed. + +"I didn't belong to that crowd," says Joe Meek, "I sat on the fence and +saw it, though. It was a shameful thing." + +From the Moquis village, the joint companies crossed the country in a +northeasterly direction, crossing several branches of the Colorado at +their head-waters, which course finally brought them to the head-waters +of the Rio Grande. The journey from the mouth of the Gila, though long, +extended over a country comparatively safe. Either farther to the south +or east, the caravan would have been in danger of a raid from the most +dangerous tribes on the continent. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +1834. But Joe Meek was not destined to return to the Rocky Mountains +without having had an Indian fight. If adventures did not come in his +way he was the man to put himself in the way of adventures. + +While the camp was on its way from the neighborhood of Grande River to +the New Park, Meek, Kit Carson, and Mitchell, with three Delaware +Indians, named Tom Hill, Manhead, and Jonas, went on a hunt across to +the east of Grande River, in the country lying between the Arkansas and +Cimarron, where numerous small branches of these rivers head together, +or within a small extent of country. + +They were about one hundred and fifty miles from camp, and traveling +across the open plain between the streams, one beautiful May morning, +when about five miles off they descried a large band of Indians mounted, +and galloping toward them. As they were in the Camanche country, they +knew what to expect if they allowed themselves to be taken prisoners. +They gave but a moment to the observation of their foes, but that one +moment revealed a spirited scene. Fully two hundred Camanches, their +warriors in front, large and well formed men, mounted on fleet and +powerful horses, armed with spears and battle axes, racing like the wind +over the prairie, their feather head-dresses bending to the breeze, that +swept past them in the race with double force; all distinctly seen in +the clear air of the prairie, and giving the beholder a thrill of +fear mingled with admiration. + +[Illustration: _THE MULE FORT._] + +The first moment given to this spectacle, the second one was employed to +devise some means of escape. To run was useless. The swift Camanche +steeds would soon overtake them; and then their horrible doom was fixed. +No covert was at hand, neither thicket nor ravine, as in the mountains +there might have been. Carson and Meek exchanged two or three sentences. +At last, "we must kill our mules!" said they. + +That seems a strange devise to the uninitiated reader, who no doubt +believes that in such a case their mules must be their salvation. And so +they were intended to be. In this plight a dead mule was far more useful +than a live one. To the ground sprang every man; and placing their +mules, seven in number, in a ring, they in an instant cut their throats +with their hunting knives, and held on to the bridles until each animal +fell dead in its appointed place. Then hastily scooping up what earth +they could with knives, they made themselves a fort--a hole to stand in +for each man, and a dead mule for a breastwork. + +In less than half an hour the Camanches charged on them; the +medicine-man in advance shouting, gesticulating, and making a desperate +clatter with a rattle which he carried and shook violently. The yelling, +the whooping, the rattling, the force of the charge were appalling. But +the little garrison in the mule fort did not waver. The Camanche horses +did. They could not be made to charge upon the bloody carcasses of the +mules, nor near enough for their riders to throw a spear into the fort. + +This was what the trappers had relied upon. They were cool and +determined, while terribly excited and wrought up by their situation. It +was agreed that no more than three should fire at a time, the other +three reserving their fire while the empty guns could be reloaded. They +were to pick their men, and kill one at every shot. + +They acted up to their regulations. At the charge the Camanche horses +recoiled and could not be urged upon the fort of slaughtered mules. The +three whites fired first, and the medicine-man and two other Camanches +fell. When a medicine-man is killed, the others retire to hold a council +and appoint another, for without their "medicine" they could not expect +success in battle. This was time gained. The warriors retired, while +their women came up and carried off the dead. + +After devoting a little time to bewailing the departed, another chief +was appointed to the head place, and another furious charge was made +with the same results as before. Three more warriors bit the dust; while +the spears of their brethren, attached to long hair ropes by which they +could be withdrawn, fell short of reaching the men in the fort. Again +and again the Camanches made a fruitless charge, losing, as often as +they repeated it, three warriors, either dead or wounded. Three times +that day the head chief or medicine-man was killed; and when that +happened, the heroes in the fort got a little time to breathe. While the +warriors held a council, the women took care of the wounded and slain. + +As the women approached the fort to carry off the fallen warriors, they +mocked and reviled the little band of trappers, calling them "women," +for fighting in a fort, and resorting to the usual Indian ridicule and +gasconade. Occasionally, also, a warrior raced at full speed past the +fort apparently to take observations. Thus the battle continued through +the entire day. + +It was terrible work for the trappers. The burning sun of the plains +shone on them, scorching them to faintness. Their faces were begrimed +with powder and dust; their throats parched, and tongues swollen with +thirst, and their whole frames aching from their cramped positions, as +well as the excitement and fatigue of the battle. But they dared not +relax their vigilance for a moment. They were fighting for their lives, +and they meant to win. + +At length the sun set on that bloody and wearisome day. Forty-two +Camanches were killed, and several more wounded, for the charge had been +repeated fifteen or twenty times. The Indians drew off at nightfall to +mourn over their dead, and hold a council. Probably they had lost faith +in their medicines, or believed that the trappers possessed one far +greater than any of theirs. Under the friendly cover of the night, the +six heroes who had fought successfully more than a hundred Camanches, +took each his blanket and his gun, and bidding a brief adieu to dead +mules and beaver packs, set out to return to camp. + +When a mountain-man had a journey to perform on foot, to travel express, +or to escape from an enemy, he fell into what is called a dog trot, and +ran in that manner, sometimes, all day. On the present occasion, the +six, escaping for life, ran all night, and found no water for +seventy-five mile. When they did at last come to a clear running stream, +their thankfulness was equal to their necessity, "for," says Meek, +"thirst is the greatest suffering I ever experienced. It is far worse +than hunger or pain." + +Having rested and refreshed themselves at the stream, they kept on +without much delay until they reached camp in that beautiful valley of +the Rocky Mountains called the New, or the South Park. + +While they remained in the South Park, Mr. Guthrie, one of the Rocky +Mountain Company's traders, was killed by lightning. A number of persons +were collected in the lodge of the Booshway, Frapp, to avoid the rising +tempest, when Guthrie, who was leaning against the lodge pole, was +struck by a flash of the electric current, and fell dead instantly. +Frapp rushed out of the lodge, partly bewildered himself by the shock, +and under the impression that Guthrie had been shot. Frapp was a German, +and spoke English somewhat imperfectly. In the excitement of the moment +he shouted out, "By ----, who did shoot Guttery!" + +"-- a'----, I expect: He's a firing into camp;" drawled out Hawkins, +whose ready wit was very disregardful of sacred names and subjects. + +The mountaineers were familiar with the most awful aspects of nature; +and if their familiarity had not bred contempt, it had at least hardened +them to those solemn impressions which other men would have felt under +their influence. + +From New Park, Meek traveled north with the main camp, passing first to +the Old Park; thence to the Little Snake, a branch of Bear River; thence +to Pilot Butte; and finally to Green River to rendezvous; having +traveled in the past year about three thousand miles, on horseback, +through new and often dangerous countries. It is easy to believe that +the Monterey expedition was the popular theme in camp during rendezvous. +It had been difficult to get volunteers for Bonneville's Salt Lake +Exploration: but such was the wild adventure to which it led, that +volunteering for a trip to Monterey would have been exceedingly popular +immediately thereafter. + +On Bear River, Bonneville's men fell in with their commander, Captain +Bonneville, whose disappointment and indignation at the failure of his +plans was exceedingly great. In this indignation there was considerable +justice; yet much of his disappointment was owing to causes which a more +experienced trader would have avoided. The only conclusion which can be +arrived at by an impartial observer of the events of 1832-35, is, that +none but certain men of long experience and liberal means, could succeed +in the business of the fur-trade. There were too many chances of loss; +too many wild elements to be mingled in amity; and too powerful +opposition from the old established companies. Captain Bonneville's +experience was no different from Mr. Wyeth's. In both cases there was +much effort, outlay, and loss. Nor was their failure owing to any action +of the Hudson's Bay Company, different from, or more tyrannical, than +the action of the American companies, as has frequently been +represented. It was the American companies in the Rocky Mountains that +drove both Bonneville and Wyeth out of the field. Their inexperience +could not cope with the thorough knowledge of the business, and the +country, which their older rivals possessed. Raw recruits were no match, +in trapping or fighting, for old mountaineers: and those veterans who +had served long under certain leaders could not be inveigled from their +service except upon the most extravagant offers; and these extravagant +wages, which if one paid, the other must, would not allow a profit to +either of the rivals. + +"How much does your company pay you?" asked Bonneville of Meek, to whom +he was complaining of the conduct of his men on the Monterey expedition. + +"Fifteen hundred dollars," answered Meek. + +"Yes: and _I_ will give it to you," said Bonneville with bitterness. + +It was quite true. Such was the competition aroused by the Captain's +efforts to secure good men and pilots, that rather than lose them to a +rival company, the Rocky Mountain Company paid a few of their best men +the wages above named. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +1834. The gossip at rendezvous was this year of an unusually exciting +character. Of the brigades which left for different parts of the country +the previous summer, the Monterey travelers were not the only ones who +had met with adventures. Fitzpatrick, who had led a party into the Crow +country that autumn, had met with a characteristic reception from that +nation of cunning vagabonds. + +Being with his party on Lougue River, in the early part of September, he +discovered that he was being dogged by a considerable band of Crows, and +endeavored to elude their spying; but all to no purpose. The Crow chief +kept in his neighborhood, and finally expressed a desire to bring his +camp alongside that of Fitzpatrick, pretending to the most friendly and +honorable sentiments toward his white neighbors. But not feeling any +confidence in Crow friendship, Fitzpatrick declined, and moved camp a +few miles away. Not, however, wishing to offend the dignity of the +apparently friendly chief, he took a small escort, and went to pay a +visit to his Crow neighbors, that they might see that he was not afraid +to trust them. Alas, vain subterfuge! + +While he was exchanging civilities with the Crow chief, a party of the +young braves stole out of camp, and taking advantage of the leader's +absence, made an attack on his camp, so sudden and successful that not a +horse, nor anything else which they could make booty of was left. Even +Captain Stuart, who was traveling with Fitzpatrick, and who was an +active officer, was powerless to resist the attack, and had to consent +to see the camp rifled of everything valuable. + +In the meantime Fitzpatrick, after concluding his visit in the most +amicable manner, was returning to camp, when he was met by the exultant +braves, who added insult to injury by robbing him of his horse, gun, and +nearly all his clothes, leaving him to return to his party in a +deplorable condition, to the great amusement of the trappers, and his +own chagrin. + +However, the next day a talk was held with the head chief of the Crows, +to whom Fitzpatrick represented the infamy of such treacherous conduct +in a very strong light. In answer to this reproof, the chief disowned +all knowledge of the affair; saying that he could not always control the +conduct of the young men, who would be a little wild now and then, in +spite of the best Crow precepts: but that he would do what he could to +have the property restored. Accordingly, after more talk, and much +eloquence on the part of Fitzpatrick, the chief part of the plunder was +returned to him, including the horses and rifles of the men, together +with a little ammunition, and a few beaver traps. + +Fitzpatrick understood the meaning of this apparent fairness, and +hastened to get out of the Crow country before another raid by the +mischievous young braves, at a time when their chief was not "honor +bound," should deprive him of the recovered property. That his +conjecture was well founded, was proven by the numerous petty thefts +which were committed, and by the loss of several horses and mules, +before he could remove them beyond the limits of the Crow territory. + +While the trappers exchanged accounts of their individual experiences, +the leaders had more important matters to gossip over. The rivalry +between the several fur companies was now at its climax. Through the +energy and ability of Captain Sublette of the St. Louis Company, and the +experience and industry of the Rocky Mountain Company, which Captain +Sublette still continued to control in a measure, the power still +remained with them. The American Company had never been able to cope +with them in the Rocky Mountains; and the St. Louis Company were already +invading their territory on the Missouri River, by carrying goods up +that river in boats, to trade with the Indians under the very walls of +the American Company's forts. + +In August of the previous year, when Mr. Nathaniel Wyeth had started on +his return to the states, he was accompanied as far as the mouth of the +Yellowstone by Milton Sublette; and had engaged with that gentleman to +furnish him with goods the following year, as he believed he could do, +cheaper than the St. Louis Company, who purchased their goods in St. +Louis at a great advance on Boston prices. But Milton Sublette fell in +with his brother the Captain, at the mouth of the Yellowstone, with a +keel-boat loaded with merchandise; and while Wyeth pursued his way +eastward to purchase the Indian goods which were intended to supply the +wants of the fur-traders in the Rocky Mountains, at a profit to him, and +an advantage to them, the Captain was persuading his brother not to +encourage any interlopers in the Indian trade; but to continue to buy +goods from himself, as formerly. So potent were his arguments, that +Milton yielded to them, in spite of his engagement with Wyeth. Thus +during the autumn of 1833, while Bonneville was being wronged and +robbed, as he afterwards became convinced, by his men under Walker, and +anticipated in the hunting-ground selected for himself, in the Crow +country, by Fitzpatrick, as he had previously been in the Snake country +by Milton Sublette, Wyeth was proceeding to Boston in good faith, to +execute what proved to be a fool's errand. Bonneville also had gone on +another, when after the trapping season was over he left his camp to +winter on the Snake River, and started with a small escort to visit the +Columbia, and select a spot for a trading-post on the lower portion of +that river. On arriving at Wallah-Wallah, after a hard journey over the +Blue Mountains in the winter, the agent at that post had refused to +supply him with provisions to prosecute his journey, and given him to +understand that the Hudson's Bay Company might be polite and hospitable +to Captain Bonneville as the gentleman, but that it was against their +regulations to encourage the advent of other traders who would interfere +with their business, and unsettle the minds of the Indians in that +region. + +This reply so annoyed the Captain, that he refused the well meant advice +of Mr. Pambrun that he should not undertake to recross the Blue +Mountains in March snows, but travel under the escort of Mr. Payette, +one of the Hudson's Bay Company's leaders, who was about starting for +the Nez Perce country by a safer if more circuitous route. He therefore +set out to return by the route he came, and only arrived at camp in May, +1834, after many dangers and difficulties. From the Portneuf River, he +then proceeded with his camp to explore the Little Snake River, and +Snake Lake; and it was while so doing that he fell in with his men just +returned from Monterey. + +Such was the relative position of the several fur companies in the Rocky +Mountains in 1834; and it was of such matters that the leaders talked in +the lodge of the Booshways, at rendezvous. In the meantime Wyeth +arrived in the mountains with his goods, as he had contracted with +Milton Sublette in the previous year. But on his heels came Captain +Sublette, also with goods, and the Rocky Mountain Company violated their +contract with Wyeth, and purchased of their old leader. + +Thus was Wyeth left, with his goods on his hands, in a country where it +was impossible to sell them, and useless to undertake an opposition to +the already established fur-traders and trappers. His indignation was +great, and certainly was just. In his interview with the Rocky Mountain +Company, in reply to their excuses for, and vindication of their +conduct, his answer was: + +"Gentlemen, I will roll a stone into your garden that you will never be +able to get out." + +And he kept his promise; for that same autumn he moved on to the Snake +River, and built Fort Hall, storing his goods therein. The next year he +sold out goods and fort to the Hudson's Bay Company; and the stone was +in the garden of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company that they were never +able to dislodge. When Wyeth had built his fort and left it in charge of +an agent, he dispatched a party of trappers to hunt in the Big Blackfoot +country, under Joseph Gale, who had previously been in the service of +the Rocky Mountain Company, and of whom we shall learn more hereafter, +while he set out for the Columbia to meet his vessel, and establish a +salmon fishery. The fate of that enterprise has already been recorded. + +As for Bonneville, he made one more effort to reach the lower Columbia; +failing, however, a second time, for the same reason as before--he could +not subsist himself and company in a country where even every Indian +refused to sell to him either furs or provisions. After being reduced to +horse-flesh, and finding no encouragement that his condition would be +improved farther down the river, he turned back once more from about +Wallah-Wallah, and returned to the mountains, and from there to the east +in the following year. A company of his trappers, however, continued to +hunt for him east of the mountains for two or three years longer. + +The rivalry between the Rocky Mountain and American Companies was this +year diminished by their mutually agreeing to confine themselves to +certain parts of the country, which treaty continued for two years, when +they united in one company. They were then, with the exception of a few +lone traders, the only competitors of the Hudson's Bay Company, for the +fur-trade of the West. + +[Illustration: VIEW ON THE COLUMBIA.] + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +1834. The Rocky Mountain Company now confined themselves to the country +lying east of the mountains, and upon the head-waters and tributaries of +the Missouri, a country very productive in furs, and furnishing +abundance of game. But it was also the most dangerous of all the +northern fur-hunting territory, as it was the home of those two nations +of desperadoes, the Crows and Blackfeet. During the two years in which +the company may have been said almost to reside there, desperate +encounters and hair-breadth escapes were incidents of daily occurrence +to some of the numerous trapping parties. + +The camp had reached the Blackfoot country in the autumn of this year, +and the trappers were out in all directions, hunting beaver in the +numerous small streams that flow into the Missouri. On a small branch of +the Gallatin Fork, some of the trappers fell in with a party of Wyeth's +men, under Joseph Gale. When their neighborhood became known to the +Rocky Mountain camp, Meek and a party of sixteen of his associates +immediately resolved to pay them a visit, and inquire into their +experience since leaving rendezvous. These visits between different +camps are usually seasons of great interest and general rejoicing. But +glad as Gale and his men were to meet with old friends, when the first +burst of hearty greeting was over, they had but a sorry experience to +relate. They had been out a long time. The Blackfeet had used them +badly--several men had been killed. Their guns were out of order, their +ammunition all but exhausted; they were destitute, or nearly so, of +traps, blankets, knives, everything. They were what the Indian and the +mountain-man call "very poor." + +Half the night was spent in recounting all that had passed in both +companies since the fall hunt began. Little sympathy did Wyeth's men +receive for their forlorn condition, for sympathy is repudiated by your +true mountaineer for himself, nor will he furnish it to others. The +absurd and humorous, or the daring and reckless, side of a story is the +only one which is dwelt upon in narrating his adventures. The laugh +which is raised at his expense when he has a tale of woes to +communicate, is a better tonic to his dejected spirits than the gentlest +pity would be. Thus lashed into courage again, he is ready to declare +that all his troubles were only so much pastime. + +It was this sort of cheer which the trapping party conveyed to Wyeth's +men on this visit, and it was gratefully received, as being of the true +kind. + +In the morning the party set out to return to camp, Meek and Liggit +starting in advance of the others. They had not proceeded far when they +were fired on by a large band of Blackfeet, who came upon them quite +suddenly, and thinking these two trappers easy game, set up a yell and +dashed at them. As Meek and Liggit turned back and ran to Gale's camp, +the Indians in full chase charged on them, and rushed pell-mell into the +midst of camp, almost before they had time to discover that they had +surprised so large a party of whites. So sudden was their advent, that +they had almost taken the camp before the whites could recover from the +confusion of the charge. + +It was but a momentary shock, however. In another instant the roar of +twenty guns reverberated from the mountains that rose high on either +side of camp. The Blackfeet were taken in a snare; but they rallied and +fell back beyond the grove in which the camp was situated, setting on +fire the dry grass as they went. The fire quickly spread to the grove, +and shot up the pine trees in splendid columns of flame, that seemed to +lick the face of heaven. The Indians kept close behind the fire, +shooting into camp whenever they could approach near enough, the +trappers replying by frequent volleys. The yells of the savages, the +noise of the flames roaring in the trees, the bellowing of the guns, +whose echoes rolled among the hills, and the excitement of a battle for +life, made the scene one long to be remembered with distinctness. + +Both sides fought with desperation. The Blackfoot blood was up--the +trapper blood no less. Gale's men, from having no ammunition, nor guns +that were in order, could do little more than take charge of the horses, +which they led out into the bottom land to escape the fire, fight the +flames, and look after the camp goods. The few whose guns were +available, showed the game spirit, and the fight became interesting as +an exhibition of what mountain white men could do in a contest of one to +ten, with the crack warriors of the red race. It was, at any time, a +game party, consisting of Meek, Carson, Hawkins, Gale, Liggit, Rider, +Robinson, Anderson, Russel, Larison, Ward, Parmaley, Wade, Michael Head, +and a few others whose names have been forgotten. + +The trappers being driven out of the grove by the fire, were forced to +take to the open ground. The Indians, following the fire, had the +advantage of the shelter afforded by the trees, and their shots made +havoc among the horses, most of which were killed because they could not +be taken. As for the trappers, they used the horses for defence, making +rifle-pits behind them, when no other covert could be found. In this +manner the battle was sustained until three o'clock in the afternoon, +without loss of life to the whites, though several men were wounded. + +At three in the afternoon, the Blackfoot chief ordered a retreat, +calling out to the trappers that they would fight no more. Though their +loss had been heavy, they still greatly outnumbered the whites; nor +would the condition of the arms and the small amount of ammunition left +permit the trappers to pursue them. The Indians were severely beaten, +and no longer in a condition to fight, all of which was highly +satisfactory to the victors. The only regret was, that Bridger's camp, +which had become aware during the day that a battle was going on in the +neighborhood, did not arrive early enough to exterminate the whole band. +As it was, the big camp only came up in time to assist in taking care of +the wounded. The destruction of their horses put an end to the +independent existence of Gale's brigade, which joined itself and its +fortunes to Bridger's command for the remainder of the year. Had it not +been for the fortunate visit of the trappers to Gale's camp, without +doubt every man in it would have perished at the hands of the Blackfeet: +a piece of bad fortune not unaccordant with that which seemed to pursue +the enterprises set on foot by the active but unlucky New England +trader. + +Not long after this battle with the Blackfeet, Meek and a trapper named +Crow, with two Shawnees, went over into the Crow Country to trap on +Pryor's River, a branch of the Yellowstone. On coming to the pass in the +mountains between the Gallatin Fork of the Missouri and the great bend +in the Yellowstone, called Pryor's Gap, Meek rode forward, with the +mad-cap spirit strong in him, to "have a little fun with the boys," and +advancing a short distance into the pass, wheeled suddenly, and came +racing back, whooping and yelling, to make his comrades think he had +discovered Indians. And lo! as if his yells had invoked them from the +rocks and trees, a war party suddenly emerged from the pass, on the +heels of the jester, and what had been sport speedily became earnest, as +the trappers turned their horses' heads and made off in the direction of +camp. They had a fine race of it, and heard other yells and war-whoops +besides their own; but they contrived to elude their pursuers, returning +safe to camp. + +This freak of Meek's was, after all, a fortunate inspiration, for had +the four trappers entered the pass and come upon the war party of Crows, +they would never have escaped alive. + +A few days after, the same party set out again, and succeeded in +reaching Pryor's River unmolested, and setting their traps. They +remained some time in this neighborhood trapping, but the season had +become pretty well advanced, and they were thinking of returning to camp +for the winter. The Shawnees set out in one direction to take up their +traps, Meek and Crow in another. The stream where their traps were set +was bordered by thickets of willow, wild cherry, and plum trees, and the +bank was about ten feet above the water at this season of the year. + +Meek had his traps set in the stream about midway between two thickets. +As he approached the river he observed with the quick eye of an +experienced mountain-man, certain signs which gave him little +satisfaction. The buffalo were moving off as if disturbed; a bear ran +suddenly out of its covert among the willows. + +"I told Crow," said Meek, "that I didn't like to go in there. He laughed +at me, and called me a coward. 'All the same,' I said; I had no fancy +for the place just then--I didn't like the indications. But he kept +jeering me, and at last I got mad and started in. Just as I got to my +traps, I discovered that two red devils war a watching me from the +shelter of the thicket to my left, about two rods off. When they saw +that they war discovered they raised their guns and fired. I turned my +horse's head at the same instant, and one ball passed through his neck, +under the neck bone, and the other through his withers, just forward of +my saddle. + +"Seeing that they had not hit me, one of them ran up with a spear to +spear me. My horse war rearing and pitching from the pain of his wounds, +so that I could with difficulty govern him; but I had my gun laid across +my arm, and when I fired I killed the rascal with the spear. Up to that +moment I had supposed that them two war all I had to deal with. But as I +got my horse turned round, with my arm raised to fire at the other red +devil, I encountered the main party, forty-nine of them, who war in the +bed of the stream, and had been covered by the bank. They fired a volley +at me. Eleven balls passed through my blanket, under my arm, which war +raised. I thought it time to run, and run I did. Crow war about two +hundred yards off. So quick had all this happened, that he had not +stirred from the spot whar I left him. When I came up to him I called +out that I must get on behind him, for my horse war sick and staggering. + +"'Try him again,' said Crow, who war as anxious to be off as I war. I +did try him agin, and sure enough, he got up a gallop, and away we went, +the Blackfeet after us. But being mounted, we had the advantage, and +soon distanced them. Before we had run a mile, I had to dismount and +breathe my horse. We war in a narrow pass whar it war impossible to +hide, so when the Indians came up with us, as they did, while I war +dismounted we took sure aim and killed the two foremost ones. Before the +others could get close enough to fire we war off agin. It didn't take +much urging to make my horse go then, for the yells of them Blackfeet +spurred him on. + +"When we had run another mile I dismounted agin, for fear that my horse +would give out, and agin we war overtaken. Them Blackfeet are powerful +runners:--no better than us mountain-men, though. This time we served +them just as we did before. We picked off two of the foremost, and then +went on, the rest whooping after us. We war overtaken a third time in +the same manner; and the third time two Blackfeet fell dead in advance. +At this, they took the hint. Six warriors already gone for two white +scalps and two horses; they didn't know how many more would go in the +same way. And I reckon they had run about all they wanted to, anyway." + +It is only necessary to add that Meek and Crow arrived safely at camp; +and that the Shawnees came in after a day or two all right. Soon after +the whole command under Bridger moved on to the Yellowstone, and went +into winter camp in the great bend of that river, where buffalo were +plenty, and cotton-wood was in abundance. + +1835. Towards spring, however, the game had nearly all disappeared from +the neighborhood of the camp; and the hunters were forced to follow the +buffalo in their migration eastward. On one of these expeditions a party +of six trappers, including Meek, and a man named Rose, made their camp +on Clarke's fork of the Yellowstone. The first night in camp Rose had a +dream with which he was very much impressed. He dreamed of shaking hands +with a large white bear, which insisted on taking his right hand for +that friendly ceremony. He had not given it very willingly, for he knew +too much about bears in general to desire to be on very intimate terms +with them. + +Seeing that the dream troubled Rose, who was superstitiously inclined, +Meek resorted to that "certain medicine for minds diseased" which was +in use in the mountains, and added to the distress of Rose his +interpretation, in the spirit of ridicule, telling him that he was an +adept in the matter of dreams, and that unless he, Rose, was very +mindful of himself that day, he would shake hands with Beelzebub before +he slept again. + +With this comforting assurance, Rose set out with the remainder of the +party to hunt buffalo. They had proceeded about three miles from camp, +Rose riding in advance, when they suddenly encountered a company of +Blackfeet, nine in number, spies from a war party of one hundred and +fifty, that was prowling and marauding through the country on the +lookout for small parties from the camp of Bridger. The Blackfeet fired +on the party as it came up, from their place of concealment, a ball +striking Rose's right arm, and breaking it at the elbow. This caused his +gun to fall, and an Indian sprang forward and raised it up quickly, +aiming it at Meek. The ball passed through his cap without doing any +other harm. By this time the trappers were made aware of an ambuscade; +but how numerous the enemy was they could not determine. However, as the +rest, who were well-mounted, turned to fly, Meek, who was riding an old +mule that had to be beaten over the head to make it go, seeing that he +was going to be left behind, called out lustily, "hold on, boys! There's +not many of them. Let's stop and fight 'em;" at the same time pounding +the mule over the head, but without effect. The Indians saw the +predicament, and ran up to seize the mule by the bridle, but the moment +the mule got wind of the savages, away he went, racing like a +thoroughbred, jumping impediments, and running right over a ravine, +which was fortunately filled with snow. This movement brought Meek out +ahead. + +The other men then began to call out to Meek to stop and fight. "Run +for your lives, boys," roared Meek back at them, "there's ten thousand +of them; they'll kill every one of you!" + +The mule had got his head, and there was no more stopping him than there +had been starting him. On he went in the direction of the Yellowstone, +while the others made for Clarke's Fork. On arriving at the former +river, Meek found that some of the pack horses had followed him, and +others the rest of the party. This had divided the Indians, three or +four of whom were on his trail. Springing off his mule, he threw his +blankets down on the ice, and by moving them alternately soon crossed +the mule over to the opposite side, just in time to avoid a bullet that +came whistling after him. As the Indians could not follow, he pursued +his way to camp in safety, arriving late that evening. The main party +were already in and expecting him. Soon after, the buffalo hunters +returned to the big camp, minus some pack horses, but with a good story +to tell, at the expense of Meek, and which he enjoys telling of himself +to this day. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +1835. Owing to the high rate of pay which Meek was now able to command, +he began to think of imitating the example of that distinguished order, +the free trappers, to which he now belonged, and setting up a lodge to +himself as a family man. The writer of this veracious history has never +been able to obtain a full and particular account of our hero's earliest +love adventures. This is a subject on which, in common with most +mountain-men, he observes a becoming reticence. But of one thing we feel +quite well assured: that from the time when the young Shoshonie beauty +assisted in the rescue of himself and Sublette from the execution of the +death sentence at the hands of her people, Meek had always cherished a +rather more than friendly regard for the "Mountain Lamb." + +[Illustration: _THE FREE TRAPPER'S INDIAN WIFE._] + +But Sublette, with wealth and power, and the privileges of a Booshway, +had hastened to secure her for himself; and Meek had to look and long +from afar off, until, in the year of which we are writing, Milton +Sublette was forced to leave the mountains and repair to an eastern city +for surgical aid; having received a very troublesome wound in the leg, +which was only cured at last by amputation. + +Whether it was the act of a gay Lothario, or whether the law of divorce +is even more easy in the mountains than in Indiana, we have always +judiciously refrained from inquiring; but this we do know, upon the word +of Meek himself, no sooner was Milton's back turned, than his friend so +insinuated himself into the good graces of his _Isabel_, as Sublette was +wont to name the lovely Umentucken, that she consented to join her +fortunes to those of the handsome young trapper without even the +ceremony of serving a notice on her former lord. As their season of +bliss only extended over one brief year, this chapter shall be entirely +devoted to recording such facts as have been imparted to us concerning +this free trapper's wife. + +"She was the most beautiful Indian woman I ever saw," says Meek: "and +when she was mounted on her dapple gray horse, which cost me three +hundred dollars, she made a fine show. She wore a skirt of beautiful +blue broadcloth, and a bodice and leggins of scarlet cloth, of the very +finest make. Her hair was braided and fell over her shoulders, a scarlet +silk handkerchief, tied on hood fashion, covered her head; and the +finest embroidered moccasins her feet. She rode like all the Indian +women, astride, and carried on one side of the saddle the tomahawk for +war, and on the other the pipe of peace. + +"The name of her horse was "All Fours." His accoutrements were as fine +as his rider's. The saddle, crupper, and bust girths cost one hundred +and fifty dollars; the bridle fifty dollars; and the musk-a-moots fifty +dollars more. All these articles were ornamented with fine cut glass +beads, porcupine quills, and hawk's bells, that tinkled at every step. +Her blankets were of scarlet and blue, and of the finest quality. Such +was the outfit of the trapper's wife, _Umentucken, Tukutey Undenwatsy_, +the Lamb of the Mountains." + +Although Umentucken was beautiful, and had a name signifying gentleness, +she was not without a will and a spirit of her own, when the occasion +demanded it. While the camp was on the Yellowstone River, in the summer +of 1835, a party of women left it to go in search of berries, which were +often dried and stored for winter use by the Indian women. Umentucken +accompanied this party, which was attacked by a band of Blackfeet, some +of the squaws being taken prisoners. But Umentucken saved herself by +flight, and by swimming the Yellowstone while a hundred guns were +leveled on her, the bullets whistling about her ears. + +At another time she distinguished herself in camp by a quarrel with one +of the trappers, in which she came off with flying colors. The trapper +was a big, bullying Irishman named O'Fallen, who had purchased two +prisoners from the Snake Indians, to be kept in a state of slavery, +after the manner of the savages. The prisoners were Utes, or Utahs, who +soon contrived to escape. O'Fallen, imagining that Umentucken had +liberated them, threatened to whip her, and armed himself with a +horsewhip for that purpose. On hearing of these threats Umentucken +repaired to her lodge, and also armed herself, but with a pistol. When +O'Fallen approached, the whole camp looking on to see the event, +Umentucken slipped out at the back of the lodge and coming around +confronted him before he could enter. + +"Coward!" she cried. "You would whip the wife of Meek. He is not here to +defend me; not here to kill you. But I shall do that for myself," and +with that she presented the pistol to his head. O'Fallen taken by +surprise, and having every reason to believe she would keep her word, +and kill him on the spot, was obliged not only to apologize, but to beg +to have his life spared. This Umentucken consented to do on condition of +his sufficiently humbling himself, which he did in a very shame-faced +manner; and a shout then went up from the whole camp--"hurrah for the +Mountain Lamb!" for nothing more delights a mountaineer than a show of +pluck, especially in an unlooked for quarter. + +The Indian wives of the trappers were often in great peril, as well as +their lords. Whenever it was convenient they followed them on their long +marches through dangerous countries. But if the trapper was only going +out for a few days, or if the march before him was more than usually +dangerous, the wife remained with the main camp. + +During this year of which we are writing, a considerable party had been +out on Powder River hunting buffalo, taking their wives along with them. +When on the return, just before reaching camp, Umentucken was missed +from the cavalcade. She had fallen behind, and been taken prisoner by a +party of twelve Crow Indians. As soon as she was missed, a volunteer +party mounted their buffalo horses in such haste that they waited not +for saddle or bridle, but snatched only a halter, and started back in +pursuit. They had not run a very long distance when they discovered poor +Umentucken in the midst of her jubilant captors, who were delighting +their eyes with gazing at her fine feathers, and promising themselves +very soon to pluck the gay bird, and appropriate her trinkets to their +own use. + +Their delight was premature. Swift on their heels came an avenging, as +well as a saving spirit. Meek, at the head of his six comrades, no +sooner espied the drooping form of the Lamb, than he urged his horse to +the top of its speed. The horse was a spirited creature, that seeing +something wrong in all these hasty maneuvers, took fright and adding +terror to good will, ran with the speed of madness right in amongst the +startled Crows, who doubtless regarded as a great "medicine" so fearless +a warrior. It was now too late to be prudent, and Meek began the battle +by yelling and firing, taking care to hit his Indian. The other +trappers, emulating the bold example of their leader, dashed into the +melee and a chance medley fight was carried on, in which Umentucken +escaped, and another Crow bit the dust. Finding that they were getting +the worst of the fight, the Indians at length took to flight, and the +trappers returned to camp rejoicing, and complimenting Meek on his +gallantry in attacking the Crows single-handed. + +"I took their compliments quite naturally," says Meek, "nor did I think +it war worth while to explain to them that I couldn't hold my horse." + +The Indians are lordly and tyrannical in their treatment of women, +thinking it no shame to beat them cruelly; even taking the liberty of +striking other women than those belonging to their own families. While +the camp was traveling through the Crow country in the spring of 1836, a +party of that nation paid a visit to Bridger, bringing skins to trade +for blankets and ammunition. The bargaining went on quite pleasantly for +some time; but one of the braves who was promenading about camp +inspecting whatever came in his way, chanced to strike Umentucken with a +whip he carried in his hand, by way of displaying his superiority to +squaws in general, and trappers' wives in particular. It was an unlucky +blow for the brave, for in another instant he rolled on the ground, shot +dead by a bullet from Meek's gun. + +At this rash act the camp was in confusion. Yells from the Crows, who +took the act as a signal for war; hasty questions, and cries of command; +arming and shooting. It was some time before the case could be explained +or understood. The Crows had two or three of their party shot; the +whites also lost a man. After the unpremeditated fight was over, and the +Crows departed not thoroughly satisfied with the explanation, Bridger +went round to Meek's lodge. + +"Well, you raised a hell of a row in camp;" said the commander, rolling +out his deep bass voice in the slow monotonous tones which mountain men +very quickly acquire from the Indians. + +"Very sorry, Bridger; but couldn't help it. No devil of an Indian shall +strike Meek's wife." + +"But you got a man killed." + +"Sorry for the man; couldn't help it, though, Bridger." + +And in truth it was too late to mend the matter. Fearing, however, that +the Crows would attempt to avenge themselves for the losses they had +sustained, Bridger hurried his camp forward, and got out of their +neighborhood as quickly as possible. + +So much for the female element in the camp of the Rocky Mountain +trapper. Woman, it is said, has held the apple of discord, from mother +Eve to Umentucken, and in consonance with this theory, Bridger, +doubtless, considered the latter as the primal cause of the unfortunate +"row in camp," rather than the brutality of the Crow, or the imprudence +of Meek. + +But Umentucken's career was nearly run. In the following summer she met +her death by a Bannack arrow; dying like a warrior, although living she +was only a woman. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +1835. The rendezvous of the Rocky Mountain Company seldom took place +without combining with its many wild elements, some other more civilized +and refined. Artists, botanists, travelers, and hunters, from the busy +world outside the wilderness, frequently claimed the companionship, if +not the hospitality of the fur companies, in their wanderings over +prairies and among mountains. Up to the year 1835, these visitors had +been of the classes just named; men traveling either for the love of +adventure, to prosecute discoveries in science, or to add to art the +treasure of new scenes and subjects. + +But in this year there appeared at rendezvous two gentlemen, who had +accompanied the St. Louis Company in its outward trip to the mountains, +whose object was not the procurement of pleasure, or the improvement of +science. They had come to found missions among the Indians; the Rev. +Samuel Parker and Rev. Dr. Marcus Whitman; the first a scholarly and +fastidious man, and the other possessing all the boldness, energy, and +contempt of fastidiousness, which would have made him as good a mountain +leader, as he was an energetic servant of the American Board of Foreign +Missions. + +The cause which had brought these gentlemen to the wilderness was a +little incident connected with the fur trade. Four Flathead Indians, in +the year 1832, having heard enough of the Christian religion, from the +few devout men connected with the fur companies, to desire to know +more, performed a winter journey to St. Louis, and there made inquiry +about the white man's religion. This incident, which to any one +acquainted with Indian character, would appear a very natural one, when +it became known to Christian churches in the United States, excited a +very lively interest, and seemed to call upon them like a voice out of +heaven, to fly to the rescue of perishing heathen souls. The Methodist +Church was the first to respond. When Wyeth returned to the mountains in +1834, four missionaries accompanied him, destined for the valley of the +Wallamet River in Oregon. In the following year, the Presbyterian Church +sent out its agents, the two gentlemen above mentioned; one of whom, Dr. +Whitman, subsequently located near Fort Walla-Walla. + +The account given by Capt. Bonneville of the Flatheads and Nez Perces, +as he found them in 1832, before missionary labor had been among them, +throws some light on the incident of the journey to St. Louis, which so +touched the Christian heart in the United States. After relating his +surprise at finding that the Nez Perces observed certain sacred days, he +continues: "A few days afterwards, four of them signified that they were +about to hunt. 'What!' exclaimed the captain, '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 blessing +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 as I +had heretofore been to find the wretched Indian reveling 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 all the arts +and comforts of life. + +"Simply to call these people religious," continued Bonneville, "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." + +This was a very enthusiastic view to take of the Nez Perce character, +which appeared all the brighter to the Captain, by contrast with the +savage life which he had witnessed in other places, and even by contrast +with the conduct of the white trappers. But the Nez Perces and Flatheads +were, intellectually and morally, an exception to all the Indian tribes +west of the Missouri River. Lewis and Clarke found them different from +any others; the fur-traders and the missionaries found them different; +and they remain at this day an honorable example, for probity and piety, +to both savage and civilized peoples. + +To account for this superiority is indeed difficult. The only clue to +the cause is in the following statement of Bonneville's. "It would +appear," he says, "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 calender 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." + +Finding that these people among whom he was thrown exhibited such +remarkable traits of character, Captain Bonneville exerted himself to +make them acquainted with the history and spirit of Christianity. To +these explanations they listened with great eagerness. "Many a time," he +says, "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 of 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." + +It was the interest awakened by these discourses of Captain Bonneville, +and possibly by Smith, and other traders who happened to fall in with +the Nez Perces and Flatheads, that stimulated those four Flatheads to +undertake the journey to St. Louis in search of information; and this it +was which resulted in the establishment of missions, both in western +Oregon, and among the tribes inhabiting the country between the two +great branches of the Columbia. + +The trait of Indian character which Bonneville, in his pleased surprise +at the apparent piety of the Nez Perces and Flatheads, failed to +observe, and which the missionaries themselves for a long time remained +oblivious to, was the material nature of their religious views. The +Indian judges of all things by the material results. If he is possessed +of a good natural intelligence and powers of observation, he soon +discovers that the God of the Indian is but a feeble deity; for does he +not permit the Indian to be defeated in war; to starve, and to freeze? +Do not the Indian medicine men often fail to save life, to win battles, +to curse their enemies? The Indian's God, he argues, must be a good deal +of a humbug. He sees the white men faring much better. They have guns, +ammunition, blankets, knives, everything in plenty; and they are +successful in war; are skillful in a thousand things the Indian knows +nothing of. To be so blest implies a very wise and powerful Deity. To +gain all these things they are eager to learn about the white man's God; +are willing to do whatever is necessary to please and propitiate Him. +Hence their attentiveness to the white man's discourse about his +religion. Naturally enough they were struck with wonder at the doctrine +of peace and good will; a doctrine so different from the law of blood by +which the Indian, in his natural state, lives. Yet if it is good for the +white men, it must be good for him; at all events he is anxious to try +it. + +That is the course of reasoning by which an Indian is led to inquire +into Christianity. It is a desire to better his physical, rather than +his spiritual condition; for of the latter he has but a very faint +conception. He was accustomed to desire a material Heaven, such a world +beyond the grave, as he could only imagine from his earthly experience. +Heaven was happiness, and happiness was plenty; therefore the most a +good Indian could desire was to go where there should forevermore be +plenty. + +Such was the Indian's view of religion, and it could be no other. Until +the wants of the body have been supplied by civilization, the wants of +the soul do not develop themselves: and until then the savage is not +prepared to understand Christianity. This is the law of Nature and of +God. Primeval man was a savage; and it was little by little, through +thousands of years, that Christ was revealed. Every child born, even +now, is a savage, and has to be taught civilization year after year, +until he arrives at the possibility of comprehending spiritual religion. +So every full grown barbarian is a child in moral development; and to +expect him to comprehend those mysteries over which the world has +agonized for centuries, is to commit the gravest error. Into this error +fell all the missionaries who came to the wilds that lay beyond the +Rocky Mountains. They undertook to teach religion first, and more simple +matters afterward--building their edifice like the Irishman's chimney, +by holding up the top brick, and putting the others under it. Failure +was the result of such a process, as the record of the Oregon Missions +sufficiently proves. + +The reader will pardon this digression--made necessary by the part which +one of the gentlemen present at this year's rendezvous, was destined to +take in the history which we are writing. Shortly after the arrival of +Messrs. Parker and Whitman, rendezvous broke up. A party, to which Meek +was attached, moved in the direction of the Snake River head-waters, the +missionaries accompanying them, and after making two camps, came on +Saturday eve to Jackson's Little Hole, a small mountain valley near the +larger one commonly known as Jackson's Hole. + +On the following day religious services were held in the Rocky Mountain +Camp. A scene more unusual could hardly have transpired than that of a +company of trappers listening to the preaching of the Word of God. Very +little pious reverence marked the countenances of that wild and motley +congregation. Curiosity, incredulity, sarcasm, or a mocking levity, were +more plainly perceptible in the expression of the men's faces, than +either devotion or the longing expectancy of men habitually deprived of +what they once highly valued. The Indians alone showed by their eager +listening that they desired to become acquainted with the mystery of the +"Unknown God." + +The Rev. Samuel Parker preached, and the men were as politely attentive +as it was in their reckless natures to be, until, in the midst of the +discourse, a band of buffalo appeared in the valley, when the +congregation incontinently broke up, without staying for a benediction, +and every man made haste after his horse, gun, and rope, leaving Mr. +Parker to discourse to vacant ground. + +The run was both exciting and successful. About twenty fine buffaloes +were killed, and the choice pieces brought to camp, cooked and eaten, +amidst the merriment, mixed with something coarser, of the hunters. On +this noisy rejoicing Mr. Parker looked with a sober aspect: and +following the dictates of his religious feeling, he rebuked the +sabbath-breakers quite severely. Better for his influence among the men, +if he had not done so, or had not eaten so heartily of the tender-loin +afterwards, a circumstance which his irreverent critics did not fail to +remark, to his prejudice; and upon the principle that the "partaker is +as bad as the thief," they set down his lecture on sabbath-breaking as +nothing better than pious humbug. + +[Illustration: VIEW ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER.] + +Dr. Marcus Whitman was another style of man. Whatever he thought of the +wild ways of the mountain-men he discreetly kept to himself, preferring +to teach by example rather than precept; and showing no fastidious +contempt for any sort of rough duty he might be called upon to perform. +So aptly indeed had he turned his hand to all manner of camp service on +the journey to the mountains, that this abrogation of clerical dignity +had become a source of solicitude, not to say disapproval and +displeasure on the part of his colleague; and it was agreed between +them that the Doctor should return to the states with the St. Louis +Company, to procure recruits for the promising field of labor which they +saw before them, while Mr. Parker continued his journey to the Columbia +to decide upon the location of the missionary stations. The difference +of character of the two men was clearly illustrated by the results of +this understanding. Parker went to Vancouver, where he was hospitably +entertained, and where he could inquire into the workings of the +missionary system as pursued by the Methodist missionaries. His +investigations not proving the labor to his taste, he sailed the +following summer for the Sandwich Islands, and thence to New York; +leaving only a brief note for Doctor Whitman, when he, with +indefatigable exertions, arrived that season among the Nez Perces with a +missionary company, eager for the work which they hoped to make as great +as they believed it to be good. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +From the mountains about the head-waters of the Snake River, Meek +returned, with Bridger's brigade to the Yellowstone country, where he +fell into the hands of the Crows. The story as he relates it, is as +follows: + +"I war trapping on the Rocky Fork of the Yellowstone. I had been out +from camp five days; and war solitary and alone, when I war discovered +by a war party of Crows. They had the prairie, and I war forced to run +for the Creek bottom; but the beaver had throwed the water out and made +dams, so that my mule mired down. While I war struggling in the marsh, +the Indians came after me, with tremendous yells; firing a random shot +now and then, as they closed in on me. + +"When they war within about two rods of me, I brought old _Sally_, that +is my gun, to my face, ready to fire, and then die; for I knew it war +death this time, unless Providence interfered to save me: and I didn't +think Providence would do it. But the head chief, when he saw the +warlike looks of _Sally_, called out to me to put down my gun, and I +should live. + +"Well, I liked to live,--being then in the prime of life; and though it +hurt me powerful, I resolved to part with _Sally_. I laid her down. As I +did so, the chief picked her up, and one of the braves sprang at me with +a spear, and would have run me through, but the chief knocked him down +with the butt of my gun. Then they led me forth to the high plain on the +south side of the stream. There they called a halt, and I was given in +charge of three women, while the warriors formed a ring to smoke and +consult. This gave me an opportunity to count them: they numbered one +hundred and eighty-seven men, nine boys, and three women. + +"After a smoke of three long hours, the chief, who war named 'The Bold,' +called me in the ring, and said: + +"'I have known the whites for a long time, and I know them to be great +liars, deserving death; but if _you_ will tell the truth, you shall +live.' + +"Then I thought to myself, they will fetch the truth out of me, if thar +is any in me. But his highness continued: + +"'Tell me whar are the whites you belong to; and what is your captain's +name.' + +"I said 'Bridger is my captain's name; or, in the Crow tongue, +_Casapy_,' the 'Blanket chief.' At this answer the chief seemed lost in +thought. At last he asked me-- + +"'How many men has he?' + +"I thought about telling the truth and living; but I said 'forty,' which +war a tremendous lie; for thar war two hundred and forty. At this answer +The Bold laughed: + +"'We will make them poor,' said he; 'and you shall live, but they shall +die.' + +"I thought to myself, 'hardly;' but I said nothing. He then asked me +whar I war to meet the camp, and I told him:--and then how many days +before the camp would be thar; which I answered truly, for I wanted them +to find the camp. + +"It war now late in the afternoon, and thar war a great bustle, getting +ready for the march to meet Bridger. Two big Indians mounted my mule, +but the women made me pack moccasins. The spies started first, and after +awhile the main party. Seventy warriors traveled ahead of me: I war +placed with the women and boys; and after us the balance of the braves. +As we traveled along, the women would prod me with sticks, and laugh, +and say 'Masta Sheela,' (which means white man,) 'Masta sheela very poor +now.' The fair sex war very much amused. + +"We traveled that way till midnight, the two big bucks riding my mule, +and I packing moccasins. Then we camped; the Indians in a ring, with me +in the centre, to keep me safe. I didn't sleep very well that night. I'd +a heap rather been in some other place. + +"The next morning we started on in the same order as before: and the +squaws making fun of me all day; but I kept mighty quiet. When we +stopped to cook that evening, I war set to work, and war head cook, and +head waiter too. The third and the fourth day it war the same. I felt +pretty bad when we struck camp on the last day: for I knew we must be +coming near to Bridger, and that if any thing should go wrong, my life +would pay the forfeit. + +"On the afternoon of the fourth day, the spies, who war in advance, +looking out from a high hill, made a sign to the main party. In a moment +all sat down. Directly they got another sign, and then they got up and +moved on. I war as well up in Indian signs as they war; and I knew they +had discovered white men. What war worse, I knew they would soon +discover that I had been lying to them. All I had to do then war to +trust to luck. Soon we came to the top of the hill, which overlooked the +Yellowstone, from which I could see the plains below extending as far as +the eye could reach, and about three miles off, the camp of my friends. +My heart beat double quick about that time; and I once in a while put my +hand to my head, to feel if my scalp war thar. + +"While I war watching our camp, I discovered that the horse guard had +seen us, for I knew the sign he would make if he discovered Indians. I +thought the camp a splendid sight that evening. It made a powerful show +to me, who did not expect ever to see it after that day. And it _war_ a +fine sight any how, from the hill whar I stood. About two hundred and +fifty men, and women and children in great numbers, and about a thousand +horses and mules. Then the beautiful plain, and the sinking sun; and the +herds of buffalo that could not be numbered; and the cedar hills, +covered with elk,--I never saw so fine a sight as all that looked to me +then! + +"When I turned my eyes on that savage Crow band, and saw the chief +standing with his hand on his mouth, lost in amazement; and beheld the +warriors' tomahawks and spears glittering in the sun, my heart war very +little. Directly the chief turned to me with a horrible scowl. Said he: + +"'I promised that you should live if you told the truth; but you have +told me a great lie.' + +"Then the warriors gathered around, with their tomahawks in their hands; +but I war showing off very brave, and kept my eyes fixed on the +horse-guard who war approaching the hill to drive in the horses. This +drew the attention of the chief, and the warriors too. Seeing that the +guard war within about two hundred yards of us, the chief turned to me +and ordered me to tell him to come up. I pretended to do what he said; +but instead of that I howled out to him to stay off, or he would be +killed; and to tell Bridger to try to treat with them, and get me away. + +"As quick as he could he ran to camp, and in a few minutes Bridger +appeared, on his large white horse. He came up to within three hundred +yards of us, and called out to me, asking who the Indians war. I +answered 'Crows.' He then told me to say to the chief he wished him to +send one of his sub-chiefs to smoke with him. + +"All this time my heart beat terribly hard. I don't know now why they +didn't kill me at once; but the head chief seemed overcome with +surprise. When I repeated to him what Bridger said, he reflected a +moment, and then ordered the second chief, called Little-Gun, to go and +smoke with Bridger. But they kept on preparing for war; getting on their +paint and feathers, arranging their scalp locks, selecting their arrows, +and getting their ammunition ready. + +"While this war going on, Little-Gun had approached to within about a +hundred yards of Bridger; when, according to the Crow laws of war, each +war forced to strip himself, and proceed the remaining distance in a +state of nudity, and kiss and embrace. While this interesting ceremony +war being performed, five of Bridger's men had followed him, keeping in +a ravine until they got within shooting distance, when they showed +themselves, and cut off the return of Little-Gun, thus making a prisoner +of him. + +"If you think my heart did not jump up when I saw that, you think wrong. +I knew it war kill or cure, now. Every Indian snatched a weapon, and +fierce threats war howled against me. But all at once about a hundred of +our trappers appeared on the scene. At the same time Bridger called to +me, to tell me to propose to the chief to exchange me for Little-Gun. I +explained to The Bold what Bridger wanted to do, and he sullenly +consented: for, he said, he could not afford to give a chief for one +white dog's scalp. I war then allowed to go towards my camp, and +Little-Gun towards his; and the rescue I hardly hoped for war +accomplished. + +"In the evening the chief, with forty of his braves, visited Bridger +and made a treaty of three months. They said they war formerly at war +with the whites; but that they desired to be friendly with them now, so +that together they might fight the Blackfeet, who war everybody's +enemies. As for me, they returned me my mule, gun, and beaver packs, and +said my name should be _Shiam Shaspusia_, for I could out-lie the +Crows." + +In December, Bridger's command went into winter quarters in the bend of +the Yellowstone. Buffalo, elk, and bear were in great abundance, all +that fall and winter. Before they went to camp, Meek, Kit Carson, +Hawkins, and Doughty were trapping together on the Yellowstone, about +sixty miles below. They had made their temporary camp in the ruins of an +old fort, the walls of which were about six feet high. One evening, +after coming in from setting their traps, they discovered three large +grizzly bears in the river bottom, not more than half a mile off, and +Hawkins went out to shoot one. He was successful in killing one at the +first shot, when the other two, taking fright, ran towards the fort. As +they came near enough to show that they were likely to invade camp, Meek +and Carson, not caring to have a bear fight, clambered up a cotton-wood +tree close by, at the same time advising Doughty to do the same. But +Doughty was tired, and lazy besides, and concluded to take his chances +where he was; so he rolled himself in his blanket and laid quite still. +The bears, on making the fort, reared up on their hind legs and looked +in as if meditating taking it for a defence. + +The sight of Doughty lying rolled in his blanket, and the monster +grizzlys inspecting the fort, caused the two trappers who were safely +perched in the cotton-wood to make merry at Doughty's expense; saying +all the mirth-provoking things they could, and then advising him not to +laugh, for fear the bears should seize him. Poor Doughty, agonizing +between suppressed laughter and growing fear, contrived to lie still +however, while the bears gazed upward at the speakers in wonder, and +alternately at the suspicious looking bundle inside the fort. Not being +able to make out the meaning of either, they gave at last a grunt of +dissatisfaction, and ran off into a thicket to consult over these +strange appearances; leaving the trappers to enjoy the incident as a +very good joke. For a long time after, Doughty was reminded how close to +the ground he laid, when the grizzlys paid their compliments to him. +Such were the every day incidents from which the mountain-men contrived +to derive their rude jests, and laughter-provoking reminiscences. + +A few days after this incident, while the same party were trapping a few +miles farther down the river, on their way to camp, they fell in with +some Delaware Indians, who said they had discovered signs of Blackfeet, +and wanted to borrow some horses to decoy them. To this the trappers +very willingly agreed, and they were furnished with two horses. The +Delawares then went to the spot where signs had been discovered, and +tying the horses, laid flat down on the ground near them, concealed by +the grass or willows. They had not long to wait before a Blackfoot was +seen stealthily advancing through the thicket, confident in the belief +that he should gain a couple of horses while their supposed owners were +busy with their traps. + +But just as he laid his hand on the bridle of the first one, crack went +the rifles of the Delawares, and there was one less Blackfoot thief on +the scent after trappers. As soon as they could, after this, the party +mounted and rode to camp, not stopping by the way, lest the main body of +Blackfeet should discover the deed and seek for vengeance. Truly +indeed, was the Blackfoot the Ishmael of the wilderness, whose hand was +against every man, and every man's hand against him. + +The Rocky Mountain Company passed the first part of the winter in peace +and plenty in the Yellowstone camp, unannoyed either by enemies or +rivals. Hunting buffalo, feeding their horses, playing games, and +telling stories, occupied the entire leisure of these months of repose. +Not only did the mountain-men recount their own adventures, but when +these were exhausted, those whose memories served them rehearsed the +tales they had read in their youth. Robinson Crusoe and the Arabian +Nights Entertainment, were read over again by the light of memory; and +even Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was made to recite like a sensation +novel, and was quite as well enjoyed. + +1836. In January, however, this repose was broken in upon by a visit +from the Blackfeet. As their visitations were never of a friendly +character, so then they were not bent upon pacific rites and ceremonies, +such as all the rest of the world find pleasure in, but came in full +battle array to try their fortunes in war against the big camp of the +whites. They had evidently made great preparation. Their warriors +numbered eleven hundred, got up in the top of the Blackfoot fashions, +and armed with all manner of savage and some civilized weapons. But +Bridger was prepared for them, although their numbers were so +overwhelming. He built a fort, had the animals corraled, and put himself +on the defensive in a prompt and thorough manner. This made the +Blackfeet cautious; they too built forts of cotton-wood in the shape of +lodges, ten men to each fort, and carried on a skirmishing fight for two +days, when finding there was nothing to be gained, they departed, +neither side having sustained much loss; the whites losing only two men +by this grand Blackfoot army. + +Soon after this attack Bridger broke camp, and traveled up the +Yellowstone, through the Crow country. It was while on this march that +Umentucken was struck by a Crow, and Meek put the whole camp in peril, +by shooting him. They passed on to the Big Horn and Little Horn rivers, +down through the Wind River valley and through the South Pass to Green +River. + +While in that country, there occurred the fight with the Bannacks in +which Umentucken was killed. A small party of Nez Perces had lost their +horses by the thieving of the Bannacks. They came into camp and +complained to the whites, who promised them their protection, should +they be able to recover their horses. Accordingly the Nez Perces started +after the thieves, and by dogging their camp, succeeded in re-capturing +their horses and getting back to Bridger's camp with them. In order to +divert the vengeance of the Bannacks from themselves, they presented +their horses to the whites, and a very fine one to Bridger. + +All went well for a time. The Bannacks went on their way to hunt +buffalo; but they treasured up their wrath against the supposed white +thieves who had stolen the horses which they had come by so honestly. On +their return from the hunt, having learned by spies that the horses were +in the camp of the whites, they prepared for war. Early one morning they +made their appearance mounted and armed, and making a dash at the camp, +rode through it with the usual yells and frantic gestures. The attack +was entirely unexpected. Bridger stood in front of his lodge, holding +his horse by a lasso, and the head chief rode over it, jerking it out of +his hand. At this unprecedented insult to his master, a negro named Jim, +cook to the Booshways, seized a rifle and shot the chief dead. At the +same time, an arrow shot at random struck Umentucken in the breast, and +the joys and sorrows of the Mountain Lamb were over forevermore. + +The killing of a head chief always throws an Indian war party into +confusion, and negro Jim was greatly elated at this signal feat of his. +The trappers, who were as much surprised at the suddenness of the +assault as it is in the mountain-man's nature to be, quickly recovered +themselves. In a few moments the men were mounted and in motion, and the +disordered Bannacks were obliged to fly towards their village, Bridger's +company pursuing them. + +All the rest of that day the trappers fought the Bannacks, driving them +out of their village and plundering it, and forcing them to take refuge +on an island in the river. Even there they were not safe, the guns of +the mountain-men picking them off, from their stations on the river +banks. Umentucken was well avenged that day. + +All night the Indians remained on the island, where sounds of wailing +were heard continually; and when morning came one of their old women +appeared bearing the pipe of peace. "You have killed all our warriors," +she said; "do you now want to kill the women? If you wish to smoke with +women, I have the pipe." + +Not caring either to fight or to smoke with so feeble a representative +of the Bannacks, the trappers withdrew. But it was the last war party +that nation ever sent against the mountain-men; though in later times +they have by their atrocities avenged the losses of that day. + +While awaiting, in the Green River valley, the arrival of the St. Louis +Company, the Rocky Mountain and North American companies united; after +which Captain Sublette and his brother returned no more to the +mountains. The new firm was known only as the American Fur Company, the +other having dropped its title altogether. The object of their +consolidation was by combining their capital and experience to +strengthen their hands against the Hudson's Bay Company, which now had +an establishment at Fort Hall, on the Snake River. By this new +arrangement, Bridger and Fontenelle commanded; and Dripps was to be the +traveling partner who was to go to St. Louis for goods. + +After the conclusion of this agreement, Dripps, with the restlessness of +the true mountain-man, decided to set out, with a small party of equally +restless trappers, always eager to volunteer for any undertaking +promising either danger or diversion, to look for the St. Louis Company +which was presumed to be somewhere between the Black Hills and Green +River. According to this determination Dripps, Meek, Carson, Newell, a +Flathead chief named Victor, and one or two others, set out on the +search for the expected company. + +It happened, however, that a war party of a hundred Crows were out on +the trail before them, looking perhaps for the same party, and the +trappers had not made more than one or two camps before they discovered +signs which satisfied them of the neighborhood of an enemy. At their +next camp on the Sandy, Meek and Carson, with the caution and vigilance +peculiar to them, kept their saddles on their horses, and the horses +tied to themselves by a long rope, so that on the least unusual motion +of the animals they should be readily informed of the disturbance. Their +precaution was not lost. Just after midnight had given place to the +first faint kindling of dawn, their ears were stunned by the +simultaneous discharge of a hundred guns, and the usual furious din of +the war-whoop and yell. A stampede immediately took place of all the +horses excepting those of Meek and Carson. "Every man for himself and +God for us all," is the motto of the mountain-man in case of an Indian +attack; nor did our trappers forget it on this occasion. Quickly +mounting, they put their horses to their speed, which was not checked +until they had left the Sandy far behind them. Continuing on in the +direction of the proposed meeting with the St. Louis Company, they made +their first camp on the Sweetwater, where they fell in with Victor, the +Flathead chief, who had made his way on foot to this place. One or two +others came into camp that night, and the following day this portion of +the party traveled on in company until within about five miles of +Independence Rock, when they were once more charged on by the Indians, +who surrounded them in such a manner that they were obliged to turn back +to escape. + +Again Meek and Carson made off, leaving their dismounted comrades to +their own best devices. Finding that with so many Indians on the trail, +and only two horses, there was little hope of being able to accomplish +their journey, these two lucky ones made all haste back to camp. On +Horse Creek, a few hours travel from rendezvous, they came up with +Newell, who after losing his horse had fled in the direction of the main +camp, but becoming bewildered had been roaming about until he was quite +tired out, and on the point of giving up. But as if the Creek where he +was found meant to justify itself for having so inharmonious a name, one +of their own horses, which had escaped from the Crows was found quietly +grazing on its banks, and the worn out fugitive at once remounted. +Strange as it may appear, not one of the party was killed, the others +returning to camp two days later than Meek and Carson, the worse for +their expedition only by the loss of their horses, and rather an +unusually fatigued and forlorn aspect. + +[Illustration: "INDIANS BY JOVE!"] + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +1836. While the resident partners of the consolidated company waited at +the rendezvous for the arrival of the supply trains from St. Louis, word +came by a messenger sent forward, that the American Company under +Fitzpatrick, had reached Independence Rock, and was pressing forward. +The messenger also brought the intelligence that two other parties were +traveling in company with the fur company; that of Captain Stuart, who +had been to New Orleans to winter, and that of Doctor Whitman, one of +the missionaries who had visited the mountains the year previous. In +this latter party, it was asserted, there were two white ladies. + +This exhilarating news immediately inspired some of the trappers, +foremost among whom was Meek, with a desire to be the first to meet and +greet the on-coming caravan; and especially to salute the two white +women who were bold enough to invade a mountain camp. In a very short +time Meek, with half-a-dozen comrades, and ten or a dozen Nez Perces, +were mounted and away, on their self-imposed errand of welcome; the +trappers because they were "spoiling" for a fresh excitement; and the +Nez Perces because the missionaries were bringing them information +concerning the powerful and beneficent Deity of the white men. These +latter also were charged with a letter to Doctor Whitman from his former +associate, Mr. Parker. + +On the Sweetwater about two days' travel from camp the caravan of the +advancing company was discovered, and the trappers prepared to give them +a characteristic greeting. To prevent mistakes in recognizing them, a +white flag was hoisted on one of their guns, and the word was given to +start. Then over the brow of a hill they made their appearance, riding +with that mad speed only an Indian or a trapper can ride, yelling, +whooping, dashing forward with frantic and threatening gestures; their +dress, noises, and motions, all so completely savage that the white men +could not have been distinguished from the red. + +The first effect of their onset was what they probably intended. The +uninitiated travelers, including the missionaries, believing they were +about to be attacked by Indians, prepared for defence, nor could be +persuaded that the preparation was unnecessary until the guide pointed +out to them the white flag in advance. At the assurance that the flag +betokened friends, apprehension was changed to curiosity and intense +interest. Every movement of the wild brigade became fascinating. On they +came, riding faster and faster, yelling louder and louder, and +gesticulating more and more madly, until, as they met and passed the +caravan, they discharged their guns in one volley over the heads of the +company, as a last finishing _feu de joie_; and suddenly wheeling rode +back to the front as wildly as they had come. Nor could this first brief +display content the crazy cavalcade. After reaching the front, they rode +back and forth, and around and around the caravan, which had returned +their salute, showing off their feats of horsemanship, and the knowing +tricks of their horses together; hardly stopping to exchange questions +and answers, but seeming really intoxicated with delight at the meeting. +What strange emotions filled the breasts of the lady missionaries, when +they beheld among whom their lot was cast, may now be faintly outlined +by a vivid imagination, but have never been, perhaps never could be put +into words. + +The caravan on leaving the settlements had consisted of nineteen laden +carts, each drawn by two mules driven tandem, and one light wagon, +belonging to the American Company; two wagons with two mules to each, +belonging to Capt. Stuart; and one light two-horse wagon, and one +four-horse freight wagon, belonging to the missionaries. However, all +the wagons had been left behind at Fort Laramie, except those of the +missionaries, and one of Capt. Stuart's; so that the three that remained +in the train when it reached the Sweetwater were alone in the enjoyment +of the Nez Perces' curiosity concerning them; a curiosity which they +divided between them and the domesticated cows and calves belonging to +the missionaries: another proof, as they considered it, of the superior +power of the white man's God, who could give to the whites the ability +to tame wild animals to their uses. + +But it was towards the two missionary ladies, Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. +Spalding, that the chief interest was directed; an interest that was +founded in the Indian mind upon wonder, admiration, and awe; and in the +minds of the trappers upon the powerful recollections awakened by seeing +in their midst two refined Christian women, with the complexion and +dress of their own mothers and sisters. United to this startling effect +of memory, was respect for the religious devotion which had inspired +them to undertake the long and dangerous journey to the Rocky Mountains, +and also a sentiment of pity for what they knew only too well yet +remained to be encountered by those delicate women in the prosecution of +their duty. + +Mrs. Whitman, who was in fine health, rode the greater part of the +journey on horseback. She was a large, stately, fair-skinned woman, +with blue eyes and light auburn, almost golden hair. Her manners were at +once dignified and gracious. She was, both by nature and education a +lady; and had a lady's appreciation of all that was courteous and +refined; yet not without an element of romance and heroism in her +disposition strong enough to have impelled her to undertake a +missionary's life in the wilderness. + +Mrs. Spalding was a different type of woman. Talented, and refined in +her nature, she was less pleasing in exterior, and less attached to that +which was superficially pleasing in others. But an indifference to +outside appearances was in her case only a sign of her absorption in the +work she had taken in hand. She possessed the true missionary spirit, +and the talent to make it useful in an eminent degree; never thinking of +herself, or the impression she made upon others; yet withal very firm +and capable of command. Her health, which was always rather delicate, +had suffered much from the fatigue of the journey, and the constant diet +of fresh meat, and meat only, so that she was compelled at last to +abandon horseback exercise, and to keep almost entirely to the light +wagon of the missionaries. + +As might be expected, the trappers turned from the contemplation of the +pale, dark-haired occupant of the wagon, with all her humility and +gentleness, to observe and admire the more striking figure, and more +affably attractive manners of Mrs. Whitman. Meek, who never lost an +opportunity to see and be seen, was seen riding alongside Mrs. Whitman, +answering her curious inquiries, and entertaining her with stories of +Blackfeet battles, and encounters with grizzly bears. Poor lady! could +she have looked into the future about which she was then so curious, she +would have turned back appalled, and have fled with frantic fear to the +home of her grieving parents. How could she then behold in the gay and +boastful mountaineer, whose peculiarities of dress and speech so much +diverted her, the very messenger who was to bear to the home of her +girlhood the sickening tale of her bloody sacrifice to savage +superstition and revenge? Yet so had fate decreed it. + +When the trappers and Nez Perces had slaked their thirst for excitement +by a few hours' travel in company with the Fur Company's and +Missionary's caravan, they gave at length a parting display of +horsemanship, and dashed off on the return trail to carry to camp the +earliest news. It was on their arrival in camp that the Nez Perce and +Flathead village, which had its encampment at the rendezvous ground on +Green River, began to make preparations for the reception of the +missionaries. It was then that Indian finery was in requisition! Then +the Indian women combed and braided their long black hair, tying the +plaits with gay-colored ribbons, and the Indian braves tied anew their +streaming scalp-locks, sticking them full of flaunting eagle's plumes, +and not despising a bit of ribbon either. Paint was in demand both for +the rider and his horse. Gay blankets, red and blue, buckskin fringed +shirts, worked with beads and porcupine quills, and handsomely +embroidered moccasins, were eagerly sought after. Guns were cleaned and +burnished, and drums and fifes put in tune. + +After a day of toilsome preparation all was ready for the grand +reception in the camp of the Nez Perces. Word was at length given that +the caravan was in sight. There was a rush for horses, and in a few +moments the Indians were mounted and in line, ready to charge on the +advancing caravan. When the command of the chiefs was given to start, a +simultaneous chorus of yells and whoops burst forth, accompanied by the +deafening din of the war-drum, the discharge of fire-arms, and the +clatter of the whole cavalcade, which was at once in a mad gallop toward +the on-coming train. Nor did the yelling, whooping, drumming, and firing +cease until within a few yards of the train. + +All this demoniac hub-bub was highly complimentary toward those for whom +it was intended; but an unfortunate ignorance of Indian customs caused +the missionaries to fail in appreciating the honor intended them. +Instead of trying to reciprocate the noise by an attempt at imitating +it, the missionary camp was alarmed at the first burst and at once began +to drive in their cattle and prepare for an attack. As the missionary +party was in the rear of the train they succeeded in getting together +their loose stock before the Nez Perces had an opportunity of making +themselves known, so that the leaders of the Fur Company, and Captain +Stuart, had the pleasure of a hearty laugh at their expense, for the +fright they had received. + +A general shaking of hands followed the abatement of the first surprise, +the Indian women saluting Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding with a kiss, +and the missionaries were escorted to their camping ground near the Nez +Perce encampment. Here the whole village again formed in line, and a +more formal introduction of the missionaries took place, after which +they were permitted to go into camp. + +When the intention of the Indians became known, Dr. Whitman, who was the +leader of the missionary party, was boyishly delighted with the +reception which had been given him. His frank, hearty, hopeful nature +augured much good from the enthusiasm of the Indians. If his estimation +of the native virtues of the savages was much too high, he suffered with +those whom he caused to suffer for his belief, in the years which +followed. Peace to the ashes of a good man! And honor to his associates, +whose hearts were in the cause they had undertaken of Christianizing +the Indians. Two of them still live--one of whom, Mr. Spalding, has +conscientiously labored and deeply suffered for the faith. Mr. Gray, who +was an unmarried man, returned the following year to the States, for a +wife, and settled for a time among the Indians, but finally abandoned +the missionary service, and removed to the Wallamet valley. These five +persons constituted the entire force of teachers who could be induced at +that time to devote their lives to the instruction of the savages in the +neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains. + +The trappers, and gentlemen of the Fur Company and Captain Stuart, had +been passive but interested spectators of the scene between the Indians +and the missionaries. When the excitement had somewhat subsided, and the +various camps had become settled in their places, the tents of the white +ladies were besieged with visitors, both civilized and savage. These +ladies, who were making an endeavor to acquire a knowledge of the Nez +Perce tongue in order to commence their instructions in the language of +the natives, could have made very little progress, had their purpose +been less strong than it was. Mrs. Spalding perhaps succeeded better +than Mrs. Whitman in the difficult study of the Indian dialect. She +seemed to attract the natives about her by the ease and kindness of her +manner, especially the native women, who, seeing she was an invalid, +clung to her rather than to her more lofty and self-asserting associate. + +On the contrary, the leaders of the American Fur Company, Captain Wyeth +and Captain Stuart, paid Mrs. Whitman the most marked and courteous +attentions. She shone the bright particular star of that Rocky Mountain +encampment, softening the hearts and the manners of all who came within +her womanly influence. Not a gentleman among them but felt her silent +command upon him to be his better self while she remained in his +vicinity; not a trapper or camp-keeper but respected the presence of +womanhood and piety. But while the leaders paid court to her, the +bashful trappers contented themselves with promenading before her tent. +Should they succeed in catching her eye, they never failed to touch +their beaver-skin caps in their most studiously graceful manner, though +that should prove so dubious as to bring a mischievous smile to the blue +eyes of the observant lady. + +But our friend Joe Meek did not belong by nature to the bashful brigade. +He was not content with disporting himself in his best trapper's toggery +in front of a lady's tent. He became a not infrequent visitor, and +amused Mrs. Whitman with the best of his mountain adventures, related in +his soft, slow, yet smooth and firm utterance, and with many a merry +twinkle of his mirthful dark eyes. In more serious moments he spoke to +her of the future, and of his determination, sometime, to "settle down." +When she inquired if he had fixed upon any spot which in his imagination +he could regard as "home" he replied that he could not content himself +to return to civilized life, but thought that when he gave up "bar +fighting and Injun fighting" he should go down to the Wallamet valley +and see what sort of life he could make of it there. How he lived up to +this determination will be seen hereafter. + +The missionaries remained at the rendezvous long enough to recruit their +own strength and that of their stock, and to restore to something like +health the invalid Mrs. Spalding, who, on changing her diet to dried +meat, which the resident partners were able to supply her, commenced +rapidly to improve. Letters were written and given to Capt. Wyeth to +carry home to the States. The Captain had completed his sale of Fort +Hall and the goods it contained to the Hudson's Bay Company only a +short time previous, and was now about to abandon the effort to +establish any enterprise either on the Columbia or in the Rocky +Mountains. He had, however, executed his threat of the year previous, +and punished the bad faith of the Rocky Mountain Company by placing them +in direct competition with the Hudson's Bay Company. + +The missionaries now prepared for their journey to the Columbia River. +According to the advice of the mountain-men the heaviest wagon was left +at the rendezvous, together with every heavy article that could be +dispensed with. But Dr. Whitman refused to leave the light wagon, +although assured he would never be able to get it to the Columbia, nor +even to the Snake River. The good Doctor had an immense fund of +determination when there was an object to be gained or a principle +involved. The only persons who did not oppose wagon transportation were +the Indians. They sympathised with his determination, and gave him their +assistance. The evidences of a different and higher civilization than +they had ever seen were held in great reverence by them. The wagons, the +domestic cattle, especially the cows and calves, were always objects of +great interest with them. Therefore they freely gave their assistance, +and a sufficient number remained behind to help the Doctor, while the +main party of both missionaries and Indians, having bidden the Fur +Company and others farewell, proceeded to join the camp of two Hudson's +Bay traders a few miles on their way. + +The two traders, whose camp they now joined, were named McLeod and +McKay. The latter, Thomas McKay, was the half-breed son of that +unfortunate McKay in Mr. Astor's service, who perished on board the +_Tonquin_, as related in Irving's ASTORIA. He was one of the bravest and +most skillful partisans in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. +McLeod had met the missionaries at the American rendezvous and invited +them to travel in his company; an offer which they were glad to accept, +as it secured them ample protection and other more trifling benefits, +besides some society other than the Indians. + +By dint of great perseverance, Doctor Whitman contrived to keep up with +the camp day after day, though often coming in very late and very weary, +until the party arrived at Fort Hall. At the fort the baggage was again +reduced as much as possible; and Doctor Whitman was compelled by the +desertion of his teamster to take off two wheels of his wagon and +transform it into a cart which could be more easily propelled in +difficult places. With this he proceeded as far as the Boise River where +the Hudson's Bay Company had a small fort or trading-post; but here +again he was so strongly urged to relinquish the idea of taking his +wagon to the Columbia, that after much discussion he consented to leave +it at Fort Boise until some future time when unencumbered by goods or +passengers he might return for it. + +Arrived at the crossing of the Snake River, Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. +Spalding were treated to a new mode of ferriage, which even in their +varied experience they had never before met with. This new ferry was +nothing more or less than a raft made of bundles of bulrushes woven +together by grass ropes. Upon this frail flat-boat the passengers were +obliged to stretch themselves at length while an Indian swam across and +drew it after him by a rope. As the waters of the Snake River are rapid +and often "dancing mad," it is easy to conjecture that the ladies were +ill at ease on their bulrush ferry. + +On went the party from the Snake River through the Grand Ronde to the +Blue Mountains. The crossing here was somewhat difficult but +accomplished in safety. The descent from the Blue Mountains on the west +side gave the missionaries their first view of the country they had come +to possess, and to civilize and Christianize. That view was beautiful +and grand--as goodly a prospect as longing eyes ever beheld this side of +Canaan. Before them lay a country spread out like a map, with the +windings of its rivers marked by fringes of trees, and its boundaries +fixed by mountain ranges above which towered the snowy peaks of Mt. +Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier. Far away could be traced the course of +the Columbia; and over all the magnificent scene glowed the red rays of +sunset, tinging the distant blue of the mountains until they seemed +shrouded in a veil of violet mist. It were not strange that with the +reception given them by the Indians, and with this bird's-eye view of +their adopted country, the hearts of the missionaries beat high with +hope. + +[Illustration: DESCENDING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.] + +The descent from the Blue Mountains brought the party out on the +Umatilla River, where they camped, Mr. McLeod parting company with them +at this place to hasten forward to Fort Walla-Walla, and prepare for +their reception. After two more days of slow and toilsome travel with +cattle whose feet were cut and sore from the sharp rocks of the +mountains, the company arrived safely at Walla-Walla fort, on the third +of September. Here they found Mr. McLeod, and Mr. Panbram who had charge +of that post. + +Mr. Panbram received the missionary party with every token of respect, +and of pleasure at seeing ladies among them. The kindest attentions were +lavished upon them from the first moment of their arrival, when the +ladies were lifted from their horses, to the time of their departure; +the apartments belonging to the fort being assigned to them, and all +that the place afforded of comfortable living placed at their disposal. +Here, for the first time in several months, they enjoyed the luxury of +bread--a favor for which the suffering Mrs. Spalding was especially +grateful. + +At Walla-Walla the missionaries were informed that they were expected to +visit Vancouver, the head-quarters of the Hudson's Bay Company on the +Lower Columbia. After resting for two days, it was determined to make +this visit before selecting places for mission work among the Indians. +Accordingly the party embarked in the company's boats, for the voyage +down the Columbia, which occupied six days, owing to strong head winds +which were encountered at a point on the Lower Columbia, called Cape +Horn. They arrived safely on the eleventh of September, at Vancouver, +where they were again received with the warmest hospitality by the +Governor, Dr. John McLaughlin, and his associates. The change from the +privations of wilderness life to the luxuries of Fort Vancouver was very +great indeed, and two weeks passed rapidly away in the enjoyment of +refined society, and all the other elegancies of the highest +civilization. + +At the end of two weeks, Dr. Whitman, Mr. Spalding, and Mr. Gray +returned to the Upper Columbia, leaving the ladies at Fort Vancouver +while they determined upon their several locations in the Indian +country. After an absence of several weeks they returned, having made +their selections, and on the third day of November the ladies once more +embarked to ascend the Columbia, to take up their residence in Indian +wigwams while their husbands prepared rude dwellings by the assistance +of the natives. The spot fixed upon by Dr. Whitman for his mission was +on the Walla-Walla River about thirty miles from the fort of that name. +It was called _Waiilatpu_; and the tribe chosen for his pupils were the +Cayuses, a hardy, active, intelligent race, rich in horses and pasture +lands. + +Mr. Spalding selected a home on the Clearwater River, among the Nez +Perces, of whom we already know so much. His mission was called +_Lapwai_. Mr. Gray went among the Flatheads, an equally friendly tribe; +and here we shall leave the missionaries, to return to the Rocky +Mountains and the life of the hunter and trapper. At a future date we +shall fall in once more with these devoted people and learn what success +attended their efforts to Christianize the Indians. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +1836. The company of men who went north this year under Bridger and +Fontenelle, numbered nearly three hundred. Rendezvous with all its +varied excitements being over, this important brigade commenced its +march. According to custom, the trappers commenced business on the +head-waters of various rivers, following them down as the early frosts +of the mountains forced them to do, until finally they wintered in the +plains, at the most favored spots they could find in which to subsist +themselves and animals. + +From Green River, Meek proceeded with Bridger's command to Lewis River, +Salt River, and other tributaries of the Snake, and camped with them in +Pierre's Hole, that favorite mountain valley which every year was +visited by the different fur companies. + +[Illustration: _THE BEAR IN CAMP._] + +Pierre's Hole, notwithstanding its beauties, had some repulsive +features, or rather perhaps _one_ repulsive feature, which was, its +great numbers of rattlesnakes. Meek relates that being once caught in a +very violent thunder storm, he dismounted, and holding his horse, a fine +one, by the bridle, himself took shelter under a narrow shelf of rock +projecting from a precipitous bluff. Directly he observed an enormous +rattlesnake hastening close by him to its den in the mountain. +Congratulating himself on his snake-ship's haste to get out of the storm +and his vicinity, he had only time to have one rejoicing thought when +two or three others followed the trail of the first one. They were +seeking the same rocky den, of whose proximity Meek now felt +uncomfortably assured. Before these were out of sight, there came +instead of twos and threes, tens and twenties, and then hundreds, and +finally Meek believes thousands, the ground being literally alive with +them. Not daring to stir after he discovered the nature of his +situation, he was obliged to remain and endure the disgusting and +frightful scene, while he exerted himself to keep his horse quiet, lest +the reptiles should attack him. By and by, when there were no more to +come, but all were safe in their holes in the rock, Meek hastily mounted +and galloped in the face of the tempest in preference to remaining +longer in so unpleasant a neighborhood. + +There was an old Frenchman among the trappers who used to charm +rattlesnakes, and handling them freely, place them in his bosom, or +allow them to wind about his arms, several at a time, their flat heads +extending in all directions, and their bodies waving in the air, in the +most snaky and nerve-shaking manner, to the infinite disgust of all the +camp, and of Hawkins and Meek in particular. Hawkins often became so +nervous that he threatened to shoot the Frenchman on the instant, if he +did not desist; and great was the dislike he entertained for what he +termed the "---- infernal old wizard." + +It was often the case in the mountains and on the plains that the camp +was troubled with rattlesnakes, so that each man on laying down to sleep +found it necessary to encircle his bed with a hair rope, thus +effectually fencing out the reptiles, which are too fastidious and +sensitive of touch to crawl over a hair rope. But for this precaution, +the trapper must often have shared his blanket couch with this foe to +the "seed of the woman," who being asleep would have neglected to "crush +his head," receiving instead the serpent's fang in "his heel," if not +in some nobler portion of his body. + +There is a common belief abroad that the prairie dog harbors the +rattlesnake, and the owl also, in his subterranean house, in a more or +less friendly manner. Meek, however, who has had many opportunities of +observing the habits of these three ill-assorted denizens of a common +abode, gives it as his opinion that the prairie dog consents to the +invasion of his premises alone through his inability to prevent it. As +these prairie dog villages are always found on the naked prairies, where +there is neither rocky den for the rattlesnake, nor shade for the +blinking eyes of the owl, these two idle and impudent foreigners, +availing themselves of the labors of the industrious little animal which +builds itself a cool shelter from the sun, and a safe one from the +storm, whenever their own necessities drive them to seek refuge from +either sun or storm, enter uninvited and take possession. It is probable +also, that so far from being a welcome guest, the rattlesnake +occasionally gorges himself with a young prairie-dog, when other game is +not conveniently nigh, or that the owl lies in wait at the door of its +borrowed-without-leave domicile, and succeeds in nabbing a careless +field-mouse more easily than it could catch the same game by seeking it +as an honest owl should do. The owl and the rattlesnake are like the +Sioux when they go on a visit to the Omahas--the visit being always +timed so as to be identical in date with that of the Government Agents +who are distributing food and clothing. They are very good friends for +the nonce, the poor Omahas not daring to be otherwise for fear of the +ready vengeance on the next summer's buffalo hunt; therefore they +conceal their grimaces and let the Sioux eat them up; and when summer +comes get massacred on their buffalo hunt, all the same. + +But to return to our brigade. About the last of October Bridger's +company moved down on to the Yellowstone by a circuitous route through +the North Pass, now known as Hell Gate Pass, to Judith River, Mussel +Shell River, Cross Creeks of the Yellowstone, Three Forks of Missouri, +Missouri Lake, Beaver Head country, Big Horn River, and thence east +again, and north again to the wintering ground in the great bend of the +Yellowstone. + +The company had not proceeded far in the Blackfeet country, between Hell +Gate Pass and the Yellowstone, before they were attacked by the +Blackfeet. On arriving at the Yellowstone they discovered a considerable +encampment of the enemy on an island or bar in the river, and proceeded +to open hostilities before the Indians should have discovered them. +Making little forts of sticks or bushes, each man advanced cautiously to +the bank overlooking the island, pushing his leafy fort before him as he +crept silently nearer, until a position was reached whence firing could +commence with effect. The first intimation the luckless savages had of +the neighborhood of the whites was a volley of shots discharged into +their camp, killing several of their number. But as this was their own +mode of attack, no reflections were likely to be wasted upon the +unfairness of the assault; quickly springing to their arms the firing +was returned, and for several hours was kept up on both sides. At night +the Indians stole off, having lost nearly thirty killed; nor did the +trappers escape quite unhurt, three being killed and a few others +wounded. + +Since men were of such value to the fur companies, it would seem strange +that they should deliberately enter upon an Indian fight before being +attacked. But unfortunate as these encounters really were, they knew of +no other policy to be pursued. They, (the American Companies,) were not +resident, with a long acquaintance, and settled policy, such as +rendered the Hudson's Bay Company so secure amongst the savages. They +knew that among these unfriendly Indians, not to attack was to be +attacked, and consequently little time was ever given for an Indian to +discover his vicinity to a trapper. The trapper's shot informed him of +that, and afterwards the race was to the swift, and the battle to the +strong. Besides this acknowledged necessity for fighting whenever and +wherever Indians were met with in the Blackfeet and Crow countries, +almost every trapper had some private injury to avenge--some theft, or +wound, or imprisonment, or at the very least, some terrible fright +sustained at the hands of the universal foe. Therefore there was no +reluctance to shoot into an Indian camp, provided the position of the +man shooting was a safe one, or more defensible than that of the man +shot at. Add to this that there was no law in the mountains, only +license, it is easy to conjecture that might would have prevailed over +right with far less incentive to the exercise of savage practices than +actually did exist. Many a trapper undoubtedly shot his Indian "for the +fun of it," feeling that it was much better to do so than run the risk +of being shot at for no better reason. Of this class of reasoners, it +must be admitted, Meek was one. Indian-fighting, like bear-fighting, had +come to be a sort of pastime, in which he was proud to be known as +highly accomplished. Having so many opportunities for the display of +game qualities in encounters with these two by-no-means-to-be despised +foes of the trapper, it was not often that they quarreled among +themselves after the grand frolic of the rendezvous was over. + +It happened, however, during this autumn, that while the main camp was +in the valley of the Yellowstone, a party of eight trappers, including +Meek and a comrade named Stanberry, were trapping together on the +Mussel Shell, when the question as to which was the bravest man got +started between them, and at length, in the heat of controversy, assumed +such importance that it was agreed to settle the matter on the following +day according to the Virginia code of honor, _i.e._, by fighting a duel, +and shooting at each other with guns, which hitherto had only done +execution on bears and Indians. + +But some listening spirit of the woods determined to avert the danger +from these two equally brave trappers, and save their ammunition for its +legitimate use, by giving them occasion to prove their courage almost on +the instant. While sitting around the camp-fire discussing the coming +event of the duel at thirty paces, a huge bear, already wounded by a +shot from the gun of their hunter who was out looking for game, came +running furiously into camp, giving each man there a challenge to fight +or fly. + +"Now," spoke up one of the men quickly, "let Meek and Stanberry prove +which is bravest, by fighting the bear!" "Agreed," cried the two as +quickly, and both sprang with guns and wiping-sticks in hand, charging +upon the infuriated beast as it reached the spot where they were +awaiting it. Stanberry was a small man, and Meek a large one. Perhaps it +was owing to this difference of stature that Meek was first to reach the +bear as it advanced. Running up with reckless bravado Meek struck the +creature two or three times over the head with his wiping-stick before +aiming to fire, which however he did so quickly and so surely that the +beast fell dead at his feet. This act settled the vexed question. Nobody +was disposed to dispute the point of courage with a man who would stop +to strike a grizzly before shooting him: therefore Meek was proclaimed +by the common voice to be "cock of the walk" in that camp. The pipe of +peace was solemnly smoked by himself and Stanberry, and the tomahawk +buried never more to be resurrected between them, while a fat supper of +bear meat celebrated the compact of everlasting amity. + +It was not an unfrequent occurrence for a grizzly bear to be run into +camp by the hunters, in the Yellowstone country where this creature +abounded. An amusing incident occurred not long after that just related, +when the whole camp was at the Cross Creeks of the Yellowstone, on the +south side of that river. The hunters were out, and had come upon two or +three bears in a thicket. As these animals sometimes will do, they +started off in a great fright, running toward camp, the hunters after +them, yelling, frightening them still more. A runaway bear, like a +runaway horse, appears not to see where it is going, but keeps right on +its course no matter what dangers lie in advance. So one of these +animals having got headed for the middle of the encampment, saw nothing +of what lay in its way, but ran on and on, apparently taking note of +nothing but the yells in pursuit. So sudden and unexpected was the +charge which he made upon camp, that the Indian women, who were sitting +on the ground engaged in some ornamental work, had no time to escape out +of the way. One of them was thrown down and run over, and another was +struck with such violence that she was thrown twenty feet from the spot +where she was hastily attempting to rise. Other objects in camp were +upset and thrown out of the way, but without causing so much merriment +as the mishaps of the two women who were so rudely treated by the +monster. + +[Illustration: SATISFIED WITH BEAR FIGHTING.] + +It was also while the camp was at the Cross Creeks of the Yellowstone +that Meek had one of his best fought battles with a grizzly bear. He was +out with two companions, one Gardiner, and Mark Head, a Shawnee Indian. +Seeing a very large bear digging roots in the creek bottom, Meek +proposed to attack it, if the others would hold his horse ready to +mount if he failed to kill the creature. This being agreed to he +advanced to within about forty paces of his game, when he raised his gun +and attempted to fire, but the cap bursting he only roused the beast, +which turned on him with a terrific noise between a snarl and a growl, +showing some fearful looking teeth. Meek turned to run for his horse, at +the same time trying to put a cap on his gun; but when he had almost +reached his comrades, their horses and his own took fright at the bear +now close on his heels, and ran, leaving him alone with the now fully +infuriated beast. Just at the moment he succeeded in getting a cap on +his gun, the teeth of the bear closed on his blanket capote which was +belted around the waist, the suddenness and force of the seizure turning +him around, as the skirt of his capote yielded to the strain and tore +off at the belt. Being now nearly face to face with his foe, the +intrepid trapper thrust his gun into the creature's mouth and attempted +again to fire, but the gun being double triggered and not set, it failed +to go off. Perceiving the difficulty he managed to set the triggers with +the gun still in the bear's mouth, yet no sooner was this done than the +bear succeeded in knocking it out, and firing as it slipped out, it hit +her too low down to inflict a fatal wound and only served to irritate +her still farther. + +In this desperate situation when Meek's brain was rapidly working on the +problem of live Meek or live bear, two fresh actors appeared on the +scene in the persons of two cubs, who seeing their mother in difficulty +seemed desirous of doing something to assist her. Their appearance +seemed to excite the bear to new exertions, for she made one desperate +blow at Meek's empty gun with which he was defending himself, and +knocked it out of his hands, and far down the bank or sloping hillside +where the struggle was now going on. Then being partially blinded by +rage, she seized one of her cubs and began to box it about in a most +unmotherly fashion. This diversion gave Meek a chance to draw his knife +from the scabbard, with which he endeavored to stab the bear behind the +ear: but she was too quick for him, and with a blow struck it out of his +hand, as she had the gun, nearly severing his forefinger. + +At this critical juncture the second cub interfered, and got a boxing +from the old bear, as the first one had done. This too, gave Meek time +to make a movement, and loosening his tomahawk from his belt, he made +one tremendous effort, taking deadly aim, and struck her just behind the +ear, the tomahawk sinking into the brain, and his powerful antagonist +lay dead before him. When the blow was struck he stood with his back +against a little bluff of rock, beyond which it was impossible to +retreat. It was his last chance, and his usual good fortune stood by +him. When the struggle was over the weary victor mounted the rock +behind him and looked down upon his enemy slain; and "came to the +conclusion that he was satisfied with bar-fighting." + +But renown had sought him out even here, alone with his lifeless +antagonist. Capt. Stuart with his artist, Mr. Miller, chanced upon this +very spot, while yet the conqueror contemplated his slain enemy, and +taking possession at once of the bear, whose skin was afterward +preserved and stuffed, made a portrait of the "satisfied" slayer. A +picture was subsequently painted by Miller of this scene, and was copied +in wax for a museum in St. Louis, where it probably remains to this day, +a monument of Meek's best bear fight. As for Meek's runaway horse and +runaway comrades, they returned to the scene of action too late to be of +the least service, except to furnish our hero with transportation to +camp, which, considering the weight of his newly gathered laurels, was +no light service after all. + +In November Bridger's camp arrived at the Bighorn River, expecting to +winter; but finding the buffalo all gone, were obliged to cross the +mountains lying between the Bighorn and Powder rivers to reach the +buffalo country on the latter stream. The snow having already fallen +quite deep on these mountains the crossing was attended with great +difficulty; and many horses and mules were lost by sinking in the snow, +or falling down precipices made slippery by the melting and freezing of +the snow on the narrow ridges and rocky benches along which they were +forced to travel. + +About Christmas all the company went into winter-quarters on Powder +River, in the neighborhood of a company of Bonneville's men, left under +the command of Antoine Montero, who had established a trading-post and +fort at this place, hoping, no doubt, that here they should be +comparatively safe from the injurious competition of the older +companies. The appearance of three hundred men, who had the winter +before them in which to do mischief, was therefore as unpleasant as it +was unexpected; and the result proved that even Montero, who was +Bonneville's experienced trader, could not hold his own against so +numerous and expert a band of marauders as Bridger's men, assisted by +the Crows, proved themselves to be; for by the return of spring Montero +had very little remaining of the property belonging to the fort, nor +anything to show for it. This mischievous war upon Bonneville was +prompted partly by the usual desire to cripple a rival trader, which the +leaders encouraged in their men; but in some individual instances far +more by the desire for revenge upon Bonneville personally, on account of +his censures passed upon the members of the Monterey expedition, and on +the ways of mountain-men generally. + +About the first of January, Fontenelle, with four men, and Captain +Stuart's party, left camp to go to St. Louis for supplies. At Fort +Laramie Fontenelle committed suicide, in a fit of _mania a potu_, and +his men returned to camp with the news. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +1837. The fate of Fontenelle should have served as a warning to his +associates and fellows. 'Should have done,' however, are often idle +words, and as sad as they are idle; they match the poets 'might have +been,' in their regretful impotency. Perhaps there never was a winter +camp in the mountains more thoroughly demoralized than that of Bridger +during the months of January and February. Added to the whites, who were +reckless enough, were a considerable party of Delaware and Shawnee +Indians, excellent allies, and skillful hunters and trappers, but having +the Indian's love of strong drink. "Times were pretty good in the +mountains," according to the mountain-man's notion of good times; that +is to say, beaver was plenty, camp large, and alcohol abundant, if dear. +Under these favorable circumstance much alcohol was consumed, and its +influence was felt in the manners not only of the trappers, white and +red, but also upon the neighboring Indians. + +The Crows, who had for two years been on terms of a sort of semi-amity +with the whites, found it to their interest to conciliate so powerful an +enemy as the American Fur Company was now become, and made frequent +visits to the camp, on which occasion they usually succeeded in +obtaining a taste of the fire-water of which they were inordinately +fond. Occasionally a trader was permitted to sell liquor to the whole +village, when a scene took place whose peculiar horrors were wholly +indescribable, from the inability of language to convey an adequate idea +of its hellish degradation. When a trader sold alcohol to a village it +was understood both by himself and the Indians what was to follow. And +to secure the trader against injury a certain number of warriors were +selected out of the village to act as a police force, and to guard the +trader during the 'drunk' from the insane passions of his customers. To +the police not a drop was to be given. + +This being arranged, and the village disarmed, the carousal began. Every +individual, man, woman, and child, was permitted to become intoxicated. +Every form of drunkenness, from the simple stupid to the silly, the +heroic, the insane, the beastly, the murderous, displayed itself. The +scenes which were then enacted beggared description, as they shocked the +senses of even the hard-drinking, license-loving trappers who witnessed +them. That they did not "point a moral" for these men, is the strangest +part of the whole transaction. + +When everybody, police excepted, was drunk as drunk could be, the trader +began to dilute his alcohol with water, until finally his keg contained +water only, slightly flavored by the washings of the keg, and as they +continued to drink of it without detecting its weak quality, they +finally drank themselves sober, and were able at last to sum up the cost +of their intoxication. This was generally nothing less than the whole +property of the village, added to which were not a few personal +injuries, and usually a few murders. The village now being poor, the +Indians were correspondingly humble; and were forced to begin a system +of reprisal by stealing and making war, a course for which the traders +were prepared, and which they avoided by leaving that neighborhood. Such +were some of the sins and sorrows for which the American fur companies +were answerable, and which detracted seriously from the respect that +the courage, and other good qualities of the mountain-men freely +commanded. + +[Illustration: THE GAME OF CACHE.] + +By the first of March these scenes of wrong and riot were over, for that +season at least, and camp commenced moving back toward the Blackfoot +country. After recrossing the mountains, passing the Bighorn, Clarke's, +and Rosebud rivers, they came upon a Blackfoot village on the +Yellowstone, which as usual they attacked, and a battle ensued, in which +Manhead, captain of the Delawares was killed, another Delaware named Tom +Hill succeeding him in command. The fight did not result in any great +loss or gain to either party. The camp of Bridger fought its way past +the village, which was what they must do, in order to proceed. + +Meek, however, was not quite satisfied with the punishment the Blackfeet +had received for the killing of Manhead, who had been in the fight with +him when the Camanches attacked them on the plains. Desirous of doing +something on his own account, he induced a comrade named LeBlas, to +accompany him to the village, after night had closed over the scene of +the late contest. Stealing into the village with a noiselessness equal +to that of one of Fennimore Cooper's Indian scouts, these two daring +trappers crept so near that they could look into the lodges, and see the +Indians at their favorite game of _Cache_. Inferring from this that the +savages did not feel their losses very severely, they determined to +leave some sign of their visit, and wound their enemy in his most +sensitive part, the horse. Accordingly they cut the halters of a number +of the animals, fastened in the customary manner to a stake, and +succeeded in getting off with nine of them, which property they +proceeded to appropriate to their own use. + +As the spring and summer advanced, Bridger's brigade advanced into the +mountains, passing the Cross Creek of the Yellowstone, Twenty-five-Yard +River, Cherry River, and coming on to the head-waters of the Missouri +spent the early part of the summer in that locality. Between Gallatin +and Madison forks the camp struck the great trail of the Blackfeet. Meek +and Mark Head had fallen four or five days behind camp, and being on +this trail felt a good deal of uneasiness. This feeling was not lessened +by seeing, on coming to Madison Fork, the skeletons of two men tied to +or suspended from trees, the flesh eaten off their bones. Concluding +discretion to be the safest part of valor in this country, they +concealed themselves by day and traveled by night, until camp was +finally reached near Henry's Lake. On this march they forded a flooded +river, on the back of the same mule, their traps placed on the other, +and escaped from pursuit of a dozen yelling savages, who gazed after +them in astonishment; "taking their mule," said Mark Head, "to be a +beaver, and themselves great medicine men." "That," said Meek, "is what +I call 'cooning' a river." + +From this point Meek set out with a party of thirty or forty trappers to +travel up the river to head-waters, accompanied by the famous Indian +painter Stanley, whose party was met with, this spring, traveling among +the mountains. The party of trappers were a day or two ahead of the main +camp when they found themselves following close after the big Blackfoot +village which had recently passed over the trail, as could be seen by +the usual signs; and also by the dead bodies strewn along the trail, +victims of that horrible scourge, the small pox. The village was +evidently fleeing to the mountains, hoping to rid itself of the plague +in their colder and more salubrious air. + +Not long after coming upon these evidences of proximity to an enemy, a +party of a hundred and fifty of their warriors were discovered encamped +in a defile or narrow bottom enclosed by high bluffs, through which the +trappers would have to pass. Seeing that in order to pass this war +party, and the village, which was about half a mile in advance, there +would have to be some fighting done, the trappers resolved to begin the +battle at once by attacking their enemy, who was as yet ignorant of +their neighborhood. In pursuance of this determination, Meek, Newell, +Mansfield, and Le Blas, commenced hostilities. Leaving their horses in +camp, they crawled along on the edge of the overhanging bluff until +opposite to the encampment of Blackfeet, firing on them from the shelter +of some bushes which grew among the rocks. But the Blackfeet, though +ignorant of the number of their enemy, were not to be dislodged so +easily, and after an hour or two of random shooting, contrived to scale +the bluff at a point higher up, and to get upon a ridge of ground still +higher than that occupied by the four trappers. This movement dislodged +the latter, and they hastily retreated through the bushes and returned +to camp. + +The next day, the main camp having come up, the fight was renewed. While +the greater body of the company, with the pack-horses, were passing +along the high bluff overhanging them, the party of the day before, and +forty or fifty others, undertook to drive the Indians out of the bottom, +and by keeping them engaged allow the train to pass in safety. The +trappers rode to the fight on this occasion, and charged the Blackfeet +furiously, they having joined the village a little farther on. A general +skirmish now took place. Meek, who was mounted on a fine horse, was in +the thickest of the fight. He had at one time a side to side race with +an Indian who strung his bow so hard that the arrow dropped, just as +Meek, who had loaded his gun running, was ready to fire, and the Indian +dropped after his arrow. + +Newell too had a desperate conflict with a half-dead warrior, who having +fallen from a wound, he thought dead and was trying to scalp. Springing +from his horse he seized the Indian's long thick hair in one hand, and +with his knife held in the other made a pass at the scalp, when the +savage roused up knife in hand, and a struggle took place in which it +was for a time doubtful which of the combatants would part with the +coveted scalp-lock. Newell might have been glad to resign the trophy, +and leave the fallen warrior his tuft of hair, but his fingers were in +some way caught by some gun-screws with which the savage had ornamented +his _coiffure_, and would not part company. In this dilemma there was no +other alternative but fight. The miserable savage was dragged a rod or +two in the struggle, and finally dispatched. + +Mansfield also got into such close quarters, surrounded by the enemy, +that he gave himself up for lost, and called out to his comrades: "Tell +old Gabe, (Bridger,) that old Cotton (his own sobriquet) is gone." He +lived, however, to deliver his own farewell message, for at this +critical juncture the trappers were re-inforced, and relieved. Still the +fight went on, the trappers gradually working their way to the upper end +of the enclosed part of the valley, past the point of danger. + +Just before getting clear of this entanglement Meek became the subject +of another picture, by Stanley, who was viewing the battle from the +heights above the valley. The picture which is well known as "The +Trapper's Last Shot," represents him as he turned upon his horse, a fine +and spirited animal, to discharge his last shot at an Indian +pursuing, while in the bottom, at a little distance away, other Indians +are seen skulking in the tall reedy grass. + +[Illustration: _THE TRAPPER'S LAST SHOT._] + +The last shot having been discharged with fatal effect, our trapper, so +persistently lionized by painters, put his horse to his utmost speed and +soon after overtook the camp, which had now passed the strait of danger. +But the Blackfeet were still unsatisfied with the result of the contest. +They followed after, reinforced from the village, and attacked the camp. +In the fight which followed a Blackfoot woman's horse was shot down, and +Meek tried to take her prisoner: but two or three of her people coming +to the rescue, engaged his attention; and the woman was saved by seizing +hold of the tail of her husband's horse, which setting off at a run, +carried her out of danger. + +[Illustration: "AND THEREBY HANGS A TAIL."] + +The Blackfeet found the camp of Bridger too strong for them. They were +severely beaten and compelled to retire to their village, leaving +Bridger free to move on. The following day the camp reached the village +of Little-Robe, a chief of the Peagans, who held a talk with Bridger, +complaining that his nation were all perishing from the small-pox which +had been given to them by the whites. Bridger was able to explain to +Little-Robe his error; inasmuch as although the disease might have +originated among the whites, it was communicated to the Blackfeet by Jim +Beckwith, a negro, and principal chief of their enemies the Crows. This +unscrupulous wretch had caused two infected articles to be taken from a +Mackinaw boat, up from St. Louis, and disposed of to the +Blackfeet--whence the horrible scourge under which they were suffering. + +This matter being explained, Little-Robe consented to trade horses and +skins; and the two camps parted amicably. The next day after this +friendly talk, Bridger being encamped on the trail in advance of the +Blackfeet, an Indian came riding into camp, with his wife and daughter, +pack-horse and lodge-pole, and all his worldly goods, unaware until he +got there of the snare into which he had fallen. The French trappers, +generally, decreed to kill the man and take possession of the woman. But +Meek, Kit Carson, and others of the American trappers of the better +sort, interfered to prevent this truly savage act. Meek took the woman's +horse by the head, Carson the man's, the daughter following, and led +them out of camp. Few of the Frenchmen cared to interrupt either of +these two men, and they were suffered to depart in peace. When at a safe +distance, Meek stopped, and demanded as some return for having saved the +man's life, a present of tobacco, a luxury which, from the Indian's +pipe, he suspected him to possess. About enough for two chews was the +result of this demand, complied with rather grudgingly, the Indian +vieing with the trapper in his devotion to the weed. Just at this time, +owing to the death of Fontenelle, and a consequent delay in receiving +supplies, tobacco was scarce among the mountaineers. + +Bridger's brigade of trappers met with no other serious interruptions on +their summer's march. They proceeded to Henry's Lake, and crossing the +Rocky Mountains, traveled through the Pine Woods, always a favorite +region, to Lewis' Lake on Lewis' Fork of the Snake River; and finally up +the Grovant Fork, recrossing the mountains to Wind River, where the +rendezvous for this year was appointed. + +Here, once more, the camp was visited by a last years' acquaintance. +This was none other than Mr. Gray, of the Flathead Mission, who was +returning to the States on business connected with the missionary +enterprise, and to provide himself with a helpmeet for life,--a +co-laborer and sufferer in the contemplated toil of teaching savages the +rudiments of a religion difficult even to the comprehension of an old +civilization. + +Mr. Gray was accompanied by two young men (whites) who wished to return +to the States, and also by a son of one of the Flathead chiefs. Two +other Flathead Indians, and one Iroquois and one Snake Indian, were +induced to accompany Mr. Gray. The undertaking was not without danger, +and so the leaders of the Fur Company assured him. But Mr. Gray was +inclined to make light of the danger, having traveled with entire safety +when under the protection of the Fur Companies the year before. He +proceeded without interruption until he reached Ash Hollow, in the +neighborhood of Fort Laramie, when his party was attacked by a large +band of Sioux, and compelled to accept battle. The five Indians, with +the whites, fought bravely, killing fifteen of the Sioux, before a +parley was obtained by the intervention of a French trader who chanced +to be among the Sioux. When Mr. Gray was able to hold a 'talk' with the +attacking party he was assured that his life and that of his two white +associates would be spared, but that they wanted to kill the strange +Indians and take their fine horses. It is not at all probable that Mr. +Gray consented to this sacrifice; though he has been accused of doing +so. + +No doubt the Sioux took advantage of some hesitation on his part, and +rushed upon his Indian allies in an unguarded moment. However that may +be, his allies were killed and he was allowed to escape, after giving up +the property belonging to them, and a portion of his own. + +This affair was the occasion of much ill-feeling toward Mr. Gray, when, +in the following year, he returned to the mountains with the tale of +massacre of his friends and his own escape. The mountain-men, although +they used their influence to restrain the vengeful feelings of the +Flathead tribe, whispered amongst themselves that Gray had preferred his +own life to that of his friends. The old Flathead chief too, who had +lost a son by the massacre, was hardly able to check his impulsive +desire for revenge; for he held Mr. Gray responsible for his son's life. +Nothing more serious, however, grew out of this unhappy tragedy than a +disaffection among the tribe toward Mr. Gray, which made his labors +useless, and finally determined him to remove to the Wallamet Valley. + +There were no outsiders besides Gray's party at the rendezvous of this +year, except Captain Stuart, and he was almost as good a mountaineer as +any. This doughty English traveler had the bad fortune together with +that experienced leader Fitzpatrick, of being robbed by the Crows in the +course of the fall hunt, in the Crow country. These expert horse thieves +had succeeded in stealing nearly all the horses belonging to the joint +camp, and had so disabled the company that it could not proceed. In this +emergency, Newell, who had long been a sub-trader and was wise in Indian +arts and wiles, was sent to hold a talk with the thieves. The talk was +held, according to custom, in the Medicine lodge, and the usual amount +of smoking, of long silences, and grave looks, had to be participated +in, before the subject on hand could be considered. Then the chiefs +complained as usual of wrongs at the hands of the white men; of their +fear of small-pox, from which some of their tribe had suffered; of +friends killed in battle with the whites, and all the list of ills that +Crow flesh is heir to at the will of their white enemies. The women too +had their complaints to proffer, and the number of widows and orphans in +the tribe was pathetically set forth. The chiefs also made a strong +point of this latter complaint; and on it the wily Newell hung his hopes +of recovering the stolen property. + +"It is true," said he to the chiefs, "that you have sustained heavy +losses. But that is not the fault of the Blanket chief (Bridger.) If +your young men have been killed, they were killed when attempting to rob +or kill our Captain's men. If you have lost horses, your young men have +stolen five to our one. If you are poor in skins and other property, it +is because you sold it all for drink which did you no good. Neither is +Bridger to blame that you have had the small-pox. Your own chief, in +trying to kill your enemies the Blackfeet, brought that disease into the +country. + +"But it is true that you have many widows and orphans to support, and +that is bad. I pity the orphans, and will help you to support them, if +you will restore to my captain the property stolen from his camp. +Otherwise Bridger will bring more horses, and plenty of ammunition, and +there will be more widows and orphans among the Crows than ever before." + +This was a kind of logic easy to understand and quick to convince among +savages. The bribe, backed by a threat, settled the question of the +restoration of the horses, which were returned without further delay, +and a present of blankets and trinkets was given, ostensibly to the +bereaved women, really to the covetous chiefs. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +1837. The decline of the business of hunting furs began to be quite +obvious about this time. Besides the American and St. Louis Companies, +and the Hudson's Bay Company, there were numerous lone traders with whom +the ground was divided. The autumn of this year was spent by the +American Company, as formerly, in trapping beaver on the streams issuing +from the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. When the cold weather +finally drove the Fur Company to the plains, they went into winter +quarters once more in the neighborhood of the Crows on Powder River. +Here were re-enacted the wild scenes of the previous winter, both +trappers and Indians being given up to excesses. + +On the return of spring, Bridger again led his brigade all through the +Yellowstone country, to the streams on the north side of the Missouri, +to the head-waters of that river; and finally rendezvoused on the north +fork of the Yellowstone, near Yellowstone Lake. Though the amount of +furs taken on the spring hunt was considerable, it was by no means equal +to former years. The fact was becoming apparent that the beaver was +being rapidly exterminated. + +However there was beaver enough in camp to furnish the means for the +usual profligacy. Horse-racing, betting, gambling, drinking, were freely +indulged in. In the midst of this "fun," there appeared at the +rendezvous Mr. Gray, now accompanied by Mrs. Gray and six other +missionary ladies and gentlemen. Here also were two gentlemen from the +Methodist mission on the Wallamet, who were returning to the States. +Captain Stuart was still traveling with the Fur Company, and was also +present with his party; besides which a Hudson's Bay trader named +Ematinger was encamped near by. As if actuated to extraordinary displays +by the unusual number of visitors, especially the four ladies, both +trappers and Indians conducted themselves like the mad-caps they were. +The Shawnees and Delawares danced their great war-dance before the tents +of the missionaries; and Joe Meek, not to be outdone, arrayed himself in +a suit of armor belonging to Captain Stuart and strutted about the +encampment; then mounting his horse played the part of an ancient +knight, with a good deal of _eclat_. + +Meek had not abstained from the alcohol kettle, but had offered it and +partaken of it rather more freely than usual; so that when rendezvous +was broken up, the St. Louis Company gone to the Popo Agie, and the +American Company going to Wind River, he found that his wife, a Nez +Perce who had succeeded Umentucken in his affections, had taken offence, +or a fit of homesickness, which was synonymous, and departed with the +party of Ematinger and the missionaries, intending to visit her people +at Walla-Walla. This desertion wounded Meek's feelings; for he prided +himself on his courtesy to the sex, and did not like to think that he +had not behaved handsomely. All the more was he vexed with himself +because his spouse had carried with her a pretty and sprightly +baby-daughter, of whom the father was fond and proud, and who had been +christened Helen Mar, after one of the heroines of Miss Porter's +_Scottish Chiefs_--a book much admired in the mountains, as it has been +elsewhere. + +Therefore at the first camp of the American Company, Meek resolved to +turn his back on the company, and go after the mother and daughter. +Obtaining a fresh kettle of alcohol, to keep up his spirits, he left +camp, returning toward the scene of the late rendezvous. But in the +effort to keep up his spirits he had drank too much alcohol, and the +result was that on the next morning he found himself alone on the Wind +River Mountain, with his horses and pack mules, and very sick indeed. +Taking a little more alcohol to brace up his nerves, he started on +again, passing around the mountain on to the Sweetwater; thence to the +Sandy, and thence across a country without water for seventy-five miles, +to Green River, where the camp of Ematinger was overtaken. + +The heat was excessive; and the absence of water made the journey across +the arid plain between Sandy and Green Rivers one of great suffering to +the traveler and his animals; and the more so as the frequent references +to the alcohol kettle only increased the thirst-fever instead of +allaying it. But Meek was not alone in suffering. About half way across +the scorching plain he discovered a solitary woman's figure standing in +the trail, and two riding horses near her, whose drooping heads +expressed their dejection. On coming up with this strange group, Meek +found the woman to be one of the missionary ladies, a Mrs. Smith, and +that her husband was lying on the ground, dying, as the poor sufferer +believed himself, for water. + +Mrs. Smith made a weeping appeal to Meek for water for her dying +husband; and truly the poor woman's situation was a pitiable one. Behind +camp, with no protection from the perils of the desert and +wilderness--only a terrible care instead--the necessity of trying to +save her husband's life. As no water was to be had, alcohol was offered +to the famishing man, who, however, could not be aroused from his stupor +of wretchedness. Seeing that death really awaited the unlucky missionary +unless something could be done to cause him to exert himself, Meek +commenced at once, and with unction, to abuse the man for his +unmanliness. His style, though not very refined, was certainly very +vigorous. + +"You're a ---- pretty fellow to be lying on the ground here, lolling +your tongue out of your mouth, and trying to die. Die, if you want to, +you're of no account and will never be missed. Here's your wife, who you +are keeping standing here in the hot sun; why don't _she_ die? She's got +more pluck than a white-livered chap like you. But I'm not going to +leave her waiting here for you to die. Thar's a band of Indians behind +on the trail, and I've been riding like ---- to keep out of their way. +If you want to stay here and be scalped, you can stay; Mrs. Smith is +going with me. Come, madam," continued Meek, leading up her horse, "let +me help you to mount, for we must get out of this cursed country as fast +as possible." + +Poor Mrs. Smith did not wish to leave her husband; nor did she relish +the notion of staying to be scalped. Despair tugged at her +heart-strings. She would have sunk to the ground in a passion of tears, +but Meek was too much in earnest to permit precious time to be thus +wasted. "Get on your horse," said he rather roughly. "You can't save +your husband by staying here, crying. It is better that one should die +than two; and he seems to be a worthless dog anyway. Let the Indians +have him." + +Almost lifting her upon the horse, Meek tore the distracted woman away +from her husband, who had yet strength enough to gasp out an entreaty +not to be left. + +"You can follow us if you choose," said the apparently merciless +trapper, "or you can stay where you are. Mrs. Smith can find plenty of +better men than you. Come, madam!" and he gave the horse a stroke with +his riding-whip which started him into a rapid pace. + +The unhappy wife, whose conscience reproached her for leaving her +husband to die alone, looked back, and saw him raising his head to gaze +after them. Her grief broke out afresh, and she would have gone back +even then to remain with him: but Meek was firm, and again started up +her horse. Before they were quite out of sight, Meek turned in his +saddle, and beheld the dying man sitting up. "Hurrah;" said he: "he's +all right. He will overtake us in a little while:" and as he predicted, +in little over an hour Smith came riding up, not more than half dead by +this time. The party got into camp on Green River, about eleven o'clock +that night, and Mrs. Smith having told the story of her adventures with +the unknown trapper who had so nearly kidnaped her, the laugh and the +cheer went round among the company. "That's Meek," said Ematinger, "you +may rely on that. He's just the one to kidnap a woman in that way." When +Mrs. Smith fully realized the service rendered, she was abundantly +grateful, and profuse were the thanks which our trapper received, even +from the much-abused husband, who was now thoroughly alive again. Meek +failed to persuade his wife to return with him. She was homesick for her +people, and would go to them. But instead of turning back, he kept on +with Ematinger's camp as far as Fort Hall, which post was then in charge +of Courtenay Walker. + +While the camp was at Soda Springs, Meek observed the missionary ladies +baking bread in a tin reflector before a fire. Bread was a luxury +unknown to the mountain-man,--and as a sudden recollection of his +boyhood, and the days of bread-and-butter came over him, his mouth began +to water. Almost against his will he continued to hang round the +missionary camp, thinking about the bread. At length one of the Nez +Perces, named James, whom the missionary had taught to sing, at their +request struck up a hymn, which he sang in a very creditable manner. As +a reward of his pious proficiency, one of the ladies gave James a +biscuit. A bright thought struck our longing hero's brain. "Go back," +said he to James, "and sing another hymn; and when the ladies give you +another biscuit, bring it to me." And in this manner, he obtained a +taste of the coveted luxury, bread--of which, during nine years in the +mountains he had not eaten. + +At Fort Hall, Meek parted company with the missionaries, and with his +wife and child. As the little black-eyed daughter took her departure in +company with this new element in savage life,--the missionary +society,--her father could have had no premonition of the fate to which +the admixture of the savage and the religious elements was step by step +consigning her. + +After remaining a few days at the fort, Meek, who found some of his old +comrades at this place, went trapping with them up the Portneuf, and +soon made up a pack of one hundred and fifty beaver-skins. These, on +returning to the fort, he delivered to Jo Walker, one of the American +Company's traders at that time, and took Walker's receipt for them. He +then, with Mansfield and Wilkins, set out about the first of September +for the Flathead country, where Wilkins had a wife. In their company was +an old Flathead woman, who wished to return to her people, and took this +opportunity. + +The weather was still extremely warm. It had been a season of great +drought, and the streams were nearly all entirely dried up. The first +night out, the horses, eight in number, strayed off in search of water, +and were lost. Now commenced a day of fearful sufferings. No water had +been found since leaving the fort. The loss of the horses made it +necessary for the company to separate to look for them; Mansfield and +Wilkins going in one direction, Meek and the old Flathead woman in +another. The little coolness and moisture which night had imparted to +the atmosphere was quickly dissipated by the unchecked rays of the +pitiless sun shining on a dry and barren plain, with not a vestige of +verdure anywhere in sight. On and on went the old Flathead woman, +keeping always in the advance, and on and on followed Meek, anxiously +scanning the horizon for a chance sight of the horses. Higher and higher +mounted the sun, the temperature increasing in intensity until the great +plain palpitated with radiated heat, and the horizon flickered almost +like a flame where the burning heavens met the burning earth. Meek had +been drinking a good deal of rum at the fort, which circumstance did not +lessen the terrible consuming thirst that was torturing him. + +Noon came, and passed, and still the heat and the suffering increased, +the fever and craving of hunger being now added to that of thirst. On +and on, through the whole of that long scorching afternoon, trotted the +old Flathead woman in the peculiar traveling gait of the Indian and the +mountaineer, Meek following at a little distance, and going mad, as he +thought, for a little water. And mad he probably was, as famine +sometimes makes its victims. When night at last closed in, he laid down +to die, as the missionary Smith had done before. But he did not remember +Smith: he only thought of water, and heard it running, and fancied the +old woman was lapping it like a wolf. Then he rose to follow her and +find it; it was always just ahead, and the woman was howling to him to +show him the trail. + +Thus the night passed, and in the cool of the early morning he +experienced a little relief. He was really following his guide, who as +on the day before was trotting on ahead. Then the thought possessed him +to overtake and kill her, hoping from her shriveled body to obtain a +morsel of food, and drop of moisture. But his strength was failing, and +his guide so far ahead that he gave up the thought as involving too +great exertion, continuing to follow her in a helpless and hopeless kind +of way. + +At last! There was no mistake this time: he heard running water, and the +old woman _was_ lapping it like a wolf. With a shriek of joy he ran and +fell on his face in the water, which was not more than one foot in +depth, nor the stream more than fifteen feet wide. But it had a white +pebbly bottom; and the water was clear, if not very cool. It was +something to thank God for, which the none too religious trapper +acknowledged by a fervent "Thank God!" + +For a long time he lay in the water, swallowing it, and by thrusting his +finger down his throat vomiting it up again, to prevent surfeit, his +whole body taking in the welcome moisture at all its million pores. The +fever abated, a feeling of health returned, and the late perishing man +was restored to life and comparative happiness. The stream proved to be +Godin's Fork, and here Meek and his faithful old guide rested until +evening, in the shade of some willows, where their good fortune was +completed by the appearance of Mansfield and Wilkins with the horses. +The following morning the men found and killed a fat buffalo cow, +whereby all their wants were supplied, and good feeling restored in the +little camp. + +From Godin's Fork they crossed over to Salmon River, and presently +struck the Nez Perce trail which leads from that river over into the +Beaver-head country, on the Beaver-head or Jefferson Fork of the +Missouri, where there was a Flathead and Nez Perce village, on or about +the present site of Virginia City, in Montana. + +Not stopping long here, Meek and his companions went on to the Madison +Fork with the Indian village, and to the shores of Missouri Lake, +joining in the fall hunt for buffalo. + +[Illustration: HORSE-TAIL FALL.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +"Tell me all about a buffalo hunt," said the writer to Joe Meek, as we +sat at a window overlooking the Columbia River, where it has a beautiful +stretch of broad waters and curving wooded shores, and talking about +mountain life, "tell me how you used to hunt buffalo." + +"Waal, there is a good deal of sport in runnin' buffalo. When the camp +discovered a band, then every man that wanted to run, made haste to +catch his buffalo horse. We sometimes went out thirty or forty strong; +sometimes two or three, and at other times a large party started on the +hunt; the more the merrier. We alway had great bantering about our +horses, each man, according to his own account, having the best one. + +"When we first start we ride slow, so as not to alarm the buffalo. The +nearer we come to the band the greater our excitement. The horses seem +to feel it too, and are worrying to be off. When we come so near that +the band starts, then the word is given, our horses' mettle is up, and +away we go! + +[Illustration: _A BUFFALO HUNT._] + +"Thar may be ten thousand in a band. Directly we crowd them so close +that nothing can be seen but dust, nor anything heard but the roar of +their trampling and bellowing. The hunter now keeps close on their heels +to escape being blinded by the dust, which does not rise as high as a +man on horseback, for thirty yards behind the animals. As soon as we are +close enough the firing begins, and the band is on the run; and a +herd of buffalo can run about as fast as a good race-horse. How they +_do_ thunder along! They give us a pretty sharp race. Take care! Down +goes a rider, and away goes his horse with the band. Do you think we +stopped to look after the fallen man? Not we. We rather thought that war +fun, and if he got killed, why, 'he war unlucky, that war all. Plenty +more men: couldn't bother about him.' + +"Thar's a fat cow ahead. I force my way through the band to come up with +her. The buffalo crowd around so that I have to put my foot on them, now +on one side, now the other, to keep them off my horse. It is lively +work, I can tell you. A man has to look sharp not to be run down by the +band pressing him on; buffalo and horse at the top of their speed. + +"Look out; thar's a ravine ahead, as you can see by the plunge which the +band makes. Hold up! or somebody goes to the d--l now. If the band is +large it fills the ravine full to the brim, and the hindmost of the herd +pass over on top of the foremost. It requires horsemanship not to be +carried over without our own consent; but then we mountain-men are _all_ +good horsemen. Over the ravine we go; but we do it our own way. + +"We keep up the chase for about four miles, selecting our game as we +run, and killing a number of fat cows to each man; some more and some +less. When our horses are tired we slacken up, and turn back. We meet +the camp-keepers with pack-horses. They soon butcher, pack up the meat, +and we all return to camp, whar we laugh at each other's mishaps, and +eat fat meat: and this constitutes the glory of mountain life." + +"But you were going to tell me about the buffalo hunt at Missouri Lake?" + +"Thar isn't much to tell. It war pretty much like other buffalo hunts. +Thar war a lot of us trappers happened to be at a Nez Perce and Flathead +village in the fall of '38, when they war agoin' to kill winter meat; +and as their hunt lay in the direction we war going, we joined in. The +old Nez Perce chief, _Kow-e-so-te_ had command of the village, and we +trappers had to obey him, too. + +"We started off slow; nobody war allowed to go ahead of camp. In this +manner we caused the buffalo to move on before us, but not to be +alarmed. We war eight or ten days traveling from the Beaver-head to +Missouri Lake, and by the time we got thar, the whole plain around the +lake war crowded with buffalo, and it war a splendid sight! + +"In the morning the old chief harangued the men of his village, and +ordered us all to get ready for the surround. About nine o'clock every +man war mounted, and we began to move. + +"That war a sight to make a man's blood warm! A thousand men, all +trained hunters, on horseback, carrying their guns, and with their +horses painted in the height of Indians' fashion. We advanced until +within about half a mile of the herd; then the chief ordered us to +deploy to the right and left, until the wings of the column extended a +long way, and advance again. + +"By this time the buffalo war all moving, and we had come to within a +hundred yards of them. _Kow-e-so-te_ then gave us the word, and away we +went, pell-mell. Heavens, what a charge! What a rushing and roaring--men +shooting, buffalo bellowing and trampling until the earth shook under +them! + +"It war the work of half an hour to slay two thousand or may be three +thousand animals. When the work was over, we took a view of the field. +Here and there and everywhere, laid the slain buffalo. Occasionally a +horse with a broken leg war seen; or a man with a broken arm; or maybe +he had fared worse, and had a broken head. + +"Now came out the women of the village to help us butcher and pack up +the meat. It war a big job; but we war not long about it. By night the +camp war full of meat, and everybody merry. Bridger's camp, which war +passing that way, traded with the village for fifteen hundred buffalo +tongues--the tongue being reckoned a choice part of the animal. And +that's the way we helped the Nez Perces hunt buffalo." + +"But when you were hunting for your own subsistence in camp, you +sometimes went out in small parties?" + +"Oh yes, it war the same thing on a smaller scale. One time Kit Carson +and myself, and a little Frenchman, named Marteau, went to run buffalo +on Powder River. When we came in sight of the band it war agreed that +Kit and the Frenchman should do the running, and I should stay with the +pack animals. The weather war very cold and I didn't like my part of the +duty much. + +"The Frenchman's horse couldn't run; so I lent him mine. Kit rode his +own; not a good buffalo horse either. In running, my horse fell with the +Frenchman, and nearly killed him. Kit, who couldn't make his horse +catch, jumped off, and caught mine, and tried it again. This time he +came up with the band, and killed four fat cows. + +"When I came up with the pack-animals, I asked Kit how he came by my +horse. He explained, and wanted to know if I had seen anything of +Marteau: said my horse had fallen with him, and he thought killed him. +'You go over the other side of yon hill, and see,' said Kit. + +"What'll I do with him if he is dead?" said I. + +"Can't you pack him to camp?" + +"Pack ----" said I; "I should rather pack a load of meat." + +"Waal," said Kit, "I'll butcher, if you'll go over and see, anyhow." + +"So I went over, and found the dead man leaning his head on his hand, +and groaning; for he war pretty bad hurt. I got him on his horse, +though, after a while, and took him back to whar Kit war at work. We +soon finished the butchering job, and started back to camp with our +wounded Frenchman, and three loads of fat meat." + +"You were not very compassionate toward each other, in the mountains?" + +"That war not our business. We had no time for such things. Besides, +live men war what we wanted; dead ones war of no account." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +1838. From Missouri Lake, Meek started alone for the Gallatin Fork of +the Missouri, trapping in a mountain basin called Gardiner's Hole. +Beaver were plenty here, but it was getting late in the season, and the +weather was cold in the mountains. On his return, in another basin +called the Burnt Hole, he found a buffalo skull; and knowing that +Bridger's camp would soon pass that way, wrote on it the number of +beaver he had taken, and also his intention to go to Fort Hall to sell +them. + +In a few days the camp passing found the skull, which grinned its threat +at the angry Booshways, as the chuckling trapper had calculated that it +would. To prevent its execution runners were sent after him, who, +however, failed to find him, and nothing was known of the supposed +renegade for some time. But as Bridger passed through Pierre's Hole, on +his way to Green river to winter, he was surprised at Meek's appearance +in camp. He was soon invited to the lodge of the Booshways, and called +to account for his supposed apostacy. + +Meek, for a time, would neither deny nor confess, but put on his free +trapper airs, and laughed in the face of the Booshways. Bridger, who +half suspected some trick, took the matter lightly, but Dripps was very +much annoyed, and made some threats, at which Meek only laughed the +more. Finally the certificate from their own trader, Jo Walker, was +produced, the new pack of furs surrendered, and Dripps' wrath turned +into smiles of approval. + +Here again Meek parted company with the main camp, and went on an +expedition with seven other trappers, under John Larison, to the Salmon +River: but found the cold very severe on this journey, and the grass +scarce and poor, so that the company lost most of their horses. + +On arriving at the Nez Perce village in the Forks of the Salmon, Meek +found the old chief _Kow-e-so-te_ full of the story of the missionaries +and their religion, and anxious to hear preaching. Reports were +continually arriving by the Indians, of the wonderful things which were +being taught by Mr. and Mrs. Spalding at Lapwai, on the Clearwater, and +at Waiilatpu, on the Walla-Walla River. It was now nearly two years +since these missions had been founded, and the number of converts among +the Nez Perces and Flatheads was already considerable. + +Here was an opening for a theological student, such as Joe Meek was! +After some little assumption of modesty, Meek intimated that he thought +himself capable of giving instruction on religious subjects; and being +pressed by the chief, finally consented to preach to _Kow-e-so-te's_ +people. Taking care first to hold a private council with his associates, +and binding them not to betray him, Meek preached his first sermon that +evening, going regularly through with the ordinary services of a +"meeting." + +These services were repeated whenever the Indians seemed to desire it, +until Christmas. Then, the village being about to start upon a hunt, the +preacher took occasion to intimate to the chief that a wife would be an +agreeable present. To this, however, _Kow-e-so-te_ demurred, saying that +Spalding's religion did not permit men to have two wives: that the Nez +Perces had many of them given up their wives on this account; and that +therefore, since Meek already had one wife among the Nez Perces, he +could not have another without being false to the religion he professed. + +To this perfectly clear argument Meek replied, that among white men, if +a man's wife left him without his consent, as his had done, he could +procure a divorce, and take another wife. Besides, he could tell him how +the Bible related many stories of its best men having several wives. But +_Kow-e-so-te_ was not easily convinced. He could not see how, if the +Bible approved of polygamy, Spalding should insist on the Indians +putting away all but one of their wives. "However," says Meek, "after +about two weeks' explanation of the doings of Solomon and David, I +succeeded in getting the chief to give me a young girl, whom I called +Virginia;--my present wife, and the mother of seven children." + +After accompanying the Indians on their hunt to the Beaver-head country, +where they found plenty of buffalo, Meek remained with the Nez Perce +village until about the first of March, when he again intimated to the +chief that it was the custom of white men to pay their preachers. +Accordingly the people were notified, and the winter's salary began to +arrive. It amounted altogether to thirteen horses, and many packs of +beaver, beside sheep-skins and buffalo-robes; so that he "considered +that with his young wife, he had made a pretty good winter's work of +it." + +In March he set out trapping again, in company with one of his comrades +named Allen, a man to whom he was much attached. They traveled along up +and down the Salmon, to Godin's River, Henry's Fork of the Snake, to +Pierre's Fork, and Lewis' Fork, and the Muddy, and finally set their +traps on a little stream that runs out of the pass which leads to +Pierre's Hole. + +Leaving their camp one morning to take up their traps, they were +discovered and attacked by a party of Blackfeet just as they came near +the trapping ground. The only refuge at hand was a thicket of willows on +the opposite side of the creek, and towards this the trappers directed +their flight. Meek, who was in advance, succeeded in gaining the thicket +without being seen; but Allen stumbled and fell in crossing the stream, +and wet his gun. He quickly recovered his footing and crossed over; but +the Blackfeet had seen him enter the thicket, and came up to within a +short distance, yet not approaching too near the place where they knew +he was concealed. Unfortunately, Allen, in his anxiety to be ready for +defense, commenced snapping caps on his gun to dry it. The quick ears of +the savages caught the sound, and understood the meaning of it. Knowing +him to be defenceless, they plunged into the thicket after him, shooting +him almost immediately, and dragging him out still breathing to a small +prairie about two rods away. + +And now commenced a scene which Meek was compelled to witness, and which +he declares nearly made him insane through sympathy, fear, horror, and +suspense as to his own fate. Those devils incarnate deliberately cut up +their still palpitating victim into a hundred pieces, each taking a +piece; accompanying the horrible and inhuman butchery with every +conceivable gesture of contempt for the victim, and of hellish delight +in their own acts. + +Meek, who was only concealed by the small patch of willows, and a pit in +the sand hastily scooped out with his knife until it was deep enough to +lie in, was in a state of the most fearful excitement. All day long he +had to endure the horrors of his position. Every moment seemed an hour, +every hour a day, until when night came, and the Indians left the place, +he was in a high state of fever. + +About nine o'clock that night he ventured to creep to the edge of the +little prairie, where he lay and listened a long time, without hearing +anything but the squirrels running over the dry leaves; but which he +constantly feared was the stealthy approach of the enemy. At last, +however, he summoned courage to crawl out on to the open ground, and +gradually to work his way to a wooded bluff not far distant. The next +day he found two of his horses, and with these set out alone for Green +River, where the American Company was to rendezvous. After twenty-six +days of solitary and cautious travel he reached the appointed place in +safety, having suffered fearfully from the recollection of the tragic +scene he had witnessed in the death of his friend, and also from +solitude and want of food. + +The rendezvous of this year was at Bonneville's old fort on Green River, +and was the last one held in the mountains by the American Fur Company. +Beaver was growing scarce, and competition was strong. On the disbanding +of the company, some went to Santa Fe, some to California, others to the +Lower Columbia, and a few remained in the mountains trapping, and +selling their furs to the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Hall. As to the +leaders, some of them continued for a few years longer to trade with the +Indians, and others returned to the States, to lose their fortunes more +easily far than they made them. + +Of the men who remained in the mountains trapping, that year, Meek was +one. Leaving his wife at Fort Hall, he set out in company with a +Shawnee, named Big Jim, to take beaver on Salt River, a tributary of the +Snake. The two trappers had each his riding and his pack horse, and at +night generally picketed them all; but one night Big Jim allowed one of +his to remain loose to graze. This horse, after eating for some hours, +came back and laid down behind the other horses, and every now and then +raised up his head; which slight movement at length aroused Big Jim's +attention, and his suspicions also. + +"My friend," said he in a whisper to Meek, "Indian steal our horses." + +"Jump up and shoot," was the brief answer. + +Jim shot, and ran out to see the result. Directly he came back saying: +"My friend, I shoot my horse; break him neck;" and Big Jim became +disconsolate over what his white comrade considered a very good joke. + +The hunt was short and not very remunerative in furs. Meek soon returned +to Fort Hall; and when he did so, found his new wife had left that post +in company with a party under Newell, to go to Fort Crockett, on Green +River,--Newell's wife being a sister of Virginia's,--on learning which +he started on again alone, to join that party. On Bear River, he fell in +with a portion of that Quixotic band, under Farnham, which was looking +for paradise and perfection, something on the Fourier plan, somewhere in +this western wilderness. They had already made the discovery in crossing +the continent, that perfect disinterestedness was lacking among +themselves; and that the nearer they got to their western paradise the +farther off it seemed in their own minds. + +Continuing his journey alone, soon after parting from Farnham, he lost +the hammer of his gun, which accident deprived him of the means of +subsisting himself, and he had no dried meat, nor provisions of any +kind. The weather, too, was very cold, increasing the necessity for food +to support animal heat. However, the deprivation of food was one of the +accidents to which mountain-men were constantly liable, and one from +which he had often suffered severely; therefore he pushed on, without +feeling any unusual alarm, and had arrived within fifteen miles of the +fort before he yielded to the feeling of exhaustion, and laid down +beside the trail to rest. Whether he would ever have finished the +journey alone he could not tell; but fortunately for him, he was +discovered by Jo Walker, and Gordon, another acquaintance, who chanced +to pass that way toward the fort. + +Meek answered their hail, and inquired if they had anything to eat. +Walker replied in the affirmative, and getting down from his horse, +produced some dried buffalo meat which he gave to the famishing trapper. +But seeing the ravenous manner in which he began to eat, Walker inquired +how long it had been since he had eaten anything. + +"Five days since I had a bite." + +"Then, my man, you can't have any more just now," said Walker, seizing +the meat in alarm lest Meek should kill himself. + +"It was hard to see that meat packed away again," says Meek in relating +his sufferings, "I told Walker that if my gun had a hammer I'd shoot and +eat him. But he talked very kindly, and helped me on my horse, and we +all went on to the Fort." + +At Fort Crockett were Newell and his party, the remainder of Farnham's +party, a trading party under St. Clair, who owned the fort, Kit Carson, +and a number of Meek's former associates, including Craig and Wilkins. +Most of these men, Othello-like, had lost their occupation since the +disbanding of the American Fur Company, and were much at a loss +concerning the future. It was agreed between Newell and Meek to take +what beaver they had to Fort Hall, to trade for goods, and return to +Fort Crockett, where they would commence business on their own account +with the Indians. + +Accordingly they set out, with one other man belonging to Farnham's +former adherents. They traveled to Henry's Fork, to Black Fork, where +Fort Bridger now is, to Bear River, to Soda Springs, and finally to Fort +Hall, suffering much from cold, and finding very little to eat by the +way. At Fort Hall, which was still in charge of Courtenay Walker, Meek +and Newell remained a week, when, having purchased their goods and +horses to pack them, they once more set out on the long, cold journey to +Fort Crockett. They had fifteen horses to take care of and only one +assistant, a Snake Indian called Al. The return proved an arduous and +difficult undertaking. The cold was very severe; they had not been able +to lay in a sufficient stock of provisions at Fort Hall, and game there +was none, on the route. By the time they arrived at Ham's Fork the only +atom of food they had left was a small piece of bacon which they had +been carefully saving to eat with any poor meat they might chance to +find. + +The next morning after camping on Ham's Fork was stormy and cold, the +snow filling the air; yet Snake Al, with a promptitude by no means +characteristic of him, rose early and went out to look after the horses. + +"By that same token," said Meek to Newell, "Al has eaten the bacon." And +so it proved, on investigation. Al's uneasy conscience having acted as a +goad to stir him up to begin his duties in season. On finding his +conjecture confirmed, Meek declared his intention, should no game be +found before next day night, of killing and eating Al, to get back the +stolen bacon. But Providence interfered to save Al's bacon. On the +following afternoon the little party fell in with another still smaller +but better supplied party of travelers, comprising a Frenchman and his +wife. These had plenty of fat antelope meat, which they freely parted +with to the needy ones, whom also they accompanied to Fort Crockett. + +It was now Christmas; and the festivities which took place at the Fort +were attended with a good deal of rum drinking, in which Meek, according +to his custom, joined, and as a considerable portion of their stock in +trade consisted of this article, it may fairly be presumed that the home +consumption of these two "lone traders" amounted to the larger half of +what they had with so much trouble transported from Fort Hall. In fact, +"times were bad enough" among the men so suddenly thrown upon their own +resources among the mountains, at a time when that little creature, +which had made mountain life tolerable, or possible, was fast being +exterminated. + +To make matters more serious, some of the worst of the now unemployed +trappers had taken to a life of thieving and mischief which made enemies +of the friendly Indians, and was likely to prevent the better disposed +from enjoying security among any of the tribes. A party of these +renegades, under a man named Thompson, went over to Snake River to steal +horses from the Nez Perces. Not succeeding in this, they robbed the +Snake Indians of about forty animals, and ran them off to the Uintee, +the Indians following and complaining to the whites at Fort Crockett +that their people had been robbed by white trappers, and demanding +restitution. + +According to Indian law, when one of a tribe offends, the whole tribe is +responsible. Therefore if whites stole their horses they might take +vengeance on any whites they met, unless the property was restored. In +compliance with this well understood requisition of Indian law, a party +was made up at Fort Crockett to go and retake the horses, and restore +them to their rightful owners. This party consisted of Meek, Craig, +Newell, Carson, and twenty-five others, under the command of Jo Walker. + +The horses were found on an island in Green River, the robbers having +domiciled themselves in an old fort at the mouth of the Uintee. In order +to avoid having a fight with the renegades, whose white blood the +trappers were not anxious to spill, Walker made an effort to get the +horses off the island undiscovered. But while horses and men were +crossing the river on the ice, the ice sinking with them until the water +was knee-deep, the robbers discovered the escape of their booty, and +charging on the trappers tried to recover the horses. In this effort +they were not successful; while Walker made a masterly flank movement +and getting in Thompson's rear, ran the horses into the fort, where he +stationed his men, and succeeded in keeping the robbers on the outside. +Thompson then commenced giving the horses away to a village of Utes in +the neighborhood of the fort, on condition that they should assist in +retaking them. On his side, Walker threatened the Utes with dire +vengeance if they dared interfere. The Utes who had a wholesome fear not +only of the trappers, but of their foes the Snakes, declined to enter +into the quarrel. After a day of strategy, and of threats alternated +with arguments, strengthened by a warlike display, the trappers marched +out of the fort before the faces of the discomfitted thieves, taking +their booty with them, which was duly restored to the Snakes on their +return to Fort Crockett, and peace secured once more with that people. + +Still times continued bad. The men not knowing what else to do, went out +in small parties in all directions seeking adventures, which generally +were not far to find. On one of these excursions Meek went with a party +down the canyon of Green River, on the ice. For nearly a hundred miles +they traveled down this awful canyon without finding but one place where +they could have come out; and left it at last at the mouth of the +Uintee. + +This passed the time until March. Then the company of Newell and Meek +was joined by Antoine Rubideau, who had brought goods from Santa Fe to +trade with the Indians. Setting out in company, they traded along up +Green River to the mouth of Ham's fork, and camped. The snow was still +deep in the mountains, and the trappers found great sport in running +antelope. On one occasion a large herd, numbering several hundreds, were +run on to the ice, on Green River, where they were crowded into an air +hole, and large numbers slaughtered only for the cruel sport which they +afforded. + +But killing antelope needlessly was not by any means the worst of +amusements practiced in Rubideau's camp. That foolish trader occupied +himself so often and so long in playing _Hand_, (an Indian game,) that +before he parted with his new associates he had gambled away his goods, +his horses, and even his wife; so that he returned to Santa Fe much +poorer than nothing--since he was in debt. + +On the departure of Rubideau, Meek went to Fort Hall, and remained in +that neighborhood, trapping and trading for the Hudson's Bay Company, +until about the last of June, when he started for the old rendezvous +places of the American Companies, hoping to find some divisions of them +at least, on the familiar camping ground. But his journey was in vain. +Neither on Green River or Wind River, where for ten years he had been +accustomed to meet the leaders and their men, his old comrades in +danger, did he find a wandering brigade even. The glory of the American +companies was departed, and he found himself solitary among his long +familiar haunts. + +With many melancholy reflections, the man of twenty-eight years of age +recalled how, a mere boy, he had fallen half unawares into the kind of +life he had ever since led amongst the mountains, with only other men +equally the victims of circumstance, and the degraded savages, for his +companions. The best that could be made of it, such life had been and +must be constantly deteriorating to the minds and souls of himself and +his associates. Away from all laws, and refined habits of living; away +from the society of religious, modest, and accomplished women; always +surrounded by savage scenes, and forced to cultivate a taste for +barbarous things--what had this life made of him? what was he to do with +himself in the future? + +Sick of trapping and hunting, with brief intervals of carousing, he felt +himself to be. And then, even if he were not, the trade was no longer +profitable enough to support him. What could he do? where could he go? +He remembered his talk with Mrs. Whitman, that fair, tall, courteous, +and dignified lady who had stirred in him longings to return to the +civilized life of his native state. But he felt unfit for the society of +such as she. Would he ever, could he ever attain to it now? He had +promised her he might go over into Oregon and settle down. But could he +settle down? Should he not starve at trying to do what other men, +mechanics and farmers, do? And as to learning, he had none of it; there +was no hope then of "living by his wits," as some men did--missionaries +and artists and school teachers, some of whom he had met at the +rendezvous. Heigho! to be checkmated in life at twenty-eight, that would +never do. + +At Fort Hall, on his return, he met two more missionaries and their +wives going to Oregon, but these four did not affect him pleasantly; he +had no mind to go with them. Instead, he set out on what proved to be +his last trapping expedition, with a Frenchman, named Mattileau. They +visited the old trapping grounds on Pierre's Fork, Lewis' Lake, +Jackson's River, Jackson's Hole, Lewis River and Salt River: but beaver +were scarce; and it was with a feeling of relief that, on returning by +way of Bear River, Meek heard from a Frenchman whom he met there, that +he was wanted at Fort Hall, by his friend Newell, who had something to +propose to him. + +[Illustration: CASTLE ROCK.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +1840. When Meek arrived at Fort Hall, where Newell was awaiting him, he +found that the latter had there the two wagons which Dr. Whitman had +left at the points on the journey where further transportation by their +means had been pronounced impossible. The Doctor's idea of finding a +passable wagon-road over the lava plains and the heavily timbered +mountains lying between Fort Hall and the Columbia River, seemed to +Newell not so wild a one as it was generally pronounced to be in the +mountains. At all events, he was prepared to undertake the journey. The +wagons were put in traveling order, and horses and mules purchased for +the expedition. + +"Come," said Newell to Meek, "we are done with this life in the +mountains--done with wading in beaver-dams, and freezing or starving +alternately--done with Indian trading and Indian fighting. The fur trade +is dead in the Rocky Mountains, and it is no place for us now, if ever +it was. We are young yet, and have life before us. We cannot waste it +here; we cannot or will not return to the States. Let us go down to the +Wallamet and take farms. There is already quite a settlement there made +by the Methodist Mission and the Hudson's Bay Company's retired +servants. + +"I have had some talk with the Americans who have gone down there, and +the talk is that the country is going to be settled up by our people, +and that the Hudson's Bay Company are not going to rule this country +much longer. What do you say, Meek? Shall we turn American settlers?" + +"I'll go where you do, Newell. What suits you suits me." + +"I thought you'd say so, and that's why I sent for you, Meek. In my way +of thinking, a white man is a little better than a Canadian Frenchman. +I'll be ---- if I'll hang 'round a post of the Hudson's Bay Company. So +you'll go?" + +"I reckon I will! What have you got for me to do? _I_ haven't got +anything to begin with but a wife and baby!" + +"Well, you can drive one of the wagons, and take your family and traps +along. Nicholas will drive the other, and I'll play leader, and look +after the train. Craig will go also, so we shall be quite a party, with +what strays we shall be sure to pick up." + +Thus it was settled. Thus Oregon began to receive her first real +emigrants, who were neither fur-traders nor missionaries, but true +frontiersmen--border-men. The training which the mountain-men had +received in the service of the fur companies admirably fitted them to +be, what afterwards they became, a valuable and indispensable element in +the society of that country in whose peculiar history they played an +important part. But we must not anticipate their acts before we have +witnessed their gradual transformation from lawless rangers of the +wilderness, to law-abiding and even law-making and law-executing +citizens of an isolated territory. + +In order to understand the condition of things in the Wallamet Valley, +or Lower Columbia country, it will be necessary to revert to the +earliest history of that territory, as sketched in the first chapter of +this book. A history of the fur companies is a history of Oregon up to +the year 1834, so far as the occupation of the country was concerned. +But its political history was begun long before--from the time (May +11th, 1792) when the captain of a New England coasting and fur-trading +vessel entered the great "River of the West," which nations had been +looking for a hundred years. At the very time when the inquisitive +Yankee was heading his little vessel through the white line of breakers +at the mouth of the long-sought river, a British exploring expedition +was scanning the shore between it and the Straits of Fuca, having wisely +declared its scientific opinion that there was no such river on that +coast. Vancouver, the chief of that expedition, so assured the Yankee +trader, whose views did not agree with his own: and, Yankee-like, the +trader turned back to satisfy himself. + +A bold and lucky man was Captain Gray of the ship _Columbia_. No +explorer he--only an adventurous and, withal, a prudent trader, with an +eye to the main chance; emulous, too, perhaps, of a little glory! It is +impossible to conceive how he could have done this thing calmly. We +think his stout heart must have shivered somewhat, both with +anticipation and dread, as he ran for the "opening," and plunged into +the frightful tumult--straight through the proper channel, thank God! +and sailed out on to the bosom of that beautiful bay, twenty-five miles +by six, which the great river forms at its mouth. + +We trust the morning was fine: for then Captain Gray must have beheld a +sight which a discoverer should remember for a lifetime. This +magnificent bay, surrounded by lofty hills, clad thick with noble +forests of fir, and fretted along its margin with spurs of the +highlands, forming other smaller bays and coves, into which ran streams +whose valleys were hidden among the hills. From beyond the farthest +point, whose dark ridge jutted across this inland sea, flowed down the +deep, broad river, whose course and origin was still a magnificent +mystery, but which indicated by its volume that it drained a mighty +region of probable great fertility and natural wealth. Perhaps Captain +Gray did not fully realize the importance of his discovery. If the day +was fine, with a blue sky, and the purple shadows lying in among the +hills, with smooth water before him and the foamy breakers behind--_if_ +he felt what his discovery was, in point of importance, to the world, he +was a proud and happy man, and enjoyed the reward of his daring. + +The only testimony on that head is the simple entry on his log-book, +telling us that he had named the river "_Columbia's River_,"--with an +apostrophe, that tiny point intimating much. This was one ground of the +American claim, though Vancouver, after Gray had reported his success to +him, sent a lieutenant to explore the river, and then claimed the +discovery for England! The next claim of the United States upon the +Oregon territory was by virtue of the Florida treaty and the Louisiana +purchase. These, and the general one of natural boundaries, England +contested also. Hence the treaty of joint occupancy for a term of ten +years, renewable, unless one of the parties to it gave a twelve-month's +notice of intention to withdraw. Meantime this question of territorial +claims hung over the national head like the sword suspended by a hair, +which statesmen delight in referring to. We did not dare to say Oregon +was ours, because we were afraid England would make war on us; and +England did not dare say Oregon was hers, for the same reason. Therefore +"joint-occupancy" was the polite word with which statesmen glossed over +the fact that Great Britain actually possessed the country through the +monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company. That company had a good thing so +long as the government of Great Britain prevented any outbreak, by +simply renewing the treaty every ten years. Their manner of doing +business was such as to prevent any less powerful corporation from +interfering with them, while individual enterprise was sure to be +crushed at the start. + +But "man proposes and God disposes." In 1834, the Methodist Episcopal +Board of Missions sent out four missionaries to labor among the Indians. +These were two preachers, the Rev. Messrs. Jason and Daniel Lee, and two +lay members, Cyrus Shepard and P.L. Edwards. These gentlemen were +liberally furnished with all the necessaries and comforts of life by the +Board, in addition to which they received the kindest attentions and +consideration from the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company at +Vancouver. Their vessel, the _May Dacre_, Captain Lambert, had arrived +safely in the river with the mission goods. The gentlemen at Vancouver +encouraged their enterprise, and advised them to settle in the Wallamet +valley, the most fertile tract of country west of the Rocky Mountains. +Being missionaries, nothing was to be feared from them in the way of +trade. The Wallamet valley was a good country for the mission--at the +same time it was south of the Columbia River. This latter consideration +was not an unimportant one with the Hudson's Bay Company, it being +understood among those in the confidence of the British government, that +in case the Oregon territory had to be divided with the United States, +the Columbia River would probably be made the northern boundary of the +American possessions. + +There was nothing in the character of the Christian Missionary's labor +which the Hudson's Bay Company could possibly object to without a +palpable violation of the Convention of 1818. Therefore, although the +Methodist mission in the Wallamet Valley received a large accession to +its numbers in 1837, they were as kindly welcomed as had been those of +1834; and also those Presbyterian missionaries of 1836, who had settled +in the "upper country." + +Three points, however, the Hudson's Bay Company insisted upon, so far +as, under the treaty, they could; the Americans must not trade with the +Indians, but confine themselves to agricultural pursuits and missionary +labor, and keep on the south side of the Columbia. + +Not an immigrant entered Oregon in that day who did not proceed at once +to Vancouver: nor was there one who did not meet with the most liberal +and hospitable treatment. Neither was this hospitality a trifling +benefit; to the weary traveler just arrived from a long and most +fatiguing journey, it was extremely welcome and refreshing. At Vancouver +was the only society, and the only luxurious living to be enjoyed on the +whole Northwest coast. + +At the head of the first was Dr. John McLaughlin, already mentioned as +the Chief Factor, and Deputy Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company in +Oregon, and all the Northwest. He was of Scotch origin, and Canadian +birth, a gentleman bred, with a character of the highest integrity, to +which were united justice and humanity. His position as head of the +Hudson's Bay Company's affairs, was no enviable one during that period +of Oregon history which followed the advent of Americans in the Wallamet +Valley. Himself a British subject, and a representative of that powerful +corporation which bent the British Government to its will, he was bound +to execute its commands when they did not conflict too strongly with his +consciousness of right and justice. + +As has been stated, the Methodist mission settlement was reinforced in +1837, by the arrival of about twenty persons, among whom were several +ladies, and a few children. These, like those preceding them, were first +entertained at Fort Vancouver before proceeding to the mission, which +was between fifty and sixty miles up the Wallamet, in the heart of that +delightful valley. These persons came by a sailing vessel around Cape +Horn, bringing with them supplies for the mission. + +In the two following years there were about a dozen missionary arrivals +overland, all of whom tarried a short time at the American Company's +rendezvous, as before related. These were some of them designed for the +upper country, but most of them soon settled in the Wallamet valley. + +During these years, between 1834 and 1840, there had drifted into the +valley various persons from California, the Rocky Mountains, and from +the vessels which sometimes appeared in the Columbia; until at the time +when Newell and Meek resolved to quit the mountains, the American +settlers numbered nearly one hundred, men, women, and children. Of +these, about thirty belonged to the missions; the remainder were +mountain-men, sailors, and adventurers. The mountain-men, most of them, +had native wives. Besides the Americans there were sixty Canadian +Frenchmen, who had been retired upon farms by the Hudson's Bay Company; +and who would probably have occupied these farms so long as the H.B. +Company should have continued to do business in Oregon. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +When it was settled that Newell and Meek were to go to the Wallamet, +they lost no time in dallying, but packed the wagons with whatever they +possessed in the way of worldly goods, topped them with their Nez Perce +wives and half-breed children, and started for Walla-Walla, accompanied +by Craig, another mountain-man, and either followed or accompanied by +several others. Meek drove a five-in-hand team of four horses and one +mule. Nicholas drove the other team of four horses, and Newell, who +owned the train, was mounted as leader. + +The journey was no easy one, extending as it did over immense plains of +lava, round impassable canyons, over rapid unbridged rivers, and over +mountains hitherto believed to be only passable for pack trains. The +honor which has heretofore been accorded to the Presbyterian +missionaries solely, of opening a wagon road from the Rocky Mountains to +the Columbia River, should in justice be divided with these two +mountaineers, who accomplished the most difficult part of this difficult +journey. + +Arrived at Fort Boise, a post of the Hudson's Bay Company, the little +caravan stopped for a few days to rest and recruit their animals. With +the usual courtesy of that Company, Mr. Payette, the trader in charge, +offered Newell quarters in the fort, as leader of his party. To Meek and +Craig who were encamped outside, he sent a piece of sturgeon with his +compliments, which our incipient Oregonians sent back again with +_their_ compliments. No Hudson's Bay distinctions of rank for them! No, +indeed! The moment that an American commenced to think of himself as a +settler on the most remote corner of American soil, that moment, as if +by instinct, he began to defend and support his republicanism. + +After a few days' rest, the party went on, encountering, as might be +expected, much difficulty and toil, but arriving safely after a +reasonable time at the Columbia River, at the junction of the Umatilla. +Here the wagons and stock were crossed over, and the party proceeded +directly to Dr. Whitman's mission at Waiilatpu. Dr. Whitman gave them a +friendly reception; killing for them, if not the fatted calf, the +fattest hog he had; telling Meek at the same time that "fat pork was +good for preachers," referring to Meek's missionary labors among the Nez +Perces. + +During the three years since the commencement of the mission at +Waiilatpu considerable advancement had been made in the progress of +civilization among the Cayuses. Quite a number of Indian children were +domesticated with Mrs. Whitman, who were rapidly acquiring a knowledge +of housekeeping, sewing, reading, and writing, and farm labor. With Mrs. +Whitman, for whom Meek still entertained great admiration and respect, +he resolved to leave his little girl, Helen Mar; the fruit of his +connexion with the Nez Perce woman who persisted in abandoning him in +the mountains, as already related. Having thus made provision for the +proper instruction of his daughter, and conferred with the Doctor on the +condition of the American settlers in Oregon--the Doctor being an ardent +American--Meek and his associates started once more for the Wallamet. + +At Walla-Walla Newell decided to leave the wagons, the weather having +become so rainy and disagreeable as to make it doubtful about getting +them over the Cascade Mountains that fall. Accordingly the goods were +transferred to pack-horses for the remainder of the journey. In the +following year, however, one of the wagons was brought down by Newell, +and taken to the plains on the Tualatin River, being the first vehicle +of the kind in the Wallamet Valley. + +On arriving at the Dalles of the Columbia, our mountain men found that a +mission had been established at that place for the conversion of those +inconscionable thieves, the Wish-ram Indians, renowned in Indian history +for their acquisitiveness. This mission was under the charge of Daniel +Lee and a Mr. Perkins, and was an offshoot of the Methodist Mission in +the Wallamet Valley. These gentlemen having found the benighted +condition of the Indians to exceed their powers of enlightment in any +ordinary way, were having recourse to extraordinary efforts, and were +carrying on what is commonly termed a _revival_; though what piety there +was in the hearts of these savages to be revived, it would be difficult +to determine. However, they doubtless hoped so to wrestle with God +themselves, as to compel a blessing upon their labors. + +The Indians indeed were not averse to prayer. They could pray willingly +and sincerely enough when they could hope for a speedy and actual +material answer to their prayers. And it was for that, and that only, +that they importuned the Christian's God. Finding that their prayers +were not answered according to their desire, it at length became +difficult to persuade them to pray at all. Sometimes, it is true, they +succeeded in deluding the missionaries with the belief that they were +really converted, for a time. One of these most hopeful converts at the +Dalles mission, being in want of a shirt and capote, volunteered to +"pray for a whole year," if Mr. Lee would furnish him with these truly +desirable articles. + +It is no wonder that with such hopeless material to work upon the Dalles +missionaries withdrew from them a portion of their zeal, and bestowed +it, where it was quite as much needed, upon any "stray mountain-man" who +chanced to be entertained "within their gates." Newell's party, among +others, received the well-meant, but not always well-received or +appreciated attentions of these gentlemen. The American mountaineer was +not likely to be suddenly surprised into praying in earnest; and he +generally had too much real reverence to be found making a jest in the +form of a mocking-prayer. + +Not so scrupulous, however, was Jandreau, a lively French Canadian, who +was traveling in company with the Americans. On being repeatedly +importuned to pray, with that tireless zeal which distinguishes the +Methodist preacher above all others, Jandreau appeared suddenly to be +smitten with a consciousness of his guilt, and kneeling in the midst of +the 'meeting,' began with clasped hands and upturned eyes to pour forth +a perfect torrent of words. With wonderful dramatic power he appeared to +confess, to supplicate, to agonize, in idiomatic French. His tears and +ejaculations touched the hearts of the missionaries, and filled them +with gladness. They too ejaculated and wept, with frequently uttered +"Amens" and "hallelujahs," until the scene became highly dramatic and +exciting. In the midst of this grand tableau, when the enthusiasm was at +its height, Jandreau suddenly ceased and rose to his feet, while an +irrepressible outburst of laughter from his associates aroused the +astonished missionaries to a partial comprehension of the fact that they +had been made the subjects of a practical joke, though they never knew +to exactly how great an extent. + +The mischievous Frenchman had only recited with truly artistic power, +and with such variations as the situation suggested, one of the most +wonderful and effective tales from the _Arabian Nights Entertainment_, +with which he was wont to delight and amuse his comrades beside the +winter camp-fire! + +But Jandreau was called to account when he arrived at Vancouver. Dr. +McLaughlin had heard the story from some of the party, and resolved to +punish the man's irreverence, at the same time that he gave himself a +bit of amusement. Sending for the Rev. Father Blanchet, who was then +resident at Vancouver, he informed him of the circumstance, and together +they arranged Jandreau's punishment. He was ordered to appear in their +united presence, and make a true statement of the affair. Jandreau +confessed that he had done what he was accused of doing--made a mock of +prayer, and told a tale instead of offering a supplication. He was then +ordered by the Rev. Father to rehearse the scene exactly as it occurred, +in order that he might judge of the amount of his guilt, and apportion +him his punishment. + +Trembling and abashed, poor Jandreau fell upon his knees and began the +recital with much trepidation. But as he proceeded he warmed with the +subject, his dramatic instinct asserted itself, tears streamed, and +voice and eyes supplicated, until this second representation threatened +to outdo the first. With outward gravity and inward mirth his two solemn +judges listened to the close, and when Jandreau rose quite exhausted +from his knees, Father Blanchet hastily dismissed him with an admonition +and a light penance. As the door of Dr. McLaughlin's office closed +behind him, not only the Doctor, but Father Blanchet indulged in a burst +of long restrained laughter at the comical absurdities of this impious +Frenchman. + +To return to our immigrants. On leaving the Dalles they proceeded on +down the south side of the river as far as practicable, or opposite to +the Wind Mountain. At this point the Indians assisted to cross them over +to the north side, when they again made their way along the river as far +as _Tea Prairie_ above Vancouver. The weather was execrable, with a +pouring rain, and sky of dismal gray; December being already far +advanced. Our travelers were not in the best of humors: indeed a +saint-like amiability is seldom found in conjunction with rain, mud, +fatigue, and an empty stomach. Some ill-natured suspicions were uttered +to the effect that the Indians who were assisting to cross the party at +this point, had stolen some ropes that were missing. + +Upon this dishonorable insinuation the Indian heart was fired, and a +fight became imminent. This undesirable climax to emigrant woes was +however averted by an attack upon the indignant natives with firebrands, +when they prudently retired, leaving the travelers to pursue their way +in peace. It was on Sunday that the weary, dirty, hungry little +procession arrived at a place on the Wallamet River where the present +town of Milwaukie is situated, and found here two missionaries, the Rev. +Messrs. Waller and Beers, who were preaching to the Indians. + +Meek immediately applied to Mr. Waller for some provisions, and received +for answer that it was "Sunday." Mr. Waller, however, on being assured +that it was no more agreeable starving on Sunday than a week-day, +finally allowed the immigrants to have a peck of small potatoes. But as +a party of several persons could not long subsist on so short allowance, +and as there did not seem to be any encouragement to expect more from +the missionaries, there was no course left to be pursued but to make an +appeal to Fort Vancouver. + +To Fort Vancouver then, Newell went the next day, and returned on the +following one with some dried salmon, tea, sugar, and sea-bread. It was +not quite what the mountain-men could have wished, this dependence on +the Hudson's Bay Company for food, and did not quite agree with what +they had said when their hearts were big in the mountains. Being +patriotic on a full stomach is easy compared to being the same thing on +an empty one; a truth which became more and more apparent as the winter +progressed, and the new settlers found that if they would eat they must +ask food of some person or persons outside of the Methodist Mission. And +outside of that there was in all the country only the Hudson's Bay +Company, and a few mountain-men like themselves, who had brought nothing +into the country, and could get nothing out of it at present. + +There was but short time in which to consider what was to be done. +Newell and Meek went to Wallamet Falls, the day after Newell's return +from Vancouver, and there met an old comrade, Doughty, who was looking +for a place to locate. The three made their camp together on the west +side of the river, on a hill overlooking the Falls. While in camp they +were joined by two other Rocky Mountain men, Wilkins and Ebbarts, who +were also looking for a place to settle in. There were now six of the +Rocky Mountain men together; and they resolved to push out into the +plains to the west of them, and see what could be done in the matter of +selecting homes. + +As for our hero, we fear we cannot say much of him here which would +serve to render him heroic in criticising Yankee eyes. He was a +mountain-man, and _that only_. He had neither book learning, nor a +trade, nor any knowledge of the simplest affairs appertaining to the +ordinary ways of getting a living. He had only his strong hands, and a +heart naturally stout and light. + +His friend Newell had the advantage of him in several particulars. He +had rather more book-knowledge, more business experience, and also more +means. With these advantages he became a sort of "Booshway" among his +old comrades, who consented to follow his lead in the important movement +about to be made, and settle in the Tualatin Plains should he decide to +do so. + +Accordingly camp was raised, and the party proceeded to the Plains, +where they arrived on Christmas, and went into camp again. The hardships +of mountain life were light compared to the hardships of this winter. +For in the mountains, when the individual's resources were exhausted, +there was always the Company to go to, which was practically +inexhaustible. Should it be necessary, the Company was always willing to +become the creditor of a good mountain-man. And the debtor gave himself +no uneasiness, because he knew that if he lived he could discharge his +indebtedness. But everything was different now. There was no way of +paying debts, even if there had been a company willing to give them +credit, which there was not, at least among Americans. Hard times they +had seen in the mountains; harder times they were likely to see in the +valley; indeed were already experiencing. + +Instead of fat buffalo meat, antelope, and mountain mutton, which made +the plenty of a camp on Powder River, our carniverous hunters were +reduced to eating daily a little boiled wheat. In this extremity, Meek +went on an expedition of discovery across the highlands that border the +Lower Wallamet, and found on Wappatoo (now Sauvis) Island, a Mr. and +Mrs. Baldra living, who were in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, +and drew rations from them. With great kindness they divided the +provisions on hand, furnishing him with dried salmon and sea-bread, to +which he added ducks and swans procured from the Indians. Poor and +scanty as was the supply thus obtained, it was, after boiled wheat, +comparative luxury while it lasted. + +1841. The winter proved a very disagreeable one. Considerable snow fell +early, and went off with heavy rains, flooding the whole country. The +little camp on the Tualatin Plains had no defence from the weather +better than Indian lodges, and one small cabin built by Doughty on a +former visit to the Plains; for Doughty had been one of the first of the +mountain-men to come to the Wallamet on the breaking up of the fur +companies. Indian lodges, or no lodges at all, were what the men were +used to; but in the dryer climate of the Rocky Mountains it had not +seemed such a miserable life, as it now did, where, for months together, +the ground was saturated with rain, while the air was constantly charged +with vapor. + +As for going anywhere, or doing anything, either were equally +impossible. No roads, the streams all swollen and out of banks, the +rains incessant, there was nothing for them but to remain in camp and +wait for the return of spring. When at last the rainy season was over, +and the sun shining once more, most of the mountain-men in the Tualatin +Plains camp took land-claims and set to work improving them. Of those +who began farming that spring, were Newell, Doughty, Wilkins, and +Walker. These obtained seed-wheat from the Hudson's Bay Company, also +such farming implements as they must have, and even oxen to draw the +plow through the strong prairie sod. The wheat was to be returned to the +company--the cattle also; and the farming implements paid for whenever +the debtor became able. This was certainly liberal conduct on the part +of a company generally understood to be opposed to American settlement. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + +1841. When spring opened, Meek assisted Newell in breaking the ground +for wheat. This done, it became necessary to look out for some +immediately paying employment. But paying occupations were hard to find +in that new country. At last, like everybody else, Meek found himself, +if not "hanging about," at least frequently visiting Vancouver. Poor as +he was, and unpromising as looked the future, he was the same +light-hearted, reckless, and fearless Joe Meek that he had been in the +mountains: as jaunty and jolly a ragged mountaineer as ever was seen at +the Fort. Especially he delighted in recounting his Indian fights, +because the Company, and Dr. McLaughlin in particular, disapproved the +American Company's conduct with the Indians. + +When the Doctor chanced to overhear Meek's stories, as he sometimes did, +he would say "Mr. Joe, Mr. Joe,--(a habit the Doctor had of speaking +rapidly, and repeating his words,)--Mr. Joe, Mr. Joe, you must leave off +killing Indians, and go to work." + +"I can't work," Meek would answer in his impressively slow and smooth +utterance, at the same time giving his shoulders a slight shrug, and +looking the Doctor pleasantly in the face. + +During the summer, however, the United States Exploring Squadron, under +Commodore Wilkes, entered the Columbia River, and proceeded to explore +the country in several directions; and it was now that Meek found an +employment suited to him; being engaged by Wilkes as pilot and servant +while on his several tours through the country. + +On the arrival of three vessels of the squadron at Vancouver, and the +first ceremonious visit of Dr. McLaughlin and his associates to +Commodore Wilkes on board, there was considerable display, the men in +the yards, saluting, and all the honors due to the representative of a +friendly foreign power. After dinner, while the guests were walking on +deck engaged in conversation, the talk turned upon the loss of the +_Peacock_, one of the vessels belonging to the U.S. squadron, which was +wrecked on the bar at the mouth of the Columbia. The English gentlemen +were polite enough to be expressing their regrets at the loss to the +United States, when Meek, who had picked up a little history in spite of +his life spent in the mountains, laughingly interrupted with: + +"No loss at all, gentlemen. Uncle Sam can get another Peacock the way he +got that one." + +Wilkes, who probably regretted the allusion, as not being consonant with +the spirit of hospitality, passed over the interruption in silence. But +when the gentlemen from Vancouver had taken leave he turned to Meek with +a meaning twinkle in his eyes: + +"Meek," said he, "go down to my cabin and you'll find there something +good to eat, and some first-rate brandy." Of course Meek went. + +While Wilkes was exploring in the Cowelitz Valley, with Meek and a +Hudson's Bay man named Forrest, as guides, he one day laid down in his +tent to sleep, leaving his chronometer watch lying on the camp-table +beside him. Forrest, happening to observe that it did not agree with his +own, which he believed to be correct, very kindly, as he supposed, +regulated it to agree with his. On awakening and taking up his watch, a +puzzled expression came over Wilkes' face for a moment, as he discovered +the change in the time; then one of anger and disappointment, as what +had occurred flashed over his mind; followed by some rather strong +expressions of indignation. Forrest was penitent when he perceived the +mischief done by his meddling, but that would not restore the +chronometer to the true time: and this accident proved a serious +annoyance and hindrance during the remainder of the expedition. + +After exploring the Cowelitz Valley, Wilkes dispatched a party under +Lieutenant Emmons, to proceed up the Wallamet Valley, thence south along +the old trail of the Hudson's Bay Company, to California. Meek was +employed to pilot this party, which had reached the head of the valley, +when it became necessary to send for some papers in the possession of +the Commodore; and he returned to Astoria upon this duty. On joining +Emmons again he found that some of his men had become disaffected toward +him; especially Jandreau, the same Frenchman who prayed so dramatically +at the Dalles. + +Jandreau confided to Meek that he hated Emmons, and intended to kill +him. The next morning when Lieut. E. was examining the arms of the +party, he fired off Jandreau's gun, which being purposely overcharged, +flew back and inflicted some injuries upon the Lieutenant. + +"What do you mean by loading a gun like that?" inquired Emmons, in a +rage. + +"I meant it to kill two Injuns;--one before, and one behind;" answered +Jandreau. + +As might be conjectured Jandreau was made to fire his own gun after +that. + +The expedition had not proceeded much farther when it again became +necessary to send an express to Vancouver, and Meek was ordered upon +this duty. Here he found that Wilkes had purchased a small vessel which +he named the _Oregon_, with which he was about to leave the country. As +there was no further use for his services our quondam trapper was again +thrown out of employment. In this exigency, finding it necessary to make +some provision for the winter, he became a gleaner of wheat in the +fields of his more provident neighbors, by which means a sufficient +supply was secured to keep himself and his small family in food until +another spring. + +When winter set in, Meek paid a visit to the new mission. He had been +there once before, in the spring, to buy an axe. Think, O reader, of +traveling fifty or more miles, on horseback, or in a small boat, to +procure so simple and necessary an article of civilized life as an axe! +But none of the every-day conveniencies of living grow spontaneously in +the wilderness--more's the pity:--else life in the wilderness would be +thought more delightful far than life in the most luxurious of cities; +inasmuch as Nature is more satisfying than art. + +Meek's errand to the mission on this occasion was to find whether he +could get a cow, and credit at the same time: for the prospect of living +for another winter on boiled wheat was not a cheerful one. He had not +succeeded, and was returning, when at Champoeg he met a Mr. Whitcom, +superintendent of the mission farm. A conversation took place wherein +Meek's desire for a cow became known. The missionaries never lost an +opportunity of proposing prayers, and Mr. Whitcom thought this a good +one. After showing much interest in the condition of Meek's soul, it was +proposed that he should pray. + +"_I_ can't pray: that's your business, not mine," said Meek pleasantly. + +"It is every man's business to pray for himself," answered Whitcom. + +"Very well; some other time will do for that. What I want now is a cow." + +"How can you expect to get what you want, if you wont ask for it?" +inquired Whitcom. + +"I reckon I have asked you; and I don't see nary cow yet." + +"You must ask God, my friend: but in the first place you must pray to be +forgiven for your sins." + +"I'll tell you what I'll do. If you will furnish the cow, I'll agree to +pray for half an hour, right here on the spot." + +"Down on your knees then." + +"You'll furnish the cow?" + +"Yes," said Whitcom, fairly cornered. + +Down on his knees dropped the merry reprobate, and prayed out his half +hour, with how much earnestness only himself and God knew. + +But the result was what he had come for, a cow; for Whitcom was as good +as his word, and sent him home rejoicing. And thus, with what he had +earned from Wilkes, his gleaned wheat, and his cow, he contrived to get +through another winter. + +Perhaps the most important personal event which distinguished this year +in Meek's history, was the celebration, according to the rites of the +Christian church, of his marriage with the Nez Perce woman who had +already borne him two children, and who still lives, the mother of a +family of seven. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + +1842. By the opening of another spring, Meek had so far overcome his +distaste for farm labor as to put in a field of wheat for himself, with +Doughty, and to make some arrangements about his future subsistence. +This done, he was ready, as usual, for anything in the way of adventure +which might turn up. This was, however, a very quiet summer in the +little colony. Important events were brooding, but as yet results were +not perceptible, except to the mind of a prophet. The Hudson's Bay +Company, conformably to British policy, were at work to turn the balance +of power in Oregon in favor of British occupation, and, unknown even to +the colonists, the United States Government was taking what measures it +could to shift the balance in its own favor. Very little was said about +the subject of government claims among the colonists, but a feeling of +suspense oppressed all parties. + +The work of putting in wheat and improving of farms had just begun to +slacken a little, when there was an arrival in the Columbia River of a +vessel from Boston--the _Chenamus_, Captain Couch. The _Chenamus_ +brought a cargo of goods, which were placed in store at Wallamet Falls, +to be sold to the settlers, being the first successful attempt at trade +ever made in Oregon, outside of the Hudson's Bay and Methodist Mission +stores. + +When the Fourth of July came, the _Chenamus_ was lying in the Wallamet, +below the Falls, near where the present city of Portland stands. Meek, +who was always first to be at any spot where noise, bustle, or +excitement might be anticipated, and whose fine humor and fund of +anecdote made him always welcome, had borrowed a boat from Capt. Couch's +clerk, at the Falls, and gone down to the vessel early in the morning, +before the salute for the Glorious Fourth was fired. There he remained +all day, enjoying a patriotic swagger, and an occasional glass of +something good to drink. Other visitors came aboard during the day, +which was duly celebrated to the satisfaction of all. + +Towards evening, a party from the Mission, wishing to return to the +Falls, took possession of Meek's borrowed boat to go off with. Now was a +good opportunity to show the value of free institutions. Meek, like +other mountain-men, felt the distance which the missionaries placed +between him and themselves, on the score of their moral and social +superiority, and resented the freedom with which they appropriated what +he had with some trouble secured to himself. Intercepting the party when +more than half of them were seated in the boat, he informed them that +they were trespassing upon a piece of property which for the present +belonged to him, and for which he had a very urgent need. Vexed by the +delay, and by having to relinquish the boat to a man who, according to +their view of the case, could not "read his title clear," to anything +either on earth or in heaven, the missionaries expostulated somewhat +warmly, but Meek insisted, and so compelled them to wait for some better +opportunity of leaving the ship. Then loading the boat with what was +much more to the purpose--a good supply of provisions, Meek proceeded to +drink the Captain's health in a very ostentatious manner, and take his +leave. + +In the meantime, Dr. Marcus Whitman, of the Waiilatpu Mission, in the +upper country, was so fearful of the intentions of the British +government that he set out for Washington late in the autumn of 1842, to +put the Secretary of State on his guard concerning the boundary +question, and to pray that it might be settled conformably with the +wishes of the Americans in Oregon. + +There was one feature, however, of this otherwise rather entertaining +race for possession, which was becoming quite alarming. In all this +strife about claiming the country, the Indian claim had not been +considered. It has been already intimated that the attempt to civilize +or Christianize the Indians of western Oregon was practically an entire +failure. But they were not naturally of a warlike disposition, and had +been so long under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company that there +was comparatively little to apprehend from them, even though they felt +some discontent at the incoming immigration. + +But with the Indians of the upper Columbia it was different; especially +so with the tribes among whom the Presbyterian missionaries were +settled--the Walla-Wallas, Cayuses, and Nez Perces, three brave and +powerful nations, much united by intermarriages. The impression which +these people had first made on the missionaries was very favorable, +their evident intelligence, inquisitiveness, and desire for religious +teachings seeming to promise a good reward of missionary labor. Dr. +Whitman and his associates had been diligent in their efforts to +civilize and Christianize them--to induce the men to leave off their +migratory habits and learn agriculture, and the women to learn spinning, +sewing, cooking, and all the most essential arts of domestic life. At +the first, the novelty of these new pursuits engaged their interest, as +it also excited their hope of gain. But the task of keeping them to +their work with sufficient steadiness, was very great. They required, +like children, to be bribed with promises of more or less immediate +reward of their exertions, nor would they relinquish the fulfilment of a +promise, even though they had failed to perform the conditions on which +the promise became binding. + +By-and-by they made the discovery that neither the missionaries could, +nor the white man's God did, confer upon them what they desired--the +enjoyment of all the blessings of the white men--and that if they wished +to enjoy these blessings, they must labor to obtain them. This discovery +was very discouraging, inasmuch as the Indian nature is decidedly averse +to steady labor, and they could perceive that very little was to be +expected from any progress which could be achieved in one generation. As +for the Christian faith, they understood about as much of its true +spirit as savages, with the law of blood written in their hearts, could +be expected to understand. They looked for nothing more nor less than +the literal fulfilment of the Bible promises--nothing less would content +them; and as to the forms of their new religion, they liked them well +enough--liked singing and praying, and certain orderly observances, the +chiefs leading in these as in other matters. So much interest did they +discover at first, that their teachers were deceived as to the actual +extent of the good they were doing. + +As time went on, however, there began to be cause for mutual +dissatisfaction. The Indians became aware that no matter how many +concessions their teachers made to them, they were still the inferiors +of the whites, and that they must ever remain so. But the thought which +produced the deepest chagrin was, that they had got these white people +settled amongst them by their own invitation and aid, and that now it +was evident they were not to be benefited as had been hoped, as the +whites were turning their attention to benefiting themselves. + +As early as 1839, Mr. Smith, an associate of Mr. Spalding in the country +of the Nez Perces, was forbidden by the high chief of the Nez Perces to +cultivate the ground. He had been permitted to build, but was assured +that if he broke the soil for the purpose of farming it, the ground so +broken should serve to bury him in. Still Smith went on in the spring to +prepare for ploughing, and the chief seeing him ready to begin, inquired +if he recollected that he had been forbidden. Yet persisting in his +undertaking, several of the Indians came to him and taking him by the +shoulder asked him again "if he did not know that the hole he should +make in the earth would be made to serve for his grave." Upon which +third warning Smith left off, and quitted the country. Other +missionaries also left for the Wallamet Valley. + +In 1842 there were three mission stations in the upper country; that of +Dr. Whitman at Waiilatpu on the Walla-Walla River, that of Mr. Spalding +on the Clearwater River, called Lapwai, and another on the Spokane +River, called Cimakain. These missions were from one hundred and twenty +to three hundred miles distant from each other, and numbered altogether +only about one dozen whites of both sexes. At each of these stations +there was a small body of land under cultivation, a few cattle and hogs, +a flouring and saw mill, and blacksmith shop, and such improvements as +the needs of the mission demanded. The Indians also cultivated, under +the direction of their teachers, some little patches of ground, +generally but a small garden spot, and the fact that they did even so +much was very creditable to those who labored to instruct them. There +was no want of ardor or industry in the Presbyterian mission; on the +contrary they applied themselves conscientiously to the work they had +undertaken. + +But this conscientious discharge of duty did not give them immunity from +outrage. Both Mr. Spalding and Dr. Whitman had been rudely handled by +the Indians, had been struck and spat upon, and had nose and ears +pulled. Even the delicate and devoted Mrs. Spalding had been grossly +insulted. Later the Cayuses had assailed Dr. Whitman in his house with +war-clubs, and broken down doors of communication between the private +apartments and the public sitting room. Explanations and promises +generally followed these acts of outrage, yet it would seem that the +missionaries should have been warned. + +Taking advantage of Dr. Whitman's absence, the Cayuses had frightened +Mrs. Whitman from her home to the Methodist mission at the Dalles, by +breaking into her bed-chamber at night, with an infamous design from +which she barely escaped, and by subsequently burning down the mill and +destroying a considerable quantity of grain. About the same time the Nez +Perces at the Lapwai mission were very insolent, and had threatened Mr. +Spalding's life; all of which, one would say, was but a poor return for +the care and instruction bestowed upon them during six years of patient +effort on the part of their teachers. Poor as it was, the Indians did +not see it in that light, but only thought of the danger which +threatened them, in the possible loss of their country. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + +1842-3. The plot thickened that winter, in the little drama being +enacted west of the Rocky Mountains. + +The forests which clad the mountains and foot-hills in perpetual +verdure, and the thickets which skirted the numerous streams flowing +into the Wallamet, all abounded in wild animals, whose depredations upon +the domestic cattle, lately introduced into the country, were a serious +drawback to their natural increase. Not a settler, owning cattle or +hogs, but had been robbed more or less frequently by the wolves, bears, +and panthers, which prowled unhindered in the vicinity of their herds. + +This was a ground of common interest to all settlers of whatever +allegiance. Accordingly, a notice was issued that a meeting would be +held at a certain time and place, to consider the best means of +preventing the destruction of stock in the country, and all persons +interested were invited to attend. This meeting was held on the 2d of +February, 1843, and was well attended by both classes of colonists. It +served, however, only as a preliminary step to the regular "Wolf +Association" meeting which took place a month later. At the meeting, on +the 4th of March, there was a full attendance, and the utmost harmony +prevailed, notwithstanding there was a well-defined suspicion in the +minds of the Canadians, that they were going to be called upon to +furnish protection to something more than the cattle and hogs of the +settlers. + +After the proper parliamentary forms, and the choosing of the necessary +officers for the Association, the meeting proceeded to fix the rate of +bounty for each animal killed by any one out of the Association, viz: +$3.00 for a large wolf; $1.50 for a lynx; $2.00 for a bear; and $5.00 +for a panther. The money to pay these bounties was to be raised by +subscription, and handed over to the treasurer for disbursement; the +currency being drafts on Fort Vancouver, the Mission, and the Milling +Company; besides wheat and other commodities. + +This business being arranged, the real object of the meeting was +announced in this wise: + +"_Resolved_,--That a committee be appointed to take into consideration +the propriety of taking measures for the civil and military protection +of this colony." + +A committee of twelve were then selected, and the meeting adjourned. But +in that committee there was a most subtle mingling of all the +elements--missionaries, mountain-men, and Canadians--an attempt by an +offer of the honors, to fuse into one all the several divisions of +political sentiment in Oregon. + +On the 2d day of May, 1843, the committee appointed March 4th to "take +into consideration the propriety of taking measures for the civil and +military protection of the colony," met at Champoeg, the Canadian +settlement, and presented to the people their ultimatum in favor of +organizing a provisional government. + +On a motion being made that the report of the committee should be +accepted, it was put to vote, and lost. All was now confusion, various +expressions of disappointment or gratification being mingled in one +tempest of sound. + +When the confusion had somewhat subsided, Mr. G.W. LeBreton made a +motion that the meeting should divide; those who were in favor of an +organization taking their positions on the right hand; and those +opposed to it on the left, marching into file. The proposition carried; +and Joe Meek, who, in all this historical reminiscence we have almost +lost sight of--though he had not lost sight of events--stepped to the +front, with a characteristic air of the free-born American in his gait +and gestures:-- + +"Who's for a divide! All in favor of the Report, and an Organization, +follow me!"--then marched at the head of his column, which speedily fell +into line, as did also the opposite party. + +On counting, fifty-two were found to be on the right hand side, and +fifty on the left,--so evenly were the two parties balanced at that +time. When the result was made known, once more Meek's voice rang out-- + +"Three cheers for our side!" + +It did not need a second invitation; but loud and long the shout went up +for FREEDOM; and loudest and longest were heard the voices of the +American "mountain-men." Thus the die was cast which made Oregon +ultimately a member of the Federal Union. + +The business of the meeting was concluded by the election of a Supreme +Judge, with probate powers, a clerk of the court, a sheriff, four +magistrates, four constables, a treasurer, a mayor, and a captain,--the +two latter officers being instructed to form companies of mounted +riflemen. In addition to these officers, a legislative committee was +chosen, consisting of nine members, who were to report to the people at +a public meeting to be held at Champoeg on the 5th of July following. Of +the legislative committee, two were mountain-men, with whose names the +reader is familiar--Newell and Doughty. Among the other appointments, +was Meek, to the office of sheriff; a position for which his personal +qualities of courage and good humor admirably fitted him in the then +existing state of society. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + +The immigration into Oregon of the year 1843, was the first since Newell +and Meek, who had brought wagons through to the Columbia River; and in +all numbered nearly nine hundred men, women, and children. These +immigrants were mostly from Missouri and other border States. They had +been assisted on their long and perilous journey by Dr. Whitman, whose +knowledge of the route, and the requirements of the undertaking, made +him an invaluable counselor, as he was an untiring friend of the +immigrants. + +At the Dalles of the Columbia the wagons were abandoned; it being too +late in the season, and the wants of the immigrants too pressing, to +admit of an effort being made to cut out a wagon road through the heavy +timber of the Cascade mountains. Already a trail had been made over them +and around the base of Mount Hood, by which cattle could be driven from +the Dalles to the settlements on the Wallamet; and by this route the +cattle belonging to the train, amounting to thirteen hundred, were +passed over into the valley. + +But for the people, especially the women and children, active and +efficient help was demanded. There was something truly touching and +pitiable in the appearance of these hundreds of worn-out, ragged, +sun-burnt, dusty, emaciated, yet indomitable pioneers, who, after a +journey of nearly two thousand miles, and of several months duration, +over fertile plains, barren deserts, and rugged mountains, stood at +last beside the grand and beautiful river of their hopes, exhausted by +the toils of their pilgrimage, dejected and yet rejoicing. + +[Illustration: _WRECKED IN THE RAPIDS._] + +Much they would have liked to rest, even here; but their poverty +admitted of no delay. The friends to whom they were going, and from whom +they must exact and receive a temporary hospitality, were still +separated from them a weary and dangerous way. They delayed as little as +possible, yet the fall rains came upon them, and snow fell in the +mountains, so as seriously to impede the labor of driving the cattle, +and hunger and sickness began to affright them. + +In this unhappy situation they might have remained a long time, had +there been no better dependence than the American settlers already in +the valley, with the Methodist Mission at their head; for from them it +does not appear that aid came, nor that any provision had been made by +them to assist the expected immigrants. As usual in these crises, it was +the Hudson's Bay Company who came to the rescue, and, by the offer of +boats, made it possible for those families to reach the Wallamet. Not +only were the Hudson's Bay Company's boats all required, but canoes and +rafts were called into requisition to transport passengers and goods. No +one, never having made the voyage of the Columbia from above the Dalles +to Vancouver, could have an adequate idea of the perils of the passage, +as it was performed in those days, by small boats and the flat-bottomed +"Mackinaw" boats of the Hudson's Bay Company. The Canadian "voyageurs," +who handled a boat as a good rider governs a horse, were not always able +to make the passage without accident: how, then, could the clumsy +landsmen, who were more used to the feel of a plow handle than an oar, +be expected to do so? Numerous have been the victims suddenly clutched +from life by the grasp of the whirlpools, or dashed to death among the +fearful rapids of the beautiful, but wild and pitiless, Columbia. + +The immigration of 1843 did not escape without loss and bereavement. +Three brothers from Missouri, by the name of Applegate, with their +families, were descending the river together, when, by the striking of a +boat on a rock in the rapids, a number of passengers, mostly children of +these gentlemen, were precipitated into the frightful current. The +brothers each had a son in this boat, one of whom was lost, another +injured for life, and the third escaped as by a miracle. This last boy +was only ten years of age, yet such was the presence of mind and courage +displayed in saving his own and a companion's life, that the miracle of +his escape might be said to be his own. Being a good swimmer, he kept +himself valiantly above the surface, while being tossed about for nearly +two miles. Succeeding at last in grasping a feather bed which was +floating near him, he might have passed the remaining rapids without +serious danger, had he not been seized, as it were, by the feet, and +drawn down, down, into a seething, turning, roaring abyss of water, +where he was held, whirling about, and dancing up and down, striking now +and then upon the rocks, until death seemed not only imminent but +certain. After enduring this violent whirling and dashing for what +seemed a hopelessly long period of time, he was suddenly vomited forth +by the whirlpool once more upon the surface of the rapids, and, +notwithstanding the bruises he had received, was able, by great +exertion, to throw himself near, and seize upon a ledge of rocks. To +this he clung with desperation, until, by dint of much effort, he +finally drew himself out of the water, and stretched himself on the +narrow shelf, where, for a moment, he swooned away. But on opening his +eyes, he beheld, struggling in the foaming flood, a young man who had +been a passenger in the wrecked boat with himself, and who, though +older, was not so good a swimmer. Calling to him with all his might, to +make his voice heard above the roar of the rapids, he at last gained his +attention, and encouraged him to try to reach the ledge of rocks, where +he would assist him to climb up; and the almost impossible feat was +really accomplished by their united efforts. This done, young Applegate +sank again into momentary unconsciousness, while poor exhausted Nature +recruited her forces. + +But, although they were saved from immediate destruction, death still +stared them in the face. That side of the river on which they had found +lodgment, was bounded by precipitous mountains, coming directly down to +the water. They could neither ascend nor skirt along them, for foot-hold +there was none. On the other side was level ground, but to reach it they +must pass through the rapids--an alternative that looked like an +assurance of destruction. + +In this extremity, it was the boy who resolved to risk his life to save +it. Seeing that a broken ledge of rock extended nearly across the river +from a point within his reach, but only coming to the surface here and +there, and of course very slippery, he nevertheless determined to +attempt to cross on foot, amidst the roaring rapids. Starting alone to +make the experiment, he actually made the crossing in safety, amid the +thundering roar and dizzying rush of waters--not only made it once, but +returned to assure his companion of its practicability. The young man, +however, had not the courage to undertake it, until he had repeatedly +been urged to do so, and at last only by being pursuaded to go before, +while his younger comrade followed after, not to lose sight of him, +(for it was impossible to turn around,) and directed him where to place +his steps. In this manner that which appears incredible was +accomplished, and the two arrived in safety on the opposite side, where +they were ultimately discovered by their distressed relatives, who had +believed them to be lost. Such was the battle which young Applegate had +with the rocks, that the flesh was torn from the palms of his hands, and +his whole body bruised and lacerated. + +So it was with sorrow, after all, that the immigrants arrived in the +valley. Nor were their trials over when they had arrived. The worst +feature about this long and exhausting journey was, that it could not be +accomplished so as to allow time for recruiting the strength of the +travelers, and providing them with shelter before the rainy season set +in. Either the new arrivals must camp out in the weather until a log +house was thrown up, or they must, if they were invited, crowd into the +small cabins of the settlers until there was scarce standing room, and +thus live for months in an atmosphere which would have bred pestilence +in any other less healthful climate. + +Not only was the question of domiciles a trying one, but that of food +still more so. Some, who had families of boys to help in the rough labor +of building, soon became settled in houses of their own, more or less +comfortable; nor was anything very commodious required for the +frontiers-men from Missouri; but in the matter of something to eat, the +more boys there were in the family, the more hopeless the situation. +They had scarcely managed to bring with them provisions for their +summer's journey--it was not possible to bring more. In the colony was +food, but they had no money--few of them had much, at least; they had +not goods to exchange; labor was not in demand: in short, the first +winter in Oregon was, to nearly all the new colonists, a time of trial, +if not of actual suffering. Many families now occupying positions of +eminence on the Pacific coast, knew what it was, in those early days, to +feel the pangs of hunger, and to want for a sufficient covering for +their nakedness. + +Two anecdotes of this kind come to the writer's memory, as related by +the parties themselves: the Indians, who are everywhere a begging race, +were in the habit of visiting the houses of the settlers and demanding +food. On one occasion, one of them came to the house of a now prominent +citizen of Oregon, as usual petitioning for something to eat. The lady +of the house, and mother of several young children, replied that she had +nothing to give. Not liking to believe her, the Indian persisted in his +demand, when the lady pointed to her little children and said, "Go away; +I have nothing--not even for those." The savage turned on his heel and +strode quickly away, as the lady thought, offended. In a short time he +reappeared with a sack of dried venison, which he laid at her feet. +"Take that," he said, "and give the _tenas tillicum_ (little children) +something to eat." From that day, as long as he lived, that humane +savage was a "friend of the family." + +The other anecdote concerns a gentleman who was chief justice of Oregon +under the provisional government, afterwards governor of California, and +at present a banker in San Francisco. He lived, at the time spoken of on +the Tualatin Plains, and was a neighbor of Joe Meek. Not having a house +to go into at first, he was permitted to settle his family in the +district school-house, with the understanding that on certain days of +the month he was to allow religious services to be held in the building. +In this he assented. Meeting day came, and the family put on their best +apparel to make themselves tidy in the eyes of their neighbors. Only one +difficulty was hard to get over: Mr. ---- had only one shoe, the other +foot was bare. But he considered the matter for some time, and then +resolved that he might take a sheltered position behind the teacher's +desk, where his deficiency would be hidden, and when the house filled +up, as it would do very rapidly, he could not be expected to stir for +want of space. However, that happened to the ambitious young lawyer +which often does happen to the "best laid schemes of mice and men"--his +went "all aglee." In the midst of the services, the speaker needed a cup +of water, and requested Mr. ---- to furnish it. There was no refusing so +reasonable a request. Out before all the congregation, walked the +abashed and blushing pioneer, with his ill-matched feet exposed to view. +This mortifying exposure was not without an agreeable result; for next +day he received a present of a pair of moccasins, and was enabled +thereafter to appear with feet that bore a brotherly resemblance to each +other. + +About this time, the same gentleman, who was, as has been said, a +neighbor of Meek's, was going to Wallamet Falls with a wagon, and Meek +was going along. "Take something to eat," said he to Meek, "for I have +nothing;" and Meek promised that he would. + +Accordingly when it came time to camp for the night, Meek was requested +to produce his lunch basket. Going to the wagon, Meek unfolded an +immense pumpkin, and brought it to the fire. + +"What!" exclaimed Mr. ----, "is that all we have for supper?" + +"Roast pumpkin is not so bad," said Meek, laughing back at him; "I've +had worse fare in the mountains. It's buffalo tongue compared to ants or +moccasin soles." + +And so with much merriment they proceeded to cut up their pumpkin and +roast it, finding it as Meek had said--"not so bad" when there was no +better. + +These anecdotes illustrate what a volume could only describe--the perils +and privations endured by the colonists in Oregon. If we add that there +were only two flouring mills in the Wallamet Valley, and these two not +convenient for most of the settlers, both belonging to the mission, and +that to get a few bushels of wheat ground involved the taking of a +journey of from four to six days, for many, and that, too, over +half-broken roads, destitute of bridges, it will be seen how difficult +it was to obtain the commonest comforts of life. As for such luxuries as +groceries and clothing, they had to wait for better times. Lucky was the +man who, "by hook or by crook," got hold of an order on the Hudson's Bay +Company, the Methodist Mission, or the Milling Company at the Falls. +Were he thus fortunate, he had much ado to decide how to make it go +farthest, and obtain the most. Not far would it go, at the best, for +fifty per cent. profit on all sales was what was demanded and obtained. +Perhaps the holder of a ten dollar draft made out his list of +necessaries, and presented himself at the store, expecting to get them. +He wanted some unbleached cotton, to be dyed to make dresses for the +children; he would buy a pair of calf-skin shoes if he could afford +them; and--yes--he would indulge in the luxury of a little--a very +little--sugar, just for that once! + +Arrived at the store after a long, jolting journey, in the farm wagon +which had crossed the continent the year before, he makes his inquiries: +"Cotton goods?" "No; just out." "Shoes?" "Got one pair, rather +small--wouldn't fit you." "What have you got in the way of goods?" "Got +a lot of silk handkerchiefs and twelve dozen straw hats." "Any pins?" +"No; a few knitting needles." "Any yarn?" "Yes, there's a pretty good +lot of yarn, but don't you want some sugar? the last ship that was in +left a quantity of sugar." So the holder of the draft exchanges it for +some yarn and a few nails, and takes the balance in sugar; fairly +compelled to be luxurious in one article, for the reason that others +were not to be had till some other ship came in. + +No mails reached the colony, and no letters left it, except such as were +carried by private hand, or were sent once a year in the Hudson's Bay +Company's express to Canada, and thence to the States. Newspapers +arrived in the same manner, or by vessel from the Sandwich Islands. +Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, education was encouraged even from +the very beginning; a library was started, and literary societies +formed, and this all the more, perhaps, that the colony was so isolated +and dependent on itself for intellectual pleasures. + +The spring of 1844 saw the colony in a state of some excitement on +account of an attempt to introduce the manufacture of ardent spirits. +This dangerous article had always been carefully excluded from the +country, first by the Hudson's Bay Company, and secondly by the +Methodist Mission; and since the time when a Mr. Young had been induced +to relinquish its manufacture, no serious effort had been made to +introduce it. + +It does not appear from the Oregon archives, that any law against its +manufacture existed at that time: it had probably been overlooked in the +proceedings of the legislative committee of the previous summer; neither +was there yet any executive head to the Provisional Government, the +election not having taken place. In this dilemma the people found +themselves in the month of February, when one James Conner had been +discovered to be erecting a distillery at the Falls of the Wallamet. + +It happened, however, that an occasion for the exercise of executive +power had occurred before the election of the executive committee, and +now what was to be done? It was a case too, which required absolute +power, for there was no law on the subject of distilleries. After some +deliberation it was decided to allow the Indian agent temporary power, +and several letters were addressed to him, informing him of the calamity +which threatened the community at the Falls. "Now, we believe that if +there is anything which calls your attention in your official capacity, +or anything in which you would be most cordially supported by the good +sense and prompt action of the better part of community, it is the +present case. We do not wish to dictate, but we hope for the best, +begging pardon for intrusions." So read the closing paragraph of one of +the letters. + +Perhaps this humble petition touched the Doctor's heart; perhaps he saw +in the circumstance a possible means of acquiring influence; at all +events he hastened to the Falls, a distance of fifty miles, and entered +at once upon the discharge of the executive duties thus thrust upon him +in the hour of danger. Calling upon Meek, who had entered upon his +duties as sheriff the previous summer, he gave him his orders. Writ in +hand, Meek proceeded to the distillery, frightened the poor sinner into +quiet submission with a display of his mountain manners; made a bugle of +the worm, and blew it, to announce to the Doctor his complete success; +after which he tumbled the distillery apparatus into the river, and +retired. Connor was put under three hundred dollar bonds, and so the +case ended. + +But there were other occasions on which the Doctor's authority was put +in requisition. It happened that a vessel from Australia had been in the +river, and left one Madam Cooper, who was said to have brought with her +a barrel of whisky. Her cabin stood on the east bank of the Wallamet, +opposite the present city of Portland. Not thinking it necessary to send +the sheriff to deal with a woman, the Doctor went in person, accompanied +by a couple of men. Entering the cabin the Doctor remarked blandly, "you +have a barrel of whisky, I believe." + +Not knowing but her visitor's intention was to purchase, and not having +previously resided in a strictly temperance community, Madam Cooper +replied frankly that she had, and pointed to the barrel in question. + +The Doctor then stepped forward, and placing his foot on it, said: "In +the name of the United States, I levy execution on it!" + +At this unexpected declaration, the English woman stared wildly one +moment, then recovering herself quickly, seized the poker from the +chimney corner, and raising it over the Doctor's head, exclaimed--"In +the name of Great Britain, Ireland, and Scotland, I levy execution on +you!" + +But when the stick descended, the Doctor was not there. He had backed +out at the cabin door; nor did he afterwards attempt to interfere with a +subject of the crown of Great Britain. + +On the following day, however, the story having got afloat at the Falls, +Meek and a young man highly esteemed at the mission, by the name of Le +Breton, set out to pay their respects to Madam Cooper. Upon entering the +cabin, the two callers cast their eyes about until they rested on the +whisky barrel. + +"Have _you_ come to levy on my whisky?" inquired the now suspicious +Madam. + +"Yes," said Meek, "I have come to levy on it; but as I am not quite so +high in authority as Doctor White, I don't intend to levy on the whole +of it at once. I think about a quart of it will do me." + +Comprehending by the twinkle in Meek's eye that she had now a customer +more to her mind, Madam Cooper made haste to set before her visitors a +bottle and tin cup, upon which invitation they proceeded to levy +frequently upon the contents of the bottle; and we fear that the length +of time spent there, and the amount of whisky drank must have strongly +reminded Meek of past rendezvous times in the mountains; nor can we +doubt that he entertained Le Breton and Madam Cooper with many +reminiscences of those times. However that may be, this was not the last +visit of Meek to Madam Cooper's, nor his last levy on her whisky. + +Shortly after his election as sheriff he had been called upon to serve a +writ upon a desperate character, for an attempt to kill. Many persons, +however, fearing the result of trying to enforce the law upon +desperadoes, in the then defenceless condition of the colony, advised +him to wait for the immigration to come in before attempting the arrest. +But Meek preferred to do his duty then, and went with the writ to arrest +him. The man resisted, making an attack on the sheriff with a +carpenter's axe; but Meek coolly presented a pistol, assuring the +culprit of the uselessness of such demonstrations, and soon brought him +to terms of compliance. Such coolness, united with a fine physique, and +a mountain-man's reputation for reckless courage, made it very desirable +that Meek should continue to hold the office of sheriff during that +stage of the colony's development. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + + +1844. As has before been mentioned, the Indians of the Wallamet valley +were by no means so formidable as those of the upper country: yet +considering their numbers and the condition of the settlers, they were +quite formidable enough to occasion considerable alarm when any one of +them, or any number of them betrayed the savage passions by which they +were temporarily overcome. Considerable excitement had prevailed among +the more scattered settlers, ever since the reports of the disaffection +among the up-country tribes had reached them; and Dr. White had been +importuned to throw up a strong fortification in the most central part +of the colony, and to procure arms for their defence, at the expense of +the United States. + +This excitement had somewhat subsided when an event occurred which for a +time renewed it: a house was plundered and some horses stolen from the +neighborhood of the Falls. An Indian from the Dalles, named Cockstock, +was at the bottom of the mischief, and had been committing or +instigating others to commit depredations upon the settlers, for a year +previous, because he had been, as he fancied, badly treated in a matter +between himself and a negro in the colony, in which the latter had taken +an unfair advantage of him in a bargain. + +[Illustration: A WILD INDIAN IN TOWN.] + +To crown his injuries Dr. White had caused a relative of his to be +flogged by the Dalles chief, for entering the house of the Methodist +missionary at that place, and tying him, with the purpose of flogging +him. (It was a poor law, he thought, that would not work both ways.) + +In revenge for this insult Cockstock came to the Doctor's house in the +Wallamet, threatening to shoot him at sight, but not finding him at +home, contented himself for that time, by smashing all the windows in +the dwelling and office of the Doctor, and nearly frightening to death a +young man on the premises. + +When on the Doctor's return in the evening, the extent of the outrage +became known, a party set out in pursuit of Cockstock and his band, but +failed to overtake them, and the settlers remained in ignorance +concerning the identity of the marauders. About a month later, however, +a party of Klamath and Molalla Indians from the south of Oregon, +numbering fifteen, came riding into the settlement, armed and painted in +true Indian war-style. They made their way to the lodge of a Calapooya +chief in the neighborhood--the Calapooyas being the Indians native to +the valley. Dr. White fearing these mischievous visitors might infect +the mind of the Calapooya chief, sent a message to him, to bring his +friends to call upon him in the morning, as he had something good to say +to them. + +This they did, when Dr. White explained the laws of the Nez Perces to +them, and told them how much it would be to their advantage to adopt +such laws. He gave the Calapooya chief a fine fat ox to feast his +friends with, well knowing that an Indian's humor depends much on the +state of his stomach, whether shrunken or distended. After the feast +there was some more talk about the laws, in the midst of which the +Indian Cockstock made his appearance, armed, and sullen in his demeanor. +But as Dr. White did not know him for the perpetrator of the outrage on +his premises, he took no notice of him more than of the others. The +Molallas and Klamaths finally agreed to receive the laws; departing in +high good humor, singing and shouting. So little may one know of the +savage heart from the savage professions! Some of these Indians were +boiling over with secret wrath at the weakness of their brethren in +consenting to laws of the Agent's dictation; and while they were +crossing a stream, fell upon and massacred them without mercy, Cockstock +taking an active part in the murder. + +The whites were naturally much excited by the villainous and horrible +affray, and were for taking and hanging the murderers. The Agent, +however, was more cautious, and learning that there had been feuds among +these Indians long unsettled, decided not to interfere. + +In February, 1844, fresh outrages on settlers having been committed so +that some were leaving their claims and coming to stop at the Falls +through fear, Dr. White was petitioned to take the case in hand. He +accordingly raised a party of ten men, who had nearly all suffered some +loss or outrage at Cockstock's hands, and set out in search of him, but +did not succeed in finding him. His next step was to offer a reward of a +hundred dollars for his arrest, meaning to send him to the upper country +to be tried and punished by the Cayuses and Nez Perces, the Doctor +prudently desiring to have them bear the odium, and suffer the +punishment, should any follow, of executing justice on the Indian +desperado. Not so had the fates ordained. + +About a week after the reward was offered, Cockstock came riding into +the settlement at the Falls, at mid-day, accompanied by five other +Indians, all well armed, and frightfully painted. Going from house to +house on their horses, they exhibited their pistols, and by look and +gesture seemed to defy the settlers, who, however, kept quiet through +prudential motives. Not succeeding in provoking the whites to commence +the fray, Cockstock finally retired to an Indian village on the other +side of the river, where he labored to get up an insurrection, and +procure the burning of the settlement houses. + +Meantime the people at the Falls were thoroughly alarmed, and bent upon +the capture of this desperate savage. When, after an absence of a few +hours, they saw him recrossing the river with his party, a crowd of +persons ran down to the landing, some with offers of large reward to any +person who would attempt to take him, while others, more courageous, +were determined upon earning it. No definite plan of capture or concert +of action was decided on, but all was confusion and doubt. In this frame +of mind a collision was sure to take place; both the whites and Indians +firing at the moment of landing. Mr. LeBreton, the young man mentioned +in the previous chapter, after firing ineffectually, rushed unarmed upon +Cockstock, whose pistol was also empty, but who still had his knife. In +the struggle both fell to the ground, when a mulatto man, who had wrongs +of his own to avenge, ran up and struck Cockstock a blow on the head +with the butt of his gun which dispatched him at once. + +Thus the colony was rid of a scourge, yet not without loss which +counterbalanced the gain. Young LeBreton besides having his arm +shattered by a ball, was wounded by a poisoned arrow, which occasioned +his death; and Mr. Rogers, another esteemed citizen, died from the same +cause; while a third was seriously injured by a slight wound from a +poisoned arrow. As for the five friends of Cockstock, they escaped to +the bluffs overlooking the settlement, and commenced firing down upon +the people. But fire-arms were mustered sufficient to dislodge them, +and thus the affair ended; except that the Agent had some trouble to +settle it with the Dalles Indians, who came down in a body to demand +payment for the loss of their brother. After much talk and explanation, +a present to the widow of the dead Indian was made to smooth over the +difficulty. + +Meek, who at the time of the collision was rafting timber for Dr. +McLaughlin's mill at the Falls, as might have been expected was appealed +to in the melee by citizens who knew less about Indian fighting. + +A prominent citizen and merchant, who probably seldom spoke _of_ him as +Mr. Meek, came running to him in great affright:--"Mr. Meek! Mr. Meek! +Mr. Meek!--I want to send my wife down to Vancouver. Can you assist me? +Do you think the Indians will take the town?" + +"It 'pears like half-a-dozen Injuns might do it," retorted Meek, going +on with his work. + +"What do you think we had better do, Mr. Meek?--What do you advise?" + +"I think _you'd_ better RUN." + +In all difficulties between the Indians and settlers, Meek usually +refrained from taking sides--especially from taking sides against the +Indians. For Indian slayer as he had once been when a ranger of the +mountains, he had too much compassion for the poor wretches in the +Wallamet Valley, as well as too much knowledge of the savage nature, to +like to make unnecessary war upon them. Had he been sent to take +Cockstock, very probably he would have done it with little uproar; for +he had sufficient influence among the Calapooyas to have enlisted them +in the undertaking. But this was the Agent's business and he let him +manage it; for Meek and the Doctor were not in love with one another; +one was solemnly audacious, the other mischievously so. Of the latter +sort of audacity, here is an example. Meek wanted a horse to ride out +to the Plains where his family were, and not knowing how else to obtain +it, helped himself to one belonging to Dr. White; which presumption +greatly incensed the Doctor, and caused him to threaten various +punishments, hanging among the rest. But the Indians overhearing him +replied, + +"_Wake nika cumtux_--You dare not.--You no put rope round Meek's neck. +He _tyee_ (chief)--no hang him." + +Upon which the Doctor thought better of it, and having vented his solemn +audacity, received smiling audacity with apparent good humor when he +came to restore the borrowed horse. + +As our friend Meek was sure to be found wherever there was anything +novel or exciting transpiring, so he was sure to fall in with visitors +of distinguished character, and as ready to answer their questions as +they were to ask them. The conversation chanced one day to run upon the +changes that had taken place in the country since the earliest +settlement by the Americans, and Meek, who felt an honest pride in them, +was expatiating at some length, to the ill-concealed amusement of two +young officers, who probably saw nothing to admire in the rude +improvements of the Oregon pioneers. + +"Mr. Meek," said one of them, "if you have been so long in the country +and have witnessed such wonderful transformations, doubtless you may +have observed equally great ones in nature; in the rivers and mountains, +for instance?" + +Meek gave a lightning glance at the speaker who had so mistaken his +respondent: + +"I reckon I have," said he slowly. Then waving his hand gracefully +toward the majestic Mt. Hood, towering thousands of feet above the +summit of the Cascade range, and white with everlasting snows: "When +_I_ came to this country, Mount Hood was _a hole in the ground_!" + +It is hardly necessary to say that the conversation terminated abruptly, +amid the universal cachinations of the bystanders. + +Notwithstanding the slighting views of Her British Majesty's naval +officers, the young colony was making rapid strides. The population had +been increased nearly eight hundred by the immigration of 1844, so that +now it numbered nearly two thousand. Grain had been raised in +considerable quantities, cattle and hogs had multiplied, and the farmers +were in the best of spirits. Even our hero, who hated farm labor, began +to entertain faith in the resources of his land claim to make him rich. + +Such was the promising condition of the colony in the summer of 1845. +Much of the real prosperity of the settlers was due to the determination +of the majority to exclude ardent spirits and all intoxicating drinks +from the country. So well had they succeeded that a gentleman writing of +the colony at that time, says: "I attended the last term of the circuit +courts in most of the counties, and I found great respect shown to +judicial authority everywhere; nor did I see a single _drunken juryman_, +_nor witness_, _nor spectator_. So much industry, good order, and +sobriety I have never seen in any community." + +While this was the rule, there were exceptions to it. During the spring +term of the Circuit Court, Judge Nesmith being on the bench, a prisoner +was arraigned before him for "assault with intent to kill." The witness +for the prosecution was called, and was proceeding to give evidence, +when, at some statement of his, the prisoner vociferated that he was a +"d----d liar," and quickly stripping off his coat demanded a chance to +fight it out with the witness. + +Judge Nesmith called for the interference of Meek, who had been made +marshal, but just at that moment he was not to be found. Coming into the +room a moment later, Meek saw the Judge down from his bench, holding the +prisoner by the collar. + +"You can imagine," says Meek, "the bustle in court. But the Judge had +the best of it. He fined the rascal, and made him pay it on the spot; +while I just stood back to see his honor handle him. That was fun for +me." + +The autumn of 1845 was marked less by striking events than by the energy +which the people exhibited in improving the colony by laying out roads +and town-sites. Already quite a number of towns were located, in which +the various branches of business were beginning to develop themselves. +Oregon City was the most populous and important, but Salem, Champoeg, +and Portland were known as towns, and other settlements were growing up +on the Tualatin Plains and to the south of them, in the fertile valleys +of the numerous tributaries to the Wallamet. + +Portland was settled in this year, and received its name from the game +of "heads you lose, tails I win," by which its joint owners agreed to +determine it. One of them being a Maine man, was for giving it the name +which it now bears, the other partner being in favor of Boston, because +he was a Massachusetts man. It was, therefore, agreed between them that +a copper cent should be tossed to decide the question of the +christening, which being done, heads and Portland won. + +The early days of that city were not always safe and pleasant any more +than those of its older rivals; and the few inhabitants frequently were +much annoyed by the raids they were subject to from the now thoroughly +vagabondized Indians. On one occasion, while yet the population was +small, they were very much annoyed by the visit of eight or ten lodges +of Indians, who had somewhere obtained liquor enough to get drunk on, +and were enjoying a debauch in that spirit of total abandon which +distinguishes the Indian carousal. + +Their performances at length alarmed the people, yet no one could be +found who could put an end to them. In this dilemma the Marshal came +riding into town, splendidly mounted on a horse that would turn at the +least touch of the rein. The countenances of the anxious Portlanders +brightened. One of the town proprietors eagerly besought him to "settle +those Indians." "Very well," answered Meek; "I reckon it won't take me +long." Mounting his horse, after first securing a rawhide rope, he +"charged" the Indian lodges, rope in hand, laying it on with force, the +bare shoulders of the Indians offering good _back-grounds_ for the +pictures which he was rapidly executing. + +Not one made any resistance, for they had a wholesome fear of _tyee_ +Meek. In twenty minutes not an Indian, man or woman, was left in +Portland. Some jumped into the river and swam to the opposite side, and +some fled to the thick woods and hid themselves. The next morning, +early, the women cautiously returned and carried away their property, +but the men avoided being seen again by the marshal who punished +drunkenness so severely. + +_Reader's query._ Was it Meek or the Marshal who so strongly disapproved +of spreeing? + +_Ans._ It was the Marshal. + +The immigration to Oregon this year much exceeded that of any previous +year; and there was the usual amount of poverty, sickness, and suffering +of every sort, among the fresh arrivals. Indeed the larger the trains +the greater the amount of suffering generally; since the grass was more +likely to be exhausted, and more hindrances of every kind were likely +to occur. In any case, a march of several months through an unsettled +country was sure to leave the traveler in a most forlorn and exhausted +condition every way. + +This was the situation of thousands of people who reached the Dalles in +the autumn of 1845. Food was very scarce among them, and the +difficulties to encounter before reaching the Wallamet just as great as +those of the two previous years. As usual the Hudson's Bay Company came +to the assistance of the immigrants, furnishing a passage down the river +in their boats; the sick, and the women and children being taken first. + +Among the crowd of people encamped at the Dalles, was a Mr. Rector, +since well known in Oregon and California. Like many others he was +destitute of provisions; his supplies having given out. Neither had he +any money. In this extremity he did that which was very disagreeable to +him, as one of the "prejudiced" American citizens who were instructed +beforehand to hate and suspect the Hudson's Bay Company--he applied to +the company's agent at the Dalles for some potatoes and flour, +confessing his present inability to pay, with much shame and reluctance. + +"Do not apologize, sir," said the agent kindly; "take what you need. +There is no occasion to starve while our supplies hold out." + +Mr. R. found his prejudices in danger of melting away under such +treatment; and not liking to receive bounty a second time, he resolved +to undertake the crossing of the Cascade mountains while the more feeble +of the immigrants were being boated down the Columbia. A few others who +were in good health decided to accompany him. They succeeded in getting +their wagons forty miles beyond the Dalles; but there they could move no +further. + +In this dilemma, after consultation, Mr. Rector and Mr. Barlow agreed to +go ahead and look out a wagon road. Taking with them two days' +provisions, they started on in the direction of Oregon City. But they +found road hunting in the Cascade mountains an experience unlike any +they had ever had. Not only had they to contend with the usual obstacles +of precipices, ravines, mountain torrents, and weary stretches of ascent +and descent; but they found the forests standing so thickly that it +would have been impossible to have passed between the trees with their +wagons had the ground been clear of fallen timber and undergrowth. On +the contrary these latter obstacles were the greatest of all. So thickly +were the trunks of fallen trees crossed and recrossed everywhere, and so +dense the growth of bushes in amongst them, that it was with difficulty +they could force their way on foot. + +It soon became apparent to the road hunters, that two days' rations +would not suffice for what work they had before them. At the first camp +it was agreed to live upon half rations the next day; and to divide and +subdivide their food each day, only eating half of what was left from +the day before, so that there would always still remain a morsel in case +of dire extremity. + +But the toil of getting through the woods and over the mountains proved +excessive; and that, together with insufficient food, had in the course +of two or three days reduced the strength of Mr. Barlow so that it was +with great effort only that he could keep up with his younger and more +robust companion, stumbling and falling at every few steps, and +frequently hurting himself considerably. + +So wolfish and cruel is the nature of men, under trying circumstances, +that instead of feeling pity for his weaker and less fortunate +companion, Mr. Rector became impatient, blaming him for causing delays, +and often requiring assistance. + +[Illustration: THE ROAD-HUNTERS.] + +To render their situation still more trying, rain began to fall heavily, +which with the cold air of the mountains, soon benumbed their exhausted +frames. Fearing that should they go to sleep so cold and famished, they +might never be able to rise again, on the fourth or fifth evening they +resolved to kindle a fire, if by any means they could do so. Dry and +broken wood had been plenty enough, but for the rain, which was +drenching everything. Neither matches nor flint had they, however, in +any case. The night was setting in black with darkness; the wind swayed +the giant firs over head, and then they heard the thunder of a falling +monarch of the forest unpleasantly near. Searching among the bushes, and +under fallen timber for some dry leaves and sticks, Mr. Rector took a +bundle of them to the most sheltered spot he could find, and set himself +to work to coax a spark of fire out of two pieces of dry wood which he +had split for that purpose. It was a long and weary while before +success was attained, by vigorous rubbing together of the dry wood, but +it was attained at last; and the stiffening limbs of the road-hunters +were warmed by a blazing camp-fire. + +The following day, the food being now reduced to a crumb for each, the +explorers, weak and dejected, toiled on in silence, Mr. Rector always in +advance. On chancing to look back at his companion he observed him to be +brushing away a tear. "What now, old man?" asked Mr. R. with most +unchristian harshness. + +"What would you do with me, Rector, should I fall and break a leg, or +become in any way disabled?" inquired Mr. Barlow, nervously. + +"Do with you? _I would eat you!_" growled Mr. Rector, stalking on again. + +As no more was said for some time, Mr. R.'s conscience rather misgave +him that he treated his friend unfeelingly; then he stole a look back at +him, and beheld the wan face bathed in tears. + +"Come, come, Barlow," said he more kindly, "don't take affairs so much +to heart. You will not break a leg, and I should not eat you if you did, +for you haven't any flesh on you to eat." + +"Nevertheless, Rector, I want you to promise me that in case I should +fall and disable myself, so that I cannot get on, you will not leave me +here to die alone, but will kill me with your axe instead." + +"Nonsense, Barlow; you are weak and nervous, but you are not going to be +disabled, nor eaten, nor killed. Keep up man; we shall reach Oregon City +yet." + +So, onward, but ever more slowly and painfully, toiled again the +pioneers, the wonder being that Mr. Barlow's fears were not realized, +for the clambering and descending gave him many a tumble, the tumbles +becoming more frequent as his strength declined. + +Towards evening of this day as they came to the precipitous bank of a +mountain stream which was flowing in the direction they wished to go, +suddenly there came to their ears a sound of more than celestial melody; +the tinkling of bells, lowing of cattle, the voice of men hallooing to +the herds. They had struck the cattle trail, which they had first +diverged from in the hope of finding a road passable to wagons. In the +overwhelming revulsion of feeling which seized them, neither were able +for some moments to command their voices to call for assistance. That +night they camped with the herdsmen, and supped in such plenty as an +immigrant camp afforded. + +Such were the sufferings of two individuals, out of a great crowd of +sufferers; some afflicted in one way and some in another. That people +who endured so much to reach their El Dorado should be the most locally +patriotic people in the world, is not singular. Mr. Barlow lived to +construct a wagon road over the Cascades for the use of subsequent +immigrations. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + + +Early in 1846, Meek resigned his office of marshal of the colony, owing +to the difficulty of collecting taxes; for in a thinly inhabited +country, where wheat was a legal tender, at sixty cents per bushel, it +was rather a burdensome occupation to collect, in so ponderous a +currency; and one in which the collector required a granary more than a +pocket-book. Besides, Meek had out-grown the marshalship, and aspired to +become a legislator at the next June election. + +He had always discharged his duty with promptitude and rectitude while +sheriff; and to his known courage might be attributed, in many +instances, the ready compliance with law which was remarkable in so new +and peculiar an organization as that of the Oregon colony. The people +had desired not to be taxed, at first; and for a year or more the +government was sustained by a fund raised by subscription. When at last +it was deemed best to make collections by law, the Canadians objected to +taxation to support an American government, while they were still +subjects of Great Britain; but ultimately yielded the point, by the +advice of Dr. McLaughlin. + +But it was not always the Canadians who objected to being taxed, as the +following anecdote will show. Dr. McLaughlin was one day seated in his +office, in conversation with some of his American friends, when the tall +form of the sheriff darkened the doorway. + +"I have come to tax you, Doctor," said Meek with his blandest manner, +and with a merry twinkle, half suppressed, in his black eyes. + +"To tax me, Mr. Jo. I was not aware--I really was not aware--I believed +I had paid my tax, Mr. Jo," stammered the Doctor, somewhat annoyed at +the prospect of some fresh demand. + +"Thar is an old ox out in my neighborhood, Doctor, and he is said to +belong to you. Thar is a tax of twenty-five cents on him." + +"I do not understand you, Mr. Jo. I have no cattle out in your +neighborhood." + +"I couldn't say how that may be, Doctor. All I do know about it, is just +this. I went to old G----'s to collect the tax on his stock--and he's +got a powerful lot of cattle,--and while we war a countin 'em over, he +left out that old ox and said it belonged to you." + +"Oh, oh, I see, Mr. Jo: yes, yes, I see! So it was Mr. G----," cried the +Doctor, getting very red in the face. "I do remember now, since you +bring it to my mind, that _I lent Mr. G---- that steer six years ago_! +Here are the twenty-five cents, Mr. Jo." + +The sheriff took his money, and went away laughing; while the Doctor's +American friends looked quite as much annoyed as the Doctor himself, +over the meanness of some of their countrymen. + +The year of 1846 was one of the most exciting in the political history +of Oregon. President Polk had at last given the notice required by the +Joint occupation treaty, that the Oregon boundary question must be +settled. + +Agreeably to the promise which Dr. McLaughlin had received from the +British Admiral, H.B.M. Sloop of war _Modeste_ had arrived in the +Columbia River in the month of October, 1845, and had wintered there. +Much as the Doctor had wished for protection from possible outbreaks, +he yet felt that the presence of a British man-of-war in the Columbia, +and another one in Puget Sound, was offensive to the colonists. He set +himself to cover up as carefully as possible the disagreeable features +of the British lion, by endeavoring to establish social intercourse +between the officers of the _Modeste_ and the ladies and gentlemen of +the colony, and his endeavors were productive of a partial success. + +During the summer, however, the United States Schooner _Shark_ appeared +in the Columbia, thus restoring the balance of power, for the relief of +national jealousy. After remaining for some weeks, the _Shark_ took her +departure, but was wrecked on the bar at the mouth of the river, +according to a prophecy of Meek's, who had a grudge against her +commander, Lieut. Howison, for spoiling the sport he was having in +company with one of her officers, while Howison was absent at the +Cascades. + +It appears that Lieut. Schenck was hospitably inclined, and that on +receiving a visit from the hero of many bear-fights, who proved to be +congenial on the subject of good liquors, he treated both Meek and +himself so freely as to render discretion a foreign power to either of +them. Varied and brilliant were the exploits performed by these jolly +companions during the continuance of the spree; and still more brilliant +were those they talked of performing, even the taking of the _Modeste_, +which was lying a little way off, in front of Vancouver. Fortunately for +the good of all concerned, Schenck contented himself with firing a +salute as Meek was going over the side of the ship on leaving. But for +this misdemeanor he was put under arrest by Howison, on his return from +the Cascades, an indignity which Meek resented for the prisoner, by +assuring Lieut. Howison that he would lose his vessel before he got out +of the river. And lose her he did. Schenck was released after the vessel +struck, escaping with the other officers and crew by means of small +boats. Very few articles were saved from the wreck, but among those few +was the stand of colors, which Lieut. Howison subsequently presented to +Gov. Abernethy for the colony. + + There sinks the sun; like cavalier of old, + Servant of crafty Spain, + He flaunts his banner, barred with blood and gold, + Wide o'er the western main; + A thousand spear heads glint beyond the trees + In columns bright and long, + While kindling fancy hears upon the breeze + The swell of shout and song. + + And yet not here Spain's gay, adventurous host + Dipped sword or planted cross; + The treasures guarded by this rock-bound coast + Counted them gain nor loss. + The blue Columbia, sired by the eternal hills + And wedded with the sea, + O'er golden sands, tithes from a thousand rills, + Boiled in lone majesty-- + + Through deep ravine, through burning, barren plain, + Through wild and rocky strait, + Through forest dark, and mountain rent in twain + Toward the sunset gate; + While curious eyes, keen with the lust of gold, + Caught not the informing gleam, + These mighty breakers age on age have rolled + To meet this mighty stream. + + Age after age these noble hills have kept, + The same majestic lines; + Age after age the horizon's edge been swept + By fringe of pointed pines. + Summers and Winters circling came and went, + Bringing no change of scene; + Unresting, and unhasting, and unspent, + Dwelt Nature here serene! + + Till God's own time to plant of Freedom's seed, + In this selected soil; + Denied forever unto blood and greed, + But blest to honest toil. + There sinks the sun; Gay cavalier no more! + His banners trail the sea, + And all his legions shining on the shore + Fade into mystery. + + The swelling tide laps on the shingly beach, + Like any starving thing; + And hungry breakers, white with wrath, upreach, + In a vain clamoring. + The shadows fall; just level with mine eye + Sweet Hesper stands and shines, + And shines beneath an arc of golden sky, + Pinked round with pointed pines. + + A noble scene! all breadth, deep tone, and power, + Suggesting glorious themes; + Shaming the idler who would fill the hour + With unsubstantial dreams. + Be mine the dreams prophetic, shadowing forth + The things that yet shall be, + When through this gate the treasures of the North + Flow outward to the sea. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + + +The author of the following, "poem" was not either a dull or an +unobservant writer; and we insert his verses as a comical bit of natural +history belonging peculiarly to Oregon. + + ADVENTURES OF A COLUMBIA SALMON. + + What is yon object which attracts the eye + Of the observing traveler, who ascends + Columbia's waters, when the summer sky + In one soft tint, calm nature's clothing blends: + As glittering in the sunbeams down it floats + 'Till some vile vulture on its carcase gloats? + + 'Tis a poor salmon, which a short time past, + With thousands of her finny sisters came, + By instinct taught, to seek and find at last, + The place that gave her birth, there to remain + 'Till nature's offices had been discharged, + And fry from out the ova had emerged. + + Her Winter spent amongst the sheltered bays + Of the salt sea, where numerous fish of prey, + With appetite keen, the number of her days + Would soon have put an end to, could but they + Have caught her; but as they could not, she, + Spring having come, resolved to quit the sea: + + And moving with the shoal along the coast, at length + She reached the outlet of her native river, + There tarried for a little to recruit her strength, + So tried of late by cold and stormy weather; + Sporting in playful gambols o'er the banks and sands, + Chasing the tiny fish frequenting there in bands. + + But ah, how little thought this simple fish, + The toils and perils she had yet to suffer, + The chance she ran of serving as a dish + For hungry white men or for Indian's supper,-- + Of enemies in which the stream abounded, + When lo! she's by a fisher's net surrounded. + + Partly conscious of her approaching end, + She darts with meteoric swiftness to and fro, + Striking the frail meshes, within which she's penned, + Which bid defiance to her stoutest blow: + To smaller compass by degrees the snare is drawn, + When with a leap she clears it and is gone. + + Once more at large with her companions, now + Become more cautious from her late escape, + She keeps in deeper water and thinks how + Foolish she was to get in such a scrape; + As mounting further up the stream, she vies + With other fish in catching gnats and flies. + + And as she on her way did thus enjoy + Life's fleeting moments, there arose a panic + Amongst the stragglers, who in haste deploy + Around their elder leaders, quick as magic, + While she unconscious of the untimely rout, + Was by a hungry otter singled out: + + Vigorous was the chase, on the marked victim shot + Through the clear water, while in close pursuit + Followed her amphibious foe, who scarce had got + Near enough to grasp her, when with turns acute, + And leaps and revolutions, she so tried the otter, + He gave up the hunt with merely having bit her. + + Scarce had she recovered from her weakness, when + An ancient eagle, of the bald-head kind, + Winging his dreary way to'rds some lone glen, + Where was her nest with four plump eaglets lined, + Espied the fish, which he judged quite a treat, + And just the morsel for his little ones to eat: + + And sailing in spiral circles o'er the spot, + Where lay his prey, then hovering for a time, + To take his wary aim, he stooped and caught + His booty, which he carried to a lofty pine; + Upon whose topmost branches, he first adjusted + His awkward load, ere with his claws he crushed it. + + "Ill is the wind that blows no person good"-- + So said the adage, and as luck would have it, + A huge grey eagle out in search of food, + Who just had whet his hunger with a rabbit, + Attacked the other, and the pair together, + In deadly combat fell into the river. + + Our friend of course made off, when she'd done falling + Some sixty yards, and well indeed she might; + For ne'er, perhaps, a fish got such a mauling + Since Adam's time, or went up such a height + Into the air, and came down helter-skelter, + As did this poor production of a melter. + + All these, with many other dangers, she survived, + Too manifold in this short space to mention; + So we'll suppose her to have now arrived + Safe at _the Falls_, without much more detention + Than one could look for, where so many liked her + Company, and so many Indians spiked her. + + And here a mighty barrier stops her way: + The tranquil water, finding in its course + Itself beset with rising rocks, which lay + As though they said, "retire ye to your source," + Bursts with indignant fury from its bondage, now + Rushes in foaming torrents to the chasm below. + + The persevering fish then at the foot arrives, + Laboring with redoubled vigor mid the surging tide, + And finding, by her strength, she vainly strives + To overcome the flood, though o'er and o'er she tried; + Her tail takes in her mouth, and bending like a bow + That's to full compass drawn, aloft herself doth throw; + + And spinning in the air, as would a silver wand + That's bended end to end and upwards cast, + Headlong she falls amid the showering waters, and + Gasping for breath, against the rocks is dashed: + Again, again she vaults, again she tries, + And in one last and feeble effort--dies. + +There was, in Oregon City, a literary society called the "Falls +Association," some of whose effusions were occasionally sent to the +_Spectator_, and this may have been one of them. At all events, it is +plain that with balls, theatres, literary societies, and politics, the +colony was not afflicted with dullness, in the winter of 1846. + +But the history of the immigration this year, afforded, perhaps, more +material for talk than any one other subject. The condition in which the +immigrants arrived was one of great distress. A new road into the valley +had been that season explored, at great labor and expense, by a company +of gentlemen who had in view the aim to lessen the perils usually +encountered in descending the Columbia. They believed that a better pass +might be discovered through the Cascade range to the south, than that +which had been found around the base of Mount Hood, and one which should +bring the immigrants in at the upper end of the valley, thus saving them +considerable travel and loss of time at a season of the year when the +weather was apt to be unsettled. + +With this design, a party had set out to explore the Cascades to the +south, quite early in the spring; but failing in their undertaking, had +returned. Another company was then immediately formed, headed by a +prominent member of society and the legislature. This company followed +the old Hudson's Bay Company's trail, crossing all those ranges of +mountains perpendicular to the coast, which form a triple wall between +Oregon and California, until they came out into the valley of the +Humboldt, whence they proceeded along a nearly level, but chiefly barren +country to Fort Hall, on the Snake River. + +The route was found to be practicable, although there was a scarcity of +grass and water along a portion of it; but as the explorers had with +great difficulty found out and marked all the best camping grounds, and +encountered first for themselves all the dangers of a hitherto +unexplored region, most of which they believed they had overcome, they +felt no hesitation in recommending the new road to the emigrants whom +they met at Fort Hall. + +Being aware of the hardships which the immigrants of the previous years +had undergone on the Snake River plains, at the crossing of Snake River, +the John Day, and Des Chutes Rivers, and the passage of the Columbia, +the travelers gladly accepted the tidings of a safer route to the +Wallamet. A portion of the immigration had already gone on by the road +to the Dalles; the remainder turned off by the southern route. + +Of those who took the new route, a part were destined for California. +All, however, after passing through the sage deserts, committed the +error of stopping to recruit their cattle and horses in the fresh green +valleys among the foot-hills of the mountains. It did not occur to them +that they were wasting precious time in this way; but to this indulgence +was owing an incredible amount of suffering. The California-bound +travelers encountered the season of snow on the Sierras, and such +horrors are recorded of their sufferings as it is seldom the task of +ears to hear or pen to record. Snow-bound, without food, those who died +of starvation were consumed by the living; even children were eaten by +their once fond parents, with an indifference horrible to think on: so +does the mind become degraded by great physical suffering. + +The Oregon immigrants had not to cross the lofty Sierras; but they still +found mountains before them which, in the dry season, would have been +formidable enough. Instead, however, of the dry weather continuing, very +heavy rains set in. The streams became swollen, the mountain sides heavy +and slippery with the wet earth. Where the road led through canyons, men +and women were sometimes forced to stem a torrent, breast high, and cold +enough to chill the life in their veins. The cattle gave out, the +wagons broke down, provisions became exhausted, and a few persons +perished, while all were in the direst straits. + +The first who got through into the valley sent relief to those behind; +but it was weeks before the last of the worn, weary, and now +impoverished travelers escaped from the horrors of the mountains in +which they were so hopelessly entangled, and where most of their worldly +goods were left to rot. + +The Oregon legislature met as usual, to hold its winter session, though +the people hoped and expected it would be for the last time under the +Provisional Government. There were only two "mountain-men" in the House, +at this session--Meek and Newell. + +In the suspense under which they for the present remained, there was +nothing to do but to go on in the path of duty as they had heretofore +done, keeping up their present form of government until it was +supplanted by a better one. So passed the summer until the return of the +"Glorious Fourth," which, being the first national anniversary occurring +since the news of the treaty had reached the colony, was celebrated with +proper enthusiasm. + +It chanced that an American ship, the _Brutus_, Capt. Adams, from +Boston, was lying in the Wallamet, and that a general invitation had +been given to the celebrationists to visit the ship during the day. A +party of fifty or sixty, including Meek and some of his mountain +associates, had made their calculations to go on board at the same time, +and were in fact already alongside in boats, when Captain Adams singled +out a boat load of people belonging to the mission clique, and inviting +them to come on board, ordered all the others off. + +This was an insult too great to be borne by mountain-men, who resented +it not only for themselves, but for the people's party of Americans to +which they naturally belonged. Their blood was up, and without stopping +to deliberate, Meek and Newell hurried off to fetch the twelve-pounder +that had a few hours before served to thunder forth the rejoicings of a +free people, but with which they now purposed to proclaim their +indignation as freeman heinously insulted. The little twelve-pound +cannon was loaded with rock, and got into range with the offending ship, +and there is little doubt that Capt. Adams would have suffered loss at +the hands of the incensed multitude, but for the timely interference of +Dr. McLaughlin. On being informed of the warlike intentions of Meek and +his associates, the good Doctor came running to the rescue, his white +hair flowing back from his noble face with the hurry of his movements. + +"Oh, oh, Mr. Joe, Mr. Joe, you must not do this! indeed, you must not do +this foolish thing! Come now; come away. You will injure your country, +Mr. Joe. How can you expect that ships will come here, if they are fired +on? Come away, come away!" + +And Meek, ever full of waggishness, even in his wrath, replied: + +"Doctor, it is not that I love the Brutus less, but my dignity more." + +"Oh, Shakespeare, Mr. Joe! But come with me; come with me." + +And so the good Doctor, half in authority, half in kindness, persuaded +the resentful colonists to pass by the favoritism of the Boston captain. + +Meek was reëlected to the legislature this summer, and swam out to a +vessel lying down at the mouth of the Wallamet, to get liquor to treat +his constituents; from which circumstance it may be inferred that while +Oregon was remarkable for temperance, there were occasions on which +conviviality was deemed justifiable by a portion of her people. + +Thus passed the summer. The autumn brought news of a large emigration +_en route_ for the new territory; but it brought no news of good import +from Congress. On the contrary the bill providing for a territorial +government for Oregon had failed, because the Organic Laws of that +territory excluded slavery forever from the country. The history of its +failure is a part and parcel of the record of the long hard struggle of +the south to extend slavery into the United States' territories. + +Justly dissatisfied, but not inconsolable, the colony, now that hope was +extinguished for another season, returned to its own affairs. The +immigration, which had arrived early this year, amounted to between four +and five thousand. An unfortunate affray between the immigrants and the +Indians at the Dalles, had frightened away from that station the Rev. +Father Waller; and Dr. Whitman of the Waiilatpu mission had purchased +the station for the Presbyterian mission, and placed a nephew of his in +charge. Although, true to their original bad character, the Dalles +Indians had frequently committed theft upon the passing emigration, this +was the first difficulty resulting in loss of life, which had taken +place. This quarrel arose out of some thefts committed by the Indians, +and the unwise advice of Mr. Waller, in telling the immigrants to +retaliate by taking some of the Indian horses. An Indian can see the +justice of taking toll from every traveler passing through his country; +but he cannot see the justice of being robbed in return; and Mr. Waller +had been long enough among them to have known this. + +Finding that it must continue yet a little longer to look after its own +government and welfare, the colony had settled back into its wonted +pursuits. The legislature had convened for its winter session, and had +hardly elected its officers and read the usual message of the Governor, +before there came another, which fell upon their ears like a +thunderbolt. Gov. Abernethy had sent in the following letter, written at +Vancouver the day before: + + FORT VANCOUVER, Dec. 7, 1847. + + _George Abernethy, Esq._; + + SIR:--Having received intelligence, last night, by special express + from Walla-Walla, of the destruction of the missionary settlement + at Waiilatpu, by the Cayuse Indians of that place, we hasten to + communicate the particulars of that dreadful event, one of the most + atrocious which darkens the annals of Indian crime. + + Our lamented friend, Dr. Whitman, his amiable and accomplished + lady, with nine other persons, have fallen victims to the fury of + these remorseless savages, who appear to have been instigated to + this appalling crime by a horrible suspicion which had taken + possession of their superstitious minds, in consequence of the + number of deaths from dysentery and measles, that Dr. Whitman was + silently working the destruction of their tribe by administering + poisonous drugs, under the semblance of salutary medicines. + + With a goodness of heart and benevolence truly his own, Dr. Whitman + had been laboring incessantly since the appearance of the measles + and dysentery among his Indian converts, to relieve their + sufferings; and such has been the reward of his generous labors. + + A copy of Mr. McBean's letter, herewith transmitted, will give you + all the particulars known to us of this indescribably painful + event. + + Mr. Ogden, with a strong party, will leave this place as soon as + possible for Walla-Walla, to endeavor to prevent further evil; and + we beg to suggest to you the propriety of taking instant measures + for the protection of the Rev. Mr. Spalding, who, for the sake of + his family, ought to abandon the Clear-water mission without delay, + and retire to a place of safety, as he cannot remain at that + isolated station without imminent risk, in the present excited and + irritable State of the Indian population. + + I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant, + + JAMES DOUGLAS. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + + +1842-7. Doubtless the reader remembers the disquiet felt and expressed +by the Indians in the upper country in the year 1842. For the time they +had been quieted by presents, by the advice of the Hudson's Bay Company, +and by the Agent's promise that in good time the United States would +send them blankets, guns, ammunition, food farming implements, and +teachers to show them how to live like the whites. + +In the meantime, five years having passed, these promises had not been +kept. Five times a large number of whites, with their children, their +cattle, and wagons, had passed through their country, and gone down into +the Wallamet Valley to settle. Now they had learned that the United +States claimed the Wallamet valley; yet they had never heard that the +Indians of that country had received any pay for it. + +They had accepted the religion of the whites believing it would do them +good; but now they were doubtful. Had they not accepted laws from the +United States agent, and had not their people been punished for acts +which their ancestors and themselves had always before committed at +will? None of these innovations seemed to do them any good: they were +disappointed. But the whites, or Bostons, (meaning the Americans) were +coming more and more every year, so that by-and-by there would be all +Bostons and no Indians. + +Once they had trusted in the words of the Americans; but now they knew +how worthless were their promises. The Americans had done them much +harm. Years before had not one of the missionaries suffered several of +their people, and the son of one of their chiefs, to be slain in his +company, yet himself escaped? Had not the son of another chief, who had +gone to California to buy cattle, been killed by a party of Americans, +for no fault of his own? Their chief's son was killed, the cattle robbed +from his party, after having been paid for; and his friends obliged to +return poor and in grief. + +To be sure, Dr. White had given them some drafts to be used in obtaining +cattle from the immigration, as a compensation for their losses in +California; but they could not make them available; and those who wanted +cattle had to go down to the Wallamet for them. In short, could the +Indians have thought of an American epithet to apply to Americans, it +would have been that expressive word _humbug_. What they felt and what +they thought, was, that they had been cheated. They feared greater +frauds in the future, and they were secretly resolved not to submit to +them. + +So far as regarded the missionaries, Dr. Whitman and his associates, +they were divided; yet as so many looked on the Doctor as an agent in +promoting the settlement of the country with whites, it was thought best +to drive him from the country, together with all the missionaries. +Several years before Dr. Whitman had known that the Indians were +displeased with his settlement among them. They had told him of it: they +had treated him with violence; they had attempted to outrage his wife; +had burned his property; and had more recently several times warned him +to leave their country, or they should kill him. + +Not that all were angry at him alike, or that any were personally very +ill-disposed towards him. Everything that a man could do to instruct and +elevate these savage people, he had done, to the best of his ability, +together with his wife and assistants. But he had not been able, or +perhaps had not attempted, to conceal the fact, that he looked upon the +country as belonging to his people, rather than to the natives, and it +was this fact which was at the bottom of their "bad hearts" toward the +Doctor. So often had warnings been given which were disregarded by Dr. +Whitman, that his friends, both at Vancouver and in the settlements, had +long felt great uneasiness, and often besought him to remove to the +Wallamet valley. + +But although Dr. Whitman sometimes was half persuaded to give up the +mission upon the representations of others, he could not quite bring +himself to do so. So far as the good conduct of the Indians was +concerned, they had never behaved better than for the last two years. +There had been less violence, less open outrage, than formerly; and +their civilization seemed to be progressing; while some few were +apparently hopeful converts. Yet there was ever a whisper in the +air--"Dr. Whitman must die." + +The mission at Lapwai was peculiarly successful. Mrs. Spalding, more +than any other of the missionaries, had been able to adapt herself to +the Indian character, and to gain their confidence. Besides, the Nez +Perces were a better nation than the Cayuses;--more easily controlled by +a good counsel; and it seemed like doing a wrong to abandon the work so +long as any good was likely to result from it. There were other reasons +too, why the missions could not be abandoned in haste, one of which was +the difficulty of disposing of the property. This might have been done +perhaps, to the Catholics, who were establishing missions throughout the +upper country; but Dr. Whitman would never have been so false to his own +doctrines, as to leave the field of his labors to the Romish Church. + +Yet the division of sentiment among the Indians with regard to religion, +since the Catholic missionaries had come among them, increased the +danger of a revolt: for in the Indian country neither two rival trading +companies, nor two rival religions can long prosper side by side. The +savage cannot understand the origin of so many religions. He either +repudiates all, or he takes that which addresses itself to his +understanding through the senses. In the latter respect, the forms of +Catholicism, as adapted to the savage understanding, made that religion +a dangerous rival to intellectual and idealistic Presbyterianism. But +the more dangerous the rival, the greater the firmness with which Dr. +Whitman would cling to his duty. + +There were so many causes at work to produce a revolution among the +Indians, that it would be unfair to name any one as _the_ cause. The +last and immediate provocation was a season of severe sickness among +them. The disease was measles, and was brought in the train of the +immigration. + +This fact alone was enough to provoke the worst passions of the savage. +The immigration in itself was a sufficient offense; the introduction +through them of a pestilence, a still weightier one. It did not signify +that Dr. Whitman had exerted himself night and day to give them relief. +Their peculiar notions about a medicine-man made it the Doctor's duty to +cure the sick; or made it the duty of the relatives of the dead and +dying to avenge their deaths. + +Yet in spite of all and every provocation, perhaps the fatal tragedy +might have been postponed, had it not been for the evil influence of +one Jo Lewis, a half-breed, who had accompanied the emigration from the +vicinity of Fort Hall. This Jo Lewis, with a large party of emigrants, +had stopped to winter at the mission, much against Dr. Whitman's wishes; +for he feared not having food enough for so many persons. Finding that +he could not prevent them, he took some of the men into his employ, and +among others the stranger half-breed. + +This man was much about the house, and affected to relate to the Indians +conversations which he heard between Dr. and Mrs. Whitman, and Mr. +Spalding, who with his little daughter, was visiting at Waiilatpu. These +conversations related to poisoning the Indians, in order to get them all +out of the way, so that the white men could enjoy their country +unmolested. Yet this devil incarnate did not convince his hearers at +once of the truth of his statements; and it was resolved in the tribe to +make a test of Dr. Whitman's medicine. Three persons were selected to +experiment upon; two of them already sick, and the third quite well. +Whether it was that the medicine was administered in too large +quantities, or whether an unhappy chance so ordered it, all those three +persons died. Surely it is not singular that in the savage mind this +circumstance should have been deemed decisive. It was then that the +decree went forth that not only the Doctor and Mrs. Whitman, but all the +Americans at the mission must die. + +On the 22d of November, Mr. Spalding arrived at Waiilatpu, from his +mission, one hundred and twenty miles distant, with his daughter, a +child of ten years, bringing with him also several horse-loads of grain, +to help feed the emigrants wintering there. He found the Indians +suffering very much, dying one, two, three, and sometimes five in a day. +Several of the emigrant families, also, were sick with measles and the +dysentery, which followed the disease. A child of one of them died the +day following Mr. Spalding's arrival. + +Dr. Whitman's family consisted of himself and wife, a young man named +Rodgers, who was employed as a teacher, and also studying for the +ministry, two young people, a brother and sister, named Bulee, seven +orphaned children of one family, whose parents had died on the road to +Oregon in a previous year, named Sager, Helen Mar, the daughter of Joe +Meek, another little half-breed girl, daughter of Bridger the +fur-trader, a half-breed Spanish boy whom the Doctor had brought up from +infancy, and two sons of a Mr. Manson, of the Hudson's Bay Company. + +Besides these, there were half-a-dozen other families at the mission, +and at the saw-mill, twenty miles distant, five families more--in all, +forty-six persons at Waiilatpu, and fifteen at the mill, who were among +those who suffered by the attack. But there were also about the mission, +three others, Jo Lewis, Nicholas Finlay, and Joseph Stanfield, who +probably knew what was about to take place, and may, therefore be +reckoned as among the conspirators. + +While Mr. Spalding was at Waiilatpu, a message came from two Walla-Walla +chiefs, living on the Umatilla River, to Dr. Whitman, desiring him to +visit the sick in their villages, and the two friends set out together +to attend to the call, on the evening of the 27th of November. Says Mr. +Spalding, referring to that time: "The night was dark, and the wind and +rain beat furiously upon us. But our interview was sweet. We little +thought it was to be our last. With feelings of the deepest emotion we +called to mind the fact, that eleven years before, we crossed this trail +before arriving at Walla-Walla, the end of our seven months' journey +from New York. We called to mind the high hopes and thrilling interests +which had been awakened during the year that followed--of our successful +labors and the constant devotedness of the Indians to improvement. True, +we remembered the months of deep solicitude we had, occasioned by the +increasing menacing demands of the Indians for pay for their wood, their +water, their air, their lands. But much of this had passed away, and the +Cayuses were in a far more encouraging condition than ever before." Mr. +Spalding further relates that himself and Dr. Whitman also conversed on +the danger which threatened them from the Catholic influence. "We felt," +he says, "that the present sickness afforded them a favorable +opportunity to excite the Indians to drive us from the country, and all +the movements about us seemed to indicate that this would soon be +attempted, if not executed." Such was the suspicion in the minds of the +Protestants. Let us hope that it was not so well founded as they +believed. + +The two friends arrived late at the lodge of _Stickas_, a chief, and +laid down before a blazing fire to dry their drenched clothing. In the +morning a good breakfast was prepared for them, consisting of beef, +vegetables, and bread--all of which showed the improvement of the +Indians in the art of living. The day, being Sunday, was observed with +as much decorum as in a white man's house. After breakfast, Dr. Whitman +crossed the river to visit the chiefs who had sent for him, namely, +_Tan-i-tan_, _Five Crows_, and _Yam-ha-wa-lis_, returning about four +o'clock in the afternoon, saying he had taken tea with the Catholic +bishop and two priests, at their house, which belonged to _Tan-i-tan_, +and that they had promised to visit him in a short time. He then +departed for the mission, feeling uneasy about the sick ones at home. + +Mr. Spalding remained with the intention of visiting the sick and +offering consolation to the dying. But he soon discovered that there was +a weighty and uncomfortable secret on the mind of his entertainer, +_Stickas_. After much questioning, _Stickas_ admitted that the thought +which troubled him was that the Americans had been "decreed against" by +his people; more he could not be induced to reveal. Anxious, yet not +seriously alarmed,--for these warnings had been given before many +times,--he retired to his couch of skins, on the evening of the 29th, +being Monday--not to sleep, however; for on either side of him an Indian +woman sat down to chant the death-song--that frightful lament which +announces danger and death. On being questioned they would reveal +nothing. + +On the following morning, Mr. Spalding could no longer remain in +uncertainty, but set out for Waiilatpu. As he mounted his horse to +depart, an Indian woman placed her hand on the neck of his horse to +arrest him, and pretending to be arranging his head-gear, said in a low +voice to the rider, "Beware of the Cayuses at the mission." Now more +than ever disturbed by this intimation that it was the mission which was +threatened, he hurried forward, fearing for his daughter and his +friends. He proceeded without meeting any one until within sight of the +lovely Walla-Walla valley, almost in sight of the mission itself, when +suddenly, at a wooded spot where the trail passes through a little +hollow, he beheld two horsemen advancing, whom he watched with a +fluttering heart, longing for, and yet dreading, the news which the very +air seemed whispering. + +The two horsemen proved to be the Catholic Vicar General, Brouillet, +who, with a party of priests and nuns had arrived in the country only a +few months previous, and his half-breed interpreter, both of whom were +known to Mr. Spalding. They each drew rein as they approached, Mr. +Spalding immediately inquiring "what news?" + +"There are very many sick at the Whitman station," answered Brouillet, +with evident embarrassment. + +"How are Doctor and Mrs. Whitman?" asked Spalding anxiously. + +"The Doctor is ill--is dead," added the priest reluctantly. + +"And Mrs. Whitman?" gasped Spalding. + +"Is dead also. The Indians have killed them." + +"My daughter?" murmured the agonized questioner. + +"Is safe, with the other prisoners," answered Brouillet. + +"And then," says Spalding in speaking of that moment of infinite horror, +when in his imagination a picture of the massacre, of the anguish of his +child, the suffering of the prisoners, of the probable destruction of +his own family and mission, and his surely impending fate, all rose up +before him--"I felt the world all blotted out at once, and sat on my +horse as rigid as a stone, not knowing or feeling anything." + +While this conversation had been going on the half-breed interpreter had +kept a sinister watch over the communication, and his actions had so +suspicious a look that the priest ordered him to ride on ahead. When he +had obeyed, Brouillet gave some rapid instructions to Spalding; not to +go near the mission, where he could do no good, but would be certainly +murdered; but to fly, to hide himself until the excitement was over. The +men at the mission were probably all killed; the women and children +would be spared; nothing could be done at present but to try to save his +own life, which the Indians were resolved to take. + +The conversation was hurried, for there was no time to lose. Spalding +gave his pack-horse to Brouillet, to avoid being encumbered by it; and +taking some provisions which the priest offered, struck off into the +woods there to hide until dark. Nearly a week from this night he arrived +at the Lapwai mission, starved, torn, with bleeding feet as well as +broken heart. Obliged to secrete himself by day, his horse had escaped +from him, leaving him to perform his night journeys on foot over the +sharp rocks and prickly cactus plants, until not only his shoes had been +worn out, but his feet had become cruelly lacerated. The constant fear +which had preyed upon his heart of finding his family murdered, had +produced fearful havoc in the life-forces; and although Mr. Spalding had +the happiness of finding that the Nez Perces had been true to Mrs. +Spalding, defending her from destruction, yet so great had been the +first shock, and so long continued the strain, that his nervous system +remained a wreck ever afterward. + +[Illustration: MOUNT HOOD FROM THE DALLES.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + + +1847. When Dr. Whitman reached home on that Sunday night, after parting +with Mr. Spalding at the Umatilla, it was already about midnight; yet he +visited the sick before retiring to rest; and early in the morning +resumed his duties among them. An Indian died that morning. At his +burial, which the Doctor attended, he observed that but few of the +friends and relatives of the deceased were present but attributed it to +the fear which the Indians have of disease. + +Everything about the mission was going on as usual. Quite a number of +Indians were gathered about the place; but as an ox was being butchered, +the crowd was easily accounted for. Three men were dressing the beef in +the yard. The afternoon session of the mission school had just +commenced. The mechanics belonging to the station were about their +various avocations. Young Bulee was sick in the Doctor's house. Three of +the orphan children who were recovering from the measles, were with the +Doctor and Mrs. Whitman in the sitting-room; and also a Mrs. Osborne, +one of the emigrants who had just got up from a sick bed, and who had a +sick child in her arms. + +[Illustration: _MASSACRE OF REV. DR. WHITMAN OF THE PRESBYTERIAN +MISSION._] + +The Doctor had just come in, wearied, and dejected as it was possible +for his resolute spirit to be, and had seated himself, bible in hand, +when several Indians came to a side door, asking permission to come in +and get some medicine. The Doctor rose, got his medicines, gave them +out, and sat down again. At that moment Mrs. Whitman was in an +adjoining room and did not see what followed. _Tam-a-has_, a chief +called "the murderer," came behind the Doctor's chair, and raising his +tomahawk, struck the Doctor in the back of the head, stunning but not +killing him. + +Instantly there was a violent commotion. John Sager, one of the adopted +children, sprang up with his pistol in his hand, but before he could +fire it, he too was struck down, and cut and hacked shockingly. In the +meantime Dr. Whitman had received a second blow upon the head, and now +laid lifeless on the floor. Cries and confusion filled the house. + +At the first sound, Mrs. Whitman, in whose ears that whisper in the air +had so long sounded, began in agony to stamp upon the floor, and wring +her hands, crying out, "Oh, the Indians, the Indians!" At that moment +one of the women from an adjoining building came running in, gasping +with terror, for the butchery was going on outside as well, and +_Tam-a-has_ and his associates were now assisting at it. Going to the +room where the Doctor lay insensible, Mrs. Whitman and her terrified +neighbor dragged him to the sofa and laid him upon it, doing all they +could to revive him. To all their inquiries he answered by a whispered +"no," probably not conscious what was said. + +While this was being done, the people from every quarter began to crowd +into the Doctor's house, many of them wounded. Outside were heard the +shrieks of women, the yells of the Indians, the roar of musketry, the +noise of furious riding, of meeting war-clubs, groans, and every +frightful combination of sound, such as only could be heard at such a +carnival of blood. Still Mrs. Whitman sat by her husband's side, intent +on trying to rouse him to say one coherent word. + +Nearer and nearer came the struggle, and she heard some one exclaim +that two of her friends were being murdered beneath the window. Starting +up, she approached the casement to get a view, as if by looking she +could save; but that moment she encountered the fiendish gaze of Jo +Lewis the half-breed, and comprehended his guilt. "Is it _you_, Jo, who +are doing this?" she cried. Before the expression of horror had left her +lips, a young Indian who had been a special favorite about the mission, +drew up his gun and fired, the ball entering her right breast, when she +fell without a groan. + +When the people had at first rushed in, Mrs. Whitman had ordered the +doors fastened and the sick children removed to a room up stairs. +Thither now she was herself conveyed, having first recovered +sufficiently to stagger to the sofa where lay her dying husband. Those +who witnessed this strange scene, say that she knelt and prayed--prayed +for the orphan children she was leaving, and for her aged parents. The +only expression of personal regret she was heard to utter, was sorrow +that her father and mother should live to know she had perished in such +a manner. + +In the chamber were now gathered Mrs. Whitman, Mrs. Hayes, Miss Bulee, +Catharine Sager, thirteen years of age, and three of the sick children, +besides Mr. Rogers and Mr. Kimble. Scarcely had they gained this retreat +when the crashing of windows and doors was heard below, and with whoops +and yells the savages dashed into the sitting-room where Doctor Whitman +still lay dying. While some busied themselves removing from the house +the goods and furniture, a chief named _Te-lau-ka-ikt_, a favorite at +the mission, and on probation for admission into the church, +deliberately chopped and mangled the face of his still breathing teacher +and friend with his tomahawk, until every feature was rendered +unrecognizable. + +The children from the school-house were brought into the kitchen of the +Doctor's house about this time, by Jo Lewis, where, he told them, they +were going to be shot. Mr. Spalding's little girl Eliza, was among them. +Understanding the native language, she was fully aware of the terrible +import of what was being said by their tormentors. While the Indians +talked of shooting the children huddled together in the kitchen, +pointing their guns, and yelling, Eliza covered her face with her apron, +and leaned over upon the sink, that she might not see them shoot her. +After being tortured in this manner for some time, the children were +finally ordered out of doors. + +While this was going on, a chief called _Tamt-sak-y_, was trying to +induce Mrs. Whitman to come down into the sitting-room. + +She replied that she was wounded and could not do so, upon which he +professed much sorrow, and still desired her to be brought down, "If you +are my friend _Tamt-sak-y_, come up and see me," was her reply to his +professions, but he objected, saying there were Americans concealed in +the chamber, whom he feared might kill him. Mr. Rogers then went to the +head of the stairs and endeavored to have the chief come up, hoping +there might be some friendly ones, who would aid them in escaping from +the murderers. _Tamt-sak-y_, however, would not come up the stairs, +although he persisted in saying that Mrs. Whitman should not be harmed, +and that if all would come down and go over to the other house where the +families were collected, they might do so in safety. + +The Indians below now began to call out that they were going to burn the +Doctor's house. Then no alternative remained but to descend and trust to +the mercy of the savages. As Mrs. Whitman entered the sitting-room, +leaning on one arm of Mr. Rogers, who also was wounded in the head, and +had a broken arm, she caught a view of the shockingly mutilated face of +her husband and fell fainting upon the sofa, just as Doctor Whitman gave +a dying gasp. + +Mr. Rogers and Mrs. Hayes now attempted to get the sofa, or settee, out +of the house, and had succeeded in moving it through the kitchen to the +door. No sooner did they appear in the open door-way than a volley of +balls assailed them. Mr. Rogers fell at once, but did not die +immediately, for one of the most horrid features in this horrid butchery +was, that the victims were murdered by torturing degrees. Mrs. Whitman +also received several gunshot wounds, lying on the settee. Francis +Sager, the oldest of her adopted boys, was dragged into the group of +dying ones and shot down. + +The children, who had been turned out of the kitchen were still huddled +together about the kitchen door, so near to this awful scene that every +incident was known to them, so near that the flashes from the guns of +the Indians burnt their hair, and the odor of the blood and the burning +powder almost suffocated them. + +At two o'clock in the afternoon the massacre had commenced. It was now +growing dusk, and the demons were eager to finish their work. Seeing +that life still lingered in the mangled bodies of their victims, they +finished their atrocities by hurling them in the mud and gore which +filled the yard, and beating them upon their faces with whips and clubs, +while the air was filled with the noise of their shouting, singing, and +dancing--the Indian women and children assisting at these orgies, as if +the Bible had never been preached to them. And thus, after eleven years +of patient endeavor to save some heathen souls alive, perished Doctor +and Mrs. Whitman. + +In all that number of Indians who had received daily kindnesses at the +hands of the missionaries, only two showed any compassion. These two, +_Ups_ and _Madpool_, Walla-Wallas, who were employed by the Doctor, took +the children away from the sickening sights that surrounded them, into +the kitchen pantry, and there in secret tried to comfort them. + +When night set in the children and families were all removed to the +building called the mansion-house, where they spent a night of horror; +all, except those who were left in Mrs. Whitman's chamber, from which +they dared not descend, and the family of Mr. Osborne, who escaped. + +On the first assault Mr. and Mrs. Osborne ran into their bedroom which +adjoined the sitting-room, taking with them their three small children. +Raising a plank in the floor, Mr. O. quickly thrust his wife and +children into the space beneath, and then following, let the plank down +to its place. Here they remained until darkness set in, able to hear all +that was passing about them, and fearing to stir. When all was quiet at +the Doctor's house, they stole out under cover of darkness and succeeded +in reaching Fort Walla-Walla, after a painful journey of several days, +or rather nights, for they dared not travel by day. + +Another person who escaped was a Mr. Hall, carpenter, who in a hand to +hand contest with an Indian, received a wound in the face, but finally +reached the cover of some bushes where he remained until dark, and then +fled in the direction of Fort Walla-Walla. Mr. Hall was the first to +arrive at the fort, where, contrary to his expectations, and to all +humanity, he was but coldly received by the gentleman in charge, Mr. +McBean. + +Whether it was from cowardice or cruelty as some alleged, that Mr. +McBean rejoiced in the slaughter of the Protestant missionaries, himself +being a Catholic, can never be known. Had that been true, one might have +supposed that their death would have been enough, and that he might +have sheltered a wounded man fleeing for his life, without grudging him +this atom of comfort. Unfortunately for Mr. McBean's reputation, he +declined to grant such shelter willingly. Mr. Hall remained, however, +twelve hours, until he heard a report that the women and children were +murdered, when, knowing how unwelcome he was, and being in a half +distracted state, he consented to be set across the Columbia to make his +way as best he could to the Wallamet. From this hour he was never seen +or heard from, the manner of his death remaining a mystery to his wife +and their family of five children, who were among the prisoners at +Waiilatpu. + +When Mr. Osborne left the mission in the darkness, he was able only to +proceed about two miles, before Mrs. Osborne's strength gave way, she +lately having been confined by an untimely birth; and he was compelled +to stop, secreting himself and family in some bushes. Here they +remained, suffering with cold, and insufficient food, having only a +little bread and cold mush which they had found in the pantry of the +Doctor's house, before leaving it. On Tuesday night, Mrs. O. was able to +move about three miles more: and again they were compelled to stop. In +this way to proceed, they must all perish of starvation; therefore on +Wednesday night Mr. O. took the second child and started with it for the +fort, where he arrived before noon on Thursday. + +Although Mr. McBean received him with friendliness of manner, he refused +him horses to go for Mrs. Osborne and his other children, and even +refused to furnish food to relieve their hunger, telling him to go to +the Umatilla, and forbidding his return to the fort. A little food was +given to himself and child, who had been fasting since Monday night. +Whether Mr. McBean would have allowed this man to perish is uncertain: +but certain it is that some base or cowardly motive made him +exceedingly cruel to both Hall and Osborne. + +While Mr. Osborne was partaking of his tea and crackers, there arrived +at the fort Mr. Stanley, the artist, whom the reader will remember +having met in the mountains several years before. When the case became +known to him, he offered his horses immediately to go for Mrs. Osborne. +Shamed into an appearance of humanity, Mr. McBean then furnished an +Indian guide to accompany Mr. O. to the Umatilla, where he still +insisted the fugitives should go, though this was in the murderer's +country. + +A little meat and a few crackers were furnished for the supper of the +travelers; and with a handkerchief for his hatless head and a pair of +socks for his child's naked feet, all furnished by Mr. Stanley, Mr. +Osborne set out to return to his suffering wife and children. He and his +guide traveled rapidly, arriving in good time near the spot where he +believed his family to be concealed. But the darkness had confused his +recollection, and after beating the bushes until daylight, the unhappy +husband and father was about to give up the search in despair, when his +guide at length discovered their retreat. + +The poor mother and children were barely alive, having suffered much +from famine and exposure, to say nothing of their fears. Mrs. Osborne +was compelled to be tied to the Indian in order to sit her horse. In +this condition the miserable fugitives turned toward the Umatilla, in +obedience to the command of McBean, and were only saved from being +murdered by a Cayuse by the scornful words of the guide, who shamed the +murderer from his purpose of slaughtering a sick and defenceless family. +At a Canadian farm-house, where they stopped to change horses, they were +but roughly received; and learning here that _Tamt-sak-y's_ lodge was +near by, Mrs. Osborne refused to proceed any farther toward the +Umatilla. She said, "I doubt if I can live to reach the Umatilla; and if +I must die, I may as well die at the gates of the Fort. Let us, then, +turn back to the Fort." + +To this the guide assented, saying it was not safe going among the +Cayuses. The little party, quite exhausted, reached Walla-Walla about +ten o'clock at night, and were at once admitted. Contrary to his former +course, Mr. McBean now ordered a fire made to warm the benumbed +travelers, who, after being made tolerably comfortable, were placed in a +secret room of the fort. Again Mr. Osborne was importuned to go away, +down to the Wallamet, Mr. McBean promising to take care of his family +and furnish him an outfit if he would do so. Upon being asked to furnish +a boat, and Indians to man it, in order that the family might accompany +him, he replied that his Indians refused to go. + +From all this reluctance, not only on the part of McBean, but of the +Indians also, to do any act which appeared like befriending the +Americans, it would appear that there was a very general fear of the +Cayuse Indians, and a belief that they were about to inaugurate a +general war upon the Americans, and their friends and allies. Mr. +Osborne, however, refused to leave his family behind, and Mr. McBean was +forced to let him remain until relief came. When it did come at last, in +the shape of Mr. Ogden's party, _Stickas_, the chief who had warned Mr. +Spalding, showed his kind feeling for the sufferers by removing his own +cap and placing it on Mr. Osborne's head, and by tying a handkerchief +over the ears of Mr. Osborne's little son, as he said, "to keep him +warm, going down the river." Sadly indeed, did the little ones who +suffered by the massacre at Waiilatpu, stand in need of any Christian +kindness. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + + +1847. A full account of the horrors of the Waiilatpu massacre, together +with the individual sufferings of the captives whose lives were spared, +would fill a volume, and be harrowing to the reader; therefore, only so +much of it will be given here as, from its bearing upon Oregon history, +is important to our narrative. + +The day following the massacre, being Tuesday, was the day on which Mr. +Spalding was met and warned not to go to the mission, by the Vicar +General, Brouillet. Happening at the mission on that day, and finding +the bodies of the victims still unburied, Brouillet had them hastily +interred before leaving, if interment it could be called which left them +still a prey to wolves. The reader of this chapter of Oregon history +will always be very much puzzled to understand by what means the +Catholic priests procured their perfect exemption from harm during this +time of terror to the Americans. Was it that they were French, and that +they came into the country _only_ as missionaries of a religion adapted +to the savage mind, and not as settlers? Was it at all owing to the fact +that they were celibates, with no families to excite jealous feelings of +comparison in the minds of their converts? + +Through a long and bitter war of words, which followed the massacre at +Waiilatpu, terrible sins were charged upon the priests--no less than +inciting the Indians to the murder of the Protestants, and winking at +the atrocities of every kind committed by the savages. Whether they +feared to enter into the quarrel, and were restrained from showing +sympathy solely by this fear, is a question only themselves can +determine. Certain it is, that they preserved a neutral position, when +to be neutral was to seem, if not to be, devoid of human sympathies. +That the event would have happened without any other provocation than +such as the Americans furnished by their own reckless disregard of +Indian prejudices, seems evident. The question, and the only question +which is suggested by a knowledge of all the circumstances, is whether +the event was helped on by an intelligent outside influence. + +It was quite natural that the Protestants should wonder at the immunity +from danger which the priests enjoyed; and that, not clearly seeing the +reason, they should suspect them of collusion with the Indians. It was +natural, too, for the sufferers from the massacre to look for some +expression of sympathy from any and all denominations of Christians; and +that, not receiving it, they should have doubts of the motives which +prompted such reserve. The story of that time is but an unpleasant +record, and had best be lightly touched upon. + +The work of death and destruction did not close with the first day at +Waiilatpu. Mr. Kimble, who had remained in the chamber of the Doctor's +house all night, had suffered much from the pain of his broken arm. On +Tuesday, driven desperate by his own sufferings, and those of the three +sick children with him, one of whom was the little Helen Mar Meek, he +resolved to procure some water from the stream which ran near the house. +But he had not proceeded more than a few rods before he was shot down +and killed instantly. The same day, a Mr. Young, from the saw-mill, was +also killed. In the course of the week, Mr. Bulee, who was sick over at +the mansion, was brutally murdered. + +Meanwhile the female captives and children were enduring such agony as +seldom falls to the lot of humanity to suffer. Compelled to work for the +Indians, their feelings were continually harrowed up by the terrible +sights which everywhere met their eyes in going back and forth between +the houses, in carrying water from the stream, or moving in any +direction whatever. For the dead were not removed until the setting in +of decay made it necessary to the Indians themselves. + +The goods belonging to the mission were taken from the store-room, and +the older women ordered to make them up into clothing for the Indians. +The buildings were plundered of everything which the Indians coveted; +all the rest of their contents that could not be made useful to +themselves were destroyed. Those of the captives who were sick were not +allowed proper attention, and in a day or two Helen Mar Meek died of +neglect. + +Thus passed four or five days. On Saturday a new horror was added to the +others. The savages began to carry off the young women for wives. Three +were thus dragged away to Indian lodges to suffer tortures worse than +death. One young girl, a daughter of Mr. Kimble, was taken possession of +by the murderer of her father, who took daily delight in reminding her +of that fact, and when her sorrow could no longer be restrained, only +threatened to exchange her for another young girl who was also a wife by +compulsion. + +Miss Bulee, the eldest of the young women at the mission, and who was a +teacher in the mission school, was taken to the Umatilla, to the lodge +of _Five-Crows_. As has before been related, there was a house on the +Umatilla belonging to _Tan-i-tan_, in which were residing at this time +two Catholic priests--the Vicar-General Brouillet, and Blanchet, Bishop +of Walla-Walla. To this house Miss Bulee applied for protection, and +was refused, whether from fear, or from the motives subsequently +attributed to them by some Protestant writers in Oregon, is not known to +any but themselves. The only thing certain about it is, that Miss Bulee +was allowed to be violently dragged from their presence every night, to +return to them weeping in the morning, and to have her entreaties for +their assistance answered by assurances from them that the wisest course +for her was to submit. And this continued for more than two weeks, until +the news of Mr. Ogden's arrival at Walla-Walla became known, when Miss +Bulee was told that if _Five-Crows_ would not allow her to remain at +their house altogether, she must remain at the lodge of _Five-Crows_ +without coming to their house at all, well knowing what _Five-Crows_ +would do, but wishing to have Miss Bulee's action seem voluntary, from +shame perhaps, at their own cowardice. Yet the reason they gave ought to +go for all it is worth--that they being priests could not have a woman +about their house. In this unhappy situation did the female captives +spend three most miserable weeks. + +In the meantime the mission at Lapwai had been broken up, but not +destroyed, nor had any one suffered death as was at first feared. The +intelligence of the massacre at Waiilatpu was first conveyed to Mrs. +Spalding by a Mr. Camfield, who at the breaking out of the massacre, +fled with his wife and children to a small room in the attic of the +mansion, from the window of which he was able to behold the scenes which +followed. When night came Mr. Camfield contrived to elude observation +and descend into the yard, where he encountered a French Canadian long +in the employ of Dr. Whitman, and since suspected to have been privy to +the plan of the murders. To him Mr. Camfield confided his intention to +escape, and obtained a promise that a horse should be brought to a +certain place at a certain time for his use. But the Canadian failing +to appear with his horse, Mr. C. set out on foot, and under cover of +night, in the direction of the Lapwai mission. He arrived in the Nez +Perce country on Thursday. On the following day he came upon a camp of +these people, and procured from them a guide to Lapwai, without, +however, speaking of what had occurred at Waiilatpu. + +The caution of Mr. Camfield relates to a trait of Indian character which +the reader of Indian history must bear in mind, that is, the close +relationship and identity of feeling of allied tribes. Why he did not +inform the Nez Perces of the deed done by their relatives, the Cayuses, +was because in that case he would have expected them to have sympathized +with their allies, even to the point of making him a prisoner, or of +taking his life. It is this fact concerning the Indian character, which +alone furnishes an excuse for the conduct of Mr. McBean and the Catholic +priests. Upon it Mr. Camfield acted, making no sign of fear, nor +betraying any knowledge of the terrible matter on his mind to the Nez +Perces. + +On Saturday afternoon Mr. C. arrived at Mrs. Spalding's house and +dismissed his guide with the present of a buffalo robe. When he was +alone with Mrs. Spalding he told his unhappy secret. It was then that +the strength and firmness of Mrs. Spalding's character displayed itself +in her decisive action. Well enough she knew the close bond between the +Nez Perces and Cayuses, and also the treachery of the Indian character. +But she saw that if affairs were left to shape themselves as Mr. +Camfield entreated they might be left to do, putting off the evil +day,--that when the news came from the Cayuses, there would be an +outbreak. + +The only chance of averting this danger was to inform the chiefs most +attached to her, at once, and throw herself and her family upon their +mercy. Her resolution was taken not an hour too soon. Two of the chiefs +most relied upon happened to be at the place that very afternoon, one of +whom was called _Jacob_, and the other _Eagle_. To these two Mrs. +Spalding confided the news without delay, and took counsel of them. +According to her hopes, they assumed the responsibility of protecting +her. One of them went to inform his camp, and give them orders to stand +by Mrs. S., while the other carried a note to Mr. Craig, one of our +Rocky Mountain acquaintances, who lived ten miles from the mission. + +_Jacob_ and _Eagle_, with two other friendly chiefs, decided that Mrs. +S. must go to their camp near Mr. Craig's; because in case the Cayuses +came to the mission as was to be expected, she would be safer with them. +Mrs. S. however would not consent to make the move on the Sabbath, but +begged to be allowed to remain quiet until Monday. Late Saturday evening +Mr. Craig came down; and Mrs. Spalding endeavored with his assistance to +induce the Indians to carry an express to Cimikain in the country of the +Spokanes, where Messrs. Walker and Eells had a station. Not an Indian +could be persuaded to go. An effort, also, was made by the heroic and +suffering wife and mother, to send an express to Waiilatpu to learn the +fate of her daughter, and if possible of her husband. But the Indians +were none of them inclined to go. They said, without doubt all the women +and children were slain. That Mr. Spalding was alive no one believed. + +The reply of Mrs. S. to their objections was that she could not believe +that they were her friends if they would not undertake this journey, for +the relief of her feelings under such circumstances. At length _Eagle_ +consented to go; but so much opposed were the others to having anything +done which their relations, the Cayuses, might be displeased with, that +it was nearly twenty-four hours before _Eagle_ got leave to go. + +On Monday morning a Nez Perce arrived from Waiilatpu with the news of +what the Cayuses had done. With him were a number of Indians from the +camp where Mr. Camfield had stopped for a guide, all eager for plunder, +and for murder too, had not they found Mrs. Spalding protected by +several chiefs. Her removal to their camp probably saved her from the +fate of Mrs. Whitman. + +Among those foremost in plundering the mission buildings at Lapwai were +some of the hitherto most exemplary Indians among the Nez Perces. Even +the chief, first in authority after Ellis, who was absent, was prominent +in these robberies. For eight years had this chief, Joseph, been a +member of the church at Lapwai, and sustained a good reputation during +that time. How bitter must have been the feelings of Mrs. Spalding, who +had a truly devoted missionary heart, when she beheld the fruit of her +life's labor turned to ashes in her sight as it was by the conduct of +Joseph and his family. + +Shortly after the removal of Mrs. Spalding, and the pillaging of the +buildings, Mr. Spalding arrived at Lapwai from his long and painful +journey during which he had wandered much out of his way, and suffered +many things. His appearance was the signal for earnest consultations +among the Nez Perces who were not certain that they might safely give +protection to him without the consent of the Cayuses. To his petition +that they should carry a letter express to Fort Colville or Fort +Walla-Walla, they would not consent. Their reason for refusing seemed to +be a fear that such a letter might be answered by an armed body of +Americans, who would come to avenge the deaths of their countrymen. + +To deprive them of this suspicion, Mr. Spalding told them that as he +had been robbed of everything, he had no means of paying them for their +services to his family, and that it was necessary to write to +Walla-Walla for blankets, and to the Umatilla for his horses. He assured +them that he would write to his countrymen to keep quiet, and that they +had nothing to fear from the Americans. The truth was, however, that he +had forwarded through Brouillet, a letter to Gov. Abernethy asking for +help which could only come into that hostile country armed and equipped +for war. + +Late in the month of December there arrived in Oregon City to be +delivered to the governor, sixty-two captives, bought from the Cayuses +and Nez Perces by Hudson's Bay blankets and goods; and obtained at that +price by Hudson's Bay influence. "No other power on earth," says Joe +Meek, the American, "could have rescued those prisoners from the hands +of the Indians;" and no man better than Mr. Meek understood the Indian +character, or the Hudson's Bay Company's power over them. + +The number of victims to the Waiilatpu massacre was fourteen. None +escaped who had not to mourn a father, brother, son, or friend. If "the +blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church," there ought to arise on +the site of Waiilatpu a generation of extraordinary piety. As for the +people for whom a noble man and woman, and numbers of innocent persons +were sacrificed, they have returned to their traditions; with the +exception of the Nez Perces, who under the leadership of their old +teacher Mr. Spalding, have once more resumed the pursuits of civilized +and Christianized nations. + +The description of Waiilatpu at the present time given on the following +page, is from "_All Over Oregon and Washington_" by the author of this +book. + +"Waiilatpu is just that--a creek-bottom--the creeks on either side of it +fringed with trees; higher land shutting out the view in front; +isolation and solitude the most striking features of the place. Yet here +came a man and a woman to live and to labor among the savages, when all +the old Oregon territory was an Indian country. Here stood the station +erected by them: _adobe_ houses, a mill, a school-house for the Indians, +shops, and all the necessary appurtenances of an isolated settlement. +Nothing remains to-day but mounds of earth, into which the _adobes_ were +dissolved by weather, after burning. + +"A few rods away, on the side of the hill, is a different mound: the +common grave of fourteen victims of savage superstition, jealousy, and +wrath. It is roughly inclosed by a board fence, and has not a shrub or a +flower to disguise its terrible significance. The most affecting +reminders of wasted effort which remain on the old Mission-grounds are +the two or three apple-trees which escaped the general destruction, and +the scarlet poppies which are scattered broadcast through the +creek-bottom near the houses. Sadly significant it is that the flower +whose evanescent bloom is the symbol of unenduring joys, should be the +only tangible witness left of the womanly tastes and labors of the +devoted Missionary who gave her life a sacrifice to ungrateful Indian +savagery. + +"The place is occupied, at present, by one of Dr. Whitman's early +friends and co-laborers, who claimed the Mission-ground, under the +Donation Act, and who was first and most active in founding the seminary +to the memory of a Christian gentleman and martyr. On the identical spot +where stood the Doctor's residence, now stands the more modern one of +his friend; and he seems to take a melancholy pleasure in keeping in +remembrance the events of that unhappy time, which threw a gloom over +the whole territory west of the Rocky Mountains." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + + +1847-8. When the contents of Mr. Douglas' letter to the governor became +known to the citizens of the Wallamet settlement, the greatest +excitement prevailed. On the reading of that letter, and those +accompanying it, before the House, a resolution was immediately +introduced authorizing the governor to raise a company of riflemen, not +to exceed fifty in number, to occupy and hold the mission station at the +Dalles, until a larger force could be raised, and such measures adopted +as the government might think advisable. This resolution being sent to +the governor without delay, received his approval, when the House +adjourned. + +A large meeting of the citizens was held that evening, which was +addressed by several gentlemen, among whom was Meek, whose taste for +Indian fighting was whetted to keenness by the aggravating circumstances +of the Waiilatpu massacre, and the fact that his little Helen Mar was +among the captives. Impatient as was Meek to avenge the murders, he was +too good a mountain-man to give any rash advice. All that could be done +under the existing circumstances was to trust to the Hudson's Bay +Company for the rescue of the prisoners, and to take such means for +defending the settlements as the people in their unarmed condition could +devise. + +The legislature undertook the settlement of the question of ways and +means. To raise money for the carrying out of the most important +measures immediately, was a task which after some consideration was +entrusted to three commissioners; and by these commissioners letters +were addressed to the Hudson's Bay Company, the superintendent of the +Methodist mission, and to the "merchants and citizens of Oregon." The +latter communication is valuable as fully explaining the position of +affairs at that time in Oregon. It is dated Dec. 17th, and was as +follows: + + GENTLEMEN:--You are aware that the undersigned have been charged by + the legislature of our provisional government with the difficult + duty of obtaining the necessary means to arm, equip, and support in + the field a force sufficient to obtain full satisfaction of the + Cayuse Indians, for the late massacre at Waiilatpu, and to protect + the white population of our common country from further aggression. + + In furtherance of this object they have deemed it their duty to + make immediate application to the merchants and citizens of the + country for the requisite assistance. + + Though clothed with the power to pledge, to the fullest extent, the + faith and means of the present government of Oregon, they do not + consider this pledge the only security to those who, in this + distressing emergency, may extend to the people of this country the + means of protection and redress. + + Without claiming any special authority from the government of the + United States to contract a debt to be liquidated by that power, + yet, from all precedents of like character in the history of our + country, the undersigned feel confident that the United States + government will regard the murder of the late Dr. Whitman and his + lady, as a national wrong, and will fully justify the people of + Oregon in taking active measures to obtain redress for that + outrage, and for their protection from further aggression. + + The right of self-defence is tacitly acknowledged to every body + politic in the confederacy to which we claim to belong, and in + every case similar to our own, within our knowledge, the general + government has promptly assumed the payment of all liabilities + growing out of the measures taken by the constituted authorities, + to protect the lives and property of those who reside within the + limits of their districts. + + If the citizens of the States and territories, east of the Rocky + mountains, are justified in promptly acting in such emergencies, + who are under the immediate protection of the general government, + there appears no room for doubt that the lawful acts of the Oregon + government will receive a like approval. + + Though the Indians of the Columbia have committed a great outrage + upon our fellow citizens passing through their country, and + residing among them, and their punishment for these murders may, + and ought to be, a prime object with every citizen of Oregon, yet, + as that duty more particularly devolves upon the government of the + United States, and admits of delay, we do not make this the + strongest ground upon which to found our earnest appeal to you for + pecuniary assistance. It is a fact well known to every person + acquainted with the Indian character, that, by passing silently + over their repeated thefts, robberies, and murders of our + fellow-citizens, they have been emboldened to the commission of the + appalling massacre at Waiilatpu. They call us women, destitute of + the hearts and courage of men, and if we allow this wholesale + murder to pass by as former aggressions, who can tell how long + either life or property will be secure in any part of this country, + or what moment the Willamette will be the scene of blood and + carnage. + + The officers of our provisional government have nobly performed + their duty. None can doubt the readiness of the patriotic sons of + the west to offer their personal services in defence of a cause so + righteous. So it now rests with you, gentlemen, to say whether our + rights and our fire-sides shall be defended, or not. + + Hoping that none will be found to falter in so high and so sacred a + duty, we beg leave, gentlemen, to subscribe ourselves, + + Your servants and fellow-citizens, + JESSE APPLEGATE, + A.L. LOVEJOY, + GEO. L. CURRY, + _Commissioners_. + +A similar letter had been addressed to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to +the Methodist mission. From each of these sources such assistance was +obtained as enabled the colony to arm and equip the first regiment of +Oregon riflemen, which in the month of January proceeded to the Cayuse +country. The amount raised, however, was very small, being less than +five thousand dollars, and it became imperatively necessary that the +government of the United States should be called upon to extend its aid +and protection to the loyal but distressed young territory. + +In view of this necessity it was resolved in the legislature to send a +messenger to carry the intelligence of the massacre to Gov. Mason of +California, and through him to the commander of the United States +squadron in the Pacific, that a vessel of war might be sent into the +Columbia River, and arms and ammunition borrowed for the present +emergency, from the nearest arsenal. For this duty was chosen Jesse +Applegate, Esq., a gentleman who combined in his character and person +the ability of the statesman with the sagacity and strength of the +pioneer. Mr. Applegate, with a small party of brave men, set out in +midwinter to cross the mountains into California, but such was the depth +of snow they encountered that traveling became impossible, even after +abandoning their horses, and they were compelled to return. + +The messenger elected to proceed to the United States was Joseph L. +Meek, whose Rocky Mountain experiences eminently fitted him to encounter +the dangers of such a winter journey, and whose manliness, firmness, and +ready wit stood him instead of statesmanship. + +On the 17th December Meek resigned his seat in the House in order to +prepare for the discharge of his duty as messenger to the United States. +On the 4th of January, armed with his credentials from the Oregon +legislature, and bearing dispatches from that body and the Governor to +the President, he at length set out on the long and perilous expedition, +having for traveling companions Mr. John Owens, and Mr. George +Ebbarts--the latter having formerly been a Rocky Mountain man, like +himself. + +At the Dalles they found the first regiment of Oregon Riflemen, under +Major Lee, of the newly created army of Oregon. From the reports which +the Dalles Indians brought in of the hostility of the Indians beyond the +Des Chutes River it was thought best not to proceed before the arrival +of the remainder of the army, when all the forces would proceed at once +to Waiilatpu. Owing to various delays, the army, consisting of about +five hundred men, under Colonel Gilliam, did not reach the Dalles until +late in January, when the troops proceeded at once to the seat of war. + +The reports concerning the warlike disposition of the Indians proved to +be correct. Already, the Wascopams or Dalles Indians had begun robbing +the mission at that place, when Colonel Lee's arrival among them with +troops had compelled them to return the stolen property. As the army +advanced they found that all the tribes above the Dalles were holding +themselves prepared for hostilities. At Well Springs, beyond the Des +Chutes River, they were met by a body of about six hundred Indians to +whom they gave battle, soon dispersing them, the superior arms and +equipments of the whites tending to render timid those tribes yet +unaccustomed to so superior an enemy. From thence to Waiilatpu the +course of the army was unobstructed. + +In the meantime the captives had been given up to the Hudson's Bay +Company, and full particulars of the massacre were obtained by the army, +with all the subsequent abuses and atrocities suffered by the prisoners. +The horrible details were not calculated to soften the first bitterness +of hatred which had animated the volunteers on going into the field. Nor +was the appearance of an armed force in their midst likely to allay the +hostile feelings with which other causes had inspired the Indians. Had +not the captives already been removed out of the country, no influence, +not even that of the Hudson's Bay Company, could have prevailed to get +them out of the power of their captors then. Indeed, in order to treat +with the Cayuses in the first place, Mr. Ogden had been obliged to +promise peace to the Indians, and now they found instead of peace, every +preparation for war. However, as the army took no immediate action, but +only remained in their country to await the appearance of the +commissioners appointed by the legislature of Oregon to hold a council +with the chiefs of the various tribes, the Cayuses were forced to +observe the outward semblance of amity while these councils were +pending. + +Arrived at Waiilatpu, the friends and acquaintances of Dr. Whitman were +shocked to find that the remains of the victims were still unburied, +although a little earth had been thrown over them. Meek, to whom, ever +since his meeting with her in the train of the fur-trader, Mrs. Whitman +had seemed all that was noble and captivating, had the melancholy +satisfaction of bestowing, with others, the last sad rite of burial upon +such portions of her once fair person as murder and the wolves had not +destroyed. Some tresses of golden hair were severed from the brow so +terribly disfigured, to be given to her friends in the Wallamet as a +last and only memorial. Among the State documents at Salem, Oregon, may +still be seen one of these relics of the Waiilatpu tragedy. + +Not only had Meek to discover and inter the remains of Dr. and Mrs. +Whitman, but also of his little girl, who was being educated at the +mission, with a daughter of his former leader, Bridger. + +This sad duty performed, he immediately set out, escorted by a company +of one hundred men under Adjutant Wilcox, who accompanied him as far as +the foot of the Blue Mountains. Here the companies separated, and Meek +went on his way to Washington. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + + +1848. Meek's party now consisted of himself, Ebbarts, Owens, and four +men, who being desirous of returning to the States took this +opportunity. However, as the snow proved to be very deep on the Blue +Mountains, and the cold severe, two of these four volunteers became +discouraged and concluded to remain at Fort Boise, where was a small +trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company. + +In order to avoid trouble with the Indians he might meet on the western +side of the Rocky mountains, Meek had adopted the red belt and Canadian +cap of the employees of the Hudson's Bay Company; and to this precaution +was owing the fact of his safe passage through the country now all +infected with hostility caught from the Cayuses. About three days' +travel beyond Fort Boise, the party met a village of Bannack Indians, +who at once made warlike demonstrations; but on seeing Meek's costume, +and receiving an invitation to hold a 'talk', desisted, and received the +travelers in a friendly manner. Meek informed the chief, with all the +gravity which had won for him the name of "_shiam shuspusia_" among the +Crows in former years, that he was going on the business of the Hudson's +Bay Company to Fort Hall; and that Thomas McKay was a day's march behind +with a large trading party, and plenty of goods. On the receipt of this +good news, the chief ordered his braves to fall back, and permit the +party to pass. Yet, fearing the deception might be discovered, they +thought it prudent to travel day and night until they reached Fort Hall. + +At this post of the Hudson's Bay Company, in charge of Mr. Grant, they +were kindly received, and stopped for a few hours of rest. Mr. Grant +being absent, his wife provided liberally for the refreshment of the +party, who were glad to find themselves even for a short interval under +a roof, beside a fire and partaking of freshly cooked food. But they +permitted themselves no unnecessary delay. Before night they were once +more on their way, though snow had now commenced to fall afresh, +rendering the traveling very difficult. For two days they struggled on, +their horses floundering in the soft drifts, until further progress in +that manner became impossible. The only alternative left was to abandon +their horses and proceed on snow-shoes, which were readily constructed +out of willow sticks. + +Taking only a blanket and their rifles, and leaving the animals to find +their way back to Fort Hall, the little party pushed on. Meek was now on +familiar ground, and the old mountain spirit which had once enabled him +to endure hunger, cold, and fatigue without murmuring, possessed him +now. It was not without a certain sense of enjoyment that he found +himself reduced to the necessity of shooting a couple of pole-cats to +furnish a supper for himself and party. How long the enjoyment of +feeling want would have lasted is uncertain, but probably only long +enough to whet the appetite for plenty. + +To such a point had the appetites of all the party been whetted, when, +after several days of scarcity and toil, followed by nights of emptiness +and cold, Meek had the agreeable surprise of falling in with an old +mountain comrade on the identical ground of many a former adventure, the +head-waters of Bear River. This man, whom Meek was delighted to meet, +was Peg-leg Smith, one of the most famous of many well-known +mountain-men. He was engaged in herding cattle in the valley of Thomas' +Fork, where the tall grass was not quite buried under snow, and had with +him a party of ten men. + +Meek was as cordially received by his former comrade as the unbounded +hospitality of mountain manners rendered it certain he would be. A fat +cow was immediately sacrificed, which, though not buffalo meat, as in +former times it would have been, was very good beef, and furnished a +luxurious repast to the pole-cat eaters of the last several days. +Smith's camp did not lack the domestic element of women and children, +any more than had the trapper's camps in the flush times of the +fur-trade. Therefore, seeing that the meeting was most joyful, and full +of reminiscences of former winter camps, Smith thought to celebrate the +occasion by a grand entertainment. Accordingly, after a great deal of +roast beef had been disposed of, a dance was called for, in which white +men and Indian women joined with far more mirth and jollity than grace +or ceremony. Thus passed some hours of the night, the bearer of +dispatches seizing, in true mountain style, the passing moment's +pleasure, so long as it did not interfere with the punctilious discharge +of his duty. And to the honor of our hero be it said, nothing was ever +allowed to interfere with that. + +Refreshed and provided with rations for a couple of days, the party +started on again next morning, still on snow-shoes, and traveled up Bear +River to the head-waters of Green River, crossing from the Muddy fork +over to Fort Bridger, where they arrived very much fatigued but quite +well in little more than three days' travel. Here again it was Meek's +good fortune to meet with his former leader, Bridger, to whom he related +what had befallen him since turning pioneer. The meeting was joyful on +both sides, clouded only by the remembrance of what had brought it +about, and the reflection that both had a personal wrong to avenge in +bringing about the punishment of the Cayuse murderers. + +Once more Meek's party were generously fed, and furnished with such +provisions as they could carry about their persons. In addition to this, +Bridger presented them with four good mules, by which means the +travelers were mounted four at a time, while the fifth took exercise on +foot; so that by riding or walking, turn about, they were enabled to get +on very well as far as the South Pass. Here again for some distance the +snow was very deep, and two of their mules were lost in it. Their course +lay down the Sweetwater River, past many familiar hunting and camping +grounds, to the Platte River. Owing to the deep snows, game was very +scarce, and a long day of toil was frequently closed by a supperless +sleep under shelter of some rock or bank, with only a blanket for cover. +At Red Buttes they were so fortunate as to find and kill a single +buffalo, which, separated from the distant herd, was left by Providence +in the path of the famished travelers. + +On reaching the Platte River they found the traveling improved, as well +as the supply of game, and proceeded with less difficulty as far as Fort +Laramie, a trading post in charge of a French trader named Papillion. +Here again fresh mules were obtained, and the little party treated in +the most hospitable manner. In parting from his entertainer, Meek was +favored with this brief counsel: + +"There is a village of Sioux, of about six hundred lodges, a hundred +miles from here. Your course will bring you to it. Look out for +yourself, and don't make a Gray muss of it!"--which latter clause +referred to the affair of 1837, when the Sioux had killed the Indian +escort of Mr. Gray. + +When the party arrived at Ash Hollow, which they meant to have passed in +the night, on account of the Sioux village, the snow was again falling +so thickly that the party had not perceived their nearness to the +village until they were fairly in the midst of it. It was now no safer +to retreat than to proceed; and after a moment's consultation, the word +was given to keep on. In truth, Meek thought it doubtful whether the +Sioux would trouble themselves to come out in such a tempest, and if +they did so, that the blinding snow-fall was rather in his favor. Thus +reasoning, he was forcing his mule through the drifts as rapidly as the +poor worried animal could make its way, when a head was protruded from a +lodge door, and "Hallo, Major!" greeted his ear in an accent not +altogether English. + +On being thus accosted, the party came to a halt, and Meek was invited +to enter the lodge, with his friends. His host on this occasion was a +French trader named Le Bean, who, after offering the hospitalities of +the lodge, and learning who were his guests, offered to accompany the +party a few miles on its way. This he did, saying by way of explanation +of this act of courtesy, "The Sioux are a bad people; I thought it best +to see you safe out of the village." Receiving the thanks of the +travelers, he turned back at night-fall, and they continued on all night +without stopping to camp, going some distance to the south of their +course before turning east again, in order to avoid any possible +pursuers. + +Without further adventures, and by dint of almost constant travel, the +party arrived at St. Joseph, Mo., in safety, in a little over two +months, from Portland, Oregon. Soon afterwards, when the circumstances +of this journey became known, a steamboat built for the Missouri River +trade was christened the _Joseph L. Meek_, and bore for a motto, on her +pilot-house, "The quickest trip yet," in reference both to Meek's +overland journey and her own steaming qualities. + +As Meek approached the settlements, and knew that he must soon be thrown +into society of the highest official grade, and be subjected to such +ordeals as he dreaded far more than Indian fighting, or even traveling +express across a continent of snow, the subject of how he was to behave +in these new and trying positions very frequently occurred to him. He, +an uneducated man, trained to mountain life and manners, without money, +or even clothes, with nothing to depend on but the importance of his +mission and his own mother wit, he felt far more keenly than his +careless appearance would suggest, the difficulties and awkwardness of +his position. + +"I thought a great deal about it," confesses the Col. Joseph L. Meek of +to-day, "and I finally concluded that as I had never tried to act like +anybody but myself, I would not make myself a fool by beginning to ape +other folks now. So I said, 'Joe Meek you always have been, and Joe Meek +you shall remain; go ahead, Joe Meek!'" + +In fact, it would have been rather difficult putting on fine gentleman +airs, in that old worn-out hunting suit of his, and with not a dollar to +bless himself. On the contrary, it needed just the devil-may-care temper +which naturally belonged to our hero, to carry him through the remainder +of his journey to Washington. To be hungry, ill-clad, dirty, and +penniless, is sufficient in itself for the subduing of most spirits; how +it affected the temper of the messenger from Oregon we shall now learn. + +When the weary little party arrived in St. Joseph, they repaired to a +hotel, and Meek requested that a meal should be served for all, but +frankly confessing that they had no money to pay. The landlord, however, +declined furnishing guests of his style upon such terms, and our +travelers were forced to go into camp below the town. Meek now bethought +himself of his letters of introduction. It chanced that he had one from +two young men among the Oregon volunteers, to their father in St Joseph. +Stopping a negro who was passing his camp, he inquired whether such a +gentleman was known to him; and on learning that he was, succeeded in +inducing the negro to deliver the letter from his sons. + +This movement proved successful. In a short space of time the gentleman +presented himself, and learning the situation of the party, provided +generously for their present wants, and promised any assistance which +might be required in future. Meek, however, chose to accept only that +which was imperatively needed, namely, something to eat, and +transportation to some point on the river where he could take a steamer +for St. Louis. A portion of his party chose to remain in St. Joseph, and +a portion accompanied him as far as Independence, whither this same St. +Joseph gentleman conveyed them in his carriage. + +While Meek was stopping at Independence, he was recognized by a sister, +whom he had not seen for nineteen years; who, marrying and emigrating +from Virginia, had settled on the frontier of Missouri. But he gave +himself no time for family reunion and gossip. A steamboat that had been +frozen up in the ice all winter, was just about starting for St. Louis, +and on board of this he went, with an introduction to the captain, which +secured for him every privilege the boat afforded, together with the +kindest attention of its officers. + +When the steamer arrived in St. Louis, by one of those fortuitous +circumstances so common in our hero's career, he was met at the landing +by Campbell, a Rocky Mountain trader who had formerly belonged to the +St. Louis Company. This meeting relieved him of any care about his +night's entertainment in St. Louis, and it also had another effect--that +of relieving him of any further care about the remainder of his journey; +for, after hearing Meek's story of the position of affairs in Oregon and +his errand to the United States, Campbell had given the same to the +newspaper reporters, and Meek, like Byron, waked up next morning to find +himself famous. + +[Illustration: MEEK AS STEAMBOAT RUNNER.] + +Having telegraphed to Washington, and received the President's order to +come on, the previous evening, our hero wended his way to the levee the +morning after his arrival in St. Louis. There were two steamers lying +side by side, both up for Pittsburg, with runners for each, striving to +outdo each other in securing passengers. A bright thought occurred to +the moneyless envoy--he would earn his passage! + +Walking on board one of the boats, which bore the name of _The +Declaration_, himself a figure which attracted all eyes by his size and +outlandish dress, he mounted to the hurricane deck and began to +harrangue the crowd upon the levee, in the voice of a Stentor: + +"This way, gentlemen, if you please. Come right on board the +_Declaration_. I am the man from Oregon, with dispatches to the +President of these United States, that you all read about in this +morning's paper. Come on board, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to +hear the news from Oregon. I've just come across the plains, two months +from the Columbia River, where the Injuns are killing your missionaries. +Those passengers who come aboard the _Declaration_ shall hear all about +it before they get to Pittsburg. Don't stop thar, looking at my old +wolf-skin cap, but just come aboard, and hear what I've got to tell!" + +The novelty of this sort of solicitation operated capitally. Many +persons crowded on board the _Declaration_ only to get a closer look at +this picturesque personage who invited them, and many more because they +were really interested to know the news from the far off young territory +which had fallen into trouble. So it chanced that the _Declaration_ was +inconveniently crowded on this particular morning. + +After the boat had got under way, the captain approached his roughest +looking cabin passenger and inquired in a low tone of voice if he were +really and truly the messenger from Oregon. + +"Thar's what I've got to show for it;" answered Meek, producing his +papers. + +"Well, all I have to say is, Mr. Meek, that you are the best runner this +boat ever had; and you are welcome to your passage ticket, and anything +you desire besides." + +Finding that his bright thought had succeeded so well, Meek's spirit +rose with the occasion, and the passengers had no reason to complain +that he had not kept his word. Before he reached Wheeling his popularity +was immense, notwithstanding the condition of his wardrobe. At +Cincinnati he had time to present a letter to the celebrated Doctor +----, who gave him another, which proved to be an 'open sesame' wherever +he went thereafter. + +On the morning of his arrival in Wheeling it happened that the stage +which then carried passengers to Cumberland, where they took the train +for Washington, had already departed. Elated by his previous good +fortune our ragged hero resolved not to be delayed by so trivial a +circumstance; but walking pompously into the stage office inquired, with +an air which must have smacked strongly of the mock-heroic, if he "could +have a stage for Cumberland?" + +The nicely dressed, dignified elderly gentleman who managed the business +of the office, regarded the man who proffered this modest request for a +moment in motionless silence, then slowly raising the spectacles over +his eyes to a position on his forehead, finished his survey with +unassisted vision. Somewhat impressed by the manner in which Meek bore +this scrutiny, he ended by demanding "who are you?" + +Tickled by the absurdity of the tableau they were enacting, Meek +straightened himself up to his six feet two, and replied with an air of +superb self assurance-- + +"I am Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from the Republic +of Oregon to the Court of the United States!" + +After a pause in which the old gentleman seemed to be recovering from +some great surprise, he requested to see the credentials of this +extraordinary envoy. Still more surprised he seemed on discovering for +himself that the personage before him was really a messenger from Oregon +to the government of the United States. But the effect was magical. In a +moment the bell-rope was pulled, and in an incredibly short space of +time a coach stood at the door ready to convey the waiting messenger on +his way to Washington. + +In the meantime in a conversation with the stage agent, Meek had +explained more fully the circumstances of his mission, and the agent had +become much interested. On parting, Meek received a ticket to the Relay +House, with many expressions of regret from the agent that he could +ticket him no farther. + +"But it is all the same," said he; "you are sure to go through." + +"Or run a train off the track," rejoined Meek, as he was bowed out of +the office. + +It happened that there were some other passengers waiting to take the +first stage, and they crowded into this one, glad of the unexpected +opportunity, but wondering at the queer looking passenger to whom the +agent was so polite. This scarcely concealed curiosity was all that was +needed to stimulate the mad-cap spirits of our so far "conquering hero." +Putting his head out of the window just at the moment of starting, he +electrified everybody, horses included, by the utterance of a war-whoop +and yell that would have done credit to a wild Camanche. Satisfied with +the speed to which this demoniac noise had excited the driver's prancing +steeds, he quietly ensconced himself in his corner of the coach and +waited for his fellow passengers to recover from their stunned +sensations. When their complete recovery had been effected, there +followed the usual questioning and explanations, which ended in the +inevitable lionizing that was so much to the taste of this sensational +individual. + +On the cars at Cumberland, and at the eating-houses, the messenger from +Oregon kept up his sensational character, indulging in alternate fits of +mountain manners, and again assuming a disproportionate amount of +grandeur; but in either view proving himself very amusing. By the time +the train reached the Relay House, many of the passengers had become +acquainted with Meek, and were prepared to understand and enjoy each new +phase of his many-sided comicality. + +The ticket with which the stage agent presented him, dead-headed him +only to this point. Here again he must make his poverty a jest, and joke +himself through to Washington. Accordingly when the conductor came +through the car in which he, with several of his new acquaintances were +sitting, demanding tickets, he was obliged to tap his blanketed +passenger on the shoulder to attract his attention to the "ticket, sir!" + +"_Ha ko any me ca, hanch?_" said Meek, starting up and addressing him in +the Snake tongue. + +"Ticket, sir!" repeated the conductor, staring. + +"_Ka hum pa, hanch?_" returned Meek, assuming a look which indicated +that English was as puzzling to him, as Snake to other people. + +Finding that his time would be wasted on this singular passenger, the +conductor went on through the train; returning after a time with a fresh +demand for his ticket. But Meek sustained his character admirably, and +it was only through the excessive amusement of the passengers that the +conductor suspected that he was being made the subject of a practical +joke. At this stage of affairs it was privately explained to him who +and what his waggish customer was, and tickets were no more mentioned +during the journey. + +On the arrival of the train at Washington, the heart of our hero became +for a brief moment of time "very little." He felt that the importance of +his mission demanded some dignity of appearance--some conformity to +established rules and precedents. But of the latter he knew absolutely +nothing; and concerning the former, he realized the absurdity of a +dignitary clothed in blankets and a wolf-skin cap. 'Joe Meek I must +remain,' said he to himself, as he stepped out of the train, and glanced +along the platform at the crowd of porters with the names of their +hotels on their hat-bands. Learning from inquiry that Coleman's was the +most fashionable place, he decided that to Coleman's he would go, +judging correctly that it was best to show no littleness of heart even +in the matter of hotels. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + + +1848. When Meek arrived at Coleman's it was the dinner hour, and +following the crowd to the dining saloon, he took the first seat he came +to, not without being very much stared at. He had taken his cue and the +staring was not unexpected, consequently not so embarrassing as it might +otherwise have been. A bill of fare was laid beside his plate. Turning +to the colored waiter who placed it there, he startled him first by +inquiring in a low growling voice-- + +"What's that boy?" + +"Bill of fare, sah," replied the "boy," who recognized the Southerner in +the use of that one word. + +"Read!" growled Meek again. "The people in _my_ country can't read." + +Though taken by surprise, the waiter, politely obedient, proceeded to +enumerate the courses on the bill of fare. When he came to game---- + +"Stop thar, boy!" commanded Meek, "what kind of game?" + +"Small game, sah." + +"Fetch me a piece of antelope," leaning back in his chair with a look of +satisfaction on his face. + +"Got none of that sah; don't know what that ar' sah." + +"Don't know!" with a look of pretended surprise. "In _my_ country +antelope and deer ar' small game; bear and buffalo ar' large game. I +reckon if you haven't got one, you haven't got the other, either. In +that case you may fetch me some beef." + +The waiter disappeared grinning, and soon returned with the customary +thin and small cut, which Meek eyed at first contemptuously, and then +accepting it in the light of a sample swallowed it at two mouthfuls, +returning his plate to the waiter with an approving smile, and saying +loud enough to be overheard by a score of people---- + +"Boy, that will do. Fetch me about four pounds of the same kind." + +By this time the blanketed beef-eater was the recipient of general +attention, and the "boy" who served him comprehending with that +quickness which distinguishes servants, that he had no ordinary +backwoodsman to deal with, was all the time on the alert to make himself +useful. People stared, then smiled, then asked each other "who is it?" +loud enough for the stranger to hear. Meek looked neither to the right +nor to the left, pretending not to hear the whispering. When he had +finished his beef, he again addressed himself to the attentive "boy." + +"That's better meat than the old mule I eat in the mountains." + +Upon this remark the whispering became more general, and louder, and +smiles more frequent. + +"What have you got to drink, boy?" continued Meek, still unconscious. +"Isn't there a sort of wine called--some kind of _pain_?" + +"Champagne, sah?" + +"That's the stuff, I reckon; bring me some." + +While Meek drank his champagne, with an occasional aside to his faithful +attendant, people laughed and wondered "who the devil it was." At +length, having finished his wine, and overhearing many open inquiries as +to his identity, the hero of many bear-fights slowly arose, and +addressing the company through the before-mentioned "boy," said: + +"You want to know who I am?" + +"If you please, sah; yes, if you please, sah, for the sake of these +gentlemen present," replied the "boy," answering for the company. + +"Wall then," proclaimed Meek with a grandiloquent air quite at variance +with his blanket coat and unkempt hair, yet which displayed his fine +person to advantage, "I am Envoy Extraordinary and Minister +Plenipotentiary from the Republic of Oregon to the Court of the United +States!" + +With that he turned and strode from the room. He had not proceeded far, +however, before he was overtaken by a party of gentlemen in pursuit. +Senator Underwood of Kentucky immediately introduced himself, calling +the envoy by name, for the dispatch from St. Louis had prepared the +President and the Senate for Meek's appearance in Washington, though it +had not advised them of his style of dress and address. Other gentlemen +were introduced, and questions followed questions in rapid succession. + +When curiosity was somewhat abated, Meek expressed a wish to see the +President without delay. To Underwood's question as to whether he did +not wish to make his toilet before visiting the White House, his reply +was, "business first, and toilet afterwards." + +"But," said Underwood, "even your business can wait long enough for +that." + +"No, that's your mistake, Senator, and I'll tell you why: I can't dress, +for two reasons, both good ones. I've not got a cent of money, nor a +second suit of clothes." + +The generous Kentuckian offered to remove the first of the objections +on the spot, but Meek declined. "I'll see the President first, and hear +what he has to say about my mission." Then calling a coach from the +stand, he sprang into it, answering the driver's question of where he +would be taken, with another inquiry. + +"Whar should a man of _my_ style want to go?--to the White House, of +course!" and so was driven away amid the general laughter of the +gentlemen in the portico at Coleman's, who had rather doubted his +intention to pay his respects to the President in his dirty blankets. + +He was admitted to the Presidential mansion by a mulatto of about his +own age, with whom he remembered playing when a lad, for it must be +remembered that the Meeks and Polks were related, and this servant had +grown up in the family. On inquiring if he could see the President, he +was directed to the office of the private Secretary, Knox Walker, also a +relative of Meek's on the mother's side. + +On entering he found the room filled with gentlemen waiting to see the +President, each when his turn to be admitted should arrive. The +Secretary sat reading a paper, over the top of which he glanced but once +at the new comer, to ask him to be seated. But Meek was not in the humor +for sitting. He had not traveled express for more than two months, in +storm and cold, on foot and on horseback, by day and by night, with or +without food, as it chanced, to sit down quietly now and wait. So he +took a few turns up and down the room, and seeing that the Secretary +glanced at him a little curiously, stopped and said: + +"I should like to see the President immediately. Just tell him if you +please that there is a gentleman from Oregon waiting to see him on very +important business." + +At the word _Oregon_, the Secretary sprang up, dashed his paper to the +ground, and crying out "Uncle Joe!" came forward with both hands +extended to greet his long lost relative. + +"Take care, Knox! don't come too close," said Meek stepping back, "I'm +ragged, dirty, and--lousy." + +[Illustration: "TAKE CARE, KNOX."] + +But Walker seized his cousin's hand, without seeming fear of the +consequences, and for a few moments there was an animated exchange of +questions and answers, which Meek at last interrupted to repeat his +request to be admitted to the President without delay. Several times the +Secretary turned to leave the room, but as often came back with some +fresh inquiry, until Meek fairly refused to say another word, until he +had delivered his dispatches. + +When once the Secretary got away he soon returned with a request from +the President for the appearance of the Oregon messenger, all other +visitors being dismissed for that day. Polk's reception proved as +cordial as Walker's had been. He seized the hand of his newly found +relative, and welcomed him in his own name, as well as that of messenger +from the distant, much loved, and long neglected Oregon. The interview +lasted for a couple of hours. Oregon affairs and family affairs were +talked over together; the President promising to do all for Oregon that +he could do; at the same time he bade Meek make himself at home in the +Presidential mansion, with true southern hospitality. + +But Meek, although he had carried off his poverty and all his +deficiencies in so brave a style hitherto, felt his assurance leaving +him, when, his errand performed, he stood in the presence of rank and +elegance, a mere mountain-man in ragged blankets, whose only wealth +consisted of an order for five hundred dollars on the Methodist mission +in New York, unavailable for present emergencies. And so he declined the +hospitalities of the White House, saying he "could make himself at home +in an Indian wigwam in Oregon, or among the Rocky Mountains, but in the +residence of the chief magistrate of a great nation, he felt out of +place, and ill at ease." + +Polk, however, would listen to no refusal, and still further abashed his +Oregon cousin by sending for Mrs. Polk and Mrs. Walker, to make his +acquaintance. Says Meek: + +"When I heard the silks rustling in the passage, I felt more frightened +than if a hundred Blackfeet had whooped in my ear. A mist came over my +eyes, and when Mrs. Polk spoke to me I couldn't think of anything to say +in return." + +But the ladies were so kind and courteous that he soon began to see a +little, though not quite plainly while their visit lasted. Before the +interview with the President and his family was ended, the poverty of +the Oregon envoy became known, which led to the immediate supplying of +all his wants. Major Polk was called in and introduced; and to him was +deputed the business of seeing Meek "got up" in a style creditable to +himself and his relations. Meek avers that when he had gone through the +hands of the barber and tailor, and surveyed himself in a full length +mirror, he was at first rather embarrassed, being under the impression +that he was being introduced to a fashionable and decidedly good-looking +gentleman, before whose overpowering style he was disposed to shrink, +with the old familiar feeling of being in blankets. + +But Meek was not the sort of man to be long in getting used to a +situation however novel or difficult. In a very short time he was _au +fait_ in the customs of the capital. His perfect frankness led people to +laugh at his errors as eccentricities; his good looks and natural +_bonhomie_ procured him plenty of admirers; while his position at the +White House caused him to be envied and lionized at once. + +On the day following his arrival the President sent in a message to +Congress accompanied by the memorial from the Oregon legislature and +other documents appertaining to the Oregon cause. Meek was introduced to +Benton, Oregon's indefatigable friend, and received from him the kindest +treatment; also to Dallas, President of the Senate; Douglas, Fremont, +Gen. Houston, and all the men who had identified themselves with the +interests of the West. + +It should be stated that only a short time previous to the Waiilatpu +massacre a delegate had left Oregon for Washington, by ship around Cape +Horn, who had been accredited by the governor of the colony only, and +that the legislature had subsequently passed resolutions expressive of +their disapproval of "secret factions," by which was meant the mission +party, whose delegate Mr. Thornton was. + +It so happened that, by reason of the commander of the _Portsmouth_ +having assumed it to be a duty to convey Mr. Thornton from La Paz, where +through the infidelity of the Captain of the _Whitton_, he was stranded, +he was enabled to reach the States early in the Spring, arriving in fact +a week or two before Meek reached Washington. Thus Oregon had two +representatives, although not entitled to any: nor had either a right to +a seat in either House; yet to one this courtesy was granted, while the +two together controlled more powerful influences than were ever before +or since brought to bear on the fate of any single territory of the +United States. While Mr. Thornton sat among Senators as a sort of +consulting member or referee, but without a vote; Meek had the private +ear of the President, and mingled freely among members of both Houses, +in a social character, thereby exercising a more immediate influence +than his more learned coadjutor. + +In the meantime our hero was making the most of his advantages. He went +to dinners and champagne suppers, besides giving an occasional one of +the latter. At the presidential levees he made himself agreeable to +witty and distinguished ladies, answering innumerable questions about +Oregon and Indians, generally with a veil of reserve between himself and +the questioner whenever the inquiries became, as they sometimes would, +disagreeably searching. Again the spirit of perversity and mischief led +him to make his answers so very direct as to startle or bewilder the +questioner. + +On one occasion a lady with whom he was promenading a drawing-room at +some Senator's reception, admiring his handsome physique perhaps, and +wondering if any woman owned it, finally ventured the question--was he +married? + +"Yes, indeed," answered Meek, with emphasis, "I have a wife and several +children." + +"Oh dear," exclaimed the lady, "I should think your wife would be _so_ +afraid of the Indians!" + +"Afraid of the Indians!" exclaimed Meek in his turn; "why, madam, she is +an Indian herself!" + +No further remarks on the subject were ventured that evening; and it is +doubtful if the lady did not take his answer as a rebuke to her +curiosity rather than the plain truth that it was. + +Meek found his old comrade, Kit Carson, in Washington, staying with +Fremont at the house of Senator Benton. Kit, who had left the mountains +as poor as any other of the mountain-men, had no resource at that time +except the pay furnished by Fremont for his services as guide and +explorer in the California and Oregon expeditions; where, in fact, it +was Carson and not Fremont who deserved fame as a path-finder. However +that may be, Carson had as little money as men of his class usually +have, and needed it as much. So long as Meek's purse was supplied, as it +generally was, by some member of the family at the White House, Carson +could borrow from him. But one being quite as careless of money as the +other, they were sometimes both out of pocket at the same time. In that +case the conversation was apt to take a turn like this: + +_Carson._ Meek, let me have some money, can't you? + +_Meek._ I haven't got any money, Kit. + +_Carson._ Go and get some. + +_Meek._ ---- it, whar am I to get money from? + +_Carson._ Try the "contingent fund," can't you? + +Truth to tell the contingent fund was made to pay for a good many things +not properly chargeable to the necessary expenditures of "Envoy +Extraordinary" like our friend from Oregon. + +The favoritism with which our hero was everywhere received was something +remarkable, even when all the circumstances of his relationship to the +chief magistrate, and the popularity of the Oregon question were +considered. Doubtless the novelty of having a bear-fighting and +Indian-fighting Rocky Mountain man to lionize, was one great secret of +the furore which greeted him wherever he went; but even that fails to +account fully for the enthusiasm he awakened, since mountain-men had +begun to be pretty well known and understood, from the journal of +Fremont and other explorers. It could only have been the social genius +of the man which enabled him to overcome the impediments of lack of +education, and the associations of half a lifetime. But whatever was the +fortunate cause of his success, he enjoyed it to the full. He took +excursions about the country in all directions, petted and spoiled like +any "curled darling" instead of the six-foot-two Rocky Mountain trapper +that he was. + +In June he received an invitation to Baltimore, tendered by the city +council, and was received by that body with the mayor at its head, in +whose carriage he was conveyed to Monument Square, to be welcomed by a +thousand ladies, smiling and showering roses upon him as he passed. And +kissing the roses because he could not kiss the ladies, he bowed and +smiled himself past the festive groups waiting to receive the messenger +from Oregon. Music, dining, and the parade usual to such occasions +distinguished this day, which Meek declares to have been the proudest of +his life; not denying that the beauty of the Baltimore ladies +contributed chiefly to produce that impression. + +On the fourth of July, Polk laid the corner stone of the National +Monument. The occasion was celebrated with great _eclat_, the address +being delivered by Winthrop, the military display, and the fire-works in +the evening being unusually fine. In the procession General Scott and +staff rode on one side of the President's carriage, Col. May and Meek +on the other,--Meek making a great display of horsemanship, in which as +a mountain-man he excelled. + +[Illustration: _A MOUNTAIN-MAN IN CLOVER._] + +A little later in the summer Meek joined a party of Congressmen who were +making campaign speeches in the principal cities of the north. At +Lowell, Mass., he visited the cotton factories, and was equally +surprised at the extent of the works, and the number of young women +employed in them. Seeing this, the forewoman requested him to stop until +noon and see the girls come out. As they passed in review before him, +she asked if he had made his choice. + +"No," replied the gallant Oregonian, "it would be impossible to choose, +out of such a lot as that; I should have to take them all." + +If our hero, under all his gaity smothered a sigh of regret that he was +not at liberty to take _one_--a woman like those with whom for the first +time in his life he was privileged to associate--who shall blame him? +The kind of life he was living now was something totally different to +anything in the past. It opened to his comprehension delightful +possibilities of what might have been done and enjoyed under other +circumstances, yet which now never could be done or enjoyed, until +sometimes he was ready to fly from all these allurements, and hide +himself again in the Rocky Mountains. Then again by a desperate effort, +such thoughts were banished, and he rushed more eagerly than before into +every pleasure afforded by the present moment, as if to make the present +atone for the past and the future. + +The kindness of the ladies at the White House, while it was something to +be grateful for, as well as to make him envied, often had the effect to +disturb his tranquility by the suggestions it gave rise to. Yet he was +always demanding it, always accepting it. So constantly was he the +attendant of his lady cousins in public and in private, riding and +driving, or sauntering in the gardens of the presidential mansion, that +the less favored among their acquaintances felt called upon to believe +themselves aggrieved. Often, as the tall form of our hero was seen with +a lady on either arm promenading the gardens at evening, the question +would pass among the curious but uninitiated--"Who is that?" And the +reply of some jealous grumbler would be--"It is that ---- Rocky Mountain +man," so loud sometimes as to be overheard by the careless trio, who +smothered a laugh behind a hat or a fan. + +And so passed that brief summer of our hero's life. A great deal of +experience, of sight-seeing, and enjoyment had been crowded into a short +few months of time. He had been introduced to and taken by the hand by +the most celebrated men of the day. Nor had he failed to meet with men +whom he had known in the mountains and in Oregon. His old employer, +Wilkes, who was ill in Washington, sent for him to come and tell "some +of those Oregon lies" for his amusement, and Meek, to humor him, +stretched some of his good stories to the most wonderful dimensions. + +But from the very nature of the enjoyment it could not last long; it was +too vivid and sensational for constant wear. Feeling this, he began to +weary of Washington, and more particularly since he had for the last few +weeks been stopping away from the White House. In one of his restless +moods he paid a visit to Polk, who detecting the state of his mind asked +laughingly---- + +"Well, Meek, what do you want now?" + +"I want to be franked." + +"How long will five hundred dollars last you?" + +"About as many days as there ar' hundreds, I reckon." + +"You are shockingly extravagant, Meek. Where do you think all this money +is to come from?" + +"It is not my business to know, Mr. President," replied Meek, laughing, +"but it _is_ the business of these United States to pay the expenses of +the messenger from Oregon, isn't it?" + +"I think I will send you to the Secretary of War to be franked, Meek; +his frank is better than mine. But no, stay; I will speak to Knox about +it this time. And you must not spend your money so recklessly, Meek; it +will not do--it will not do." + +Meek thanked the President both for the money and the advice, but gave a +champagne supper the next night, and in a week's time was as +empty-handed as ever. + +The close of the session was at hand and nothing had been done except to +talk. Congress was to adjourn at noon on Monday, August 14th, and it was +now Saturday the 12th. The friends of Oregon were anxious; the two +waiting Oregonians nearly desperate. On this morning of the 12th, the +friends of the bill, under Benton's lead, determined upon obtaining a +vote on the final passage of the bill; resolving that they would not +yield to the usual motions for delay and adjournments, but that they +would, if necessary, sit until twelve o'clock Monday. + +Saturday night wore away; the Sabbath morning's sun arose; and at last, +two hours after sunrise, a consultation was held between Butler, Mason, +Calhoun, Davis, and Foote, which resulted in the announcement that no +further opposition would be offered to taking the vote upon the final +passage of the Oregon bill. The vote was then taken, the bill passed, +and the weary Senate adjourned, to meet again on Monday for a final +adjournment. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + + +1848-9. The long suspense ended, Meek prepared to return to Oregon, if +not without some regrets, at the same time not unwillingly. His restless +temper, and life-long habits of unrestrained freedom began to revolt +against the conventionality of his position in Washington. Besides, in +appointing officers for the new territory, Polk had made him United +States Marshal, than which no office could have suited him better, and +he was as prompt to assume the discharge of its duties, as all his life +he had been to undertake any duty to which his fortunes assigned him. + +On the 20th of August, only six days after the passage of the +territorial bill, he received his papers from Buchanan, and set off for +Bedford Springs, whither the family from the White House were flown to +escape from the suffocating air of Washington in August. He had brought +his papers to be signed by Polk, and being expected by the President +found everything arranged for his speedy departure; Polk even ordering a +seat for him in the upcoming coach, by telegraph. On learning this from +the President, at dinner, when the band was playing, Meek turned to the +leader and ordered him to play "Sweet Home," much to the amusement of +his lady cousins, who had their own views of the sweets of a home in +Oregon. A hurried farewell, spoken to each of his friends separately, +and Oregon's new Marshal was ready to proceed on his long journey toward +the Pacific. + +The occasion of Polk's haste in the matter of getting Meek started, was +his anxiety to have the Oregon government become a fact before the +expiration of his term of office. The appointment of Governor of the new +territory had been offered to Shields, and declined. Another commission +had been made out, appointing General Joseph Lane of Indiana, Governor +of Oregon, and the commission was that day signed by the President and +given to Meek to be delivered to Lane in the shortest possible time. His +last words to the Marshal on parting were--"God bless you, Meek. Tell +Lane to have a territorial government organized during my +administration." + +Of the ten thousand dollars appropriated by Congress "to be expended +under the direction of the President, in payment for services and +expenses of such persons as had been engaged by the provisional +government of Oregon in conveying communications to and from the United +States; and for purchase of presents for such Indian tribes as the peace +and quiet of the country required"--Thornton received two thousand six +hundred dollars, Meek seven thousand four hundred, and the Indian tribes +none. Whether the President believed that the peace and quiet of the +country did not require presents to be made to the Indians, or whether +family credit required that Meek should get the lion's share, is not +known. However that may be, our hero felt himself to be quite rich, and +proceeded to get rid of his superfluity, as will hereafter be seen, with +his customary prodigality and enjoyment of the present without regard to +the future. + +Before midnight on the day of his arrival at the springs, Meek was on +his way to Indiana to see General Lane. Arriving at the Newburg landing +one morning at day-break, he took horse immediately for the General's +residence at Newburg, and presented him with his commission soon after +breakfast. Lane sat writing, when Meek, introducing himself, laid his +papers before him. + +"Do you accept?" asked Meek. + +"Yes," answered Lane. + +"How soon can you be ready to start?" + +"In fifteen minutes!" answered Lane, with military promptness. + +Three days, however, were actually required to make the necessary +preparations for leaving his farm and proceeding to the most remote +corner of the United States territory. + +At St. Louis they were detained one day, waiting for a boat to +Leavenworth, where they expected to meet their escort. This one day was +too precious to be lost in waiting by so business-like a person as our +hero, who, when nothing more important was to be done generally was +found trying to get rid of his money. So, on this occasion, after having +disburdened himself of a small amount in treating the new Governor and +all his acquaintances, he entered into negotiations with a peddler who +was importuning the passengers to buy everything, from a jack-knife to a +silk dress. + +Finding that Nat. Lane, the General's son, wanted a knife, but was +disposed to beat down the price, Meek made an offer for the lot of a +dozen or two, and thereby prevented Lane getting one at any price. Not +satisfied with this investment, he next made a purchase of three whole +pieces of silk, at one dollar and fifty cents per yard. At this stage of +the transaction General Lane interfered sufficiently to inquire "what he +expected to do with that stuff?" + +"Can't tell," answered Meek; "but I reckon it is worth the money." + +"Better save your money," said the more prudent Lane. But the +incorrigible spendthrift only laughed, and threatened to buy out the +Jew's entire stock, if Lane persisted in preaching economy. + +At St. Louis, besides his son Nat., Lane was met by Lieut. Hawkins, who +was appointed to the command of the escort of twenty-five riflemen, and +Dr. Hayden, surgeon of the company. This party proceeded to Leavenworth, +the point of starting, where the wagons and men of Hawkins' command +awaited them. At this place, Meek was met by a brother and two sisters +who had come to look on him for the first time in many years. The two +days' delay which was necessary to get the train ready for a start, +afforded an opportunity for this family reunion, the last that might +ever occur between its widely separated branches, new shoots from which +extend at this day from Virginia to Alabama, and from Tennessee to +California and Oregon. + +By the 10th of September the new government was on its way to Oregon in +the persons of Lane and Meek. The whole company of officers, men, and +teamsters, numbered about fifty-five; the wagons ten; and riding-horses, +an extra supply for each rider. + +The route taken, with the object to avoid the snows of a northern +winter, was from Leavenworth to Santa Fe, and thence down the Rio Grande +to near El Paso; thence northwesterly by Tucson, in Arizona; thence to +the Pimas village on the Gila River; following the Gila to its junction +with the Colorado, thence northwesterly again to the Bay of San Pedro in +California. From this place the company were to proceed by ship to San +Francisco; and thence again by ship to the Columbia River. + +On the Santa Fe trail they met the army returning from Mexico, under +Price, and learned from them that they could not proceed with wagons +beyond Santa Fe. The lateness of the season, although it was not +attended with snow, as on the northern route it would have been, +subjected the travelers nevertheless to the strong, cold winds which +blow over the vast extent of open country between the Missouri River and +the high mountain range which forms the water-shed of the continent. It +also made it more difficult to subsist the animals, especially after +meeting Price's army, which had already swept the country bare. + +On coming near Santa Fe, Meek was riding ahead of his party, when he had +a most unexpected encounter. Seeing a covered traveling carriage drawn +up under the shade of some trees growing beside a small stream, not far +off from the trail, he resolved, with his usual love of adventure, to +discover for himself the character of the proprietor. But as he drew +nearer, he discovered no one, although a camp-table stood under the +trees, spread with refreshments, not only of a solid, but a fluid +nature. The sight of a bottle of cognac induced him to dismount, and he +was helping himself to a liberal glass, when a head was protruded from a +covering of blankets inside the carriage, and a heavy bass voice was +heard in a polite protest: + +"Seems to me, stranger, you are making free with my property!" + +"Here's to you, sir," rejoined the purloiner; "it isn't often I find as +good brandy as that,"--holding out the glass admiringly,--"but when I +do, I make it a point of honor not to pass it." + +"May I inquire your name, sir?" asked the owner of the brandy, forced to +smile at the good-humored audacity of his guest. + +"I couldn't refuse to give my name after that,"--replacing the glass on +the table,--"and I now introduce myself as Joseph L. Meek, Esq., +Marshal of Oregon, on my way from Washington to assist General Lane in +establishing a territorial Government west of the Rocky Mountains." + +"Meek!--what, not the Joe Meek I have heard my brothers tell so much +about?" + +"Joe Meek is my name; but whar did your brothers know me?" inquired our +hero, mystified in his turn. + +"I think you must have known Captain William Sublette and his brother +Milton, ten or twelve years ago, in the Rocky Mountains," said the +gentleman, getting out of the carriage, and approaching Meek with +extended hand. + +A delighted recognition now took place. From Solomon Sublette, the owner +of the carriage and the cognac, Meek learned many particulars of the +life and death of his former leaders in the mountains. Neither of them +were then living; but this younger brother, Solomon, had inherited +Captain Sublette's wife and wealth at the same time. After these +explanations, Mr. Sublette raised the curtains of the carriage again, +and assisted to descend from it a lady, whom he introduced as his wife, +and who exhibited much gratification in becoming acquainted with the +hero of many a tale recited to her by her former husband, Captain +Sublette. + +In the midst of this pleasant exchange of reminiscences, the remainder +of Meek's party rode up, were introduced, and invited to regale +themselves on the fine liquors with which Mr. Sublette's carriage proved +to be well furnished. This little adventure gave our hero much pleasure, +as furnishing a link between the past and present, and bringing freshly +to mind many incidents already beginning to fade in his memory. + +At Santa Fe, the train stopped to be overhauled and reconstructed. The +wagons having to be abandoned, their contents had to be packed on +mules, after the manner of mountain or of Mexican travel and +transportation. This change accomplished, with as little delay as +possible, the train proceeded without any other than the usual +difficulties, as far as Tucson, when two of the twenty-five riflemen +deserted, having become suddenly enamored of liberty, in the dry and +dusty region of southern Arizona. + +Lieutenant Hawkins, immediately on discovering the desertion, dispatched +two men, well armed, to compel their return. One of the men detailed for +this duty belonged to the riflemen, but the other was an American, who, +with a company of Mexican packers, had joined the train at Santa Fe, and +was acting in the capacity of pilot. In order to fit out this volunteer +for the service, always dangerous, of retaking deserting soldiers, Meek +had lent him his Colt's revolvers. It was a vain precaution, however, +both the men being killed in attempting to capture the deserters; and +Meek's pistols were never more heard of, having fallen into the +murderous hands of the runaways. + +Drouth now began to be the serious evil with which the travelers had to +contend. From the Pimas villages westward, it continually grew worse, +the animals being greatly reduced from the want both of food and water. +At the crossing of the Colorado, the animals had to be crossed over by +swimming, the officers and men by rafts made of bulrushes. Lane and Meek +being the first to be ferried over, were landed unexpectedly in the +midst of a Yuma village. The Indians, however, gave them no trouble, +and, except the little artifice of drowning some of the mules at the +crossing, in order to get their flesh to eat, committed neither murders +nor thefts, nor any outrage whatever. + +[Illustration: _GOVERNOR LANE AND MARSHAL MEEK ENROUTE TO OREGON._] + +It was quite as well for the unlucky mules to be drowned and eaten as +it was for their fellows to travel on over the arid desert before them +until they starved and perished, which they nearly all did. From the +Colorado on, the company of Lieut. Hawkins became thoroughly +demoralized. Not only would the animals persist in dying, several in a +day, but the soldiers also persisted in deserting, until, by the time he +reached the coast, his forlorn hope was reduced to three men. But it was +not the drouth in their case which caused the desertions: it was rumors +which they heard everywhere along the route, of mines of gold and +silver, where they flattered themselves they could draw better pay than +from Uncle Sam's coffers. + +The same difficulty from desertion harassed Lieutenant-Colonel Loring in +the following summer, when he attempted to establish a line of posts +along the route to Oregon, by the way of Forts Kearney, Laramie, and +through the South Pass to Fort Hall. His mounted rifle regiment dwindled +down to almost nothing. At one time, over one hundred men deserted in a +body: and although he pursued and captured seventy of them, he could not +keep them from deserting again at the first favorable moment. The bones +of many of those gold-seeking soldiers were left on the plains, where +wolves had stripped the flesh from them; and many more finally had rude +burial at the hands of fellow gold-seekers: but few indeed ever won or +enjoyed that for which they risked everything. + +On arriving at Cook's wells, some distance beyond the Colorado, our +travelers found that the water at this place was tainted by the body of +a mule which had lost its life some days before in endeavoring to get at +the water. This was a painful discovery for the thirsty party to make. +However, there being no water for some distance ahead, General Lane +boiled some of it, and made coffee of it, remarking that "maggots were +more easily swallowed cooked than raw!" + +And here the writer, and no doubt, the reader too, is compelled to make +a reflection. Was the office of Governor of a Territory at fifteen +hundred dollars a year, and Indian agent at fifteen hundred more, worth +a journey of over three thousand miles, chiefly by land, even allowing +that there had been no maggots in the water? _Quien sábe?_ + +Not far from this locality our party came upon one hundred wagons +abandoned by Major Graham, who had not been able to cross the desert +with them. Proceeding onward, the riders eventually found themselves on +foot, there being only a few animals left alive to transport the baggage +that could not be abandoned. So great was their extremity, that to +quench their thirst the stomach of a mule was opened to get at the +moisture it contained. In the horror and pain of the thirst-fever, Meek +renewed again the sufferings he had undergone years before in the +deserts inhabited by Diggers, and on the parched plains of the Snake +River. + +About the middle of January the Oregon Government, which had started out +so gaily from Fort Leavenworth, arrived weary, dusty, foot-sore, +famished, and suffering, at William's Ranch on the Santa Anna River, +which empties into the Bay of San Pedro. Here they were very kindly +received, and their wants ministered to. + +At this place Meek developed, in addition to his various +accomplishments, a talent for speculation. While overhauling his +baggage, the knives and the silk which had been purchased of the +_peddler_ in St. Louis, were brought to light. No sooner did the +senoritas catch a glimpse of the shining fabrics than they went into +raptures over them, after the fashion of their sex. Seeing the state of +mind to which these raptures, if unheeded, were likely to reduce the +ladies of his house, Mr. Williams approached Meek delicately on the +subject of purchase. But Meek, in the first flush of speculative +shrewdness declared that as he had bought the goods for his own wife, he +could not find it in his heart to sell them. + +However, as the senoritas were likely to prove inconsolable, Mr. +Williams again mentioned the desire of his family to be clad in silk, +and the great difficulty, nay, impossibility, of obtaining the much +coveted fabric in that part of the world, and accompanied his remarks +with an offer of ten dollars a yard for the lot. At this magnificent +offer our hero affected to be overcome by regard for the feelings of the +senoritas, and consented to sell his dollar and a-half silks for ten +dollars per yard. + +In the same manner, finding that knives were a desirable article in that +country, very much wanted by miners and others, he sold out his dozen or +two, for an ounce each of gold-dust, netting altogether the convenient +little profit of about five hundred dollars. When Gen. Lane was informed +of the transaction, and reminded of his objections to the original +purchase, he laughed heartily. + +"Well, Meek," said he, "you were drunk when you bought them, and by ---- +I think you must have been drunk when you sold them; but drunk or sober, +I will own you can beat me at a bargain." + +Such bargains, however, became common enough about this time in +California, for this was the year memorable in California history, of +the breaking out of the gold-fever, and the great rush to the mines +which made even the commonest things worth their weight in gold-dust. + +Proceeding to Los Angelos, our party, once more comfortably mounted, +found traveling comparatively easy. At this place they found quartered +the command of Maj. Graham, whose abandoned wagons had been passed at +the _Hornella_ on the Colorado River. The town, too, was crowded with +miners, men of every class, but chiefly American adventurers, drawn +together from every quarter of California and Mexico by the rumor of the +gold discovery at Sutter's Fort. + +On arriving at San Pedro, a vessel--the _Southampton_, was found ready +to sail. She had on board a crowd of fugitives from Mexico, bound to San +Francisco, where they hoped to find repose from the troubles which +harassed that revolutionary Republic. + +At San Francisco, Meek was surprised to meet about two hundred +Oregonians, who on the first news of the gold discovery the previous +autumn, had fled, as it is said men shall flee on the day of +judgment--leaving the wheat ungathered in the fields, the grain unground +in the mills, the cattle unherded on the plains, their tools and farming +implements rusting on the ground--everything abandoned as if it would +never more be needed, to go and seek the shining dust, which is vainly +denominated "filthy lucre." The two hundred were on their way home, +having all either made something, or lost their health by exposure so +that they were obliged to return. But they left many more in the mines. + +Such were the tales told in San Francisco of the wonderful fortunes of +some of the miners that young Lane became infected with the universal +fever and declared his intention to try mining with the rest. Meek too, +determined to risk something in gold-seeking, and as some of the +teamsters who had left Fort Leavenworth with the company, and had come +as far as San Francisco, were very desirous of going to the mines, Meek +fitted out two or three with pack-horses, tools, and provisions, to +accompany young Lane. For the money expended in the outfit he was to +receive half of their first year's profits. The result of this venture +was three pickle-jars of gold-dust, which were sent to him by the hands +of Nat. Lane, the following year; and which just about reimbursed him +for the outlay. + +At San Francisco, Gen. Lane found the U.S. Sloop of War, the _St. +Mary's_; and Meek insisted that the Oregon government, which was +represented in their persons, had a right to require her services in +transporting itself to its proper seat. But Lane, whose notions of +economy extended, singularly enough, to the affairs of the general +government, would not consent to the needless expenditure. Meek was +rebellious, and quoted Thornton, by whom he was determined not to be +outdone in respect of expense for transportation. Lane insisted that his +dignity did not require a government vessel to convey him to Oregon. In +short the new government was very much divided against itself, and only +escaped a fall by Meek's finding some one, or some others, else, on whom +to play his pranks. + +The first one was a Jew peddler who had gentlemen's clothes to sell. To +him the Marshal represented himself as a United States Custom officer, +and after frightening him with a threat of confiscating his entire +stock, finally compromised with the terrified Israelite by accepting a +suit of clothes for himself. After enjoying the mortification of spirit +which the loss inflicted on the Jew, for twenty-four hours, he finally +paid him for the clothes, at the same time administering a lecture upon +the sin and danger of smuggling. + +The party which had left Leavenworth for Oregon nearly six months +before, numbering fifty-five, now numbered only seven. Of the original +number two had been killed, and all the rest had deserted to go to the +mines. There remained only Gen. Lane, Meek, Lieut. Hawkins and Hayden, +surgeon, besides three soldiers. With this small company Gen. Lane went +on board the _Jeanette_, a small vessel, crowded with miners, and +destined for the Columbia River. As the _Jeanette_ dropped down the Bay, +a salute was fired from the _St. Mary's_ in honor of Gen. Lane, and +appropriated to himself by Marshal Meek, who seems to have delighted in +appropriating to himself all the honors in whatever circumstances he +might be placed; the more especially too, if such assumption annoyed the +General. + +After a tedious voyage of eighteen days the _Jeanette_ arrived in the +Columbia River. From Astoria the party took small boats for Oregon City, +a voyage of one hundred and twenty miles; so that it was already the 2d +of March when they arrived at that place, and only one day was left for +the organization of the Territorial Government before the expiration of +Polk's term of office. + +On the 2d of March Gen. Lane arrived at Oregon City, and was introduced +to Gov. Abernethy, by Marshal Meek. On the 3d, there appeared the +following-- + + PROCLAMATION. + + In pursuance of an act of Congress, approved the 14th of August, in + the year of our Lord 1848, establishing a Territorial Government in + the Territory of Oregon: + + I, Joseph Lane, was, on the 18th day of August, in the year 1848, + appointed Governor in and for the Territory of Oregon. I have + therefore thought it proper to issue this, my proclamation, making + known that I have this day entered upon the discharge of the duties + of my office, and by virtue thereof do declare the laws of the + United States extended over, and declared to be in force in said + Territory, so far as the same, or any portion thereof may be + applicable. + + Given under my hand at Oregon City, in the Territory of Oregon, + this 3d day of March, Anno Domini 1849. + + JOSEPH LANE. + +Thus Oregon had one day, under Polk, who, take it all in all, had been a +faithful guardian of her interests. + +In the month of August, 1848, the _Honolulu_, a vessel of one hundred +and fifty tons, owned in Boston, carrying a consignment of goods to a +mercantile house in Portland, arrived at her anchorage in the Wallamet, +_via_ San Francisco, California. Captain Newell, almost before he had +discharged freight, commenced buying up a cargo of flour and other +provisions. But what excited the wonder of the Oregonians was the fact +that he also bought up all manner of tools such as could be used in +digging or cutting, from a spade and pickaxe, to a pocket-knife. This +singular proceeding naturally aroused the suspicions of a people +accustomed to have something to suspect. A demand was made for the +_Honolulu's_ papers, and these not being forthcoming, it was proposed by +some of the prudent ones to tie her up. When this movement was +attempted, the secret came out. Captain Newell, holding up a bag of +gold-dust before the astonished eyes of his persecutors, cried out-- + +"Do you see that gold? ---- you, I will depopulate your country! I know +where there is plenty of this stuff, and I am taking these tools where +it is to be found." + +This was in August, the month of harvest. So great was the excitement +which seized the people, that all classes of men were governed by it. +Few persons stopped to consider that this was the time for producers to +reap golden harvests of precious ore, for the other yellow harvest of +grain which was already ripe and waiting to be gathered. Men left their +grain standing, and took their teams from the reapers to pack their +provisions and tools to the mines. + +Some men would have gladly paid double to get back the spades, shovels, +or picks, which the shrewd Yankee Captain had purchased from them a week +previous. All implements of this nature soon commanded fabulous prices, +and he was a lucky man who had a supply. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + + +1850-4. The Territorial law of Oregon combined the offices of Governor +and Indian Agent. One of the most important acts which marked Lane's +administration was that of securing and punishing the murderers of Dr. +and Mrs. Whitman. The Indians of the Cayuse tribe to whom the murderers +belonged, were assured that the only way in which they could avoid a war +with the whites was to deliver up the chiefs who had been engaged in the +massacre, to be tried and punished according to the laws of the whites. +Of the two hundred Indians implicated in the massacre, five were given +up to be dealt with according to law. These were the five chiefs, +_Te-lou-i-kite_, _Tam-a-has_, _Klok-a-mas_, _Ki-am-a-sump-kin_, and +_I-sa-i-a-cha-lak-is_. + +These men might have made their escape; there was no imperative +necessity upon them to suffer death, had they chosen to flee to the +mountains. But with that strange magnanimity which the savage often +shows, to the astonishment of Christians, they resolved to die for their +people rather than by their flight to involve them in war. + +Early in the summer of 1850, the prisoners were delivered up to Gov. +Lane, and brought down to Oregon City, where they were given into the +keeping of the marshal. During their passage down the river, and while +they were incarcerated at Oregon City, their bearing was most proud and +haughty. Some food, more choice than their prisoner's fare, being +offered to one of the chiefs at a camp of the guard, in their transit +down the Columbia, the proud savage rejected it with scorn. + +"What sort of heart have you," he asked, "that you offer food to me, +whose hands are red with your brother's blood?" + +And this, after eleven years of missionary labor, was all the +comprehension the savage nature knew of the main principle of +Christianity,--forgiveness, or charity toward our enemies. + +At Oregon City, Meek had many conversations with them. In all of these +they gave but one explanation of their crime. They feared that Dr. +Whitman intended, with the other whites, to take their land from them; +and they were told by Jo Lewis, the half-breed, that the Doctor's +medicine was intended to kill them off quickly, in order the sooner to +get possession of their country. None of them expressed any sorrow for +what had been done; but one of them, _Ki-am-a-sump-kin_, declared his +innocence to the last. + +In conversations with others, curious to gain some knowledge of the +savage moral nature, _Te-lou-i-kite_ often puzzled these students of +Indian ethics. When questioned as to his motive for allowing himself to +be taken, _Te-lou-i-kite_ answered: + +"Did not your missionaries tell us that Christ died to save his people? +So die we, to save our people!" + +Notwithstanding the prisoners were pre-doomed to death, a regular form +of trial was gone through. The Prosecuting Attorney for the Territory, +A. Holbrook, conducted the prosecution: Secretary Pritchett, Major +Runnels, and Captain Claiborne, the defence. The fee offered by the +chiefs was fifty head of horses. Whether it was compassion, or a love of +horses which animated the defence, quite an effort was made to show +that the murderers were not guilty. + +The presiding Justice was O.C. Pratt--Bryant having resigned. Perhaps we +cannot do better than to give the Marshal's own description of the trial +and execution, which is as follows: "Thar war a great many indictments, +and a great many people in attendance at this court. The Grand Jury +found true bills against the five Indians, and they war arraigned for +trial. Captain Claiborne led off for the defence. He foamed and ranted +like he war acting a play in some theatre. He knew about as much law as +one of the Indians he war defending; and his gestures were so powerful +that he smashed two tumblers that the Judge had ordered to be filled +with cold water for him. After a time he gave out mentally and +physically. Then came Major Runnels, who made a very good defence. But +the Marshal thought they must do better, for they would never ride fifty +head of horses with them speeches. + +Mr. Pritchett closed for the defence with a very able argument; for he +war a man of brains. But then followed Mr. Holbrook, for the +prosecution, and he laid down the case so plain that the jury were +convinced before they left the jury-box. When the Judge passed sentence +of death on them, two of the chiefs showed no terror; but the other +three were filled with horror and consternation that they could not +conceal. + +After court had adjourned, and Gov. Lane war gone South on some business +with the Rogue River Indians, Secretary Pritchett came to me and told me +that as he war now acting Governor he meant to reprieve the Indians. +Said he to me, 'Now Meek, I want you to liberate them Indians, when you +receive the order.' + +'Pritchett,' said I, 'so far as Meek is concerned, he would do anything +for you.' + +This talk pleased him; he said he 'war glad to hear it; and would go +right off and write the reprieve.' + +'But,' said I, 'Pritchett, let us talk now like men. I have got in my +pocket the death-warrant of them Indians, signed by Gov. Lane. The +Marshal will execute them men, as certain as the day arrives.' + +Pritchett looked surprised, and remarked--'That war not what you just +said, that you would do anything for me.' + +Said I, 'you were talking then to Meek,--not to the Marshal, who always +does his duty.' At that he got mad and left. + +When the 3d of June, the day of execution, arrived, Oregon City was +thronged with people to witness it. I brought forth the five prisoners +and placed them on a drop. Here the chief, who always declared his +innocence, _Ki-am-i-sump-kin_, begged me to kill him with my knife,--for +an Indian fears to be hanged,--but I soon put an end to his entreaties +by cutting the rope which held the drop, with my tomahawk. As I said +'The Lord have mercy on your souls,' the trap fell, and the five Cayuses +hung in the air. Three of them died instantly. The other two struggled +for several minutes; the Little Chief, _Tam-a-has_, the longest. It was +he who was cruel to my little girl at the time of the massacre; so I +just put my foot on the knot to tighten it, and he got quiet. After +thirty-five minutes they were taken down and buried." + +Thus terminated a tragic chapter in the history of Oregon. Among the +services which Thurston performed for the Territory, was getting an +appropriation of $100,000, to pay the expenses of the Cayuse war. From +the Spring of 1848, when all the whites, except the Catholic +missionaries, were withdrawn from the upper country, for a period of +several years, or until Government had made treaties with the tribes +east of the Cascades, no settlers were permitted to take up land in +Eastern Oregon. During those years, the Indians, dissatisfied with the +encroachments which they foresaw the whites would finally make upon +their country, and incited by certain individuals who had suffered +wrongs, or been punished for their own offences at the hands of the +whites, finally combined, as it was supposed from the extent of the +insurrection, and Oregon was involved in a three years Indian war, the +history of which would fill a volume of considerable size. + +When Meek returned to Oregon as marshal, with his fine clothes and his +newly acquired social accomplishments, he was greeted with a cordial +acknowledgment of his services, as well as admiration for his improved +appearance. He was generally acknowledged to be the model of a handsome +marshal, when clad in his half-military dress, and placed astride of a +fine horse, in the execution of the more festive duties of marshal of a +procession on some patriotic occasion. + +But no amount of official responsibility could ever change him from a +wag into a "grave and reverend seignior." No place nor occasion was +sacred to him when the wild humor was on him. + +At this same term of court, after the conviction of the Cayuse chiefs, +there was a case before Judge Pratt, in which a man was charged with +selling liquor to the Indians. In these cases Indian evidence was +allowed, but the jury-room being up stairs, caused a good deal of +annoyance in court; because when an Indian witness was wanted up stairs, +a dozen or more who were not wanted would follow. The Judge's bench was +so placed that it commanded a full view of the staircase and every one +passing up or down it. + +A call for some witness to go before the jury was followed on this +occasion, as on all others, by a general rush of the Indians, who were +curious to witness the proceedings. One fat old squaw had got part way +up the stairs, when the Marshal, full of wrath, seized her by a leg and +dragged her down flat, at the same time holding the fat member so that +it was pointed directly toward the Judge. A general explosion followed +this _pointed_ action, and the Judge grew very red in the face. + +[Illustration: MEEK AS UNITED STATES MARSHAL.] + +"Mr. Marshal, come within the bar!" thundered the Judge. + +Meek complied, with a very dubious expression of countenance. + +"I must fine you fifty dollars," continued the Judge; "the dignity of +the Court must be maintained." + +When court had adjourned that evening, the Judge and the Marshal were +walking toward their respective lodgings. Said Meek to his Honor: + +"Why did you fine me so heavily to-day?" + +"I _must_ do it," returned the Judge. "I must keep up the dignity of the +Court; I must do it, if I pay the fines myself." + +"And you _must_ pay all the fines you lay on the marshal, of course," +answered Meek. + +"Very well," said the Judge; "I shall do so." + +"All right, Judge. As I am the proper disbursing officer, you can pay +that fifty dollars to me--and I'll take it now." + +At this view of the case, his Honor was staggered for one moment, and +could only swing his cane and laugh faintly. After a little reflection, +he said: + +"Marshal, when court is called to-morrow, I shall remit your fine; but +don't you let me have occasion to fine you again!" + +After the removal of the capital to Salem, in 1852, court was held in a +new building, on which the carpenters were still at work. Judge Nelson, +then presiding, was much put out by the noise of hammers, and sent the +marshal more than once, to request the men to suspend their work during +those hours when court was in session, but all to no purpose. Finally, +when his forbearance was quite exhausted, he appealed to the marshal for +advice. + +"What shall I do, Meek," said he, "to stop that infernal noise?" + +"Put the workmen on the Grand Jury," replied Meek. + +"Summon them instantly!" returned the Judge. They were summoned, and +quiet secured for that term. + +At this same term of court, a great many of the foreign born settlers +appeared, to file their intention of becoming American citizens, in +order to secure the benefits of the Donation Law. Meek was retained as a +witness, to swear to their qualifications, one of which was, that they +were possessed of good moral characters. The first day there were about +two hundred who made declarations, Meek witnessing for most of them. On +the day following, he declined serving any longer. + +"What now?" inquired the Judge; "you made no objections yesterday." + +"Very true," replied Meek; "and two hundred lies are enough for me. I +swore that all those mountain-men were of 'good moral character,' and I +never knew a mountain-man of that description in my life! Let Newell +take the job for to-day." + +The "job" was turned over to Newell; but whether the second lot was +better than the first, has never transpired. + +During Lane's administration, there was a murder committed by a party of +Indians at the Sound, on the person of a Mr. Wallace. Owing to the +sparse settlement of the country, Governor Lane adopted the original +measure of exporting not only the officers of the court, but the jury +also, to the Sound district. Meek was ordered to find transportation for +the court _in toto_, jury and all. Boats were hired and provisioned to +take the party to the Cowelitz Landing, and from thence to Fort +Steilacoom, horses were hired for the land transportation. + +The Indians accused were five in number--two chiefs and three slaves. +The Grand Jury found a true bill against the two chiefs, and let the +slaves go. So few were the inhabitants of those parts, that the marshal +was obliged to take a part of the grand jury to serve on the petite +jury. The form of a trial was gone through with, the Judge delivered his +charge, and the jury retired. + +It was just after night-fall when these worthies betook themselves to +the jury-room. One of them curled himself up in a corner of the room, +with the injunction to the others to "wake him up when they got ready +to hang them ---- rascals." The rest of the party spent four or five +hours betting against monte, when, being sleepy also, they waked up +their associate, spent about ten minutes in arguing their convictions, +and returned a verdict of "guilty of murder in the first degree." + +The Indians were sentenced to be hung at noon on the following day, and +the marshal was at work early in the morning preparing a gallows. A rope +was procured from a ship lying in the sound. At half-past eleven +o'clock, guarded by a company of artillery from the fort, the miserable +savages were marched forth to die. A large number of Indians were +collected to witness the execution; and to prevent any attempt at +rescue, Captain Hill's artillery formed a ring around the marshal and +his prisoners. The execution was interrupted or delayed for some +moments, on account of the frantic behavior of an Indian woman, wife of +one of the chiefs, whose entreaties for the life of her husband were +very affecting. Having exhausted all her eloquence in an appeal to the +nobler feelings of the man, she finally promised to leave her husband +and become his wife, if he, the marshal, would spare her lord and chief. + +She was carried forcibly out of the ring, and the hanging took place. +When the bodies were taken down, Meek spoke to the woman, telling her +that now she could have her husband; but she only sullenly replied, "You +have killed him, and you may bury him." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + +While Meek was in Washington, he had been dubbed with the title of +Colonel, which title he still bears, though during the Indian war of +1855-56, it was alternated with that of Major. During his marshalship he +was fond of showing off his titles and authority to the discomfiture of +that class of people who had "put on airs" with him in former days, when +he was in his transition stage from a trapper to a United States +Marshal. + +While Pratt was Judge of the District Court, a kidnaping case came +before him. The writ of _habeas corpus_ having been disregarded by the +Captain of the _Melvin_, who was implicated in the business, Meek was +sent to arrest him, and also the first mate. Five of the _Melvin's_ +sailors were ordered to be summoned as witnesses, at the same time. + +Meek went on board with his summons, marched forward, and called out the +names of the men. Every man came up as he was summoned. When they were +together, Meek ordered a boat lowered for their conveyance to Oregon +City. The men started to obey, when the Captain interfered, saying that +the boat should not be taken for such a purpose, as it belonged to him. + +"That is of no consequence at all," answered the smiling marshal. "It is +a very good boat, and will suit our purpose very well. Lower away, men!" + +The men quickly dropped the boat. As it fell, they were ordered to man +it. When they were at the oars, the mate was then invited to take a seat +in it, which he did, after a moment's hesitation, and glancing at his +superior officer. Meek then turned to the Captain, and extended the same +invitation to him. But he was reluctant to accept the courtesy, +blustering considerably, and declaring his intention to remain where he +was. Meek slowly drew his revolver, all the time cool and smiling. + +"I don't like having to urge a gentleman too hard," he said, in a +meaning tone; "but thar is an argument that few men ever resist. Take a +seat, Captain." + +The Captain took a seat; the idlers on shore cheered for "Joe +Meek"--which was, after all, his most familiar title; the Captain and +mate went to Oregon City, and were fined respectively $500 and $300; the +men took advantage of being on shore to desert; and altogether, the +master of the _Melvin_ felt himself badly used. + +About the same time news was received that a British vessel was +unloading goods for the Hudson's Bay Company, somewhere on Puget Sound. +Under the new order of affairs in Oregon, this was smuggling. Delighted +with an opportunity of doing the United States a service, and the +British traders an ill turn, Marshal Meek immediately summoned a _posse_ +of men and started for the Sound. On his way he learned the name of the +vessel and Captain, and recognized them as having been in the Columbia +River some years before. On that occasion the Captain had ordered Meek +ashore, when, led by his curiosity and general love of novelty, he had +paid a visit to this vessel. This information was "nuts" to the marshal, +who believed that "a turn about was fair play." + +With great dispatch and secrecy he arrived entirely unexpected at the +point where the vessel was lying, and proceeded to board her without +loss of time. The Captain and officers were taken by surprise and were +all aghast at this unlooked for appearance. But after the first moment +of agitation was over, the Captain recognized Meek, he being a man not +likely to be forgotten, and thinking to turn this circumstance to +advantage, approached him with the blandest of smiles and the most +cordial manner, saying with forced frankness-- + +"I am sure I have had the pleasure of meeting you before. You must have +been at Vancouver when my vessel was in the river, seven or eight years +ago. I am very happy to have met with you again." + +"Thar is some truth in that remark of yours, Captain," replied Meek, +eyeing him with lofty scorn; "you _did_ meet me at Vancouver several +years ago. But I was nothing but 'Joe Meek' at that time, and you +ordered me ashore. Circumstances are changed since then. I am now +Colonel Joseph L. Meek, United States Marshal for Oregon Territory; and +you sir, are only a ---- smuggler! Go ashore, sir!" + +The Captain saw the point of that concluding "go ashore, sir!" and +obeyed with quite as bad a grace as 'Joe Meek' had done in the first +instance. + +The vessel was confiscated and sold, netting to the Government about +$40,000, above expenses. This money, which fell into bad hands, failed +to be accounted for. Nobody suspected the integrity of the marshal, but +most persons suspected that he placed too much confidence in the +District Attorney, who had charge of his accounts. On some one asking +him, a short time after, what had become of the money from the sale of +the smuggler, he seemed struck with a sudden surprise: + +"Why," said he, looking astonished at the question, "thar was barly +enough for the officers of the court!" + +This answer, given as it was, with such apparent simplicity became a +popular joke; and "barly enough" was quoted on all occasions. + +The truth was, that there was a serious deficiency in Meek's account +with the Government, resulting entirely from his want of confidence in +his own literary accomplishments, which led him to trust all his +correspondence and his accounts to the hands of a man whose talents were +more eminent than his sense of honor. The result of this misplaced +confidence was a loss to the Government, and to himself, whom the +Government held accountable. Contrary to the general rule of disbursing +officers, the office made him poor instead of rich; and when on the +incoming of the Pierce administration he suffered decapitation along +with the other Territorial officers, he was forced to retire upon his +farm on the Tualatin Plains, and become a rather indifferent tiller of +the earth. + +The breaking out of the Indian war of 1855-6, was preceded by a long +period of uneasiness among the Indians generally. The large emigration +which crossed the plains every year for California and Oregon was one +cause of the disturbance; not only by exciting their fears for the +possession of their lands, but by the temptation which was offered them +to take toll of the travelers. Difficulties occurred at first between +the emigrants and Indians concerning stolen property. These quarrels +were followed, probably the subsequent year, by outrages and murder on +the part of the Indians, and retaliation on the part of volunteer +soldiers from Oregon. When once this system of outrage and retaliation +on either side, was begun, there was an end of security, and war +followed as an inevitable consequence. Very horrible indeed were the +acts perpetrated by the Indians upon the emigrants to Oregon, during the +years from 1852 to 1858. + +But when at last the call to arms was made in Oregon, it was an +opportunity sought, and not an alternative forced upon them, by the +politicians of that Territory. The occasion was simply this. A party of +lawless wretches from the Sound Country, passing over the Cascade +Mountains into the Yakima Valley, on their way to the Upper Columbia +mines, found some Yakima women digging roots in a lonely place, and +abused them. The women fled to their village and told the chiefs of the +outrage; and a party followed the guilty whites and killed several of +them in a fight. + +Mr. Bolin, the Indian sub-agent for Washington went to the Yakima +village, and instead of judging of the case impartially, made use of +threats in the name of the United States Government, saying that an army +should be sent to punish them for killing his people. On his return +home, Mr. Bolin was followed and murdered. + +The murder of an Indian agent was an act which could not be overlooked. +Very properly, the case should have been taken notice of in a manner to +convince the Indians that murder must be punished. But, tempted by an +opportunity for gain, and encouraged by the somewhat reasonable fears of +the white population of Washington and Oregon, Governor G.L. Curry, of +the latter, at once proclaimed war, and issued a call for volunteers, +without waiting for the sanction or assistance of the general +Government. The moment this was done, it was too late to retract. It was +as if a torch had been applied to a field of dry grass. So +simultaneously did the Indians from Puget Sound to the Rocky Mountains, +and from the Rocky Mountains to the southern boundary of Oregon send +forth the war-whoop, that there was much justification for the belief +which agitated the people, that a combination among the Indians had been +secretly agreed to, and that the whites were all to be exterminated. + +Volunteer companies were already raised and sent into the Indian +country, when Brevet Major G.O. Haller arrived at Vancouver, now a part +of the United States. He had been as far east as Fort Boise to protect +the incoming immigration; and finding on his return that there was an +Indian war on hand, proceeded at once to the Yakima country with his +small force of one hundred men, only fifty of whom were mounted. Much +solicitude was felt for the result of the first engagement, every one +knowing that if the Indians were at first successful, the war would be +long and bloody. + +Major Haller was defeated with considerable loss, and notwithstanding +slight reinforcements, from Fort Vancouver, only succeeded in getting +safely out of the country. Major Raines, the commanding officer at +Vancouver, seeing the direction of events, made a requisition upon +Governor Curry for four of his volunteer companies to go into the field. +Then followed applications to Major Raines for horses and arms to equip +the volunteers; but the horses at the Fort being unfit for service, and +the Major unauthorized to equip volunteer troops, there resulted only +misunderstandings and delays. When General Wool, at the head of the +Department in San Francisco, was consulted, he also was without +authority to employ or receive the volunteers; and when the volunteers, +who at length armed and equipped themselves, came to go into the field +with the regulars, they could not agree as to the mode of fighting +Indians; so that with one thing and another, the war became an exciting +topic for more reasons than because the whites were afraid of the +Indians. As for General Wool, he was in great disfavor both in Oregon +and Washington because he did not believe there ever had existed the +necessity for a war; and that therefore he bestowed what assistance was +at his command very grudgingly. General Wool, it was said, was jealous +of the volunteers; and the volunteers certainly cared little for the +opinion of General Wool. + +However all that may be, Col. Meek gives it as his opinion that the old +General was right. "It makes me think," said he, "of a bear-fight I once +saw in the Rocky Mountains, where a huge old grizzly was surrounded by a +pack of ten or twelve dogs, all snapping at and worrying him. It made +him powerful mad, and every now and then he would make a claw at one of +them that silenced him at once." + +The Indian war in Oregon gave practice to a number of officers, since +become famous, most prominent among whom is Sheridan, who served in +Oregon as a Lieutenant. Grant himself, was at one time a Captain on that +frontier. Col. Wright, afterwards Gen. Wright, succeeded Major Raines at +Vancouver, and conducted the war through its most active period. During +a period of three years there were troops constantly occupied in trying +to subdue the Indians in one quarter or another. + +As for the volunteers they fared badly. On the first call to arms the +people responded liberally. The proposition which the Governor made for +their equipment was accepted, and they turned in their property at a +certain valuation. When the war was over and the property sold, the men +who had turned it in could not purchase it without paying more for it in +gold and silver than it was valued at when it was placed in the hands of +the Quartermaster. It was sold, however, and the money enjoyed by the +shrewd political speculators, who thought an Indian war a very good +investment. + +Meek was one of the first to volunteer, and went as a private in Company +A. On arriving at the Dalles he was detailed for special service by Col. +J.W. Nesmith, and sent out as pilot or messenger, whenever any such +duty was required. He was finally placed on Nesmith's staff, and given +the title of Major. In this capacity, as in every other, he was still +the same alert and willing individual that we have always seen him, and +not a whit less inclined to be merry when an opportunity offered. + +While the army was in the Yakima country, it being an enemy's country, +and provisions scarce, the troops sometimes were in want of rations. But +Meek had not forgotten his mountain craft, and always had something to +eat, if anybody did. One evening he had killed a fat cow which he had +discovered astray, and was proceeding to roast a twenty-pound piece +before his camp-fire, when a number of the officers called on him. The +sight and savory smell of the beef was very grateful to them. + +"Major Meek," said they in a breath, "we will sup with you to-night." + +"I am very sorry, gentlemen, to decline the honor," returned Meek with a +repetition of the innocent surprise for which he had so often been +laughed at, "but I am very hungry, and thar is barly enough beef for one +man!" + +On hearing this sober assertion, those who had heard the story laughed, +but the rest looked rather aggrieved. However, the Major continued his +cooking, and when the beef was done to a turn, he invited his visitors +to the feast, and the evening passed merrily with jests and camp +stories. + +After the army went into winter-quarters, Nesmith having resigned, T.R. +Cornelius was elected Colonel. One of his orders prohibited firing in +camp, an order which as a good mountaineer the Major should have +remembered. But having been instructed to proceed to Salem without +delay, as bearer of dispatches, the Major committed the error of firing +his gun to see if it was in good condition for a trip through the +enemy's country. Shortly after he received a message from his Colonel +requesting him to repair to his tent. The Colonel received him politely, +and invited him to breakfast with him. The aroma of coffee made this +invitation peculiarly acceptable--for luxuries were scarce in camp--and +the breakfast proceeded for some time very agreeably. When Meek had +breakfasted, Colonel Cornelius took occasion to inquire if the Major had +not heard his order against firing in camp. "Yes," said Meek. "Then," +said the Colonel, "I shall be obliged to make an example of you." + +While Meek stood aghast at the idea of punishment, a guard appeared at +the door of the tent, and he heard what his punishment was to be, "Mark +time for twenty minutes in the presence of the whole regiment." + +"When the command "forward!" was given," says Meek, "you might have seen +somebody step off lively, the officer counting it off, 'left, left.' But +some of the regiment grumbled more about it than I did. I just got my +horse and my dispatches and left for the lower country, and when I +returned I asked for my discharge, and got it." + +And here ends the career of our hero as a public man. The history of the +young State, of which he is so old a pioneer furnishes ample material +for an interesting volume, and will sometime be written by an abler than +our sketchy pen. + + + + +PART II. + + + + +OUR +CENTENNIAL INDIAN WAR + +AND THE +LIFE OF GENERAL CUSTER. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +The reader of the foregoing pages can hardly have failed to observe, +that the region east of the Big Horn Mountains, including the valleys of +the Yellowstone, Big Horn, Powder, and Rosebud Rivers, was the favorite +haunt of the Rocky Mountain hunters and trappers--the field of many of +their stirring adventures and hardy exploits. Here was the "hunters' +paradise," where they came to secure game for food and to feed their +animals on the nutritious bark of the cottonwoods; here they assembled +at the Summer rendezvous, to exchange their peltries for supplies; and +here, ofttimes, was established their winter camp, with its rough cheer, +athletic sports, and wild carousals. + +Here, also, between the plains and the mountains, was the dark and +sanguinary ground where terrific and deadly combats were fought between +the Delawares, Iroquois, Crows, and Blackfeet, and between the trappers +and Indians; and here, fifty years later, were enacted scenes of warfare +and massacre which cast a gloom over the festivities of our Centennial +anniversary. + +The recent campaign against the hostile Sioux was over the identical +ground where the fur-traders roamed intent on beaver-skins and +adventure; and it is believed that some account thereof, and a sketch of +the renowned Indian fighter who perished on the Little Big Horn, may +appropriately supplement the story of the Mountain-men. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + + Our Centennial War with the Sioux--Scene of the Campaign--General + Aspect of the Country--The hostile Indians and their + Grievances--The People of the Frontier--The Treaty of 1868--The + Invasion of the Black Hills--Sitting Bull--Immediate Causes of the + War--The Indians Warned and Threatened--The Warning Disregarded--An + Appeal to Arms--Bishop Whipple on the Roaming Indians, 7 + + +CHAPTER II. + + General Crook's First Expedition--The March Northward--Reynolds + Follows a Trail--Camp of Crazy Horse Discovered and Attacked--The + Battle of Powder River--Return to Fort Fetterman--Crook's Second + Expedition--On the Head Waters of Tongue River--Friendly + Crows--Battle of the Rosebud--Retreat to Goose Creek Camp, 20 + + +CHAPTER III. + + Gen. Terry's Expedition--March from Fort Lincoln--Rendezvous on the + Yellowstone--The Montana Column--Reno's Scouting Party Discovers a + Trail--The Seventh Cavalry Start up the Rosebud--Custer Discovers + an Indian Village and Advances to Attack, 26 + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Gibbon's Troops Cross the Yellowstone--March up the Big Horn--A + Smoke Cloud--An Omen of Victory--Crow Scouts--Indians in Front--A + Night's Bivouac on the Little Big Horn--Site of a deserted + Village--Evidences of Conflict--A breathless Scout--Intrenched + Cavalry--Reno Relieved--"Where is Custer?" 30 + + +CHAPTER V. + + Custer's last Battle--Revelations of the Battle-field--Theories as + to the Engagement--Custer and His Officers--Capt. Tom + Custer--Boston Custer--Armstrong Reed--Burial of the Slain--Retreat + to the Yellowstone--Story of Custer's Scout "Curley"--Death of + Custer, 35 + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Reno's Battles--His Charge down the Valley, and Retreat to the + Bluffs--Benteen's Battalion--A terrific Assault--Holding the + Fort--Volunteer Water Carriers--Removal of Indian Village--Approach + of Terry--Statements of Benteen and Godfrey--A Scout's Narrative, + 40 + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Kill Eagle at Sitting Bull's Camp--His Account of the Battles with + Custer and Reno--"We have Killed them all"--What Buck Elk Saw, + 52 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Criticisms on the Conduct of Reno and Benteen--Reno's Defence--What + Benteen Says--Gen. Sheridan on the Custer Disaster, 56 + + +CHAPTER IX. + + The Midsummer Campaign--Adventures of a Scouting Party--Running the + Gauntlet--Indian Allies--Hazardous Service--Junction of Terry and + Crook--Following the Trail--At the Mouth of Powder River--Crook + Starts for the Black Hills--Short Rations--Battle of Slim + Buttes--The Chief American Horse--Deadwood--Terry at Glendive + Creek--A Chase after Sitting Bull--Close of the Campaign--Long + Dog's Reconnoitering Party, 62 + + +CHAPTER X. + + Autumn on the Yellowstone--Gallant Defence of a Wagon Train--A + Letter from Sitting Bull--A Flag of Truce--Col. Miles and Sitting + Bull Have a "Talk" between the Lines--An Exciting Scene--The + Council Disperses--The Troops Advance--A Battle and its + Results--Escape of Sitting Bull--Surrender of Chiefs as Hostages, + 70 + + +CHAPTER XI. + + Terry and Crook at the Sioux Agencies--The Agency Indians Disarmed + and Dismounted--A Gleam of Daylight--What became of the Ponies--Red + Cloud Deposed--Spotted Tail Declared Chief Sachem--Gen. Crook's + Address to His Troops, 77 + + +CHAPTER XII. + + Winter Operations--Crook's Expedition--Col. McKenzie on the + Trail--A Night's March--A Charge down a Canyon--Destruction of a + Cheyenne Village--Life at the Tongue River Cantonment--Miles' + Excursion Northward--Capture of Sitting Bull's Camp--An Unfortunate + Affair--Massacre of Five Chiefs--Treacherous Crows--Winter March + Southward--Desperate Battle in the Wolf Mountains--Defeat of Crazy + Horse--Red Horse Surrenders--His Story of the Big Horn + Battles--Spotted Tail's Mission--Surrender of Roman Nose, Standing + Elk and Crazy Horse, 81 + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + George A. Custer--Early Youth--Cadet Life--From West Point to Bull + Run--On Kearny's Staff--Wades the Chickahominy--On McClellan's + Staff--Antietam--On Pleasonton's Staff--Aldie--A General at + Gettysburg--Pursues Lee--Falling Waters--Wounded--Cavalry + Engagement at Brandy Station--Marriage, 90 + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + A Raid toward Richmond--With Sheridan in the Shenandoah + Valley--Opequan Creek--Fisher's Hill--Commander of the Third + Division--Fight with Rosser--Sheridan's Army Surprised--Defeat and + Victory--The Cavalry at Cedar Creek--The last great Raid, 98 + + +CHAPTER XV. + + The last Struggle for Richmond--Custer at Dinwiddie and Fire + Forks--Petersburg Evacuated--The Pursuit of + Lee--Jetersville--Sailor's Creek--Appomattox--A Flag of + Truce--Custer's Address to His Soldiers--The Great Parade--A Major + General--Texas--Negotiation with Romero, 106 + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + The Seventh Cavalry--Hancock's Expedition--Tricky Indians--A Scout + on the Plains--Camp Attacked by Indians--A Fight for the Wagon + Train--The Kidder Massacre--Court Martialed--Sully's + Expedition--Battle of the Washita--Death of Black Kettle--Fate of + Major Elliot--Night Retreat--March to Fort Cobb--Lone Wolf and + Satanta--After the Cheyennes--Captive Women Recovered, 113 + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + The Yellowstone Expedition--Road-hunters--A Siesta--Dashing + Indians--A Trap--Fearful Odds--Rapid Volleys--Attack + Renewed--Reinforcements--The Foe Repulsed--A Tragedy--The Revenge + of Rain in the Face--Another Fight--Assigned to Fort Lincoln--Mrs. + Custer, 121 + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + The Campaign of 1876--The Dakota Column--The Babcock + Investigation--The Congressional Committee--Grant's + Displeasure--Appeal to the President--Custer's last Campaign, + 126 + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + Reminiscences of General Custer--Personal Characteristics, 132 + + +CHAPTER XX. + + The Indian Commission of 1876--Purchase of the Black Hills--Indian + Orators--Speeches of Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, Blue Teeth, Running + Antelope, Two Bears, Red Feather, Swan, White Ghost, etc., 138 + + + + +[Illustration: MAP OF THE SIOUX COUNTRY.] + + + + +THE INDIAN WAR. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE SIOUX TRIBES--CAUSES OF THE WAR. + + +The scene of the campaign against the hostile Indians in 1876, was the +rugged, desolate, and partially unexplored region lying between the Big +Horn and Powder Rivers, and extending from the Big Horn Mountains +northerly to and beyond the Yellowstone River. This region is the most +isolated and inaccessible of any lying east of the Rocky Mountains, and +is admirably adapted for Indian warfare and defense. Several rivers, +tributaries of the Yellowstone, flow through it, and it abounds in +creeks, ravines, and canyons. It is the hereditary country of the Crows, +who for generations defended it against marauding tribes of Blackfeet. + +A vivid description of the general aspect of the country and of the +hardships and perils of our soldiers, has been given by Col. Nelson A. +Miles, of the Fifth Infantry, in a letter written from the mouth of the +Powder River. "No service," he says, "is more thankless or dangerous +than contending against these treacherous savages, and if you will come +out and learn the real sentiment of the army, you will find the officers +of the army the strongest advocates of any peace policy that shall be +just and honorable. You will find us out here, five hundred miles from +railroad communication, in as barren, desolate and worthless a country +as the sun shines upon--volcanic, broken, and almost impassable--so +rugged as to make our granite hills of Vermont and New Hampshire appear +in comparison as pleasant parks. Jagged and precipitous cliffs; narrow +and deep arroyos filled with massive boulders; alkali water, or for +miles and miles none at all; and vegetation of cactus and sage-bushes, +will represent to you, feebly indeed, the scene of the present campaign, +in which we are contending against the most powerful, warlike, and +best-armed body of savages on the American Continent, armed and mounted +partly at the expense of the Government, and fully supplied with the +most improved magazine guns and tons of metallic ammunition." + +"The brave mariner," wrote a newspaper correspondent, "on the trackless +ocean without compass, is no more at the mercy of wind and wave than +Terry's army, out upon this vast trackless waste, is at the mercy of his +guides and scouts. The sun rises in the east, shines all day upon a vast +expanse of sage-brush and grass, and, as it sets in the west, casts its +dull rays into a thousand ravines that neither man nor beast can cross. +The magnet always points north; but whether one can go either north or +south can be decided only by personal effort. An insignificant turn to +the wrong side of a little knoll or buffalo-wallow ofttimes +imperceptibly leads the voyager into ravine after ravine, over bluff +after bluff, until at last he stands on the edge of a yawning canyon, +hundreds of feet in depth and with perpendicular walls. Nothing is left +for him to do but to retrace his steps and find an accessible route." + +The hostile Indians with whom our soldiers have had to contend are no +despicable foe; on the contrary they are quite able, in frontier +warfare, to cope with disciplined troops. They fight in bodies, under +skilled leaders, and have regular rules which they observe in battle, on +their marches, and in their camps. "They have systems of signalling and +of scouting, of posting sentinels and videttes, and of herding their +animals." They are remarkably expert horsemen, and are so dependent on +their steeds, that "a Sioux on foot is a Sioux warrior no longer." Gen. +Crook testifies to their adroitness and skill as follows:-- + + "When the Sioux Indian was armed with a bow and arrow he was more + formidable, fighting as he does most of the time on horseback, than + when he came into possession of the old fashioned muzzle loading + rifle. But when he came into possession of the breech loader and + metallic catridge, which allows him to load and fire from his horse + with perfect ease, he became at once ten times more formidable. + With the improved arms I have seen our friendly Indians, riding at + full speed, shoot and kill a wolf, also on the run, while it is a + rare thing that our troops can hit an Indian on horseback though + the soldier may be on his feet at the time. + + "The Sioux is a cavalry soldier from the time he has intelligence + enough to ride a horse or fire a gun. If he wishes to dismount, his + hardy pony, educated by long usage, will graze around near where he + has been left, ready when his master wants to mount either to move + forward or escape. Even with their lodges and families they can + move at the rate of fifty miles per day. They are perfectly + familiar with the country, have their spies and hunting parties out + all the time at distances of from twenty to fifty miles each way + from their villages, know the number and movements of all the + troops that may be operating against them, just about what they can + probably do, and hence can choose their own times and places of + conflict or avoid it altogether." + +The primary causes of the hostilities of the Indians which made this +campaign and previous ones against them necessary, extend far back and +are too numerous to be here fully stated. The principal Indian +grievances however, for which the government is responsible, are a +failure to fulfil treaties, encroachment on reserved territories, and +the dishonesty of agents. Col. Miles speaks of our relationship with the +Indians for the last fifty years, as the dark page in our history, +which, next to African slavery, has done more to disgrace our +government, blacken our fair name, and reflect upon our civilization, +than aught else. It has, he says, been a source of corruption and a +disturbing element, unconfined to any one political party or class of +individuals. + +Wendell Phillips asserts that the worst brutality which prurient malice +ever falsely charged the Indian with, is but weak imitation of what the +white man has often inflicted on Indian men, women and children; and +that the Indian has never lifted his hand against us until provoked to +it by misconduct on our part, compared with which, any misconduct of his +is but dust in the balance. + +The great difference in the condition and character of the Indians over +the Canada line and our own, can only be accounted for by the different +treatment they have received. The Canadian Indians are, on the whole, a +harmless, honest people, who, though they are gradually disappearing +before the white man, bear him no ill-will, but rather the contrary. +Bishop Whipple of Minnesota, an earnest advocate of the peace policy, +draws the following contrast:-- + + "Here are two pictures--on one side of the line a nation has spent + $500,000,000 in Indian war; a people who have not 100 miles between + the Atlantic and the Pacific which has not been the scene of an + Indian massacre; a government which has not passed twenty years + without an Indian war; not one Indian tribe to whom it has given + Christian civilization; and which celebrates its centennial year + by another bloody Indian war. On the other side of the line there + is the same greedy, dominant Anglo-Saxon race, and the same + heathen. They have not spent one dollar in Indian war; they have + had no Indian massacres. Why? In Canada the Indian treaty calls + these men 'the Indian subjects of her Majesty.' When civilization + approaches them they are placed on ample reservations; they receive + aid in civilization; they have personal rights of property; they + are amenable to law and are protected by law; they have schools, + and Christian people delight to give them their best men to teach + them the religion of Christ. We expend more than one hundred + dollars to their one in caring for Indian wards." + +The results of the Indian disturbances, whatever their causes, have +borne heavily on the hardy and enterprising settlers along the border. +Of these citizens Gen. Crook says:-- + + "I believe it is wrong for a Government as great and powerful as + ours not to protect its frontier people from savages. I do not see + why a man who has the courage to come out here and open the way for + civilization in his own country, is not as much entitled to the + protection of his Government as anybody else. I am not one of those + who believe, as many missionaries sent out here by well-meaning + eastern socities do, that the people of the frontiers are + cut-throats, thieves, and murderers. I have been thrown among them + for nearly 25 years of my life, and believe them to compare + favorably in energy, intelligence and manhood with the best of + their eastern brethren. They are mercilessly plundered by Indians + without any attempt being made to punish the perpetrators, and when + they ask for protection, they are told by some of our peace + commissioners sent out to make further concessions to the Indians, + that they have no business out here anyhow. I do not deny that my + sympathies have been with the frontier people in their unequal + contest against such obstacles. At the same time I do not wish to + be understood as the unrelenting foe of the Indian." + +The Sioux Indians, embracing several tribes, are the old Dakotahs, long +known as among the bravest and most warlike aboriginals of this +continent. They were steadily pushed westward by the tide of +civilization to the Great Plains north of the Platte, where they claimed +as their own all the vast region west of the Missouri as far as they +could roam or fight their way. They resisted the approach of all +settlers and opposed the building of the Pacific Railroad. + +In 1867, Congress sent out four civilians and three army officers as +Peace Commissioners, who, in 1868, made a treaty with the Sioux, whereby +for certain payments or stipulations, they agreed to surrender their +claims to a vast tract of country, to live at peace with their +neighbors, and to restrict themselves to a territory bounded south by +Nebraska, west by the 104th meridian, and north by the 46th parallel of +latitude--a territory as large as the State of Michigan. "They had the +solemn pledge of the United States that they should be protected in the +absolute and peaceable possession of the country thus set apart for +them; and the constitution makes such treaties the highest of all +authorities, and declares that they are binding upon every citizen." + +In the western part of the Sioux territory, lying between the two forks +of the Cheyenne River, is the Black Hills country with an area of four +or five thousand square miles. Of the interior of this region up to 1874 +nothing was known excepting from the indefinite reports of hunters who +had penetrated therein. The arrival at a trading post of Indians who +offered gold-dust for sale which they said was procured at the Black +Hills, caused much excitement; and a military expedition of 1200 men was +sent from Fort Lincoln in July 1874, to explore the Hills and ascertain +if gold existed there. As was expected, no hostile enemy were +encountered by the large expedition which thus invaded the Indian +territory. A few lodges of Indians were met in the Hills, and they ran +away notwithstanding friendly overtures were made. An attempt was made +to lead the pony of one mounted Indian to headquarters, but he got away, +and a shot was fired after him which, says General Custer, wounded +either the Indian or his pony as blood was found on the ground. + +The geologists of the expedition reported that there was gold in the +Black Hills, and miners and others began to flock thither. In 1875, +troops were sent to remove the trespassers on the Indian reservation, +but as fast as they compelled or persuaded the miners to go away others +came to fill their places; and at the present date there are more +settlers there than ever before. + +Of the treaty of 1868 and the so-called peace policy then inaugurated +various opinions are entertained. Gen. Sherman, a member of the +commission, in his report for 1876, says:-- + + "The commission had also to treat with other tribes at the south; + viz,--the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas and Commanches; were engaged + for two years in visiting and confering with these scattered bands; + and finally, in 1868, concluded many treaties, which were the best + possible at that date, and which resulted in comparative peace on + the Plains, by defining clearly the boundaries to be thereafter + occupied by the various tribes, with the annuities in money, + provisions, and goods to be paid the Indians for the relenquishment + of their claims to this vast and indefinite region of land. At this + time the Sioux nation consisted of many distinct tribes, and was + estimated at 50,000, of whom some 8,000 were named as hostiles. + + "These Indians, as all others, were under the exclusive + jurisdiction of the Indian Bureau, and only small garrisons of + soldiers were called for at the several agencies, such as Red Cloud + and Spotted Tail on the head of the White Earth River in Nebraska + (outside their reservation), and at Standing Rock, Cheyenne, and + Crow Creek on the Missouri River, to protect the persons of the + agents and their employes. About these several agencies were + grouped the several bands of Sioux under various names, receiving + food, clothing, etc., and undergoing the process of civilization; + but from the time of the Peace Commission of 1868 to the date of + this report, a number of Sioux, recognized as hostile or 'outlaws,' + had remained out under the lead of Sitting Bull and a few other + chiefs." + + "The so-called peace policy," says Bishop Whipple, "was commenced + when we were at war. The Indian tribes were either openly hostile, + or sullen and turbulent. The new policy was a marvellous success. I + do honestly believe that it has done more for the civilization of + the Indians than all which the Government has done before. Its only + weakness was that the system was not reformed. The new work was + fettered by all the faults and traditions of the old policy. The + nation left 300,000 men living within our own borders without a + vestige of government, without personal rights of property, without + the slightest protection of person, property, or life. We persisted + in telling these heathen tribes that they were independent nations. + We sent out the bravest and best of our officers, some who had + grown gray in the service of the country; men whose slightest word + was as good as their bond--we sent them because the Indians would + not doubt a soldier's honor. They made a treaty, and they pledged + the nation's faith that no white man should enter that territory. I + do not discuss its wisdom. The Executive and Senate ratified it.... + A violation of its plain provisions was an act of deliberate + perjury. In the words of Gen. Sherman, 'Civilization made its own + compact with the weaker party; it was violated, but not by the + savage.' The whole world knew that we violated that treaty, and the + reason of the failure of the negotiations of last year was that our + own commissioners did not have authority from Congress to offer the + Indians more than one-third of the sum they were already receiving + under the old treaty." + + "The Sioux Nation," says Gen. Crook, in his report of Sept. 1876, + "numbers many thousands of warriors, and they have been encouraged + in their insolent overbearing conduct by the fact, that those who + participated in the wholesale massacre of the innocent people in + Minnesota during the brief period that preceded their removal to + their present location, never received adequate punishment + therefor. Following hard upon and as the apparent result of the + massacre of over eighty officers and men of the army at Fort Phil + Kearney, the Government abandoned three of its military posts, and + made a treaty of unparalleled liberality with the perpetrators of + these crimes, against whom any other nation would have prosecuted a + vigorous war. + + "Since that time the reservations, instead of being the abode of + loyal Indians holding the terms of their agreement sacred, have + been nothing but nests of disloyalty to their treaties and the + Government, and scourges to the people whose misfortune it has been + to be within the reach of the endurance of their ponies. And in + this connection, I regret to say, they have been materially aided + by sub-agents who have disgraced a bureau established for the + propagation of peace and good will, man to man. + + "What is the loyal condition of mind of a lot of savages, who will + not allow the folds of the flag of the country to float over the + very sugar, coffee and beef, they are kind enough to accept at the + hands of the nation to which they have thus far dictated their own + terms? Such has been the condition of things at the Red Cloud + Agency. + + "The hostile bands roamed over a vast extent of country, making the + Agencies their base of supplies, their recruiting and ordinance + depots, and were so closely connected by intermarriage, interest + and common cause with the Agency Indians, that it was difficult to + determine where the line of peaceably disposed ceased and the + hostile commenced. They have, without interruption, attacked + persons at home, murdered and scalped them, stolen their stock--in + fact violated every leading feature in the treaty. Indeed, so great + were their depredations on the stock belonging to the settlers, + that at certain times they have not had sufficient horses to do + their ordinary farming work--all the horses being concentrated on + the Sioux Reservation or among the bands which owe allegiance to + what is called the Sioux Nation. In the winter months these + renegade bands dwindle down to a comparatively small number; while + in summer they are recruited by restless spirits from the different + reservations, attracted by the opportunity to plunder the + frontiersman, so that by midsummer they become augmented from small + bands of one hundred to thousands. + + "In fact, it was well known that the treaty of 1868 had been + regarded by the Indians as an instrument binding on us but not + binding on them. On the part of the Government, notwithstanding the + utter disregard by the Sioux of the terms of the treaty, stringent + orders, enforced by military power, had been issued prohibiting + settlers from trespassing upon the country known as the Black + Hills. The people of the country against whom the provisions of the + treaty were so rigidly enforced naturally complained that if they + were required to observe this treaty, some effort should be made to + compel the Indians to observe it likewise. + + "The occupation by the settlers of the Black Hills country had + nothing to do with the hostilities which have been in progress. In + fact, by the continuous violations by these Indians of the treaty + referred to, the settlers were furnished with at least a reasonable + excuse for such occupation, in that a treaty so long and + persistently violated by the Indians themselves, should not be + quoted as a valid instrument for the preventing of such occupation. + Since the occupation of the Black Hills there has not been any + greater number of depredations committed by the Indians than + previous to such occupation; in truth, the people who have gone to + the Hills have not suffered any more and probably not as much from + Indians, as they would had they remained at their homes along the + border." + + "In 1868," says Wm. R. Steele, delegate from Wyoming, "the United + States made a treaty with the Sioux Nation, which was a grave + mistake, if it was not a national dishonor and disgrace; that + treaty has been the foundation of all the difficulties in the Sioux + country. In 1866, Gen. Pope established posts at Fort Phil Kearney, + Reno, and Fort Smith, so as to open the road to Montana and protect + the country and friendly Crows from the hostile Sioux. In keeping + these posts and opening that road, many men, citizens and soldiers, + had been killed. Notable among the actions that had taken place was + the massacre of Fetterman and his command at Fort Phil Kearney; and + yet after these men had sacrificed their lives, the Government went + to work and made a treaty by which it ignominiously abandoned that + country to these savages, dismantling its own forts, and leaving + there the bones of men who had laid down their lives in the + wilderness. Was it to be wondered at, under these circumstances, + that Sitting Bull and his men believed they were superior to the + general government? Any body who knows anything about Indian + nature knows that the legitimate result of that cowardly policy of + peace at any price, was to defer only the evil day which has now + come upon us. Since that time the Sioux have been constantly + depredating on the frontiers of Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana, and + more men have fallen there in the peaceful vocations of civil life, + without a murmur being heard, than fell under the gallant Custer. + The friendly Crows have been raided with every full moon; so with + the Shoshones; and at last these outrages have become so great and + so long continued that even the peaceable Indian Department could + not stand them any longer, and called on the military arm of the + Government to punish these men." + + President Grant, in his message of December, 1876, uses the + following language:--"A policy has been adopted towards the Indian + tribes inhabiting a large portion of the territory of the United + States, which has been humane, and has substantially ended Indian + hostilities in the whole land, except in a portion of Nebraska, and + Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana territories, the Black Hills region, + and approaches thereto. Hostilities there have grown out of the + avarice of the white man, who has violated our treaty stipulations + in his search for gold. The question might be asked, why the + Government had not enforced obedience to the terms of the treaty + prohibiting the occupation of the Black Hills region by whites? The + answer is simple. The first immigrants to the Black Hills were + removed by troops, but rumors of rich discoveries of gold took into + that region increased numbers. Gold has actually been found in + paying quantity, and an effort to remove the miners would only + result in the desertion of the bulk of the troops that might be + sent there to remove them." + +The causes and objects of the military operations against the Sioux in +1876, as stated by the Secretary of War in a letter to the President +dated July 8th, 1876, were in part as follows:-- + + "The present military operations are not against the Sioux nation + at all, but against certain hostile parts of it which defy the + Government, and are undertaken at the special request of the bureau + of the Government charged with their supervision, and wholly to + make the civilization of the remainder possible. No part of these + operations are on or near the Sioux reservation. The accidental + discovery of gold on the western border of the Sioux reservation + and the intrusion of our people thereon have not caused this war, + and have only complicated it by the uncertainty of numbers to be + encountered. The young warriors love war, and frequently escape + their agents to go to the hunt or war path--their only idea of the + object of life. The object of these military expeditions was in the + interest of the peaceful parts of the Sioux nation, supposed to + embrace at least nine-tenths of the whole, and not one of these + peaceful treaty Indians has been molested by the military + authorities." + +Of the hostile Indians referred to by the Secretary of War, Hon. E.P. +Smith, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, reported Nov. 1st, 1875:--"It +will probably be found necessary to compel the Northern non-treaty +Sioux, under the leadership of Sitting Bull, who have never yet in any +way recognized the United States Government, except by snatching rations +occasionally at an agency, and such outlaws from the several agencies as +have attached themselves to these same hostiles, to cease marauding and +settle down, as the other Sioux have done, at some designated point." + +Soon afterwards, Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins addressed the +Commissioner respecting these Indians, as follows:--"The true policy in +my judgment is to send troops against them in winter, the sooner the +better, and whip them into subjection. They richly merit punishment for +their incessant warfare and their numerous murders of white settlers and +their families, or white men whenever found unarmed." + +Early in December, by the advice of the Secretary of the Interior, +Commissioner Smith directed that runners be sent out to notify "said +Indian Sitting Bull, and others outside their reservation, that they +must move to the reservation before the 31st day of January, 1876; that +if they neglect or refuse so to move, they will be reported to the War +Department as hostile Indians, and that a military force will be sent to +compel them to obey the order of the Indian officer." Respecting this +order to the Indians, Bishop Whipple, in a letter to the _New York +Tribune_, says:-- + + "There was an inadequate supply of provisions at the agencies that + Fall, and the Indians went out to their unceded territory to hunt. + They went as they were accustomed to do--with the consent of their + agents and as provided by the treaty. * * * The Indians had gone a + way from the agencies to secure food, and skins for clothing. The + United States had set apart this very country as a hunting-ground + for them forever. Eight months after this order to return or be + treated as hostile, Congress appropriated money for the seventh of + thirty installments for these roaming Indians. It was impossible + for the Indians to obey the order. No one of the runners sent out + to inform the Indians, was able to return himself by the time + appointed; yet Indian women and children were expected to travel a + treeless desert, without food or proper clothing, under the penalty + of death." + +As the order and warning were disregarded by the Indians, the Secretary +of the Interior notified the Secretary of War, Feb. 1st, 1876, that "the +time given him (Sitting Bull) in which to return to an agency having +expired, and advices received at the Indian Office being to the effect +that Sitting Bull still refuses to comply with the direction of the +Commissioner, the said Indians are hereby turned over to the War +Department for such action on the part of the army as you may deem +proper under the circumstances." + +By direction of Lieut. General Sheridan, Commander over the vast extent +of territory included in the Military Division of Missouri, Brig. Gen. +George Crook, Commander of the Department of the Platte, an officer of +great merit and experience in Indian fighting, now undertook to reduce +these Indian outlaws to subjection, and made preparations for an +expedition against them. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +BATTLES OF THE POWDER AND ROSEBUD. + + +General Crook started from Fort Fetterman, W.T., March 1st, 1876, at the +head of an expedition composed of ten companies of the 2d and 3d Cavalry +under Col. J.J. Reynolds, and two companies of the 4th Infantry, with +teamsters, guides, etc., amounting in all to nearly nine hundred men. +His course was nearly north, past the abandoned Forts Reno and Phil. +Kearney to Tongue River. He descended this river nearly to the +Yellowstone, scouted Rosebud River, and then changed his course to the +south-east toward Powder River. At a point on the head of Otter Creek, +Crook divided his command, and sent Col. Reynolds with six companies of +cavalry and one day's rations to follow the trail of two Indians +discovered that day in the snow. + +Col. Reynolds moved at 5 P.M. of the 16th, and at 4.20 A.M., after a +night's march of thirty miles, was near the forks of Powder River. The +following extracts are copied from a letter written to the _New York +Tribune_:-- + + "A halt was called here and the column took shelter in a ravine. No + fires were allowed to be kindled, nor even a match lighted. The + cold was intense and seemed to be at least 30° below zero. The + command remained here till about 6 o'clock, doing their uttermost + to keep from freezing, the scouts meantime going out to + reconnoitre. At this hour they returned, reporting a larger and + fresher trail leading down to the river which was about four miles + distant. The column immediately started on the trail. The approach + to the river seemed almost impracticable. Before reaching the final + precipices which overlooked the riverbed, the scouts discovered + that a village lay in the valley at the foot of the bluffs. It was + now 8 o'clock. The sun shone brightly through the cold frosty air. + + "The column halted, and Noyes's battalion, 2d Cavalry, was ordered + up to the front. It consisted of Company I, Capt. Noyes, and + Company K, Capt. Egan. This battalion was ordered to descend to the + valley, and while Egan charged the camp, Noyes was to cut out the + herd of horses feeding close by and drive it up the river. Capt. + Moore's battalion of two companies was ordered to dismount and + proceed along the edge of the ridge to a position covering the + eastern side of the village opposite that from which Egan was to + charge. Capt. Mills's battalion was ordered to follow Egan + dismounted, and support him in the engagement which might follow + the charge. + + "These columns began the descent of the mountain, through gorges + which were almost perpendicular. Nearly two hours were occupied in + getting the horses of the charging columns down these rough sides + of the mountain, and even then, when a point was reached where the + men could mount their horses and proceed toward the village in the + narrow valley beneath, Moore's battalion had not been able to gain + its position on the eastern side after clambering along the edges + of the mountain. A few Indians could be seen with the herd, driving + it to the edge of the river, but nothing indicated that they knew + of our approach. + + "Just at 9 o'clock Capt. Egan turned the point of the mountain + nearest the river, and first in a walk and then in a rapid trot + started for the village. The company went first in column of twos, + but when within 200 yards of the village the command 'Left front + into line' was given, and with a yell they rushed into the + encampment. Capt. Noyes had in the meantime wheeled to the right + and started the herd up the river. With the yell of the charging + column the Indians sprang up as if by magic and poured in a rapid + fire from all sides. Egan charged through and through the village + before Moore's and Mills's battalions got within supporting + distance, and finding things getting very hot, formed his line in + some high willows on the south side of the camp, from which he + poured in rapid volleys upon the Indians. + + "Up to this time the Indians supposed that one company was all they + had to contend with, but when the other battalions appeared, + rapidly advancing, deployed as skirmishers and pouring in a galling + fire of musketry, they broke on all sides and took refuge in the + rocks along the side of the mountain. The camp, consisting of 110 + lodges, with immense quantities of robes, fresh meat, and plunder + of all kinds, with over 700 head of horses were in our possession. + The work of burning immediately began, and soon the whole + encampment was in flames. + + "After the work of destruction was completed the whole command + moved rapidly up the river twenty miles to Lodgepole Creek. This + point was reached at nightfall by all except Moore's battalion and + Egan's company. Company E was the rear guard, and assisted Major + Stanton and the scouts in bringing up the herd of horses; many of + these were shot on the road, and the remainder reached camp about 9 + P.M. These troops had been in the saddle for 36 hours, with the + exception of five hours during which they were fighting, and all, + officers and men, were much exhausted. + + "Upon arriving at Lodgepole, it was found that General Crook and + the other four companies and pack-train had not arrived, so that + everybody was supperless and without a blanket. The night, + therefore, was not a cheerful one, but not a murmur was heard. The + tired men lay upon the snow or leaned against a tree, and slept as + best they could on so cold a night. Saturday, at noon, General + Crook arrived. In the meantime a portion of the herd of horses had + straggled into the ravines, and fallen into the hands of the + Indians." + +The village thus destroyed was that of Crazy Horse, one of the avowedly +hostile chiefs. "He had with him," wrote Gen. Crook, "the Northern +Cheyennes, and some of the Minneconjous--probably in all one-half of the +Indians off the reservations." The Indian loss was unknown. Four of +Reynolds' men were killed, and six men including one officer were +wounded. The whole force subsequently returned to Fort Fetterman, +reaching there March 26th. + +The results of this expedition were neither conclusive or satisfactory. +Therefore, Gen. Sheridan determined to proceed more systematically by +concentric movements. He ordered three distinct columns to be prepared +to move to a common centre, where the hostiles were supposed to be, from +Montana, from Dakota, and from the Platte. The two former fell under the +command of Gen. Alfred H. Terry, Commander of the Department of Dakota, +and the latter under Gen. Crook. These movements were to be +simultaneous, so that Indians avoiding one column might be encountered +by another. + +Gen. Crook marched from Fort Fetterman on the 29th of May, with two +battalions of the 2d and 3d Cavalry under Lieut. Col. W.B. Royall, and a +battalion of five companies of the 4th and 9th Infantry under Major +Alex. Chambers, with a train of wagons, pack-mules, and Indian scouts, +all amounting to 47 officers and 1,000 men present for duty. This +expedition marched by the same route as the preceding one, to a point on +Goose Creek, which is the head of Tongue River, where a supply camp was +established on June 8th. During the preceding night a party of Sioux +came down on the encampment, and endeavored to stampede the horses, +bringing on an engagement which resulted in the discomfiture and retreat +of the enemy. On the 14th, a band of Shoshones and Crows--Indians +unfriendly to the Sioux--joined Crook, and were provided with arms and +ammunition. + +The aggressive column of the expedition resumed the march forward on the +morning of the 16th, leaving the trains parked at the Goose Creek camp. +The infantry were mounted on mules borrowed from the pack-train, and +each man carried his own supplies consisting of only three days' rations +and one blanket. At night, after marching about 35 miles, the little +army encamped between high bluffs at the head waters of Rosebud River. + +At 5 A.M. on the morning of the 17th the troops started down the valley +of the Rosebud, the Indian allies marching in front and on the flanks. +After advancing about seven miles successive shots were heard in front, +the scouts came running in to report Indians advancing, and Gen. Crook +had hardly time to form his men, before large numbers of warriors fully +prepared for a fight were in view. + +The battle which ensued was on both banks of the Rosebud, near the upper +end of a deep canyon having sides which were steep, covered with pine, +and apparently impregnable, through which the stream ran. The Indians +displayed a strong force at all points, and contested the ground with a +tenacity which indicated that they were fighting for time to remove +their village, which was supposed to be about six miles down the Rosebud +at the lower end of the canyon, or believed themselves strong enough to +defeat their opponents. + +The officers and men of Crook's command behaved with marked gallantry +during the engagement. The Sioux were finally repulsed in their bold +onset, and lost many of their bravest warriors; but when they fled they +could not be pursued far without great danger owing to the roughness of +the country. The Indian allies were full of enthusiasm but not very +manageable, preferring to fight independently of orders. Crook's losses +were nine soldiers killed, and twenty-one wounded, including Capt. Henry +of the 3d Cavalry. Seven of the friendly Indians were wounded, and one +was killed. + +Gen. Crook was satisfied that the number and quality of the enemy +required more men than he had, and being encumbered with wounded he +concluded to retreat. The night was passed on the battle-field, and the +next day he started for his camp on Goose Creek, which was reached June +19th. Couriers were sent to Fort Fetterman for reinforcements and +supplies, and the command remained inactive for several weeks awaiting +their arrival. + +The battle of the Rosebud was fought not very far from the scene of +Custer's defeat a few days later, and Gen. Crook concludes that his +opponents were the same that Custer and Reno encountered. + +"It now became apparent," says Gen. Sheridan in his report "that Gen. +Crook had not only Crazy Horse and his small band to contend with, but +that the hostile force had been augmented by large numbers of the young +warriors from the agencies along the Missouri River, and the Red Cloud +and Spotted Tail agencies in Nebraska, and that the Indian agents at +these agencies had concealed the fact of the departure of these +warriors, and that in most cases they continued to issue rations as +though they were present." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +TERRY'S EXPEDITION--OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. + + +General Terry left Fort Abraham Lincoln on the Missouri River, May 17th +1876, with his division, consisting of the 7th Cavalry under Lieut. Col. +George A. Custer, three companies of infantry, a battery of Gatling +guns, and 45 enlisted scouts. His whole force, exclusive of the +wagon-train drivers, numbered about 1000 men. His march was westerly, +over the route taken by the Stanley expedition in 1873. + +On the 11th of June, Terry reached the south bank of the Yellowstone at +the mouth of Powder River, where by appointment he met steamboats, and +established his supply camp. A scouting party of six companies of the +7th Cavalry under Major M.A. Reno was sent out June 10th, which ascended +Powder River to its forks, crossed westerly to Tongue River and beyond, +and discovered, near Rosebud River, a heavy Indian trail about ten days +old leading westward toward Little Big Horn River. After following this +trail a short distance Reno returned to the Yellowstone and rejoined his +regiment, which then marched, accompanied by steamboats, to the mouth of +Rosebud River where it encamped June 21st. Communication by steamboats +and scouts had previously been opened with Col. John Gibbon, whose +column was at this time encamped on the north side of the Yellowstone, +near by. + +Col. Gibbon of the 7th Infantry had left Fort Ellis in Montana about the +middle of May, with a force consisting of six companies of his regiment, +and four companies of the 2d Cavalry under Major J.S. Brisbin. He had +marched eastward down the north bank of the Yellowstone to the mouth of +the Rosebud, where he encamped about June 1st. + +Gen. Terry now consulted with Gibbon and Custer, and decided upon a plan +for attacking the Indians who were believed to be assembled in large +numbers near Big Horn River. Custer with his regiment was to ascend the +valley of the Rosebud, and then turn towards Little Big Horn River, +keeping well to the south. Gibbon's troops were to cross the Yellowstone +at the mouth of Big Horn River, and march up the Big Horn to its +junction with the Little Big Horn, to co-operate with Custer. It was +hoped that the Indians would thus be brought between the two forces so +that their escape would be impossible. + +Col. Gibbon's column was immediately put in motion for the mouth of the +Big Horn. On the next day, June 22d, at noon, Custer announced himself +ready to start, and drew out his regiment. It consisted of 12 companies, +numbering 28 officers and 747 soldiers. There were also a strong +detachment of scouts and guides, several civilians, and a supply train +of 185 pack mules. Gen. Terry reviewed the column in the presence of +Gibbon and Brisbin, and it was pronounced in splendid condition. "The +officers clustered around Terry for a final shake of the hand, the last +good-bye was said, and in the best of spirits, filled with high hopes, +they galloped away--many of them to their death." + +Gen. Terry's orders to Custer were as follows:-- + + + CAMP AT THE MOUTH OF ROSEBUD RIVER,} + June 22d, 1876.} + + _Lieut. Col. Custer, 7th Cavalry._ + + COLONEL: The Brigadier General Commanding directs that as soon as + your regiment can be made ready for the march, you proceed up the + Rosebud in pursuit of the Indians whose trail was discovered by + Major Reno a few days ago. It is, of course, impossible to give any + definite instructions in regard to this movement, and, were it not + impossible to do so, the Department Commander places too much + confidence in your zeal, energy, and ability to wish to impose upon + you precise orders which might hamper your action when nearly in + contact with the enemy. He will, however, indicate to you his own + views of what your action should be, and he desires that you should + conform to them unless you shall see sufficient reason for + departing from them. He thinks that you should proceed up the + Rosebud until you ascertain definitely the direction in which the + trail above spoken of leads. Should it be found (as it appears to + be almost certain that it will be found) to turn towards the Little + Big Horn, he thinks that you should still proceed southward perhaps + as far as the head waters of the Tongue, and then turn toward the + Little Big Horn, feeling constantly, however, to your left, so as + to preclude the possibility of the escape of the Indians to the + south or south-east by passing around your left flank. The column + of Col. Gibbon is now in motion for the mouth of the Big Horn. As + soon as it reaches that point it will cross the Yellowstone, and + move up at least as far as the forks of the Big and Little Big + Horn. Of course its future movements must be controlled by + circumstances as they arise; but it is hoped that the Indians, if + up on the Little Big Horn, may be so nearly inclosed by the two + columns that their escape will be impossible. The Department + Commander desires that on your way up the Rosebud you should + thoroughly examine the upper part of Tulloch's Creek, and that you + should endeavor to send a scout through to Col. Gibbon's column + with information of the result of your examination. The lower part + of this creek will be examined by a detachment from Col. Gibbon's + command. The supply steamer will be pushed up the Big Horn as far + as the forks of the river are found to be navigable for that space, + and the Department Commander, who will accompany the column of Col. + Gibbon, desires you to report to him there not later than the + expiration of the time for which your troops are rationed, unless + in the meantime you receive further orders. Respectfully, &c., + + E.W. SMITH, Captain 18th Infantry, + + Acting Assistant Adjutant General. + +After proceeding southerly up the Rosebud for about seventy miles, +Custer, at 11 P.M. on the night of the 24th, turned westerly towards +Little Big Horn River. The next morning while crossing the elevated land +between the two rivers, a large Indian village was discovered about +fifteen miles distant, just across Little Big Horn River. Custer with +characteristic promptness decided to attack the village at once. + +One company was escorting the train at the rear. The balance of the +force was divided into three columns. The trail they were on led down to +the stream at a point some distance south of the village. Major Reno, +with three companies under Capt. T.H. French, Capt. Myles Moylan, and +Lieut. Donald Mclntosh, was ordered to follow the trail, cross the +stream, and charge down its north bank. Capt. F.W. Benteen, with his own +company and two others under Capt. T. B. Weir and Lieut. E.S. Godfrey, +was sent to make a detour to the south of Reno. The other five companies +of the regiment, under the immediate command of Custer, formed the right +of the little army. + +On reaching the river Reno crossed it as ordered, and Custer with his +five companies turned northerly into a ravine running behind the bluffs +on the east side of the stream. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +GIBBON'S MARCH UP THE BIG HORN RIVER. + + +The supply steamer Far West with Gen. Terry and Col. Gibbon on board, +which steamed up the Yellowstone on the evening of June 23d, overtook +Gibbon's troops near the mouth of the Big Horn early on the morning of +the 24th; and by 4 o'clock P.M. of the same day, the entire command with +the animals and supplies had been ferried over to the south side of the +Yellowstone. An hour later the column marched out to and across +Tulloch's Creek, and then encamped for the night. + +At 5 o'clock on the morning of the 25th, (Sunday) the column was again +in motion; and after marching 22 miles over a country so rugged as to +task the endurance of the men to the utmost, the infantry halted for the +night. Gen. Terry, however, with the cavalry and the battery pushed on +14 miles further in hopes of opening communication with Custer, and +camped at midnight near the mouth of the Little Big Horn. + +Scouts sent out from Terry's camp early on the morning of the 26th +discovered three Indians, who proved to be Crows who had accompanied +Custer's regiment. They reported that a battle had been fought and that +the Indians were killing white men in great numbers. Their story was not +fully credited, as it was not expected that a conflict would occur so +soon, or believed that serious disaster could have overtaken so large a +force. + +The infantry, which had broken camp very early, now came up, and the +whole column crossed the Little Big Horn and moved up its western +valley. It was soon reported that a dense heavy smoke was resting over +the southern horizon far ahead, and in a short time it became visible to +all. This was hailed as a sign that Custer had met the Indians, defeated +them, and burned their village. The weary foot soldiers were elated and +freshened by the sight, and pressed on with increased spirit and speed. + +Custer's position was believed to be not far ahead, and efforts were +repeatedly made during the afternoon to open communication with him; but +the scouts who attempted to go through were met and driven back by +hostile Indians who were hovering in the front. As evening came on, +their numbers increased and large parties could be seen on the bluffs +hurrying from place to place and watching every movement of the +advancing soldiers. + +At 8:40 in the evening the infantry had marched that day about 30 miles. +The forks of the Big Horn, the place where Terry had requested Custer to +report to him, were many miles behind and the expected messenger from +Custer had not arrived. Daylight was fading, the men were fatigued, and +the column was therefore halted for the night. The animals were +picketed, guards were set, and the weary men, wrapped in their blankets +and with their weapons beside them, were soon asleep on the ground. + +Early on the morning of the 27th the march up the Little Big Horn was +resumed. The smoke cloud was still visible and apparently but a short +distance ahead. Soon a dense grove of trees was reached and passed +through cautiously, and then the head of the column entered a beautiful +level meadow about a mile in width, extending along the west side of the +stream and overshadowed east and west by high bluffs. It soon became +apparent that this meadow had recently been the site of an immense +Indian village, and the great number of temporary brushwood and willow +huts indicated that many Indians beside the usual inhabitants had +rendezvoused there. It was also evident that it had been hastily +deserted. Hundreds of lodge-poles, with finely-dressed buffalo-robes and +other hides, dried meat, stores, axes, utensils, and Indian trinkets +were left behind; and in two tepees or lodges still standing, were the +bodies of nine Indians who had gone to the "happy hunting-grounds." + +Every step of the march now revealed some evidence that a conflict had +taken place not far away. The dead bodies of Indian horses were seen, +and cavalry equipments and weapons, bullet-pierced clothing, and +blood-stained gloves were picked up; and at last the bodies of soldiers +and their horses gave positive proof that a disastrous battle had taken +place. The Crow Indians had told the truth. + +The head of the column was now met by a breathless scout, who came +running up with the intelligence that Major Reno with a body of troops +was intrenched on a bluff further on, awaiting relief. The soldiers +pushed ahead in the direction pointed out, and soon came in sight of men +and horses intrenched on top of a hill on the opposite or east side of +the river. Terry and Gibbon immediately forded the stream and rode +toward the group. As they approached the top of the hill, they were +welcomed by hearty cheers from a swarm of soldiers who came out of +their intrenchments to meet their deliverers. The scene was a touching +one. Stout-hearted soldiers who had kept bravely up during the hours of +conflict and danger now cried like children, and the pale faces of the +wounded lighted up as hope revived within them. + +The story of the relieved men briefly told was as follows:--After +separating from Custer about noon, June 25th, (as related in the last +chapter) Reno proceeded to the river, forded it, and charged down its +west bank toward the village, meeting at first with but little +resistance. Soon however he was attacked by such numbers as to be +obliged to dismount his men, shelter his horses in a strip of woods, and +fight on foot. Finding that they would soon be surrounded and defeated, +he again mounted his men, and charging upon such of the enemy as +obstructed his way, retreated across the river, and reached the top of a +bluff followed closely by Indians. Just then Benteen, returning from his +detour southward, discovered Reno's perilous position, drove back the +Indians, and joined him on the hill. Shortly afterward, the company +which was escorting the mule train also joined Reno. The seven companies +thus brought together had been subsequently assailed by Indians; many of +the men had been killed and wounded, and it was only by obstinate +resistance that they had been enabled to defend themselves in an +entrenched position. The enemy had retired on the evening of the 26th. + +After congratulations to Reno and his brave men for their successful +defence enquiries were made respecting Custer, but no one could tell +where he was. Neither he or any of his men had been seen since the fight +commenced, and the musketry heard from the direction he took had ceased +on the afternoon of the 25th. It was supposed by Reno and Benteen that +he had been repulsed, and retreated northerly towards Terry's troops. + +A search for Custer and his men was immediately began, and it revealed a +scene calculated to appal the stoutest heart. Although neither Custer or +any of that part of his regiment which he led to combat were found alive +to tell the tale, an examination of their trail and the scene of +conflict enabled their comrades to form some idea of the engagement in +which they perished. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +CUSTER'S LAST BATTLE. + + +General Custer's trail, from the place where he left Reno's and turned +northward, passed along and in the rear of the crest of hills on the +east bank of the stream for nearly three miles, and then led, through an +opening in the bluff, down to the river. Here Custer had evidently +attempted to cross over to attack the village. The trail then turned +back on itself, as if Custer had been repulsed and obliged to retreat, +and branched to the northward, as if he had been prevented from +returning southerly by the way he came, or had determined to retreat in +the direction from which Terry's troops were advancing. + +Several theories as to the subsequent movements of the troops have been +entertained by persons who visited the grounds. One is, that the +soldiers in retreating took advantage of two ravines; that two companies +under Capt. T.W. Custer and Lieut. A. E. Smith, were led by Gen. Custer +up the ravine nearest the river, while the upper ravine furnished a line +of retreat for the three companies of Capt. G.W. Yates, Capt. M.W. +Keogh, and Lieut. James Calhoun. At the head of this upper ravine, a +mile from the river, a stand had been made by Calhoun's company; the +skirmish lines were marked by rows of the slain with heaps of empty +cartridge shells before them, and Lieuts. Calhoun and Crittenden lay +dead just behind the files. Further on, Capt. Keogh had fallen +surrounded by his men; and still further on, upon a hill, Capt. Yates' +company took its final stand. Here, according to this theory, Yates was +joined by what remained of the other two companies, who had been +furiously assailed in the lower ravine; and here Gen. Custer and the +last survivors of the five companies met their death, fighting bravely +to the end. + +Another theory of the engagement is, that Custer attempted to retreat up +the lower ravine in columns of companies; that the companies of Custer +and Smith being first in the advance and last in the retreat, fell first +in the slaughter which followed the retrograde movement; that Yates' +company took the position on the hill, and perished there with Custer +and other officers; and that the two other companies, Keogh's and +Calhoun's, perished while fighting their way back towards Reno--a few +reaching the place where Custer first struck the high banks of the +river. + +Still another theory is, that the main line of retreat was by the upper +ravine; that Calhoun's company was thrown across to check the Indians, +and was the first annihilated. That the two companies of Capt. Custer +and Lieut. Smith retreated from the place where Gen. Custer was killed +into the lower ravine, and were the last survivors of the conflict. + +Near the highest point of the hill lay the body of General Custer, and +near by were those of his brother Captain Custer, Lieut. Smith, Capt. +Yates, Lieut. W. V. Riley of Yates' company, and Lieut. W.W. Cooke. Some +distance away, close together, were found another brother of Gen. +Custer--Boston Custer, a civilian, who had accompanied the expedition +as forage master of the 7th Cavalry--and his nephew Armstrong Reed, a +youth of nineteen, who was visiting the General at the time the +expedition started, and accompanied it as a driver of the herd of cattle +taken along. The wife of Lieut. Calhoun was a sister of the Custer's, +and she here lost her husband, three brothers, and a nephew. + +Other officers of Custer's battalion killed but not already mentioned, +were Asst. Surgeon L.W. Lord, and Lieuts. H.M. Harrington, J.E. Porter, +and J.G. Sturgis. The last named was a West Point graduate of 1875, and +a son of General S.D. Sturgis, the Colonel of the 7th Cavalry, who had +been detained by other duties when his regiment started on this +expedition. The bodies of the slain were rifled of valuables and all +were mutilated excepting Gen. Custer, and Mark Kellogg--a correspondent +of the _New York Herald_. Gen. Custer was clad in a buckskin suit; and a +Canadian--Mr. Macdonald--was subsequently informed by Indians who were +in the fight, that for this reason he was not mangled, as they took him +to be some brave hunter accidentally with the troops. Others believe +that Custer was passed by from respect for the heroism of one whom the +Indians had learned to fear and admire. + +The dead were buried June 28th, where they fell, Major Reno and the +survivors of his regiment performing the last sad rites over their +comrades. + +A retreat to the mouth of Big Horn River was now ordered and +successfully effected, the wounded being comfortably transported on mule +litters to the mouth of the Little Big Horn, where they were placed on a +steamboat and taken to Fort Lincoln. Gibbon's Cavalry followed the +Indians for about ten miles, and ascertained that they had moved to the +south and west by several trails. A good deal of property had been +thrown away by them to lighten their march, and was found scattered +about. Many of their dead were also discovered secreted in ravines a +long distance from the battle field. + +At the boat was found one of Custer's scouts, who had been in the +fight--a Crow named Curley; his story was as follows:-- + + "Custer kept down the river on the north bank four miles, after + Reno had crossed to the south side above. He thought Reno would + drive down the valley, to attack the village at the upper end, + while he (Custer) would go in at the lower end. Custer had to go + further down the river and further away from Reno than he wished on + account of the steep bank along the north side; but at last he + found a ford and dashed for it. The Indians met him and poured in a + heavy fire from across the narrow river. Custer dismounted to fight + on foot, but could not get his skirmishers over the stream. + Meantime hundreds of Indians, on foot and on ponies, poured over + the river, which was only about three feet deep, and filled the + ravine on each side of Custer's men. Custer then fell back to some + high ground behind him and seized the ravines in his immediate + vicinity. The Indians completely surrounded Custer and poured in a + terrible fire on all sides. They charged Custer on foot in vast + numbers, but were again and again driven back. + + "The fight began about 2 o'clock, and lasted almost until the sun + went down over the hills. The men fought desperately, and after the + ammunition in their belts was exhausted went to their saddlebags, + got more and continued the fight. Custer lived until nearly all his + men had been killed or wounded, and went about encouraging his + soldiers to fight on. He got a shot in the left side and sat down, + with his pistol in his hand. Another shot struck Custer in the + breast, and he fell over. The last officer killed was a man who + rode a white horse--believed to be Lieut. Cooke, as Cooke and + Calhoun were the only officers who rode white horses. + + "When he saw Custer hopelessly surrounded he watched his + opportunity, got a Sioux blanket, put it on, and worked up a + ravine, and when the Sioux charged, he got among them and they did + not know him from one of their own men. There were some mounted + Sioux, and seeing one fall, he ran to him, mounted his pony, and + galloped down as if going towards the white men, but went up a + ravine and got away. As he rode off he saw, when nearly a mile from + the battle field, a dozen or more soldiers in a ravine, fighting + with Sioux all around them. He thinks all were killed, as they were + outnumbered five to one, and apparently dismounted. The battle was + desperate in the extreme, and more Indians than white men must have + been killed." + +The following extract is from a letter written to Gen. Sheridan by Gen. +Terry at his camp on the Big Horn, July 2d:-- + + "We calculated it would take Gibbon's command until the 26th to + reach the mouth of the Little Big Horn, and that the wide sweep I + had proposed Custer should make would require so much time that + Gibbon would be able to co-operate with him in attacking any + Indians that might be found on the stream. I asked Custer how long + his marches would be. He said they would be at the rate of about 30 + miles a day. Measurements were made and calculations based on that + rate of progress. I talked with him about his strength, and at one + time suggested that perhaps it would be well for me to take + Gibbon's cavalry and go with him. To the latter suggestion he + replied:--that, without reference to the command, he would prefer + his own regiment alone. As a homogeneous body, as much could be + done with it as with the two combined. He expressed the utmost + confidence that he had all the force that he could need, and I + shared his confidence. The plan adopted was the only one which + promised to bring the infantry into action, and I desired to make + sure of things by getting up every available man. I offered Custer + the battery of Gatling guns, but he declined it, saying that it + might embarrass him, and that he was strong enough without it. The + movements proposed by General Gibbon's column were carried out to + the letter, and had the attack been deferred until it was up, I + cannot doubt that we should have been successful." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +RENO'S BATTLES ON THE LITTLE BIG HORN. + + +After the battle in which Lieut. Col. Custer lost his life, the command +of the 7th Cavalry regiment devolved on Major Reno. The following is a +copy of Reno's official report to Gen. Terry, excepting that a few +unimportant paragraphs are omitted. It is dated July 5th, 1876. + + "The regiment left the camp at the mouth of Rosebud River, after + passing in review before the department commander, under command of + Brevet Major General G.A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel, on the + afternoon of the 22d of June, and marched up the Rosebud 12 miles + and encamped. 23d--Marched up the Rosebud, passing many old Indian + camps, and following a very large lodge-pole trail, but not fresh, + making 33 miles. 24th--The march was continued up the Rosebud, the + trail and signs freshening with every mile until we had made 28 + miles, and we then encamped and waited for information from the + scouts. At 9.25 P.M., Custer called the officers together, and + informed us that beyond a doubt the village was in the valley of + the Little Big Horn, and that to reach it, it was necessary to + cross the divide between the Rosebud and Little Big Horn, and it + would be impossible to do so in the daytime without discovering our + march to the Indians; that we would prepare to move at 11 P.M. This + was done, the line of march turning from the Rosebud to the right, + up one of its branches, which headed near the summit of the divide. + + "About 2 A.M. of the 25th, the scouts told him that he could not + cross the divide before daylight. We then made coffee and rested + for three hours, at the expiration of which time the march was + resumed, the divide crossed, and about 8 A.M. the command was in + the valley of one of the branches of the Little Big Horn. By this + time Indians had been seen, and it was certain that we could not + surprise them, and it was determined to move at once to the attack. + + "Previous to this no division of the regiment had been made since + the order was issued on the Yellowstone, annulling wing and + battalion organizations. General Custer informed me he would assign + commands on the march. I was ordered by Lieut. W.W. Cooke, + Adjutant, to assume command of Companies M, A, and G; Capt. Benteen + of Companies H, D, and K; Custer retaining C, E, F, I, and L, under + his immediate command; and Company B, Capt. McDougall, being in + rear of the pack train. I assumed command of the companies assigned + to me, and without any definite orders, moved forward with the rest + of the column, and well to its left. I saw Benteen moving further + to the left, and, as they passed, he told me he had orders to move + well to the left, and sweep everything before him; I did not see + him again until about 2:30 P.M. The command moved down the creek + towards the Little Big Horn Valley. Custer with five companies on + the right bank; myself and three companies on the left bank; and + Benteen further to the left, and out of sight. + + "As we approached a deserted village, in which was standing one + tepee, about 11 A.M., Custer motioned me to cross to him, which I + did, and moved nearer to his column, until about 12:30 A.M., when + Lieut. Cooke came to me and said the village was only two miles + ahead and running away. To 'move forward at as rapid a gait as I + thought prudent and to charge afterward, and that the whole outfit + would support me.' I think those were his exact words. I at once + took a fast trot, and moved down about two miles, when I came to a + ford of the river. I crossed immediately, and halted about ten + minutes or less, to gather the battalion, sending word to Custer + that I had everything in front of me, and that they were strong. + + "I deployed, and, with the Ree scouts on my left, charged down the + valley, driving the Indians with great ease for about 2-1/2 miles. + I, however, soon saw that I was being drawn into some trap, as they + certainly would fight harder, and especially as we were nearing + their village, which was still standing; besides, I could not see + Custer or any other support; and at the same time the very earth + seemed to grow Indians, and they were running toward me in swarms, + and from all directions. I saw I must defend myself, and give up + the attack mounted. This I did, taking possession of a point of + woods, which furnished near its edge a shelter for the horses; + dismounted, and fought them on foot, making headway through the + woods. I soon found myself in the near vicinity of the village, saw + that I was fighting odds of at least five to one, and that my only + hope was to get out of the woods, where I would soon have been + surrounded, and gain some high ground. I accomplished this by + mounting and charging the Indians between me and the bluffs on the + opposite side of the river. In this charge First Lieut. Donald + McIntosh, Second Lieut. Benjamin H. Hodgson, and Acting Assistant + Surgeon J. M. De Wolf were killed. + + "I succeeded in reaching the top of the bluff, with a loss of the + three officers and 29 enlisted men killed, and seven men wounded. + Almost at the same time I reached the top, mounted men were seen to + be coming toward us, and it proved to be Capt. Benteen's battalion, + Companies H, D, and K; we joined forces, and in a short time the + pack train came up. As senior my command was then Companies A, B, + D, G, H, K, and M, about 380 men; and the following + officers:--Captains Benteen, Weir, French, and McDougall, First + Lieutenants Godfrey, Mathey, and Gibson, Second Lieutenants + Edgerly, Wallace, Varnum, and Hare, and A.A. Surgeon Porter. First + Lieut. De Rudio was in the dismounted fight in the woods, but + having some trouble with his horse did not join the command in the + charge out, and hiding himself in the woods, joined the command + after nightfall of the 26th. + + "Still hearing nothing of Custer, and with this reinforcement, I + moved down the river in the direction of the village, keeping on + the bluffs. We had heard firing in that direction, and knew it + could only be Custer. I moved to the summit of the highest bluff, + but seeing and hearing nothing, sent Capt. Weir, with his company, + to open communication with the other command. He soon sent back + word by Lieut. Hare that he could go no further, and that the + Indians were getting around him. At this time he was keeping up a + heavy fire from his skirmish line. I at once turned everything back + to the first position I had taken on the bluff, and which seemed to + me the best. I dismounted the men, had the horses and mules of the + pack train driven together in a depression, put the men on the + crests of the hills making the depression, and had hardly done so + when I was furiously attacked. This was about 6 P.M. We held our + ground, with the loss of 18 enlisted men killed and 46 wounded, + until the attack ceased, about 9 P.M. + + "As I knew by this time their overwhelming numbers, and had given + up any support from the portion of the regiment with Custer, I had + the men dig rifle-pits; barricaded with dead horses, mules, and + boxes of hard bread, the opening of the depression toward the + Indians in which the animals were herded; and made every exertion + to be ready for what I saw would be a terrific assault the next + day. All this night the men were busy, and the Indians holding a + scalp dance underneath us in the bottom and in our hearing. + + "On the morning of the 26th I felt confident that I could hold my + own, and was ready as far as I could be, when at daylight, about + 2:30 A.M., I heard the crack of two rifles. This was the signal for + the beginning of a fire that I have never seen equaled. Every rifle + was handled by an expert and skilled marksman, and with a range + that exceeded our carbine; and it was simply impossible to show any + part of the body, before it was struck. We could see, as the day + brightened, countless hordes of them pouring up the valley from out + the village, and scampering over the high points toward the places + designated for them by their chiefs, and which entirely surrounded + our position. They had sufficient numbers to completely encircle + us, and men were struck on the opposite sides of the lines from + which the shots were fired. I think we were fighting all the Sioux + nation, and also all the desperados, renegades, half-breeds and + squaw men, between the Missouri and the Arkansas and east of the + Rocky Mountains. They must have numbered at least 2,500 warriors. + + "The fire did not slacken until about 9:30 A.M., and then we + discovered that they were making a last desperate attempt, which + was directed against the lines held by Companies H and M. In this + attack they charged close enough to use their bows and arrows, and + one man lying dead within our lines was touched by the 'coup stick' + of one of the foremost Indians. When I say the stick was only about + 10 or 12 feet long, some idea of the desperate and reckless + fighting of these people may be understood. This charge of theirs + was gallantly repulsed by the men on that line led by Capt. + Benteen. They also came close enough to send their arrows into the + line held by Companies D and K, but were driven away by a like + charge of the line, which I accompanied. We now had many wounded, + and the question of water was vital, as from 6 P.M. of the previous + evening until now, 10 A.M. (about 16 hours) we had been without it. + A skirmish line was formed under Capt. Benteen, to protect the + descent of volunteers down the hill in front of his position to + reach the water. We succeeded in getting some canteens, although + many of the men were hit in doing so. + + "The fury of the attack was now over, and to my astonishment the + Indians were seen going in parties toward the village. But two + solutions occurred to us for this movement--that they were going + for something to eat, more ammunition (as they had been throwing + arrows), or that Custer was coming. We took advantage of this lull + to fill all vessels with water, and soon had it by the camp kettle + full; but they continued to withdraw, and all firing ceased, save + occasional shots from sharpshooters, sent to annoy us about the + water. About 2 P.M. the grass in the bottom was set on fire, and + followed up by Indians who encouraged its burning, and it was + evident it was done for a purpose, which purpose I discovered, + later on, to be the creation of a dense cloud of smoke, behind + which they were packing and preparing to move their tepees. + + "It was between 6 and 7 P.M. that the village came out from behind + the clouds of smoke and dust. We had a close and good view of them, + as they filed away in the direction of the Big Horn Mountains, + moving in almost perfect military order. The length of the column + was fully equal to that of a large division of the cavalry corps of + the Army of the Potomac, as I have seen it on its march. + + "We now thought of Custer, of whom nothing had been seen and + nothing heard since the firing in his direction about 6 P.M. on the + eve of the 25th, and we concluded that the Indians had gotten + between him and us, and driven him toward the boat, at the mouth of + Little Big Horn River; the awful fate that did befall him never + occurring to any of us as within the limits of possibilities. + During the night I changed my position, in order to secure an + unlimited supply of water, and was prepared for their return, + feeling sure they would do so, as they were in such numbers. But + early in the morning of the 27th, and while we were on the _qui + vive_ for Indians, I saw with my glass a dust some distance down + the valley. There was no certainty for some time what they were, + but finally I satisfied myself they were cavalry, and if so could + only be Custer, as it was ahead of the time that I understood that + General Terry could be expected. Before this time, however, I had + written a communication to Gen. Terry, and three volunteers were to + try and reach him (I had no confidence in the Indians with me, and + could not get them to do anything). If this dust were Indians, it + was possible they would not expect any one to leave. The men + started, and were told to go as near as was safe to determine if + the approaching column was white men, and to return at once in case + they found it so; but if they were Indians to push on to General + Terry. In a short time we saw them returning over the high bluff + already alluded to; they were accompanied by a scout who had a note + from Terry to Custer, saying, 'Crow scouts had come to camp saying + he had been whipped, but it was not believed.' I think it was about + 10:30 A.M. that General Terry rode into my lines, and the fate of + Custer and his brave men was soon determined by Capt. Benteen + proceeding with his company to the battle ground. + + "The wounded in my lines were, during the afternoon and eve of the + 27th, moved to the camp of General Terry; and at 5 A.M. of the + 28th, I proceeded with the regiment to the battle ground of Custer, + and buried 204 bodies, including the following named citizens:--Mr. + Boston Custer, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Kellogg. The following named + citizens and Indians, who were with my command, were also + killed:--Charles Reynolds (guide and hunter); Isaiah (colored) + interpreter; Bloody Knife (who fell from immediately by my side); + Bob-tailed Bull and Stab of the Indian scouts. + + "After following over his trail, it is evident to me that Custer + intended to support me by moving further down the stream, and + attacking the village in flank; that he found the distance to the + ford greater than he anticipated; that he did charge, but his march + had taken so long, although his trail shows he moved rapidly, that + they were ready for him; that Companies C and I, and perhaps part + of Company E, crossed to the village or attempted it at the charge + and were met by a staggering fire; and that they fell back to + secure a position from which to defend themselves; but they were + followed too closely by the Indians to permit him to form any kind + of a line. I think had the regiment gone in as a body, and from the + woods in which I fought advanced on the village, its destruction + was certain; but he was fully confident they were running, or he + would not have turned from me. I think (after the great number of + Indians that were in the village) that the following reasons + obtained for the misfortune: His rapid marching for two days and + one night before the fight, attacking in the day time at 12 M. and + when they were on the _qui vive_, instead of early in the morning; + and lastly, his unfortunate division of the regiment into three + commands. + + "During my fight with the Indians I had the heartiest support from + officers and men, but the conspicuous services of Brevet Colonel + F.W. Benteen, I desire to call attention to especially, for if ever + a soldier deserved recognition by his government for distinguished + services, he certainly does. + + "The harrowing sight of the dead bodies crowning the height on + which Custer fell, and which will remain vividly in my memory until + death, is too recent for me not to ask the good people of this + country whether a policy that sets opposing parties in the field, + armed, clothed, and equipped by one and the same government, should + not be abolished. All of which is respectfully submitted." + +The following is Capt. Benteen's account of his detour to the south and +junction with Reno:-- + + "I was sent with my battalion to the left to a line of bluffs about + five miles off, with instructions to look for Indians and see what + was to be seen, and if I saw nothing there to go on, and when I had + satisfied myself that it was useless to go further in that + direction to rejoin the main trail. After proceeding through a + rough and difficult country, very tiring on the horses, and seeing + nothing, and wishing to save the horses unnecessary fatigue, I + decided to return to the main trail. Before I had proceeded a mile + in the direction of the bluffs I was overtaken by the chief + trumpeter and the sergeant major, with instructions from Gen. + Custer to use my own discretion, and in case I should find any + trace of Indians, at once to notify Gen. Custer. + + "Having marched rapidly and passed the line of bluffs on the left + bank of a branch of the Little Big Horn which made into the main + stream about two and a half miles above the ford crossed by Col. + Reno's command, as ordered, I continued my march in the same + direction. The whole time occupied in this march was about an hour + and a half. As I was anxious to regain the main command, as there + was no signs of Indians, I then decided to rejoin the main trail, + as the country before me was mostly of the same character as that I + had already passed over, without valley and without water, and + offering no inducement for the Indians. No valleys were visible, + not even the valley where the fight took place, until my command + struck the river. + + "About three miles from the point where Reno crossed the ford, I + met a sergeant bringing orders to the commanding officer of the + rear guard, Capt. McDougall, to hurry up the pack trains. A mile + further I was met by my trumpeter, bringing a written order from + Lieut. Cooke, the adjutant of the regiment, to this + effect:--'Benteen, come on; big village; be quick; bring packs:' + and a postscript saying, 'Bring packs.' A mile or a mile and a half + further on I first came in sight of the valley and Little Big Horn. + About twelve or fifteen dismounted men were fighting on the plains + with Indians, charging and recharging them. This body numbered + about 900 at this time. Col. Reno's mounted party were retiring + across the river to the bluffs. I did not recognize till later what + part of the command this was, but was clear they had been beaten. I + then marched my command in line to their succor. + + "On reaching the bluff I reported to Col. Reno, and first learned + that the command had been separated and that Custer was not in that + part of the field, and no one of Reno's command was able to inform + me of the whereabouts of Gen. Custer. While the command was + awaiting the arrival of the pack mules, a company was sent forward + in the direction supposed to have been taken by Custer. After + proceeding about a mile they were attacked and driven back. During + this time I heard no heavy firing, and there was nothing to + indicate that a heavy fight was going on, and I believe that at + this time Custer's immediate command had been annihilated." + +In a letter addressed to the _Army and Navy Journal_, Lieut. E.L. +Godfry, of Benteen's battalion, gives the following information:-- + + "Captain Benteen was some six miles from the scene of action when + he received Lieut. Cooke's note; he had no intimation that the + battle had begun, of the force of the Indians, or plan of attack. + Benteen pushed ahead; the packs followed, and not until he reached + the high bluffs over-looking the river valley and near to where the + troops afterwards were besieged did he know of the battle or + immediate presence of the troops to the enemy; he could only hear + occasional shots, not enough to intimate that a battle was going + on. Soon after reaching this point two volleys were heard down the + river where Gen. Custer was, but his force was not in sight. Soon + after this Reno and Benteen joined. By accident Benteen's column + constituted a reserve. It was well it was so. As soon as + dispositions were made on the bluff, Weir's company was sent to + look for Gen. Custer. He went to a high point about three-quarters + of a mile down the river, from which he had a good view of the + country. From it could be seen Custer's battle field, but there was + nothing to indicate the result. The field was covered with Indians. + He was recalled from the place; the packs closed up; ammunition was + issued and the command moved down the river to, if possible, join + Custer. Upon reaching this high point we could see nothing, hear + nothing, to indicate Custer's vicinage. But immediately the Indians + started for us." + +The following is the narrative of George Herndon, a scout, published in +the _New York Herald_:-- + + "At 11 P.M., June 24th, Custer followed the scouts up the + right-hand fork of the Rosebud. About daylight we went into camp, + made coffee, and soon after it was light the scouts brought Custer + word that they had seen the village from the top of a divide that + separates the Rosebud from Little Big Horn River. We moved up the + creek until near its head, and concealed ourselves in a ravine. It + was about three miles from the head of the creek where we then were + to the top of the divide where the Indian scouts said the village + could be seen, and after hiding his command, General Custer with a + few orderlies galloped forward to look at the Indian camp. In about + an hour he returned, and said he could not see the Indian village, + but the scouts and a half-breed guide said they could distinctly + see it some 15 miles off. Custer had 'officers' call' blown, gave + his orders, and the command was put in fighting order. The scouts + were ordered forward, and the regiment moved at a walk. After going + about three miles the scouts reported Indians ahead, and the + command then took the trail. + + "Our way lay down a little creek, a branch of the Little Big Horn, + and after going some six miles we discovered an Indian lodge ahead + and Custer bore down on it at a stiff trot. In coming to it we + found ourselves in a freshly-abandoned Indian camp, all the lodges + of which were gone except the one we saw, and on entering it we + found it contained a dead Indian. From this point we could see into + the Little Big Horn valley, and observed heavy clouds of dust + rising about five miles distant. Many thought the Indians were + moving away, and I think Custer believed so, for he sent word to + Reno, who was ahead, to push on the scouts rapidly and head for the + dust. Reno took a steady gallop down the creek bottom three miles + to where it emptied into the Little Big Horn, and found a natural + ford across Little Big Horn River. He started to cross, when the + scouts came back and called out to him to hold on, that the Sioux + were coming in large numbers to meet him. He crossed over, however, + formed his companies on the prairie in line of battle, and moved + forward at a trot, but soon took a gallop. + + "The valley was about three-fourths of a mile wide. On the left a + line of low, round hills, and on the right the river bottom, + covered with a growth of cottonwood trees and bushes. After + scattering shots were fired from the hills and a few from the river + bottom, and Reno's skirmishers had returned the shots, he advanced + about a mile from the ford, to a line of timber on the right, and + dismounted his men to fight on foot. The horses were sent into the + timber, and the men formed on the prairies and advanced toward the + Indians. The Indians, mounted on ponies, came across the prairies + and opened a heavy fire on the soldiers. After skirmishing for a + few minutes Reno fell back to his horses in the timber. The Indians + moved to his left and rear, evidently with the intention of cutting + him off from the ford. Reno ordered his men to mount and move + through the timber. Just as the men got into the saddle the Sioux, + who had advanced in the timber, fired at close range and killed one + soldier. Reno then commanded the men to dismount, and they did so; + but he soon ordered them to mount again and moved out on the open + prairie. The command headed for the ford, pressed closely by + Indians in large numbers, and at every moment the rate of speed + was increased, until it became a dead run for the ford. The Sioux, + mounted on their swift ponies, dashed up by the side of the + soldiers and fired at them, killing both men and horses. Little + resistance was offered, and it was a complete route to the ford. + + "I did not see the men at the ford, and do not know what took place + further than a good many were killed when the command left the + timber. Just as I got out my horse stumbled and fell, and I was + dismounted--the horse running away after Reno's command. I saw + several soldiers who were dismounted, their horses having been + killed or having run away. There were also some soldiers mounted + who had remained behind. In all there was as many as 13 men, three + of whom were wounded. Seeing no chance to get away, I called on + them to come into the timber and we would stand off the Indians. + They wanted to go out, but I said 'No, we can't get to the ford, + and, besides, we have wounded men and must stand by them.' They + still wanted to go, but I told them I was an old frontiersman, + understood Indians, and, if they would do as I said, I would get + them out of the scrape, which was no worse than scrapes I had been + in before. About half of the men were mounted, and they wanted to + keep their horses with them; but I told them to let them go, and + fight on foot. We stayed in the bush about three hours, and I could + hear heavy firing below in the river, apparently about two miles + distant. I did not know who it was, but knew the Indians were + fighting some of our men, and learned afterward it was Custer's + command. Nearly all the Indians in the upper end of the valley drew + off down the river, and the fight with Custer lasted about one + hour, when the heavy firing ceased. + + "When the shooting below began to die away I said to the boys, + 'Come, now is the time to get out; the Indians will come back, and + we had better be off at once.' Eleven of the 13 said they would go, + but two staid behind. I deployed the men as skirmishers, and we + moved forward on foot toward the river. When we had got nearly to + the river we met five Indians on ponies, and they fired on us. I + returned the fire and the Indians broke, and we forded the river, + the water being breast-deep. We finally got over, wounded men and + all, and headed for Reno's command, which I could see drawn up on + the bluffs along the river about a mile off. We reached Reno in + safety. We had not been with Reno more than 15 minutes when I saw + the Indians coming up the valley from Custer's fight. Reno was + then moving his whole command down the ridge toward Custer. The + Indians crossed the river below Reno and swarmed up the bluff on + all sides. After skirmishing with them Reno went back to his old + position which was on one of the highest points along the bluffs. + It was now about 5 P.M., and the fight lasted until it was too dark + to see to shoot. As soon as it was dark, Reno took the packs and + saddles off the mules and horses and made breastworks of them. He + also dragged the dead horses and mules on the line and sheltered + the men behind them. Some of the men dug rifle pits with their + butcher knives and all slept on their arms. + + "At the peep of day the Indians opened a heavy fire and a desperate + fight ensued, lasting until 10 A.M. The Indians charged our + position three or four times, coming up close enough to hit our men + with stones, which they threw by hand. Captain Benteen saw a large + mass of Indians gathering on his front to charge, and ordered his + men to charge on foot and scatter them. Benteen led the charge, and + was upon the Indians before they knew what they were about and + killed a great many. They were evidently surprised at this + offensive movement. I think in desperate fighting Benteen is one of + the bravest men I ever saw. All the time he was going about through + the bullets, encouraging the soldiers to stand up to their work and + not let the Indians whip them. He never sheltered his own person + once during the battle, and I do not see how he escaped being + killed. The desperate charging and fighting was at about 1 P.M., + but firing was kept up on both sides until late in the afternoon. + + "I think the Indian village must have contained about 6,000 people, + fully 3,000 of whom were warriors. The Indians fought Reno first + and then went to fight Custer, after which they came back to finish + Reno. Hordes of squaws and old, gray-haired Indians were roaming + over the battle-field howling like mad. The squaws had stone + mallets, and mashed in the skulls of the dead and wounded. Our men + did not kill any squaws, but the Ree Indian scouts did. The bodies + of six squaws were found in the little ravine. The Indians must + have lost as many men in killed and wounded as the whites did." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +KILL EAGLE'S NARRATIVE. + + +A vivid account of Custer's last battle has been given by an Indian +named Kill Eagle, who was in Sitting Bull's village on the day of the +fight as, he claims, a non-combatant. Kill Eagle was head chief of the +Cheyenne River Agency Indians who had become much dissatisfied. Capt. +Poland, formerly commander of the troops at Standing Rock, says that the +Indians there were "abominably starved during the winter and spring of +1875--the authorities having failed to deliver the rations due them; and +in May and June 1876, the Indians received practically nothing except +two issues of beef and ground corn, called meal, but so coarse that one +peck yielded but a quart of meal." + +Early in May, Kill Eagle entered the military post with a party of +warriors, gave a dance, demanded rations, and proclaimed "that he owned +the land the post was built on, the timber and stone which had been used +in its construction, and that he would have the Great Father pay for all +these things; that his people were starving and they could get no food +from the agent." The post commander told them he could do nothing for +them. Kill Eagle's party manifested sulliness, and demonstrated their +defiance by firing off pistols in the air as they marched outside of +the garrison. A few days later the post commander was informed that +Kill Eagle had started for the hostile camp with about thirty lodges. + +In September, Kill Eagle came near the post and sent word that he +intended to kill all the soldiers unless they crossed the river. The +troops were under arms all night anticipating an attack, but none was +made. Subsequently Kill Eagle surrendered to the authorities, and gave +them an account of his wanderings during the summer. A letter written at +Standing Rock described his story as follows:-- + + "He commences with the date at which he left this agency, last + spring, with 26 lodges, for the purpose of hunting buffalo and + trading with the hostile Indians. He speaks of having heard reports + that troops were going out to punish the hostiles, but thought he + would have time to do his hunting and trading and get out of the + way before a battle occurred. They were obliged to hunt, as they + were starving at the agency, and were very successful. + + "On the seventh day they arrived at Sitting Bull's village, where a + feast and numerous presents of ponies and robes were given them. + Efforts were made to induce Kill Eagle and his band to join in the + contemplated movements and hostilities, but evidently without much + success. They were desirous of getting back again to the protecting + arms of their agency, but were unable to escape from the meshes of + the wily Sitting Bull. They found, too late, that for them there + was no escape; their horses were either shot or stolen, and wounds + and insults were showered upon them from every side. In the + meantime the forces of Crook were approaching, and with his people + Kill Eagle succeeded in escaping temporarily from the hostiles. He + claims to have been distant some forty or fifty miles from the + scene of the Rosebud fight, and relates many of the incidents which + he was able subsequently to gather from the participants. He places + the loss of the Indians in the Rosebud fight at four dead, left on + the field, and twelve that were brought to camp. He places the + wounded at as high as 400, and says they had 180 horses killed, + besides those that were captured. + + "He next comes to the fight on the Little Big Horn, and describes + the Indian village, which was six miles long and one wide. He then + speaks of Custer's approach and fight with its tragic details as an + unwilling spectator, rather than a participant, who, during its + progress, remained quietly in his lodge in the centre of the Indian + village. The fight with Reno commenced about noon, the Indians all + rushing to oppose his advance, until the approach of Custer toward + the lower end of the village was announced, when the wildest + confusion prevailed throughout the camp. Lodges were struck and + preparations made for instant flight. Vast numbers of Indians left + Reno's front and hastened to the assistance of their red brethren + engaged with Custer, who was steadily forced back and surrounded + until all were swept from the field by the repeated charges of the + Indians. + + "He described the firing at this point as simply terrific, and + illustrated its force by clapping his hands together with great + rapidity and regularity. Then came a lull in the fearful storm of + iron hail and his hands were still again. The storm beat fast and + furious as the thought of some loved one nerved the arm of each + contending trooper. Then the movement of his hands slackened and + gradually grew more feeble. A few scattering shakes, like the rain + upon a window pane, and then the movement ceased as the last of + Custer's band of heroes went down with the setting sun. + + "It was dusk as the successful combatants returned to camp littered + with their dead and wounded. 'We have killed them all,' they said, + 'put up your lodges where they are.' They had just began to fix + their lodges that evening, when a report came that troops were + coming from toward the mouth of the creek. When this report came, + after dark, the lodges were all taken down and they started up the + creek. 'I told my men,' says Kill Eagle, 'to keep together, and we + would try and get away. Some one told on me, and they said let us + kill him and his band, we have lost many young men to-day, and our + hearts are bad. We travelled all night and next day; after crossing + the Greasy Grass we encamped near the foot of the White Mountains. + That night, when I was asleep, I heard a man calling. I woke up my + people and this man proved to be a Cheyenne Indian, belonging to a + party that had been off on the war-path in the White Mountains.' + + "It was not to the Indians a bloodless victory. Fourteen had fallen + in front of Reno, thirty-nine went down with Custer, and fourteen + were dead in camp. Horses and travoises were laden with their + wounded on every hand and in countless numbers. One band alone of + Ogallallas had twenty-seven wounded on travoises, and thirty-eight + thrown across horses. There were no white men in the fight or on + the field. The bugle calls were sounded by an Indian. No prisoners + were taken. The troops were all killed on the east side; none + crossed the river." + +Little Buck-Elk, an Uncapapa chief who came into Fort Peck in September, +said that he was present at the fight with Custer, and that eleven +different tribes were engaged in it. "The Indians were as thick as bees +at the fight, and there were so many of them that they could not all +take part in it. The soldiers were all brave men and fought well; some +of them, when they found themselves surrounded and overpowered, broke +through the lines and tried to make their escape, but were pursued and +killed miles from the battle ground. The Indians captured six battle +flags. No soldiers were taken alive, but after the fight the women went +among the dead bodies and robbed and mutilated them. There were plenty +of watches and money taken, which the young warriors are wearing in +their shirts and belts." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +AN ATTACK IN THE REAR. + + +Major Reno's conduct on the first day of the fighting on the Little Big +Horn, has been severely criticised by several of Gen. Custer's personal +friends; and one of them, Gen T.L. Rosser, in a letter addressed to Reno +and published in the _Army and Navy Journal_, blames him for taking to +the timber when his "loss was little or nothing." "You had," he says, +"an open field for cavalry operations, and I believe that if you had +remained in the saddle and charged boldly into the village, the shock +upon the Indians would have been so great that they would have been +compelled to withdraw their attacking force from Custer, who, when +relieved, could have pushed his command through to open ground, where he +could have manoeuvred his command, and thus greatly have increased his +chances of success." It would seem as if this and similar criticisms +were sufficiently answered by Reno's report; and by his reply to Rosser, +which is given in part below:-- + + "After reading all your letter I could no longer look upon it as a + tribute of a generous enemy, since through me you had attacked as + brave officers as ever served a government, and with the same + recklessness and ignorance of circumstances as Custer is charged + with in his attacks upon the hostile Indians. Both charges--the one + made against him and the one made by you against us--are equally + untrue, You say:--'I feel Custer would have succeeded had Reno, + with all the reserve of seven companies, passed through and joined + Custer after the first repulse;' and after confessing that you are + firing at long range say further: 'I think it quite certain that + Custer had agreed with Reno upon a place of junction in case of the + repulse of either or both detachments; and, instead of an effort + being made by Reno for such a junction, as soon as he encountered + heavy resistance he took refuge in the hills and abandoned Custer + and his gallant comrades to their fate. + + "As I shall show, both the premises are false, and consequently all + the conclusions of your letter fall to the ground. * * * The only + official orders I had from Custer were about five miles from the + village, when Cooke gave me his orders in these words: 'Custer says + to move at as rapid a gait as you think prudent, and to charge + afterwards, and you will be supported by the whole outfit.' + + "No mention of any plan, no thought of junction, only the usual + orders to the advance guard to attack by the charge. When the enemy + was reached I moved to the front at a fast trot, and at the river + halted ten minutes or less to gather the battalion. I sent word to + Custer that I had the enemy in my front very strong, and then + charged, driving the reds before me about three miles or less, to + within a short distance of their village, supposing my command, + consisting of 120 officers and men and about 25 scouts and guards, + followed by the columns under Custer. The stream was very crooked, + like a letter S in its wanderings, and on the side on which the + village was it opened out into a broad bottom, perhaps half or + three-quarters of a mile wide. The stream was fringed, as usual, + with the trees of the plains--a growth of large cottonwood, and on + the opposite side was a range of high bluffs which had been cut + into very deep ravines. + + "As I neared the village the Indians came out in great numbers, and + I was soon convinced I had at least ten to one against me, and was + forced on the defensive. This I accomplished by taking possession + of a point of woods where I found shelter for my horses. I fought + there dismounted, and made my way to within 200 yards of the + village, and firmly believe that if, at that moment, the seven + companies had been together the Indians could have been driven from + their village. As we approached near their village they came out in + overwhelming numbers, and soon the small command would have been + surrounded on all sides, to prevent which I mounted and charged + through them to a position I could hold with the few men I had. + + "You see by this I was the advance and the first to be engaged and + draw fire, and was consequently the command to be supported, and + not the one from which support could be expected. All I know of + Custer from the time he ordered me to attack till I saw him buried, + is that he did not follow my trail, but kept on his side of the + river and along the crest of the bluffs on the opposite side from + the village and from my command; that he heard and saw my action I + believe, although I could not see him; and it is just here that the + Indians deceived us. All this time I was driving them with ease, + and his trail shows he moved rapidly down the river for three miles + to the ford, at which he attempted to cross into their village, and + with the conviction that he would strike a a retreating enemy. + Trumpeter Martin, of Co. H, who the last time of any living person + heard and saw Gen. Custer, and who brought the last order his + adjutant ever penciled, says he left the General at the summit of + the highest bluff on that side, and which overlooked the village + and my first battle-field, and as he turned, Gen. Custer raised his + hat and gave a yell, saying they were asleep in their tepees and + surprised, and to charge. * * * + + "The Indians made him over confident by appearing to be stampeded, + and, undoubtedly, when he arrived at the ford, expecting to go with + ease through their village, he rode into an ambuscade of at least + 2,000 reds. My getting the command of the seven companies was not + the result of any order or prearranged plan. Benteen and McDougal + arrived separately, and saw the command on the bluffs and came to + it. They did not go into the bottom at all after the junction. They + attempted to go down the trail of Gen. Custer, but the advance + company soon sent back word they were being surrounded. Crowds of + reds were seen on all sides of us, and Custer's fate had evidently + been determined. I knew the position I had first taken on the bluff + was near and a strong one. I at once moved there, dismounted, and + herded the pack train, and had but just time to do so when they + came upon me by thousands. Had we been twenty minutes later + effecting the junction not a man of that regiment would be living + to-day to tell the tale." + +Another writer attacks both Reno and Benteen, accusing one of incapacity +and utter demoralization during the attack of the Indians, and the other +of wilful disobedience. "That he (Benteen) should have, as his own +testimony confesses, deliberately disobeyed the _peremptory order of +Custer_ to 'Come on,' argues either a desire to sacrifice Custer, or an +ignorance of which his past career renders him incapable. Custer told +him to 'Come on,' and he reported to Reno." In order, as he says, to +"vindicate the reputation of a noble man from unjust aspersions," this +writer further declares, that "had Reno fought as Custer fought, and had +Benteen obeyed Custer's orders, the battle of the Little Big Horn might +have proved Custer's last and greatest Indian victory." + +Of the writer last quoted, the _Army and Navy Journal_ says:--"With +reckless pen he thrusts right and left, careless of reputations, +regardless of facts, darkening the lives of other men, in the vain hope +that one name may shine more brightly on the page of history * * * +Nothing but the most absolute demonstration, accompanied by the proof, +would justify such statements as he has made, and this he has not given. +The reports of anonymous newspaper correspondents, and an _ex parte_ +statement of the conclusions drawn from letters, of which we have not so +much as the names of the writers, is not proof on which to base +criticisms affecting character and reputation." + +Capt. Benteen, Brevet Colonel U.S.A., who has been a captain in the 7th +Cavalry since its organization in 1866, at which date Gen. Custer was +appointed its Lieut. Colonel, in a letter to the _Army and Navy Journal_ +uses the following language:-- + +"Col. Reno and I thought during the siege of June 25th and 26th, at the +Little Big Horn, that he, Reno, was the abandoned party, and spoke of it +as another 'Major Elliot[B] affair'; thinking that General Custer had +retreated to the mouth of the river, where the steamboat was supposed to +be, and that Reno's command was left to _its_ fate. I am accused of +disobeying Custer's orders. Nothing is further from the truth in point +of fact; and I do not think the matter of sufficient importance to +attempt to vindicate myself, but can rest contentedly under the ban when +I have the consoling belief that the contrary is so well known by all my +military superiors and comrades." + + [B] Major Joel H. Elliot of the 7th Cavalry, and 19 of his command, + were missing after the Battle of the Washita in Nov., 1868. Their + dead bodies were found some weeks later. + +Lieut. Gen. Sheridan, in his report for 1876, expresses his views of the +Custer disaster as follows:-- + + "As much has been said in regard to the misfortune that occurred to + General Custer and the portion of his regiment under his immediate + command in this action, I wish to express the conviction I have + arrived at concerning it. From all the information that has reached + me, I am led to believe that the Indians were not aware of the + proximity of Custer until he had arrived within about eight or nine + miles of their village, and that then their scouts who carried the + intelligence back to the valley were so closely followed up by + Custer, that he arrived on the summit of the divide overlooking the + upper portion of the village, almost as soon as the scouts reached + it. As soon as the news was given, the Indians began to strike + their lodges and get their women and children out of the way--a + movement they always make under such circumstances. Custer, seeing + this, believed the village would escape him if he awaited the + arrival of the four companies of his regiment--still some miles in + his rear. Only about 75 or 100 lodges or tepees could be seen from + the summit or divide, and this, probably, deceived him as to the + extent of the village. He therefore directed Major Reno, with three + companies, to cross the river and charge the village, while he, + with the remaining five companies, would gallop down the east bank + of the river behind the bluff and cut off the retreat of the + Indians. Reno crossed and attacked gallantly with his three + companies--about 110 men--but the warriors, leaving the women to + strike the lodges, fell on Reno's handful of men and drove them + back to and over the river with severe loss. + + "About this time Custer reached a point about three and a half or + four miles down the river, but instead of finding a village of 75 + or 100 lodges, he found one of perhaps from 1500 to 2000, and + swarming with warriors, who brought him to a halt. This, I think, + was the first intimation the Indians had of Custer's approach to + cut them off, for they at once left Reno and concentrated to meet + the new danger. The point where Custer reached the river, on the + opposite side of which was the village, was broken into choppy + ravines, and the Indians, crossing from Reno, got between the two + commands, and as Custer could not return, he fell back over the + broken ground with his tired men and tired horses (they had ridden + about 70 miles with but few halts) and became, I am afraid, an easy + prey to the enemy. Their wild, savage yells, overwhelming numbers, + and frightening war paraphernalia, made it as much as each trooper + could do to take care of his horse, thus endangering his own safety + and efficiency. If Custer could have reached any position + susceptible of defence, he could have defended himself; but none + offered itself in the choppy and broken ravines over which he had + to pass, and he and his command were lost without leaving any one + to tell the tale. + + "As soon as Custer and his gallant officers and men were + exterminated and the scenes of mutilation by the squaws commenced, + the warriors returned to renew the attack upon Reno; but he had + been joined by Captain Benteen and the four companies of the + regiment that were behind when the original attack took place, and + the best use had been made of the respite given by the attack on + Custer, to entrench their position. + + "Had the 7th Cavalry been kept together, it is my belief it would + have been able to handle the Indians on the Little Big Horn, and + under any circumstances it could have at least defended itself; but + separated as it was into three distinct detachments, the Indians + had largely the advantage in addition to their overwhelming + numbers. If Custer had not come upon the village so suddenly, the + warriors would have gone to meet him, in order to give time to the + women and children to get out of the way, as they did with Crook + only a few days before, and there would have been, as with Crook, + what might be designated a rearguard fight--a fight to get their + valuables out of the way, or in other words, to cover the escape of + their women, children and lodges." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE MIDSUMMER CAMPAIGN. + + +After regaining his position at the mouth of the Big Horn River, Gen. +Terry called for reinforcements and additional troops were at once put +in motion for his camp; but as they had to be collected from all the +various stations on the frontier--some of them very remote from +railroads--considerable time elapsed before their arrival. + +During this period, the bands which had broken off from the main body of +hostiles, and the young men at the agencies, continued their old and +well-known methods of warfare, stealing horses on the frontier and +killing small parties of citizens; while the constant communication by +the hostiles with the Indians at the agencies made it evident that +supplies of food and ammunition were being received. To prevent this, +Gen. Sheridan deemed it necessary that the military should control the +agencies, and at his request, the Secretary of the Interior, July 22d, +authorized the military to assume control of all the agencies in the +Sioux country. + +About the same date Medicine Cloud, a chief, who had been sent from Fort +Peck, in May, with a message to Sitting Bull inviting him to visit Fort +Peck with a view to reconciliation, returned to the agency. To the +invitation, Sitting Bull had replied:-- + +"Tell him I am coming before long to his post to trade. Tell him I did +not commence. I am getting old, and I did not want to fight, but the +whites rush on me, and I am compelled to defend myself. But for the +soldiers stationed on the Rosebud, I with my people would have been +there before that. If I was assured of the protection of the Great +Father, I would go to Fort Peck for the purpose of making peace. I and +others want the Black Hills abandoned, and we will make peace." + +While awaiting reinforcements, Generals Terry and Crook were separated +by about 100 miles of rough territory, the hostile Indians were between +them, and for reliable communication with each other it was necessary to +send around by the rear nearly 2000 miles. The carrying of dispatches +direct was a work of the most arduous and perilous nature, and in doing +it, and in reconnoitering, brave and gallant deeds were performed. + +On the 6th of July, Gen. Crook sent out Lieut. Sibley of the 2nd Cavalry +with 25 mounted troops and two guides, Gerard and Baptiste, to +reconnoiter the country to the front, and learn if possible the +movements of the enemy and the whereabouts of Terry's division. The +party marched all night, and in the morning were near where the Little +Big Horn debouches from the mountains. Here, from an eminence, they +espied a large body of Indians marching eastward as though meditating an +attack on the camp at Goose Creek. Concealing themselves as well as they +could, they watched the movements of the enemy; but a great shout soon +warned them that their trail had been discovered, and hundreds of +savages immediately set out to follow it, uttering terrific cries. + +The fugitives galloped toward the mountains, and seemed to outrun their +pursuers; but about noon, while going through a ravine, a sudden volley +was fired upon them from the surrounding slopes, and many Indians +charged down upon them. They wheeled, and took refuge in the woods, but +three horses were already wounded. Taking the ammunition from the +saddles, and leaving their horses tied to the trees to divert the enemy, +they now moved stealthily and unseen from the ground, and escaped behind +adjacent rocks; then they climbed over steep and slippery places till +exhausted, and while halting for a rest knew by the repeated firing that +their horses were undergoing an attack. + +All that night they toiled among the mountains, and on the morning of +the 9th reached Tongue River. As they had left their rations behind, +they suffered much from hunger, and two of the men were so weak they +could not ford the deep stream, and remained behind. When near the camp +one of the guides went ahead for assistance, and a company of cavalry +brought in the exhausted men. + +Having urgent occasion to communicate with Gen. Crook, Gen. Terry, by +the promise of a large reward, induced a professional scout to make an +attempt to reach him, but he soon returned unsuccessful. No other scout +would undertake the task, and as a last resort a call for volunteers was +made, in response to which, 12 soldiers promptly offered their services +for the hazardous duty without hope of pecuniary reward. Three of these, +Privates Wm. Evans, Benjamin F. Stewart, and Joseph Bell, of the 17th +Infantry, were selected. They set out on the 9th of July, reached +Crook's camp on the 12th; and returned on the 25th accompanied by three +Crow Indians who had arrived from Terry's camp on the 19th. The three +soldiers were thanked by their commander, in a General Order, "for a +deed reflecting so much credit on the Service." + +Partial reinforcements having reached Gen. Crook, on the 16th of July he +broke camp and moved gradually along the hills toward Tongue River. On +the 3d of August, just before sunset, an additional regiment, the 5th +Cavalry, ten companies, under Col. W. Merritt, "marched into camp with +their supply wagons close on their heels, presenting a fine appearance, +despite the fatigue and dust of the march." + +Gen. Crook's fighting force now numbered about 2000 men. Among them were +over 200 Shoshone and Ute Indians, sworn enemies to the Sioux, led by +Washakie, a well known Shoshone chief. These Indians were thus spoken of +by a correspondent who saw them at Fort Bridger, drawn up in line before +starting to join Gen. Crook:-- + + "In advance of the party was a swarthy temporary chief, his face + covered with vertical white streaks. In his right hand, hanging to + the end of a window-blind rod, were the two fingers of a dead + Sioux. Another rod had a white flag nailed to it--a precaution + necessary to preserve them from being fired upon in proceeding to + the seat of war. The faces of the rest had on a plentiful supply of + war paint. Once in line, they struck up a peculiar grunting sound + on a scale of about five notes. One of the braves, afflicted with a + malady peculiar to the Caucasian race, began to brag what he'd do + when he got to the seat of war, winding up in broken English, 'Me + little mad now; bime by me heap mad.' Old Washakie, their chief, + wants to die in battle, and not in bed." + +On the 5th of Aug., Gen. Crook cut loose from his wagon trains and +started in pursuit of the Indians who, it was ascertained, had left the +foot of the Big Horn Mountains, July 25th, and moved eastward. His route +was north-easterly, across the Panther Mountains to Rosebud River. On +the 8th of Aug. the troops were ten miles north of the battle-ground of +June 17th, and near the site of a deserted village. The country west of +the Rosebud had been burned over, and a trail recently traveled by large +numbers of Indians led down the valley. Upon this trail the march was +continued. + +Meantime, Gen. Terry had been reinforced by six companies of the 5th +Infantry under Col. Nelson A. Miles, six companies of the 22d Infantry +under Lt. Col. Otis, and other detachments, until his command numbered +about the same as Gen. Crook's. On the 25th of July, he started for the +mouth of the Rosebud and there established a base of operations. On the +8th of Aug., with his troops and a train of 225 wagons with supplies for +30 days, he moved down the west bank of the Rosebud; and on the 10th, +when 35 miles from its mouth, made a junction with Crook's command. Col. +Miles with the 5th Infantry was sent back to the mouth of the Rosebud to +patrol the Yellowstone, aided by steamboats, and intercept the Indians +should they attempt to cross the river. + +The trail which Gen. Crook had been following now turned from the +Rosebud eastward, and its pursuit was promptly and steadily continued by +the united forces. It led the troops across to Powder River and down its +valley. On the 17th of August they were encamped near the mouth of +Powder River, on both sides of the stream; and here the two commands +separated on the 24th of August. + +As the principal Indian trail had turned eastward toward the Little +Missouri, Gen. Crook's column took up the pursuit in that direction. On +the 5th of Sept, when on the headwaters of Heart River, a small party +of Indians were discovered going eastward,--the first hostile Indians +seen since leaving Tongue River. + +The trail had now scattered so that it could be followed no longer, and +Crook decided to push for the Black Hills settlements. His troops were +nearly out of food, and suffering from want of clothing, and bad +weather. Cold rains prevailed, and camp life with no tents, few +blankets, and half rations, bore hard on the soldiers. Meat was scarce +and some of the horses were killed to supply food. + +On the 7th of Sept., Capt. Anson Mills with 150 men and a pack-train, +was sent ahead with directions to obtain food at the Black Hills +settlements about 100 miles distant, and to return to the hungry column +as soon as possible. Gerard, the scout, accompanied the detachment, and +on the evening of the 8th, he discovered a hostile village of 40 lodges +and several hundred ponies. Capt. Mills retreated a few miles, hid his +men in a ravine, and at daybreak next morning dashed into the village. +The Indians were completely surprised and fled to the surrounding hills, +from which they exchanged shots with their assailants. The lodges were +secured, with their contents consisting of large quantities of dried +meat and other food, robes, and flags and clothing taken from Custer and +his men. 140 ponies were also among the spoils. + +A small party of the Indians had taken possession of a narrow ravine or +canyon near the village, and in trying to dislodge them several soldiers +were wounded. By direction of Gen. Crook, who had reached the field with +reinforcements, the Indians in the ravine were informed that if they +would surrender they would not be harmed. An old squaw was the first to +take advantage of the offer, and was followed by 15 women and children, +and, lastly, by three warriors, one of whom, the chief American Horse, +had been mortally wounded. + +Later in the day, before the troops had left the village, the Indians +appeared in force and began a vigorous attack. Infantry were at once +thrown out along the slope of the bluffs and, "about sundown it was a +very inspiring sight to see this branch of the command with their long +Springfield breech-loaders drive the enemy for a mile and a half to the +west, and behind the castellated rocks." The captives in camp said the +attacking Indians were reinforcements from the camp of Crazy Horse +further west. This engagement is known as the battle of Slim Buttes. Our +losses during the day were three killed, and 11 wounded including Lieut. +Von Leuttroitz. + +During the march of Sept. 10th a number of Indians came down on the +rear, but were repulsed with a loss of several killed and wounded. Three +soldiers were wounded in this skirmish. + +The remainder of this long and difficult march was successfully +accomplished. On the 16th, Gen. Crook reached Deadwood, a Black Hills +settlement, and was cordially received by the inhabitants. In a speech +made by the General on this occasion, he said:-- + + "Citizens: while you welcome me and my personal staff as the + representatives of the soldiers who are here encamped upon the + Whitewood, let me ask you, when the rank and file pass through + here, to show that you appreciate their admirable fortitude in + bearing the sufferings of a terrible march almost without a murmur, + and to show them that they are not fighting for $13 per month, but + for the cause--the proper development of our gold and other mineral + resources, and of humanity. This exhibition of your gratitude need + not be expensive. Let the private soldier feel that he is + remembered by our people as the real defender of his country." + +After parting with Gen. Crook, Aug. 24th, Gen. Terry crossed the +Yellowstone and marched down its left bank, his object being to +intercept the Indians Crook was following if they attempted to cross the +river. On the 27th he left the river, and moved northerly into the +buffalo range where hunting parties were detailed who secured +considerable game. The country was parched, the small streams dry, and +water scarce. A scouting party made a detour to the north and west, but +no Indians could be found. On the 5th of Sept. the whole command was at +the mouth of Glendive Creek, where a military post had been established. + +Gen. Terry now decided to close the campaign and distribute his troops +to their winter quarters. The Montana column under Col. Gibbon started +on the return march to Fort Ellis, 400 miles distant; Lieut. Col. Otis +of the 22d Infantry, with his command, remained at Glendive Creek, to +build a stockade and co-operate with Col. Miles, who was establishing a +winter post at the mouth of Tongue River; and Gen. Terry with the +balance of the troops started for Fort Buford at the mouth of the +Yellowstone. + +Hearing that Sitting Bull with a large band had recently crossed to the +north side of the Missouri River near Fort Peck, Terry sent Reno with +troops--then en route to Fort Buford--in pursuit. Reno marched to Fort +Peck, and thence to Fort Buford, but encountered no Indians. A +reconnoitering party under Long Dog had been near Fort Peck, and that +chief passed one night at the agency. They did not want rations or +annuities, but desired plenty of ammunition, for which they were ready +to exchange 7th Cavalry horses, arms and equipments. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +AUTUMN ON THE YELLOWSTONE. + + +On the 10th of October, as a train escorted by two companies of the 6th +Infantry was carrying supplies from Glendive Creek to the cantonment at +the mouth of Tongue River, it was attacked by Indians, and was obliged +to return to Glendive with a loss of sixty mules. + +Lieut. Col. Otis was in command at Glendive, and on the 14th he again +started out the train and personally accompanied it. The train consisted +of 86 wagons, 41 of which were driven by soldiers, who had taken the +places of as many citizen teamsters too demoralized by the recent attack +to continue in the service. The military escort numbered with officers +196 men. The following interesting narrative of subsequent events is +from the report of Col. Otis:-- + + "We proceeded on the first day 12 miles, and encamped on the broad + bottom of the Yellowstone River, without discovering a sign of the + presence of Indians. During the night a small thieving party was + fired upon by the pickets, but the party escaped, leaving behind a + single pony, with its trappings, which was killed. At dawn of day, + upon the 15th, the train pulled out in two strings, and proceeded + quietly to Spring Creek, distant from camp about three miles, when + I directed two mounted men to station themselves upon a hill beyond + the creek, and watch the surrounding country until the train should + pass through the defile. The men advanced at swift pace in proper + direction, and when within 50 yards of the designated spot, they + received a volley from a number of concealed Indians, when + suddenly men and Indians came leaping down the bluff. The men + escaped without injury to person, although their clothing was + riddled with bullets. I quickly advanced on the skirmish line, + which drove out 40 or 50 Indians, and making a similar movement on + the opposite flank, passed through the gorge and gained the high + table land. Here, three or four scouts, sent out by Colonel Miles, + from Tongue River, joined us. They had been driven into the Tongue + upon the previous evening, there corraled, had lost their horses + and one of their number, and escaped to the bluffs under cover of + the darkness. The dead scout was found and buried. + + "The train proceeded along the level prairie, surrounded by the + skirmish line, and the Indians were coming thick and fast from the + direction of Cabin Creek. But few shots were exchanged, and both + parties were preparing for the struggle which it was evident would + take place at the deep and broken ravine at Clear Creek, through + which the train must pass. We cautiously entered the ravine, and + from 150 to 200 Indians had gained the surrounding bluffs to our + left; signal fires were lighted for miles around, and extended far + away on the opposite side of the Yellowstone. The prairies to our + front were fired, and sent up vast clouds of smoke. We had no + artillery, and nothing remained to us except to charge the bluffs. + Company C, of the 17th Infantry, and Company H, of the 22d + Infantry, were thrown forward upon the run, and gallantly scaled + the bluffs, answering the Indian yell with one equally as + barbarous, and driving back the enemy to another ridge of hills. We + then watered all the stock at the creek, took on water for the men, + and the train slowly ascended the bluffs. + + "The country now surrounding us was broken. The Indians continued + to increase in numbers, surrounded the train, and the entire escort + became engaged. The train was drawn up in four strings, and the + entire escort enveloped it by a thin skirmish line. In that + formation we advanced, the Indians pressing every point, especially + the rear, Company C, 17th, which was only able to follow by + charging the enemy, and then retreating rapidly toward the train, + taking advantage of all the knolls and ridges in its course. The + flanks, Companies G, 17th, and K and G, 22d, were advanced about + 1000 yards, and the road was opened in the front, by Company H, + 22d, by repeated charges. + + "In this manner we advanced several miles, and then halted for the + night upon a depression of the high prairie, the escort holding the + surrounding ridge. The Indians now had attempted every artifice. + They had pressed every point of the line, had run their fires + through the train, which we were compelled to cross with great + rapidity, had endeavored to approach under cover of smoke, when + they found themselves overmatched by the officers and men, who, + taking advantage of the cover, moved forward and took them at close + range. They had met with considerable loss, a good many of their + saddles were emptied, and several ponies wounded. Their firing was + wild in the extreme, and I should consider them the poorest of + marksmen. For several hours they kept up a brisk fire and wounded + but three of our men. + + "Upon the morning of the 16th, the train pulled out in four + strings, and we took up the advance, formed as on the previous day. + Many Indians occupied the surrounding hills, and soon a number + approached, and left a communication upon a distant hill. It was + brought in by Scout Jackson, and read as follows:-- + + + "YELLOWSTONE." + + "I want to know what you are doing traveling on this road? you + scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt on the place. I want you + to turn back from here: if you don't I will fight you again. I want + you to leave what you have got here, and turn back from here. + + "I am your friend, SITTING BULL. + + "I mean all the rations you have got and some powder; I wish you + would write as soon as you can." + +"I directed the Scout Jackson to inform the Indians that I had nothing +to say in reply, except that we intended to take the train through to +Tongue River, and that we should be pleased to accommodate them at any +time with a fight. The train continued to proceed, and about eight +o'clock the Indians began to gather for battle. + +"We passed through the long, narrow gorge, near Bad Route Creek, when we +again watered the stock, and took in wood and water, consuming in this +labor about an hour's time. When we had pulled up the gentle ascent, the +Indians had again surrounded us, but the lesson of the previous day +taught them to keep at long range, and there was but little firing by +either party. I counted 150 Indians in our rear, and from their +movements and position I judged their numbers to be between 300 and +500. After proceeding a short distance, a flag of truce appeared on the +left flank, borne by two Indians, whom I directed to be allowed to enter +the lines. They proved to be Indian scouts from Standing Rock Agency, +bearing dispatches from Lieut. Col. Carlin, of the 17th Infantry, +stating that they had been sent out to find Sitting Bull, and to +endeavor to influence him to proceed to some military post and treat for +peace. + +"These scouts informed me that they had that morning reached the camp of +Sitting Bull and Man-afraid-of-his-horse, near the mouth of Cabin Creek, +and that they had talked with Sitting Bull, who wished to see me outside +the lines. I declined the invitation, but professed a willingness to see +Sitting Bull within my own lines. The scouts left me, and soon returned +with three of the principal soldiers of Sitting Bull--the last named +individual being unwilling to trust his person within our reach. The +chiefs said that their people were angry because our train was driving +away the buffalo from their hunting grounds, that they were hungry and +without ammunition, and that they especially wished to obtain the +latter; that they were tired of war, and desired to conclude a peace. + +"I informed them that I could not give them ammunition, that had they +saved the amount already wasted upon the train it would have supplied +them for hunting purposes for a long time, that I had no authority to +treat with them upon any terms whatever, but they were at liberty to +visit Tongue River, and there make known conditions. They wished to know +what assurance I could give them of their safety should they visit that +place, and I replied that I could give them nothing but the word of an +officer. They then wished rations for their people, promising to proceed +to Fort Rock immediately, and from thence to Tongue River. I declined to +give them rations, but finally offered them as a present 150lb. of hard +bread and two sides of bacon, which they gladly accepted. The train +moved on, and the Indians fell to the rear. Upon the following day I saw +a number of them from Cedar Creek, far away to the right, and after that +time they disappeared entirely. + +"Upon the evening of the 18th I met Col. Miles encamped with his entire +regiment on Custer Creek. Alarmed for the safety of the train, he had +set out from Tongue River upon the previous day." + +While Col. Otis was thus gallantly advancing with his train, Col. Miles, +of the 5th Infantry, fearing for its safety, had crossed the Yellowstone +before daybreak on the 17th and started toward Glendive. He met Col. +Otis, as above stated, on the evening of the 18th; and on being informed +of the attack on the train, started in pursuit of the enemy. On the +21st, when about eight miles beyond Cedar Creek, a large number of +Indians appeared in front of the column, and two of them, bearing a +white flag, rode up to the line. They proved to be the Standing Rock +ambassadors who had met Col. Otis; and brought word that Sitting Bull +wished a conference with Col. Miles. Lieut. H.R. Bailey accompanied the +two friendly Indians to the hostile camp, and there arranged with +Sitting Bull's white interpreter for a meeting to take place between the +lines. + +The troops rested on their arms in line of battle while Col. Miles with +a few officers rode forward and halted about half way between the two +forces. Sitting Bull with a dozen unarmed warriors presently emerged +from the hostile lines and walked slowly forward in single file. Col. +Miles' party dismounted and advanced to meet them, and the council +began. The scene was picturesque and exciting; and the occasion one of +much anxiety to the troops who remembered the assassination of Gen. +Canby--especially so when dozens of armed warriors rode forward and +surrounded the little group. + +The "talk" was long and earnest; the Indians wanted an "old-fashioned +peace," with privileges of trade--especially in ammunition, and demanded +the discontinuing of supply trains and the abandonment of Fort Buford. +Col. Miles explained that he could only accept surrender on the terms +of absolute submission to the U.S. Government. At evening the conference +was adjourned to the next day, and the parties separated as quietly as +they had assembled. + +In the morning Col. Miles moved his command north, so as to intercept +retreat in that direction. At about 11 A.M., Sitting Bull, Pretty Bear, +Bull Eagle, John, Standing Bear, Gall, White Bull and others, came +forward, marching abreast, and met Col. Miles and several officers on a +knoll half way between the opposing lines. The Indians asked to be let +alone, and professed a wish for peace, but such a peace as Col. Miles +could not concede. "After much talk by the various chiefs, Sitting Bull +was informed once and for all that he must accept the liberal conditions +offered by the Government or prepare for immediate hostilities; and the +council dispersed--Sitting Bull disappearing like a shadow in the crowd +of warriors behind him." + + "The scene," wrote a correspondent of the _Army and Navy Journal_, + "was now most animated. Col. Miles sent for his company commanders, + and they came charging over the field to receive his final + instructions. On the other side, the Sioux leaders rode hither and + thither at full speed in front of their line, marshaling their men + and haranguing them, calling on them to be brave. Sitting Bull's + interpreter, Bruey, rode back to ask why the troops were following + him? He was answered by Col. Miles, that the non-acceptance of the + liberal terms offered was considered an act of hostility, and he + would open fire at once. The whole line then advanced in skirmish + order. One company occupied a knoll on the left with the 3-inch + gun, the first shell from which was greeted with a hearty cheer + from the advancing line. The Indians tried their old tactics and + attempted rear and flank attacks from the ravines, but they found + those vital points well protected by companies disposed _en + potence_, which poured in a torrent of lead wherever an Indian + showed himself. The firing then became general along the whole + line. Some of the sharpest shooting was done by the Sioux, and many + officers only escaped "close calls" by the ends of their hair. Two + enlisted men were wounded. Finally, Sitting Bull, finding his old + plan of battle frustrated by that solid infantry skirmish line + advancing upon him with the relentless sternness of fate, began a + general and precipitate retreat." + +The pursuit was resolutely kept up. The Indians fled down Bad Route +Creek and across the Yellowstone, a distance of 42 miles, abandoning +tons of dried meat, lodge-poles, camp equipments, ponies, etc. The +troops on foot followed rapidly, not stopping to count the dead or +gather the plunder; and the result was, that on the 27th of October five +principal chiefs surrendered themselves to Col. Miles, on the +Yellowstone, opposite the mouth of Cabin Creek, as hostages for the +surrender of their whole people, represented as between 400 and 500 +lodges, equal to about 2,000 souls. The hostages were sent under escort +to Gen. Terry, at St. Paul, and the Indians were allowed five days in +their then camp to gather food, and thirty days to reach the Cheyenne +Agency on the Missouri River, where they were to surrender their arms +and ponies, and remain either as prisoners of war or subject to +treatment such as is usually accorded to friendly Indians. + +Sitting Bull was not among the chiefs who surrendered; during the +retreat, they said, he had slipped out, with thirty lodges of his own +special followers, and gone northerly. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +TERRY AND CROOK AT THE SIOUX AGENCIES. + + +The disarming and dismounting of the Sioux Agency Indians being deemed +necessary as a precautionary measure, to prevent the hostile Indians +from receiving constant supplies of arms, ammunition, and ponies from +their friends at the agencies, General Sheridan directed Generals Crook +and Terry to act simultaneously in accomplishing that object. The +friendly and unfriendly Indians at the agencies were so intermixed, that +it seemed impossible to discriminate between them. + +After refitting at the Black Hills, Gen. Crook proceeded to the Red +Cloud Agency, and found the Indians there in a dissatisfied mood and +probably about to start to join the hostile bands. They had moved out +some 25 miles from the agency, and refused to return although informed +that no more rations would be given them till they did so. + +At daylight, Oct. 22d, Col. Mackenzie, the post commander, with eight +companies of the 4th and 5th Cavalry, surrounded the Indian camp +containing 300 lodges, and captured Red Cloud and his whole band, men, +squaws and ponies without firing a shot, and marched them into the +agency dismounted and disarmed. The Indians at Spotted Tail Agency were +also disarmed and dismounted. + +Gen. Crook had an interview with Spotted Tail, and being satisfied that +he was the only important Sioux leader who had remained friendly, he +deposed Red Cloud, and declared Spotted Tail, his rival, the "Sachem of +the whole Sioux Nation, by the grace of the Great Father the President. +As the representative of the latter, Gen. Crook invested him with the +powers of a grand chief, and in token thereof presented him his +commission as such, written upon a parchment scroll tied with richly +colored ribbons. Spotted Tail's heart was very glad." + +"The line of the hostile and the peaceably disposed," wrote Gen. Crook +at this time, "is now plainly drawn, and we shall have our enemies only +in the front in the future. I feel that this is the first gleam of +daylight we have had in this business." + +Meantime Gen. Terry, with the 7th Cavalry and local garrisons, was +disarming and dismounting the Indians at the Standing Rock and Cheyenne +River Agencies. The following is a copy of his report to Gen. Sheridan, +written at Standing Rock, Oct. 25th:-- + + "Colonel Sturgis left Lincoln on the 20th, Major Reno on the 21st, + and each arrived here on the afternoon of the 22d. Sturgis + immediately commenced dismounting and disarming the Indians at Two + Bears' camp, on the left bank of the river, and Lieut. Col. Carlin, + with his own and Reno's forces, dismounted and disarmed them at + both camps on this side. Owing partially to the fact that before I + arrived at Lincoln news was sent the Indians here, it is said, by + Mrs. Galpin, that we were coming, and our purpose stated; but + principally, I believe, that some time since, owing to the failure + of the grass here, the animals were sent to distant grazing places + many miles away, comparatively only a few horses were found. I, + therefore, the next morning, called the chiefs together, and + demanded the surrender of their horses and arms, telling them that + unless they complied their rations would be stopped, and also + telling them that whatever might be realized from the sale of the + property taken would be invested in stock for them. They have + quietly submitted, and have sent out to bring in their animals. + Some have already arrived, and we have now in our possession 700. + More are arriving rapidly, and I expect to double that number. I + have kept the whole force here until now for the effect its + presence produces. + + "I shall start Sturgis to-morrow morning for Cheyenne, leaving Reno + until Carlin completes the work here. Only a few arms have yet been + found or surrendered, but I think our results are satisfactory. Not + a shot was fired on either side of the river. Of course no surprise + can now be expected at Cheyenne. The desired effect will be + attained there by the same means as those employed here." + +The late Sioux Commissioners, who made a treaty for the Black Hills in +Sept. 1876, gave their pledge that all _friendly_ Indians would be +protected in their persons and property. Bishop Whipple comments on the +dismounting of the Indians as follows:-- + + "In violation of these pledges 2,000 ponies were taken from + Cheyenne and Standing Rock Agencies. No inventory was kept of + individual property. Of 1,100 ponies taken at Standing Rock, only + 874 left Bismark for Saint Paul. No provision was made to feed them + on the way. The grass had burned on the prairie and there was + several inches of snow on the ground. The small streams were + frozen, and no water was to be had until they reached the James + River. There was no grass, and no hay could be purchased until they + reached the Cheyenne River, more than ten days' travel, and then + nothing until they reached Fort Abercrombie. No wonder that there + were only 1,200 ponies out of 2,000 that left Abercrombie, and that + of these only 500 reached St. Paul. The wretched, dying brutes were + made the subject of jest as the war horses of the Dakota. Many died + on the way, many were stolen, and the remnant were sold in St. + Paul. It was worse than the ordinary seizure of property without + color of law. It was not merely robbery of our friends. It was + cruel. The Indians are compelled to camp from 10 to 40 miles away + from the agency to find fuel. They have to cross this distance in + the coldest weather to obtain their rations, and without ponies + they must cross on foot, and some of them may perish." + +Gen. Crook issued at Red Cloud Agency his General Orders, No. 8--in part +as follows:-- + + + HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE PLATTE, IN THE FIELD,} + CAMP ROBINSON, NEB., Oct. 24th, 1876.} + + "The time having arrived when the troops composing the Big Horn and + Yellowstone Expedition are about to separate, the Brigadier-General + commanding addresses himself to the officers and men of the + command, to say:-- + + "In the campaign now closed he has been obliged to call upon you + for much hard service and many sacrifices of personal comfort. At + times you have been out of reach of your base of supplies; in most + inclement weather you have marched without food and slept without + shelter. In your engagements you have evinced a high order of + discipline and courage, in your marches wonderful powers of + endurance, and in your deprivations and hardships, patience and + fortitude. + + "Indian warfare is, of all warfare, the most trying, the most + dangerous, and the most thankless; not recognized by the high + authority of the United States Congress as war, it still possesses + for you the disadvantages of civilized warfare with all the + horrible accompaniments that barbarians can invent and savages can + execute. In it, you are required to serve without the incentive to + promotion or recognition; in truth, without favor or hope of + reward. + + "The people of our sparsely settled frontier, in whose defence this + war is waged, have but little influence with the powerful + communities in the East; their representatives have little voice in + our national councils, while your savage foes are not only the + wards of the nation, supported in idleness, but objects of sympathy + with a large number of people otherwise well informed and + discerning. You may, therefore, congratulate yourselves that in the + performance of your military duty you have been on the side of the + weak against the strong, and that the few people there are on the + frontier will remember your efforts with gratitude." + +Gen. Crook's losses during the campaign extending from May 27th to Oct. +24th, were 12 killed, 32 wounded (most of whom subsequently returned to +duty), one death by accident and one by disease. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE WINTER OF 1876-7. + + +After leaving Red Cloud, Gen. Crook marched to Fort Fetterman and +organized a new column for a winter expedition against the enemy. +Subsequently, with a force of ten companies of cavalry under Col. +Mackenzie, eleven companies of infantry and four of artillery under +Lieut. Col. R.I. Dodge, and about 200 Indian allies, some of whom were +friendly Sioux enlisted at Red Cloud Agency, Gen. Crook advanced to old +Fort Reno, head of Powder River, where a cantonment had been built. + +Hearing that a band of Cheyenne Indians were encamped among the Big Horn +Mountains to the southwest, Gen. Crook, Nov. 23d, sent Col. Mackenzie +with his cavalry and the Indian allies to hunt them up. At noon, Nov. +24th, after marching some 30 miles along the base of the mountains +toward the Sioux Pass, Mackenzie met five of seven Indian scouts who had +been sent ahead the evening previously. These scouts reported that they +had discovered the camp of the Cheyennes at a point in the mountains +about 20 miles distant, and that the other two scouts had remained to +watch the camp. + +A night's march was decided upon and, at sunset, after a halt of three +hours, the command moved forward toward the village; but owing to the +roughness of the country, it was daylight when they reached the mouth +of a canyon leading to and near the village. Through this canyon the +column advanced, crossing several deep ravines, and when within a mile +of the camp the order to charge was given. The Indian allies, who were +in front, rushed forward howling and blowing on instruments, and some of +them subsequently ascended the side of the canyon and occupied a high +bluff opposite to and overlooking the village. + +The surprise was nearly complete; but some of the Cheyennes, whom the +scouts had reported as being engaged in a war dance, sounded the alarm +on a drum, and began firing on the advancing column. The inhabitants +immediately deserted their lodges, taking nothing but their weapons with +them, and took refuge in a net-work of very difficult ravines beyond the +upper end of the village. A brisk fight for about an hour ensued, after +which skirmishing was kept up until night. The village of 173 lodges and +their entire contents were destroyed, about 500 ponies were captured, +and the bodies of 25 Indians killed in the engagement were found. Col. +Mackenzie's loss was Lieut. J.A. McKinney and six men killed, and +twenty-two men wounded. + +On the 4th of Dec., Gen. Crook left Fort Reno with his whole force, and +moved down Little Powder River, intending to form at its junction with +Powder River a supply camp from which to operate against the Indians. +Subsequently, however, he crossed over to the Belle Fourche River, and, +Dec. 22d, started for Fort Fetterman where he arrived Dec. 29th. The +weather during this homeward march was at times intensely cold, and the +men and horses suffered considerably thereby. + +While Gen. Crook was thus looking for and harassing the Indians in the +Powder River country, the isolated garrison of the Tongue River +cantonment, further north, were not idle. An excursion northward in +search of Sitting Bull was led by Col. Miles, the post-commander, and as +reports as to the location of the Indians were conflicting and their +trails obscured by snow, he divided his force, and sent Lieut. Frank D. +Baldwin with three companies of the 5th Infantry to the north of the +Missouri, while he examined the the Mussel Shell and Dry Forks country. + +On the 7th of Dec., Lieut. Baldwin discovered Sitting Bull's band, and +followed the Indians to the Missouri River, where they crossed and for a +short time resisted the crossing of the troops. The Indians then +retreated south, but were overtaken in the Redwood country and attacked, +Dec. 18th. Their camp of 122 lodges was captured and burned with its +contents, and 60 mules and horses were taken. The Indians escaped, but +carried off little property except what they had on their backs. Lieut. +Baldwin's command marched on this expedition over 500 miles--walking on +one occasion 73 miles in 48 hours--and endured the cold of a Montana +winter with great fortitude. + +A very unfortunate affair occurred at the Tongue River cantonment, +within a few hundred yards of the parade-ground, Dec. 16th. The +following is from Col. Miles' report thereof:-- + + "As five Minneconjou chiefs were coming in, bearing two white + flags, followed by twenty or thirty other Indians, and were passing + by the Crow Indian camp, the five in advance were surrounded by + twelve Crows and instantly killed. The act was an unprovoked, + cowardly murder. The Crows approached them in a friendly manner, + said "How," shook hands with them, and when they were within their + power and partly behind a large wood pile, killed them in a most + brutal manner. Upon hearing the first shot, both officers and men + rushed out and tried to save the Minneconjous, but could not reach + them in time. The Crows were aware of the enormity of their crime, + as they saw that the Minneconjous had a flag of truce, and they + were told to come back. They were warned the day before against + committing any act of violence against messengers or other parties + coming in for friendly purposes. They tried to hide the flag of + truce and, taking advantage of the momentary excitement, while + efforts were being made to open communication and bring back the + others, who were following, and who became alarmed and fled to the + bluffs, the guilty Crow Indians jumped upon their ponies and fled + to their agency in Montana. The only thing that can be said in + defence of the Crows is, that a false report was made by one of the + Crow women that the Sioux had fired upon her, and that within the + last few months some of their number had lost relatives killed by + the Sioux in the vicinity of the Rosebud. These Indians have + claimed to be friends of the white man for years, have been + frequently in the Government employ, and were brought down to fight + such outlaws as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. + + "Those killed were believed to be Bull Eagle, Tall Bull, Red ----, + Red Cloth, and one other prominent chief of the Sioux nation. I am + unable to state the object of Bull Eagle's coming, but am satisfied + he came with the best of motives. I can only judge from the + following:--When he surrendered on the Yellowstone, after the + engagement on Cedar Creek, he was the first to respond to my + demands, and, I believe, was largely instrumental in bringing his + people to accept the terms of the Government. When I had received + five of the principal chiefs as hostages, and was about parting + with him, I told him, if he had any trouble in going in, or his + people hesitated or doubted that the Government would deal fairly + and justly with them, to come back to me, and I would tell him what + to do; that if he would come back to my command, I would be glad to + see him and, so long as he complied with the orders of the + Government, he could be assured of the friendship of its officers. + I could not but regard him with respect, as he appeared in every + sense a chief, and seemed to be doing everything in his power for + the good of his people, and endeavoring to bring them to a more + peaceful condition. He appeared to have great confidence in what I + told him; I gave him five days to obtain meat; during that time he + lost three favorite ponies, which were brought to this place. + During my absence he came in, bringing five horses that had strayed + or been stolen from some citizens in the vicinity, and requested + his own. He also inquired if he could send up to the Big Horn + country for the remainder of his people, and take them in on the + pass I had given him. He was informed by the commanding officer, + Gen. Whistler (whom he had known for years before), that he could, + and was told to send for them. Whether he had met with some trouble + in taking his people in to their agency, and had returned, as I had + told him, for directions, or had gathered up his people, and in + passing had come in to apprise me of the fact, I know not; but + there is every reason to believe that the above mentioned + circumstances gave rise to his motives and prompted his actions. + + "The Crows were immediately disarmed, twelve of their ponies taken + from them, and other considerations, together with a letter + explaining the whole affair, were sent to the people and friends of + those killed, as an assurance that no white man had any part in the + affair, and that we had no heart for such brutal and cowardly acts. + + "It illustrates clearly the ferocious, savage instincts of even the + best of these wild tribes, and the impossibility of their + controlling their desire for revenge when it is aroused by the + sight of their worst enemies, who have whipped them for years and + driven them out of this country. Such acts are expected and + considered justifiable among these two tribes of Indians, and it is + to be hoped that the Sioux will understand that they fell into a + camp of their ancient enemies, and did not reach the encampment of + this command." + +In January, 1877, Col. Miles with 350 of his troops marched southerly +sixty miles up the Tongue River, and on the evening of the 7th +discovered a large Indian village. Skirmishing ensued, and on the next +day 1000 well-armed warriors appeared in front, and a battle was fought. +The battle-ground was very rough and broken, and a heavy snow storm came +on during the fight. The Indians fought with desperation; but our +troops had been so admirably arranged that they succeeded in gaining a +decisive victory. The following is Col. Miles' report of the affair:-- + + "I have the honor to report that this command fought the hostile + tribes of Cheyenne and Ogallala Sioux, under Crazy Horse, in + skirmishes on the 1st, 3d, and 7th of January, and in a five hours' + engagement on the 8th inst. Their camp, consisting of some 500 + lodges, extended three miles along the valley of Tongue River, + below Hanging Woman's Creek. They were driven through the canyons + of the Wolf or Panther Mountains, in the direction of Big Horn + Mountains. Their fighting strength outnumbered mine by two or three + to one, but by taking advantage of the ground we had them at a + disadvantage, and their loss is known to be heavy. Our loss is + three killed and eight wounded. They fought entirely dismounted, + and charged on foot to within fifty yards of Captain Casey's line, + but were taken in front and flank by Captain Butler's and + Lieutenant McDonald's companies. They were whipped at every point + and driven from the field, and pursued so far as my limited + supplies and worn down animals would carry my command." + +The following additional particulars are derived from a letter to the +_Army and Navy Journal_:-- + + "On the 5th January, Indian signs grew thicker and thicker. Miles + of hastily abandoned war lodges were passed. The country became + very rough. The valley of the Tongue grew narrower, the stream more + tortuous, and the hills on both sides loftier and more precipitous, + until the valley shrank into a prolonged and winding canyon. At + short distances, jutting bluffs made narrow passes which offered + points of vantage to the savage enemy. The gorges of the Wolf + Mountains had been reached. + + "On the 6th, the march was through a large war camp, recently and + hurriedly abandoned. Unusual heat was followed by snow. In the + evening there was snow and hail driven by a cruel wind, and by 5 + P.M. it was pitch dark. On the evening of the 7th, the scouts + captured four Cheyenne squaws, a youth, and three young children. + Two hundred Indians made a dash at the scouts, shot two of their + horses and made a desperate effort to take them. Casey opened a + musketry fire on the Indians, and darkness supervening, they + withdrew. + + "Next morning the fight was renewed shortly after daylight. The + Indians charged down the valley in large force, close up to the + skirmish line, but failed to make any impression. They then turned + their attention to the flanks, and began to swarm on the bluffs to + the right. The action then became general. The Indians were in + strong force, and tried every point of the line. The hills and + woods resounded with their cries and the high-pitched voices of the + chiefs giving their orders. + + "It is the opinion of some who have had years of experience in + Indian fighting, that there has rarely, if ever, been a fight + before in which the Sioux and Cheyenne showed such determination + and persistency, where they were finally defeated. They had chosen + their ground; and it has since been learned that they expected to + make another Custer slaughter. The Cheyenne captives, in the hands + of the troops, sang songs of triumph during the entire fight, in + anticipation of a speedy rescue and the savage orgies of a + massacre." + +In a complimentary order to his troops, dated Jan. 31st, Col. Miles +says:-- + + "Here in the home of the hostile Sioux, this command, during the + past three months, has marched 1200 miles and fought three + engagements--besides affairs of less importance. * * * Fortunate + indeed is the officer who commands men who will improvise boats of + wagon beds, fearlessly dash out into the cold and turbid waters, + and amid the treacherous current and floating ice, cross and + recross the great Missouri; who will defy the elements on these + bleak plains in a Montana winter; and who have in every field + defeated superior numbers." + +The dismounting and disarming policy was kept up at the Agencies through +the winter. Several bands came in and surrendered--among them that of +Red Horse, who had been actively hostile. This chief thus describes the +engagement on the Little Big Horn. The "brave officer" referred to is +said to be Capt. T.H. French, of Reno's battalion. + + "On the morning of the attack, myself and several women were out + about a mile from camp gathering wild turnips. Suddenly one of the + women called my attention to a cloud of dust rising in the + neighborhood of the camp. I soon discovered that troops were making + an attack. We ran for the camp, and when I got there I was sent for + at once to come to the council-lodge. I found many of the council + men already there when I arrived. We gave directions immediately + for every Indian to get his horse and arms; for the women and + children to mount the horses and get out of the way, and for the + young men to go and meet the troops. + + "Among the troops was an officer who rode a horse with four white + feet. The Indians have fought a great many tribes of people, and + very brave ones, too, but they all say that this man was the + bravest man they had ever met. I don't know whether this man was + General Custer or not. This officer wore a large-brimmed hat and + buckskin coat. He alone saved his command a number of times by + turning on his horse in the retreat. In speaking of him, the + Indians call him the 'man who rode the horse with four white feet.' + + "After driving this party back, the Indians corraled them on top of + a high hill, and held them there until they saw that the women and + children were in danger of being made prisoners by another party of + troops which just then made its appearance below. The word passed + among the Indians like a whirlwind, and they all started to attack + the new party, leaving the troops on the hill. When we attacked the + other party, we swarmed down on them and drove them in confusion. + No prisoners were taken. All were killed. None were left alive even + for a few minutes. These troopers used very few of their + cartridges. I took a gun and a couple of belts off two dead men. + Out of one belt two cartridges were gone; out of the other five. + + "It was with captured ammunition and arms that we fought the other + body of troops. If they had all remained together they would have + hurt us very badly. The party we killed made five different starts. + Once we charged right in until we scattered the whole of them, + fighting among them hand to hand. One band of soldiers was right in + the rear of us when they charged. We fell back, and stood for one + moment facing each other. Then the Indians got courage and started + for them in a solid body. We went but a little distance when we + spread out and encircled them. All the time I could see their + officers riding in front, and hear them shouting to their men. We + finished up the party right there in the ravine. + + "The troops up the river made their first attack, skirmishing a + little while after the fight commenced with the other troops below + the village. While the latter fight was going on we posted some + Indians to prevent the other command from forming a junction. As + soon as we had finished the fight we all went back to massacre the + troops on the hill. After skirmishing around awhile we saw the + walking soldiers coming. These new troops making their appearance + was the saving of the others. An Indian started to go to Red Cloud + Agency that day, and when a few miles from camp discovered dust + rising. He turned back and reported that a large herd of buffalo + was approaching the camp, and a short time after he reported this + the camp was attacked by troops." + +In February, Spotted Tail, with a body-guard of 200 warriors, started +out to visit his roaming brethren as a peacemaker; and through his +influence, or for other reasons, all the hostile bands, it is believed, +except Sitting Bull's, have accepted the terms offered by the Government +and surrendered their arms and ponies. One band of about 1000 encircled +the Indian camp at Spotted Tail Agency, April 16th, and after +discharging their guns in the air by way of salutation, surrendered to +Gen. Crook. Roman Nose, whose village was destroyed at Slim Buttes, +indicated his desire for peace in a short speech and by laying his rifle +at the feet of the General. Five days later, 500 Cheyennes, with 600 +ponies, came into Red Cloud Agency. Their village near Sioux Pass had +been destroyed in November, and they were in a destitute and pitiable +condition. + +Crazy Horse and his band of 900 Indians surrendered at Red Cloud, May +5th. They appeared to be in a comfortable condition and had 2000 ponies. + +At the latest date, Sitting Bull and his band were reported moving +toward Canada. If they return south, Col. Miles will be prepared to give +them a suitable reception. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL CUSTER. + + +George Armstrong Custer, son of Emmanuel H. Custer, a hard-working, +enterprising farmer, was born at New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio, +December 5th, 1839. He grew up into an active, athletic, and amiable +youth, acquired a fair English education, and at the age of sixteen +years engaged in teaching school near his native town. + +Having determined to go to West Point if possible, young Custer +addressed a letter on the subject to Hon. John A. Bingham, Member of +Congress from his district, to whom he was personally unknown, and +subsequently called on him. The result was that he entered West Point +Academy as a cadet in 1857. The official notification of his appointment +was signed by Jefferson Davis, President Buchanan's secretary of war. + +As a cadet, Custer did not achieve a brilliant record either for +scholarship or good behavior. This was not owing to any want of +intelligence or quickness of comprehension, but rather to a love of +mischief and hatred of restraint. During the four years of his academic +term he spent 66 Saturdays in doing extra guard duty as penance for +various offences; and he graduated in 1861, at the foot of a class of +34. + +[Illustration: GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER.] + +His stay terminated with a characteristic incident. He chanced one +day when officer of the guard to come upon two angry cadets, who from +words had come to blows, and were just ready to settle their difficulty +with their fists. Custer pushed through the crowd of spectators who +surrounded the combatants, but instead of arresting them, as was his +duty, he restrained those who were endeavoring to restrain them, and +called out:-- + +"Stand back, boys; let's have a fair fight." + +His appeal was heard by Lieuts. Hazen and Merritt, and he was placed +under arrest and kept back to be court-martialed, while the rest of his +class, (excepting such as had already resigned to join the Southern +army) departed for active service. The court-martial was however cut +short, through the exertions of his fellow cadets at Washington, by a +telegraphic order summoning him there. + +Custer reported to the Adjutant-General of the Army at Washington, July +20th, and was by him introduced to Gen. Scott. The company (G, 2nd +Cavalry) to which he had been assigned, with the rank of 2nd lieutenant, +was at this time near Centerville, and as he was to join it, Gen. Scott +entrusted to him some dispatches for Gen. McDowell who commanded the +troops in the field. A night's ride on horseback took him to the army, +the dispatches were delivered, and then he joined his company before +daybreak just as they were preparing to participate in the battle of +Bull Run. In this battle, however, the cavalry took but little part; in +the frantic retreat that followed, Custer's company was among the last +to retire, and did so in good order, taking with them Gen. Heintzelman +who was wounded. + +After Gen. McClellan took command of the army, Custer's company was +attached to Gen. Phil Kearny's brigade, and that general detailed Custer +as his aid-de-camp, and afterwards as assistant adjutant-general, which +position he held till deprived of it by a general order prohibiting +officers of the regular army from serving on the staffs of volunteer +officers. + +About this time he obtained leave of absence on account of ill health, +and visited his sister, Mrs. Reed, at her home in Monroe, Michigan; and +it is said that through her entreaties and influence he then gave up the +habit of using strong drinks, which, in common with many of his fellow +officers, he had acquired during his brief army life near Washington. +Thenceforth, through the remainder of his life, he drank no intoxicating +liquor. + +Returning to the army in Feb. 1862, he was assigned to the 5th Cavalry, +and when the enemy evacuated Manassas he participated in the advance on +that place, and led the company which drove the hostile pickets across +Cedar Run. + +When the Army of the Potomac was transferred to the Peninsula, Custer's +company was among the first to reach Fortress Monroe, and it then +marched to Warwick. Here he was detailed as assistant to the chief +engineer, on Gen. W.F. Smith's staff; he served in that capacity during +the siege of Yorktown, and planned the earthwork nearest the enemy's +lines. At the battle of Williamsburg, where he acted as aid-de-camp to +Gen. Hancock, he effected the capture of a battle-flag--the first taken +by the Army of the Potomac. + +When the army was encamped near the Chickahominy River, late in May, +Custer accompanied Gen. Barnard, the chief engineer of the army, on a +reconnoisance outside the picket line to the bank of the river; and at +the request of his superior, he dismounted, jumped into the river, and +waded across the stream--the object being to ascertain the depth of the +water, which in some places came nearly up to his shoulders. On reaching +the opposite bank he examined the ground for some distance, and +discovered, unseen by them, the position of the enemy's pickets. Barnard +reported to McClellan that the river was fordable, and how he had +ascertained that it was so. McClellan sent for Custer, and was so +pleased with his appearance and courageous act that he transferred him +to his own staff; and in June, Custer received from the Secretary of War +his appointment as additional aid-de-camp, with the rank of captain +during the pleasure of the President. Previously to this he had crossed +the Chickahominy at daybreak with a company of infantry, attacked the +enemy's picket post, and captured prisoners and arms. + +Custer served on McClellan's staff through all of the Peninsular +campaign; and after the battles of Gaines' Mills, Fair Oaks, Malvern +Hill, etc., retreated with him to the protection of the gunboats at +Harrison's Landing on the James River. Subsequently, after the +withdrawal of the army from the Peninsula and the defeat of Banks and +Pope in Virginia, he was McClellan's aid-de-camp in the Maryland +campaign which closed with the battle of Antietam. When McClellan was +superseded by Burnside, Nov. 10th, 1862, Custer accompanied his chief to +Washington, and subsequently visited his friends in Ohio and Michigan. +His staff position as captain ceased with the retirement of McClellan, +and he was now a first lieutenant, commissioned July 17th, 1862. + +In April, 1863, Custer rejoined his company which was with Gen. Hooker's +army near Fredericksburg, and took part in the battle of +Chancellorsville. In June he was on the staff of Gen. Pleasonton, then +chief of the cavalry corps, and was conspicuous at Beverly Ford and +other places across the Rappahannock where Stuart's cavalry were met and +roughly handled. + +At the battle of Aldie, Virginia, Custer distinguished himself in the +charge made by Kilpatrick's cavalry. The onset was irresistible; the +Confederate forces were driven back in confusion, and Custer's +impetuosity carried him far within their lines, from which he was +allowed to escape in consequence, he believed, of the similarity of his +hat to those worn by the Confederates. For his gallantry in this action, +Custer was promoted at one bound from a first lieutenant to a +brigadier-general. + +Gen. Custer was now assigned to the command of a Michigan brigade in +Kilpatrick's division, the 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th Cavalry, and joined his +command at Hanover, Md., June 29th. The next day he was engaged in a +skirmish with Stuart's cavalry, and attracted the attention of all by +the peculiarity of his dress. He wore a broad-brimmed, low-crowned felt +hat; loose jacket and trowsers of velveteen, the former profusely +trimmed with gold-braid and the latter tucked into high boots; a blue +shirt, with turnover collar on either corner of which was an embroidered +star; and a flaming neck-tie. + +The battle of Gettysburg was now in progress, and on the 2nd of July +Custer distinguished himself, and won the respect of his officers, by +charging the enemy at the head of a company of his troops, having his +horse shot under him. The next day his brigade was actively engaged, +and the charge of the 1st Michigan Cavalry, supported by a battery, is +designated by Custer as one of the most brilliant and successful +recorded in the annals of warfare. + +After the battle Gen. Lee retreated rapidly toward the Potomac, and the +cavalry moving by different routes harassed him continually, capturing +trains and prisoners. The following paragraph is copied from Headley's +"History of the Civil War." + + "Kilpatrick clung to the rebel army with a tenacity that did not + allow it a moment's rest. At midnight, in a furious thunder storm, + he charged down the mountain through the darkness with unparalleled + boldness, and captured the entire train of Elwell's division, eight + miles long. At Emmettsburg, Haggerstown, and other places, he smote + the enemy, with blow after blow. Buford, Gregg, Custer, and others, + performed deeds which, but for the greater movements that occupied + public attention, would have filled the land with shouts of + admiration. In fact, the incessant protracted labors of the cavalry + during this campaign, rendered it useless for some time." + +Custer's brigade came upon the enemy's rear guard at Falling Waters, and +the 6th Michigan made a gallant charge which was repulsed with +considerable loss; but after a two hours' fight the enemy was driven to +the river; Gen. Pettegrew and 125 of his men were killed, and 1500 were +taken prisoners; cannon and battle-flags were also captured. + +When the cavalry crossed the Rappahannock in September, pushing back +Stuart's cavalry to Brandy Station, Culpepper C.H., and across the +Rapidan, Custer, as usual, was with the advance, and in one engagement +was slightly wounded by a piece of a shell--the first and only time he +was wounded during the war. After a short vacation in consequence of his +wound, he rejoined his command in season to accompany the advance of +cavalry to and across the Rapidan in October; and when Mead's army was +forced back across the Rappahannock, he assisted in covering the +retreat. The following description of the engagement at Brandy Station +is also copied from Headley:-- + + "Pleasonton, with the cavalry, remained behind to watch the enemy, + and then slowly retired toward the retreating army. Buford had been + forced back more rapidly than Kilpatrick, whose command--with Davis + over the right brigade, and Custer over the left--fell back more + slowly. When the latter reached Brandy Station, he found the + former, ignorant of his movements, was far in advance, leaving his + right entirely exposed. To make matters worse Stuart had passed + around his left, so that Kilpatrick, with whom was Pleasonton + himself, was suddenly cut off. The gallant leader saw at a glance + the peril of his position, and, riding to a slight eminence took a + hasty survey of the ground before him. He then gave his orders, and + three thousand swords leaped from their scabbards, and a long, loud + shout rolled over the field. + + "With a heavy line of skirmishers thrown out, to protect his flanks + and rear, he moved in three columns straight on the rebel host that + watched his coming. At first, the well-closed columns advanced on a + walk, while the batteries of Pennington and Elder played with + fearful precision upon the hostile ranks. He thus kept on, till + within a few hundred yards of the rebel lines, when the band struck + up "Yankee Doodle." The next instant, a hundred bugles pealed the + charge, and away, with gleaming sabres and a wild hurrah, went the + clattering squadrons. As they came thundering on, the hostile lines + parted, and let them pass proudly through. Buford was soon + overtaken, and a line of battle formed; for the rebels, outraged to + think they had let Kilpatrick off so easy, reorganized, and now + advanced to the attack. + + "A fierce cavalry battle followed, lasting till after dark. + Pleasonton, Buford, Kilpatrick, Custer and Davis again and again + led charges in person. It seemed as if the leaders on both sides + were determined to test, on the plains of Brandy Station, the + question of superiority between the cavalry; for the charges on + both sides were of the most gallant and desperate character. The + dark masses would drive on each other, through the deepening gloom, + with defiant yells, while the flashing sabres struck fire as they + clashed and rung in the fierce conflict. At length the rebels gave + it up, and our cavalry, gathering up its dead and wounded, crossed + the Rappahannock." + +In the spirited encounter near Buckland's Mills, Oct. 19th, in which +Stuart, aided by a flank attack from Fitz Hugh Lee, worsted Kilpatrick +by force of numbers, Custer's brigade bore the brunt of the attack, and +did most of the fighting on our side. This fight terminated the active +campaign of 1863 for Custer's brigade, which subsequently guarded the +upper fords of the Rapidan. + +On the 9th of February, 1864, Gen. Custer was married at Monroe, +Michigan, to Miss Elizabeth Bacon, only daughter of Judge Daniel S. +Bacon of Monroe. When he rejoined his command at Stevensburg a few days +later, his wife accompanied him, and she remained in camp till the +opening of the spring campaign of 1864. The marriage was, as far as +Custer was concerned, the consequence of love at first sight, and ever +proved to be for both parties a happy one. + +Late in February, 1864, Gen. Custer crossed the Rapidan with 1500 +cavalry in light marching order, flanking Lee's army on the west, and +pushed rapidly ahead to within four miles of Charlottesville, where he +found his progress arrested by a far superior force. He then turned +northward toward Stannardsville where he again encountered the enemy, +and after skirmishing, returned to his camp followed by some hundreds of +refugees from slavery. This raid was designed to draw attention from a +more formidable one led by Kilpatrick at the same time. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL CUSTER. + +(CONTINUED.) + + +In the spring of 1864, Gen. Grant was placed at the head of all the +Union armies; Gen. Sheridan was called to command the cavalry corps in +place of Gen. Pleasonton; and Custer with his brigade was transferred to +the First division under Torbert. + +In May, the Army of the Potomac once more advanced to the Rapidan and +crossed it. In the battle of the Wilderness, owing to the character of +the field, the cavalry were compelled to remain almost idle spectators, +but subsequently, at Spottsylvania C.H., Torbert's division was +seriously engaged. + +On the 9th of May, Gen. Sheridan started out on his first great cavalry +raid toward Richmond. At Beaverdam Station he inflicted great damage on +the railroads, destroyed much property, and liberated 400 Union +prisoners on their way to Richmond. Continuing his march, he found, at +Yellow Tavern a few miles north of Richmond, Stuart's cavalry drawn up +to oppose his passage. A spirited fight ensued, resulting in the death +of Stuart and the dispersion of his troops. Our cavalry pressed on down +the road to Richmond, and Custer's brigade attacked and carried the +outer line of defenses, and took 100 prisoners. The second line of +works was too strong to be taken by cavalry, and Sheridan was obliged to +retreat. Beating off assailants both in front and rear he crossed the +Chickahominy, pushed southward to Haxall's Landing on the James River, +and then leisurely returned by way of White House and Hanover C.H. to +Grant's army, arriving in time to be present at the sanguinary battle of +Cool Arbor. + +On the 9th of June, Custer accompanied Sheridan on a raid around Lee's +army. They struck the railroad at Trevilian's, drove off a large force +of the enemy and broke up a long section of the road. Retracing their +steps to Trevilian's, they had there a spirited contest with Fitz Hugh +Lee, and then drew off and rejoined Gen. Grant. During this raid +Sheridan lost over 700 men, and captured 400 prisoners. + +In the autumn of 1864, two divisions of cavalry under Torbert were with +Sheridan's army operating in the Shenandoah Valley. Custer's brigade was +in the First division, commanded by Merritt. Averill commanded the +Second division. + +Having received from Gen. Grant the order, "Go in"--the only +instructions which Grant deemed it necessary to give--Sheridan, Sept. +19th, attacked the Confederate forces at Opequan Creek. The artillery +opened along the whole line, the columns moved steadily forward, and +Gen. Early soon discovered that Sheridan was in earnest. Early's +position was a strong one, and he stubbornly held it until the cavalry +bugles were heard on his right, as the firm-set squadrons bore fiercely +down. Rolled up before the impetuous charge, the rebel line at length +crumbled into fragments, and the whole army broke in utter confusion and +was sent "whirling through Winchester," followed until dark by the +pursuing cavalry. 3000 prisoners were taken. + +Three days later Sheridan attacked Early at Fisher's Hill--a strong +position to which he had retired--and again forced him to retreat with a +loss of 1100 men taken prisoners. The cavalry pursued so sharply and +persistently, that Early left the valley and took refuge in the +mountains where cavalry could not operate. + +On the 26th of Sept., Custer was transferred from the command of the +Michigan brigade in the First division to the head of the Second +division; but before he was able to reach his new command, he was placed +at the head of the Third division, with which he had formerly been +connected under Kilpatrick. + +When Sheridan moved back through the valley from Port Republic to +Strasburg, sparing the houses, but burning all the barns, mills and +hay-stacks, and driving off all the cattle, his rear was much harassed +by the rebel cavalry under Gen. Rosser--a class-mate of Custer's at West +Point; and on the night of Oct. 8th, Sheridan ordered Torbert to "start +out at daylight, and whip the rebel cavalry or get whipped himself." +Accordingly on the next morning the cavalry, led on by Merritt and +Custer and supported by batteries, swept boldly out to attack a larger +force drawn up in battle array. At the first charge upon them Rosser's +men broke and fled, but subsequently rallied, and were again pushed back +and utterly routed. Rosser lost all his artillery but one piece, and +everything else which was carried on wheels, and was pursued to Mt. +Jackson, 26 miles distant. Of this affair, Gen. Torbert reported:-- + + "The First Division captured five pieces of artillery, their + ordnance, ambulance, and wagon trains, and 60 prisoners. The Third + Division captured six pieces of artillery, all of their headquarter + wagons, ordnance, ambulance, and wagon trains. There could hardly + have been a more complete victory and rout. The cavalry totally + covered themselves with glory, and added to their long list of + victories the most brilliant one of them all, and the most decisive + the country has ever witnessed." + +On the 15th of Oct., Sheridan started on a flying visit to Washington, +leaving his army encamped on three ridges or hills. The crest nearest +the enemy was held by the Army of West Virginia under Crook; half a mile +to the rear of this was the second one, held by the 19th Corps under +Emory; and still further to the rear, on the third crest, was the 6th +Corps under Gen. Wright, who commanded the whole army during Sheridan's +absence. The cavalry under Torbert lay to the right of the 6th Corps. + +Gen. Early, having resolved to surprise and attack the Union army, +started out his troops on a dark and foggy night, and advanced +unperceived and unchallenged in two columns along either flank of the +6th Corps. The march was noiseless; and trusty guides led the steady +columns through the gloom, now pushing through the dripping trees and +now fording a stream, till at length, an hour before day-break, Oct. +18th, Early's troops, shivering with cold, stood within 600 yards of +Crook's camp. Two of Crook's pickets had come in at 2 A.M. and reported +a heavy, muffled tramp heard at the front; but though some extra +precautions were taken, no one dreamed that an attack would be made. + +Crook's troops, slumbering on unconscious of danger, were awakened at +daybreak by a deafening yell and the crack of musketry on either flank; +following which, charging lines regardless of the pickets came +immediately on over the breastworks. The surprise was complete, and +after a brief struggle the Army of West Virginia was flying in confusion +toward the second hill occupied by the 19th Corps. Emory attempted to +stop the progress of the enemy, but they got in his rear, and his +command soon broke and fled with the rest toward the hill where the 6th +Corps lay. + +Gen. Wright formed a new line of battle, and repulsed a tremendous +charge of the enemy, thus obtaining time to cover the immense crowd of +fugitives that darkened the rear. A general retreat was then begun and +continued in good order till 10 A.M. when, the enemy having ceased to +advance, Wright halted and commenced reorganizing the scattered troops. +The cavalry, being at the rear and extreme right, had not suffered in +the first assault on the Union army, but they were subsequently +transferred to the left flank, and did brave service in covering the +retreat of the infantry. + +Meanwhile Sheridan, returning from Washington, had slept at Winchester +20 miles distant, and in the morning rode leisurely toward his army. The +vibrations of artillery at first surprised him, and he soon became aware +that a heavy battle was raging and that his army was retreating. Dashing +his spurs into his horse he pushed madly along the road, and soon left +his escort far behind. Further on he met fugitives from the army, who +declared that all was lost. As the cloud of fugitives thickened he +shouted, as he drove on and swung his cap, "Face the other way, boys; we +are going back to our camp; we are going to lick them out of their +boots." The frightened stragglers paused, and then turned back. + +On arriving at the front, where the work of reorganization was already +well advanced, Sheridan inspired his men with new courage by his +appearance and words. For two hours he rode back and forth in front of +the line, encouraging the troops; and when the order was given, "The +entire line will advance, etc.," the infantry went steadily forward upon +the enemy. Early's front was soon carried, while his left was partly +turned back; and after much desperate fighting, his astonished troops +turned and fled in utter confusion over the field. + + "As they streamed down into the Middletown meadow," says Headley, + "Sheridan saw that the time for the cavalry had come, and ordered a + charge. The bugles pealed forth their stirring notes, and the + dashing squadrons of Custer and Merritt came down like a clattering + tempest on the right and left, doubling up the rebel flanks, and + cleaving a terrible path through the broken ranks. Back to, and + through our camp, which they had swept like a whirlwind in the + morning, the panic-stricken rebels went, pellmell, leaving all the + artillery they had captured, and much of their own, and strewing + the way with muskets, clothing, knapsacks, and everything that + could impede their flight. The infantry were too tired to continue + the pursuit, but the cavalry kept it up, driving them through + Strasburg to Fisher's Hill, and beyond, to Woodstock, sixteen miles + distant." + +After the battle of Cedar Creek and during the winter of 1864--5, +Sheridan's army, including Custer's division, remained inactive, +occupying cantonments around Winchester. + +On the 27th of Feb., Sheridan started out on his last great raid, taking +with him Gen. Merritt as chief of cavalry, the First and Third divisions +of cavalry under Generals Devin and Custer, artillery, wagons, and +pack-mules. The raiding column, including artillerymen and teamsters, +numbered 10,000 men. + +Moving rapidly up the Shenandoah Valley over the turnpike road, they +passed many villages without halting or opposition, and on the 29th, +approached Mount Crawford, where Rosser with 400 men disputed the +passage over a stream and attempted to burn the bridge; but Col. +Capehart of Custer's command, which was in advance, by a bold dash drove +Rosser away and saved the bridge. + +Custer now pushed on to Waynesboro' and finding Early intrenched there, +immediately attacked him. The result, as told by Sheridan, was as +follows:-- + + "Gen. Custer found Gen. Early in a well chosen position, with two + brigades of infantry, and some cavalry under Rosser, the infantry + occupying breastworks. Custer, without waiting for the enemy to get + up courage over the delay of a careful reconnaissance, made his + dispositions for attack at once. Sending three regiments around the + left flank of the enemy, Custer with the other two brigades, partly + mounted and partly dismounted, at a given signal attacked and + impetuously carried the enemy's works; while the Eight New York and + the First Connecticut cavalry, who were formed in columns of fours, + charged over the breastworks, and continued the charge through the + streets of Waynesboro', sabring a few men as they went along, and + did not stop until they had crossed the South Fork of the + Shenandoah, (which was immediately in Early's rear) where they + formed as foragers, and with drawn sabres held the east bank of the + stream. The enemy threw down their arms and surrendered, with + cheers at the suddenness with which they had been captured." + +Sixteen hundred prisoners, 11 pieces of artillery, 200 loaded wagons, +and 17 battle-flags were captured single-handed by Custer at +Waynesboro', while his own loss was less than a dozen men. Vast amounts +of public property were subsequently destroyed. The prisoners were sent +to Winchester under guard. + +Pushing on across the Blue Ridge in a heavy rain during the night after +Early's defeat, Custer, still in the van, approached Charlottesville the +next afternoon, and was met by the authorities, who surrendered to him +the keys of the public buildings as a token of submission. The balance +of the column soon came up, and two days were spent in destroying +bridges, mills, and the railroad leading to Lynchburg. + +Sheridan now divided his command, and sent Merritt and Devin to destroy +the canal from Scottsville to New Market, while he and Custer tore up +the railroads as far west as Amherst C.H. The columns united again at +New Market on the James River; and as the enemy had burned the bridges +so they could not cross to the south side, they moved eastward behind +Lee's army, destroying bridges, canals, railroads and supplies, thus +inflicting a more serious blow to the confederate cause than any +victories by land or sea gained during the last campaign. Then they +swept around by the Pamunkey River and White House, and joined Grant's +besieging army in front of Petersburg, March 27th. They encamped on the +extreme left of the lines, close to their old comrades of the Second +Division of cavalry, (now under Gen. Crook) who here again came under +Sheridan's command. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL CUSTER. + +(CONTINUED.) + + +The final struggle for the possession of Richmond and Petersburg was now +commenced by an extension of the Union lines westward, Grant's object +being to attack the right flank of the Confederates. + +On the 29th of March, Sheridan, with his cavalry, moved southwest to +Dinwiddie C.H., where Devin's and Crook's divisions halted for the +night. Custer was some distance in the rear protecting the train. In the +morning, Devin pushed the enemy back northerly to their intrenchments at +Five Forks; but being unable to advance further, he returned to +Dinwiddie C.H. Gen. Warren, with the 5th Infantry Corps, had meantime +been put under Sheridan's command as a support to the cavalry, but had +not yet come up. + +The next day, 31st, Lee's troops attacked Warren unexpectedly, and drove +two of his divisions back upon a third, where their advance was stopped; +and with the assistance of Humphrey's 2nd Corps, the enemy were driven +back into their entrenched position along the White Oak road. Then the +rebel infantry moved westward along the road to Five Forks, and attacked +Devin, who, earlier in the day, had advanced to Five Forks and carried +that position. Devin was driven out in disorder and forced back, and +after some difficulty rejoined Crook's division at Dinwiddie C. H. The +confederates now assailed Sheridan with a superior force, but could make +no headway, and during the night they withdrew. + +Meantime Custer, and Gen. McKenzie with 1,000 additional cavalry, had +joined Sheridan, and Warren was within supporting distance. At daybreak +the cavalry advanced steadily on the enemy, and by noon had driven them +behind their works at Five Forks, and were menacing their front. Warren +was now ordered forward, and after more delay than Sheridan deemed +necessary, he reached his assigned position and charged furiously +westward on the enemy's left flank. Custer and Devin at the same time +charged their right flank and front. Thus assailed by double their +numbers the rebel infantry fought on with great gallantry and fortitude; +but at length their flank defenses were carried by Warren's troops, and +simultaneously the cavalry swept over their works. A large portion of +the enemy surrendered, and the balance fled westward, pursued by Custer +and McKenzie; 5,000 prisoners were taken. + +The next morning, Sunday, April 2nd, at daybreak, a general assault was +made by Grant's army upon the defences of Petersburg, and some of them +were carried. Lee telegraphed to Davis that Richmond must be evacuated; +and by night the Confederate rule in that city was ended, and Davis and +his Government on the way by railroad to Danville. Lee's troops withdrew +from Richmond and Petersburg the same night, and marched rapidly +westward to Amelia C.H. on the Danville railroad, where they halted, +April 4th and 5th, to gather supplies of food from the country. + +Meantime, the Union army was pursuing the retreating Confederates and +making every effort to prevent their escape. Custer and Devin moved +southwesterly toward Burkesville destroying the railroad, and then +joined Crook, McKenzie, and the 5th Corps at Jetersville five miles west +of Amelia C.H. Sheridan intrenched his infantry across the railroad, +supported them by his cavalry, and felt prepared to stop the passage of +Lee's whole army. Lee, however, finding his way to Danville thus +blocked, moved northerly around Sheridan's left, and thence westerly +toward Farmville on the Appomattox River. Gen. Davies, of Crook's +division, made a reconnoisance and struck Lee's train moving ahead of +his troops, destroying wagons, and taking prisoners. A fight followed, +and Davies fell back to Jetersville where nearly the whole army was then +concentrated. + +On the morning of the 6th, Crook, Custer, and Devin started out in +pursuit. Crook, who was in advance, was ordered to attack the trains, +and if the enemy was too strong, another division was to pass him, while +he held fast and pressed the enemy, and attack at a point further +on--thus alternating until some vulnerable point was found. Crook came +upon Lee's columns near Deatonsville, and charged upon them, determined +to detain them at any cost. Crook was finally repulsed, but his action +gave Custer time to push ahead, and strike further on at Sailor's Creek. +Crook and Devin came promptly to Custer's support, and he pierced the +line of march, destroyed 400 wagons, and took many prisoners. Elwell's +division was separated from Lee, who was further ahead, and being +enclosed between the cavalry in front and the infantry on their rear, +the troops threw down their arms and surrendered. + +That evening Lee crossed the Appomattox at Farmville, and tried to burn +the bridges behind him, but troops arrived in season to save one of +them. Lee halted five miles beyond Farmville, intrenched himself, and +repulsed an attack from the infantry. At night he silently resumed his +retreat. + +On the morning of the 7th, Custer and Devin, under Merritt, were sent on +a detour to the left, to cut off retreat toward Danville should it be +attempted; while Crook forded the Appomattox and attacked a train. On +the 8th, Sheridan concentrated the cavalry at Prospect Station, and sent +Merritt, Custer, and Devin swiftly ahead 28 miles to Appomattox Station, +where, he had learned from scouts, were four trains loaded with supplies +for Lee, just arrived from Lynchburg. + +Gen. Custer took the lead, and on reaching the railroad station he +skillfully surrounded and captured the trains. Then, followed by Devin, +he hurried on five miles further to Appomattox C.H., where he confronted +the van of Lee's army, immediately attacked it, and by night had turned +it back on the main column, and captured prisoners, wagons, guns, and a +hospital train. The balance of the cavalry hurried up, and a position +was taken directly across the road, in front of Lee's army. + +By a forced march the infantry under Griffin and Ord, supporting the +cavalry, reached the rear of Sheridan's position by daybreak the next +morning. Grant and Mead were pressing closely on Lee's rear, and Lee saw +there was no escape for him unless he could break through the cavalry +force which he supposed alone disputed his passage. He therefore ordered +his infantry to advance. The result of this charge, the last one made +by the Army of Virginia, is thus described in Greeley's "_American +Conflict_":-- + + "By Sheridan's orders, his troopers, who were in line of battle + dismounted, gave ground gradually, while showing a steady front, so + as to allow our weary infantry time to form and take position. This + effected, the horsemen moved swiftly to the right, and mounted, + revealing lines of solid infantry in battle array, before whose + wall of gleaming bayonets the astonished enemy recoiled in blank + despair, as Sheridan and his troopers, passing briskly around the + rebel left, prepared to charge the confused, reeling masses. A + white flag was now waved by the enemy before Gen. Custer, who held + our cavalry advance, with the information that they had concluded + to surrender." + +The next day, April 9th, Gen. Custer, who had been brevetted +Major-General after the battle of Cedar Creek, issued the following +complimentary order to his troops:-- + + + HEAD-QUARTERS THIRD CAVALRY DIVISION.} + APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE, VA., April 9, 1865.} + + SOLDIERS OF THE THIRD CAVALRY DIVISION:-- + + With profound gratitude toward the God of battles, by whose + blessings our enemies have been humbled and our arms rendered + triumphant, your Commanding General avails himself of this his + first opportunity to express to you his admiration of the heroic + manner in which you have passed through the series of battles which + to-day resulted in the surrender of the enemy's entire army. + + The record established by your indomitable courage is unparalleled + in the annals of war. Your prowess has won for you even the respect + and admiration of your enemies. During the past six months, + although in most instances confronted by superior numbers, you have + captured from the enemy, in open battle, 111 pieces of field + artillery, 65 battle-flags, and upward of 10,000 prisoners of war + including seven general officers. Within the last ten days, and + included in the above, you have captured 46 field-pieces of + artillery and 37 battle-flags. You have never lost a gun, never + lost a color, and have never been defeated; and notwithstanding the + numerous engagements in which you have borne a prominent part, + including those memorable battles of the Shenandoah, you have + captured every piece of artillery which the enemy has dared to + open upon you. The near approach of peace renders it improbable + that you will again be called upon to undergo the fatigues of the + toilsome march, or the exposure of the battle-field; but should the + assistance of keen blades wielded by your sturdy arms be required + to hasten the coming of that glorious peace for which we have been + so long contending, the General Commanding is firmly confident + that, in the future as in the past, every demand will meet a hearty + and willing response. + + Let us hope that our work is done, and that blessed with the + comforts of peace, we may be permitted to enjoy the pleasures of + home and friends. For our comrades who have fallen, let us ever + cherish a grateful remembrance. To the wounded and to those who + languish in Southern prisons, let our heartfelt sympathy be + tendered. + + And now, speaking for myself alone, when the war is ended and the + task of the historian begins; when those deeds of daring which have + rendered the name and fame of the Third Cavalry Division + imperishable are inscribed upon the bright pages of our country's + history, I only ask that my name may be written as that of the + Commander of the Third Cavalry Division. + +Lee's flag of truce at Appomattox--a white towel--and also the table on +which Grant and Lee signed the capitulation agreement, were presented to +Mrs. Custer by Gen. Sheridan, and are now in her possession. In a letter +accompanying them Sheridan wrote, that he "knew of no person more +instrumental in bringing about this most desired event than her own most +gallant husband." + +In the great parade of the Army of the Potomac at Washington in May +1865, Sheridan's cavalry were at the head of the column; and the Third +Division, first in peace as it had been first in war, led the advance. +Custer, now a Major-General of volunteers, at the age of 26 years, rode +proudly at the head of his troopers, a prominent figure in the stirring +pageant, and the observed of all beholders. He had put off for the +occasion his careless dashing style of dress, and wore, with becoming +dignity, the full regulation uniform of a Major-General. + +Shortly after the parade, Custer was sent to Texas, where he had command +of a cavalry division at Austin, but no active service became necessary. +In March, 1866, he was mustered out of service as a Major-General, and +took rank as a Captain, assigned to the 5th Cavalry, U.S.A. Soon +afterward, he applied to Senor Romero, Minister from Mexico, for a +position as chief of President Juarez's cavalry, in his struggle with +Maximilian. He presented a letter of introduction from General Grant in +which he was spoken of in the most complimentary terms. Romero was +anxious to secure his services, and made him liberal offers; but as +Custer could not obtain leave of absence from his Government, the +contemplated arrangement was not completed. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL CUSTER. + +(CONTINUED.) + + +In July, 1866, Custer received from Andrew Johnson, a commission as +Lieut. Col. of the 7th Cavalry--a new regiment; and after accompanying +the President on his famous tour through the country, he proceeded to +Fort Riley, Kansas. + +In the spring of 1867, an expedition under Gen. Hancock marched from +Fort Riley to Fort Larned near the Arkansas River, and the 7th Cavalry, +under Lieut. Col. Custer, accompanied it. The dissatisfied Indians had +been invited by the Indian agent to meet Hancock in council at Fort +Larned, and had agreed to do so; but as they failed to appear at the +appointed time, Hancock started for a village of Sioux and Cheyenne +Indians, distant some 30 miles from the fort. On the way he met several +of the chiefs, and they agreed to hold a council at Hancock's camp on +the next day, April 14th. As none of the chiefs came, as promised, +Hancock again started for their village, and soon came upon several +hundred Indians drawn up in battle array directly across his path. The +troops were immediately formed in line of battle, and then the General, +with some of his officers and the interpreter, rode forward and invited +the chiefs to a meeting between the lines, which were half a mile apart. +The invitation was accepted; several chiefs advanced to the officers, +and a friendly interview was holden--all seeming pleased at the peaceful +turn things had taken. The result of the "talk" was an arrangement for a +council to be held at Hancock's headquarters after he had camped near +the Indian village, toward which both parties then proceeded. It was +ascertained on reaching it that the women and children had been sent +away; and during the night the warriors, unobserved by the white men, +also fled, leaving their lodges and stores. + +Mistrusting something of the kind, Custer, with the cavalry, had during +the night stealthily surrounded the village, and on entering it later +found it deserted. Pursuit of the Indians was commenced, but their trail +soon scattered so it could not be followed. After burning the deserted +village, the expedition returned to Fort Hayes, where the 7th Cavalry +wintered. + +The next summer, Custer with several companies of his regiment and 20 +wagons, was sent on a long scouting expedition to the southward in +search of Indians. Leaving Fort Hayes in June, he proceeded to Fort +McPherson on the Platte River, and thence to the forks of the Republican +River in the Indian country. From this place he sent Major J.A. Elliott, +on the 23d of June, with ten men and one guide, to carry despatches to +Gen. Sherman at Fort Sedgwick, 100 miles distant. The wagons, escorted +by cavalry, were also started the same day to procure supplies from Fort +Wallace, about the same distance away in an opposite direction. + +Early the next morning, an attack was made on the camp, but the soldiers +rallied so promptly and effectively that the Indians soon withdrew. +Interpreters were then sent toward them, who arranged for a council +which was held near by. After an unsatisfactory interview, Custer +returned to his camp and started in pursuit of the Indians, but was +unable to overtake them. + +On the fifth day after his departure, Major Elliott returned in safety +to the camp. He had traveled only by night, and had seen no Indians. The +wagon train was not so fortunate. It reached Fort Wallace safely, and +started to return escorted by 48 troopers. On the way it was attacked by +a large number of Indians, who for three hours kept up a running fight +around the circle. The wagons moved forward in two strings, with the +cavalry horses between them for safety, and the dismounted soldiers +defended them so successfully that their progress forward was +uninterrupted. Meanwhile Custer, fearing for the safety of the train, +had sent out cavalry to meet it; and their approach caused the Indians +to cease from their attack and withdraw. The balance of the journey was +safely accomplished. + +Resuming his march, Custer again struck the Platte, some distance west +of Fort Sedgwick. Here he learned by telegraph that Lieut. Kidder with +ten men and an Indian scout had started from Fort Sedgwick, with +despatches for Custer directing him to proceed to Fort Wallace, shortly +after Major Elliott had left the fort. As Kidder had not returned and +Custer had not seen him, fears for his safety were entertained, and +Custer immediately started for his late camp at the forks of the +Republican. On the way thither some of his men deserted, and being +followed and refusing to surrender, were fired upon, and three were +wounded. + +On reaching the camp, an examination was made by the Indian guide, and +it was ascertained that Kidder's party had arrived there in safety, and +continued on towards Fort Wallace, over the trail made by the wagons. In +the morning Custer started in pursuit, and by noon it became evident by +the tracks of their horses, that Kidder's party had been hard chased for +several miles. Further on one of their horses was found, shot dead; and +at last the mutilated and arrow-pierced bodies of the 12 men were found +lying near each other. They had been chased, overtaken, and killed by +the savages. They were buried in one grave, and the troops proceeded to +Fort Wallace. + +Custer had been ordered to report to Gen. Hancock at Fort Wallace, and +receive further orders from him; but on arriving there he found that the +General had retired to Fort Leavenworth. The location of Fort Wallace +was isolated and remote from railroads, and as the stock of provisions +was low, Custer decided to go for supplies. He started on the evening of +July 15th, with 100 men, and arrived at Fort Hayes on the morning of +July 18th, having marched 150 miles, with a loss of two men who had been +surprised by Indians. He then proceeded to Fort Harker, 60 miles further +on, and after making arrangements for the supplies, obtained from Gen. +Smith permission to visit his wife, who was at Fort Riley, 90 miles +distant by rail. + +Soon after this Custer was arraigned before a court-martial, charged +with leaving Fort Wallace without orders, and making a journey on +private business, during which two soldiers were killed; also for +over-tasking his men on the march, and for cruelty while quelling a +mutiny. After trial, he was pronounced guilty of a breach of discipline +in making a journey on private business (which he earnestly denied) and +acquitted of the other charges. His sentence was a suspension of pay and +rank for a year, during which period he remained in private life, while +his regiment was engaged in an expedition under Gen. Sully. + +In October, 1868, Custer was recalled into service, and joined his +regiment at Fort Dodge on the Arkansas River. Early in Nov., a winter +campaign against the Indians was commenced. Gen. Sully, with the 7th +Cavalry, detachments of infantry, and a large supply train, marched to +the borders of the Indian country and established a post called Camp +Supply. + +On the 23d of Nov., Custer with his regiment of about 800 men started +out in a snow storm on a scout for the enemy. The next day a trail was +discovered and pursued, and at night the troops were in the valley of +the Washita River, and near an Indian village which had been seen from a +distance. The village was stealthily surrounded, and at daybreak an +attack was made simultaneously by several detachments. + +The Indians were taken entirely by surprise. The warriors fled from the +village, but took shelter behind trees, logs, and the bank of the +stream, and fought with much desperation and courage, but were finally +driven off. The village was captured with its contents, including 50 +squaws and children who had remained safely in the lodges during the +fight. Some 800 ponies were also captured. On questioning the squaws, +one of them said that she was a sister of the Cheyenne chief Black +Kettle, that it was his village that had been captured, and that +several other Indian villages were located within ten miles--the nearest +one being only two miles distant. + +Before Custer had time to retreat, hostile Indians--reinforcements from +the other villages--arrived in such numbers as to surround the captured +village, which Custer and his men occupied; and an attack was begun +which continued nearly all day. The Indians were finally driven away. +The village and its contents were burned. The captives were allowed to +select ponies to ride on, and the balance of the drove were shot. The +retreat was begun by a march forward, as if to attack the next village. +The Indians fled; and after dark Custer moved rapidly back toward Supply +Camp, taking the captives along as prisoners of war. + +In this engagement, known as the Battle of the Washita, Major Elliott, +Capt. Hamilton, and 19 privates were killed, and three officers and 11 +privates wounded. Captains Weir, Benteen, T.W. Custer, and Lieut. Cook, +participated in this fight. It was estimated that at least 100 Indians +were killed, among whom was the noted chief Black Kettle. + +The death of Black Kettle was much regretted by many white people. Gen. +Harney said respecting him:--"I have worn the uniform of my country 55 +years, and I know that Black Kettle was as good a friend of the United +States as I am." Col. A.G. Boone, a member of the recent Indian +Commission, who had known Black Kettle for years, said tearfully:--"He +was a good man; he was my friend; he was murdered." + +Early in Dec., the 7th Cavalry and a Kansas cavalry regiment, +accompanied by Gen. Sheridan and staff, again started out to look for +Indians. The recent battle-ground was revisited, and then the force +proceeded along the valley of the Washita, finding the sites of several +villages which appeared to have been lately and hastily removed. Large +numbers of lodge poles, and robes, utensils, and stores were left +behind; and a broad trail, leading down the river toward Fort Cobb, 100 +miles distant, showed the direction their owners had taken when +frightened away from their winter retreat. A pursuit of the trail was +commenced, but it soon branched. The troops continued on, and when +within 20 miles of Fort Cobb, Indians appeared in front with a flag of +truce. They proved to be Kiowas led by Lone Wolf, Satanta, and other +chiefs. + +A council was held, and both parties agreed to proceed together to Fort +Cobb; and the Indians agreed that they would then remain on their +reservation. On the way to the fort, many of the Indians slipped away, +and as Custer then supposed (erroneously) that Lone Wolf and Satanta had +been engaged in the recent battle and might also escape, he placed them +under guard and took them to Fort Cobb, where they were held as hostages +for the return of the roaming Kiowas, who finally came in on learning +that Sheridan had determined to hang their chiefs if they failed to do +so. + +Soon after this, Little Robe--a Cheyenne chief, and Yellow Bear--a +friendly Arapahoe, were visiting at Fort Cobb, and at Custer's +suggestion Sheridan permitted him with a small party to go with these +chiefs as a peace ambassador. The mission was successful as far as the +Arapahoes were concerned, and as its result the whole tribe returned to +their reservation. + +The effort to arrange with the Cheyennes proving unavailing, Custer with +800 men started, March, 1869, in pursuit of them. On the 13th of March +he arrived in the vicinity of several Cheyenne villages, one of which +belonged to Little Robe. Several councils were held with the chiefs; and +it was ascertained that two white women who had been recently captured +in Kansas were held as captives in one of the villages. For this reason +Custer could not attack the Indians, who were still intractable, and had +to continue negotiations with them. They refused to release the women +unless a large ransom was paid. + +Custer subsequently seized four of the chiefs, and threatened to hang +them if the white women were not given up unconditionally. This threat +produced the desired effect, and the women were surrendered. Custer then +marched to the supply camp, taking with him the captured chiefs, who +begged for freedom as the white women had been given up. Their friends +also entreated for their release; but Custer assured them that the +Washita prisoners and the captive chiefs would not be liberated until +the Cheyennes returned to their reservation. This they promised to do, +and subsequently kept their word. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL CUSTER. + +(CONTINUED.) + + +A treaty having been made with the Indians and peace restored, the 7th +Cavalry enjoyed a long season of rest. In the autumn of 1870, it was +broken into detachments and distributed to different posts. Custer, with +two companies, was assigned to a post at Elizabethtown, Ky., 40 miles +from Louisville, and in this isolated place he remained two years. +During this period of inaction he engaged in literary pursuits and wrote +an account of his life on the Plains. He also joined in a buffalo-hunt +given on the Plains in honor of the Russian Grand Duke Alexis, and after +the hunt he and Mrs. Custer accompanied the Duke in his travels through +the Southern States. + +In March, 1873, the 7th Cavalry was ordered to Dakota, and in May was +encamped at Fort Rice far up the Missouri. Here also were assembled +other soldiers, and in July the so-called Yellowstone Expedition, +commanded by Gen. D.S. Stanley, started out on its mission, which was to +escort and protect the engineers and surveyors of the Northern Pacific +Railroad. The march was westward to the Yellowstone and up its valley, +accompanied part of the way by steamboats. The country was rough and +broken, and the wagon trains were got forward with much difficulty. It +was Custer's custom to go ahead every day with a small party of +road-hunters, to pick out and prepare the most suitable road for the +train. + +On the 4th of Aug., when opposite the mouth of Tongue River, as Custer +and his advance party of about 100 men were enjoying a noon-day siesta +in a grove on the bank of the river, they were aroused by the firing of +the pickets. A few Indians had made a dash to stampede the horses which +were grazing near by, and failing in this, were riding back and forth as +if inviting pursuit. The soldiers speedily mounted, and Custer with 20 +men followed the Indians, who retreated slowly, keeping out of the reach +of shot. + +After going nearly two miles the retreating Indians faced about as if to +attack, and simultaneously, 300 mounted warriors emerged from a forest +and dashed forward. Custer's men immediately dismounted, and while five +of them held the horses, the remainder, with breech-loading carbines, +awaited the enemy's charge. Several rapid volleys were sufficient to +repulse the Indians, and cause them to take shelter in the woods from +which they came. + +Just then the remainder of Custer's men came up, and the whole force +retreated to the resting place they had so lately vacated. The horses +were sheltered in the timber, and the men took advantage of a natural +terrace, using it as a breastwork. The Indians had followed them +closely, and now made persistent but unsuccessful attempts to drive them +from their position. Being defeated in this, they next tried to burn +them out by setting fire to the grass. After continuing their assault +for several hours, the Indians withdrew at the approach of the main +column, and Custer and the fresh troops chased them several miles. + +[Illustration: COUNTING HIS COUPS.] + +The same day, two elderly civilians connected with the expedition were +murdered while riding in advance of the main column. Nearly two years +later, Charles Reynolds, a scout subsequently killed at the battle of +the Little Big Horn, while at Standing Rock Agency, heard an Indian who +was "counting his _coups_," or in other words rehearsing his great +achievements, boast of killing two white men on the Yellowstone. From +his description of the victims and the articles he exhibited, Reynolds +knew that he was the murderer of the two men. + +The name of this Indian was Rain in the Face. He was subsequently +arrested by Captains Yates and Custer, and taken to Fort Lincoln where +he was interviewed by Gen. Custer and finally confessed the deed. He was +kept a close prisoner in the guardhouse for several months, but managed +to escape, and joined Sitting Bull's band. It is thought by some that he +was the identical Indian who killed Gen. Custer, and that he did it by +way of revenge for his long imprisonment. There seems to be no real +foundation for this theory; but the "Revenge of Rain in the Face" will +probably go down to posterity as an historical truth, as it has already +been immortalized in verse by one of our most gifted poets, who seems, +however, to have overlooked the fact that Gen. Custer's body was not +mutilated. + +A week after the affair on the Yellowstone a large Indian trail was +discovered leading up the river, and Custer was sent in pursuit. On +arriving near the mouth of Big Horn River, it was discovered that the +enemy had crossed the Yellowstone in "bull boats." As Custer had no +means of getting across, he camped for the night. Early the next +morning he was attacked by several hundred warriors, some of whom had +doubtless recrossed the river for that purpose. Sitting Bull was +commander of the Indians, and large numbers of old men, squaws, and +children were assembled on the high bluffs and mounds along the river to +witness the fight. After considerable skirmishing Custer ordered his +troops to charge, and as they advanced the Indians fled, and were +pursued some distance. + +In these two engagements our loss was four men killed, and two were +wounded. Custer's horse was shot under him. There was no further trouble +with the Indians, and the expedition returned to Fort Rice about the 1st +of October. Later in the autumn, Gen. Custer was assigned to the command +of Fort Lincoln, on the Missouri River, opposite the town of Bismark. + +In the summer of 1874, a military expedition to explore the Black Hills +was decided on, and Gen. Custer was selected to command it. The column +of 1,200 troops, escorting a corps of scientists, etc., started from +Fort Lincoln, July 1st, moved southwesterly about 250 miles to the Black +Hills, and then explored the region. No trouble was experienced with +Indians, and the expedition returned to Fort Lincoln in September. + +Mrs. Custer had accompanied her husband to the Plains when he first went +thither, and excepting when he was engaged in some active campaign or +both were East, she shared with him the hardships, privations, and +pleasures of frontier life. Mrs. Champney, speaking of her in the +_Independent_, says:--"She followed the general through all his +campaigns, her constant aim being to make life pleasant for her husband +and for his command. General Custer's officers were remarkably attached +to him; to a man they revered and admired his wife. She was with him not +only in the idleness of summer camp-life, when the days passed in a +_dolce far niente_ resembling a holiday picnic; but in ruder and more +dangerous enterprises she was, as far as he would permit, his constant +companion." + +When Gen. Custer was ordered to Fort Lincoln Mrs. Custer went there with +him; that retired post was their home for the remainder of his life, and +when he started out on his last campaign she parted with him there. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL CUSTER. + +(CONTINUED.) + + +When a campaign against the roaming hostile Indians was decided on in +1876, Lieut. Col. Custer was naturally selected as the leader of the +Dakota column, which was organized at Fort Lincoln, and mainly composed +of his regiment. + +About this time a Congressional committee at Washington were +investigating the charges against Gen. Belknap, who had recently +resigned the office of Secretary of War. Many persons were called to +testify; and while Custer was actively engaged in organizing the Sioux +expedition, he received a telegraphic summons to appear before the +committee. + +On the receipt of the summons, Custer telegraphed to Gen. Terry, the +Department Commander, informing him of the fact, stating that what he +knew as to any charges against the War Department was only from hearsay +evidence, and asking his advice as to what he had better do. Terry, who +was a lawyer as well as a soldier, in reply informed Custer that his +services were indispensable, and that he feared it would delay the +expedition if he had to go to Washington. He suggested that if Custer +knew nothing of the matter, he might perhaps get excused from going +there. + +After hearing from Terry, Custer telegraphed to the chairman of the +committee as follows;-- + + "While I hold myself in readiness to obey the summons of your + committee, I telegraph to state that I am engaged upon an important + expedition, intended to operate against the hostile Indians, and I + expect to take the field early in April. My presence here is very + necessary. In view of this, would it not be satisfactory for you to + forward to me such questions as may be necessary, allowing me to + return my replies by mail." + +As the committee would not consent to the plan proposed, Custer went to +Washington, and was detained there on this business about one month. He +was severely cross-examined, but the result showed that he knew but +little of the matter in controversy. All he could say of his own +knowledge was, that a contractor had turned over to him at Fort Lincoln +a quantity of grain, which he suspected had been stolen from the Indian +Department, as the sacks bore the Indian brand. He had at first refused +to receive the grain, and had informed the Department commander of his +suspicions. He had received in reply an order to accept the grain; and +he believed that the order emanated from the Secretary of War, and so +testified before the committee. On returning west, he learned from Gen. +Terry that he alone was responsible for the order to receive the grain; +and thereupon, Custer telegraphed the fact to Mr. Clymer, and +added:--"As I would not knowingly do injustice to any individual, I ask +that this telegram may be appended to and made part of my testimony +before your committee." + +On being discharged by the committee, Custer, for the third time it is +said, called at the White House, hoping to remove the wrong impression +and misunderstanding as to his action before the committee which, he +had learned from private sources, the President had received and still +entertained. He did not however succeed in getting an interview, and it +is said that Gen. Grant even refused to see him. + +Leaving the White House, Custer proceeded to the office of Gen. Sherman, +and learned that the General had gone to New York, but was expected back +that evening. Custer then took the train for Chicago, and on arriving +there was halted by Gen. Sheridan who had received from Gen. Sherman a +telegram dated May 2nd, as follows:-- + + "I am this moment advised that General Custer started last night + for Saint Paul and Fort Abraham Lincoln. He was not justified in + leaving without seeing the President or myself. Please intercept + him at Chicago or Saint Paul, and order him to halt and await + further orders. Meanwhile let the expedition from Fort Lincoln + proceed without him." + +Gen. Custer was of course greatly surprised on learning that such a +telegram had been received, and he immediately telegraphed to Gen. +Sherman a statement of the circumstances under which he left Washington. +He reminded the General that at their last interview he had stated that +he would start west May 1st, and had been told in reply that it was the +best thing he could do; he said further that he had every reason to +believe, that in leaving Washington when he did he was acting in +accordance with the General's advice and wishes; and in conclusion, he +reminded the General of his promise that he should go in command of his +regiment, and asked that justice might be done him. Receiving no answer +to this message, he again telegraphed to Sherman asking as a favor that +he might proceed to Fort Lincoln where his family was. In reply, Sherman +telegraphed as follows:-- + + "Before receipt of yours, I had sent orders to Gen. Sheridan, to + permit you to go to Fort Lincoln on duty, but the President adheres + to his conclusion that you are not to go on the expedition." + +Sherman's orders to Sheridan were as follows:-- + + "I have received your despatch of to-day, announcing Gen. Custer's + arrival. Have just come from the President, who orders that Gen. + Custer be allowed to rejoin his post, to remain there on duty, but + not to accompany the expedition supposed to be on the point of + starting against the hostile Indians, under Gen. Terry." + +General Custer accordingly started for Fort Lincoln, and on arriving at +Saint Paul, May 6th, he addressed the following letter to President +Grant:-- + + "TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT, through Military Channels: + + I have seen your order transmitted through the General of the army, + directing that I be not permitted to accompany the expedition about + to move against hostile Indians. As my entire regiment forms a part + of the proposed expedition, and as I am the senior officer of the + regiment on duty in this Department, I respectfully but most + earnestly request that while not allowed to go in command of the + expedition, I may be permitted to serve with my regiment in the + field. I appeal to you as a soldier to spare me the humiliation of + seeing my regiment march to meet the enemy and I not to share its + dangers." + +This appeal to the President was forwarded by Gen. Terry with the +following communication:-- + + "In forwarding the above, I wish to say expressly, that I have no + desire to question the orders of the President, or of my military + superiors. Whether Lieut. Col. Custer shall be permitted to + accompany my column or not, I shall go in command of it. I do not + know the reasons upon which the orders already given rest; but if + those reasons do not forbid it, Lieut, Col. Custer's services would + be very valuable with his command." + +It may be well to state here the probable causes of the unfriendly +feeling which Gen. Grant at this period manifested toward one whom he +had "endorsed to a high degree" ten years previously. The Congressional +committee hitherto mentioned, had been appointed by the Opposition +members of the House, and some of its proceedings had, doubtless, +annoyed and vexed the President. Gen. Babcock had been on his staff +during the war, and enjoyed his friendship and support even after the +damaging disclosures respecting the sale of the post-tradership at a +western fort. Attempts had also been made about this time to injure +Grant's administration, by seeking to identify it with the frauds which +had been discovered, or which were suspected, and he naturally +considered those who volunteered information to the committee as +unfriendly to himself. + +It was currently reported that Custer telegraphed to the committee's +chairman, that an investigation into the post-traderships upon the Upper +Missouri would reveal a state of things quite as bad as at Fort Sill; +and that in consequence of this communication he was summoned before the +committee. + +But whatever the causes of Gen. Grant's unfriendliness, or the cruelty +charged upon him for showing his displeasure as he did, the result of +Gen. Custer's appeal was creditable to the President. Custer resumed his +position as Terry's trusted coadjutor in fitting out the expedition, and +finally marched from Fort Lincoln as commander of his regiment. It was +no disgrace to him that Terry accompanied the column, and the best +feeling always existed between the two officers. The junction with the +Montana troops was contemplated at the time, and their commander, Col. +Gibbon, would have ranked Lieut. Col. Custer when their forces united. +Some commanding general had usually accompanied previous expeditions +into the Indian country, and it seems probable that Gen. Terry would +have participated in the campaign under any circumstances. Besides, it +does not appear from Custer's despatch to Sheridan, that he had been +promised more than the command of his regiment. + +The history of the campaign, and the story of the disastrous battle in +which Gen. Custer lost his life have been given in preceding chapters. +His action in attacking the Indians before the arrival of Gibbon's +troops has been the subject of controversy, and by some few even his +motives have been impugned. The following paragraphs relative thereto +are from the editorial columns of the _Army and Navy Journal_:-- + + "It was not in Terry's instructions, and it clearly was not in his + mind, that Custer, if he came "in contact with the enemy," should + defer fighting him until the infantry came up. * * * There could be + no justification whatever for any plan of operations which made an + attack dependent upon a junction between Custer and Gibbon, after + three or four days' march from different points. + + "It has been asserted that, smarting under the wounds which + preceding events had inflicted upon his pride, Custer dashed + recklessly into this affair for the purpose of eclipsing his + superior officers in the same field, regardless of cost or + consequences. This, it seems to us, is going much too far. Custer + was doubtless glad of the opportunity to fight the battle alone, + and was stimulated by the anticipation of a victory which, + illuminating his already brilliant career, would make him outshine + those put on duty over him in this campaign. But his management of + the affair was probably just about what it would have been under + the same circumstances, if he had had no grievance. His great + mistake was in acting in mingled ignorance of, and contempt for his + enemy. He regarded attack and victory in this instance as + synonymous terms, the only point being to prevent the escape of the + foe. Under this fatal delusion he opened the engagement, with his + command divided into four parts, with no certainty of co-operation + or support between any two of them. Neither ambition, nor wounded + vanity, prompted these vicious and fatal dispositions, nor were + they due to lack of knowledge of the principles of his profession." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAJOR-GENERAL CUSTER. + +(CONCLUDED.) + + +As the foregoing biography of Gen. Custer has been confined chiefly to +his military career, it may be well in conclusion to give some account +of his personal characteristics; and this can be best done in the +language of those who knew him well. A gentleman who accompanied Gen. +Custer on the Yellowstone and Black Hills expeditions, contributed to +the _New York Tribune_ the following:-- + + "Gen. Custer was a born cavalryman. He was never more in his + element than when mounted on Dandy, his favorite horse, and riding + at the head of his regiment. He once said to me, 'I would rather be + a private in the cavalry than a line officer in the infantry.' He + was the personification of bravery and dash. If he had only added + discretion to his valor he would have been a perfect soldier. His + impetuosity very often ran away with his judgment. He was impatient + of control. He liked to act independently of others, and take all + the risk and all the glory to himself. He frequently got himself + into trouble by assuming more authority than really belonged to his + rank. It was on the Yellowstone expedition where he came into + collision with Gen. Stanley, his superior officer, and was placed + under arrest and compelled to ride at the rear of his column for + two or three days, until Gen. Rosser, who fought against Custer in + the Shenandoah Valley during the war but was then acting as + engineer of the Northern Pacific Railroad, succeeded in effecting a + reconciliation. Custer and Stanley afterward got on very well, and + perhaps the quarrel would never have occurred if the two generals + had been left alone to themselves without the intervention of camp + gossips, who sought to foster the traditional jealousy between + infantry and cavalry. For Stanley was the soul of generosity, and + Custer did not really mean to be arrogant; but from the time when + he entered West Point to the day when he fell on the Big Horn, he + was accustomed to take just as much liberty as he was entitled to. + + "For this reason, Custer worked most easily and effectively when + under general orders, when not hampered by special instructions, or + his success made dependent on anybody else. Gen. Terry understood + his man when, in the order directing him to march up the Rosebud, + he very liberally said: 'The Department Commander places too much + confidence in your zeal, energy, and ability to wish to impose upon + you precise orders which might hamper your action when nearly in + contact with the enemy.' But Gen. Terry did not understand Custer + if he thought he would wait for Gibbon's support before attacking + an Indian camp. Undoubtedly he ought to have done this; but with + his native impetuosity, his reckless daring, his confidence in his + own regiment, which had never failed him, and his love of public + approval, Custer could no more help charging this Indian camp, than + he could help charging just so many buffaloes. He had never learned + to spell the word 'defeat;' he knew nothing but success, and if he + had met the Indians on the open plains, success would undoubtedly + have been his; for no body of Indians could stand the charge of the + 7th Cavalry when it swept over the Plains like a whirlwind. But in + the Mauvaises Terres and the narrow valley of the Big Horn he did + it at a fearful risk. + + "With all his bravery and self-reliance, his love of independent + action, Custer was more dependent than most men on the kind + approval of his fellows. He was even vain; he loved display in + dress and in action. He would pay $40 for a pair of troop boots to + wear on parade, and have everything else in keeping. On the + Yellowstone expedition he wore a bright red shirt, which made him + the best mark for a rifle of any man in the regiment. I + remonstrated with him for this reckless exposure, but found an + appeal to his wife more effectual, and on the next campaign he wore + a buckskin suit. He formerly wore his hair very long, letting it + fall in a heavy mass upon his shoulders, but cut it off before + going out on the Black Hills, producing quite a change in his + appearance. But if vain and ambitious, Custer had none of those + great vices which are so common and so distressing in the army. He + never touched liquor in any form; he did not smoke, or chew, or + gamble. He was a man of great energy and remarkable endurance. He + could outride almost any man in his regiment, I believe, if it were + put to a test. When he set out to reach a certain point at a + certain time, you could be sure that he would be there if he killed + every horse in the command. He was sometimes too severe in forcing + marches, but he never seemed to get tired himself, and he never + expected his men to be so. In cutting our way through the forests + of the Black Hills, I have often seen him take an ax and work as + hard as any of the pioneers. He was never idle when he had a + pretext for doing anything. Whatever he did he did thoroughly. He + would overshoot the mark, but never fall short. He fretted in + garrison sometimes, because it was too inactive; but he found an + outlet here for his energies in writing articles for the press. + + "He had a remarkable memory. He could recall in its proper order + every detail of any action, no matter how remote, of which he was a + participant. He was rather verbose in writing, and had no gifts as + a speaker; but his writings interested the masses from their close + attention to details, and from his facility with the pen as with + the sword in bringing a thing to a climax. As he was apt to overdo + in action, so he was apt to exaggerate in statement, not from any + wilful disregard of the truth, but because he saw things bigger + than they really were. He did not distort the truth; he magnified + it. He was a natural optimist. He took rose-colored views of + everything, even of the miserable lands of the Northern Pacific + Railroad. He had a historical memory, but not a historical mind. He + was no philosopher; he could reel off facts from his mind better + than he could analyze or mass them. He was not a student, nor a + deep thinker. He loved to take part in events rather than to brood + over them. He was fond of fun, genial and pleasant in his manner; a + loving and devoted husband. It was my privilege to spend two weeks + in his family at one time, and I know how happy he was in his + social relations." + +The following rambling remarks are accredited to a general, whose name +is not given:-- + + "The truth about Custer is, that he was a pet soldier, who had + risen not above his merit, but higher than men of equal merit. He + fought with Phil Sheridan, and through the patronage of Sheridan he + rose; but while Sheridan liked his valor and dash he never trusted + his judgment. He was to Sheridan what Murat was to Napoleon. While + Sheridan is always cool, Custer was always aflame. Rising to high + command early in life, he lost the repose necessary to success in + high command. * * * Then Custer must rush into politics, and went + swinging around the circle with Johnson. He wanted to be a + statesman, and but for Sheridan's influence with Grant, the + republicans would have thrown him; but you see we all liked Custer, + and did not mind his little freaks in that way any more than we + would have minded temper in a woman. Sheridan, to keep Custer in + his place, kept him out on the Plains at work. He gave him a fine + command--one of the best cavalry regiments in the service. The + colonel, Sturgis, was allowed to bask in the sunshine in a large + city, while Custer was the real commander. In this service Custer + did well, and vindicated the partiality of Sheridan as well as the + kind feelings of his friends. * * * The old spirit which sent + Custer swinging around the circle revived in him. He came East and + took a prominent part in reforming the army. This made feeling, and + drew upon Custer the anger of the inside forces of the + administration. + + "Then he must write his war memoirs. Well, in these memoirs he + began to write recklessly about the army. He took to praising + McClellan as the greatest man of the war, and, coming as it did + when the democrats began to look lively, it annoyed the + administration. Grant grew so much annoyed that even Sheridan could + do no good, and Custer was disgraced. Technically it was not a + disgrace. All that Grant did was to put Terry, a general, over + Custer, a lieutenant-colonel, who had his regiment all the same; + but all things considered, it was a disgrace." + +The following is from an article by Gen. A.B. Nettleton, published in +the _Philadelphia Times_:-- + + "It must be remembered that in fighting with cavalry, which was + Custer's forte, instantaneous quickness of eye--that is, the + lightning-like formation and execution of successive correct + judgments on a rapidly-shifting situation--is the first thing, and + the second is the power of inspiring the troopers with that + impetuous yet intelligent ardor with which a mounted brigade + becomes a thunderbolt, and without which it remains a useless mass + of horses and riders. These qualities Gen. Custer seemed to me to + manifest, throughout the hard fighting of the last year of the war, + to a degree that was simply astounding, and in a manner that marked + him as one of the few really great cavalry commanders developed by + the wars of the present century. Of fear, in the sense of dread of + death or of bodily harm, he was absolutely destitute, yet his love + of life and family and home was keen and constant, leaving no room + in his nature for desperation, recklessness, or conscious rashness. + In handling his division under Sheridan's general oversight, he + seemed to act always on the belief that in campaigning with + cavalry, when a certain work must be done, audacity is the truest + caution. In action, when all was going well and success was only a + question of time or of steady 'pounding,' Gen. Custer did not + unnecessarily expose himself, but until the tide of battle had been + turned in the right direction, and especially when disaster + threatened, the foremost point in our division's line was almost + invariably marked by the presence of Custer, his waving division + tri-color and his plucky staff. + + "A major-general of wide and splendid fame at twenty-five, and now + slain at thirty-six, the gallant Custer had already lived long if + life be measured by illustrious deeds." + +The following is from a sketch of Gen. Custer published in the _Army and +Navy Journal_:-- + + "Custer was passionately addicted to active and exciting sports as + the turf and hunting. He was a splendid horseman and a lover of the + horse; he attended many American race-meetings and ran his own + horses several times in the West. His greyhounds and staghounds + went with him at the head of his regiment, to be let slip at + antelope or buffalo. With rifle or shotgun he was equally expert, + and had killed his grizzly bear in the most approved fashion. * * * + Bold to rashness; feverish in camp, but cool in action; with the + personal vanity of a carpet knight, and the endurance and + insensibility to fatigue of the hardiest and boldest rough rider; a + prince of scouts; a chief of guides, threading a trackless prairie + with unerring eye of a native and the precision of the needle to + the star; by no means a martinet, his men were led by the golden + chain of love, admiration and confidence. He had the proverbial + assurance of a hussar, but his personal appearance varied with + occasion. During the war he was 'Custer of the golden locks, his + broad sombrero turned up from his hard-bronzed face, the ends of + his crimson cravat floating over his shoulder, gold galore + spangling his jacket sleeves, a pistol in his boot, jangling spurs + on his heels, and a ponderous claymore swinging at his side.' And + long after, when he roamed a great Indian fighter on the Plains, + the portrait was only slightly changed. The cavalry jacket was + exchanged for the full suit of buckskin, beautifully embroidered by + Indian maidens; across his saddle rested a modern sporting rifle, + and at his horse's feet demurely walked hounds of unmixed breed. + Again, within a few months, he appears in private society as an + honored guest; scrupulously avoiding anything like display, but in + a quiet conventional suit of blue, with the 'golden locks' closely + shorn, and the bronzed face pale from recent indisposition, he + moves almost unnoticed in the throng." + +The faithful correspondent who perished with Gen. Custer on the Little +Big Horn portrayed him thus:-- + + "A man of strong impulses, of great hearted friendships and bitter + enmities; of quick, nervous temperament, undaunted courage, will, + and determination; a man possessing electric mental capacity, and + of iron frame and constitution; a brave, faithful, gallant soldier, + who has warm friends and bitter enemies; the hardest rider, the + greatest pusher; with the most untiring vigilance overcoming + seeming impossibilities, and with an ambition to succeed in all + things he undertakes; a man to do right, as he construes right, in + every case; one respected and beloved by his followers, who would + freely follow him into the 'jaws of hell.'" + +Gen. Custer's last battle "will stand in history as one of the most +heroic engagements ever fought, and his name will be respected so long +as chivalry is applauded and civilization battles against barbarism." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE SIOUX TREATY OF 1876--INDIAN ORATORS. + + +In 1875, the Black Hills country had acquired a white population and an +importance which rendered its possession and control by the Government +desirable and necessary; and an attempt was made to treat with the +Indians for its purchase, but without success. + +In 1876, Congress expressed its determination to appropriate nothing +more for the subsistence of the Sioux Indians unless they made certain +concessions, including the surrender of the Black Hills, and entered +into some agreement calculated to enable them to become self-supporting. +Geo. W. Manypenny, H. C. Bullis, Newton Edmunds, Rt. Rev. H.B. Whipple, +A.G. Boone, A.S. Gaylord, J.W. Daniels, and Gen. H.H. Sibley, were +appointed commissioners to negotiate for the concessions demanded. The +following is an extract from their instructions under which they +acted:-- + + "The President is strongly impressed with the belief that the + agreement which shall be best calculated to enable the Indians to + become self-supporting is one which shall provide for their + removal, at as early a day as possible, to the Indian Territory. + For the past three years they have been kept from starvation by + large appropriations for their subsistence. These appropriations + have been a matter not of obligation but of charity, and the + Indians should be made to understand distinctly that they can hope + for continued appropriations only by full submission to the + authority and wishes of the Government, and upon full evidence of + their disposition to undertake, in earnest, measures for their own + advancement and support." + +The first council was held Sept. 7th, at Red Cloud agency, with chiefs +and headmen representing 4,901 Indians then at the agency. Red Cloud and +other chiefs met the commissioners with warm welcomes, and said with +deep earnestness:--"We are glad to see you; you have come to save us +from death." The conditions required by Congress were then submitted to +the Indians, with the assurance that the commissioners had no authority +to change them in any particular; but that they were authorized to +devise a plan to save their people from death and lead them to +civilization. The plan decided on was then carefully explained and +interpreted, and a copy of the agreement given to the Indians to take to +their own council. Other councils were held Sept. 19th and 20th, and +after mutual explanations the agreement was signed. + +Subsequently, the commissioners visited Spotted Tail agency, Standing +Rock agency, Cheyenne River agency, Crow Creek agency, Lower Brule +agency, and Santee agency. At all of these agencies the agreement was +made plain to the Indians, and after due deliberation and considerable +discussion, duly signed. The following are extracts from the report of +the commissioners:-- + + "While the Indians received us as friends, and listened with kind + attention to our propositions, we were painfully impressed with + their lack of confidence in the pledges of the Government. At times + they told their story of wrongs with such impassioned earnestness + that our cheeks crimsoned with shame. In their speeches, the + recital of the wrongs which their people had suffered at the hands + of the whites, the arraignment of the Government for gross acts of + injustice and fraud, the description of treaties made only to be + broken, the doubts and distrusts of present professions of + friendship and good-will, were portrayed in colors so vivid and + language so terse, that admiration and surprise would have kept us + silent had not shame and humiliation done so. Said a chief to a + member of our commission:--'I am glad to see you, you are our + friends, but I hear that you have come to move us. Tell your people + that since the Great Father promised that we should never be + removed we have been moved five times.' He added, with bitter + irony, 'I think you had better put the Indians on wheels so you can + run them about wherever you wish.' + + "The present condition of the Sioux Indians is such as to awaken + the deepest sympathy. They were our friends. If many of this + powerful tribe have been changed to relentless foes, we must not + forget that it is the simple outcome of our own Indian + training-school. Generals Sherman, Harney, Terry, and others, use + these words:-- + + 'The moment the war of the rebellion was over, thousands of our + people turned their attention toward the treasures of Montana. The + Indian was forgotten. It did not occur to any man that this poor, + despised red man was the original discoverer, and sole occupant for + many centuries, of every mountain seamed with quartz and every + stream whose yellow sand glittered in the noonday sun. He asked to + retain only a secluded spot where the buffalo and elk could live, + and that spot he would make his home. The truth is, no place was + left for him. If the lands of the white men are taken, civilization + justifies him in resisting the invader. Civilization does more than + this--it brands him as a coward and a slave if he submits to the + wrong. If the savage resists, civilization, with the Ten + Commandments in one hand and the sword in the other, demands his + immediate extermination. That he goes to war is not astonishing. He + is often compelled to do so. Wrongs are borne by him in silence + that never fail to drive civilized men to deeds of violence. * * * + But it is said that our wars with them have been almost constant. + Have we been uniformly unjust? We answer unhesitatingly, 'yes.'" + + "General Stanley in 1870 writes from Dakota, that he is 'ashamed to + appear any longer in the presence of the chiefs of the different + tribes of the Sioux, who inquire why we do not do as we promised, + and in their vigorous language aver that we have lied.' Sitting + Bull, who had refused to come under treaty relations with the + Government, based his refusal in these words, sent to the + commission of which Assistant Secretary Cowen was chairman: + 'Whenever you have found a white man who will tell the truth, you + may return, and I shall be glad to see you.'" + + "It has been claimed that all Indians found outside of their + reservation shall be regarded as hostile. Gen. Sheridan, June 29th, + 1869, says in an official order, that all Indians outside the + well-defined limits of the reservation are under the original and + exclusive jurisdiction of the military authority, _and as a rule + will be considered hostile_. This order is the more surprising to + us when we remember that the treaty made by General Sherman and + others expressly provided that these Indians might hunt upon the + unceded territory; and we find that so late as its last session + Congress appropriated $200,000 to be used in part for the payment + of the seventh of thirty installments '_for Indians roaming_.' We + repeat that, under this treaty, it is expressly provided that the + Indians may hunt in the unceded territory north and west of the + Sioux reservation, and until last year they had the right to hunt + in Western Nebraska. We believe that our failure to recognize this + right has led to many conflicts between the citizens and army of + the United States and the Indians." + + "In 1874, the late lamented Gen. Custer made an expedition to the + Black Hills. It was done against the protest of the Indians and + their friends, and in plain, direct violation of the treaty. Gold + was discovered, white men flocked to the El Dorado. Notwithstanding + the gross violation of the treaty, no open war ensued. If our own + people had a sad story of wrongs suffered from the Indians, we must + not forget that the Indians, who own no telegraph-lines, who have + no press and no reporters, claimed that they, too, had been the + victims of lawless violence, and had a country of untold value + wrested from them by force. + + "The charge is made that the agency Indians are hostile, and that + they have furnished ammunition and supplies to the Indians with + Sitting Bull. There is water-navigation for 3,000 miles through + this territory, and an unguarded border of several hundred miles + along the Canadian frontier. So long as the Indians will sell + buffalo-robes at a low price and pay two prices for guns, the greed + of white men will furnish them. It is gross injustice to the agents + and the Interior Department to accuse them of furnishing arms and + ammunition for Indians to fight our army and murder our citizens. + + "Of the results of this year's war we have no wish to speak. It is + a heart-rending record of the slaughter of many of the bravest of + our army. It has not only carried desolation and woe to hundreds of + our own hearthstones, but has added to the cup of anguish which we + have pressed to the lips of the Indian. We fear that when others + shall examine it in the light of history, they will repeat the + words of the officers who penned the report of 1868:--'The results + of the year's campaign satisfied all reasonable men that the war + was useless and expensive.' + + "We hardly know how to frame in words the feelings of shame and + sorrow which fill our hearts as we recall the long record of the + broken faith of our Government. It is made more sad, in that the + rejoicings of our centennial year are mingled with the wail of + sorrow of widows and orphans made by a needless Indian war, and + that our Government has expended more money in this war than all + the religious bodies of our country have spent in Indian missions + since our existence as a nation. + + "After long and careful examination we have no hesitation in + recommending that it is wise to continue the humane policy + inaugurated by President Grant. The great obstacle to its complete + success is that no change has been made in the laws for the care of + Indians. The Indian is left without the protection of law in + person, or property, or life. He has no personal rights. He has no + redress for wrongs inflicted by lawless violence. He may see his + crops destroyed, his wife or child killed. His only redress is + personal revenge. * * * In the Indian's wild state he has a rude + government of chiefs and headmen, which is advisory in its + character. When located upon reservations under the charge of a + United States agent, this government is destroyed, and we give him + nothing in its place. + + "We are aware that many of our people think that the only solution + of the Indian problem is in their extermination. We would remind + such persons that there is only One who can exterminate. There are + too many graves within our borders over which the grass has hardly + grown, for us to forget that God is just. The Indian is a savage, + but he is also a man. He is one of the few savage men who clearly + recognize the existence of a Great Spirit. He believes in the + immortality of the soul. He has a passionate love for his + children. He loves his country. He will gladly die for his tribe. + Unless we deny all revealed religion, we must admit that he has the + right to share in all the benefits of divine revelation. He is + capable of civilization. Amid all the obstacles, the wrongs, and + evils of our Indian policy, there are no missions which show richer + rewards. Thousands of this poor race, who were once as poor and + degraded as the wild Sioux, are to-day civilized men, living by the + cultivation of the soil, and sharing with us in those blessings + which give to men home, country, and freedom. There is no reason + why these men may not also be led out of darkness to light." + +The following is a synopsis of the arrangement agreed on by the +commissioners and Indians:-- + + The Sioux surrender all claim to so much of their reservation as + lies west of the 103d meridian of longitude, and to so much of it + as lies between the North and South Forks of the Cheyenne River + east of said meridian; also all claim to any country lying outside + of their reservation. Cannon Ball River and its south branch are to + be the northern boundary of the reservation. Three wagon or other + roads may be maintained across the reservation from the Missouri + River to the Black Hills. All subsistence and supplies which may be + hereafter provided, are to be delivered on or near the Missouri + River. A delegation of chiefs and leading men from each band shall + visit the Indian Territory, with a view to selecting therein a + permanent home for the Indians. If such delegation shall make a + selection satisfactory to the Indians they represent and to the + United States, then the Indians are to remove to the selected + country within one year, select allotments as soon as possible + afterwards, and use their best efforts to cultivate the same. They + are in all things to submit themselves to such beneficent plans as + the Government may provide for them in the selection of a permanent + home where they may live like white men. + + The United States agree to furnish subsistence to the Sioux until + such time as they shall become self-supporting--rations to be + issued to heads of families; and in case the Indians are located on + lands suitable for cultivation, and educational facilities are + afforded by the Government, the issue of rations is to be + conditioned on the performance of labor by the Indians and the + attendance of their children at school. Assistance in the way of + schools and instruction in the agricultural and mechanical arts, as + provided by the treaty of 1868, is guaranteed; and the building of + comfortable houses on allotments in severalty is provided for. The + Sioux are declared amenable to the laws of the United States; and + Congress shall secure to them an orderly government and protect + individual property, person, and life. The agreement not to be + binding on either party till approved by Congress and the + President. + +With the exception of the Santees, the Indians on the Missouri River +objected to visiting the Indian Territory, and were exempted from that +part of the agreement by a supplementary clause. A delegation of 90 +Indians from the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies visited the Indian +Territory in October as provided in the agreement. The following is from +the report of Commissioners Boone and Daniels who accompanied the +delegation:-- + + "While travelling through the Territory, Spotted Tail took special + pains to inform us that he was not pleased with anything that came + within his observation, and his part of the delegation, with but + few exceptions, were not disposed to express themselves in any + other way. Many of the Red Cloud party were well pleased. Their + chief said 'his Great Father asked him to go and find a place where + his children could live by cultivating the land. This was the + country, and he should go back and tell his people so.' The + manual-labor school of 120 scholars at the Cheyenne and Arapahoe + agency, was of more interest to them and gave them more pleasure + than anything else seen on the journey. They manifested much + interest in the progress of civilization among the Sac and Fox, and + when passing the Creek country, the delegation was received by + these tribes with generous hospitality and a hearty welcome. When + we were at Okmulgee, the capital of the Creek Nation, they were + invited to the council-house by the Creek chief, where he made a + very friendly speech to them. The following is a copy thereof:-- + + "To the Sioux, my brethren:--I am well pleased to see you here in + the Mus-koke Nation, brethren of the same race as ourselves. I was + told a long time ago of my red brethren, the Sioux, that were + living in the far Northwest. I had heard of the name of your tribe + and of many of your leading chiefs. I have heard of your great men, + great in war, and great in council. I have heard of your trouble on + account of the intrusion of the white men on your reservation in + search of gold. I have heard that the United States Government had + determined to remove you from your present home, and, perhaps it + might be, to this Indian Territory, to the west of us. When I heard + that you might possibly come to this Territory, which has been 'set + apart for the home of the Indians forever,' I was glad. I would + like to have all our red brethren settled in this Territory, as we + have provided in our treaty. We, the Creeks and Cherokees, have the + same kind of title and patent for our lands from the United States, + which guarantees this Territory to us for a home, under our own + form of government, by people of our own race, as long as 'grass + grows and water runs.' And I think, therefore, we shall live + forever on our lands. I should like--and I express the wish of our + people--that every Indian tribe should come here and settle on + these lands, that this Territory may become filled up with Indians, + to the exclusion of others who may be inimical to our race and + interests. We believe our right to our soil and our government, + which is best suited to our peculiar necessities, would be safer if + all our race were united together here. This is my earnest wish. + Then I think the rising generation could be educated and civilized, + and, what is still better, christianized, which, I believe, would + be the greatest benefit of all. This would be to our mutual benefit + and good. I know I express the minds of our people when I give you + this welcome to our life of a higher civilization, which is better + than the old life so long led by our race in the past." + +At the councils held at the different agencies, the chiefs and principal +men made numerous speeches, which conveyed a good idea of Indian views +and feelings, and were often able and eloquent. The balance of this +chapter will be filled up with extracts from some of these speeches. + + _Red Cloud Agency._ FAST BEAR:--My good friends, you have come here + to ask me for something, and I have come here to-day to answer. You + ask me to give up the mountains that are to the north of us, and I + answer yes to that question. I give them up. You are here also to + ask me to take a journey to look at a country, and I also answer + yes to that question. I consent for my young men to go down there + and see that country; but they must look at it in silence, and come + back in silence. When they have seen the country I will consider + it. If it is good I will consider it so; if bad I will consider + that it is bad. Do you understand, my friends, what I last said to + you? We do not agree to go there to live before we have seen the + country. + + YOUNG-MAN-AFRAID-OF-HIS-HORSE:--My father shook hands with the + Dakotas peacefully on the Platte River. I have been brought up here + from a boy until I got to be a chief. The soldiers have no business + in this country at all. I wish to tell you plainly that I have been + very much ashamed ever since the soldiers came here. This is my + country, and I have remained here with my women and children eating + such things as the Great Father has sent us. I am going to ask the + Great Father for a great many things, things that will make me + rich. I am going to ask for so much that I am afraid the Great + Father will not consent to give it to me. I want you to tell the + Great Father that I, and all the men like me, and the children, are + going to ask him for a great many things, and we expect to have + food, and blankets to wear as long as we live. + + BLACK COAL:--This place here is a place of peace, where we and our + people have lived together happily, and behaved ourselves, and we + do not understand why so many soldiers have come here among us. We + have never had any trouble and have behaved ourselves, and wish to + have the soldiers sent away as soon as possible, and leave us in + peace. The people that live here have both minds and hearts and + good sense, but it seems as if the Great Father all at once thought + differently, and speaks of us as people that are very bad. + + RED CLOUD:--The commissioners have both brains and hearts. The + Great Father has sent you here to visit me and my people, and I + want that you should help us. We see a great many soldiers here in + our country. We do not like to see them here. I want you to have + pity upon us, and have them all taken away. I understand all the + ways of the whites. I know that everything that has been said has + been written down, and I should like to have a fair copy of that + made and given to me. + + LITTLE WOUND:--I always considered that when the Great Father + borrowed the country for the overland road that he made an + arrangement with us that was to last fifty years as payment for + that privilege, and yesterday another arrangement was mentioned + concerning the Black Hills, and the words that I heard from the + Great Father and from the commissioners from the Great Council made + me cry. The country upon which I am standing is the country upon + which I was born, and upon which I heard that it was the wish of + the Great Father and of the Great Council that I should be like a + man without a country. I shed tears. I wish that the chief men + among you that have come here to see me would help me, and would + change those things that do not suit me. + + _Spotted Tail Agency._ SPOTTED TAIL:--My friends that have come + here to see me; you have brought to us words from the Great Father + at Washington, and I have considered them now for seven days, and + have made up my mind. This is the fifth time that you have come. At + the time of the first treaty that was made on Horse Creek--the one + we call the "great treaty"--there was provision made to borrow the + overland road of the Indians, and promises made at the time of the + treaty, though I was a boy at the time; they told me it was to last + fifty years. These promises have not been kept. All the words have + proved to be false. The next conference was the one held with Gen. + Manydear, when there were no promises made in particular, nor for + any amount to be given to us, but we had a conference with him and + made friends and shook hands. Then after that there was a treaty + made by Gen. Sherman. He told us we should have annuities and goods + from that treaty for thirty-five years. He said this, but yet he + didn't tell the truth. He told me the country was mine, and that I + should select any place I wished for my reservation and live in it. + My friends, I will show you well his words to-day. * * * I see that + my friends before me are men of age and dignity. I think that each + of you have selected somewhere a good piece of land for himself, + with the intention of living on it, that he may there raise up his + children. My people, that you see here before you, are not + different; they also live upon the earth and upon the things that + come to them from above. + + My friends, this seems to me to be a very hard day, and we have + come upon very difficult times. This war did not spring up here in + our land; this war was brought upon us by the children of the Great + Father who came to take our land from us without price, and who, in + our land, do a great many evil things. We have a store-house to + hold our provisions the Great Father sends us, but he sends very + little provisions to put in our store-house. When our people become + displeased with their provisions and have gone north to hunt in + order that they might live, the Great Father's children are + fighting them. It has been our wish to live in our country + peaceably, but the Great Father has filled it with soldiers who + think only of our death. It seems to me there is a better way than + this. When people come to trouble, it is better for both parties to + come together without arms and talk it over and find some peaceful + way to settle it. My friends, you have come to me to-day, and + mentioned two countries to me. One of them I know of old--the + Missouri River. It is not possible for me to go there. When I was + there before we had a great deal of trouble. I left also 100 of my + people buried there. The other country you have mentioned is one I + have never seen since I was born, but I agree to go and look at it. + When men have a difficult business to settle it is not possible it + should be well settled in one day; it takes at least twelve months + to consider it. + + SPOTTED TAIL:--(_Second Council._) This war has come from + robbery--from the stealing of our land. My friends, I wish to tell + the Great Father "Let us consider this matter." There are on both + sides a great many widows and a great many orphans. Let us consider + who is to take care of these. This matter has not been begun with + judgment; and I think it is displeasing to the Great Spirit. The + Great Father sent you out here to buy our land and we have agreed + together to that, but with one understanding:--That it shall be the + end, also, of this war. We have always been peaceful friends of the + Great Father, and shall remain at peace with him; but all at once a + whirlwind has passed over our land, and the ammunition has been + locked up so that we cannot get it to hunt game to live upon. Now + we shake hands and make peace and wish it to be unlocked so we can + buy ammunition. You know this trouble does not please the Great + Spirit, and I want you to help me to blot it out. + + BAPTISTE GOOD:--You have come here with considerations that will + make my people live, and my heart is glad. When Gen. Sherman came + to make a treaty with my people, I was also glad. That was like + the birth of a child. I wish you would tell the Great Father we + need implements to work with, and wagons for two horses. I have + worn out my fingers working without implements. I have planted + corn, and I am happy to say it has grown up and produced fruit. The + white minister has come here to teach me, but I don't think it is + done properly. I would like to have some female ministers come + dressed in black to receive the girls in one house and teach them, + and have white male ministers in black hat and coat to teach the + boys in another house separately. + + BLUE TEETH:--Just such men as you came to make the treaty with me. + They showed me a road to walk in, and I showed my people and + advised them according to their words, and they were glad. But the + things they promised me didn't turn out as they promised them. I am + the man that heard the promises made. Spotted Tail told you about + that yesterday, according to my direction, but I was hiding myself. + I want the man pointed out that is going to talk to the Great + Father. [Judge Gaylord is pointed out.] You see that pipe: take it, + [handing to Judge Gaylord a pipe and tobacco-pouch.] The Great + Spirit gave me that pipe. He told me to point it to my mother, the + earth, when I prayed. I wish you to take it to the Great Father at + Washington, and tell him a man that made a speech here presented it + to him, and ask him to be merciful to him and help him to live. + Tell him this is my country, and for him to have pity upon me and + not move me away from it. I want to live here always. + + _Standing Rock Agency._ JOHN GRASS:--Look well at me with both eyes + and listen to me with both ears. I have considered the words you + have brought me, and I am ready to answer you. The chiefs you see + here have all come to the same conclusion. You have brought words + to the chiefs here that will bring life to their children; that + will make their children live; they answer _how_ [signifying their + approval] to that. And now since they have ceded their country to + you, they want to tell you of certain things that they shall want + in the future. + + RUNNING ANTELOPE:--When people shake hands and talk, they talk in + earnest. I want you to look on this man Kill Eagle, with his people + who are prisoners here. He is one of us and is our kindred. Kindred + living with each other love each other, and when they get into + trouble they help each other out, and we look on these Indians the + same as white. He went out to the hostile camp, held his gun, + witnessed a fight, and came back. I want before the sun sets to see + these men released. I am an old man, and I ask these things as a + favor. + + In regard to this store. I have been to see the Great Father, and + the white people are wealthy. Even they have stores one right + against the other, touching each other. When a man goes in a store + and finds something he wants and cannot obtain it as cheaply as he + desires, he goes into another, and so on until he gets what he + wants and at the proper price. We want to do so here. + + TWO BEARS:--Hail Great Spirit, and hail my friends who I see here, + and hail Great Father! My heart is this day made glad by seeing you + here. You prayed to the Great Spirit and that made our hearts glad. + I was the chief owner of this country, but the Great Father turned + it over to his young men. This was a hard thing for him to do to + me; now that he proposes to pay me for it I am very glad. I am of + the fifth generation of the Sioux Indians, and the sixth generation + is growing up around me. I want the Government to provide for the + same number of generations in the future. I am making this trade + with the Great Father, and I am not a white man and am not able to + live like a white man. They eat but little, but I am not able to + get along with a little yet. The Great Spirit fed me, and fed me in + large quantities. I eat all day, and eating great quantities has + become a habit with me. I am afraid of frightful things; I am + afraid of bad things; I am afraid of a battle. I like good things, + and straightforward dealings. For two winters I was starving and + have eaten a great number of my horses and dogs. In consequence of + this starvation many of our people fled from the agency in search + of food, and while they were out one of them got into trouble. + [referring to Kill Eagle.] + + MAD BEAR:--I am an Indian, a poor, miserable Indian, but if I + should do as has been done by us, the Great Spirit would dislike, + and hate me, and for that reason I cannot do these things. Men, + civilians, that we have had for agents would steal our food, steal + things that were sent to us. It is the fault of the white men that + this is done. They select men that belong to the ring. When one + agent is removed they select his friend to succeed him, and so the + stealing goes on. The matter of their traders alone is enough to + drive the Indians hostile. It would drive a white man hostile to be + treated as we are treated, and to be charged prices as our traders + charge us for goods. If an Indian succeeds in getting a dollar he + takes it to the store to trade, and what he receives in return for + it amounts to probably half a dime. We want the monopoly of trading + stores stopped. The work, the labor, everything is monopolized by + white men, who have everything their own way. It is hard to be an + Indian chief. Our young men do not listen to us--they will not mind + us. + + FOOL DOG:--The Great Spirit created these men and they expect to + raise children after them. Generations are not to stop here, they + are still to go on living, and we look to you for help and + assistance. I am an Indian, and am looked on by the whites as a + foolish man; but it must be because I follow the advice of the + white man. + + LONG SOLDIER:--The Great Spirit called me forth to be a chief, and + this day I say _how_ to you. The Great Father has asked me for a + portion of my country and has made me an offer in return for it. I + am very glad to get what has been offered to me, and I therefore + say _how_ to your proposition. I am a very suspicious man and + always suspect people of some evil designs when they talk to me, + and therefore remain at home. My father, who has instructed me to + be a friend of the whites, is still living, and I want him to share + in the benefits that arise from the sale of the Black Hills. + + TWO BEARS:--My friends, to-day we have talked together with smiles + on our faces, and we are going to sign this paper with the + understanding that everything in it is true, and that we are not + deceiving each other. My children are very poor and very ignorant, + and they don't know anything about weights and measures, and if you + are going to issue my rations by weight I want you to give good + measure. In signing this agreement I don't sign it myself; I have a + young man who is my hope for the future. Although I touch the pen + myself, I touch it for my son, who is to be my successor. + + DRAG WOOD:--I am an old man and my bones are getting sore, and I + want my son to sign this agreement with me. + + WOLF NECKLACE:--I never want to leave this country; all my + relatives are lying here in the ground, and when I fall to pieces I + am going to fall to pieces here. + + _Cheyenne River Agency._ LONG MANDAN:--I am glad of one thing; the + Great Father knows that this is my country, and before he takes it + from me he is going to ask my permission. Our people are poor, they + have nothing in their lodges, and if you will visit them you would + feel disposed to bring many things to them to-day. My friends, when + I went to Washington I went into your money-house, and I had some + young men with me, but none of them took any money out of that + house while I was with them. At the same time, when your Great + Father's people come into my country, they go into my money-house + and take money out. More than that, they commit depredations on us; + and stole fifty head of horses and took them away from me. If the + Great Father was not a great man and was not a man that had great + power and a good man, I should have been mad; but he is a great man + and a good man, and that is the reason that I have not been + offended at him. I would much rather have gone to Washington with + my people and have signed this treaty there. I do not want to spend + a great deal of money for the Great Father, but at the same time I + know that the Great Father is wealthy. I want to tap the telegraph + that is over the river, and talk to the Great Father in that way, + and to have him answer me in the same way. I want him to give me + plenty of mowing-machines, and I would like very much to have a + good blacksmith. I will show you something to-day that I have done + in this country in the way of farming; a large pumpkin that I have + sent to be brought here to show you. My friends, you may think that + I never raised it when you see it, but I want to show it to you, + and have sent for it. + + RED FEATHER:--The Great Father asked me in regard to the missions + and churches and schools, and told me I must take hold of that and + assist him. There were two ministers here, and I regarded them as + two canes to walk upon and help me up with. There is one thing that + the people of the Great Father have that I do not want, and that is + whisky. I do not want any whisky on my reservation. Whenever a man + drinks whisky he loses his senses, and that is the reason why I + object to it. + + DUCK:--The soldiers that are fighting have killed a great many + people on both sides, and have made many widows and orphans on both + sides. I am sorry to know that anybody was killed on either side. + All the badness and all the trouble that has occurred here + formerly, I gather it up in my hand and throw it away; tell the + Great Father that. Look at this people; they are poor people; they + have a hard time to get what little furs and hides they have; but + when we take them to the stores we do not get enough for them. If + you are not afraid of me, and do not think I am fooling with you, + I would like to have you attend to this hide business, and see that + we get $6 apiece for them. + + WHITE BULL:--I see, my friends, the soldiers standing here about + me. They are people whose business it is to die, but we think + better things for them. We have given them the Black Hills; we wish + they would go there and dig gold without being afraid of anybody. + + _Crow Creek Agency._ WHITE GHOST:--Around and about the hills on + the prairies there are a great many dead people lying, but the + Great Father has decided to give us a good price for the hills; + therefore it is--because the Great Father is strong--that we are + willing to give them up. We live right near a trading-post, and we + become poor because we have not money to buy those things we want. + I do not wish you to think that I am finding fault or out of + temper. I merely say the things I am instructed to say. My people + wish to have it understood that they do not wish to have any + soldiers sent here or any soldier for an agent. I must tell + everything that I am instructed to say; they are all here listening + to see whether I say everything, and I must say all that I have + been told. We would like to have Mr. Premeau appointed for + interpreter. He is a white man, a man that understands the + language, and does not drink whisky. My people think that the flour + that is sent here for them is sent for them to eat, and they are + not pleased that it is fed to the pigs about the agency; and they + wish me to mention that we take a hide to the store, quite a large + one, and receive an order for three dollars' worth of goods. For + this large beef-hide we get one piece of leather the width of three + fingers, for a belt; it is not worth more than fifty cents. That + does not please us. + + Last summer when I went to the council for the Black Hills, I had a + pipe with me. I told them, in reference to the Black Hills, that we + were bound by giving and receiving the pipe, the same as white + people when they make an oath in court and swear upon the Bible, + and if the party took the pipe that was offered to him in council + and held it in his hand everything went well, and if he did not + speak the truth always some evil would spring up in connection with + it. Last summer the pipe was given in council, and what do you + think of the matter now? Have the promises been kept, or has the + violation of them caused war and bloodshed? I have for a long time + known the ways of your people in dealing with us and taking away + our country, and I know that they have been such as to make us + miserable. You have driven away our game and our means of + livelihood out of the country, until now we have nothing left that + is valuable except the hills that you ask us to give up. When we + give these up to the Great Father we know that we give up the last + thing that is valuable either to us or the white people; and + therefore my people wish me to say that, as long as two Indians are + living, we expect them to have the benefit of the price paid for + these lands. + + My friend, [to the chairman,] I am going to give you a pipe. + Perhaps we are deceiving each other in this matter, perhaps we are + not going to be truthful, and shall commit a great sin, but I for + my part am trying to speak the truth. + + RUNNING BEAR:--I look upon you as you sit before me, and I see that + there are no boys among you; that you are all men of age, and I am + glad to see it. I am very old, very near the time when I shall lie + down in the earth. Therefore if you have really come to help us we + are very happy. I will speak now about myself. I am an orphan. + Before my father died he told me that my country was very valuable. + You say you are going to give me rations by weight; I do not know + anything about that; I think it will take me at least twelve years + to understand it. It is only yesterday that the people of my + generation were laid in the ground, and I am the only one left. My + father, who is now dead, went to the Great Father's house and + talked with him there. The people have now given you the Black + Hills, and we for our part would like to go to our Great Father's + house and hear how much money he proposes to give us in return. + Again, the whisky that the white people have and carry about with + them is very bad. We hear that our people who are living up to the + north of us drink a great deal of whisky. We do not like it at all. + My friends, I am going to ask you for something that I want. I do + not think it possible that you have come out here to ask me for + something without paying me for it. I do not consider myself very + rich. You white people come out here with a great many pockets in + your clothes. Probably the person who sent you told you what to do + with the things in your pockets. I would like to have you take up a + collection. Each of you put your hands in your pockets and take out + ten cents and give it to me to buy something at the store. You are + not particularly modest in asking for the things you want, and I + see no reason why I should not ask for the things that I want. Do + you think I do right in asking you? + + You are a chief, [to the chairman.] I, also, am a chief. I have + lived here now 13 years. I do not remember even a bad word that I + have said; perhaps the Great Father does. In every country there + are men who are skillful in talking in council. I am such a man + myself. I also have been instructed. This medal that you see, was + put about my neck by a Catholic priest, and yet, notwithstanding I + am so honored, you talk to me about issuing rations by weight. I am + astonished at you. You are advanced in years; I am also advanced in + years. + + WHITE BEAR:--I wonder if you know that I planted a field out here. + I raised pumpkins as large as this chair and corn taller than I am, + and after I had done that my father took my field away to plant + oats in. I wonder if you know that. Tell the Great Father that + there is only one store here, and all the young men are shedding + tears about it. If they had mowing-machines, such as they could + ride upon, to ride around their country and cut hay, they would be + able to earn something; but the agent considers that the country + belongs to him personally, and cuts all the hay. My friends, I + would like to have our agent, before the sun goes down, climb up + into the second story of the warehouse and take down all the teepee + cloths and blankets that he has there, and divide them among the + people. + + DOG BACK:--I am not anybody in particular. Although I am not very + strong and a man of no special importance, I took a claim, and + planted, and considered that I was watching my own hay and grass. I + am the man that has been trying to live in the way that I have been + told, but this summer a great many white men have come there and + cut my wood, and killed the fowls and animals I have raised, and + disturbed me in many ways. I do not wish to make any disturbance + about it, but I have been trying to do as the Great Father advised + us, and it seems to me that these people who come and do such + things to me are lawless people. I have nobody to help me, but you + come here to-day from the Great Father, and I have told you these + things in the hope that you will help me. + + _Santee Agency._ HAKEWASTE:--I am an Indian and was born naked. I + now wear the same kind of clothes as the white man. Old Wabashaw + told me that the President wanted us to work, and for that reason + I have dressed in this way, but what you have been explaining to me + I know nothing about. I have only been six years a chief in this + land. You can see how we are situated here; that we have done part + of what the President told us to do; you see little patches of + corn, &c. As old man Wabashaw is buried here we would all like to + live here. We will all do what you ask of us in the treaty. We own + nothing, and have nothing to depend upon. When the President makes + up his mind to do a thing he generally does it, but we do not want + to go to that territory to the south. + + WAMAMSA:--The Lord above rules everything, and he has given us a + nice mild day for our council. We have prayed for land and + churches, and as we now have three churches I think the Lord has + taken good care of us and has answered our prayers. Look at these + young men. You have not seen any Indians during your travels + dressed in that way. We are not getting along very well--not as + well as we should. Twice now we have had Quakers for agents, and we + are going down hill all the time; getting into the ground. + + HUSASA:--I have been blind for four years, but I can hear what is + said. When any one comes from Washington to see us we ought to be + thankful to him. When we lived at Redwood we made the treaty, and + it was mentioned that we were to draw annuities and money for fifty + years, and for that reason we put ourselves in the wrong place and + suffer for it to-day. There are only three chiefs left now, and all + we have to do is to throw ourselves into the arms of the Great + Father. We are all pretty badly off. When people used to come here + from Washington, Wabashaw was here to speak, but now he is lying in + the ground and we are all the time looking that way at him. A great + many of us have no wagons or oxen or anything to work with. I have + nothing but an old wagon that is not fit for use, and am as poor as + if I had not sold any land to the President. The Indians' minds are + not very long and we forget a thing in a very short time. You have + told us what to do. We have got it all in our ears and ought to be + proud of it. + + The President said that he would take good care of us, and now here + I am blind and have not got a wagon fit to use. Although I am + blind, if I had a wagon the women or some of the boys could bring + me water when I am thirsty. + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Obvious typographical errors and printer errors have been corrected +without comment. + +On page 158, the word "Py" was changed to "By" in the phrase: "Py ----, +who did shoot...." + +With the exception of obvious errors, inconsistencies in the author's +spelling, punctuation, use of hyphens, and use of quotation marks have +been retained as in the original publication. Inconsistencies include, +but are not limited to the following: + + gayety/ gaiety + Ogallala/ Ogallalla + Camanche/ Commanches + +In the original publication, italics are used inconsistently in the +illustration captions. They are reproduced here as they appear in the +original. + +Unconventional spelling has been retained in words such as (but not +limited to) the following: + + befel + enlightment + Milwaukie + carniverous + conveniencies + conformably + kidnaped/ kidnaping + reconnoisance + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ELEVEN YEARS IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS +AND LIFE ON THE FRONTIER*** + + +******* This file should be named 39465-8.txt or 39465-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/4/6/39465 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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