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diff --git a/42274-0.txt b/42274-0.txt index 8774345..74308aa 100644 --- a/42274-0.txt +++ b/42274-0.txt @@ -1,25 +1,4 @@ -Project Gutenberg's With the Indians in the Rockies, by James Willard Schultz - -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: With the Indians in the Rockies - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Illustrator: George Varian - -Release Date: March 8, 2013 [EBook #42274] - -Language: English - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE INDIANS IN THE ROCKIES *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42274 *** Produced by Nicole Henn-Kneif, Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net @@ -4129,362 +4108,4 @@ more. 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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: With the Indians in the Rockies - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Illustrator: George Varian - -Release Date: March 8, 2013 [EBook #42274] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE INDIANS IN THE ROCKIES *** - - - - -Produced by Nicole Henn-Kneif, Greg Bergquist and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - -Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained -except in obvious cases of typographical error: - - Line 1399: misererable --> miserable - Line 3571: teriffic --> terrific - Line 3736: only only --> only - -Italic printed text has been formatted as _text_. - -Fraktur printed text has been formatted as =text=. - - - - - With the Indians in the Rockies - - - [Illustration: THE SHALE BEGAN SLIDING UNDER MY FEET (PAGE 51)] - - - - - With the Indians in - The Rockies - - BY - - JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY - - GEORGE VARIAN - - - =London= - CONSTABLE & CO. LIMITED - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - 1912 - - - COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - - - - THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED - TO MY WIFE - - CELIA HAWKINS SCHULTZ - - WHOSE GOOD COMRADESHIP AND SYMPATHY - HAVE BEEN MY GREATEST HELP - IN WRITING THE TALE - - - - - - Preface - - -When in the seventies I turned my back on civilization and joined the -trappers and traders of the Northwest, Thomas Fox became my friend. We -were together in the Indian camps and trading posts often for months at -a time; he loved to recount his adventures in still earlier days, and -thus it was that I learned the facts of his life. The stories that he -told by the evening camp-fire and before the comfortable fireplaces of -our various posts, on long winter days, were impressed upon my memory, -but to make sure of them I frequently took notes of the more important -points. - -As time passed, I realized more and more how unusual and interesting his -adventures were, and I urged him to write an account of them. He began -with enthusiasm, but soon tired of the unaccustomed work. Later, -however, after the buffalo had been exterminated and we were settled on -a cattle-ranch, where the life was of a deadly monotony compared with -that which we had led, I induced him to take up the narrative once more. -Some parts of it he wrote with infinite detail; other parts consisted -only of dates and a few sentences. - -He was destined never to finish the task. An old bullet wound in his -lung had always kept him in poor health, and when, in the winter of -1885, he contracted pneumonia, the end was quick. His last request was -that I would put his notes in shape for publication. This I have done to -the best of my ability in my own old age; how well I have done it is for -the reader to judge. - -Brave, honest old Ah-ta-to-yi (The Fox), as the Blackfeet and -frontiers-men loved to call him! We buried him on a high bluff -overlooking the valley of the Two Medicine River, and close up to the -foothills of the Rockies, the "backbone-of-the-world" that he loved so -well. After we had filled in the grave and the others had gone, -Pitamakan and I sat by the new-made mound until the setting sun and the -increasing cold warned us also to descend into the valley. The old chief -was crying as we mounted our horses. - -"Although of white skin," he faltered, "the man who lies there was my -brother. I doubt not that I shall soon meet him in the Sand-hills." - - AH-PUN-I LODGE, - February, 1912. - - - - - Illustrations - - - THE SHALE BEGAN SLIDING UNDER MY FEET (page 51) _Frontispiece_ - IT TOPPLED OVER WITH A CRASH AND LAY STILL 14 - AGAIN AND AGAIN IT ROSE 76 - PITAMAKAN FIERCELY STRIKING A BLOW 128 - THE AVALANCHE BURST INTO THE FLAT 200 - I GRABBED THEM UP AND FOLLOWED HIM 210 - - - _Reproduced from drawings by George Varian, - by permission of The Youth's Companion._ - - - - - With the Indians in the Rockies - - - - - CHAPTER I - - -My father kept a little firearm shop in St. Louis. Over it was the -sign:---- - - DAVID FOX & Co. - Wholesale & Retail Guns - & Ammunition. - Fine Rifles & Fowling Pieces - Made To Order. - -"Co." on the sign stood for my uncle, Wesley Fox, who was a silent -partner in the business. Longer than I could remember, he had been an -employee of the American Fur Company away up the Missouri River. - -It was a great event in the quiet life of our little family of three -when he came, as he did every two or three years, to pay us a short -visit. He no sooner set foot in the house than my mother began to cook -bread, cakes, puddings and pies. I have seen him make what he called a -delicious breakfast on nothing but buttered toast and coffee. That was -because he did not get any bread where he lived except on Christmas Day. -Every pound of freight that went up the river above Fort Union in the -company's keel-boats and bateaux was for the Indian trade, and there was -no room for such luxuries as flour. - -While Uncle Wesley was with us, mother always let me put away my books, -and not say any lessons to her, and I went with him everywhere in the -town. That is what St. Louis was in those days--just a good-sized town. -I liked best to go with him to the levee and see the trappers and -traders coming in, their bateaux loaded down with beaver and other fur -pelts. Nearly all these men wore buckskin clothes and moccasins, and -fur caps of their own make. They all had long hair and big whiskers and -mustaches that looked as if they had been trimmed with a butcher-knife. - -Every time my Uncle Wesley came out of the Far West he brought me a bow -and arrows in a fine case and quiver; or a stone-headed war-club; real -weapons that had killed buffalo and been in battles between the tribes. -And once he brought me a Sioux scalp, the heavy braided hair all of four -feet in length. When I asked him where he got it he laughed a little and -said, "Oh, I got it up there near Fort Union." But I had seen my mother -shake her head at him, and by that I knew that I was not to be told -more. I guessed, though, that he had taken that scalp himself, and long -afterward I found out that I had guessed right. - -One night I heard the family talking about me. I had been sent to bed -and was supposed to be asleep, but as the door to my room was open and I -was lying wide awake, I couldn't help hearing. My mother was taking -Uncle Wesley to task. "You know that the presents you bring him only add -to his interest in trapping and trading," she said, "and as it is, we -don't succeed very well in interesting him in his studies, and in the -life we have planned for him." - -"You know how our hearts are set on his going to Princeton," said my -father, in his always low, gentle voice, "and then becoming such a -preacher as his grandfather was before him. You must help us, Wesley. -Show the boy the dark side of the plains life, the hardships and dangers -of it." - -In our little sitting-room there was a picture of Grandfather Fox, a -tall, dark man with a long wig. He wore a long-tailed coat with a -tremendous collar, knee-breeches, black stockings, and shoes with -enormous buckles. I thought that I should not like to be a preacher if -that was the way I must dress. And thinking that, I lost the rest of -what they were saying and fell asleep. - -Uncle Wesley stayed with us only a few days that spring. He intended to -remain a month, but one morning Pierre Chouteau, the head of the great -fur company, came to our house and had a long talk with him, with the -result that he left for Fort Union the very next day, to take the place -of some one who had died there. - -So I went back to my studies, and my parents kept me closer at home than -ever. I was allowed to go out on real play spells only for two hours on -Saturday afternoons. There were very few American boys in the town in -those days. Most of my playmates were French Creoles, who spoke very -little English, or none at all, so naturally I learned their patois. -That knowledge was very useful to me in after days. - -I am going to pass over what I have to say now as quickly as possible, -for even after all these years, and old as I am, the thought of it still -hurts. In February of the following winter my father fell ill of -smallpox and died. Then my mother and I took it, and my mother died -also. - -I did not know anything about her death until many days after she was -buried, and then I wanted to die, too. I felt that there was nothing in -the world for me, until one day Pierre Chouteau himself came for me in -his grand carriage, took me to his house, and kept me there until May, -when my uncle arrived again in St. Louis. - -Uncle Wesley put on what we call "a bold front" when he came to me, but -for all that I could see that he was very sad. We had just one talk -about my future. "I should like to carry out your father's and mother's -plans for you, Tom," he said. "The only way to do it, so far as I can -see, is to send you to Cynthia Mayhew, in Hartford, Connecticut. She -loved your mother,--they were just like sisters,--and I know that she -would be glad to take care of you and see to your education." - -I broke out crying, and said that if he sent me away from him I should -die. How could he be so cruel as to send me far away among strangers? -And then I cried all the harder, although I was ashamed of myself for -doing so. - -Uncle Wesley almost broke down himself. He gulped hard two or three -times, and his voice wasn't steady as he took me on his lap and felt of -my spindling legs and arms. - -"Poor boy! You are weak," he said. "Weak in body and low in mind. Well, -we'll say no more about this matter of your education now. I'll take you -up the river with me for a year, or until you get good and strong. But -we'll pack your study books along, and a good part of your mother's -library, and you'll have to dig into them every evening after we get -settled. Now that's fair, isn't it?" - -It was more than fair. My fondest dream was to be realized. I was -actually to see the country and the Indians and the great herds of -buffalo. There was nothing in St. Louis now to keep my uncle or make -his stay there a pleasure. As quickly as possible he disposed of the -little shop and its contents, and deposited the entire proceeds with the -company for me "for a rainy day," as he said. - -On April 10, 1856, we left St. Louis on the Chippewa, a fine new boat -that the company had just bought. I was thirteen years old, and that was -my first steamboat ride. As the stern-wheel craft swung out from the -levee and steamed rapidly--as it seemed to me--up-stream, the novel -experience gave me the keenest pleasure. I fairly hugged myself as I -remembered that by the channel of the river it was more than two -thousand miles to our destination. - -We no sooner left the Mississippi and turned into the more muddy waters -of the Missouri than I earnestly begged my uncle to get his rifle out of -the cabin and load it, so as to be ready to shoot buffalo. I was -terribly disappointed when he told me that many days must pass before -we should see any of the animals. But to please me he brought the rifle -to the cabin deck and fired a couple of shots at the sawyers in the -river. Again he loaded the piece, and told me to shoot at one. - -"Even boys must know how to shoot where we are going," he said. "Now -take a fine sight at the end of that little sawyer and let's see how -near it you can place a bullet." - -I did as I was told and fired, after a long, wabbly aim; the water -splashed just over the tip of the log, and a number of passengers -clapped their hands and praised me. - -That shot began my training in shooting. Every day after that, until we -got to the game country, I spent an hour shooting at different objects -in the water and on the banks. One morning I fired at one of a pair of -wild geese. The bird gave a flap or two of its great wings, its head -dropped, and it floated inertly with the current. - -"I killed it!" I shouted. "I killed it! Wasn't that a fine shot, uncle?" - -He was silent a moment, and then said gravely:-- - -"It was a thoughtless boy's shot. And I hope it will be the only one. A -true hunter never takes the life of God's creatures needlessly." - -That was all he said, but the reproof was enough. I took it to heart, -and all my life I have not only profited by it, but preached to others -against the wanton taking of life. - -After passing St. Charles, Missouri, the ranches of the settlers were -farther and farther apart, and in a few days we saw the last of them and -were in the wild country. Game now became more and more frequent, -especially white-tail deer, of which we soon had some for the table. The -boat was always tied to an island or to the shore at sundown, and during -the short remainder of daylight we would all scatter in the near timber -to hunt. A number of wild turkeys were killed, which made us some fine -feasts. On these occasions, however, I was only a follower of the -hunters. My red-letter day was yet to come. - -At Fort Pierre we saw a great number of Sioux Indians. Formerly a -company post, it had been sold to the United States, and was now -occupied by several companies of soldiers. Two days after leaving the -fort, we sighted the first of the buffalo herds, a small band of bulls -that splashed out of the river not far ahead of the boat, and took to -the hills. About four o'clock that afternoon, the port engine breaking -down, we had to make a long stop for repairs. As soon as we swung into -the bank and learned that the boat would be tied there for the night, my -uncle got out his rifle, and we went hunting. - -The timber bordering the river was half a mile wide, with an undergrowth -of willow- and rose-brush so thick that we never could have penetrated -it but for the game trails crossing it in every direction. From the -looks of them, I thought that thousands of animals must be living -there. The trails were worn deep by their sharp hoofs. - -In places the earth was moist but hard, and there the tracks were -plainly outlined. My uncle pointed out the difference in them--how the -tracks of the deer differed from those of elk, and how these differed -again from the tracks of the buffalo. I was taught, too, that wolf -tracks were longer than those of the mountain-lion, which were nearly -circular. Finally, I was asked to prove my knowledge. - -"What made those tracks?" I was asked. - -I hesitated a moment, and replied that I thought buffalo had made them. - -"Right," said my uncle. "They seem very fresh; we will follow them." - -The myriad tracks of different game, the mystery of the deep woods, the -thought that hostile Indians might be there hunting us, all combined to -excite me. My heart thumped rapidly and I found it difficult to breathe. -I was afraid, and kept looking intently in all directions--even behind -me, for I expected every moment to see something come charging through -the brush, either to rend us with sharp claws or to stick our bodies -full of arrows. - -But nothing could have induced me to admit that I felt so; gritting my -teeth, I followed on uncertain legs, close at Uncle Wesley's heels. So -close was I that when he suddenly stopped, I bumped into him, and then -gave a little squeal of fright, for I thought that he had discovered -something to justify my fears. - -"_Sh-h-h-h!_" he cautioned, and reaching back and drawing me to his -side, he pointed significantly ahead. - -We were only a few yards from the outer edge of the timber; a hundred -yards farther on were three buffalo bulls, standing motionless on the -open, sparsely grassed bottom-land. How big they were! How majestic and -yet uncouth they loomed before me! They had apparently no necks at all. -Forgetting entirely our purpose in coming there, I stared at them with -intense interest, until my uncle passed me the rifle and whispered, -"Take that farthest one. He is young and in good condition. Aim low, -close behind his shoulder." - -My hands closed on the long-barreled, heavy weapon. Heretofore my boy -strength had been sorely taxed to shoot with it, but now, in my tense -excitement, it fairly leaped to my shoulder, and I was able to hold it -steady. I pulled the trigger. - -_Bang!_ A thick cloud of powder smoke drifted into my face, and then -passed on, and I saw two of the bulls running across the bottom; the -other was swaying, staggering round and round, with blood streaming from -its mouth. Before I could reload, it toppled over with a crash and lay -still. - - [Illustration: IT TOPPLED OVER WITH A CRASH AND LAY STILL] - -I stood staring at the animal like one in a dream; it was hard to -realize that I had actually killed it. Uncle Wesley broke my trance by -praising the shot I had made, and added that the animal was in fine -condition and would weigh all of a ton. He had me lie down on it, my -feet even with its fore feet, and I found that I could not reach the top -of its withers, or rather, its hump: its height had been more than six -feet. - -I now got my first lesson in skinning and butchering one of these great -animals. Without axe or windlass, or any of the other things regarded as -indispensable by farmers and by professional butchers, the old-time -plainsmen made a quick and neat job of this work with only a common -butcher-knife. - -First, my uncle doubled up the bull's fore legs and straightened back -the hind ones. Then, little by little, he twisted the great head sharply -back beside the body, at the same time heaving up the back, and in a -moment or two the animal lay prone on its belly, propped up in that -position by the head. If the skin had been wanted, the rolling-up of the -animal would have been reversed, and it would have lain on its back, -legs up, and as in the other way, propped in position by the bent-back -head. - -After making an incision along the back from head to tail, he skinned -both sides down to the ground, and even under the body, by propping the -head one way and then another, and slanting the carcass so that there -was knife room beneath. At last the body lay free, back up, on the -clean, spread-out skin. - -The choicest part of it was the so-called "hump," or in frontier -language, the "boss ribs." These dorsal ribs rose gradually from the -centre of the back to a length of twenty inches and more just above the -point of the shoulders, and were deeply covered with rich tenderloin. - -It took but a moment to get the set off. Uncle Wesley cut an incision -along each side at the base of them; then he unjointed a hind leg at the -gambrel-joint, and with that for a club he hit the tips of the ribs a -few blows, causing them to snap off from the back-bone like so many -pipe-stems, and the whole hump lay free on the hide. - -Next, he removed the legs with a few deft cuts of the knife, and laid -them out on the clean grass; unjointed the backbone at the third rib and -removed the after part; severed the neck from the big ribs, cut them -apart at the brisket, and smashed one side of them free from the -backbone with the leg club, and there we had the great animal divided in -eight parts. Lastly, he removed the tongue through an incision in the -lower jaw. - -"There," said he, when it was all done, "now you know how to butcher. -Let's hurry to the boat and get the roustabouts to carry in the meat." - -From this point on, there were days at a time when we saw no Indians, -and the various kinds of game animals were more and more plentiful and -tame. At last, several days after passing Fort Clarke, we came to the -American Fur Company's greater post, Fort Union, situated on the north -bank of the river about five miles above the mouth of the Yellowstone. - -It was begun in 1829, under the direction of the factor, Kenneth -McKenzie, and finished in 1832. A stockade of logs ten or twelve feet -long, set up on end, side by side, protected the buildings, and this, in -turn, was commanded by two-storied bastions, in which cannon were -mounted at the northeast and southwest corners. - -When we approached the place, a flag was run up on the staff of the -fort, cannon boomed a welcome, and a great crowd of Indians and company -men, headed by the factor, gathered at the shore to greet us. My uncle -and I were escorted to the two-story house which formed the rear of the -fort, and in which were the quarters of the factor and clerks. - -I learned afterward that distinguished guests had been housed there: -George Catlin, the painter and philanthropist, in 1832; Maximilian, -Prince of Neuwied, in 1833; and Audubon, the great naturalist, in 1843. -All of them published extremely interesting accounts of what they saw -and did in the Upper Missouri country, which I commend to the reader, -Maximilian's "Travels in North America" especially; for I went up the -river from Fort Union just as he did, and there had been practically no -change in the conditions of the country from his time to mine. -Maximilian gives a wonderfully accurate and vivid description of the -remarkable scenery of the Missouri, without question the most strangely -picturesque river in America, and probably in the world. - -My Uncle Wesley was a valued clerk of the American Fur Company. He was -sent from one to another of their Far Western forts, as occasion for his -services arose, and frequently he was in full charge of a post for -months at a time, while the factor went on a trip to the States. When we -arrived in Fort Union he was told that he must go on to Fort Benton, -where the factor needed his help. At that time, since the company's -steamboats went no farther than Fort Union, all the goods for the posts -beyond were sent in keel-boats, or bateaux. It was not until the summer -of 1860 that the extreme upper river was found to be navigable, and on -July 2 of that year the Chippewa and the Key West arrived at Fort -Benton. - -A keel-boat was lying at Fort Union when we arrived there; it was -waiting for part of the Chippewa's cargo of ammunition, guns, and -various trade goods, mostly tobacco, red and blue cloth, brass wire for -jewelry, Chinese vermilion, and small trinkets. These were soon -transferred, and we resumed our voyage, Uncle Wesley in charge of the -boat and crew. The Minnie was sixty feet long, ten feet wide, and was -decked over. The crew consisted of thirty French-Canadian cordelliers, -or towmen, a cook, a steersman and two bowmen, and a hunter with his -horse. In a very small cabin aft there were two bunks. Forward there was -a mast and sail for use when the wind was favorable--which was seldom. -There was a big sweep oar on each side, and a number of poles were -scattered along the deck to be used as occasion required. In the bow -there was a four-pound howitzer, loaded with plenty of powder, and a -couple of quarts of trade balls, in case of an attack by Indians, which -was not at all improbable. - -By the channel it was called eight hundred miles from Fort Union to Fort -Benton, where we hoped to arrive in two months. After the first day's -experience, I thought that we should be fortunate if we reached the -place in two years. From morning until night the cordelliers toiled as I -had never seen men toil before. It was a painful sight, those thirty men -tugging on the long tow-rope as they floundered through water often -waist-deep; through quicksand or mud so tenacious that the more -unfortunate were dragged out of it gasping for breath and smeared with -the stuff from head to foot. They frequently lost their footing on -steep places and rolled down into deep water; banks of earth caved upon -them; they were scratched and torn by rose-brush and bull-berry thorns; -they were obliged to cut trails along the top of the banks in places, -and to clear a way for the boat through dense masses of sawyers and -driftwood. - -A day or two after leaving Fort Union we narrowly escaped losing the -boat, and the lives of all of us who were on it, in the treacherous -swirling current. At the time the cordelliers were walking easily along -a sandy shore under a high bank. Ahead of them, at the edge of the -water, lay a dead buffalo bull, its rump partly eaten by the prowling -animals. When the lead-man was within a few feet of it a big grizzly -sprang toward him from the other side of the carcass, where it had lain -asleep. The men dropped the rope and with loud cries sprang into the -water, since they could not climb the bank. The boat at once turned -broadside to the swift current, drifted against two sawyers, and began -to turn turtle. The lower rail was already under water, and the horse -had lost its footing and tumbled overboard, where it hung strangling, -when by the greatest good fortune first one and then the other of the -sawyers snapped under the strain, and the boat righted and swung in to -the bank. We now had time to see what was going on above. The bear was -just leaving the opposite shore and making for the timber; the men, -dripping from their hasty bath, were gathered in a close group near the -carcass, and were talking and gesticulating as only Frenchmen can. We -suspected that something was wrong, and while the bowmen made the boat -fast, the rest of us hurried up the shore. The group parted at our -approach and disclosed one of their number--the lead-man on the -rope--lying moaning on the sand. The bear had overtaken and mauled him -terribly, and then, frightened probably by the loud cries of so many -men, it took to the river and swam away. We got the wounded man aboard -at once, and my uncle set his arm and made him as comfortable as -possible. The hunter had saved his horse by cutting its rope and -swimming with it to a landing far down stream. As soon as the tow-line -was recovered we went on, thankful that the accident had been no worse. - -Yet through it all they were cheerful and happy, and at the evening -camp-fire my uncle was frequently obliged to speak harshly to keep them -from shouting their voyageur songs, that might have brought some -prowling war party of Indians down on us. The food of these men was -meat--nothing but meat, washed down with a little tea. Sometimes they -managed to dig a few _pommes blanches_, white, edible roots that were -very palatable when roasted in the coals. Uncle Wesley and I had a box -of hard crackers and a few pounds of flour and sugar. When they were -gone, he told me, we should have no more until we sat down to our -Christmas dinner. That did not worry me; I thought that if big, strong -men could live on meat, a boy could, too. - -The river wound like a snake through the great valley. There were long -points only a mile or two across by land, but many times that distance -round by the channel. Sometimes when we came to such a place Uncle -Wesley and I would hunt across the bottom and then wait for the boat. On -these trips I killed my first deer and elk and antelope--not to mention -several more buffalo. - -But Uncle Wesley was always uneasy when away from the boat; he was -responsible for it and its cargo, which was worth more than a hundred -thousand dollars in furs. Should anything happen to it while he was away -from it, even for an hour's hunt, his hope of eventually becoming a -member of the great company would have to be given up. Finally, after -minute instructions in the proper handling of the rifle, I was allowed -to accompany the hunter on his daily quests for meat. - -Baptiste Rondin was a dreamy, gentle little Creole from Louisiana. He -came from a good family, had not been taught to work, and had hated -books, so he told me. So when misfortune came to his family, and he had -to do something, he chose the position he now held in preference to -others with more pay which the Chouteaus had offered him. When we -started out in the morning, I would climb up behind him on the gentle -old horse, and we would ride for miles up one side or the other of the -river. We always saw various kinds of game soon after leaving the boat, -but never attempted to kill any until some was found convenient to the -shore of the river, where the boat could land and the meat easily be -taken aboard. - -Besides looking for game, we examined every dusty trail, every mudflat -and sandbar, and constantly scanned the bottoms and the hills for signs -of Indians. They were the great terror of the cordelliers; often a -boat's crew was surprised and killed, or the cargo was destroyed. - -We tied up one night four or five miles below the mouth of the -Musselshell River, which my Uncle Wesley said Lewis and Clark had so -named on account of the quantities of fossil shells that are found -there. - -Early the next morning Baptiste saddled the old horse, and we started -out to hunt at the same time that the cordelliers hauled the rope tight -and began their weary tramp. - -We came to the lower edge of the big bottom at the mouth of the -Musselshell. Opposite the mouth there was a heavily timbered island. One -small band of antelope was the only game in sight between us and the -Musselshell. On the other side of it, at the upper end of the bottom and -close to the Missouri, there were a couple of hundred buffalo, some -feeding, some lying down. - -They were so far away that we rode boldly through the tall sage-brush to -the little river, and across it to the outer edge of the strip of -timber. There Baptiste told me to remain with the horse while he crept -out to the herd and made a killing. I did not like being left alone. -There were many fresh grizzly tracks on the river sands just behind me, -and I was afraid of the terrible animals, so afraid that I did not dare -to dismount and gather some strawberries which showed in the grass at -the horse's feet. - -The passing minutes seemed hours. The tall sage-brush out ahead had -swallowed Baptiste. By rising in the stirrups I could just see the backs -of some of the distant buffalo. A sudden splash in the river made my -heart flutter, and I quickly turned to see what had caused it. - -Here and there between the trees and brush its glistening surface was in -plain view, and through one opening I saw something more terrible than a -whole band of grizzlies: an Indian crossing toward me. I saw his face, -painted red with blue bars across the cheeks; I noted that he wore -leather clothing; that a shield hung suspended from his left arm; that -in his right hand he grasped a bow and a few arrows. - -All this I noted in an instant of time; and then nearer to me, and more -to the right, a stick snapped, and I turned my head to see another -Indian in the act of letting an arrow fly at me. I yelled and gave the -horse such a thump with the stock of my rifle that he made a long, quick -leap. That was a lucky thing for me. The arrow aimed at my body cut -through my coat sleeve and gashed my left arm just above the elbow. - -I yelled frantically for Baptiste and urged the horse on through the -sage-brush. I looked back, and saw that Indians all up and down the -stream were leaving the timber and running toward me. I looked ahead and -saw the smoke of Baptiste's gun, heard the report, saw the buffalo bunch -up and then scurry westward for the nearest hills. - -The thought came to me that I could pick the hunter up, and that the -old horse would easily carry us beyond the possibility of an attack by -Indians afoot. That hope was shattered a moment later. The buffalo -suddenly circled and came back into the bottom, and I saw that they had -been turned by some Indians at the edge of the hills. Indians were -strung out clear across the flat, were leaping through the sage-brush -toward us, and shouting their dreadful war-cry; they were hemming us in -on the south, and the great river cut off our retreat to the north. - -I urged the old horse on, determined to reach Baptiste and die by his -side, but the Indians who had appeared on the hills were now quite near -him. I saw him raise his rifle and fire at the one in the lead, then -turn and run a few steps and spring from the high cut-bank into the -river. But just before jumping he paused, and raising a hand, motioned -to me to turn back. - -To turn back! Accustomed to obeying him, I sawed on the bridle and the -horse stopped. I looked over my shoulder, and saw that the nearest of -the Indians were not three hundred yards from me. In my distress I -cried, "What shall I do? Oh, what shall I--what can I do to escape?" - - - - - CHAPTER II - - -I do not know why I cried out. Of course there was no one to answer, to -advise, or assist me. I have often noticed that in times of stress men -shout the questions that they ask themselves. Why had Baptiste motioned -me to go back, when by doing so I must run right into the Indians? I -must have misunderstood his signal. Clearly, my only chance of escape -was the same as his, and that was by the river. - -Pummeling the old horse with rifle-stock and heels, I headed him for the -stream. Not straight toward it, where the bank was apparently very high, -but obliquely, toward a point not far above the mouth of the -Musselshell. There the bank was certainly not high, for the tips of -water-willows peeped above it. - -In a few moments I was close enough to look over it. Between the narrow -strip of willows and the edge of the water there was an oozy mudflat, -fifty yards wide, impassable for man or horse. - -I looked back at the enemy, and saw that when I had turned downstream, -those toward the upper end of the bottom had given up the chase, while -the rest had turned with me and run faster than ever. Thus there was a -wide gap between the two parties, and I circled toward it, as my last -chance. First up the river for several hundred yards, then straight -south, away from it. Both parties immediately perceived my intention, -and spurted to close the gap. Harder and harder I thumped the horse, -although by this time he had waked up, and was entering into the spirit -of the flight. The distance between the two parties of Indians was now -not more than three hundred yards, and I was more than that from the -point for which we all were heading; but to offset this I was covering -the ground much faster than they were. - -The Indians were now yelling frightfully, to encourage one another to -greater speed. I could see their painted faces, and a little later -their fierce eyes. - -The gap was very small now; they began shooting, and several pieces of -lead ripped by me with the sound of tearing paper. I did not try to use -my rifle. In that first experience there was no anger in my heart -against the enemy, nothing but fear of them. - -I felt, rather than saw, that they would be unable to head me off, if -only by a narrow margin, and I bent low over the horse to make myself as -small a target as possible. More guns boomed close on each side of me. -Arrows whizzed, too, and the shaft of one struck my rifle-stock, glanced -from it, and cut the skin on the back of my hand. That was when I passed -right between the two parties. - -In a dazed way, I kept urging the horse on, until presently it dawned on -me that I was past the danger point. Having looked back to make sure of -this, I changed my course, crossed the Musselshell, and went on down the -bottom, and then along the shore of the river several miles, until I -came to the boat. - -When the cordelliers saw me returning in such haste, they knew that -something was wrong. They ceased towing, and let the boat drift in to -the bank, in such a position that I rode right on the deck. I was still -so frightened that it was difficult for me to talk, but my uncle, -guessing the parts of the story which I omitted, ordered all the men -aboard. In a few minutes we were at the other shore of the river. - -The cordelliers objected to going on with the tow-line, but my uncle was -firm that they should start without delay, and they did. The steersman, -an old and tried employee, was sent ahead of them to scout, and Uncle -Wesley took his place at the sweep. The howitzer was freshly primed, and -one of the men instructed to stand by, ready to aim and fire it. I was -anxious about Baptiste, and although my uncle told me not to worry, I -doubted if we should ever see him again. - -In a couple of hours we arrived off the island opposite the mouth of the -Musselshell, and lo! Baptiste came out of the brush at the lower end of -it, and signaled us to take him aboard. That was done with the skiff. As -soon as he came on deck he ran to me, in his impetuous French way, gave -me a hug and a thump on the back, and exclaimed, "It is my brave boy! -And he is safe! One little wound in the hand? That is nothing. Now, tell -me how you made the escape." - -But at this moment my uncle came to consult the hunter, and my story was -deferred. I learned from Baptiste later that the Indians were Crees, -probably on their way south, to raid the Crow horse herds. - -By this time we had passed the island. Baptiste was just asking us to -note how high the cut-bank was from which he had jumped into the stream, -when the whole party of Indians rose out of the sage-brush at the edge -of it, and with much yelling, fired their guns at us. As the distance -was three or four hundred yards, only a few of their balls struck -anywhere near the boat. Uncle Wesley himself sprang to the howitzer, -swung it round, tilted up the barrel, and fired it. Some of the balls -dropped into the water near the far shore, several spatted little puffs -of dust out of the dry cut-bank, and others must have passed right among -the war party. Anyway, the Indians all ducked down and ran back from the -bluff. We saw no more of them. - -Ever since leaving the mouth of the Yellowstone we had been passing -through the extraordinary formation of the Bad Lands. From this point -onward the scenery became more and more wonderful. Boy that I was, I was -so deeply impressed with the strange grandeur of it all that the -sensations I experienced were at times actually oppressive. At every -turn there was something to astonish the eye. There were gleaming white -and gray turreted castles, perched high above the stream; cities of -clustering domes and towers and minarets, all wrought by the elements -from sandstones of varying hardness, but all so apparently real as to -suggest that men and women in mediæval dress might pass out of the gates -in the walls at any moment. - -We arrived at Fort Benton just ninety days after leaving Fort Union. The -flag was raised and cannon fired in our honor, and more than five -thousand Blackfeet, headed by the factor, Alexander Culbertson, and the -employees of the fort, crowded to the river-bank to give us welcome. - -I was astonished to see so many Indians. I noticed that they were tall, -fine-looking men and women; that they wore beautiful garments of tanned -skins; that their hair was done up in long, neat braids; that many of -the leading men shook hands with my uncle, and seemed glad to meet him. - -My uncle introduced me to that great man, the factor, who patted me -kindly on the shoulder. With him we went into the fort, where, just as -we passed through the big gate, a tall, handsome Indian woman, wearing a -neat calico dress, a plaid shawl, and beautifully embroidered -moccasins, came running to us, threw her arms round my uncle, and kissed -him. I must have looked as surprised as I felt, especially when I noted -that he was very glad to meet her. Having spoken a few words to her, -which I couldn't understand, he turned to me. "Thomas," he said, "this -is your aunt. I hope that you and she will become great friends." - -I was now more surprised than ever, but tried not to show it as I -answered, "Yes, sir." - -At that the woman gave a smile that was pleasant to see, and the next -instant she had me in her arms and was kissing me, smoothing my hair, -and talking Blackfoot to me in her strangely clear and pleasant voice. -My uncle interpreted. "She says that she wants to be your mother now; -that she wants you to love her, to come to her for everything you need." - -I do not know just what it was,--her voice, her appearance, the motherly -feeling of her arms round me,--but there was something about this -Indian woman that made my heart go straight out to her. I gave her hand -a squeeze, while tears came to my eyes as I snuggled up close to her. -Right willingly I went with her and Uncle Wesley to the room in the far -end of the long adobe building forming the east side of the fort, which -he said was to be our home for a long time to come. - -It was the kind of room that gave one a restful feeling at sight. -Opposite the doorway was a big fireplace of stone and adobe, with hooks -above the mantel for rifles and powder-horns and ball-pouches. Two -windows on the courtyard side afforded plenty of light. There were a -strong table and comfortable chairs, all home-made. A settee covered -with buffalo-robes was placed before the fire. A curtained set of -shelves in the corner contained the dishes and cooking-utensils. The -north end of the room was partitioned off for a sleeping-place. My bed, -I was told, would be the buffalo-robe couch under the window at the -right of the door. - -The next day my uncle took me all round the fort and made me known to -the different employees--clerks and tailors, carpenters and blacksmiths, -and the men of the trade-room. The fort was a large one, about three -hundred feet square, all of adobe. Entering the front gate, you saw that -three long buildings, of which the easterly one was two stories high, -formed three sides of the quadrangle, and that a high wall containing -the gate formed the fourth, or south side, facing the river. The outer -walls of the buildings were thus the defensive walls of the fort. They -were protected against assault by two-storied bastions, with cannon at -the southeast and northwest corners. All the tribes of the Northwest -together could not have taken the place by assault without the loss of -thousands of their force, and they knew it. - -Before night the keel-boat was unloaded, and our trunks were brought in -and unpacked. My mother's little library and my school-books filled a -new set of shelves, and that evening I began, under my uncle's -direction, a course of study and reading, preparatory to going East to -school in the following year. - -No boy ever had a happier time than I had in that fort so far beyond the -borders of civilization. Day in and day out there was always something -worth while going on. Hundreds, and often thousands, of Indians came in -to trade, and I found endless pleasure in mingling with them and learned -their language and customs. In this I was encouraged by Tsistsaki -(Little Bird Woman), my uncle's wife. She had no children, and all her -natural mother love was given to me. In her way of thinking, nothing -that I did could be wrong, and the best of everything was not good -enough for me. The beautifully embroidered buckskin suits and moccasins -she made for me fairly dazzled the eye with their blaze of color. These -were not for everyday wear, but I took every possible occasion for -putting them on, and strutted around, the envy of all the Indian boys in -the country. - -The winter passed all too quickly. With the approach of spring my uncle -began to plan for my long trip to St. Louis, and thence to the home of -my mother's Connecticut friend, where I was to prepare for Princeton. I -said nothing to him, but I had many talks with my aunt-mother, -Tsistsaki; and one night we poured out such a torrent of reasons why I -should not go, ending our pleadings with tears, that he gave in to us, -and agreed that I should grow up in the fur trade. - -A frequent visitor in our cozy room in the fort was a nephew of -Tsistsaki, a boy several years older than I. We liked each other at -sight, and every time we met we became firmer friends than ever. -"Friend" means much more to Indians--at least, to the Blackfeet--than it -does to white people. Once friends, Indians are always friends. They -almost never quarrel. So it came to be with Pitamakan (Eagle Running) -and myself. - -My uncle Wesley was as much pleased as his wife. One day he said to me, -"Pitamakan is an honest, good-hearted boy, and brave, too. He gets all -that from his father, who is one of the very best and most trustworthy -Indians in all this country, and from his mother, who is a woman of fine -character. See to it that you keep his friendship." - -Except, of course, Baptiste Rondin, the hunter of the fort, Pitamakan -was almost the only one with whom I was allowed to go after the buffalo -and the other game which swarmed on the plains near by. What with my -daily studies, occasional hunts, and the constant pleasure I had in the -life of the fort, time fairly flew; no day was too long. And yet, for -four years, I never once went more than five miles from the fort. - -During this time my one great desire was to go on a trip into the Rocky -Mountains. Clearly visible from the high plains to the north and south -of the river, their pine-clad slopes and sharp, bare peaks always seemed -to draw me to explore their almost unknown fastnesses. - -In the fall of 1860 there came an opportunity for me to do this. The -Small Robes band of the Blackfeet, of which Pitamakan's father, White -Wolf (Mah-kwi´-yi ksik-si-num), was chief, outfitted at the fort for an -expedition to trap beaver along the foot of the great mountains, and, -much to my surprise and delight, I was permitted to accompany them. - -At this time there were ninety lodges--about six hundred people--of the -Small Robes (I-nuk-siks) band of the Blackfeet. They had several -thousand horses, and when the moving camp was strung out on the plain, -the picturesque riders, the pack-animals laden with queerly shaped, -painted rawhide and leather pouches and sacks, made a pageant of moving -color that was very impressive. - -Our first camp after leaving the fort was on the Teton River. A couch -was made up for me in White Wolf's lodge. The lodge of the plains -Indians was the most comfortable portable shelter ever devised by man. -One of average size was made of sixteen large cow buffalo-hides, tanned -into soft leather, cut to shape, and sewed together with sinew thread. - -This cone-shaped "lodge skin" was stretched over tough, slender poles of -mountain-pine, and the lower edge, or skirt, was pegged so that it was -at least four inches above the ground. Within, a leather lining, firmly -weighted to the ground by the couches and household impedimenta of the -occupants, extended upward for five or six feet, where it was tied to a -rope that was fastened to the poles clear round. There was a space as -wide as the thickness of the poles between the "skin" and the lining, so -that the cold, outside air rushing up through it created a draft for the -fire, and carried the smoke out of the open space at the top. This -lining, of course, prevented the cold air from coming into the lower -part of the lodge, so that even in the coldest weather a small fire was -enough for comfort. - -Traveling leisurely up the Teton River, we came in three or four days to -the foot of the great range. There we went into camp for several weeks, -long enough for the hunters to trap most of the beavers, not only on the -main stream, but on all its little tributaries. Pitamakan and I had -twelve traps, and were partners in the pursuit of the animals. - -From the Teton we moved northward to Back-Fat Creek, now Dupuyer Creek. -From there we went to the Two Medicine waters, and then on to the -Cut-Bank River. The trapping area of this stream was small. On the first -day of our camp there Pitamakan and I foolishly went hunting, with the -result that when, on the next day, we began looking for a place to set -our traps, we found that all the beaver-ponds and bank-workings had been -occupied by the other trappers. - -It was late in the afternoon, after we had followed up the south fork -to a tremendous walled cañon, where it was impossible for the beavers to -make dams and homes, that we made this discovery. Our disappointment was -keen, for from Cut-Bank the camp was to return to Fort Benton, and we -had only thirty-seven of the fifty beaver pelts that we had planned to -take home with us. - -We were sitting on a well-worn trail that stretched along the -mountainside above the cañon, when Pitamakan suddenly exclaimed:-- - -"Listen to me! We will get the rest of the beaver! You see this trail? -Well, it crosses this backbone of the world, and is made by the -other-side people,--the Kootenays and the Flatheads,--so that they can -come over to our plains and steal our buffalo. You can see that it has -not been used this summer. It will not be used at all now, since winter -is so near. Now, down on the other side there are many streams in the -great forest, and no doubt there are beavers in them. We will go over -there to-morrow, and in a few days' trapping we will catch enough to -make up the number we set out to get." - -This plan seemed good to me, and I said so at once. We left the traps on -the trail and started to camp, to prepare for an early start in the -morning. We decided to say nothing to any one of our intentions, to -White Wolf least of all, lest he should forbid our going. - -At dusk we picketed near camp two horses that we selected for the trip, -and during the evening we refilled our powder-horns and ball-pouches to -the neck. Rising the next morning before any of the others were awake, -and each taking a heavy buffalo-robe from our bedding, we quietly left -the lodge, saddled and mounted our horses, and rode away. Some dried -meat and buffalo back fat taken from the lodge furnished us a -substantial breakfast. - -The trail was plain and easy to follow. We picked up the traps, and -mounting steadily, arrived at the extreme summit of the great range not -long after midday. From where we stood, the trail ran slightly downward, -along a narrow divide, across to the next mountain. The south side of -the divide was a sheer drop of several thousand feet. The top was a -narrow, jagged knife of rock, along which a man could not have passed on -foot. On the north side the sharp reef dropped almost precipitously to a -narrow and exceedingly steep slope of fine shale rock, which terminated -at the edge of a precipice of fearful depth. - -It was along this shale slope that the trail ran, but there were no -signs of it now, for the tracks of the last horses that passed had been -filled. Even while we stood there, small particles of shale were -constantly rolling and tinkling down it and off into abysmal space. -Shuddering, I proposed that we turn back, but Pitamakan made light of -the danger. - -"I have been here before, and know what to do," he said. "I can make it -so that we can safely cross it." - -With a long, thin and narrow slab of rock he began gouging a trail out -of the steep slide. The small and the large pieces of detritus which he -dislodged rattled off the edge of the cliff, but strain my ears as I -might, I could not hear them strike bottom. It was fully a hundred yards -across this dangerous place, but Pitamakan soon made his way along it, -and back to me. - -His path seemed more fit for coyotes than for horses, but he insisted -that it was wide enough, and started leading his animal out on it. There -was nothing for me to do but to follow with mine. When part way across, -my horse's hind feet broke down the little path, and he went with the -sliding shale for several feet, all the time madly pawing to get back on -the sound portion on which I stood. When I tried to help him by pulling -on the lead-rope, the shale began sliding under my feet. At that, -Pitamakan, starting to run with his horse, shouted to me to do the same. - -For the rest of the way across, the strain on me and my animal was -killing. We tore out all trace of the path in our efforts to keep from -going down and off the slide. Wherever we put down our feet the shale -started slipping, and the struggle to climb faster than it slipped -exhausted our strength. When finally we did reach the firm rock where my -companion stood waiting, we were utterly fatigued and dripping with -sweat. - -Pitamakan's face was ashy gray from the strain of watching my struggles. -He drew me to him, and I could feel him trembling, while he said, in a -choking voice, "Oh, I thought you would never get here, and I just had -to stand and look, unable to help you in any way! I didn't know. I -should have made a wider, firmer path." - -We sat down, and he told me about this pass: that after the winter snows -came neither man nor horse could cross it, since the least movement -would start the snow sliding. Three Blackfeet had once lost their lives -there. In that manner, the avalanche which they loosened had swept them -with it over the cliff, to the horror of their comrades who stood -looking on. Upon our return, he said, he would make a safe path there, -if it took him all day to finish the task. - -Soon we went on, turned the shoulder of the twin mountain, and felt that -we had come into another world. Near by there were some tremendous -peaks, some of them covered with great fields of ice, which I learned -later were true glaciers. - -In other ways, too, this west side was different from the east side of -the Rockies. As far as we could see there were no plains, only one -great, dark, evergreen forest that covered the slopes of the mountains -and filled the endless valleys. Here, too, the air was different; it was -damp and heavy, and odorous of plants that grow in moist climates. - -Working our way from ledge to ledge down the mountain, we came, toward -sunset, to what my friend called the Salt Springs. Farther west than -this point he had never been. - -Early the next morning we pushed on, for we were anxious to reach the -low valleys where the beavers were to be found. - -Still following the trail, we struck, about mid-afternoon, a large -stream bordered with alder, cottonwood, and willow, the bark of which is -the beaver's favorite food. There were some signs of the animals here, -but as we expected to find them more plentiful farther down, we kept on -until nearly sundown, when we came to a fine grass meadow bordering the -now larger river. Here was feed for the horses; in a pond at the upper -end of the meadow there were five beaver lodges. - -"Here is the place for us," said Pitamakan. "Let us hurry and picket the -horses, and kill a deer; night is at hand." - -We started to ride into the timber to unsaddle, when we heard a heavy -trampling and crackling of sticks off to the left of the beaver-pond, -and so sat still, rifles ready, expecting to see a band of elk come into -the open. - -A moment later thirty or forty Indians, men, women, and children, rode -into the meadow. Perceiving us, the men whipped up their horses and came -racing our way. - -"They are Kootenays! It is useless to fire at them, or to run!" -Pitamakan exclaimed. "I do not think they will harm us. Anyhow, look -brave; pretend that you are not afraid." - -The men who surrounded us were tall and powerfully built. For what -seemed to me an endless time, they sat silently staring, and noting -every detail of our outfit. There was something ominous in their -behavior; there came to me an almost uncontrollable impulse to make a -move of some kind. It was their leader who broke the suspense. -"_In-is-saht!_" (Dismount!) he commanded, in Blackfoot, and we -reluctantly obeyed. - -At that they all got off their horses, and then at word from the chief, -each crowding and pushing to be first, they stripped us of everything we -had. One man got my rifle; another the ammunition; another snatched off -my belt, with its knife, and the little pouch containing flint, steel, -and punk, while the chief and another, who seemed to be a great warrior, -seized the ropes of our horses. And there we were, stripped of -everything that we possessed except the clothes we stood in. - -At that the chief broke out laughing, and so did the rest. Finally, -commanding silence, he said to us, in very poor Blackfoot:-- - -"As you are only boys, we will not kill you. Return to your chief, and -tell him that we keep our beaver for ourselves, just as the plains -people keep the buffalo for themselves. Now go." - -There was nothing to do but obey him, and we started. One man followed -us a few steps, and struck Pitamakan several blows across the back with -his whip. At that my friend broke out crying; not because of the pain, -but because of the terrible humiliation. To be struck by any one was the -greatest of all insults; and my friend was powerless to resent it. - -Looking back, we saw the Kootenays move on through the meadow and -disappear in the timber. Completely dazed by our great misfortune, we -mechanically took our back trail, and seldom speaking, walked on and on. -When night came, rain began to fall and the wind rose to a gale in the -treetops. At that Pitamakan shook his head, and said, dejectedly, "At -this season rain down here means snow up on top. We must make strong -medicine if we are ever to see our people again." - -Hungry and without food or weapons for killing any game, wet and without -shelter or any means of building a fire, we certainly were in a -terrible plight. Worse still, if it was snowing on the summit, if winter -had really set in, we must inevitably perish. I remembered hearing the -old trappers say that winter often began in October in the Rocky -Mountains; and this day was well on in November! "Pitamakan! We are not -going to survive this!" I cried. - -For answer, he began singing the coyote song, the Blackfoot hunter's -prayer for good luck. It sounded weird and melancholy enough there in -the darkening forest. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - -"There! Something tells me that will bring us good luck," said -Pitamakan, when he had finished the medicine song. "First of all, we -must find shelter from the rain. Let us hurry and search for it up there -along the foot of the cliffs." - -Leaving the trail, we pushed our way up the steep slope of the valley, -through underbrush that dropped a shower of water on us at the slightest -touch. There were only a few hundred yards between us and the foot of -the big wall which shot high above the tops of the pines, but by the -time we arrived there night had fairly come. At this point a huge pile -of boulders formed the upper edge of the slope, and for a moment we -stood undecided which way to turn. "Toward home, of course!" Pitamakan -exclaimed, and led the way along the edge of the boulders, and finally -to the cliff. There in front of us was a small, jagged aperture, and -stooping down, we tried to see what it was like inside. The darkness, -however, was impenetrable. - -I could hear my companion sniffing; soon he asked, "Do you smell -anything?" - -But I could detect no odor other than that of the dank forest floor, and -said so. - -"Well, I think that I smell bear!" he whispered, and we both leaped -back, and then stealthily drew away from the place. But the rain was -falling now in a heavy downpour; the rising wind lashed it in our faces -and made the forest writhe and creak and snap. Every few moments some -old dead pine went down with a crash. It was a terrible night. - -"We can't go on!" said Pitamakan. "Perhaps I was mistaken. Bears do not -lie down for their winter sleep until the snow has covered up their -food. We must go back and take our chance of one being there in that -hole." - -We felt our way along the foot of the cliff until we came to the place. -There we knelt down, hand in hand, sniffed once more, and exclaimed, -"_Kyaiyo!_" (Bear!) - -"But not strong; only a little odor, as if one had been here last -winter," Pitamakan added. "The scent of one sticks in a place a long -time." - -Although I was shivering so much from the cold and wet that my teeth -rattled, I managed to say, "Come on! We've got to go in there." - -Crawling inch by inch, feeling of the ground ahead, and often stopping -to sniff the air and listen, we made our cautious way inside, and -presently came to a fluffy heap of dried grass, small twigs and leaves -that rustled at our touch. - -"Ah, we survive, brother!" Pitamakan exclaimed, in a cheerful voice. -"The bear has been here and made himself a bed for the winter; they -always do that in the month of falling leaves. He isn't here now, -though, and if he does come we will yell loud and scare him away." - -Feeling round now to learn the size of the place, we found that it was -small and low, and sloped to the height of a couple of feet at the back. -Having finished the examination, we burrowed down into the grass and -leaves, snuggled close together, and covered ourselves as well as we -could. Little by little we stopped shivering, and after a while felt -comfortably warm, although wet. - -We fell to talking then of our misfortune, and planning various ways to -get out of the bad fix we were in. Pitamakan was all for following the -Kootenays, stealing into their camp at night, and trying to recover not -only our horses, but, if possible, our rifles also. I made the objection -that even if we got a whole night's start of the Kootenays, they, -knowing the trails better than we did, would overtake us before we could -ride to the summit. We finally agreed to follow the trail of our enemies -and have a look at their camp; we might find some way of getting back -what they had taken. - -We really slept well. In the morning I awoke first, and looking out, saw -nothing but thick, falling snow. I nudged my companion, and together we -crept to the mouth of the cave. The snow was more than a foot deep in -front of us, and falling so fast that only the nearest of the big pines -below could be seen. The weather was not cold, certainly not much below -freezing, but it caused our damp clothing to feel like ice against the -skin. We crept back into our nest, shivering again. - -"With this snow on the ground, it would be useless to try to take -anything from the Kootenays," I said. - -"True enough. They could follow our tracks and easily overtake us," -Pitamakan agreed. - -As he said no more for a long time, and would not even answer when I -asked a question, I, too, became silent. But not for long; so many -fears and doubts were oppressing me that I had to speak. "We had better -start on, then, and try to cross the summit." - -Pitamakan shook his head slowly. "Neither we nor any one else will cross -the summit until summer comes again. This is winter. See, the snow is -almost to our knees out there; up on top it is over our heads." - -"Then we must die right here!" I exclaimed. - -For answer, my partner began the coyote prayer song, and kept singing it -over and over, except when he would break out into prayers to the sun, -and to Old Man--the World-Maker--to give us help. There in the low -little cave his song sounded muffled and hollow enough. Had I not been -watching his face, I must have soon begged him to stop, it was so -mournful and depressing. - -But his face kept brightening and brightening until he actually smiled; -and finally he turned to me and said, "Do not worry, brother. Take -courage. They have put new thoughts into me." - -I asked what the thoughts were, and he replied by asking what we most -needed. - -"Food, of course," I said. "I am weak from hunger." - -"I thought you would say that!" he exclaimed. "It is always food with -white people. Get up in the morning and eat a big meal; at midday, -another; at sunset, another. If even one of these is missed, they say -they are starving. No, brother, we do not most need food. We could go -without it half a moon and more, and the long fast would only do us -good." - -I did not believe that. It was the common belief in those times that a -person could live for only a few days without food. - -"No, it is not food; it is fire that we most need," Pitamakan continued. -"Were we to go out in that snow and get wet and then have no means of -drying and warming ourselves, we should die." - -"Well, then, we must just lie here and wait for the snow to melt away," -I said, "for without flint and steel we can have no fire." - -"Then we will lie here until next summer. This country is different from -ours of the plains. There the snow comes and goes many times during the -winter; here it only gets deeper and deeper, until the sun beats -Cold-Maker, and comes north again." - -I believed that to be true, for I remembered that my uncle had told me -once that there were no chinook winds on the west side of the range. So -I proposed what had been on my mind for some time: that we go to the -camp of the Kootenays and beg them to give us shelter. - -"If they didn't kill us, they would only beat us and drive us away. No, -we cannot go to them," said Pitamakan decidedly. "Now don't look so sad; -we shall have fire." - -He must have read my thoughts, for he added, "I see that you don't -believe that I can make fire. Listen! Before you white people came with -your flints and steels, we had it. Old Man himself taught us how to make -it. I have never seen it made in the old way because my people got the -new way before I was born. But I have often heard the older ones tell -how it used to be made, and I believe that I can do it myself. It is -easy. You take a small, dry, hard stick like an arrow-shaft, and twirl -it between the palms of your hands, or with a bowstring, while the point -rests in a hole in a piece of dry wood, with fine shreds of birch bark -in it. The twirling stick heats these and sets them on fire." - -Although I did not understand this explanation very well, I yet had some -faith that Pitamakan could make the fire. He added that he would not try -it until the weather cleared, and we could go round in the timber -without getting wet except from the knees down. - -We lay there in the bear's bed all that day. At sunset the snow ceased -falling, but when the clouds disappeared, the weather turned much -colder, and it was well for us that the heat of our bodies had pretty -thoroughly dried our clothing. As it was, we shivered all through the -night, and were very miserable. - -Out in the darkness we heard some animal scraping through the snow, and -feared that it might be the bear come to get into its bed. We had talked -about that. If it was a black bear, we were safe enough, because they -are the most cowardly of all animals, and even when wounded, will not -attack a man. But what if it were a big grizzly! We both knew tales -enough of their ferocity. Only that summer a woman, picking berries, had -been killed by one. - -So when we heard those soft footsteps we yelled; stopped and listened, -and yelled again, and again, until we were hoarse. Then we listened. All -was still. Whatever had roused us was gone, but fear that a grizzly -would come shuffling in kept us awake. - -Day came long before the sun rose above the tremendous peaks that -separated us from the plains. Much as we ached to crawl out of the cave -and run and jump, we lay still until the sun had warmed the air a bit. -The night before I had been ravenously hungry; but now my hunger had -largely passed, and Pitamakan said that I would soon forget all about -food. - -"But we can't live all winter without eating!" I objected. - -"Of course not," he replied. "As soon as we have fire, we will go -hunting and kill game. Then we will make us a comfortable lodge. Oh, -we're going to be very comfortable here before many days pass." - -"But the Kootenays!" I objected. "They will come again and drive us on, -or kill us!" - -"Just now they are moving out of the mountains as fast as they can go, -and will not return until summer comes again." - -When we finally crawled out after our long rest, we saw that a bear -really had been near us in the night. It had come walking along the -slope, close to the foot of the cliff, until right in front of the cave, -and then, startled, no doubt, by our yells, had gone leaping straight -down into the timber. The short impressions of its claws in the snow -proved it to have been a black bear. We were glad of that; another -night, fear, at least, would not prevent us from sleeping. - -Both of us were clothed for summer hunting, I in buckskin trousers and -flannel shirt, with no underclothing or socks. Pitamakan wore buffalo -cow-leather leggings, breech-clout, and, fortunately, a shirt like mine -that his aunt had given him. Neither of us had coat or waistcoat, but in -place of them, capotes, hooded coats reaching to our knees, made of -white blanket by the tailor at the fort. The snow looked very cold to -step into with only thin buckskin moccasins on our feet, and I said so. - -"We will remedy that," said Pitamakan. He pulled off his capote, tore a -couple of strips from the skirt of it, and then did the same with mine. -With these we wrapped our feet, pulled our moccasins on over them, and -felt that our toes were frost-proof. - -The snow was knee-deep. Stepping into it bravely, we made our way down -the slope and into the timber. There it was not so deep, for a part of -the fall had lodged in the thick branches of the pines. We came upon the -tracks of deer and elk, and presently saw a fine white-tail buck staring -curiously at us. The sight of his rounded, fat body brought the hungry -feeling back to me, and I expressed it with a plaintive "_Hai-yah!_" of -longing. - -Pitamakan understood. "Never mind," he said, as the animal broke away, -waving its broad flag as if in derision. "Never mind. We will be eating -fat ribs to-morrow, perhaps; surely on the next day." - -That talk seemed so big to me that I said nothing, asked no question, as -we went on down the hill. Before reaching the river we saw several more -deer, a lone bull moose and a number of elk; the valley was full of -game, driven from the high mountains by the storm. - -The river was not frozen, nor was there any snow on the low, wet, rocky -bars to hinder our search for a knife. That was what we were to look -for, just as both Pitamakan's and my own ancestors had searched, in -prehistoric times, for sharp-edged tools in glacial drift and river -wash. I was to look for flint and "looks-like-ice rock," as the -Blackfeet call obsidian. As I had never seen any obsidian, except in the -form of very small, shiny arrow-points, it was not strange that -Pitamakan found a nodule of it on a bar that I had carefully gone over. -It was somewhat the shape of a football, rusty black, and coated with -splotches of stuff that looked like whitewash. I could not believe that -it was what we sought until he cracked it open and I saw the glittering -fragments. - -Pitamakan had never seen any flint or obsidian flaked and chipped into -arrow-points and knives, but he had often heard the old people tell how -it was done, and now he tried to profit by the information. With a small -stone for a hammer, he gently tapped one of the fragments, and succeeded -in splintering it into several thin, sharp-edged flakes. Carefully -taking up all the fragments and putting them at the foot of a tree for -future use, we went in search of material for the rest of the -fire-making implements. - -We knew from the start that finding them would not be easy, for before -the snow came, rain had thoroughly soaked the forest, and what we needed -was bone-dry wood. We had hunted for an hour or more, when a half-dozen -ruffed grouse flushed from under the top of a fallen tree and flew up -into the branches of a big fir, where they sat and craned their necks. -Back came my hungry feeling; here was a chance to allay it. "Come on, -let's get some stones and try to kill those birds!" I cried. - -Away we went to the shore of the river, gathered a lot of stones in the -skirts of our capotes, and hurried back to the tree. The birds were -still there, and we began throwing at the one lowest down. We watched -the course of each whizzing stone with intense eagerness, groaning, -"_Ai-ya!_" when it went wide of the mark. Unlike white boys, Indian -youths are very inexpert at throwing stones, for the reason that they -constantly carry a better weapon, the bow, and begin at a very early age -to hunt small game with it. I could cast the stones much more accurately -than Pitamakan, and soon he handed what he had left to me. - -Although I made some near shots, and sent the stones clattering against -the branches and zipping through the twigs, the bird never once moved, -except to flutter a wing when a missile actually grazed it or struck the -limb close to its feet. With the last stone of the lot I hit a grouse, -and as it started fluttering down we made a rush for the foot of the -tree, whooping wildly over our success, and frightening the rest of the -covey so that they flew away. - -The wounded bird lodged for a moment in a lower branch, toppled out of -that into another, fluttered from that down into clear space. Pitamakan -sprang to catch it, and grasped only the air; for the bird righted -itself, sailed away and alighted in the snow, fifty yards distant. We -ran after it as fast as we could. It was hurt. We could see that it had -difficulty in holding up its head, and that its mouth was open. We felt -certain of our meat. But no! Up it got when we were about to make our -pounce, and half fluttered and half sailed another fifty yards or so. -Again and again it rose, we hot after it, and finally it crossed the -river. But that did not daunt us. The stream was wide there, running in -a still sweep over a long bar; and we crossed, and in our hurry, -splashed ourselves until we were wet above the waist. Then, after all, -the grouse rose long before we came anywhere near it, and this time -flew on and on until lost to sight! - -Our disappointment was too keen to be put into words. Dripping wet and -as miserable a pair of boys as ever were, we stood there in the cold -snow and looked sadly at each other. "Oh, well, come on," said -Pitamakan. "What is done is done. We will now get the wood we want and -make a fire to dry ourselves." - -He led off, walked to a half-fallen fir, and from the under side broke -off just what we were looking for--a hard, dry spike about twice the -diameter of a lead-pencil and a foot or more in length. That did seem to -be good luck, and our spirits rose. We went out to the shore of the -river, where I was set to rounding off the base of the spike and -sharpening the point, first by rubbing it on a coarse-grained rock, and -then smoothing it with a flake of obsidian. I ruined the edge of the -first piece by handling it too vigorously; the brittle stone had to be -forced slowly and diagonally along the place to be cut. - - [Illustration: AGAIN AND AGAIN IT ROSE] - -Pitamakan, meanwhile, was hunting a suitable piece of wood for the drill -to work in. Hard wood, he had heard the old people say, was necessary -for this, and here the only growth of the kind was birch. - -By the time I got the drill shaped, he had found none that was dry, and -I was glad to help in the search, for I was nearly frozen from standing -still so long in my wet clothes. Up and down the river we went, and back -into the forest, examining every birch that appeared to be dead. Every -one that we found was rotten, or only half dry. It was by the merest -chance that we found the very thing: a beaver-cutting of birch, cast by -the spring freshet under a projecting ledge of rock, where it was -protected from the rains. It was almost a foot in diameter and several -feet long. We rubbed a coarse stone against the centre of it until the -place was flat and a couple of inches wide, and in that started a small -hole with the obsidian. This was slow work, for the glasslike substance -constantly broke under the pressure needed to make it cut into the wood. -It was late in the day when the gouging was finished, and we prepared to -put our tools to the test. - -This was an occasion for prayer. Pitamakan so earnestly entreated his -gods to pity us, to make our work successful, and thus save our lives, -that, unsympathetic as I was with his beliefs, I could not help being -moved. I wanted to be stoical; to keep up a brave appearance to the -last; but this pathetic prayer to heathen gods, coming as it did when I -was weak from hunger and exposure, was too much. To this day I remember -the exact words of it, too long to repeat here. I can translate only the -closing sentence: "Also, have pity on us because of our dear people on -the other side of the range, who are even now weeping in their lodges -because we do not return to them." - -When he had finished the prayer, Pitamakan took the drill in the palms -of his hands and set the point of it in the small, rough hole in the -birch. We had already gathered some dry birch bark, and I held some of -it, shredded into a fluffy mass, close round the drill and the pole. - -"Now, fire come!" Pitamakan exclaimed, and began to twirl the drill -between his hands, at the same time pressing it firmly down in the hole. - -But no smoke came. What was the reason? He stopped and raised the drill; -we felt of it and the hole; both were very hot, and I suggested that we -take turns drilling, changing about in the least possible time. We tried -it, and oh, how anxiously we watched for success, drilling and drilling -for our very lives, drilling turn about until our muscles were so -strained that we could not give the stick another twirl! Then we dropped -back and stared at each other. Our experiment had failed. Night was -coming on. Our wet clothing was beginning to freeze, and there was the -river between us and the shelter of our cave. - -The outlook seemed hopeless, and I said so. Pitamakan said nothing; his -eyes had a strange, vacant expression. "We can do nothing," I repeated. -"Right here we have to die." - -Still he did not answer, or even look at me, and I said to myself, "He -has gone mad!" - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - -"If they will not do," Pitamakan muttered, rising stiffly, while the ice -on his leggings crackled, "why, I'll cut off a braid of my hair." - -I was now sure that our troubles had weakened his mind; no Indian in his -right senses would think of cutting off his hair. - -"Pitamakan! What is the trouble with you?" I asked, looking up anxiously -at him. - -"Why, nothing is the matter," he replied. "Nothing is the matter. We -must now try to work the drill with a bow. If our moccasin strings are -too rotten to bear the strain, I'll have to make a bow cord by cutting -off some of my hair and braiding it." - -It was a great relief to know that he was sane enough, but I had little -faith in this new plan, and followed listlessly as he went here and -there, testing the branches of willow and birch. Finally, he got from -the river shore one stone that was large and smooth, and another that -had a sharp edge. Then, scraping the snow away from the base of a birch -shoot a couple of inches in diameter, he laid the smooth stone at its -base. Next he bade me bend the shoot close down on the smooth stone, -while with the sharp edge of the other he hit the strained wood fibre a -few blows. In this way he easily severed the stem. Cutting off the top -of the sapling in the same manner, he had a bow about three feet in -length; a rough, clumsy piece of wood, it is true, but resilient. - -As my moccasin strings were buckskin and much stronger than Pitamakan's -cow-leather ones, we used one of mine for the bowstring. We now carried -the base stick and drill back from the creek into the thick timber, -gathered a large bunch of birch bark and a pile of fine and coarse -twigs, and made ready for this last attempt to save ourselves. - -We hesitated to begin; uncertainty as to the result was better than -sure knowledge of failure, but while we waited we began to freeze. It -was a solemn and anxious moment when Pitamakan set the point of the -drill in the hole, made one turn of the bowstring round its centre, and -held it in place by pressing down with the palm of his left hand on the -tip. With his right hand he grasped the bow, and waiting until I had the -shredded bark in place round the hole, he once more started the coyote -prayer song and began sawing the bow forth and back, precisely the -motion of a cross-cut saw biting into a standing tree. - -The wrap of the string caused the drill to twirl with amazing rapidity, -and at the third or fourth saw he gave a howl of pain and dropped the -outfit. I had no need to ask why. The drill tip had burned his hand; -when he held it out a blister was already puffing up. - -We changed places, and I gathered the skirt of my capote in a bunch to -protect my hand. I began to work the bow, faster and faster, until the -drill moaned intermittently, like a miniature buzz-saw. In a moment or -two I thought that I saw a very faint streak of smoke stealing up -between my companion's fingers. - -He was singing again, and did not hear my exclamation as I made sure -that my eyes had not deceived me. Smoke actually was rising. I sawed -harder and harder; more and more smoke arose, but there was no flame. - -"Why not?" I cried. "Oh, why don't you burn?" - -Pitamakan's eyes were glaring anxiously, greedily at the blue curling -vapor. I continued to saw with all possible rapidity, but still there -was no flame; instead, the smoke began to diminish in volume. A chill -ran through me as I saw it fail. - -I was on the point of giving up, of dropping the bow and saying that -this was the end of our trail, when the cause of the failure was made -plain to me. Pitamakan was pressing the shredded bark too tight round -the drill and into the hole; there could be no fire where there was no -air. "Raise your fingers!" I shouted. "Loosen up the bark!" - -I had to repeat what I said before he understood and did as he was told. -Instantly the bark burst into flame. - -"Fire! Fire! Fire!" I cried, as I hastily snatched out the drill. - -"_I-puh-kwí-is! I-puh-kwí-is!_" (It burns! It burns!) Pitamakan shouted. - -He held a big wad of bark to the tiny flame, and when it ignited, -carried the blazing, sputtering mass to the pile of fuel that we had -gathered and thrust it under the fine twigs. These began to crackle and -snap, and we soon had a roaring fire. Pitamakan raised his hands to the -sky and reverently gave thanks to his gods; I silently thanked my own -for the mercy extended to us. From death, at least by freezing, we were -saved! - -The sun was setting. In the gathering dusk we collected a huge pile of -dead wood, every piece in the vicinity that we had strength to lift and -carry, some of them fallen saplings twenty and thirty feet long. I was -for putting a pile of them on the fire and having a big blaze. I did -throw on three or four large chunks, but Pitamakan promptly lifted them -off. - -"That is the way of white people!" he said. "They waste wood and stand, -half freezing, away back from the big blaze. Now we will have this in -the way we Lone People do it, and so will we get dry and warm." - -While I broke off boughs of feathery balsam fir and brought in huge -armfuls of them, he set up the frame of a small shelter close to the -fire. First, he placed a triangle of heavy sticks, so that the stubs of -branches at their tops interlocked, and then he laid up numerous sticks -side by side, and all slanting together at the top, so as to fill two -sides of the triangle. These we shingled with the fir boughs, layer -after layer, to a thickness of several feet. With the boughs, also, we -made a soft bed within. - -We now had a fairly comfortable shelter. In shape it was roughly like -the half of a hollow cone, and the open part faced the fire. Creeping -into it, we sat on the bed, close to the little blaze. Some cold air -filtered through the bough thatching and chilled our backs. Pitamakan -pulled off his capote and told me to do the same. Spreading them out, he -fastened them to the sticks of the slanting roof and shut off the draft. -The heat radiating from the fire struck them, and reflecting, warmed our -backs. The ice dropped from our clothes and they began to steam; we were -actually comfortable. - -But now that the anxieties and excitement of the day were over, and I -had time to think about other things than fire, back came my hunger with -greater insistence than ever. I could not believe it possible for us to -go without eating as long as Pitamakan said his people were able to -fast. Worse still, I saw no possible way for us to get food. When I -said as much to Pitamakan, he laughed. - -"Take courage; don't be an afraid person," he said. "Say to yourself, 'I -am not hungry,' and keep saying it, and soon it will be the truth to -you. But we will not fast very long. Why, if it were necessary, I would -get meat for us this very night." - -I stared at him. The expression of his eyes was sane enough. I fancied -that there was even a twinkle of amusement in them. If he was making a -joke, although a sorry one, I could stand it; but if he really meant -what he said, then there could be no doubt but that his mind wandered. - -"Lie down and sleep," I said. "You have worked harder than I, and sleep -will do you good. I will keep the fire going." - -At that he laughed, a clear, low laugh of amusement that was good to -hear. "Oh, I meant what I said. I am not crazy. Now think hard. Is there -any possible way for us to get food this night?" - -"Of course there isn't," I replied, after a moment's reflection. "Don't -joke about the bad fix we are in; that may make it all the worse for -us." - -He looked at me pityingly. "Ah, you are no different from the rest of -the whites. True, they are far wiser than we Lone People. But take away -from them the things their powerful medicine has taught them how to -make, guns and powder and ball, fire steels and sticks, knives and -clothes and blankets of hair, take from them these things and they -perish. Yes, they die where we should live, and live comfortably." - -I felt that there was much truth in what he said. I doubted if any of -the company's men, even the most experienced of them, would have been -able to make a fire had they been stripped of everything that they -possessed. But his other statement, that if necessary he could get food -for us at once. - -"Where could you find something for us to eat now?" I asked. - -"Out there anywhere," he replied, with a wave of the hand. "Haven't you -noticed the trails of the rabbits, hard-packed little paths in the snow, -where they travel round through the brush? Yes, of course you have. -Well, after the middle of the night, when the moon rises and gives some -light, I could go out there and set some snares in those paths, using -our moccasin strings for loops, and in a short time we would have a -rabbit; maybe two or three of them." - -How easy a thing seems, once you know how to do it! I realized instantly -that the plan was perfectly feasible, and wondered at my own dullness in -not having thought of it. I had been sitting up stiffly enough before -the fire, anxiety over our situation keeping my nerves all a-quiver. Now -a pleasant sense of security came to me. I felt only tired and sleepy, -and dropped back on the boughs. - -"Pitamakan, you are very wise," I said, and in a moment was sound -asleep. If he answered I never heard him. - -Every time the fire died down the cold awoke one or both of us to put on -fresh fuel; and then we slept again, and under the circumstances, passed -a very restful night. - -Soon after daylight snow began to fall again, not so heavily as in the -previous storm, but with a steadiness that promised a long period of bad -weather. We did not mind going out into it, now that we could come back -to a fire at any time and dry ourselves. - -Before setting forth, however, we spent some time in making two rude -willow arrows. We mashed off the proper lengths with our "anvil" and -cutting-stone, smoothed the ends by burning them, and then scraped the -shafts and notched them with our obsidian knives. I proposed that we -sharpen the points, but Pitamakan said no; that blunt ones were better -for bird shooting, because they smashed the wing bones. Pitamakan had -worked somewhat on the bow during the evening, scraping it thinner and -drying it before the fire, so that now it had more spring; enough to -get us meat, he thought. The great difficulty would be to shoot the -unfeathered, clumsy arrows true to the mark. - -Burying some coals deep in the ashes to make sure that they would be -alive upon our return, we started out. Close to camp, Pitamakan set two -rabbit snares, using a part of our moccasin strings for the purpose. His -manner of doing this was simple. He bent a small, springy sapling over -the rabbit path, and stuck the tip of it under a low branch of another -tree. Next he tied the buckskin string to the sapling, so that the noose -end of it hung cross-wise in the rabbit path, a couple of inches above -the surface of it. Then he stuck several feathery balsam tips on each -side of the path, to hide the sides of the noose and prevent its being -blown out of place by the wind. When a passing rabbit felt the loop -tighten on its neck, its struggles would release the tip of the -spring-pole from under the bough, and it would be jerked up in the air -and strangled. - -From camp, we went down the valley, looking for grouse in all the -thickest clumps of young pines. Several rabbits jumped up ahead of us, -snow-white, big-footed and black-eyed. Pitamakan let fly an arrow at one -of them, but it fell short of the mark. - -There were game trails everywhere. The falling snow was fast filling -them, so that we could not distinguish new tracks from old; but after -traveling a half-mile or so, we began to see the animals themselves, elk -and deer, singly, and in little bands. As we approached a tangle of red -willows, a bull, a cow, and a calf moose rose from the beds they had -made in them. The cow and calf trotted away, but the bull, his hair all -bristling forward, walked a few steps toward us, shaking his big, -broad-horned head. The old trappers' tales of their ferocity at this -time of year came to my mind, and I began to look for a tree to climb; -there was none near by. All had such a large circumference that I could -not reach halfway round them. - -"Let's run!" I whispered. - -"Stand still!" Pitamakan answered. "If you run, he will come after us." - -The bull was not more than fifty yards from us. In the dim light of the -forest his eyes, wicked little pig-like eyes, glowed with a greenish -fire. The very shape of him was terrifying, more like a creature of bad -dreams than an actual inhabitant of the earth. His long head had a -thick, drooping upper lip; a tassel of black hair swung from his lower -jaw; at the withers he stood all of six feet high, and sloped back to -insignificant hind quarters; his long hair was rusty gray, shading into -black. All this I took in at a glance. The bull again shook his head at -us and advanced another step or two. "If he starts again, run for a -tree," Pitamakan said. - -That was a trying moment. We were certainly much afraid of him, and so -would the best of the company men have been had they stood there -weaponless in knee-deep snow. Once more he tossed his enormous horns; -but just as he started to advance, a stick snapped in the direction in -which the cow and calf had gone. At that he half turned and looked back, -then trotted away in their trail. The instant he disappeared we started -the other way, and never stopped until we came to our shelter. - -It was well for us that we did return just then. The falling snow was -wetting the ash-heap, and the water would soon have soaked through to -the buried coals. We dug them up and started another fire, and sat -before it for some time before venturing out again. This experience -taught us, when leaving camp thereafter, to cover the coal-heap with a -roof of wood or bark. - -"Well, come on! Let's go up the valley this time, and see what will -happen to us there," said Pitamakan, when we had rested. - -Not three hundred yards above camp we came to a fresh bear trail, so -fresh that only a very thin coating of snow had fallen since the passing -of the animal. It led us to the river, when we saw that it continued on -the other side up to the timber, straight toward the cave that had -sheltered us. The tracks, plainly outlined in the sand at the edge of -the water, were those of a black bear. "That is he, the one that -gathered the leaves and stuff we slept in, and he's going there now!" -Pitamakan exclaimed. - -"If we only had his carcass, how much more comfortable we could be!" I -said. "The hide would be warm and soft to lie on, and the fat meat would -last us a long time." - -"If he goes into the cave to stay, we'll get him," said Pitamakan. "If -we can't make bows and arrows to kill him, we will take strong, heavy -clubs and pound him on the head." - -We went up the valley. Trailing along behind my companion, I thought -over his proposal to club the bear to death. A month, even a few days -back, such a plan would have seemed foolish; but I was fast learning -that necessity, starvation, will cause a man to take chances against -the greatest odds. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt like -facing that bear. - -I was about to propose that we go after it at once, when, with a whirr -of wings that startled us, a large covey of blue grouse burst from a -thicket close by, and alighted here and there in the pines and firs. We -moved on a few steps, and stopped within short bow-shot of one. It did -not seem to be alarmed at our approach, and Pitamakan took his time to -fit one of the clumsy arrows and fire it. - -_Zip!_ The shaft passed a foot from its body, struck a limb above and -dropped down into the snow. But the grouse never moved. Anxiously I -watched the fitting and aiming of the other arrow. - -_Zip!_ I could not help letting out a loud yell when it hit fair and the -bird came fluttering and tumbling down. I ran forward and fell on it the -instant it struck the snow, and grasped its plump body with tense -hands. "Meat! See! We have meat!" I cried, holding up the fine cock. - -"Be still! You have already scared all the other birds out of this -tree!" said Pitamakan. - -It was true. There had been three more in that fir, and now, because of -my shouts, they were gone. Pitamakan looked at me reproachfully as he -started to pick up the fallen arrows. Right there I learned a lesson in -self-restraint that I never forgot. - -We knew that there were more grouse in near-by trees, but they sat so -still and were so much the color of their surroundings that we were some -time in discovering any of them. They generally chose a big limb to -light on, close to the bole of the tree. Finally our hungry eyes spied -three in the next tree, and Pitamakan began shooting at the lower one, -while I recovered the arrows for him. - -Luck was against us. It was nothing, but miss, miss, miss, and as one by -one the arrows grazed the birds, they hurtled away through the forest -and out of sight. We were more fortunate a little farther on, for we got -two birds from a small fir. Then we hurried to camp with our prizes. - -I was for roasting the three of them at once, and eating a big feast; -but Pitamakan declared that he would not have any such doings. "We'll -eat one now," he said, "one in the evening, and the other in the -morning." - -We were so hungry that we could not wait to cook the first bird -thoroughly. Dividing it, we half roasted the portions over the coals, -and ate the partly raw flesh. Although far from enough, that was the -best meal I ever had. And it was not so small, either; the blue grouse -is a large and heavy bird, next to the sage-hen the largest of our -grouse. After eating, we went out and "rustled" a good pile of fuel. As -night came on, we sat down before the blaze in a cheerful mood, and -straightway began to make plans for the future, which now seemed less -dark than at the beginning of the day. - -"With a better bow and better arrows, it is certain that we can kill -enough grouse to keep us alive," I said. - -"Not unless we have snowshoes to travel on," Pitamakan objected. "In a -few days the snow will be so deep that we can no longer wade in it." - -"We can make them of wood," I suggested, remembering the tale of a -company man. - -"But we couldn't travel about barefooted. Our moccasins will last only a -day or two longer. One of mine, you see, is already ripping along the -sole. Brother, if we are ever to see green grass and our people again, -these things must we have besides food--thread and needles, skins for -moccasins, clothing and bedding, and a warm lodge. The weather is going -to be terribly cold before long." - -At that my heart went away down. I had thought only of food, forgetting -that other things were just as necessary. The list of them staggered -me--thread and needles, moccasins, and all the rest! "Well, then, we -must die," I exclaimed, "for we can never get all those things!" - -"We can and we will," said Pitamakan, cheerfully, "and the beginning of -it all will be a better bow and some real arrows, arrows with ice-rock -or flint points. We will try to make some to-morrow. Hah! Listen!" - -I barely heard the plaintive squall, but he recognized it. "Come on, -it's a rabbit in one of the snares!" he cried, and out we ran into the -brush. - -He was right. A rabbit, still kicking and struggling for breath, was -hanging in the farther snare. Resetting the trap, we ran, happy and -laughing, back to the fire with the prize. - -After all, we ate two grouse, instead of one, that evening, burying them -under the fire, and this time letting them roast long enough so that the -meat parted easily from the bones. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - -"My grandfather told me that this is one way that it was done," said -Pitamakan, as taking a flake of obsidian in the palm of his left hand, -he tapped it with an angular stone held in his right hand. "The other -way was to heat the ice-rock in the fire, and then with a grass stem -place a very small drop of water on the part to be chipped off." - -We had been out after flints, and finding none, had brought back the -pieces of obsidian that we had placed at the foot of the tree. Earlier -in the morning, on visiting the snares, we had found a rabbit in each. -They hung now in a tree near by, and it was good to see them there; the -rabbit remaining from our first catch had been broiled for our -breakfast. - -Following my partner's example, I, too, tried to work a piece of the -obsidian into an arrow-point. The result was that we spoiled much of -the none too plentiful material. It would not chip where we wanted it -to, and if we hit it too hard a blow it splintered. - -Deciding now to try the fire-and-water method, we made for the purpose a -pair of pincers of a green willow fork, and melted a handful of snow in -a saucer-shaped fragment of rock. I was to do the heating of the -obsidian and Pitamakan was to do the flaking. He chose a piece about an -inch and a half long, a quarter of an inch thick, and nearly triangular -in shape. One edge was as sharp as a razor; the other two were almost -square-faced. - -According to his directions, I took the fragment in the pincers by the -sharp edge, so as to leave the rest free to be worked upon. Gradually -exposing it to the heat, I held it for a moment over some coals freshly -raked from the fire, and then held it before him, while with the end of -a pine needle he laid a tiny drop of water near the lower corner, about -a quarter of an inch back from the squared edge. There was a faint hiss -of steam, but no apparent change in the surface of the rock. We tried it -again, dropping the water in the same place. _Pip!_ A small scale half -the size of the little finger nail snapped off and left a little trough -in the square edge. We both gave cries of delight; it seemed that we had -hit on the right way to do the work. - -A little more experimenting showed that the piece should be held -slanting downward in the direction in which the flaking was to be done, -for the cold water caused the rock to scale in the direction in which -the drop ran. In the course of two hours the rough piece of obsidian was -chipped down to a small arrow-point--one that Pitamakan's grandfather -would have scorned, no doubt, but a real treasure to us. - -We worked all that day making the points; when evening came we had five -that were really serviceable. At sundown, the weather having cleared, -we went to look at the rabbit-snares. As neither had been sprung, we -moved them to a fresh place. This last storm had added a good deal to -the depth of the snow; it was so much now above our knees that walking -in it was hard work. - -We had now before us a task almost as difficult as making the points; -that is, to find suitable material for our bows and arrows. We found -none that evening, but the next morning, after visiting the snares and -taking one rabbit, we stumbled on a clump of service-berry treelets, -next to ash the favorite bow-wood of the Blackfeet. - -Back to the camp we went, got our "anvil" and hacking-stones, and cut -two straight, limbless stems, between two and three inches in diameter. -Next we had a long hunt through the willows for straight arrow-shafts, -found them, and got some coarse pieces of sandstone from the river to -use as files. - -Two days more were needed for making the bows and the arrow-shafts. The -bows were worked down to the right size and shape only by the hardest -kind of sandstone-rubbing, and by scraping and cutting with obsidian -knives. But we did not dare to dry them quickly in the fire for fear of -making the wood brittle, and they had not the strength of a really good -weapon. - -We made a good job of the arrows, slitting the tips, inserting the -points, and fastening them in place with rabbit-sinew wrappings. For the -shafts, the grouse wings provided feathering, which was also fastened in -place with the sinew. Fortunately for us, the rabbit-snares kept us well -supplied with meat, although we were growing tired of the diet. - -Only one thing caused us anxiety now--the cords for our bows. We had to -use for the purpose our moccasin strings, which were not only large and -uneven, but weak. Pitamakan spoke of cutting off a braid of his hair for -a cord, but on the morning after the weapons were finished, he said -that in the night his dream had warned him not to do this. That settled -it. - -On this morning we went early to the snares and found a rabbit hanging -in each. Taking the nooses along with the game to camp, we slowly dried -them before the fire, for they must now serve as bowstrings. After they -were dry we tested one of them, and it broke. We knotted it together and -twisted it with the other to make a cord for Pitamakan's bow. That left -me without one, and unable to string my bow until some large animal was -killed that would furnish sinew for the purpose. I was by no means sure -that the twisted and doubled cord was strong enough. - -"You'd better try it before we start out," I suggested. - -"No, we mustn't strain it any more than we can help," Pitamakan replied; -and with that he led off down the valley. - -Although the sun shone brightly, this was the coldest day that we had -yet had. Had we not worn rabbit-skins, with fur side in, for socks, we -could not have gone far from the fire. The trees were popping with -frost, a sign that the temperature was close to zero. - -Soon after leaving camp we struck a perfect network of game tracks, some -of which afforded good walking--when they went our way. For there was no -main trail parallel to the river, such as the buffalo and other game -always made along the streams on the east side of the Rockies. On the -west side of course there were no buffalo, and probably never had been -any; and to judge from the signs, the other animals wandered aimlessly -in every direction. - -We went ahead slowly and noiselessly, for we hoped to see some of the -game lying down, and to get a close shot before we were discovered. -Presently a covey of ruffed grouse, flying up out of the snow into the -pines, afforded easy shots; but we dared not risk our arrows for fear of -shattering the points against the solid wood. We determined thereafter -always to carry a couple of blunt ones for bird shooting. - -Soon after passing the grouse, I caught a glimpse of some black thing -that bobbed through the snow into a balsam thicket. We went over there -and came to the trail of a fisher, the largest member of the weasel -family. As I had often seen the large, glossy black pelts of these -animals brought into the fort by Indians and company trappers, I was -anxious to get a close view of one alive. I looked for it farther along -in the snow; but Pitamakan, who was gazing up into the trees, all at -once grasped my arm and pointed at a small red-furred creature that, -running to the end of a long bough, leaped into the next tree. - -"Huh! Only a squirrel!" I said. But I had barely spoken when, hot after -it, jumped the fisher, the most beautiful, agile animal that I had ever -seen. It was considerably larger than a house cat. - -We ran, or rather waddled, as fast as we could to the foot of the fir, -barely in time to see the fisher spring into the next tree, still in -pursuit of the squirrel. The latter, making a circle in the branches, -leaped back into the tree over our heads. The fisher was gaining on it, -and was only a few feet behind its prey when, seeing us, it instantly -whipped round and went out of that tree into the one beyond, and from -that to another, and another, until it was finally lost to sight. - -"Oh, if we could only have got it!" I cried. - -"Never mind, there are plenty of them here, and we'll get some before -the winter is over," said my companion. - -Although I had my doubts about that, I made no remark. Pitamakan was -promising lot of things that seemed impossible,--needles and thread, for -instance. "Let's go on," I said. "It is too cold for us to stand still." - -We came now to the red willow thicket where the bull moose had -frightened us. There a barely perceptible trough in the new-fallen snow -marked where he and his family had wandered round and retreated, -quartering down the valley. - -"They are not far away, but I think we had better not hunt them until we -have two bows," Pitamakan remarked. - -Just below the red willows we saw our first deer, a large, white-tail -doe, walking toward the river, and stopping here and there to snip off -tender tips of willow and birch. We stood motionless while she passed -through the open timber and into a fir thicket. - -"She is going to lie down in there. Come on," said Pitamakan. - -He started toward the river and I followed, although I wondered why he -didn't go straight to the deer trail. Finally I asked him the reason, -and right there I got a very important lesson in still-hunting. - -"All the animals of the forest lie down facing their back trail," he -explained. "Sometimes they do more than that; they make a circle, and -coming round, lie down where they can watch their trail. If an enemy -comes along on it, they lie close to the ground, ears flattened back, -until he passes on; then they get up slowly and sneak quietly out of -hearing, and then run far and fast. Remember this: never follow a trail -more than just enough to keep the direction the animal is traveling. -Keep looking ahead, and when you see a likely place for the animal to be -lying, a rise of ground, a side hill, or a thicket, make a circle, and -approach it from the further side. If the animal hasn't stopped, you -will come to its trail; but if you find no trail, go ahead slowly, a -step at a time." - -There was sound sense in what he told me, and I said so; but feeling -that we were losing time, I added, "Let's hurry on now." - -"It is because there is no hurry that I have explained this to you -here," he replied. "This is a time for waiting instead of hurrying. You -should always give the animal plenty of chance to lie down and get -sleepy." - -The day was too cold, however, for longer waiting. We went on to the -river, and were surprised to find that it was frozen over, except for -long, narrow open places over the rapids. As there was no snow on the -new-formed ice, walking on it was a great relief to our tired legs. A -couple of hundred yards down stream we came to the fir thicket, and -walked past it. Since no fresh deer track was to be found coming from -the place, we knew that the doe was somewhere in it. - -Back we turned, and leaving the river, began to work our way in among -the snow-laden trees, which stood so close together that we could see no -more than twenty or thirty feet ahead. I kept well back from Pitamakan, -in order to give him every possible chance. It was an anxious moment. -Killing that deer meant supplying so many of our needs! - -We had sneaked into the thicket for perhaps fifty yards when, for all -his care, Pitamakan grazed with his shoulder a snow-laden branch of -balsam, and down came the whole fluff of it. I saw the snow farther on -burst up as if from the explosion of a bomb, and caught just a glimpse -of the deer, whose tremendous leaps were raising the feathery cloud. It -had only a few yards to go in the open; but Pitamakan had seen it rise -from its bed, and was quick enough to get a fair shot before it -disappeared. - -"I hit it!" he cried. "I saw its tail drop! Come on." - -That was a certain sign. When a deer of this variety is alarmed and -runs, it invariably raises its short, white-haired tail, and keeps -swaying it like the inverted pendulum of a clock; but if even slightly -wounded by the hunter, it instantly claps its tail tight against its -body and keeps it there. - -"Here is blood!" Pitamakan called out, pointing to some red spots on the -snow. They were just a few scattering drops, but I consoled myself with -thinking that an arrow does not let out blood like a rifle-ball because -the shaft fills the wound. We soon came to the edge of the fir thicket. -Beyond, the woods were so open that we could see a long way in the -direction of the deer's trail. We dropped to a walk, and went on a -little less hopefully; the blood-droppings became more scattering, and -soon not another red spot was to be seen--a bad sign. - -At last we found where the deer had ceased running, had stopped and -turned round to look back. It had stood for some time, as was shown by -the well-trodden snow. Even here there was not one drop of blood, and -worst of all, from this place the deer had gone on at its natural long -stride. - -"It is useless for us to trail her farther," said Pitamakan dolefully. -"Her wound is only a slight one; it smarts just enough to keep her -traveling and watching that we don't get a chance for another shot." - -I felt bad enough, but Pitamakan felt worse, because he thought that he -should have made a better shot. - -"Oh, never mind," I said, trying to cheer him. "There are plenty of deer -close round here, and it is a long time until night. Go ahead. We'll do -better next time." - -"I am pretty tired," he complained. "Perhaps we had better go to camp -and start out rested to-morrow." - -I had not thought to take the lead and break trail a part of the time; -of course he was tired. I proposed to do it now, and added that it would -be a good plan to walk on the ice of the river and look carefully into -the timber along the shores for meat of some kind. - -"You speak truth!" he exclaimed, his face brightening in a way that was -good to see. "Go ahead; let's get over there as quick as possible." - -In a few minutes we were back on the ice, where he took the lead again. -And now for the first time since leaving camp--except for a few minutes -after the shot at the deer--I felt sure that with so much game in the -valley we should kill something. On the smooth, new ice, our moccasins -were absolutely noiseless; we were bound to get a near shot. Inside of -half an hour we flushed several coveys of grouse, and saw an otter and -two mink; but there were so many tracks of big game winding round on the -shore and in and out of the timber that we paid no attention to the -small fry. - -It was at the apex of a sharp point, where the river ran right at the -roots of some big pines, that we saw something that sent a thrill of -expectation through us; the snow on a willow suddenly tumbled, while the -willow itself trembled as if something had hit it. We stopped and -listened, but heard nothing. Then nearer to us the snow fell from -another bush; from another closer yet, and Pitamakan made ready to shoot -just as a big cow elk walked into plain view and stopped, broadside -toward us, not fifty feet away. - -"Oh, now it is meat, sure," I thought, and with one eye on the cow and -the other on my companion, I waited breathlessly. - -For an instant Pitamakan held the bow motionless, then suddenly drew -back the cord with a mighty pull, whirled half round on the slippery ice -and sat down, with the bow still held out in his left hand. From each -end of it dangled a part of the cord! - -That was a terrible disappointment. Such a fair chance to get a big fat -animal lost, all because of that weak bowstring! The elk had lunged out -of sight the instant Pitamakan moved. He sat for a moment motionless on -the ice, with bowed head, a picture of utter dejection. Finally he gave -a deep sigh, got up slowly and listlessly, and muttered that we had -better go home. - -"Wait! Let's knot the cord together," I proposed. "That may have been -the one weak place in it." - -He shook his head in a hopeless way and started upstream, but after a -few steps halted, and said, "I have no hope, but we'll try it." - -The cord had been several inches longer than was necessary, and after -the knot was made it was still long enough to string the bow. When it -was in place again, Pitamakan gave it a half pull, a harder one, then -fitted an arrow and drew it slowly back; but before the head of the -shaft was anywhere near the bow, _frip!_ went the cord, broken in a new -place. We were done for unless we could get a new and serviceable cord! -Without a word Pitamakan started on and I followed, my mind all a jumble -of impossible plans. - -We followed the winding river homeward in preference to the shorter -route through the deep snow. The afternoon was no more than half gone -when we arrived at the little shelter, rebuilt the fire, and sat down to -roast some rabbit meat. - -"We can't even get any more rabbits," I said. "There are so many knots -in our strings that a slip-noose can't be made with them." - -"That is true, brother," said Pitamakan, "so we have but one chance -left. If there is a bear in that cave across the river we have got to -kill him." - -"With clubs?" - -"Yes, of course. I told you that my dream forbids the cutting of my -hair, and so there is no way to make a bowstring." - -"Come on! Come on!" I said desperately. "Let's go now and have it over." - -We ate our rabbit meat as quickly as possible, drank from the spring, -and by the help of the indispensable "anvil" and our cutting-stones, we -got us each a heavy, green birch club. Then we hurried off to the river. -Although much snow had fallen since we had seen the black bear's tracks -there, its trail was still traceable up through the timber toward the -cave. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - -Well, we took up the dim trail on the farther side of the river and -followed it through the timber toward the cave at the foot of the cliff, -but I, for my part, was not at all anxious to reach the end of it. -Midway up the slope I called to Pitamakan to halt. - -"Let's talk this over and plan just what we will do at the cave," I -proposed. - -"I don't know what there is to plan," he answered, turning and facing -me. "We walk up to the cave, stoop down, and shout, 'Sticky-mouth, come -out of there!' Out he comes, terribly scared, and we stand on each side -of the entrance with raised clubs, and whack him on the base of the nose -as hard as we can. Down he falls. We hit him a few more times, and he -dies." - -"Yes?" said I. "Yes?" - -I was trying to remember all the bear stories that I had heard the -company men and the Indians tell, but I could call to mind no story of -their attacking a bear with clubs. - -"Yes? Yes what? Why did you stop? Go on and finish what you started to -say." - -"We may be running a big risk," I replied. "I have always heard that any -animal will fight when it is cornered." - -"But we are not going to corner this bear. We stand on each side of the -entrance; it comes out; there is the big wide slope and the thick forest -before it, and plenty of room to run. We will be in great luck if, with -the one blow that we each will have time for, we succeed in knocking it -down. Remember this: We have to hit it and hit hard with one swing of -the club, for it will be going so fast that there will be no chance for -a second blow." - -We went on. I felt somewhat reassured, and was now anxious to have the -adventure over as soon as possible. All our future depended on getting -the bear. I wondered whether, if we failed to stop the animal with our -clubs, Pitamakan would venture to defy his dream, cut off a braid of his -hair, and make a bow-cord. - -Passing the last of the trees, we began to climb the short, bare slope -before the cave, when suddenly we made a discovery that was sickening. -About twenty yards from the cave the trail we were following turned -sharply to the left and went quartering back into the timber. We stared -at it for a moment in silence. Then Pitamakan said, dully:-- - -"Here ends our bear hunt! He was afraid to go to his den because our -scent was still there. He has gone far off to some other place that he -knows." - -The outlook was certainly black. There was but one chance for us now, I -thought, and that was for me to persuade this red brother of mine to -disregard his dream and cut off some of his hair for a bow-cord. But -turning round and idly looking the other way, I saw something that -instantly drove this thought from my mind. It was a dim trail along the -foot of the cliff to the right of the cave. I grabbed Pitamakan by the -arm, yanked him round, and silently pointed at it. His quick eyes -instantly discovered it, and he grinned, and danced a couple of steps. - -"Aha! That is why this one turned and went away!" he exclaimed. "Another -bear was there already, had stolen his home and bed, and he was afraid -to fight for them. Come on! Come on!" - -We went but a few steps, however, before he stopped short and stood in -deep thought. Finally he turned and looked at me queerly, as if I were a -stranger and he were trying to learn by my appearance what manner of boy -I was. It is not pleasant to be stared at in that way. I stood it as -long as I could, and then asked, perhaps a little impatiently, why he -did so. The answer I got was unexpected:-- - -"I am thinking that the bear there in the cave may be a grizzly. How is -it? Shall we go on and take the chances, or turn back to camp? If you -are afraid, there is no use of our trying to do anything up there." - -Of course I was afraid, but I was also desperate; and I felt, too, that -I must be just as brave as my partner. "Go on!" I said, and my voice -sounded strangely hollow to me. "Go on! I will be right with you." - -We climbed the remainder of the slope and stood before the cave. Its low -entrance was buried in snow, all except a narrow space in the centre, -through which the bear had ploughed its way in, and which, since its -passing, had partly filled. The trail was so old that we could not -determine whether a black or a grizzly bear had made it. - -But of one thing there could be no doubt: the animal was right there in -the dark hole, only a few feet from us, as was shown by the faint wisps -of congealed breath floating out of it into the cold air. Pitamakan, -silently stationing me on the right of the entrance, took his place at -the left side, and motioning me to raise my club, shouted, -"_Pahk-si-kwo-yi, sak-sit!_" (Sticky-mouth, come out!) - -Nothing came; nor could we hear any movement, any stir of the leaves -inside. Again he shouted; and again and again, without result. Then, -motioning me to follow, he went down the slope. "We'll have to get a -pole and jab him," he said, when we came to the timber. "Look round for -a good one." - -We soon found a slender dead pine, snapped it at the base where it had -rotted, and knocked off the few scrawny limbs. It was fully twenty feet -long, and very light. - -"Now I am the stronger," said Pitamakan, as we went back, "so do you -handle the pole, and I will stand ready to hit a big blow with my club. -You keep your club in your right hand, and work the pole into the cave -with your left. In that way maybe you will have time to strike, too." - -When we came to the cave, I found that his plan would not work. I could -not force the pole through the pile of snow at the entrance with one -hand, so standing the club where I could quickly reach it, I used both -hands. At every thrust the pole went in deeper, and in the excitement of -the moment I drove it harder and harder, with the result that it -unexpectedly went clear through the obstructing snow and on, and I fell -headlong. - -At the instant I went down something struck the far end of the pole such -a rap that I could feel the jar of it clear back through the snow, and a -muffled, raucous, angry yowl set all my strained nerves a-quiver. As I -was gathering myself to rise, the dreadful yowl was repeated right over -my head, and down the bear came on me, clawing and squirming. Its sharp -nails cut right into my legs. I squirmed as best I could under its -weight, and no doubt went through the motions of yelling; but my face -was buried in the snow, and for the moment I could make no sound. - -Although I was sure that a grizzly was upon me and that my time had -come, I continued to wiggle, and to my great surprise, I suddenly -slipped free from the weight, rose up, and toppled over backward, -catching, as I went, just a glimpse of Pitamakan fiercely striking a -blow with his club. I was on my feet in no time, and what I saw caused -me to yell with delight as I sprang for my club. The bear was kicking -and writhing in the snow, and my partner was showering blows on its -head. I delivered a blow or two myself before it ceased to struggle. - -Then I saw that it was not a grizzly, but a black bear of no great size. -Had it been a grizzly, I certainly, and probably Pitamakan, too, would -have been killed right there. - -It was some little time before we could settle down to the work in hand. -Pitamakan had to describe how he had stood ready, and hit the bear a -terrific blow on the nose as it came leaping out, and how he had -followed it up with more blows as fast as he could swing his club. Then -I tried to tell how I had felt, crushed under the bear and expecting -every instant to be bitten and clawed to death. But words failed me, -and, moreover, a stinging sensation in my legs demanded my attention; -there were several gashes in them from which blood was trickling, and my -trousers were badly ripped. I rubbed the wounds a bit with snow, and -found that they were not so serious as they looked. - - [Illustration: PITAMAKAN FIERCELY STRIKING A BLOW] - -The bear, a male, was very fat, and was quite too heavy for us to carry; -probably it weighed two hundred pounds. But we could drag it, and taking -hold of its fore paws, we started home. It was easy to pull it down the -slope and across the ice, but from there to camp, across the level -valley, dragging it was very hard work. Night had fallen when we -arrived, and cold as the air was, we were covered with perspiration. - -Luckily, we had a good supply of wood on hand. Pitamakan, opening the -ash-heap, raked out a mass of live coals and started a good fire. Then -we rested and broiled some rabbit meat before attacking the bear. Never -were there two happier boys than we, as we sat before our fire in that -great wilderness, munched our insipid rabbit meat and gloated over our -prize. - -The prehistoric people no doubt considered obsidian knives most -excellent tools; but to us, who were accustomed only to sharp steel, -they seemed anything but excellent; they severely tried our muscles, our -patience, and our temper. They proved, however, to be not such bad -flaying instruments. Still, we were a long time ripping the bear's skin -from the tip of the jaw down along the belly to the tail, and from the -tail down the inside of the legs to and round the base of the feet. -There were fully two inches of fat on the carcass, and when we finally -got the hide off, we looked as if we had actually wallowed in it. By -that time, according to the Big Dipper, it was past midnight, but -Pitamakan would not rest until he had the back sinews safe out of the -carcass and drying before the fire for early use. - -It is commonly believed that the Indians used the leg tendons of animals -for bow-cords, thread, and wrappings, but this is a mistake; the only -ones they took were the back sinews. These lie like ribbons on the -outside of the flesh along the backbone, and vary in length and -thickness according to the size of the animal. Those of a buffalo bull, -for instance, are nearly three feet long, three or four inches wide, and -a quarter of an inch thick. When dry, they are easily shredded into -thread of any desired size. - -Those that we now took from the bear were not two feet long, but were -more than sufficient for a couple of bow-cords. As soon as we had them -free, we pressed them against a smooth length of dry wood, where they -stuck; and laying this well back from the fire, we began our -intermittent night's sleep, for, as I have said, we had to get up -frequently to replenish the fire. - -The next morning, expecting to have a fine feast, I broiled some of the -bear meat over the coals, but it was so rank that one mouthful was more -than enough; so I helped Pitamakan finish the last of the rabbit meat. -He would have starved rather than eat the meat of a bear, for to the -Blackfeet the bear is "medicine," a sacred animal, near kin to man, and -therefore not to be used for food. - -Killing a grizzly was considered as great a feat as killing a Sioux, or -other enemy. But the successful hunter took no part of the animal except -the claws, unless he were a medicine-man. The medicine-man, with many -prayers and sacrifices to the gods, would occasionally take a strip of -the fur to wrap round the roll containing his sacred pipe. - -Pitamakan himself was somewhat averse to our making any use of the black -bear's hide, but when I offered to do all the work of scraping off the -fat meat and of drying it, he consented to sleep on it once with me, as -an experiment, and if his dreams were good, to continue to use it. - -I went at my task with good will, and was half the morning getting the -hide clean and in shape to stretch and dry. Pitamakan meanwhile made two -bow-cords of the bear sinew. First he raveled them into a mass of fine -threads, and then hand-spun them into a twisted cord of the desired -length; and he made a very good job of it, too. When he had stretched -the cords to dry before the fire, he sharpened a twig of dry birch for -an awl, and with the rest of the sinew, repaired our badly ripped -moccasins. At noon we started out to hunt, and on the way dragged the -bear carcass back to the river and across it into the big timber, where -later on we hoped to use it for bait. - -This day we went up the river, walking noiselessly on the ice. From the -start we felt confident of success; for not only were our bow-cords as -good as we could desire, but the bows were now in fine condition, -having dried out and become more stiff, yet springy. Since, during the -latter part of the night, more snow had fallen, we could distinguish -fresh game tracks from old ones. And now that there was snow on the ice, -we naturally expected to see where the hoofed game had been crossing the -river; they seldom venture out on smooth ice, from fear of slipping and -injuring themselves. - -The first game we saw were a number of ruffed grouse standing in a row -at the edge of a strip of open water, to take their daily drink. They -walked away into the willows at our approach, and from there flew into -the firs, where we knocked down four of them with our blunt-headed bird -arrows. I got only one, for of course I was not so good a marksman with -bow and arrow as my partner, who had used the weapon more or less since -he was old enough to walk. - -Burying the grouse in the snow at the edge of the shore, we went on, and -presently came to the place where several elk had crossed to the north -side of the river, browsed among a bordering patch of red willows, and -then gone into the thick firs. We followed them, not nearly so excited -now that we had trustworthy weapons as we had been on the previous hunt. -When we came near the firs, which covered several acres of the bend in -the river, Pitamakan sent me round to enter the farther side and come -through the patch toward him, while he took his stand close to the place -where the band had entered. - -"You needn't come back carefully," he said to me. "Make all the noise -you can--the more the better; then they will come running out here on -their back trail, and I'll get some good shots. You'd better give me one -of your real arrows, for you will probably not get a chance even for one -shot at them." - -That left me with only one arrow with an obsidian point, but -nevertheless I determined to do my best to get an elk. As Pitamakan had -remarked about himself, I, too, felt the sun power strong within me that -morning and looked for success. With that feeling, call it what you -will,--all old hunters will understand what I mean,--I was not at all -surprised, a short time after entering the firs, to see, as I was -sneaking along through them, a big bull elk astride a willow bush that -he had borne down in order to nip the tender tips. - -He was not fifty feet from me, and no doubt thought that the slight -noise which he heard was made by one of his band. He could not see me at -first, because of a screen of fir branches between us, and he had not -looked up when I made the final step that brought me into the open. But -when I raised the bow, he jerked his head sidewise and gathered himself -for a jump. - -He was not so quick as I. The strength of a giant seemed to swell in my -arms; I drew the arrow sliding back across the bow almost to the head -with a lightning-like pull, and let it go, _zip!_ deep into his side -through the small ribs. - -Away he went, and I after him, yelling at the top of my voice to scare -the herd toward Pitamakan, if possible. I saw several of them bounding -away through the firs, but my eyes were all for the red trail of the -bull. And presently I came to the great animal, stretched across a -snow-covered log and breathing its last; for the arrow had pierced its -lungs. - -"_Wo-ke-haí! Ni-kaí-nit-ab is-stum-ik!_" (Come on! I have killed a -bull!) I yelled. - -And from the far side of the firs came the answer: "_Nis-toab -ni-mut-uk-stan!_" (I have also killed!) - -That was great news. Although it was hard for me to leave my big bull -even for a moment, I went to Pitamakan, and found that he had killed a -fine big cow. He had used three arrows, and had finally dropped her at -the edge of the river. - -We were so much pleased and excited over our success that it was some -time before we could cease telling how it all happened and settle down -to work. We had several fresh obsidian flakes, but as the edges soon -grew dull, we were all the rest of the day in getting the hides off the -animals and going to camp with the meat of the cow. The meat of my bull -was too poor to use, but his skin, sinews, brains, and liver were of the -greatest value to us, as will be explained. - -"There is so much for us to do that it is hard to decide what to do -first," said Pitamakan that night. - -It was long after dark, and we had just gathered the last of a pile of -firewood and sat ourselves down before the cheerful blaze. - -"The first thing is to cook a couple of grouse, some elk liver, and hang -a side of elk ribs over the fire to roast for later eating," I said, and -began preparing the great feast. - -After our long diet of rabbits, it was a feast. We finished the birds -and the liver, and then sat waiting patiently for the fat ribs to roast -to a crisp brown as they swung on a tripod over the fire. I was now so -accustomed to eating meat without salt that I no longer craved the -mineral, and of course my companion never thought of it. In those days -the Blackfeet used none; their very name for it, _is-tsik-si-pok-wi_ -(like fire tastes), proved their dislike of the condiment. - -"Well, let us now decide what we shall do first," Pitamakan again -proposed. "We need new moccasins, new leggings and snowshoes. Moreover, -we need a comfortable lodge. Which shall be first?" - -"The lodge," I answered, without hesitation. "But how can we make one? -What material can we get for one unless we kill twenty elk and tan the -skins? That would take a long time." - -"This is a different kind of lodge," he explained. "When you came up the -Big River you saw the lodges of the Earth People? Yes. Well, we will -build one like theirs." - -On the voyage up the Missouri with my uncle I had not only seen the -lodges of the Earth People (Sak-wi Tup-pi), as the Blackfeet called the -Mandans, but I had been inside several of them, and noted how warm and -comfortable they were. Their construction was merely a matter of posts, -poles, and earth. We agreed to begin one in the morning, and do no -hunting until it was done. - -The site that we chose for the lodge was a mile below camp and close to -the river, where two or three years before a fire, sweeping through a -growth of "lodge-pole" pines, had killed thousands of the young, slender -trees. In a grove of heavy firs close by we began the work, and as every -one should know how to build a comfortable house without the aid of -tools and nails, I will give some details of the construction. - -In place of the four heavy corner posts which the Mandans cut, we used -four low-crotched trees that stood about twenty feet apart in the form -of a square. In the crotches on two sides of the square we laid as heavy -a pole as we could carry, and bolstered up the centre with a pile of -flat rocks, to keep it from sagging. On the joists, as these may be -called, we laid lighter poles side by side, to form the roof. In the -centre we left a space about four feet wide, the ends of which we -covered with shorter poles, until we reduced it to a hole four feet -square. - -The next task was to get the poles for the sides. These we made of the -proper length by first denting them with sharp-edged stones and then -snapping them off. They were slanted all round against the four sides, -except for a narrow space in the south side, which we left for a -doorway. Next we thatched the roof and sides with a thick layer of -balsam boughs, on top of which we laid a covering of earth nearly a foot -deep. This earth we shoveled into an elk hide with elk shoulder blades, -and then carried each load to its proper place. Lastly, we constructed -in the same manner a passageway six or eight feet long to the door. - -All this took us several days to accomplish, and was hard work. But when -we had laid a ring of heavy stones directly under the square opening in -the roof for a fireplace, made a thick bed of balsam boughs, and covered -it with the bearskin, put up an elkskin for a door, and sat us down -before a cheerful fire, we had a snug, warm house, and were vastly proud -of it. - -"Now for some adventure," said Pitamakan, as we sat eating our first -meal in the new house. "What say you we had best do?" - -"Make some moccasins and snowshoes," I replied. - -"We can do that at night. Let us----" - -The sentence was never finished. A terrible booming roar, seemingly -right overhead, broke upon our ears. Pitamakan's brown face turned an -ashy gray as he sprang up, crying: - -"Run! Run! Run!" - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - -Out into the snow we ran, while nearer and nearer sounded that terrific -roaring and rumbling; it was as if the round world was being rent -asunder. Pitamakan led the way straight back from the river toward the -south side of the valley, and we had run probably two hundred yards -before the noise ceased as suddenly as it had begun. We were quite out -of breath, and it was some time before I could ask what had happened. - -"Why, don't you know?" he said. "That was a great piece of the ice cliff -on the mountain across there. It broke off and came tearing down into -the valley. Trees, boulders, everything in its way were smashed and -carried down. I thought that it was going to bury our lodge." - -Pitamakan wanted to make an early start in the morning to view the path -of the avalanche, but I insisted that we stay at home and work hard -until the things that we needed so much were finished. I had my way. - -Ever since the day of the elk killing, we had kept one of the big hides -in the river in order to loosen the hair. In the morning we brought it -into the lodge, and laying it over a smooth, hard piece of driftwood, -grained it with a heavy elk rib for a graining-knife. It was very hard -work. Although we sharpened an edge of the rib with a piece of sandstone -and kept it as sharp as possible, we had to bear down on it with all our -strength, pushing it an inch or two at a time in order to separate the -hair from the skin. Taking turns, we were half a day in finishing the -job. - -We cut the hide into two parts. Of these, we dried one, and cut the -other into webbing-strings for snowshoes--tedious work with our obsidian -knives. As soon as the half hide was dry, I rubbed elk brains and liver -well into it, and then, rolling it up, laid it away for a couple of -days until the mixture could neutralize the large amount of glue that is -in all hides. After that operation, I spent half a day in washing the -hide and then rubbing and stretching it as it dried. I had then a very -good piece of elk leather,--so-called "buckskin,"--enough for four pairs -of moccasins. - -These Pitamakan and I made very large, so that they would go over the -rabbit-skins with which we wrapped our feet as a protection from the -cold. Our needle for sewing them was a sharp awl made from a piece of an -elk's leg bone; the thread was of elk sinew. - -_O-wam_ (shape of eggs) is the Blackfoot name for snowshoes. Those that -we made were neither shaped like an egg nor like anything else. The bows -were of birch, and no two were alike, and the webbing was woven on them -in a way to make a forest Indian laugh. Neither Pitamakan's people nor -the other tribes of the plains knew anything about snowshoes except in -a general way, and I had never seen a pair. All things considered, -however, we did a fairly good job. If the shoes were heavy and clumsy, -at least they were serviceable, for they sank only a few inches in the -snow when we tested them. - -The evening we finished this work another snowstorm came on, which -lasted two nights and a day, and forced us to postpone our hunt. We -employed the time in improving the interior of the lodge by building a -heavier stone platform for the fire, one that would give off -considerable heat after we went to sleep. - -In order to create a draft for the fire, we were forced to admit some -air through the doorway, and this chilled us. Finally, I remembered that -I had seen in the Mandan lodges screens several feet high, put between -the doorway and the fire, in order to force the cold air upward. - -We made one at once of poles, backed with earth, and then, building a -small fire, sat down on our bed to see how it worked; no more cold air -swept across the floor, and we were absolutely comfortable. But in the -night, although the stones gave out some heat, we were obliged to -replenish the fire as soon as it died down. What we needed in order to -have unbroken sleep was bedding. Pitamakan said that one animal here, -the white mountain goat, had a warmer, thicker coat of fur than the -buffalo. We determined to get some of the hides and tan them into soft -robes. - -The morning after the storm broke clear and cold, but my partner refused -to go up into the high mountains after goats. - -"We must put it off and do something else to-day," he said. "I had a -very bad dream last night--a confused dream of a bear and a goat, one -biting and clawing me, and the other sticking its sharp horns into my -side. Now either that is a warning not to hunt goats to-day, or it is a -sign that the bearskin that we are sleeping on is bad medicine. This is -not the first bad dream that I have had since lying on it." - -"My dreams have all been good since we began sleeping on it," I said. - -"Then use it by yourself; I shall not sleep on it again." - -"Oh, dreams don't mean anything!" I exclaimed. "White people pay no -attention to them." - -"That is because your gods give you different medicine from that our -gods give us," he said, very seriously. "To us is given the dream; in -that way our gods show us the things we may and may not do. Do not speak -lightly of it, lest you bring harm to me." - -I had sense enough to heed his wish; never afterward, either by word or -look, did I cast even a shadow of doubt upon his beliefs. For that -reason, largely, we got along together in perfect harmony, as all -companions should. - -As there was in his dream nothing about other animals, we put on our -snowshoes and started out to hunt and set traps in the valley. At odd -moments we had been making triggers of different sizes for deadfalls, -and now had fifteen ready to use. They were of the "figure 4" pattern; -more complicated than the two-piece triggers, but more sure of action. -Having with the small ones set deadfalls for marten, fisher, and mink, -we went on up the river to the carcasses of the bear and the bull elk. -We found that both had been almost entirely eaten by wolverenes, lynxes, -and mountain lions. Having built at each of these places a large -deadfall, we weighted the drop-bars so heavily with old logs that there -could be no escape for the largest prowler once he seized the bait. - -By the time we had the last of the triggers baited and set up and the -little pen built behind the drop-bar, night was coming on, and we -hurried home. We had seen many tracks of deer, elk, and moose, but had -been too busy to hunt any of them. As we neared the lodge, another -snowstorm set in, but that did not disturb us; in fact, the more snow -the better, for with deep snow the hoofed game of the valley would be -unable to escape us. We could choose the fat does and cows for our -winter's meat. The bucks and bulls were already poor, and the others -would lose flesh rapidly once they were obliged to "yard," that is, to -confine themselves to their hard-beaten trails in the limited area of a -willow patch. - -It was a heavy snow that fell in the night, and the next morning -snowshoeing was good. As Pitamakan had had no bad dreams, and the sun -was shining in a clear sky, we started out for a goat hunt. After -climbing the mountain-side opposite the lodge for some time, we came to -a series of ledges, whence we obtained a fine view of the country which -we were living in. The mountain which we were on was high and very -steep. Not far below its summit was the big ice field, terminating at -the edge of a cliff, from which a great mass had tumbled, and started -the avalanche that had frightened us. - -Turning to the east and pointing to the backbone of the range, Pitamakan -told me to notice how absolutely white it all was except the -perpendicular cliffs, where snow could not lie. There was no question -but that the snow was a great deal deeper up there than where we were. - -I thought that there was a longing in Pitamakan's eyes as he gazed at -the tremendous wall of rock and snow that separated us from the plains -and from our people, but as he said nothing, I kept quiet. For myself, I -felt that I would give anything, suffer any hardships, if I could only -get once more to Fort Benton and my uncle. True, we now had a -comfortable lodge and plenty of elk meat, weapons for killing game, -snowshoes for traveling, and the outlook for more comforts was -favorable. But for all that, the future was very uncertain; there were -many things that might prevent our ever reaching the Missouri; all -nature was arrayed against us, and so was man himself. - -Pitamakan roused me from my reverie by a tap on the shoulder. - -"I can see no goat signs here above us," he said, "but look over there -at the ledges well up on the next mountain to the east. Do you see the -fresh trails?" - -I did. In the smooth, glittering snow they were startlingly distinct in -their windings and turnings from clump to clump of the pines on the -rocky ledges. None of the animals that made them were in sight, but that -was not strange; as they were of practically the same color as the snow, -we could not see them at that distance except when they happened to get -in front of the dark pines or rock. Although the distance over there was -not more than a mile in a straight line, a cut gorge between the two -mountains obliged us to return to the river before making the ascent, -which more than doubled the distance. - -After striking the river, we followed it up past the mouth of the gorge, -past three of the deadfalls set near the shore. The first one held a -fine, large, dark-furred marten, its body nipped across the shoulders -and crushed by the drop-bar. Taking the little victim out, and hanging -it in a tree, we reset the trap. The next deadfall was unsprung. The -third, one of the big falls, was down, and we hurried as fast as we -could to see what it held. - -"A lynx," I ventured. - -"A wolverene," Pitamakan guessed. - -We were both wrong. Pinned down by the neck was a big mountain lion, to -us the most valuable of all the animals of the forest. The Blackfeet, as -well as the Crows and Gros Ventres, prized the skins very highly for use -as saddle-robes--we could get at least four horses for this one. Taking -such a prize made us feel rich. Leaving it in the fall until our return, -we turned off from the river and began the ascent of the mountain in -high spirits. - -For a time the going was good, although increasingly difficult. After -we had passed through the big timber, the mountain became more and more -steep, until it was impossible for us to go farther on snowshoes. Taking -them off, we wallowed up through the deep snow from ledge to ledge, -keeping away from the clumps of stunted pine as much as possible, for in -them the snow lay deepest and was most fluffy. - -The weather was bitterly cold, but we were warm enough, even perspiring -from our exertions. Much as we needed to stop and rest at frequent -intervals, it was impossible to do so, for the instant we halted we -began to shiver. More than once we were on the point of giving up the -hunt, but each time the thought of what a few goat hides meant to us -strengthened our legs to further endeavor. - -I never envied a bird more than I did one that I saw that day. A Clark's -crow it was, raucous of voice and insolent, that kept flying a short -distance ahead of us and lighting on the pines, where it pretended to -pick kernels out of the big cones. If we could only fly like that, I -kept thinking, within a moment's time we could be right on the goats. - -Strange as it may seem, there was more bird life on that bleak, cold -height than in the forest below. One variety of small, sweet singers, -flying all round us in large flocks, was especially numerous. I wondered -what they could be. Long years afterward an ornithologist told me that -they were gray-crowned finches--arctic birds that love the winter cold -and are happiest in a snowdrift. - -We saw, too, many chattering flocks of Bohemian waxwings, also visitors -from the arctic regions. Most interesting of all were the ptarmigan, -small, snow-white grouse with jet-black eyes, bill, and toes. Never -descending to the valleys, either for food or shelter, they live on the -high, bare mountains the year round. They are heavily feathered clear -to the toes, so that their feet cannot freeze; and at night, and by day, -too, in severe weather, instead of roosting in the dwarf pines they -plunge down into soft snow, tunnel under the surface for several feet, -and then tramp a chamber large enough to sit in. These birds were very -tame, and often allowed us to get within fifteen or twenty feet of them -before flying or running away. Some were saucy and made a great fuss at -our approach, cocking up their tails and cackling, and even making a -feint of charging us. - -At last we came walking out on a ledge that ended at the side of a big -gouge in the mountain, and on the far verge of it saw a goat, a big old -fellow, sitting at the edge of a small cliff. It was sitting down on its -haunches, just as a dog does. Should you see a cow, a sheep, or any -herbivorous animal do that, you would think his position extremely -ludicrous. In the case of the goat, because of its strange and uncouth -shape, it is more than ludicrous; it is weird. The animal has a long, -broad-nosed head, set apparently right against its shoulders; a long, -flowing beard hangs from its chin; its withers are extremely high, and -its hams low, like those of the buffalo. Its abnormally long hair -flutters round its knees like a pair of embroidered pantalets, and rises -eight or ten inches in length above the shoulders. The tail is short, -and so heavily haired that it looks like a thick club. Its round, -scimitar-shaped black horns rise in a backward curve from the thick, -fuzzy coat, and seem very small for the big, deep-chested animal. - -The goat was almost as new to Pitamakan as to me. - -"What is the matter with it?" he exclaimed. "Do you think it is sick, or -hurt?" - -"He looks as if he felt very sad," I replied. - -And truly the animal did look very dejected, its head sunk on its -brisket, its black eyes staring vacantly at the valley far below, as if -it were burdened with all the pains and sorrows of the ages. - -We were so interested in watching it that at first we did not see the -others, thirteen in all, scattered close round on the little ledges -above him. Some were standing, others lying down. One big old "billy" -lay under a low-branched dwarf pine, and now and then would raise its -head, bite off a mouthful of the long, coarse needles, and deliberately -chew them. We had come out in plain view of the band, and now wondered -that they had not seen us and run away. - -"Let's back up step by step until we are in the shelter of the pines -back there, then look out a way to get to them," Pitamakan proposed. - -On starting to do so, we found that the goats had seen us all the time. -Two or three of them turned their heads and stared at us with apparent -curiosity; the old billy at the edge of the cliff gave us one vacant -stare, and resumed his brooding; the others paid no attention to our -movements. Unquestionably they had never seen man before, and did not -consider us enemies because we were not four-legged, like the beasts -that preyed upon them. So instead of backing cautiously, we turned and -walked into the little clump of pines, and beyond them to a deep gutter, -where we began the difficult task of stalking the animals. We had to -climb for several hundred yards to a broad ledge, follow it for perhaps -twice that distance, and then work our way, as best we could, straight -down to the goats. - -That was a terrible climb. As the angle of the mountain was such that -the climb would have been difficult on bare rock, you can imagine how -hard it was to go up in the deep snow. Using our snowshoes for shovels -and taking the lead in turn, we fought our way through, upward, inch by -inch. More than once a mass of snow gave way above our gouging, and -swept us down a few feet or a few yards. Once Pitamakan was buried so -deep in it that I was obliged to dig him out; he was gasping for breath -by the time I uncovered his head. - -On the ledge the going was so level that we wore our snowshoes a part of -the way across, and then, wading to a point directly above the goats, we -began the descent. That was easy. Straight ahead of us the mountain -dropped in a series of little shelves, or cliffs, down which we could -easily climb. Stopping when we thought we were near to the goats, we -strung our bows and fitted arrows to them. As I was a poor shot, I took -but one arrow, to be used only in an emergency. Pitamakan carried the -other four. - -In a few moments we struck a deep and well-packed goat trail that -meandered along a shelf thirty, and in places fifty feet wide. Here and -there were clumps of dwarf pine and juniper that prevented our seeing -very far ahead, and Pitamakan gave me the sign to look sharp for the -game. - -A moment later, as we followed the trail round some pines, we came face -to face with a big billy-goat. The instant that he saw us he bristled up -his hair and came for us. Did you ever see a wild pig prance out for a -fight? Well, that is the way that goat came at us--head down and -prancing sidewise. I don't know whether we were more surprised or -scared; probably scared. The sight of those round, sharp black horns -made our flesh creep; indeed, the whole aspect of the uncouth animal was -terrifying. - -Coming at us head on, there was little chance for an arrow to do any -damage to him. - -"Run out that way!" Pitamakan cried, as he gave me a push. "I'll go this -way!" - -There was not any running about it; we waddled to one side and the other -from the cañon-like trail out into the deep snow, and it was remarkable -what progress we made. As I said, the goat came prancing toward us, not -jumping full speed, as he might have done, so that we had plenty of time -to get out of the trail. - -When he came opposite he seemed undecided what to do next. We did not -give him time to make up his mind. Pitamakan let fly an arrow, while I -stood ready to shoot if need be. But Pitamakan's shaft sped true; the -old billy flinched and humped himself, threw up his head with a pitiful, -silly expression of surprise, and dropped in his tracks. We waded back -into the trail and examined our prize; such heavy, thick, long hair and -fleece I had never seen on any other animal. At the base of the sharp -horns were black, warty, rubber-like excrescences. "Smell them!" -Pitamakan bade me, and I did. They gave off an exceedingly rank odor of -musk. - -Pitamakan now pulled out the arrow; it had evidently pierced the heart. -He proposed that we go after the band and kill as many as possible; we -needed at least four large, or six small skins for a good bed-robe. - -"Well, come on, lead the way," I said. - -He held up his hand, and I could see his eyes grow big as if from fear. -"What is it?" I asked. - -He did not answer, but stood anxiously looking this way and that, and -soon I, too, heard the faint, remote droning noise that had alarmed him. -We looked at the mountain above us, and at others near and far, but -there was nowhere any sign of an avalanche. - -The droning noise became louder and deeper, filling us with dread all -the more poignant because it was impossible to determine the cause. - -"The old medicine-men told the truth!" said Pitamakan. "These mountains -are no place for the Blackfeet. The gods that dwell here are not our -gods, and they do strange and cruel things to us plains people when they -get the chance." - -I had nothing to say. We listened; the droning grew louder; it seemed -all about us, and yet we could see nothing unusual. - -"Come on! Let's get away from here!" Pitamakan cried. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - -"Where shall we go?" I asked. "This noise seems to come from everywhere -and nowhere." - -I looked up at the top of the mountain which we were on, and saw a long -streak of snow extending eastward from it like an immense pennant. - -"Look! It is nothing but the wind that is making that noise!" I -exclaimed. "See how it is driving the snow up there!" - -"Yes," Pitamakan agreed. "But listen. The sound of its blowing does not -come from there any more than from elsewhere. It comes from every -direction up there in the blue." - -We could now see snow flying from the tops of the mountains on the -opposite side of the valley. In a few moments the whole summit of the -range was lost in a vast haze of drifting, flying snow. But where we -were there was only a gentle breeze from the west, which did not -increase in force. I remembered now that in winter, when fierce -northwest winds blew across the plains, the summit of the Rockies was -always hidden by grayish-white clouds. It was a strange sensation to -hear the drone of a terrific wind and not feel it, and I said so. - -"Everything is strange in this country," my partner said, dully. "Here -Wind-Maker lives; and many another of the mountain and forest gods. We -have to make strong medicine, brother, to escape them." - -This was the first of the terrific winter winds that blow across the -Northwest plains. Many a time thereafter we heard the strange roaring -sound that seemed to come from nowhere in particular; but down in the -valley, and even high up on the sides of the mountains, near the lodge, -there was never more than a gentle breeze. Pitamakan was always -depressed when we heard the strange roaring, and it made me feel -nervous and apprehensive of I knew not what. - -We waded and slid and fell down to the next ledge, and there, working -our way to the edge, we saw some of the goats right beneath us. There -were seven of them,--old "nannies," two kids, and "billies" one and two -years old,--all in a close bunch not more than twenty feet below us. -Instead of running, they stood and stared up at us vacuously, while -their concave faces seemed to heighten their expression of stupid -wonder. - -Pitamakan shot one of the nannies. At the same time I drew my bow on one -of the goats, but on second thought eased it, for I might waste a -precious arrow. I had to use all my will power in denying myself that -chance to add another animal to my list of trophies. - -Pitamakan was not wasting any time: _Zip! Zip! Zip!_ he sped his -remaining arrows, reached out for one of mine, and shot it just as an -old nannie, awaking to the fact that something was wrong with her -kindred, started off to the left at a lumbering gallop, more ungainly -and racking than that of a steer. Here was success, indeed! I was so -excited that I went aimlessly from one to another of the goats, feeling -of their heavy coats and smooth, sharp horns. - -Having dressed the animals, we dragged them from the ledges out on the -steep slide, where we fastened them one to another in a novel way. -Making a slit down the lower joint of a hind leg, we thrust a fore leg -of the next animal through it,--between tendon and bone,--then slit the -fore leg in the same manner, and stuck a stick in it so that it could -not slip out. We soon had all five animals fastened in line, and then -taking the first one by the horns, we started down. - -The deep snow was now a help instead of a hindrance; for it kept our tow -of game from sliding too fast down the tremendously steep incline. -Knowing that we were likely to start an avalanche, we kept as close to -the edge of the timber as we could. Even so, I had the feeling which a -man has while walking on thin ice over deep water. I tried to push -cautiously through the snow, and looked back anxiously whenever the game -in a particularly steep place came sliding down on us by the mere pull -of its own weight. - -Pitamakan was less apprehensive. "If a slide starts, we can probably get -out of it by making a rush for the timber," he said. "Anyhow, what is to -be will be, so don't worry." - -We came safe to the foot of the slide, but had time to skin only one -goat before dark; it was slow work with our obsidian knives. As we could -not safely leave the others unprotected from the prowlers during the -night, we laid them side by side on a heap of balsam boughs, where the -air could circulate all round them, and Pitamakan hung his capote on a -stick right over them, in order that the sight and odor of it might -prevent any wandering lion, lynx, or wolverene from robbing us. To go -without his capote in such cold weather was certainly a sacrifice on -Pitamakan's part. - -If I am asked why we took pains to lay the game on boughs, the answer is -that, although any one would think that snow would be a natural -refrigerator, the opposite is the case, for freshly killed animals will -spoil in a few hours if they are buried in it. - -To keep from freezing, Pitamakan hurried on to camp, while I followed -slowly with the goatskin and head. There was not time to take the lion -or marten from the deadfalls. - -When I got to the lodge, Pitamakan had a fire burning and the last of -the cow elk ribs roasting over it. We were wet to the skin, of course, -but that did not matter. Off came our few garments, to be hung a short -time over the fire and then put on again. How cheerful and restful it -was to stretch out on our balsam beds and enjoy the heat after the long -day's battle with snow and precipitous mountain-sides! - -The next day, and for many days thereafter, we had much work to keep us -busy. We skinned the goats, tanned the hides into soft robes, and sewed -them together in the form of a big bag, with the fur side in. The night -on which we crawled into it for the first time was a great occasion. On -that night, for the very first time since leaving the Blackfoot camp, we -slept perfectly warm and without waking with shivers to rebuild the -fire. - -The deadfalls also took a great deal of our time. Every night some of -them were sprung, and we found from one to three or four valuable fur -animals under the drop-bars. It was a tedious job to skin them and -properly stretch the pelts to dry, but for all that, we loved the work -and were proud of the result. Here and there in the lodge a few marten, -fisher, wolverene, and lynx skins were always drying, and in a corner -the pile of cured peltries was steadily growing. Three of them were of -mountain lions. - -During this time much more snow fell; it was fully six feet deep in the -woods when the last of the elk hams was broiled and eaten. For a day or -two we subsisted on goat meat, although the best of it had a slight -musky odor and flavor. As Pitamakan said, it was not real food. - -As our bows were not nearly so strong as they looked, my partner was -always wishing for glue, so that we might back them with sinew. There -was material enough for glue, but there was nothing to make it in. - -"The Mandans made pots of earth," I said to him one day. "Perhaps we can -make one that will stand fire and water." - -Out we went along the river to look for clay. At the first cut-bank that -we came to I gouged off the snow that thinly coated its perpendicular -side, and lo! there was a layer of clay six inches thick between two -layers of gravel. We broke out several large flat chunks of the -stuff,--it was frozen, of course,--and carried it to the lodge. There, -breaking it into fine pieces and thawing it, we added a small amount of -water, and worked it into a stiff paste of the right consistency, as we -thought, for moulding. - -Pitamakan, always artistic, fashioned a thin bowl like those that he had -seen in the Mandan village, while I made mine an inch thick, with a -capacity of not more than two quarts. When we baked them in the coals, -mine cracked, and Pitamakan's fell to pieces. - -That was discouraging; evidently the clay was not of the right -consistency. I worked up another portion of clay with less water, while -my partner added even more water than before to his batch. We each soon -had a bowl fashioned and put to bake. In a few minutes the one which -Pitamakan had made fell to pieces, but mine, which was thick and clumsy -in shape, seemed to stand the heat well. I gradually increased the fire -round it, and after keeping the blaze up for a long time, I allowed the -fire at last to die out gradually. The bowl turned out fairly well; for -although it had one crack in the side, it was dark red in color, and -gave a substantial ring when we tapped it with a stick. - -However, we took no chances of a mishap by moving it. We plastered the -crack with fresh clay, and then, putting into it nearly a quart of -water, an elk hoof and a couple of goat hoofs, we rebuilt the fire just -close enough to make the mixture simmer, and adding more water from time -to time during the day, patiently awaited results. - -"_Ai-y!_ It is real glue!" Pitamakan exclaimed that evening, after -dipping a stick in the mess and testing it with his fingers. We were -quite excited and proud of our success. Softening the four elk sinews in -the hot glue, Pitamakan then plastered a pair of them on each bow. The -place where the ends overlapped at the centre, he bound with a sinew -wrapping. - -Of course the bows were unstrung when the backing was put on, and as -soon as the work was done, we laid them away from the fire, that they -might dry slowly. In the morning, the first thing, after crawling out of -our fur nest, we strung and tested them, and found that the backing had -more than doubled their strength and elasticity. Now we were ready to -hunt our winter meat, and after a hurried breakfast of musky goat steak, -we started in quest of the game. - -Not since the day of the goat hunt had we seen any tracks of moose, elk, -or deer. Pitamakan said that he had heard that the deer went from the -high mountains down toward the lake of the Flatheads to winter, and that -we need not expect to see any more of them. But he added that it did not -matter, for other game would yard close round the lodge. - -Taking a zigzag course and examining every red willow patch along our -route, we went down the valley. As it was a stinging cold day, we had -our hands tucked up in the sleeves of our capotes, and our bows and -arrows under our arms, for as yet we had no mittens. Our legs suffered, -too, from need of new coverings. - -The first game that we saw was an otter, fishing in a dark pool at the -foot of a rapid. He would crawl out on the ice fringing it, sit still -for a moment, sniffing the air and looking sharp for any enemy, and then -make a sudden dive. We watched him until he had brought up a big trout -and had begun to eat it, when we turned away without the animal seeing -us. Except at close range, the otter's eyesight is poor, but he has a -keen nose and sharp ears. Later we intended to set a deadfall for him, -if by any means we could catch fish to bait it. - -A mile or more below the lodge we came to a deep, hard-packed trail, -which wound and branched in every direction through a big red-willow -thicket, which we guessed to be a moose yard. In many places the willows -had been browsed off as far out from the paths as the animals could -stretch their necks. Here and there were large, hard-packed circular -depressions in the snow where they had lain down to rest and sleep, -always, I imagine, with one of their number on the watch for any -prowling mountain lion. - -We went down through the centre of the yard, although we had some -difficulty in crossing the deep trails on our snowshoes. Soon we sighted -the game--two cow moose, two calves, and two yearlings. The instant that -they saw us the old lead cow trotted away down the trail, leading the -others, and then by turning into every successive left-hand fork, tried -to circle round behind us. When we headed her off, she turned and tried -to circle round us in the other direction. Then Pitamakan and I -separated, and in that way drove the little band steadily ahead of us, -until it reached the lower end of the yard. - -There, with a tremendous leap, the old cow broke out of the yard into -the fresh snow, and the way she made it fly behind her reminded me of -the stern wheel of a Missouri River steamboat beating up spray. All the -others followed her until we came close, when all but her calf wheeled -in the new path and rushed back for the yard. - -They were so close to us that we might almost have touched them. -Pitamakan shot an arrow deep between the ribs of the cow, and by a lucky -aim I put my one arrow into the calf behind her. Both of them fell, but -the two yearlings, scrambling over their bodies, escaped into the yard. - -We went on in pursuit of the other cow and her calf. The strength that -she displayed in breaking her way through six feet of snow was -wonderful. For at least three hundred yards she went faster than we -could go on our web shoes, but after that she gave out rapidly, and -finally stopped altogether. - -When we came close to her, she plunged back past the calf and stood -awaiting us, determined to protect it to the last. All the hair on her -shoulders and back was ruffed and bristling forward, while her eyes -blazed with anger, although there was also in them the look of terror -and despair. When we got close to her, she rushed at us. We had to do -some lively scrambling to keep out of her way. But she soon tired, and -then while I attracted her attention, Pitamakan slipped round on the -other side of her. As his bow-cord twanged, she dropped her head, and -the light almost instantly went out of her eyes. The poor calf met the -same fate a moment later. It was cruel work, but as necessary as it was -cruel; we killed that we might live. - -There remained the two yearlings, and I proposed that we spare them. -Pitamakan looked at me with surprise. - -"What! Let them go?" he exclaimed. "And many winter moons yet before us? -Why, brother, you talk foolishly! Of course we must kill them. Even then -we may not have enough meat to last until spring." - -So we chased them also out into deep snow, and did as he said. By the -time we had one calf skinned we were obliged to go home and gather the -night's wood. - -The next day we skinned the rest of the animals, cut up the meat, and -hung it in trees, whence it could be packed home from time to time. Two -of the hides we put to soak in the river, preparatory to graining and -tanning them. The others we stretched on frames and allowed to freeze -dry, after which we laid them on our couch. - -During the short days we tended the deadfalls, skinned and stretched -what fur was trapped in them, packed in meat and hung it beside the -lodge, and tanned the two hides. Having done the tanning successfully, -we went into the tailoring business. Pitamakan cut pieces of proper -shape from the big, soft skins, but in the work of sewing I did my -share. After three or four evenings' work, we were the proud wearers of -new shirts, new leggings, and new mittens. - -Our earthen pot fell to pieces the day after we had made glue in it. -That was a serious loss, for we had intended to boil meat in it. Roasted -meat is good, but does not do so well as a steady diet. The Indians of -the North regard boiled meat as we regard bread, that is, as the staff -of life. Pitamakan, who craved it more than I, determined, now that we -had plenty of hides, to use a part of one for a kettle. From one of the -yearling moose hides he cut a large, round piece, soaked it in the river -until it was soft, and then sewed the edge in pleats to a birch hoop -about two feet in diameter, so as to make a stiff-rimmed bag about as -deep as it was wide. With a strip of hide he suspended it from a pole in -the lodge roof. - -Next he set several clean stones in the fire to heat, and put some -rather finely cut meat in the bag with two quarts of water. When the -rocks were red-hot, he dropped them one by one into the bag, and pulled -them out to reheat as fast as they cooled. In this way the meat was -boiled. Such was the ancient way of cooking it before the white traders -brought pots and kettle into the North country. - -The meat was not cooked long, only long enough, in fact to change its -color, and was really more nutritious than it would have been had it -been stewed a long time. We enjoyed that first meal of it with keen -relish, and thereafter ate more boiled than roasted meat. - -As the winter snows settled and hardened, we saw more and more trails of -otter along the river, where they traveled from one open hole to another -to do their fishing, and one day we began our campaign against them by -going fishing ourselves. Our tackle consisted of a sinew cord and loop -several feet long, tied to a long, slender pole. - -In the first open pool that we looked into there were numerous trout and -suckers; of course we tried first to snare the trout. We soon learned, -however, that it could not be done, for they would not allow the loop -to come nearer than five or six inches to their heads, but always -drifted downstream from it in a tantalizing manner. - -Next, trying the suckers, big, reddish-black fellows of two pounds' -weight, we found them easy to snare. They lay as if they were half dead, -their bellies close to the bottom, and never moved when the loop drifted -down round their heads, thinking, no doubt, that it was but a piece of -passing water-grass. When the noose was just behind the gills, we gave -the pole a sharp yank, and up came the fish, wriggling and flapping, -helpless in the grip of the tightened cord. - -After we caught three of them, we spent the rest of the morning setting -a deadfall at each of three pools where the otters were working. But for -some time afterward we got no otters; of all animals they are the shyest -and most difficult to trap. It was not until all traces of the man scent -had died out that one was finally lured by the sucker bait, and was -killed by the fall-bar. - -As time passed, we set more and more deadfalls up and down the valley, -so many that finally we could not make the round of them all in one day. -One morning we would attend to those lying east of the lodge, and the -next morning visit those to the west of it. The farthest one to the west -was at least seven miles away, and for some unknown reason more fur -came to it than to any of the others; we seldom visited it without -finding a marten or a fisher. Pitamakan called it the _nat-o-wap-i -kyak-ach-is_--medicine-trap, as the words may be freely translated. -_Nat-o-wap-i_ really means "of the sun"--"sun-power." - -As we approached this deadfall one day, when we had taken nothing from -the other traps except a marten that a passing fisher had maliciously -torn to shreds, Pitamakan began the coyote prayer song, because, as he -said, something had to be done to bring us better luck. - -We soon saw the deadfall, noticed that the bar was down, and hurried -eagerly forward to see what it held, while my partner sang louder than -ever. On coming to it, we found a fine, black, fluffy-furred fisher; -whereupon Pitamakan raised his hand and began chanting a prayer of -thanks to the gods. - -Meanwhile I saw, a little farther on, a trail in the snow which excited -my interest, and I impatiently waited for him to finish his devotions to -call his attention to it. - -"Look! There's the trail of a bear!" I said, although it seemed odd to -me that a bear should be wandering round in the dead of winter. - -We hurried over to it. What we saw made us stare wildly round with -fright, while we quickly strung our bows. It was the trail of a man on -long, narrow web shoes--an Indian, of course, and therefore an enemy. -The trail was fresh, too, apparently as fresh as our own. And but a -moment before, Pitamakan had been singing at the top of his voice! - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - -Crossing the valley from south to north in front of us, the snowshoe -trail disappeared, a hundred yards away, in a clump of pines. The -Indian, brushing against a branch, had relieved it of its weight of -snow, and its dark green foliage stood out in sharp contrast with the -prevailing white. There was a chance that he might still be in that -thicket. - -"We must know if he is there," said Pitamakan. "Though he didn't hear us -we must still know whence this enemy came, and why, and where he is -going." - -We began by going cautiously round the pines. From a distance, we could -see the trail coming out of them on the farther side and going on -straight to the river, where the water fell in cascades over a wide -series of low, broken reefs. From there the trail followed the edge of -the open water down past the last of the falls, and then showed plain -on the frozen river as far as we could see. - -Venturing now to follow it to the cascades, we learned at a glance, on -arriving there, why the lone traveler had come into our peaceful valley. -At the edge of the water the snow was all trampled down, and the prints -of bare feet in it showed that the man had been wading in the river. -Scattered on the packed snow were several fragments of dark green rock, -one of which Pitamakan picked up and examined. - -"This is what he came after," he said. "It is pipestone and very soft. -Both the Kootenays and the Flatheads make their pipes of it because it -is so easily worked into shape." - -"Where do you think he came from?" I asked. - -"From the camp of his people. These mountain Indians winter down along -their big lake. Very little snow falls there, and horse-feed is always -good." - -"Well, if he came from down there, why do we find his trail to this -place coming straight across the valley from the south?" - -"Ah, that is so!" Pitamakan exclaimed. "Come on! We must find out about -that." - -We took the man's back trail, and, passing our deadfall, paused to note -how plainly it could be seen from several points along the way. It was a -wonder that he had noticed neither the deadfall nor our hard-packed, -snowshoe trail. - -"The gods were certainly good to us!" my partner exclaimed. "They caused -him to look the other way as he passed." - -The back trail led us straight to the foot of the steep mountain rising -from the valley. There, in several places, the snow was scraped away to -the ground, where evidently the man had searched for the pipestone ledge -that was probably exposed somewhere near. Failing to find it, he had -been obliged to go to the river and wade to the place where it again -cropped out. His trail to the side hill came straight up the valley. - -We certainly had something to think and talk about now--and also to -worry about. Others of the enemy might come after pipestone, and there -was our trail running straight to the place. Going back to the deadfall, -we took out the fisher, but did not reset the trap; for we determined -not to go thereafter within several miles of the pipestone falls. -Another heavy snowfall would pretty much obliterate our trail, and we -prayed that it would soon come. From that day, indeed, our sense of -peace and security was gone. - -Sitting within the lodge, we always had the feeling that the enemy might -be close by, waiting to shoot us when we stepped outside. On the daily -rounds of our traps we were ever watching places where a foe might be -lying in wait. Pitamakan said that the only thing for us to do was to -make strong medicine. Accordingly, he gave our bearskin to the sun; he -lashed it firmly in the fork of a tree, and made a strong prayer to the -shining god to guard us from being ambushed by the enemy. - -Although we had long since lost track of the days of the week, we agreed -in thinking that the discovery of the man's trail took place in "the -moon before the moon when the web-feet come"; or, as the white man would -say, in February. At the end of the next moon, then,--in March,--spring -would come on the plains. Up where we were, however, the snow would last -much longer--probably until May. Pitamakan said that we must leave the -valley long before then, because with the first signs of spring the deer -would be working back into the high mountains, and the Kootenays would -follow them. - -"How can we do that when, as you say, the pass cannot be crossed until -summer?" I asked. - -"There is another pass to the south of us," he replied, "the Two -Medicine pass. There is no dangerous place anywhere along it." - -"Then we can easily get out of here!" I exclaimed. "Let us start soon." - -He shook his head. "No," he said. "We can't go until the snow melts from -the low country where the Kootenays and Flatheads winter. We have to go -down there to make our start on the Two Medicine trail." - -"Why so?" said I, in surprise. "Why can't we go straight south from here -until we strike it?" - -He laughed grimly. - -"Between us and the trail lie many cañons and many mountains that none -but the birds can cross. Besides, along each stream is a trail used by -these Indians in their hunts up toward the backbone of the range, which -is like the trail that crosses over to the Two Medicine. I could not -recognize the right one when we came to it, and we should follow up one -after another, and wear ourselves out. I remember some landmarks only -where the right trail leaves the lake and enters the heavy timber, and -from that place we have to start. Also, we have to start from there on -bare ground; for if we started on the snow, our trail would be seen and -followed, and that would be the end for us." - -"Well, then, let's go up and look at the summit of our pass," I -proposed. "It may not be so bad as you think. Perhaps we can find some -way to cross the dangerous place." - -He objected that we should waste our time, but I kept urging that we -must overlook no possible chance to escape to the plains, until finally -I persuaded him. One bright morning we put on our snowshoes and started. -As the going was good on the deep, settled snow, we were not long in -covering the distance to the Salt Springs. Up and down the mountainside, -all round them, was a perfect network of goat trails in the snow, and -here and there were large and small groups of the strange, uncouth -animals, some lying down, some sitting and staring dejectedly off into -space, while still others were cropping lichens from wind-swept, rocky -walls. Although several of them were less than three hundred yards -away, they paid no attention to us. - -After watching some that were feeding on the cliff wall, where they -looked as if they were pasted to it, we came to the conclusion that they -could travel where a bighorn would certainly fall and be dashed to -pieces. One old billy-goat was almost human in the way in which he got -over difficult places. After standing on his hind legs and gathering all -the lichen within reach he concluded to ascend to the next shelf. Since -there was not room for him to back away for a leap, he placed his -forefeet over the edge, and drew himself up on to it--exactly as a man -draws himself up by the sheer muscular strength of his arms. - -Not far beyond the springs, we left the last of the timber and began the -ascent of the summit proper, and soon came into the zone of terrific -winds; but fortunately for us, there was scarce a breath stirring that -day. The snow was so hard-packed by the wind that when we removed our -snowshoes, our moccasined feet left no impressions in it. The rocky -slopes facing the northwest were absolutely bare, while those pitching -the other way lay buried under drifts from five to fifty feet and more -in depth. - -Late in the afternoon we came to the west end of the pass, having made -twice as good time in the ascent as we had in the descent in the autumn -with horses. I needed but one glance at the place to be convinced that -it was impassable. The steep slide where my horse and I had so nearly -been lost was buried deep in snow; towering above it were heavy, -greenish, concave drifts of snow clinging to the knife-edge wall and -likely to topple over at any moment. Our weight might, and probably -would, start an avalanche rushing down the slide and off into abysmal -space. We stood in the trail of several goats, which had ventured out on -the slide for a few yards, abruptly turned and retraced their steps. - -"Even they feared to cross," said Pitamakan. "Come on! Let's go home." - -I was so disappointed that I had not a word to say on the way down. We -reached the lodge late in the night, made sure that no one had been near -it during our absence, and after building a good fire and eating some -roast meat, crawled into our fur bag, nearly worn out. It had been a -long, hard day. - -At this time our catch of fur began to decrease rapidly. It is my belief -that the predatory as well as the herbivorous animals never stray very -far from the place where they are born. - -A case in point is that of an old grizzly bear, whose trail could not be -mistaken because he had lost a toe from his left front foot. Every three -weeks he crossed the outlet of the Upper St. Mary's Lake, wandered up -into the Red Eagle Valley, swung round northward along the back-bone of -the Rockies to the Swift Current Waters, and thence down across the -outlet again. Observation of other animals also leads me to believe -that they all have their habitual rounds. If this is so, it explains why -it was that our deadfalls held fewer and fewer prizes for us, until -finally three or four days would pass without our finding even a marten -to reward us for our long, weary tramps. - -The days now grew noticeably longer and warmer, until finally -snow-shoeing was impossible after nine or ten o'clock in the morning. -The warm sun turned the snow into large, loose, water-saturated grains -which would give way every few steps and let us down clear to the -ground, often in places where the snow was so deep that we stood, so to -speak, in a greenish well from which we had to look straight up to see -the sky. It was very difficult to get out of such places. - -Toward the end of our stay we did most of our tramping in the early -morning, when the snow was covered with so hard a crust by the night's -frost that it would hold us up without snowshoes. - -One evening we heard the distant cry of wild geese. That was our signal -for departure. We made a last round of the deadfalls, sprung each one -that was set, and the next day made up two bundles of the peltries that -we were to take with us. There were in all sixty-one marten, ten fisher, -seventeen mink, five wolverene, one mountain-lion, eight lynx, and two -otter skins. Fortunately, there was little weight in all that number, -and we bound them so compactly that there was little bulk. A quantity of -moose meat, cut into thin sheets and dried, made up the rest of our -pack. Nor did we forget the fire-drill and a small, hard piece of birch -wood that had been seasoning by the fire all the winter for a drill -base. - -The goatskin sleeping-bag was too heavy to take along; it would have -added much to our comfort, of course, but there was now no night cold -enough to be very disagreeable so long as we could have fire, and of -that we were assured. However, Pitamakan did not intend that the bag -should be wasted; almost the last thing that he did was to make an -offering of it to the sun. Lashing the bundle in a tree, he prayed that -we might survive all perils by the way, and soon reach the lodges of our -people. - -At sundown we ate our last meal in the lodge and enjoyed for the last -time its cheerful shelter. Somehow, as we sat by the fire, we did not -feel like talking. To go away and leave the little home to the elements -and the prowlers of the night was like parting forever from some near -and dear friend. - -We waited several hours, until the frost hardened the snow; then putting -on the snowshoes and slinging the packs, we started away down the -valley. There was certainly a lump in my throat as I turned for a last -look at the lodge, with the smoke of its fire curling up from it and -beckoning us back to rest and sleep. - -Until midnight the stiffening crust occasionally broke and let us down; -but after that time it became so hard that, taking off our snowshoes -and slinging them to the packs, we made remarkable time down the valley. - -After passing the pipestone falls, we entered country new to us, where -the valley became much wider. Every mile or two a branch came into the -river, which we were obliged to ford, for the ice had gone out of the -streams. It was no fun to remove moccasins and leggings, wade through -the icy water, and then put them on in the snow on the other side. - -For several weeks avalanches had been thundering down the mountain-sides -all round us, and this night they seemed more frequent than ever. Once -one tore its way to the valley just behind us. Not an hour later, -Pitamakan's pack-thong broke, and let his bundle down into the snow. As -we stopped to retie it, there came the rumbling of an avalanche, -apparently right over our heads. - -I thought that it would strike the valley not far below us. "Come! Get -up!" I cried. "Let's run back as fast as we can!" - -"Not so! We must run the other way. Can't you hear? It is going to -strike either where we are, or close behind us," Pitamakan answered; and -grasping my arm, he tried to make me go forward with him. - -"Can't you hear it there?" I shouted, taking hold of him in my turn and -pulling the other way. "It is coming down right where we stand, or not -far below here!" - -And thus we stood while the dreadful noise increased, until it seemed as -if the world was being rent wide open. There was a confusion of -thunderous sound--the grinding of rocks and ice, the crashing and -snapping of great trees. The avalanche came nearer with terrific speed, -until finally it filled all the region round with such a deafening noise -that it was impossible even to guess where it would sweep down into the -valley. - -We ran a few steps upstream, then as many more back, and finally stood -trembling, quite uncertain which way to fly. But only for a moment; just -ahead of us the great forest trees began to leap out and downward from -the steep mountain-side, and then the mass of the avalanche burst into -the flat and piled up a hundred feet deep before us--a dirty ridge of -wrecked mountain-side that extended away across the valley to the river. -There was a last rumble and cracking of branches as it settled, and then -all was still. - -"You see that I was right," I said. "It did strike below us." - -"Yes, you heard better than I did," my partner admitted, "but that is -not what saved us. I am sure that the gods caused the pack-thong to -break and stop us; otherwise we should have been right in the path of -the slide." - -Re-slinging our packs, we climbed the rough mass of the slide, round and -over big boulders, ice blocks, and tree trunks, through piles of brush -and broken branches. At the apex of the heap Pitamakan reached down, -pulled something from the earth-stained snow, and passed it to me. It -was the head and neck of a mountain goat, crushed almost flat, the -flesh of which was still warm. - - [Illustration: THE AVALANCHE BURST INTO THE FLAT] - -"You see what would have happened to us if my pack-thong had not -broken," he said grimly. - -"It must be that many goats perish in this way," I remarked. - -"Yes, and also many bighorn," he said. "I have heard the old hunters say -that the bears, when they first come out in the spring, get their living -from these slides. They travel from one to another, and paw round in -search of the dead animals buried in them." - -At daylight we entered an open park where we could see back toward the -summit. There was no doubt that we had traveled a long way during the -night, for the mountain opposite our abandoned lodge looked twenty miles -distant. The valley here was fully a mile wide, and the mountains -bordering it were covered with pines clear to the summit. They were not -more than a thousand feet high, and the western rim of them seemed not -more than fifteen miles away. We believed that from where they ended -the distance could not be great to the lake of the Flatheads. - -Down here the snow was only about four feet deep, less than half the -depth of it where we had wintered. The air became warm much earlier in -the morning than it did up there. Using the snowshoes now, as the crust -was getting weak, we kept going, although very tired. During the two -hours that we were able to travel after sunrise, we passed great numbers -of elk, and not a few moose, and when, finally, the snow grew spongy and -obliged us to stop for the day, we were plainly within the deer range, -for both white-tail and mule-deer were as plentiful as jack-rabbits are -in certain parts of the plains. - -We stopped for our much-needed rest on a bare sandbar of the river, and -with bow and drill started a little fire and roasted some dry meat. The -sun shone warm there, and after eating, we lay down on the sand and -slept until almost night. - -Starting on again as soon as the snow crusted, we traveled the rest of -the night without any trouble, and soon after daybreak suddenly passed -the snow-line and stepped into green-sprouting grass. The summer birds -had come, and were singing all round us. A meadow-lark, on a bush close -by, was especially tuneful, and Pitamakan mocked it: - -"_Kit-ah-kim ai-siks-is-to-ki!_" (Your sister is dark-complexioned!) he -cried gleefully. "Oh, no, little yellow-breast, you make a mistake. I -have no sister." - -We were in the edge of a fine prairie dotted with groves of pine and -cottonwood. The land sloped gently to the west. I thought that it could -not be far in that direction to the big lake, but Pitamakan said that it -was way off to the southwest, perhaps two days' journey from where we -were. Suddenly he fell on his knees and began with feverish haste to dig -up a slender, green-leaved plant. - -"It is camass!" he cried, holding it up and wiping the earth from the -white, onion-shaped root. "Dig! Dig! See, there are plenty of them all -round. Eat plenty of them. They are good." - -So they were; crisp, starchy, and rather sweet. After our winter-long -diet of meat, they were exactly what our appetites craved and our -systems needed. We made a meal of them right there. For once hunger got -the better of our caution. Laying down our pack and snowshoes, we dug up -root after root, all the time moving out into prairie farther and -farther from the edge of the timber. - -"Come on! Let's get our packs and hide somewhere for the day," I said -finally. "I am filled with these things to the neck." - -"Oh, wait a little; I want a few more," my partner answered. - -Just then a band of deer burst out of a cottonwood grove about five -hundred yards to the west of us, and as we sat staring and wondering -what had startled them, three Indians came riding like the wind round -one side of the grove, and four more appeared on the other side, in -swift pursuit of the animals. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - -"Don't you move!" Pitamakan exclaimed. - -He spoke just in time, for I was on the point of springing up and -running for the timber. The game--they were mule-deer, which are not -fleet runners, like the white-tail--came bouncing awkwardly toward us, -while the Indians gained on them perceptibly. Never before had I felt -that I was a giant; but as I sat there in the short grass of the open -prairie, I felt as if my body was actually towering into the sky. I -instinctively tried to make myself of smaller size. All my muscles -quivered and contracted so tensely that the feeling was painful. "Oh, -come!" I cried. "Can't you see that they--" - -"Be still!" Pitamakan broke in. "The wind is from us to them. The deer -will soon turn. Our one chance is to sit motionless. They haven't seen -us yet." - -The deer came steadily toward us, jumping awkwardly and high. They were -now less than four hundred yards away, and although the wind was -increasing, they gave no sign of having scented us. - -"They must turn soon," Pitamakan said. "But if they don't, and you see -that the Indians are coming for us, string your bow. Let us fight our -best until our end comes." - -That had been my thought. I had two of our five obsidian-pointed arrows. -If worse came to worst, I hoped that I should be able to speed them -swift and true. Now the deer were less than three hundred yards from us, -and I gave up all hope that they would turn. To me the Indians seemed to -be staring straight at us instead of at the animals. - -I had started to reach for my bow and arrows, which lay on the ground -beside me, when the deer did turn, suddenly and sharply to the right. -The pursuers, turning also, almost at the same time, gained -considerably on them. I realized that we had not been discovered. - -The leading hunter now raised his gun and fired. The hornless old buck -at the head of the band sharply shook his head, and holding it askew as -if the bullet had stung it, swerved to the right again, directly away -from us. The herd followed him, while the hunters again made a short cut -toward them and began shooting. Their backs were now to us. - -"Run! Run for the timber!" my partner commanded; and grabbing my bow and -arrows, I followed him, faster, probably, than I had ever run before. It -was a hundred yards or more to the timber. As we neared it, I began to -hope that we should get into its shelter unseen. Behind us the hunters -kept shooting at the deer, but neither of us took time to look back -until we came to our packs, and paused to lift them and the snowshoes. - -At that very moment the war-cry of the enemy was raised, and we knew -that they had discovered us. We looked, and saw that they were coming -our way as fast as their horses could lope. And how they did yell! There -was menace in those shrill staccato yelps. - -"We must leave the furs. Just take your snowshoes and come on," said -Pitamakan, and I grabbed them up and followed him. - -It was only a few yards back in the timber to the snow-line. Upon -reaching it, I threw down my shoes, stuck my toes into the loops, and -was starting on without fastening the ankle-thongs, when my partner -ordered me to tie them properly. It seemed to me that my fingers had -never been so clumsy. - -We stepped up on the snow, and found that the crust was still strong -enough to bear our weight, although it cracked and gave slightly where -the centre of the poor webbing sagged under our feet. At the edge of the -prairie the timber was scattering; but back a short distance there were -several dense thickets, and back of them again was the line of the -heavy pine forest. We made for the nearest thicket, while the yells of -the enemy sounded nearer and louder at every step we took. - -It was easy to guess when they came to the fur packs, for there was a -momentary stop in the war-cries as they loudly disputed over the -possession of them. Then, abandoning their horses, they began shooting -at us as they advanced into the snow, through which they broke and -floundered at almost every step. - -The advantage was now all with us, provided we were not hit. Once I -stopped behind a tree for an instant and looked back. Three of the men -had not tried to come on over the snow, but standing at the edge of it, -loaded and fired as fast as possible. The others were doing their best -to advance over the crust, and had our plight not been so desperate, I -should have laughed to see them. They stepped gingerly, teetering along -with open mouths and arms outspread, and sometimes the crust would -bear their weight for three or four paces, and so increase their -confidence that they would quicken their speed, only to break through -and sink waist-deep. - - [Illustration: I GRABBED THEM UP AND FOLLOWED HIM] - -I pushed a flap of my old capote out from the tree as far as I could -with the bow, in the hope of drawing their fire; but, finding that they -were not to be caught by any such ruse, I hurried on. Then several -bullets came so close to me that I could feel the wind from them; one -struck a tree which I was passing, and flicked off bits of bark, which -stung my left cheek and cut the lobe of my left ear. When the enemy saw -me raise my hand to my face, they yelled with triumph, and Pitamakan -turned to see what had happened. - -"Go on! It is nothing!" I called out. - -At that instant another shot was fired, and I thought that I heard my -partner give a little cry of pain; but he did not flinch, and continued -on as rapidly as before. When I came where he had been, however, I saw -that his trail was bloody, and I feared the worst, for I well knew that -even with a death-wound he would keep on bravely to the very end. The -rest of the run to the thicket was like some terrible dream to me, for I -expected that every step he made would be his last. But finally he -passed into the screen of young evergreens, and a moment later I was -beside him, asking how badly he was hurt. - -"It is only a flesh-wound here," he answered, gripping the inner part of -his left thigh. "Come on, we mustn't stop." - -As the enemy could no longer see us, we made our way to the line of big -timber without fear of their bullets. They gave a few last yells as we -went into the thicket, and shouted some words at us, which of course we -could not understand. And then all was still. - -Without a word, Pitamakan went on and on up the steep mountain-side, and -I sadly followed him. Soon, coming to an opening in the timber, we -stepped out into it, until we could get a good view of the plain below. -The Indians were riding back to where they had chased the deer. Soon -they dismounted and began skinning two that they had killed. We removed -our snowshoes and sat down on them. Pitamakan let down his legging and -washed his wound with snow; the bullet had split open the skin for a -length of several inches, but fortunately, had not torn the muscles. As -soon as the wound was washed and dry, I went over to a balsam fir and -gathered the contents of three or four blisters, which he smeared all -over the raw place. In a few minutes he said that the pungent, sticky -stuff had stopped the burning of the wound. - -We were two sad boys that morning. The loss of the furs, for which we -had worked so hard all winter, was not easy to bear. Every few minutes -Pitamakan would cry out to his gods to punish the thieves, and my heart -was as sore against them as his. With the fur packs we had lost also our -fire-drill and socket piece. - -"But that doesn't matter," Pitamakan said. "We have good bows and can -make a drill at any time. Perhaps we shall never again have any use for -one!" - -"How so? Are we never to eat again? Shall we not need fire of nights to -keep us warm?" I asked. - -"Maybe we shall and maybe not," Pitamakan replied. "It is not likely -that those hunters will go home without trying to take our scalps with -them; we'll soon know about that." - -We watched the men in silence for some little time. Four of them were -round one deer, and three were at work skinning the other. Soon, -however, one man left each group and began cutting willows. Soon -afterward we saw that those remaining had got the deer hides off and -were cutting them into strips. - -"I thought that they would do that," said my partner. "They are going to -make snowshoes and follow us. Hurry now, and fasten on your shoes!" - -I did as I was told and asked no questions. Pitamakan limped badly when -he started off, but made light of his lameness and insisted that he felt -no pain. By this time the sun was fast weakening the crust; in a short -time neither we nor our enemy would be able to travel, and I told my -partner that while they were making their shoes, we ought to get so far -ahead that they never would be able to overtake us. - -"They are seven, we only two," he said. "They will break trail by turns -when the snow gets soft. Our chance to escape is to get back to the dry -prairie while they are climbing the mountain on our trail." - -That was a plan that had never entered my head, but I instantly saw its -possibilities. Left to my own resources, I should only have struggled on -and on into the mountains, eventually to be captured. - -For an hour or more, just as long as the crust would hold, we kept along -the side of the mountain parallel with the river; then, when the crust -at last broke with us at every step, we took off our snowshoes and -floundered down the tremendously steep slope to the stream, and turning -with it, walked and ran along the gravelly and sandy shore. - -So, not later than mid-afternoon, we came again to the foot of the -mountain, and walking to the edge of the timber bordering the river, -looked out on the prairie from which we had been driven in the morning. - -"_Sum-is! Sum-is!_" Pitamakan cried, pointing away south to the place of -the deer chase. - -"_I-kit-si-kum! Sap-un-is-tsim!_" (Seven! The whole number!) I -exclaimed. The horses of the enemy were picketed out there and quietly -grazing, but not one of the hunters was to be seen. It seemed too good -to be true. - -We stood still for some time, while we searched the prairie and the -mountain-side for sign of the enemy. - -"They seem all to have taken our trail," said Pitamakan, at last, "and -maybe that is the way of it. If one has remained to watch the horses, -he must be lying in that little pine grove near them. Let's go down the -river a little farther, then swing round and sneak into the grove from -the other side." - -We hurried on in the river-bottom for half a mile, and then swung out -across the open ground. Our hearts throbbed with hope, and with fear, -too, as we approached the one place where a guard might be stationed. - -Stealing into the little grove as silently as shadows, we moved through -it so slowly that a red squirrel digging in the needle-covered earth -near by never noted our passing. There was not more than an acre of the -young trees, and they covered a space twice as long as wide, so we were -able to see every foot of it as we passed along. When we were nearing -the farther end, a coyote gave us a terrible scare; as he rose up behind -a thin screen of low boughs, we could not see at first just what it -was. - -I have heard of people turning cold from fear; maybe they do, but fear -does not affect me in that way. A flash of heat swept through me; my -mouth grew dry. My sense of being perfectly helpless, my expectation -that a bullet would come tearing into me, was something that I shall -never forget. - -This time the suspense was short; the coyote walked boldly off in the -direction in which we were going, and since the wind was in our faces, -we instantly realized that no man was concealed out there ahead of him. -Still, Pitamakan was cautious and, in spite of my urgent signs, kept on -as stealthily as before. But when we came to the edge of the grove, we -saw the coyote was walking jauntily round among the feeding horses. - -Off to the right, near one of the deer carcasses, lay the hunters' -saddles, saddle-blankets and other stuff. We found also a litter of -willow cuttings and short strips of deer hide where the hunters had made -their snowshoes. The saddles were all home-made, but better than none. -We each selected one and the best of the blankets, and began saddling -the two most sturdy and swift-looking of the seven animals. That done, -we turned the remaining five loose, after removing their lariats and -throwing them away. Then we got into the saddle and started to gather up -the loose stock, when I suddenly thought of something that we had -entirely forgotten in our excitement. - -"Pitamakan! Our furs! Where can they be?" I asked. - -"There! There!" he answered, pointing to where the other deer carcass -lay. - -And sure enough, there the two packs were, just as we had bound them. - -Here was more luck! We lost no time in riding over to the place and -picking them up; then, driving the other horses ahead of us, we rode -away to the southwest as fast as possible. Somewhere on the big, -timbered mountain behind us, the enemy were worming along on our trail; -or, what is more likely, completely exhausted from struggling in the -soft snow, they were waiting for the night freeze, to enable them to go -on. - -The loose horses trotted ahead of us most willingly--suspiciously so; -and in the course of half an hour, on our coming to a strip of timber, -the reason for such unusual conduct was plain. Here was a broad, hard -trail that led, no doubt, directly to the camp which they had come from -in the morning. Of course they were willing to be driven back to their -mates! And now, as we pushed along this highway, one and another of them -began to nicker, a sure sign that the camp was not far distant. - -There were only three or four hundred yards of the timber, and then -another big prairie; and at the farther end of this, a couple of miles -away, smoke was rising from another patch of timber, near which many -horses were grazing. - -"There! There is the camp of the enemy!" Pitamakan cried. "Already they -may have seen us! Let's get back into the timber as quick as we can." - -That was not easy to do; the loose stock wanted to keep right on toward -their mates, and it required hard riding to head them off and turn them -back. And then when we did accomplish it, they were very restless; it -was only by the greatest vigilance that we kept them from breaking back. - -While the sun slowly sank toward the horizon, we waited in suspense, for -there was a chance that the party of seven, or some other party, might -appear at any moment. The thought that, after our great success of the -day, we might lose everything, and our lives also, kept us keyed up to -an intense pitch of excitement. - -Toward sunset there was a commotion among the horse herds at the farther -end of the prairie, and two riders came loping straight toward us. At -first we were not much alarmed, for we thought that they were only -looking for some stray animal from the bands; but they kept coming -straight on, looking neither to the right nor to the left, and it was -soon plain, either that they had seen us and were going to have a look -at our outfit, or that they were going to take the trail through the -timber, in search, probably, of the missing hunters whose horses we had -rounded up. There was but one thing for us to do--hustle the animals as -far from the trail as possible; and going at it in a whirl of -excitement, we hissed at them, flicked them with our bridle-ropes, and -struck them with dead limbs that we snatched from the trees. - -Never were horses so obstinate; they simply ducked their heads to the -missiles and milled round and round among the trees and underbrush. We -had got them no more than a bow-shot away from the trail, when, looking -out into the open, we saw that the riders had almost reached the thin -belt of timber that screened us. - -"Get off your horse and try to hold him still there behind that brush!" -my partner called out; and off I slid and grasped the animal by the nose -and one ear. - -We could plainly hear now the thud of the oncoming horses. If one of the -seven animals we had should nicker, we were lost. Presently the two -riders entered the timber, and we could see them plainly as they sped -along the trail. Tall, heavy men they were, with long, flying hair and -grim faces. Each carried a long gun. - -When they came in sight, my animal pricked up his ears and began to -prance and toss his head, but I hung to him desperately, although I was -hoisted more than once clear off the ground. As I swung and bobbed in -the air, I got flashing glimpses of the enemy, of Pitamakan struggling -with his animal, and of the loose stock looking curiously at the scene. -I expected every instant that one of them would whinny, but not one of -them did! - -The two men passed swiftly along the trail out of sight, and the beat -of their horses' hoofs died slowly away. Then once more we took hope. - -The sun was down and darkness was stealing over the land. Faint from -this last narrow escape, we got into the saddle once more, and leaving -the loose stock to stray whither they would, rode out into the open and -took a course down the prairie that would leave the big camp far to our -right. Passing it a little later, we could see the dim, yellow glow of -the lodge fires, and hear the people singing, and the dogs barking now -and then in answer to the mocking yelps of the coyotes. - -We traveled on through the night in a partly timbered country, and, by -God's mercy, safely forded some streams that were raging spring -torrents. It was between midnight and dawn that we finally gave out, -and, picketing our animals, lay down and slept. But the first peep of -the sun roused us. Staggering to our feet, stiff and sore, we saddled, -and rode on again in a half stupor. It was past noon when, from the -edge of a sloping plain, we saw the big lake of the Flatheads. Pitamakan -knew the place at once. - -"Down there by the shore was the big camp the time we were here," he -said, "and over there by the side of that little river runs the trail to -buffalo land." - -We came to it a little later, a broad, well-worn trail that had been -used for countless years for summer travel by the mountain tribes. There -were no tracks in it now save those of the wolf and the deer. -Dismounting beside it to rest the horses, we took a few bites of dry -meat, while they greedily cropped the tender spring grass. - -We did not remain there long. Behind us stretched the trail of our -horses, plain enough in the young green grass, a trail that could be -easily followed from where we had first taken the animals. We went on -all through the afternoon eastward into the mountains. Here the -mountains were low, and in the still lower pass there was no snow to -block us. Indeed, Two Medicine Pass is so low that you cannot tell when -you pass the summit except by the changed course of the streamlets. - -Late the next afternoon we caught a glimpse of the great plains, -stretching green from the foot of the mountains away eastward to the far -horizon; and at sight of them we both shouted, and Pitamakan gave thanks -to his gods. Down at the foot of the mountains we saw a little later -four buffalo bulls, and gave greeting to them as if they were our -brothers. But not appreciating our feelings, they ran lumbering away. - -Two days afterward we came to the edge of the hill overlooking Fort -Benton and the Missouri, our stream of streams. The sight of it, and of -our own people walking here and there outside the fort and along the -river, brought tears to our eyes and great joy and peace to our hearts. - -We urged our weary horses down the hill and across the bottom. An Indian -boy, hunting horses, met us while we were yet some distance out, gave -one look at our faces, and fled straight to the Blackfeet camp by the -fort. - -The people instantly poured out of the lodges and came running to greet -us. Surrounded by several hundred of them, all talking at once and -asking a thousand questions, we rode into the great courtyard. There, -foremost of the company folk who came out to see what was the cause of -all the noise, were my uncle and his wife. - -They fairly tore me from my horse, smothered and crushed me with kisses -and embraces, and were for leading me straight to our quarters; but I -would not budge an inch until I had secured my precious pack of furs -from the saddle and had given the worn animal into the keeping of one of -Pitamakan's relatives. - -By that time the factor himself had come from his office, and I had then -and there to tell the story of our winter and our hardships in the great -mountains. How the people hung upon my words, how they applauded and -cheered! Without doubt those were the proudest moments of my life. For a -mere boy to hold those seasoned old voyageurs and plainsmen spellbound -was something of a feat, you may be sure. - -But at last it was all over, and once more I entered our little house -and sat down on my own soft couch of buffalo-robes. As the evening was -chilly, a cheerful fire was blazing in the hearth. Tsis-tsak-ki bustled -round, and while cooking the supper, managed to get out clean clothes -for me, and get ready a tub of water, soap, and towels. Never before had -I seen my Uncle Wesley so excited; he could not sit still. Every few -moments he would come over and pinch my arm, or slap me on my back, just -to make sure, as he explained, that I was really with them once more. - -So ended my first great adventure on the frontier that was, and is no -more. - - - THE END - - - - - The Riverside Press - CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS - U . S . 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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: With the Indians in the Rockies - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Illustrator: George Varian - -Release Date: March 8, 2013 [EBook #42274] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE INDIANS IN THE ROCKIES *** - - - - -Produced by Nicole Henn-Kneif, Greg Bergquist and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<div style="text-align: center;"><img class="bbox" style="width: 200px; height: 278px;" alt="" src="images/frontcover.jpg" /><img class="bbox" src="images/illo_005.jpg" alt="" style="width: 200px; height: 278px;" /> -</div> -<h1 class="p2">With the Indians in<br /> -The Rockies</h1> -<p class="smcap" style="text-align: center;"><big>by</big><br /> -<big><big>JAMES -WILLARD SCHULTZ</big></big></p> -<p class="p2" style="text-align: center;">WITH -ILLUSTRATIONS BY<br /> -<big>GEORGE VARIAN</big></p> -<p class="p2" style="text-align: center;">London<br /> -CONSTABLE & CO. <span class="smcap">Limited</span><br /> -<small>BOSTON AND NEW -YORK </small><br /> -HOUGHTON MIFFLIN -COMPANY <br /> -<small>1912</small></p> -<p class="smcap p2" style="text-align: center;">copyright, -1912, by james willard schultz<br /> -all rights reserved</p> -<div style="text-align: center;" class="p4"><a name="The_Shale_began_sliding_under_my_feet"></a><img style="width: 500px; height: 610px;" alt="The Shale began sliding under my feet" src="images/illo_004.jpg" /><br /> -<span class="smcap">the -shale began sliding under my feet (page 51)</span></div> -<p class="smcap p4" style="text-align: center;">this -book is affectionately dedicated<br /> -to my wife<br /> -CELIA -HAWKINS SCHULTZ<br /> -whose -good comradeship and sympathy<br /> -have been my greatest help<br /> -in writing the -tale</p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="toc"></a>Table -of Contents</h2> -<table class="p2;" style="text-align: left; width: 529px; height: 116px;" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"> -<tbody> -<tr> -<td class="p2"><a class="smcap" href="#PREFACE">Preface</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_III">Chapter -III</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_VII">Chapter -VII</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#Illustrations">Illustrations</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_IV">Chapter -IV</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Chapter -VIII</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_V">Chapter V</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_IX">Chapter -IX</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_II">Chapter -II</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_VI">Chapter -VI</a></td> -<td><a class="smcap" href="#CHAPTER_X">Chapter X</a></td> -</tr> -</tbody> -</table> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="PREFACE"></a>Preface</h2> -<p class="p2">When in the -seventies I turned my back on civilization and -joined the -trappers and traders of the Northwest, Thomas Fox became my friend. We -were together in the Indian camps and trading posts often for months at -a time; he loved to recount his adventures in still earlier days, and -thus it was that I learned the facts of his life. The stories that he -told by the evening camp-fire and before the comfortable fireplaces of -our various posts, on long winter days, were impressed upon my memory, -but to make sure of them I frequently took notes of the more important -points.</p> -<p>As time passed, I realized more and more how unusual and -interesting his -adventures were, and I urged him to write an account of them. He began -with enthusiasm, but soon tired of the unaccustomed work. Later, -however, after the buffalo had been exterminated and we were settled on -a cattle-ranch, where the life was of a deadly monotony compared with -that which we had led, I induced him to take up the narrative once -more. -Some parts of it he wrote with infinite detail; other parts consisted -only of dates and a few sentences.</p> -<p>He was destined never to finish the task. An old bullet wound -in his -lung had always kept him in poor health, and when, in the winter of -1885, he contracted pneumonia, the end was quick. His last request was -that I would put his notes in shape for publication. This I have done -to -the best of my ability in my own old age; how well I have done it is -for -the reader to judge.</p> -<p>Brave, honest old Ah-ta-to-yi (The Fox), as the Blackfeet and -frontiers-men loved to call him! We buried him on a high bluff -overlooking the valley of the Two Medicine River, and close up to the -foothills of the Rockies, the "backbone-of-the-world" that he loved so -well. After we had filled in the grave and the others had gone, -Pitamakan and I sat by the new-made mound until the setting sun and the -increasing cold warned us also to descend into the valley. The old -chief -was crying as we mounted our horses.</p> -<p>"Although of white skin," he faltered, "the man who lies there -was my -brother. I doubt not that I shall soon meet him in the Sand-hills."</p> -<p><span class="smcap">Ah-pun-i Lodge</span>, <br /> - <small>February, 1912.</small></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="Illustrations"></a>Illustrations</h2> -<table style="text-align: left; width: 531px; height: 172px;" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"> -<tbody> -<tr> -<td><a href="#The_Shale_began_sliding_under_my_feet"><span class="smcap">The Shale began sliding under my Feet</span> (page 51)</a></td> -<td class="tdr"><i>Frontispiece</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a href="#it_toppled_over_with_a_crash_and_lay"><span class="smcap">It toppled over with a -Crash -and lay still</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr">14</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a href="#Again_and_again_it_rose"><span class="smcap">Again and again it rose</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr">76</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a href="#Pitamakan_fiercely_striking_a_blow"><span class="smcap">Pitamakan fiercely -striking a -Blow</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr">128</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a href="#The_Avalanche_burst_into_the_flat"><span class="smcap">The Avalanche burst -into the -Flat</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr">200</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><a href="#I_grabbed_them_up_and_followed_him"><span class="smcap">I grabbed them up and -followed him</span></a></td> -<td class="tdr">210</td> -</tr> -</tbody> -</table> -<p class="p2" style="text-align: center;"><i>Reproduced -from -drawings by George Varian, <br /> -by permission of The Youth's Companion.</i></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER -I</a></h2> -<p class="p2">My father kept a little firearm shop in St. -Louis. Over it was -the -sign:——</p> -<p style="text-align: center;"> -<span class="smcap">David Fox</span> & Co.<br /> -Wholesale & Retail Guns<br /> -& Ammunition.<br /> -Fine Rifles & Fowling Pieces<br /> -Made To Order.<br /> -</p> -<p>"Co." on the sign stood for my uncle, Wesley Fox, who was a -silent -partner in the business. Longer than I could remember, he had been an -employee of the American Fur Company away up the Missouri River.</p> -<p>It was a great event in the quiet life of our little family of -three -when he came, as he did every two or three years, to pay us a short -visit. He no sooner set foot in the house than my mother began to cook -bread, cakes, puddings and pies. I have seen him make what he called a -delicious breakfast on nothing but buttered toast and coffee. That was -because he did not get any bread where he lived except on Christmas -Day. -Every pound of freight that went up the river above Fort Union in the -company's keel-boats and bateaux was for the Indian trade, and there was -no room for such luxuries as flour.</p> -<p>While Uncle Wesley was with us, mother always let me put away -my books, -and not say any lessons to her, and I went with him everywhere in the -town. That is what St. Louis was in those days—just a good-sized town. -I liked best to go with him to the levee and see the trappers and -traders coming in, their bateaux loaded down with beaver and other fur -pelts. Nearly all these men wore buckskin clothes and moccasins, and -fur caps of their own make. They all had long hair and big whiskers and -mustaches that looked as if they had been trimmed with a butcher-knife.</p> -<p>Every time my Uncle Wesley came out of the Far West he brought -me a bow -and arrows in a fine case and quiver; or a stone-headed war-club; real -weapons that had killed buffalo and been in battles between the tribes. -And once he brought me a Sioux scalp, the heavy braided hair all of -four -feet in length. When I asked him where he got it he laughed a little -and -said, "Oh, I got it up there near Fort Union." But I had seen my mother -shake her head at him, and by that I knew that I was not to be told -more. I guessed, though, that he had taken that scalp himself, and long -afterward I found out that I had guessed right.</p> -<p>One night I heard the family talking about me. I had been sent -to bed -and was supposed to be asleep, but as the door to my room was open and -I -was lying wide awake, I couldn't help hearing. My mother was taking -Uncle Wesley to task. "You know that the presents you bring him only -add -to his interest in trapping and trading," she said, "and as it is, we -don't succeed very well in interesting him in his studies, and in the -life we have planned for him."</p> -<p>"You know how our hearts are set on his going to Princeton," -said my -father, in his always low, gentle voice, "and then becoming such a -preacher as his grandfather was before him. You must help us, Wesley. -Show the boy the dark side of the plains life, the hardships and -dangers -of it."</p> -<p>In our little sitting-room there was a picture of Grandfather -Fox, a -tall, dark man with a long wig. He wore a long-tailed coat with a -tremendous collar, knee-breeches, black stockings, and shoes with -enormous buckles. I thought that I should not like to be a preacher if -that was the way I must dress. And thinking that, I lost the rest of -what they were saying and fell asleep.</p> -<p>Uncle Wesley stayed with us only a few days that spring. He -intended to -remain a month, but one morning Pierre Chouteau, the head of the great -fur company, came to our house and had a long talk with him, with the -result that he left for Fort Union the very next day, to take the place -of some one who had died there.</p> -<p>So I went back to my studies, and my parents kept me closer at -home than -ever. I was allowed to go out on real play spells only for two hours on -Saturday afternoons. There were very few American boys in the town in -those days. Most of my playmates were French Creoles, who spoke very -little English, or none at all, so naturally I learned their patois. -That knowledge was very useful to me in after days.</p> -<p>I am going to pass over what I have to say now as quickly as -possible, -for even after all these years, and old as I am, the thought of it -still -hurts. In February of the following winter my father fell ill of -smallpox and died. Then my mother and I took it, and my mother died -also.</p> -<p>I did not know anything about her death until many days after -she was -buried, and then I wanted to die, too. I felt that there was nothing in -the world for me, until one day Pierre Chouteau himself came for me in -his grand carriage, took me to his house, and kept me there until May, -when my uncle arrived again in St. Louis.</p> -<p>Uncle Wesley put on what we call "a bold front" when he came -to me, but -for all that I could see that he was very sad. We had just one talk -about my future. "I should like to carry out your father's and mother's -plans for you, Tom," he said. "The only way to do it, so far as I can -see, is to send you to Cynthia Mayhew, in Hartford, Connecticut. She -loved your mother,—they were just like sisters,—and I know that she -would be glad to take care of you and see to your education."</p> -<p>I broke out crying, and said that if he sent me away from him -I should -die. How could he be so cruel as to send me far away among strangers? -And then I cried all the harder, although I was ashamed of myself for -doing so.</p> -<p>Uncle Wesley almost broke down himself. He gulped hard two or -three -times, and his voice wasn't steady as he took me on his lap and felt of -my spindling legs and arms.</p> -<p>"Poor boy! You are weak," he said. "Weak in body and low in -mind. Well, -we'll say no more about this matter of your education now. I'll take -you -up the river with me for a year, or until you get good and strong. But -we'll pack your study books along, and a good part of your mother's -library, and you'll have to dig into them every evening after we get -settled. Now that's fair, isn't it?"</p> -<p>It was more than fair. My fondest dream was to be realized. I -was -actually to see the country and the Indians and the great herds of -buffalo. There was nothing in St. Louis now to keep my uncle or make -his stay there a pleasure. As quickly as possible he disposed of the -little shop and its contents, and deposited the entire proceeds with -the -company for me "for a rainy day," as he said.</p> -<p>On April 10, 1856, we left St. Louis on the Chippewa, a fine -new boat -that the company had just bought. I was thirteen years old, and that -was -my first steamboat ride. As the stern-wheel craft swung out from the -levee and steamed rapidly—as it seemed to me—up-stream, the novel -experience gave me the keenest pleasure. I fairly hugged myself as I -remembered that by the channel of the river it was more than two -thousand miles to our destination.</p> -<p>We no sooner left the Mississippi and turned into the more -muddy waters -of the Missouri than I earnestly begged my uncle to get his rifle out -of -the cabin and load it, so as to be ready to shoot buffalo. I was -terribly disappointed when he told me that many days must pass before -we should see any of the animals. But to please me he brought the rifle -to the cabin deck and fired a couple of shots at the sawyers in the -river. Again he loaded the piece, and told me to shoot at one.</p> -<p>"Even boys must know how to shoot where we are going," he -said. "Now -take a fine sight at the end of that little sawyer and let's see how -near it you can place a bullet."</p> -<p>I did as I was told and fired, after a long, wabbly aim; the -water -splashed just over the tip of the log, and a number of passengers -clapped their hands and praised me.</p> -<p>That shot began my training in shooting. Every day after that, -until we -got to the game country, I spent an hour shooting at different objects -in the water and on the banks. One morning I fired at one of a pair of -wild geese. The bird gave a flap or two of its great wings, its head -dropped, and it floated inertly with the current.</p> -<p>"I killed it!" I shouted. "I killed it! Wasn't that a fine -shot, uncle?"</p> -<p>He was silent a moment, and then said gravely:—</p> -<p>"It was a thoughtless boy's shot. And I hope it will be the -only one. A -true hunter never takes the life of God's creatures needlessly."</p> -<p>That was all he said, but the reproof was enough. I took it to -heart, -and all my life I have not only profited by it, but preached to others -against the wanton taking of life.</p> -<p>After passing St. Charles, Missouri, the ranches of the -settlers were -farther and farther apart, and in a few days we saw the last of them -and -were in the wild country. Game now became more and more frequent, -especially white-tail deer, of which we soon had some for the table. -The -boat was always tied to an island or to the shore at sundown, and -during -the short remainder of daylight we would all scatter in the near timber -to hunt. A number of wild turkeys were killed, which made us some fine -feasts. On these occasions, however, I was only a follower of the -hunters. My red-letter day was yet to come.</p> -<p>At Fort Pierre we saw a great number of Sioux Indians. -Formerly a -company post, it had been sold to the United States, and was now -occupied by several companies of soldiers. Two days after leaving the -fort, we sighted the first of the buffalo herds, a small band of bulls -that splashed out of the river not far ahead of the boat, and took to -the hills. About four o'clock that afternoon, the port engine breaking -down, we had to make a long stop for repairs. As soon as we swung into -the bank and learned that the boat would be tied there for the night, -my -uncle got out his rifle, and we went hunting.</p> -<p>The timber bordering the river was half a mile wide, with an -undergrowth -of willow- and rose-brush so thick that we never could have penetrated -it but for the game trails crossing it in every direction. From the -looks of them, I thought that thousands of animals must be living -there. The trails were worn deep by their sharp hoofs.</p> -<p>In places the earth was moist but hard, and there the tracks -were -plainly outlined. My uncle pointed out the difference in them—how the -tracks of the deer differed from those of elk, and how these differed -again from the tracks of the buffalo. I was taught, too, that wolf -tracks were longer than those of the mountain-lion, which were nearly -circular. Finally, I was asked to prove my knowledge.</p> -<p>"What made those tracks?" I was asked.</p> -<p>I hesitated a moment, and replied that I thought buffalo had -made them.</p> -<p>"Right," said my uncle. "They seem very fresh; we will follow -them."</p> -<p>The myriad tracks of different game, the mystery of the deep -woods, the -thought that hostile Indians might be there hunting us, all combined to -excite me. My heart thumped rapidly and I found it difficult to -breathe. -I was afraid, and kept looking intently in all directions—even behind -me, for I expected every moment to see something come charging through -the brush, either to rend us with sharp claws or to stick our bodies -full of arrows.</p> -<p>But nothing could have induced me to admit that I felt so; -gritting my -teeth, I followed on uncertain legs, close at Uncle Wesley's heels. So -close was I that when he suddenly stopped, I bumped into him, and then -gave a little squeal of fright, for I thought that he had discovered -something to justify my fears.</p> -<p>"<i>Sh-h-h-h!</i>" he cautioned, and reaching back -and drawing me to his -side, he pointed significantly ahead.</p> -<p>We were only a few yards from the outer edge of the timber; a -hundred -yards farther on were three buffalo bulls, standing motionless on the -open, sparsely grassed bottom-land. How big they were! How majestic and -yet uncouth they loomed before me! They had apparently no necks at all. -Forgetting entirely our purpose in coming there, I stared at them with -intense interest, until my uncle passed me the rifle and whispered, -"Take that farthest one. He is young and in good condition. Aim low, -close behind his shoulder."</p> -<p>My hands closed on the long-barreled, heavy weapon. Heretofore -my boy -strength had been sorely taxed to shoot with it, but now, in my tense -excitement, it fairly leaped to my shoulder, and I was able to hold it -steady. I pulled the trigger.</p> -<p><i>Bang!</i> A thick cloud of powder smoke drifted -into my face, and then -passed on, and I saw two of the bulls running across the bottom; the -other was swaying, staggering round and round, with blood streaming -from -its mouth. Before I could reload, it toppled over with a crash and lay -still.</p> -<p style="text-align: center;"><a name="it_toppled_over_with_a_crash_and_lay"></a><img class="p2" style="width: 625px; height: 500px;" alt="it toppled over with a crash and lay still" src="images/illo_029.jpg" /><br /> -<span class="smcap">It -toppled over with a crash and lay still.</span></p> -<p class="p2"> I stood staring at the animal like -one in a dream; it was hard -to -realize that I had actually killed it. Uncle Wesley broke my trance by -praising the shot I had made, and added that the animal was in fine -condition and would weigh all of a ton. He had me lie down on it, my -feet -even with its fore feet, and I found that I could not reach the top of -its withers, or rather, its hump: its height had been more than six -feet.</p> -<p>I now got my first lesson in skinning and butchering one of -these great -animals. Without axe or windlass, or any of the other things regarded -as -indispensable by farmers and by professional butchers, the old-time -plainsmen made a quick and neat job of this work with only a common -butcher-knife.</p> -<p>First, my uncle doubled up the bull's fore legs and -straightened back -the hind ones. Then, little by little, he twisted the great head -sharply -back beside the body, at the same time heaving up the back, and in a -moment or two the animal lay prone on its belly, propped up in that -position by the head. If the skin had been wanted, the rolling-up of -the -animal would have been reversed, and it would have lain on its back, -legs up, and as in the other way, propped in position by the bent-back -head.</p> -<p>After making an incision along the back from head to tail, he -skinned -both sides down to the ground, and even under the body, by propping the -head one way and then another, and slanting the carcass so that there -was knife room beneath. At last the body lay free, back up, on the -clean, spread-out skin.</p> -<p>The choicest part of it was the so-called "hump," or in -frontier -language, the "boss ribs." These dorsal ribs rose gradually from the -centre of the back to a length of twenty inches and more just above the -point of the shoulders, and were deeply covered with rich tenderloin.</p> -<p>It took but a moment to get the set off. Uncle Wesley cut an -incision -along each side at the base of them; then he unjointed a hind leg at -the -gambrel-joint, and with that for a club he hit the tips of the ribs a -few blows, causing them to snap off from the back-bone like so many -pipe-stems, and the whole hump lay free on the hide.</p> -<p>Next, he removed the legs with a few deft cuts of the knife, -and laid -them out on the clean grass; unjointed the backbone at the third rib -and -removed the after part; severed the neck from the big ribs, cut them -apart at the brisket, and smashed one side of them free from the -backbone with the leg club, and there we had the great animal divided -in -eight parts. Lastly, he removed the tongue through an incision in the -lower jaw.</p> -<p>"There," said he, when it was all done, "now you know how to -butcher. -Let's hurry to the boat and get the roustabouts to carry in the meat."</p> -<p>From this point on, there were days at a time when we saw no -Indians, -and the various kinds of game animals were more and more plentiful and -tame. At last, several days after passing Fort Clarke, we came to the -American Fur Company's greater post, Fort Union, situated on the north -bank of the river about five miles above the mouth of the Yellowstone.</p> -<p>It was begun in 1829, under the direction of the factor, -Kenneth -McKenzie, and finished in 1832. A stockade of logs ten or twelve feet -long, set up on end, side by side, protected the buildings, and this, -in -turn, was commanded by two-storied bastions, in which cannon were -mounted at the northeast and southwest corners.</p> -<p>When we approached the place, a flag was run up on the staff -of the -fort, cannon boomed a welcome, and a great crowd of Indians and company -men, headed by the factor, gathered at the shore to greet us. My uncle -and I were escorted to the two-story house which formed the rear of the -fort, and in which were the quarters of the factor and clerks.</p> -<p>I learned afterward that distinguished guests had been housed -there: -George Catlin, the painter and philanthropist, in 1832; Maximilian, -Prince of Neuwied, in 1833; and Audubon, the great naturalist, in 1843. -All of them published extremely interesting accounts of what they saw -and did in the Upper Missouri country, which I commend to the reader, -Maximilian's "Travels in North America" especially; for I went up the -river from Fort Union just as he did, and there had been practically no -change in the conditions of the country from his time to mine. -Maximilian gives a wonderfully accurate and vivid description of the -remarkable scenery of the Missouri, without question the most strangely -picturesque river in America, and probably in the world.</p> -<p>My Uncle Wesley was a valued clerk of the American Fur -Company. He was -sent from one to another of their Far Western forts, as occasion for -his -services arose, and frequently he was in full charge of a post for -months at a time, while the factor went on a trip to the States. When -we -arrived in Fort Union he was told that he must go on to Fort Benton, -where the factor needed his help. At that time, since the company's -steamboats went no farther than Fort Union, all the goods for the posts -beyond were sent in keel-boats, or bateaux. It was not until the summer -of 1860 that the extreme upper river was found to be navigable, and on -July 2 of that year the Chippewa and the Key West arrived at Fort -Benton.</p> -<p>A keel-boat was lying at Fort Union when we arrived there; it -was -waiting for part of the Chippewa's cargo of ammunition, guns, and -various trade goods, mostly tobacco, red and blue cloth, brass wire for -jewelry, Chinese vermilion, and small trinkets. These were soon -transferred, and we resumed our voyage, Uncle Wesley in charge of the -boat and crew. The Minnie was sixty feet long, ten feet wide, and was -decked over. The crew consisted of thirty French-Canadian cordelliers, -or towmen, a cook, a steersman and two bowmen, and a hunter with his -horse. In a very small cabin aft there were two bunks. Forward there -was -a mast and sail for use when the wind was favorable—which was seldom. -There was a big sweep oar on each side, and a number of poles were -scattered along the deck to be used as occasion required. In the bow -there was a four-pound howitzer, loaded with plenty of powder, and a -couple of quarts of trade balls, in case of an attack by Indians, which -was not at all improbable.</p> -<p>By the channel it was called eight hundred miles from Fort -Union to Fort -Benton, where we hoped to arrive in two months. After the first day's -experience, I thought that we should be fortunate if we reached the -place in two years. From morning until night the cordelliers toiled as -I -had never seen men toil before. It was a painful sight, those thirty -men -tugging on the long tow-rope as they floundered through water often -waist-deep; through quicksand or mud so tenacious that the more -unfortunate were dragged out of it gasping for breath and smeared with -the stuff from head to foot. They frequently lost their footing on -steep places and rolled down into deep water; banks of earth caved upon -them; they were scratched and torn by rose-brush and bull-berry thorns; -they were obliged to cut trails along the top of the banks in places, -and to clear a way for the boat through dense masses of sawyers and -driftwood.</p> -<p>A day or two after leaving Fort Union we narrowly escaped -losing the -boat, and the lives of all of us who were on it, in the treacherous -swirling current. At the time the cordelliers were walking easily along -a sandy shore under a high bank. Ahead of them, at the edge of the -water, lay a dead buffalo bull, its rump partly eaten by the prowling -animals. When the lead-man was within a few feet of it a big grizzly -sprang toward him from the other side of the carcass, where it had lain -asleep. The men dropped the rope and with loud cries sprang into the -water, since they could not climb the bank. The boat at once turned -broadside to the swift current, drifted against two sawyers, and began -to turn turtle. The lower rail was already under water, and the horse -had lost its footing and tumbled overboard, where it hung strangling, -when by the greatest good fortune first one and then the other of the -sawyers snapped under the strain, and the boat righted and swung in to -the bank. We now had time to see what was going on above. The bear was -just leaving the opposite shore and making for the timber; the men, -dripping from their hasty bath, were gathered in a close group near the -carcass, and were talking and gesticulating as only Frenchmen can. We -suspected that something was wrong, and while the bowmen made the boat -fast, the rest of us hurried up the shore. The group parted at our -approach and disclosed one of their number—the lead-man on the -rope—lying moaning on the sand. The bear had overtaken and mauled him -terribly, and then, frightened probably by the loud cries of so many -men, it took to the river and swam away. We got the wounded man aboard -at once, and my uncle set his arm and made him as comfortable as -possible. The hunter had saved his horse by cutting its rope and -swimming with it to a landing far down stream. As soon as the tow-line -was recovered we went on, thankful that the accident had been no worse.</p> -<p>Yet through it all they were cheerful and happy, and at the -evening -camp-fire my uncle was frequently obliged to speak harshly to keep them -from shouting their voyageur songs, that might have brought some -prowling war party of Indians down on us. The food of these men was -meat—nothing but meat, washed down with a little tea. Sometimes they -managed to dig a few <i>pommes blanches</i>, white, edible -roots that were -very palatable when roasted in the coals. Uncle Wesley and I had a box -of hard crackers and a few pounds of flour and sugar. When they were -gone, he told me, we should have no more until we sat down to our -Christmas dinner. That did not worry me; I thought that if big, strong -men could live on meat, a boy could, too.</p> -<p>The river wound like a snake through the great valley. There -were long -points only a mile or two across by land, but many times that distance -round by the channel. Sometimes when we came to such a place Uncle -Wesley and I would hunt across the bottom and then wait for the boat. -On -these trips I killed my first deer and elk and antelope—not to mention -several more buffalo.</p> -<p>But Uncle Wesley was always uneasy when away from the boat; he -was -responsible for it and its cargo, which was worth more than a hundred -thousand dollars in furs. Should anything happen to it while he was -away -from it, even for an hour's hunt, his hope of eventually becoming a -member of the great company would have to be given up. Finally, after -minute instructions in the proper handling of the rifle, I was allowed -to accompany the hunter on his daily quests for meat.</p> -<p>Baptiste Rondin was a dreamy, gentle little Creole from -Louisiana. He -came from a good family, had not been taught to work, and had hated -books, so he told me. So when misfortune came to his family, and he had -to do something, he chose the position he now held in preference to -others with more pay which the Chouteaus had offered him. When we -started out in the morning, I would climb up behind him on the gentle -old horse, and we would ride for miles up one side or the other of the -river. We always saw various kinds of game soon after leaving the boat, -but never attempted to kill any until some was found convenient to the -shore of the river, where the boat could land and the meat easily be -taken aboard.</p> -<p>Besides looking for game, we examined every dusty trail, every -mudflat -and sandbar, and constantly scanned the bottoms and the hills for signs -of Indians. They were the great terror of the cordelliers; often a -boat's crew was surprised and killed, or the cargo was destroyed.</p> -<p>We tied up one night four or five miles below the mouth of the -Musselshell River, which my Uncle Wesley said Lewis and Clark had so -named on account of the quantities of fossil shells that are found -there.</p> -<p>Early the next morning Baptiste saddled the old horse, and we -started -out to hunt at the same time that the cordelliers hauled the rope tight -and began their weary tramp.</p> -<p>We came to the lower edge of the big bottom at the mouth of -the -Musselshell. Opposite the mouth there was a heavily timbered island. -One -small band of antelope was the only game in sight between us and the -Musselshell. On the other side of it, at the upper end of the bottom -and -close to the Missouri, there were a couple of hundred buffalo, some -feeding, some lying down.</p> -<p>They were so far away that we rode boldly through the tall -sage-brush to -the little river, and across it to the outer edge of the strip of -timber. There Baptiste told me to remain with the horse while he crept -out to the herd and made a killing. I did not like being left alone. -There were many fresh grizzly tracks on the river sands just behind me, -and I was afraid of the terrible animals, so afraid that I did not dare -to dismount and gather some strawberries which showed in the grass at -the horse's feet.</p> -<p>The passing minutes seemed hours. The tall sage-brush out -ahead had -swallowed Baptiste. By rising in the stirrups I could just see the -backs -of some of the distant buffalo. A sudden splash in the river made my -heart flutter, and I quickly turned to see what had caused it.</p> -<p>Here and there between the trees and brush its glistening -surface was in -plain view, and through one opening I saw something more terrible than -a -whole band of grizzlies: an Indian crossing toward me. I saw his face, -painted red with blue bars across the cheeks; I noted that he wore -leather clothing; that a shield hung suspended from his left arm; that -in his right hand he grasped a bow and a few arrows.</p> -<p>All this I noted in an instant of time; and then nearer to me, -and more -to the right, a stick snapped, and I turned my head to see another -Indian in the act of letting an arrow fly at me. I yelled and gave the -horse such a thump with the stock of my rifle that he made a long, -quick -leap. That was a lucky thing for me. The arrow aimed at my body cut -through my coat sleeve and gashed my left arm just above the elbow.</p> -<p>I yelled frantically for Baptiste and urged the horse on -through the -sage-brush. I looked back, and saw that Indians all up and down the -stream were leaving the timber and running toward me. I looked ahead -and -saw the smoke of Baptiste's gun, heard the report, saw the buffalo -bunch -up and then scurry westward for the nearest hills.</p> -<p>The thought came to me that I could pick the hunter up, and -that the -old horse would easily carry us beyond the possibility of an attack by -Indians afoot. That hope was shattered a moment later. The buffalo -suddenly circled and came back into the bottom, and I saw that they had -been turned by some Indians at the edge of the hills. Indians were -strung out clear across the flat, were leaping through the sage-brush -toward us, and shouting their dreadful war-cry; they were hemming us in -on the south, and the great river cut off our retreat to the north.</p> -<p>I urged the old horse on, determined to reach Baptiste and die -by his -side, but the Indians who had appeared on the hills were now quite near -him. I saw him raise his rifle and fire at the one in the lead, then -turn and run a few steps and spring from the high cut-bank into the -river. But just before jumping he paused, and raising a hand, motioned -to me to turn back.</p> -<p>To turn back! Accustomed to obeying him, I sawed on the bridle -and the -horse stopped. I looked over my shoulder, and saw that the nearest of -the Indians were not three hundred yards from me. In my distress I -cried, "What shall I do? Oh, what shall I—what can I do to escape?"</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER -II</a></h2> -<p class="p2">I do not know why I cried out. Of course -there was no one to -answer, to -advise, or assist me. I have often noticed that in times of stress men -shout the questions that they ask themselves. Why had Baptiste motioned -me to go back, when by doing so I must run right into the Indians? I -must have misunderstood his signal. Clearly, my only chance of escape -was the same as his, and that was by the river.</p> -<p>Pummeling the old horse with rifle-stock and heels, I headed -him for the -stream. Not straight toward it, where the bank was apparently very -high, -but obliquely, toward a point not far above the mouth of the -Musselshell. There the bank was certainly not high, for the tips of -water-willows peeped above it.</p> -<p>In a few moments I was close enough to look over it. Between -the narrow -strip of willows and the edge of the water there was an oozy mudflat, -fifty yards wide, impassable for man or horse.</p> -<p>I looked back at the enemy, and saw that when I had turned -downstream, -those toward the upper end of the bottom had given up the chase, while -the rest had turned with me and run faster than ever. Thus there was a -wide gap between the two parties, and I circled toward it, as my last -chance. First up the river for several hundred yards, then straight -south, away from it. Both parties immediately perceived my intention, -and spurted to close the gap. Harder and harder I thumped the horse, -although by this time he had waked up, and was entering into the spirit -of the flight. The distance between the two parties of Indians was now -not more than three hundred yards, and I was more than that from the -point for which we all were heading; but to offset this I was covering -the ground much faster than they were.</p> -<p>The Indians were now yelling frightfully, to encourage one -another to -greater speed. I could see their painted faces, and a little later -their fierce eyes.</p> -<p>The gap was very small now; they began shooting, and several -pieces of -lead ripped by me with the sound of tearing paper. I did not try to use -my rifle. In that first experience there was no anger in my heart -against the enemy, nothing but fear of them.</p> -<p>I felt, rather than saw, that they would be unable to head me -off, if -only by a narrow margin, and I bent low over the horse to make myself -as -small a target as possible. More guns boomed close on each side of me. -Arrows whizzed, too, and the shaft of one struck my rifle-stock, -glanced -from it, and cut the skin on the back of my hand. That was when I -passed -right between the two parties.</p> -<p>In a dazed way, I kept urging the horse on, until presently it -dawned on -me that I was past the danger point. Having looked back to make sure of -this, I changed my course, crossed the Musselshell, and went on down -the -bottom, and then along the shore of the river several miles, until I -came to the boat.</p> -<p>When the cordelliers saw me returning in such haste, they knew -that -something was wrong. They ceased towing, and let the boat drift in to -the bank, in such a position that I rode right on the deck. I was still -so frightened that it was difficult for me to talk, but my uncle, -guessing the parts of the story which I omitted, ordered all the men -aboard. In a few minutes we were at the other shore of the river.</p> -<p>The cordelliers objected to going on with the tow-line, but my -uncle was -firm that they should start without delay, and they did. The steersman, -an old and tried employee, was sent ahead of them to scout, and Uncle -Wesley took his place at the sweep. The howitzer was freshly primed, -and -one of the men instructed to stand by, ready to aim and fire it. I was -anxious about Baptiste, and although my uncle told me not to worry, I -doubted if we should ever see him again.</p> -<p>In a couple of hours we arrived off the island opposite the -mouth of the -Musselshell, and lo! Baptiste came out of the brush at the lower end of -it, and signaled us to take him aboard. That was done with the skiff. -As -soon as he came on deck he ran to me, in his impetuous French way, gave -me a hug and a thump on the back, and exclaimed, "It is my brave boy! -And he is safe! One little wound in the hand? That is nothing. Now, -tell -me how you made the escape."</p> -<p>But at this moment my uncle came to consult the hunter, and my -story was -deferred. I learned from Baptiste later that the Indians were Crees, -probably on their way south, to raid the Crow horse herds.</p> -<p>By this time we had passed the island. Baptiste was just -asking us to -note how high the cut-bank was from which he had jumped into the -stream, -when the whole party of Indians rose out of the sage-brush at the edge -of it, and with much yelling, fired their guns at us. As the distance -was three or four hundred yards, only a few of their balls struck -anywhere near the boat. Uncle Wesley himself sprang to the howitzer, -swung it round, tilted up the barrel, and fired it. Some of the balls -dropped into the water near the far shore, several spatted little puffs -of dust out of the dry cut-bank, and others must have passed right -among -the war party. Anyway, the Indians all ducked down and ran back from -the -bluff. We saw no more of them.</p> -<p>Ever since leaving the mouth of the Yellowstone we had been -passing -through the extraordinary formation of the Bad Lands. From this point -onward the scenery became more and more wonderful. Boy that I was, I -was -so deeply impressed with the strange grandeur of it all that the -sensations I experienced were at times actually oppressive. At every -turn there was something to astonish the eye. There were gleaming white -and gray turreted castles, perched high above the stream; cities of -clustering domes and towers and minarets, all wrought by the elements -from sandstones of varying hardness, but all so apparently real as to -suggest that men and women in mediæval dress might pass out of the -gates -in the walls at any moment.</p> -<p>We arrived at Fort Benton just ninety days after leaving Fort -Union. The -flag was raised and cannon fired in our honor, and more than five -thousand Blackfeet, headed by the factor, Alexander Culbertson, and the -employees of the fort, crowded to the river-bank to give us welcome.</p> -<p>I was astonished to see so many Indians. I noticed that they -were tall, -fine-looking men and women; that they wore beautiful garments of tanned -skins; that their hair was done up in long, neat braids; that many of -the leading men shook hands with my uncle, and seemed glad to meet him.</p> -<p>My uncle introduced me to that great man, the factor, who -patted me -kindly on the shoulder. With him we went into the fort, where, just as -we passed through the big gate, a tall, handsome Indian woman, wearing -a -neat calico dress, a plaid shawl, and beautifully embroidered -moccasins, came running to us, threw her arms round my uncle, and -kissed -him. I must have looked as surprised as I felt, especially when I noted -that he was very glad to meet her. Having spoken a few words to her, -which I couldn't understand, he turned to me. "Thomas," he said, "this -is your aunt. I hope that you and she will become great friends."</p> -<p>I was now more surprised than ever, but tried not to show it -as I -answered, "Yes, sir."</p> -<p>At that the woman gave a smile that was pleasant to see, and -the next -instant she had me in her arms and was kissing me, smoothing my hair, -and talking Blackfoot to me in her strangely clear and pleasant voice. -My uncle interpreted. "She says that she wants to be your mother now; -that she wants you to love her, to come to her for everything you need."</p> -<p>I do not know just what it was,—her voice, her appearance, the -motherly -feeling of her arms round me,—but there was something about this -Indian woman that made my heart go straight out to her. I gave her hand -a squeeze, while tears came to my eyes as I snuggled up close to her. -Right willingly I went with her and Uncle Wesley to the room in the far -end of the long adobe building forming the east side of the fort, which -he said was to be our home for a long time to come.</p> -<p>It was the kind of room that gave one a restful feeling at -sight. -Opposite the doorway was a big fireplace of stone and adobe, with hooks -above the mantel for rifles and powder-horns and ball-pouches. Two -windows on the courtyard side afforded plenty of light. There were a -strong table and comfortable chairs, all home-made. A settee covered -with buffalo-robes was placed before the fire. A curtained set of -shelves in the corner contained the dishes and cooking-utensils. The -north end of the room was partitioned off for a sleeping-place. My bed, -I was told, would be the buffalo-robe couch under the window at the -right of the door.</p> -<p>The next day my uncle took me all round the fort and made me -known to -the different employees—clerks and tailors, carpenters and blacksmiths, -and the men of the trade-room. The fort was a large one, about three -hundred feet square, all of adobe. Entering the front gate, you saw -that -three long buildings, of which the easterly one was two stories high, -formed three sides of the quadrangle, and that a high wall containing -the gate formed the fourth, or south side, facing the river. The outer -walls of the buildings were thus the defensive walls of the fort. They -were protected against assault by two-storied bastions, with cannon at -the southeast and northwest corners. All the tribes of the Northwest -together could not have taken the place by assault without the loss of -thousands of their force, and they knew it.</p> -<p>Before night the keel-boat was unloaded, and our trunks were -brought in -and unpacked. My mother's little library and my school-books filled a -new set of shelves, and that evening I began, under my uncle's -direction, a course of study and reading, preparatory to going East to -school in the following year.</p> -<p>No boy ever had a happier time than I had in that fort so far -beyond the -borders of civilization. Day in and day out there was always something -worth while going on. Hundreds, and often thousands, of Indians came in -to trade, and I found endless pleasure in mingling with them and -learned -their language and customs. In this I was encouraged by Tsistsaki -(Little Bird Woman), my uncle's wife. She had no children, and all her -natural mother love was given to me. In her way of thinking, nothing -that I did could be wrong, and the best of everything was not good -enough for me. The beautifully embroidered buckskin suits and moccasins -she made for me fairly dazzled the eye with their blaze of color. These -were not for everyday wear, but I took every possible occasion for -putting them on, and strutted around, the envy of all the Indian boys -in -the country.</p> -<p>The winter passed all too quickly. With the approach of spring -my uncle -began to plan for my long trip to St. Louis, and thence to the home of -my mother's Connecticut friend, where I was to prepare for Princeton. I -said nothing to him, but I had many talks with my aunt-mother, -Tsistsaki; and one night we poured out such a torrent of reasons why I -should not go, ending our pleadings with tears, that he gave in to us, -and agreed that I should grow up in the fur trade.</p> -<p>A frequent visitor in our cozy room in the fort was a nephew -of -Tsistsaki, a boy several years older than I. We liked each other at -sight, and every time we met we became firmer friends than ever. -"Friend" means much more to Indians—at least, to the Blackfeet—than it -does to white people. Once friends, Indians are always friends. They -almost never quarrel. So it came to be with Pitamakan (Eagle Running) -and myself.</p> -<p>My uncle Wesley was as much pleased as his wife. One day he -said to me, -"Pitamakan is an honest, good-hearted boy, and brave, too. He gets all -that from his father, who is one of the very best and most trustworthy -Indians in all this country, and from his mother, who is a woman of -fine -character. See to it that you keep his friendship."</p> -<p>Except, of course, Baptiste Rondin, the hunter of the fort, -Pitamakan -was almost the only one with whom I was allowed to go after the buffalo -and the other game which swarmed on the plains near by. What with my -daily studies, occasional hunts, and the constant pleasure I had in the -life of the fort, time fairly flew; no day was too long. And yet, for -four years, I never once went more than five miles from the fort.</p> -<p>During this time my one great desire was to go on a trip into -the Rocky -Mountains. Clearly visible from the high plains to the north and south -of the river, their pine-clad slopes and sharp, bare peaks always -seemed -to draw me to explore their almost unknown fastnesses.</p> -<p>In the fall of 1860 there came an opportunity for me to do -this. The -Small Robes band of the Blackfeet, of which Pitamakan's father, White -Wolf (Mah-kwi´-yi ksik-si-num), was chief, outfitted at the fort for an -expedition to trap beaver along the foot of the great mountains, and, -much to my surprise and delight, I was permitted to accompany them.</p> -<p>At this time there were ninety lodges—about six hundred -people—of the -Small Robes (I-nuk-siks) band of the Blackfeet. They had several -thousand horses, and when the moving camp was strung out on the plain, -the picturesque riders, the pack-animals laden with queerly shaped, -painted rawhide and leather pouches and sacks, made a pageant of moving -color that was very impressive.</p> -<p>Our first camp after leaving the fort was on the Teton River. -A couch -was made up for me in White Wolf's lodge. The lodge of the plains -Indians was the most comfortable portable shelter ever devised by man. -One of average size was made of sixteen large cow buffalo-hides, tanned -into soft leather, cut to shape, and sewed together with sinew thread.</p> -<p>This cone-shaped "lodge skin" was stretched over tough, -slender poles of -mountain-pine, and the lower edge, or skirt, was pegged so that it was -at least four inches above the ground. Within, a leather lining, firmly -weighted to the ground by the couches and household impedimenta of the -occupants, extended upward for five or six feet, where it was tied to a -rope that was fastened to the poles clear round. There was a space as -wide as the thickness of the poles between the "skin" and the lining, -so -that the cold, outside air rushing up through it created a draft for -the -fire, and carried the smoke out of the open space at the top. This -lining, of course, prevented the cold air from coming into the lower -part of the lodge, so that even in the coldest weather a small fire was -enough for comfort.</p> -<p>Traveling leisurely up the Teton River, we came in three or -four days to -the foot of the great range. There we went into camp for several weeks, -long enough for the hunters to trap most of the beavers, not only on -the -main stream, but on all its little tributaries. Pitamakan and I had -twelve traps, and were partners in the pursuit of the animals.</p> -<p>From the Teton we moved northward to Back-Fat Creek, now -Dupuyer Creek. -From there we went to the Two Medicine waters, and then on to the -Cut-Bank River. The trapping area of this stream was small. On the -first -day of our camp there Pitamakan and I foolishly went hunting, with the -result that when, on the next day, we began looking for a place to set -our traps, we found that all the beaver-ponds and bank-workings had -been -occupied by the other trappers.</p> -<p>It was late in the afternoon, after we had followed up the -south fork -to a tremendous walled cañon, where it was impossible for the beavers -to -make dams and homes, that we made this discovery. Our disappointment -was -keen, for from Cut-Bank the camp was to return to Fort Benton, and we -had only thirty-seven of the fifty beaver pelts that we had planned to -take home with us.</p> -<p>We were sitting on a well-worn trail that stretched along the -mountainside above the cañon, when Pitamakan suddenly exclaimed:—</p> -<p>"Listen to me! We will get the rest of the beaver! You see -this trail? -Well, it crosses this backbone of the world, and is made by the -other-side people,—the Kootenays and the Flatheads,—so that they can -come over to our plains and steal our buffalo. You can see that it has -not been used this summer. It will not be used at all now, since winter -is so near. Now, down on the other side there are many streams in the -great forest, and no doubt there are beavers in them. We will go over -there to-morrow, and in a few days' trapping we will catch enough to -make up the number we set out to get."</p> -<p>This plan seemed good to me, and I said so at once. We left -the traps on -the trail and started to camp, to prepare for an early start in the -morning. We decided to say nothing to any one of our intentions, to -White Wolf least of all, lest he should forbid our going.</p> -<p>At dusk we picketed near camp two horses that we selected for -the trip, -and during the evening we refilled our powder-horns and ball-pouches to -the neck. Rising the next morning before any of the others were awake, -and each taking a heavy buffalo-robe from our bedding, we quietly left -the lodge, saddled and mounted our horses, and rode away. Some dried -meat and buffalo back fat taken from the lodge furnished us a -substantial breakfast.</p> -<p>The trail was plain and easy to follow. We picked up the -traps, and -mounting steadily, arrived at the extreme summit of the great range not -long after midday. From where we stood, the trail ran slightly -downward, -along a narrow divide, across to the next mountain. The south side of -the divide was a sheer drop of several thousand feet. The top was a -narrow, jagged knife of rock, along which a man could not have passed -on -foot. On the north side the sharp reef dropped almost precipitously to -a -narrow and exceedingly steep slope of fine shale rock, which terminated -at the edge of a precipice of fearful depth.</p> -<p>It was along this shale slope that the trail ran, but there -were no -signs of it now, for the tracks of the last horses that passed had been -filled. Even while we stood there, small particles of shale were -constantly rolling and tinkling down it and off into abysmal space. -Shuddering, I proposed that we turn back, but Pitamakan made light of -the danger.</p> -<p>"I have been here before, and know what to do," he said. "I -can make it -so that we can safely cross it."</p> -<p>With a long, thin and narrow slab of rock he began gouging a -trail out -of the steep slide. The small and the large pieces of detritus which he -dislodged rattled off the edge of the cliff, but strain my ears as I -might, I could not hear them strike bottom. It was fully a hundred -yards -across this dangerous place, but Pitamakan soon made his way along it, -and back to me.</p> -<p>His path seemed more fit for coyotes than for horses, but he -insisted -that it was wide enough, and started leading his animal out on it. -There -was nothing for me to do but to follow with mine. When part way across, -my horse's hind feet broke down the little path, and he went with the -sliding shale for several feet, all the time madly pawing to get back -on -the sound portion on which I stood. When I tried to help him by pulling -on the lead-rope, the shale began sliding under my feet. At that, -Pitamakan, starting to run with his horse, shouted to me to do the same.</p> -<p>For the rest of the way across, the strain on me and my animal -was -killing. We tore out all trace of the path in our efforts to keep from -going down and off the slide. Wherever we put down our feet the shale -started slipping, and the struggle to climb faster than it slipped -exhausted our strength. When finally we did reach the firm rock where -my -companion stood waiting, we were utterly fatigued and dripping with -sweat.</p> -<p>Pitamakan's face was ashy gray from the strain of watching my -struggles. -He drew me to him, and I could feel him trembling, while he said, in a -choking voice, "Oh, I thought you would never get here, and I just had -to stand and look, unable to help you in any way! I didn't know. I -should have made a wider, firmer path."</p> -<p>We sat down, and he told me about this pass: that after the -winter snows -came neither man nor horse could cross it, since the least movement -would start the snow sliding. Three Blackfeet had once lost their lives -there. In that manner, the avalanche which they loosened had swept them -with it over the cliff, to the horror of their comrades who stood -looking on. Upon our return, he said, he would make a safe path there, -if it took him all day to finish the task.</p> -<p>Soon we went on, turned the shoulder of the twin mountain, and -felt that -we had come into another world. Near by there were some tremendous -peaks, some of them covered with great fields of ice, which I learned -later were true glaciers.</p> -<p>In other ways, too, this west side was different from the east -side of -the Rockies. As far as we could see there were no plains, only one -great, dark, evergreen forest that covered the slopes of the mountains -and filled the endless valleys. Here, too, the air was different; it -was -damp and heavy, and odorous of plants that grow in moist climates.</p> -<p>Working our way from ledge to ledge down the mountain, we -came, toward -sunset, to what my friend called the Salt Springs. Farther west than -this point he had never been.</p> -<p>Early the next morning we pushed on, for we were anxious to -reach the -low valleys where the beavers were to be found.</p> -<p>Still following the trail, we struck, about mid-afternoon, a -large -stream bordered with alder, cottonwood, and willow, the bark of which -is -the beaver's favorite food. There were some signs of the animals here, -but as we expected to find them more plentiful farther down, we kept on -until nearly sundown, when we came to a fine grass meadow bordering the -now larger river. Here was feed for the horses; in a pond at the upper -end of the meadow there were five beaver lodges.</p> -<p>"Here is the place for us," said Pitamakan. "Let us hurry and -picket the -horses, and kill a deer; night is at hand."</p> -<p>We started to ride into the timber to unsaddle, when we heard -a heavy -trampling and crackling of sticks off to the left of the beaver-pond, -and so sat still, rifles ready, expecting to see a band of elk come -into -the open.</p> -<p>A moment later thirty or forty Indians, men, women, and -children, rode -into the meadow. Perceiving us, the men whipped up their horses and -came -racing our way.</p> -<p>"They are Kootenays! It is useless to fire at them, or to -run!" -Pitamakan exclaimed. "I do not think they will harm us. Anyhow, look -brave; pretend that you are not afraid."</p> -<p>The men who surrounded us were tall and powerfully built. For -what -seemed to me an endless time, they sat silently staring, and noting -every detail of our outfit. There was something ominous in their -behavior; there came to me an almost uncontrollable impulse to make a -move of some kind. It was their leader who broke the suspense. -"<i>In-is-saht!</i>" (Dismount!) he commanded, in -Blackfoot, and we -reluctantly obeyed.</p> -<p>At that they all got off their horses, and then at word from -the chief, -each crowding and pushing to be first, they stripped us of everything -we -had. One man got my rifle; another the ammunition; another snatched off -my belt, with its knife, and the little pouch containing flint, steel, -and punk, while the chief and another, who seemed to be a great -warrior, -seized the ropes of our horses. And there we were, stripped of -everything that we possessed except the clothes we stood in.</p> -<p>At that the chief broke out laughing, and so did the rest. -Finally, -commanding silence, he said to us, in very poor Blackfoot:—</p> -<p>"As you are only boys, we will not kill you. Return to your -chief, and -tell him that we keep our beaver for ourselves, just as the plains -people keep the buffalo for themselves. Now go."</p> -<p>There was nothing to do but obey him, and we started. One man -followed -us a few steps, and struck Pitamakan several blows across the back with -his whip. At that my friend broke out crying; not because of the pain, -but because of the terrible humiliation. To be struck by any one was -the -greatest of all insults; and my friend was powerless to resent it.</p> -<p>Looking back, we saw the Kootenays move on through the meadow -and -disappear in the timber. Completely dazed by our great misfortune, we -mechanically took our back trail, and seldom speaking, walked on and -on. -When night came, rain began to fall and the wind rose to a gale in the -treetops. At that Pitamakan shook his head, and said, dejectedly, "At -this season rain down here means snow up on top. We must make strong -medicine if we are ever to see our people again."</p> -<p>Hungry and without food or weapons for killing any game, wet -and without -shelter or any means of building a fire, we certainly were in a -terrible plight. Worse still, if it was snowing on the summit, if -winter -had really set in, we must inevitably perish. I remembered hearing the -old trappers say that winter often began in October in the Rocky -Mountains; and this day was well on in November! "Pitamakan! We are not -going to survive this!" I cried.</p> -<p>For answer, he began singing the coyote song, the Blackfoot -hunter's -prayer for good luck. It sounded weird and melancholy enough there in -the darkening forest.</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER -III</a></h2> -<p class="p2">"There! Something tells me that will bring -us good luck," said -Pitamakan, when he had finished the medicine song. "First of all, we -must find shelter from the rain. Let us hurry and search for it up -there -along the foot of the cliffs."</p> -<p>Leaving the trail, we pushed our way up the steep slope of the -valley, -through underbrush that dropped a shower of water on us at the -slightest -touch. There were only a few hundred yards between us and the foot of -the big wall which shot high above the tops of the pines, but by the -time we arrived there night had fairly come. At this point a huge pile -of boulders formed the upper edge of the slope, and for a moment we -stood undecided which way to turn. "Toward home, of course!" Pitamakan -exclaimed, and led the way along the edge of the boulders, and finally -to the cliff. There in front of us was a small, jagged aperture, and -stooping down, we tried to see what it was like inside. The darkness, -however, was impenetrable.</p> -<p>I could hear my companion sniffing; soon he asked, "Do you -smell -anything?"</p> -<p>But I could detect no odor other than that of the dank forest -floor, and -said so.</p> -<p>"Well, I think that I smell bear!" he whispered, and we both -leaped -back, and then stealthily drew away from the place. But the rain was -falling now in a heavy downpour; the rising wind lashed it in our faces -and made the forest writhe and creak and snap. Every few moments some -old dead pine went down with a crash. It was a terrible night.</p> -<p>"We can't go on!" said Pitamakan. "Perhaps I was mistaken. -Bears do not -lie down for their winter sleep until the snow has covered up their -food. We must go back and take our chance of one being there in that -hole."</p> -<p>We felt our way along the foot of the cliff until we came to -the place. -There we knelt down, hand in hand, sniffed once more, and exclaimed, -"<i>Kyaiyo!</i>" (Bear!)</p> -<p>"But not strong; only a little odor, as if one had been here -last -winter," Pitamakan added. "The scent of one sticks in a place a long -time."</p> -<p>Although I was shivering so much from the cold and wet that my -teeth -rattled, I managed to say, "Come on! We've got to go in there."</p> -<p>Crawling inch by inch, feeling of the ground ahead, and often -stopping -to sniff the air and listen, we made our cautious way inside, and -presently came to a fluffy heap of dried grass, small twigs and leaves -that rustled at our touch.</p> -<p>"Ah, we survive, brother!" Pitamakan exclaimed, in a cheerful -voice. -"The bear has been here and made himself a bed for the winter; they -always do that in the month of falling leaves. He isn't here now, -though, and if he does come we will yell loud and scare him away."</p> -<p>Feeling round now to learn the size of the place, we found -that it was -small and low, and sloped to the height of a couple of feet at the -back. -Having finished the examination, we burrowed down into the grass and -leaves, snuggled close together, and covered ourselves as well as we -could. Little by little we stopped shivering, and after a while felt -comfortably warm, although wet.</p> -<p>We fell to talking then of our misfortune, and planning -various ways to -get out of the bad fix we were in. Pitamakan was all for following the -Kootenays, stealing into their camp at night, and trying to recover not -only our horses, but, if possible, our rifles also. I made the -objection -that even if we got a whole night's start of the Kootenays, they, -knowing the trails better than we did, would overtake us before we -could -ride to the summit. We finally agreed to follow the trail of our -enemies -and have a look at their camp; we might find some way of getting back -what they had taken.</p> -<p>We really slept well. In the morning I awoke first, and -looking out, saw -nothing but thick, falling snow. I nudged my companion, and together we -crept to the mouth of the cave. The snow was more than a foot deep in -front of us, and falling so fast that only the nearest of the big pines -below could be seen. The weather was not cold, certainly not much below -freezing, but it caused our damp clothing to feel like ice against the -skin. We crept back into our nest, shivering again.</p> -<p>"With this snow on the ground, it would be useless to try to -take -anything from the Kootenays," I said.</p> -<p>"True enough. They could follow our tracks and easily overtake -us," -Pitamakan agreed.</p> -<p>As he said no more for a long time, and would not even answer -when I -asked a question, I, too, became silent. But not for long; so many -fears and doubts were oppressing me that I had to speak. "We had better -start on, then, and try to cross the summit."</p> -<p>Pitamakan shook his head slowly. "Neither we nor any one else -will cross -the summit until summer comes again. This is winter. See, the snow is -almost to our knees out there; up on top it is over our heads."</p> -<p>"Then we must die right here!" I exclaimed.</p> -<p>For answer, my partner began the coyote prayer song, and kept -singing it -over and over, except when he would break out into prayers to the sun, -and to Old Man—the World-Maker—to give us help. There in the low -little cave his song sounded muffled and hollow enough. Had I not been -watching his face, I must have soon begged him to stop, it was so -mournful and depressing.</p> -<p>But his face kept brightening and brightening until he -actually smiled; -and finally he turned to me and said, "Do not worry, brother. Take -courage. They have put new thoughts into me."</p> -<p>I asked what the thoughts were, and he replied by asking what -we most -needed.</p> -<p>"Food, of course," I said. "I am weak from hunger."</p> -<p>"I thought you would say that!" he exclaimed. "It is always -food with -white people. Get up in the morning and eat a big meal; at midday, -another; at sunset, another. If even one of these is missed, they say -they are starving. No, brother, we do not most need food. We could go -without it half a moon and more, and the long fast would only do us -good."</p> -<p>I did not believe that. It was the common belief in those -times that a -person could live for only a few days without food.</p> -<p>"No, it is not food; it is fire that we most need," Pitamakan -continued. -"Were we to go out in that snow and get wet and then have no means of -drying and warming ourselves, we should die."</p> -<p>"Well, then, we must just lie here and wait for the snow to -melt away," -I said, "for without flint and steel we can have no fire."</p> -<p>"Then we will lie here until next summer. This country is -different from -ours of the plains. There the snow comes and goes many times during the -winter; here it only gets deeper and deeper, until the sun beats -Cold-Maker, and comes north again."</p> -<p>I believed that to be true, for I remembered that my uncle had -told me -once that there were no chinook winds on the west side of the range. So -I proposed what had been on my mind for some time: that we go to the -camp of the Kootenays and beg them to give us shelter.</p> -<p>"If they didn't kill us, they would only beat us and drive us -away. No, -we cannot go to them," said Pitamakan decidedly. "Now don't look so -sad; -we shall have fire."</p> -<p>He must have read my thoughts, for he added, "I see that you -don't -believe that I can make fire. Listen! Before you white people came with -your flints and steels, we had it. Old Man himself taught us how to -make -it. I have never seen it made in the old way because my people got the -new way before I was born. But I have often heard the older ones tell -how it used to be made, and I believe that I can do it myself. It is -easy. You take a small, dry, hard stick like an arrow-shaft, and twirl -it between the palms of your hands, or with a bowstring, while the -point -rests in a hole in a piece of dry wood, with fine shreds of birch bark -in it. The twirling stick heats these and sets them on fire."</p> -<p>Although I did not understand this explanation very well, I -yet had some -faith that Pitamakan could make the fire. He added that he would not -try -it until the weather cleared, and we could go round in the timber -without getting wet except from the knees down.</p> -<p>We lay there in the bear's bed all that day. At sunset the -snow ceased -falling, but when the clouds disappeared, the weather turned much -colder, and it was well for us that the heat of our bodies had pretty -thoroughly dried our clothing. As it was, we shivered all through the -night, and were very miserable.</p> -<p>Out in the darkness we heard some animal scraping through the -snow, and -feared that it might be the bear come to get into its bed. We had -talked -about that. If it was a black bear, we were safe enough, because they -are the most cowardly of all animals, and even when wounded, will not -attack a man. But what if it were a big grizzly! We both knew tales -enough of their ferocity. Only that summer a woman, picking berries, -had -been killed by one.</p> -<p>So when we heard those soft footsteps we yelled; stopped and -listened, -and yelled again, and again, until we were hoarse. Then we listened. -All -was still. Whatever had roused us was gone, but fear that a grizzly -would come shuffling in kept us awake.</p> -<p>Day came long before the sun rose above the tremendous peaks -that -separated us from the plains. Much as we ached to crawl out of the cave -and run and jump, we lay still until the sun had warmed the air a bit. -The night before I had been ravenously hungry; but now my hunger had -largely passed, and Pitamakan said that I would soon forget all about -food.</p> -<p>"But we can't live all winter without eating!" I objected.</p> -<p>"Of course not," he replied. "As soon as we have fire, we will -go -hunting and kill game. Then we will make us a comfortable lodge. Oh, -we're going to be very comfortable here before many days pass."</p> -<p>"But the Kootenays!" I objected. "They will come again and -drive us on, -or kill us!"</p> -<p>"Just now they are moving out of the mountains as fast as they -can go, -and will not return until summer comes again."</p> -<p>When we finally crawled out after our long rest, we saw that a -bear -really had been near us in the night. It had come walking along the -slope, close to the foot of the cliff, until right in front of the -cave, -and then, startled, no doubt, by our yells, had gone leaping straight -down into the timber. The short impressions of its claws in the snow -proved it to have been a black bear. We were glad of that; another -night, fear, at least, would not prevent us from sleeping.</p> -<p>Both of us were clothed for summer hunting, I in buckskin -trousers and -flannel shirt, with no underclothing or socks. Pitamakan wore buffalo -cow-leather leggings, breech-clout, and, fortunately, a shirt like mine -that his aunt had given him. Neither of us had coat or waistcoat, but -in -place of them, capotes, hooded coats reaching to our knees, made of -white blanket by the tailor at the fort. The snow looked very cold to -step into with only thin buckskin moccasins on our feet, and I said so.</p> -<p>"We will remedy that," said Pitamakan. He pulled off his -capote, tore a -couple of strips from the skirt of it, and then did the same with mine. -With these we wrapped our feet, pulled our moccasins on over them, and -felt that our toes were frost-proof.</p> -<p>The snow was knee-deep. Stepping into it bravely, we made our -way down -the slope and into the timber. There it was not so deep, for a part of -the fall had lodged in the thick branches of the pines. We came upon -the -tracks of deer and elk, and presently saw a fine white-tail buck -staring -curiously at us. The sight of his rounded, fat body brought the hungry -feeling back to me, and I expressed it with a plaintive "<i>Hai-yah!</i>" -of -longing.</p> -<p>Pitamakan understood. "Never mind," he said, as the animal -broke away, -waving its broad flag as if in derision. "Never mind. We will be eating -fat ribs to-morrow, perhaps; surely on the next day."</p> -<p>That talk seemed so big to me that I said nothing, asked no -question, as -we went on down the hill. Before reaching the river we saw several more -deer, a lone bull moose and a number of elk; the valley was full of -game, driven from the high mountains by the storm.</p> -<p>The river was not frozen, nor was there any snow on the low, -wet, rocky -bars to hinder our search for a knife. That was what we were to look -for, just as both Pitamakan's and my own ancestors had searched, in -prehistoric times, for sharp-edged tools in glacial drift and river -wash. I was to look for flint and "looks-like-ice rock," as the -Blackfeet call obsidian. As I had never seen any obsidian, except in -the -form of very small, shiny arrow-points, it was not strange that -Pitamakan found a nodule of it on a bar that I had carefully gone over. -It was somewhat the shape of a football, rusty black, and coated with -splotches of stuff that looked like whitewash. I could not believe that -it was what we sought until he cracked it open and I saw the glittering -fragments.</p> -<p>Pitamakan had never seen any flint or obsidian flaked and -chipped into -arrow-points and knives, but he had often heard the old people tell how -it was done, and now he tried to profit by the information. With a -small -stone for a hammer, he gently tapped one of the fragments, and -succeeded -in splintering it into several thin, sharp-edged flakes. Carefully -taking up all the fragments and putting them at the foot of a tree for -future use, we went in search of material for the rest of the -fire-making implements.</p> -<p>We knew from the start that finding them would not be easy, -for before -the snow came, rain had thoroughly soaked the forest, and what we -needed -was bone-dry wood. We had hunted for an hour or more, when a half-dozen -ruffed grouse flushed from under the top of a fallen tree and flew up -into the branches of a big fir, where they sat and craned their necks. -Back came my hungry feeling; here was a chance to allay it. "Come on, -let's get some stones and try to kill those birds!" I cried.</p> -<p>Away we went to the shore of the river, gathered a lot of -stones in the -skirts of our capotes, and hurried back to the tree. The birds were -still there, and we began throwing at the one lowest down. We watched -the course of each whizzing stone with intense eagerness, groaning, -"<i>Ai-ya!</i>" when it went wide of the mark. Unlike white -boys, Indian -youths are very inexpert at throwing stones, for the reason that they -constantly carry a better weapon, the bow, and begin at a very early -age -to hunt small game with it. I could cast the stones much more -accurately -than Pitamakan, and soon he handed what he had left to me.</p> -<p>Although I made some near shots, and sent the stones -clattering against -the branches and zipping through the twigs, the bird never once moved, -except to flutter a wing when a missile actually grazed it or struck -the -limb close to its feet. With the last stone of the lot I hit a grouse, -and as it started fluttering down we made a rush for the foot of the -tree, whooping wildly over our success, and frightening the rest of the -covey so that they flew away.</p> -<p>The wounded bird lodged for a moment in a lower branch, -toppled out of -that into another, fluttered from that down into clear space. Pitamakan -sprang to catch it, and grasped only the air; for the bird righted -itself, sailed away and alighted in the snow, fifty yards distant. We -ran after it as fast as we could. It was hurt. We could see that it had -difficulty in holding up its head, and that its mouth was open. We felt -certain of our meat. But no! Up it got when we were about to make our -pounce, and half fluttered and half sailed another fifty yards or so. -Again and again it rose, we hot after it, and finally it crossed the -river. But that did not daunt us. The stream was wide there, running in -a still sweep over a long bar; and we crossed, and in our hurry, -splashed ourselves until we were wet above the waist. Then, after all, -the grouse rose long before we came anywhere near it, and this time -flew on and on until lost to sight!</p> -<p style="text-align: center;"><a name="Again_and_again_it_rose"></a><img class="p2" style="width: 500px; height: 615px;" alt="Again and again it rose" src="images/illo_093.jpg" /></p> -<p class="smcap" style="text-align: center;">Again -and again it rose</p> -<p class="p2">Our disappointment was too keen to be put -into words. Dripping -wet and -as <a name="miserable"></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;">miserable</span> a -pair of boys as ever were, we stood there in the cold -snow and looked sadly at each other. "Oh, well, come on," said -Pitamakan. "What is done is done. We will now get the wood we want and -make a fire to dry ourselves."</p> -<p>He led off, walked to a half-fallen fir, and from the under -side broke -off just what we were looking for—a hard, dry spike about twice the -diameter of a lead-pencil and a foot or more in length. That did seem -to -be good luck, and our spirits rose. We went out to the shore of the -river, where I was set to rounding off the base of the spike and -sharpening the point, first by rubbing it on a coarse-grained rock, and -then smoothing it with a flake of obsidian. I ruined the edge of the -first piece by handling it too vigorously; the brittle stone had to be -forced slowly -and diagonally along the place to be cut.</p> -<p>Pitamakan, meanwhile, was hunting a suitable piece of wood for -the drill -to work in. Hard wood, he had heard the old people say, was necessary -for this, and here the only growth of the kind was birch.</p> -<p>By the time I got the drill shaped, he had found none that was -dry, and -I was glad to help in the search, for I was nearly frozen from standing -still so long in my wet clothes. Up and down the river we went, and -back -into the forest, examining every birch that appeared to be dead. Every -one that we found was rotten, or only half dry. It was by the merest -chance that we found the very thing: a beaver-cutting of birch, cast by -the spring freshet under a projecting ledge of rock, where it was -protected from the rains. It was almost a foot in diameter and several -feet long. We rubbed a coarse stone against the centre of it until the -place was flat and a couple of inches wide, and in that started a small -hole with the obsidian. This was slow work, for the glasslike substance -constantly broke under the pressure needed to make it cut into the -wood. -It was late in the day when the gouging was finished, and we prepared -to -put our tools to the test.</p> -<p>This was an occasion for prayer. Pitamakan so earnestly -entreated his -gods to pity us, to make our work successful, and thus save our lives, -that, unsympathetic as I was with his beliefs, I could not help being -moved. I wanted to be stoical; to keep up a brave appearance to the -last; but this pathetic prayer to heathen gods, coming as it did when I -was weak from hunger and exposure, was too much. To this day I remember -the exact words of it, too long to repeat here. I can translate only -the -closing sentence: "Also, have pity on us because of our dear people on -the other side of the range, who are even now weeping in their lodges -because we do not return to them."</p> -<p>When he had finished the prayer, Pitamakan took the drill in -the palms -of his hands and set the point of it in the small, rough hole in the -birch. We had already gathered some dry birch bark, and I held some of -it, shredded into a fluffy mass, close round the drill and the pole.</p> -<p>"Now, fire come!" Pitamakan exclaimed, and began to twirl the -drill -between his hands, at the same time pressing it firmly down in the hole.</p> -<p>But no smoke came. What was the reason? He stopped and raised -the drill; -we felt of it and the hole; both were very hot, and I suggested that we -take turns drilling, changing about in the least possible time. We -tried -it, and oh, how anxiously we watched for success, drilling and drilling -for our very lives, drilling turn about until our muscles were so -strained that we could not give the stick another twirl! Then we -dropped -back and stared at each other. Our experiment had failed. Night was -coming on. Our wet clothing was beginning to freeze, and there was the -river between us and the shelter of our cave.</p> -<p>The outlook seemed hopeless, and I said so. Pitamakan said -nothing; his -eyes had a strange, vacant expression. "We can do nothing," I repeated. -"Right here we have to die."</p> -<p>Still he did not answer, or even look at me, and I said to -myself, "He -has gone mad!"</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER -IV</a></h2> -<p class="p2">"If they will not do," Pitamakan muttered, -rising stiffly, -while the ice -on his leggings crackled, "why, I'll cut off a braid of my hair."</p> -<p>I was now sure that our troubles had weakened his mind; no -Indian in his -right senses would think of cutting off his hair.</p> -<p>"Pitamakan! What is the trouble with you?" I asked, looking up -anxiously -at him.</p> -<p>"Why, nothing is the matter," he replied. "Nothing is the -matter. We -must now try to work the drill with a bow. If our moccasin strings are -too rotten to bear the strain, I'll have to make a bow cord by cutting -off some of my hair and braiding it."</p> -<p>It was a great relief to know that he was sane enough, but I -had little -faith in this new plan, and followed listlessly as he went here and -there, testing the branches of willow and birch. Finally, he got from -the river shore one stone that was large and smooth, and another that -had a sharp edge. Then, scraping the snow away from the base of a birch -shoot a couple of inches in diameter, he laid the smooth stone at its -base. Next he bade me bend the shoot close down on the smooth stone, -while with the sharp edge of the other he hit the strained wood fibre a -few blows. In this way he easily severed the stem. Cutting off the top -of the sapling in the same manner, he had a bow about three feet in -length; a rough, clumsy piece of wood, it is true, but resilient.</p> -<p>As my moccasin strings were buckskin and much stronger than -Pitamakan's -cow-leather ones, we used one of mine for the bowstring. We now carried -the base stick and drill back from the creek into the thick timber, -gathered a large bunch of birch bark and a pile of fine and coarse -twigs, and made ready for this last attempt to save ourselves.</p> -<p>We hesitated to begin; uncertainty as to the result was better -than -sure knowledge of failure, but while we waited we began to freeze. It -was a solemn and anxious moment when Pitamakan set the point of the -drill in the hole, made one turn of the bowstring round its centre, and -held it in place by pressing down with the palm of his left hand on the -tip. With his right hand he grasped the bow, and waiting until I had -the -shredded bark in place round the hole, he once more started the coyote -prayer song and began sawing the bow forth and back, precisely the -motion of a cross-cut saw biting into a standing tree.</p> -<p>The wrap of the string caused the drill to twirl with amazing -rapidity, -and at the third or fourth saw he gave a howl of pain and dropped the -outfit. I had no need to ask why. The drill tip had burned his hand; -when he held it out a blister was already puffing up.</p> -<p>We changed places, and I gathered the skirt of my capote in a -bunch to -protect my hand. I began to work the bow, faster and faster, until the -drill moaned intermittently, like a miniature buzz-saw. In a moment or -two I thought that I saw a very faint streak of smoke stealing up -between my companion's fingers.</p> -<p>He was singing again, and did not hear my exclamation as I -made sure -that my eyes had not deceived me. Smoke actually was rising. I sawed -harder and harder; more and more smoke arose, but there was no flame.</p> -<p>"Why not?" I cried. "Oh, why don't you burn?"</p> -<p>Pitamakan's eyes were glaring anxiously, greedily at the blue -curling -vapor. I continued to saw with all possible rapidity, but still there -was no flame; instead, the smoke began to diminish in volume. A chill -ran through me as I saw it fail.</p> -<p>I was on the point of giving up, of dropping the bow and -saying that -this was the end of our trail, when the cause of the failure was made -plain to me. Pitamakan was pressing the shredded bark too tight round -the drill and into the hole; there could be no fire where there was no -air. "Raise your fingers!" I shouted. "Loosen up the bark!"</p> -<p>I had to repeat what I said before he understood and did as he -was told. -Instantly the bark burst into flame.</p> -<p>"Fire! Fire! Fire!" I cried, as I hastily snatched out the -drill.</p> -<p>"<i>I-puh-kwí-is! I-puh-kwí-is!</i>" (It burns! It -burns!) Pitamakan shouted.</p> -<p>He held a big wad of bark to the tiny flame, and when it -ignited, -carried the blazing, sputtering mass to the pile of fuel that we had -gathered and thrust it under the fine twigs. These began to crackle and -snap, and we soon had a roaring fire. Pitamakan raised his hands to the -sky and reverently gave thanks to his gods; I silently thanked my own -for the mercy extended to us. From death, at least by freezing, we were -saved!</p> -<p>The sun was setting. In the gathering dusk we collected a huge -pile of -dead wood, every piece in the vicinity that we had strength to lift and -carry, some of them fallen saplings twenty and thirty feet long. I was -for putting a pile of them on the fire and having a big blaze. I did -throw on three or four large chunks, but Pitamakan promptly lifted them -off.</p> -<p>"That is the way of white people!" he said. "They waste wood -and stand, -half freezing, away back from the big blaze. Now we will have this in -the way we Lone People do it, and so will we get dry and warm."</p> -<p>While I broke off boughs of feathery balsam fir and brought in -huge -armfuls of them, he set up the frame of a small shelter close to the -fire. First, he placed a triangle of heavy sticks, so that the stubs of -branches at their tops interlocked, and then he laid up numerous sticks -side by side, and all slanting together at the top, so as to fill two -sides of the triangle. These we shingled with the fir boughs, layer -after layer, to a thickness of several feet. With the boughs, also, we -made a soft bed within.</p> -<p>We now had a fairly comfortable shelter. In shape it was -roughly like -the half of a hollow cone, and the open part faced the fire. Creeping -into it, we sat on the bed, close to the little blaze. Some cold air -filtered through the bough thatching and chilled our backs. Pitamakan -pulled off his capote and told me to do the same. Spreading them out, -he -fastened them to the sticks of the slanting roof and shut off the -draft. -The heat radiating from the fire struck them, and reflecting, warmed -our -backs. The ice dropped from our clothes and they began to steam; we -were -actually comfortable.</p> -<p>But now that the anxieties and excitement of the day were -over, and I -had time to think about other things than fire, back came my hunger -with -greater insistence than ever. I could not believe it possible for us to -go without eating as long as Pitamakan said his people were able to -fast. Worse still, I saw no possible way for us to get food. When I -said as much to Pitamakan, he laughed.</p> -<p>"Take courage; don't be an afraid person," he said. "Say to -yourself, 'I -am not hungry,' and keep saying it, and soon it will be the truth to -you. But we will not fast very long. Why, if it were necessary, I would -get meat for us this very night."</p> -<p>I stared at him. The expression of his eyes was sane enough. I -fancied -that there was even a twinkle of amusement in them. If he was making a -joke, although a sorry one, I could stand it; but if he really meant -what he said, then there could be no doubt but that his mind wandered.</p> -<p>"Lie down and sleep," I said. "You have worked harder than I, -and sleep -will do you good. I will keep the fire going."</p> -<p>At that he laughed, a clear, low laugh of amusement that was -good to -hear. "Oh, I meant what I said. I am not crazy. Now think hard. Is -there -any possible way for us to get food this night?"</p> -<p>"Of course there isn't," I replied, after a moment's -reflection. "Don't -joke about the bad fix we are in; that may make it all the worse for -us."</p> -<p>He looked at me pityingly. "Ah, you are no different from the -rest of -the whites. True, they are far wiser than we Lone People. But take away -from them the things their powerful medicine has taught them how to -make, guns and powder and ball, fire steels and sticks, knives and -clothes and blankets of hair, take from them these things and they -perish. Yes, they die where we should live, and live comfortably."</p> -<p>I felt that there was much truth in what he said. I doubted if -any of -the company's men, even the most experienced of them, would have been -able to make a fire had they been stripped of everything that they -possessed. But his other statement, that if necessary he could get food -for us at once.</p> -<p>"Where could you find something for us to eat now?" I asked.</p> -<p>"Out there anywhere," he replied, with a wave of the hand. -"Haven't you -noticed the trails of the rabbits, hard-packed little paths in the -snow, -where they travel round through the brush? Yes, of course you have. -Well, after the middle of the night, when the moon rises and gives some -light, I could go out there and set some snares in those paths, using -our moccasin strings for loops, and in a short time we would have a -rabbit; maybe two or three of them."</p> -<p>How easy a thing seems, once you know how to do it! I realized -instantly -that the plan was perfectly feasible, and wondered at my own dullness -in -not having thought of it. I had been sitting up stiffly enough before -the fire, anxiety over our situation keeping my nerves all a-quiver. -Now -a pleasant sense of security came to me. I felt only tired and sleepy, -and dropped back on the boughs.</p> -<p>"Pitamakan, you are very wise," I said, and in a moment was -sound -asleep. If he answered I never heard him.</p> -<p>Every time the fire died down the cold awoke one or both of us -to put on -fresh fuel; and then we slept again, and under the circumstances, -passed -a very restful night.</p> -<p>Soon after daylight snow began to fall again, not so heavily -as in the -previous storm, but with a steadiness that promised a long period of -bad -weather. We did not mind going out into it, now that we could come back -to a fire at any time and dry ourselves.</p> -<p>Before setting forth, however, we spent some time in making -two rude -willow arrows. We mashed off the proper lengths with our "anvil" and -cutting-stone, smoothed the ends by burning them, and then scraped the -shafts and notched them with our obsidian knives. I proposed that we -sharpen the points, but Pitamakan said no; that blunt ones were better -for bird shooting, because they smashed the wing bones. Pitamakan had -worked somewhat on the bow during the evening, scraping it thinner and -drying it before the fire, so that now it had more spring; enough to -get us meat, he thought. The great difficulty would be to shoot the -unfeathered, clumsy arrows true to the mark.</p> -<p>Burying some coals deep in the ashes to make sure that they -would be -alive upon our return, we started out. Close to camp, Pitamakan set two -rabbit snares, using a part of our moccasin strings for the purpose. -His -manner of doing this was simple. He bent a small, springy sapling over -the rabbit path, and stuck the tip of it under a low branch of another -tree. Next he tied the buckskin string to the sapling, so that the -noose -end of it hung cross-wise in the rabbit path, a couple of inches above -the surface of it. Then he stuck several feathery balsam tips on each -side of the path, to hide the sides of the noose and prevent its being -blown out of place by the wind. When a passing rabbit felt the loop -tighten on its neck, its struggles would release the tip of the -spring-pole from under the bough, and it would be jerked up in the air -and strangled.</p> -<p>From camp, we went down the valley, looking for grouse in all -the -thickest clumps of young pines. Several rabbits jumped up ahead of us, -snow-white, big-footed and black-eyed. Pitamakan let fly an arrow at -one -of them, but it fell short of the mark.</p> -<p>There were game trails everywhere. The falling snow was fast -filling -them, so that we could not distinguish new tracks from old; but after -traveling a half-mile or so, we began to see the animals themselves, -elk -and deer, singly, and in little bands. As we approached a tangle of red -willows, a bull, a cow, and a calf moose rose from the beds they had -made in them. The cow and calf trotted away, but the bull, his hair all -bristling forward, walked a few steps toward us, shaking his big, -broad-horned head. The old trappers' tales of their ferocity at this -time of year came to my mind, and I began to look for a tree to climb; -there was none near by. All had such a large circumference that I could -not reach halfway round them.</p> -<p>"Let's run!" I whispered.</p> -<p>"Stand still!" Pitamakan answered. "If you run, he will come -after us."</p> -<p>The bull was not more than fifty yards from us. In the dim -light of the -forest his eyes, wicked little pig-like eyes, glowed with a greenish -fire. The very shape of him was terrifying, more like a creature of bad -dreams than an actual inhabitant of the earth. His long head had a -thick, drooping upper lip; a tassel of black hair swung from his lower -jaw; at the withers he stood all of six feet high, and sloped back to -insignificant hind quarters; his long hair was rusty gray, shading into -black. All this I took in at a glance. The bull again shook his head at -us and advanced another step or two. "If he starts again, run for a -tree," Pitamakan said.</p> -<p>That was a trying moment. We were certainly much afraid of -him, and so -would the best of the company men have been had they stood there -weaponless in knee-deep snow. Once more he tossed his enormous horns; -but just as he started to advance, a stick snapped in the direction in -which the cow and calf had gone. At that he half turned and looked -back, -then trotted away in their trail. The instant he disappeared we started -the other way, and never stopped until we came to our shelter.</p> -<p>It was well for us that we did return just then. The falling -snow was -wetting the ash-heap, and the water would soon have soaked through to -the buried coals. We dug them up and started another fire, and sat -before it for some time before venturing out again. This experience -taught us, when leaving camp thereafter, to cover the coal-heap with a -roof of wood or bark.</p> -<p>"Well, come on! Let's go up the valley this time, and see what -will -happen to us there," said Pitamakan, when we had rested.</p> -<p>Not three hundred yards above camp we came to a fresh bear -trail, so -fresh that only a very thin coating of snow had fallen since the -passing -of the animal. It led us to the river, when we saw that it continued on -the other side up to the timber, straight toward the cave that had -sheltered us. The tracks, plainly outlined in the sand at the edge of -the water, were those of a black bear. "That is he, the one that -gathered the leaves and stuff we slept in, and he's going there now!" -Pitamakan exclaimed.</p> -<p>"If we only had his carcass, how much more comfortable we -could be!" I -said. "The hide would be warm and soft to lie on, and the fat meat -would -last us a long time."</p> -<p>"If he goes into the cave to stay, we'll get him," said -Pitamakan. "If -we can't make bows and arrows to kill him, we will take strong, heavy -clubs and pound him on the head."</p> -<p>We went up the valley. Trailing along behind my companion, I -thought -over his proposal to club the bear to death. A month, even a few days -back, such a plan would have seemed foolish; but I was fast learning -that necessity, starvation, will cause a man to take chances against -the greatest odds. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt -like -facing that bear.</p> -<p>I was about to propose that we go after it at once, when, with -a whirr -of wings that startled us, a large covey of blue grouse burst from a -thicket close by, and alighted here and there in the pines and firs. We -moved on a few steps, and stopped within short bow-shot of one. It did -not seem to be alarmed at our approach, and Pitamakan took his time to -fit one of the clumsy arrows and fire it.</p> -<p><i>Zip!</i> The shaft passed a foot from its body, -struck a limb above and -dropped down into the snow. But the grouse never moved. Anxiously I -watched the fitting and aiming of the other arrow.</p> -<p><i>Zip!</i> I could not help letting out a loud -yell when it hit fair and the -bird came fluttering and tumbling down. I ran forward and fell on it -the -instant it struck the snow, and grasped its plump body with tense -hands. "Meat! See! We have meat!" I cried, holding up the fine cock.</p> -<p>"Be still! You have already scared all the other birds out of -this -tree!" said Pitamakan.</p> -<p>It was true. There had been three more in that fir, and now, -because of -my shouts, they were gone. Pitamakan looked at me reproachfully as he -started to pick up the fallen arrows. Right there I learned a lesson in -self-restraint that I never forgot.</p> -<p>We knew that there were more grouse in near-by trees, but they -sat so -still and were so much the color of their surroundings that we were -some -time in discovering any of them. They generally chose a big limb to -light on, close to the bole of the tree. Finally our hungry eyes spied -three in the next tree, and Pitamakan began shooting at the lower one, -while I recovered the arrows for him.</p> -<p>Luck was against us. It was nothing, but miss, miss, miss, and -as one by -one the arrows grazed the birds, they hurtled away through the forest -and out of sight. We were more fortunate a little farther on, for we -got -two birds from a small fir. Then we hurried to camp with our prizes.</p> -<p>I was for roasting the three of them at once, and eating a big -feast; -but Pitamakan declared that he would not have any such doings. "We'll -eat one now," he said, "one in the evening, and the other in the -morning."</p> -<p>We were so hungry that we could not wait to cook the first -bird -thoroughly. Dividing it, we half roasted the portions over the coals, -and ate the partly raw flesh. Although far from enough, that was the -best meal I ever had. And it was not so small, either; the blue grouse -is a large and heavy bird, next to the sage-hen the largest of our -grouse. After eating, we went out and "rustled" a good pile of fuel. As -night came on, we sat down before the blaze in a cheerful mood, and -straightway began to make plans for the future, which now seemed less -dark than at the beginning of the day.</p> -<p>"With a better bow and better arrows, it is certain that we -can kill -enough grouse to keep us alive," I said.</p> -<p>"Not unless we have snowshoes to travel on," Pitamakan -objected. "In a -few days the snow will be so deep that we can no longer wade in it."</p> -<p>"We can make them of wood," I suggested, remembering the tale -of a -company man.</p> -<p>"But we couldn't travel about barefooted. Our moccasins will -last only a -day or two longer. One of mine, you see, is already ripping along the -sole. Brother, if we are ever to see green grass and our people again, -these things must we have besides food—thread and needles, skins for -moccasins, clothing and bedding, and a warm lodge. The weather is going -to be terribly cold before long."</p> -<p>At that my heart went away down. I had thought only of food, -forgetting -that other things were just as necessary. The list of them staggered -me—thread and needles, moccasins, and all the rest! "Well, then, we -must die," I exclaimed, "for we can never get all those things!"</p> -<p>"We can and we will," said Pitamakan, cheerfully, "and the -beginning of -it all will be a better bow and some real arrows, arrows with ice-rock -or flint points. We will try to make some to-morrow. Hah! Listen!"</p> -<p>I barely heard the plaintive squall, but he recognized it. -"Come on, -it's a rabbit in one of the snares!" he cried, and out we ran into the -brush.</p> -<p>He was right. A rabbit, still kicking and struggling for -breath, was -hanging in the farther snare. Resetting the trap, we ran, happy and -laughing, back to the fire with the prize.</p> -<p>After all, we ate two grouse, instead of one, that evening, -burying them -under the fire, and this time letting them roast long enough so that -the -meat parted easily from the bones.</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER -V</a></h2> -<p class="p2">"My grandfather told me that this is one way -that it was -done," said -Pitamakan, as taking a flake of obsidian in the palm of his left hand, -he tapped it with an angular stone held in his right hand. "The other -way was to heat the ice-rock in the fire, and then with a grass stem -place a very small drop of water on the part to be chipped off."</p> -<p>We had been out after flints, and finding none, had brought -back the -pieces of obsidian that we had placed at the foot of the tree. Earlier -in the morning, on visiting the snares, we had found a rabbit in each. -They hung now in a tree near by, and it was good to see them there; the -rabbit remaining from our first catch had been broiled for our -breakfast.</p> -<p>Following my partner's example, I, too, tried to work a piece -of the -obsidian into an arrow-point. The result was that we spoiled much of -the none too plentiful material. It would not chip where we wanted it -to, and if we hit it too hard a blow it splintered.</p> -<p>Deciding now to try the fire-and-water method, we made for the -purpose a -pair of pincers of a green willow fork, and melted a handful of snow in -a saucer-shaped fragment of rock. I was to do the heating of the -obsidian and Pitamakan was to do the flaking. He chose a piece about an -inch and a half long, a quarter of an inch thick, and nearly triangular -in shape. One edge was as sharp as a razor; the other two were almost -square-faced.</p> -<p>According to his directions, I took the fragment in the -pincers by the -sharp edge, so as to leave the rest free to be worked upon. Gradually -exposing it to the heat, I held it for a moment over some coals freshly -raked from the fire, and then held it before him, while with the end of -a pine needle he laid a tiny drop of water near the lower corner, about -a quarter of an inch back from the squared edge. There was a faint hiss -of steam, but no apparent change in the surface of the rock. We tried -it -again, dropping the water in the same place. <i>Pip!</i> A -small scale half -the size of the little finger nail snapped off and left a little trough -in the square edge. We both gave cries of delight; it seemed that we -had -hit on the right way to do the work.</p> -<p>A little more experimenting showed that the piece should be -held -slanting downward in the direction in which the flaking was to be done, -for the cold water caused the rock to scale in the direction in which -the drop ran. In the course of two hours the rough piece of obsidian -was -chipped down to a small arrow-point—one that Pitamakan's grandfather -would have scorned, no doubt, but a real treasure to us.</p> -<p>We worked all that day making the points; when evening came we -had five -that were really serviceable. At sundown, the weather having cleared, -we went to look at the rabbit-snares. As neither had been sprung, we -moved them to a fresh place. This last storm had added a good deal to -the depth of the snow; it was so much now above our knees that walking -in it was hard work.</p> -<p>We had now before us a task almost as difficult as making the -points; -that is, to find suitable material for our bows and arrows. We found -none that evening, but the next morning, after visiting the snares and -taking one rabbit, we stumbled on a clump of service-berry treelets, -next to ash the favorite bow-wood of the Blackfeet.</p> -<p>Back to the camp we went, got our "anvil" and hacking-stones, -and cut -two straight, limbless stems, between two and three inches in diameter. -Next we had a long hunt through the willows for straight arrow-shafts, -found them, and got some coarse pieces of sandstone from the river to -use as files.</p> -<p>Two days more were needed for making the bows and the -arrow-shafts. The -bows were worked down to the right size and shape only by the hardest -kind of sandstone-rubbing, and by scraping and cutting with obsidian -knives. But we did not dare to dry them quickly in the fire for fear of -making the wood brittle, and they had not the strength of a really good -weapon.</p> -<p>We made a good job of the arrows, slitting the tips, inserting -the -points, and fastening them in place with rabbit-sinew wrappings. For -the -shafts, the grouse wings provided feathering, which was also fastened -in -place with the sinew. Fortunately for us, the rabbit-snares kept us -well -supplied with meat, although we were growing tired of the diet.</p> -<p>Only one thing caused us anxiety now—the cords for our bows. -We had to -use for the purpose our moccasin strings, which were not only large and -uneven, but weak. Pitamakan spoke of cutting off a braid of his hair -for -a cord, but on the morning after the weapons were finished, he said -that in the night his dream had warned him not to do this. That settled -it.</p> -<p>On this morning we went early to the snares and found a rabbit -hanging -in each. Taking the nooses along with the game to camp, we slowly dried -them before the fire, for they must now serve as bowstrings. After they -were dry we tested one of them, and it broke. We knotted it together -and -twisted it with the other to make a cord for Pitamakan's bow. That left -me without one, and unable to string my bow until some large animal was -killed that would furnish sinew for the purpose. I was by no means sure -that the twisted and doubled cord was strong enough.</p> -<p>"You'd better try it before we start out," I suggested.</p> -<p>"No, we mustn't strain it any more than we can help," -Pitamakan replied; -and with that he led off down the valley.</p> -<p>Although the sun shone brightly, this was the coldest day that -we had -yet had. Had we not worn rabbit-skins, with fur side in, for socks, we -could not have gone far from the fire. The trees were popping with -frost, a sign that the temperature was close to zero.</p> -<p>Soon after leaving camp we struck a perfect network of game -tracks, some -of which afforded good walking—when they went our way. For there was no -main trail parallel to the river, such as the buffalo and other game -always made along the streams on the east side of the Rockies. On the -west side of course there were no buffalo, and probably never had been -any; and to judge from the signs, the other animals wandered aimlessly -in every direction.</p> -<p>We went ahead slowly and noiselessly, for we hoped to see some -of the -game lying down, and to get a close shot before we were discovered. -Presently a covey of ruffed grouse, flying up out of the snow into the -pines, afforded easy shots; but we dared not risk our arrows for fear -of -shattering the points against the solid wood. We determined thereafter -always to carry a couple of blunt ones for bird shooting.</p> -<p>Soon after passing the grouse, I caught a glimpse of some -black thing -that bobbed through the snow into a balsam thicket. We went over there -and came to the trail of a fisher, the largest member of the weasel -family. As I had often seen the large, glossy black pelts of these -animals brought into the fort by Indians and company trappers, I was -anxious to get a close view of one alive. I looked for it farther along -in the snow; but Pitamakan, who was gazing up into the trees, all at -once grasped my arm and pointed at a small red-furred creature that, -running to the end of a long bough, leaped into the next tree.</p> -<p>"Huh! Only a squirrel!" I said. But I had barely spoken when, -hot after -it, jumped the fisher, the most beautiful, agile animal that I had ever -seen. It was considerably larger than a house cat.</p> -<p>We ran, or rather waddled, as fast as we could to the foot of -the fir, -barely in time to see the fisher spring into the next tree, still in -pursuit of the squirrel. The latter, making a circle in the branches, -leaped back into the tree over our heads. The fisher was gaining on it, -and was only a few feet behind its prey when, seeing us, it instantly -whipped round and went out of that tree into the one beyond, and from -that to another, and another, until it was finally lost to sight.</p> -<p>"Oh, if we could only have got it!" I cried.</p> -<p>"Never mind, there are plenty of them here, and we'll get some -before -the winter is over," said my companion.</p> -<p>Although I had my doubts about that, I made no remark. -Pitamakan was -promising lot of things that seemed impossible,—needles and thread, for -instance. "Let's go on," I said. "It is too cold for us to stand still."</p> -<p>We came now to the red willow thicket where the bull moose had -frightened us. There a barely perceptible trough in the new-fallen snow -marked where he and his family had wandered round and retreated, -quartering down the valley.</p> -<p>"They are not far away, but I think we had better not hunt -them until we -have two bows," Pitamakan remarked.</p> -<p>Just below the red willows we saw our first deer, a large, -white-tail -doe, walking toward the river, and stopping here and there to snip off -tender tips of willow and birch. We stood motionless while she passed -through the open timber and into a fir thicket.</p> -<p>"She is going to lie down in there. Come on," said Pitamakan.</p> -<p>He started toward the river and I followed, although I -wondered why he -didn't go straight to the deer trail. Finally I asked him the reason, -and right there I got a very important lesson in still-hunting.</p> -<p>"All the animals of the forest lie down facing their back -trail," he -explained. "Sometimes they do more than that; they make a circle, and -coming round, lie down where they can watch their trail. If an enemy -comes along on it, they lie close to the ground, ears flattened back, -until he passes on; then they get up slowly and sneak quietly out of -hearing, and then run far and fast. Remember this: never follow a trail -more than just enough to keep the direction the animal is traveling. -Keep looking ahead, and when you see a likely place for the animal to -be -lying, a rise of ground, a side hill, or a thicket, make a circle, and -approach it from the further side. If the animal hasn't stopped, you -will come to its trail; but if you find no trail, go ahead slowly, a -step at a time."</p> -<p>There was sound sense in what he told me, and I said so; but -feeling -that we were losing time, I added, "Let's hurry on now."</p> -<p>"It is because there is no hurry that I have explained this to -you -here," he replied. "This is a time for waiting instead of hurrying. You -should always give the animal plenty of chance to lie down and get -sleepy."</p> -<p>The day was too cold, however, for longer waiting. We went on -to the -river, and were surprised to find that it was frozen over, except for -long, narrow open places over the rapids. As there was no snow on the -new-formed ice, walking on it was a great relief to our tired legs. A -couple of hundred yards down stream we came to the fir thicket, and -walked past it. Since no fresh deer track was to be found coming from -the place, we knew that the doe was somewhere in it.</p> -<p>Back we turned, and leaving the river, began to work our way -in among -the snow-laden trees, which stood so close together that we could see -no -more than twenty or thirty feet ahead. I kept well back from Pitamakan, -in order to give him every possible chance. It was an anxious moment. -Killing that deer meant supplying so many of our needs!</p> -<p>We had sneaked into the thicket for perhaps fifty yards when, -for all -his care, Pitamakan grazed with his shoulder a snow-laden branch of -balsam, and down came the whole fluff of it. I saw the snow farther on -burst up as if from the explosion of a bomb, and caught just a glimpse -of the deer, whose tremendous leaps were raising the feathery cloud. It -had only a few yards to go in the open; but Pitamakan had seen it rise -from its bed, and was quick enough to get a fair shot before it -disappeared.</p> -<p>"I hit it!" he cried. "I saw its tail drop! Come on."</p> -<p>That was a certain sign. When a deer of this variety is -alarmed and -runs, it invariably raises its short, white-haired tail, and keeps -swaying it like the inverted pendulum of a clock; but if even slightly -wounded by the hunter, it instantly claps its tail tight against its -body and keeps it there.</p> -<p>"Here is blood!" Pitamakan called out, pointing to some red -spots on the -snow. They were just a few scattering drops, but I consoled myself with -thinking that an arrow does not let out blood like a rifle-ball because -the shaft fills the wound. We soon came to the edge of the fir thicket. -Beyond, the woods were so open that we could see a long way in the -direction of the deer's trail. We dropped to a walk, and went on a -little less hopefully; the blood-droppings became more scattering, and -soon not another red spot was to be seen—a bad sign.</p> -<p>At last we found where the deer had ceased running, had -stopped and -turned round to look back. It had stood for some time, as was shown by -the well-trodden snow. Even here there was not one drop of blood, and -worst of all, from this place the deer had gone on at its natural long -stride.</p> -<p>"It is useless for us to trail her farther," said Pitamakan -dolefully. -"Her wound is only a slight one; it smarts just enough to keep her -traveling and watching that we don't get a chance for another shot."</p> -<p>I felt bad enough, but Pitamakan felt worse, because he -thought that he -should have made a better shot.</p> -<p>"Oh, never mind," I said, trying to cheer him. "There are -plenty of deer -close round here, and it is a long time until night. Go ahead. We'll do -better next time."</p> -<p>"I am pretty tired," he complained. "Perhaps we had better go -to camp -and start out rested to-morrow."</p> -<p>I had not thought to take the lead and break trail a part of -the time; -of course he was tired. I proposed to do it now, and added that it -would -be a good plan to walk on the ice of the river and look carefully into -the timber along the shores for meat of some kind.</p> -<p>"You speak truth!" he exclaimed, his face brightening in a way -that was -good to see. "Go ahead; let's get over there as quick as possible."</p> -<p>In a few minutes we were back on the ice, where he took the -lead again. -And now for the first time since leaving camp—except for a few minutes -after the shot at the deer—I felt sure that with so much game in the -valley we should kill something. On the smooth, new ice, our moccasins -were absolutely noiseless; we were bound to get a near shot. Inside of -half an hour we flushed several coveys of grouse, and saw an otter and -two mink; but there were so many tracks of big game winding round on -the -shore and in and out of the timber that we paid no attention to the -small fry.</p> -<p>It was at the apex of a sharp point, where the river ran right -at the -roots of some big pines, that we saw something that sent a thrill of -expectation through us; the snow on a willow suddenly tumbled, while -the -willow itself trembled as if something had hit it. We stopped and -listened, but heard nothing. Then nearer to us the snow fell from -another bush; from another closer yet, and Pitamakan made ready to -shoot -just as a big cow elk walked into plain view and stopped, broadside -toward us, not fifty feet away.</p> -<p>"Oh, now it is meat, sure," I thought, and with one eye on the -cow and -the other on my companion, I waited breathlessly.</p> -<p>For an instant Pitamakan held the bow motionless, then -suddenly drew -back the cord with a mighty pull, whirled half round on the slippery -ice -and sat down, with the bow still held out in his left hand. From each -end of it dangled a part of the cord!</p> -<p>That was a terrible disappointment. Such a fair chance to get -a big fat -animal lost, all because of that weak bowstring! The elk had lunged out -of sight the instant Pitamakan moved. He sat for a moment motionless on -the ice, with bowed head, a picture of utter dejection. Finally he gave -a deep sigh, got up slowly and listlessly, and muttered that we had -better go home.</p> -<p>"Wait! Let's knot the cord together," I proposed. "That may -have been -the one weak place in it."</p> -<p>He shook his head in a hopeless way and started upstream, but -after a -few steps halted, and said, "I have no hope, but we'll try it."</p> -<p>The cord had been several inches longer than was necessary, -and after -the knot was made it was still long enough to string the bow. When it -was in place again, Pitamakan gave it a half pull, a harder one, then -fitted an arrow and drew it slowly back; but before the head of the -shaft was anywhere near the bow, <i>frip!</i> went the -cord, broken in a new -place. We were done for unless we could get a new and serviceable cord! -Without a word Pitamakan started on and I followed, my mind all a -jumble -of impossible plans.</p> -<p>We followed the winding river homeward in preference to the -shorter -route through the deep snow. The afternoon was no more than half gone -when we arrived at the little shelter, rebuilt the fire, and sat down -to -roast some rabbit meat.</p> -<p>"We can't even get any more rabbits," I said. "There are so -many knots -in our strings that a slip-noose can't be made with them."</p> -<p>"That is true, brother," said Pitamakan, "so we have but one -chance -left. If there is a bear in that cave across the river we have got to -kill him."</p> -<p>"With clubs?"</p> -<p>"Yes, of course. I told you that my dream forbids the cutting -of my -hair, and so there is no way to make a bowstring."</p> -<p>"Come on! Come on!" I said desperately. "Let's go now and have -it over."</p> -<p>We ate our rabbit meat as quickly as possible, drank from the -spring, -and by the help of the indispensable "anvil" and our cutting-stones, we -got us each a heavy, green birch club. Then we hurried off to the -river. -Although much snow had fallen since we had seen the black bear's tracks -there, its trail was still traceable up through the timber toward the -cave.</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER -VI</a></h2> -<p class="p2">Well, we took up the dim trail on the -farther side of the -river and -followed it through the timber toward the cave at the foot of the -cliff, -but I, for my part, was not at all anxious to reach the end of it. -Midway up the slope I called to Pitamakan to halt.</p> -<p>"Let's talk this over and plan just what we will do at the -cave," I -proposed.</p> -<p>"I don't know what there is to plan," he answered, turning and -facing -me. "We walk up to the cave, stoop down, and shout, 'Sticky-mouth, come -out of there!' Out he comes, terribly scared, and we stand on each side -of the entrance with raised clubs, and whack him on the base of the -nose -as hard as we can. Down he falls. We hit him a few more times, and he -dies."</p> -<p>"Yes?" said I. "Yes?"</p> -<p>I was trying to remember all the bear stories that I had heard -the -company men and the Indians tell, but I could call to mind no story of -their attacking a bear with clubs.</p> -<p>"Yes? Yes what? Why did you stop? Go on and finish what you -started to -say."</p> -<p>"We may be running a big risk," I replied. "I have always -heard that any -animal will fight when it is cornered."</p> -<p>"But we are not going to corner this bear. We stand on each -side of the -entrance; it comes out; there is the big wide slope and the thick -forest -before it, and plenty of room to run. We will be in great luck if, with -the one blow that we each will have time for, we succeed in knocking it -down. Remember this: We have to hit it and hit hard with one swing of -the club, for it will be going so fast that there will be no chance for -a second blow."</p> -<p>We went on. I felt somewhat reassured, and was now anxious to -have the -adventure over as soon as possible. All our future depended on getting -the bear. I wondered whether, if we failed to stop the animal with our -clubs, Pitamakan would venture to defy his dream, cut off a braid of -his -hair, and make a bow-cord.</p> -<p>Passing the last of the trees, we began to climb the short, -bare slope -before the cave, when suddenly we made a discovery that was sickening. -About twenty yards from the cave the trail we were following turned -sharply to the left and went quartering back into the timber. We stared -at it for a moment in silence. Then Pitamakan said, dully:—</p> -<p>"Here ends our bear hunt! He was afraid to go to his den -because our -scent was still there. He has gone far off to some other place that he -knows."</p> -<p>The outlook was certainly black. There was but one chance for -us now, I -thought, and that was for me to persuade this red brother of mine to -disregard his dream and cut off some of his hair for a bow-cord. But -turning round and idly looking the other way, I saw something that -instantly drove this thought from my mind. It was a dim trail along the -foot of the cliff to the right of the cave. I grabbed Pitamakan by the -arm, yanked him round, and silently pointed at it. His quick eyes -instantly discovered it, and he grinned, and danced a couple of steps.</p> -<p>"Aha! That is why this one turned and went away!" he -exclaimed. "Another -bear was there already, had stolen his home and bed, and he was afraid -to fight for them. Come on! Come on!"</p> -<p>We went but a few steps, however, before he stopped short and -stood in -deep thought. Finally he turned and looked at me queerly, as if I were -a -stranger and he were trying to learn by my appearance what manner of -boy -I was. It is not pleasant to be stared at in that way. I stood it as -long as I could, and then asked, perhaps a little impatiently, why he -did so. The answer I got was unexpected:—</p> -<p>"I am thinking that the bear there in the cave may be a -grizzly. How is -it? Shall we go on and take the chances, or turn back to camp? If you -are afraid, there is no use of our trying to do anything up there."</p> -<p>Of course I was afraid, but I was also desperate; and I felt, -too, that -I must be just as brave as my partner. "Go on!" I said, and my voice -sounded strangely hollow to me. "Go on! I will be right with you."</p> -<p>We climbed the remainder of the slope and stood before the -cave. Its low -entrance was buried in snow, all except a narrow space in the centre, -through which the bear had ploughed its way in, and which, since its -passing, had partly filled. The trail was so old that we could not -determine whether a black or a grizzly bear had made it.</p> -<p>But of one thing there could be no doubt: the animal was right -there in -the dark hole, only a few feet from us, as was shown by the faint wisps -of congealed breath floating out of it into the cold air. Pitamakan, -silently stationing me on the right of the entrance, took his place at -the left side, and motioning me to raise my club, shouted, -"<i>Pahk-si-kwo-yi, sak-sit!</i>" (Sticky-mouth, come out!)</p> -<p>Nothing came; nor could we hear any movement, any stir of the -leaves -inside. Again he shouted; and again and again, without result. Then, -motioning me to follow, he went down the slope. "We'll have to get a -pole and jab him," he said, when we came to the timber. "Look round for -a good one."</p> -<p>We soon found a slender dead pine, snapped it at the base -where it had -rotted, and knocked off the few scrawny limbs. It was fully twenty feet -long, and very light.</p> -<p>"Now I am the stronger," said Pitamakan, as we went back, "so -do you -handle the pole, and I will stand ready to hit a big blow with my club. -You keep your club in your right hand, and work the pole into the cave -with your left. In that way maybe you will have time to strike, too."</p> -<p>When we came to the cave, I found that his plan would not -work. I could -not force the pole through the pile of snow at the entrance with one -hand, so standing the club where I could quickly reach it, I used both -hands. At every thrust the pole went in deeper, and in the excitement -of -the moment I drove it harder and harder, with the result that it -unexpectedly went clear through the obstructing snow and on, and I fell -headlong.</p> -<p>At the instant I went down something struck the far end of the -pole such -a rap that I could feel the jar of it clear back through the snow, and -a -muffled, raucous, angry yowl set all my strained nerves a-quiver. As I -was gathering myself to rise, the dreadful yowl was repeated right over -my head, and down the bear came on me, clawing and squirming. Its sharp -nails cut right into my legs. I squirmed as best I could under its -weight, and no doubt went through the motions of yelling; but my face -was buried in the snow, and for the moment I could make no sound.</p> -<p>Although I was sure that a grizzly was upon me and that my -time had -come, I continued to wiggle, and to my great surprise, I suddenly -slipped free from the weight, rose up, and toppled over backward, -catching, as I went, just a glimpse of Pitamakan fiercely striking a -blow with his club. I was on my feet in no time, and what I saw caused -me to yell with delight as I sprang for my club. The bear was kicking -and writhing in the snow, and my partner was showering blows on its -head. I delivered a blow or two myself before it ceased to struggle.</p> -<p style="text-align: center;"><a name="Pitamakan_fiercely_striking_a_blow"></a><img class="p2" style="width: 500px; height: 654px;" alt="Pitamakan fiercely striking a blow" src="images/illo_147.jpg" /><br /> -<span class="smcap">Pitamakan fiercely striking a blow</span></p> -<p class="p2">Then I saw that it was not a grizzly, but a -black bear of no -great size. -Had it been a grizzly, I certainly, and probably Pitamakan, too, would -have been killed right there.</p> -<p>It was some little time before we could settle down to the -work in hand. -Pitamakan had to describe how he had stood ready, and hit the bear a -terrific blow on the nose as it came -leaping out, and how he had followed it up with more blows as fast as -he -could swing his club. Then I tried to tell how I had felt, crushed -under -the bear and expecting every instant to be bitten and clawed to death. -But words failed me, and, moreover, a stinging sensation in my legs -demanded my attention; there were several gashes in them from which -blood was trickling, and my trousers were badly ripped. I rubbed the -wounds a bit with snow, and found that they were not so serious as they -looked.</p> -<p>The bear, a male, was very fat, and was quite too heavy for us -to carry; -probably it weighed two hundred pounds. But we could drag it, and -taking -hold of its fore paws, we started home. It was easy to pull it down the -slope and across the ice, but from there to camp, across the level -valley, dragging it was very hard work. Night had fallen when we -arrived, and cold as the air was, we were covered with perspiration.</p> -<p>Luckily, we had a good supply of wood on hand. Pitamakan, -opening the -ash-heap, raked out a mass of live coals and started a good fire. Then -we rested and broiled some rabbit meat before attacking the bear. Never -were there two happier boys than we, as we sat before our fire in that -great wilderness, munched our insipid rabbit meat and gloated over our -prize.</p> -<p>The prehistoric people no doubt considered obsidian knives -most -excellent tools; but to us, who were accustomed only to sharp steel, -they seemed anything but excellent; they severely tried our muscles, -our -patience, and our temper. They proved, however, to be not such bad -flaying instruments. Still, we were a long time ripping the bear's skin -from the tip of the jaw down along the belly to the tail, and from the -tail down the inside of the legs to and round the base of the feet. -There were fully two inches of fat on the carcass, and when we finally -got the hide off, we looked as if we had actually wallowed in it. By -that time, according to the Big Dipper, it was past midnight, but -Pitamakan would not rest until he had the back sinews safe out of the -carcass and drying before the fire for early use.</p> -<p>It is commonly believed that the Indians used the leg tendons -of animals -for bow-cords, thread, and wrappings, but this is a mistake; the only -ones they took were the back sinews. These lie like ribbons on the -outside of the flesh along the backbone, and vary in length and -thickness according to the size of the animal. Those of a buffalo bull, -for instance, are nearly three feet long, three or four inches wide, -and -a quarter of an inch thick. When dry, they are easily shredded into -thread of any desired size.</p> -<p>Those that we now took from the bear were not two feet long, -but were -more than sufficient for a couple of bow-cords. As soon as we had them -free, we pressed them against a smooth length of dry wood, where they -stuck; and laying this well back from the fire, we began our -intermittent night's sleep, for, as I have said, we had to get up -frequently to replenish the fire.</p> -<p>The next morning, expecting to have a fine feast, I broiled -some of the -bear meat over the coals, but it was so rank that one mouthful was more -than enough; so I helped Pitamakan finish the last of the rabbit meat. -He would have starved rather than eat the meat of a bear, for to the -Blackfeet the bear is "medicine," a sacred animal, near kin to man, and -therefore not to be used for food.</p> -<p>Killing a grizzly was considered as great a feat as killing a -Sioux, or -other enemy. But the successful hunter took no part of the animal -except -the claws, unless he were a medicine-man. The medicine-man, with many -prayers and sacrifices to the gods, would occasionally take a strip of -the fur to wrap round the roll containing his sacred pipe.</p> -<p>Pitamakan himself was somewhat averse to our making any use of -the black -bear's hide, but when I offered to do all the work of scraping off the -fat meat and of drying it, he consented to sleep on it once with me, as -an experiment, and if his dreams were good, to continue to use it.</p> -<p>I went at my task with good will, and was half the morning -getting the -hide clean and in shape to stretch and dry. Pitamakan meanwhile made -two -bow-cords of the bear sinew. First he raveled them into a mass of fine -threads, and then hand-spun them into a twisted cord of the desired -length; and he made a very good job of it, too. When he had stretched -the cords to dry before the fire, he sharpened a twig of dry birch for -an awl, and with the rest of the sinew, repaired our badly ripped -moccasins. At noon we started out to hunt, and on the way dragged the -bear carcass back to the river and across it into the big timber, where -later on we hoped to use it for bait.</p> -<p>This day we went up the river, walking noiselessly on the ice. -From the -start we felt confident of success; for not only were our bow-cords as -good as we could desire, but the bows were now in fine condition, -having dried out and become more stiff, yet springy. Since, during the -latter part of the night, more snow had fallen, we could distinguish -fresh game tracks from old ones. And now that there was snow on the -ice, -we naturally expected to see where the hoofed game had been crossing -the -river; they seldom venture out on smooth ice, from fear of slipping and -injuring themselves.</p> -<p>The first game we saw were a number of ruffed grouse standing -in a row -at the edge of a strip of open water, to take their daily drink. They -walked away into the willows at our approach, and from there flew into -the firs, where we knocked down four of them with our blunt-headed bird -arrows. I got only one, for of course I was not so good a marksman with -bow and arrow as my partner, who had used the weapon more or less since -he was old enough to walk.</p> -<p>Burying the grouse in the snow at the edge of the shore, we -went on, and -presently came to the place where several elk had crossed to the north -side of the river, browsed among a bordering patch of red willows, and -then gone into the thick firs. We followed them, not nearly so excited -now that we had trustworthy weapons as we had been on the previous -hunt. -When we came near the firs, which covered several acres of the bend in -the river, Pitamakan sent me round to enter the farther side and come -through the patch toward him, while he took his stand close to the -place -where the band had entered.</p> -<p>"You needn't come back carefully," he said to me. "Make all -the noise -you can—the more the better; then they will come running out here on -their back trail, and I'll get some good shots. You'd better give me -one -of your real arrows, for you will probably not get a chance even for -one -shot at them."</p> -<p>That left me with only one arrow with an obsidian point, but -nevertheless I determined to do my best to get an elk. As Pitamakan had -remarked about himself, I, too, felt the sun power strong within me -that -morning and looked for success. With that feeling, call it what you -will,—all old hunters will understand what I mean,—I was not at all -surprised, a short time after entering the firs, to see, as I was -sneaking along through them, a big bull elk astride a willow bush that -he had borne down in order to nip the tender tips.</p> -<p>He was not fifty feet from me, and no doubt thought that the -slight -noise which he heard was made by one of his band. He could not see me -at -first, because of a screen of fir branches between us, and he had not -looked up when I made the final step that brought me into the open. But -when I raised the bow, he jerked his head sidewise and gathered himself -for a jump.</p> -<p>He was not so quick as I. The strength of a giant seemed to -swell in my -arms; I drew the arrow sliding back across the bow almost to the head -with a lightning-like pull, and let it go, <i>zip!</i> -deep into his side -through the small ribs.</p> -<p>Away he went, and I after him, yelling at the top of my voice -to scare -the herd toward Pitamakan, if possible. I saw several of them bounding -away through the firs, but my eyes were all for the red trail of the -bull. And presently I came to the great animal, stretched across a -snow-covered log and breathing its last; for the arrow had pierced its -lungs.</p> -<p>"<i>Wo-ke-haí! Ni-kaí-nit-ab is-stum-ik!</i>" -(Come on! I have killed a -bull!) I yelled.</p> -<p>And from the far side of the firs came the answer: "<i>Nis-toab -ni-mut-uk-stan!</i>" (I have also killed!)</p> -<p>That was great news. Although it was hard for me to leave my -big bull -even for a moment, I went to Pitamakan, and found that he had killed a -fine big cow. He had used three arrows, and had finally dropped her at -the edge of the river.</p> -<p>We were so much pleased and excited over our success that it -was some -time before we could cease telling how it all happened and settle down -to work. We had several fresh obsidian flakes, but as the edges soon -grew dull, we were all the rest of the day in getting the hides off the -animals and going to camp with the meat of the cow. The meat of my bull -was too poor to use, but his skin, sinews, brains, and liver were of -the -greatest value to us, as will be explained.</p> -<p>"There is so much for us to do that it is hard to decide what -to do -first," said Pitamakan that night.</p> -<p>It was long after dark, and we had just gathered the last of a -pile of -firewood and sat ourselves down before the cheerful blaze.</p> -<p>"The first thing is to cook a couple of grouse, some elk -liver, and hang -a side of elk ribs over the fire to roast for later eating," I said, -and -began preparing the great feast.</p> -<p>After our long diet of rabbits, it was a feast. We finished -the birds -and the liver, and then sat waiting patiently for the fat ribs to roast -to a crisp brown as they swung on a tripod over the fire. I was now so -accustomed to eating meat without salt that I no longer craved the -mineral, and of course my companion never thought of it. In those days -the Blackfeet used none; their very name for it, <i>is-tsik-si-pok-wi</i> -(like fire tastes), proved their dislike of the condiment.</p> -<p>"Well, let us now decide what we shall do first," Pitamakan -again -proposed. "We need new moccasins, new leggings and snowshoes. Moreover, -we need a comfortable lodge. Which shall be first?"</p> -<p>"The lodge," I answered, without hesitation. "But how can we -make one? -What material can we get for one unless we kill twenty elk and tan the -skins? That would take a long time."</p> -<p>"This is a different kind of lodge," he explained. "When you -came up the -Big River you saw the lodges of the Earth People? Yes. Well, we will -build one like theirs."</p> -<p>On the voyage up the Missouri with my uncle I had not only -seen the -lodges of the Earth People (Sak-wi Tup-pi), as the Blackfeet called the -Mandans, but I had been inside several of them, and noted how warm and -comfortable they were. Their construction was merely a matter of posts, -poles, and earth. We agreed to begin one in the morning, and do no -hunting until it was done.</p> -<p>The site that we chose for the lodge was a mile below camp and -close to -the river, where two or three years before a fire, sweeping through a -growth of "lodge-pole" pines, had killed thousands of the young, -slender -trees. In a grove of heavy firs close by we began the work, and as -every -one should know how to build a comfortable house without the aid of -tools and nails, I will give some details of the construction.</p> -<p>In place of the four heavy corner posts which the Mandans cut, -we used -four lowcrotched trees that stood about twenty feet apart in the form -of a square. In the crotches on two sides of the square we laid as -heavy -a pole as we could carry, and bolstered up the centre with a pile of -flat rocks, to keep it from sagging. On the joists, as these may be -called, we laid lighter poles side by side, to form the roof. In the -centre we left a space about four feet wide, the ends of which we -covered with shorter poles, until we reduced it to a hole four feet -square.</p> -<p>The next task was to get the poles for the sides. These we -made of the -proper length by first denting them with sharp-edged stones and then -snapping them off. They were slanted all round against the four sides, -except for a narrow space in the south side, which we left for a -doorway. Next we thatched the roof and sides with a thick layer of -balsam boughs, on top of which we laid a covering of earth nearly a -foot -deep. This earth we shoveled into an elk hide with elk shoulder blades, -and then carried each load to its proper place. Lastly, we constructed -in the same manner a passageway six or eight feet long to the door.</p> -<p>All this took us several days to accomplish, and was hard -work. But when -we had laid a ring of heavy stones directly under the square opening in -the roof for a fireplace, made a thick bed of balsam boughs, and -covered -it with the bearskin, put up an elkskin for a door, and sat us down -before a cheerful fire, we had a snug, warm house, and were vastly -proud -of it.</p> -<p>"Now for some adventure," said Pitamakan, as we sat eating our -first -meal in the new house. "What say you we had best do?"</p> -<p>"Make some moccasins and snowshoes," I replied.</p> -<p>"We can do that at night. Let us——"</p> -<p>The sentence was never finished. A terrible booming roar, -seemingly -right overhead, broke upon our ears. Pitamakan's brown face turned an -ashy gray as he sprang up, crying:</p> -<p>"Run! Run! Run!"</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER -VII</a></h2> -<p class="p2">Out into the snow we ran, while nearer and -nearer sounded that -terrific -roaring and rumbling; it was as if the round world was being rent -asunder. Pitamakan led the way straight back from the river toward the -south side of the valley, and we had run probably two hundred yards -before the noise ceased as suddenly as it had begun. We were quite out -of breath, and it was some time before I could ask what had happened.</p> -<p>"Why, don't you know?" he said. "That was a great piece of the -ice cliff -on the mountain across there. It broke off and came tearing down into -the valley. Trees, boulders, everything in its way were smashed and -carried down. I thought that it was going to bury our lodge."</p> -<p>Pitamakan wanted to make an early start in the morning to view -the path -of the avalanche, but I insisted that we stay at home and work hard -until the things that we needed so much were finished. I had my way.</p> -<p>Ever since the day of the elk killing, we had kept one of the -big hides -in the river in order to loosen the hair. In the morning we brought it -into the lodge, and laying it over a smooth, hard piece of driftwood, -grained it with a heavy elk rib for a graining-knife. It was very hard -work. Although we sharpened an edge of the rib with a piece of -sandstone -and kept it as sharp as possible, we had to bear down on it with all -our -strength, pushing it an inch or two at a time in order to separate the -hair from the skin. Taking turns, we were half a day in finishing the -job.</p> -<p>We cut the hide into two parts. Of these, we dried one, and -cut the -other into webbing-strings for snowshoes—tedious work with our obsidian -knives. As soon as the half hide was dry, I rubbed elk brains and liver -well into it, and then, rolling it up, laid it away for a couple of -days until the mixture could neutralize the large amount of glue that -is -in all hides. After that operation, I spent half a day in washing the -hide and then rubbing and stretching it as it dried. I had then a very -good piece of elk leather,—so-called "buckskin,"—enough for four pairs -of moccasins.</p> -<p>These Pitamakan and I made very large, so that they would go -over the -rabbit-skins with which we wrapped our feet as a protection from the -cold. Our needle for sewing them was a sharp awl made from a piece of -an -elk's leg bone; the thread was of elk sinew.</p> -<p><i>O-wam</i> (shape of eggs) is the Blackfoot name -for snowshoes. Those that -we made were neither shaped like an egg nor like anything else. The -bows -were of birch, and no two were alike, and the webbing was woven on them -in a way to make a forest Indian laugh. Neither Pitamakan's people nor -the other tribes of the plains knew anything about snowshoes except in -a general way, and I had never seen a pair. All things considered, -however, we did a fairly good job. If the shoes were heavy and clumsy, -at least they were serviceable, for they sank only a few inches in the -snow when we tested them.</p> -<p>The evening we finished this work another snowstorm came on, -which -lasted two nights and a day, and forced us to postpone our hunt. We -employed the time in improving the interior of the lodge by building a -heavier stone platform for the fire, one that would give off -considerable heat after we went to sleep.</p> -<p>In order to create a draft for the fire, we were forced to -admit some -air through the doorway, and this chilled us. Finally, I remembered -that -I had seen in the Mandan lodges screens several feet high, put between -the doorway and the fire, in order to force the cold air upward.</p> -<p>We made one at once of poles, backed with earth, and then, -building a -small fire, sat down on our bed to see how it worked; no more cold air -swept across the floor, and we were absolutely comfortable. But in the -night, although the stones gave out some heat, we were obliged to -replenish the fire as soon as it died down. What we needed in order to -have unbroken sleep was bedding. Pitamakan said that one animal here, -the white mountain goat, had a warmer, thicker coat of fur than the -buffalo. We determined to get some of the hides and tan them into soft -robes.</p> -<p>The morning after the storm broke clear and cold, but my -partner refused -to go up into the high mountains after goats.</p> -<p>"We must put it off and do something else to-day," he said. "I -had a -very bad dream last night—a confused dream of a bear and a goat, one -biting and clawing me, and the other sticking its sharp horns into my -side. Now either that is a warning not to hunt goats to-day, or it is a -sign that the bearskin that we are sleeping on is bad medicine. This is -not the first bad dream that I have had since lying on it."</p> -<p>"My dreams have all been good since we began sleeping on it," -I said.</p> -<p>"Then use it by yourself; I shall not sleep on it again."</p> -<p>"Oh, dreams don't mean anything!" I exclaimed. "White people -pay no -attention to them."</p> -<p>"That is because your gods give you different medicine from -that our -gods give us," he said, very seriously. "To us is given the dream; in -that way our gods show us the things we may and may not do. Do not -speak -lightly of it, lest you bring harm to me."</p> -<p>I had sense enough to heed his wish; never afterward, either -by word or -look, did I cast even a shadow of doubt upon his beliefs. For that -reason, largely, we got along together in perfect harmony, as all -companions should.</p> -<p>As there was in his dream nothing about other animals, we put -on our -snowshoes and started out to hunt and set traps in the valley. At odd -moments we had been making triggers of different sizes for deadfalls, -and now had fifteen ready to use. They were of the "figure 4" pattern; -more complicated than the two-piece triggers, but more sure of action. -Having with the small ones set deadfalls for marten, fisher, and mink, -we went on up the river to the carcasses of the bear and the bull elk. -We found that both had been almost entirely eaten by wolverenes, -lynxes, -and mountain lions. Having built at each of these places a large -deadfall, we weighted the drop-bars so heavily with old logs that there -could be no escape for the largest prowler once he seized the bait.</p> -<p>By the time we had the last of the triggers baited and set up -and the -little pen built behind the drop-bar, night was coming on, and we -hurried home. We had seen many tracks of deer, elk, and moose, but had -been too busy to hunt any of them. As we neared the lodge, another -snowstorm set in, but that did not disturb us; in fact, the more snow -the better, for with deep snow the hoofed game of the valley would be -unable to escape us. We could choose the fat does and cows for our -winter's meat. The bucks and bulls were already poor, and the others -would lose flesh rapidly once they were obliged to "yard," that is, to -confine themselves to their hard-beaten trails in the limited area of a -willow patch.</p> -<p>It was a heavy snow that fell in the night, and the next -morning -snowshoeing was good. As Pitamakan had had no bad dreams, and the sun -was shining in a clear sky, we started out for a goat hunt. After -climbing the mountain-side opposite the lodge for some time, we came to -a series of ledges, whence we obtained a fine view of the country which -we were living in. The mountain which we were on was high and very -steep. Not far below its summit was the big ice field, terminating at -the edge of a cliff, from which a great mass had tumbled, and started -the avalanche that had frightened us.</p> -<p>Turning to the east and pointing to the backbone of the range, -Pitamakan -told me to notice how absolutely white it all was except the -perpendicular cliffs, where snow could not lie. There was no question -but that the snow was a great deal deeper up there than where we were.</p> -<p>I thought that there was a longing in Pitamakan's eyes as he -gazed at -the tremendous wall of rock and snow that separated us from the plains -and from our people, but as he said nothing, I kept quiet. For myself, -I -felt that I would give anything, suffer any hardships, if I could only -get once more to Fort Benton and my uncle. True, we now had a -comfortable lodge and plenty of elk meat, weapons for killing game, -snowshoes for traveling, and the outlook for more comforts was -favorable. But for all that, the future was very uncertain; there were -many things that might prevent our ever reaching the Missouri; all -nature was arrayed against us, and so was man himself.</p> -<p>Pitamakan roused me from my reverie by a tap on the shoulder.</p> -<p>"I can see no goat signs here above us," he said, "but look -over there -at the ledges well up on the next mountain to the east. Do you see the -fresh trails?"</p> -<p>I did. In the smooth, glittering snow they were startlingly -distinct in -their windings and turnings from clump to clump of the pines on the -rocky ledges. None of the animals that made them were in sight, but -that -was not strange; as they were of practically the same color as the -snow, -we could not see them at that distance except when they happened to get -in front of the dark pines or rock. Although the distance over there -was -not more than a mile in a straight line, a cut gorge between the two -mountains obliged us to return to the river before making the ascent, -which more than doubled the distance.</p> -<p>After striking the river, we followed it up past the mouth of -the gorge, -past three of the deadfalls set near the shore. The first one held a -fine, large, dark-furred marten, its body nipped across the shoulders -and crushed by the drop-bar. Taking the little victim out, and hanging -it in a tree, we reset the trap. The next deadfall was unsprung. The -third, one of the big falls, was down, and we hurried as fast as we -could to see what it held.</p> -<p>"A lynx," I ventured.</p> -<p>"A wolverene," Pitamakan guessed.</p> -<p>We were both wrong. Pinned down by the neck was a big mountain -lion, to -us the most valuable of all the animals of the forest. The Blackfeet, -as -well as the Crows and Gros Ventres, prized the skins very highly for -use -as saddle-robes—we could get at least four horses for this one. Taking -such a prize made us feel rich. Leaving it in the fall until our -return, -we turned off from the river and began the ascent of the mountain in -high spirits.</p> -<p>For a time the going was good, although increasingly -difficult. After -we had passed through the big timber, the mountain became more and more -steep, until it was impossible for us to go farther on snowshoes. -Taking -them off, we wallowed up through the deep snow from ledge to ledge, -keeping away from the clumps of stunted pine as much as possible, for -in -them the snow lay deepest and was most fluffy.</p> -<p>The weather was bitterly cold, but we were warm enough, even -perspiring -from our exertions. Much as we needed to stop and rest at frequent -intervals, it was impossible to do so, for the instant we halted we -began to shiver. More than once we were on the point of giving up the -hunt, but each time the thought of what a few goat hides meant to us -strengthened our legs to further endeavor.</p> -<p>I never envied a bird more than I did one that I saw that day. -A Clark's -crow it was, raucous of voice and insolent, that kept flying a short -distance ahead of us and lighting on the pines, where it pretended to -pick kernels out of the big cones. If we could only fly like that, I -kept thinking, within a moment's time we could be right on the goats.</p> -<p>Strange as it may seem, there was more bird life on that -bleak, cold -height than in the forest below. One variety of small, sweet singers, -flying all round us in large flocks, was especially numerous. I -wondered -what they could be. Long years afterward an ornithologist told me that -they were gray-crowned finches—arctic birds that love the winter cold -and are happiest in a snowdrift.</p> -<p>We saw, too, many chattering flocks of Bohemian waxwings, also -visitors -from the arctic regions. Most interesting of all were the ptarmigan, -small, snow-white grouse with jet-black eyes, bill, and toes. Never -descending to the valleys, either for food or shelter, they live on the -high, bare mountains the year round. They are heavily feathered clear -to the toes, so that their feet cannot freeze; and at night, and by -day, -too, in severe weather, instead of roosting in the dwarf pines they -plunge down into soft snow, tunnel under the surface for several feet, -and then tramp a chamber large enough to sit in. These birds were very -tame, and often allowed us to get within fifteen or twenty feet of them -before flying or running away. Some were saucy and made a great fuss at -our approach, cocking up their tails and cackling, and even making a -feint of charging us.</p> -<p>At last we came walking out on a ledge that ended at the side -of a big -gouge in the mountain, and on the far verge of it saw a goat, a big old -fellow, sitting at the edge of a small cliff. It was sitting down on -its -haunches, just as a dog does. Should you see a cow, a sheep, or any -herbivorous animal do that, you would think his position extremely -ludicrous. In the case of the goat, because of its strange and uncouth -shape, it is more than ludicrous; it is weird. The animal has a long, -broad-nosed head, set apparently right against its shoulders; a long, -flowing beard hangs from its chin; its withers are extremely high, and -its hams low, like those of the buffalo. Its abnormally long hair -flutters round its knees like a pair of embroidered pantalets, and -rises -eight or ten inches in length above the shoulders. The tail is short, -and so heavily haired that it looks like a thick club. Its round, -scimitar-shaped black horns rise in a backward curve from the thick, -fuzzy coat, and seem very small for the big, deep-chested animal.</p> -<p>The goat was almost as new to Pitamakan as to me.</p> -<p>"What is the matter with it?" he exclaimed. "Do you think it -is sick, or -hurt?"</p> -<p>"He looks as if he felt very sad," I replied.</p> -<p>And truly the animal did look very dejected, its head sunk on -its -brisket, its black eyes staring vacantly at the valley far below, as if -it were burdened with all the pains and sorrows of the ages.</p> -<p>We were so interested in watching it that at first we did not -see the -others, thirteen in all, scattered close round on the little ledges -above him. Some were standing, others lying down. One big old "billy" -lay under a low-branched dwarf pine, and now and then would raise its -head, bite off a mouthful of the long, coarse needles, and deliberately -chew them. We had come out in plain view of the band, and now wondered -that they had not seen us and run away.</p> -<p>"Let's back up step by step until we are in the shelter of the -pines -back there, then look out a way to get to them," Pitamakan proposed.</p> -<p>On starting to do so, we found that the goats had seen us all -the time. -Two or three of them turned their heads and stared at us with apparent -curiosity; the old billy at the edge of the cliff gave us one vacant -stare, and resumed his brooding; the others paid no attention to our -movements. Unquestionably they had never seen man before, and did not -consider us enemies because we were not four-legged, like the beasts -that preyed upon them. So instead of backing cautiously, we turned and -walked into the little clump of pines, and beyond them to a deep -gutter, -where we began the difficult task of stalking the animals. We had to -climb for several hundred yards to a broad ledge, follow it for perhaps -twice that distance, and then work our way, as best we could, straight -down to the goats.</p> -<p>That was a terrible climb. As the angle of the mountain was -such that -the climb would have been difficult on bare rock, you can imagine how -hard it was to go up in the deep snow. Using our snowshoes for shovels -and taking the lead in turn, we fought our way through, upward, inch by -inch. More than once a mass of snow gave way above our gouging, and -swept us down a few feet or a few yards. Once Pitamakan was buried so -deep in it that I was obliged to dig him out; he was gasping for breath -by the time I uncovered his head.</p> -<p>On the ledge the going was so level that we wore our snowshoes -a part of -the way across, and then, wading to a point directly above the goats, -we -began the descent. That was easy. Straight ahead of us the mountain -dropped in a series of little shelves, or cliffs, down which we could -easily climb. Stopping when we thought we were near to the goats, we -strung our bows and fitted arrows to them. As I was a poor shot, I took -but one arrow, to be used only in an emergency. Pitamakan carried the -other four.</p> -<p>In a few moments we struck a deep and well-packed goat trail -that -meandered along a shelf thirty, and in places fifty feet wide. Here and -there were clumps of dwarf pine and juniper that prevented our seeing -very far ahead, and Pitamakan gave me the sign to look sharp for the -game.</p> -<p>A moment later, as we followed the trail round some pines, we -came face -to face with a big billy-goat. The instant that he saw us he bristled -up -his hair and came for us. Did you ever see a wild pig prance out for a -fight? Well, that is the way that goat came at us—head down and -prancing sidewise. I don't know whether we were more surprised or -scared; probably scared. The sight of those round, sharp black horns -made our flesh creep; indeed, the whole aspect of the uncouth animal -was -terrifying.</p> -<p>Coming at us head on, there was little chance for an arrow to -do any -damage to him.</p> -<p>"Run out that way!" Pitamakan cried, as he gave me a push. -"I'll go this -way!"</p> -<p>There was not any running about it; we waddled to one side and -the other -from the cañon-like trail out into the deep snow, and it was remarkable -what progress we made. As I said, the goat came prancing toward us, not -jumping full speed, as he might have done, so that we had plenty of -time -to get out of the trail.</p> -<p>When he came opposite he seemed undecided what to do next. We -did not -give him time to make up his mind. Pitamakan let fly an arrow, while I -stood ready to shoot if need be. But Pitamakan's shaft sped true; the -old billy flinched and humped himself, threw up his head with a -pitiful, -silly expression of surprise, and dropped in his tracks. We waded back -into the trail and examined our prize; such heavy, thick, long hair and -fleece I had never seen on any other animal. At the base of the sharp -horns were black, warty, rubber-like excrescences. "Smell them!" -Pitamakan bade me, and I did. They gave off an exceedingly rank odor of -musk.</p> -<p>Pitamakan now pulled out the arrow; it had evidently pierced -the heart. -He proposed that we go after the band and kill as many as possible; we -needed at least four large, or six small skins for a good bed-robe.</p> -<p>"Well, come on, lead the way," I said.</p> -<p>He held up his hand, and I could see his eyes grow big as if -from fear. -"What is it?" I asked.</p> -<p>He did not answer, but stood anxiously looking this way and -that, and -soon I, too, heard the faint, remote droning noise that had alarmed -him. -We looked at the mountain above us, and at others near and far, but -there was nowhere any sign of an avalanche.</p> -<p>The droning noise became louder and deeper, filling us with -dread all -the more poignant because it was impossible to determine the cause.</p> -<p>"The old medicine-men told the truth!" said Pitamakan. "These -mountains -are no place for the Blackfeet. The gods that dwell here are not our -gods, and they do strange and cruel things to us plains people when -they -get the chance."</p> -<p>I had nothing to say. We listened; the droning grew louder; it -seemed -all about us, and yet we could see nothing unusual.</p> -<p>"Come on! Let's get away from here!" Pitamakan cried.</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER -VIII</a></h2> -<p class="p2">"Where shall we go?" I asked. "This noise -seems to come from -everywhere -and nowhere."</p> -<p>I looked up at the top of the mountain which we were on, and -saw a long -streak of snow extending eastward from it like an immense pennant.</p> -<p>"Look! It is nothing but the wind that is making that noise!" -I -exclaimed. "See how it is driving the snow up there!"</p> -<p>"Yes," Pitamakan agreed. "But listen. The sound of its blowing -does not -come from there any more than from elsewhere. It comes from every -direction up there in the blue."</p> -<p>We could now see snow flying from the tops of the mountains on -the -opposite side of the valley. In a few moments the whole summit of the -range was lost in a vast haze of drifting, flying snow. But where we -were there was only a gentle breeze from the west, which did not -increase in force. I remembered now that in winter, when fierce -northwest winds blew across the plains, the summit of the Rockies was -always hidden by grayish-white clouds. It was a strange sensation to -hear the drone of a terrific wind and not feel it, and I said so.</p> -<p>"Everything is strange in this country," my partner said, -dully. "Here -Wind-Maker lives; and many another of the mountain and forest gods. We -have to make strong medicine, brother, to escape them."</p> -<p>This was the first of the terrific winter winds that blow -across the -Northwest plains. Many a time thereafter we heard the strange roaring -sound that seemed to come from nowhere in particular; but down in the -valley, and even high up on the sides of the mountains, near the lodge, -there was never more than a gentle breeze. Pitamakan was always -depressed when we heard the strange roaring, and it made me feel -nervous and apprehensive of I knew not what.</p> -<p>We waded and slid and fell down to the next ledge, and there, -working -our way to the edge, we saw some of the goats right beneath us. There -were seven of them,—old "nannies," two kids, and "billies" one and two -years old,—all in a close bunch not more than twenty feet below us. -Instead of running, they stood and stared up at us vacuously, while -their concave faces seemed to heighten their expression of stupid -wonder.</p> -<p>Pitamakan shot one of the nannies. At the same time I drew my -bow on one -of the goats, but on second thought eased it, for I might waste a -precious arrow. I had to use all my will power in denying myself that -chance to add another animal to my list of trophies.</p> -<p>Pitamakan was not wasting any time: <i>Zip! Zip! Zip!</i> -he sped his -remaining arrows, reached out for one of mine, and shot it just as an -old nannie, awaking to the fact that something was wrong with her -kindred, started off to the left at a lumbering gallop, more ungainly -and racking than that of a steer. Here was success, indeed! I was so -excited that I went aimlessly from one to another of the goats, feeling -of their heavy coats and smooth, sharp horns.</p> -<p>Having dressed the animals, we dragged them from the ledges -out on the -steep slide, where we fastened them one to another in a novel way. -Making a slit down the lower joint of a hind leg, we thrust a fore leg -of the next animal through it,—between tendon and bone,—then slit the -fore leg in the same manner, and stuck a stick in it so that it could -not slip out. We soon had all five animals fastened in line, and then -taking the first one by the horns, we started down.</p> -<p>The deep snow was now a help instead of a hindrance; for it -kept our tow -of game from sliding too fast down the tremendously steep incline. -Knowing that we were likely to start an avalanche, we kept as close to -the edge of the timber as we could. Even so, I had the feeling which a -man has while walking on thin ice over deep water. I tried to push -cautiously through the snow, and looked back anxiously whenever the -game -in a particularly steep place came sliding down on us by the mere pull -of its own weight.</p> -<p>Pitamakan was less apprehensive. "If a slide starts, we can -probably get -out of it by making a rush for the timber," he said. "Anyhow, what is -to -be will be, so don't worry."</p> -<p>We came safe to the foot of the slide, but had time to skin -only one -goat before dark; it was slow work with our obsidian knives. As we -could -not safely leave the others unprotected from the prowlers during the -night, we laid them side by side on a heap of balsam boughs, where the -air could circulate all round them, and Pitamakan hung his capote on a -stick right over them, in order that the sight and odor of it might -prevent any wandering lion, lynx, or wolverene from robbing us. To go -without his capote in such cold weather was certainly a sacrifice on -Pitamakan's part.</p> -<p>If I am asked why we took pains to lay the game on boughs, the -answer is -that, although any one would think that snow would be a natural -refrigerator, the opposite is the case, for freshly killed animals will -spoil in a few hours if they are buried in it.</p> -<p>To keep from freezing, Pitamakan hurried on to camp, while I -followed -slowly with the goatskin and head. There was not time to take the lion -or marten from the deadfalls.</p> -<p>When I got to the lodge, Pitamakan had a fire burning and the -last of -the cow elk ribs roasting over it. We were wet to the skin, of course, -but that did not matter. Off came our few garments, to be hung a short -time over the fire and then put on again. How cheerful and restful it -was to stretch out on our balsam beds and enjoy the heat after the long -day's battle with snow and precipitous mountain-sides!</p> -<p>The next day, and for many days thereafter, we had much work -to keep us -busy. We skinned the goats, tanned the hides into soft robes, and sewed -them together in the form of a big bag, with the fur side in. The night -on which we crawled into it for the first time was a great occasion. On -that night, for the very first time since leaving the Blackfoot camp, -we -slept perfectly warm and without waking with shivers to rebuild the -fire.</p> -<p>The deadfalls also took a great deal of our time. Every night -some of -them were sprung, and we found from one to three or four valuable fur -animals under the drop-bars. It was a tedious job to skin them and -properly stretch the pelts to dry, but for all that, we loved the work -and were proud of the result. Here and there in the lodge a few marten, -fisher, wolverene, and lynx skins were always drying, and in a corner -the pile of cured peltries was steadily growing. Three of them were of -mountain lions.</p> -<p>During this time much more snow fell; it was fully six feet -deep in the -woods when the last of the elk hams was broiled and eaten. For a day or -two we subsisted on goat meat, although the best of it had a slight -musky odor and flavor. As Pitamakan said, it was not real food.</p> -<p>As our bows were not nearly so strong as they looked, my -partner was -always wishing for glue, so that we might back them with sinew. There -was material enough for glue, but there was nothing to make it in.</p> -<p>"The Mandans made pots of earth," I said to him one day. -"Perhaps we can -make one that will stand fire and water."</p> -<p>Out we went along the river to look for clay. At the first -cut-bank that -we came to I gouged off the snow that thinly coated its perpendicular -side, and lo! there was a layer of clay six inches thick between two -layers of gravel. We broke out several large flat chunks of the -stuff,—it was frozen, of course,—and carried it to the lodge. There, -breaking it into fine pieces and thawing it, we added a small amount of -water, and worked it into a stiff paste of the right consistency, as we -thought, for moulding.</p> -<p>Pitamakan, always artistic, fashioned a thin bowl like those -that he had -seen in the Mandan village, while I made mine an inch thick, with a -capacity of not more than two quarts. When we baked them in the coals, -mine cracked, and Pitamakan's fell to pieces.</p> -<p>That was discouraging; evidently the clay was not of the right -consistency. I worked up another portion of clay with less water, while -my partner added even more water than before to his batch. We each soon -had a bowl fashioned and put to bake. In a few minutes the one which -Pitamakan had made fell to pieces, but mine, which was thick and clumsy -in shape, seemed to stand the heat well. I gradually increased the fire -round it, and after keeping the blaze up for a long time, I allowed the -fire at last to die out gradually. The bowl turned out fairly well; for -although it had one crack in the side, it was dark red in color, and -gave a substantial ring when we tapped it with a stick.</p> -<p>However, we took no chances of a mishap by moving it. We -plastered the -crack with fresh clay, and then, putting into it nearly a quart of -water, an elk hoof and a couple of goat hoofs, we rebuilt the fire just -close enough to make the mixture simmer, and adding more water from -time -to time during the day, patiently awaited results.</p> -<p>"<i>Ai-y!</i> It is real glue!" Pitamakan -exclaimed that evening, after -dipping a stick in the mess and testing it with his fingers. We were -quite excited and proud of our success. Softening the four elk sinews -in -the hot glue, Pitamakan then plastered a pair of them on each bow. The -place where the ends overlapped at the centre, he bound with a sinew -wrapping.</p> -<p>Of course the bows were unstrung when the backing was put on, -and as -soon as the work was done, we laid them away from the fire, that they -might dry slowly. In the morning, the first thing, after crawling out -of -our fur nest, we strung and tested them, and found that the backing had -more than doubled their strength and elasticity. Now we were ready to -hunt our winter meat, and after a hurried breakfast of musky goat -steak, -we started in quest of the game.</p> -<p>Not since the day of the goat hunt had we seen any tracks of -moose, elk, -or deer. Pitamakan said that he had heard that the deer went from the -high mountains down toward the lake of the Flatheads to winter, and -that -we need not expect to see any more of them. But he added that it did -not -matter, for other game would yard close round the lodge.</p> -<p>Taking a zigzag course and examining every red willow patch -along our -route, we went down the valley. As it was a stinging cold day, we had -our hands tucked up in the sleeves of our capotes, and our bows and -arrows under our arms, for as yet we had no mittens. Our legs suffered, -too, from need of new coverings.</p> -<p>The first game that we saw was an otter, fishing in a dark -pool at the -foot of a rapid. He would crawl out on the ice fringing it, sit still -for a moment, sniffing the air and looking sharp for any enemy, and -then -make a sudden dive. We watched him until he had brought up a big trout -and had begun to eat it, when we turned away without the animal seeing -us. Except at close range, the otter's eyesight is poor, but he has a -keen nose and sharp ears. Later we intended to set a deadfall for him, -if by any means we could catch fish to bait it.</p> -<p>A mile or more below the lodge we came to a deep, hard-packed -trail, -which wound and branched in every direction through a big red-willow -thicket, which we guessed to be a moose yard. In many places the -willows -had been browsed off as far out from the paths as the animals could -stretch their necks. Here and there were large, hard-packed circular -depressions in the snow where they had lain down to rest and sleep, -always, I imagine, with one of their number on the watch for any -prowling mountain lion.</p> -<p>We went down through the centre of the yard, although we had -some -difficulty in crossing the deep trails on our snowshoes. Soon we -sighted -the game—two cow moose, two calves, and two yearlings. The instant that -they saw us the old lead cow trotted away down the trail, leading the -others, and then by turning into every successive left-hand fork, tried -to circle round behind us. When we headed her off, she turned and tried -to circle round us in the other direction. Then Pitamakan and I -separated, and in that way drove the little band steadily ahead of us, -until it reached the lower end of the yard.</p> -<p>There, with a tremendous leap, the old cow broke out of the -yard into -the fresh snow, and the way she made it fly behind her reminded me of -the stern wheel of a Missouri River steamboat beating up spray. All the -others followed her until we came close, when all but her calf wheeled -in the new path and rushed back for the yard.</p> -<p>They were so close to us that we might almost have touched -them. -Pitamakan shot an arrow deep between the ribs of the cow, and by a -lucky -aim I put my one arrow into the calf behind her. Both of them fell, but -the two yearlings, scrambling over their bodies, escaped into the yard.</p> -<p>We went on in pursuit of the other cow and her calf. The -strength that -she displayed in breaking her way through six feet of snow was -wonderful. For at least three hundred yards she went faster than we -could go on our web shoes, but after that she gave out rapidly, and -finally stopped altogether.</p> -<p>When we came close to her, she plunged back past the calf and -stood -awaiting us, determined to protect it to the last. All the hair on her -shoulders and back was ruffed and bristling forward, while her eyes -blazed with anger, although there was also in them the look of terror -and despair. When we got close to her, she rushed at us. We had to do -some lively scrambling to keep out of her way. But she soon tired, and -then while I attracted her attention, Pitamakan slipped round on the -other side of her. As his bow-cord twanged, she dropped her head, and -the -light almost instantly went out of her eyes. The poor calf met the same -fate a moment later. It was cruel work, but as necessary as it was -cruel; we killed that we might live.</p> -<p>There remained the two yearlings, and I proposed that we spare -them. -Pitamakan looked at me with surprise.</p> -<p>"What! Let them go?" he exclaimed. "And many winter moons yet -before us? -Why, brother, you talk foolishly! Of course we must kill them. Even -then -we may not have enough meat to last until spring."</p> -<p>So we chased them also out into deep snow, and did as he said. -By the -time we had one calf skinned we were obliged to go home and gather the -night's wood.</p> -<p>The next day we skinned the rest of the animals, cut up the -meat, and -hung it in trees, whence it could be packed home from time to time. Two -of the hides we put to soak in the river, preparatory to graining and -tanning them. The others we stretched on frames and allowed to freeze -dry, after which we laid them on our couch.</p> -<p>During the short days we tended the deadfalls, skinned and -stretched -what fur was trapped in them, packed in meat and hung it beside the -lodge, and tanned the two hides. Having done the tanning successfully, -we went into the tailoring business. Pitamakan cut pieces of proper -shape from the big, soft skins, but in the work of sewing I did my -share. After three or four evenings' work, we were the proud wearers of -new shirts, new leggings, and new mittens.</p> -<p>Our earthen pot fell to pieces the day after we had made glue -in it. -That was a serious loss, for we had intended to boil meat in it. -Roasted -meat is good, but does not do so well as a steady diet. The Indians of -the North regard boiled meat as we regard bread, that is, as the staff -of life. Pitamakan, who craved it more than I, determined, now that we -had plenty of hides, to use a part of one for a kettle. From one of the -yearling moose hides he cut a large, round piece, soaked it in the -river -until it was soft, and then sewed the edge in pleats to a birch hoop -about two feet in diameter, so as to make a stiff-rimmed bag about as -deep as it was wide. With a strip of hide he suspended it from a pole -in -the lodge roof.</p> -<p>Next he set several clean stones in the fire to heat, and put -some -rather finely cut meat in the bag with two quarts of water. When the -rocks were red-hot, he dropped them one by one into the bag, and pulled -them out to reheat as fast as they cooled. In this way the meat was -boiled. Such was the ancient way of cooking it before the white traders -brought pots and kettle into the North country.</p> -<p>The meat was not cooked long, only long enough, in fact to -change its -color, and was really more nutritious than it would have been had it -been stewed a long time. We enjoyed that first meal of it with keen -relish, and thereafter ate more boiled than roasted meat.</p> -<p>As the winter snows settled and hardened, we saw more and more -trails of -otter along the river, where they traveled from one open hole to -another -to do their fishing, and one day we began our campaign against them by -going fishing ourselves. Our tackle consisted of a sinew cord and loop -several feet long, tied to a long, slender pole.</p> -<p>In the first open pool that we looked into there were numerous -trout and -suckers; of course we tried first to snare the trout. We soon learned, -however, that it could not be done, for they would not allow the loop -to come nearer than five or six inches to their heads, but always -drifted downstream from it in a tantalizing manner.</p> -<p>Next, trying the suckers, big, reddish-black fellows of two -pounds' -weight, we found them easy to snare. They lay as if they were half -dead, -their bellies close to the bottom, and never moved when the loop -drifted -down round their heads, thinking, no doubt, that it was but a piece of -passing water-grass. When the noose was just behind the gills, we gave -the pole a sharp yank, and up came the fish, wriggling and flapping, -helpless in the grip of the tightened cord.</p> -<p>After we caught three of them, we spent the rest of the -morning setting -a deadfall at each of three pools where the otters were working. But -for -some time afterward we got no otters; of all animals they are the -shyest -and most difficult to trap. It was not until all traces of the man -scent -had died out that one was finally lured by the sucker bait, and was -killed by the fall-bar.</p> -<p>As time passed, we set more and more deadfalls up and down the -valley, -so many that finally we could not make the round of them all in one -day. -One morning we would attend to those lying east of the lodge, and the -next morning visit those to the west of it. The farthest one to the -west -was at least seven miles away, and for some unknown reason more fur -came -to it than to any of the others; we seldom visited it without finding a -marten or a fisher. Pitamakan called it the <i>nat-o-wap-i -kyak-ach-is</i>—medicine-trap, as the words may be freely -translated. -<i>Nat-o-wap-i</i> really means "of the sun"—"sun-power."</p> -<p>As we approached this deadfall one day, when we had taken -nothing from -the other traps except a marten that a passing fisher had maliciously -torn to shreds, Pitamakan began the coyote prayer song, because, as he -said, something had to be done to bring us better luck.</p> -<p>We soon saw the deadfall, noticed that the bar was down, and -hurried -eagerly forward to see what it held, while my partner sang louder than -ever. On coming to it, we found a fine, black, fluffy-furred fisher; -whereupon Pitamakan raised his hand and began chanting a prayer of -thanks to the gods.</p> -<p>Meanwhile I saw, a little farther on, a trail in the snow -which excited -my interest, and I impatiently waited for him to finish his devotions -to -call his attention to it.</p> -<p>"Look! There's the trail of a bear!" I said, although it -seemed odd to -me that a bear should be wandering round in the dead of winter.</p> -<p>We hurried over to it. What we saw made us stare wildly round -with -fright, while we quickly strung our bows. It was the trail of a man on -long, narrow web shoes—an Indian, of course, and therefore an enemy. -The trail was fresh, too, apparently as fresh as our own. And but a -moment before, Pitamakan had been singing at the top of his voice!</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER -IX</a></h2> -<p class="p2">Crossing the valley from south to north in -front of us, the -snowshoe -trail disappeared, a hundred yards away, in a clump of pines. The -Indian, brushing against a branch, had relieved it of its weight of -snow, and its dark green foliage stood out in sharp contrast with the -prevailing white. There was a chance that he might still be in that -thicket.</p> -<p>"We must know if he is there," said Pitamakan. "Though he -didn't hear us -we must still know whence this enemy came, and why, and where he is -going."</p> -<p>We began by going cautiously round the pines. From a distance, -we could -see the trail coming out of them on the farther side and going on -straight to the river, where the water fell in cascades over a wide -series of low, broken reefs. From there the trail followed the edge of -the open water down past the last of the falls, and then showed plain -on the frozen river as far as we could see.</p> -<p>Venturing now to follow it to the cascades, we learned at a -glance, on -arriving there, why the lone traveler had come into our peaceful -valley. -At the edge of the water the snow was all trampled down, and the prints -of bare feet in it showed that the man had been wading in the river. -Scattered on the packed snow were several fragments of dark green rock, -one of which Pitamakan picked up and examined.</p> -<p>"This is what he came after," he said. "It is pipestone and -very soft. -Both the Kootenays and the Flatheads make their pipes of it because it -is so easily worked into shape."</p> -<p>"Where do you think he came from?" I asked.</p> -<p>"From the camp of his people. These mountain Indians winter -down along -their big lake. Very little snow falls there, and horse-feed is always -good."</p> -<p>"Well, if he came from down there, why do we find his trail to -this -place coming straight across the valley from the south?"</p> -<p>"Ah, that is so!" Pitamakan exclaimed. "Come on! We must find -out about -that."</p> -<p>We took the man's back trail, and, passing our deadfall, -paused to note -how plainly it could be seen from several points along the way. It was -a -wonder that he had noticed neither the deadfall nor our hard-packed, -snowshoe trail.</p> -<p>"The gods were certainly good to us!" my partner exclaimed. -"They caused -him to look the other way as he passed."</p> -<p>The back trail led us straight to the foot of the steep -mountain rising -from the valley. There, in several places, the snow was scraped away to -the ground, where evidently the man had searched for the pipestone -ledge -that was probably exposed somewhere near. Failing to find it, he had -been obliged to go to the river and wade to the place where it again -cropped out. His trail to the side hill came straight up the valley.</p> -<p>We certainly had something to think and talk about now—and -also to -worry about. Others of the enemy might come after pipestone, and there -was our trail running straight to the place. Going back to the -deadfall, -we took out the fisher, but did not reset the trap; for we determined -not to go thereafter within several miles of the pipestone falls. -Another heavy snowfall would pretty much obliterate our trail, and we -prayed that it would soon come. From that day, indeed, our sense of -peace and security was gone.</p> -<p>Sitting within the lodge, we always had the feeling that the -enemy might -be close by, waiting to shoot us when we stepped outside. On the daily -rounds of our traps we were ever watching places where a foe might be -lying in wait. Pitamakan said that the only thing for us to do was to -make strong medicine. Accordingly, he gave our bearskin to the sun; he -lashed it firmly in the fork of a tree, and made a strong prayer to the -shining god to guard us from being ambushed by the enemy.</p> -<p>Although we had long since lost track of the days of the week, -we agreed -in thinking that the discovery of the man's trail took place in "the -moon before the moon when the web-feet come"; or, as the white man -would -say, in February. At the end of the next moon, then,—in March,—spring -would come on the plains. Up where we were, however, the snow would -last -much longer—probably until May. Pitamakan said that we must leave the -valley long before then, because with the first signs of spring the -deer -would be working back into the high mountains, and the Kootenays would -follow them.</p> -<p>"How can we do that when, as you say, the pass cannot be -crossed until -summer?" I asked.</p> -<p>"There is another pass to the south of us," he replied, "the -Two -Medicine pass. There is no dangerous place anywhere along it."</p> -<p>"Then we can easily get out of here!" I exclaimed. "Let us -start soon."</p> -<p>He shook his head. "No," he said. "We can't go until the snow -melts from -the low country where the Kootenays and Flatheads winter. We have to go -down there to make our start on the Two Medicine trail."</p> -<p>"Why so?" said I, in surprise. "Why can't we go straight south -from here -until we strike it?"</p> -<p>He laughed grimly.</p> -<p>"Between us and the trail lie many cañons and many mountains -that none -but the birds can cross. Besides, along each stream is a trail used by -these Indians in their hunts up toward the backbone of the range, which -is like the trail that crosses over to the Two Medicine. I could not -recognize the right one when we came to it, and we should follow up one -after another, and wear ourselves out. I remember some landmarks only -where the right trail leaves the lake and enters the heavy timber, and -from that place we have to start. Also, we have to start from there on -bare ground; for if we started on the snow, our trail would be seen and -followed, and that would be the end for us."</p> -<p>"Well, then, let's go up and look at the summit of our pass," -I -proposed. "It may not be so bad as you think. Perhaps we can find some -way to cross the dangerous place."</p> -<p>He objected that we should waste our time, but I kept urging -that we -must overlook no possible chance to escape to the plains, until finally -I persuaded him. One bright morning we put on our snowshoes and -started. -As the going was good on the deep, settled snow, we were not long in -covering the distance to the Salt Springs. Up and down the -mountainside, -all round them, was a perfect network of goat trails in the snow, and -here and there were large and small groups of the strange, uncouth -animals, some lying down, some sitting and staring dejectedly off into -space, while still others were cropping lichens from wind-swept, rocky -walls. Although several of them were less than three hundred yards -away, they paid no attention to us.</p> -<p>After watching some that were feeding on the cliff wall, where -they -looked as if they were pasted to it, we came to the conclusion that -they -could travel where a bighorn would certainly fall and be dashed to -pieces. One old billy-goat was almost human in the way in which he got -over difficult places. After standing on his hind legs and gathering -all -the lichen within reach he concluded to ascend to the next shelf. Since -there was not room for him to back away for a leap, he placed his -forefeet over the edge, and drew himself up on to it—exactly as a man -draws himself up by the sheer muscular strength of his arms.</p> -<p>Not far beyond the springs, we left the last of the timber and -began the -ascent of the summit proper, and soon came into the zone of terrific -winds; but fortunately for us, there was scarce a breath stirring that -day. The snow was so hard-packed by the wind that when we removed our -snowshoes, our moccasined feet left no impressions in it. The rocky -slopes facing the northwest were absolutely bare, while those pitching -the other way lay buried under drifts from five to fifty feet and more -in depth.</p> -<p>Late in the afternoon we came to the west end of the pass, -having made -twice as good time in the ascent as we had in the descent in the autumn -with horses. I needed but one glance at the place to be convinced that -it was impassable. The steep slide where my horse and I had so nearly -been lost was buried deep in snow; towering above it were heavy, -greenish, concave drifts of snow clinging to the knife-edge wall and -likely to topple over at any moment. Our weight might, and probably -would, start an avalanche rushing down the slide and off into abysmal -space. We stood in the trail of several goats, which had ventured out -on -the slide for a few yards, abruptly turned and retraced their steps.</p> -<p>"Even they feared to cross," said Pitamakan. "Come on! Let's -go home."</p> -<p>I was so disappointed that I had not a word to say on the way -down. We -reached the lodge late in the night, made sure that no one had been -near -it during our absence, and after building a good fire and eating some -roast meat, crawled into our fur bag, nearly worn out. It had been a -long, hard day.</p> -<p>At this time our catch of fur began to decrease rapidly. It is -my belief -that the predatory as well as the herbivorous animals never stray very -far from the place where they are born.</p> -<p>A case in point is that of an old grizzly bear, whose trail -could not be -mistaken because he had lost a toe from his left front foot. Every -three -weeks he crossed the outlet of the Upper St. Mary's Lake, wandered up -into the Red Eagle Valley, swung round northward along the back-bone of -the Rockies to the Swift Current Waters, and thence down across the -outlet again. Observation of other animals also leads me to believe -that they all have their habitual rounds. If this is so, it explains -why -it was that our deadfalls held fewer and fewer prizes for us, until -finally three or four days would pass without our finding even a marten -to reward us for our long, weary tramps.</p> -<p>The days now grew noticeably longer and warmer, until finally -snow-shoeing was impossible after nine or ten o'clock in the morning. -The warm sun turned the snow into large, loose, water-saturated grains -which would give way every few steps and let us down clear to the -ground, often in places where the snow was so deep that we stood, so to -speak, in a greenish well from which we had to look straight up to see -the sky. It was very difficult to get out of such places.</p> -<p>Toward the end of our stay we did most of our tramping in the -early -morning, when the snow was covered with so hard a crust by the night's -frost that it would hold us up without snowshoes.</p> -<p>One evening we heard the distant cry of wild geese. That was -our signal -for departure. We made a last round of the deadfalls, sprung each one -that was set, and the next day made up two bundles of the peltries that -we were to take with us. There were in all sixty-one marten, ten -fisher, -seventeen mink, five wolverene, one mountain-lion, eight lynx, and two -otter skins. Fortunately, there was little weight in all that number, -and we bound them so compactly that there was little bulk. A quantity -of -moose meat, cut into thin sheets and dried, made up the rest of our -pack. Nor did we forget the fire-drill and a small, hard piece of birch -wood that had been seasoning by the fire all the winter for a drill -base.</p> -<p>The goatskin sleeping-bag was too heavy to take along; it -would have -added much to our comfort, of course, but there was now no night cold -enough to be very disagreeable so long as we could have fire, and of -that we were assured. However, Pitamakan did not intend that the bag -should be wasted; almost the last thing that he did was to make an -offering of it to the sun. Lashing the bundle in a tree, he prayed that -we might survive all perils by the way, and soon reach the lodges of -our -people.</p> -<p>At sundown we ate our last meal in the lodge and enjoyed for -the last -time its cheerful shelter. Somehow, as we sat by the fire, we did not -feel like talking. To go away and leave the little home to the elements -and the prowlers of the night was like parting forever from some near -and dear friend.</p> -<p>We waited several hours, until the frost hardened the snow; -then putting -on the snowshoes and slinging the packs, we started away down the -valley. There was certainly a lump in my throat as I turned for a last -look at the lodge, with the smoke of its fire curling up from it and -beckoning us back to rest and sleep.</p> -<p>Until midnight the stiffening crust occasionally broke and let -us down; -but after that time it became so hard that, taking off our snowshoes -and slinging them to the packs, we made remarkable time down the valley.</p> -<p>After passing the pipestone falls, we entered country new to -us, where -the valley became much wider. Every mile or two a branch came into the -river, which we were obliged to ford, for the ice had gone out of the -streams. It was no fun to remove moccasins and leggings, wade through -the icy water, and then put them on in the snow on the other side.</p> -<p>For several weeks avalanches had been thundering down the -mountain-sides -all round us, and this night they seemed more frequent than ever. Once -one tore its way to the valley just behind us. Not an hour later, -Pitamakan's pack-thong broke, and let his bundle down into the snow. As -we stopped to retie it, there came the rumbling of an avalanche, -apparently right over our heads.</p> -<p>I thought that it would strike the valley not far below us. -"Come! Get -up!" I cried. "Let's run back as fast as we can!"</p> -<p>"Not so! We must run the other way. Can't you hear? It is -going to -strike either where we are, or close behind us," Pitamakan answered; -and -grasping my arm, he tried to make me go forward with him.</p> -<p>"Can't you hear it there?" I shouted, taking hold of him in my -turn and -pulling the other way. "It is coming down right where we stand, or not -far below here!"</p> -<p>And thus we stood while the dreadful noise increased, until it -seemed as -if the world was being rent wide open. There was a confusion of -thunderous sound—the grinding of rocks and ice, the crashing and -snapping of great trees. The avalanche came nearer with <a name="terrific"></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;">terrific</span> -speed, -until finally it filled all the region round with such a deafening -noise -that it was impossible even to guess where it would sweep down into the -valley.</p> -<p>We ran a few steps upstream, then as many more back, and -finally stood -trembling, quite uncertain which way to fly. But only for a moment; -just -ahead of us the great forest trees began to leap out and downward from -the steep mountain-side, and then the mass of the avalanche burst into -the flat and piled up a hundred feet deep before us—a dirty ridge of -wrecked mountain-side that extended away across the valley to the -river. -There was a last rumble and cracking of branches as it settled, and -then -all was still.</p> -<p style="text-align: center;" class="p2"><a name="The_Avalanche_burst_into_the_flat"></a><img style="width: 500px; height: 640px;" alt="The Avalanche burst into the flat" src="images/illo_221.jpg" /></p> -<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="smcap">The -Avalanche burst into the flat</span></p> -<p class="p2">"You see that I was right," I said. "It did -strike below us."</p> -<p>"Yes, you heard better than I did," my partner admitted, "but -that is -not what saved us. I am sure that the gods caused the pack-thong to -break and stop us; otherwise we should have been right in the path of -the slide."</p> -<p>Re-slinging our packs, we climbed the rough mass of the slide, -round and -over big boulders, ice blocks, and tree trunks, through piles of brush -and broken branches. At the apex of the heap Pitamakan reached down, -pulled something from the earth-stained snow, and passed it to me. It -was the head and -neck of a mountain goat, crushed almost flat, the flesh of which was -still warm.</p> -<p>"You see what would have happened to us if my pack-thong had -not -broken," he said grimly.</p> -<p>"It must be that many goats perish in this way," I remarked.</p> -<p>"Yes, and also many bighorn," he said. "I have heard the old -hunters say -that the bears, when they first come out in the spring, get their -living -from these slides. They travel from one to another, and paw round in -search of the dead animals buried in them."</p> -<p>At daylight we entered an open park where we could see back -toward the -summit. There was no doubt that we had traveled a long way during the -night, for the mountain opposite our abandoned lodge looked twenty -miles -distant. The valley here was fully a mile wide, and the mountains -bordering it were covered with pines clear to the summit. They were not -more than a thousand feet high, and the western rim of them seemed not -more than fifteen miles away. We believed that from where they ended -the distance could not be great to the lake of the Flatheads.</p> -<p>Down here the snow was only about four feet deep, less than -half the -depth of it where we had wintered. The air became warm much earlier in -the morning than it did up there. Using the snowshoes now, as the crust -was getting weak, we kept going, although very tired. During the two -hours that we were able to travel after sunrise, we passed great -numbers -of elk, and not a few moose, and when, finally, the snow grew spongy -and -obliged us to stop for the day, we were plainly within the deer range, -for both white-tail and mule-deer were as plentiful as jack-rabbits are -in certain parts of the plains.</p> -<p>We stopped for our much-needed rest on a bare sandbar of the -river, and -with bow and drill started a little fire and roasted some dry meat. The -sun shone warm there, and after eating, we lay down on the sand and -slept until almost night.</p> -<p>Starting on again as soon as the snow crusted, we traveled the -rest of -the night without any trouble, and soon after daybreak suddenly passed -the snow-line and stepped into green-sprouting grass. The summer birds -had come, and were singing all round us. A meadow-lark, on a bush close -by, was especially tuneful, and Pitamakan mocked it:</p> -<p>"<i>Kit-ah-kim ai-siks-is-to-ki!</i>" (Your sister -is dark-complexioned!) he -cried gleefully. "Oh, no, little yellow-breast, you make a mistake. I -have no sister."</p> -<p>We were in the edge of a fine prairie dotted with groves of -pine and -cottonwood. The land sloped gently to the west. I thought that it could -not be far in that direction to the big lake, but Pitamakan said that -it -was way off to the southwest, perhaps two days' journey from where we -were. Suddenly he fell on his knees and began with feverish haste to -dig -up a slender, green-leaved plant.</p> -<p>"It is camass!" he cried, holding it up and wiping the earth -from the -white, onion-shaped root. "Dig! Dig! See, there are plenty of them all -round. Eat plenty of them. They are good."</p> -<p>So they were; crisp, starchy, and rather sweet. After our -winter-long -diet of meat, they were exactly what our appetites craved and our -systems needed. We made a meal of them right there. For once hunger got -the better of our caution. Laying down our pack and snowshoes, we dug -up -root after root, all the time moving out into prairie farther and -farther from the edge of the timber.</p> -<p>"Come on! Let's get our packs and hide somewhere for the day," -I said -finally. "I am filled with these things to the neck."</p> -<p>"Oh, wait a little; I want a few more," my partner answered.</p> -<p>Just then a band of deer burst out of a cottonwood grove about -five -hundred yards to the west of us, and as we sat staring and wondering -what had startled them, three Indians came riding like the wind round -one side of the grove, and four more appeared on the other side, in -swift pursuit of the animals.</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<h2 class="p4"><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER -X</a></h2> -<p class="p2">"Don't you move!" Pitamakan exclaimed.</p> -<p>He spoke just in time, for I was on the point of springing up -and -running for the timber. The game—they were mule-deer, which are not -fleet runners, like the white-tail—came bouncing awkwardly toward us, -while the Indians gained on them perceptibly. Never before had I felt -that I was a giant; but as I sat there in the short grass of the open -prairie, I felt as if my body was actually towering into the sky. I -instinctively tried to make myself of smaller size. All my muscles -quivered and contracted so tensely that the feeling was painful. "Oh, -come!" I cried. "Can't you see that they—"</p> -<p>"Be still!" Pitamakan broke in. "The wind is from us to them. -The deer -will soon turn. Our one chance is to sit motionless. They haven't seen -us yet."</p> -<p>The deer came steadily toward us, jumping awkwardly and high. -They were -now less than four hundred yards away, and although the wind was -increasing, they gave no sign of having scented us.</p> -<p>"They must turn soon," Pitamakan said. "But if they don't, and -you see -that the Indians are coming for us, string your bow. Let us fight our -best until our end comes."</p> -<p>That had been my thought. I had two of our five -obsidian-pointed arrows. -If worse came to worst, I hoped that I should be able to speed them -swift and true. Now the deer were less than three hundred yards from -us, -and I gave up all hope that they would turn. To me the Indians seemed -to -be staring straight at us instead of at the animals.</p> -<p>I had started to reach for my bow and arrows, which lay on the -ground -beside me, when the deer did turn, suddenly and sharply to the right. -The pursuers, turning also, almost at the same time, gained -considerably on them. I realized that we had not been discovered.</p> -<p>The leading hunter now raised his gun and fired. The hornless -old buck -at the head of the band sharply shook his head, and holding it askew as -if the bullet had stung it, swerved to the right again, directly away -from us. The herd followed him, while the hunters again made a short -cut -toward them and began shooting. Their backs were now to us.</p> -<p>"Run! Run for the timber!" my partner commanded; and grabbing -my bow and -arrows, I followed him, faster, probably, than I had ever run before. -It -was a hundred yards or more to the timber. As we neared it, I began to -hope that we should get into its shelter unseen. Behind us the hunters -kept shooting at the deer, but neither of us took time to look back -until we came to our packs, and paused to lift them and the snowshoes.</p> -<p>At that very moment the war-cry of the enemy was raised, and -we knew -that they had discovered us. We looked, and saw that they were coming -our way as fast as their horses could lope. And how they did yell! -There -was menace in those shrill staccato yelps.</p> -<p>"We must leave the furs. Just take your snowshoes and come -on," said -Pitamakan, and I grabbed them up and followed him.</p> -<p style="text-align: center;"><a name="I_grabbed_them_up_and_followed_him"></a><img class="p2" style="width: 500px; height: 583px;" alt="I grabbed them up and followed him" src="images/illo_233.jpg" /></p> -<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="smcap">I -grabbed them up and followed him</span></p> -<p class="p2">It was <a name="only"></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;">only</span> a few -yards back in the timber -to the snow-line. -Upon -reaching it, I threw down my shoes, stuck my toes into the loops, and -was starting on without fastening the ankle-thongs, when my partner -ordered me to tie them properly. It seemed to me that my fingers had -never been so clumsy.</p> -<p>We stepped up on the snow, and found that the crust was still -strong -enough to bear our weight, although it cracked and gave slightly where -the centre of the poor webbing sagged under our feet. At the edge of -the -prairie the timber was scattering; but back a short distance there were -several dense thickets, and back of them again was the line of the -heavy pine forest. We made for the nearest thicket, while the yells of -the enemy sounded nearer and louder at every step we took.</p> -<p>It was easy to guess when they came to the fur packs, for -there was a -momentary stop in the war-cries as they loudly disputed over the -possession of them. Then, abandoning their horses, they began shooting -at us as they advanced into the snow, through which they broke and -floundered at almost every step.</p> -<p>The advantage was now all with us, provided we were not hit. -Once I -stopped behind a tree for an instant and looked back. Three of the men -had not tried to come on over the snow, but standing at the edge of it, -loaded and fired as fast as possible. The others were doing their best -to advance over the crust, and had our plight not been so desperate, I -should have laughed to see them. They stepped gingerly, teetering along -with open mouths and arms outspread, and sometimes the -crust would -bear their weight for three or four paces, and so increase their -confidence that they would quicken their speed, only to break through -and sink waist-deep.</p> -<p>I pushed a flap of my old capote out from the tree as far as I -could -with the bow, in the hope of drawing their fire; but, finding that they -were not to be caught by any such ruse, I hurried on. Then several -bullets came so close to me that I could feel the wind from them; one -struck a tree which I was passing, and flicked off bits of bark, which -stung my left cheek and cut the lobe of my left ear. When the enemy saw -me raise my hand to my face, they yelled with triumph, and Pitamakan -turned to see what had happened.</p> -<p>"Go on! It is nothing!" I called out.</p> -<p>At that instant another shot was fired, and I thought that I -heard my -partner give a little cry of pain; but he did not flinch, and continued -on as rapidly as before. When I came where he had been, however, I saw -that his trail was bloody, and I feared the worst, for I well knew that -even with a death-wound he would keep on bravely to the very end. The -rest of the run to the thicket was like some terrible dream to me, for -I -expected that every step he made would be his last. But finally he -passed into the screen of young evergreens, and a moment later I was -beside him, asking how badly he was hurt.</p> -<p>"It is only a flesh-wound here," he answered, gripping the -inner part of -his left thigh. "Come on, we mustn't stop."</p> -<p>As the enemy could no longer see us, we made our way to the -line of big -timber without fear of their bullets. They gave a few last yells as we -went into the thicket, and shouted some words at us, which of course we -could not understand. And then all was still.</p> -<p>Without a word, Pitamakan went on and on up the steep -mountain-side, and -I sadly followed him. Soon, coming to an opening in the timber, we -stepped out into it, until we could get a good view of the plain below. -The Indians were riding back to where they had chased the deer. Soon -they dismounted and began skinning two that they had killed. We removed -our snowshoes and sat down on them. Pitamakan let down his legging and -washed his wound with snow; the bullet had split open the skin for a -length of several inches, but fortunately, had not torn the muscles. As -soon as the wound was washed and dry, I went over to a balsam fir and -gathered the contents of three or four blisters, which he smeared all -over the raw place. In a few minutes he said that the pungent, sticky -stuff had stopped the burning of the wound.</p> -<p>We were two sad boys that morning. The loss of the furs, for -which we -had worked so hard all winter, was not easy to bear. Every few minutes -Pitamakan would cry out to his gods to punish the thieves, and my heart -was as sore against them as his. With the fur packs we had lost also -our -fire-drill and socket piece.</p> -<p>"But that doesn't matter," Pitamakan said. "We have good bows -and can -make a drill at any time. Perhaps we shall never again have any use for -one!"</p> -<p>"How so? Are we never to eat again? Shall we not need fire of -nights to -keep us warm?" I asked.</p> -<p>"Maybe we shall and maybe not," Pitamakan replied. "It is not -likely -that those hunters will go home without trying to take our scalps with -them; we'll soon know about that."</p> -<p>We watched the men in silence for some little time. Four of -them were -round one deer, and three were at work skinning the other. Soon, -however, one man left each group and began cutting willows. Soon -afterward we saw that those remaining had got the deer hides off and -were cutting them into strips.</p> -<p>"I thought that they would do that," said my partner. "They -are going to -make snowshoes and follow us. Hurry now, and fasten on your shoes!"</p> -<p>I did as I was told and asked no questions. Pitamakan limped -badly when -he started off, but made light of his lameness and insisted that he -felt -no pain. By this time the sun was fast weakening the crust; in a short -time neither we nor our enemy would be able to travel, and I told my -partner that while they were making their shoes, we ought to get so far -ahead that they never would be able to overtake us.</p> -<p>"They are seven, we only two," he said. "They will break trail -by turns -when the snow gets soft. Our chance to escape is to get back to the dry -prairie while they are climbing the mountain on our trail."</p> -<p>That was a plan that had never entered my head, but I -instantly saw its -possibilities. Left to my own resources, I should only have struggled -on -and on into the mountains, eventually to be captured.</p> -<p>For an hour or more, just as long as the crust would hold, we -kept along -the side of the mountain parallel with the river; then, when the crust -at last broke with us at every step, we took off our snowshoes and -floundered down the tremendously steep slope to the stream, and turning -with it, walked and ran along the gravelly and sandy shore.</p> -<p>So, not later than mid-afternoon, we came again to the foot of -the -mountain, and walking to the edge of the timber bordering the river, -looked out on the prairie from which we had been driven in the morning.</p> -<p>"<i>Sum-is! Sum-is!</i>" Pitamakan cried, pointing -away south to the place of -the deer chase.</p> -<p>"<i>I-kit-si-kum! Sap-un-is-tsim!</i>" (Seven! The -whole number!) I -exclaimed. The horses of the enemy were picketed out there and quietly -grazing, but not one of the hunters was to be seen. It seemed too good -to be true.</p> -<p>We stood still for some time, while we searched the prairie -and the -mountain-side for sign of the enemy.</p> -<p>"They seem all to have taken our trail," said Pitamakan, at -last, "and -maybe that is the way of it. If one has remained to watch the horses, -he must be lying in that little pine grove near them. Let's go down the -river a little farther, then swing round and sneak into the grove from -the other side."</p> -<p>We hurried on in the river-bottom for half a mile, and then -swung out -across the open ground. Our hearts throbbed with hope, and with fear, -too, as we approached the one place where a guard might be stationed.</p> -<p>Stealing into the little grove as silently as shadows, we -moved through -it so slowly that a red squirrel digging in the needle-covered earth -near by never noted our passing. There was not more than an acre of the -young trees, and they covered a space twice as long as wide, so we were -able to see every foot of it as we passed along. When we were nearing -the farther end, a coyote gave us a terrible scare; as he rose up -behind -a thin screen of low boughs, we could not see at first just what it -was.</p> -<p>I have heard of people turning cold from fear; maybe they do, -but fear -does not affect me in that way. A flash of heat swept through me; my -mouth grew dry. My sense of being perfectly helpless, my expectation -that a bullet would come tearing into me, was something that I shall -never forget.</p> -<p>This time the suspense was short; the coyote walked boldly off -in the -direction in which we were going, and since the wind was in our faces, -we instantly realized that no man was concealed out there ahead of him. -Still, Pitamakan was cautious and, in spite of my urgent signs, kept on -as stealthily as before. But when we came to the edge of the grove, we -saw the coyote was walking jauntily round among the feeding horses.</p> -<p>Off to the right, near one of the deer carcasses, lay the -hunters' -saddles, saddle-blankets and other stuff. We found also a litter of -willow cuttings and short strips of deer hide where the hunters had -made -their snowshoes. The saddles were all home-made, but better than none. -We each selected one and the best of the blankets, and began saddling -the two most sturdy and swift-looking of the seven animals. That done, -we turned the remaining five loose, after removing their lariats and -throwing them away. Then we got into the saddle and started to gather -up -the loose stock, when I suddenly thought of something that we had -entirely forgotten in our excitement.</p> -<p>"Pitamakan! Our furs! Where can they be?" I asked.</p> -<p>"There! There!" he answered, pointing to where the other deer -carcass -lay.</p> -<p>And sure enough, there the two packs were, just as we had -bound them.</p> -<p>Here was more luck! We lost no time in riding over to the -place and -picking them up; then, driving the other horses ahead of us, we rode -away to the southwest as fast as possible. Somewhere on the big, -timbered mountain behind us, the enemy were worming along on our trail; -or, what is more likely, completely exhausted from struggling in the -soft snow, they were waiting for the night freeze, to enable them to go -on.</p> -<p>The loose horses trotted ahead of us most -willingly—suspiciously so; -and in the course of half an hour, on our coming to a strip of timber, -the reason for such unusual conduct was plain. Here was a broad, hard -trail that led, no doubt, directly to the camp which they had come from -in the morning. Of course they were willing to be driven back to their -mates! And now, as we pushed along this highway, one and another of -them -began to nicker, a sure sign that the camp was not far distant.</p> -<p>There were only three or four hundred yards of the timber, and -then -another big prairie; and at the farther end of this, a couple of miles -away, smoke was rising from another patch of timber, near which many -horses were grazing.</p> -<p>"There! There is the camp of the enemy!" Pitamakan cried. -"Already they -may have seen us! Let's get back into the timber as quick as we can."</p> -<p>That was not easy to do; the loose stock wanted to keep right -on toward -their mates, and it required hard riding to head them off and turn them -back. And then when we did accomplish it, they were very restless; it -was only by the greatest vigilance that we kept them from breaking back.</p> -<p>While the sun slowly sank toward the horizon, we waited in -suspense, for -there was a chance that the party of seven, or some other party, might -appear at any moment. The thought that, after our great success of the -day, we might lose everything, and our lives also, kept us keyed up to -an intense pitch of excitement.</p> -<p>Toward sunset there was a commotion among the horse herds at -the farther -end of the prairie, and two riders came loping straight toward us. At -first we were not much alarmed, for we thought that they were only -looking for some stray animal from the bands; but they kept coming -straight on, looking neither to the right nor to the left, and it was -soon plain, either that they had seen us and were going to have a look -at our outfit, or that they were going to take the trail through the -timber, in search, probably, of the missing hunters whose horses we had -rounded up. There was but one thing for us to do—hustle the animals as -far from the trail as possible; and going at it in a whirl of -excitement, we hissed at them, flicked them with our bridle-ropes, and -struck them with dead limbs that we snatched from the trees.</p> -<p>Never were horses so obstinate; they simply ducked their heads -to the -missiles and milled round and round among the trees and underbrush. We -had got them no more than a bow-shot away from the trail, when, looking -out into the open, we saw that the riders had almost reached the thin -belt of timber that screened us.</p> -<p>"Get off your horse and try to hold him still there behind -that brush!" -my partner called out; and off I slid and grasped the animal by the -nose -and one ear.</p> -<p>We could plainly hear now the thud of the oncoming horses. If -one of the -seven animals we had should nicker, we were lost. Presently the two -riders entered the timber, and we could see them plainly as they sped -along the trail. Tall, heavy men they were, with long, flying hair and -grim faces. Each carried a long gun.</p> -<p>When they came in sight, my animal pricked up his ears and -began to -prance and toss his head, but I hung to him desperately, although I was -hoisted more than once clear off the ground. As I swung and bobbed in -the air, I got flashing glimpses of the enemy, of Pitamakan struggling -with his animal, and of the loose stock looking curiously at the scene. -I expected every instant that one of them would whinny, but not one of -them did!</p> -<p>The two men passed swiftly along the trail out of sight, and -the beat -of their horses' hoofs died slowly away. Then once more we took hope.</p> -<p>The sun was down and darkness was stealing over the land. -Faint from -this last narrow escape, we got into the saddle once more, and leaving -the loose stock to stray whither they would, rode out into the open and -took a course down the prairie that would leave the big camp far to our -right. Passing it a little later, we could see the dim, yellow glow of -the lodge fires, and hear the people singing, and the dogs barking now -and then in answer to the mocking yelps of the coyotes.</p> -<p>We traveled on through the night in a partly timbered country, -and, by -God's mercy, safely forded some streams that were raging spring -torrents. It was between midnight and dawn that we finally gave out, -and, picketing our animals, lay down and slept. But the first peep of -the sun roused us. Staggering to our feet, stiff and sore, we saddled, -and rode on again in a half stupor. It was past noon when, from the -edge of a sloping plain, we saw the big lake of the Flatheads. -Pitamakan -knew the place at once.</p> -<p>"Down there by the shore was the big camp the time we were -here," he -said, "and over there by the side of that little river runs the trail -to -buffalo land."</p> -<p>We came to it a little later, a broad, well-worn trail that -had been -used for countless years for summer travel by the mountain tribes. -There -were no tracks in it now save those of the wolf and the deer. -Dismounting beside it to rest the horses, we took a few bites of dry -meat, while they greedily cropped the tender spring grass.</p> -<p>We did not remain there long. Behind us stretched the trail of -our -horses, plain enough in the young green grass, a trail that could be -easily followed from where we had first taken the animals. We went on -all through the afternoon eastward into the mountains. Here the -mountains were low, and in the still lower pass there was no snow to -block us. Indeed, Two Medicine Pass is so low that you cannot tell when -you pass the summit except by the changed course of the streamlets.</p> -<p>Late the next afternoon we caught a glimpse of the great -plains, -stretching green from the foot of the mountains away eastward to the -far -horizon; and at sight of them we both shouted, and Pitamakan gave -thanks -to his gods. Down at the foot of the mountains we saw a little later -four buffalo bulls, and gave greeting to them as if they were our -brothers. But not appreciating our feelings, they ran lumbering away.</p> -<p>Two days afterward we came to the edge of the hill overlooking -Fort -Benton and the Missouri, our stream of streams. The sight of it, and of -our own people walking here and there outside the fort and along the -river, brought tears to our eyes and great joy and peace to our hearts.</p> -<p>We urged our weary horses down the hill and across the bottom. -An Indian -boy, hunting horses, met us while we were yet some distance out, gave -one look at our faces, and fled straight to the Blackfeet camp by the -fort.</p> -<p>The people instantly poured out of the lodges and came running -to greet -us. Surrounded by several hundred of them, all talking at once and -asking a thousand questions, we rode into the great courtyard. There, -foremost of the company folk who came out to see what was the cause of -all the noise, were my uncle and his wife.</p> -<p>They fairly tore me from my horse, smothered and crushed me -with kisses -and embraces, and were for leading me straight to our quarters; but I -would not budge an inch until I had secured my precious pack of furs -from the saddle and had given the worn animal into the keeping of one -of -Pitamakan's relatives.</p> -<p>By that time the factor himself had come from his office, and -I had then -and there to tell the story of our winter and our hardships in the -great -mountains. How the people hung upon my words, how they applauded and -cheered! Without doubt those were the proudest moments of my life. For -a -mere boy to hold those seasoned old voyageurs and plainsmen spellbound -was something of a feat, you may be sure.</p> -<p>But at last it was all over, and once more I entered our -little house -and sat down on my own soft couch of buffalo-robes. As the evening was -chilly, a cheerful fire was blazing in the hearth. Tsis-tsak-ki bustled -round, and while cooking the supper, managed to get out clean clothes -for me, and get ready a tub of water, soap, and towels. Never before -had -I seen my Uncle Wesley so excited; he could not sit still. Every few -moments he would come over and pinch my arm, or slap me on my back, -just -to make sure, as he explained, that I was really with them once more.</p> -<p>So ended my first great adventure on the frontier that was, -and is no -more.</p> -<p style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" class="p4">THE -END</p> -<p class="pagenum"><a href="#toc">Table -of Contents</a></p> -<p style="text-align: center;" class="p4"> -The Riverside Press<br /> -CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS<br /> -U . S . A</p> -<div style="text-align: left;" class="p4 transnote bbox"> -<p class="smcap" style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">Transcriber's -Note:</p> -<p>Table of Contents has been added.</p> -<p>Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been -retained -except in obvious cases of typographical error; the corrected words are -shown underlined in the text:<br /> -</p> -<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><a href="#miserable">Page -092</a>: misererable —> miserable<br /> -<a href="#terrific">Page 219:</a> - teriffic -—> terrific<br /> -<a href="#only">Page 236:</a> - only only —> -only<br /> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of With the Indians in the Rockies, by -James Willard Schultz - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE INDIANS IN THE ROCKIES *** - -***** This file should be named 42274-h.htm or 42274-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/2/7/42274/ - -Produced by Nicole Henn-Kneif, Greg Bergquist and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - -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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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: With the Indians in the Rockies - -Author: James Willard Schultz - -Illustrator: George Varian - -Release Date: March 8, 2013 [EBook #42274] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE INDIANS IN THE ROCKIES *** - - - - -Produced by Nicole Henn-Kneif, Greg Bergquist and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - -Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained -except in obvious cases of typographical error: - - Line 1399: misererable --> miserable - Line 3571: teriffic --> terrific - Line 3736: only only --> only - -Italic printed text has been formatted as _text_. - -Fraktur printed text has been formatted as =text=. - - - - - With the Indians in the Rockies - - - [Illustration: THE SHALE BEGAN SLIDING UNDER MY FEET (PAGE 51)] - - - - - With the Indians in - The Rockies - - BY - - JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY - - GEORGE VARIAN - - - =London= - CONSTABLE & CO. LIMITED - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - 1912 - - - COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY JAMES WILLARD SCHULTZ - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - - - - THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED - TO MY WIFE - - CELIA HAWKINS SCHULTZ - - WHOSE GOOD COMRADESHIP AND SYMPATHY - HAVE BEEN MY GREATEST HELP - IN WRITING THE TALE - - - - - - Preface - - -When in the seventies I turned my back on civilization and joined the -trappers and traders of the Northwest, Thomas Fox became my friend. We -were together in the Indian camps and trading posts often for months at -a time; he loved to recount his adventures in still earlier days, and -thus it was that I learned the facts of his life. The stories that he -told by the evening camp-fire and before the comfortable fireplaces of -our various posts, on long winter days, were impressed upon my memory, -but to make sure of them I frequently took notes of the more important -points. - -As time passed, I realized more and more how unusual and interesting his -adventures were, and I urged him to write an account of them. He began -with enthusiasm, but soon tired of the unaccustomed work. Later, -however, after the buffalo had been exterminated and we were settled on -a cattle-ranch, where the life was of a deadly monotony compared with -that which we had led, I induced him to take up the narrative once more. -Some parts of it he wrote with infinite detail; other parts consisted -only of dates and a few sentences. - -He was destined never to finish the task. An old bullet wound in his -lung had always kept him in poor health, and when, in the winter of -1885, he contracted pneumonia, the end was quick. His last request was -that I would put his notes in shape for publication. This I have done to -the best of my ability in my own old age; how well I have done it is for -the reader to judge. - -Brave, honest old Ah-ta-to-yi (The Fox), as the Blackfeet and -frontiers-men loved to call him! We buried him on a high bluff -overlooking the valley of the Two Medicine River, and close up to the -foothills of the Rockies, the "backbone-of-the-world" that he loved so -well. After we had filled in the grave and the others had gone, -Pitamakan and I sat by the new-made mound until the setting sun and the -increasing cold warned us also to descend into the valley. The old chief -was crying as we mounted our horses. - -"Although of white skin," he faltered, "the man who lies there was my -brother. I doubt not that I shall soon meet him in the Sand-hills." - - AH-PUN-I LODGE, - February, 1912. - - - - - Illustrations - - - THE SHALE BEGAN SLIDING UNDER MY FEET (page 51) _Frontispiece_ - IT TOPPLED OVER WITH A CRASH AND LAY STILL 14 - AGAIN AND AGAIN IT ROSE 76 - PITAMAKAN FIERCELY STRIKING A BLOW 128 - THE AVALANCHE BURST INTO THE FLAT 200 - I GRABBED THEM UP AND FOLLOWED HIM 210 - - - _Reproduced from drawings by George Varian, - by permission of The Youth's Companion._ - - - - - With the Indians in the Rockies - - - - - CHAPTER I - - -My father kept a little firearm shop in St. Louis. Over it was the -sign:---- - - DAVID FOX & Co. - Wholesale & Retail Guns - & Ammunition. - Fine Rifles & Fowling Pieces - Made To Order. - -"Co." on the sign stood for my uncle, Wesley Fox, who was a silent -partner in the business. Longer than I could remember, he had been an -employee of the American Fur Company away up the Missouri River. - -It was a great event in the quiet life of our little family of three -when he came, as he did every two or three years, to pay us a short -visit. He no sooner set foot in the house than my mother began to cook -bread, cakes, puddings and pies. I have seen him make what he called a -delicious breakfast on nothing but buttered toast and coffee. That was -because he did not get any bread where he lived except on Christmas Day. -Every pound of freight that went up the river above Fort Union in the -company's keel-boats and bateaux was for the Indian trade, and there was -no room for such luxuries as flour. - -While Uncle Wesley was with us, mother always let me put away my books, -and not say any lessons to her, and I went with him everywhere in the -town. That is what St. Louis was in those days--just a good-sized town. -I liked best to go with him to the levee and see the trappers and -traders coming in, their bateaux loaded down with beaver and other fur -pelts. Nearly all these men wore buckskin clothes and moccasins, and -fur caps of their own make. They all had long hair and big whiskers and -mustaches that looked as if they had been trimmed with a butcher-knife. - -Every time my Uncle Wesley came out of the Far West he brought me a bow -and arrows in a fine case and quiver; or a stone-headed war-club; real -weapons that had killed buffalo and been in battles between the tribes. -And once he brought me a Sioux scalp, the heavy braided hair all of four -feet in length. When I asked him where he got it he laughed a little and -said, "Oh, I got it up there near Fort Union." But I had seen my mother -shake her head at him, and by that I knew that I was not to be told -more. I guessed, though, that he had taken that scalp himself, and long -afterward I found out that I had guessed right. - -One night I heard the family talking about me. I had been sent to bed -and was supposed to be asleep, but as the door to my room was open and I -was lying wide awake, I couldn't help hearing. My mother was taking -Uncle Wesley to task. "You know that the presents you bring him only add -to his interest in trapping and trading," she said, "and as it is, we -don't succeed very well in interesting him in his studies, and in the -life we have planned for him." - -"You know how our hearts are set on his going to Princeton," said my -father, in his always low, gentle voice, "and then becoming such a -preacher as his grandfather was before him. You must help us, Wesley. -Show the boy the dark side of the plains life, the hardships and dangers -of it." - -In our little sitting-room there was a picture of Grandfather Fox, a -tall, dark man with a long wig. He wore a long-tailed coat with a -tremendous collar, knee-breeches, black stockings, and shoes with -enormous buckles. I thought that I should not like to be a preacher if -that was the way I must dress. And thinking that, I lost the rest of -what they were saying and fell asleep. - -Uncle Wesley stayed with us only a few days that spring. He intended to -remain a month, but one morning Pierre Chouteau, the head of the great -fur company, came to our house and had a long talk with him, with the -result that he left for Fort Union the very next day, to take the place -of some one who had died there. - -So I went back to my studies, and my parents kept me closer at home than -ever. I was allowed to go out on real play spells only for two hours on -Saturday afternoons. There were very few American boys in the town in -those days. Most of my playmates were French Creoles, who spoke very -little English, or none at all, so naturally I learned their patois. -That knowledge was very useful to me in after days. - -I am going to pass over what I have to say now as quickly as possible, -for even after all these years, and old as I am, the thought of it still -hurts. In February of the following winter my father fell ill of -smallpox and died. Then my mother and I took it, and my mother died -also. - -I did not know anything about her death until many days after she was -buried, and then I wanted to die, too. I felt that there was nothing in -the world for me, until one day Pierre Chouteau himself came for me in -his grand carriage, took me to his house, and kept me there until May, -when my uncle arrived again in St. Louis. - -Uncle Wesley put on what we call "a bold front" when he came to me, but -for all that I could see that he was very sad. We had just one talk -about my future. "I should like to carry out your father's and mother's -plans for you, Tom," he said. "The only way to do it, so far as I can -see, is to send you to Cynthia Mayhew, in Hartford, Connecticut. She -loved your mother,--they were just like sisters,--and I know that she -would be glad to take care of you and see to your education." - -I broke out crying, and said that if he sent me away from him I should -die. How could he be so cruel as to send me far away among strangers? -And then I cried all the harder, although I was ashamed of myself for -doing so. - -Uncle Wesley almost broke down himself. He gulped hard two or three -times, and his voice wasn't steady as he took me on his lap and felt of -my spindling legs and arms. - -"Poor boy! You are weak," he said. "Weak in body and low in mind. Well, -we'll say no more about this matter of your education now. I'll take you -up the river with me for a year, or until you get good and strong. But -we'll pack your study books along, and a good part of your mother's -library, and you'll have to dig into them every evening after we get -settled. Now that's fair, isn't it?" - -It was more than fair. My fondest dream was to be realized. I was -actually to see the country and the Indians and the great herds of -buffalo. There was nothing in St. Louis now to keep my uncle or make -his stay there a pleasure. As quickly as possible he disposed of the -little shop and its contents, and deposited the entire proceeds with the -company for me "for a rainy day," as he said. - -On April 10, 1856, we left St. Louis on the Chippewa, a fine new boat -that the company had just bought. I was thirteen years old, and that was -my first steamboat ride. As the stern-wheel craft swung out from the -levee and steamed rapidly--as it seemed to me--up-stream, the novel -experience gave me the keenest pleasure. I fairly hugged myself as I -remembered that by the channel of the river it was more than two -thousand miles to our destination. - -We no sooner left the Mississippi and turned into the more muddy waters -of the Missouri than I earnestly begged my uncle to get his rifle out of -the cabin and load it, so as to be ready to shoot buffalo. I was -terribly disappointed when he told me that many days must pass before -we should see any of the animals. But to please me he brought the rifle -to the cabin deck and fired a couple of shots at the sawyers in the -river. Again he loaded the piece, and told me to shoot at one. - -"Even boys must know how to shoot where we are going," he said. "Now -take a fine sight at the end of that little sawyer and let's see how -near it you can place a bullet." - -I did as I was told and fired, after a long, wabbly aim; the water -splashed just over the tip of the log, and a number of passengers -clapped their hands and praised me. - -That shot began my training in shooting. Every day after that, until we -got to the game country, I spent an hour shooting at different objects -in the water and on the banks. One morning I fired at one of a pair of -wild geese. The bird gave a flap or two of its great wings, its head -dropped, and it floated inertly with the current. - -"I killed it!" I shouted. "I killed it! Wasn't that a fine shot, uncle?" - -He was silent a moment, and then said gravely:-- - -"It was a thoughtless boy's shot. And I hope it will be the only one. A -true hunter never takes the life of God's creatures needlessly." - -That was all he said, but the reproof was enough. I took it to heart, -and all my life I have not only profited by it, but preached to others -against the wanton taking of life. - -After passing St. Charles, Missouri, the ranches of the settlers were -farther and farther apart, and in a few days we saw the last of them and -were in the wild country. Game now became more and more frequent, -especially white-tail deer, of which we soon had some for the table. The -boat was always tied to an island or to the shore at sundown, and during -the short remainder of daylight we would all scatter in the near timber -to hunt. A number of wild turkeys were killed, which made us some fine -feasts. On these occasions, however, I was only a follower of the -hunters. My red-letter day was yet to come. - -At Fort Pierre we saw a great number of Sioux Indians. Formerly a -company post, it had been sold to the United States, and was now -occupied by several companies of soldiers. Two days after leaving the -fort, we sighted the first of the buffalo herds, a small band of bulls -that splashed out of the river not far ahead of the boat, and took to -the hills. About four o'clock that afternoon, the port engine breaking -down, we had to make a long stop for repairs. As soon as we swung into -the bank and learned that the boat would be tied there for the night, my -uncle got out his rifle, and we went hunting. - -The timber bordering the river was half a mile wide, with an undergrowth -of willow- and rose-brush so thick that we never could have penetrated -it but for the game trails crossing it in every direction. From the -looks of them, I thought that thousands of animals must be living -there. The trails were worn deep by their sharp hoofs. - -In places the earth was moist but hard, and there the tracks were -plainly outlined. My uncle pointed out the difference in them--how the -tracks of the deer differed from those of elk, and how these differed -again from the tracks of the buffalo. I was taught, too, that wolf -tracks were longer than those of the mountain-lion, which were nearly -circular. Finally, I was asked to prove my knowledge. - -"What made those tracks?" I was asked. - -I hesitated a moment, and replied that I thought buffalo had made them. - -"Right," said my uncle. "They seem very fresh; we will follow them." - -The myriad tracks of different game, the mystery of the deep woods, the -thought that hostile Indians might be there hunting us, all combined to -excite me. My heart thumped rapidly and I found it difficult to breathe. -I was afraid, and kept looking intently in all directions--even behind -me, for I expected every moment to see something come charging through -the brush, either to rend us with sharp claws or to stick our bodies -full of arrows. - -But nothing could have induced me to admit that I felt so; gritting my -teeth, I followed on uncertain legs, close at Uncle Wesley's heels. So -close was I that when he suddenly stopped, I bumped into him, and then -gave a little squeal of fright, for I thought that he had discovered -something to justify my fears. - -"_Sh-h-h-h!_" he cautioned, and reaching back and drawing me to his -side, he pointed significantly ahead. - -We were only a few yards from the outer edge of the timber; a hundred -yards farther on were three buffalo bulls, standing motionless on the -open, sparsely grassed bottom-land. How big they were! How majestic and -yet uncouth they loomed before me! They had apparently no necks at all. -Forgetting entirely our purpose in coming there, I stared at them with -intense interest, until my uncle passed me the rifle and whispered, -"Take that farthest one. He is young and in good condition. Aim low, -close behind his shoulder." - -My hands closed on the long-barreled, heavy weapon. Heretofore my boy -strength had been sorely taxed to shoot with it, but now, in my tense -excitement, it fairly leaped to my shoulder, and I was able to hold it -steady. I pulled the trigger. - -_Bang!_ A thick cloud of powder smoke drifted into my face, and then -passed on, and I saw two of the bulls running across the bottom; the -other was swaying, staggering round and round, with blood streaming from -its mouth. Before I could reload, it toppled over with a crash and lay -still. - - [Illustration: IT TOPPLED OVER WITH A CRASH AND LAY STILL] - -I stood staring at the animal like one in a dream; it was hard to -realize that I had actually killed it. Uncle Wesley broke my trance by -praising the shot I had made, and added that the animal was in fine -condition and would weigh all of a ton. He had me lie down on it, my -feet even with its fore feet, and I found that I could not reach the top -of its withers, or rather, its hump: its height had been more than six -feet. - -I now got my first lesson in skinning and butchering one of these great -animals. Without axe or windlass, or any of the other things regarded as -indispensable by farmers and by professional butchers, the old-time -plainsmen made a quick and neat job of this work with only a common -butcher-knife. - -First, my uncle doubled up the bull's fore legs and straightened back -the hind ones. Then, little by little, he twisted the great head sharply -back beside the body, at the same time heaving up the back, and in a -moment or two the animal lay prone on its belly, propped up in that -position by the head. If the skin had been wanted, the rolling-up of the -animal would have been reversed, and it would have lain on its back, -legs up, and as in the other way, propped in position by the bent-back -head. - -After making an incision along the back from head to tail, he skinned -both sides down to the ground, and even under the body, by propping the -head one way and then another, and slanting the carcass so that there -was knife room beneath. At last the body lay free, back up, on the -clean, spread-out skin. - -The choicest part of it was the so-called "hump," or in frontier -language, the "boss ribs." These dorsal ribs rose gradually from the -centre of the back to a length of twenty inches and more just above the -point of the shoulders, and were deeply covered with rich tenderloin. - -It took but a moment to get the set off. Uncle Wesley cut an incision -along each side at the base of them; then he unjointed a hind leg at the -gambrel-joint, and with that for a club he hit the tips of the ribs a -few blows, causing them to snap off from the back-bone like so many -pipe-stems, and the whole hump lay free on the hide. - -Next, he removed the legs with a few deft cuts of the knife, and laid -them out on the clean grass; unjointed the backbone at the third rib and -removed the after part; severed the neck from the big ribs, cut them -apart at the brisket, and smashed one side of them free from the -backbone with the leg club, and there we had the great animal divided in -eight parts. Lastly, he removed the tongue through an incision in the -lower jaw. - -"There," said he, when it was all done, "now you know how to butcher. -Let's hurry to the boat and get the roustabouts to carry in the meat." - -From this point on, there were days at a time when we saw no Indians, -and the various kinds of game animals were more and more plentiful and -tame. At last, several days after passing Fort Clarke, we came to the -American Fur Company's greater post, Fort Union, situated on the north -bank of the river about five miles above the mouth of the Yellowstone. - -It was begun in 1829, under the direction of the factor, Kenneth -McKenzie, and finished in 1832. A stockade of logs ten or twelve feet -long, set up on end, side by side, protected the buildings, and this, in -turn, was commanded by two-storied bastions, in which cannon were -mounted at the northeast and southwest corners. - -When we approached the place, a flag was run up on the staff of the -fort, cannon boomed a welcome, and a great crowd of Indians and company -men, headed by the factor, gathered at the shore to greet us. My uncle -and I were escorted to the two-story house which formed the rear of the -fort, and in which were the quarters of the factor and clerks. - -I learned afterward that distinguished guests had been housed there: -George Catlin, the painter and philanthropist, in 1832; Maximilian, -Prince of Neuwied, in 1833; and Audubon, the great naturalist, in 1843. -All of them published extremely interesting accounts of what they saw -and did in the Upper Missouri country, which I commend to the reader, -Maximilian's "Travels in North America" especially; for I went up the -river from Fort Union just as he did, and there had been practically no -change in the conditions of the country from his time to mine. -Maximilian gives a wonderfully accurate and vivid description of the -remarkable scenery of the Missouri, without question the most strangely -picturesque river in America, and probably in the world. - -My Uncle Wesley was a valued clerk of the American Fur Company. He was -sent from one to another of their Far Western forts, as occasion for his -services arose, and frequently he was in full charge of a post for -months at a time, while the factor went on a trip to the States. When we -arrived in Fort Union he was told that he must go on to Fort Benton, -where the factor needed his help. At that time, since the company's -steamboats went no farther than Fort Union, all the goods for the posts -beyond were sent in keel-boats, or bateaux. It was not until the summer -of 1860 that the extreme upper river was found to be navigable, and on -July 2 of that year the Chippewa and the Key West arrived at Fort -Benton. - -A keel-boat was lying at Fort Union when we arrived there; it was -waiting for part of the Chippewa's cargo of ammunition, guns, and -various trade goods, mostly tobacco, red and blue cloth, brass wire for -jewelry, Chinese vermilion, and small trinkets. These were soon -transferred, and we resumed our voyage, Uncle Wesley in charge of the -boat and crew. The Minnie was sixty feet long, ten feet wide, and was -decked over. The crew consisted of thirty French-Canadian cordelliers, -or towmen, a cook, a steersman and two bowmen, and a hunter with his -horse. In a very small cabin aft there were two bunks. Forward there was -a mast and sail for use when the wind was favorable--which was seldom. -There was a big sweep oar on each side, and a number of poles were -scattered along the deck to be used as occasion required. In the bow -there was a four-pound howitzer, loaded with plenty of powder, and a -couple of quarts of trade balls, in case of an attack by Indians, which -was not at all improbable. - -By the channel it was called eight hundred miles from Fort Union to Fort -Benton, where we hoped to arrive in two months. After the first day's -experience, I thought that we should be fortunate if we reached the -place in two years. From morning until night the cordelliers toiled as I -had never seen men toil before. It was a painful sight, those thirty men -tugging on the long tow-rope as they floundered through water often -waist-deep; through quicksand or mud so tenacious that the more -unfortunate were dragged out of it gasping for breath and smeared with -the stuff from head to foot. They frequently lost their footing on -steep places and rolled down into deep water; banks of earth caved upon -them; they were scratched and torn by rose-brush and bull-berry thorns; -they were obliged to cut trails along the top of the banks in places, -and to clear a way for the boat through dense masses of sawyers and -driftwood. - -A day or two after leaving Fort Union we narrowly escaped losing the -boat, and the lives of all of us who were on it, in the treacherous -swirling current. At the time the cordelliers were walking easily along -a sandy shore under a high bank. Ahead of them, at the edge of the -water, lay a dead buffalo bull, its rump partly eaten by the prowling -animals. When the lead-man was within a few feet of it a big grizzly -sprang toward him from the other side of the carcass, where it had lain -asleep. The men dropped the rope and with loud cries sprang into the -water, since they could not climb the bank. The boat at once turned -broadside to the swift current, drifted against two sawyers, and began -to turn turtle. The lower rail was already under water, and the horse -had lost its footing and tumbled overboard, where it hung strangling, -when by the greatest good fortune first one and then the other of the -sawyers snapped under the strain, and the boat righted and swung in to -the bank. We now had time to see what was going on above. The bear was -just leaving the opposite shore and making for the timber; the men, -dripping from their hasty bath, were gathered in a close group near the -carcass, and were talking and gesticulating as only Frenchmen can. We -suspected that something was wrong, and while the bowmen made the boat -fast, the rest of us hurried up the shore. The group parted at our -approach and disclosed one of their number--the lead-man on the -rope--lying moaning on the sand. The bear had overtaken and mauled him -terribly, and then, frightened probably by the loud cries of so many -men, it took to the river and swam away. We got the wounded man aboard -at once, and my uncle set his arm and made him as comfortable as -possible. The hunter had saved his horse by cutting its rope and -swimming with it to a landing far down stream. As soon as the tow-line -was recovered we went on, thankful that the accident had been no worse. - -Yet through it all they were cheerful and happy, and at the evening -camp-fire my uncle was frequently obliged to speak harshly to keep them -from shouting their voyageur songs, that might have brought some -prowling war party of Indians down on us. The food of these men was -meat--nothing but meat, washed down with a little tea. Sometimes they -managed to dig a few _pommes blanches_, white, edible roots that were -very palatable when roasted in the coals. Uncle Wesley and I had a box -of hard crackers and a few pounds of flour and sugar. When they were -gone, he told me, we should have no more until we sat down to our -Christmas dinner. That did not worry me; I thought that if big, strong -men could live on meat, a boy could, too. - -The river wound like a snake through the great valley. There were long -points only a mile or two across by land, but many times that distance -round by the channel. Sometimes when we came to such a place Uncle -Wesley and I would hunt across the bottom and then wait for the boat. On -these trips I killed my first deer and elk and antelope--not to mention -several more buffalo. - -But Uncle Wesley was always uneasy when away from the boat; he was -responsible for it and its cargo, which was worth more than a hundred -thousand dollars in furs. Should anything happen to it while he was away -from it, even for an hour's hunt, his hope of eventually becoming a -member of the great company would have to be given up. Finally, after -minute instructions in the proper handling of the rifle, I was allowed -to accompany the hunter on his daily quests for meat. - -Baptiste Rondin was a dreamy, gentle little Creole from Louisiana. He -came from a good family, had not been taught to work, and had hated -books, so he told me. So when misfortune came to his family, and he had -to do something, he chose the position he now held in preference to -others with more pay which the Chouteaus had offered him. When we -started out in the morning, I would climb up behind him on the gentle -old horse, and we would ride for miles up one side or the other of the -river. We always saw various kinds of game soon after leaving the boat, -but never attempted to kill any until some was found convenient to the -shore of the river, where the boat could land and the meat easily be -taken aboard. - -Besides looking for game, we examined every dusty trail, every mudflat -and sandbar, and constantly scanned the bottoms and the hills for signs -of Indians. They were the great terror of the cordelliers; often a -boat's crew was surprised and killed, or the cargo was destroyed. - -We tied up one night four or five miles below the mouth of the -Musselshell River, which my Uncle Wesley said Lewis and Clark had so -named on account of the quantities of fossil shells that are found -there. - -Early the next morning Baptiste saddled the old horse, and we started -out to hunt at the same time that the cordelliers hauled the rope tight -and began their weary tramp. - -We came to the lower edge of the big bottom at the mouth of the -Musselshell. Opposite the mouth there was a heavily timbered island. One -small band of antelope was the only game in sight between us and the -Musselshell. On the other side of it, at the upper end of the bottom and -close to the Missouri, there were a couple of hundred buffalo, some -feeding, some lying down. - -They were so far away that we rode boldly through the tall sage-brush to -the little river, and across it to the outer edge of the strip of -timber. There Baptiste told me to remain with the horse while he crept -out to the herd and made a killing. I did not like being left alone. -There were many fresh grizzly tracks on the river sands just behind me, -and I was afraid of the terrible animals, so afraid that I did not dare -to dismount and gather some strawberries which showed in the grass at -the horse's feet. - -The passing minutes seemed hours. The tall sage-brush out ahead had -swallowed Baptiste. By rising in the stirrups I could just see the backs -of some of the distant buffalo. A sudden splash in the river made my -heart flutter, and I quickly turned to see what had caused it. - -Here and there between the trees and brush its glistening surface was in -plain view, and through one opening I saw something more terrible than a -whole band of grizzlies: an Indian crossing toward me. I saw his face, -painted red with blue bars across the cheeks; I noted that he wore -leather clothing; that a shield hung suspended from his left arm; that -in his right hand he grasped a bow and a few arrows. - -All this I noted in an instant of time; and then nearer to me, and more -to the right, a stick snapped, and I turned my head to see another -Indian in the act of letting an arrow fly at me. I yelled and gave the -horse such a thump with the stock of my rifle that he made a long, quick -leap. That was a lucky thing for me. The arrow aimed at my body cut -through my coat sleeve and gashed my left arm just above the elbow. - -I yelled frantically for Baptiste and urged the horse on through the -sage-brush. I looked back, and saw that Indians all up and down the -stream were leaving the timber and running toward me. I looked ahead and -saw the smoke of Baptiste's gun, heard the report, saw the buffalo bunch -up and then scurry westward for the nearest hills. - -The thought came to me that I could pick the hunter up, and that the -old horse would easily carry us beyond the possibility of an attack by -Indians afoot. That hope was shattered a moment later. The buffalo -suddenly circled and came back into the bottom, and I saw that they had -been turned by some Indians at the edge of the hills. Indians were -strung out clear across the flat, were leaping through the sage-brush -toward us, and shouting their dreadful war-cry; they were hemming us in -on the south, and the great river cut off our retreat to the north. - -I urged the old horse on, determined to reach Baptiste and die by his -side, but the Indians who had appeared on the hills were now quite near -him. I saw him raise his rifle and fire at the one in the lead, then -turn and run a few steps and spring from the high cut-bank into the -river. But just before jumping he paused, and raising a hand, motioned -to me to turn back. - -To turn back! Accustomed to obeying him, I sawed on the bridle and the -horse stopped. I looked over my shoulder, and saw that the nearest of -the Indians were not three hundred yards from me. In my distress I -cried, "What shall I do? Oh, what shall I--what can I do to escape?" - - - - - CHAPTER II - - -I do not know why I cried out. Of course there was no one to answer, to -advise, or assist me. I have often noticed that in times of stress men -shout the questions that they ask themselves. Why had Baptiste motioned -me to go back, when by doing so I must run right into the Indians? I -must have misunderstood his signal. Clearly, my only chance of escape -was the same as his, and that was by the river. - -Pummeling the old horse with rifle-stock and heels, I headed him for the -stream. Not straight toward it, where the bank was apparently very high, -but obliquely, toward a point not far above the mouth of the -Musselshell. There the bank was certainly not high, for the tips of -water-willows peeped above it. - -In a few moments I was close enough to look over it. Between the narrow -strip of willows and the edge of the water there was an oozy mudflat, -fifty yards wide, impassable for man or horse. - -I looked back at the enemy, and saw that when I had turned downstream, -those toward the upper end of the bottom had given up the chase, while -the rest had turned with me and run faster than ever. Thus there was a -wide gap between the two parties, and I circled toward it, as my last -chance. First up the river for several hundred yards, then straight -south, away from it. Both parties immediately perceived my intention, -and spurted to close the gap. Harder and harder I thumped the horse, -although by this time he had waked up, and was entering into the spirit -of the flight. The distance between the two parties of Indians was now -not more than three hundred yards, and I was more than that from the -point for which we all were heading; but to offset this I was covering -the ground much faster than they were. - -The Indians were now yelling frightfully, to encourage one another to -greater speed. I could see their painted faces, and a little later -their fierce eyes. - -The gap was very small now; they began shooting, and several pieces of -lead ripped by me with the sound of tearing paper. I did not try to use -my rifle. In that first experience there was no anger in my heart -against the enemy, nothing but fear of them. - -I felt, rather than saw, that they would be unable to head me off, if -only by a narrow margin, and I bent low over the horse to make myself as -small a target as possible. More guns boomed close on each side of me. -Arrows whizzed, too, and the shaft of one struck my rifle-stock, glanced -from it, and cut the skin on the back of my hand. That was when I passed -right between the two parties. - -In a dazed way, I kept urging the horse on, until presently it dawned on -me that I was past the danger point. Having looked back to make sure of -this, I changed my course, crossed the Musselshell, and went on down the -bottom, and then along the shore of the river several miles, until I -came to the boat. - -When the cordelliers saw me returning in such haste, they knew that -something was wrong. They ceased towing, and let the boat drift in to -the bank, in such a position that I rode right on the deck. I was still -so frightened that it was difficult for me to talk, but my uncle, -guessing the parts of the story which I omitted, ordered all the men -aboard. In a few minutes we were at the other shore of the river. - -The cordelliers objected to going on with the tow-line, but my uncle was -firm that they should start without delay, and they did. The steersman, -an old and tried employee, was sent ahead of them to scout, and Uncle -Wesley took his place at the sweep. The howitzer was freshly primed, and -one of the men instructed to stand by, ready to aim and fire it. I was -anxious about Baptiste, and although my uncle told me not to worry, I -doubted if we should ever see him again. - -In a couple of hours we arrived off the island opposite the mouth of the -Musselshell, and lo! Baptiste came out of the brush at the lower end of -it, and signaled us to take him aboard. That was done with the skiff. As -soon as he came on deck he ran to me, in his impetuous French way, gave -me a hug and a thump on the back, and exclaimed, "It is my brave boy! -And he is safe! One little wound in the hand? That is nothing. Now, tell -me how you made the escape." - -But at this moment my uncle came to consult the hunter, and my story was -deferred. I learned from Baptiste later that the Indians were Crees, -probably on their way south, to raid the Crow horse herds. - -By this time we had passed the island. Baptiste was just asking us to -note how high the cut-bank was from which he had jumped into the stream, -when the whole party of Indians rose out of the sage-brush at the edge -of it, and with much yelling, fired their guns at us. As the distance -was three or four hundred yards, only a few of their balls struck -anywhere near the boat. Uncle Wesley himself sprang to the howitzer, -swung it round, tilted up the barrel, and fired it. Some of the balls -dropped into the water near the far shore, several spatted little puffs -of dust out of the dry cut-bank, and others must have passed right among -the war party. Anyway, the Indians all ducked down and ran back from the -bluff. We saw no more of them. - -Ever since leaving the mouth of the Yellowstone we had been passing -through the extraordinary formation of the Bad Lands. From this point -onward the scenery became more and more wonderful. Boy that I was, I was -so deeply impressed with the strange grandeur of it all that the -sensations I experienced were at times actually oppressive. At every -turn there was something to astonish the eye. There were gleaming white -and gray turreted castles, perched high above the stream; cities of -clustering domes and towers and minarets, all wrought by the elements -from sandstones of varying hardness, but all so apparently real as to -suggest that men and women in mediaeval dress might pass out of the gates -in the walls at any moment. - -We arrived at Fort Benton just ninety days after leaving Fort Union. The -flag was raised and cannon fired in our honor, and more than five -thousand Blackfeet, headed by the factor, Alexander Culbertson, and the -employees of the fort, crowded to the river-bank to give us welcome. - -I was astonished to see so many Indians. I noticed that they were tall, -fine-looking men and women; that they wore beautiful garments of tanned -skins; that their hair was done up in long, neat braids; that many of -the leading men shook hands with my uncle, and seemed glad to meet him. - -My uncle introduced me to that great man, the factor, who patted me -kindly on the shoulder. With him we went into the fort, where, just as -we passed through the big gate, a tall, handsome Indian woman, wearing a -neat calico dress, a plaid shawl, and beautifully embroidered -moccasins, came running to us, threw her arms round my uncle, and kissed -him. I must have looked as surprised as I felt, especially when I noted -that he was very glad to meet her. Having spoken a few words to her, -which I couldn't understand, he turned to me. "Thomas," he said, "this -is your aunt. I hope that you and she will become great friends." - -I was now more surprised than ever, but tried not to show it as I -answered, "Yes, sir." - -At that the woman gave a smile that was pleasant to see, and the next -instant she had me in her arms and was kissing me, smoothing my hair, -and talking Blackfoot to me in her strangely clear and pleasant voice. -My uncle interpreted. "She says that she wants to be your mother now; -that she wants you to love her, to come to her for everything you need." - -I do not know just what it was,--her voice, her appearance, the motherly -feeling of her arms round me,--but there was something about this -Indian woman that made my heart go straight out to her. I gave her hand -a squeeze, while tears came to my eyes as I snuggled up close to her. -Right willingly I went with her and Uncle Wesley to the room in the far -end of the long adobe building forming the east side of the fort, which -he said was to be our home for a long time to come. - -It was the kind of room that gave one a restful feeling at sight. -Opposite the doorway was a big fireplace of stone and adobe, with hooks -above the mantel for rifles and powder-horns and ball-pouches. Two -windows on the courtyard side afforded plenty of light. There were a -strong table and comfortable chairs, all home-made. A settee covered -with buffalo-robes was placed before the fire. A curtained set of -shelves in the corner contained the dishes and cooking-utensils. The -north end of the room was partitioned off for a sleeping-place. My bed, -I was told, would be the buffalo-robe couch under the window at the -right of the door. - -The next day my uncle took me all round the fort and made me known to -the different employees--clerks and tailors, carpenters and blacksmiths, -and the men of the trade-room. The fort was a large one, about three -hundred feet square, all of adobe. Entering the front gate, you saw that -three long buildings, of which the easterly one was two stories high, -formed three sides of the quadrangle, and that a high wall containing -the gate formed the fourth, or south side, facing the river. The outer -walls of the buildings were thus the defensive walls of the fort. They -were protected against assault by two-storied bastions, with cannon at -the southeast and northwest corners. All the tribes of the Northwest -together could not have taken the place by assault without the loss of -thousands of their force, and they knew it. - -Before night the keel-boat was unloaded, and our trunks were brought in -and unpacked. My mother's little library and my school-books filled a -new set of shelves, and that evening I began, under my uncle's -direction, a course of study and reading, preparatory to going East to -school in the following year. - -No boy ever had a happier time than I had in that fort so far beyond the -borders of civilization. Day in and day out there was always something -worth while going on. Hundreds, and often thousands, of Indians came in -to trade, and I found endless pleasure in mingling with them and learned -their language and customs. In this I was encouraged by Tsistsaki -(Little Bird Woman), my uncle's wife. She had no children, and all her -natural mother love was given to me. In her way of thinking, nothing -that I did could be wrong, and the best of everything was not good -enough for me. The beautifully embroidered buckskin suits and moccasins -she made for me fairly dazzled the eye with their blaze of color. These -were not for everyday wear, but I took every possible occasion for -putting them on, and strutted around, the envy of all the Indian boys in -the country. - -The winter passed all too quickly. With the approach of spring my uncle -began to plan for my long trip to St. Louis, and thence to the home of -my mother's Connecticut friend, where I was to prepare for Princeton. I -said nothing to him, but I had many talks with my aunt-mother, -Tsistsaki; and one night we poured out such a torrent of reasons why I -should not go, ending our pleadings with tears, that he gave in to us, -and agreed that I should grow up in the fur trade. - -A frequent visitor in our cozy room in the fort was a nephew of -Tsistsaki, a boy several years older than I. We liked each other at -sight, and every time we met we became firmer friends than ever. -"Friend" means much more to Indians--at least, to the Blackfeet--than it -does to white people. Once friends, Indians are always friends. They -almost never quarrel. So it came to be with Pitamakan (Eagle Running) -and myself. - -My uncle Wesley was as much pleased as his wife. One day he said to me, -"Pitamakan is an honest, good-hearted boy, and brave, too. He gets all -that from his father, who is one of the very best and most trustworthy -Indians in all this country, and from his mother, who is a woman of fine -character. See to it that you keep his friendship." - -Except, of course, Baptiste Rondin, the hunter of the fort, Pitamakan -was almost the only one with whom I was allowed to go after the buffalo -and the other game which swarmed on the plains near by. What with my -daily studies, occasional hunts, and the constant pleasure I had in the -life of the fort, time fairly flew; no day was too long. And yet, for -four years, I never once went more than five miles from the fort. - -During this time my one great desire was to go on a trip into the Rocky -Mountains. Clearly visible from the high plains to the north and south -of the river, their pine-clad slopes and sharp, bare peaks always seemed -to draw me to explore their almost unknown fastnesses. - -In the fall of 1860 there came an opportunity for me to do this. The -Small Robes band of the Blackfeet, of which Pitamakan's father, White -Wolf (Mah-kwi'-yi ksik-si-num), was chief, outfitted at the fort for an -expedition to trap beaver along the foot of the great mountains, and, -much to my surprise and delight, I was permitted to accompany them. - -At this time there were ninety lodges--about six hundred people--of the -Small Robes (I-nuk-siks) band of the Blackfeet. They had several -thousand horses, and when the moving camp was strung out on the plain, -the picturesque riders, the pack-animals laden with queerly shaped, -painted rawhide and leather pouches and sacks, made a pageant of moving -color that was very impressive. - -Our first camp after leaving the fort was on the Teton River. A couch -was made up for me in White Wolf's lodge. The lodge of the plains -Indians was the most comfortable portable shelter ever devised by man. -One of average size was made of sixteen large cow buffalo-hides, tanned -into soft leather, cut to shape, and sewed together with sinew thread. - -This cone-shaped "lodge skin" was stretched over tough, slender poles of -mountain-pine, and the lower edge, or skirt, was pegged so that it was -at least four inches above the ground. Within, a leather lining, firmly -weighted to the ground by the couches and household impedimenta of the -occupants, extended upward for five or six feet, where it was tied to a -rope that was fastened to the poles clear round. There was a space as -wide as the thickness of the poles between the "skin" and the lining, so -that the cold, outside air rushing up through it created a draft for the -fire, and carried the smoke out of the open space at the top. This -lining, of course, prevented the cold air from coming into the lower -part of the lodge, so that even in the coldest weather a small fire was -enough for comfort. - -Traveling leisurely up the Teton River, we came in three or four days to -the foot of the great range. There we went into camp for several weeks, -long enough for the hunters to trap most of the beavers, not only on the -main stream, but on all its little tributaries. Pitamakan and I had -twelve traps, and were partners in the pursuit of the animals. - -From the Teton we moved northward to Back-Fat Creek, now Dupuyer Creek. -From there we went to the Two Medicine waters, and then on to the -Cut-Bank River. The trapping area of this stream was small. On the first -day of our camp there Pitamakan and I foolishly went hunting, with the -result that when, on the next day, we began looking for a place to set -our traps, we found that all the beaver-ponds and bank-workings had been -occupied by the other trappers. - -It was late in the afternoon, after we had followed up the south fork -to a tremendous walled canon, where it was impossible for the beavers to -make dams and homes, that we made this discovery. Our disappointment was -keen, for from Cut-Bank the camp was to return to Fort Benton, and we -had only thirty-seven of the fifty beaver pelts that we had planned to -take home with us. - -We were sitting on a well-worn trail that stretched along the -mountainside above the canon, when Pitamakan suddenly exclaimed:-- - -"Listen to me! We will get the rest of the beaver! You see this trail? -Well, it crosses this backbone of the world, and is made by the -other-side people,--the Kootenays and the Flatheads,--so that they can -come over to our plains and steal our buffalo. You can see that it has -not been used this summer. It will not be used at all now, since winter -is so near. Now, down on the other side there are many streams in the -great forest, and no doubt there are beavers in them. We will go over -there to-morrow, and in a few days' trapping we will catch enough to -make up the number we set out to get." - -This plan seemed good to me, and I said so at once. We left the traps on -the trail and started to camp, to prepare for an early start in the -morning. We decided to say nothing to any one of our intentions, to -White Wolf least of all, lest he should forbid our going. - -At dusk we picketed near camp two horses that we selected for the trip, -and during the evening we refilled our powder-horns and ball-pouches to -the neck. Rising the next morning before any of the others were awake, -and each taking a heavy buffalo-robe from our bedding, we quietly left -the lodge, saddled and mounted our horses, and rode away. Some dried -meat and buffalo back fat taken from the lodge furnished us a -substantial breakfast. - -The trail was plain and easy to follow. We picked up the traps, and -mounting steadily, arrived at the extreme summit of the great range not -long after midday. From where we stood, the trail ran slightly downward, -along a narrow divide, across to the next mountain. The south side of -the divide was a sheer drop of several thousand feet. The top was a -narrow, jagged knife of rock, along which a man could not have passed on -foot. On the north side the sharp reef dropped almost precipitously to a -narrow and exceedingly steep slope of fine shale rock, which terminated -at the edge of a precipice of fearful depth. - -It was along this shale slope that the trail ran, but there were no -signs of it now, for the tracks of the last horses that passed had been -filled. Even while we stood there, small particles of shale were -constantly rolling and tinkling down it and off into abysmal space. -Shuddering, I proposed that we turn back, but Pitamakan made light of -the danger. - -"I have been here before, and know what to do," he said. "I can make it -so that we can safely cross it." - -With a long, thin and narrow slab of rock he began gouging a trail out -of the steep slide. The small and the large pieces of detritus which he -dislodged rattled off the edge of the cliff, but strain my ears as I -might, I could not hear them strike bottom. It was fully a hundred yards -across this dangerous place, but Pitamakan soon made his way along it, -and back to me. - -His path seemed more fit for coyotes than for horses, but he insisted -that it was wide enough, and started leading his animal out on it. There -was nothing for me to do but to follow with mine. When part way across, -my horse's hind feet broke down the little path, and he went with the -sliding shale for several feet, all the time madly pawing to get back on -the sound portion on which I stood. When I tried to help him by pulling -on the lead-rope, the shale began sliding under my feet. At that, -Pitamakan, starting to run with his horse, shouted to me to do the same. - -For the rest of the way across, the strain on me and my animal was -killing. We tore out all trace of the path in our efforts to keep from -going down and off the slide. Wherever we put down our feet the shale -started slipping, and the struggle to climb faster than it slipped -exhausted our strength. When finally we did reach the firm rock where my -companion stood waiting, we were utterly fatigued and dripping with -sweat. - -Pitamakan's face was ashy gray from the strain of watching my struggles. -He drew me to him, and I could feel him trembling, while he said, in a -choking voice, "Oh, I thought you would never get here, and I just had -to stand and look, unable to help you in any way! I didn't know. I -should have made a wider, firmer path." - -We sat down, and he told me about this pass: that after the winter snows -came neither man nor horse could cross it, since the least movement -would start the snow sliding. Three Blackfeet had once lost their lives -there. In that manner, the avalanche which they loosened had swept them -with it over the cliff, to the horror of their comrades who stood -looking on. Upon our return, he said, he would make a safe path there, -if it took him all day to finish the task. - -Soon we went on, turned the shoulder of the twin mountain, and felt that -we had come into another world. Near by there were some tremendous -peaks, some of them covered with great fields of ice, which I learned -later were true glaciers. - -In other ways, too, this west side was different from the east side of -the Rockies. As far as we could see there were no plains, only one -great, dark, evergreen forest that covered the slopes of the mountains -and filled the endless valleys. Here, too, the air was different; it was -damp and heavy, and odorous of plants that grow in moist climates. - -Working our way from ledge to ledge down the mountain, we came, toward -sunset, to what my friend called the Salt Springs. Farther west than -this point he had never been. - -Early the next morning we pushed on, for we were anxious to reach the -low valleys where the beavers were to be found. - -Still following the trail, we struck, about mid-afternoon, a large -stream bordered with alder, cottonwood, and willow, the bark of which is -the beaver's favorite food. There were some signs of the animals here, -but as we expected to find them more plentiful farther down, we kept on -until nearly sundown, when we came to a fine grass meadow bordering the -now larger river. Here was feed for the horses; in a pond at the upper -end of the meadow there were five beaver lodges. - -"Here is the place for us," said Pitamakan. "Let us hurry and picket the -horses, and kill a deer; night is at hand." - -We started to ride into the timber to unsaddle, when we heard a heavy -trampling and crackling of sticks off to the left of the beaver-pond, -and so sat still, rifles ready, expecting to see a band of elk come into -the open. - -A moment later thirty or forty Indians, men, women, and children, rode -into the meadow. Perceiving us, the men whipped up their horses and came -racing our way. - -"They are Kootenays! It is useless to fire at them, or to run!" -Pitamakan exclaimed. "I do not think they will harm us. Anyhow, look -brave; pretend that you are not afraid." - -The men who surrounded us were tall and powerfully built. For what -seemed to me an endless time, they sat silently staring, and noting -every detail of our outfit. There was something ominous in their -behavior; there came to me an almost uncontrollable impulse to make a -move of some kind. It was their leader who broke the suspense. -"_In-is-saht!_" (Dismount!) he commanded, in Blackfoot, and we -reluctantly obeyed. - -At that they all got off their horses, and then at word from the chief, -each crowding and pushing to be first, they stripped us of everything we -had. One man got my rifle; another the ammunition; another snatched off -my belt, with its knife, and the little pouch containing flint, steel, -and punk, while the chief and another, who seemed to be a great warrior, -seized the ropes of our horses. And there we were, stripped of -everything that we possessed except the clothes we stood in. - -At that the chief broke out laughing, and so did the rest. Finally, -commanding silence, he said to us, in very poor Blackfoot:-- - -"As you are only boys, we will not kill you. Return to your chief, and -tell him that we keep our beaver for ourselves, just as the plains -people keep the buffalo for themselves. Now go." - -There was nothing to do but obey him, and we started. One man followed -us a few steps, and struck Pitamakan several blows across the back with -his whip. At that my friend broke out crying; not because of the pain, -but because of the terrible humiliation. To be struck by any one was the -greatest of all insults; and my friend was powerless to resent it. - -Looking back, we saw the Kootenays move on through the meadow and -disappear in the timber. Completely dazed by our great misfortune, we -mechanically took our back trail, and seldom speaking, walked on and on. -When night came, rain began to fall and the wind rose to a gale in the -treetops. At that Pitamakan shook his head, and said, dejectedly, "At -this season rain down here means snow up on top. We must make strong -medicine if we are ever to see our people again." - -Hungry and without food or weapons for killing any game, wet and without -shelter or any means of building a fire, we certainly were in a -terrible plight. Worse still, if it was snowing on the summit, if winter -had really set in, we must inevitably perish. I remembered hearing the -old trappers say that winter often began in October in the Rocky -Mountains; and this day was well on in November! "Pitamakan! We are not -going to survive this!" I cried. - -For answer, he began singing the coyote song, the Blackfoot hunter's -prayer for good luck. It sounded weird and melancholy enough there in -the darkening forest. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - -"There! Something tells me that will bring us good luck," said -Pitamakan, when he had finished the medicine song. "First of all, we -must find shelter from the rain. Let us hurry and search for it up there -along the foot of the cliffs." - -Leaving the trail, we pushed our way up the steep slope of the valley, -through underbrush that dropped a shower of water on us at the slightest -touch. There were only a few hundred yards between us and the foot of -the big wall which shot high above the tops of the pines, but by the -time we arrived there night had fairly come. At this point a huge pile -of boulders formed the upper edge of the slope, and for a moment we -stood undecided which way to turn. "Toward home, of course!" Pitamakan -exclaimed, and led the way along the edge of the boulders, and finally -to the cliff. There in front of us was a small, jagged aperture, and -stooping down, we tried to see what it was like inside. The darkness, -however, was impenetrable. - -I could hear my companion sniffing; soon he asked, "Do you smell -anything?" - -But I could detect no odor other than that of the dank forest floor, and -said so. - -"Well, I think that I smell bear!" he whispered, and we both leaped -back, and then stealthily drew away from the place. But the rain was -falling now in a heavy downpour; the rising wind lashed it in our faces -and made the forest writhe and creak and snap. Every few moments some -old dead pine went down with a crash. It was a terrible night. - -"We can't go on!" said Pitamakan. "Perhaps I was mistaken. Bears do not -lie down for their winter sleep until the snow has covered up their -food. We must go back and take our chance of one being there in that -hole." - -We felt our way along the foot of the cliff until we came to the place. -There we knelt down, hand in hand, sniffed once more, and exclaimed, -"_Kyaiyo!_" (Bear!) - -"But not strong; only a little odor, as if one had been here last -winter," Pitamakan added. "The scent of one sticks in a place a long -time." - -Although I was shivering so much from the cold and wet that my teeth -rattled, I managed to say, "Come on! We've got to go in there." - -Crawling inch by inch, feeling of the ground ahead, and often stopping -to sniff the air and listen, we made our cautious way inside, and -presently came to a fluffy heap of dried grass, small twigs and leaves -that rustled at our touch. - -"Ah, we survive, brother!" Pitamakan exclaimed, in a cheerful voice. -"The bear has been here and made himself a bed for the winter; they -always do that in the month of falling leaves. He isn't here now, -though, and if he does come we will yell loud and scare him away." - -Feeling round now to learn the size of the place, we found that it was -small and low, and sloped to the height of a couple of feet at the back. -Having finished the examination, we burrowed down into the grass and -leaves, snuggled close together, and covered ourselves as well as we -could. Little by little we stopped shivering, and after a while felt -comfortably warm, although wet. - -We fell to talking then of our misfortune, and planning various ways to -get out of the bad fix we were in. Pitamakan was all for following the -Kootenays, stealing into their camp at night, and trying to recover not -only our horses, but, if possible, our rifles also. I made the objection -that even if we got a whole night's start of the Kootenays, they, -knowing the trails better than we did, would overtake us before we could -ride to the summit. We finally agreed to follow the trail of our enemies -and have a look at their camp; we might find some way of getting back -what they had taken. - -We really slept well. In the morning I awoke first, and looking out, saw -nothing but thick, falling snow. I nudged my companion, and together we -crept to the mouth of the cave. The snow was more than a foot deep in -front of us, and falling so fast that only the nearest of the big pines -below could be seen. The weather was not cold, certainly not much below -freezing, but it caused our damp clothing to feel like ice against the -skin. We crept back into our nest, shivering again. - -"With this snow on the ground, it would be useless to try to take -anything from the Kootenays," I said. - -"True enough. They could follow our tracks and easily overtake us," -Pitamakan agreed. - -As he said no more for a long time, and would not even answer when I -asked a question, I, too, became silent. But not for long; so many -fears and doubts were oppressing me that I had to speak. "We had better -start on, then, and try to cross the summit." - -Pitamakan shook his head slowly. "Neither we nor any one else will cross -the summit until summer comes again. This is winter. See, the snow is -almost to our knees out there; up on top it is over our heads." - -"Then we must die right here!" I exclaimed. - -For answer, my partner began the coyote prayer song, and kept singing it -over and over, except when he would break out into prayers to the sun, -and to Old Man--the World-Maker--to give us help. There in the low -little cave his song sounded muffled and hollow enough. Had I not been -watching his face, I must have soon begged him to stop, it was so -mournful and depressing. - -But his face kept brightening and brightening until he actually smiled; -and finally he turned to me and said, "Do not worry, brother. Take -courage. They have put new thoughts into me." - -I asked what the thoughts were, and he replied by asking what we most -needed. - -"Food, of course," I said. "I am weak from hunger." - -"I thought you would say that!" he exclaimed. "It is always food with -white people. Get up in the morning and eat a big meal; at midday, -another; at sunset, another. If even one of these is missed, they say -they are starving. No, brother, we do not most need food. We could go -without it half a moon and more, and the long fast would only do us -good." - -I did not believe that. It was the common belief in those times that a -person could live for only a few days without food. - -"No, it is not food; it is fire that we most need," Pitamakan continued. -"Were we to go out in that snow and get wet and then have no means of -drying and warming ourselves, we should die." - -"Well, then, we must just lie here and wait for the snow to melt away," -I said, "for without flint and steel we can have no fire." - -"Then we will lie here until next summer. This country is different from -ours of the plains. There the snow comes and goes many times during the -winter; here it only gets deeper and deeper, until the sun beats -Cold-Maker, and comes north again." - -I believed that to be true, for I remembered that my uncle had told me -once that there were no chinook winds on the west side of the range. So -I proposed what had been on my mind for some time: that we go to the -camp of the Kootenays and beg them to give us shelter. - -"If they didn't kill us, they would only beat us and drive us away. No, -we cannot go to them," said Pitamakan decidedly. "Now don't look so sad; -we shall have fire." - -He must have read my thoughts, for he added, "I see that you don't -believe that I can make fire. Listen! Before you white people came with -your flints and steels, we had it. Old Man himself taught us how to make -it. I have never seen it made in the old way because my people got the -new way before I was born. But I have often heard the older ones tell -how it used to be made, and I believe that I can do it myself. It is -easy. You take a small, dry, hard stick like an arrow-shaft, and twirl -it between the palms of your hands, or with a bowstring, while the point -rests in a hole in a piece of dry wood, with fine shreds of birch bark -in it. The twirling stick heats these and sets them on fire." - -Although I did not understand this explanation very well, I yet had some -faith that Pitamakan could make the fire. He added that he would not try -it until the weather cleared, and we could go round in the timber -without getting wet except from the knees down. - -We lay there in the bear's bed all that day. At sunset the snow ceased -falling, but when the clouds disappeared, the weather turned much -colder, and it was well for us that the heat of our bodies had pretty -thoroughly dried our clothing. As it was, we shivered all through the -night, and were very miserable. - -Out in the darkness we heard some animal scraping through the snow, and -feared that it might be the bear come to get into its bed. We had talked -about that. If it was a black bear, we were safe enough, because they -are the most cowardly of all animals, and even when wounded, will not -attack a man. But what if it were a big grizzly! We both knew tales -enough of their ferocity. Only that summer a woman, picking berries, had -been killed by one. - -So when we heard those soft footsteps we yelled; stopped and listened, -and yelled again, and again, until we were hoarse. Then we listened. All -was still. Whatever had roused us was gone, but fear that a grizzly -would come shuffling in kept us awake. - -Day came long before the sun rose above the tremendous peaks that -separated us from the plains. Much as we ached to crawl out of the cave -and run and jump, we lay still until the sun had warmed the air a bit. -The night before I had been ravenously hungry; but now my hunger had -largely passed, and Pitamakan said that I would soon forget all about -food. - -"But we can't live all winter without eating!" I objected. - -"Of course not," he replied. "As soon as we have fire, we will go -hunting and kill game. Then we will make us a comfortable lodge. Oh, -we're going to be very comfortable here before many days pass." - -"But the Kootenays!" I objected. "They will come again and drive us on, -or kill us!" - -"Just now they are moving out of the mountains as fast as they can go, -and will not return until summer comes again." - -When we finally crawled out after our long rest, we saw that a bear -really had been near us in the night. It had come walking along the -slope, close to the foot of the cliff, until right in front of the cave, -and then, startled, no doubt, by our yells, had gone leaping straight -down into the timber. The short impressions of its claws in the snow -proved it to have been a black bear. We were glad of that; another -night, fear, at least, would not prevent us from sleeping. - -Both of us were clothed for summer hunting, I in buckskin trousers and -flannel shirt, with no underclothing or socks. Pitamakan wore buffalo -cow-leather leggings, breech-clout, and, fortunately, a shirt like mine -that his aunt had given him. Neither of us had coat or waistcoat, but in -place of them, capotes, hooded coats reaching to our knees, made of -white blanket by the tailor at the fort. The snow looked very cold to -step into with only thin buckskin moccasins on our feet, and I said so. - -"We will remedy that," said Pitamakan. He pulled off his capote, tore a -couple of strips from the skirt of it, and then did the same with mine. -With these we wrapped our feet, pulled our moccasins on over them, and -felt that our toes were frost-proof. - -The snow was knee-deep. Stepping into it bravely, we made our way down -the slope and into the timber. There it was not so deep, for a part of -the fall had lodged in the thick branches of the pines. We came upon the -tracks of deer and elk, and presently saw a fine white-tail buck staring -curiously at us. The sight of his rounded, fat body brought the hungry -feeling back to me, and I expressed it with a plaintive "_Hai-yah!_" of -longing. - -Pitamakan understood. "Never mind," he said, as the animal broke away, -waving its broad flag as if in derision. "Never mind. We will be eating -fat ribs to-morrow, perhaps; surely on the next day." - -That talk seemed so big to me that I said nothing, asked no question, as -we went on down the hill. Before reaching the river we saw several more -deer, a lone bull moose and a number of elk; the valley was full of -game, driven from the high mountains by the storm. - -The river was not frozen, nor was there any snow on the low, wet, rocky -bars to hinder our search for a knife. That was what we were to look -for, just as both Pitamakan's and my own ancestors had searched, in -prehistoric times, for sharp-edged tools in glacial drift and river -wash. I was to look for flint and "looks-like-ice rock," as the -Blackfeet call obsidian. As I had never seen any obsidian, except in the -form of very small, shiny arrow-points, it was not strange that -Pitamakan found a nodule of it on a bar that I had carefully gone over. -It was somewhat the shape of a football, rusty black, and coated with -splotches of stuff that looked like whitewash. I could not believe that -it was what we sought until he cracked it open and I saw the glittering -fragments. - -Pitamakan had never seen any flint or obsidian flaked and chipped into -arrow-points and knives, but he had often heard the old people tell how -it was done, and now he tried to profit by the information. With a small -stone for a hammer, he gently tapped one of the fragments, and succeeded -in splintering it into several thin, sharp-edged flakes. Carefully -taking up all the fragments and putting them at the foot of a tree for -future use, we went in search of material for the rest of the -fire-making implements. - -We knew from the start that finding them would not be easy, for before -the snow came, rain had thoroughly soaked the forest, and what we needed -was bone-dry wood. We had hunted for an hour or more, when a half-dozen -ruffed grouse flushed from under the top of a fallen tree and flew up -into the branches of a big fir, where they sat and craned their necks. -Back came my hungry feeling; here was a chance to allay it. "Come on, -let's get some stones and try to kill those birds!" I cried. - -Away we went to the shore of the river, gathered a lot of stones in the -skirts of our capotes, and hurried back to the tree. The birds were -still there, and we began throwing at the one lowest down. We watched -the course of each whizzing stone with intense eagerness, groaning, -"_Ai-ya!_" when it went wide of the mark. Unlike white boys, Indian -youths are very inexpert at throwing stones, for the reason that they -constantly carry a better weapon, the bow, and begin at a very early age -to hunt small game with it. I could cast the stones much more accurately -than Pitamakan, and soon he handed what he had left to me. - -Although I made some near shots, and sent the stones clattering against -the branches and zipping through the twigs, the bird never once moved, -except to flutter a wing when a missile actually grazed it or struck the -limb close to its feet. With the last stone of the lot I hit a grouse, -and as it started fluttering down we made a rush for the foot of the -tree, whooping wildly over our success, and frightening the rest of the -covey so that they flew away. - -The wounded bird lodged for a moment in a lower branch, toppled out of -that into another, fluttered from that down into clear space. Pitamakan -sprang to catch it, and grasped only the air; for the bird righted -itself, sailed away and alighted in the snow, fifty yards distant. We -ran after it as fast as we could. It was hurt. We could see that it had -difficulty in holding up its head, and that its mouth was open. We felt -certain of our meat. But no! Up it got when we were about to make our -pounce, and half fluttered and half sailed another fifty yards or so. -Again and again it rose, we hot after it, and finally it crossed the -river. But that did not daunt us. The stream was wide there, running in -a still sweep over a long bar; and we crossed, and in our hurry, -splashed ourselves until we were wet above the waist. Then, after all, -the grouse rose long before we came anywhere near it, and this time -flew on and on until lost to sight! - -Our disappointment was too keen to be put into words. Dripping wet and -as miserable a pair of boys as ever were, we stood there in the cold -snow and looked sadly at each other. "Oh, well, come on," said -Pitamakan. "What is done is done. We will now get the wood we want and -make a fire to dry ourselves." - -He led off, walked to a half-fallen fir, and from the under side broke -off just what we were looking for--a hard, dry spike about twice the -diameter of a lead-pencil and a foot or more in length. That did seem to -be good luck, and our spirits rose. We went out to the shore of the -river, where I was set to rounding off the base of the spike and -sharpening the point, first by rubbing it on a coarse-grained rock, and -then smoothing it with a flake of obsidian. I ruined the edge of the -first piece by handling it too vigorously; the brittle stone had to be -forced slowly and diagonally along the place to be cut. - - [Illustration: AGAIN AND AGAIN IT ROSE] - -Pitamakan, meanwhile, was hunting a suitable piece of wood for the drill -to work in. Hard wood, he had heard the old people say, was necessary -for this, and here the only growth of the kind was birch. - -By the time I got the drill shaped, he had found none that was dry, and -I was glad to help in the search, for I was nearly frozen from standing -still so long in my wet clothes. Up and down the river we went, and back -into the forest, examining every birch that appeared to be dead. Every -one that we found was rotten, or only half dry. It was by the merest -chance that we found the very thing: a beaver-cutting of birch, cast by -the spring freshet under a projecting ledge of rock, where it was -protected from the rains. It was almost a foot in diameter and several -feet long. We rubbed a coarse stone against the centre of it until the -place was flat and a couple of inches wide, and in that started a small -hole with the obsidian. This was slow work, for the glasslike substance -constantly broke under the pressure needed to make it cut into the wood. -It was late in the day when the gouging was finished, and we prepared to -put our tools to the test. - -This was an occasion for prayer. Pitamakan so earnestly entreated his -gods to pity us, to make our work successful, and thus save our lives, -that, unsympathetic as I was with his beliefs, I could not help being -moved. I wanted to be stoical; to keep up a brave appearance to the -last; but this pathetic prayer to heathen gods, coming as it did when I -was weak from hunger and exposure, was too much. To this day I remember -the exact words of it, too long to repeat here. I can translate only the -closing sentence: "Also, have pity on us because of our dear people on -the other side of the range, who are even now weeping in their lodges -because we do not return to them." - -When he had finished the prayer, Pitamakan took the drill in the palms -of his hands and set the point of it in the small, rough hole in the -birch. We had already gathered some dry birch bark, and I held some of -it, shredded into a fluffy mass, close round the drill and the pole. - -"Now, fire come!" Pitamakan exclaimed, and began to twirl the drill -between his hands, at the same time pressing it firmly down in the hole. - -But no smoke came. What was the reason? He stopped and raised the drill; -we felt of it and the hole; both were very hot, and I suggested that we -take turns drilling, changing about in the least possible time. We tried -it, and oh, how anxiously we watched for success, drilling and drilling -for our very lives, drilling turn about until our muscles were so -strained that we could not give the stick another twirl! Then we dropped -back and stared at each other. Our experiment had failed. Night was -coming on. Our wet clothing was beginning to freeze, and there was the -river between us and the shelter of our cave. - -The outlook seemed hopeless, and I said so. Pitamakan said nothing; his -eyes had a strange, vacant expression. "We can do nothing," I repeated. -"Right here we have to die." - -Still he did not answer, or even look at me, and I said to myself, "He -has gone mad!" - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - -"If they will not do," Pitamakan muttered, rising stiffly, while the ice -on his leggings crackled, "why, I'll cut off a braid of my hair." - -I was now sure that our troubles had weakened his mind; no Indian in his -right senses would think of cutting off his hair. - -"Pitamakan! What is the trouble with you?" I asked, looking up anxiously -at him. - -"Why, nothing is the matter," he replied. "Nothing is the matter. We -must now try to work the drill with a bow. If our moccasin strings are -too rotten to bear the strain, I'll have to make a bow cord by cutting -off some of my hair and braiding it." - -It was a great relief to know that he was sane enough, but I had little -faith in this new plan, and followed listlessly as he went here and -there, testing the branches of willow and birch. Finally, he got from -the river shore one stone that was large and smooth, and another that -had a sharp edge. Then, scraping the snow away from the base of a birch -shoot a couple of inches in diameter, he laid the smooth stone at its -base. Next he bade me bend the shoot close down on the smooth stone, -while with the sharp edge of the other he hit the strained wood fibre a -few blows. In this way he easily severed the stem. Cutting off the top -of the sapling in the same manner, he had a bow about three feet in -length; a rough, clumsy piece of wood, it is true, but resilient. - -As my moccasin strings were buckskin and much stronger than Pitamakan's -cow-leather ones, we used one of mine for the bowstring. We now carried -the base stick and drill back from the creek into the thick timber, -gathered a large bunch of birch bark and a pile of fine and coarse -twigs, and made ready for this last attempt to save ourselves. - -We hesitated to begin; uncertainty as to the result was better than -sure knowledge of failure, but while we waited we began to freeze. It -was a solemn and anxious moment when Pitamakan set the point of the -drill in the hole, made one turn of the bowstring round its centre, and -held it in place by pressing down with the palm of his left hand on the -tip. With his right hand he grasped the bow, and waiting until I had the -shredded bark in place round the hole, he once more started the coyote -prayer song and began sawing the bow forth and back, precisely the -motion of a cross-cut saw biting into a standing tree. - -The wrap of the string caused the drill to twirl with amazing rapidity, -and at the third or fourth saw he gave a howl of pain and dropped the -outfit. I had no need to ask why. The drill tip had burned his hand; -when he held it out a blister was already puffing up. - -We changed places, and I gathered the skirt of my capote in a bunch to -protect my hand. I began to work the bow, faster and faster, until the -drill moaned intermittently, like a miniature buzz-saw. In a moment or -two I thought that I saw a very faint streak of smoke stealing up -between my companion's fingers. - -He was singing again, and did not hear my exclamation as I made sure -that my eyes had not deceived me. Smoke actually was rising. I sawed -harder and harder; more and more smoke arose, but there was no flame. - -"Why not?" I cried. "Oh, why don't you burn?" - -Pitamakan's eyes were glaring anxiously, greedily at the blue curling -vapor. I continued to saw with all possible rapidity, but still there -was no flame; instead, the smoke began to diminish in volume. A chill -ran through me as I saw it fail. - -I was on the point of giving up, of dropping the bow and saying that -this was the end of our trail, when the cause of the failure was made -plain to me. Pitamakan was pressing the shredded bark too tight round -the drill and into the hole; there could be no fire where there was no -air. "Raise your fingers!" I shouted. "Loosen up the bark!" - -I had to repeat what I said before he understood and did as he was told. -Instantly the bark burst into flame. - -"Fire! Fire! Fire!" I cried, as I hastily snatched out the drill. - -"_I-puh-kwi-is! I-puh-kwi-is!_" (It burns! It burns!) Pitamakan shouted. - -He held a big wad of bark to the tiny flame, and when it ignited, -carried the blazing, sputtering mass to the pile of fuel that we had -gathered and thrust it under the fine twigs. These began to crackle and -snap, and we soon had a roaring fire. Pitamakan raised his hands to the -sky and reverently gave thanks to his gods; I silently thanked my own -for the mercy extended to us. From death, at least by freezing, we were -saved! - -The sun was setting. In the gathering dusk we collected a huge pile of -dead wood, every piece in the vicinity that we had strength to lift and -carry, some of them fallen saplings twenty and thirty feet long. I was -for putting a pile of them on the fire and having a big blaze. I did -throw on three or four large chunks, but Pitamakan promptly lifted them -off. - -"That is the way of white people!" he said. "They waste wood and stand, -half freezing, away back from the big blaze. Now we will have this in -the way we Lone People do it, and so will we get dry and warm." - -While I broke off boughs of feathery balsam fir and brought in huge -armfuls of them, he set up the frame of a small shelter close to the -fire. First, he placed a triangle of heavy sticks, so that the stubs of -branches at their tops interlocked, and then he laid up numerous sticks -side by side, and all slanting together at the top, so as to fill two -sides of the triangle. These we shingled with the fir boughs, layer -after layer, to a thickness of several feet. With the boughs, also, we -made a soft bed within. - -We now had a fairly comfortable shelter. In shape it was roughly like -the half of a hollow cone, and the open part faced the fire. Creeping -into it, we sat on the bed, close to the little blaze. Some cold air -filtered through the bough thatching and chilled our backs. Pitamakan -pulled off his capote and told me to do the same. Spreading them out, he -fastened them to the sticks of the slanting roof and shut off the draft. -The heat radiating from the fire struck them, and reflecting, warmed our -backs. The ice dropped from our clothes and they began to steam; we were -actually comfortable. - -But now that the anxieties and excitement of the day were over, and I -had time to think about other things than fire, back came my hunger with -greater insistence than ever. I could not believe it possible for us to -go without eating as long as Pitamakan said his people were able to -fast. Worse still, I saw no possible way for us to get food. When I -said as much to Pitamakan, he laughed. - -"Take courage; don't be an afraid person," he said. "Say to yourself, 'I -am not hungry,' and keep saying it, and soon it will be the truth to -you. But we will not fast very long. Why, if it were necessary, I would -get meat for us this very night." - -I stared at him. The expression of his eyes was sane enough. I fancied -that there was even a twinkle of amusement in them. If he was making a -joke, although a sorry one, I could stand it; but if he really meant -what he said, then there could be no doubt but that his mind wandered. - -"Lie down and sleep," I said. "You have worked harder than I, and sleep -will do you good. I will keep the fire going." - -At that he laughed, a clear, low laugh of amusement that was good to -hear. "Oh, I meant what I said. I am not crazy. Now think hard. Is there -any possible way for us to get food this night?" - -"Of course there isn't," I replied, after a moment's reflection. "Don't -joke about the bad fix we are in; that may make it all the worse for -us." - -He looked at me pityingly. "Ah, you are no different from the rest of -the whites. True, they are far wiser than we Lone People. But take away -from them the things their powerful medicine has taught them how to -make, guns and powder and ball, fire steels and sticks, knives and -clothes and blankets of hair, take from them these things and they -perish. Yes, they die where we should live, and live comfortably." - -I felt that there was much truth in what he said. I doubted if any of -the company's men, even the most experienced of them, would have been -able to make a fire had they been stripped of everything that they -possessed. But his other statement, that if necessary he could get food -for us at once. - -"Where could you find something for us to eat now?" I asked. - -"Out there anywhere," he replied, with a wave of the hand. "Haven't you -noticed the trails of the rabbits, hard-packed little paths in the snow, -where they travel round through the brush? Yes, of course you have. -Well, after the middle of the night, when the moon rises and gives some -light, I could go out there and set some snares in those paths, using -our moccasin strings for loops, and in a short time we would have a -rabbit; maybe two or three of them." - -How easy a thing seems, once you know how to do it! I realized instantly -that the plan was perfectly feasible, and wondered at my own dullness in -not having thought of it. I had been sitting up stiffly enough before -the fire, anxiety over our situation keeping my nerves all a-quiver. Now -a pleasant sense of security came to me. I felt only tired and sleepy, -and dropped back on the boughs. - -"Pitamakan, you are very wise," I said, and in a moment was sound -asleep. If he answered I never heard him. - -Every time the fire died down the cold awoke one or both of us to put on -fresh fuel; and then we slept again, and under the circumstances, passed -a very restful night. - -Soon after daylight snow began to fall again, not so heavily as in the -previous storm, but with a steadiness that promised a long period of bad -weather. We did not mind going out into it, now that we could come back -to a fire at any time and dry ourselves. - -Before setting forth, however, we spent some time in making two rude -willow arrows. We mashed off the proper lengths with our "anvil" and -cutting-stone, smoothed the ends by burning them, and then scraped the -shafts and notched them with our obsidian knives. I proposed that we -sharpen the points, but Pitamakan said no; that blunt ones were better -for bird shooting, because they smashed the wing bones. Pitamakan had -worked somewhat on the bow during the evening, scraping it thinner and -drying it before the fire, so that now it had more spring; enough to -get us meat, he thought. The great difficulty would be to shoot the -unfeathered, clumsy arrows true to the mark. - -Burying some coals deep in the ashes to make sure that they would be -alive upon our return, we started out. Close to camp, Pitamakan set two -rabbit snares, using a part of our moccasin strings for the purpose. His -manner of doing this was simple. He bent a small, springy sapling over -the rabbit path, and stuck the tip of it under a low branch of another -tree. Next he tied the buckskin string to the sapling, so that the noose -end of it hung cross-wise in the rabbit path, a couple of inches above -the surface of it. Then he stuck several feathery balsam tips on each -side of the path, to hide the sides of the noose and prevent its being -blown out of place by the wind. When a passing rabbit felt the loop -tighten on its neck, its struggles would release the tip of the -spring-pole from under the bough, and it would be jerked up in the air -and strangled. - -From camp, we went down the valley, looking for grouse in all the -thickest clumps of young pines. Several rabbits jumped up ahead of us, -snow-white, big-footed and black-eyed. Pitamakan let fly an arrow at one -of them, but it fell short of the mark. - -There were game trails everywhere. The falling snow was fast filling -them, so that we could not distinguish new tracks from old; but after -traveling a half-mile or so, we began to see the animals themselves, elk -and deer, singly, and in little bands. As we approached a tangle of red -willows, a bull, a cow, and a calf moose rose from the beds they had -made in them. The cow and calf trotted away, but the bull, his hair all -bristling forward, walked a few steps toward us, shaking his big, -broad-horned head. The old trappers' tales of their ferocity at this -time of year came to my mind, and I began to look for a tree to climb; -there was none near by. All had such a large circumference that I could -not reach halfway round them. - -"Let's run!" I whispered. - -"Stand still!" Pitamakan answered. "If you run, he will come after us." - -The bull was not more than fifty yards from us. In the dim light of the -forest his eyes, wicked little pig-like eyes, glowed with a greenish -fire. The very shape of him was terrifying, more like a creature of bad -dreams than an actual inhabitant of the earth. His long head had a -thick, drooping upper lip; a tassel of black hair swung from his lower -jaw; at the withers he stood all of six feet high, and sloped back to -insignificant hind quarters; his long hair was rusty gray, shading into -black. All this I took in at a glance. The bull again shook his head at -us and advanced another step or two. "If he starts again, run for a -tree," Pitamakan said. - -That was a trying moment. We were certainly much afraid of him, and so -would the best of the company men have been had they stood there -weaponless in knee-deep snow. Once more he tossed his enormous horns; -but just as he started to advance, a stick snapped in the direction in -which the cow and calf had gone. At that he half turned and looked back, -then trotted away in their trail. The instant he disappeared we started -the other way, and never stopped until we came to our shelter. - -It was well for us that we did return just then. The falling snow was -wetting the ash-heap, and the water would soon have soaked through to -the buried coals. We dug them up and started another fire, and sat -before it for some time before venturing out again. This experience -taught us, when leaving camp thereafter, to cover the coal-heap with a -roof of wood or bark. - -"Well, come on! Let's go up the valley this time, and see what will -happen to us there," said Pitamakan, when we had rested. - -Not three hundred yards above camp we came to a fresh bear trail, so -fresh that only a very thin coating of snow had fallen since the passing -of the animal. It led us to the river, when we saw that it continued on -the other side up to the timber, straight toward the cave that had -sheltered us. The tracks, plainly outlined in the sand at the edge of -the water, were those of a black bear. "That is he, the one that -gathered the leaves and stuff we slept in, and he's going there now!" -Pitamakan exclaimed. - -"If we only had his carcass, how much more comfortable we could be!" I -said. "The hide would be warm and soft to lie on, and the fat meat would -last us a long time." - -"If he goes into the cave to stay, we'll get him," said Pitamakan. "If -we can't make bows and arrows to kill him, we will take strong, heavy -clubs and pound him on the head." - -We went up the valley. Trailing along behind my companion, I thought -over his proposal to club the bear to death. A month, even a few days -back, such a plan would have seemed foolish; but I was fast learning -that necessity, starvation, will cause a man to take chances against -the greatest odds. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt like -facing that bear. - -I was about to propose that we go after it at once, when, with a whirr -of wings that startled us, a large covey of blue grouse burst from a -thicket close by, and alighted here and there in the pines and firs. We -moved on a few steps, and stopped within short bow-shot of one. It did -not seem to be alarmed at our approach, and Pitamakan took his time to -fit one of the clumsy arrows and fire it. - -_Zip!_ The shaft passed a foot from its body, struck a limb above and -dropped down into the snow. But the grouse never moved. Anxiously I -watched the fitting and aiming of the other arrow. - -_Zip!_ I could not help letting out a loud yell when it hit fair and the -bird came fluttering and tumbling down. I ran forward and fell on it the -instant it struck the snow, and grasped its plump body with tense -hands. "Meat! See! We have meat!" I cried, holding up the fine cock. - -"Be still! You have already scared all the other birds out of this -tree!" said Pitamakan. - -It was true. There had been three more in that fir, and now, because of -my shouts, they were gone. Pitamakan looked at me reproachfully as he -started to pick up the fallen arrows. Right there I learned a lesson in -self-restraint that I never forgot. - -We knew that there were more grouse in near-by trees, but they sat so -still and were so much the color of their surroundings that we were some -time in discovering any of them. They generally chose a big limb to -light on, close to the bole of the tree. Finally our hungry eyes spied -three in the next tree, and Pitamakan began shooting at the lower one, -while I recovered the arrows for him. - -Luck was against us. It was nothing, but miss, miss, miss, and as one by -one the arrows grazed the birds, they hurtled away through the forest -and out of sight. We were more fortunate a little farther on, for we got -two birds from a small fir. Then we hurried to camp with our prizes. - -I was for roasting the three of them at once, and eating a big feast; -but Pitamakan declared that he would not have any such doings. "We'll -eat one now," he said, "one in the evening, and the other in the -morning." - -We were so hungry that we could not wait to cook the first bird -thoroughly. Dividing it, we half roasted the portions over the coals, -and ate the partly raw flesh. Although far from enough, that was the -best meal I ever had. And it was not so small, either; the blue grouse -is a large and heavy bird, next to the sage-hen the largest of our -grouse. After eating, we went out and "rustled" a good pile of fuel. As -night came on, we sat down before the blaze in a cheerful mood, and -straightway began to make plans for the future, which now seemed less -dark than at the beginning of the day. - -"With a better bow and better arrows, it is certain that we can kill -enough grouse to keep us alive," I said. - -"Not unless we have snowshoes to travel on," Pitamakan objected. "In a -few days the snow will be so deep that we can no longer wade in it." - -"We can make them of wood," I suggested, remembering the tale of a -company man. - -"But we couldn't travel about barefooted. Our moccasins will last only a -day or two longer. One of mine, you see, is already ripping along the -sole. Brother, if we are ever to see green grass and our people again, -these things must we have besides food--thread and needles, skins for -moccasins, clothing and bedding, and a warm lodge. The weather is going -to be terribly cold before long." - -At that my heart went away down. I had thought only of food, forgetting -that other things were just as necessary. The list of them staggered -me--thread and needles, moccasins, and all the rest! "Well, then, we -must die," I exclaimed, "for we can never get all those things!" - -"We can and we will," said Pitamakan, cheerfully, "and the beginning of -it all will be a better bow and some real arrows, arrows with ice-rock -or flint points. We will try to make some to-morrow. Hah! Listen!" - -I barely heard the plaintive squall, but he recognized it. "Come on, -it's a rabbit in one of the snares!" he cried, and out we ran into the -brush. - -He was right. A rabbit, still kicking and struggling for breath, was -hanging in the farther snare. Resetting the trap, we ran, happy and -laughing, back to the fire with the prize. - -After all, we ate two grouse, instead of one, that evening, burying them -under the fire, and this time letting them roast long enough so that the -meat parted easily from the bones. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - -"My grandfather told me that this is one way that it was done," said -Pitamakan, as taking a flake of obsidian in the palm of his left hand, -he tapped it with an angular stone held in his right hand. "The other -way was to heat the ice-rock in the fire, and then with a grass stem -place a very small drop of water on the part to be chipped off." - -We had been out after flints, and finding none, had brought back the -pieces of obsidian that we had placed at the foot of the tree. Earlier -in the morning, on visiting the snares, we had found a rabbit in each. -They hung now in a tree near by, and it was good to see them there; the -rabbit remaining from our first catch had been broiled for our -breakfast. - -Following my partner's example, I, too, tried to work a piece of the -obsidian into an arrow-point. The result was that we spoiled much of -the none too plentiful material. It would not chip where we wanted it -to, and if we hit it too hard a blow it splintered. - -Deciding now to try the fire-and-water method, we made for the purpose a -pair of pincers of a green willow fork, and melted a handful of snow in -a saucer-shaped fragment of rock. I was to do the heating of the -obsidian and Pitamakan was to do the flaking. He chose a piece about an -inch and a half long, a quarter of an inch thick, and nearly triangular -in shape. One edge was as sharp as a razor; the other two were almost -square-faced. - -According to his directions, I took the fragment in the pincers by the -sharp edge, so as to leave the rest free to be worked upon. Gradually -exposing it to the heat, I held it for a moment over some coals freshly -raked from the fire, and then held it before him, while with the end of -a pine needle he laid a tiny drop of water near the lower corner, about -a quarter of an inch back from the squared edge. There was a faint hiss -of steam, but no apparent change in the surface of the rock. We tried it -again, dropping the water in the same place. _Pip!_ A small scale half -the size of the little finger nail snapped off and left a little trough -in the square edge. We both gave cries of delight; it seemed that we had -hit on the right way to do the work. - -A little more experimenting showed that the piece should be held -slanting downward in the direction in which the flaking was to be done, -for the cold water caused the rock to scale in the direction in which -the drop ran. In the course of two hours the rough piece of obsidian was -chipped down to a small arrow-point--one that Pitamakan's grandfather -would have scorned, no doubt, but a real treasure to us. - -We worked all that day making the points; when evening came we had five -that were really serviceable. At sundown, the weather having cleared, -we went to look at the rabbit-snares. As neither had been sprung, we -moved them to a fresh place. This last storm had added a good deal to -the depth of the snow; it was so much now above our knees that walking -in it was hard work. - -We had now before us a task almost as difficult as making the points; -that is, to find suitable material for our bows and arrows. We found -none that evening, but the next morning, after visiting the snares and -taking one rabbit, we stumbled on a clump of service-berry treelets, -next to ash the favorite bow-wood of the Blackfeet. - -Back to the camp we went, got our "anvil" and hacking-stones, and cut -two straight, limbless stems, between two and three inches in diameter. -Next we had a long hunt through the willows for straight arrow-shafts, -found them, and got some coarse pieces of sandstone from the river to -use as files. - -Two days more were needed for making the bows and the arrow-shafts. The -bows were worked down to the right size and shape only by the hardest -kind of sandstone-rubbing, and by scraping and cutting with obsidian -knives. But we did not dare to dry them quickly in the fire for fear of -making the wood brittle, and they had not the strength of a really good -weapon. - -We made a good job of the arrows, slitting the tips, inserting the -points, and fastening them in place with rabbit-sinew wrappings. For the -shafts, the grouse wings provided feathering, which was also fastened in -place with the sinew. Fortunately for us, the rabbit-snares kept us well -supplied with meat, although we were growing tired of the diet. - -Only one thing caused us anxiety now--the cords for our bows. We had to -use for the purpose our moccasin strings, which were not only large and -uneven, but weak. Pitamakan spoke of cutting off a braid of his hair for -a cord, but on the morning after the weapons were finished, he said -that in the night his dream had warned him not to do this. That settled -it. - -On this morning we went early to the snares and found a rabbit hanging -in each. Taking the nooses along with the game to camp, we slowly dried -them before the fire, for they must now serve as bowstrings. After they -were dry we tested one of them, and it broke. We knotted it together and -twisted it with the other to make a cord for Pitamakan's bow. That left -me without one, and unable to string my bow until some large animal was -killed that would furnish sinew for the purpose. I was by no means sure -that the twisted and doubled cord was strong enough. - -"You'd better try it before we start out," I suggested. - -"No, we mustn't strain it any more than we can help," Pitamakan replied; -and with that he led off down the valley. - -Although the sun shone brightly, this was the coldest day that we had -yet had. Had we not worn rabbit-skins, with fur side in, for socks, we -could not have gone far from the fire. The trees were popping with -frost, a sign that the temperature was close to zero. - -Soon after leaving camp we struck a perfect network of game tracks, some -of which afforded good walking--when they went our way. For there was no -main trail parallel to the river, such as the buffalo and other game -always made along the streams on the east side of the Rockies. On the -west side of course there were no buffalo, and probably never had been -any; and to judge from the signs, the other animals wandered aimlessly -in every direction. - -We went ahead slowly and noiselessly, for we hoped to see some of the -game lying down, and to get a close shot before we were discovered. -Presently a covey of ruffed grouse, flying up out of the snow into the -pines, afforded easy shots; but we dared not risk our arrows for fear of -shattering the points against the solid wood. We determined thereafter -always to carry a couple of blunt ones for bird shooting. - -Soon after passing the grouse, I caught a glimpse of some black thing -that bobbed through the snow into a balsam thicket. We went over there -and came to the trail of a fisher, the largest member of the weasel -family. As I had often seen the large, glossy black pelts of these -animals brought into the fort by Indians and company trappers, I was -anxious to get a close view of one alive. I looked for it farther along -in the snow; but Pitamakan, who was gazing up into the trees, all at -once grasped my arm and pointed at a small red-furred creature that, -running to the end of a long bough, leaped into the next tree. - -"Huh! Only a squirrel!" I said. But I had barely spoken when, hot after -it, jumped the fisher, the most beautiful, agile animal that I had ever -seen. It was considerably larger than a house cat. - -We ran, or rather waddled, as fast as we could to the foot of the fir, -barely in time to see the fisher spring into the next tree, still in -pursuit of the squirrel. The latter, making a circle in the branches, -leaped back into the tree over our heads. The fisher was gaining on it, -and was only a few feet behind its prey when, seeing us, it instantly -whipped round and went out of that tree into the one beyond, and from -that to another, and another, until it was finally lost to sight. - -"Oh, if we could only have got it!" I cried. - -"Never mind, there are plenty of them here, and we'll get some before -the winter is over," said my companion. - -Although I had my doubts about that, I made no remark. Pitamakan was -promising lot of things that seemed impossible,--needles and thread, for -instance. "Let's go on," I said. "It is too cold for us to stand still." - -We came now to the red willow thicket where the bull moose had -frightened us. There a barely perceptible trough in the new-fallen snow -marked where he and his family had wandered round and retreated, -quartering down the valley. - -"They are not far away, but I think we had better not hunt them until we -have two bows," Pitamakan remarked. - -Just below the red willows we saw our first deer, a large, white-tail -doe, walking toward the river, and stopping here and there to snip off -tender tips of willow and birch. We stood motionless while she passed -through the open timber and into a fir thicket. - -"She is going to lie down in there. Come on," said Pitamakan. - -He started toward the river and I followed, although I wondered why he -didn't go straight to the deer trail. Finally I asked him the reason, -and right there I got a very important lesson in still-hunting. - -"All the animals of the forest lie down facing their back trail," he -explained. "Sometimes they do more than that; they make a circle, and -coming round, lie down where they can watch their trail. If an enemy -comes along on it, they lie close to the ground, ears flattened back, -until he passes on; then they get up slowly and sneak quietly out of -hearing, and then run far and fast. Remember this: never follow a trail -more than just enough to keep the direction the animal is traveling. -Keep looking ahead, and when you see a likely place for the animal to be -lying, a rise of ground, a side hill, or a thicket, make a circle, and -approach it from the further side. If the animal hasn't stopped, you -will come to its trail; but if you find no trail, go ahead slowly, a -step at a time." - -There was sound sense in what he told me, and I said so; but feeling -that we were losing time, I added, "Let's hurry on now." - -"It is because there is no hurry that I have explained this to you -here," he replied. "This is a time for waiting instead of hurrying. You -should always give the animal plenty of chance to lie down and get -sleepy." - -The day was too cold, however, for longer waiting. We went on to the -river, and were surprised to find that it was frozen over, except for -long, narrow open places over the rapids. As there was no snow on the -new-formed ice, walking on it was a great relief to our tired legs. A -couple of hundred yards down stream we came to the fir thicket, and -walked past it. Since no fresh deer track was to be found coming from -the place, we knew that the doe was somewhere in it. - -Back we turned, and leaving the river, began to work our way in among -the snow-laden trees, which stood so close together that we could see no -more than twenty or thirty feet ahead. I kept well back from Pitamakan, -in order to give him every possible chance. It was an anxious moment. -Killing that deer meant supplying so many of our needs! - -We had sneaked into the thicket for perhaps fifty yards when, for all -his care, Pitamakan grazed with his shoulder a snow-laden branch of -balsam, and down came the whole fluff of it. I saw the snow farther on -burst up as if from the explosion of a bomb, and caught just a glimpse -of the deer, whose tremendous leaps were raising the feathery cloud. It -had only a few yards to go in the open; but Pitamakan had seen it rise -from its bed, and was quick enough to get a fair shot before it -disappeared. - -"I hit it!" he cried. "I saw its tail drop! Come on." - -That was a certain sign. When a deer of this variety is alarmed and -runs, it invariably raises its short, white-haired tail, and keeps -swaying it like the inverted pendulum of a clock; but if even slightly -wounded by the hunter, it instantly claps its tail tight against its -body and keeps it there. - -"Here is blood!" Pitamakan called out, pointing to some red spots on the -snow. They were just a few scattering drops, but I consoled myself with -thinking that an arrow does not let out blood like a rifle-ball because -the shaft fills the wound. We soon came to the edge of the fir thicket. -Beyond, the woods were so open that we could see a long way in the -direction of the deer's trail. We dropped to a walk, and went on a -little less hopefully; the blood-droppings became more scattering, and -soon not another red spot was to be seen--a bad sign. - -At last we found where the deer had ceased running, had stopped and -turned round to look back. It had stood for some time, as was shown by -the well-trodden snow. Even here there was not one drop of blood, and -worst of all, from this place the deer had gone on at its natural long -stride. - -"It is useless for us to trail her farther," said Pitamakan dolefully. -"Her wound is only a slight one; it smarts just enough to keep her -traveling and watching that we don't get a chance for another shot." - -I felt bad enough, but Pitamakan felt worse, because he thought that he -should have made a better shot. - -"Oh, never mind," I said, trying to cheer him. "There are plenty of deer -close round here, and it is a long time until night. Go ahead. We'll do -better next time." - -"I am pretty tired," he complained. "Perhaps we had better go to camp -and start out rested to-morrow." - -I had not thought to take the lead and break trail a part of the time; -of course he was tired. I proposed to do it now, and added that it would -be a good plan to walk on the ice of the river and look carefully into -the timber along the shores for meat of some kind. - -"You speak truth!" he exclaimed, his face brightening in a way that was -good to see. "Go ahead; let's get over there as quick as possible." - -In a few minutes we were back on the ice, where he took the lead again. -And now for the first time since leaving camp--except for a few minutes -after the shot at the deer--I felt sure that with so much game in the -valley we should kill something. On the smooth, new ice, our moccasins -were absolutely noiseless; we were bound to get a near shot. Inside of -half an hour we flushed several coveys of grouse, and saw an otter and -two mink; but there were so many tracks of big game winding round on the -shore and in and out of the timber that we paid no attention to the -small fry. - -It was at the apex of a sharp point, where the river ran right at the -roots of some big pines, that we saw something that sent a thrill of -expectation through us; the snow on a willow suddenly tumbled, while the -willow itself trembled as if something had hit it. We stopped and -listened, but heard nothing. Then nearer to us the snow fell from -another bush; from another closer yet, and Pitamakan made ready to shoot -just as a big cow elk walked into plain view and stopped, broadside -toward us, not fifty feet away. - -"Oh, now it is meat, sure," I thought, and with one eye on the cow and -the other on my companion, I waited breathlessly. - -For an instant Pitamakan held the bow motionless, then suddenly drew -back the cord with a mighty pull, whirled half round on the slippery ice -and sat down, with the bow still held out in his left hand. From each -end of it dangled a part of the cord! - -That was a terrible disappointment. Such a fair chance to get a big fat -animal lost, all because of that weak bowstring! The elk had lunged out -of sight the instant Pitamakan moved. He sat for a moment motionless on -the ice, with bowed head, a picture of utter dejection. Finally he gave -a deep sigh, got up slowly and listlessly, and muttered that we had -better go home. - -"Wait! Let's knot the cord together," I proposed. "That may have been -the one weak place in it." - -He shook his head in a hopeless way and started upstream, but after a -few steps halted, and said, "I have no hope, but we'll try it." - -The cord had been several inches longer than was necessary, and after -the knot was made it was still long enough to string the bow. When it -was in place again, Pitamakan gave it a half pull, a harder one, then -fitted an arrow and drew it slowly back; but before the head of the -shaft was anywhere near the bow, _frip!_ went the cord, broken in a new -place. We were done for unless we could get a new and serviceable cord! -Without a word Pitamakan started on and I followed, my mind all a jumble -of impossible plans. - -We followed the winding river homeward in preference to the shorter -route through the deep snow. The afternoon was no more than half gone -when we arrived at the little shelter, rebuilt the fire, and sat down to -roast some rabbit meat. - -"We can't even get any more rabbits," I said. "There are so many knots -in our strings that a slip-noose can't be made with them." - -"That is true, brother," said Pitamakan, "so we have but one chance -left. If there is a bear in that cave across the river we have got to -kill him." - -"With clubs?" - -"Yes, of course. I told you that my dream forbids the cutting of my -hair, and so there is no way to make a bowstring." - -"Come on! Come on!" I said desperately. "Let's go now and have it over." - -We ate our rabbit meat as quickly as possible, drank from the spring, -and by the help of the indispensable "anvil" and our cutting-stones, we -got us each a heavy, green birch club. Then we hurried off to the river. -Although much snow had fallen since we had seen the black bear's tracks -there, its trail was still traceable up through the timber toward the -cave. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - -Well, we took up the dim trail on the farther side of the river and -followed it through the timber toward the cave at the foot of the cliff, -but I, for my part, was not at all anxious to reach the end of it. -Midway up the slope I called to Pitamakan to halt. - -"Let's talk this over and plan just what we will do at the cave," I -proposed. - -"I don't know what there is to plan," he answered, turning and facing -me. "We walk up to the cave, stoop down, and shout, 'Sticky-mouth, come -out of there!' Out he comes, terribly scared, and we stand on each side -of the entrance with raised clubs, and whack him on the base of the nose -as hard as we can. Down he falls. We hit him a few more times, and he -dies." - -"Yes?" said I. "Yes?" - -I was trying to remember all the bear stories that I had heard the -company men and the Indians tell, but I could call to mind no story of -their attacking a bear with clubs. - -"Yes? Yes what? Why did you stop? Go on and finish what you started to -say." - -"We may be running a big risk," I replied. "I have always heard that any -animal will fight when it is cornered." - -"But we are not going to corner this bear. We stand on each side of the -entrance; it comes out; there is the big wide slope and the thick forest -before it, and plenty of room to run. We will be in great luck if, with -the one blow that we each will have time for, we succeed in knocking it -down. Remember this: We have to hit it and hit hard with one swing of -the club, for it will be going so fast that there will be no chance for -a second blow." - -We went on. I felt somewhat reassured, and was now anxious to have the -adventure over as soon as possible. All our future depended on getting -the bear. I wondered whether, if we failed to stop the animal with our -clubs, Pitamakan would venture to defy his dream, cut off a braid of his -hair, and make a bow-cord. - -Passing the last of the trees, we began to climb the short, bare slope -before the cave, when suddenly we made a discovery that was sickening. -About twenty yards from the cave the trail we were following turned -sharply to the left and went quartering back into the timber. We stared -at it for a moment in silence. Then Pitamakan said, dully:-- - -"Here ends our bear hunt! He was afraid to go to his den because our -scent was still there. He has gone far off to some other place that he -knows." - -The outlook was certainly black. There was but one chance for us now, I -thought, and that was for me to persuade this red brother of mine to -disregard his dream and cut off some of his hair for a bow-cord. But -turning round and idly looking the other way, I saw something that -instantly drove this thought from my mind. It was a dim trail along the -foot of the cliff to the right of the cave. I grabbed Pitamakan by the -arm, yanked him round, and silently pointed at it. His quick eyes -instantly discovered it, and he grinned, and danced a couple of steps. - -"Aha! That is why this one turned and went away!" he exclaimed. "Another -bear was there already, had stolen his home and bed, and he was afraid -to fight for them. Come on! Come on!" - -We went but a few steps, however, before he stopped short and stood in -deep thought. Finally he turned and looked at me queerly, as if I were a -stranger and he were trying to learn by my appearance what manner of boy -I was. It is not pleasant to be stared at in that way. I stood it as -long as I could, and then asked, perhaps a little impatiently, why he -did so. The answer I got was unexpected:-- - -"I am thinking that the bear there in the cave may be a grizzly. How is -it? Shall we go on and take the chances, or turn back to camp? If you -are afraid, there is no use of our trying to do anything up there." - -Of course I was afraid, but I was also desperate; and I felt, too, that -I must be just as brave as my partner. "Go on!" I said, and my voice -sounded strangely hollow to me. "Go on! I will be right with you." - -We climbed the remainder of the slope and stood before the cave. Its low -entrance was buried in snow, all except a narrow space in the centre, -through which the bear had ploughed its way in, and which, since its -passing, had partly filled. The trail was so old that we could not -determine whether a black or a grizzly bear had made it. - -But of one thing there could be no doubt: the animal was right there in -the dark hole, only a few feet from us, as was shown by the faint wisps -of congealed breath floating out of it into the cold air. Pitamakan, -silently stationing me on the right of the entrance, took his place at -the left side, and motioning me to raise my club, shouted, -"_Pahk-si-kwo-yi, sak-sit!_" (Sticky-mouth, come out!) - -Nothing came; nor could we hear any movement, any stir of the leaves -inside. Again he shouted; and again and again, without result. Then, -motioning me to follow, he went down the slope. "We'll have to get a -pole and jab him," he said, when we came to the timber. "Look round for -a good one." - -We soon found a slender dead pine, snapped it at the base where it had -rotted, and knocked off the few scrawny limbs. It was fully twenty feet -long, and very light. - -"Now I am the stronger," said Pitamakan, as we went back, "so do you -handle the pole, and I will stand ready to hit a big blow with my club. -You keep your club in your right hand, and work the pole into the cave -with your left. In that way maybe you will have time to strike, too." - -When we came to the cave, I found that his plan would not work. I could -not force the pole through the pile of snow at the entrance with one -hand, so standing the club where I could quickly reach it, I used both -hands. At every thrust the pole went in deeper, and in the excitement of -the moment I drove it harder and harder, with the result that it -unexpectedly went clear through the obstructing snow and on, and I fell -headlong. - -At the instant I went down something struck the far end of the pole such -a rap that I could feel the jar of it clear back through the snow, and a -muffled, raucous, angry yowl set all my strained nerves a-quiver. As I -was gathering myself to rise, the dreadful yowl was repeated right over -my head, and down the bear came on me, clawing and squirming. Its sharp -nails cut right into my legs. I squirmed as best I could under its -weight, and no doubt went through the motions of yelling; but my face -was buried in the snow, and for the moment I could make no sound. - -Although I was sure that a grizzly was upon me and that my time had -come, I continued to wiggle, and to my great surprise, I suddenly -slipped free from the weight, rose up, and toppled over backward, -catching, as I went, just a glimpse of Pitamakan fiercely striking a -blow with his club. I was on my feet in no time, and what I saw caused -me to yell with delight as I sprang for my club. The bear was kicking -and writhing in the snow, and my partner was showering blows on its -head. I delivered a blow or two myself before it ceased to struggle. - -Then I saw that it was not a grizzly, but a black bear of no great size. -Had it been a grizzly, I certainly, and probably Pitamakan, too, would -have been killed right there. - -It was some little time before we could settle down to the work in hand. -Pitamakan had to describe how he had stood ready, and hit the bear a -terrific blow on the nose as it came leaping out, and how he had -followed it up with more blows as fast as he could swing his club. Then -I tried to tell how I had felt, crushed under the bear and expecting -every instant to be bitten and clawed to death. But words failed me, -and, moreover, a stinging sensation in my legs demanded my attention; -there were several gashes in them from which blood was trickling, and my -trousers were badly ripped. I rubbed the wounds a bit with snow, and -found that they were not so serious as they looked. - - [Illustration: PITAMAKAN FIERCELY STRIKING A BLOW] - -The bear, a male, was very fat, and was quite too heavy for us to carry; -probably it weighed two hundred pounds. But we could drag it, and taking -hold of its fore paws, we started home. It was easy to pull it down the -slope and across the ice, but from there to camp, across the level -valley, dragging it was very hard work. Night had fallen when we -arrived, and cold as the air was, we were covered with perspiration. - -Luckily, we had a good supply of wood on hand. Pitamakan, opening the -ash-heap, raked out a mass of live coals and started a good fire. Then -we rested and broiled some rabbit meat before attacking the bear. Never -were there two happier boys than we, as we sat before our fire in that -great wilderness, munched our insipid rabbit meat and gloated over our -prize. - -The prehistoric people no doubt considered obsidian knives most -excellent tools; but to us, who were accustomed only to sharp steel, -they seemed anything but excellent; they severely tried our muscles, our -patience, and our temper. They proved, however, to be not such bad -flaying instruments. Still, we were a long time ripping the bear's skin -from the tip of the jaw down along the belly to the tail, and from the -tail down the inside of the legs to and round the base of the feet. -There were fully two inches of fat on the carcass, and when we finally -got the hide off, we looked as if we had actually wallowed in it. By -that time, according to the Big Dipper, it was past midnight, but -Pitamakan would not rest until he had the back sinews safe out of the -carcass and drying before the fire for early use. - -It is commonly believed that the Indians used the leg tendons of animals -for bow-cords, thread, and wrappings, but this is a mistake; the only -ones they took were the back sinews. These lie like ribbons on the -outside of the flesh along the backbone, and vary in length and -thickness according to the size of the animal. Those of a buffalo bull, -for instance, are nearly three feet long, three or four inches wide, and -a quarter of an inch thick. When dry, they are easily shredded into -thread of any desired size. - -Those that we now took from the bear were not two feet long, but were -more than sufficient for a couple of bow-cords. As soon as we had them -free, we pressed them against a smooth length of dry wood, where they -stuck; and laying this well back from the fire, we began our -intermittent night's sleep, for, as I have said, we had to get up -frequently to replenish the fire. - -The next morning, expecting to have a fine feast, I broiled some of the -bear meat over the coals, but it was so rank that one mouthful was more -than enough; so I helped Pitamakan finish the last of the rabbit meat. -He would have starved rather than eat the meat of a bear, for to the -Blackfeet the bear is "medicine," a sacred animal, near kin to man, and -therefore not to be used for food. - -Killing a grizzly was considered as great a feat as killing a Sioux, or -other enemy. But the successful hunter took no part of the animal except -the claws, unless he were a medicine-man. The medicine-man, with many -prayers and sacrifices to the gods, would occasionally take a strip of -the fur to wrap round the roll containing his sacred pipe. - -Pitamakan himself was somewhat averse to our making any use of the black -bear's hide, but when I offered to do all the work of scraping off the -fat meat and of drying it, he consented to sleep on it once with me, as -an experiment, and if his dreams were good, to continue to use it. - -I went at my task with good will, and was half the morning getting the -hide clean and in shape to stretch and dry. Pitamakan meanwhile made two -bow-cords of the bear sinew. First he raveled them into a mass of fine -threads, and then hand-spun them into a twisted cord of the desired -length; and he made a very good job of it, too. When he had stretched -the cords to dry before the fire, he sharpened a twig of dry birch for -an awl, and with the rest of the sinew, repaired our badly ripped -moccasins. At noon we started out to hunt, and on the way dragged the -bear carcass back to the river and across it into the big timber, where -later on we hoped to use it for bait. - -This day we went up the river, walking noiselessly on the ice. From the -start we felt confident of success; for not only were our bow-cords as -good as we could desire, but the bows were now in fine condition, -having dried out and become more stiff, yet springy. Since, during the -latter part of the night, more snow had fallen, we could distinguish -fresh game tracks from old ones. And now that there was snow on the ice, -we naturally expected to see where the hoofed game had been crossing the -river; they seldom venture out on smooth ice, from fear of slipping and -injuring themselves. - -The first game we saw were a number of ruffed grouse standing in a row -at the edge of a strip of open water, to take their daily drink. They -walked away into the willows at our approach, and from there flew into -the firs, where we knocked down four of them with our blunt-headed bird -arrows. I got only one, for of course I was not so good a marksman with -bow and arrow as my partner, who had used the weapon more or less since -he was old enough to walk. - -Burying the grouse in the snow at the edge of the shore, we went on, and -presently came to the place where several elk had crossed to the north -side of the river, browsed among a bordering patch of red willows, and -then gone into the thick firs. We followed them, not nearly so excited -now that we had trustworthy weapons as we had been on the previous hunt. -When we came near the firs, which covered several acres of the bend in -the river, Pitamakan sent me round to enter the farther side and come -through the patch toward him, while he took his stand close to the place -where the band had entered. - -"You needn't come back carefully," he said to me. "Make all the noise -you can--the more the better; then they will come running out here on -their back trail, and I'll get some good shots. You'd better give me one -of your real arrows, for you will probably not get a chance even for one -shot at them." - -That left me with only one arrow with an obsidian point, but -nevertheless I determined to do my best to get an elk. As Pitamakan had -remarked about himself, I, too, felt the sun power strong within me that -morning and looked for success. With that feeling, call it what you -will,--all old hunters will understand what I mean,--I was not at all -surprised, a short time after entering the firs, to see, as I was -sneaking along through them, a big bull elk astride a willow bush that -he had borne down in order to nip the tender tips. - -He was not fifty feet from me, and no doubt thought that the slight -noise which he heard was made by one of his band. He could not see me at -first, because of a screen of fir branches between us, and he had not -looked up when I made the final step that brought me into the open. But -when I raised the bow, he jerked his head sidewise and gathered himself -for a jump. - -He was not so quick as I. The strength of a giant seemed to swell in my -arms; I drew the arrow sliding back across the bow almost to the head -with a lightning-like pull, and let it go, _zip!_ deep into his side -through the small ribs. - -Away he went, and I after him, yelling at the top of my voice to scare -the herd toward Pitamakan, if possible. I saw several of them bounding -away through the firs, but my eyes were all for the red trail of the -bull. And presently I came to the great animal, stretched across a -snow-covered log and breathing its last; for the arrow had pierced its -lungs. - -"_Wo-ke-hai! Ni-kai-nit-ab is-stum-ik!_" (Come on! I have killed a -bull!) I yelled. - -And from the far side of the firs came the answer: "_Nis-toab -ni-mut-uk-stan!_" (I have also killed!) - -That was great news. Although it was hard for me to leave my big bull -even for a moment, I went to Pitamakan, and found that he had killed a -fine big cow. He had used three arrows, and had finally dropped her at -the edge of the river. - -We were so much pleased and excited over our success that it was some -time before we could cease telling how it all happened and settle down -to work. We had several fresh obsidian flakes, but as the edges soon -grew dull, we were all the rest of the day in getting the hides off the -animals and going to camp with the meat of the cow. The meat of my bull -was too poor to use, but his skin, sinews, brains, and liver were of the -greatest value to us, as will be explained. - -"There is so much for us to do that it is hard to decide what to do -first," said Pitamakan that night. - -It was long after dark, and we had just gathered the last of a pile of -firewood and sat ourselves down before the cheerful blaze. - -"The first thing is to cook a couple of grouse, some elk liver, and hang -a side of elk ribs over the fire to roast for later eating," I said, and -began preparing the great feast. - -After our long diet of rabbits, it was a feast. We finished the birds -and the liver, and then sat waiting patiently for the fat ribs to roast -to a crisp brown as they swung on a tripod over the fire. I was now so -accustomed to eating meat without salt that I no longer craved the -mineral, and of course my companion never thought of it. In those days -the Blackfeet used none; their very name for it, _is-tsik-si-pok-wi_ -(like fire tastes), proved their dislike of the condiment. - -"Well, let us now decide what we shall do first," Pitamakan again -proposed. "We need new moccasins, new leggings and snowshoes. Moreover, -we need a comfortable lodge. Which shall be first?" - -"The lodge," I answered, without hesitation. "But how can we make one? -What material can we get for one unless we kill twenty elk and tan the -skins? That would take a long time." - -"This is a different kind of lodge," he explained. "When you came up the -Big River you saw the lodges of the Earth People? Yes. Well, we will -build one like theirs." - -On the voyage up the Missouri with my uncle I had not only seen the -lodges of the Earth People (Sak-wi Tup-pi), as the Blackfeet called the -Mandans, but I had been inside several of them, and noted how warm and -comfortable they were. Their construction was merely a matter of posts, -poles, and earth. We agreed to begin one in the morning, and do no -hunting until it was done. - -The site that we chose for the lodge was a mile below camp and close to -the river, where two or three years before a fire, sweeping through a -growth of "lodge-pole" pines, had killed thousands of the young, slender -trees. In a grove of heavy firs close by we began the work, and as every -one should know how to build a comfortable house without the aid of -tools and nails, I will give some details of the construction. - -In place of the four heavy corner posts which the Mandans cut, we used -four low-crotched trees that stood about twenty feet apart in the form -of a square. In the crotches on two sides of the square we laid as heavy -a pole as we could carry, and bolstered up the centre with a pile of -flat rocks, to keep it from sagging. On the joists, as these may be -called, we laid lighter poles side by side, to form the roof. In the -centre we left a space about four feet wide, the ends of which we -covered with shorter poles, until we reduced it to a hole four feet -square. - -The next task was to get the poles for the sides. These we made of the -proper length by first denting them with sharp-edged stones and then -snapping them off. They were slanted all round against the four sides, -except for a narrow space in the south side, which we left for a -doorway. Next we thatched the roof and sides with a thick layer of -balsam boughs, on top of which we laid a covering of earth nearly a foot -deep. This earth we shoveled into an elk hide with elk shoulder blades, -and then carried each load to its proper place. Lastly, we constructed -in the same manner a passageway six or eight feet long to the door. - -All this took us several days to accomplish, and was hard work. But when -we had laid a ring of heavy stones directly under the square opening in -the roof for a fireplace, made a thick bed of balsam boughs, and covered -it with the bearskin, put up an elkskin for a door, and sat us down -before a cheerful fire, we had a snug, warm house, and were vastly proud -of it. - -"Now for some adventure," said Pitamakan, as we sat eating our first -meal in the new house. "What say you we had best do?" - -"Make some moccasins and snowshoes," I replied. - -"We can do that at night. Let us----" - -The sentence was never finished. A terrible booming roar, seemingly -right overhead, broke upon our ears. Pitamakan's brown face turned an -ashy gray as he sprang up, crying: - -"Run! Run! Run!" - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - -Out into the snow we ran, while nearer and nearer sounded that terrific -roaring and rumbling; it was as if the round world was being rent -asunder. Pitamakan led the way straight back from the river toward the -south side of the valley, and we had run probably two hundred yards -before the noise ceased as suddenly as it had begun. We were quite out -of breath, and it was some time before I could ask what had happened. - -"Why, don't you know?" he said. "That was a great piece of the ice cliff -on the mountain across there. It broke off and came tearing down into -the valley. Trees, boulders, everything in its way were smashed and -carried down. I thought that it was going to bury our lodge." - -Pitamakan wanted to make an early start in the morning to view the path -of the avalanche, but I insisted that we stay at home and work hard -until the things that we needed so much were finished. I had my way. - -Ever since the day of the elk killing, we had kept one of the big hides -in the river in order to loosen the hair. In the morning we brought it -into the lodge, and laying it over a smooth, hard piece of driftwood, -grained it with a heavy elk rib for a graining-knife. It was very hard -work. Although we sharpened an edge of the rib with a piece of sandstone -and kept it as sharp as possible, we had to bear down on it with all our -strength, pushing it an inch or two at a time in order to separate the -hair from the skin. Taking turns, we were half a day in finishing the -job. - -We cut the hide into two parts. Of these, we dried one, and cut the -other into webbing-strings for snowshoes--tedious work with our obsidian -knives. As soon as the half hide was dry, I rubbed elk brains and liver -well into it, and then, rolling it up, laid it away for a couple of -days until the mixture could neutralize the large amount of glue that is -in all hides. After that operation, I spent half a day in washing the -hide and then rubbing and stretching it as it dried. I had then a very -good piece of elk leather,--so-called "buckskin,"--enough for four pairs -of moccasins. - -These Pitamakan and I made very large, so that they would go over the -rabbit-skins with which we wrapped our feet as a protection from the -cold. Our needle for sewing them was a sharp awl made from a piece of an -elk's leg bone; the thread was of elk sinew. - -_O-wam_ (shape of eggs) is the Blackfoot name for snowshoes. Those that -we made were neither shaped like an egg nor like anything else. The bows -were of birch, and no two were alike, and the webbing was woven on them -in a way to make a forest Indian laugh. Neither Pitamakan's people nor -the other tribes of the plains knew anything about snowshoes except in -a general way, and I had never seen a pair. All things considered, -however, we did a fairly good job. If the shoes were heavy and clumsy, -at least they were serviceable, for they sank only a few inches in the -snow when we tested them. - -The evening we finished this work another snowstorm came on, which -lasted two nights and a day, and forced us to postpone our hunt. We -employed the time in improving the interior of the lodge by building a -heavier stone platform for the fire, one that would give off -considerable heat after we went to sleep. - -In order to create a draft for the fire, we were forced to admit some -air through the doorway, and this chilled us. Finally, I remembered that -I had seen in the Mandan lodges screens several feet high, put between -the doorway and the fire, in order to force the cold air upward. - -We made one at once of poles, backed with earth, and then, building a -small fire, sat down on our bed to see how it worked; no more cold air -swept across the floor, and we were absolutely comfortable. But in the -night, although the stones gave out some heat, we were obliged to -replenish the fire as soon as it died down. What we needed in order to -have unbroken sleep was bedding. Pitamakan said that one animal here, -the white mountain goat, had a warmer, thicker coat of fur than the -buffalo. We determined to get some of the hides and tan them into soft -robes. - -The morning after the storm broke clear and cold, but my partner refused -to go up into the high mountains after goats. - -"We must put it off and do something else to-day," he said. "I had a -very bad dream last night--a confused dream of a bear and a goat, one -biting and clawing me, and the other sticking its sharp horns into my -side. Now either that is a warning not to hunt goats to-day, or it is a -sign that the bearskin that we are sleeping on is bad medicine. This is -not the first bad dream that I have had since lying on it." - -"My dreams have all been good since we began sleeping on it," I said. - -"Then use it by yourself; I shall not sleep on it again." - -"Oh, dreams don't mean anything!" I exclaimed. "White people pay no -attention to them." - -"That is because your gods give you different medicine from that our -gods give us," he said, very seriously. "To us is given the dream; in -that way our gods show us the things we may and may not do. Do not speak -lightly of it, lest you bring harm to me." - -I had sense enough to heed his wish; never afterward, either by word or -look, did I cast even a shadow of doubt upon his beliefs. For that -reason, largely, we got along together in perfect harmony, as all -companions should. - -As there was in his dream nothing about other animals, we put on our -snowshoes and started out to hunt and set traps in the valley. At odd -moments we had been making triggers of different sizes for deadfalls, -and now had fifteen ready to use. They were of the "figure 4" pattern; -more complicated than the two-piece triggers, but more sure of action. -Having with the small ones set deadfalls for marten, fisher, and mink, -we went on up the river to the carcasses of the bear and the bull elk. -We found that both had been almost entirely eaten by wolverenes, lynxes, -and mountain lions. Having built at each of these places a large -deadfall, we weighted the drop-bars so heavily with old logs that there -could be no escape for the largest prowler once he seized the bait. - -By the time we had the last of the triggers baited and set up and the -little pen built behind the drop-bar, night was coming on, and we -hurried home. We had seen many tracks of deer, elk, and moose, but had -been too busy to hunt any of them. As we neared the lodge, another -snowstorm set in, but that did not disturb us; in fact, the more snow -the better, for with deep snow the hoofed game of the valley would be -unable to escape us. We could choose the fat does and cows for our -winter's meat. The bucks and bulls were already poor, and the others -would lose flesh rapidly once they were obliged to "yard," that is, to -confine themselves to their hard-beaten trails in the limited area of a -willow patch. - -It was a heavy snow that fell in the night, and the next morning -snowshoeing was good. As Pitamakan had had no bad dreams, and the sun -was shining in a clear sky, we started out for a goat hunt. After -climbing the mountain-side opposite the lodge for some time, we came to -a series of ledges, whence we obtained a fine view of the country which -we were living in. The mountain which we were on was high and very -steep. Not far below its summit was the big ice field, terminating at -the edge of a cliff, from which a great mass had tumbled, and started -the avalanche that had frightened us. - -Turning to the east and pointing to the backbone of the range, Pitamakan -told me to notice how absolutely white it all was except the -perpendicular cliffs, where snow could not lie. There was no question -but that the snow was a great deal deeper up there than where we were. - -I thought that there was a longing in Pitamakan's eyes as he gazed at -the tremendous wall of rock and snow that separated us from the plains -and from our people, but as he said nothing, I kept quiet. For myself, I -felt that I would give anything, suffer any hardships, if I could only -get once more to Fort Benton and my uncle. True, we now had a -comfortable lodge and plenty of elk meat, weapons for killing game, -snowshoes for traveling, and the outlook for more comforts was -favorable. But for all that, the future was very uncertain; there were -many things that might prevent our ever reaching the Missouri; all -nature was arrayed against us, and so was man himself. - -Pitamakan roused me from my reverie by a tap on the shoulder. - -"I can see no goat signs here above us," he said, "but look over there -at the ledges well up on the next mountain to the east. Do you see the -fresh trails?" - -I did. In the smooth, glittering snow they were startlingly distinct in -their windings and turnings from clump to clump of the pines on the -rocky ledges. None of the animals that made them were in sight, but that -was not strange; as they were of practically the same color as the snow, -we could not see them at that distance except when they happened to get -in front of the dark pines or rock. Although the distance over there was -not more than a mile in a straight line, a cut gorge between the two -mountains obliged us to return to the river before making the ascent, -which more than doubled the distance. - -After striking the river, we followed it up past the mouth of the gorge, -past three of the deadfalls set near the shore. The first one held a -fine, large, dark-furred marten, its body nipped across the shoulders -and crushed by the drop-bar. Taking the little victim out, and hanging -it in a tree, we reset the trap. The next deadfall was unsprung. The -third, one of the big falls, was down, and we hurried as fast as we -could to see what it held. - -"A lynx," I ventured. - -"A wolverene," Pitamakan guessed. - -We were both wrong. Pinned down by the neck was a big mountain lion, to -us the most valuable of all the animals of the forest. The Blackfeet, as -well as the Crows and Gros Ventres, prized the skins very highly for use -as saddle-robes--we could get at least four horses for this one. Taking -such a prize made us feel rich. Leaving it in the fall until our return, -we turned off from the river and began the ascent of the mountain in -high spirits. - -For a time the going was good, although increasingly difficult. After -we had passed through the big timber, the mountain became more and more -steep, until it was impossible for us to go farther on snowshoes. Taking -them off, we wallowed up through the deep snow from ledge to ledge, -keeping away from the clumps of stunted pine as much as possible, for in -them the snow lay deepest and was most fluffy. - -The weather was bitterly cold, but we were warm enough, even perspiring -from our exertions. Much as we needed to stop and rest at frequent -intervals, it was impossible to do so, for the instant we halted we -began to shiver. More than once we were on the point of giving up the -hunt, but each time the thought of what a few goat hides meant to us -strengthened our legs to further endeavor. - -I never envied a bird more than I did one that I saw that day. A Clark's -crow it was, raucous of voice and insolent, that kept flying a short -distance ahead of us and lighting on the pines, where it pretended to -pick kernels out of the big cones. If we could only fly like that, I -kept thinking, within a moment's time we could be right on the goats. - -Strange as it may seem, there was more bird life on that bleak, cold -height than in the forest below. One variety of small, sweet singers, -flying all round us in large flocks, was especially numerous. I wondered -what they could be. Long years afterward an ornithologist told me that -they were gray-crowned finches--arctic birds that love the winter cold -and are happiest in a snowdrift. - -We saw, too, many chattering flocks of Bohemian waxwings, also visitors -from the arctic regions. Most interesting of all were the ptarmigan, -small, snow-white grouse with jet-black eyes, bill, and toes. Never -descending to the valleys, either for food or shelter, they live on the -high, bare mountains the year round. They are heavily feathered clear -to the toes, so that their feet cannot freeze; and at night, and by day, -too, in severe weather, instead of roosting in the dwarf pines they -plunge down into soft snow, tunnel under the surface for several feet, -and then tramp a chamber large enough to sit in. These birds were very -tame, and often allowed us to get within fifteen or twenty feet of them -before flying or running away. Some were saucy and made a great fuss at -our approach, cocking up their tails and cackling, and even making a -feint of charging us. - -At last we came walking out on a ledge that ended at the side of a big -gouge in the mountain, and on the far verge of it saw a goat, a big old -fellow, sitting at the edge of a small cliff. It was sitting down on its -haunches, just as a dog does. Should you see a cow, a sheep, or any -herbivorous animal do that, you would think his position extremely -ludicrous. In the case of the goat, because of its strange and uncouth -shape, it is more than ludicrous; it is weird. The animal has a long, -broad-nosed head, set apparently right against its shoulders; a long, -flowing beard hangs from its chin; its withers are extremely high, and -its hams low, like those of the buffalo. Its abnormally long hair -flutters round its knees like a pair of embroidered pantalets, and rises -eight or ten inches in length above the shoulders. The tail is short, -and so heavily haired that it looks like a thick club. Its round, -scimitar-shaped black horns rise in a backward curve from the thick, -fuzzy coat, and seem very small for the big, deep-chested animal. - -The goat was almost as new to Pitamakan as to me. - -"What is the matter with it?" he exclaimed. "Do you think it is sick, or -hurt?" - -"He looks as if he felt very sad," I replied. - -And truly the animal did look very dejected, its head sunk on its -brisket, its black eyes staring vacantly at the valley far below, as if -it were burdened with all the pains and sorrows of the ages. - -We were so interested in watching it that at first we did not see the -others, thirteen in all, scattered close round on the little ledges -above him. Some were standing, others lying down. One big old "billy" -lay under a low-branched dwarf pine, and now and then would raise its -head, bite off a mouthful of the long, coarse needles, and deliberately -chew them. We had come out in plain view of the band, and now wondered -that they had not seen us and run away. - -"Let's back up step by step until we are in the shelter of the pines -back there, then look out a way to get to them," Pitamakan proposed. - -On starting to do so, we found that the goats had seen us all the time. -Two or three of them turned their heads and stared at us with apparent -curiosity; the old billy at the edge of the cliff gave us one vacant -stare, and resumed his brooding; the others paid no attention to our -movements. Unquestionably they had never seen man before, and did not -consider us enemies because we were not four-legged, like the beasts -that preyed upon them. So instead of backing cautiously, we turned and -walked into the little clump of pines, and beyond them to a deep gutter, -where we began the difficult task of stalking the animals. We had to -climb for several hundred yards to a broad ledge, follow it for perhaps -twice that distance, and then work our way, as best we could, straight -down to the goats. - -That was a terrible climb. As the angle of the mountain was such that -the climb would have been difficult on bare rock, you can imagine how -hard it was to go up in the deep snow. Using our snowshoes for shovels -and taking the lead in turn, we fought our way through, upward, inch by -inch. More than once a mass of snow gave way above our gouging, and -swept us down a few feet or a few yards. Once Pitamakan was buried so -deep in it that I was obliged to dig him out; he was gasping for breath -by the time I uncovered his head. - -On the ledge the going was so level that we wore our snowshoes a part of -the way across, and then, wading to a point directly above the goats, we -began the descent. That was easy. Straight ahead of us the mountain -dropped in a series of little shelves, or cliffs, down which we could -easily climb. Stopping when we thought we were near to the goats, we -strung our bows and fitted arrows to them. As I was a poor shot, I took -but one arrow, to be used only in an emergency. Pitamakan carried the -other four. - -In a few moments we struck a deep and well-packed goat trail that -meandered along a shelf thirty, and in places fifty feet wide. Here and -there were clumps of dwarf pine and juniper that prevented our seeing -very far ahead, and Pitamakan gave me the sign to look sharp for the -game. - -A moment later, as we followed the trail round some pines, we came face -to face with a big billy-goat. The instant that he saw us he bristled up -his hair and came for us. Did you ever see a wild pig prance out for a -fight? Well, that is the way that goat came at us--head down and -prancing sidewise. I don't know whether we were more surprised or -scared; probably scared. The sight of those round, sharp black horns -made our flesh creep; indeed, the whole aspect of the uncouth animal was -terrifying. - -Coming at us head on, there was little chance for an arrow to do any -damage to him. - -"Run out that way!" Pitamakan cried, as he gave me a push. "I'll go this -way!" - -There was not any running about it; we waddled to one side and the other -from the canon-like trail out into the deep snow, and it was remarkable -what progress we made. As I said, the goat came prancing toward us, not -jumping full speed, as he might have done, so that we had plenty of time -to get out of the trail. - -When he came opposite he seemed undecided what to do next. We did not -give him time to make up his mind. Pitamakan let fly an arrow, while I -stood ready to shoot if need be. But Pitamakan's shaft sped true; the -old billy flinched and humped himself, threw up his head with a pitiful, -silly expression of surprise, and dropped in his tracks. We waded back -into the trail and examined our prize; such heavy, thick, long hair and -fleece I had never seen on any other animal. At the base of the sharp -horns were black, warty, rubber-like excrescences. "Smell them!" -Pitamakan bade me, and I did. They gave off an exceedingly rank odor of -musk. - -Pitamakan now pulled out the arrow; it had evidently pierced the heart. -He proposed that we go after the band and kill as many as possible; we -needed at least four large, or six small skins for a good bed-robe. - -"Well, come on, lead the way," I said. - -He held up his hand, and I could see his eyes grow big as if from fear. -"What is it?" I asked. - -He did not answer, but stood anxiously looking this way and that, and -soon I, too, heard the faint, remote droning noise that had alarmed him. -We looked at the mountain above us, and at others near and far, but -there was nowhere any sign of an avalanche. - -The droning noise became louder and deeper, filling us with dread all -the more poignant because it was impossible to determine the cause. - -"The old medicine-men told the truth!" said Pitamakan. "These mountains -are no place for the Blackfeet. The gods that dwell here are not our -gods, and they do strange and cruel things to us plains people when they -get the chance." - -I had nothing to say. We listened; the droning grew louder; it seemed -all about us, and yet we could see nothing unusual. - -"Come on! Let's get away from here!" Pitamakan cried. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - -"Where shall we go?" I asked. "This noise seems to come from everywhere -and nowhere." - -I looked up at the top of the mountain which we were on, and saw a long -streak of snow extending eastward from it like an immense pennant. - -"Look! It is nothing but the wind that is making that noise!" I -exclaimed. "See how it is driving the snow up there!" - -"Yes," Pitamakan agreed. "But listen. The sound of its blowing does not -come from there any more than from elsewhere. It comes from every -direction up there in the blue." - -We could now see snow flying from the tops of the mountains on the -opposite side of the valley. In a few moments the whole summit of the -range was lost in a vast haze of drifting, flying snow. But where we -were there was only a gentle breeze from the west, which did not -increase in force. I remembered now that in winter, when fierce -northwest winds blew across the plains, the summit of the Rockies was -always hidden by grayish-white clouds. It was a strange sensation to -hear the drone of a terrific wind and not feel it, and I said so. - -"Everything is strange in this country," my partner said, dully. "Here -Wind-Maker lives; and many another of the mountain and forest gods. We -have to make strong medicine, brother, to escape them." - -This was the first of the terrific winter winds that blow across the -Northwest plains. Many a time thereafter we heard the strange roaring -sound that seemed to come from nowhere in particular; but down in the -valley, and even high up on the sides of the mountains, near the lodge, -there was never more than a gentle breeze. Pitamakan was always -depressed when we heard the strange roaring, and it made me feel -nervous and apprehensive of I knew not what. - -We waded and slid and fell down to the next ledge, and there, working -our way to the edge, we saw some of the goats right beneath us. There -were seven of them,--old "nannies," two kids, and "billies" one and two -years old,--all in a close bunch not more than twenty feet below us. -Instead of running, they stood and stared up at us vacuously, while -their concave faces seemed to heighten their expression of stupid -wonder. - -Pitamakan shot one of the nannies. At the same time I drew my bow on one -of the goats, but on second thought eased it, for I might waste a -precious arrow. I had to use all my will power in denying myself that -chance to add another animal to my list of trophies. - -Pitamakan was not wasting any time: _Zip! Zip! Zip!_ he sped his -remaining arrows, reached out for one of mine, and shot it just as an -old nannie, awaking to the fact that something was wrong with her -kindred, started off to the left at a lumbering gallop, more ungainly -and racking than that of a steer. Here was success, indeed! I was so -excited that I went aimlessly from one to another of the goats, feeling -of their heavy coats and smooth, sharp horns. - -Having dressed the animals, we dragged them from the ledges out on the -steep slide, where we fastened them one to another in a novel way. -Making a slit down the lower joint of a hind leg, we thrust a fore leg -of the next animal through it,--between tendon and bone,--then slit the -fore leg in the same manner, and stuck a stick in it so that it could -not slip out. We soon had all five animals fastened in line, and then -taking the first one by the horns, we started down. - -The deep snow was now a help instead of a hindrance; for it kept our tow -of game from sliding too fast down the tremendously steep incline. -Knowing that we were likely to start an avalanche, we kept as close to -the edge of the timber as we could. Even so, I had the feeling which a -man has while walking on thin ice over deep water. I tried to push -cautiously through the snow, and looked back anxiously whenever the game -in a particularly steep place came sliding down on us by the mere pull -of its own weight. - -Pitamakan was less apprehensive. "If a slide starts, we can probably get -out of it by making a rush for the timber," he said. "Anyhow, what is to -be will be, so don't worry." - -We came safe to the foot of the slide, but had time to skin only one -goat before dark; it was slow work with our obsidian knives. As we could -not safely leave the others unprotected from the prowlers during the -night, we laid them side by side on a heap of balsam boughs, where the -air could circulate all round them, and Pitamakan hung his capote on a -stick right over them, in order that the sight and odor of it might -prevent any wandering lion, lynx, or wolverene from robbing us. To go -without his capote in such cold weather was certainly a sacrifice on -Pitamakan's part. - -If I am asked why we took pains to lay the game on boughs, the answer is -that, although any one would think that snow would be a natural -refrigerator, the opposite is the case, for freshly killed animals will -spoil in a few hours if they are buried in it. - -To keep from freezing, Pitamakan hurried on to camp, while I followed -slowly with the goatskin and head. There was not time to take the lion -or marten from the deadfalls. - -When I got to the lodge, Pitamakan had a fire burning and the last of -the cow elk ribs roasting over it. We were wet to the skin, of course, -but that did not matter. Off came our few garments, to be hung a short -time over the fire and then put on again. How cheerful and restful it -was to stretch out on our balsam beds and enjoy the heat after the long -day's battle with snow and precipitous mountain-sides! - -The next day, and for many days thereafter, we had much work to keep us -busy. We skinned the goats, tanned the hides into soft robes, and sewed -them together in the form of a big bag, with the fur side in. The night -on which we crawled into it for the first time was a great occasion. On -that night, for the very first time since leaving the Blackfoot camp, we -slept perfectly warm and without waking with shivers to rebuild the -fire. - -The deadfalls also took a great deal of our time. Every night some of -them were sprung, and we found from one to three or four valuable fur -animals under the drop-bars. It was a tedious job to skin them and -properly stretch the pelts to dry, but for all that, we loved the work -and were proud of the result. Here and there in the lodge a few marten, -fisher, wolverene, and lynx skins were always drying, and in a corner -the pile of cured peltries was steadily growing. Three of them were of -mountain lions. - -During this time much more snow fell; it was fully six feet deep in the -woods when the last of the elk hams was broiled and eaten. For a day or -two we subsisted on goat meat, although the best of it had a slight -musky odor and flavor. As Pitamakan said, it was not real food. - -As our bows were not nearly so strong as they looked, my partner was -always wishing for glue, so that we might back them with sinew. There -was material enough for glue, but there was nothing to make it in. - -"The Mandans made pots of earth," I said to him one day. "Perhaps we can -make one that will stand fire and water." - -Out we went along the river to look for clay. At the first cut-bank that -we came to I gouged off the snow that thinly coated its perpendicular -side, and lo! there was a layer of clay six inches thick between two -layers of gravel. We broke out several large flat chunks of the -stuff,--it was frozen, of course,--and carried it to the lodge. There, -breaking it into fine pieces and thawing it, we added a small amount of -water, and worked it into a stiff paste of the right consistency, as we -thought, for moulding. - -Pitamakan, always artistic, fashioned a thin bowl like those that he had -seen in the Mandan village, while I made mine an inch thick, with a -capacity of not more than two quarts. When we baked them in the coals, -mine cracked, and Pitamakan's fell to pieces. - -That was discouraging; evidently the clay was not of the right -consistency. I worked up another portion of clay with less water, while -my partner added even more water than before to his batch. We each soon -had a bowl fashioned and put to bake. In a few minutes the one which -Pitamakan had made fell to pieces, but mine, which was thick and clumsy -in shape, seemed to stand the heat well. I gradually increased the fire -round it, and after keeping the blaze up for a long time, I allowed the -fire at last to die out gradually. The bowl turned out fairly well; for -although it had one crack in the side, it was dark red in color, and -gave a substantial ring when we tapped it with a stick. - -However, we took no chances of a mishap by moving it. We plastered the -crack with fresh clay, and then, putting into it nearly a quart of -water, an elk hoof and a couple of goat hoofs, we rebuilt the fire just -close enough to make the mixture simmer, and adding more water from time -to time during the day, patiently awaited results. - -"_Ai-y!_ It is real glue!" Pitamakan exclaimed that evening, after -dipping a stick in the mess and testing it with his fingers. We were -quite excited and proud of our success. Softening the four elk sinews in -the hot glue, Pitamakan then plastered a pair of them on each bow. The -place where the ends overlapped at the centre, he bound with a sinew -wrapping. - -Of course the bows were unstrung when the backing was put on, and as -soon as the work was done, we laid them away from the fire, that they -might dry slowly. In the morning, the first thing, after crawling out of -our fur nest, we strung and tested them, and found that the backing had -more than doubled their strength and elasticity. Now we were ready to -hunt our winter meat, and after a hurried breakfast of musky goat steak, -we started in quest of the game. - -Not since the day of the goat hunt had we seen any tracks of moose, elk, -or deer. Pitamakan said that he had heard that the deer went from the -high mountains down toward the lake of the Flatheads to winter, and that -we need not expect to see any more of them. But he added that it did not -matter, for other game would yard close round the lodge. - -Taking a zigzag course and examining every red willow patch along our -route, we went down the valley. As it was a stinging cold day, we had -our hands tucked up in the sleeves of our capotes, and our bows and -arrows under our arms, for as yet we had no mittens. Our legs suffered, -too, from need of new coverings. - -The first game that we saw was an otter, fishing in a dark pool at the -foot of a rapid. He would crawl out on the ice fringing it, sit still -for a moment, sniffing the air and looking sharp for any enemy, and then -make a sudden dive. We watched him until he had brought up a big trout -and had begun to eat it, when we turned away without the animal seeing -us. Except at close range, the otter's eyesight is poor, but he has a -keen nose and sharp ears. Later we intended to set a deadfall for him, -if by any means we could catch fish to bait it. - -A mile or more below the lodge we came to a deep, hard-packed trail, -which wound and branched in every direction through a big red-willow -thicket, which we guessed to be a moose yard. In many places the willows -had been browsed off as far out from the paths as the animals could -stretch their necks. Here and there were large, hard-packed circular -depressions in the snow where they had lain down to rest and sleep, -always, I imagine, with one of their number on the watch for any -prowling mountain lion. - -We went down through the centre of the yard, although we had some -difficulty in crossing the deep trails on our snowshoes. Soon we sighted -the game--two cow moose, two calves, and two yearlings. The instant that -they saw us the old lead cow trotted away down the trail, leading the -others, and then by turning into every successive left-hand fork, tried -to circle round behind us. When we headed her off, she turned and tried -to circle round us in the other direction. Then Pitamakan and I -separated, and in that way drove the little band steadily ahead of us, -until it reached the lower end of the yard. - -There, with a tremendous leap, the old cow broke out of the yard into -the fresh snow, and the way she made it fly behind her reminded me of -the stern wheel of a Missouri River steamboat beating up spray. All the -others followed her until we came close, when all but her calf wheeled -in the new path and rushed back for the yard. - -They were so close to us that we might almost have touched them. -Pitamakan shot an arrow deep between the ribs of the cow, and by a lucky -aim I put my one arrow into the calf behind her. Both of them fell, but -the two yearlings, scrambling over their bodies, escaped into the yard. - -We went on in pursuit of the other cow and her calf. The strength that -she displayed in breaking her way through six feet of snow was -wonderful. For at least three hundred yards she went faster than we -could go on our web shoes, but after that she gave out rapidly, and -finally stopped altogether. - -When we came close to her, she plunged back past the calf and stood -awaiting us, determined to protect it to the last. All the hair on her -shoulders and back was ruffed and bristling forward, while her eyes -blazed with anger, although there was also in them the look of terror -and despair. When we got close to her, she rushed at us. We had to do -some lively scrambling to keep out of her way. But she soon tired, and -then while I attracted her attention, Pitamakan slipped round on the -other side of her. As his bow-cord twanged, she dropped her head, and -the light almost instantly went out of her eyes. The poor calf met the -same fate a moment later. It was cruel work, but as necessary as it was -cruel; we killed that we might live. - -There remained the two yearlings, and I proposed that we spare them. -Pitamakan looked at me with surprise. - -"What! Let them go?" he exclaimed. "And many winter moons yet before us? -Why, brother, you talk foolishly! Of course we must kill them. Even then -we may not have enough meat to last until spring." - -So we chased them also out into deep snow, and did as he said. By the -time we had one calf skinned we were obliged to go home and gather the -night's wood. - -The next day we skinned the rest of the animals, cut up the meat, and -hung it in trees, whence it could be packed home from time to time. Two -of the hides we put to soak in the river, preparatory to graining and -tanning them. The others we stretched on frames and allowed to freeze -dry, after which we laid them on our couch. - -During the short days we tended the deadfalls, skinned and stretched -what fur was trapped in them, packed in meat and hung it beside the -lodge, and tanned the two hides. Having done the tanning successfully, -we went into the tailoring business. Pitamakan cut pieces of proper -shape from the big, soft skins, but in the work of sewing I did my -share. After three or four evenings' work, we were the proud wearers of -new shirts, new leggings, and new mittens. - -Our earthen pot fell to pieces the day after we had made glue in it. -That was a serious loss, for we had intended to boil meat in it. Roasted -meat is good, but does not do so well as a steady diet. The Indians of -the North regard boiled meat as we regard bread, that is, as the staff -of life. Pitamakan, who craved it more than I, determined, now that we -had plenty of hides, to use a part of one for a kettle. From one of the -yearling moose hides he cut a large, round piece, soaked it in the river -until it was soft, and then sewed the edge in pleats to a birch hoop -about two feet in diameter, so as to make a stiff-rimmed bag about as -deep as it was wide. With a strip of hide he suspended it from a pole in -the lodge roof. - -Next he set several clean stones in the fire to heat, and put some -rather finely cut meat in the bag with two quarts of water. When the -rocks were red-hot, he dropped them one by one into the bag, and pulled -them out to reheat as fast as they cooled. In this way the meat was -boiled. Such was the ancient way of cooking it before the white traders -brought pots and kettle into the North country. - -The meat was not cooked long, only long enough, in fact to change its -color, and was really more nutritious than it would have been had it -been stewed a long time. We enjoyed that first meal of it with keen -relish, and thereafter ate more boiled than roasted meat. - -As the winter snows settled and hardened, we saw more and more trails of -otter along the river, where they traveled from one open hole to another -to do their fishing, and one day we began our campaign against them by -going fishing ourselves. Our tackle consisted of a sinew cord and loop -several feet long, tied to a long, slender pole. - -In the first open pool that we looked into there were numerous trout and -suckers; of course we tried first to snare the trout. We soon learned, -however, that it could not be done, for they would not allow the loop -to come nearer than five or six inches to their heads, but always -drifted downstream from it in a tantalizing manner. - -Next, trying the suckers, big, reddish-black fellows of two pounds' -weight, we found them easy to snare. They lay as if they were half dead, -their bellies close to the bottom, and never moved when the loop drifted -down round their heads, thinking, no doubt, that it was but a piece of -passing water-grass. When the noose was just behind the gills, we gave -the pole a sharp yank, and up came the fish, wriggling and flapping, -helpless in the grip of the tightened cord. - -After we caught three of them, we spent the rest of the morning setting -a deadfall at each of three pools where the otters were working. But for -some time afterward we got no otters; of all animals they are the shyest -and most difficult to trap. It was not until all traces of the man scent -had died out that one was finally lured by the sucker bait, and was -killed by the fall-bar. - -As time passed, we set more and more deadfalls up and down the valley, -so many that finally we could not make the round of them all in one day. -One morning we would attend to those lying east of the lodge, and the -next morning visit those to the west of it. The farthest one to the west -was at least seven miles away, and for some unknown reason more fur -came to it than to any of the others; we seldom visited it without -finding a marten or a fisher. Pitamakan called it the _nat-o-wap-i -kyak-ach-is_--medicine-trap, as the words may be freely translated. -_Nat-o-wap-i_ really means "of the sun"--"sun-power." - -As we approached this deadfall one day, when we had taken nothing from -the other traps except a marten that a passing fisher had maliciously -torn to shreds, Pitamakan began the coyote prayer song, because, as he -said, something had to be done to bring us better luck. - -We soon saw the deadfall, noticed that the bar was down, and hurried -eagerly forward to see what it held, while my partner sang louder than -ever. On coming to it, we found a fine, black, fluffy-furred fisher; -whereupon Pitamakan raised his hand and began chanting a prayer of -thanks to the gods. - -Meanwhile I saw, a little farther on, a trail in the snow which excited -my interest, and I impatiently waited for him to finish his devotions to -call his attention to it. - -"Look! There's the trail of a bear!" I said, although it seemed odd to -me that a bear should be wandering round in the dead of winter. - -We hurried over to it. What we saw made us stare wildly round with -fright, while we quickly strung our bows. It was the trail of a man on -long, narrow web shoes--an Indian, of course, and therefore an enemy. -The trail was fresh, too, apparently as fresh as our own. And but a -moment before, Pitamakan had been singing at the top of his voice! - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - -Crossing the valley from south to north in front of us, the snowshoe -trail disappeared, a hundred yards away, in a clump of pines. The -Indian, brushing against a branch, had relieved it of its weight of -snow, and its dark green foliage stood out in sharp contrast with the -prevailing white. There was a chance that he might still be in that -thicket. - -"We must know if he is there," said Pitamakan. "Though he didn't hear us -we must still know whence this enemy came, and why, and where he is -going." - -We began by going cautiously round the pines. From a distance, we could -see the trail coming out of them on the farther side and going on -straight to the river, where the water fell in cascades over a wide -series of low, broken reefs. From there the trail followed the edge of -the open water down past the last of the falls, and then showed plain -on the frozen river as far as we could see. - -Venturing now to follow it to the cascades, we learned at a glance, on -arriving there, why the lone traveler had come into our peaceful valley. -At the edge of the water the snow was all trampled down, and the prints -of bare feet in it showed that the man had been wading in the river. -Scattered on the packed snow were several fragments of dark green rock, -one of which Pitamakan picked up and examined. - -"This is what he came after," he said. "It is pipestone and very soft. -Both the Kootenays and the Flatheads make their pipes of it because it -is so easily worked into shape." - -"Where do you think he came from?" I asked. - -"From the camp of his people. These mountain Indians winter down along -their big lake. Very little snow falls there, and horse-feed is always -good." - -"Well, if he came from down there, why do we find his trail to this -place coming straight across the valley from the south?" - -"Ah, that is so!" Pitamakan exclaimed. "Come on! We must find out about -that." - -We took the man's back trail, and, passing our deadfall, paused to note -how plainly it could be seen from several points along the way. It was a -wonder that he had noticed neither the deadfall nor our hard-packed, -snowshoe trail. - -"The gods were certainly good to us!" my partner exclaimed. "They caused -him to look the other way as he passed." - -The back trail led us straight to the foot of the steep mountain rising -from the valley. There, in several places, the snow was scraped away to -the ground, where evidently the man had searched for the pipestone ledge -that was probably exposed somewhere near. Failing to find it, he had -been obliged to go to the river and wade to the place where it again -cropped out. His trail to the side hill came straight up the valley. - -We certainly had something to think and talk about now--and also to -worry about. Others of the enemy might come after pipestone, and there -was our trail running straight to the place. Going back to the deadfall, -we took out the fisher, but did not reset the trap; for we determined -not to go thereafter within several miles of the pipestone falls. -Another heavy snowfall would pretty much obliterate our trail, and we -prayed that it would soon come. From that day, indeed, our sense of -peace and security was gone. - -Sitting within the lodge, we always had the feeling that the enemy might -be close by, waiting to shoot us when we stepped outside. On the daily -rounds of our traps we were ever watching places where a foe might be -lying in wait. Pitamakan said that the only thing for us to do was to -make strong medicine. Accordingly, he gave our bearskin to the sun; he -lashed it firmly in the fork of a tree, and made a strong prayer to the -shining god to guard us from being ambushed by the enemy. - -Although we had long since lost track of the days of the week, we agreed -in thinking that the discovery of the man's trail took place in "the -moon before the moon when the web-feet come"; or, as the white man would -say, in February. At the end of the next moon, then,--in March,--spring -would come on the plains. Up where we were, however, the snow would last -much longer--probably until May. Pitamakan said that we must leave the -valley long before then, because with the first signs of spring the deer -would be working back into the high mountains, and the Kootenays would -follow them. - -"How can we do that when, as you say, the pass cannot be crossed until -summer?" I asked. - -"There is another pass to the south of us," he replied, "the Two -Medicine pass. There is no dangerous place anywhere along it." - -"Then we can easily get out of here!" I exclaimed. "Let us start soon." - -He shook his head. "No," he said. "We can't go until the snow melts from -the low country where the Kootenays and Flatheads winter. We have to go -down there to make our start on the Two Medicine trail." - -"Why so?" said I, in surprise. "Why can't we go straight south from here -until we strike it?" - -He laughed grimly. - -"Between us and the trail lie many canons and many mountains that none -but the birds can cross. Besides, along each stream is a trail used by -these Indians in their hunts up toward the backbone of the range, which -is like the trail that crosses over to the Two Medicine. I could not -recognize the right one when we came to it, and we should follow up one -after another, and wear ourselves out. I remember some landmarks only -where the right trail leaves the lake and enters the heavy timber, and -from that place we have to start. Also, we have to start from there on -bare ground; for if we started on the snow, our trail would be seen and -followed, and that would be the end for us." - -"Well, then, let's go up and look at the summit of our pass," I -proposed. "It may not be so bad as you think. Perhaps we can find some -way to cross the dangerous place." - -He objected that we should waste our time, but I kept urging that we -must overlook no possible chance to escape to the plains, until finally -I persuaded him. One bright morning we put on our snowshoes and started. -As the going was good on the deep, settled snow, we were not long in -covering the distance to the Salt Springs. Up and down the mountainside, -all round them, was a perfect network of goat trails in the snow, and -here and there were large and small groups of the strange, uncouth -animals, some lying down, some sitting and staring dejectedly off into -space, while still others were cropping lichens from wind-swept, rocky -walls. Although several of them were less than three hundred yards -away, they paid no attention to us. - -After watching some that were feeding on the cliff wall, where they -looked as if they were pasted to it, we came to the conclusion that they -could travel where a bighorn would certainly fall and be dashed to -pieces. One old billy-goat was almost human in the way in which he got -over difficult places. After standing on his hind legs and gathering all -the lichen within reach he concluded to ascend to the next shelf. Since -there was not room for him to back away for a leap, he placed his -forefeet over the edge, and drew himself up on to it--exactly as a man -draws himself up by the sheer muscular strength of his arms. - -Not far beyond the springs, we left the last of the timber and began the -ascent of the summit proper, and soon came into the zone of terrific -winds; but fortunately for us, there was scarce a breath stirring that -day. The snow was so hard-packed by the wind that when we removed our -snowshoes, our moccasined feet left no impressions in it. The rocky -slopes facing the northwest were absolutely bare, while those pitching -the other way lay buried under drifts from five to fifty feet and more -in depth. - -Late in the afternoon we came to the west end of the pass, having made -twice as good time in the ascent as we had in the descent in the autumn -with horses. I needed but one glance at the place to be convinced that -it was impassable. The steep slide where my horse and I had so nearly -been lost was buried deep in snow; towering above it were heavy, -greenish, concave drifts of snow clinging to the knife-edge wall and -likely to topple over at any moment. Our weight might, and probably -would, start an avalanche rushing down the slide and off into abysmal -space. We stood in the trail of several goats, which had ventured out on -the slide for a few yards, abruptly turned and retraced their steps. - -"Even they feared to cross," said Pitamakan. "Come on! Let's go home." - -I was so disappointed that I had not a word to say on the way down. We -reached the lodge late in the night, made sure that no one had been near -it during our absence, and after building a good fire and eating some -roast meat, crawled into our fur bag, nearly worn out. It had been a -long, hard day. - -At this time our catch of fur began to decrease rapidly. It is my belief -that the predatory as well as the herbivorous animals never stray very -far from the place where they are born. - -A case in point is that of an old grizzly bear, whose trail could not be -mistaken because he had lost a toe from his left front foot. Every three -weeks he crossed the outlet of the Upper St. Mary's Lake, wandered up -into the Red Eagle Valley, swung round northward along the back-bone of -the Rockies to the Swift Current Waters, and thence down across the -outlet again. Observation of other animals also leads me to believe -that they all have their habitual rounds. If this is so, it explains why -it was that our deadfalls held fewer and fewer prizes for us, until -finally three or four days would pass without our finding even a marten -to reward us for our long, weary tramps. - -The days now grew noticeably longer and warmer, until finally -snow-shoeing was impossible after nine or ten o'clock in the morning. -The warm sun turned the snow into large, loose, water-saturated grains -which would give way every few steps and let us down clear to the -ground, often in places where the snow was so deep that we stood, so to -speak, in a greenish well from which we had to look straight up to see -the sky. It was very difficult to get out of such places. - -Toward the end of our stay we did most of our tramping in the early -morning, when the snow was covered with so hard a crust by the night's -frost that it would hold us up without snowshoes. - -One evening we heard the distant cry of wild geese. That was our signal -for departure. We made a last round of the deadfalls, sprung each one -that was set, and the next day made up two bundles of the peltries that -we were to take with us. There were in all sixty-one marten, ten fisher, -seventeen mink, five wolverene, one mountain-lion, eight lynx, and two -otter skins. Fortunately, there was little weight in all that number, -and we bound them so compactly that there was little bulk. A quantity of -moose meat, cut into thin sheets and dried, made up the rest of our -pack. Nor did we forget the fire-drill and a small, hard piece of birch -wood that had been seasoning by the fire all the winter for a drill -base. - -The goatskin sleeping-bag was too heavy to take along; it would have -added much to our comfort, of course, but there was now no night cold -enough to be very disagreeable so long as we could have fire, and of -that we were assured. However, Pitamakan did not intend that the bag -should be wasted; almost the last thing that he did was to make an -offering of it to the sun. Lashing the bundle in a tree, he prayed that -we might survive all perils by the way, and soon reach the lodges of our -people. - -At sundown we ate our last meal in the lodge and enjoyed for the last -time its cheerful shelter. Somehow, as we sat by the fire, we did not -feel like talking. To go away and leave the little home to the elements -and the prowlers of the night was like parting forever from some near -and dear friend. - -We waited several hours, until the frost hardened the snow; then putting -on the snowshoes and slinging the packs, we started away down the -valley. There was certainly a lump in my throat as I turned for a last -look at the lodge, with the smoke of its fire curling up from it and -beckoning us back to rest and sleep. - -Until midnight the stiffening crust occasionally broke and let us down; -but after that time it became so hard that, taking off our snowshoes -and slinging them to the packs, we made remarkable time down the valley. - -After passing the pipestone falls, we entered country new to us, where -the valley became much wider. Every mile or two a branch came into the -river, which we were obliged to ford, for the ice had gone out of the -streams. It was no fun to remove moccasins and leggings, wade through -the icy water, and then put them on in the snow on the other side. - -For several weeks avalanches had been thundering down the mountain-sides -all round us, and this night they seemed more frequent than ever. Once -one tore its way to the valley just behind us. Not an hour later, -Pitamakan's pack-thong broke, and let his bundle down into the snow. As -we stopped to retie it, there came the rumbling of an avalanche, -apparently right over our heads. - -I thought that it would strike the valley not far below us. "Come! Get -up!" I cried. "Let's run back as fast as we can!" - -"Not so! We must run the other way. Can't you hear? It is going to -strike either where we are, or close behind us," Pitamakan answered; and -grasping my arm, he tried to make me go forward with him. - -"Can't you hear it there?" I shouted, taking hold of him in my turn and -pulling the other way. "It is coming down right where we stand, or not -far below here!" - -And thus we stood while the dreadful noise increased, until it seemed as -if the world was being rent wide open. There was a confusion of -thunderous sound--the grinding of rocks and ice, the crashing and -snapping of great trees. The avalanche came nearer with terrific speed, -until finally it filled all the region round with such a deafening noise -that it was impossible even to guess where it would sweep down into the -valley. - -We ran a few steps upstream, then as many more back, and finally stood -trembling, quite uncertain which way to fly. But only for a moment; just -ahead of us the great forest trees began to leap out and downward from -the steep mountain-side, and then the mass of the avalanche burst into -the flat and piled up a hundred feet deep before us--a dirty ridge of -wrecked mountain-side that extended away across the valley to the river. -There was a last rumble and cracking of branches as it settled, and then -all was still. - -"You see that I was right," I said. "It did strike below us." - -"Yes, you heard better than I did," my partner admitted, "but that is -not what saved us. I am sure that the gods caused the pack-thong to -break and stop us; otherwise we should have been right in the path of -the slide." - -Re-slinging our packs, we climbed the rough mass of the slide, round and -over big boulders, ice blocks, and tree trunks, through piles of brush -and broken branches. At the apex of the heap Pitamakan reached down, -pulled something from the earth-stained snow, and passed it to me. It -was the head and neck of a mountain goat, crushed almost flat, the -flesh of which was still warm. - - [Illustration: THE AVALANCHE BURST INTO THE FLAT] - -"You see what would have happened to us if my pack-thong had not -broken," he said grimly. - -"It must be that many goats perish in this way," I remarked. - -"Yes, and also many bighorn," he said. "I have heard the old hunters say -that the bears, when they first come out in the spring, get their living -from these slides. They travel from one to another, and paw round in -search of the dead animals buried in them." - -At daylight we entered an open park where we could see back toward the -summit. There was no doubt that we had traveled a long way during the -night, for the mountain opposite our abandoned lodge looked twenty miles -distant. The valley here was fully a mile wide, and the mountains -bordering it were covered with pines clear to the summit. They were not -more than a thousand feet high, and the western rim of them seemed not -more than fifteen miles away. We believed that from where they ended -the distance could not be great to the lake of the Flatheads. - -Down here the snow was only about four feet deep, less than half the -depth of it where we had wintered. The air became warm much earlier in -the morning than it did up there. Using the snowshoes now, as the crust -was getting weak, we kept going, although very tired. During the two -hours that we were able to travel after sunrise, we passed great numbers -of elk, and not a few moose, and when, finally, the snow grew spongy and -obliged us to stop for the day, we were plainly within the deer range, -for both white-tail and mule-deer were as plentiful as jack-rabbits are -in certain parts of the plains. - -We stopped for our much-needed rest on a bare sandbar of the river, and -with bow and drill started a little fire and roasted some dry meat. The -sun shone warm there, and after eating, we lay down on the sand and -slept until almost night. - -Starting on again as soon as the snow crusted, we traveled the rest of -the night without any trouble, and soon after daybreak suddenly passed -the snow-line and stepped into green-sprouting grass. The summer birds -had come, and were singing all round us. A meadow-lark, on a bush close -by, was especially tuneful, and Pitamakan mocked it: - -"_Kit-ah-kim ai-siks-is-to-ki!_" (Your sister is dark-complexioned!) he -cried gleefully. "Oh, no, little yellow-breast, you make a mistake. I -have no sister." - -We were in the edge of a fine prairie dotted with groves of pine and -cottonwood. The land sloped gently to the west. I thought that it could -not be far in that direction to the big lake, but Pitamakan said that it -was way off to the southwest, perhaps two days' journey from where we -were. Suddenly he fell on his knees and began with feverish haste to dig -up a slender, green-leaved plant. - -"It is camass!" he cried, holding it up and wiping the earth from the -white, onion-shaped root. "Dig! Dig! See, there are plenty of them all -round. Eat plenty of them. They are good." - -So they were; crisp, starchy, and rather sweet. After our winter-long -diet of meat, they were exactly what our appetites craved and our -systems needed. We made a meal of them right there. For once hunger got -the better of our caution. Laying down our pack and snowshoes, we dug up -root after root, all the time moving out into prairie farther and -farther from the edge of the timber. - -"Come on! Let's get our packs and hide somewhere for the day," I said -finally. "I am filled with these things to the neck." - -"Oh, wait a little; I want a few more," my partner answered. - -Just then a band of deer burst out of a cottonwood grove about five -hundred yards to the west of us, and as we sat staring and wondering -what had startled them, three Indians came riding like the wind round -one side of the grove, and four more appeared on the other side, in -swift pursuit of the animals. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - -"Don't you move!" Pitamakan exclaimed. - -He spoke just in time, for I was on the point of springing up and -running for the timber. The game--they were mule-deer, which are not -fleet runners, like the white-tail--came bouncing awkwardly toward us, -while the Indians gained on them perceptibly. Never before had I felt -that I was a giant; but as I sat there in the short grass of the open -prairie, I felt as if my body was actually towering into the sky. I -instinctively tried to make myself of smaller size. All my muscles -quivered and contracted so tensely that the feeling was painful. "Oh, -come!" I cried. "Can't you see that they--" - -"Be still!" Pitamakan broke in. "The wind is from us to them. The deer -will soon turn. Our one chance is to sit motionless. They haven't seen -us yet." - -The deer came steadily toward us, jumping awkwardly and high. They were -now less than four hundred yards away, and although the wind was -increasing, they gave no sign of having scented us. - -"They must turn soon," Pitamakan said. "But if they don't, and you see -that the Indians are coming for us, string your bow. Let us fight our -best until our end comes." - -That had been my thought. I had two of our five obsidian-pointed arrows. -If worse came to worst, I hoped that I should be able to speed them -swift and true. Now the deer were less than three hundred yards from us, -and I gave up all hope that they would turn. To me the Indians seemed to -be staring straight at us instead of at the animals. - -I had started to reach for my bow and arrows, which lay on the ground -beside me, when the deer did turn, suddenly and sharply to the right. -The pursuers, turning also, almost at the same time, gained -considerably on them. I realized that we had not been discovered. - -The leading hunter now raised his gun and fired. The hornless old buck -at the head of the band sharply shook his head, and holding it askew as -if the bullet had stung it, swerved to the right again, directly away -from us. The herd followed him, while the hunters again made a short cut -toward them and began shooting. Their backs were now to us. - -"Run! Run for the timber!" my partner commanded; and grabbing my bow and -arrows, I followed him, faster, probably, than I had ever run before. It -was a hundred yards or more to the timber. As we neared it, I began to -hope that we should get into its shelter unseen. Behind us the hunters -kept shooting at the deer, but neither of us took time to look back -until we came to our packs, and paused to lift them and the snowshoes. - -At that very moment the war-cry of the enemy was raised, and we knew -that they had discovered us. We looked, and saw that they were coming -our way as fast as their horses could lope. And how they did yell! There -was menace in those shrill staccato yelps. - -"We must leave the furs. Just take your snowshoes and come on," said -Pitamakan, and I grabbed them up and followed him. - -It was only a few yards back in the timber to the snow-line. Upon -reaching it, I threw down my shoes, stuck my toes into the loops, and -was starting on without fastening the ankle-thongs, when my partner -ordered me to tie them properly. It seemed to me that my fingers had -never been so clumsy. - -We stepped up on the snow, and found that the crust was still strong -enough to bear our weight, although it cracked and gave slightly where -the centre of the poor webbing sagged under our feet. At the edge of the -prairie the timber was scattering; but back a short distance there were -several dense thickets, and back of them again was the line of the -heavy pine forest. We made for the nearest thicket, while the yells of -the enemy sounded nearer and louder at every step we took. - -It was easy to guess when they came to the fur packs, for there was a -momentary stop in the war-cries as they loudly disputed over the -possession of them. Then, abandoning their horses, they began shooting -at us as they advanced into the snow, through which they broke and -floundered at almost every step. - -The advantage was now all with us, provided we were not hit. Once I -stopped behind a tree for an instant and looked back. Three of the men -had not tried to come on over the snow, but standing at the edge of it, -loaded and fired as fast as possible. The others were doing their best -to advance over the crust, and had our plight not been so desperate, I -should have laughed to see them. They stepped gingerly, teetering along -with open mouths and arms outspread, and sometimes the crust would -bear their weight for three or four paces, and so increase their -confidence that they would quicken their speed, only to break through -and sink waist-deep. - - [Illustration: I GRABBED THEM UP AND FOLLOWED HIM] - -I pushed a flap of my old capote out from the tree as far as I could -with the bow, in the hope of drawing their fire; but, finding that they -were not to be caught by any such ruse, I hurried on. Then several -bullets came so close to me that I could feel the wind from them; one -struck a tree which I was passing, and flicked off bits of bark, which -stung my left cheek and cut the lobe of my left ear. When the enemy saw -me raise my hand to my face, they yelled with triumph, and Pitamakan -turned to see what had happened. - -"Go on! It is nothing!" I called out. - -At that instant another shot was fired, and I thought that I heard my -partner give a little cry of pain; but he did not flinch, and continued -on as rapidly as before. When I came where he had been, however, I saw -that his trail was bloody, and I feared the worst, for I well knew that -even with a death-wound he would keep on bravely to the very end. The -rest of the run to the thicket was like some terrible dream to me, for I -expected that every step he made would be his last. But finally he -passed into the screen of young evergreens, and a moment later I was -beside him, asking how badly he was hurt. - -"It is only a flesh-wound here," he answered, gripping the inner part of -his left thigh. "Come on, we mustn't stop." - -As the enemy could no longer see us, we made our way to the line of big -timber without fear of their bullets. They gave a few last yells as we -went into the thicket, and shouted some words at us, which of course we -could not understand. And then all was still. - -Without a word, Pitamakan went on and on up the steep mountain-side, and -I sadly followed him. Soon, coming to an opening in the timber, we -stepped out into it, until we could get a good view of the plain below. -The Indians were riding back to where they had chased the deer. Soon -they dismounted and began skinning two that they had killed. We removed -our snowshoes and sat down on them. Pitamakan let down his legging and -washed his wound with snow; the bullet had split open the skin for a -length of several inches, but fortunately, had not torn the muscles. As -soon as the wound was washed and dry, I went over to a balsam fir and -gathered the contents of three or four blisters, which he smeared all -over the raw place. In a few minutes he said that the pungent, sticky -stuff had stopped the burning of the wound. - -We were two sad boys that morning. The loss of the furs, for which we -had worked so hard all winter, was not easy to bear. Every few minutes -Pitamakan would cry out to his gods to punish the thieves, and my heart -was as sore against them as his. With the fur packs we had lost also our -fire-drill and socket piece. - -"But that doesn't matter," Pitamakan said. "We have good bows and can -make a drill at any time. Perhaps we shall never again have any use for -one!" - -"How so? Are we never to eat again? Shall we not need fire of nights to -keep us warm?" I asked. - -"Maybe we shall and maybe not," Pitamakan replied. "It is not likely -that those hunters will go home without trying to take our scalps with -them; we'll soon know about that." - -We watched the men in silence for some little time. Four of them were -round one deer, and three were at work skinning the other. Soon, -however, one man left each group and began cutting willows. Soon -afterward we saw that those remaining had got the deer hides off and -were cutting them into strips. - -"I thought that they would do that," said my partner. "They are going to -make snowshoes and follow us. Hurry now, and fasten on your shoes!" - -I did as I was told and asked no questions. Pitamakan limped badly when -he started off, but made light of his lameness and insisted that he felt -no pain. By this time the sun was fast weakening the crust; in a short -time neither we nor our enemy would be able to travel, and I told my -partner that while they were making their shoes, we ought to get so far -ahead that they never would be able to overtake us. - -"They are seven, we only two," he said. "They will break trail by turns -when the snow gets soft. Our chance to escape is to get back to the dry -prairie while they are climbing the mountain on our trail." - -That was a plan that had never entered my head, but I instantly saw its -possibilities. Left to my own resources, I should only have struggled on -and on into the mountains, eventually to be captured. - -For an hour or more, just as long as the crust would hold, we kept along -the side of the mountain parallel with the river; then, when the crust -at last broke with us at every step, we took off our snowshoes and -floundered down the tremendously steep slope to the stream, and turning -with it, walked and ran along the gravelly and sandy shore. - -So, not later than mid-afternoon, we came again to the foot of the -mountain, and walking to the edge of the timber bordering the river, -looked out on the prairie from which we had been driven in the morning. - -"_Sum-is! Sum-is!_" Pitamakan cried, pointing away south to the place of -the deer chase. - -"_I-kit-si-kum! Sap-un-is-tsim!_" (Seven! The whole number!) I -exclaimed. The horses of the enemy were picketed out there and quietly -grazing, but not one of the hunters was to be seen. It seemed too good -to be true. - -We stood still for some time, while we searched the prairie and the -mountain-side for sign of the enemy. - -"They seem all to have taken our trail," said Pitamakan, at last, "and -maybe that is the way of it. If one has remained to watch the horses, -he must be lying in that little pine grove near them. Let's go down the -river a little farther, then swing round and sneak into the grove from -the other side." - -We hurried on in the river-bottom for half a mile, and then swung out -across the open ground. Our hearts throbbed with hope, and with fear, -too, as we approached the one place where a guard might be stationed. - -Stealing into the little grove as silently as shadows, we moved through -it so slowly that a red squirrel digging in the needle-covered earth -near by never noted our passing. There was not more than an acre of the -young trees, and they covered a space twice as long as wide, so we were -able to see every foot of it as we passed along. When we were nearing -the farther end, a coyote gave us a terrible scare; as he rose up behind -a thin screen of low boughs, we could not see at first just what it -was. - -I have heard of people turning cold from fear; maybe they do, but fear -does not affect me in that way. A flash of heat swept through me; my -mouth grew dry. My sense of being perfectly helpless, my expectation -that a bullet would come tearing into me, was something that I shall -never forget. - -This time the suspense was short; the coyote walked boldly off in the -direction in which we were going, and since the wind was in our faces, -we instantly realized that no man was concealed out there ahead of him. -Still, Pitamakan was cautious and, in spite of my urgent signs, kept on -as stealthily as before. But when we came to the edge of the grove, we -saw the coyote was walking jauntily round among the feeding horses. - -Off to the right, near one of the deer carcasses, lay the hunters' -saddles, saddle-blankets and other stuff. We found also a litter of -willow cuttings and short strips of deer hide where the hunters had made -their snowshoes. The saddles were all home-made, but better than none. -We each selected one and the best of the blankets, and began saddling -the two most sturdy and swift-looking of the seven animals. That done, -we turned the remaining five loose, after removing their lariats and -throwing them away. Then we got into the saddle and started to gather up -the loose stock, when I suddenly thought of something that we had -entirely forgotten in our excitement. - -"Pitamakan! Our furs! Where can they be?" I asked. - -"There! There!" he answered, pointing to where the other deer carcass -lay. - -And sure enough, there the two packs were, just as we had bound them. - -Here was more luck! We lost no time in riding over to the place and -picking them up; then, driving the other horses ahead of us, we rode -away to the southwest as fast as possible. Somewhere on the big, -timbered mountain behind us, the enemy were worming along on our trail; -or, what is more likely, completely exhausted from struggling in the -soft snow, they were waiting for the night freeze, to enable them to go -on. - -The loose horses trotted ahead of us most willingly--suspiciously so; -and in the course of half an hour, on our coming to a strip of timber, -the reason for such unusual conduct was plain. Here was a broad, hard -trail that led, no doubt, directly to the camp which they had come from -in the morning. Of course they were willing to be driven back to their -mates! And now, as we pushed along this highway, one and another of them -began to nicker, a sure sign that the camp was not far distant. - -There were only three or four hundred yards of the timber, and then -another big prairie; and at the farther end of this, a couple of miles -away, smoke was rising from another patch of timber, near which many -horses were grazing. - -"There! There is the camp of the enemy!" Pitamakan cried. "Already they -may have seen us! Let's get back into the timber as quick as we can." - -That was not easy to do; the loose stock wanted to keep right on toward -their mates, and it required hard riding to head them off and turn them -back. And then when we did accomplish it, they were very restless; it -was only by the greatest vigilance that we kept them from breaking back. - -While the sun slowly sank toward the horizon, we waited in suspense, for -there was a chance that the party of seven, or some other party, might -appear at any moment. The thought that, after our great success of the -day, we might lose everything, and our lives also, kept us keyed up to -an intense pitch of excitement. - -Toward sunset there was a commotion among the horse herds at the farther -end of the prairie, and two riders came loping straight toward us. At -first we were not much alarmed, for we thought that they were only -looking for some stray animal from the bands; but they kept coming -straight on, looking neither to the right nor to the left, and it was -soon plain, either that they had seen us and were going to have a look -at our outfit, or that they were going to take the trail through the -timber, in search, probably, of the missing hunters whose horses we had -rounded up. There was but one thing for us to do--hustle the animals as -far from the trail as possible; and going at it in a whirl of -excitement, we hissed at them, flicked them with our bridle-ropes, and -struck them with dead limbs that we snatched from the trees. - -Never were horses so obstinate; they simply ducked their heads to the -missiles and milled round and round among the trees and underbrush. We -had got them no more than a bow-shot away from the trail, when, looking -out into the open, we saw that the riders had almost reached the thin -belt of timber that screened us. - -"Get off your horse and try to hold him still there behind that brush!" -my partner called out; and off I slid and grasped the animal by the nose -and one ear. - -We could plainly hear now the thud of the oncoming horses. If one of the -seven animals we had should nicker, we were lost. Presently the two -riders entered the timber, and we could see them plainly as they sped -along the trail. Tall, heavy men they were, with long, flying hair and -grim faces. Each carried a long gun. - -When they came in sight, my animal pricked up his ears and began to -prance and toss his head, but I hung to him desperately, although I was -hoisted more than once clear off the ground. As I swung and bobbed in -the air, I got flashing glimpses of the enemy, of Pitamakan struggling -with his animal, and of the loose stock looking curiously at the scene. -I expected every instant that one of them would whinny, but not one of -them did! - -The two men passed swiftly along the trail out of sight, and the beat -of their horses' hoofs died slowly away. Then once more we took hope. - -The sun was down and darkness was stealing over the land. Faint from -this last narrow escape, we got into the saddle once more, and leaving -the loose stock to stray whither they would, rode out into the open and -took a course down the prairie that would leave the big camp far to our -right. Passing it a little later, we could see the dim, yellow glow of -the lodge fires, and hear the people singing, and the dogs barking now -and then in answer to the mocking yelps of the coyotes. - -We traveled on through the night in a partly timbered country, and, by -God's mercy, safely forded some streams that were raging spring -torrents. It was between midnight and dawn that we finally gave out, -and, picketing our animals, lay down and slept. But the first peep of -the sun roused us. Staggering to our feet, stiff and sore, we saddled, -and rode on again in a half stupor. It was past noon when, from the -edge of a sloping plain, we saw the big lake of the Flatheads. Pitamakan -knew the place at once. - -"Down there by the shore was the big camp the time we were here," he -said, "and over there by the side of that little river runs the trail to -buffalo land." - -We came to it a little later, a broad, well-worn trail that had been -used for countless years for summer travel by the mountain tribes. There -were no tracks in it now save those of the wolf and the deer. -Dismounting beside it to rest the horses, we took a few bites of dry -meat, while they greedily cropped the tender spring grass. - -We did not remain there long. Behind us stretched the trail of our -horses, plain enough in the young green grass, a trail that could be -easily followed from where we had first taken the animals. We went on -all through the afternoon eastward into the mountains. Here the -mountains were low, and in the still lower pass there was no snow to -block us. Indeed, Two Medicine Pass is so low that you cannot tell when -you pass the summit except by the changed course of the streamlets. - -Late the next afternoon we caught a glimpse of the great plains, -stretching green from the foot of the mountains away eastward to the far -horizon; and at sight of them we both shouted, and Pitamakan gave thanks -to his gods. Down at the foot of the mountains we saw a little later -four buffalo bulls, and gave greeting to them as if they were our -brothers. But not appreciating our feelings, they ran lumbering away. - -Two days afterward we came to the edge of the hill overlooking Fort -Benton and the Missouri, our stream of streams. The sight of it, and of -our own people walking here and there outside the fort and along the -river, brought tears to our eyes and great joy and peace to our hearts. - -We urged our weary horses down the hill and across the bottom. An Indian -boy, hunting horses, met us while we were yet some distance out, gave -one look at our faces, and fled straight to the Blackfeet camp by the -fort. - -The people instantly poured out of the lodges and came running to greet -us. Surrounded by several hundred of them, all talking at once and -asking a thousand questions, we rode into the great courtyard. There, -foremost of the company folk who came out to see what was the cause of -all the noise, were my uncle and his wife. - -They fairly tore me from my horse, smothered and crushed me with kisses -and embraces, and were for leading me straight to our quarters; but I -would not budge an inch until I had secured my precious pack of furs -from the saddle and had given the worn animal into the keeping of one of -Pitamakan's relatives. - -By that time the factor himself had come from his office, and I had then -and there to tell the story of our winter and our hardships in the great -mountains. How the people hung upon my words, how they applauded and -cheered! Without doubt those were the proudest moments of my life. For a -mere boy to hold those seasoned old voyageurs and plainsmen spellbound -was something of a feat, you may be sure. - -But at last it was all over, and once more I entered our little house -and sat down on my own soft couch of buffalo-robes. As the evening was -chilly, a cheerful fire was blazing in the hearth. Tsis-tsak-ki bustled -round, and while cooking the supper, managed to get out clean clothes -for me, and get ready a tub of water, soap, and towels. Never before had -I seen my Uncle Wesley so excited; he could not sit still. Every few -moments he would come over and pinch my arm, or slap me on my back, just -to make sure, as he explained, that I was really with them once more. - -So ended my first great adventure on the frontier that was, and is no -more. - - - THE END - - - - - The Riverside Press - CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS - U . S . 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