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UN1V 


OF 


CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  CRUZ 


17 


THE  BOOK'LOVER'S 

NEW  SUNNYSIDE  EDITION 

This  edition  of  the  Complete  Works  of 
Washington  Irving  is  limited  to  Six  Hundred 
signed  and  numbered  sets,  of  which  this  is 


Number 


<f;^r0fe2£^^ 


' 


'SIDE  EDIT! 


ILLUSTR 


rCc 
ARTHUR  RAC 
FOC-DAF 


A'PREDERICKS 


C-  A-  PL  ATT 
R  F-ZOGBAUM 

F-S-CHU 

Massacre  of 


THE 

WRITINGS 
OF 

Tonquin's"  Crew 


Drawn  by  R.  F.  Zogbaum 


JULIAN  P 


WILUAM  HYDE 
GH-EATON 

E'WKEMBLE 

HARRISON  MIUXR 
G-W-BARDWELL 
JACQUES  R£ 


AND 
OTHERS 


IRVING 


NAM  S 


•  -.a&M 


ILLUSTRATED 

BY 

FRED'JS-COBURN 
ARTHimRACKHAM 

F-OC-DARLEY 
HENRY$ANDHAM 
A-FREDERICKS 
ALLANBARRAUO 

GA-PLATT 
R-F-ZOCBAUM 

F-S-CHURCH 


GS-REINHART 

JULIAN  Rix 

J-CARTERBEARD 

WILLIAM  HYDE 

C-H-EATON 

E-WKEMBLE 

HARRISON  MILLER 

G-W-BARDWELL 

JACQUESREICH 


AND 
OTHERS 


NEW  SUNNYSIDE  EDITION 


THE 

WRITINGS 
OF 

WASHINGTON 
IRVING 


G  P-PUTNANTS  SONS 

NEW  YORK    •       LONDON 


J\[ew  Sunnyside  Edition 


Astoria 

Or   Anecdotes   of  an   Enterprise 
Beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains 


By 
Washington   Irving 


Volume  I 


G.  P.   Putnam's    Sons 

New  York  London 

Gbe  Ifcnfcherboc&ec  press 


TCbe  fmicfcerbocher  preef,  "Hew  »or* 


Hstoria 

NEW  SUNNYSIDE  EDITION 


Contents. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION xv 

CHAP.  I.— Objects  of  American  Enterprise — Gold 
Hunting  and  Fur  Trading — Their  Effect 
on  Colonization  —  Early  French  Canadian 
Settlers— Ottawa  and  Huron  Hunters — An 
Indian  Trading  Camp  —  Coureurs  des  Bois 
or  Rangers  of  the  Woods — Their  Roaming 
Life— Their  Revels  and  Excesses — Licensed 
Traders — Missionaries — Trading  Posts — Prim- 
itive French  Canadian  Merchant — His  Estab- 
lisnment  and  Dependants — British  Canadian 
Fur  Merchant — Origin  of  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany— Its  Constitution — Its  Internal  Trade — 
A  Candidate  for  the  Company — Privations  in 
the  Wilderness — Northwest  Clerks — North- 
west Partners — A  Northwest  Nabob — Feudal 
Notions  in  the  Forests — The  Lords  of  the 
Lakes  —  Fort  William  —  Its  Parliamentary 
Hall  and  Banqueting  Room — Wassailing  in 
the  Wilderness i 

CHAP.  II. — Rise  of  the  Mackinaw  Company — At- 
tempt of  the  American  Government  to  Coun- 
teract Foreign  Influence  over  the  Indian 


Contents 


PAGE 

Tribes— John  Jacob  Astor — His  Birthplace — 
His  Arrival  in  the  United  States— What  first 
Turned  his  Attention  to  the  Fur  Trade — His 
Character,  Enterprises,  and  Success — His 
Communications  with  the  American  Govern- 
ment— Origin  of  the  American  Fur  Company  20 

CHAP.  III. — Fur  Trade  in  the  Pacific — American 
Coasting  Voyages  —  Russian  Enterprises — 
Discovery  of  the  Columbia  River — Carver's 
Project  to  Found  a  Settlement  There — Mac- 
kenzie's Expedition — Lewis  and  Clarke's 
Journey  across  the  Rocky  Mountains — Mr. 
Astor's  Grand  Commercial  Scheme — His  Cor- 
respondence on  the  Subject  with  Mr.  Jefferson 
— His  Negotiations  with  the  Northwest  Com- 
pany— His  Steps  to  carry  his  Scheme  into 
Effect ,  ,.  .  29 

CHAP.  IV.— Two  Expeditions  Set  on  Foot— The 
Tonquin  and  her  Crew— Captain  Thorn,  his 
Character — The  Partners  and  Clerks — Can- 
adian VoyageurS)  their  Habits,  Employ- 
ments, Dress,  Character,  Songs — Expedition 
of  a  Canadian  Boat  and  its  Crew  by  Land  and 
Water — Arrival  at  New  York — Preparations 
for  a  Sea  Voyage — Northwest  Braggarts — 
Underhand  Precautions — Letter  of  Instruc- 
tions .  .  »  ;  .>,../..«  ,.  .  48 

CHAP.  V.— Sailing  of  the  Tonquin— A  Rigid  Com- 
mander and  Reckless  Crew — Landsmen  on 
Shipboard — Fresh-water  Sailors  at  Sea — Lub- 
ber Nests — Ship  Fare — A  Labrador  Veteran — 
Literary  Clerks — Curious  Travellers — Robin- 


Contents  vii 


PAGE 

son  Crusoe's  Island — Quarter-deck  Quarrels 
— Falkland  Islands — A  Wild-goose  Chase — 
Port  Bgmont — Bpitaph  Hunting — Old  Mor- 
tality— Penguin  Shooting — Sportsmen  L,eft  in 
the  Lurch— A  Hard  Pull— Further  Alterca- 
tions— Arrival  at  Owyhee  ....  60 

CHAP.  VI. — Owyhee— Sandwich  Islanders — Their 
Nautical  Talents — Tamaahmaah— His  Navy — 
His  Negotiations — Views  of  Mr.  Astor  with 
Respect  to  the  Sandwich  Islands — Karaka- 
kooa — Royal  Monopoly  of  Pork— Description 
of  the  Islanders — Gayeties  on  Shore — Chroni- 
cler of  the  Island — Place  where  Captain  Cook 
was  Killed— John  Young,  a  Nautical  Governor 
—His  Story— Waititi— A  Royal  Residence— 
A  Royal  Visit— Grand  Ceremonials— Close 
Dealing — A  Royal  Pork  Merchant — Griev- 
ances of  a  Matter-of-fact  Man  .  .  '  :V  .77 

CHAP.  VII. — Departure  from  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands —  Misunderstandings  —  Miseries  of  a 
Suspicious  Man— Arrival  at  the  Columbia — 
Dangerous  Service — Gloomy  Apprehensions 
— Bars  and  Breakers — Perils  of  the  Ship — 
Disasters  of  a  Boat's  Crew — Burial  of  a  Sand- 
wich Islander 97 

CHAP.  VIII.— Mouth  of  the  Columbia— The  Na- 
tive Tribes— Their  Fishing— Their  Canoes- 
Bold  Navigators — Equestrian  Indians  and  Pis- 
catory Indians,  Difference  in  their  Physical 
Organization— Search  for  a  Trading  Site- 
Expedition  of  M'Dougal  and  David  Stuart — 
Comcomly,  the  One-eyed  Chieftain— Influ- 


viii  Contents 


PAGE 

ence  of  Wealth  in  Savage  Life — Slavery  among 
the  Natives — An  Aristocracy  of  Flatheads — 
Hospitality  among  the  Chinooks — Comcom- 
ly's  Daughter — Her  Conquest  .  .  .  .no 

CHAP  IX. — Point  George — Founding  of  Astoria 
— Indian  Visitors  —  Their  Reception  —  The 
Captain  Taboos  the  Ship — Departure  of  the 
Tonquin — Comments  on  the  Conduct  of  Cap- 
tain Thorn  .  ...  .  .  .  120 

CHAP.  X. — Disquieting  Rumors  from  the  Interior 
— Reconnoitring  Party — Preparations  for  a 
Trading  Post — An  Unexpected  Arrival — A  Spy 
in  the  Camp — Expedition  into  the  Interior — 
Shores  of  the  Columbia — Mount  Coffin — 
Indian  Sepulchre — The  Land  of  Spirits — Co- 
lumbian Valley  —  Vancouver's  Point  —  Falls 
and  Rapids— A  Great  Fishing  Mart— The  Vil- 
lage of  Wish-ram — Difference  between  Fish- 
ing Indians  and  Hunting  Indians — Effects 
of  Habits  of  Trade  on  the  Indian  Character — 
Post  Established  at  the  Oakinagan  .  .127 

CHAP.  XI. — Alarm  at  Astoria — Rumor  of  Indian 
Hostilities — Preparations  for  Defence — Tragi- 
cal  Fate  of  the  Tonquin  .  .  ^  f  .  144 

CHAP.  XII. — Gloom  at  Astoria — An  Ingenious 
Stratagem — The  Small-pox  Chief— Launching 
of  the  Dolly — An  Arrival — A  Canadian  Trap- 
per— A  Freeman  of  the  Forest — An  Iroquois 
Hunter — Winter  on  the  Columbia — Festivities 
of  New  Year 160 

CHAP.  XIII.— Expedition  by  Land— Wilson  P. 
Hunt— His  Character— Donald  M'Kenzie— 


Contents 


PAGE 

Recruiting  Service  among  the  Voyageurs — 
A  Bark  Canoe— Chapel  of  St.  Anne— Votive 
Offerings — Pious  Carousals — A  Ragged  Regi- 
ment— Mackinaw — Picture  of  a  Trading  Post 
— Frolicking  Voyageurs— Swells  and  Swag- 
gerers— Indian  Coxcombs — A  Man  of  the 
North— Jockeyship  of  Voyageurs — Inefficacy 
of  Gold — Weight  of  a  Feather— Mr.  Ramsay 
Crooks — His  Character — His  Risks  among  the 
Indians — His  Warning  concerning  Sioux  and 
Blackfeet — Embarkation  of  Recruits — Parting 
Scenes  between  Brothers,  Cousins,  Wives, 
Sweethearts,  and  Pot  Companions  .  .  .  170 

CHAP.  XIV.— St.  Louis— Its  Situation— Motley 
Population — French  Creole  Traders  and  their 
Dependents — Missouri  Fur  Company — Mr. 
Manuel  Lisa — Mississippi  Boatmen — Vagrant 
Indians  —  Kentucky  Hunters  —  Old  French 
Mansion  —  Fiddling  —  Billiards  —  Mr.  Joseph 
Miller — His  Character — Recruits — Voyage  up 
the  Missouri — Difficulties  of  the  River — 
Merits  of  Canadian  Voyageurs — Arrival  at  the 
Nodowa  —  Mr.  Robert  M'Lellan  Joins  the 
Party — John  Day,  a  Virginia  Hunter — De- 
scription of  him — Mr.  Hunt  Returns  to  St. 
Louis 184 

CHAP.  XV. — Opposition  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany— Blackfeet  Indians — Pierre  Dorion,  a 
Half-breed  Interpreter — Old  Dorion  and  his 
Hybrid  Progeny — Family  Quarrels  —  Cross- 
Purposes  between  Dorion  and  Lisa — Rene- 
gadoes  from  Nodowa — Perplexities  of  a  Com- 
mander— Messrs.  Bradbury  and  Nuttall  Join 


Contents 


MM 

the  Expedition— Legal  Embarrassments  of 
Pierre  Dorion — Departure  from  St.  Louis — 
Conjugal  Discipline  of  a  Half-breed — Annual 
Swelling  of  the  Rivers — Daniel  Boone,  the 
Patriarch  of  Kentucky— John  Colter— His 
Adventures  among  the  Indians — Rumors  of 
Danger  Ahead — Fort  Osage — An  Indian  War- 
feast — Troubles  in  the  Dorion  Family — Buf- 
faloes and  Turkey-buzzards  .  v.v  -,..»..  .  195 

CHAP.  XVI. — Return  of  Spring — Appearance  of 
Snakes — Great  Flights  of  Wild  Pigeons — Re- 
newal of  the  Voyage — Night  Encampments — 
Platte  River — Ceremonials  on  Passing  it — 
Signs  of  Indian  War  Parties — Magnificent 
Prospect  at  Papillion  Creek — Desertion  of 
Two  Hunters — An  Irruption  into  the  Camp 
of  Indian  Desperadoes — Village  of  the  Omahas 
— Anecdotes  of  the  Tribe — Feudal  Wars  of 
the  Indians — Story  of  Blackbird,  the  Famous 
Omaha  Chief  .  .  .  ."  .'.'.'.  217 

CHAP.  XVII.— Rumors  of  Danger  from  the  Sioux 
Tetons — Ruthless  Character  of  those  Savages 
— Pirates  of  the  Missouri — Their  Affair  with 
Crooks  and  M'Lellan — A  Trading  Expedition 
Broken  up — M'Lellan's  Vow  of  Vengeance 
— Uneasiness  in  the  Camp — Desertions — De- 
parture from  the  Omaha  Village — Meeting 
with  Jones  and  Carson,  two  Adventurous  Trap- 
pers— Scientific  Pursuits  of  Messrs.  Bradbury 
and  Nuttall — Zeal  of  a  Botanist — Adventure 
of  Mr.  Bradbury  with  a  Ponca  Indian — Expe- 
dient of  the  Pocket  Compass  and  Microscope 


Contents 


PACK 

— A  Messenger  from  Lisa — Motives  for  Press- 
ing Forward      .     . -«     ....  i    -.  .'  ..fc;.      .        .  237 

CHAP.  XVIII.— Camp  Gossip  —  Deserters  —  Re- 
cruits—Kentucky  Hunters— A  Veteran  Wood- 
man— Tidings  of  Mr.  Henry — Danger  from 
the  Blackfeet— Alteration  of  Plans — Scenery 
of  the  River — Buffalo  Roads — Iron  Ore — 
Country  of  the  Sioux — A  Land  of  Danger — 
Apprehensions  of  the  Voyageurs  —  Indian 
Scouts — Threatened  Hostilities— A  Council 
of  War— An  Array  of  Battle— A  Parley— The 
Pipe  of  Peace— Speech-making  .  .  .252 

CHAP.  XIX.— The  Great  Bend  of  the  Missouri- 
Crooks  and  M'Lellan  Meet  with  Two  of  their 
Indian  Opponents — Wanton  Outrage  of  a 
White  Man  the  Cause  of  Indian  Hostility- 
Dangers  and  Precautions — An  Indian  War 
Party — Dangerous  Situation  of  Mr.  Hunt — A 
Friendly  Encampment — Feasting  and  Dan- 
cing— Approach  of  Manuel  Lisa  and  his  Party 
— A  Grim  Meeting  between  Old  Rivals — 
Pierre  Dorion  in  a  Fury — A  Burst  of  Chivalry,  268 

CHAP.  XX.— Features  of  the  Wilderness— Herds 
of  Buffalo — Antelopes;  their  Varieties  and 
Habits— John  Day — His  Hunting  Stratagem — 
Interview  with  Three  Arickaras — Negotiations 
between  the  Rival  Parties— The  Left-handed 
and  the  Big  Man,  two  Arickara  Chiefs — 
Arickara  Village — Its  Inhabitants — Ceremo- 
nials on  Landing — A  Council  Lodge — Grand 
Conference— Speech  of  Lisa — Negotiation  for 
Horses — Shrewd  Suggestion  of  Gray  Byes,  an 


Contents 


PAGE 

Arickara  Chief — Encampment  of  the  Trading 
Parties 280 

CHAP.  XXI. — An  Indian  Horse  Fair — Love  of  the 
Indians  for  Horses — Scenes  in  the  Arickara 
Village — Indian  Hospitality — Duties  of  Indian 
Women — Game  Habits  of  the  Men — Their 
Indolence — Love  of  Gossiping — Rumors  of 
Lurking  Bnemies  —  Scouts  —  An  Alarm — A 
Sallying  Forth — Indian  Dogs — Return  of  a 
Horse-stealing  Party — An  Indian  Deputation 
— Fresh  Alarms — Return  of  a  Successful  War 
Party — Dress  of  the  Arickaras — Indian  Toilet 
— Triumphal  Entry  of  the  War  Party — Meet- 
ings of  Relations  and  Friends — Indian  Sensi- 
bility— Meeting  of  a  Wounded  Warrior  and 
his  Mother — Festivities  and  Lamentations  .  295 

CHAP.  XXII.— Wilderness  of  the  Far  West— Great 
American  Desert — Parched  Seasons — Black 
Hills  —  Rocky  Mountains  —  Wandering  and 
Predatory  Hordes  —  Speculations  on  what 
may  be  the  Future  Population — Apprehended 
Dangers— A  Plot  to  Desert— Rose,  the  Inter- 
preter —  His  Sinister  Character  —  Departure 
from  the  Arickara  Village  .  .  .  .  311 

CHAP.  XXIII. — Summer  Weather  of  the  Prairies 
— Purity  of  the  Atmosphere — Canadians  on 
the  March — Sickness  in  the  Camp — Big  River 
— Vulgar  Nomenclature — Suggestions  about 
the  Original  Indian  Names — Camp  of  Chey- 
ennes — Trade  for  Horses— Character  of  the 
Cheyennes — Their  Horsemanship — Historical 
Anecdotes  of  the  Tribe  .  .  .  .  .  320 


Contents 


PAGE 

CHAP.  XXIV.— New  Distribution  of  Horses- 
Secret  Information  of  Treason  in  the  Camp- 
Rose,  the  Interpreter — His  Perfidious  Charac- 
ter— His  Plots — Anecdotes  of  the  Crow  Indians 
— Notorious  Horse  Stealers — Some  Account 
of  Rose— A  Desperado  of  the  Frontier  .  .  329 

CHAP.  XXV.— Substitute  for  Fuel  on  the  Prairies 
— Fossil  Trees — Fierceness  of  the  Buffaloes 
when  in  Heat — Three  Hunters  Missing — 
Signal  Fires  and  Smokes — Uneasiness  Con- 
cerning the  Lost  Men — A  Plan  to  Forestall  a 
Rogue — New  Arrangement  with  Rose — Re- 
turn of  the  Wanderers  .  .  .  .  .  335 

CHAP.  XXVI.— The  Black  Mountains— Haunts  of 
Predatory  Indians — Their  Wild  and  Broken 
Appearance — Superstitions  concerning  them 
— Thunder  Spirits— Singular  Noises  in  the 
Mountains — Secret  Mines — Hidden  Treasures 
— Mountains  in  Labor — Scientific  Explana- 
tion— Impassable  Defiles — Black-Tailed  Deer 
— The  Bighorn  or  Ahsahta — Prospect  from  a 
Lofty  Height— Plain  with  Herds  of  Buffalo- 
Distant  Peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — 
Alarms  in  the  Camp — Tracks  of  Grizzly  Bears 
— Dangerous  Nature  of  this  Animal — Adven- 
tures of  William  Cannon  and  John  Day  with 
Grizzly  Bears 343 

CHAP.  XXVII.— Indian  Trail— Rough  Mountain 
Travelling  —  Sufferings  from  Hunger  and 
Thirst— Powder  River— Game  in  Abundance— 
A  Hunter's  Paradise— Mountain  Peak  Seen  at 
a  Great  Distance— One  of  the  Bighorn  Chain 


Contents 


PAGB 

— Rocky  Mountains — Extent — Appearance — 
Height — The  Great  American  Desert — Vari- 
ous Characteristics  of  the  Mountains — Indian 
Superstitions  concerning  them — Land  of 
Souls — Towns  of  the  Free  and  Generous 
Spirits — Happy  Hunting  Grounds  .  .  .  355 

CHAP.  XXVIII.— Region  of  the  Crow  Indians- 
Scouts  on  the  Lookout — Visit  from  a  Crew  of 
Hard  Riders — A  Crow  Camp — Presents  to  the 
Crow  Chief — Bargaining  —  Crow  Bullies — 
Rose  among  his  Indian  Friends — Parting 
with  the  Crows — Perplexities  among  the 
Mountains — More  of  the  Crows — Equestrian 
Children — Search  after  Stragglers  .  .  .  363 

CHAP.  XXIX.— Mountain  Glens  —  Wandering 
Band  of  Savages — Anecdotes  of  Shoshonies 
and  Flatheads — Root  Diggers — Their  Solitary 
Lurking  Habits — Gnomes  of  the  Mountains 
— Wind  River — Scarcity  of  Food — Alteration 
of  Route— The  Pilot  Knobs  or  Tetons— Branch 
of  the  Colorado — Hunting  Camp  .  .  .  373 

CHAP.  XXX.— A  Plentiful  Hunting  Camp— Sho- 
shonie  Hunters — Hoback's  River — Mad  River 
— Encampment  Near  the  Pilot  Knobs — A 
Consultation — Preparations  for  a  Perilous 
Voyage  .  .  .  V  .  .  .  .  384 


Illustrations 


PAGE 

MASSACRE  OF  THE  "  TONQUIN'S  "  CREW    Frontispiece 

Drawn  by  R.  F.  Zogbaum. 

BONG'S   PEAK,   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS        ...        24 

From  a  photograph. 

DIAMOND   HEAD,   SANDWICH  ISLANDS  .  .        78 

Based  on  a  photograph. 

FIRST  INTERIOR  TRADING-POST  OF  THE    EXPE- 
DITION    .          .          .          ,          .          .          .          .      142 
Based  on  a  sketch  taken  for  a  government  survey. 

ASTORIA  IN  l8ll 160 

Based  on  a  print  in  Gray's  "History  of  Oregon." 

MICHIWMACKINAC 174 

Redrawn  from  an  <^d  steel  engraving. 

ST.  LOUIS  IN  THE  EARLY  PART  OF  THE  CENTURY    188 

Redrawn  from  a  picture  by  Catlin. 

VIEW  ON  THE  YELLOWSTONE  RIVER  .          .          .256 

From  a  photograph. 

INDIANS,    HORSE-RACING 260 

From  an  old  print. 

VOL.  I.  xv 


•ffllustrations 


PAGE 

MANDAN   VILLAGE  AND  BUFFALO-HIDE   BOATS    .      288 
From  an  old  engraving. 

THE  MOURNER 3™ 

Wood  Cut.    Drawn  by  F.  S.  Church. 

THE  THREE  TETONS       .  ,  .          v         .          .      388 

Drawn  by  C.  Harry  Eaton. 


Ifntrofcuction. 

IN  the  course  of  occasional  visits  to  Canada 
many  years  since,  I  became  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  some  of  the  principal  part- 
ners of  the  great  Northwest  Fur  Company, 
who  at  that  time  lived  in  genial  style  at  Mont- 
real, and  kept  almost  open  house  for  the  stran- 
ger. At  their  hospitable  boards  I  occasionally 
met  with  partners,  and  clerks,  and  hardy  fur  tra- 
ders from  the  interior  posts ;  men  whohadpassed 
years  remote  from  civilized  society,  among  dis- 
tant and  savage  tribes,  and  who  had  wonders 
to  recount  of  their  wide  and  wild  peregrina- 
tions, their  hunting  exploits,  and  their  perilous 
adventures  and  hair-breadth  escapes  among  the 
Indians.  I  was  at  an  age  when  imagination 
lends  its  coloring  to  everything,  and  the  stories 
of  these  Sinbads  of  the  wilderness  made  the  life 
of  a  trapper  and  fur  trader  perfect  romance  to 
me.  I  even  meditated  at  one  time  a  visit  to  the 
remote  posts  of  the  company  in  the  boats  which 
annually  ascended  the  lakes  and  rivers,  being 


xviii  fntro&uction 


thereto  invited  by  one  of  the  partners  ;  and  I 
have  ever  since  regretted  that  I  was  prevented 
by  circumstances  from  carrying  my  intention 
into  effect.  From  those  early  impressions,  the 
grand  enterprise  of  the  great  fur  companies, 
and  the  hazardous  errantry  of  their  associates 
in  the  wild  parts  of  our  vast  continent,  have 
always  been  themes  of  charmed  interest  to  me  ; 
and  I  have  felt  anxious  to  get  at  the  details 
of  their  adventurous  expeditions  among  the 
savage  tribes  that  peopled  the  depths  of  the 
wilderness. 

About  two  years  ago,  not  long  after  my  re- 
turn from  a  tour  upon  the  prairies  of  the  far 
West,  I  had  a  conversation  with  my  friend,  Mr. 
John  Jacob  Astor,  relative  to  that  portion  of  our 
country,  and  to  the  adventurous  traders  to 
Santa  Fe  and  the  Columbia.  This  led  him  to 
advert  to  a  great  enterprise  set  on  foot  and  con- 
ducted by  him,  between  twenty  and  thirty 
years  since,  having  for  its  object  to  carry  the 
fur  trade  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  to 
sweep  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 

Finding  that  I  took  an  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject, he  expressed  a  regret  that  the  true  nature 
and  extent  of  his  enterprise  and  its  national 
character  and  importance  had  never  been  un- 
derstood, and  a  wish  that  I  would  undertake 
to  give  an  account  of  it.  The  suggestion  struck 


•ffntrofcuction 


XIX 


upon  the  chord  of  early  associations  already 
vibrating  in  my  mind.  It  occurred  to  me  that 
a  work  of  this  kind  might  comprise  a  variety 
of  those  curious  details,  so  interesting  to  me, 
illustrative  of  the  fur  trade  ;  of  its  remote  and 
adventurous  enterprises,  and  of  the  various 
people,  and  tribes,  and  castes,  and  characters, 
civilized  and  savage,  affected  by  its  operations. 
The  journals,  and  letters,  also,  of  the  adven- 
turers by  sea  and  land  employed  by  Mr.  Astor 
in  his  comprehensive  project,  might  throw  light 
upon  portions  of  our  country  quite  out  of  the 
track  of  ordinary  travel,  and  as  yet  but  little 
known.  I  therefore  felt  disposed  to  undertake 
the  task,  provided  documents  of  sufficient 
extent  and  minuteness  could  be  furnished  to 
me.  All  the  papers  relative  to  the  enterprise 
were  accordingly  submitted  to  my  inspection. 
Among  them  were  journals  and  letters  narra- 
ting expeditions  by  sea,  and  journeys  to  and 
fro  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  routes  be- 
fore untra veiled,  together  with  documents  illus- 
trative of  savage  and  colonial  life  on  the  borders 
of  the  Pacific.  With  such  material  in  hand,  I 
undertook  the  work.  The  trouble  of  rumma- 
ging among  business  papers,  and  of  collecting 
and  collating  facts  from  amidst  tedious  and 
commonplace  details,  was  spared  me  by  my 
nephew,  Pierre  M.  Irving,  who  acted  as  my 


ITntroDuction 


pioneer,  and  to  whom  I  am  greatly  indebted 
for  smoothing  my  path  and  lightening  my 
labors. 

As  the  journals,  on  which  I  chiefly  depended, 
had  been  kept  by  men  of  business,  intent  upon 
the  main  object  of  the  enterprise,  and  but  little 
versed  in  science,  or  curious  about  matters  not 
immediately  bearing  upon  their  interest,  and  as 
they  were  written  often  in  moments  of  fatigue 
or  hurry,  amid  the  inconveniences  of  wild  en- 
campments, they  were  often  meagre  in  their 
details,  furnishing  hints  to  provoke  rather  than 
narratives  to  satisfy  inquiry.  I  have,  there- 
fore, availed  myself  occasionally  of  collateral 
lights  supplied  by  the  published  journals  of 
other  travellers  who  have  visited  the  scenes 
described :  such  as  Messrs.  L,ewis  and  Clarke, 
Bradbury,  Breckenridge,  Long,  Franchere,  and 
Ross  Cox,  and  make  a  general  acknowledg- 
ment of  aid  received  from  these  quarters. 

The  work  I  here  present  to  the  public,  is 
necessarily  of  a  rambling  and  somewhat  dis- 
jointed nature,  comprising  various  expeditions 
and  adventures  by  land  and  sea.  The  facts, 
however,  will  prove  to  be  linked  and  banded 
together  by  one  grand  scheme,  devised  and 
conducted  by  a  master  spirit ;  one  set  of  charac- 
ters, also,  continues  throughout,  appearing 
occasionally,  though  sometimes  at  long  inter- 


fntro&uctton 


vals,  and  the  whole  enterprise  winds  up  by  a 
regular  catastrophe ;  so  that  the  work,  with- 
out any  labored  attempt  at  artificial  construc- 
tion, actually  possesses  much  of  that  unity  so 
much  sought  after  in  works  of  fiction,  and 
considered  so  important  to  the  interests  of 
every  history. 


Hstoria 


ASTORIA. 


Cbapter  1F. 

Objects  of  American  Enterprise — Gold  Hunting  and 
Fur  Trading— Early  French  Canadian  Settlers— 
Ottawa  and  Huron  Hunters — An  Indian  Trading 
Camp — Missionaries — Primitive  French  Canadian 
Merchant — British  Canadian  Fur  Merchant — Origin 
of  the  Northwest  Company — The  Lords  of  the  Lakes 
— Fort  William — Wassailing  in  the  Wilderness. 

TWO  leading  objects  of  commercial  gain 
have  given  birth  to  wide  and  daring 
enterprise  in  the  early  history  of  the 
Americas ;  the  precious  metals  of  the 
South,    and  the  rich  peltries  of  the  North. 
While  the  fiery  and  magnificent  Spaniard,  in- 
flamed with  the  mania  for  gold,  has  extended 
his  discoveries  and  conquests  over  those  bril- 
liant countries  scorched  by  the  ardent  sun  of  the 
tropics,  the  adroit  and  buoyant  Frenchman, 


Bdtorta 


and  the  cool  and  calculating  Briton,  have  pur- 
sued the  less  splendid,  but  no  less  lucrative, 
traffic  in  furs  amidst  the  hyperborean  regions 
of  the  Canadas,  until  they  have  advanced  even 
within  the  Arctic  Circle. 

These  two  pursuits  have  thus  in  a  manner 
been  the  pioneers  and  precursors  of  civilization. 
Without  pausing  on  the  borders,  they  have 
penetrated  at  once,  in  defiance  of  difficulties 
and  dangers,  to  the  heart  of  savage  countries  ; 
laying  open  the  hidden  secrets  of  the  wilder- 
ness ;  leading  the  way  to  remote  regions  of 
beauty  and  fertility  that  might  have  remained 
unexplored  for  ages,  and  beckoning  after  them 
the  slow  and  pausing  steps  of  agriculture  and 
civilization. 

It  was  the  fur  trade,  in  fact,  which  gave 
early  sustenance  and  vitality  to  the  great  Cana- 
dian provinces.  Being  destitute  of  the  precious 
metals,  at  that  time  the  leading  objects  of  Am- 
erican enterprise,  they  were  long  neglected  by 
the  parent  country.  The  French  adventurers, 
however,  who  had  settled  on  the  banks  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  soon  found  that  in  the  rich  pel- 
tries of  the  interior,  they  had  sources  of  wealth 
that  might  almost  rival  the  mines  of  Mexico 
and  Peru.  The  Indians,  as  yet  unacquainted 
with  the  artificial  value  given  to  some  descrip- 
tions of  furs,  in  civilized  life,  brought  quanti- 


fnmttng  anfc  ff  ur  Cra&fns  3 

ties  of  the  most  precious  kinds  and  bartered 
them  away  for  European  trinkets  and  cheap 
commodities.  Immense  profits  were  thus  made 
by  the  early  traders,  and  the  traffic  was  pur- 
sued with  avidity. 

As  the  valuable  furs  soon  became  scarce  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  settlements,  the  In- 
dians of  the  vicinity  were  stimulated  to  take  a 
wider  range  in  their  hunting  expeditions  ;  they 
were  generally  accompanied  on  these  expedi- 
tions by  some  of  the  traders  or  their  depend- 
ents, who  shared  in  the  toils  and  perils  of  the 
chase,  and  at  the  same  time  made  themselves 
acquainted  with  the  best  hunting  and  trapping 
grounds,  and  with  the  remote  tribes,  whom 
they  encouraged  to  bring  their  peltries  to  the 
settlements.  In  this  way  the  trade  augmented, 
and  was  drawn  from  remote  quarters  to  Mon- 
treal. Every  now  and  then  a  large  body  of 
Ottawas,  Hurons,  and  other  tribes  who  hunted 
the  countries  bordering  on  the  great  lakes, 
would  come  down  in  a  squadron  of  light 
canoes,  laden  with  beaver  skins,  and  other 
spoils  of  their  year's  hunting.  The  canoes 
would  be  unladen,  taken  on  shore,  and  their 
contents  disposed  in  order.  A  camp  of  birch 
bark  would  be  pitched  outside  of  the  town, 
and  a  kind  of  primitive  fair  opened  with  that 
grave  ceremonial  so  dear  to  the  Indians.  An 


Bstorfa 


audience  would  be  demanded  of  the  governor- 
general,  who  would  hold  the  conference  with 
becoming  state,  seated  in  an  elbow-chair,  with 
the  Indians  ranged  in  semi-circles  before  him, 
seated  on  the  ground,  and  silently  smoking 
their  pipes.  Speeches  would  be  made,  presents 
exchanged,  and  the  audience  would  break  up 
in  universal  good  humor. 

Now  would  ensue  a  brisk  traffic  with  the 
merchants,  and  all  Montreal  would  be  alive 
with  naked  Indians  running  from  shop  to  shop, 
bargaining  for  arms,  kettles,  knives,  axes, 
blankets,  bright-colored  cloths,  and  other  arti- 
cles of  use  or  fancy  ;  upon  all  which,  says  an 
old  French  writer,  the  merchants  were  sure  to 
clear  at  least  two  hundred  per  cent.  There 
was  no  money  used  in  this  traffic,  and,  after  a 
time,  all  payment  in  spirituous  liquors  was 
prohibited,  in  consequence  of  the  frantic  and 
frightful  excesses  and  bloody  brawls  which 
they  were  apt  to  occasion. 

Their  wants  and  caprices  being  supplied, 
they  would  take  leave  of  the  governor,  strike 
their  tents,  launch  their  canoes,  and  ply  their 
way  up  the  Ottawa  to  the  lakes. 

A  new  and  anomalous  class  of  men  gradu- 
ally grew  out  of  this  trade.  These  were  called 
coureurs  des  bois,  rangers  of  the  woods  ;  origi- 
nally men  who  had  accompanied  the  Indians 


Coureurs 


in  their  hunting  expeditions,  and  made  them- 
selves acquainted  with  remote  tracts  and  tribes  ; 
and  who  now  became,  as  it  were,  peddlers  of 
the  wilderness.  These  men  would  set  out 
from  Montreal  with  canoes  well  stocked  with 
goods,  with  arms  and  ammunition,  and  would 
make  their  way  up  the  mazy  and  wandering 
rivers  that  interlace  the  vast  forests  of  the 
Canadas,  coasting  the  most  remote  lakes,  and 
creating  new  wants  and  habitudes  among  the 
natives.  Sometimes  they  soj  ourned  for  months 
among  them,  assimilating  to  their  tastes  and 
habits  with  the  happy  facility  of  Frenchmen, 
adopting  in  some  degree  the  Indian  dress,  and 
not  unfrequently  taking  to  themselves  Indian 
wives. 

Twelve,  fifteen,  eighteen  months  would  often 
elapse  without  any  tidings  of  them,  when  they 
would  come  sweeping  their  way  down  the 
Ottawa  in  full  glee,  their  canoes  laden  down 
with  packs  of  beaver  skins.  Now  came  their 
turn  for  revelry  and  extravagance.  "You 
would  be  amazed,  '  '  says  an  old  writer  already 
quoted,  '  *  if  you  saw  how  lewd  these  peddlers 
are  when  they  return  ;  how  they  feast  and 
game,  and  how  prodigal  they  are,  not  only  in 
their  clothes,  but  upon  their  sweethearts. 
Such  of  them  as  are  married  have  the  wisdom 
to  retire  to  their  own  houses  ;  but  the  bache- 


Bstoria 


lors  act  just  as  an  East  Indiaman  and  pirates 
are  wont  to  do ;  for  they  lavish,  eat,  drink, 
and  play  all  away  as  long  as  the  goods  hold 
out ;  and  when  these  are  gone,  they  even  sell 
their  embroidery,  their  lace,  and  their  clothes. 
This  done,  they  are  forced  upon  a  new  voyage 
for  subsistence."  * 

Many  of  these  coureurs  des  bois  became  so 
accustomed  to  the  Indian  mode  of  living,  and 
the  perfect  freedom  of  the  wilderness,  that  they 
lost  all  relish  for  civilization,  and  identified 
themselves  with  the  savages  among  whom 
they  dwelt,  or  could  only  be  distinguished 
from  them  by  superior  licentiousness.  Their 
conduct  and  example  gradually  corrupted  the 
natives,  and  impeded  the  works  of  the  Catholic 
missionaries,  who  were  at  this  time  prosecut- 
ing their  pious  labors  in  the  wilds  of  Canada. 

To  check  these  abuses,  and  to  protect  the  fur 
trade  from  various  irregularities  practised  by 
these  loose  adventurers,  an  order  was  issued 
by  the  French  government  prohibiting  all  per- 
sons, on  pain  of  death,  from  trading  into  the 
interior  of  the  country  without  a  license. 

These  licenses  were  granted  in  writing  by  the 

governor-general,  and  at  first  were  given  only 

to  persons  of  respectability  ;  to  gentlemen  of 

broken  fortunes  ;  to  old  officers  of  the  army 

*  La  Hontan,  v.  i.,  let.  4. 


who  had  families  to  provide  for;  or  to  their 
widows.  Each  license  permitted  the  fitting 
out  of  two  large  canoes  with  merchandise  for 
the  lakes,  and  no  more  than  twenty-five  licenses 
were  to  be  issued  in  one  year.  By  degrees, 
however,  private  licenses  were  also  granted, 
and  the  number  rapidly  increased.  Those  who 
did  not  choose  to  fit  out  the  expeditions  them- 
selves, were  permitted  to  sell  them  to  the  mer- 
chants ;  these  employed  the  coureurs  des  bois, 
or  rangers  of  the  woods,  to  undertake  the  long 
voyages  on  shares,  and  thus  the  abuses  of  the 
old  system  were  revived  and  continued.* 

*  The  following  are  the  terms  on  which  these  expe- 
ditions were  commonly  undertaken.  The  merchant 
holding  the  license  would  fit  out  the  two  canoes  with 
a  thousand  crowns'  worth  of  goods,  and  put  them 
under  the  conduct  of  six  coureurs  des  doist  to  whom 
the  goods  were  exchanged  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  per 
cent,  above  the  ready  money  price  in  the  colony. 
The  coureurs  des  dots,  in  their  turn,  dealt  so  sharply 
with  the  savages,  that  they  generally  returned,  at  the 
end  of  a  year  or  so,  with  four  canoes  well  laden,  so 
as  to  insure  a  clear  profit  of  seven  hundred  per  cent., 
insomuch  that  the  thousand  crowns  invested,  pro- 
duced eight  thousand.  Of  this  extravagant  profit  the 
merchant  had  the  lion's  share.  In  the  first  place  he 
would  set  aside  six  hundred  crowns  for  the  cost  of 
his  license,  then  a  thousand  crowns  for  the  cost  of 
the  original  merchandise.  This  would  leave  six 
thousand  four  hundred  crowns,  from  which  he  would 


8  Bstoria 


The  pious  missionaries,  employed  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  to  convert  the  Indians, 
did  everything  in  their  power  to  counteract  the 
profligacy  caused  and  propagated  by  these  men 
in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness.  The  Catholic 
chapel  might  often  be  seen  planted  beside  the 
trading  house,  and  its  spire  surmounted  by  a 
cross,  towering  from  the  midst  of  an  Indian 
village,  on  the  banks  of  a  river  or  a  lake. 
The  missions  had  often  a  beneficial  effect  on 
the  simple  sons  of  the  forest,  but  had  little 
power  over  the  renegades  from  civilization. 

At  length  it  was  found  necessary  to  establish 
fortified  posts  at  the  confluence  of  the  rivers 
and  the  lakes  for  the  protection  of  the  trade, 
and  the  restraint  of  these  profligates  of  the 
wilderness.  The  most  important  of  these  was 
at  Michilimackinac,  situated  at  the  strait  of  the 
same  name,  which  connects  Lakes  Huron  and 
Michigan.  It  became  the  great  interior  mart 
and  place  of  deposit,  and  some  of  the  regular 
merchants  who  prosecuted  the  trade  in  person, 
under  their  licenses,  formed  establishments 
here.  This,  too,  was  a  rendezvous  for  the 

take  forty  per  cent.,  for  bottomry,  amounting  to  two 
thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty  crowns.  The  residue 
would  be  equally  divided  among  the  six  wood  rangers, 
who  would  thus  receive  little  more  than  six  hundred 
crowns  for  all  their  toils  and  perils. 


JSritteb  ffut  Grafters  9 

rangers  of  the  woods,  as  well  those  who  came 
up  with  goods  from  Montreal  as  those  who 
returned  with  peltries  from  the  interior.  Here 
new  expeditions  were  fitted  out  and  took  their 
departure  for  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  Lake  Superior  and  the  Northwest ;  and 
here  the  peltries  brought  in  return  were  em- 
barked for  Montreal. 

The  French  merchant  at  his  trading  post,  in 
these  primitive  days  of  Canada,  was  a  kind  of 
commercial  patriarch.  With  the  lax  habits 
and  easy  familiarity  of  his  race,  he  had  a  little 
world  of  self-indulgence  and  misrule  around 
him.  He  had  his  clerks,  canoe  men,  and 
retainers  of  all  kinds,  who  lived  with  him  on 
terms  of  perfect  sociability,  always  calling  him 
by  his  Christian  name  ;  he  had  his  harem  of 
Indian  beauties,  and  his  troop  of  half-breed 
children  ;  nor  was  there  ever  wanting  a  lout- 
ing  train  of  Indians,  hanging  about  the  estab- 
lishment, eating  and  drinking  at  his  expense 
in  the  intervals  of  their  hunting  expeditions. 

The  Canadian  traders,  for  a  long  time,  had 
troublesome  competitors  in  the  British  mer- 
chants of  New  York,  who  inveigled  the  Indian 
hunters  and  the  coureurs  des  bois  to  their  posts, 
and  traded  with  them  on  more  favorable  terms. 
A  still  more  formidable  opposition  was  organ- 
ized in  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  chartered 


io  Sstorta 


by  Charles  II.,  in  1670,  with  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  establishing  trading  houses  on  the 
shores  of  that  bay  and  its  tributary  rivers  ;  a 
privilege  which  they  have  maintained  to  the 
present  day.  Between  this  British  company 
and  the  French  merchants  of  Canada,  feuds 
and  contests  arose  about  alleged  infringements 
of  territorial  limits,  and  acts  of  violence  and 
bloodshed  occurred  between  their  agents. 

In  1762,  the  French  lost  possession  of  Can- 
ada, and  the  trade  fell  principally  into  the 
hands  of  British  subjects.  For  a  time,  how- 
ever, it  shrunk  within  narrow  limits.  The  old 
coureurs  des  bois  were  broken  up  and  dispersed, 
or,  where  they  could  be  met  with,  were  slow  to 
accustom  themselves  to  the  habits  and  manners 
of  their  British  employers.  They  missed  the 
freedom,  indulgence,  and  familiarity  of  the  old 
French  trading  houses,  and  did  not  relish  the 
sober  exactness,  reserve,  and  method  of  the 
new-comers.  The  British  traders,  too,  were 
ignorant  of  the  country,  and  distrustful  of  the 
natives.  They  had  reason  to  be  so.  The 
treacherous  and  bloody  affairs  of  Detroit  and 
Michilimackinac  showed  them  the  lurking  hos- 
tility cherished  by  the  savages,  who  had  too 
long  been  taught  by  the  French  to  regard  them 
as  enemies. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1766,  that  the  trade 


JBrtttsb  U*ottbwest  Company  u 

regained  its  old  channels  ;  but  it  was  then 
pursued  with  much  avidity  and  emulation  by 
individual  merchants,  and  soon  transcended 
its  former  bounds.  Expeditions  were  fitted 
out  by  various  persons  from  Montreal  and 
Michilimackinac,  and  rivalships  and  jealousies 
of  course  ensued.  The  trade  was  injured  by 
their  artifices  to  outbid  and  undermine  each 
other  ;  the  Indians  were  debauched  by  the 
sale  of  spirituous  liquors,  which  had  been  pro- 
hibited under  the  French  rule.  Scenes  of 
drunkenness,  brutality,  and  brawl  were  the 
consequence,  in  the  Indian  villages  and  around 
the  trading  houses  ;  while  bloody  feuds  took 
place  between  rival  trading  parties  when  they 
happened  to  encounter  each  other  in  the  law- 
less depths  of  the  wilderness. 

To  put  an  end  to  these  sordid  and  ruinous 
contentions,  several  of  the  principal  merchants 
of  Montreal  entered  into  a  partnership  in  the 
winter  of  1783,  which  was  augmented  by 
amalgamation  with  a  rival  company  in  1787. 
Thus  was  created  the  famous  "  Northwest 
Company,"  which  for  a  time  held  a  lordly 
sway  over  the  wintry  lakes  and  boundless 
forests  of  the  Canadas,  almost  equal  to  that 
of  the  East  India  Company  over  the  voluptuous, 
climes  and  magnificent  realms  of  the  Orient. 

The    company    consisted    of    twenty-three 


12  Bstoria 


shareholders,  or  partners,  but  held  in  its  em- 
ploy about  two  thousand  persons  as  clerks, 
guides,  interpreters,  and  voyageurs,  or  boat- 
men. These  were  distributed  at  various  trad- 
ing posts,  established  far  and  wide  on  the 
interior  lakes  and  rivers,  at  immense  distances 
from  each  other,  and  in  the  heart  of  trackless 
countries  and  savage  tribes. 

Several  of  the  partners  resided  in  Montreal 
and  Quebec,  to  manage  the  main  concerns  of 
the  company.  These  were  called  agents,  and 
were  personages  of  great  weight  and  import- 
ance ;  the  other  partners  took  their  stations  at 
the  interior  posts,  where  they  remained  through- 
out the  winter,  to  superintend  the  intercourse 
with  the  various  tribes  of  Indians.  They  were 
thence  called  wintering  partners. 

The  goods  destined  for  this  wide  and  wander- 
ing traffic  were  put  up  at  the  warehouses  of 
the  company  in  Montreal,  and  conveyed  in 
batteaux,  or  boats  and  canoes,  up  the  river 
Attawa,  or  Ottowa,  which  falls  into  the  St. 
Lawrence  near  Montreal,  and  by  other  rivers 
and  portages,  to  Lake  Nipising,  Lake  Huron, 
Lake  Superior,  and  thence,  by  several  chains 
of  great  and  small  lakes,  to  Lake  Winnipeg, 
Lake  Athabasca,  and  the  Great  Slave  Lake. 
This  singular  and  beautiful  system  of  internal 
seas,  which  renders  an  immense  region  of 


JBritteb  flortbwest  Company  13 

wilderness  so  accessible  to  the  frail  bark  of  the 
Indian  or  the  trader,  was  studded  by  the  re- 
mote posts  of  the  company,  where  they  carried 
on  their  traffic  with  the  surrounding  tribes. 

The  company,  as  we  have  shown,  was  at 
first  a  spontaneous  association  of  merchants; 
but,  after  it  had  been  regularly  organized,  ad- 
mission into  it  became  extremely  difficult.  A 
candidate  had  to  enter,  as  it  were,  * '  before 
the  mast,"  to  undergo  a  long  probation,  and 
to  rise  slowly  by  his  merits  and  services.  He 
began,  at  an  early  age,  as  a  clerk,  and  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years,  for  which  he 
received  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  was 
maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  company, 
and  furnished  with  suitable  clothing  and  equip- 
ments. His  probation  was  generally  passed 
at  the  interior  trading  posts  ;  removed  for  years 
from  civilized  society,  leading  a  life  almost  as 
wild  and  precarious  as  the  savages  around  him  ; 
exposed  to  the  severities  of  a  northern  winter, 
often  suffering  from  a  scarcity  of  food,  and 
sometimes  destitute  for  a  long  time  of  both 
bread  and  salt.  When  his  apprenticeship  had 
expired,  he  received  a  salary  according  to  his 
deserts,  varying  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds  sterling,  and  was  now  eligible  to 
the  great  object  of  his  ambition,  a  partnership 
in  the  company ;  though  years  might  yet 


14  Bstoria 


elapse  before  lie  attained  to  that  enviable 
station. 

Most  of  the  clerks  were  young  men  of  good 
families,  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland, 
characterized  by  the  perseverance,  thrift,  and 
fidelity  of  their  country,  and  fitted  by  their 
native  hardihood  to  encounter  the  rigorous 
climate  of  the  North,  and  to  endure  the  trials 
and  privations  of  their  lot ;  though  it  must  not 
be  concealed  that  the  constitutions  of  many  of 
them  became  impaired  by  the  hardships  of  the 
wilderness,  and  their  stomachs  injured  by  occa- 
sional famishing,  and  especially  by  the  want 
of  bread  and  salt.  Now  and  then,  at  an  in- 
terval of  years,  they  were  permitted  to  come 
down  on  a  visit  to  the  establishment  at  Mon- 
treal, to  recruit  their  health,  and  to  have  a 
taste  of  civilized  life  ;  and  these  were  brilliant 
spots  in  their  existence. 

As  to  the  principal  partners,  or  agents,  who 
resided  in  Montreal  and  Quebec,  they  formed  a 
kind  of  commercial  aristocracy,  living  in  lordly 
and  hospitable  style.  Their  early  associations 
when  clerks  at  the  remote  trading  posts,  and 
the  pleasures,  dangers,  adventures,  and  mis- 
haps which  they  had  shared  together  in  their 
wild  wood  life,  had  linked  them  heartily  to 
each  other,  so  that  they  formed  a  convivial 
fraternity.  Few  travellers  that  have  visited 


IRortbwest  partners  15 

Canada  some  thirty  years  since,  in  the  days  of 
the  M'Tavishes,  the  M'Gillivrays,  the  M'Ken- 
zies,  the  Frobishers,  and  the  other  magnates 
of  the  Northwest,  when  the  company  was  in 
all  its  glory,  but  must  remember  the  round  of 
feasting  and  revelry  kept  up  among  these  hy- 
perborean nabobs. 

Sometimes  one  or  two  partners,  recently 
from  the  interior  posts,  would  make  their 
appearance  in  New  York,  in  the  course  of  a 
tour  of  pleasure  and  curiosity.  On  these  occa- 
sions there  was  always  a  degree  of  magnifi- 
cence of  the  purse  about  them,  and  a  peculiar 
propensity  to  expenditure  at  the  goldsmith's 
and  jeweller's  for  rings,  chains,  brooches,  neck- 
laces; jewelled  watches,  and  other  rich  trinkets, 
partly  for  their  own  wear,  partly  for  presents 
to  their  female  acquaintances  ;  a  gorgeous  prodi- 
gality, such  as  was  often  to  be  noticed  in  former 
times  in  Southern  planters  and  West  India  Cre- 
oles, when  flush  with  the  profits  of  their  plan- 
tations. 

To  behold  the  Northwest  Company  in  all  its 
state  and  grandeur,  however,  it  was  necessary 
to  witness  an  annual  gathering  at  the  great 
interior  place  of  conference  established  at  Fort 
William,  near  what  is  called  the  Grand  Port- 
age, on  I/ake  Superior.  Here  two  or  three  of 
the  leading  partners  from  Montreal  proceeded 


16 


once  a  year  to  meet  the  partners  from  the  vari- 
ous trading  posts  of  the  wilderness,  to  discuss 
the  affairs  of  the  company  during  the  preceding 
year,  and  to  arrange  plans  for  the  future. 

On  these  occasions  might  be  seen  the  change 
since  the  unceremonious  times  of  the  old 
French  traders  ;  now  the  aristocratical  char- 
acter of  the  Briton  shone  forth  magnificently, 
or  rather  the  feudal  spirit  of  the  Highlander. 
Every  partner  who  had  charge  of  an  interior 
post,  and  a  score  of  retainers  at  his  command, 
felt  like  the  chieftain  of  a  Highland  clan,  and 
was  almost  as  important  in  the  eyes  of  his  de- 
pendants as  of  himself.  To  him  a  visit  to  the 
grand  conference  at  Fort  William  was  a  most 
important  event,  and  he  repaired  there  as  to  a 
meeting  of  parliament. 

The  partners  from  Montreal,  however,  were 
the  lords  of  the  ascendant ;  coming  from  the 
midst  of  luxuries  and  ostentatious  life,  they 
quite  eclipsed  their  compeers  from  the  woods, 
whose  forms  and  faces  had  been  battered  and 
hardened  by  hard  living  and  hard  service,  and 
whose  garments  and  equipments  were  all  the 
worse  for  wear.  Indeed,  the  partners  from 
below  considered  the  whole  dignity  of  the  com- 
pany as  represented  in  their  persons,  and  con- 
ducted themselves  in  suitable  style.  They 
ascended  the  rivers  in  great  state,  like  sov- 


Sbe  (Slorfes  ot  ffort  "00111113111  17 

ereigns  making  a  progress  ;  or  rather  like 
Highland  chieftains  navigating  their  subject 
lakes.  They  were  wrapped  in  rich  furs,  their 
huge  canoes  freighted  with  every  convenience 
and  luxury,  and  manned  by  Canadian  voy- 
ageurs,  as  obedient  as  Highland  clansmen. 
They  carried  up  with  them  cooks  and  bakers, 
together  with  delicacies  of  every  kind,  and 
abundance  of  choice  wines  for  the  banquets 
which  attended  this  great  convocation.  Happy 
were  they,  too,  if  they  could  meet  with  some 
distinguished  stranger  ;  above  all,  some  titled 
member  of  the  British  nobility,  to  accompany 
them  on  this  stately  occasion,  and  grace  their 
high  solemnities. 

Fort  William,  the  scene  of  this  important 
annual  meeting,  was  a  considerable  village  on 
the  banks  of  Lake  Superior.  Here,  in  an  im- 
mense wooden  building,  was  the  great  council 
hall,  as  also  the  banqueting  chamber,  decorated 
with  Indian  arms  and  accoutrements,  and  the 
trophies  of  the  fur  trade.  The  house  swarmed 
at  this  time  with  traders  and  voyageurs,  some 
from  Montreal,  bound  to  the  interior  posts  ; 
some  from  the  interior  posts,  bound  to  Mon- 
treal. The  councils  were  held  in  great  state, 
for  every  member  felt  as  if  sitting  in  parlia- 
ment, and  every  retainer  and  dependant  looked 
up  to  the  assemblage  with  awe,  as  to  the  House 


i8  Bstoria 


of  Lords.  There  was  a  vast  deal  of  solemn 
deliberation,  and  hard  Scottish  reasoning,  with 
an  occasional  swell  of  pompous  declamation. 

These  grave  and  weighty  councils  were  alter- 
nated by  huge  feasts  and  revels,  like  some 
of  the  old  feasts  described  in  Highland  cas- 
tles. The  tables  in  the  great  banqueting  room 
groaned  under  the  weight  of  game  of  all  kinds  ; 
of  venison  from  the  woods,  and  fish  from  the 
lakes,  with  hunters'  delicacies,  such  as  buffa- 
loes' tongues  and  beavers'  tails,  and  luxuries 
from  Montreal,  all  served  up  by  experienced 
cooks  brought  for  the  purpose.  There  was  no 
stint  of  generous  wine,  for  it  was  a  hard-drink- 
ing period,  a  time  of  loyal  toasts,  and  baccha- 
nalian songs,  and  brimming  bumpers. 

While  the  chiefs  thus  revelled  in  hall,  and 
made  the  rafters  resound  with  bursts  of  loyalty 
and  old  Scottish  songs,  chanted  in  voices 
cracked  and  sharpened  by  the  northern  blast, 
their  merriment  was  echoed  and  prolonged 
by  a  mongrel  legion  of  retainers,  Canadian 
voyageurs,  half-breeds,  Indian  hunters,  and 
vagabond  hangers-on  who  feasted  sumptuously 
without  on  the  crumbs  that  fell  from  their  table, 
and  made  the  welkin  ring  with  old  French  dit- 
ties, mingled  with  Indian  yelps  and  yellings. 

Such  was  the  Northwest  Company  in  its 
powerful  and  prosperous  days,  when  it  held  a 


Sbe  UorOs  of  tbe  3Lafces  19 

kind  of  feudal  sway  over  a  vast  domain  of  lake 
and  forest.  We  are  dwelling  too  long,  perhaps, 
upon  these  individual  pictures,  endeared  to  us 
by  the  associations  of  early  life,  when  as  yet  a 
stripling  youth,  we  have  sat  at  the  hospitable 
boards  of  the  "mighty  Northwesters,"  the 
lords  of  the  ascendant  at  Montreal,  and  gazed 
with  wondering  and  inexperienced  eye  at  the 
baronial  wassailing,  and  listened  with  aston- 
ished ear  to  their  tales  of  hardships  and  adven- 
tures. It  is  one  object  of  our  task,  however, 
to  present  scenes  of  the  rough  life  of  the  wilder- 
ness, and  we  are  tempted  to  fix  these  few 
memorials  of  a  transient  state  of  things  fast 
passing  into  oblivion  ; — for  the  feudal  state  of 
Fort  William  is  at  an  end  ;  its  council  chamber 
is  silent  and  deserted ;  its  banquet  hall  no 
longer  echoes  to  the  burst  of  loyalty,  or  the 
"auld  world  "  ditty  ;  the  lords  of  the  lakes 
and  forests  have  passed  away  ;  and  the  hospi- 
table magnates  of  Montreal — where  are  they  ? 


Cbapter  If. 

Rise  of  the  Mackinaw  Company — Attempt  of  the 
American  Government  to  Counteract  Foreign  Influ- 
ence over  the  Indian  Tribes— John  Jacob  Astor — 
His  Birth  place — His  Arrival  in  the  United  States — 
His  Character,  Enterprises,  and  Success— Origin  of 
the  American  Fur  Company. 

THE  success  of  the  Northwest  Company 
stimulated  further  enterprise  in  this 
opening  and  apparently  boundless  field 
of  profit.     The  traffic  of  that  company 
lay  principally  in  the  high  northern  latitudes, 
while  there  were  immense  regions  to  the  south 
and  west,  known  to  abound  with  valuable  pel- 
tries ;  but  which,  as  yet,  had  been  but  little 
explored  by  the  fur  trader.    A  new  association 
of  British  merchants  was  therefore  formed  to 
prosecute  the  trade  in   this    direction.     The 
chief  factory  was  established  at  the  old  em- 
porium of  Michilimackinac,  from  which  place 
the  association  took  its  name,   and  was  com- 
monly called  the  Mackinaw  Company. 


Cbe  flbacfctnaw  Company  21 

While  the  Northwesters  continued  to  push 
their  enterprises  into  the  hyperborean  regions 
from  their  stronghold  at  Fort  William,  and  to 
hold  almost  sovereign  sway  over  the  tribes  of 
the  upper  lakes  and  rivers,  the  Mackinaw 
Company  sent  forth  their  light  perogues  and 
barks,  by  Green  Bay,  Fox  River,  and  the 
Wisconsin,  to  that  great  artery  of  the  West, 
the  Mississippi  ;  and  down  that  stream  to  all 
its  tributary  rivers.  In  this  way  they  hoped 
soon  to  monopolize  the  trade  with  all  the  tribes 
on  the  southern  and  western  waters,  and  of 
those  vast  tracts  comprised  in  ancient  Louisi- 
ana. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  began 
to  view  with  a  wary  eye  the  growing  influence 
thus  acquired  by  combinations  of  foreigners, 
over  the  aboriginal  tribes  inhabiting  its  terri- 
tories, and  endeavored  to  counteract  it.  For 
this  purpose,  as  early  as  1796,  the  government 
sent  out  agents  to  establish  rival  trading 
houses  on  the  frontier,  so  as  to  supply  the 
wants  of  the  Indians,  to  link  their  interests  and 
feelings  with  those  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  divert  this  important  branch  of 
trade  into  national  channels. 

The  expedition,  however,  was  unsuccessful, 
as  most  commercial  expedients  are  prone  to 
be,  where  the  dull  patronage  of  government  is 


22  Batoria 


counted  upon  to  outvie  the  keen  activity  of 
private  enterprise.  What  government  failed 
to  effect,  however,  with  all  its  patronage  and 
all  its  agents,  was  at  length  brought  about  by 
the  enterprise  and  perseverance  of  a  single 
merchant,  one  of  its  adopted  citizens  ;  and  this 
brings  us  to  speak  of  the  individual  whose 
enterprise  is  the  especial  subject  of  the  follow- 
ing pages  ;  a  man  whose  name  and  character 
are  worthy  of  being  enrolled  in  the  history  of 
commerce,  as  illustrating  its  noblest  aims  and 
soundest  maxims.  A  few  brief  anecdotes  of 
his  early  life,  and  of  the  circumstances  which 
first  determined  him  to  the  branch  of  commerce 
of  which  we  are  treating,  cannot  be  but  inter- 
esting. 

John  Jacob  Astor,  the  individual  in  question, 
was  born  in  the  honest  little  German  village  of 
Waldorf,  near  Heidelberg,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  simplicity 
of  rural  life,  but,  while  yet  a  mere  stripling, 
left  his  home,  and  launched  himself  amid  the 
busy  scenes  of  London,  having  had,  from  his 
very  boyhood,  a  singular  presentiment  that  he 
would  ultimately  arrive  at  great  fortune. 

At  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution  he 
was  still  in  London,  and  scarce  on  the  thres- 
hold of  active  life.  An  elder  brother  had  been 
for  some  few  years  resident  in  the  United 


5acob  Bstor  23 


States,  and  Mr.  Astor  determined  to  follow 
him,  and  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  the  rising 
country.  Investing  a  small  sum  which  he  had 
amassed  since  leaving  his  native  village,  in 
merchandise  suited  to  the  American  market, 
he  embarked,  in  the  month  of  November,  1783, 
in  a  ship  bound  to  Baltimore,  and  arrived  in 
Hampton  Roads  in  the  month  of  January. 
The  winter  was  extremely  severe,  and  the 
ship,  with  many  others,  was  detained  by  the 
ice  in  and  about  Chesapeake  Bay  for  nearly 
three  months. 

During  this  period,  the  passengers  of  the 
various  ships  used  occasionally  to  go  on  shore, 
and  mingle  sociably  together.  In  this  way 
Mr.  Astor  became  acquainted  with  a  country- 
man of  his,  a  furrier  by  trade.  Having  had  a 
previous  impression  that  this  might  be  a  lucra- 
tive trade  in  the  New  World,  he  made  many 
inquiries  of  his  new  acquaintance  on  the  sub- 
ject, who  cheerfully  gave  him  all  the  informa- 
tion in  his  power  as  to  the  quality  and  value 
of  different  furs,  and  the  mode  of  carrying  on 
the  traffic.  He  subsequently  accompanied  him 
to  New  York,  and,  by  his  advice,  Mr.  Astor 
was  induced  to  invest  the  proceeds  of  his  mer- 
chandise in  furs.  With  these  he  sailed  from 
New  York  to  London  in  1784,  disposed  of 
them  advantageously,  made  himself  further 


24  Bstoria 


acquainted  with  the  course  of  the  trade,  and 
returned  the  same  year  to  New  York,  with  a 
view  to  settle  in  the  United  States. 

He  now  devoted  himself  to  the  branch  of 
commerce  with  which  he  had  thus  casually 
been  made  acquainted.  He  began  his  career, 
of  course,  on  the  narrowest  scale ;  but  he 
brought  to  the  task  a  persevering  industry,  rigid 
economy,  and  strict  integrity.  To  these  were 
added  an  aspiring  spirit  that  always  looked 
upwards  ;  a  genius  bold,  fertile,  and  expan- 
sive ;  a  sagacity  quick  to  grasp  and  convert 
every  circumstance  to  its  advantage,  and  a 
singular  and  never-wavering  confidence  of 
signal  success.* 

As  yet,  trade  in  peltries  was  not  organized 
in  the  United  States,  and  could  not  be  said  to 
form  a  regular  line  of  business.  Furs  and  skins 
were  casually  collected  by  the  country  traders 
in  their  dealings  with  the  Indians  or  the  white 

*  An  instance  of  this  buoyant  confidence,  which  no 
doubt  aided  to  produce  the  success  it  anticipated,  we 
have  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  A.  himself.  While  yet  al- 
most a  stranger  in  the  city,  and  in  very  narrow  circum- 
stances, he  passed  by  where  a  row  of  houses  had  just 
been  erected  in  Broadway,  and  which,  from  the  supe- 
rior style  of  their  architecture,  were  the  talk  and  boast 
of  the  city.  "I  '11  build,  one  day  or  other,  a  greater 
house  than  any  of  these,  in  this  very  street,"  said  he 
to  himself,  He  has  accomplished  his  prediction. 


.  York,  with  a 
i  -.es. 

to  the  branch  of 

e  had  thus  casually 

made  aoqti  <  lie  began  his  career, 

iie  narrowest,  scale;  but   he 

k  a  persevering  industry,  rigid 

econ;  ntegrity.     To  these  were 

added    aii   aspiring  spirit  that  always  looked 

fertile,  and  expan- 
and  convert 

Long's  Peak,  Rocky  Mountains 

From  a  photograph 

•-  WAS  not  organized 
.said  to 

• 

nlidence,  which  no 
ss  it  anticipated,  we 
himself.     While  yet  al- 
anger  in  f  d  in  very  narrow  circum- 

stances, he  passed  by  where  a  row  of  houses  had  just 
ted  in  Broadway,  and  which,  from  the  supe- 
of  their  architecture,  were  the  talk  and  boast 
'I  '11  build,  one  day  or  other,  a  greater 
bouse  than  any  of  these,  in  this  very  street,"  s 
He  has  accomphsht-d  his  p 


Dealings  In  GanaDa  25 


hunters,  but  the  main  supply  was  derived  from 
Canada.  As  Mr.  Astor's  means  increased,  he 
made  annual  visits  to  Montreal,  where  he  pur- 
chased furs  from  the  houses  at  that  place  en- 
gaged in  the  trade.  These  he  shipped  from 
Canada  to  London,  no  direct  trade  being  al- 
lowed from  that  colony  to  any  but  the  mother 
country. 

In  1794  or  '95,  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain 
removed  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  the  trade 
with  the  colonies,  and  opened  a  direct  commer- 
cial intercourse  between  Canada  and  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Astor  was  in  London  at  the  time, 
and  immediately  made  a  contract  with  the 
agents  of  the  Northwest  Company  for  furs. 
He  was  now  enabled  to  import  them  from 
Montreal  into  the  United  States  for  the  home 
supply,  and  to  be  shipped  thence  to  different 
parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  to  China,  which  has 
ever  been  the  best  market  for  the  richest  and 
finest  kinds  of  peltry. 

The  treaty  in  question  provided,  likewise, 
that  the  military  posts  occupied  by  the  British 
within  the  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States 
should  be  surrendered.  Accordingly,  Oswego, 
Niagara,  Detroit,  Michilimackinac,  and  other 
posts  on  the  American  side  of  the  lakes,  were 
given  up.  An  opening  was  thus  made  for  the 
American  merchant  to  trade  on  the  confines  of 


26  Bstoria 


Canada,  and  within  the  territories  of  the  United 
States.  After  an  interval  of  some  years,  about 
1807,  Mr.  Astor  embarked  in  this  trade  on  his 
own  account.  His  capital  and  resources  had 
by  this  time  greatly  augmented,  and  he  had 
risen  from  small  beginnings  to  take  his  place 
among  the  first  merchants  and  financiers  of  the 
country.  His  genius  had  ever  been  in  advance 
of  his  circumstances,  prompting  him  to  new 
and  wide  fields  of  enterprise  beyond  the  scope 
of  ordinary  merchants.  With  all  his  enterprise 
and  resources,  however,  he  soon  found  the 
power  and  influence  of  the  Michilimackinac 
(or  Mackinaw)  Company  too  great  for  him, 
having  engrossed  most  of  the  trade  within  the 
American  borders. 

A  plan  had  to  be  devised  to  enable  him  to 
enter  into  successful  competition.  He  was 
aware  of  the  wish  of  the  American  government, 
already  stated,  that  the  fur  trade  within  its 
boundaries  should  be  in  the  hands  of  American 
citizens,  and  of  the  ineffectual  measures  it  had 
taken  to  accomplish  that  object.  He  now  of- 
fered, if  aided  and  protected  by  government, 
to  turn  the  whole  of  that  trade  into  American 
channels.  He  was  invited  to  unfold  his  plans 
to  government,  and  they  were  warmly  approved, 
though  the  executive  could  give  no  direct  aid. 

Thus  countenanced,  however,  he  obtained, 


Soutbwest  Company  27 


in  1809,  a  charter  from  the  legislature  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  incorporating  a  company 
under  the  name  of  ' '  The  American  Fur  Com- 
pany," with  a  capital  of  one  million  of  dollars, 
with  the  privilege  of  increasing  it  to  two  mil- 
lions. The  capital  was  furnished  by  himself — 
he,  in  fact,  constituted  the  company ;  for, 
though  he  had  a  board  of  directors,  they  were 
merely  nominal  ;  the  whole  business  was  con- 
ducted on  his  plans  and  with  his  resources,  but 
he  preferred  to  do  so  under  the  imposing  and 
formidable  aspect  of  a  corporation,  rather  than 
in  his  individual  name,  and  his  policy  was 
sagacious  and  effective. 

As  the  Mackinaw  Company  still  continued 
its  rivalry,  and  as  the  fur  trade  would  not  ad- 
vantageously admit  of  competition,  he  made  a 
new  arrangement  in  181 1,  by  which,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  certain  partners  of  the  Northwest 
Company,  and  other  persons  engaged  in  the 
fur  trade,  he  bought  out  the  Mackinaw  Com- 
pany, and  merged  that  and  the  American  Fur 
Company  into  a  new  association,  to  be  called 
the  ' '  Southwest  Company. ' '  This  he  likewise 
did  with  the  privity  and  approbation  of  the 
American  government. 

By  this  arrangement  Mr.  Astor  became  pro- 
prietor of  one  half  of  the  Indian  establishments 
and  goods  which  the  Mackinaw  Company  had 


28 


Bstoria 


within  the  territory  of  the  Indian  country  in 
the  United  States,  and  it  was  understood  that 
the  whole  was  to  be  surrendered  into  his  hands 
at  the  expiration  of  five  years,  on  condition  that 
the  American  Company  would  not  trade  within 
the  British  dominions. 

Unluckily,  the  war  which  broke  out  in  1812 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
suspended  the  association  ;  and,  after  the  war, 
it  was  entirely  dissolved ;  Congress  having 
passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  British  fur  traders 
from  prosecuting  their  enterprises  within  the 
territories  of  the  United  States. 


Cbapter 


Fur  Trade  in  the  Pacific—  American  Coasting  Voyages 

—  Russian  Enterprises  —  Discovery  of  the  Columbia 
River  —  Carver's  Project  to  Found  a  Settlement  There 

—  Mackenzie's    Expedition  —  Lewis    and    Clarke's 
Journey  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  —  Mr,  Astor's 
Grand  Commercial  Scheme. 

WHILE  the  various  companies  we  have 
noticed  were  pushing  their  enter- 
prises far  and  wide  in  the  wilds  of 
Canada,  and  along  the  course  of  the 
great  western  waters,  other  adventurers,  intent 
on  the  same  objects,  were  traversing  the  watery 
wastes  of  the  Pacific  and  skirting  the  north- 
west coast  of  America.     The  last  voyage  of 
that  renowned  but  unfortunate  discoverer,  Cap- 
tain Cook,  had  made  known  the  vast  quantities 
of  the  sea-  otter  to  be  found  along  that  coast, 
and  the  immense  prices  to  be  obtained  for  its 
fur  in  China.     It  was  as  if  a  new  gold  coast 
had  been  discovered.     Individuals  from  vari- 
29 


30  Bstoria 


ous  countries  dashed  into  this  lucrative  traffic, 
so  that  in  the  year  1792,  there  were  twenty -one 
vessels  under  different  flags,  plying  along  the 
coast  and  trading  with  the  natives.  The  greater 
part  of  them  were  American,  and  owned  by  Bos- 
ton merchants.  They  generally  remained  on 
the  coast  and  about  the  adjacent  seas,  for  two 
years,  carrying  on  as  wandering  and  adventur- 
ous a  commerce  on  the  water  as  did  the  traders 
and  trappers  on  land.  Their  trade  extended 
along  the  whole  coast  from  California  to  the 
high  northern  latitudes.  They  would  run  in 
near  shore,  anchor,  and  wait  for  the  natives  to 
come  off  in  their  canoes  with  peltries.  The 
trade  exhausted  at  one  place,  they  would  up 
anchor  and  off  to  another.  In  this  way  they 
would  consume  the  summer,  and  when  autumn 
came  on,  would  run  down  to  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands and  winter  in  some  friendly  and  plentiful 
harbor.  In  the  following  year  they  would  re- 
sume their  summer  trade,  commencing  at  Cali- 
fornia and  proceeding  north  :  and,  having  in 
the  course  of  the  two  seasons  collected  a  suffi- 
cient cargo  of  peltries,  would  make  the  best  of 
their  way  to  China.  Here  they  would  sell  their 
furs,  take  in  teas,  nankeens,  and  other  merchan- 
dise, and  return  to  Boston,  after  an  absence  of 
two  or  three  years. 
The  people,  however,  who  entered  most  ex- 


•Russian  Enterprises  31 


tensively  and  effectively  in  the  fur  trade  of  the 
Pacific,  were  the  Russians.  Instead  of  making 
casual  voyages,  in  transient  ships,  they  estab- 
lished regular  trading  houses  in  the  high  lati- 
tudes, along  the  northwest  coast  of  America, 
and  upon  the  chain  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  be- 
tween Kamtschatka  and  the  promontory  of 
Alaska. 

To  promote  and  protect  these  enterprises,  a 
company  was  incorporated  by  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment with  exclusive  privileges,  and  a  capi- 
tal of  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  pounds 
sterling  ;  and  the  sovereignty  of  that  part  of 
the  American  continent,  along  the  coast  of 
which  the  posts  had  been  established,  was 
claimed  by  the  Russian  crown  on  the  plea  that 
the  land  had  been  discovered  and  occupied  by 
its  subjects. 

As  China  was  the  grand  mart  for  the  furs 
collected  in  these  quarters,  the  Russians  had 
the  advantage  over  their  competitors  in  the 
trade.  The  latter  had  to  take  their  peltries  to 
Canton,  which,  however,  was  a  mere  receiving 
mart,  from  whence  they  had  to  be  distributed 
over  the  interior  of  the  empire  and  sent  to  the 
northern  parts,  where  there  was  the  chief  con- 
sumption. The  Russians,  on  the  contrary, 
carried  their  furs,  by  a  shorter  voyage,  directly 
to  the  northern  parts  of  the  Chinese  empire  ; 


32  Bstorfa 


thus  being  able  to  afford  them  in  the  market 
without  the  additional  cost  of  internal  trans- 
portation. 

We  come  now  to  the  immediate  field  of  opera- 
tion of  the  great  enterprise  we  have  undertaken 
to  illustrate. 

Among  the  American  ships  which  traded 
along  the  northwest  coast  in  1792,  was  the 
Columbia,  Captain  Gray,  of  Boston.  In  the 
course  of  her  voyage  she  discovered  the  mouth 
of  a  large  river  in  lat.  46°  19'  north.  Entering 
it  with  some  difficulty,  on  account  of  sand-bars 
and  breakers,  she  came  to  anchor  in  a  spacious 
bay.  A  boat  was  well  manned,  and  sent  on 
shore  to  a  village  on  the  beach,  but  all  the  in- 
habitants fled  excepting  the  aged  and  infirm. 
The  kind  manner  in  which  these  were  treated, 
and  the  presents  given  to  them,  gradually  lured 
back  the  others,  and  a  friendly  intercourse  took 
place.  They  had  never  seen  a  ship  or  a  white 
man.  When  they  had  first  descried  the  Colum- 
bia, they  had  supposed  it  a  floating  island  ;  then 
some  monster  of  the  deep  ;  but  when  they  saw 
the  boat  putting  for  shore  with  human  beings 
on  board,  they  considered  them  cannibals  sent 
by  the  Great  Spirit  to  ravage  the  country  and 
devour  the  inhabitants.  Captain  Gray  did  not 
ascend  the  river  farther  than  the  bay  in  ques- 
tion, which  continues  to  bear  his  name.  After 


tbe  Columbia  33 


putting  to  sea,  he  fell  in  with  the  celebrated 
discoverer,  Vancouver,  and  informed  him  of 
his  discovery,  furnishing  him  with  a  chart 
which  he  had  made  of  the  river.  Vancouver 
visited  the  river,  and  his  lieutenant,  Broughton, 
explored  it  by  the  aid  of  Captain  Gray's  chart  ; 
ascending  it  upwards  of  one  hundred  miles, 
until  within  view  of  a  snowy  mountain,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Mount  Hood,  which 
it  still  retains. 

The  existence  of  this  river,  however,  was 
known  long  before  the  visits  of  Gray  and  Van- 
couver, but  the  information  concerning  it  was 
vague  and  indefinite,  being  gathered  from  the 
reports  of  Indians.  It  was  spoken  of  by  trav- 
ellers as  the  Oregon,  and  as  the  Great  River 
of  the  West.  A  Spanish  ship  is  said  to  have 
been  wrecked  at  the  mouth,  several  of  the 
crew  of  which  lived  for  some  time  among  the 
natives.  The  Cohimbia,  however,  is  believed 
to  be  the  first  ship  that  made  a  regular  dis- 
covery and  anchored  within  its  waters,  and  it 
has  since  generally  borne  the  name  of  that 
vessel. 

As  early  as  1763,  shortly  after  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  Canadas  by  Great  Britain,  Captain 
Jonathan  Carver,  who  had  been  in  the  British 
provincial  army,  projected  a  journey  across 
the  continent  between  the  forty-third  and  forty- 

VOL.    I.—  3 


34  B0torta 


sixth  degrees  of  northern  latitude  to  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  His  objects  were  to  ascer- 
tain the  breadth  of  the  continent  at  its  broad- 
est part,  and  to  determine  on  some  place  on 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  where  government 
might  establish  a  post  to  facilitate  the  discovery 
of  a  northwest  passage,  or  a  communication 
between  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
This  place  he  presumed  would  be  somewhere 
about  the  Straits  of  Annian,  at  which  point  he 
supposed  the  Oregon  disembogued  itself.  It 
was  his  opinion,  also,  that  a  settlement  on  this 
extremity  of  America  would  disclose  new 
sources  of  trade,  promote  many  useful  discov- 
eries, and  open  a  more  direct  communication 
with  China  and  the  English  settlements  in  the 
East  Indies,  than  that  by  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  or  the  Straits  of  Magellan.*  This  enter- 
prising and  intrepid  traveller  was  twice  baffled 
in  individual  efforts  to  accomplish  this  great 
journey.  In  1774  he  was  joined  in  the  scheme 
by  Richard  Whitworth,  a  member  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  a  man  of  wealth.  Their  enterprise 
was  projected  on  a  broad  and  bold  plan.  They 
were  to  take  with  them  fifty  or  sixty  men,  ar- 
tificers and  mariners.  With  these  they  were 
to  make  their  way  up  one  of  the  branches  of 
the  Missouri,  explore  the  mountains  for  the 
*  Carver's  Travels^  Introd.,  b.  Hi.  Philad.,  1796. 


d!bachen3ie'0  Discoveries  35 

source  of  the  Oregon,  or  the  River  of  the 
West,  and  sail  down  that  river  to  its  supposed 
exit,  near  the  Straits  of  Annian.  Here  they 
were  to  erect  a  fort,  and  build  the  vessels  neces- 
sary to  carry  their  discoveries  by  sea  into  effect. 
Their  plan  had  the  sanction  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment, and  grants  and  other  requisites  were 
nearly  completed,  when  the  breaking  out  of 
the  American  Revolution  once  more  defeated 
the  undertaking.* 

The  expedition  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie 
in  1793,  across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  which  he  reached  in  lat.  52°  20'  48", 
again  suggested  the  possibility  of  linking 
together  the  trade  of  both  sides  of  the  conti- 
nent. In  lat.  52°  30'  he  had  descended  a  river 
for  some  distance  which  flowed  towards  the 
south,  and  was  called  by  the  natives  Tacoutche 
Tesse,  and  which  he  erroneously  supposed  to 
be  the  Columbia.  It  was  afterwards  ascertained 
that  it  emptied  itself  in  lat.  49°,  whereas  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  is  about  three  degrees 
farther  south. 

When  Mackenzie  some  years  subsequently 
published  an  account  of  his  expeditions,  he 
suggested  the  policy  of  opening  an  intercourse 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and 
forming  regular  establishments  through  the 
*  Carver's  Travels,  p.  360.  Philad.,  1796. 


36  Sstorfa 


interior  and  at  both  extremes,  as  well  as  along 
the  coasts  and  islands.  By  this  means,  he 
observed  the  entire  command  of  the  fur  trade 
of  North  America  might  be  obtained  from  lat. 
48°  north,  to  the  pole,  excepting  that  portion 
held  by  the  Russians,  for  as  to  the  American 
adventurers  who  had  hitherto  enjoyed  the  traf- 
fic along  the  northwest  coast,  they  would  in- 
stantly disappear,  he  added,  before  a  well 
regulated  trade. 

A  scheme  of  this  kind,  however,  was  too 
vast  and  hazardous  for  individual  enterprise  ; 
it  could  only  be  undertaken  by  a  company 
under  the  sanction  and  protection  of  a  govern- 
ment ;  and  as  there  might  be  a  clashing  of 
claims  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  North- 
west Company,  the  one  holding  by  right  of 
charter,  the  other  by  right  of  possession,  he 
proposed  that  the  two  companies  should  coalesce 
in  this  great  undertaking.  The  long  cherished 
jealousies  of  these  two  companies,  however, 
were  too  deep  and  strong  to  allow  them  to  lis- 
ten to  such  counsel. 

In  the  meantime  the  attention  of  the  Ameri- 
can government  was  attracted  to  the  subject, 
and  the  memorable  expedition  under  Messrs. 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  fitted  out.  These  gentle- 
men, in  1804,  accomplished  the  enterprise 
which  had  been  projected  by  Carver  and  Whit- 


.  Bator's  project  37 


worth,  in  1774.  They  ascended  the  Missouri, 
passed  through  the  stupendous  gates  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  hitherto  unknown  to  white 
men  ;  discovered  and  explored  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Columbia,  and  followed  that  river  down 
to  its  mouth,  where  their  countryman,  Gray, 
had  anchored  about  twelve  years  previously. 
Here  they  passed  the  winter,  and  returned 
across  the  mountains  in  the  following  spring. 
The  reports  published  by  them  of  their  expe- 
dition, demonstrated  the  practicability  of  estab- 
lishing a  line  of  communication  across  the 
continent,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

It  was  then  that  the  idea  presented  itself  to 
the  mind  of  Mr.  Astor,  of  grasping  with  his 
individual  hand  this  great  enterprise,  which 
for  years  had  been  dubiously  yet  desirously 
contemplated  by  powerful  associations  and 
maternal  governments.  For  some  time  he  re- 
volved the  idea  in  his  mind,  gradually  extend- 
ing and  maturing  his  plans  as  his  means  of 
executing  them  augmented.  The  main  feature 
of  his  scheme  was  to  establish  a  line  of  trading 
posts  along  the  Missouri  and  the  Columbia,  to 
the  mouth  of  the  latter,  where  was  to  be 
founded  the  chief  trading  house  or  mart.  In- 
ferior posts  would  be  established  in  the  interior, 
and  on  all  the  tributary  streams  of  the  Colum- 


38  Bstoria 


bia,  to  trade  with  the  Indians ;  these  posts 
would  draw  their  supplies  from  the  main  es- 
tablishment, and  bring  to  it  the  peltries  they 
collected.  Coasting  craft  would  be  built  and 
fitted  out,  also,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
to  trade,  at  favorable  seasons,  all  along  the 
northwest  coast,  and  return  with  the  proceeds 
of  their  voyages,  to  this  place  of  deposit.  Thus 
all  the  Indian  trade,  both  of  the  interior  and 
the  coast,  would  converge  to  this  point,  and 
thence  derive  its  sustenance. 

A  ship  was  to  be  sent  annually  from  New 
York  to  this  main  establishment  with  reinforce- 
ments and  supplies,  and  with  merchandise 
suited  to  the  trade.  It  would  take  on  board 
the  furs  collected  during  the  preceding  year, 
carry  them  to  Canton,  invest  the  proceeds  in 
the  rich  merchandise  of  China,  and  return  thus 
freighted  to  New  York. 

As,  in  extending  the  American  trade  along 
the  coast  to  the  northward,  it  might  be  brought 
into  the  vicinity  of  the  Russian  Fur  Company, 
and  produce  a  hostile  rivalry,  it  was  part  of  the 
plan  of  Mr.  Astor  to  conciliate  the  good-will 
of  that  company  by  the  most  amicable  and 
beneficial  arrangements.  The  Russian  estab- 
lishment was  chiefly  dependent  for  its  supplies 
upon  transient  trading  vessels  from  the  United 
States.  These  vessels,  however,  were  often  of 


.  Bstor's  project  39 


more  harm  than  advantage.  Being  owned  by 
private  adventurers,  or  casual  voyagers,  who 
cared  only  for  present  profit,  and  had  no  inter- 
est in  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  trade, 
they  were  reckless  in  their  dealings  with  the 
natives,  and  made  no  scruple  of  supplying  them 
with  fire-arms.  In  this  way  several  fierce 
tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Russian  posts,  or 
within  the  range  of  their  trading  excursions, 
were  furnished  with  deadly  means  of  warfare, 
and  rendered  troublesome  and  dangerous 
neighbors. 

The  Russian  government  had  made  represen- 
tations to  that  of  the  United  States  of  these 
malpractices  on  the  part  of  its  citizens,  and 
urged  to  have  this  traffic  in  arms  prohibited  ; 
but,  as  it  did  not  infringe  any  municipal  law, 
our  government  could  not  interfere.  Yet,  still 
it  regarded  with  solicitude  a  traffic  which,  if 
persisted  in,  might  give  offence  to  Russia,  at 
that  time  almost  the  only  friendly  power  to  us. 
In  this  dilemma  the  government  had  applied  to 
Mr.  Astor,  as  one  conversant  in  this  branch  of 
trade,  for  information  that  might  point  out  a. 
way  to  remedy  the  evil.  This  circumstance 
had  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  supplying  the 
Russian  establishment  regularly  by  means  of 
the  annual  ship  that  should  visit  the  settlement 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  (or  Oregon)  ;  by 


40  Bstoria 


this  means  the  casual  trading  vessels  would  be 
excluded  from  those  parts  of  the  coast  where 
their  malpractices  were  so  injurious  to  the 
Russians. 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  enterprise  pro- 
jected by  Mr.  Astor,  but  which  continually 
expanded  in  his  mind.  Indeed,  it  is  due  to  him 
to  say  that  he  was  not  actuated  by  mere  mo- 
tives of  individual  profit.  He  was  already 
wealthy  bej^ond  the  ordinary  desires  of  man, 
but  he  now  aspired  to  that  honorable  fame 
which  is  awarded  to  men  of  similar  scope  of 
mind,  who  by  their  great  commercial  enter- 
prises have  enriched  nations,  peopled  wilder- 
nesses, and  extended  the  bounds  of  empire. 
He  considered  his  projected  establishment  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  as  the  emporium 
to  an  immense  commerce  ;  as  a  colony  that 
would  form  the  germ  of  a  wide  civilization  ; 
that  would,  in  fact,  carry  the  American  popu- 
lation across  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  spread 
it  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  as  it  already 
animated  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic. 

As  Mr.  Astor,  by  the  magnitude  of  his  com- 
mercial and  financial  relations,  and  the  vigor 
and  scope  of  his  self-taught  mind,  had  elevated 
himself  into  the  consideration  of  government 
and  the  communion  and  correspondence  with 
leading  statesmen,  he,  at  an  early  period,  com- 


Xetter  of  flbc.  Jefferson  41 

municated  his  schemes  to  President  Jefferson, 
soliciting  the  countenance  of  government. 
How  highly  they  were  esteemed  by  that  emi- 
nent man,  we  may  judge  by  the  following  pas- 
sage, written  by  him  some  time  afterwards  to 
Mr.  Astor : 

"  I  remember  well  having  invited  your  proposition 
on  this  subject,*  and  encouraged  it  with  the  assurance 
of  every  facility  and  protection  which  the  government 
could  properly  afford.  I  considered,  as  a  great  public 
acquisition,  the  commencement  of  a  settlement  on 
that  point  of  the  western  coast  of  America,  and  looked 
forward  with  gratification  to  the  time  when  its  de- 
scendants should  have  spread  themselves  through  the 
whole  length  of  that  coast,  covering  it  with  free  and 
independent  Americans,  unconnected  with  us  but  by 
the  ties  of  blood  and  interest,  and  enjoying  like  us 
the  rights  of  self-government." 

The  cabinet  joined  with  Mr.  Jefferson  in 
warm  approbation  of  the  plan,  and  held  out 
assurance  of  every  protection  that  could,  con- 
sistently with  general  policy,  be  afforded. 

Mr.  Astor  now  prepared  to  carry  his  scheme 

*  On  this  point  Mr.  Jefferson's  memory  was  in  er- 
ror. The  proposition  alluded  to  was  the  one,  already 
mentioned,  for  the  establishment  of  an  American  Fur 
Company  in  the  Atlantic  States.  The  great  enterprise 
beyond  the  mountains,  that  was  to  sweep  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific,  originated  in  the  mind  of  Mr.  Astor, 
and  was  proposed  by  him  to  the  government. 


42  Bstorta 


into  prompt  execution.  He  had  some  compe- 
tition, however,  to  apprehend  and  guard 
against.  The  Northwest  Company,  acting 
feebly  and  partially  upon  the  suggestions  of 
its  former  agent,  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie, 
had  pushed  one  or  two  advanced  trading  posts 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  into  a  tract  of 
country  visited  by  that  enterprising  traveller, 
and  since  named  New  Caledonia.  This  tract 
lay  about  two  degrees  north  of  the  Columbia, 
and  intervened  between  the  territories  of  the 
United  States  and  those  of  Russia.  Its  length 
was  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  its 
breadth,  from  the  mountains  to  the  Pacific, 
from  three  hundred  to  three  hundred  and  fifty 
geographical  miles. 

Should  the  Northwest  Company  persist  in 
extending  their  trade  in  that  quarter,  their 
competition  might  be  of  serious  detriment  to 
the  plans  of  Mr.  Astor.  It  is  true  they  would 
contend  with  him  to  a  vast  disadvantage,  from 
the  checks  and  restrictions  to  which  they  were 
subjected.  They  were  straitened  on  one  side 
by  the  rivalry  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ; 
then  they  had  no  good  post  on  the  Pacific 
where  they  could  receive  supplies  by  sea  for 
their  establishments  beyond  the  mountains ; 
nor,  if  they  had  one,  could  they  ship  their 
furs  thence  to  China,  that  great  mart  for  pel- 


Disadvantages  of  IRivalrg  43 

tries  ;  the  Chinese  trade  being  comprised  in 
the  monopoly  of  the  East  India  Company. 
Their  posts  beyond  the  mountains  had  to  be 
supplied  in  yearly  expeditions,  like  caravans, 
from  Montreal,  and  the  furs  conveyed  back  in 
the  same  way,  by  long,  precarious,  and  expen- 
sive routes,  across  the  continent.  Mr.  Astor, 
on  the  contrary,  would  be  able  to  supply  his 
proposed  establishment  at  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia by  sea,  and  to  ship  the  furs  collected 
there  directly  to  China,  so  as  to  undersell  the 
Northwest  Company  in  the  great  Chinese 
market. 

Still,  the  competition  of  two  rival  companies 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  could  not  but 
prove  detrimental  to  both,  and  fraught  with 
those  evils,  both  to  the  trade  and  to  the  In- 
dians, that  had  attended  similar  rivalries  in 
the  Canadas.  To  prevent  any  contest  of  the 
kind,  therefore,  he  made  known  his  plan  to 
the  agents  of  the  Northwest  Company,  and 
proposed  to  interest  them,  to  the  extent  of  one 
third,  in  the  trade  thus  to  be  opened.  Some 
correspondence  and  negotiation  ensued.  The 
company  were  aware  of  the  advantages  which 
would  be  possessed  by  Mr.  Astor  should  he  be 
able  to  carry  his  scheme  into  effect ;  but  they 
anticipated  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  beyond 
the  mountains  by  their  establishments  in  New 


44  Sstoria 


Caledonia,  and  were  loth  to  share  it  with  an 
individual  who  had  already  proved  a  formid- 
able competitor  in  the  Atlantic  trade.  They 
hoped,  too,  by  a  timely  move,  to  secure  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  before  Mr.  Astor  would 
be  able  to  put  his  plans  into  operation  ;  and, 
that  key  to  the  internal  trade  once  in  their 
possession,  the  whole  country  would  be  at  their 
command.  After  some  negotiation  and  delay, 
therefore,  they  declined  the  proposition  that 
had  been  made  to  them,  but  subsequently 
despatched  a  party  for  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, to  establish  a  post  there  before  any 
expedition  sent  out  by  Mr.  Astor  might  arrive. 
In  the  meantime  Mr.  Astor,  finding  his  over- 
tures rejected,  proceeded  fearlessly  to  execute 
his  enterprise  in  face  of  the  whole  power  of  the 
Northwest  Company.  His  main  establishment 
once  planted  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  he 
looked  with  confidence  to  ultimate  success. 
Being  able  to  reinforce  and  supply  it  amply  by 
sea,  he  would  push  his  interior  posts  in  every 
direction  up  the  rivers  and  along  the  coast ; 
supplying  the  natives  at  a  lower  rate,  and  thus 
gradually  obliging  the  Northwest  Company  to 
give  up  the  competition,  relinquish  New  Cale- 
donia, and  retire  to  the  other  side  of  the  moun- 
tains. He  would  then  have  possession  of  the 
trade,  not  merely  of  the  Columbia  and  its  trib- 


preparations  for  tbe  Enterprise          45 

utaries,  but  of  the  regions  farther  north,  quite 
to  the  Russian  possessions.  Such  was  a  part 
of  his  brilliant  and  comprehensive  plan. 

He  now  proceeded,  with  all  diligence,  to  pro- 
cure proper  agents  and  coadjutors,  habituated 
to  the  Indian  trade  and  to  the  life  of  the  wil- 
derness. Among  the  clerks  of  the  Northwest 
Company  were  several  of  great  capacity  and 
experience,  who  had  served  out  their  proba- 
tionary terms,  but  who,  either  through  lack  of 
interest  and  influence,  or  a  want  of  vacancies, 
had  not  been  promoted.  They  were  conse- 
quently much  dissatisfied,  and  ready  for  any 
employment  in  which  their  talents  and  acquire- 
ments might  be  turned  to  better  account. 

Mr.  Astor  made  his  overtures  to  several  of 
these  persons,  and  three  of  them  entered  into 
his  views.  One  of  these,  Mr.  Alexander 
M'Kay,  had  accompanied  Sir  Alexander  Mac- 
Kenzie  in  both  of  his  expeditions  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  America  in  1789  and  1793.  The 
other  two  were  Duncan  M'Dougal  and  Donald 
M'Kenzie.  To  these  were  subsequently  added 
Mr.  Wilson  Price  Hunt,  of  New  Jersey.  As 
this  gentleman  was  a  native-born  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  a  person  of  great  probity  and 
worth,  he  was  selected  by  Mr.  Astor  to  be  his 
chief  agent,  and  to  represent  him  in  the  con- 
templated establishment. 


Bstorta 


On  the  23d  of  June,  1810,  articles  of  agree- 
ment were  entered  into  between  Mr.  Astor  and 
those  four  gentlemen,  acting  for  themselves 
and  for  the  several  persons  who  had  already 
agreed  to  become,  or  should  thereafter  become, 
associated  under  the  firm  of  ' '  The  Pacific  Fur 
Company. ' ' 

According  to  these  articles,  Mr.  Astor  was 
to  be  at  the  head  of  the  company,  and  to  man- 
age its  affairs  in  New  York.  He  was  to  furnish 
vessels,  goods,  provisions,  arms,  ammunition, 
and  all  other  requisites  for  the  enterprise  at 
first  cost  and  charges,  provided  that  they  did 
not,  at  any  time,  involve  an  advance  of  more 
than  four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  stock  of  the  company  was  to  be  divided 
into  a  hundred  equal  shares,  with  the  profits 
accruing  thereon.  Fifty  shares  were  to  be  at 
the  disposition  of  Mr.  Astor,  and  the  other 
fifty  to  be  divided  among  the  partners  and  their 
associates. 

Mr.  Astor  was  to  have  the  privilege  of  intro- 
ducing other  persons  into  the  connection,  as 
partners,  two  of  whom,  at  least,  should  be  con- 
versant with  the  Indian  trade,  and  none  of 
them  entitled  to  more  than  three  shares. 

A  general  meeting  of  the  company  was  to  be 
held  annually  at  Columbia  River,  for  the  in- 
vestigation and  regulation  of  its  affairs ;  at 


Cbe  pacific  jfut  Gompang  47 

which  absent  members  might  be  represented, 
and  might  vote  by  proxy  under  certain  specified 
conditions. 

The  association,  if  successful,  was  to  con- 
tinue for  twenty  years ;  but  the  parties  had 
full  power  to  abandon  and  dissolve  it  within 
the  first  five  years,  should  it  be  found  un- 
profitable. For  this  term  Mr.  Astor  covenanted 
to  bear  all  the  loss  that  might  be  incurred ; 
after  which  it  was  borne  by  all  the  partners,  in 
proportion  to  their  respective  shares. 

The  parties  of  the  second  part  were  to  ex- 
ecute faithfully  such  duties  as  might  be  as- 
signed to  them  by  a  majority  of  the  company 
on  the  northwest  coast,  and  to  repair  to  such 
place  or  places  as  the  majority  might  direct. 

An  agent,  appointed  for  the  term  of  five 
years,  was  to  reside  at  the  principal  establish- 
ment of  the  northwest  coast,  and  Wilson  Price 
Hunt  was  the  one  chosen  for  the  first  term. 
Should  the  interests  of  the  concern  at  any 
time  require  his  absence,  a  person  was  to  be 
appointed,  in  general  meeting,  to  take  his  place. 

Such  were  the  leading  conditions  of  this 
association  ;  we  shall  now  proceed  to  relate  the 
various  hardy  and  eventful  expeditions,  by  sea 
and  land,  to  which  it  gave  rise. 


Cbapter  11D. 

Two  Expeditions  Set  on  Foot — The  Tonquin  and  her 
Crew — Captain  Thorn,  his  Character — The  Partners 
and  Clerks — Expedition  of  a  Canadian  Boat  and  its 
Crew  by  Land  and  Water — Arrival  at  New  York — 
Preparations  for  a  Sea  Voyage — Letter  of  Instruc- 
tions. 

IN  prosecuting   his  great  scheme   of  com- 
merce and  colonization,  two  expeditions 
were  devised  by  Mr.  Astor,  one  by  sea, 
the  other  by  land.     The  former  was  to 
carry  out  the  people,  stores,  ammunition,  and 
merchandise,  requisite  for  establishing  a  forti- 
fied  trading  post  at  the  mouth  of  Columbia 
River.     The  latter,  conducted  by  Mr.    Hunt, 
was  to  proceed  up  the  Missouri,  and  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  same  point ;  explor- 
ing a  line  of  communication  across  the  conti- 
nent,  and  noting   the   places   where   interior 
trading    posts    might    be    established.      The 
expedition   by  sea  is  the  one   which   comes 
first  under  consideration. 
48 


Members  of  tbe  Bjpe&itfon  49 

A  fine  ship  was  provided  called  the  Tonquin, 
of  two  hundred  and  ninety  tons  burden,  mount- 
ing ten  guns,  with  a  crew  of  twenty  men. 
She  carried  an  assortment  of  merchandise  for 
trading  with  the  natives  of  the  sea-board  and 
of  the  interior,  together  with  the  frame  of  a 
schooner,  to  be  employed  in  the  coasting  trade. 
Seeds  were  also  provided  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil,  and  nothing  was  neglected  for  the 
necessary  supply  of  the  establishment.  The 
command  of  the  ship  was  intrusted  to  Jonathan 
Thorn,  of  New  York,  a  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States  navy,  on  leave  of  absence.  He  was  a 
man  of  courage  and  firmness,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  our  Tripolitan  war,  and, 
from  being  accustomed  to  naval  discipline,  was 
considered  by  Mr.  Astor  as  well  fitted  to  take 
charge  of  an  expedition  of  the  kind.  Four  of 
the  partners  were  to  embark  in  the  ship,  namely 
Messrs.  M'Kay,  M'Dougal,  David  Stuart,  and 
his  nephew,  Robert  Stuart.  Mr.  M'Dougal 
was  empowered  by  Mr.  Astor  to  act  as  his 
proxy  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Hunt,  to  vote  for 
him  and  in  his  name,  on  any  question  that 
might  come  before  any  meeting  of  the  persons 
interested  in  the  voyage. 

Beside  the  partners,  there  were  twelve  clerks 
to  go  out  in  the  ship,  several  of  them  natives 
of  Canada,  who  had  some  experience  in  the 

VOL.   1.— 4 


50  Bstoria 


Indian  trade.  They  were  bound  to  the  service 
of  the  company  for  five  years,  at  the  rate  of  one 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  payable  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  term,  and  an  annual  equipment  of 
clothing  to  the  amount  of  forty  dollars.  In 
case  of  ill  conduct  they  were  liable  to  forfeit 
their  wages  and  be  dismissed ;  but,  should 
they  acquit  themselves  well,  the  confident  ex- 
pectation was  held  out  to  them  of  promotion, 
and  partnership.  Their  interests  were  thus, 
to  some  extent,  identified  with  those  of  the 
company. 

Several  artisans  were  likewise  to  sail  in  the 
ship,  for  the  supply  of  the  colony ;  but  the 
most  peculiar  and  characteristic  part  of  this 
motley  embarkation  consisted  of  thirteen  Can- 
adian voyageurs^  who  had  enlisted  for  five 
3^ears.  As  this  class  of  functionaries  will  con- 
tinually recur  in  the  course  of  the  following 
narrations,  and  as  they  form  one  of  those  dis- 
tinct and  strongly  marked  castes  or  orders  of 
people,  springing  up  in  this  vast  continent  out 
of  geographical  circumstances,  or  the  varied 
pursuits,  habitudes,  and  origins  of  its  popula- 
tion, we  shall  sketch  a  few  of  their  character- 
istics for  the  information  of  the  reader. 

The  voyageurs  form  a  kind  of  fraternity  in 
the  Canadas,  like  the  arrieros,  or  carriers,  of 
Spain,  and,  like  them,  are  employed  in  long 


Canadian  IDogaaeuts  51 


internal  expeditions  of  travel  and  traffic  :  with 
this  difference,  that  the  arrieros  travel  by  land, 
the  voyageurs  by  water  ;  the  former  with  mules 
and  horses,  the  latter  with  batteaux  and  canoes. 
The  voyageurs  may  be  said  to  have  sprung  up 
out  of  the  fur  trade,  having  originally  been 
employed  by  the  early  French  merchants  in 
their  trading  expeditions  through  the  labyrinth 
of  rivers  and  lakes  of  the  boundless  interior. 
They  were  coeval  with  the  coureurs  des  bois,  or 
rangers  of  the  woods,  already  noticed,  and,  like 
them,  in  the  intervals  of  their  long,  arduous, 
and  laborious  expeditions,  were  prone  to  pass 
their  time  in  idleness  and  revelry  about  the 
trading  posts  or  settlements  ;  squandering  their 
hard  earnings  in  heedless  conviviality,  and 
rivalling  their  neighbors,  the  Indians,  in  indo- 
lent indulgence  and  an  imprudent  disregard  of 
the  morrow. 

When  Canada  passed  under  British  domina- 
tion, and  the  old  French  trading  houses  were 
broken  up,  the  voyageurs,  like  the  coureurs  des 
bois,  were  for  a  time  disheartened  and  discon- 
solate, and  with  difficulty  could  reconcile  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  the  new-comers,  so  dif- 
ferent in  habits,  manners,  and  language  from 
their  former  employers.  By  degrees,  however, 
they  became  accustomed  to  the  change,  and  at 
length  came  to  consider  the  British  fur  traders, 


52  Bstoria 


and  especially  the  members  of  the  Northwest 
Company,  as  the  legitimate  lords  of  creation. 

The  dress  of  these  people  is  generally  half 
civilized,  half  savage.  They  wear  a  capot  or 
surcoat,  made  of  a  blanket,  a  striped  cotton 
shirt,  cloth  trowsers,  or  leathern  leggins,  moc- 
casins of  deer-skin,  and  a  belt  of  variegated 
worsted,  from  which  are  suspended  the  knife, 
tobacco-pouch,  and  other  implements.  Their 
language  is  of  the  same  piebald  character,  be- 
ing a  French  patois  embroidered  with  Indian 
and  Knglish  words  and  phrases. 

The  lives  of  the  voyageurs  are  passed  in  wild 
and  extensive  rovings,  in  the  service  of  indi- 
viduals, but  more  especially  of  the  fur  traders. 
They  are  generally  of  French  descent,  and  in- 
herit much  of  the  gayety  and  lightness  of  heart 
of  their  ancestors,  being  full  of  anecdote  and 
song,  and  ever  ready  for  the  dance.  They  inher- 
it, too,  a  fund  of  civility  and  complaisance  ;  and, 
instead  of  that  hardness  and  grossness  which 
men  in  laborious  life  are  apt  to  indulge  towards 
each  other,  they  are  mutually  obliging  and 
accommodating ;  interchanging  kind  offices, 
yielding  each  other  assistance  and  comfort  in 
every  emergency,  and  using  the  familiar  appel- 
lations of  ' '  cousin  ' '  and  ' '  brother ' '  when 
there  is  in  fact  no  relationship.  Their  natural 
good-will  is  probably  heightened  by  a  commu- 


Characteristics  of  tbe  DoBageurs          53 

nity  of  adventure  and  hardship  in  their  precari- 
ous and  wandering  life. 

No  men  are  more  submissive  to  their  leaders 
and  employers,  more  capable  of  enduring  hard- 
ship, or  more  good-humored  under  privations. 
Never  are  they  so  happy  as  when  on  long  and 
rough  expeditions,  toiling  up  rivers  or  coasting 
lakes  ;  encamping  at  night  on  the  borders, 
gossiping  round  their  fires,  and  bivouacking  in 
the  open  air.  They  are  dextrous  boatmen,  vig- 
orous and  adroit  with  the  oar  and  paddle,  and 
will  row  from  morning  until  night  without  a 
murmur.  The  steersman  often  sings  an  old 
traditionary  French  song,  with  some  regular 
burden  in  which  they  all  join,  keeping  time 
with  their  oars  ;  if  at  any  time  they  flag  in 
spirits  or  relax  in  exertion,  it  is  but  necessary  to 
strike  up  a  song  of  the  kind  to  put  them  all  in 
fresh  spirits  and  activity.  The  Canadian  waters 
are  vocal  with  these  little  French  chansons, 
that  have  been  echoed  from  mouth  to  mouth 
and  transmitted  from  father  to  son,  from  the 
earliest  days  of  the  colony  ;  and  it  has  a  pleas- 
ing effect,  in  a  still  golden  summer  evening,  to 
see  a  batteau  gliding  across  the  bosom  of  a  lake 
and  dipping  its  oars  to  the  cadence  of  these 
quaint  old  ditties,  or  sweeping  along  in  full 
chorus  on  a  bright  sunny  morning,  down  the 
transparent  current  of  one  of  the  Canada  rivers. 


54  Sstorla 


But  we  were  talking  of  things  that  are  fast 
fading  away.  The  march  of  mechanical  in- 
vention is  driving  everything  poetical  before 
it.  The  steamboats,  which  are  fast  dispelling 
the  wildness  and  romance  of  our  lakes  and 
rivers,  and  aiding  to  subdue  the  world  into 
commonplace,  are  proving  as  fatal  to  the 
race  of  the  Canadian  voyageurs  as  they  have 
been  to  that  of  the  boatmen  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. Their  glory  is  departed.  They  are  no 
longer  the  lords  of  our  internal  seas,  and  the 
great  navigators  of  the  wilderness.  Some  of 
them  may  still  occasionally  be  seen  coasting 
the  lower  lakes  with  their  frail  barks,  and 
pitching  their  camps  and  lighting  their  fires 
upon  the  shores ;  but  their  range  is  fast 
contracting  to  those  remote  waters  and  shal- 
low and  obstructed  rivers  unvisited  by  the 
steamboat.  In  the  course  of  years  they  will 
gradually  disappear  ;  their  songs  will  die  away 
like  the  echoes  they  once  awakened,  and  the 
Canadian  voyageurs  will  become  a  forgotten 
race,  or  remembered,  like  their  associates,  the 
Indians,  among  the  poetical  images  of  past 
times,  and  as  themes  for  local  and  romantic 
associations. 

An  instance  of  the  buoyant  temperament  and 
the  professional  pride  of  these  people  was  fur- 
nished in  the  gay  and  braggart  style  in  which 


Boating  an&  Singing  55 


they  arrived  at  New  York  to  join  the  enterprise. 
They  were  determined  to  regale  and  astonish 
the  people  of  the  "  States  "  with  the  sight  of 
a  Canadian  boat  and  a  Canadian  crew.  They 
accordingly  fitted  up  a  large  but  light  bark 
canoe,  such  as  is  used  in  the  fur  trade  ;  trans- 
ported it  in  a  wagon  from  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  the  shores  of  L,ake  Champlain  ; 
traversed  the  lake  in  it,  from  end  to  end  ; 
hoisted  it  again  in  a  wagon  and  wheeled  it  off 
to  Lansingburg,  and  there  launched  it  upon  the 
waters  of  the  Hudson.  Down  this  river  they 
plied  their  course  merrily  on  a  fine  summer's 
day,  making  its  banks  resound  for  the  first  time 
with  their  old  French  boat  songs  ;  passing  by 
the  villages  with  whoop  and  halloo,  so  as  to 
make  the  honest  Dutch  farmers  mistake  them 
for  a  crew  of  savages.  In  this  way  they  swept, 
in  full  song  and  with  regular  flourish  of  the 
paddle,  round  New  York,  in  a  still  summer 
evening,  to  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  its 
inhabitants,  who  had  never  before  witnessed 
on  their  waters,  a  nautical  apparition  of  the 
kind. 

Such  was  the  variegated  band  of  adventurers 
about  to  embark  in  the  Tonquin  on  this  ardu- 
ous and  doubtful  enterprise.  While  yet  in  port 
and  on  dry  land,  in  the  bustle  of  preparation 
and  the  excitement  of  novelty,  all  was  sun- 


56  Bstorta 


shine  and  promise.  The  Canadians,  especially, 
who,  with  their  constitutional  vivacity,  have  a 
considerable  dash  of  the  gascon,  were  buoyant 
and  boastful,  and  great  braggarts  as  to  the 
future  ;  while  all  those  who  had  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Northwest  Company,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  Indian  trade,  plumed  themselves 
upon  their  hardihood  and  their  capacity  to  en- 
dure privations.  If  Mr.  Astor  ventured  to 
hint  at  the  difficulties  they  might  have  to  en- 
counter, they  treated  them  with  scorn.  They 
were  "  northwesters  "  ;  men  seasoned  to  hard- 
ships, who  cared  for  neither  wind  nor  weather. 
They  could  live  hard,  lie  hard,  sleep  hard,  eat 
dogs ! — in  a  word,  they  were  ready  to  do  and 
suffer  anything  for  the  good  of  the  enterprise. 
With  all  this  profession  of  zeal  and  devotion, 
Mr.  Astor  was  not  over-confident  of  the  sta- 
bility and  firm  faith  of  these  mercurial  beings. 
He  had  received  information,  also,  that  an 
armed  brig  from  Halifax,  probably  at  the 
instigation  of  the  Northwest  Company,  was 
hovering  on  the  coast,  watching  for  the  Ton- 
quin,  with  the  purpose  of  impressing  the 
Canadians  on  board  of  her,  as  British  subjects, 
and  thus  interrupting  the  voyage.  It  was  a 
time  of  doubt  and  anxiety,  when  the  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
were  daily  assuming  a  more  precarious  aspect 


Bbuse  of  Confidence  57 


and  verging  towards  that  war  which  shortly 
ensued.  As  a  precautionary  measure,  therefore, 
he  required  that  the  voyageurs,  as  they  were 
about  to  enter  into  the  service  of  an  American 
association,  and  to  reside  within  the  limits  of 
the  United  States,  should  take  the  oaths  of 
naturalization  as  American  citizens.  To  this 
they  readily  agreed,  and  shortly  afterwards 
assured  him  that  they  had  actually  done  so. 
It  was  not  until  after  they  had  sailed  that  he 
discovered  that  they  had  entirely  deceived  him 
in  the  matter. 

The  confidence  of  Mr.  Astor  was  abused  in 
another  quarter.  Two  of  the  partners,  both 
of  them  Scotchmen,  and  recently  in  the  service 
of  the  Northwest  Company,  had  misgivings  as 
to  an  enterprise  which  might  clash  with  the 
interests  and  establishments  protected  by  the 
British  flag.  They  privately  waited  upon  the 
British  minister,  Mr.  Jackson,  then  in  New 
York,  laid  open  to  him  the  whole  scheme  of 
Mr.  Astor,  though  intrusted  to  them  in  confi- 
dence, and  dependent,  in  a  great  measure,  upon 
secrecy  at  the  outset  for  its  success,  and  in- 
quired whether  they,  as  British  subjects,  could 
lawfully  engage  in  it.  The  reply  satisfied  their 
scruples,  while  the  information  they  imparted 
excited  the  surprise  and  admiration  of  Mr. 
Jackson,  that  a  private  individual  should  have 


58  Bstoria 


conceived  and  set  on  foot  at  his  own  risk  and 
expense  so  great  an  enterprise. 

This  step  on  the  part  of  those  gentlemen  was 
not  known  to  Mr.  Astor  until  some  time  after- 
wards, or  it  might  have  modified  the  trust  and 
confidence  reposed  in  them. 

To  guard  against  any  interruption  to  the 
voyage  by  the  armed  brig,  said  to  be  off  the 
harbor,  Mr.  Astor  applied  to  Commodore  Rod- 
gers,  at  that  time  commanding  at  New  York, 
to  give  the  Tonquin  safe  convoy  off  the  coast. 
The  commodore  having  received  from  a  high 
official  source  assurance  of  the  deep  interest 
which  the  government  took  in  the  enterprise, 
sent  directions  to  Captain  Hull,  at  that  time 
cruising  off  the  harbor,  in  the  frigate  Constitu- 
tion, to  afford  the  Tonquin  the  required  pro- 
tection when  she  should  put  to  sea. 

Before  the  day  of  embarkation,  Mr.  Astor 
addressed  a  letter  of  instruction  to  the  four 
partners  who  were  to  sail  in  the  ship.  In  this 
he  enjoined  them,  in  the  most  earnest  manner, 
to  cultivate  harmony  and  unanimity,  and  re- 
commended that  all  differences  of  opinions  on 
points  connected  with  the  objects  and  interests 
of  the  voyage  should  be  discussed  by  the 
whole,  and  decided  by  a  majority  of  votes. 
He,  moreover,  gave  them  especial  caution  as 
to  their  conduct  on  arriving  at  their  destined 


parting  BDmonitions  59 


port ;  exhorting  them  to  be  careful  to  make  a 
favorable  impression  upon  the  wild  people 
among  whom  their  lot  and  the  fortunes  of  the 
enterprise  would  be  cast.  ' '  If  you  find  them 
kind,"  said  he,  "  as  I  hope  you  will,  be  so  to 
them.  If  otherwise,  act  with  caution  and  for- 
bearance, and  convince  them  that  you  come  as 
friends." 

With  the  same  anxious  forethought  he  wrote 
a  letter  of  instructions  to  Captain  Thorn,  in 
which  he  urged  the  strictest  attention  to  the 
health  of  himself  and  his  crew,  and  to  the  pro- 
motion of  good-humor  and  harmony  on  board 
his  ship.  ' '  To  prevent  any  misunderstand- 
ing," added  he,  "  will  require  your  particular 
good  management. ' '  His  letter  closed  with  an 
injunction  of  wariness  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  natives,  a  subject  on  which  Mr.  Astor  was 
justly  sensible  he  could  not  be  too  earnest. 
"I  must  recommend  you,"  said  he,  "  to  be 
particularly  careful  on  the  coast,  and  not  to 
rely  too  much  on  the  friendly  disposition  of 
the  natives.  All  accidents  which  have  as  yet 
happened  there,  arose  from  too  much  confidence 
in  the  Indians." 

The  reader  will  bear  these  instructions  in 
mind,  as  events  will  prove  their  wisdom  and 
importance,  and  the  disasters  which  ensued  in 
consequence  of  the  neglect  of  them. 


Cbapter  ID. 

Sailing  of  the  Tonquin — A  Rigid  Commander  and  a 
Reckless  Crew — Landsmen  on  Shipboard — A  Lab- 
rador Veteran — Literary  Clerks— Curious  Travellers 
— Robinson  Crusoe's  Island — Falkland  Islands — 
Port  Bgmont — Old  Mortality — Penguin  Shooting — 
Arrival  at  Owyhee. 

ON  the  eighth  of  September,   1810,  the 
Tonquin  put  to  sea,   where  she  was 
soon  joined  by  the  frigate   Constitu- 
tion.    The  wind  was  fresh  and  fair 
from  the  southwest,  and  the  ship  was  soon  out 
of  sight  of  land  and  free  from  the  apprehended 
danger  of  interruption.    The  frigate,  therefore, 
gave  her  "God  speed,"   and  left  her  to  her 
course. 

The  harmony  so  earnestly  enjoined  by  Mr. 
Astor  on  this  heterogeneous  crew,  and  which 
had  been  so  confidently  promised  in  the  buoy- 
ant moments  of  preparation,  was  doomed  to 
meet  with  a  check  at  the  very  outset. 
60 


Commander  61 


Captain  Thorn  was  an  honest,  straightfor- 
ward, but  somewhat  dry  and  dictatorial  com- 
mander, who,  having  been  nurtured  in  the 
system  and  discipline  of  a  ship  of  war,  and  in 
a  sacred  opinion  of  the  supremacy  of  the  quar- 
ter-deck, was  disposed  to  be  absolute  lord  and 
master  on  board  of  his  ship.  He  appears, 
moreover,  to  have  had  no  great  opinion,  from 
the  first,  of  the  persons  embarked  with  him. 
He  had  stood  by  with  surly  contempt  while 
they  vaunted  so  bravely  to  Mr.  Astor  of  all 
they  could  do  and  all  they  could  undergo  ; 
how  they  could  face  all  weathers,  put  up  with 
all  kinds  of  fare,  and  even  eat  dogs  with  a 
relish,  when  no  better  food  was  to  be  had.  He 
had  set  them  down  as  a  set  of  landlubbers  and 
braggadocios,  and  was  disposed  to  treat  them 
accordingly.  Mr.  Astor  was,  in  his  eyes,  his 
only  real  employer,  being  the  father  of  the  en- 
terprise, who  furnished  all  funds  and  bore  all 
losses.  The  others  were  mere  agents  and  sub- 
ordinates, who  lived  at  his  expense.  He  evi- 
dently had  but  a  narrow  idea  of  the  scope  and 
nature  of  the  enterprise,  limiting  his  views 
merely  to  his  part  of  it ;  everything  beyond  the 
concerns  of  his  ship  was  out  of  his  sphere  ; 
and  anything  that  interfered  with  the  routine 
of  his  nautical  duties  put  him  in  a  passion. 

The  partners,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been 


62  Bstoria 


brought  up  in  the  sendee  of  the  Northwest 
Company,  and  in  a  profound  idea  of  the  im- 
portance, dignity,  and  authority  of  a  partner. 
They  already  began  to  consider  themselves  on 
a  par  with  the  M'Tavishes,  the  M'Gillivrays, 
the  Frobishers,  and  the  other  magnates  of  the 
Northwest,  whom  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  look  up  to  as  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  ; 
and  they  were  a  little  disposed,  perhaps,  to 
wear  their  suddenly-acquired  honors  with  some 
air  of  preteiition.  Mr.  Astor,  too,  had  put 
them  on  their  mettle  with  respect  to  the  cap- 
tain, describing  him  as  a  gunpowder  fellow 
who  would  command  his  ship  in  fine  style, 
and,  if  there  was  any  fighting  to  do,  would 
' '  blow  all  out  of  the  water. ' ' 

Thus  prepared  to  regard  each  other  with  no 
very  cordial  eye,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  the  parties  soon  came  into  collision.  On 
the  very  first  night  Captain  Thorn  began  his 
man-of-war  discipline  by  ordering  the  lights 
in  the  cabin  to  be  extinguished  at  eight 
o'clock. 

The  pride  of  the  partners  was  immediately 
in  arms.  This  was  an  invasion  of  their  rights 
and  dignities  not  to  be  borne.  They  were  on 
board  of  their  own  ship,  and  entitled  to  con- 
sult their  ease  and  enjoyment.  M'Dougal  was 
the  champion  of  their  cause.  He  was  an  active, 


B  Violent  altercation  63 


irritable,  fuming,  vainglorious  little  man,  and 
elevated  in  his  own  opinion,  by  being  the 
proxy  of  Mr.  Astor.  A  violent  altercation 
ensued,  in  the  course  of  which  Thorn  threat- 
ened to  put  the  partners  in  irons  should  they 
prove  refractory  ;  upon  which  M'Dougal  seized 
a  pistol  and  swore  to  be  the  death  of  the  cap- 
tain should  he  ever  offer  such  an  indignity. 
It  was  some  time  before  the  irritated  parties 
could  be  pacified  by  the  more  temperate  by- 
standers. 

Such  was  the  captain's  outset  with  the  part- 
ners. Nor  did  the  clerks  stand  much  higher 
in  his  good  graces ;  indeed,  he  seems  to  have 
regarded  all  the  landsmen  on  board  his  ship  as 
a  kind  of  live  lumber,  continually  in  the  way. 
The  poor  voyageurs,  too,  continually  irritated 
his  spleen  by  their  ' '  lubberly  ' '  and  unseemly 
habits,  so  abhorrent  to  one  accustomed  to  the 
cleanliness  of  a  man-of-war.  These  poor  fresh- 
water sailors,  so  vainglorious  on  shore,  and 
almost  amphibious  when  on  lakes  and  rivers, 
lost  all  heart  and  stomach  the  moment  they 
were  at  sea.  For  days  they  suffered  the  dole- 
ful rigors  and  retchings  of  sea-sickness,  lurk- 
ing below  in  their  berths  in  squalid  state,  or 
emerging  now  and  then  like  spectres  from  the 
hatchways,  in  capotes  and  blankets,  with  dirty 
nightcaps,  grizzly  beard,  lantern  visage,  and 


64  Sstoria 


unhappy  eye,  shivering  about  the  deck,  and 
ever  and  anon  crawling  to  the  sides  of  the  ves- 
sel, and  offering  up  their  tributes  to  the  wind- 
ward, to  the  infinite  annoyance  of  the  captain. 

His  letters  to  Mr.  Astor,  wherein  he  pours 
forth  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  and  his  seaman- 
like  impatience  of  what  he  considers  the  ' '  lub- 
berly ' '  character  and  conduct  of  those  around 
him,  are  before  us,  and  are  amusingly  charac- 
teristic. The  honest  captain  is  full  of  vexation 
on  his  own  account,  and  solicitude  on  account 
of  Mr.  Astor,  whose  property  he  considers  at 
the  mercy  of  a  most  heterogeneous  and  waste- 
ful crew. 

As  to  the  clerks,  he  pronounced  them  mere 
pretenders,  not  one  of  whom  had  ever  been 
among  the  Indians,  nor  farther  to  the  north- 
west than  Montreal,  nor  of  higher  rank  than 
bar-keeper  of  a  tavern  or  marker  of  a  billiard- 
table,  excepting  one,  who  had  been  a  school- 
master, and  whom  he  emphatically  sets  down 
for  "  as  foolish  a  pedant  as  ever  lived." 

Then  as  to  the  artisans  and  laborers  who  had 
been  brought  from  Canada  and  shipped  at  such 
expense,  the  three  most  respectable,  according 
to  the  captain's  account,  were  culprits,  who 
had  fled  from  Canada  on  account  of  their  mis- 
deeds ;  the  rest  had  figured  in  Montreal  as 
draymen,  barbers,  waiters,  and  carriole  driv- 


Xanfcsmen  at  Sea  65 


ers,  and  were  the  most  helpless,  worthless 
beings  "  that  ever  broke  sea-biscuit." 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  what  a  series  of 
misunderstandings  and  cross-purposes  would 
be  likely  to  take  place  between  such  a  crew 
and  such  a  commander.  The  captain,  in  his 
zeal  for  the  health  and  cleanliness  of  his  ship, 
would  make  sweeping  visitations  to  the  ' '  lub- 
ber-nests ' '  of  the  unlucky  voyageurs  and  their 
companions  in  misery,  ferret  them  out  of  their 
berths,  make  them  air  and  wash  themselves 
and  their  accoutrements,  and  oblige  them  to 
stir  about  briskly  and  take  exercise. 

Nor  did  his  disgust  and  vexation  cease  when 
all  hands  had  recovered  from  sea-sickness,  and 
become  accustomed  to  the  ship,  for  now  broke 
out  an  alarming  keenness  of  appetite  that 
threatened  havoc  to  the  provisions.  What 
especially  irritated  the  captain  was  the  dainti- 
ness of  some  of  his  cabin  passengers.  They 
were  loud  in  their  complaints  of  the  ship's  fare, 
though  their  table  was  served  with  fresh  pork, 
ham,  tongues,  smoked  beef,  and  puddings. 
"  When  thwarted  in  their  cravings  for  deli- 
cacies, ' '  said  he,  ' '  they  would  exclaim  it  was 

d d  hard  they  could  not  live  as  they  pleased 

upon  their  own  property,  being  on  board  of 
their  own  ship,  freighted  with  their  own  mer- 
chandise. And  these,"  added  he,  "  are  the  fine 

VOL.    I.— 5 


66  Bstoria 


fellows  who  made  such  boast  that  they  could 
4  eat  dogs."' 

In  his  indignation  at  what  he  termed  their 
effeminacy,  he  would  swear  that  he  would 
never  take  them  to  sea  again  ' '  without  having 
Fly-market  on  the  forecastle,  Covent-garden 
on  the  poop,  and  a  cool  spring  from  Canada 
in  the  maintop." 

As  they  proceeded  on  their  voyage  and  got 
into  the  smooth  seas  and  pleasant  weather  of 
the  tropics,  other  annoyances  occurred  to  vex 
the  spirit  of  the  captain.  He  had  been  crossed 
by  the  irritable  mood  of  one  of  the  partners  ; 
he  was  now  excessively  annoyed  by  the  good- 
humor  of  another.  This  was  the  elder  Stuart, 
who  was  an  easy  soul,  and  of  a  social  disposi- 
tion. He  had  seen  life  in  Canada,  and  on  the 
coast  of  Labrador ;  had  been  a  fur  trader  in 
the  former,  and  a  fisherman  on  the  latter ; 
and,  in  the  course  of  his  experience,  had  made 
various  expeditions  with  voyageurs.  He  was 
accustomed,  therefore,  to  the  familiarity  which 
prevails  between  that  class  and  their  superiors, 
and  the  gossipings  which  take  place  among 
them  when  seated  round  a  fire  at  their  encamp- 
ments. Stuart  was  never  so  happy  as  when  he 
could  seat  himself  on  the  deck  with  a  number 
of  these  men  round  him,  in  camping  style, 
smoke  together,  passing  the  pipe  from  mouth 


Clerks  67 


to  mouth,  after  the  manner  of  the  Indians,  sing 
old  Canadian  boat-songs,  and  tell  stories  about 
their  hardships  and  adventures,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  rivalled  Sinbad  in  his  long  tales 
of  the  sea,  about  his  fishing  exploits  on  the 
coast  of  Labrador. 

This  gossiping  familiarity  shocked  the  cap- 
tain's notions  of  rank  and  subordination,  and 
nothing  was  so  abhorrent  to  him  as  the  com- 
munity of  pipe  between  master  and  man,  and 
their  mingling  in  chorus  in  the  outlandish 
boat-songs. 

Then  there  was  another  whimsical  source  of 
annoyance  to  him.  Some  of  the  young  clerks, 
who  were  making  their  first  voyage,  and  to 
whom  everything  was  new  and  strange,  were, 
very  rationally,  in  the  habit  of  taking  notes 
and  keeping  journals.  This  was  a  sore  abomi- 
nation to  the  honest  captain,  who  held  their 
literary  pretensions  in  great  contempt.  ' '  The 
collecting  of  materials  for  long  histories  of  their 
voyages  and  travels,"  said  he,  in  his  letter  to 
Mr.  Astor,  "appears  to  engross  most  of  their 
attention."  We  can  conceive  what  must  have 
been  the  crusty  impatience  of  the  worthy  navi- 
gator, when,  on  any  trifling  occurrence  in  the 
course  of  the  voyage,  quite  commonplace  in 
his  eyes,  he  saw  these  young  landsmen  run- 
ning to  record  it  in  their  journals  ;  and  what 


68  B0toria 


indignant  glances  he  must  have  cast  to  right 
and  left,  as  he  worried  about  the  deck,  giving 
out  his  orders  for  the  management  of  the  ship, 
surrounded  by  singing,  smoking,  gossiping, 
scribbling  groups,  all,  as  he  thought,  intent 
upon  the  amusement  of  the  passing  hour, 
instead  of  the  great  purposes  and  interests  of 
the  voyage. 

It  is  possible  the  captain  was  in  some  degree 
right  in  his  notions.  Though  some  of  the  pas- 
sengers had  much  to  gain  by  the  voyage,  none 
of  them  had  anything  positively  to  lose.  They 
were  mostly  young  men,  in  the  hey-day  of  life  ; 
and  having  got  into  fine  latitudes,  upon  smooth 
seas,  with  a  well-stored  ship  under  them,  and 
a  fair  wind  in  the  shoulder  of  the  sail,  they 
seemed  to  have  got  into  a  holiday  world,  and 
were  disposed  to  enjoy  it.  That  craving  de- 
sire, natural  to  untravelled  men  of  fresh  and 
lively  minds,  to  see  strange  lands,  and  to  visit 
scenes  famous  in  history  or  fable,  was  expressed 
by  some  of  the  partners  and  clerks,  with  re- 
spect to  some  of  the  storied  coasts  and  islands 
that  lay  within  their  route.  The  captain,  how- 
ever, who  regarded  every  coast  and  island  with 
a  matter-of-fact  eye,  and  had  no  more  associa- 
tions connected  with  them  than  those  laid  down 
in  his  sea-chart,  considered  all  this  curiosity  as 
exceedingly  idle  and  childish.  "In  the  first 


Curious  travellers  69 


part  of  the  voyage,"  says  he  in  his  letter, 
"they  were  determined  to  have  it  said  they 
had  been  in  Africa,  and  therefore  insisted  on 
my  stopping  at  the  Cape  de  Verds.  Next  they 
said  the  ship  should  stop  "on  the  coast  of  Pata- 
gonia, for  they  must  see  the  large  and  uncom- 
mon inhabitants  of  that  place.  Then  they 
must  go  to  the  island  where  Robinson  Crusoe 
had  so  long  lived.  And  lastly,  they  were  deter- 
mined to  see  the  handsome  inhabitants  of 
Easter  Island." 

To  all  these  resolves  the  captain  opposed  his 
peremptory  veto,  as  '  *  contrary  to  instructions. ' ' 
Then  would  break  forth  an  unavailing  explo- 
sion of  wrath  on  the  part  of  certain  of  the 
partners,  in  the  course  of  which  they  did  not 
even  spare  Mr.  Astor  for  his  act  of  supereroga- 
tion in  furnishing  orders  for  the  control  of  the 
ship  while  they  were  on  board,  instead  of  leav- 
ing them  to  be  the  judges  where  it  would  be 
best  for  her  to  touch,  and  how  long  to  remain. 
The  choleric  M'Dougal  took  the  lead  in  these 
railings,  being,  as  has  been  observed,  a  little 
puffed  up  with  the  idea  of  being  Mr.  Astor 's 
proxy. 

The  captain,  however,  became  only  so  much 
the  more  crusty  and  dogged  in  his  adherence 
to  his  orders,  and  touchy  and  harsh  in  his  deal- 
ings with  his  passengers,  and  frequent  alterca- 


70  Betorfa 


tions  ensued.  He  may  in  some  measure  have 
been  influenced  by  his  seamanlike  impatience 
of  the  interference  of  landsmen,  and  his  high 
notions  of  naval  etiquette  and  quarter-deck 
authority  ;  but  he  evidently  had  an  honest, 
trusty  concern  for  the  interests  of  his  employer. 
He  pictured  to  himself  the  anxious  projector  of 
the  enterprise,  who  had  disbursed  so  munifi- 
cently in  its  outfit,  calculating  on  the  zeal,  fidel- 
ity, and  singleness  of  purpose  of  his  associates 
and  agents ;  while  they,  on  the  other  hand, 
having  a  good  ship  at  their  disposal,  and  a  deep 
pocket  at  home  to  bear  them  out,  seemed  ready 
to  loiter  on  every  coast,  and  amuse  themselves 
in  every  port. 

On  the  fourth  of  December  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  Falkland  Islands.  Having  been  for 
some  time  on  an  allowance  of  water,  it  was  re- 
solved to  anchor  here  and  obtain  a  supply.  A 
boat  was  sent  into  a  small  bay  to  take  sound- 
ings. Mr.  M'Dougal  and  Mr.  M'Kay  took 
this  occasion  to  go  on  shore,  but  with  a  request 
from  the  captain  that  they  would  not  detain  the 
ship.  Once  on  shore,  however,  they  were  in 
no  haste  to  obey  his  orders,  but  rambled  about 
in  search  of  curiosities.  The  anchorage  prov- 
ing unsafe,  and  water  difficult  to  be  procured, 
the  captain  stood  out  to  sea,  and  made  repeated 
signals  for  those  on  shore  to  rejoin  the  ship, 


Sportsmen  in  tbc  Xurcb  71 

but  it  was  not  until  nine  at  night  that  they  came 
on  board. 

The  wind  being  adverse,  the  boat  was  again 
sent  on  shore  on  the  following  morning,  and 
the  same  gentlemen  again  landed,  but  promised 
to  come  off  at  a  moment's  warning  ;  they 
again  forgot  their  promise  in  their  eager  pur- 
suit of  wild  geese  and  sea-wolves.  After  a 
time  the  wind  hauled  fair,  and  signals  were 
made  for  the  boat.  Half  an  hour  elapsed  but 
no  boat  put  off.  The  captain  reconnoitred  the 
shore  with  his  glass,  and,  to  his  infinite  vexa- 
tion, saw  the  loiterers  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
their  ' '  wild-goose-chase. ' '  Nettled  to  the  quick, 
he  immediately  made  sail.  When  those  on 
shore  saw  the  ship  actually  under  way,  they 
embarked  with  all  speed,  but  had  a  hard  pull 
of  eight  miles  before  they  got  on  board,  and 
then  experienced  but  a  grim  reception,  not- 
withstanding that  they  came  well  laden  with 
the  spoils  of  the  chase. 

Two  days  afterwards,  on  the  seventh  of  De- 
cember, they  anchored  at  Fort  Bgmont,  in  the 
same  island,  where  they  remained  four  days 
taking  in  water  and  making  repairs.  This  was 
a  joyous  time  for  the  landsmen.  They  pitched 
a  tent  on  shore,  had  a  boat  at  their  command, 
and  passed  their  time  merrily  in  rambling  about 
the  island,  and  coasting  along  the  shores,  shoot- 


72  Betoria 


ing  sea-lions,  seals,  foxes,  geese,  ducks,  and 
penguins.  None  were  keener  in  pursuit  of 
this  kind  of  game  than  M'Dougal  and  David 
Stuart ;  the  latter  was  reminded  of  aquatic 
sports  on  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and  his  hunt- 
ing exploits  in  the  Northwest. 

In  the  meantime  the  captain  addressed  him- 
self steadily  to  the  business  of  his  ship,  scorn- 
ing the  holiday  spirit  and  useless  pursuits  of 
his  emancipated  messmates,  and  warning  them, 
from  time  to  time,  not  to  wander  away  nor  be 
out  of  hail.  They  promised,  as  usual,  that 
the  ship  should  never  experience  a  moment's 
detention  on  their  account,  but,  as  usual,  for- 
got their  promise. 

On  the  morning  of  the  nth,  the  repairs  be- 
ing all  finished,  and  the  water  casks  replen- 
ished, the  signal  was  given  to  embark,  and  the 
ship  began  to  weigh  anchor.  At  this  time  sev- 
eral of  the  passengers  were  dispersed  about  the 
island,  amusing  themselves  in  various  ways. 
Some  of  the  young  men  had  found  two  inscrip- 
tions, in  English,  over  a  place  where  two  un- 
fortunate mariners  had  been  buried  in  this 
desert  island.  As  the  inscriptions  were  nearly 
worn  out  by  time  and  weather,  they  were  play- 
ing the  part  of  "  Old  Mortality,"  and  piously 
renewing  them.  The  signal  from  the  ship 
summoned  them  from  their  labors  ;  they  saw 


Captain's  Sbreat  73 


the  sails  unfurled,  and  that  she  was  getting  un- 
der way.  The  two  sporting  partners,  however, 
Mr.  M'Dougal  and  David  Stuart,  had  strolled 
away  to  the  south  of  the  island  in  pursuit  of 
penguins.  It  would  never  do  to  put  off  with- 
out them,  as  there  was  but  one  boat  to  convey 
the  whole. 

While  this  delay  took  place  on  shore,  the 
captain  was  storming  on  board.  This  was  the 
third  time  his  orders  had  been  treated  with  con- 
tempt, and  the  ship  wantonly  detained,  and  it 
should  be  the  last ;  so  he  spread  all  sail  and 
put  to  sea,  swearing  he  would  leave  the  lag- 
gards to  shift  for  themselves.  It  was  in  vain 
that  those  on  board  made  remonstrances  and 
entreaties,  and  represented  the  horrors  of  aban- 
doning men  upon  a  sterile  and  uninhabited 
island  ;  the  sturdy  captain  was  inflexible. 

In  the  meantime  the  penguin  hunters  had 
joined  the  engravers  of  tombstones,  but  not 
before  the  ship  was  already  out  at  sea.  They 
all,  to  the  number  of  eight,  threw  themselves 
into  their  boat,  which  was  about  twenty  feet 
in  length,  and  rowed  with  might  and  main. 
For  three  hours  and  a  half  did  they  tug  anx- 
iously and  severely  at  the  oar,  swashed  occa- 
sionally by  the  surging  waves  of  the  open  sea, 
while  the  ship  inexorably  kept  on  her  course, 
and  seemed  determined  to  leave  them  behind. 


74  Bstorfa 


On  board  of  the  ship  was  the  nephew  of 
David  Stuart,  a  youiig  man  of  spirit  and  reso- 
lution. Seeing,  as  he  thought,  the  captain 
obstinately  bent  upon  abandoning  his  uncle  and 
the  others,  he  seized  a  pistol,  and  in  a  parox- 
ysm of  wrath  swore  he  would  blow  out  the 
captain's  brains,  unless  he  put  about  or  shor- 
tened sail. 

Fortunately  for  all  parties,  the  wind  just 
then  came  ahead,  and  the  boat  was  enabled  to 
reach  the  ship  ;  otherwise,  disastrous  circum- 
stances might  have  ensued.  We  can  hardly 
believe  that  the  captain  really  intended  to  carry 
his  threat  into  full  effect,  and  rather  think  he 
meant  to  let  the  laggards  off  for  a  long  pull  and 
a  hearty  fright.  He  declared,  however,  in  his 
letter  to  Mr.  Astor,  that  he  was  serious  in  his 
threats,  and  there  is  no  knowing  how  far  such 
an  iron  man  may  push  his  notions  of  authority. 

"Had  the  wind,"  writes  he,  "(unfortu- 
nately) not  hauled  ahead  soon  after  leaving  the 
harbor's  mouth,  I  should  positively  have  left 
them  ;  and,  indeed,  I  cannot  but  think  it  an 
unfortunate  circumstance  for  you  that  it  so 
happened,  for  the  first  loss  in  this  instance 
would,  in  my  opinion,  have  proved  the  best, 
as  they  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  the  value  of 
property,  nor  any  apparent  regard  for  your 
interest,  although  interwoven  with  their  own." 


{partners  Dispute  75 


This,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  acting  with 
a  high  hand,  and  carrying  a  regard  to  the 
owner's  property  to  a  dangerous  length.  Vari- 
ous petty  feuds  occurred  also  between  him  and 
the  partners  in  respect  to  the  goods  on  board 
the  ship,  some  articles  of  which  they  wished 
to  distribute  for  clothing  among  the  men,  or 
for  other  purposes  which  they  deemed  essential. 
The  captain,  however,  kept  a  mastiff  watch 
upon  the  cargo,  and  growled  and  snapped  if 
they  but  offered  to  touch  box  or  bale.  ' '  It 
was  contrary  to  orders  ;  it  would  forfeit  his 
insurance  ;  it  was  out  of  all  rule."  It  was  in 
vain  they  insisted  upon  their  right  to  do  so,  as 
part  owners,  and  as  acting  for  the  good  of  the 
enterprise  ;  the  captain  only  stuck  to  his  point 
the  more  stanchly.  They  consoled  themselves, 
therefore,  by  declaring,  that  as  soon  as  they 
made  land,  they  would  assert  their  rights,  and 
do  with  ship  and  cargo  as  they  pleased. 

Beside  these  feuds  between  the  captain  and 
the  partners,  there  were  feuds  between  the 
partners  themselves,  occasioned,  in  some  meas- 
ure, by  jealousy  of  rank.  M'Dougal  and 
M'Kay  began  to  draw  plans  for  the  fort,  and 
other  buildings  of  the  intended  establishment. 
They  agreed  very  well  as  to  the  outline 
and  dimensions,  which  were  on  a  sufficiently 
grand  scale  ;  but  when  they  came  to  arrange. 


76  Bstorla 


the  details,  fierce  disputes  arose,  and  they 
would  quarrel  by  the  hour  about  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  doors  and  windows.  Many  were 
the  hard  words  and  hard  names  bandied 
between  them  on  these  occasions,  according 
to  the  captain's  account.  Each  accused  the 
other  of  endeavoring  to  assume  unwarrantable 
power,  and  take  the  lead  ;  upon  which  Mr. 
M'Dougal  would  vauntingly  lay  down  Mr. 
Astor's  letter,  constituting  him  his  representa- 
tive and  proxy,  a  document  not  to  be  disputed. 

These  wordy  contests,  though  violent,  were 
brief ;  ' '  and  within  fifteen  minutes, ' '  says  the 
captain,  "  they  would  be  caressing  each  other 
like  children." 

While  all  this  petty  anarchy  was  agitating 
the  little  world  within  the  Tonquin,  the  good 
ship  prosperously  pursued  her  course,  doubled 
Cape  Horn  on  the  25th  of  December,  careered 
across  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific,  until,  on  the 
nth  of  February,  the  snowy  peaks  of  Owyhee 
were  seen  brightening  above  the  horizon. 


Cbaptet  Itrff. 

Owyhee — Sandwich  Islanders — Tamaahmaah — Views 
of  Mr.  Astor  with  Respect  to  the  Sandwich  Islands 
— Karakakooa— Place  where  Captain  Cook  was 
Killed— John  Young,  a  Nautical  Governor — Waititi 
— A  Royal  Residence — A  Royal  Visit— Grand  Cere- 
monials. 

OWYHEE,  or  Hawaii,  as  it  is  written  by 
more    exact    orthographers,   is    the 
largest  of  the  cluster,  ten  in  number, 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands.     It  is  about 
ninety-seven  miles  in  length,  and  seventy-eight 
in  breadth,  rising  gradually  into  three  pyra- 
midal summits  or  cones ;  the  highest,  Mouna 
Roa,  being  eighteen  thousand  feet  above  the 
level   of  the  sea,  so  as  to  domineer  over  the 
whole  archipelago,  and  to  be  a  land-mark  over 
a  wide  extent  of  ocean.     It  remains  a  lasting 
monument  of  the  enterprising  and  unfortunate 
Captain  Cook,  who  was  murdered  by  the  na- 
tives of  this  island. 

77 


78  Bstoria 


The  Sandwich  Islanders,  when  first  discov- 
ered, evinced  a  character  superior  to  most  of 
the  savages  of  the  Pacific  isles.  They  were 
frank  and  open  in  their  deportment,  friendly 
and  liberal  in  their  dealings,  with  an  apt  inge- 
nuity apparent  in  all  their  rude  inventions. 

The  tragical  fate  of  the  discoverer,  which, 
for  a  time,  brought  them  under  the  charge  of 
ferocity,  was,  in  fact,  the  result  of  sudden  ex- 
asperation, caused  by  the  seizure  of  their 
chief. 

At  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  Tonquin,  the 
islanders  had  profited,  in  many  respects,  by 
occasional  intercourse  with  white  men  ;  and 
had  shown  a  quickness  to  observe  and  cultivate 
those  arts  important  to  their  mode  of  living. 
Originally  they  had  no  means  of  navigating 
the  seas  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  su- 
perior to  light  pirogues,  which  were  little  com- 
petent to  contend  with  the  storms  of  the  broad 
ocean.  As  the  islanders  are  not  in  sight  of 
each  other,  there  could,  therefore,  be  but  cas- 
ual intercourse  between  them.  The  traffic 
with  white  men  had  put  them  in  possession  of 
vessels  of  superior  description  ;  they  had  made 
themselves  acquainted  with  their  management, 
and  had  even  made  rude  advances  in  the  art 
of  ship-building. 

These  improvements  had  been  promoted,  in 


ii 


- 

hen  first  discov- 

.  :  _  >erior  to  most  of 

j,;es  of  the  Pacific  isles.     They  were 

^en  in  their  deportment,  friendly 

-  ral  in  their  dealings,  with  an  apt  inge- 

apparent  in  all  their  rude  inventions. 

The  tragical  fate  of  the  discoverer,  which, 

for  a  time,  brought  them  under  the  charge  of 

ferocity,  was,  in  fact,  the  result  of  sudden  ex- 

ation,    caused    by  the    seizure   of   their 

of  the  Tonquin,  the 
Diamond  Head,  Sandwich  IslatfMPts,  by 

Based  on  a  photograph 

;vate 

hi  of  living. 

Bating 

su- 

;  lie  com- 
of  the  broad 

slanders  are  not  in  sight  of 
\  other,  there  could,  therefore,  be  but  cas- 
ual intercourse    between  them.      The  traffic 
with  white  men  had  put  them  in  possession  of 
•.-Is  of  superior  description  ;  they  had  made 
themselves  acquainted  with  their  management, 
and  had  even  made  rude  advances  in  the  art 
up-building. 

e  improvements  had  been  promoted,  in 


*    if 


I 


SanDwicb  "Islands  79 


a  great  measure,  by  the  energy  and  sagacity 
of  one  man,  the  famous  Tamaahmaah.  He 
had  originally  been  a  petty  eri,  or  chief;  but, 
being  of  an  intrepid  and  aspiring  nature,  he 
had  risen  in  rank,  and,  availing  himself  of  the 
superior  advantages  now  afforded  in  navigation, 
had  brought  the  whole  archipelago  in  subjec- 
tion to  his  arms.  At  the  time  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Tonquin  he  had  about  forty  schooners, 
of  from  twenty  to  thirty  tons  burden,  and  one 
old  American  ship.  With  these  he  held  un- 
disputed sway  over  his  insular  domains,  and 
carried  on  intercourse  with  the  chiefs  or  gover- 
nors whom  he  had  placed  in  command  of  the 
several  islands. 

The  situation  of  this  group  of  islands,  far 
in  the  bosom  of  the  vast  Pacific,  and  their 
abundant  fertility,  render  them  important  stop- 
ping-places on  the  highway  to  China,  or  to  the 
northwest  coast  of  America.  Here  the  vessels 
engaged  in  the  fur  trade  touched  to  make  re- 
pairs and  procure  provisions ;  and  here  they 
often  sheltered  themselves  during  the  winters 
that  occurred  in  their  long  coasting  expeditions. 

The  British  navigators  were,  from  the  first, 
aware  of  the  value  of  these  islands  to  the  pur- 
poses of  commerce  ;  and  Tamaahmaah,  not 
long  after  he  had  attained  the  sovereign  sway, 
was  persuaded  by  Vancouver,  the  celebrated 


3o 


discoverer,  to  acknowledge,  on  behalf  of  him- 
self and  subjects,  allegiance  to  the  king  of 
Great  Britain.  The  reader  cannot  but  call  to 
mind  the  visit  which  the  royal  family  and  court 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands  was,  in  late  years,  in- 
duced to  make  to  the  court  of  St.  James  ;  and 
the  serio-comic  ceremonials  and  mock  parade 
which  attended  that  singular  travesty  of 
monarchal  style. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  wide  and  comprehensive 
plan  of  Mr.  Astor  to  establish  a  friendly  inter- 
course between  these  islands  and  his  intended 
colony,  which  might,  for  a  time,  have  occasion 
to  draw  supplies  thence  ;  and  he  even  had  a 
vague  idea  of,  some  time  or  other,  getting  pos- 
session of  one  of  their  islands  as  a  rendezvous 
for  his  ships,  and  a  link  in  the  chain  of  his 
commercial  establishments. 

On  the  evening  of  the  i2th  of  February,  the 
Tonquin  anchored  in  the  bay  of  Karakakooa, 
in  the  island  of  Owyhee.  The  surrounding 
shores  were  wild  and  broken,  with  overhanging 
cliffs  and  precipices  of  black  volcanic  rock. 
Beyond  these,  however,  the  country  was  fer- 
tile and  well  cultivated,  with  inclosures  of 
yams,  plantains,  sweet  potatoes,  sugar-canes, 
and  other  productions  of  warm  climates  and 
teeming  soils  ;  and  the  numerous  habitations 
of  the  natives  were  pleasantly  sheltered  beneath 


SanDwicb  fslanOcrs  81 


clumps  of  cocoanut  and  bread-fruit  trees,  which 
afforded  both  food  and  shade.  This  mingled 
variety  of  garden  and  grove  swept  gradually 
up  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  until  succeeded 
by  dense  forests,  which  in  turn  gave  place  to 
naked  and  craggy  rocks,  until  the  summits 
rose  into  the  regions  of  perpetual  snow. 

The  royal  residence  of  Tamaahmaah  was  at 
this  time  at  another  island  named  Woahoo. 
The  island  of  Owyhee  was  under  the  command 
of  one  of  his  eris,  or  chiefs,  who  resided  at 
the  village  of  Tocaigh,  situated  on  a  different 
part  of  the  coast  from  the  bay  of  Karakakooa. 

On  the  morning  after  her  arrival,  the  ship 
was  surrounded  by  canoes  and  pirogues,  filled 
with  the  islanders  of  both  sexes,  bringing  off 
supplies  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  bananas, 
plantains,  watermelons,  yams,  cabbages,  and 
taro.  The  captain  was  desirous,  however,  of 
purchasing  a  number  of  hogs,  but  there  were 
none  to  be  had.  The  trade  in  pork  was  a  royal 
monopoly,  and  no  subject  of  the  great  Tamaah- 
maah dared  to  meddle  with  it.  Such  provi- 
sions as  they  could  furnish,  however,  were 
brought  by  the  natives  in  abundance,  and  a 
lively  intercourse  was  kept  up  during  the  day, 
in  which  the  women  mingled  in  the  kindest 
manner. 

The  islanders  are  a  comely  race,  of  a  copper 

VOL.    I.  —  6 


82  Bstocia 


complexion.  The  men  are  tall  and  well  made, 
with  forms  indicating  strength  and  activity  ; 
the  women  with  regular  and  occasionally  hand- 
some features,  and  a  lascivious  expression, 
characteristic  of  their  temperament.  Their 
style  of  dress  was  nearly  the  same  as  in  the 
days  of  Captain  Cook.  The  men  wore  the 
maro,  a  band  one  foot  in  width  and  several  feet 
in  length,  swathed  round  the  loins,  and  formed 
of  tappa,  or  cloth  of  bark  ;  the  kihei,  or  man- 
tle, about  six  feet  square,  tied  in  a  knot  over 
one  shoulder,  passed  under  the  opposite  arm, 
so  as  to  leave  it  bare,  and  falling  in  graceful 
folds  before  and  behind,  to  the  knee,  so  as  to 
bear  some  resemblance  to  a  Roman  toga. 

The  female  dress  consisted  of  the  pau,  a  gar- 
ment formed  of  a  piece  of  tappa,  several  yards 
in  length  and  one  in  width,  wrapped  round  the 
waist,  and  reaching  like  a  petticoat,  to  the 
knees.  Over  this  a  kihei,  or  mantle,  larger 
than  that  of  the  men,  sometimes  worn  over 
both  shoulders,  like  a  shawl,  sometimes  over 
one  only.  These  mantles  were  seldom  worn 
by  either  sex  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  when 
the  exposure  of  their  persons  was  at  first  very 
revolting  to  a  civilized  eye. 

Towards  evening  several  of  the  partners  and 
clerks  went  on  shore,  where  they  were  well  re- 
ceived and  hospitably  entertained.  A  dance 


B  pilgrimage  83 


was  performed  for  their  amusement,  in  which 
nineteen  young  women  and  one  man  figured 
very  gracefully,  singing  in  concert,  and  moving 
to  the  cadence  of  their  song. 

All  this,  however,  was  nothing  to  the  pur- 
pose in  the  eyes  of  Captain  Thorn,  who,  being 
disappointed  in  his  hope  of  obtaining  a  supply 
of  pork,  or  finding  good  water,  was  anxious  to 
be  off.  This  it  was  not  so  easy  to  effect.  The 
passengers,  once  on  shore,  were  disposed,  as 
usual,  to  profit  by  the  occasion.  The  partners 
had  many  inquiries  to  make  relative  to  the 
island,  with  a  view  to  business  ;  while  the 
young  clerks  were  delighted  with  the  charms 
and  graces  of  the  dancing  damsels. 

To  add  to  their  gratifications,  an  old  man 
offered  to  conduct  them  to  the  spot  where  Cap- 
tain Cook  was  massacred.  The  proposition 
was  eagerly  accepted,  and  all  hands  set  out  on 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  place.  The  veteran  isl- 
ander performed  his  promise  faithfully,  and 
pointed  out  the  very  spot  where  the  unfortu- 
nate discoverer  fell.  The  rocks  and  cocoa- 
trees  .around  bore  record  of  the  fact,  in  the 
marks  of  the  balls  fired  from  the  boats  upon 
the  savages.  The  pilgrims  gathered  round  the 
old  man,  and  drew  from  him  all  the  particu- 
lars he  had  to  relate  respecting  tliis  memorable 
event ;  while  the  honest  captain  stood  by  and 


84  Bstoria 


bit  his  nails  with  impatience.  To  add  to  his 
vexation,  they  employed  themselves  in  knock- 
ing off  pieces  of  the  rocks,  and  cutting  off  the 
bark  of  the  trees  marked  by  the  balls,  which 
they  conveyed  back  to  the  ship  as  precious 
relics. 

Right  glad,  therefore,  was  he  to  get  them 
and  their  treasures  fairly  on  board,  when  he 
made  sail  from  this  unprofitable  place,  and 
steered  for  the  Bay  of  Tocaigh,  the  residence 
of  the  chief  governor  of  the  island,  where  he 
hoped  to  be  more  successful  in  obtaining  sup- 
plies. On  coming  to  anchor  the  captain  went 
on  shore  accompanied  by  Mr.  M'Dougal  and 
Mr.  M'Kay,  and  paid  a  visit  to  the  governor. 
This  dignitary  proved  to  be  an  old  sailor,  by 
the  name  of  John  Young ;  who,  after  being 
tossed  about  the  seas  like  another  Sindbad, 
had,  by  one  of  the  whimsical  freaks  of  fortune, 
been  elevated  to  the  government  of  a  savage 
island.  He  received  his  visitors  with  more 
hearty  familiarity  than  personages  in  his  high 
station  are  apt  to  indulge,  but  soon  gave  them 
to  understand  that  provisions  were  scanty  at 
Tocaigh,  and  there  was  no  good  water,  no  rain 
having  fallen  in  the  neighborhood  in  three 
years. 

The  captain  was  immediately  for  breaking 
up  the  conference  and  departing,  but  the  part- 


Governor  )0oim0  85 


ners  were  not  so  willing  to  part  with  the  nau- 
tical governor,  who  seemed  disposed  to  be  ex- 
tremely communicative,  and  from  whom  they 
might  be  able  to  procure  some  useful  informa- 
tion. A  long  conversation  accordingly  en- 
sued, in  the  course  of  which  they  made  many 
inquiries  about  the  affairs  of  the  islands,  their 
natural  productions,  and  the  possibility  of 
turning  them  to  advantage  in  the  way  of 
trade  ;  nor  did  they  fail  to  inquire  into  the  indi- 
vidual history  of  John  Young,  and  how  he 
came  to  be  governor.  This  he  gave  with  great 
condescension,  running  through  the  whole 
course  of  his  fortunes  ' '  even  from  his  boyish 
days." 

He  was  a  native  of  Liverpool,  in  England, 
and  had  followed  the  sea  from  boyhood,  until, 
by  dint  of  good  conduct,  he  had  risen  so  far  in 
his  profession  as  to  be  boatswain  of  an  Ameri- 
can ship  called  the  Eleanor,  commanded  by 
Captain  Metcalf.  In  this  vessel  he  had  sailed 
in  1789,  on  one  of  those  casual  expeditions  to 
the  nortwest  coast,  in  quest  of  furs.  In  the 
course  of  the  voyage,  the  captain  left  a  small 
schooner  named  Fair  American,  at  Nootka, 
with  a  crew  of  five  men,  commanded  by  his 
son,  a  youth  of  eighteen.  She  was  to  follow 
on  in  the  track  of  the  Eleanor. 

In  February,  1790,  Captain  Metcalf  touched 


86  Bstorta 


at  the  island  of  Mowee,  one  of  the  Sandwich 
group.  While  anchored  here,  a  boat  which 
was  astern  of  the  £leanor\vas  stolen,  and  a  sea- 
man who  was  in  it  was  killed.  The  natives, 
generally,  disclaimed  the  outrage,  and  brought 
the  shattered  remains  of  the  boat  and  the  dead 
body  of  the  seaman  to  the  ship.  Supposing 
that  they  had  thus  appeased  the  anger  of  the 
captain,  they  thronged,  as  usual,  in  great 
numbers  about  the  vessel,  to  trade.  Captain 
Metcalf,  however,  determined  on  a  bloody  re- 
venge. The  Eleanor  mounted  ten  guns.  All 
these  he  ordered  to  be  loaded  with  musket- 
balls,  nails,  and  pieces  of  old  iron,  and  then  fired 
them,  and  the  small  arms  of  the  ship,  among 
the  natives.  The  havoc  was  dreadful ;  more 
than  a  hundred,  according  to  Young's  account, 
were  slain. 

After  this  signal  act  of  vengeance,  Captain 
Metcalf  sailed  from  Mowee,  and  made  for  the 
island  of  Owyhee,  where  he  was  well  received 
by  Tamaahmaah.  The  fortunes  of  this  warlike 
chief  were  at  that  time  on  the  rise.  He  had 
originally  been  of  inferior  rank,  ruling  over 
only  one  or  two  districts  of  Owyhee,  but  had 
gradually  made  himself  sovereign  of  his  native 
islands. 

The  Eleanor  remained  some  few  days  at 
anchor  here,  and  an  apparently  friendly  inter- 


Storg  of  tbe  Governor  87 


course  was  kept  up  with  the  inhabitants.  On 
the  i yth  March,  John  Young  obtained  permis- 
sion to  pass  the  night  on  shore.  On  the  fol- 
lowing morning  a  signal-gun  summoned  him 
to  return  on  board. 

He  went  on  shore  to  embark,  but  found  all 
the  canoes  hauled  up  on  the  beach  and  rigor- 
ously tabooed,  or  interdicted.  He  would  have 
launched  one  himself,  but  was  informed  by 
Tamaahmaah  that  if  he  presumed  to  do  so  he 
would  be  put  to  death. 

Young  was  obliged  to  submit  and  remained 
all  day  in  great  perplexity  to  account  for  this 
mysterious  taboo,  and  fearful  that  some  hostil- 
ity was  intended.  In  the  evening  he  learned 
the  cause  of  it,  and  his  uneasiness  was  in- 
creased. It  appeared  that  the  vindictive  act 
of  Captain  Metcalf  had  recoiled  upon  his  own 
head.  The  schooner  Fair  American,  com- 
manded by  his  son,  following  in  his  track,  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  natives  to  the 
southward  of  Tocaigh  Bay,  and  young  Metcalf 
and  four  of  the  crew  had  been  massacred. 

On  receiving  intelligence  of  this  event, 
Tamaahmaah  had  immediately  tabooed  all  the 
canoes,  and  interdicted  all  intercourse  with  the 
ship,  lest  the  captain  should  learn  the  fate  of 
the  schooner,  and  take  his  revenge  upon  the 
island.  For  the  same  reason  he  prevented 


88  astorta 


Young  from  rejoining  his  countrymen.  Elea- 
nor continued  to  fire  signals  from  time  to  time 
for  two  days,  and  then  sailed  ;  concluding,  no 
doubt,  that  the  boatswain  had  deserted. 

John  Young  was  in  despair  when  he  saw  the 
ship  make  sail,  and  found  himself  abandoned 
among  savages  ; — and  savages,  too,  sanguinary 
in  their  character,  and  inflamed  by  acts  of  hostil- 
ity. He  was  agreeably  disappointed,  however, 
in  experiencing  nothing  but  kind  treatment 
from  Tamaahmaah  and  his  people.  It  is  true, 
he  was  narrowly  watched  whenever  a  vessel 
came  in  sight,  lest  he  should  escape  and  relate 
what  had  passed ;  but  at  other  times  he  was 
treated  with  entire  confidence  and  great  distinc- 
tion. He  became  a  prime  favorite,  cabinet 
counsellor,  and  active  coadjutor  of  Tamaah- 
maah, attending  him  in  all  his  excursions, 
whether  of  business  or  pleasure,  and  aiding  in 
his  warlike  and  ambitious  enterprises.  By  de- 
grees he  rose  to  the  rank  of  a  chief,  espoused 
one  of  the  beauties  of  the  island,  and  became 
habituated  and  reconciled  to  his  new  way 
of  life  ;  thinking  it  better,  perhaps,  to  rule 
among  savages  than  serve  among  white 
men  ;  to  be  a  feathered  chief  than  a  tarpaulin 
boatswain.  His  favor  with  Tamaahmaah 
never  declined  ;  and  when  that  sagacious,  in- 
trepid, and  aspiring  chieftain  had  made  him- 


Departure  for  TOloaboo  89 

self  sovereign  over  the  whole  group  of  islands, 
and  removed  his  residence  to  Woahoo,  he  left 
his  faithful  adherent  John  Young  in  command 
of  Owyhee. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  history  of  Governor 
Young,  as  furnished  by  himself ;  and  we  regret 
that  we  are  not  able  to  give  any  account  of  the 
state  maintained  by  this  seafaring  worthy,  and 
the  manner  in  which  he  discharged  his  high 
functions  ;  though  it  is  evident  he  had  more 
of  the  hearty  familiarity  of  the  forecastle  than 
the  dignity  of  the  gubernatorial  office. 

These  long  conferences  were  bitter  trials  to 
the  patience  of  the  captain,  who  had  no  respect 
either  for  the  governor  or  his  island,  and  was 
anxious  to  push  on  in  quest  of  provisions  and 
water.  As  soon  as  he  could  get  his  inquisitive 
partners  once  more  on  board,  he  weighed  an- 
chor, and  made  sail  for  the  island  of  Woahoo, 
the  royal  residence  of  Tamaahmaah. 

This  is  the  most  beautiful  island  of  the  Sand- 
wich group.  It  is  forty-six  miles  in  length 
and  twenty-three  in  breadth.  A  ridge  of  vol- 
canic mountains  extend  through  the  centre, 
rising  into  lofty  peaks,  and  skirted  by  undu- 
lating hills  and  rich  plains^  where  the  cabins 
of  the  natives  peep  out  from  beneath  groves  of 
cocoanut  and  other  luxuriant  trees. 

On  the  2ist  of  February   the   Tonquin  cast 


go  Bstoria 


anchor  in  the  beautiful  bay  before  the  village 
of  Waititi  (pronounced  Whyteetee),  the  abode 
of  Tamaahmaah.  This  village  contained  about 
two  hundred  habitations,  composed  of  poles  set 
in  the  ground,  tied  together  at  the  ends,  and 
thatched  with  grass,  and  was  situated  in  an 
open  grove  of  cocoanuts.  The  royal  palace  of 
Tamaahmaah  was  a  large  house  of  two  stories  ; 
the  lower  of  stone,  the  upper  of  wood.  Round 
this  his  body-guard  kept  watch,  composed  of 
twenty- four  men  in  long  blue  cassocks  turned 
up  with  yellow,  and  each  armed  with  a  musket. 
While  at  anchor  at  that  place,  much  cere- 
monious visiting  and  long  conferences  took 
place  between  the  potentate  of  the  islands  and 
the  partners  of  the  company.  Tamaahmaah 
came  on  board  of  the  ship  in  royal  style,  in  his 
double  pirogue.  He  was  between  fifty  and 
sixty  years  of  age,  above  the  middle  size,  large 
and  well  made,  though  somewhat  corpulent. 
He  was  dressed  in  an  old  suit  of  regimentals, 
with  a  sword  by  his  side,  and  seemed  somewhat 
embarrassed  by  his  magnificent  attire.  Three 
of  his  wives  accompanied  him.  They  were 
almost  as  tall,  and  quite  as  corpulent  as  him- 
self ;  but  by  no  means  to  be  compared  with  him 
in  grandeur  of  habiliments,  wearing  no  other 
garb  than  the  pau.  With  him,  also,  came  his 
great  favorite  and  confidential  counsellor,  Krai- 


91 


maker ;  who,  from  holding  a  post  equivalent 
to  that  of  prime  minister,  had  been  familiarly 
named  Billy  Pitt  by  the  British  visitors  to  the 
islands. 

The  sovereign  was  received  with  befitting 
ceremonial.  The  American  flag  was  displayed, 
four  guns  were  fired,  and  the  partners  appeared 
in  scarlet  coats,  and  conducted  their  illustrious 
guests  to  the  cabin,  where  they  were  regaled 
with  wine.  In  this  interview  the  partners  en- 
deavored to  impress  the  monarch  with  a  sense 
of  their  importance,  and  the  importance  of  the 
association  to  which  they  belonged.  They  let 
him  know  that  they  were  eris,  or  chiefs,  of  a 
great  company  about  to  be  established  on  the 
northwest  coast,  and  talked  of  the  probability 
of  opening  a  trade  with  his  islands,  and  of 
sending  ships  there  occasionally.  All  this  was 
gratifying  and  interesting  to  him,  for  he  was 
aware  of  the  advantages  of  trade,  and  desirous 
of  promoting  frequent  intercourse  with  white 
men.  He  encouraged  Europeans  and  Ameri- 
cans to  settle  in  his  islands  and  intermarry  with 
his  subjects.  There  were  between  twenty  and 
thirty  white  men  at  that  time  resident  in  the 
island,  but  many  of  them  were  mere  vagabonds, 
who  remained  there  in  hopes  of  leading  a  lazy 
and  an  easy  life.  For  such  Tamaahmaah  had 
a  great  contempt ;  those  only  had  his  esteem 


92  Bstoria 


and  countenance  who  knew  some  trade  or  me- 
chanic art,  and  were  sober  and  industrious. 

On  the  day  subsequent  to  the  monarch's  visit, 
the  partners  landed  and  waited  upon  him  in 
return.  Knowing  the  effect  of  show  and  dress 
upon  men  in  savage  life,  and  wishing  to  make 
a  favorable  impression  as  the  eris,  or  chiefs,  of 
the  great  American  Fur  Company,  some  of  them 
appeared  in  Highland  plaids  and  kilts,  to  the 
great  admiration  of  the  natives. 

While  visits  of  ceremony  and  grand  diplo- 
matic conferences  were  going  on  between  the 
partners  and  the  king,  the  captain,  in  his  plain, 
matter-of-fact  way,  was  pushing  what  he  con- 
sidered a  far  more  important  negotiation — the 
purchase  of  a  supply  of  hogs.  He  found  that 
the  king  had  profited  in  more  ways  than  one 
by  his  intercourse  with  white  men.  Above  all 
other  arts  he  had  learned  the  art  of  driving  a 
bargain.  He  was  a  magnanimous  monarch, 
but  a  shrewd  pork  merchant  ;  and  perhaps 
thought  he  could  not  do  better  with  his  future 
allies,  the  American  Fur  Company,  than  to 
begin  by  close  dealing.  Several  interviews 
were  requisite,  and  much  bargaining,  before 
he  could  be  brought  to  part  with  a  bristle  of 
his  bacon,  and  then  he  insisted  upon  being  paid 
in  hard  Spanish  dollars  ;  giving  as  a  reason 
that  he  wanted  money  to  purchase  a  frigate 


provisions  Obtained  93 


from  his  brother  George,  as  he  affectionately 
termed  the  King  of  England.* 

At  length  the  royal  bargain  was  concluded  ; 
the  necessary  supply  of  hogs  obtained,  beside 
several  goats,  two  sheep,  a  quantity  of  poul- 

*  It  appears  from  the  accounts  of  subsequent  voy- 
agers, that  Tamaahmaah  afterwards  succeeded  in  his 
wish  of  purchasing  a  large  ship.  In  this  he  sent  a 
cargo  of  sandalwood  to  Canton,  having  discovered 
that  the  foreign  merchants  trading  with  him  made 
large  profits  on  this  wood,  shipped  by  them  from  the 
islands  to  the  Chinese  markets.  The  ship  was  manned 
by  natives,  but  the  officers  were  Englishmen.  She 
accomplished  her  voyage,  and  returned  in  safety  to 
the  islands,  with  the  Hawaiian  flag  floating  gloriously 
in  the  breeze.  The  king  hastened  on  board,  expect- 
ing to  find  his  sandalwood  converted  into  crapes  and 
damasks,  and  other  rich  stuffs  of  China,  but  found,  to 
his  astonishment,  by  the  legerdemain  of  traffic,  his 
cargo  had  all  disappeared,  and,  in  place  of  it,  remained 
a  bill  of  charges  amounting  to  three  thousand  dollars. 
It  was  some  time  before  he  could  be  made  to  compre- 
hend certain  of  the  most  important  items  of  the  bill, 
such  as  pilotage,  anchorage,  and  custom-house  fees  ; 
but  when  he  discovered  that  maritime  states  in  other 
countries  derived  large  revenues  in  this  manner,  to 
the  great  cost  of  the  merchant,  "Well,"  he  cried, 
"then  I  will  have  harbor  fees  also."  He  established 
them  accordingly.  Pilotage  a  dollar  a  foot  on  the 
draft  of  each  vessel.  Anchorage  from  sixty  to  seventy 
dollars.  In  this  way  he  greatly  increased  the  royal 
revenue,  and  turned  his  China  speculation  to  account. 


94  Bstotfa 


try,  and  vegetables  in  abundance.  The  part- 
ners now  urged  to  recruit  their  forces  from  the 
natives  of  this  island.  They  declared  they 
had  never  seen  watermen  equal  to  them,  even 
among  the  voyageurs  of  the  Northwest ;  and, 
indeed,  they  are  remarkable  for  their  skill  in 
managing  their  light  craft,  and  can  swim  and 
dive  like  waterfowl.  The  partners  were  in- 
clined, therefore,  to  take  thirty  or  forty  with 
them  to  the  Columbia,  to  be  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  company.  The  captain,  how- 
ever, objected  that  there  was  not  room  in  his 
vessel  for  the  accommodation  of  such  a  num- 
ber. Twelve,  only,  were  therefore  enlisted  for 
the  company,  and  as  many  more  for  the  service 
of  the  ship.  The  former  engaged  to  serve  for 
the  term  of  three  years,  during  which  they 
were  to  be  fed  and  clothed  ;  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  time  were  to  receive  one  hundred 
dollars  in  merchandise. 

And  now,  having  embarked  his  live-stock, 
fruits,  vegetables,  and  water,  the  captain  made 
ready  to  set  sail.  How  much  the  honest  man 
had  suffered  in  spirit  by  what  he  considered 
the  freaks  and  vagaries  of  his  passengers,  and 
how  little  he  had  understood  their  humors  and 
intentions,  is  amusingly  shown  in  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  Mr.  Astor  from  Woahoo,  which  contains 
his  comments  on  the  scenes  we  have  decribed. 


©pinions  of  tbe  Captain  95 

"It  would  be  difficult,"  he  writes,  "  to  im- 
agine the  frantic  gambols  that  are  daily  played 
off  here  ;  sometimes  dressing  in  red  coats,  and 
otherwise  very  fantastically,  and  collecting  a 
number  of  ignorant  natives  around  them,  tell- 
ing them  that  they  are  the  great  eares  of  the 
Northwest,  and  making  arrangements  for  send- 
ing three  or  four  vessels  yearly  to  them  from 
the  coast  with  spars,  etc.  ;  while  those  very 
natives  cannot  even  furnish  a  hog  to  the  ship. 
Then  dressing  in  Highland  plaids  and  kilts, 
and  making  similar  arrangements,  with  pres- 
ents of  rum,  wine,  or  anything  that  is  at  hand. 
Then,  taking  a  number  of  clerks  and  men  on 
shore  to  the  very  spot  on  which  Captain  Cook 
was  killed,  and  each  fetching  off  a  piece  of 
the  rock  or  tree  that  was  touched  by  the  shot. 
Then  sitting  down  with  some  white  man  or 
some  native  who  can  be  a  little  understood, 
and  collecting  the  history  of  those  islands, 
of  Tamaahmaah's  wars,  the  curiosities  of  the 
islands,  etc.,  preparatory  to  the  histories  of 
their  voyages ;  and  the  collection  is  indeed 
ridiculously  contemptible.  To  enumerate  the 
thousand  instances  of  ignorance,  filth,  etc.,  or 
to  particularize  all  the  frantic  gambols  that  are 
daily  practised,  would  require  volumes." 

Before  embarking,  the  great  eris  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  took  leave  of  their 


96  Bstorfa 


illustrious  ally  in  due  style,  with  many  pro- 
fessions of  lasting  friendship  and  promises  of 
future  intercourse ;  while  the  matter-of-fact 
captain  anathematized  him  in  his  heart  for  a 
grasping,  trafficking  savage  ;  as  shrewd  and 
sordid  in  his  dealings  as  a  white  man.  As  one 
of  the  vessels  of  the  company  will,  in  the  course 
of  events,  have  to  appeal  to  the  justice  and 
magnanimity  of  this  island  potentate,  we  shall 
see  how  far  the  honest  captain  was  right  in  his 
opinion. 


Cbapter  ID11. 

i 

Departure  from  the  Sandwich  Islands — Misunder- 
standings— Miseries  of  a  Suspicious  Man— Arrival 
at  the  Columbia — Dangerous  Service — Gloomy  Ap- 
prehensions— Bars  and  Breakers — Perils  of  the  Ship 
— Disasters  of  a  Boat's  Crew — Burial  of  a  Sandwich 
Islander. 

IT  was  on  the  28th  of   February  that  the 
Tonquin  set  sail  from  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands.    For  two  days  the  wind  was  con- 
trary, and  the  vessel  was  detained  in  their 
neighborhood  ;    at  length   a  favorable  breeze 
sprang  up,  and  in  a  little  while  the  rich  groves, 
green  hills,  and  snowy  peaks  of  those  happy 
islands  one  after  another  sank  from  sight,  or 
melted  into  the  blue  distance,  and  the  Tonquin 
plowed  her  course  towards  the  sterner  regions 
of  the  Pacific. 

The  misunderstandings  between  the  captain 
and  his  passengers  still  continued  ;  or  rather, 
increased  in  gravity.  By  his  altercations  and 

VOL.    I.— 7 

97 


98  Bstoria 


his  moody  humors,  he  had  cut  himself  off  from 
all  community  of  thought,  or  freedom  of  con- 
versation with  them.  He  disdained  to  ask 
any  questions  as  to  their  proceedings,  and 
could  only  guess  at  the  meaning  of  their 
movements,  and  in  so  doing  indulged  in  con- 
jectures and  suspicions,  which  produced  the 
most  whimsical  self- torment. 

Thus,  in  one  of  his  disputes  with  them, 
relative  to  the  goods  on  board,  some  of  the 
packages  of  which  they  wished  to  open,  to 
take  out  articles  of  clothing  for  the  men  or 
presents  for  the  natives,  he  was  so  harsh  and 
peremptory  that  they  lost  all  patience,  and 
hinted  that  they  were  the  strongest  party,  and 
might  reduce  him  to  a  very  ridiculous  dilemma, 
by  taking  from  him  the  command. 

A  thought  now  flashed  across  the  captain's 
mind  that  they  really  had  a  design  to  depose 
him,  and  that,  having  picked  up  some  infor- 
mation at  Owyhee,  possibly  of  war  between 
the  United  States  and  England,  they  meant  to 
alter  the  destination  of  the  voyage ;  perhaps 
to  seize  upon  ship  and  cargo  for  their  own  use. 

Once  having  conceived  this  suspicion,  every- 
thing went  to  foster  it.  They  had  distributed 
fire-arms  among  some  of  their  men,  a  common 
precaution  among  the  fur-traders  when  min- 
gling with  the  natives.  This,  however,  looked 


Suspicions  of  tbe  Captain  99 

like  preparation.  Then  several  of  the  partners 
and  clerks  and  some  of  the  men,  being  Scots- 
men, were  acquainted  with  the  Gaelic,  and 
held  long  conversations  together  in  that  lan- 
guage. These  conversations  were  considered  by 
the  captain  of  a  ' '  mysterious  and  unwarranta- 
ble nature,"  and  related,  no  doubt,  to  some 
foul  conspiracy  that  was  brewing  among  them. 
He  frankly  avows  such  suspicions,  in  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Astor,  but  intimates  that  he  stood  ready 
to  resist  any  treasonous  outbreak  ;  and  seems 
to  think  that  the  evidence  of  preparation  on 
his  part  had  an  effect  in  overawing  the  con- 
spirators. 

The  fact  is,  as  we  have  since  been  informed 
by  one  of  the  parties,  it  was  a  mischievous 
pleasure  with  some  of  the  partners  and  clerks, 
who  were  young  men,  to  play  upon  the  sus- 
picious temper  and  splenetic  humors  of  the 
captain.  To  this  we  may  ascribe  many  of 
their  whimsical  pranks  and  absurd  propo- 
sitions, and,  above  all,  their  mysterious  collo- 
quies in  Gaelic. 

In  this  sore  and  irritable  mood  did  the 
captain  pursue  his  course,  keeping  a  wary  eye 
on  every  movement,  and  bristling  up  whenever 
the  detested  sound  of  the  Gaelic  language 
grated  upon  his  ear.  Nothing  occurred,  how- 
ever, materially  to  disturb  the  residue  of  the 


ioo  Betoria 


voyage  excepting  a  violent  storm  ;  and  on  the 
twenty-second  of  March,  the  Tonquin  arrived 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Oregon,  or  Columbia 
River. 

The  aspect  of  the  river  and  the  adjacent  coast 
was  wild  and  dangerous.  The  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  is  upwards  of  four  miles  wide  with 
a  peninsula  and  promontory  on  one  side,  and 
a  long  low  spit  of  land  on  the  other  ;  between 
which  a  sand-bar  and  a  chain  of  breakers 
almost  block  up  the  entrance.  The  interior 
of  the  country  rises  into  successive  ranges  of 
mountains,  which,  at  the  time  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Tonquin,  were  covered  with  snow. 

A  fresh  wind  from  the  northwest  sent  a  rough 
tumbling  sea  upon  the  coast,  which  broke  upon 
the  bar  in  furious  surges,  and  extended  a  sheet 
of  foam  almost  across  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  captain  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  approach  within  three 
leagues,  until  the  bar  should  be  sounded  and  the 
channel  ascertained.  Mr.  Fox,  the  chief  mate, 
was  ordered  to  this  service  in  the  whaleboat, 
accompanied  by  John  Martin,  an  old  seaman, 
who  had  formerly  visited  the  river,  and  by  three 
Canadians.  Fox  requested  to  have  regular 
sailors  to  man  the  boat,  but  the  captain  would 
not  spare  them  from  the  sendee  of  the  ship, 
and  supposed  the  Canadians,  being  expert 


anfc  JSreafcerg  101 


boatmen  on  lakes  and  rivers,  were  competent 
to  the  service,  especially  when  directed  and 
aided  by  Fox  and  Martin.  Fox  seems  to 
have  lost  all  firmness  of  spirit  on  the  occasion, 
and  to  have  regarded  the  service  with  a  mis- 
giving heart.  He  came  to  the  partners  for 
sympathy,  knowing  their  differences  with  the 
captain,  and  the  tears  were  in  his  eyes  as  he 
represented  his  case.  ' '  I  am  sent  off, ' '  said 
he,  "without  seamen  to  man  my  boat,  in 
boisterous  weather,  and  on  the  most  dangerous 
part  of  the  northwest  coast.  My  uncle  was 
lost  a  few  years  ago  on  this  same  bar,  and  I 
am  now  going  to  lay  my  bones  alongside  of 
his."  The  partners  sympathized  in  his  appre- 
hensions, and  remonstrated  with  the  captain. 
The  latter,  however,  was  not  to  be  moved. 
He  had  been  displeased  with  Mr.  Fox  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  voyage,  considering  him 
indolent  and  inactive  ;  and  probably  thought 
his  present  repugnance  arose  from  a  want  of 
true  nautical  spirit.  The  interference  of  the 
partners  in  the  business  of  the  ship,  also,  was 
not  calculated  to  have  a  favorable  effect  on  a 
stickler  for  authority  like  himself,  especially 
in  his  actual  state  of  feeling  towards  them. 

At  one  o'clock,  P.M.,  therefore,  Fox  and  his 
comrades  set  off  in  the  whaleboat,  which  is 
represented  as  small  in  size,  and  crazy  in  con- 


102  B6torfa 


dition.  All  eyes  were  strained  after  the  little 
bark  as  it  pulled  for  shore,  rising  and  sinking 
with  the  huge  rolling  waves,  until  it  entered, 
a  mere  speck,  among  the  foaming  breakers, 
and  was  soon  lost  to  view.  Evening  set  in, 
night  succeeded  and  passed  away,  and  morning 
returned,  but  without  the  return  of  the  boat. 

As  the  wind  had  moderated,  the  ship  stood 
near  to  the  land,  so  as  to  command  a  view  of 
the  river's  mouth.  Nothing  was  to  be  seen 
but  a  wild  chaos  of  tumbling  waves  breaking 
upon  the  bar,  and  apparently  forming  a  foam- 
ing barrier  from  shore  to  shore.  Towards  night 
the  ship  again  stood  out  to  gain  sea-room,  and 
a  gloom  was  visible  in  every  countenance. 
The  captain  himself  shared  in  the  general 
anxiety,  and  probably  repented  of  his  per- 
emptory orders.  Another  weary  and  watchful 
night  succeeded,  during  which  the  wind  sub- 
sided, and  the  weather  became  serene. 

On  the  following  day,  the  ship  having  drifted 
near  the  land,  anchored  in  fourteen  fathoms 
water,  to  the  northward  of  the  long  peninsula 
or  promontory  which  forms  the  north  side  of 
the  entrance,  and  is  called  Cape  Disappoint- 
ment. The  pinnace  was  then  manned,  and 
two  of  the  partners,  Mr.  David  Stuart  and  Mr. 
M'Kay,  set  off  in  the  hope  of  learning  some- 
thing of  the  fate  of  the  whaleboat.  The  surf, 


perilous  Service  103 


however,  broke  with  such  violence  along  the 
shore  that  they  could  find  no  landing  place. 
Several  of  the  natives  appeared  on  the  beach 
and  made  signs  to  them  to  row  round  the  cape, 
but  they  thought  it  most  prudent  to  return  to 
the  ship. 

The  wind  now  springing  up,  the  Tonquin 
got  under  way,  and  stood  in  to  seek  the  chan- 
nel ;  but  was  again  deterred  by  the  frightful 
aspect  of  the  breakers,  from  venturing  within 
a  league.  Here  she  hove-to;  and  Mr.  Mum- 
ford,  the  second  mate,  was  despatched  with 
four  hands,  in  the  pinnace,  to  sound  across  the 
channel  until  he  should  find  four  fathoms  depth. 
The  pinnace  entered  among  the  breakers,  but 
was  near  being  lost,  and  with  difficulty  got 
back  to  the  ship.  The  captain  insisted  that 
Mr.  Mum  ford  had  steered  too  much  to  the 
southward.  He  now  turned  to  Mr.  Aiken,  an 
able  mariner,  destined  to  command  the  schooner 
intended  for  the  coasting  trade,  and  ordered 
him,  together  with  John  Coles,  sailmaker, 
Stephen  Weekes,  armorer,  and  two  Sandwich 
Islanders,  to  proceed  ahead  and  take  soundings, 
while  the  ship  should  follow  under  easy  sail. 
In  this  way  they  proceeded  until  Aiken  had 
ascertained  the  channel,  when  signal  was  given 
from  the  ship  for  him  to  return  on  board.  He 
was  then  within  pistol  shot,  but  so  furious  was 


104  B0tocia 


the  current,  and  tumultuous  the  breakers,  that 
the  boat  became  unmanageable,  and  was  hur- 
ried away,  the  crew  crying  out  piteously  for 
assistance.  In  a  few  moments  she  could 
not  be  seen  from  the  ship's  deck.  Some  of 
the  passengers  climbed  to  the  mizzen  top, 
and  beheld  her  still  struggling  to  reach  the 
ship ;  but  shortly  after  she  broached  broad- 
side to  the  waves,  and  her  case  seemed  des- 
perate. The  attention  of  those  on  board  of 
the  ship  was  now  called  to  their  own  safety. 
They  were  in  shallow  water  ;  the  vessel  struck 
repeatedly,  the  waves  broke  over  her,  and  there 
was  danger  of  her  foundering.  At  length  she 
got  into  seven  fathoms  water,  and  the  wind 
lulling  and  the  night  coming  on,  cast  anchor. 
With  the  darkness  their  anxieties  increased. 
The  wind  whistled,  the  sea  roared,  the  gloom 
was  only  broken  by  the  ghastly  glare  of  the 
foaming  breakers,  the  minds  of  the  seamen 
were  full  of  dreary  apprehensions,  and  some  of 
them  fancied  they  heard  the  cries  of  their  lost 
comrades  mingling  with  the  uproar  of  the  ele- 
ments. For  a  time,  too,  the  rapidly  ebbing  tide 
threatened  to  sweep  them  from  their  precarious 
anchorage.  At  length  the  reflux  of  the  tide, 
and  the  springing  up  of  the  wind,  enabled  them 
to  quit  their  dangerous  situation  and  take 
shelter  in  a  small  bay  within  Cape  Disappoint- 


TTCleefees  tbe  Brmorer  105 


ment,  where  they  rode  in  safety  during  the 
residue  of  a  stormy  night,  and  enjoyed  a  brief 
interval  of  refreshing  sleep. 

With  the  light  of  day  returned  their  cares 
and  anxieties.  They  looked  out  from  the  mast- 
head over  a  wild  coast,  and  wilder  sea,  but 
could  discover  no  trace  of  the  two  boats  and 
their  crews  that  were  missing.  Several  of  the 
natives  came  on  board  with  peltries,  but  there 
was  no  disposition  to  trade.  They  were  inter- 
rogated by  signs  after  the  lost  boats,  but  could 
not  understand  the  inquiries. 

Parties  now  went  on  shore  and  scoured  the 
neighborhood.  One  of  these  was  headed  by 
the  captain .  They  had  not  proceeded  far  when 
they  beheld  a  person  at  a  distance  in  civilized 
garb.  As  he  drew  near  he  proved  to  be  Weekes, 
the  armorer.  There  was  a  burst  of  joy,  for  it 
was  hoped  his  comrades  were  near  at  hand. 
His  story,  however,  was  one  of  disaster.  He 
and  his  companions  had  found  it  impossible  to 
govern  their  boat,  having  no  rudder,  and  being 
beset  by  rapid  and  whirling  currents  and  boister- 
ous surges.  After  long  struggling  they  had 
let  her  go  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves,  tossing 
about,  sometimes  with  her  bow,  sometimes  with 
her  broadside  to  the  surges,  threatened  each 
instant  with  destruction,  yet  repeatedly  escap- 
ing, until  a  huge  sea  broke  over  and  swamped 


106  Bstoria 


her.  Weekes  was  overwhelmed  by  the  boiling 
waves,  but  emerging  above  the  surface,  looked 
round  for  his  companions.  Aiken  and  Coles 
were  not  to  be  seen ;  near  him  were  the  two 
Sandwich  Islanders,  stripping  themselves  of 
their  clothing  that  they  might  swim  more 
freely.  He  did  the  same,  and  the  boat  floating 
near  to  him  he  seized  hold  of  it.  The  two 
islanders  joined  him,  and,  uniting  their  forces, 
they  succeeded  in  turning  the  boat  upon  her 
keel ;  then  bearing  down  her  stern  and  rocking 
her,  they  forced  out  so  much  water  that  she 
was  able  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  man  without 
sinking.  One  of  the  islanders  now  got  in,  and 
in  a  little  while  bailed  out  the  water  with  his 
hands.  The  other  swam  about  and  collected 
the  oars,  and  they  all  three  got  once  more  on 
board. 

By  this  time  the  tide  had  swept  them  be- 
yond the  breakers,  and  Weekes  called  on  his 
companions  to  row  for  laud.  They  were  so 
chilled  and  benumbed  by  the  cold,  however, 
that  they  lost  all  heart,  and  absolutely  refused. 
Weekes  was  equally  chilled,  but  had  superior 
sagacity  and  self-command.  He  counteracted 
the  tendency  to  drowsiness  and  stupor  which 
cold  produces  by  keeping  himself  in  constant 
exercise  ;  and  seeing  that  the  vessel  was  ad- 
vancing, and  that  everything  depended  upon 


TUnfoctunate  HslanDer  107 


himself,  he  set  to  work  to  scull  the  boat  clear 
of  the  bar,  and  into  quiet  water. 

Towards  midnight  one  of  the  poor  islanders 
expired  :  his  companion  threw  himself  on  his 
corpse  and  could  not  be  persuaded  to  leave  him. 
The  dismal  night  wore  away  amidst  these  hor- 
rors :  as  the  day  dawned,  Weekes  found  him- 
self near  the  land.  He  steered  directly  for  it, 
and  at  length,  with  the  aid  of  the  surf,  ran  his 
boat  high  upon  a  sandy  beach. 

Finding  that  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islanders 
yet  gave  signs  of  life,  he  aided  him  to  leave 
the  boat,  and  set  out  with  him  towards  the 
adjacent  woods.  The  poor  fellow,  however, 
was  too  feeble  to  follow  him,  and  Weekes  was 
soon  obliged  to  abandon  him  to  his  fate  and 
provide  for  his  own  safety.  Falling  upon  a 
beaten  path,  he  pursued  it,  and  after  a  few 
hours  came  to  a  part  of  the  coast,  where,  to 
his  surprise  and  joy,  he  beheld  the  ship  at 
anchor  and  was  met  by  the  captain  and  his 
party. 

After  Weekes  had  related  his  adventures, 
three  parties  were  despatched  to  beat  up  the 
coast  in  search  of  the  unfortunate  islander. 
They  returned  at  night  without  success, 
though  they  had  used  the  utmost  diligence.. 
On  the  following  day  the  search  was  resumed, 
and  the  poor  fellow  was  at  length  discovered 


JOB  Sstoria 


lying  beneath  a  group  of  rocks,  his  legs 
swollen,  his  feet  torn  and  bloody  from  walking 
through  bushes  and  briers,  and  himself  half- 
dead  with  cold,  hunger,  and  fatigue.  Weekes 
and  this  islander  were  the  only  survivors  of 
the  crew  of  the  jolly-boat,  and  no  trace  was 
ever  discovered  of  Fox  and  his  party.  Thus 
eight  men  were  lost  on  the  first  approach  to 
the  coast  ;  a  commencement  that  cast  a  gloom 
over  the  spirits  of  the  whole  party,  and  was 
regarded  by  some  of  the  superstitious  as  an 
omen  that  boded  no  good  to  the  enterprise. 

Towards  night  the  Sandwich  Islanders  went 
on  shore,  to  bury  the  body  of  their  unfortunate 
countryman  who  had  perished  in  the  boat.  On 
arriving  at  the  place  where  it  had  been  left, 
they  dug  a  grave  in  the  sand,  in  which  they 
deposited  the  corpse,  with  a  biscuit  under  one 
of  the  arms,  some  lard  under  the  chin,  and  a 
small  quantity  of  tobacco,  as  provisions  for  its 
journey  in  the  land  of  spirits.  Having  cov- 
ered the  body  with  sand  and  flints,  they 
kneeled  along  the  grave  in  a  double  row,  with 
their  faces  turned  to  the  east,  while  one  who 
officiated  as  a  priest  sprinkled  them  with  water 
from  a  hat.  In  so  doing  he  recited  a  kind  of 
prayer  or  invocation,  to  which,  at  intervals, 
the  others  made  responses.  Such  were  the 
simple  rites  performed  by  these  poor  savages 


SanDwtcb  Hslan&er's  Burial  109 

at  the  grave  of  their  comrade  on  the  shores  of 
a  strange  land  ;  and  when  these  were  done, 
they  rose  and  returned  in  silence  to  the  ship, 
without  once  casting  a  look  behind. 


Cbapter 


Mouth  of  the  Columbia—  The  Native  Tribes—  Search 
for  a  Trading  Site  —  Expedition  of  M'Dougal  and 
David  Stuart  —  Comcomly,  the  One-eyed  Chieftain 
—  An  Aristocracy  of  Flatheads—  Hospitality  among 
the  Chinooks  —  Comcomly's  Daughter  —  Her  Con- 
quest. 

THE  Columbia,  or  Oregon,  for  the  dis- 
tance of  thirty  or  forty  miles  from  its 
entrance    into    the   sea,    is,    properly 
speaking,  a  mere  estuary,  indented  by 
deep  bays  so  as  to  vary  from  three  to  seven 
miles  in  width  ;  and  is  rendered  extremely  in- 
tricate   and    dangerous    by    shoals    Beaching 
nearly  from  shore  to  shore,  on  which,  at  times, 
the  winds  and  currents  produce  foaming  and 
tumultuous  breakers.     The  mouth  of  the  river 
proper  is  but  about  half  a  mile  wide,  formed 
by    the  contracting  shores    of   the    estuary. 
The  entrance  from  the  sea,  as  we  have  already 
observed,  is  bounded  on  the  south  side  by  a 
no 


tf&outb  of  tbc  Columbia  m 


flat  sandy  spit  of  land,  stretching  into  the 
ocean.  This  is  commonly  called  Point  Adams. 
The  opposite,  or  northern  side,  is  Cape  Disap- 
pointment ;  a  kind  of  peninsula,  terminating 
in  a  steep  knoll  or  promontory  crowned  with  a 
forest  of  pine-trees,  and  connected  with  the 
mainland  by  a  low  and  narrow  neck.  Immedi- 
ately within  this  cape  is  a  wide,  open  bay,  ter- 
minating at  Chinook  Point,  so  called  from  a 
neighboring  tribe  of  Indians.  This  was  called 
Baker's  Bay,  and  here  the  Tonquin  was  an- 
chored. 

The  natives  inhabiting  the  lower  part  of  the 
river,  and  with  whom  the  company  was  likely 
to  have  the  most  frequent  intercourse,  were 
divided  at  this  time  into  four  tribes,  the  Chi- 
nooks,  Clatsops,  Wahkiacums,  and  Cathla- 
mahs.  They  resembled  each  other  in  person, 
dress,  language,  and  manner  ;  and  were  prob- 
ably from  the  same  stock,  but  broken  into 
tribes,  or  rather  hordes,  by  those  feuds  and 
schisms'frequent  among  Indians. 

These  people  generally  live  by  fishing.  It  is 
true  they  occasionally  hunt  the  elk  and  deer, 
and  ensnare  the  water-fowl  of  their  ponds  and 
rivers,  but  these  are  casual  luxuries.  Their 
chief  subsistence  is  derived  from  the  salmon 
and  other  fish  which  abound  in  the  Columbia 
and  its  tributary  streams,  aided  by  roots  and 


Bstoria 


herbs,  especially  the  wappatoo,  which  is  found 
on  the  island  of  the  river. 

As  the  Indians  of  the  plains  who  depend 
upon  the  chase  are  bold  and  expert  riders,  and 
pride  themselves  upon  their  horses,  so  these 
piscatory  tribes  of  the  coast  excel  in  the  man- 
agement of  canoes,  and  are  never  more  at  home 
than  when  riding  upon  the  waves.  Their 
canoes  vary  in  form  and  size.  Some  are  up- 
wards of  fifty  feet  long,  cut  out  of  a  single  tree, 
either  fir  or  white  cedar,  and  capable  of  carry- 
ing thirty  persons.  They  have  thwart  pieces 
from  side  to  side  about  three  inches  thick,  and 
their  gunwales  flare  outwards,  so  as  to  cast 
off  the  surges  of  the  waves.  The  bow  and 
stern  are  decorated  with  grotesque  figures  of 
men  and  animals,  sometimes  five  feet  in 
height. 

In  managing  their  canoes  they  kneel  two 
and  two  along  the  bottom,  sitting  on  their 
heels,  and  wielding  paddles  from  four  to  five 
feet  long,  while  one  sits  on  the  stern  and  steers 
with  a  paddle  of  the  same  kind.  The  women 
are  equally  expert  with  the  men  in  managing 
the  canoe,  and  generally  take  the  helm. 

It  is  surprising  to  see  with  what  fearless 
unconcern  these  savages  venture  in  their  light 
barks  upon  the  roughest  and  most  tempestuous 
seas.  They  seem  to  ride  upon  the  waves  like 


twntiiui  anD  tfiebing  UnDians  113 

sea-fowl.  Should  a  surge  throw  the  canoe 
upon  its  side  and  endanger  its  overturn,  those 
to  windward  lean  over  the  upper  gunwale, 
thrust  their  paddles  deep  into  the  wave,  appar- 
ently catch  the  water  and  force  it  tinder  the 
canoe,  and  by  this  action  not  merely  regain  an 
equilibrium,  but  give  their  bark  a  vigorous 
impulse  forward. 

The  effect  of  different  modes  of  life  upon  the 
human  frame  and  human  character  is  strik- 
ingly instanced  in  the  contrast  between  the 
hunting  Indians  of  the  prairies,  and  the  pis- 
catory Indians  of  the  sea-coast.  The  former, 
continually  on  horseback  scouring  the  plains, 
gaining  their  food  by  hardy  exercise,  and  sub- 
sisting chiefly  on  flesh,  are  generally  tall,  sin- 
ewy, meagre,  but  well  formed,  and  of  bold  and 
fierce  deportment :  the  latter,  lounging  about 
the  river  banks,  or  squatting  and  curved  up  in 
their  canoes,  are  generally  low  in  stature,  ill- 
shaped,  with  crooked  legs,  thick  ankles,  and 
broad,  flat  feet.  They  are  inferior  also  in 
muscular  power  and  activity,  and  in  game 
qualities  and  appearance,  to  their  hard-riding 
brethren  of  the  prairies. 

Having  premised  these  few  particulars  con- 
cerning the  neighboring  Indians,  we  will  re- 
turn to  the  immediate  concerns  of  the  Tonquin 
and  her  crew. 


H4  Bstoria 


Further  search  was  made  for  Mr.  Fox  and 
his  party,  with  no  better  success,  and  they 
were  at  length  given  up  as  lost.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  captain  and  some  of  the  partners 
explored  the  river  for  some  distance  in  a  large 
boat,  to  select  a  suitable  place  for  the  trading 
post.  Their  old  jealousies  and  differences  con- 
tinued ;  they  never  could  coincide  in  their 
choice,  and  the  captain  objected  altogether  to 
any  site  so  high  up  the  river.  They  all  re- 
turned, therefore,  to  Baker's  Bay  in  no  very 
good  humor.  The  partners  proposed  to  exam- 
ine the  opposite  shore,  but  the  captain  was 
impatient  of  any  further  delay.  His  eager- 
ness to  "get  on"  had  increased  upon  him. 
He  thought  all  these  excursions  a  sheer  loss  of 
time,  and  was  resolved  to  land  at  once,  build  a 
shelter  for  the  reception  of  that  part  of  his 
cargo  destined  for  the  use  of  the  settlement, 
and,  having  cleared  his  ship  of  it  and  of  his 
irksome  shipmates,  to  depart  upon  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  coasting  voyage,  according  to  orders. 

On  the  following  day,  therefore,  without 
troubling  himself  to  consult  the  partners,  he 
landed  in  Baker's  Bay,  and  proceeded  to  erect 
a  shed  for  the  reception  of  the  rigging,  equip- 
ments, and  stores  of  the  schooner  that  was  to 
be  built  for  the  use  of  the  settlement. 

This  dogged  determination  on  the  part  of 


Selecting  a  Site  115 


the  sturdy  captain  gave  high  offence  to  Mr. 
M'Dougal,  who  now  considered  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  concern,  as  Mr.  Astor's  representa- 
tive and  proxy.  He  set  off  the  same  day, 
(April  5th),  accompanied  by  Mr.  David  Stuart, 
for  the  southern  shore,  intending  to  be  back  by 
the  yth.  Not  having  the  captain  to  contend 
with,  they  soon  pitched  upon  a  spot  which 
appeared  to  them  favorable  for  the  intended 
establishment.  It  was  on  a  point  of  land  called 
Point  George,  having  a  very  good  harbor, 
where  vessels,  not  exceeding  two  hundred  tons 
burden,  might  anchor  within  fifty  yards  of 
the  shore. 

After  a  day  thus  profitably  spent,  they  re- 
crossed  the  river,  but  landed  on  the  northern 
shore  several  miles  above  the  anchoring  ground 
of  the  Tonquin,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chi- 
nook, and  visited  the  village  of  that  tribe. 
Here  they  were  received  with  great  hospitality 
by  the  chief,  who  was  named  Comcomly,  a 
shrewd  old  savage,  with  but  one  eye,  who  will 
occasionally  figure  in  this  narrative.  Each  vil- 
lage forms  a  petty  sovereignty,  governed  by  its 
own  chief,  who,  however,  possesses  but  little 
authority,  unless  he  be  a  man  of  wealth  and 
substance  ;  that  is  to  say,  possessed  of  canoes, 
slaves,  and  wives.  The  greater  the  number 
of  these,  the  greater  is  the  chief.  How  many 


n6  Bstoria 


wives  this  one-eyed  potentate  maintained  we 
are  not  told,  but  he  certainly  possessed  great 
sway,  not  merely  over  his  own  tribe,  but  over 
the  neighborhood. 

Having  mentioned  slaves,  we  would  observe 
that  slavery  exists  among  several  of  the  tribes 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  slaves  are 
well  treated  while  in  good  health,  but  occupied 
in  all  kinds  of  drudgery.  Should  they  become 
useless,  however,  by  sickness  or  old  age,  they 
are  totally  neglected,  and  left  to  perish  ;  nor  is 
any  respect  paid  to  their  bodies  after  death. 

A  singular  custom  prevails,  not  merely 
among  the  Chinooks,  but  among  most  of  the 
tribes  about  this  part  of  the  coast,  which  is  the 
flattening  of  the  forehead.  The  process  by 
which  this  deformity  is  effected  commences 
immediately  after  birth.  The  infant  is  laid  in 
a  wooden  trough,  by  way  of  cradle.  The  end 
on  which  the  head  reposes  is  higher  than  the 
rest.  A  padding  is  placed  on  the  forehead  of 
the  infant,  with  a  piece  of  bark  above  it,  and 
is  pressed  down  by  cords,  which  pass  through 
holes  on  each  side  of  the  trough.  As  the 
tightening  of  the  padding  and  the  pressing  of 
the  head  to  the  board  is  gradual,  the  process  is 
said  not  to  be  attended  with  much  pain.  The 
appearance  of  the  infant,  however,  while  in 
this  state  of  compression,  is  whimsically  hide- 


fln&fan  f>oepftalftB  ny 

ous,  and  '  *  its  little  black  eyes, ' '  we  are  told, 
* '  being  forced  out  by  the  tightness  of  the  ban- 
dages, resemble  those  of  a  mouse  choked  in  a 
trap." 

About  a  year's  pressure  is  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce the  desired  effect,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  the  child  emerges  from  its  bandages  a 
complete  flathead,  and  continues  so  through 
life.  It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  this 
flattening  of  the  head  has  something  in  it  of 
aristocratical  significancy,  like  the  crippling 
of  the  feet  among  the  Chinese  ladies  of  quality. 
At  any  rate,  it  is  a  sign  of  freedom.  No  slave 
is  permitted  to  bestow  this  enviable  deformity 
upon  his  child;  all  the  slaves,  therefore,  are 
roundheads. 

With  this  worthy  tribe  of  Chinooks  the  two 
partners  passed  a  part  of  the  day  very  agree- 
ably. M'Dougal,  who  was  somewhat  vain  of 
his  official  rank,  had  given  it  to  be  understood 
that  they  were  two  chiefs  of  a  great  trading 
company,  about  to  be  established  here,  and  the 
quick-sighted,  though  one-eyed  chief,  who  was 
somewhat  practised  in  traffic  with  white  men, 
immediately  perceived  the  policy  of  cultivating 
the  friendship  of  two  such  important  visitors. 
He  regaled  them,  therefore,  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  with  abundance  of  salmon  and  wappa- 
too.  The  next  morning,  April  yth,  they  pre- 


us  Bstorla 


pared  to  return  to  the  vessel,  according  to 
promise.  They  had  eleven  miles  of  open 
bay  to  traverse  ;  the  wind  was  fresh,  the 
waves  ran  high.  Comcomly  remonstrated  with 
them  on  the  hazard  to  which  they  would  be 
exposed.  They  were  resolute,  however,  and 
launched  their  boat,  while  the  wary  chieftain 
followed  at  some  distance  in  his  canoe.  Scarce 
had  they  rowed  a  mile,  when  a  wave  broke 
over  their  boat  and  upset  it.  They  were  in 
imminent  peril  of  drowning,  especially  Mr. 
M'Dougal,  who  could  not  swim.  Comcomly, 
however,  came  bounding  over  the  waves  in  his 
light  canoe,  and  snatched  them  from  a  watery 
grave. 

They  were  taken  on  shore  and  a  fire  made, 
at  which  they  dried  their  clothes,  after  which 
Comcomly  conducted  them  back  to  his  village. 
Here  everything  was  done  that  could  be  devised 
for  their  entertainment  during  three  days  that 
they  were  detained  by  bad  weather.  Com- 
comly made  his  people  perform  antics  before 
them  ;  and  his  wives  and  daughters  endeavored, 
by  all  the  soothing  and  endearing  arts  of 
women,  to  find  favor  in  their  eyes.  Some 
even  painted  their  bodies  with  red  clay,  and 
anointed  themselves  with  fish  oil,  to  give  addi- 
tional lustre  to  their  charms.  Mr.  M'Dougal 
seems  to  have  had  a  heart  susceptible  to  the 


Comcomlg's  Baugbter  119 


influence  of  the  gentler  sex.  Whether  or  no 
it  was  first  touched  on  this  occasion  we  do  not 
learn  ;  but  it  will  be  found,  in  the  course  of 
this  work,  that  one  of  the  daughters  of  the 
hospitable  Comcomly  eventually  made  a  con- 
quest of  the  great  eri  of  the  American  Fur 
Company. 

When  the  weather  had  moderated  and  the 
sea  become  tranquil,  the  one-eyed  chief  of  the 
Chinooks  manned  his  state  canoe,  and  con- 
ducted his  guests  in  safety  to  the  ship,  where 
they  were  welcomed  with  joy,  for  apprehen- 
sions had  been  felt  for  their  safety.  Comcomly 
and  his  people  were  then  entertained  on  board 
of  the  Tonquin^  and  liberally  rewarded  for 
their  hospitality  and  services.  They  returned 
home  highly  satisfied,  promising  to  remain 
faithful  friends  and  allies  of  the  white  men. 


Cbapter  f  f . 

Point  George — Founding  of  Astoria — Indian  Visitors 
— Their  Reception — The  Captain  Taboos  the  Ship 
— Departure  of  the  Tonquin — Comments  on  the 
Conduct  of  Captain  Thorn. 

FROM  the  report  made  by  the  two  explor- 
ing partners,   it  was   determined  that 
Point  George  should  be  the  site  of  the 
trading  house.     These  gentlemen,  it  is 
true,  were  not  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  place 
and  were  desirous  of  continuing  their  search  ; 
but  Captain  Thorn  was  impatient  to  land  his 
cargo  and  continue  his  voyage,  and  protested 
against  any  more  of  what  he  termed  ' '  sporting 
excursions." 

Accordingly,  on  the  i2th  of  April,  the  launch 
was  freighted  with  all  things  necessary  for  the 
purpose,  and  sixteen  persons  departed  in  her 
to  commence  the  establishment,  leaving  the 
Tonquin  to  follow  as  soon  as  the  harbor  could 
be  sounded. 


120 


of  Batorfa  121 


Crossing  the  wide  mouth  of  the  river,  the 
party  landed,  and  encamped  at  the  bottom  of  a 
small  bay  within  Point  George.  The  situation 
chosen  for  the  fortified  post  was  on  an  elevation 
facing  to  the  north,  with  the  wide  estuary,  its 
sand  bars  and  tumultuous  breakers  spread  out 
before  it  and  the  promontory  of  Cape  Disap- 
pointment, fifteen  miles  distant,  closing  the 
prospect  to  the  left.  The  surrounding  country 
was  in  all  the  freshness  of  spring ;  the  trees 
were  in  the  young  leaf,  the  weather  was  superb, 
and  everything  looked  delightful  to  men  just 
emancipated  from  a  long  confinement  on  ship- 
board.  The  Tonquin  shortly  afterwards  made 
her  way  through  the  intricate  channel,  and 
came  to  anchor  in  the  little  bay,  and  was 
saluted  from  the  encampment  with  three 
volleys  of  musketry  and  three  cheers.  She 
returned  the  salute  with  three  cheers  and  three 
guns. 

All  hands  now  set  to  work  cutting  down 
trees,  clearing  away  thickets,  and  marking 
out  the  place  for  the  residence,  store-house,  and 
powder  magazine,  which  were  to  be  built  of 
logs  and  covered  with  bark.  Others  landed 
the  timbers  intended  for  the  frame  of  the  coast- 
ing vessel,  and  proceeded  to  put  them  together, 
while  others  prepared  a  garden  spot,  and  sowed 
the  seeds  of  various  vegetables. 


122  Sstoria 


The  next  thought  was  to  give  a  name  to  the 
embryo  metropolis :  the  one  that  naturally 
presented  itself  was  that  of  the  projector  and 
supporter  of  the  whole  enterprise.  It  was 
accordingly  named  ASTORIA. 

The  neighboring  Indians  now  swarmed 
about  the  place.  Some  brought  a  few  land- 
otter  and  sea-otter  skins  to  barter,  but  in 
very  scanty  parcels  ;  the  greater  number  came 
prying  about  to  gratify  their  curiosity,  for  they 
are  said  to  be  impertinently  inquisitive  ;  while 
not  a  few  came  with  no  other  design  than  to 
pilfer  ;  the  laws  of  meum  and  tuum  being  but 
slightly  respected  among  them.  Some  of  them 
beset  the  ship  in  their  canoes,  among  whom 
was  the  Chinook  chief  Comcomly,  and  his 
liege  subjects.  These  were  well  received  by  Mr. 
M'Dougal,  who  was  delighted  with  an  oppor- 
tunity of  entering  upon  his  functions,  and 
acquiring  importance  in  the  eyes  of  his  neigh- 
bors. The  confusion  thus  produced  on  board, 
and  the  derangement  of  the  cargo  caused  by 
this  petty  trade,  stirred  the  spleen  of  the  cap- 
tain, who  had  a  sovereign  contempt  for  the 
one-eyed  chieftain  and  all  his  crew.  He  com- 
plained loudly  of  having  his  ship  lumbered  by 
a  host  of  "  Indian  ragamuffins,"  who  had  not 
a  skin  to  dispose  of,  and  at  length  put  his  posi- 
tive interdict  upon  all  trafficking  on  board. 


Detention  of  tbe  "  ftonquin  "  123 

Upon  this  Mr.  M'Dougal  was  fain  to  land,  and 
establish  his  quarters  at  the  encampment, 
where  he  could  exercise  his  rights  and  enjoy 
his  dignities  without  control. 

The  feud,  however,  between  these  rival  pow- 
ers still  continued,  but  was  chiefly  carried  on 
by  letter.  Day  after  day  and  week  after  week 
elapsed,  yet  the  store-house  requisite  for  the 
reception  of  the  cargo  was  not  completed,  and 
the  ship  was  detained  in  port,  while  the  cap- 
tain was  teased  by  frequent  requisitions,  for 
various  articles  for  the  use  of  the  establishment, 
or  the  trade  with  the  natives.  An  angry  corre- 
spondence took  place,  in  which  he  complained 
bitterly  of  the  time  wasted  in  ' '  smoking  and 
sporting  parties,"  as  he  termed  the  reconnoi- 
tring expeditions,  and  in  clearing  and  prepar- 
ing meadow  ground  and  turnip  patches,  in- 
stead of  despatching  his  ship.  At  length  all 
these  jarring  matters  were  adjusted,  if  not  to 
the  satisfaction,  at  least  to  the  acquiescence 
of  all  parties.  The  part  of  the  cargo  destined 
for  the  use  of  Astoria  was  landed,  and  the  ship 
left  free  to  proceed  on  her  voyage. 

As  the  Tonquin  was  to  coast  to  the  north,  to 
trade  for  peltries  at  the  different  harbors,  and 
to  touch  at  Astoria  on  her  return  in  the  au- 
tumn, it  was  unanimously  determined  that  Mr. 
M'Kay  should  go  in  her  as  supercargo,  taking 


124  Bstoria 


with  him  Mr.  I,ewis  as  ship's  clerk.  On  the 
ist  of  June  the  ship  got  under  way,  and 
dropped  down  to  Baker's  Bay,  where  she  was 
detained  for  a  few  days  by  a  head  wind  ;  but 
early  in  the  morning  of  the  5th  stood  out  to 
sea  with  a  fine  breeze  and  swelling  canvas,  and 
swept  off  gaily  on  her  fatal  voyage,  from  which 
she  was  never  to  return  ! 

On  reviewing  the  conduct  of  Captain  Thorn, 
and  examining  his  peevish  and  somewhat 
whimsical  correspondence,  the  impression  left 
upon  our  mind  is,  upon  the  whole,  decidedly 
in  his  favor.  While  we  smile  at  the  simplicity 
of  his  heart  and  the  narrowness  of  his  views, 
which  made  him  regard  everything  out  of  the 
direct  path  of  his  daily  duty,  and  the  rigid 
exigencies  of  the  service,  as  trivial  and  imper- 
tinent, which  inspired  him  with  contempt  for 
the  swelling  vanity  of  some  of  his  coadjutors, 
and  the  literary  exercises  and  curious  re- 
searches of  others,  we  cannot  but  applaud  that 
strict  and  conscientious  devotion  to  the  inter- 
ests of  his  employer,  and  to  what  he  consid- 
ered the  true  objects  of  the  enterprise  in  which 
he  was  engaged.  He  certainly  was  to  blame 
occasionally  for  the  asperity  of  his  manners, 
and  the  arbitrary  nature  of  his  measures,  yet 
much  that  is  exceptionable  in  this  part  of  his 
conduct  may  be  traced  to  the  rigid  notions  of 


•Remarks  on  Captain  Gborn  125 

duty  acquired  in  that  tyrannical  school,  a  ship 
of  war,  and  to  the  construction  given  by  his 
companions  to  the  orders  of  Mr.  Astor,  so  little 
in  conformity  with  his  own.  His  mind,  too, 
appears  to  have  become  almost  diseased  by  the 
suspicions  he  had  formed  as  to  the  loyalty  of 
his  associates,  and  the  nature  of  their  ultimate 
designs  ;  yet  on  this  point  there  were  circum- 
stances to,  in  some  measure,  justify  him.  The 
relations  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  were  at  that  time  in  a  critical 
state  ;  in  fact,  the  two  countries  were  on  the 
eve  of  a  war.  Several  of  the  partners  were 
British  subjects,  and  might  be  ready  to  desert 
the  flag  under  which  they  acted,  should  a  war 
take  place.  Their  application  to  the  British 
minister  at  New  York  shows  the  dubious  feel- 
ing with  which  they  had  embarked  in  the  pres- 
ent enterprise.  They  had  been  in  the  employ 
of  the  Northwest  Company,  and  might  be  dis- 
posed to  rally  again  under  that  association, 
should  events  threaten  the  prosperity  of  this 
embryo  establishment  of  Mr.  Astor.  Besides, 
we  have  the  fact,  averred  to  us  by  one  of  the 
partners,  that  some  of  them,  who  were  young 
and  heedless,  took  mischievous  and  unwarrant- 
able pleasure  in  playing  upon  the  jealous  tem- 
per of  the  captain,  and  affecting  mysterious 
consultations  and  sinister  movements. 


126  Bstorta 


These  circumstances  are  cited  in  palliation 
of  the  doubts  and  surmises  of  Captain  Thorn, 
which  might  otherwise  appear  strange  and  un- 
reasonable. That  most  of  the  partners  were 
perfectly  upright  and  faithful  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  trust  reposed  in  them  we  are 
fully  satisfied  ;  still  the  honest  captain  was  not 
invariably  wrong  in  his  suspicions ;  and  that 
he  formed  a  pretty  just  opinion  of  the  integrity 
of  that  aspiring  personage,  Mr.  M'Dougal,  will 
be  substantially  proved  in  the  sequel. 


Cbapter  f . 

Disquieting  Rumors  from  the  Interior — Preparations 
for  a  Trading  Post — A  Spy  in  the  Camp — Expedi- 
tion into  the  Interior — Shores  of  the  Columbia — 
Mount  Coffin  —  Columbian  Valley  —  Vancouver's 
Point— The  Village  of  Wish-ram— Posts  Estab- 
lished at  the  Oakinagan. 

WHILE  the  Astorians  were  busily  oc- 
cupied in  completing  their  factory 
and  fort,  a  report  was  brought  to 
them  by  an  Indian  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  river,  that  a  party  of  thirty  white 
men  had  appeared  on  the  banks  of  the  Colum- 
bia, and  were  actually  building  houses  at  the 
second  rapids.     This  information  caused  much 
disquiet.      We  have  already  mentioned  that 
the  Northwest  Company  had  established  posts 
to  the  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  a  dis- 
trict called  by  them   New  Caledonia,   which 
extended   from   lat.   52°  to  55°   north,    being 
within   the   British   territories.      It  was  now 
127 


Bstoria 


apprehended  that  they  were  advancing  within 
the  American  limits,  and  were  endeavoring  to 
seize  upon  the  upper  part  of  the  river  and 
forestall  the  American  Fur  Company  in  the 
surrounding  trade  ;  in  which  case  bloody  feuds 
might  be  anticipated,  such  as  had  prevailed 
between  the  rival  fur  companies  in  former  da)^s. 

A  reconnoitring  party  was  sent  up  the  river 
to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  report.  They 
ascended  to  the  foot  of  the  first  rapid,  about 
two  hundred  miles,  but  could  hear  nothing  of 
any  white  men  being  in  the  neighborhood. 

Not  long  after  their  return,  however,  further 
accounts  were  received,  by  two  wandering 
Indians,  which  established  the  fact,  that  the 
Northwest  Company  had  actually  erected  a 
trading-house  on  the  Spokan  River,  which  falls 
into  the  north  branch  of  the  Columbia. 

What  rendered  this  intelligence  the  more 
disquieting,  was  the  inability  of  the  Astorians, 
in  their  present  reduced  state  as  to  numbers, 
and  the  exigencies  of  their  new  establishment, 
to  furnish  detachments  to  penetrate  the  country 
in  different  directions,  and  fix  the  posts  neces- 
sary to  secure  the  interior  trade. 

It  was  resolved,  however,  at  any  rate,  to 
advance  a  counter-check  to  this  post  on  the 
Spokan,  and  one  of  the  partners,  Mr.  David 
Stuart,  prepared  to  set  out  for  the  purpose  with 


Bn  TUneipectefc  Brrival  129 

eight  men  and  a  small  assortment  of  goods. 
He  was  to  be  guided  by  the  two  Indians,  who 
knew  the  country,  and  promised  to  take  him 
to  a  place  not  far  from  the  Spokan  River,  and 
in  a  neighborhood  abounding  with  beaver. 
Here  he  was  to  establish  himself  and  to  remain 
for  a  time,  provided  he  found  the  situation 
advantageous  and  the  natives  friendly. 

On  the  1 5th  of  July,  when  Mr.  Stuart  was 
nearly  ready  to  embark,  a  canoe  made  its 
appearance,  standing  for  the  harbor,  and 
manned  by  nine  white  men.  Much  speculation 
took  place  who  these  strangers  could  be, 
for  it  was  too  soon  to  expect  their  own  people, 
under  Mr.  Hunt,  who  were  to  cross  the  conti- 
nent. As  the  canoe  drew  near,  the  British 
standard  was  distinguished  :  on  coming  to 
land,  one  of  the  crew  stepped  on  shore,  and 
announced  himself  as  Mr.  David  Thompson, 
astronomer,  and  partner  of  the  Northwest 
Company.  According  to  his  account,  he  had 
set  out  in  the  preceding  year  with  a  tolerably 
strong  party,  and  a  supply  of  Indian  goods,  to 
cross  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  part  of  his 
people,  however,  had  deserted  him  on  the  east- 
ern side,  and  returned  with  the  goods  to  the 
nearest  Northwest  post.  He  had  persisted  in 
crossing  the  mountains  with  eight  men,  who 
had  remained  true  to  him.  They  had  traversed 

VOL.  I.  -Q 


Bstoria 


the  higher  regions,  and  ventured  near  the 
source  of  the  Columbia,  where,  in  the  spring, 
they  had  constructed  a  cedar  canoe,  the  same 
in  which  they  had  reached  Astoria. 

This,  in  fact,  was  the  party  despatched  by  the 
Northwest  Company  to  anticipate  Mr.  Astor 
in  his  intention  of  effecting  a  settlement  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River.  It  appears 
from  information  subsequently  derived  from 
other  sources,  that  Mr.  Thompson  had  pushed 
on  his  course  with  great  haste,  calling  at  all 
the  Indian  villages  in  his  march,  presenting 
them  with  British  flags,  and  even  planting 
them  at  the  forks  of  the  rivers,  proclaiming 
formally  that  he  took  possession  of  the  country 
in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  for 
the  Northwest  Company.  As  his  original  plan 
was  defeated  by  the  desertion  of  his  people,  it 
is  probable  that  he  descended  the  river  simply 
to  reconnoitre,  and  ascertain  whether  an  Ameri- 
can settlement  had  been  commenced. 

Mr.  Thompson  was,  no  doubt,  the  first  white 
man  who  descended  the  northern  branch  of 
the  Columbia  from  so  near  its  source.  Lewis 
and  Clarke  struck  the  main  body  of  the  river 
at  the  forks,  about  four  hundred  miles  from  its 
mouth.  They  entered  it  from  Lewis  River,  its 
southern  branch,  and  thence  descended. 

Though  Mr.  Thompson  could  be  considered 


to  tbe  flnterfor  131 


as  little  better  than  a  spy  in  the  camp,  he  was 
received  with  great  cordiality  by  Mr.  M'Dou- 
gal,  who  had  a  lurking  feeling  of  companion- 
ship and  good-  will  for  all  of  the  Northwest 
Company.  He  invited  him  to  headquarters, 
where  he  and  his  people  were  hospitably  enter- 
tained. Nay,  further,  being  somewhat  in 
extremity,  he  was  furnished  by  Mr.  M'Dougal 
with  goods  and  provisions  for  his  journey  back, 
across  the  mountains,  much  against  the  wishes 
of  Mr.  David  Stuart,  who  did  not  think  the 
object  of  his  visit  entitled  him  to  any  favor. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  Mr.  Stuart  set  out  upon 
his  expedition  to  the  interior.  His  party  con- 
sisted of  four  of  the  clerks,  Messrs.  Fillet,  Ross, 
M'L,ennon,  and  Montigny,  two  Canadian 
voyageurs,  and  two  natives  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  They  had  three  canoes  well  laden 
with  provisions,  and  with  goods  and  necessa- 
ries for  a  trading  establishment. 

Mr.  Thompson  and  his  party  set  out  in  com- 
pany with  them,  it  being  his  intention  to  pro- 
ceed direct  to  Montreal.  The  partners  at  Astoria 
forwarded  by  him  a  short  letter  to  Mr.  Astor 
informing  him  of  their  safe  arrival  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  that  they  had  not 
yet  heard  of  Mr.  Hunt.  The  little  squadron 
of  canoes  set  sail  with  a  favorable  breeze,  and 
soon  passed  Tongue  Point,  a  long,  high,  and 


132  Betoria 


rocky  promontory,  covered  with  trees,  and 
stretching  far  into  the  river.  Opposite  to  this, 
on  the  northern  shore,  is  a  deep  bay,  where 
the  Columbia  anchored  at  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery, and  which  is  still  called  Gray's  Bay, 
from  the  name  of  her  commander. 

From  hence,  the  general  course  of  the  river 
for  about  seventy  miles,  was  nearly  southeast ; 
varying  in  breadth  according  to  its  bays  and 
indentations,  and  navigable  for  vessels  of  three 
hundred  tons.  The  shores  were  in  some  places 
high  and  rocky,  with  low  marshy  islands  at 
their  feet,  subject  to  inundation,  and  covered 
with  willows,  poplars,  and  other  trees  that 
love  an  alluvial  soil.  Sometimes  the  moun- 
tains receded,  and  gave  place  to  beautiful 
plains  and  noble  forests.  While  the  river 
margin  was  richly  fringed  with  trees  of  decid- 
uous foliage,  the  rough  uplands  were  crowned 
by  majestic  pines,  and  firs  of  gigantic  size, 
.some  towering  to  the  height  of  between  two 
and  three  hundred  feet,  with  proportionate 
circumference.  Out  of  these  the  Indians 
wrought  their  great  canoes  and  pirogues. 

At  one  part  of  the  river,  they  passed,  on  the 
northern  side,  an  isolated  rock,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high  rising  from  a  low 
marshy  soil,  and  totally  disconnected  with  the 
adjacent  mountains.  This  was  held  in  great 


Indian  Sepulture  133 


reverence  by  the  neighboring  Indians,  being 
one  of  their  principal  places  of  sepulture.  The 
same  provident  care  for  the  deceased  that  pre- 
vails among  the  hunting  tribes  of  the  prairies 
is  observable  among  the  piscatory  tribes  of  the 
rivers  and  sea-coast.  Among  the  former,  the 
favorite  horse  of  the  hunter  is  buried  with  him 
in  the  same  funeral  mound,  and  his  bow  and 
arrows  are  laid  by  his  side,  that  he  may  be 
perfectly  equipped  for  the  "happy  hunting 
grounds '  *  of  the  land  of  spirits.  Among  the 
latter,  the  Indian  is  wrapped  in  his  mantle  of 
skins,  laid  in  his  canoe,  with  his  paddle,  his 
fishing  spear,  and  other  implements  beside 
him,  and  placed  aloft  on  some  rock  or  other 
eminence  overlooking  the  river,  or  bay,  or 
lake,  that  he  has  frequented.  He  is  thus  fitted 
out  to  launch  away  upon  those  placid  streams 
and  sunny  lakes  stocked  with  all  kinds  of 
fish  and  water- fowl,  which  are  prepared  in 
the  next  world  for  those  who  have  acquitted 
themselves  as  good  sons,  good  fathers,  good 
husbands,  and,  above  all,  good  fishermen,  dur- 
ing their  mortal  sojourn. 

The  isolated  rock  in  question  presented  a 
spectacle  of  the  kind,  numerous  dead  bodies 
being  deposited  in  canoes  on  its  summit ;  while 
on  poles  around  were  trophies,  or,  rather, 
funeral  offerings  of  trinkets,  garments,  baskets 


134  Bstorfa 


of  roots,  and  other  articles  for  the  use  of  the 
deceased.  A  reverential  feeling  protects  these 
sacred  spots  from  robbery  or  insult.  The 
friends  of  the  deceased,  especially  the  women, 
repair  here  at  sunrise  and  sunset  for  some  time 
after  his  death,  singing  his  funeral  dirge,  and 
uttering  loud  wailings  and  lamentations. 

From  the  number  of  dead  bodies  in  canoes 
observed  upon  this  rock  by  the  first  explorers 
of  the  river,  it  received  the  name  of  Mount 
Coffin,  which  it  continues  to  bear. 

Beyond  this  rock  they  passed  the  mouth  of  a 
river  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Columbia,  which 
appeared  to  take  its  rise  in  a  distant  mountain 
covered  with  snow.  The  Indian  name  of  this 
river  was  the  Cowleskee.  Some  miles  farther 
on  they  came  to  the  great  Columbian  Valley, 
so  called  by  Lewis  and  Clarke.  It  is  sixty 
miles  in  width,  and  extends  far  to  the  southeast 
between  parallel  ridges  of  mountains,  which 
bound  it  on  the  east  and  west.  Through  the 
centre  of  this  valley  flowed  a  large  and  beauti- 
ful stream,  called  the  Wallamot,*  which  came 
wandering  for  several  hundred  miles,  through 
a  yet  unexplored  wilderness.  The  sheltered 
situation  of  this  immense  valley  had  an  obvious 
effect  upon  the  climate.  It  was  a  region  of 

*  Pronounced  Wallamot,  accent  being  upon  the 
second  syllable. 


Sbores  ot  tbe  Columbia  135 

great  beauty  and  luxuriance,  with  lakes  and 
pools,  and  green  meadows  shaded  by  noble 
groves.  Various  tribes  were  said  to  reside  in 
this  valley,  and  along  the  banks  of  the  Walla- 
mot. 

About  eight  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Wallamot  the  little  squadron  arrived  at  Van- 
couver's Point,  so  called  in  honor  of  that 
celebrated  voyager  by  his  lieutenant  (Brough- 
ton)  when  he  explored  the  river.  This  point 
is  said  to  present  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
scenes  on  the  Columbia ;  a  lovely  meadow, 
with  a  silver  sheet  of  limpid  water  in  the  centre 
enlivened  by  wild-fowl,  a  range  of  bills 
crowned  by  forests,  while  the  prospect  is  closed 
by  Mount  Hood,  a  magnificent  mountain  rising 
into  a  lofty  peak,  and  covered  with  snow  ;  the 
ultimate  landmarks  of  the  first  explorers  of 
the  river. 

Point  Vancouver  is  about  one  hundred  miles 
from  Astoria.  Here  the  reflux  of  the  tide 
ceases  to  be  perceptible.  To  this  place  vessels 
of  two  and  three  hundred  tons  burden  may 
ascend.  The  party  under  the  command  of 
Mr.  Stuart  had  been  three  or  four  days  in 
reaching  it,  though  we  have  forborne  to  notice 
their  daily  progress  and  nightly  encampments. 

From  Point  Vancouver  the  river  turned  tow- 
ards the  northeast,  and  became  more  contracted 


136  Betoria 


and  rapid,  with  occasional  islands  and  frequent 
sand-banks.  These  islands  are  furnished  with 
a  number  of  ponds,  and  at  certain  seasons 
abound  with  swans,  geese,  brandts,  cranes, 
gulls,  plover,  and  other  wild-fowl.  The  shores, 
too,  are  low  and  closely  wooded,  and  such  an 
undergrowth  of  vines  and  rushes  as  to  be 
almost  impassable. 

About  thirty  miles  above  Point  Vancouver 
the  mountains  again  approach  on  both  sides  of 
the  river,  which  is  bordered  by  stupendous 
precipices,  covered  with  the  fir  and  the  white  ce- 
dar, and  enlivened  occasionally  by  beautiful  cas- 
cades leaping  from  a  great  height,  and  sending 
up  wreaths  of  vapor.  One  of  these  precipices,  or 
cliffs,  is  curiously  worn  by  time  and  weather 
so  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  a  ruined  for- 
tress, with  towers  and  battlements  beetling 
high  above  the  river,  while  two  small  cascades, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  pitch 
down  from  the  fissures  of  the  rocks. 

The  turbulence  and  rapidity  of  the  current 
continually  augmenting  as  they  advanced,  gave 
the  voyagers  intimation  that  they  were  ap- 
proaching the  great  obstructions  of  the  river, 
and  at  length  they  arrived  at  Strawberry  Isl- 
and, so  called  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  which  lies 
at  the  foot  of  the  first  rapid.  As  this  part  of 
the  Columbia  will  be  repeatedly  mentioned  in 


Jf  alls  and  TRapiDs  137 


the  course  of  this  work,  being  the  scene  of 
some  of  its  incidents,  we  shall  give  a  general 
description  of  it  in  this  place. 

The  falls  or  rapids  of  the  Columbia  are  situ- 
ated above  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  first  is  a  perpen- 
dicular cascade  of  twenty  feet,  after  which 
there  is  a  swift  descent  for  a  mile,  between 
islands  of  hard  black  rock,  to  another  pitch  of 
eight  feet  divided  by  two  rocks.  About  two 
and  a  half  miles  below  this  river  expands  into 
a  wide  basin,  seemingly  dammed  up  by  a 
perpendicular  ridge  of  black  rock.  A  current, 
however,  sets  diagonally  to  the  left  of  this 
rocky  barrier,  where  there  is  a  chasm  forty- five 
yards  in  width.  Through  this  the  whole  body 
of  the  river  roars  along,  swelling  and  whirl- 
ing and  boiling  for  some  distance  in  the 
wildest  confusion.  Through  this  tremendous 
channel  the  intrepid  explorers  of  the  river, 
I/ewis  and  Clarke,  passed  safely  in  their 
boats  ;  the  danger  being,  not  from  the  rocks, 
but  from  the  great  surges  and  whirlpools. 

At  the  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
foot  of  this  narrow  channel  is  a  rapid,  formed 
by  two  rocky  islands  ;  and  two  miles  beyond  is 
a  second  great  fall,  over  a  ledge  of  rocks  twenty 
feet  high,  extending  nearly  from  shore  to  shore. 
The  river  is  again  compressed  into  a  channel 


138  Bstorta 


from  fifty  to  a  hundred  feet  wide,  worn  through 
a  rough  bed  of  hard  black  rock,  along  which 
it  boils  and  roars  with  great  fury  for  the  dis- 
tance of  three  miles.  This  is  called  "  The 
L,ong  Narrows." 

Here  is  the  great  fishing  place  of  the  Colum- 
bia. In  the  spring  of  the  year,  when  the  water 
is  high,  the  salmon  ascend  the  river  in  incredi- 
ble numbers.  As  they  pass  through  this  nar- 
row strait,  the  Indians,  standing  on  the  rocks, 
or  on  the  end  of  wooden  stages  projecting  from 
the  banks,  scoop  them  up  with  small  nets  dis- 
tended on  hoops  and  attached  to  long  handles, 
and  cast  them  on  the  shore. 

They  are  then  cured  and  packed  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner.  After  having  been  opened  and 
disembowelled,  they  are  exposed  to  the  sun  on 
scaffolds  erected  on  the  river  banks.  When 
sufficiently  dry,  they  are  pounded  fine  between 
two  stones,  pressed  into  the  smallest  compass, 
and  packed  in  baskets  or  bales  of  grass  mat- 
ting, about  two  feet  long  and  one  in  diameter, 
lined  with  the  cured  skin  of  a  salmon.  The 
top  is  likewise  covered  with  fish  and  skins, 
secured  by  cords  passing  through  holes  in 
the  edge  of  the  basket.  Packages  are  then 
made,  each  containing  twelve  of  these  bales, 
seven  at  bottom,  five  at  top,  pressed  close  to 
each  other,  with  the  corded  side  upward, 


B  <5reat  Gracing  dfcart  139 

wrapped  in  mats  and  corded.  These  are 
placed  in  dry  situations,  and  again  covered 
with  matting.  Kach  of  these  packages  con- 
tains from  ninety  to  a  hundred  pounds  of  dried 
fish,  which  in  this  state  will  keep  sound  for 
several  years.* 

We  have  given  this  process  at  some  length, 
as  furnished  by  the  first  explorers,  because  it 
marks  a  practised  ingenuity  in  preparing  arti- 
cles of  traffic  for  a  market,  seldom  seem  among 
our  aboriginals.  For  like  reason  we  would 
make  especial  mention  of  the  village  of  Wish- 
ram,  at  the  head  of  the  Long  Narrows,  as  be- 
ing a  solitary  instance  of  an  aboriginal  trading 
mart,  or  emporium.  Here  the  salmon  caught 
in  the  neighboring  rapids  were  "  warehoused," 
to  await  customers.  Hither  the  tribes  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  repaired  with  the 
fish  of  the  sea-coast,  the  roots,  berries,  and  es- 
pecially the  wappatoo,  gathered  in  the  lower 
parts  of  the  river,  together  with  goods  and 
trinkets  obtained  from  the  ships  which  casually 
visit  the  coast.  Hither  also  the  tribes  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains  brought  down  horses, 
beargrass,  quamash,  and  other  commodities  of 
the  interior.  The  merchant  fishermen  at  the 
falls  acted  as  middlemen  or  factors,  and  passed 
the  objects  of  traffic,  as  it  were,  cross-handed  ; 
*  Lewis  and  Clarke,  vol.  ii.,  p.  32. 


140  Sstorfa 


trading  away  part  of  the  wares  received  from 
the  mountain  tribes  to  those  of  the  rivers  and 
plains,  and  vice  versa.  Their  packages  of  pound- 
ed salmon  entered  largely  into  the  system  of 
barter,  and  being  carried  off  in  opposite 
directions,  found  their  way  to  the  savage 
hunting  camps  far  in  the  interior,  and  to  the 
casual  white  traders  who  touched  upon  the 
coast. 

We  have  already  noticed  certain  contrarie- 
ties of  character  between  the  Indian  tribes, 
produced  by  their  diet  and  mode  of  life ;  and 
nowhere  are  they  more  apparent  than  about 
the  falls  of  the  Columbia.  The  Indians  of  this 
great  fishing  mart  are  represented  by  the  ear- 
liest explorers  as  sleeker  and  fatter,  but  less 
hardy  and  active,  than  the  tribes  of  the  moun- 
tains and  prairies,  who  live  by  hunting,  or  of 
the  upper  parts  of  the  river,  where  fish  is 
scanty,  and  the  inhabitants  must  eke  out  their 
subsistence  by  digging  roots  or  chasing  the 
deer.  Indeed,  whenever  an  Indian  of  the 
upper  country  is  too  lazy  to  hunt,  yet  is  fond 
of  good  living,  he  repairs  to  the  falls,  to  live 
in  abundance  without  labor. 

' '  By  such  worthless  dogs  as  these, ' '  says  an 
honest  trader  in  his  journal,  which  now  lies 
before  us,  "  by  such  worthless  dogs  as  these  are 
these  noted  fishing-places  peopled,  which,  like 


Effects  of  Grade  on  tbc  UnDians         141 

our  great  cities,  may  with  propriety  be  called 
the  headquarters  of  vitiated  principles." 

The  habits  of  trade  and  the  avidity  of  gain 
have  their  corrupting  effects  even  in  the  wilder- 
ness, as  may  be  instanced  in  the  members  of 
this  aboriginal  emporium  ;  for  the  same  journal- 
ist denounces  them  as  "saucy,  impudent  ras- 
cals, who  will  steal  when  they  can,  and  pillage 
whenever  a  weak  party  falls  in  their  power." 

That  he  does  not  belie  them  will  be  evidenced 
hereafter,  when  we  have  occasion  again  to 
touch  at  Wish-ram  and  navigate  the  rapids. 
In  the  present  instance  the  travellers  effected 
the  laborious  ascent  of  this  part  of  the  river, 
with  all  its  various  portages,  without  molesta- 
tion, and  once  more  launched  away  in  smooth 
water  above  the  high  falls. 

The  two  parties  continued  together,  without 
material  impediment,  for  three  or  four  hundred 
miles  farther  up  the  Columbia  ;  Mr.  Thompson 
appearing  to  take  great  interest  in  the  success 
of  Mr.  Stuart,  and  pointing  out  places  favor- 
able, as  he  said,  to  the  establishment  of  his 
contemplated  trading  post. 

Mr.  Stuart,  who  distrusted  his  sincerity,  at 
length  pretended  to  adopt  his  advice,  and,  tak- 
ing leave  of  him,  remained  as  if  to  establish 
himself,  while  the  other  proceeded  on  his  course 
towards  the  mountains.  No  sooner,  however, 


142  Bstoria 


had  he  fairly  departed  than  Mr.  Stuart  again 
pushed  forward,  under  guidance  of  the  two 
Indians ;  nor  did  he  stop  until  he  had  arrived 
within  about  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  of  the 
Spokan  River,  which  he  considered  near  enough 
to  keep  the  rival  establishment  in  check. 

The  place  which  he  pitched  upon  for  his 
trading  post  was  a  point  of  land  about  three 
miles  in  length  and  two  in  breadth,  formed  by 
the  junction  of  the  Oakinagan  with  the  Co- 
lumbia. The  former  is  a  river  which  has  its 
source  in  a  considerable  lake  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  west  of  the  point  of  junc- 
tion. The  two  rivers,  about  the  place  of  their 
confluence,  are  bordered  by  immense  prairies 
covered  with  herbage,  but  destitute  of  trees. 
The  point  itself  was  ornamented  with  wild 
flowers  of  every  hue,  in  which  innumerable 
humming-birds  were  ' '  banqueting  nearly  the 
livelong  day." 

The  situation  of  this  point  appeared  to  be 
well  adapted  for  a  trading  post.  The  climate 
was  salubrious,  the  soil  fertile,  the  rivers  well 
stocked  with  fish,  the  natives  peaceable  and 
friendly.  There  were  easy  communications 
with  the  interior  by  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Columbia  and  the  lateral  streams  of  the  Oak- 
inagan, while  the  downward  current  of  the 
Columbia  furnished  a  highway  to  Astoria. 


ii   Mr.  Stuart  again 
rti'.i*5'  i-he   two 

•i  op  until  he  had  arrived 
forty  miles  of  the 
;  dered  near  enough 
tablishment  in  check, 
-lace  which  he  pitched  upon  for  his 
point  of  land  about  three 
two  in  breadth,  formed  by 
the  Oakinagan  with  the  Co- 
lic former  is  a  river  which  has  its 

First  Interior  Trading-Post  of  the  Expedition 

Based  on  a  sketch  taken  for  a  government  survey 

•MVflMtt  prairies 

trees. 

wild 


The  situa  appeared  to  be 

well  adapted  -'ting  post.     The  climate 

was  salu  fertile,  the  rivers  well 

stocked  natives  peaceable  and 

friendly.  There  were  easy  communications 
with  the  interior  by  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Columbia  and  the  lateral  streams  of  the  Oak- 
inagan, while  the  downward  current  of  the 
'nbia  furnished  a  highway  to  Astoria. 


; 


{post  B0tablisbeD 


143 


Availing  himself,  therefore,  of  the  driftwood 
which  had  collected  in  quantities  in  the  neigh- 
boring bends  of  the  river,  Mr.  Stuart  and  his 
men  set  to  work  to  erect  a  house,  which  in  a 
little  while  was  sufficiently  completed  for  their 
residence ;  and  thus  was  established  the  first 
interior  post  of  the  company.  We  will  now 
return  to  notice  the  progress  of  affairs  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia. 


Gbapter  f  f . 

Alarm  at  Astoria — Rumor  of  Indian  Hostilities — Prep- 
arations for  Defence — Tragical  Fate  of  the  Tonquin. 

THE  sailing  of  the  Tonquin,  and  the  de- 
parture of  Mr.  David  Stuart  and  his 
detachment,  had  produced  a  striking 
effect  on  affairs  at  Astoria.     The  na- 
tives who  had  swarmed  about  the  place  began 
immediately  to  drop  off,  until  at  length  not  an 
Indian  was  to  be  seen.     This,  at  first,  was  at- 
tributed to  the  want  of  peltries  with  which  to 
trade ;  but  in  a  little  while  the  mystery  was 
explained  in  a  more  alarming  manner.     A  con- 
spiracy was  said  to  be  on  foot  among  the  neigh- 
boring tribes  to  make  a  combined  attack  upon 
the  white  men,  now  that  they  were  so  reduced 
in  number.     For  this  purpose  there  had  been  a 
gathering  of  warriors  in  a  neighboring  bay, 
under  pretext  of  fishing  for  sturgeon  ;  and  fleets 
of  canoes  were  expected  to  join  them  from  the 
north  and  south.     Even  Comcomly,  the  one 
144 


Blarming  "Rumors  145 


eyed  chief,  notwithstanding  his  professed 
friendship  for  Mr.  M'Dougal,  was  strongly 
suspected  of  being  concerned  in  this  general 
combination. 

Alarmed  at  rumors  of  this  impending  dan- 
ger, the  Astorians  suspended  their  regular 
labor,  and  set  to  work,  with  all  haste,  to  throw 
up  temporary  works  for  refuge  and  defence. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  days  they  surrounded 
their  dwelling-house  and  magazines  with  a 
picket-fence  ninety  feet  square,  flanked  by  two 
bastions,  on  which  were  mounted  four  four- 
pounders.  Every  day  they  exercised  them- 
selves in  the  use  of  their  weapons,  so  as  to 
qualify  themselves  for  military  duty,  and  at 
night  ensconced  themselves  in  their  fortress 
and  posted  sentinels,  to  guard  against  surprise. 
In  this  way  they  hoped,  even  in  case  of  attack, 
to  be  able  to  hold  out  until  the  arrival  of  the 
party  to  be  conducted  by  Mr.  Hunt  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  or  until  the  return  of  the 
Tonquin .  The  latter  dependence,  however, 
was  doomed  soon  to  be  destroyed.  Karly  in 
August,  a  wandering  band  of  savages  from  the 
Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  made  their  appearance 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  they 
came  to  fish  for  sturgeon.  They  brought  dis- 
astrous accounts  of  the  Tonquin,  which  were 
at  first  treated  as  mere  fables,  but  which  were 


146  Batorfa 


too  sadly  confirmed  by  a  different  tribe  that 
arrived  a  few  days  subsequently.  We  shall 
relate  the  circumstances  of  this  melancholy 
affair  as  correctly  as  the  casual  discrepancies 
in  the  statements  that  have  reached  us  will 
permit. 

We  have  already  stated  that  the  Tonquin  set 
sail  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  the  fifth  of 
June.  The  whole  number  of  persons  on  board 
amounted  to  twenty-three.  In  one  of  the  outer 
bays  they  picked  up,  from  a  fishing  canoe,  an 
Indian  named  Lamazee,  who  had  already  made 
two  voyages  along  the  coast,  and  knew  some- 
thing of  the  languages  of  the  various  tribes. 
He  agreed  to  accompany  them  as  interpreter. 

Steering  to  the  north,  Captain  Thorn  ar- 
rived in  a  few  days  at  Vancouver's  Island,  and 
anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Neweetee,  very  much 
against  the  advice  of  his  Indian  interpreter, 
who  warned  him  against  the  perfidious  char- 
acter of  the  natives  of  this  part  of  the  coast. 
Numbers  of  canoes  soon  came  off,  bringing 
sea-otter  skins  to  sell.  It  was  too  late  in  the 
day  to  commence  a  traffic,  but  Mr.  M'Kay, 
accompanied  by  a  few  of  the  men,  went  on 
shore  to  a  large  village  to  visit  Wicananish, 
the  chief  of  the  surrounding  territory,  six  of 
the  natives  remaining  on  board  as  hostages. 
He  was  received  with  great  professions  of 


an&  fluffing  147 


friendship,  entertained  hospitably,  and  a  couch 
of  sea-otter  skins  was  prepared  for  him  in  the 
dwelling  of  the  chieftain,  where  he  was  pre- 
vailed upon  to  pass  the  night. 

In  the  morning,  before  Mr.  M'Kay  had  re- 
turned to  the  ship,  great  numbers  of  the  na- 
tives came  off  in  their  canoes  to  trade,  headed 
by  two  sons  of  Wicananish.  As  they  brought 
abundance  of  sea-otter  skins,  and  there  was 
every  appearance  of  a  brisk  trade,  Captain 
Thorn  did  not  wait  for  the  return  of  Mr. 
M'Kay,  but  spread  his  wares  upon  deck,  mak- 
ing a  tempting  display  of  blankets,  cloths, 
knives,  beads,  and  fish-hooks,  expecting  a 
prompt  and  profitable  sale.  The  Indians, 
however,  were  not  so  eager  and  simple  as  he 
had  supposed,  having  learned  the  art  of  bar- 
gaining and  the  value  of  merchandise  from  the 
casual  traders  along  the  coast.  They  were 
guided,  too,  by  a  shrewd  old  chief  named 
Nookamis,  who  had  grown  gray  in  traffic  with 
New  England  skippers,  and  prided  himself 
upon  his  acuteness.  His  opinion  seemed  to 
regulate  the  market.  When  Captain  Thorn 
made  what  he  considered  a  liberal  offer  for  an 
otter-skin,  the  wily  old  Indian  treated  it  with 
scorn,  and  asked  more  than  double.  His  com- 
rades all  took  their  cue  from  him,  and  not  an 
otter-skin  was  to  be  had  at  a  reasonable  rate. 


Bstoria 


The  old  fellow,  however,  overshot  his  mark, 
and  mistook  the  character  of  the  man  he  was 
treating  with.  Thorn  was  a  plain,  straightfor- 
ward sailor,  who  never  had  two  minds  nor  two 
prices  in  his  dealings,  was  deficient  in  patience 
and  pliancy,  and  totally  wanting  in  the  chican- 
ery of  traffic.  He  had  a  vast  deal  of  stern  but 
honest  pride  in  his  nature,  and,  moreover,  held 
the  whole  savage  race  in  sovereign  contempt. 
Abandoning  all  further  attempts,  therefore,  to 
bargain  with  his  shuffling  customers,  he  thrust 
his  hands  into  his  pockets,  and  paced  up  and 
down  the  deck  in  sullen  silence.  The  cunning 
old  Indian  followed  him  to  and  fro,  holding 
out  a  sea-otter  skin  to  him  at  every  turn,  and 
pestering  him  to  trade.  Finding  other  means 
unavailing,  he  suddenly  changed  his  tone,  and 
began  to  jeer  and  banter  him  upon  the  mean 
prices  he  offered.  This  was  too  much  for  the 
patience  of  the  captain,  who  was  never  remark- 
able for  relishing  a  joke,  especially  when  at  his 
own  expense.  Turning  suddenly  upon  his 
persecutor,  he  snatched  the  proffered  otter-skin 
from  his  hands,  rubbed  it  in  his  face,  and  dis- 
missed him  over  the  side  of  the  ship  with  no 
very  complimentary  application  to  accelerate 
his  exit.  He  then  kicked  the  peltries  to  the 
right  and  left  about  the  deck,  and  broke  up 
the  market  in  the  most  ignominious  manner. 


B  DeaDlg  flnsult  149 


Old  Nookamis  made  for  shore  in  a  furious 
passion,  in  which  he  was  joined  by  Shewish, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Wicananish,  who  went  off 
breathing  vengeance,  and  the  ship  was  soon 
abandoned  by  the  natives. 

When  Mr.  M'Kay  returned  on  board,  the 
interpreter  related  what  had  passed,  and  begged 
him  to  prevail  upon  the  captain  to  make  sail, 
as  from  his  knowledge  of  the  temper  and  pride 
of  the  people  of  the  place,  he  was  sure  they 
would  resent  the  indignity  offered  to  one  of 
their  chiefs.  Mr.  M'Kay,  who  himself  pos- 
sessed some  experience  of  Indian  character, 
went  to  the  captain,  who  was  still  pacing  the 
deck  in  moody  humor,  represented  the  danger 
to  which  his  hasty  act  had  exposed  the  vessel, 
and  urged  him  to  weigh  anchor.  The  captain 
made  light  of  his  counsels,  and  pointed  to  his 
cannon  and  fire-arms  as  sufficient  safeguard 
against  naked  savages.  Further  remonstrances 
only  provoked  taunting  replies  and  sharp  alter- 
cations. The  day  passed  away  without  any 
signs  of  hostility,  and  at  night  the  captain  re- 
tired as  usual  to  his  cabin,  taking  no  more 
than  the  usual  precautions. 

On  the  following  morning,  at  daybreak, 
while  the  captain  and  Mr.  M'Kay  were  yet 
asleep,  a  canoe  came  alongside  in  which  were 
twenty  Indians,  commanded  by  young  Shew- 


Bstorta 


ish.  They  were  unarmed,  their  aspect  and 
demeanor  friendly,  and  they  held  up  otter- 
skins,  and  made  signs  indicative  of  a  wish  to 
trade.  The  caution  enjoined  by  Mr.  Astor,  in 
respect  to  the  admission  of  Indians  on  board 
of  the  ship,  had  been  neglected  for  some  time 
past,  and  the  officer  of  the  watch,  perceiving 
those  in  the  canoe  to  be  without  weapons,  and 
having  received  no  orders  to  the  contrary, 
readily  permitted  them  to  mount  the  deck. 
Another  canoe  soon  succeeded,  the  crew  of 
which  was  likewise  admitted.  In  a  little  while 
other  canoes  came  off,  and  Indians  were  soon 
clambering  into  the  vessel  on  all  sides. 

The  officer  of  the  watch  now  felt  alarmed, 
and  called  to  Captain  Thorn  and  Mr.  M'Kay. 
By  the  time  they  came  on  deck,  it  was 
thronged  with  Indians.  The  interpreter  no- 
ticed to  Mr.  M'Kay  that  many  of  the  natives 
wore  short  mantles  of  skins,  and  intimated  a 
suspicion  that  they  were  secretly  armed.  Mr. 
M'Kay  urged  the  captain  to  clear  the  ship  and 
get  under  way.  He  again  made  light  of  the 
advice  ;  but  the  augmented  swarm  of  canoes 
about  the  ship,  and  the  numbers  still  putting 
off  from  shore,  at  length  awakened  his  dis- 
trust, and  he  ordered  some  of  the  crew  to 
weigh  anchor,  while  some  were  sent  aloft  to 
make  sail. 


Massacre  of  tbe  Crew  151 


The  Indians  now  offered  to  trade  with  the 
captain  on  his  own  terms,  prompted,  appar- 
ently, by  the  approaching  departure  of  the 
ship.  Accordingly,  a  hurried  trade  was  com- 
menced. The  main  articles  sought  by  the 
savages  in  barter  were  knives  ;  as  fast  as  some 
were  supplied  they  moved  off,  and  others  suc- 
ceeded. By  degrees  they  were  thus  distributed 
about  the  deck,  and  all  with  weapons. 

The  anchor  was  now  nearly  up,  the  sails 
were  loose,  and  the  captain,  in  a  loud  and  per- 
emptory tone,  ordered  the  ship  to  be  cleared. 
In  an  instant,  a  signal  yell  was  given  ;  it  was 
echoed  on  every  side,  knives  and  war-clubs 
were  brandished  in  every  direction,  and  the 
savages  rushed  upon  their  marked  victims. 

The  first  that  fell  was  Mr.  L,ewis,  the  ship's 
clerk.  He  was  leaning,  with  folded  arms,  over 
a  bale  of  blankets,  engaged  in  bargaining, 
when  he  received  a  deadly  stab  in  the  back, 
and  fell  down  the  companion-way. 

Mr.  M'Kay,  who  was  seated  on  the  taffrail, 
sprang  on  his  feet,  but  was  instantly  knocked 
down  with  a  war-club  and  flung  backwards 
into  the  sea,  where  he  was  despatched  by  the 
women  in  the  canoes. 

In  the  meantime  Captain  Thorn  made  des- 
perate fight  against  fearful  odds.  He  was  a 
powerful  as  well  as  a  resolute  man,  but  he  had 


Bstoria 


come  upon  deck  without  weapons.  Shewish, 
the  young  chief,  singled  him  out  as  his  peculiar 
prey,  and  rushed  upon  him  at  the  first  out- 
break. The  captain  had  barely  time  to  draw 
a  clasp-knife,  with  one  blow  of  which  he  laid 
the  young  savage  dead  at  his  feet.  Several  of 
the  stoutest  followers  of  Shewish  now  set  upon 
him.  He  defended  himself  vigorously,  dealing 
crippling  blows  to  right  and  left,  and  strewing 
the  quarter-deck  with  the  slain  and  wounded. 
His  object  was  to  fight  his  way  to  the  cabin, 
where  there  were  fire-arms  ;  but  he  was  hemmed 
in  with  foes,  covered  with  wounds,  and  faint 
with  loss  of  blood.  For  an  instant  he  leaned 
upon  the  tiller  wheel,  when  a  blow  from  be- 
hind, with  a  war-club,  felled  him  to  the  deck, 
where  he  was  despatched  with  knives  and 
thrown  overboard. 

While  this  was  transacting  upon  the  quarter- 
deck, a  chance-medley  fight  was  going  on 
throughout  the  ship.  The  crew  fought  des- 
perately with  knives,  handspikes,  and  what- 
ever weapon  they  could  seize  upon  in  the  mo- 
ment of  surprise.  They  were  soon,  however, 
overpowered  by  numbers,  and  mercilessly 
butchered. 

As  to  the  seven  who  had  been  sent  aloft  to 
make  sail,  they  contemplated  with  horror  the 
carnage  that  was  going  on  below.  Being  des- 


Survivors  of  tbe  Conflict  153 

titute  of  weapons,  they  let  themselves  down 
by  the  running  rigging,  in  hopes  of  getting 
between  decks.  One  fell  in  the  attempt,  and 
was  instantly  despatched  ;  another  received  a 
death-blow  in  the  back  as  he  was  descending  ; 
a  third,  Stephen  Weekes,  the  armorer,  was 
mortally  wounded  as  he  was  getting  down  the 
hatchway. 

The  remaining  four  made  good  their  retreat 
into  the  cabin,  where  they  found  Mr.  I^ewis, 
still  alive,  though  mortally  wounded.  Barri- 
cading the  cabin  door,  they  broke  holes  through 
the  companion-way,  and,  with  the  muskets 
and  ammunition  which  were  at  hand,  opened 
a  brisk  fire  that  soon  cleared  the  deck. 

Thus  far  the  Indian  interpreter,  from  whom 
these  particulars  are  derived,  had  been  an  eye- 
witness to  the  deadly  conflict.  He  had  taken 
no  part  in  it,  and  had  been  spared  by  the  na- 
tives as  being  of  their  race.  In  the  confusion 
of  the  moment  he  took  refuge  with  the  rest,  in 
the  canoes.  The  survivors  of  the  crew  now 
sallied  forth,  and  discharged  some  of  the  deck 
guns,  which  did  great  execution  among  the 
canoes,  and  drove  all  the  savages  to  shore. 

For  the  remainder  of  the  day  no  one  ven- 
tured to  put  off  to  the  ship,  deterred  by  the 
effects  of  the  fire-arms.  The  night  passed 
away  without  any  further  attempt  on  the  part 


154  Bstorta 


of  the  natives.  When  the  day  dawned,  the 
Tonquin  still  lay  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  her 
sails  all  loose  and  flapping  in  the  wind,  and  no 
one  apparently  on  board  of  her.  After  a  time, 
some  of  the  canoes  ventured  forth  to  recon- 
noitre, taking  with  them  the  interpreter.  They 
paddled  about  her,  keeping  cautiously  at  a 
distance,  but  growing  more  and  more  embold- 
ened at  seeing  her  quiet  and  lifeless.  One  man 
at  length  made  his  appearance  011  the  deck, 
and  was  recognized  by  the  interpreter  as  Mr. 
Lewis.  He  made  friendly  signs,  and  invited 
them  on  board.  It  was  long  before  they  ven- 
tured to  comply.  Those  who  mounted  the 
deck  met  with  no  opposition  ;  no  one  was  to 
be  seen  on  board  ;  for  Mr.  Lewis,  after  inviting 
them,  had  disappeared.  Other  canoes  now 
pressed  forward  to  board  the  prize;  the  decks 
were  soon  crowded,  and  the  sides  covered  with 
clambering  savages,  all  intent  on  plunder.  In 
the  midst  of  their  eagerness  and  exultation, 
the  ship  blew  up  with  a  tremendous  explosion. 
Arms,  legs,  and  mutilated  bodies  were  blown 
into  the  air,  and  dreadful  havoc  was  made  in 
the  surrounding  canoes.  The  interpreter  was 
in  the  main-chains  at  the  time  of  the  explosion, 
and  was  thrown  unhurt  into  the  water,  where 
he  succeeded  in  getting  into  one  of  the  canoes. 
According  to  his  statement,  the  bay  presented 


a  Disastrous  Bjplosion  155 

an  awful  spectacle  after  the  catastrophe.  The 
ship  had  disappeared,  but  the  bay  was  covered 
with  fragments  of  the  wreck,  with  shattered 
canoes,  and  Indians  swimming  for  their  lives, 
or  struggling  in  the  agonies  of  death ;  while 
those  who  had  escaped  the  danger  remained 
aghast  and  stupefied,  or  made  with  frantic 
panic  for  the  shore.  Upwards  of  a  hundred 
savages  were  destroyed  by  the  explosion,  many 
more  were  shockingly  mutilated,  and  for  days 
afterwards  the  limbs  and  bodies  of  the  slain 
were  thrown  upon  the  beach. 

The  inhabitants  of  Neweetee  were  over- 
whelmed with  consternation  at  this  astounding 
calamity,  which  had  burst  upon  them  in  the 
very  moment  of  triumph.  The  warriors  sat 
mute  and  mournful,  while  the  women  filled  the 
air  with  loud  lamentations.  Their  weeping 
and  wailing,  however,  was  suddenly  changed 
into  yells  of  fury  at  the  sight  of  four  unfortu- 
nate white  men,  brought  captive  into  the  vil- 
lage. They  had  been  driven  on  shore  in  one 
of  the  ship's  boats,  and  taken  at  some  distance 
along  the  coast. 

The  interpreter  was  permitted  to  converse 
with  them.  They  proved  to  be  the  four  brave 
fellows  who  had  made  such  desperate  defence 
from  the  cabin.  The  interpreter  gathered  from 
them  some  of  the  particulars  already  related. 


i  $6  Bstoria 


They  told  him  further,  that  after  they  had 
beaten  off  the  enemy  and  cleared  the  ship, 
Lewis  advised  that  they  should  slip  the  cable 
and  endeavor  to  get  to  sea.  They  declined  to 
take  his  advice,  alleging  that  the  wind  set  too 
strongly  into  the  bay  and  would  drive  them  on 
shore.  They  resolved,  as  soon  as  it  was  dark, 
to  put  off  quietly  in  the  ship's  boat,  which 
they  would  be  able  to  do  un perceived,  and  to 
coast  along  back  to  Astoria.  They  put  their 
resolution  into  effect  ;  but  Lewis  refused  to  ac- 
company them,  being  disabled  by  his  wound, 
hopeless  of  escape,  and  determined  on  a  terri- 
ble revenge.  On  the  voyage  out,  he  had  re- 
peatedly expressed  a  sentiment  that  he  should 
die  by  his  own  hands  ;  thinking  it  highly  prob- 
able that  he  should  be  engaged  in  some  contest 
with  the  natives,  and  being  resolved,  in  case  of 
extremity,  to  commit  suicide  rather  than  be 
made  a  prisoner.  He  now  declared  his  inten- 
tion to  remain  on  board  of  the  ship  until  day- 
light, to  decoy  as  many  of  the  savages  on 
board  as  possible,  then  to  set  fire  to  the  powder 
magazine,  and  terminate  his  life  by  a  signal  act 
of  vengeance.  How  well  he  succeeded  has 
been  shown.  His  companions  bade  him  a 
melancholy  adieu,  and  set  off  on  their  precari- 
ous expedition.  They  strove  with  might  and 
main  to  get  out  of  the  bay,  but  found  it  impos- 


Savage  Grueltg  157 


sible  to  weather  a  point  of  land,  and  were  at 
length  compelled  to  take  shelter  in  a  small  cove, 
where  they  hoped  to  remain  concealed  until  the 
wind  should  be  more  favorable.  Exhausted  by 
fatigue  and  watching,  they  fell  into  a  sound 
sleep,  and  in  that  state  were  surprised  by  the 
savages.  Better  had  it  been  for  those  unfortu- 
nate men  had  they  remained  with  Lewis,  and 
shared  his  heroic  death  :  as  it  was,  they  per- 
ished in  a  more  painful  and  protracted  manner, 
being  sacrificed  by  the  natives  to  the  manes  of 
their  friends  with  all  the  lingering  tortures  of 
savage  cruelty.  Some  time  after  their  death, 
the  interpreter,  who  had  remained  a  kind  of 
prisoner  at  large,  effected  his  escape,  and 
brought  the  tragical  tidings  to  Astoria. 

Such  is  the  melanchoty  story  of  the  Tonquin, 
and  such  was  the  fate  of  her  brave,  but  head- 
strong commander,  and  her  adventurous  crew. 
It  is  a  catastrophe  that  shows  the  importance, 
in  all  enterprises  of  moment,  to  keep  in  mind 
the  general  instructions  of  the  sagacious  heads 
which  devise  them.  Mr.  Astor  was  well  aware 
of  the  perils  to  which  ships  were  exposed  on  this 
coast  from  quarrels  with  the  natives,  and  from 
perfidious  attempts  of  the  latter  to  surprise  and 
capture  them  in  unguarded  moments.  He  had 
repeatedly  enjoined  it  upon  Captain  Thorn,  in 
conversation,  and  at  parting,  in  his  letter  of 


158  Sstoria 


instructions,  to  be  courteous  and  kind  in  his 
dealings  with  the  savages,  but  by  no  means  to 
confide  in  their  apparent  friendship,  nor  to  ad- 
mit more  than  a  few  on  board  of  his  ship  at  a 
time. 

Had  the  deportment  of  Captain  Thorn  been 
properly  regulated,  the  insult  so  wounding  to 
savage  pride  would  never  have  been  given. 
Had  he  enforced  the  rule  to  admit  but  a  few  at 
a  time,  the  savages  would  not  have  been  able 
to  get  the  mastery.  He  was  too  irritable,  how- 
ever, to  practice  the  necessary  self-command, 
and,  having  been  nurtured  in  a  proud  contempt 
of  danger,  thought  it  beneath  him  to  manifest 
any  fear  of  a  crew  of  unarmed  savages. 

With  all  his  faults  and  foibles,  we  cannot 
but  speak  of  him  with  esteem,  and  deplore  his 
untimely  fate  ;  for  we  remember  him  well  in 
early  life,  as  a  companion  in  pleasant  scenes 
and  joyous  hours.  When  on  shore,  among 
his  friends,  he  was  a  frank,  manly,  sound- 
hearted  sailor.  On  board  ship  he  evidently 
assumed  the  hardness  of  deportment  and  stern- 
ness of  demeanor  which  many  deem  essential 
to  naval  service.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the 
expedition,  however,  he  showed  himself  loyal, 
single-minded,  straightforward,  and  fearless  ; 
and  if  the  fate  of  his  vessel  may  be  charged 
to  his  harshness  and  imprudence,  we  should 


Xoss  of  tbe  "  Gonquin  "  159 

recollect  that  he  paid  for  his  error  with  his 
life. 

The  loss  of  the  Tonquin  was  a  grievous  blow 
to  the  infant  establishment  of  Astoria,  and  one 
that  threatened  to  bring  after  it  a  train  of  dis- 
asters. The  intelligence  of  it  did  not  reach 
Mr.  Astor  until  many  months  afterwards.  He 
felt  it  in  all  its  force,  and  was  aware  that  it 
must  cripple,  if  not  entirely  defeat,  the  great 
scheme  of  his  ambition.  In  his  letters,  writ- 
ten at  the  time,  he  speaks  of  it  as  * '  a  calamity, 
the  length  of  which  he  could  not  foresee." 
He  indulged,  however,  in  no  weak  and  vain 
lamentation,  but  sought  to  devise  a  prompt  and 
efficient  remedy.  The  very  same  evening  he 
appeared  at  the  theatre  with  his  usual  serenity 
of  countenance.  A  friend,  who  knew  the  dis- 
astrous intelligence  he  had  received,  expressed 
his  astonishment  that  he  could  have  calmness 
of  spirit  sufficient  for  such  a  scene  of  light 
amusement.  ' '  What  would  you  have  me  do  ?  " 
was  his  characteristic  reply  ;  ' '  would  you  have 
me  stay  at  home  and  weep  for  what  I  cannot 
help?" 


Cbapter 


Gloom  at  Astoria  —  An  Ingenious  Stratagem  —  The 
Small-pox  Chief—  Launching  of  the  Dolly  —  A  Cana- 
dian Trapper  —  An  Iroquois  Hunter  —  Winter  on  the 
Columbia  —  Festivities  of  New  Year. 

THE  tidings  of  the  loss  of  the  Tonquin, 
and  the  massacre  of  her  crew,  struck 
dismay  into  the  hearts  of  the  Astorians. 
They  found  themselves  a  mere  handful 
of  men,  on  a  savage  coast,  surrounded  by  hos- 
tile tribes,  who  would  doubtless  be  incited  and 
encouraged  to  deeds  of  violence  by  the  late 
fearful    catastrophe.      In   this    juncture    Mr. 
M'Dougal,  we  are  told,  had  recourse  to  a  strat- 
agem by  which  to  avail  himself  of  the  igno- 
rance and  credulity  of  the  savages,  and  which 
certainly  does  credit  to  his  ingenuity. 

The  natives  of  the  coast,  and,  indeed,  of  all 

the  regions  west   of  the  mountains,   had  an 

extreme  dread  of  the  small-pox  ;  that  terrific 

scourge  having,  a   few  years  previously,   ap- 

160 


• 


Cbapter  Jfff . 

Gloom  at  Astoria — An  Ingenious  Stratagem — The 
Small-pox  Chief— Launching  of  the  Dolly — A  Cana- 
dian Trappei  mois  Hunter— Winter  on  the 
Columbi  wYear. 

T£  tidiij    Astoria  in  1811  ->f  the     ^onquin, 
Based  on  a  print  in  Gray's  -  History  of  Oregon  " 

They  fo  ndful 

of  men,  on  a  savage  coast  hos- 

tile tribes,  who  would  doubtless  be  incited  and 
encouraged  t  violence  by  the  late 

fearful    cata-.;  i   this    juncture    Mr. 

M'P  told,  had  recourse  to  a  strat- 

agem by  which  to  avail  himself  of  the  igno- 
rance and  credulity  of  the  savages,  and  which 
certainly  does  credit  to  his  ingenuity. 

The  natives  of  the  coast,  and,  indeed,  of  all 

the  regions  west  of  the  mountains,  had  an 

extreme  dread  of  the  small-pox  ;  that  terrific 

scourge  having,  a   few  years  previously,  ap- 

160 


s  stratagem  161 


peared  among  them,  and  almost  swept  off 
entire  tribes.  Its  origin  and  nature  were 
wrapped  in  mystery,  and  they  conceived  it  an 
evil  inflicted  upon  them  by  the  Great  Spirit, 
or  brought  among  them  by  the  white  men. 
The  last  idea  was  seized  upon  by  Mr.  M'Dou- 
gal.  He  assembled  several  of  the  chieftains 
whom  he  believed  to  be  in  the  conspiracy. 
When  they  were  all  seated  around,  he  informed 
them  that  he  had  heard  of  the  treachery  of 
some  of  their  northern  brethren  towards  the 
Tonquin,  and  was  determined  on  vengeance. 
"The  white  men  among  you,"  said  he,  "are 
few  in  number,  it  is  true,  but  they  are  mighty 
in  medicine.  See  here,"  continued  he,  draw- 
ing forth  a  small  bottle  and  holding  it  before 
their  eyes,  '  '  in  this  bottle  I  hold  the  small- 
pox, safely  corked  up  ;  I  have  but  to  draw  the 
cork,  and  let  loose  the  pestilence,  to  sweep 
man,  woman,  and  child  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.  '  ' 

The  chiefs  were  struck  with  horror  and 
alarm.  They  implored  him  not  to  uncork  the 
bottle,  since  they  and  all  their  people  were 
firm  friends  of  the  white  men,  and  would  al- 
ways remain  so  ;  but,  should  the  small-pox 
be  once  let  out,  it  would  run  like  wildfire 
throughout  the  country,  sweeping  off  the  good 
as  well  as  the  bad  ;  and  surely  he  would  not 


162  Bstorta 


be  so  unjust  as  to  punish  his  friends  for  crimes 
committed  by  his  enemies. 

Mr.  M'Dougal  pretended  to  be  convinced  by 
their  reasoning,  and  assured  them  that,  so  long 
as  the  white  people  should  be  unmolested,  and 
the  conduct  of  their  Indian  neighbors  friendly 
and  hospitable,  the  phial  of  wrath  should  re- 
main sealed  up  ;  but,  on  the  least  hostility, 
the  fatal  cork  should  be  drawn. 

From  this  time,  it  is  added,  he  was  much 
dreaded  by  the  natives,  as  one  who  held  their 
fate  in  his  hands,  and  was  called,  by  way  of 
pre-eminence,  "the  Great  Small-pox  Chief." 

All  this  while,  the  labors  at  the  infant  set- 
tlement went  on  with  unremitting  assiduity, 
and,  by  the  26th  of  September,  a  commodious 
mansion,  spacious  enough  to  accommodate  all 
hands,  was  completed.  It  was  built  of  stone 
and  clay,  there  being  no  calcareous  stone  in 
the  neighborhood  from  which  lime  for  mortar 
could  be  procured.  The  schooner  was  also 
finished,  and  launched,  with  the  accustomed 
ceremony,  on  the  2d  of  October,  and  took  her 
station  below  the  fort.  She  was  named  the 
Dolly,  and  was  the  first  American  vessel 
launched  on  this  coast. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  in  the  evening,  the 
little  community  at  Astoria  was  enlivened  by 
the  unexpected  arrival  of  a  detachment  from 


3n  arrival  from  ©afcfnagan  163 

Mr.  David  Stuart's  post  on  the  Oakinagan. 
It  consisted  of  two  of  the  clerks  and  two  of 
the  privates.  They  brought  favorable  accounts 
of  the  new  establishment,  but  reported  that,  as 
Mr.  Stuart  was  apprehensive  there  might  be  a 
difficulty  of  subsisting  his  whole  party  through- 
out the  winter,  he  had  sent  one  half  back  to 
Astoria,  retaining  with  him  only  Ross,  Mon- 
tigny,  and  two  others.  Such  is  the  hardihood 
of  the  Indian  trader.  In  the  heart  of  a  savage 
and  unknown  country,  seven  hundred  miles 
from  the  main  body  of  his  fellow-adventurers, 
Stuart  had  dismissed  half  of  his  little  number, 
and  was  prepared  with  the  residue  to  brave  all 
the  perils  of  the  wilderness,  and  the  rigors  of 
a  long  and  dreary  winter. 

With  the  return  party  came  a  Canadian  cre- 
ole  named  Regis  Brugiere  and  an  Iroquois 
hunter,  with  his  wife  and  two  children.  As 
these  two  personages  belong  to  certain  classes 
which  have  derived  their  peculiar  characteris- 
tics from  the  fur  trade,  we  deem  some  few 
particulars  concerning  them  pertinent  to  the 
nature  of  this  work. 

Brugiere  was  of  a  class  of  beaver  trappers 
and  hunters  technically  called  "Freemen,"  in 
the  language  of  the  traders.  They  are  gener- 
ally Canadians  by  birth,  and  of  French  de- 
scent, who  have  been  employed  for  a  term  of 


1 64  Bstoria 


years  by  some  fur  company,  but,  their  term 
being  expired,  continue  to  hunt  and  trap  on 
their  own  account,  trading  with  the  company 
like  the  Indians.  Hence  they  derive  their  ap- 
pellation of  Freemen,  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  trappers  who  are  bound  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  receive  wages,  or  hunt  on  shares. 

Having  passed  their  early  youth  in  the  wil- 
derness, separated  almost  entirely  from  civil- 
ized man,  and  in  frequent  intercourse  with  the 
Indians,  they  relapse,  with  a  facility  common 
to  human  nature,  into  the  habitudes  of  savage 
life.  Though  no  longer  bound  by  engage- 
ments to  continue  in  the  interior,  they  have 
become  so  accustomed  to  the  freedom  of  the 
forest  and  the  prairie,  that  they  look  back  with 
repugnance  upon  the  restraints  of  civilization. 
Most  of  them  intermarry  with  the  natives,  and, 
like  the  latter,  have  often  a  plurality  of  wives. 
Wanderers  of  the  wilderness,  according  to  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  seasons,  the  migrations  of 
animals,  and  the  plenty  or  scarcity  of  game, 
they  lead  a  precarious  and  unsettled  existence  ; 
exposed  to  sun  and  storm,  and  all  kinds  of 
hardships,  until  they  resemble  Indians  in  com- 
plexion as  well  as  in  tastes  and  habits.  From 
time  to  time,  they  bring  the  peltries  they  have 
collected  to  the  trading  houses  of  the  company 
in  whose  employ  they  have  been  brought  up. 


B  ff reeman  of  tbc  fforest  165 

Here  they  traffic  them  away  for  such  articles 
of  merchandise  or  ammunition  as  they  may 
stand  in  need  of.  At  the  time  when  Montreal 
was  the  great  emporium  of  the  fur  trader,  one 
of  these  freemen  of  the  wilderness  would  sud- 
denly return,  after  an  absence  of  many  years, 
among  his  old  friends  and  comrades.  He 
would  be  greeted  as  one  risen  from  the  dead  ; 
and  with  the  greater  welcome,  as  he  returned 
flush  of  money.  A  short  time,  however,  spent 
in  revelry,  would  be  sufficient  to  drain  his 
purse  and  sate  him  with  civilized  life,  and  he 
would  return  with  new  relish  to  the  unshac- 
kled freedom  of  the  forest. 

Numbers  of  men  of  this  class  were  scattered 
throughout  the  northwest  territories.  Some  of 
them  retained  a  little  of  the  thrift  and  fore- 
thought of  the  civilized  man,  and  became 
wealthy  among  their  improvident  neighbors  ; 
their  wealth  being  chiefly  displayed  in  large 
bands  of  horses,  which  covered  the  prairies  in 
the  vicinity  of  their  abodes.  Most  of  them, 
however,  were  prone  to  assimilate  to  the  red 
man  in  their  heedlessness  of  the  future. 

Such  was  Regis  Brugiere,  a  freeman  and 
rover  of  the  wilderness.  Having  been  brought 
up  in  the  service  of  the  Northwest  Company, 
he  had  followed  in  the  train  of  one  of  its  expe- 
ditions across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  un- 


166  Bstorfa 


dertaken  to  trap  for  the  trading  post  established 
on  the  Spokan  River.  In  the  course  of  his 
hunting  excursions  he  had  either  accidentally, 
or  designedly,  found  his  way  to  the  post  of  Mr. 
Stuart,  and  had  been  prevailed  upon  to  descend 
the  Columbia,  and  "  try  his  luck  "  at  Astoria. 

Ignace  Shonowane,  the  Iroquois  hunter,  was 
a  specimen  of  a  different  class.  He  was  one  of 
those  aboriginals  of  Canada  who  had  partially 
conformed  to  the  habits  of  civilization  and  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  under  the  influence 
of  the  French  colonists  and  the  Catholic 
priests  ;  who  seem  generally  to  have  been  more 
successful  in  conciliating,  taming,  and  convert- 
ing the  savages,  than  their  Knglish  and 
Protestant  rivals.  These  half-civilized  Indians 
retained  some  of  the  good,  and  many  of  the 
evil  qualities  of  their  original  stock.  They 
were  firstrate  hunters,  and  dexterous  in  the 
management  of  the  canoe.  They  could  un- 
dergo great  privations,  and  were  admirable  for 
the  service  of  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  forests,  pro- 
vided they  could  be  kept  sober,  and  in  proper 
subordination  ;  but  once  inflamed  with  liquor, 
to  which  they  were  madly  addicted,  all  the 
dormant  passions  inherent  in  their  nature  were 
prone  to  break  forth,  and  to  hurry  them  into 
the  most  vindictive  and  bloody  acts  of  violence. 

Though  they  generally  professed  the  Roman 


Bpproacbing  TOnter  167 


Catholic  religion,  yet  it  was  mixed,  occasion- 
ally, with  some  of  their  ancient  superstitions  ; 
and  they  retained  much  of  the  Indian  belief  in 
charms  and  omens.  Numbers  of  these  men 
were  employed  by  the  Northwest  Company  as 
trappers,  hunters,  and  canoe  men,  but  on  lower 
terms  than  were  allowed  to  white  men.  Ignace 
Shonowane  had,  in  this  way,  followed  the  en- 
terprise of  the  company  to  the  banks  of  the 
Spokan,  being,  probably,  one  of  the  first  of  his 
tribe  that  had  traversed  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Such  were  some  of  the  motley  populace  of 
the  wilderness,  incident  to  the  fur  trade,  who 
were  gradually  attracted  to  the  new  settlement 
of  Astoria. 

The  month  of  October  now  began  to  give 
indications  of  approaching  winter.  Hitherto, 
the  colonists  had  been  well  pleased  with  the 
climate.  The  summer  had  been  temperate,  the 
mercury  never  rising  above  eighty  degrees. 
Westerly  winds  had  prevailed  during  the  spring 
and  the  early  part  of  the  summer,  and  been  suc- 
ceeded by  fresh  breezes  from  the  northwest.  In 
the  month  of  October  the  southerly  winds  set 
in,  bringing  with  them  frequent  rain. 

The  Indians  now  began  to  quit  the  borders 
of  the  ocean,  and  to  retire  to  their  winter  quar- 
ters in  the  sheltered  bosom  of  the  forests,  or 
along  the  small  rivers  and  brooks.  The  rainy 


i68  Bstoria 


season,  which  commences  in  October,  contin- 
ues, with  little  intermission,  until  April ;  and 
though  the  winters  are  generally  mild,  the 
mercury  seldom  sinking  below  the  freezing 
point,  yet  the  tempests  of  wind  and  rain  are 
terrible.  The  sun  is  sometimes  obscured  for 
weeks,  the  brooks  swell  into  roaring  torrents, 
and  the  country  is  threatened  with  a  deluge. 

The  departure  of  the  Indians  to  their  winter 
quarters  gradually  rendered  provisions  scanty, 
and  obliged  the  colonists  to  send  out  foraging 
expeditions  in  the  Dolly.  Still  the  little  hand- 
ful of  adventurers  kept  up  their  spirits  in  their 
lonely  fort  at  Astoria,  looking  forward  to  the 
time  when  they  should  be  animated  and  rein- 
forced by  the  party  under  Mr.  Hunt,  that  was 
to  come  to  them  across  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  year  gradually  wore  away.  The  rain, 
which  had  poured  down  almost  incessantly 
since  the  first  of  October,  cleared  up  towards 
the  evening  of  the  3ist  of  December,  and  the 
morning  of  the  ist  of  January  ushered  in  a  day 
of  sunshine. 

The  hereditary  French  holiday  spirit  of  the 
French  voyageurs  is  hardly  to  be  depressed  by 
any  adversities  ;  and  they  can  manage  to  get 
up  &f£te  in  the  most  squalid  situations,  and  un- 
der the  most  untoward  circumstances.  An  ex- 
tra allowance  of  rum,  and  a  little  flour  to  make 


flew  i^ear  ^festivities  169 


cakes  and  puddings,  constitute  a  '  *  regale  ' '  ; 
and  thej7  forget  all  their  toils  and  troubles  in 
the  song  and  dance. 

On  the  present  occasion,  the  partners  endeav- 
ored to  celebrate  the  new  year  with  some  effect. 
At  sunrise  the  drums  beat  to  arms,  the  colors 
were  hoisted,  with  three  rounds  of  small-arms 
and  three  discharges  of  cannon.  The  day  was 
devoted  to  games  of  agility  and  strength,  and 
other  amusements  ;  and  grog  was  temperately 
distributed,  together  with  bread,  butter,  and 
cheese.  The  best  dinner  their  circumstances 
could  afford  was  served  up  at  midday.  At  sun- 
set the  colors  were  lowered,  with  another  dis- 
charge of  artillery.  The  night  was  spent  in 
dancing  ;  and,  though  there  was  a  lack  of 
female  partners  to  excite  their  gallantry,  the 
voyageurs  kept  up  the  ball  with  true  French 
spirit,  until  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  So 
passed  the  New  Year  festival  of  1812  at  the 
infant  colony  of  Astoria. 


Cbapter  £ 1Tinr. 

Expedition  by  Land  —  Wilson  P.  Hunt  —  Donald 
M'Kenzie — Chapel  of  St.  Anne — Mackinaw — Pic- 
ture of  a  Trading  Post — Inefficacy  of  Gold — Mr. 
Ramsay  Crooks — His  Warning  Concerning  Sioux 
and  Blackfeet — Embarkation  of  Recruits. 

WK  have  followed  up  the  fortunes  of 
the  maritime  part  of  this  enterprise 
to   the  shores   of  the  Pacific,  and 
have  conducted  the  affairs  of  the 
embryo  establishment  to  the   opening  of  the 
new  year  ;  let  us  now  turn  back  to  the  adven- 
turous band  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  land 
expedition,  and  who  were  to  make  their  way 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  up  vast  rivers, 
across  trackless  plains,  and  over  the  rugged 
barriers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  conduct  of  this  expedition,  as  has  been 
already  mentioned,  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Wilson 
Price  Hunt,  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  one  of 
the  partners  of  the  company,  who  was  ulti- 


Xanfc  Bipefcltfon  171 


mately  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  establishment 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  He  is  repre- 
sented as  a  man  scrupulously  upright  and  faith- 
ful in  his  dealings,  amicable  in  his  disposition, 
and  of  most  accommodating  manners  ;  and  his 
whole  conduct  will  be  found  in  unison  with 
such  a  character.  He  was  not  practically  ex- 
perienced in  the  Indian  trade  ;  that  is  to  say, 
he  had  never  made  any  expeditions  of  traffic 
into  the  heart  of  the  wilderness,  but  he  had 
been  engaged  in  commerce  at  St.  L,ouis,  then 
a  frontier  settlement  on  the  Mississippi,  where 
the  chief  branch  of  his  business  had  consisted 
in  furnishing  Indian  traders  with  goods  and 
equipments.  In  this  way,  he  had  acquired 
much  knowledge  of  the  trade  at  second  hand, 
and  of  the  various  tribes,  and  the  interior  coun- 
try over  which  it  extended. 

Another  of  the  partners,  Mr.  Donald  M'Ken- 
zie,  was  associated  with  Mr.  Hunt  in  the  ex- 
pedition, and  excelled  on  those  points  in  which 
the  other  was  deficient ;  for  he  had  been  ten 
years  in  the  interior,  in  the  service  of  the 
Northwest  Company,  and  valued  himself  oti 
his  knowledge  of  ' '  woodcraft, ' '  and  the  strat- 
egy of  Indian  trade  and  Indian  warfare.  He 
had  a  frame  seasoned  to  toils  and  hardships  ;  a. 
spirit  not  to  be  intimidated,  and  was  reputed 
to  be  a  "remarkable  shot"  ;  which,  of  itself. 


172  Bstoria 


was  sufficient  to  give  him  renown  upon  the 
frontier. 

Mr.  Hunt  and  his  coadjutor  repaired,  about 
the  latter  part  of  July,  1810,  to  Montreal,  the 
ancient  emporium  of  the  fur  trade,  where  every- 
thing requisite  for  the  expedition  could  be  pro- 
cured. One  of  the  first  objects  was  to  recruit 
a  complement  of  Canadian  voyageurs  from  the 
disbanded  herd  usually  to  be  found  loitering 
about  the  place.  A  degree  of  jockeyship,  how- 
ever, is  required  for  this  service,  for  a  Canadian 
voyageur  is  as  full  of  latent  tricks  and  vice  as 
a  horse  ;  and  when  he  makes  the  greatest  ex- 
ternal promise,  is  prone  to  prove  the  greatest 
"  take  in."  Besides,  the  Northwest  Company, 
who  maintained  a  long-established  control  at 
Montreal,  and  knew  the  qualities  of  every 
voyageur,  secretly  interdicted  the  prime  hands 
from  engaging  in  this  new  service ;  so  that, 
although  liberal  terms  were  offered,  few  pre- 
sented themselves  but  such  as  were  not  worth 
having. 

From  these  Mr.  Hunt  engaged  a  number 
sufficient,  as  he  supposed,  for  present  purposes  ; 
and,  having  laid  in  a  supply  of  ammunition, 
provisions,  and  Indian  goods,  embarked  all  on 
board  one  of  those  great  canoes  at  that  time 
universally  used  by  the  fur  traders  for  navigat- 
ing the  intricate  and  often  obstructed  rivers. 


Canoe  173 


The  canoe  was  between  thirty  and  forty  feet 
long,  and  several  feet  in  width  ;  constructed  of 
birch  bark,  sewed  with  fibres  of  the  roots  of 
the  spruce  tree,  and  daubed  with  resin  of  the 
pine,  instead  of  tar.  The  cargo  was  made  up 
in  packages,  weighing  from  ninety  to  one  hun- 
dred pounds  each,  for  the  facility  of  loading 
and  unloading,  and  of  transportation  at  port- 
ages. The  canoe  itself,  though  capable  of  sus- 
taining a  freight  of  upwards  of  four  tons, 
could  readily  be  carried  on  men's  shoulders. 
Canoes  of  this  size  are  generally  managed  by 
eight  or  ten  men,  two  of  whom  are  picked 
veterans,  who  receive  double  wages,  and  are 
stationed,  one  at  the  bow  and  the  other  at  the 
stern,  to  keep  a  look-out  and  to  steer.  They 
are  termed  the  foreman  and  the  steersman. 
The  rest,  who  ply  the  paddles,  are  called  mid- 
dle men.  When  there  is  a  favorable  breeze, 
the  canoe  is  occasionally  navigated  with  a  sail . 
The  expedition  took  its  regular  departure, 
as  usual,  from  St.  Anne's,  near  the  extremity 
of  the  island  of  Montreal,  the  great  starting- 
place  of  the  traders  to  the  interior.  Here  stood 
the  ancient  chapel  of  St.  Anne,  the  patroness 
of  the  Canadian  voyageurs  ;  where  they  made 
confession,  and  offered  up  their  vows,  previous 
to  departing  on  any  hazardous  expedition. 
The  shrine  of  the  saint  was  decorated  with 


174  Bstoria 


relics  and  votive  offerings  hung  up  by  these 
superstitious  beings,  either  to  propitiate  her 
favor,  or  in  gratitude  for  some  signal  deliver- 
ance in  the  wilderness.  It  was  the  custom, 
too,  of  these  devout  vagabonds,  after  leaving 
the  chapel,  to  have  a  grand  carouse,  in  honor 
of  the  saint  and  for  the  prosperity  of  the  voy- 
age. In  this  part  of  their  devotions,  the  crew 
of  Mr.  Hunt  proved  themselves  by  no  means 
deficient.  Indeed,  he  soon  discovered  that  his 
recruits,  enlisted  at  Montreal,  were  fit  to  vie 
with  the  ragged  regiment  of  Falstaff.  Some 
were  able-bodied,  but  inexpert ;  others  were 
expert,  but  lazy  ;  while  a  third  class  were  ex- 
pert and  willing,  but  totally  worn  out,  being 
broken-down  veterans,  incapable  of  toil. 

With  this  inefficient  crew  he  made  his  way 
up  the  Ottawa  River,  and  by  the  ancient  route 
of  the  fur  traders,  along  a  succession  of  small 
lakes  and  rivers,  to  Michilimackinac.  Their 
progress  was  slow  and  tedious.  Mr.  Hunt  was 
not  accustomed  to  the  management  of  voy- 
ageurs,  and  he  had  a  crew  admirably  dis- 
posed to  play  the  old  soldier,  and  balk  their 
work  ;  and  ever  ready  to  come  to  a  halt,  land, 
make  a  fire,  put  on  the  great  pot,  and  smoke, 
and  gossip,  and  sing  by  the  hour. 

It  was  not  until  the  22d  of  July  that  they 
arrived  at  Mackinaw,  situated  on  the  island  of 


i74  B0toda 

wiir  r*g  up  by  these 

ious   bein  to  propitiate  her 

r,  or  in  i:  -tie  signal  deliver- 

ance in  *s.     It  was  the  custom, 

too,  of  t!  vagabonds,  after  leaving 

the  chap  «,  grand  carouse,  in  honor 

of  the  saint  and  for  the  prosperity  of  the  voy- 
age. In  this  part  of  their  devotions,  the  crew 
of  Mr.  Hunt  proved  themselves  by  no  means 
deficient.  Indeed,  he  soon  discovered  that  his 
recruits,  enlisted  at  Montreal,  were  fit  to  vie 
with  the  ragged  regiment  of  Fabtaff,  Some 

^sMttki88^11 ' others 

expert,  :  Redrawnfto^fe|te^fik^^ 

pert  and  willing,  but  totally  -ing 

brol 

way 
oute 
^inall 

progress  wa,<  >.    Mr.  Hunt  was 

storoed  management   of  voy- 

ag>curst    and   he   had   a    crew  admirably  dis- 

1  to  play  the  old  soldier,  and  balk  their 

work  ;  and  ever  ready  to  come  to  a  halt,  land, 

make  a  fire,  put  on  the  great  pot,  and  smoke, 

and  gossip,  and  sing  by  the  hour. 

It  was  not  until  the  22d  of  July  that  they 
arrived  at  Mackinaw,  situated  on  the  island  of 


• 

i 


flfcacfetnaw  175 


the  same  name,  at  the  confluence  of  lakes 
Huron  and  Michigan.  This  famous  old  French 
trading-post  continued  to  be  a  rallying  point 
for  a  multifarious  and  motley  population.  The 
inhabitants  were  amphibious  in  their  habits, 
most  of  them  being,  or  having  been  voyageurs 
or  canoe  men.  It  was  the  great  place  of  ar- 
rival and  departure  of  the  southwest  fur  trade. 
Here  the  Mackinaw  Company  had  established 
its  principal  post,  from  whence  it  communicated 
with  the  interior  and  with  Montreal.  Hence 
its  various  traders  and  trappers  set  out  for 
their  respective  destinations  about  Lake  Su- 
perior and  its  tributary  waters,  or  for  the 
Mississippi,  the  Arkansas,  the  Missouri,  and 
the  other  regions  of  the  west.  Here,  after  the 
absence  of  a  year,  or  more,  they  returned  with 
their  peltries,  and  settled  their  accounts ;  the 
furs  rendered  in  by  them  being  transmitted  in 
canoes  from  hence  to  Montreal.  Mackinaw 
was,  therefore,  for  a  great  part  of  the  year, 
very  scantily  peopled  ;  but  at  certain  seasons 
the  traders  arrived  from  all  points,  with  their 
crews  of  voyageurs,  and  the  place  swarmed 
like  a  hive. 

Mackinaw,  at  that  time,  was  a  mere  village, 
stretching  along  a  small  bay,  with  a  fine  broad 
beach  in  front  of  its  principal  row  of  houses, 
and  dominated  by  the  old  fort,  which  crowned 


Bstoria 


an  impending  height.  The  beach  was  a  kind 
of  public  promenade,  where  were  displayed  all 
the  vagaries  of  a  seaport  on  the  arrival  of  a 
fleet  from  a  long  cruise.  Here  voyageurs  frol- 
icked away  their  wages,  fiddling  and  dancing 
in  the  booths  and  cabins,  buying  all  kinds  of 
knick-knacks,  dressing  themselves  out  finely, 
and  parading  up  and  down,  like  arrant  brag- 
garts and  coxcombs.  Sometimes  they  met 
with  rival  coxcombs  in  the  young  Indians  from 
the  opposite  shore,  who  would  appear  on  the 
beach  painted  and  decorated  in  fantastic  style, 
and  would  saunter  up  and  down,  to  be  gazed 
at  and  admired,  perfectly  satisfied  that  they 
eclipsed  their  pale-faced  competitors. 

Now  and  then  a  chance  party  of  ' '  North- 
westers '  *  appeared  at  Mackinaw  from  the 
rendezvous  at  Fort  William.  These  held 
themselves  up  as  the  chivalry  of  the  fur  trade. 
They  were  men  of  iron  ;  proof  against  cold 
weather,  hard  fare,  and  perils  of  all  kinds. 
Some  would  wear  the  Northwest  button,  and 
a  formidable  dirk,  and  assume  something  of  a 
military  air.  They  generally  wore  feathers  in 
their  hats,  and  afiected  the  "  brave."  "Je 
suis  un  homme  du  nord  !  " — "I  am  a  man  of 
the  north," — one  of  those  swelling  fellows 
would  exclaim,  sticking  his  arms  akimbo  and 
ruffling  by  the  Southwesters,  whom  he  regarded 


Swells  anD  Swaggerers  177 

with  great  contempt,  as  men  softened  by  mild 
climates  and  the  luxurious  fare  of  bread  and 
bacon,  and  whom  he  stigmatized  with  the  in- 
glorious name  of  pork-eaters.  The  superiority 
assumed  by  these  vainglorious  swaggerers  was, 
in  general,  tacitly  admitted.  Indeed,  some  of 
them  had  acquired  great  notoriety  for  deeds  of 
hardihood  and  courage  ;  for  the  fur  trade  had 
its  heroes,  whose  names  resounded  throughout 
the  wilderness. 

Such  was  Mackinaw  at  the  time  of  which 
we  are  treating.  It  now,  doubtless,  presents  a 
totally  different  aspect.  The  fur  companies  no 
longer  assemble  there ;  the  navigation  of  the 
lakes  is  carried  on  by  steamboats  and  various 
shipping,  and  the  race  of  traders,  and  trappers, 
and  voyageurs,  and  Indian  dandies,  have 
vapored  out  their  brief  hour  and  disappeared. 
Such  changes  does  the  lapse  of  a  handful  of 
years  make  in  this  ever-changing  country. 

At  this  place  Mr.  Hunt  remained  for  some 
time,  to  complete  his  assortment  of  Indian 
goods,  and  to  increase  his  number  of  voyageurs, 
as  well  as  to  engage  some  of  a  more  efficient 
character  than  those  enlisted  at  Montreal. 

And  now  commenced  another  game  of  jockey- 
ship.  There  were  able  and  efficient  men  in 
abundance  at  Mackinaw,  but  for  several  days 
not  one  presented  himself.  If  offers  were  made 


178  astoria 


to  any,  they  were  listened  to  with  a  shake  of 
the  head.  Should  any  one  seem  inclined  to 
enlist,  there  were  officious  idlers  and  busy- 
bodies,  of  that  class  who  are  ever  ready  to  dis- 
suade others  from  any  enterprise  in  which 
they  themselves  have  no  concern .  These  would 
pull  him  by  the  sleeve,  take  him  on  one  side, 
and  would  murmur  in  his  ear,  or  would  sug- 
gest difficulties  outright. 

It  was  objected  that  the  expedition  would 
have  to  navigate  unknown  rivers,  and  pass 
through  howling  wildernesses  infested  by  savage 
tribes,  who  had  already  cut  off  the  unfortunate 
voyageurs  that  had  ventured  among  them  ; 
that  it  was  to  climb  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
descend  into  desolate  and  famished  regions, 
where  the  traveller  was  often  obliged  to  subsist 
on  grasshoppers  and  crickets,  or  to  kill  his  own 
horse  for  food. 

At  length  one  man  was  hardy  enough  to  en- 
gage, and  he  was  used  like  a  ' '  stool-pigeon, ' '  to 
decoy  others ;  but  several  days  elapsed  before 
any  more  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  join  him. 
A  few  then  came  to  terms.  It  was  desirable 
to  engage  them  for  five  years,  but  some  refused 
to  engage  for  more  than  three.  Then  they 
must  have  part  of  their  pay  in  advance,  which 
was  readily  granted.  When  they  had  pocketed 
the  amount,  and  squandered  it  in  regales  or  in 


2>ttttcultles  of  'Recruiting  179 

outfits,  they  began  to  talk  of  pecuniary  obliga- 
tions at  Mackinaw,  which  must  be  discharged 
before  they  would  be  free  to  depart ;  or  en- 
gagements with  other  persons,  which  were 
only  to  be  cancelled  by  a  "  reasonable  consider- 
ation." 

It  was  in  vain  to  argue  or  remonstrate.  The 
money  advanced  had  already  been  sacked  and 
spent,  and  must  be  lost  and  the  recruits  left 
behind,  unless  they  could  be  freed  from  their 
debts  and  engagements.  Accordingly,  a  fine 
was  paid  for  one  ;  a  j  udgment  for  another  ;  a 
tavern  bill  for  a  third,  and  almost  all  had  to  be 
bought  off  from  some  prior  engagement,  either 
real  or  pretended. 

Mr.  Hunt  groaned  in  spirit  at  the  incessant 
and  unreasonable  demands  of  these  worthies 
upon  his  purse  ;  yet  with  all  this  outlay  of 
funds,  the  number  recruited  was  but  scanty, 
and  many  of  the  most  desirable  still  held  them- 
selves aloof,  and  were  not  to  be  caught  by  a 
golden  bait.  With  these  he  tried  another 
temptation.  Among  the  recruits  who  had  en- 
listed he  distributed  feathers  and  ostrich 
plumes.  These  they  put  in  their  hats,  and 
thus  figured  about  Mackinaw,  assuming  airs 
of  vast  importance,  as  voyageurs  in  a  new 
company,  that  was  to  eclipse  the  Northwest. 
The  effect  was  complete.  A  French  Canadian 


i8o  Bstoria 


is  too  vain  and  mercurial  a  being  to  withstand 
the  finery  and  ostentation  of  the  feather. 
Numbers  immediately  pressed  into  the  service. 
One  must  have  an  ostrich  plume  ;  another,  a 
white  feather  with  a  red  end  ;  a  third,  a  bunch 
of  cocks'  tails.  Thus  all  paraded  about,  in 
vainglorious  style,  more  delighted  with  the 
feathers  in  their  hats  than  with  the  money  in 
their  pockets  ;  and  considering  themselves  fully 
equal  to  the  boastful  "  men  of  the  north." 

While  thus  recruiting  the  number  of  rank 
and  file,  Mr.  Hunt  was  joined  by  a  person 
whom  he  had  invited,  by  letter,  to  engage  as  a 
partner  in  the  expedition.  This  was  Mr. 
Ramsay  Crooks,  a  young  man,  a  native  of 
Scotland,  who  had  served  under  the  Northwest 
Company,  and  been  engaged  in  trading  expe- 
ditions upon  his  individual  account  among  the 
tribes  of  the  Missouri.  Mr.  Hunt  knew  him 
personally,  and  had  conceived  a  high  and  mer- 
ited opinion  of  his  judgment,  enterprise,  and 
integrity  ;  he  was  rejoiced,  therefore,  when  the 
latter  consented  to  accompany  him.  Mr. 
Crooks,  however,  drew  from  experience  a  pic- 
ture of  the  dangers  to  which  they  would  be 
subjected,  and  urged  the  importance  of  going 
with  a  considerable  force.  In  ascending  the 
upper  Missouri  they  would  have  to  pass  through 
the  country  of  the  Sioux  Indians,  who  had 


Bmbarfcation  of  tbc  IDogaaeurs          181 

manifested  repeated  hostility  to  the  white 
traders,  and  rendered  their  expeditions  ex- 
tremely perilous  ;  firing  upon  them  from  the 
river  banks  as  they  passed  beneath  in  their 
boats,  and  attacking  them  in  their  encamp- 
ments. Mr.  Crooks  himself,  when  voyaging 
in  company  with  another  trader  of  the  name 
of  M'Lellan,  had  been  interrupted  by  these 
marauders,  and  had  considered  himself  fortu- 
nate in  escaping  down  the  river  without  loss 
of  life  or  property,  but  with  a  total  abandon- 
ment of  his  trading  voyage. 

Should  they  be  fortunate  enough  to  pass 
through  the  country  of  the  Sioux  without 
molestation,  they  would  have  another  tribe 
still  more  savage  and  warlike  beyond,  and 
deadly  foes  of  the  white  men. 

These  were  the  Blackfeet  Indians,  who 
ranged  over  a  wide  extent  of  country  which 
they  would  have  to  traverse.  Under  all  these 
circumstances,  it  was  thought  advisable  to 
augment  the  party  considerably.  It  already 
exceeded  the  number  of  thirty,  to  which  it  had 
originally  been  limited  ;  but  it  was  determined, 
on  arriving  at  St.  Louis,  to  increase  it  to  the 
number  of  sixty. 

These  matters  being  arranged,  they  prepared 
to  embark  ;  but  the  embarkation  of  a  crew  of 
Canadian  voyageurs,  on  a  distant  expedition, 


182  Sstoria 


is  not  so  easy  a  matter  as  might  be  imagined  ; 
especially  of  such  a  set  of  vainglorious  fellows 
with  money  in  both  pockets,  and  cocks'  tails 
in  their  hats.  Like  sailors,  the  Canadian  voy- 
ageurs  generally  preface  a  long  cruise  with  a 
carouse.  They  have  their  cronies,  their  broth- 
ers, their  cousins,  their  wives,  their  sweet- 
hearts, all  to  be  entertained  at  their  expense. 
They  feast,  they  fiddle,  they  drink,  they  sing, 
they  dance,  they  frolic  and  fight,  until  they  are 
all  as  mad  as  so  many  drunken  Indians.  The 
publicans  are  all  obedience  to  their  commands, 
never  hesitating  to  let  them  run  up  scores 
without  limit,  knowing  that,  when  their  own 
money  is  expended,  the  purses  of  their  employ- 
ers must  answer  for  the  bill,  or  the  voyage  must 
be  delayed.  Neither  was  it  possible,  at  that 
time,  to  remedy  the  matter  at  Mackinaw.  In 
that  amphibious  community  there  was  always 
a  propensity  to  wrest  the  laws  in  favor  of  riot- 
ous or  mutinous  boatmen.  It  was  necessary, 
also,  to  keep  the  recruits  in  good  humor,  seeing 
the  novelty  and  danger  of  the  service  into  which 
they  were  entering,  and  the  ease  with  which 
they  might  at  any  time  escape  it,  by  jumping 
into  a  canoe  and  going  down  the  stream. 

Such  were  the  scenes  that  beset  Mr.  Hunt, 
and  gave  him  a  foretaste  of  the  difficulties  of 
his  command.  The  little  cabarets  and  sutlers' 


parting  Scenes  183 


shops  along  the  bay  resounded  with  the  scrap- 
ing of  fiddles,  with  snatches  of  old  French 
songs,  with  Indian  whoops  and  yells,  while 
every  plumed  and  feathered  vagabond  had  his 
troop  of  loving  cousins  and  comrades  at  his 
heels.  It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  they 
could  be  extricated  from  the  clutches  of  the 
publicans  and  the  embraces  of  their  pot  com- 
panions, who  followed  them  to  the  water's  edge 
with  many  a  hug,  a  kiss  on  each  cheek,  and  a 
maudlin  benediction  in  Canadian  French. 

It  was  about  the  i2th  of  August  that  they 
left  Mackinaw,  and  pursued  the  usual  route  by 
Green  Bay,  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  to 
Prairie  du  Chien,  and  thence  down  the  Missis- 
sippi to  St.  lyouis,  where  they  landed  on  the 
3d  of  September. 


Cbaptet 

St  Louis— French  Creole  Traders  and  Their  Depend- 
ents— Missouri  Fur  Company — Mr.  Manuel  Lisa — 
Mississippi  Boatmen — Vagrant  Indians — Kentucky 
Hunters — Mr.  Joseph  Miller — Voyage  up  the  Mis- 
souri— Arrival  at  the  Nodowa — Mr.  Robert  M' Lei- 
Ian  Joins  the  Party— John  Day,  a  Virginia  Hunter 
— Mr.  Hunt  Returns  to  St.  Louis. 

ST.  LOUIS,  which  is  situated  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  River,   a   few 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri, 
was,  at  that  time,  a  frontier  settlement, 
and  the  last  fitting-out  place   for  the  Indian 
trade  of  the  Southwest.     It  possessed  a  motley 
population,  composed   of  the  Creole  descend- 
ants of  the  original  French  colonists ;  the  keen 
traders  from  the  Atlantic   States  ;    the  back- 
woodsmen of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee ;    the 
Indians  and   half-breeds  of  the   prairies ;    to- 
gether with  a  singular  aquatic  race  that  had 
grown  up  from  the  navigation  of  the  rivers — 
the  "boatmen  of  the  Mississippi,"   who  pos- 
184 


ttbe  flMasouri  ffur  Company  185 

sessed  habits,  manners,  and  almost  a  language, 
peculiarly  their  own,  and  strongly  technical. 
They,  at  that  time,  were  extremely  numerous, 
and  conducted  the  chief  navigation  and  com- 
merce of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  as  the 
•voyageurs  did  of  the  Canadian  waters ;  but, 
like  them,  their  consequence  and  characteris- 
tics are  rapidly  vanishing  before  the  all-per- 
vading intrusion  of  steamboats. 

The  old  French  houses  engaged  in  the  In- 
dian trade  had  gathered  round  them  a  train 
of  dependents,  mongrel  Indians  and  mongrel 
Frenchmen,  who  had  intermarried  with  In- 
dians. These  they  employed  in  their  various 
expeditions  by  land  and  water.  Various  in- 
dividuals of  other  countries  had,  of  late  years, 
pushed  the  trade  farther  into  the  interior,  to 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Missouri,  and  had 
swelled  the  number  of  these  hangers-on.  Sev- 
eral of  these  traders  had,  two  or  three  years 
previously,  formed  themselves  into  a  company, 
composed  of  twelve  partners,  with  a  capital 
of  about  forty  thousand  dollars,  called  the 
Missouri  Fur  Company,  the  object  of  which 
was  to  establish  posts  along  the  upper  part  of 
that  river,  and  monopolize  the  trade.  The 
leading  partner  of  this  company  was  Mr.  Man- 
uel L,isa,  a  Spaniard  by  birth,  and  a  man  of 
bold  and  enterprising  character,  who  had  as- 


i86  Bstoria 


cended  the  Missouri  almost  to  its  source,  and 
made  himself  well  acquainted  and  popular 
with  several  of  its  tribes.  By  his  exertions, 
trading  posts  had  been  established,  in  1808, 
in  the  Sioux  country,  and  among  the  Aricara 
and  Mandan  tribes  ;  and  a  principal  one,  un- 
der Mr.  Henry,  one  of  the  partners,  at  the 
forks  of  the  Missouri.  This  company  had  in 
its  employ  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
partly  American  hunters,  and  partly  Creoles 
and  Canadian  voyageurs. 

All  these  circumstances  combined  to  pro- 
duce a  population  at  St.  Louis  even  still  more 
motley  than  that  at  Mackinaw.  Here  were 
to  be  seen,  about  the  river  banks,  the  hector- 
ing, extravagant,  bragging  boatmen  of  the 
Mississippi,  with  the  gay,  grimacing,  singing, 
good-humored  Canadian  voyageurs.  Vagrant 
Indians,  of  various  tribes,  loitered  about  the 
streets.  Now  and  then  a  stark  Kentucky 
hunter,  in  leathern  hunting-dress,  with  rifle 
on  shoulder  and  knife  in  belt,  strode  along. 
Here  and  there  were  new  brick  houses  and 
shops,  just  set  up  by  bustling,  driving,  and 
eager  men  of  traffic  from  the  Atlantic  States  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  old  French  man- 
sions, with  open  casements,  still  retained  the 
easy,  indolent  air  of  the  original  colonists  ;  and 
now  and  then  the  scraping  of  a  fiddle,  a  strain 


B  IRival  Company  at  St.  Xouis  187 

of  an  ancient  French  song,  or  the  sound  of 
billiard  balls,  showed  that  the  happy  Gallic 
turn  for  gayety  and  amusement  still  lingered 
about  the  place. 

Such  was  St.  Louis  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Hunt's  arrival  there,  and  the  appearance  of 
a  new  fur  company,  with  ample  funds  at  its 
command,  produced  a  strong  sensation  among 
the  Indian  traders  of  the  place,  and  awak- 
ened keen  jealousy  and  opposition  on  the 
part  of  the  Missouri  Company.  Mr.  Hunt 
proceeded  to  strengthen  himself  against 
all  competition.  For  this  purpose,  he  secured 
to  the  interests  of  the  association  another  of 
those  enterprising  men,  who  had  been  engaged 
in  individual  traffic  with  the  tribes  of  the  Mis- 
souri. This  was  a  Mr.  Joseph  Miller,  a  gen- 
tleman well  educated  and  well  informed,  and 
of  a  respectable  family  of  Baltimore.  He  had 
been  an  officer  in  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
but  had  resigned  in  disgust,  on  being  refused 
a  furlough,  and  had  taken  to  trapping  beaver 
and  trading  among  the  Indians.  He  was  easily 
induced  by  Mr.  Hunt  to  join  as  a  partner,  and 
was  considered  by  him,  on  account  of  his  edu- 
cation and  acquirements,  and  his  experience  in 
Indian  trade,  a  valuable  addition  to  the  com- 
pany. 

Several   additional   men   were  likewise   en- 


i88  Bstoria 


listed  at  St.  Louis,  some  as  boatmen,  and  others 
as  hunters.  These  last  were  engaged,  not 
merely  to  kill  game  for  provisions,  but  also, 
and  indeed  chiefly,  to  trap  beaver  and  other 
animals  of  rich  furs,  valuable  in  the  trade. 
They  enlisted  on  different  terms.  Some  were 
to  have  a  fixed  salary  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars ;  others  were  to  be  fitted  out  and  main- 
tained at  the  expense  of  the  company,  and 
were  to  hunt  and  trap  on  shares. 

As  Mr.  Hunt  met  with  much  opposition  on 
the  part  of  rival  traders,  especially  the  Mis- 
souri Fur  Company,  it  took  him  some  weeks 
to  complete  his  preparations.  The  delays 
which  he  had  previously  experienced  at  Mon- 
treal, Mackinaw,  and  on  the  way,  added  to 
those  at  St.  Louis,  had  thrown  him  much  be- 
hind his  original  calculation,  so  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  effect  his  voyage  up  the  Mis- 
souri the  present  year.  This  river,  flowing 
from  high  and  cold  latitudes,  and  through 
wide  and  open  plains,  exposed  to  chilling 
blasts,  freezes  early.  The  winter  may  be  dated 
from  the  first  of  November ;  there  was  every 
prospect,  therefore,  that  it  would  be  closed 
with  ice  long  before  Mr.  Hunt  could  reach  its 
upper  waters.  To  avoid,  however,  the  ex- 
pense of  wintering  at  St.  Louis,  he  determined 
to  push  up  the  river  as  far  as  possible,  to  some 


188 


St.  Lotus*  »6  u  men,  and  others 

AS   hunters.  re   engaged,    not 

merely  t  provisions,  but  also, 

and  indi  to  trap  beaver  and  other 

aniri  furs,   valuable  in  the  trade. 

They  enlisted  on  different  terms.  Some  were 
to  have  a  fixed  salary  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars ;  others  were  to  be  fitted  out  and  main- 
tained at  the  expense  of  the  company,  and 
were  to  hunt  and  trap  on  shares. 

As  Mr.  Hunt  met  with  much  opposition  on 
the  pan  iers,  especially   the  Mis- 

soSfc  l^s  in  the  EaH>  mA$K  Centur*  eeks 
to  complSferawn  from  a  ^r^tefiC8"  The  delays 
which  he  had  previously  experienced  at  Mon- 
treal, Mackinaw  dded  to 

those  at  St.  Lou  be- 

iiat  it  would 

be  impossible  to  rflb  .-  up  the  Mis- 

i   the  pttaci.  This  river,    flowing 

from  high   ai  itudes,    and  through 

wide  and  open  plains,  exposed  to  chilling 
blasts,  freezes  early.  The  winter  may  be  dated 
from  the  first  of  November  ;  there  was  every 
prospect,  therefore,  that  it  would  be  closed 
with  ice  long  before  Mr.  Hunt  could  reach  its 
upper  waters.  To  avoid,  however,  the  ex- 
pense of  wintering  at  St.  Louis,  he  determined 
ip  the  river  as  far  as  possible,  to  some 


I 


tbe  fl&issourf  189 


point  above  the  settlements,  where  game  was 
plenty,  and  where  his  whole  party  could  be 
subsisted  by  hunting,  until  the  breaking  up 
of  the  ice  in  the  spring  should  permit  them  to 
resume  their  voyage. 

Accordingly  on  the  2ist  of  October  he  took 
his  departure  from  St.  Louis.  His  party  was 
distributed  in  three  boats.  One  was  the  barge 
which  he  had  brought  from  Mackinaw  ; 
another  was  of  a  larger  size,  such  as  was  form- 
erly used  in  navigating  the  Mohawk  River, 
and  known  by  the  generic  name  of  the  Sche- 
nectady  barge  ;  the  other  was  a  large  keel  boat, 
at  that  time  the  grand  conveyance  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 

In  this  way  they  set  out  from  St.  I^ouis,  in 
buoyant  spirits,  and  soon  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Missouri.  This  vast  river,  three  thou- 
sand miles  in  length,  and  which,  with  its  tribu- 
tary streams,  drains  such  an  immense  extent 
of  country,  was  as  yet  but  casually  and  imper- 
fectly navigated  by  the  adventurous  bark  of 
the  fur  trader.  A  steamboat  had  never  yet 
stemmed  its  turbulent  current.  Sails  were  but 
of  casual  assistance,  for  it  required  a  strong 
wind  to  conquer  the  force  of  the  stream.  The 
main  dependence  was  on  bodily  strength  and 
manual  dexterity.  The  boats,  in  general,  had 
to  be  propelled  by  oars  and  setting  poles,  or 


190  Bstorla 


drawn  by  the  hand  and  by  grappling  hooks 
from  one  root  or  overhanging  tree  to  another  ; 
or  towed  by  the  long  cordelle,  or  towing  line, 
where  the  shores  were  sufficiently  clear  of 
woods  and  thickets  to  permit  the  men  to  pass 
along  the  banks. 

During  this  slow  and  tedious  progress  the 
boat  would  be  exposed  to  frequent  danger  from 
floating  trees  and  great  masses  of  driftwood, 
or  to  be  impaled  upon  snags  and  sawyers  ;  that 
is  to  say,  sunken  trees  presenting  a  jagged  or 
pointed  end  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 
As  the  channel  of  the  river  frequently  shifted 
from  side  to  side  according  to  the  bends  and 
sand-banks,  the  boat  had,  in  the  same  way,  to 
advance  in  a  zigzag  course.  Often  a  part  of 
the  crew  would  have  to  leap  into  the  water  at 
the  shallows,  and  wade  along  with  the  towing 
line,  while  their  comrades  on  board  toilfully  as- 
sisted with  oar  and  setting  pole.  Sometimes 
the  boat  would  seem  to  be  retained  motionless, 
as  if  spellbound,  opposite  some  point  round 
which  the  current  set  with  violence,  and  where 
the  utmost  labor  scarce  effected  any  visible 
progress. 

On  these  occasions  it  was  that  the  merits  of 
the  Canadian  voyageurs  came  into  full  action. 
Patient  of  toil,  not  to  be  disheartened  by  im- 
pediments and  disappointments,  fertile  in  expe- 


1HIlmter  Quarters  at  IRo&owa  191 

dients,  and  versed  in  every  mode  of  humoring 
and  conquering  the  wayward  current,  they 
would  ply  every  exertion,  sometimes  in  the 
boat,  sometimes  on  shore,  sometimes  in  the 
water,  however  cold  ;  always  alert,  always  in 
good  humor;  and,  should  they  at  any  time 
flag  or  grow  weary,  one  of  their  popular  boat 
songs,  chanted  by  a  veteran  oarsman,  and  re- 
sponded to  in  chorus,  acted  as  a  never-failing 
restorative. 

By  such  assiduous  and  persevering  labor 
they  made  their  way  about  four  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  up  the  Missouri,  by  the  1 6th  of  No- 
vember, to  the  mouth  of  the  Nodowa.  As  this 
was  a  good  hunting  country,  and  as  the  season 
was  rapidly  advancing,  they  determined  to  es- 
tablish their  winter  quarters  at  this  place  ;  and, 
in  fact,  two  days  after  they  had  come  to  a  halt, 
the  river  closed  just  above  their  encampment. 

The  party  had  not  been  long  at  this  place 
when  they  were  joined  by  Mr.  Robert  M' Lei- 
Ian,  another  trader  of  the  Missouri ;  the  same 
who  had  been  associated  with  Mr.  Crooks  in 
the  unfortunate  expedition  in  which  they  had 
been  intercepted  by  the  Sioux  Indians,  and 
obliged  to  make  a  rapid  retreat  down  the  river. 

M'L,ellan  was  a  remarkable  man.  He  had 
been  a  partisan  under  General  Wayne,  in  his 
Indian  wars,  where  he  had  distinguished  him- 


192  Bstorfa 


self  by  his  fiery  spirit  and  reckless  daring,  and 
marvellous  stories  were  told  of  his  exploits. 
His  appearance  answered  to  his  character.  His 
frame  was  meagre,  but  muscular ;  showing 
strength,  activity,  and  iron  firmness.  His  eyes 
were  dark,  deep-set,  and  piercing.  He  was 
restless,  fearless,  but  of  impetuous  and  some- 
times ungovernable  temper.  He  had  been 
invited  by  Mr.  Hunt  to  enroll  himself  as  a  part- 
ner, and  gladly  consented  ;  being  pleased  with 
the  thoughts  of  passing  with  a  powerful  force 
through  the  country  of  the  Sioux,  and  per- 
haps having  an  opportunity  of  revenging 
himself  upon  that  lawless  tribe  for  their  past 
offences. 

Another  recruit  that  joined  the  camp  at 
Nodowa  deserves  equal  mention.  This  was 
John  Day,  a  hunter  from  the  backwoods  of 
Virginia,  who  had  been  several  years  on  the 
Missouri  in  the  service  of  Mr.  Crooks,  and  of 
other  traders.  He  was  about  forty  years  of  age, 
six  feet  two  inches  high,  straight  as  an  Indian  ; 
with  an  elastic  step  as  if  he  trod  on  springs, 
and  a  handsome,  open,  manly  countenance. 
It  was  his  boast  that,  in  his  younger  days, 
nothing  could  hurt  or  daunt  him  ;  but  he  had 
"lived  too  fast,"  and  injured  his  constitution 
by  his  excesses.  Still  he  was  strong  of  hand, 
bold  of  heart,  a  prime  woodman,  and  an  almost 


t>imt's  Dtett  to  St.  Xoute  193 

unerring  shot.  He  had  the  frank  spirit  of  a 
Virginian,  and  the  rough  heroism  of  a  pioneer 
of  the  west. 

The  party  were  now  brought  to  a  halt  for 
several  months.  They  were  in  a  country 
abounding  with  deer  and  wild  turkeys,  so  that 
there  was  no  stint  of  provisions,  and  every  one 
appeared  cheerful  and  contented.  Mr.  Hunt 
determined  to  avail  himself  of  this  interval  to 
return  to  St.  Louis  and  obtain  a  reinforcement. 
He  wished  to  procure  an  interpreter,  acquainted 
with  the  language  of  the  Sioux,  as,  from  all 
accounts,  he  apprehended  difficulties  in  passing 
through  the  country  of  that  nation.  He  felt 
the  necessity,  also,  of  having  a  greater  number 
of  hunters,  not  merely  to  keep  up  a  supply  of 
provisions  throughout  their  long  and  arduous 
expedition,  but  also  as  a  protection  and  defence, 
in  case  of  Indian  hostilities.  For  such  service 
the  Canadian  voyageurs  were  little  to  be  de- 
pended upon,  fighting  not  being  a  part  of  their 
profession.  The  proper  kind  of  men  were 
American  hunters,  experienced  in  savage  life 
and  savage  warfare,  and  possessed  of  the  true 
game  spirit  of  the  west. 

Leaving,  therefore,  the  encampment  in 
charge  of  the  other  partners,  Mr.  Hunt  set  off 
on  foot  on  the  ist  of  January  (1810),  for  St. 
Louis.  He  was  accompanied  by  eight  men  as 

VOL.  I. — 13 


Bstoria 


far  as  Fort  Osage,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  below  Nodowa.  Here  he  procured  a 
couple  of  horses,  and  proceeded  on  the  remain- 
der of  his  journey  with  two  men,  sending  the 
other  six  back  to  the  encampment.  He  arrived 
at  St.  I/ouis  on  the  soth  of  January. 


Gbapter  f  ID. 

Opposition  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company — Blackfeet 
Indians — Pierre  Dorion,  a  Half-breed  Interpreter — 
Renegadoes  from  Nodowa — Messrs.  Bradbury  and 
Nuttall  Join  the  Expedition — Departure  from  St. 
Louis — Daniel  Boone,  the  Patriarch  of  Kentucky — 
John  Colter — His  Adventures  among  the  Indians — 
Fort  Osage— An  Indian  War-feast. 

ON  this  his  second  visit  to  St.  I,ouis,  Mr. 
Hunt  was  again  impeded  in  his  plans 
by  the  opposition  of  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company.     The  affairs  of  that  com- 
pany were,  at  this  time,  in  a  very  dubious  state. 
During  the  preceding  year,  their  principal  es- 
tablishment at  the  forks  of  the  Missouri  had 
been  so  much  harassed  by  the  Blackfeet  In- 
dians, that  its  commander,  Mr.  Henry,  one  of 
the  partners,  had  been  compelled  to  abandon 
the  post  and  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains,  with 
the  intention  of  fixing  himself  upon  one  of  the 
upper  branches  of  the  Columbia.     What  had 
195 


196  Bstoria 


become  of  him  and  his  party  was  unknown. 
The  most  intense  anxiety  was  felt  concerning 
them,  and  apprehensions  that  they  might  have 
been  cut  off  by  the  savages.  At  the  time  of  Mr. 
Hunt's  arrival  at  St.  Louis,  the  Missouri  Com- 
pany were  fitting  out  an  expedition  to  go  in 
quest  of  Mr.  Henry.  It  was  to  be  conducted 
by  Mr.  Manuel  Lisa,  the  enterprising  partner 
already  mentioned. 

There  being  thus  two  expeditions  on  foot  at 
the  same  moment,  an  unusual  demand  was  oc- 
casioned for  hunters  and  voyageurs,  who  ac- 
cordingly profited  by  the  circumstance,  and 
stipulated  for  high  terms.  Mr.  Hunt  found  a 
keen  and  subtle  competitor  in  Lisa,  and  was 
obliged  to  secure  his  recruits  by  liberal  advances 
of  pay,  and  by  other  pecuniary  indulgences. 

The  greatest  difficulty  was  to  procure  the 
Sioux  interpreter.  There  was  but  one  man  to 
be  met  with  at  St.  Louis  who  was  fitted  for  the 
purpose,  but  to  secure  him  would  require  much 
management.  The  individual  in  question  was 
a  half-breed,  named  Pierre  Dorion  ;  and,  as  he 
figures  hereafter  in  this  narrative,  and  is, 
withal,  a  striking  specimen  of  the  hybrid  race 
on  the  frontier,  we  shall  give  a  few  particulars 
concerning  him.  Pierre  was  the  son  of  Dorion, 
the  French  interpreter,  who  accompanied 
Messrs.  Lewis  and  Clarke  in  their  famous  ex- 


pferre  2>orfon  197 


ploring  expedition  across  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Old  Dorion  was  one  of  those  French  Creoles, 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Canadian  stock, 
who  abound  on  the  western  frontier,  and  amal- 
gamate or  cohabit  with  the  savages.  He  had 
sojourned  among  various  tribes,  and  perhaps 
left  progeny  among  them  all  ;  but  his  regular 
or  habitual  wife,  was  a  Sioux  squaw.  By  her 
he  had  a  hopeful  brood  of  half-breed  sons,  of 
whom  Pierre  was  one.  The  domestic  affairs 
of  old  Dorion  were  conducted  on  the  true  In- 
dian plan.  Father  and  sons  would  occasionally 
get  drunk  together,  and  then  the  cabin  was  a 
scene  of  ruffian  brawl  and  fighting,  in  the  course 
of  which  the  old  Frenchman  was  apt  to  get 
soundly  belabored  by  his  mongrel  offspring. 
In  a  furious  scuffle  of  the  kind,  one  of  the  sons 
got  the  old  man  upon  the  ground,  and  was 
upon  the  point  of  scalping  him.  * '  Hold  !  my 
son,"  cried  the  old  fellow,  in  imploring  accents, 
"  you  are  too  brave,  too  honorable  to  scalp  your 
father  !  "  This  last  appeal  touched  the  French 
side  of  the  half-breed's  heart,  so  he  suffered 
the  old  man  to  wear  his  scalp  unharmed, 

Of  this  hopeful  stock  was  Pierre  Dorion,  the 
man  whom  it  was  now  the  desire  of  Mr.  Hunt 
to  engage  as  an  interpreter.  He  had  been  em- 
ployed in  that  capacity  by  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company  during  the  preceding  year,  and  con- 


198  Bstoria 


ducted  their  traders  in  safety  through  the  dif- 
ferent tribes  of  the  Sioux.  He  had  proved 
himself  faithful  and  serviceable  while  sober ; 
but  the  love  of  liquor,  in  which  he  had  been 
nurtured  and  brought  up,  would  occasionally 
break  out,  and  with  it  the  savage  side  of  his 
character. 

It  was  his  love  of  liquor  which  had  em- 
broiled him  with  the  Missouri  Company. 
While  in  their  service  at  Fort  Mandan,  on  the 
frontier,  he  had  been  seized  with  a  whiskey 
mania  ;  and,  as  the  beverage  was  only  to  be 
procured  at  the  company's  store,  it  had  been 
charged  in  his  account  at  the  rate  of  ten  dol- 
lars a  quart.  This  item  had  ever  remained  un- 
settled, and  a  matter  of  furious  dispute,  the 
mere  mention  of  which  was  sufficient  to  put 
him  in  a  passion. 

The  moment  it  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Lisa 
that  Pierre  Dorion  was  in  treaty  with  the  new 
and  rival  association,  he  endeavored,  by  threats 
as  well  as  promises,  to  prevent  his  engaging  in 
their  service.  His  promises  might,  perhaps, 
have  prevailed  ;  but  his  threats,  which  related 
to  the  whiskey  debt,  only  served  to  drive  Pierre 
into  the  opposite  ranks.  Still  he  took  advan- 
tage of  this  competition  for  his  services  to  stand 
out  with  Mr.  Hunt  on  the  most  advantageous 
terms,  and,  after  a  negotiation  of  nearly  two 


Disaffection  ano  Desertion  199 

weeks,  capitulated  to  serve  in  the  expedition, 
as  hunter  and  interpreter,  at  the  rate  of  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  two  hundred  of  which 
were  to  be  paid  in  advance. 

When  Mr.  Hunt  had  got  everything  ready 
for  leaving  St.  Louis,  new  difficulties  arose. 
Five  of  the  American  hunters  from  the  encamp- 
ment at  Nodowa  suddenly  made  their  appear- 
ance. They  alleged  that  they  had  been  ill 
treated  by  the  partners  at  the  encampment, 
and  had  come  off  clandestinely,  in  consequence 
of  a  dispute.  It  was  useless  at  the  present 
moment,  and  under  present  circumstances,  to 
attempt  any  compulsory  measures  with  these 
deserters.  Two  of  them  Mr.  Hunt  prevailed 
upon,  by  mild  means,  to  return  with  him. 
The  rest  refused  ;  nay,  what  was  worse,  they 
spread  such  reports  of  the  hardships  and  dan- 
gers to  be  apprehended  in  the  course  of  the 
expedition,  that  they  struck  a  panic  into  those 
hunters  who  had  recently  engaged  at  St.  Louis, 
and,  when  the  hour  of  departure  arrived,  all 
but  one  refused  to  embark.  It  was  in  vain  to 
plead  or  remonstrate  ;  they  shouldered  their 
rifles  and  turned  their  backr  upon  the  expedi- 
tion, and  Mr.  Hunt  was  fain  to  put  off  from 
shore  with  the  single  hunter  and  a  number  of 
voyageurs  whom  he  had  engaged.  Even 
Pierre  Dorion,  at  the  last  moment,  refused  to 


200  Bstoria 


enter  the  boat  until  Mr.  Hunt  consented  to 
take  his  squaw  and  two  children  on  board  also. 
But  the  tissue  of  perplexities,  on  account  of 
this  worthy  individual,  did  not  end  here. 

Among  the  various  persons  who  were  about 
to  proceed  up  the  Missouri  with  Mr.  Hunt, 
were  two  scientific  gentlemen  :  one  Mr.  John 
Bradbury,  a  man  of  mature  age,  but  great  en- 
terprise and  personal  activity,  who  had  been 
sent  out  by  the  Linnaean  Society  of  Liverpool 
to  make  a  collection  of  American  plants  ;  the 
other,  a  Mr.  Nuttall,  likewise  an  Englishman, 
younger  in  years,  who  has  since  made  himself 
known  as  the  author  of  Travels  in  Arkansas, 
and  a  work  on  the  Genera  of  American  Plants. 
Mr.  Hunt  had  offered  them  the  protection  and 
facilities  of  his  party,  in  their  scientific  re- 
searches up  the  Missouri.  As  they  were  not 
ready  to  depart  at  the  moment  of  embarkation, 
they  put  their  trunks  on  board  of  the  boat, 
but  remained  at  St.  Louis  until  the  next  day, 
for  the  arrival  of  the  post,  intending  to  join 
the  expedition  at  St.  Charles,  a  short  distance 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 

The  same  evening,  however,  they  learned 
that  a  writ  had  been  issued  against  Pierre 
Dorion  for  his  whiskey  debt,  by  Mr.  Lisa,  as 
agent  of  the  Missouri  Company,  and  that  it 
was  the  intention  to  entrap  the  mongrel  lin- 


troubles  201 


guist  on  his  arrival  at  St.  Charles.  Upon 
hearing  this,  Mr.  Bradbury  and  Mr.  Nuttall 
set  off  a  little  after  midnight,  by  land,  got 
ahead  of  the  boat  as  it  was  ascending  the  Mis- 
souri, before  its  arrival  at  St.  Charles,  and  gave 
Pierre  Dorion  warning  of  the  legal  toil  prepared 
to  ensnare  him.  The  knowing  Pierre  immedi- 
ately landed  and  took  to  the  woods,  followed 
by  his  squaw  laden  with  their  papooses,  and  a 
large  bundle  containing  their  most  precious 
effects,  promising  to  rejoin  the  party  some 
distance  above  St.  Charles.  There  seemed 
little  dependence  to  be  placed  upon  the  prom- 
ises of  a  loose  adventurer  of  the  kind,  who 
was  at  the  very  time  playing  an  evasive  game 
with  his  former  employers  ;  who  had  already 
received  two  thirds  of  his  year's  pay,  and  his 
rifle  on  his  shoulder,  his  family  and  wordly 
fortune  at  his  heels,  and  the  wild  woods  before 
him.  There  was  no  alternative,  however,  and 
it  was  hoped  his  pique  against  his  old  employ- 
ers would  render  him  faithful  to  his  new  ones. 
The  party  reached  St.  Charles  in  the  after- 
noon, but  the  harpies  of  the  law  looked  in 
vain  for  their  expected  prey.  The  boats  re- 
sumed their  course  on  the  following  morning, 
and  had  not  proceeded  far  when  Pierre  Dorion 
made  his  appearance  on  the  shore.  He  was 
gladly  taken  on  board,  but  he  came  without 


202  Bstoria 


his  squaw.  They  had  quarrelled  in  the  night  ; 
Pierre  had  administered  the  Indian  discipline 
of  the  cudgel,  whereupon  she  had  taken  to 
the  woods,  with  their  children  and  all  their 
wordly  goods.  Pierre  evidently  was  deeply 
grieved  and  disconcerted  at  the  loss  of  his 
wife  and  his  knapsack,  whereupon  Mr.  Hunt 
despatched  one  of  the  Canadian  voyageurs  in 
search  of  the  fugitive ;  and  the  whole  party, 
after  proceeding  a  few  miles  farther,  encamped 
on  an  island  to  wait  his  return.  The  Canadian 
rejoined  the  party,  but  without  the  squaw  ; 
and  Pierre  Dorion  passed  a  solitary  and  anxious 
night,  bitterly  regretting  his  indiscretion  in 
having  exercised  his  conjugal  authority  so 
near  home.  Before  daybreak,  however,  a  well- 
known  voice  reached  his  ears  from  the  opposite 
shore.  It  was  his  repentant  spouse,  who  had 
been  wandering  the  woods  all  night  in  quest 
of  the  party,  and  had  at  length  descried  it  by 
its  fires.  A  boat  was  despatched  for  her,  the 
interesting  family  was  once  more  united,  and 
Mr.  Hunt  now  flattered  himself  that  his  per- 
plexities with  Pierre  Dorion  were  at  an  end. 

Bad  weather,  very  heavy  rains,  and  an  un- 
usually early  rise  in  the  Missouri,  rendered  the 
ascent  of  the  river  toilsome,  slow,  and  danger- 
ous. The  rise  of  the  Missouri  does  not  gener- 
ally take  place  until  the  month  of  May  or 


Daniel  ^Boone  203 


June  :  the  present  swelling  of  the  river  must 
have  been  caused  by  a  freshet  in  some  of  its 
more  southern  branches.  It  could  not  have 
been  the  great  annual  flood,  as  the  higher 
branches  must  still  have  been  ice-bound. 

And  here  we  cannot  but  pause,  to  notice  the 
admirable  arrangement  of  nature,  by  which 
the  annual  swellings  of  the  various  great 
rivers  which  empty  themselves  into  the  Missis- 
sippi, have  been  made  to  precede  each  other  at 
considerable  intervals.  Thus,  the  flood  of  the 
Red  River  precedes  that  of  the  Arkansas  by  a 
month.  The  Arkansas,  also,  rising  in  a  much 
more  southern  latitude  than  the  Missouri,  takes 
the  lead  of  it  in  its  annual  excess,  and  its 
superabundant  waters  are  disgorged  and  dis- 
posed of  long  before  the  breaking  up  of  the 
icy  barriers  of  the  north  ;  otherwise,  did  all 
these  mighty  streams  rise  simultaneously,  and 
discharge  their  vernal  floods  into  the  Missis- 
sippi, an  inundation  would  be  the  consequence, 
that  would  submerge  and  devastate  all  the 
lower  country. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day,  January 
1 7th,  the  boats  touched  at  Charette,  one  of  the- 
old  villages  founded  by  the  original  French 
colonists.  Here  they  met  with  Daniel  Boone, 
the  renowned  patriarch  of  Kentucky,  who  had 
kept  in  the  advance  of  civilization,  and  on  the 


204  Bstorfa 


borders  of  the  wilderness,  still  leading  a  hunt- 
er's life,  though  now  in  his  eighty-fifth  year. 
He  had  but  recently  returned  from  a  hunting 
and  trapping  expedition,  and  had  brought 
nearly  sixty  beaver  skins  as  trophies  of  his 
skill.  The  old  man  was  still  erect  in  form, 
strong  in  limb,  and  unflinching  in  spirit,  and 
as  he  stood  on  the  river  bank,  watching  the 
departure  of  an  expedition  destined  to  traverse 
the  wilderness  to  the  very  shores  of  the  Pacific, 
very  probably  felt  a  throb  of  his  old  pioneer 
spirit,  impelling  him  to  shoulder  his  rifle  and 
join  the  adventurous  band.  Boone  flourished 
several  years  after  this  meeting,  in  a  vigorous 
old  age,  the  Nestor  of  hunters  and  backwoods- 
men ;  and  died,  full  of  sylvan  honor  and  re- 
nown, in  1818,  in  his  ninety-second  year. 

The  next  morning  early,  as  the  party  were 
yet  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream, 
they  were  visited  by  another  of  these  heroes  of 
the  wilderness,  one  John  Colter,  who  had  ac- 
companied Lewis  and  Clarke  in  their  memora- 
ble expedition.  He  had  recently  made  one  of 
those  vast  internal  voyages  so  characteristic  of 
this  fearless  class  of  men,  and  of  the  immense 
regions  over  which  they  hold  their  lonely  wan- 
derings ;  having  come  from  the  head  waters  of 
the  Missouri  to  St.  Louis  in  a  small  canoe.  This 
distance  of  three  thousand  miles  he  had  accom- 


Colter  an&  potts  205 


plished  in  thirty  days.  Colter  kept  with  the 
party  all  the  morning.  He  had  many  particu- 
lars to  give  them  concerning  the  Blackfeet  In- 
dians, a  restless  and  predatory  tribe,  who  had 
conceived  an  implacable  hostility  to  the  white 
men,  in  consequence  of  one  of  their  warriors 
having  been  killed  by  Captain  Lewis,  while  at- 
tempting to  steal  horses.  Through  the  coun- 
try infested  by  these  savages  the  expedition 
would  have  to  proceed,  and  Colter  was  urgent 
in  reiterating  the  precautions  that  ought  to  be 
observed  respecting  them.  He  had  himself 
experienced  their  vindictive  cruelty,  and  his 
story  deserves  particular  citation,  as  showing 
the  hairbreadth  adventures  to  which  these  soli- 
tary rovers  of  the  wilderness  are  exposed. 

Colter,  with  the  hardihood  of  a  regular  trap- 
per, had  cast  himself  loose  from  the  party  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke  in  the  very  heart  of  the  wil- 
derness, and  had  remained  to  trap  beaver  alone 
on  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri.  Here  he 
fell  in  with  another  lonely  trapper,  like  himself, 
named  Potts,  and  they  agreed  to  keep  together. 
They  were  in  the  very  region  of  the  terrible 
Blackfeet,  at  that  time  thirsting  to  revenge  the 
death  of  their  companion,  and  knew  that  they 
had  to  expect  no  mercy  at  their  hands.  They 
were  obliged  to  keep  concealed  all  day  in  the 
woody  margins  of  the  rivers,  setting  their  traps 


206  Bstoria 


after  nightfall  and  taking  them  up  before  day- 
break. It  was  running  a  fearful  risk  for  the 
sake  of  a  few  beaver  skins  ;  but  such  is  the 
life  of  the  trapper. 

They  were  on  a  branch  of  the  Missouri  called 
Jefferson  Fork,  and  had  set  their  traps  at  night, 
about  six  miles  up  a  small  river  that  emptied 
into  the  fork.  Early  in  the  morning  they  as- 
cended the  river  in  a  canoe,  to  examine  the 
traps.  The  banks  on  each  side  were  high  and 
perpendicular,  and  cast  a  shade  over  the  stream. 
As  they  were  softly  paddling  along,  they  heard 
the  trampling  of  many  feet  upon  the  banks. 
Colter  immediately  gave  the  alarm  of  "  Indi- 
ans ! ' '  and  was  for  instant  retreat.  Potts 
scoffed  at  him  for  being  frightened  by  the  tram- 
pling of  a  herd  of  buffaloes.  Colter  checked 
his  uneasiness  and  paddled  forward.  They  had 
not  gone  much  farther  when  frightful  whoops 
and  yells  burst  forth  from  each  side  of  the  river, 
and  several  hundred  Indians  appeared  on  either 
bank.  Signs  were  made  to  the  unfortunate 
trappers  to  come  on  shore.  They  were  obliged 
to  comply.  Before  they  could  get  out  of  their 
canoe,  a  savage  seized  the  rifle  belonging  to 
Potts.  Colter  sprang  on  shore,  wrested  the 
weapon  from  the  hands  of  the  Indian,  and  re- 
stored it  to  his  companion,  who  was  still  in  the 
canoe,  and  immediately  pushed  into  the  stream. 


witb  tbe  JBlacfcfeet  207 


There  was  the  sharp  twang  of  a  b*ow,  and  Potts 
cried  out  that  he  was  wounded.  Colter  urged 
him  to  come  on  shore  and  submit,  as  his  only 
chance  for  life  ;  but  the  other  knew  there  was 
no  prospect  of  mercy,  and  determined  to  die 
game.  Levelling  his  rifle,  he  shot  one  of  the 
savages  dead  on  the  spot.  The  next  moment 
he  fell  himself,  pierced  with  innumerable  ar- 
rows. 

The  vengeance  of  the  savages  now  turned 
upon  Colter.  He  was  stripped  naked,  and, 
having  some  knowledge  of  the  Blackfoot  lan- 
guage, overheard  a  consultation  as  to  the  mode 
of  despatching  him,  so  as  to  derive  the  greatest 
amusement  from  his  death  .  Some  were  for  set- 
ting him  up  as  a  mark,  and  having  a  trial  of 
skill  at  his  expense.  The  chief,  however,  was 
for  nobler  sport.  He  seized  Colter  by  the 
shoulder,  and  demanded  if  he  could  run  fast. 
The  unfortunate  trapper  was  too  well  ac- 
quainted with  Indian  customs  not  to  compre- 
hend the  drift  of  the  question.  He  knew  he 
was  to  run  for  his  life,  to  furnish  a  kind  of 
human  hunt  to  his  persecutors.  Though  in 
reality  he  was  noted  among  his  brother  hunters 
for  swiftness  of  foot,  he  assured  the  chief  that 
he  was  a  very  bad  runner.  His  stratagem 
gained  him  some  vantage  ground.  He  was  led 
by  the  chief  into  the  prairie,  about  four  hun- 


208  Bstoria 


dred  yards  from  the  main  body  of  savages,  and 
then  turned  loose  to  save  himself  if  he  could. 
A  tremendous  yell  let  him  know  that  the  whole 
pack  of  blood -hounds  were  off  in  full  cry.  Col- 
ter flew  rather  than  ran  ;  he  was  astonished  at 
his  own  speed  ;  but  he  had  six  miles  of  prairie 
to  traverse  before  he  should  reach  the  Jefferson 
Fork  of  the  Missouri ;  how  could  he  hope  to 
hold  out  such  a  distance  with  the  fearful  odds 
of  several  hundred  to  one  against  him  !  The 
plain,  too,  abounded  with  the  prickly  pear, 
which  wounded  his  naked  feet.  Still  he  fled 
on,  dreading  each  moment  to  hear  the  twang 
of  a  bow,  and  to  feel  an  arrow  quivering  at  his 
heart.  He  did  not  even  dare  to  look  round, 
lest  he  should  lose  an  inch  of  that  distance  on 
which  his  life  depended.  He  had  run  nearly 
half  way  across  the  plain  when  the  sound  of 
pursuit  grew  somewhat  fainter,  and  he  ventured 
to  turn  his  head.  The  main  body  of  his  pursuers 
were  a  considerable  distance  behind  ;  several  of 
the  fastest  runners  were  scattered  in  the  ad- 
vance ;  while  a  swift-footed  warrior,  armed  with 
a  spear,  was  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards 
behind  him. 

Inspired  with  new  hope,  Colter  redoubled  his 
exertions,  but  strained  himself  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  the  blood  gushed  from  his  mouth 
and  nostrils,  and  streamed  down  his  breast. 


B  IRun  for  OLite  209 


He  arrived  within  a  mile  of  the  river.  The 
sound  of  footsteps  gathered  upon  him.  A 
glance  behind  showed  his  pursuer  within 
twenty  yards,  and  preparing  to  launch  his 
spear.  Stopping  short  he  turned  round  and 
spread  out  his  arms.  The  savage,  confounded 
by  this  sudden  action,  attempted  to  stop  and 
hurl  his  spear,  but  fell  in  the  very  act.  His 
spear  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  the  shaft  broke 
in  his  hand.  Colter  plucked  up  the  pointed 
part,  pinned  the  savage  to  the  earth,  and  con- 
tinued his  flight.  The  Indians,  as  they  arrived 
at  their  slaughtered  companion,  stopped  to 
howl  over  him.  Colter  made  the  most  of  this 
precious  delay,  gained  the  skirt  of  cottonwood 
bordering  the  river,  dashed  through  it,  and 
plunged  into  the  stream.  He  swam  to  a  neigh- 
boring island,  against  the  upper  end  of  which 
the  driftwood  had  lodged  in  such  quantities  as 
to  form  a  natural  raft ;  under  this  he  dived, 
and  swam  below  water  until  he  succeeded  in 
getting  a  breathing  place  between  the  floating 
trunks  of  trees,  whose  branches  and  bushes 
formed  a  covert  several  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  water.  He  had  scarcely  drawn  breath  after 
all  his  toils,  when  he  heard  his  pursuers  on  the 
river  bank,  whooping  and  yelling  like  so  many 
fiends.  They  plunged  in  the  river,  and  swam 
to  the  raft.  The  heart  of  Colter  almost  died 

VOL.  I.— 14 


210  Sstoria 


within  him  as  he  saw  them,  through  the  chinks 
of  his  concealment,  passing  and  repassing,  and 
seeking  for  him  in  all  directions.  They  at 
length  gave  up  the  search,  and  he  began  to 
rejoice  in  his  escape,  when  the  idea  presented 
itself  that  they  might  set  the  raft  on  fire.  Here 
was  a  new  source  of  horrible  apprehension,  in 
which  he  remained  until  nightfall.  Fortu- 
nately the  idea  did  not  suggest  itself  to  the 
Indians.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark,  finding  by 
the  silence  that  his  pursuers  had  departed, 
Colter  dived  again  and  came  up  beyond  the 
raft.  He  then  swam  silently  down  the  river 
for  a  considerable  distance,  when  he  landed, 
and  kept  on  all  night,  to  get  as  far  as  possible 
from  this  dangerous  neighborhood. 

By  daybreak  he  had  gained  sufficient  dis- 
tance to  relieve  him  from  the  terrors  of  his 
savage  foes ;  but  now  new  sources  of  inquietude 
presented  themselves.  He  was  naked  and 
alone,  in  the  midst  of  an  unbounded  wilder- 
ness ;  his  only  chance  was  to  reach  a  trading 
post  of  the  Missouri  Company,  situated  on  a 
branch  of  the  Yellowstone  River.  Even  should 
he  elude  his  pursuers,  days  must  elapse  before 
he  could  reach  this  post,  during  which  he  must 
traverse  immense  prairies  destitute  of  shade, 
his  naked  body  exposed  to  the  burning  heat 
of  the  sun  by  day,  and  the  dews  and  chills  of 


Dangers  anD  Difficulties  211 

the  night  season,  and  his  feet  lacerated  by  the 
thorns  of  the  prickly  pear.  Though  he  might 
see  game  in  abundance  around  him,  he  had  no 
means  of  killing  any  for  his  sustenance,  and 
must  depend  for  food  upon  the  roots  of  the 
earth.  In  defiance  of  these  difficulties  he 
pushed  resolutely  forward,  guiding  himself  in 
his  trackless  course  by  those  signs  and  indica- 
tions known  only  to  Indians  and  backwoods- 
men ;  and  after  braving  dangers  and  hardships 
enough  to  break  down  any  spirit  but  that  of  a 
western  pioneer,  arrived  safe  at  the  solitary 
post  in  question.  * 

Such  is  a  sample  of  the  rugged  experience 
which  Colter  had  to  relate  of  savage  life  ;  yet, 
with  all  these  perils  and  terrors  fresh  in  his 
recollection,  he  could  not  see  the  present  band 
on  their  way  to  those  regions  of  danger  and 
adventure,  without  feeling  a  vehement  impulse 
to  join  them.  A  western  trapper  is  like  a 
sailor ;  past  hazards  only  stimulate  him  to 
further  risks.  The  vast  prairie  is  to  the  one 
what  the  ocean  is  to  the  other,  a  boundless 
field  of  enterprise  and  exploit.  However  he 
may  have  suffered  in  his  last  cruise,  he  is 
always  ready  to  join  a  new  expedition  ;  and  the 
more  adventurous  its  nature,  the  more  attrac- 
tive is  it  to  his  vagrant  spirit. 

*  Bradbury,   Travels  in  America,  p.  17. 


212  Bstorfa 


Nothing  seems  to  have  kept  Colter  from 
continuing  with  the  party  to  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific  but  the  circumstance  of  his  having  re- 
cently married.  All  the  morning  he  kept  with 
them,  balancing  in  his  mind  the  charms  of  his 
bride  against  those  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ; 
the  former,  however,  prevailed,  and  after  a 
march  of  several  miles,  he  took  a  reluctant 
leave  of  the  travellers,  and  turned  his  face 
homeward. 

Continuing  their  progress  up  the  Missouri, 
the  party  encamped  on  the  evening  of  the  2ist 
of  March,  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  little  fron- 
tier village  of  French  Creoles.  Here  Pierre 
Dorion  met  with  some  of  his  old  comrades, 
with  whom  he  had  a  long  gossip,  and  returned 
to  the  camp  with  rumors  of  bloody  feuds  be- 
tween the  Osages  and  the  loways,  or  Ay  away  s, 
Potowatomies,  Sioux,  and  Sawkees.  Blood 
had  already  been  shed,  and  scalps  been  taken. 
A  war  party,  three  hundred  strong,  were  prowl- 
ing in  the  neighborhood  ;  others  might  be  met 
with  higher  up  the  river ;  it  behooved  the 
travellers,  therefore,  to  be  upon  their  guard 
against  robbery  or  surprise,  for  an  Indian  war- 
party  on  the  march  is  prone  to  acts  of  outrage. 

In  consequence  of  this  report,  which  was 
subsequently  confirmed  by  further  intelligence, 
a  guard  was  kept  up  at  night  round  the  en- 


arrival  at  jfort  ©sage.  213 

campment,  and  they  all  slept  on  their  arms. 
As  they  were  sixteen  in  number,  and  well  sup- 
plied with  weapons  and  ammunition,  they 
trusted  to  be  able  to  give  any  marauding  party 
a  warm  reception.  Nothing  occurred,  how- 
ever, to  molest  them  on  their  voyage,  and  on 
the  8th  of  April  they  came  in  sight  of  Fort 
Osage.  On  their  approach  the  flag  was  hoisted 
on  the  fort,  and  they  saluted  it  by  a  discharge 
of  fire-arms.  Within  a  short  distance  of  the 
fort  was  an  Osage  village,  the  inhabitants  of 
which,  men,  women,  and  children,  thronged 
down  to  the  water  side  to  witness  their  land- 
ing. One  of  the  first  persons  they  met  on  the 
river  bank  was  Mr.  Crooks,  who  had  come 
down  in  a  boat,  with  nine  men,  from  the  win- 
ter encampment  at  Nodowa,  to  meet  them. 

They  remained  at  Fort  Osage  a  part  of  three 
days,  during  which  they  were  hospitably  en- 
tertained at  the  garrison  by  Lieutenant  Brown- 
son,  who  held  a  temporary  command.  They 
were  regaled  also  with  a  war-feast  at  the  vil- 
lage ;  the  Osage  warriors  having  returned 
from  a  successful  foray  against  the  loways, 
in  which  they  had  taken  seven  scalps.  They 
were  paraded  on  poles  about  the  village,  fol- 
lowed by  the  warriors  decked  out  in  all  their 
savage  ornaments,  and  hideously  painted  as  if 
for  battle. 


214  Bstorfa 


By  the  Osage  warriors,  Mr.  Hunt  and  his 
companions  were  again  warned  to  be  on  their 
guard  in  ascending  the  river,  as  the  Sioux 
tribe  meant  to  lay  in  wait  and  attack  them. 

On  the  loth  of  April  they  again  embarked 
their  party,  being  now  augmented  to  twenty- 
six,  by  the  addition  of  Mr.  Crooks  and  his 
boat's  crew.  They  had  not  proceeded  far, 
however,  when  there  was  a  great  outcry  from 
one  of  the  boats  ;  it  was  occasioned  by  a  little 
domestic  discipline  in  the  Dorion  family.  The 
squaw  of  the  worthy  interpreter,  it  appeared, 
had  been  so  delighted  with  the  scalp-dance, 
and  other  festivities  of  the  Osage  village,  that 
she  had  taken  a  strong  inclination  to  remain 
there.  This  had  been  as  strongly  opposed  by 
her  liege  lord,  who  had  compelled  her  to  em- 
bark. The  good  dame  had  remained  sulky 
ever  since,  whereupon  Pierre,  seeing  no  other 
mode  of  exorcising  the  evil  spirit  out  of  her, 
and  being,  perhaps,  a  little  inspired  by  whis- 
key, had  resorted  to  the  Indian  remedy  of  the 
cudgel,  and  before  his  neighbors  could  inter- 
fere, had  belabored  her  so  soundly,  that  there 
is  no  record  of  her  having  shown  any  refrac- 
tory symptoms  throughout  the  remainder  of 
the  expedition. 

For  a  week  they  continued  their  voyage, 
exposed  to  almost  incessant  rains.  The  bodies 


215 


of  drowned  buffaloes  floated  past  them  in  vast 
numbers  ;  many  had  drifted  upon  the  shore, 
or  against  the  upper  ends  of  the  rafts  and 
islands.  These  had  attracted  great  flights  of 
turkey-buzzards ;  some  were  banqueting  on 
the  carcasses,  others  were  soaring  far  aloft  in 
the  sky,  and  others  were  perched  on  the  trees, 
with  their  backs  to  the  sun,  and  their  wings 
stretched  out  to  dry,  like  so  many  vessels  in 
harbor,  spreading  their  sails  after  a  shower. 

The  Turkey-buzzard  (vultur  aura,  or  golden 
vulture),  when  on  the  wing,  is  one  of  the  most 
specious  and  imposing  of  birds.  Its  flight  in 
the  upper  regions  of  the  air  is  really  sublime, 
extending  its  immense  wings,  and  wheeling 
slowly  and  majestically  to  and  fro,  seemingly 
without  exerting  a  muscle  or  fluttering  a 
feather,  but  moving  by  mere  volition,  and 
sailing  on  the  bosom  of  the  air,  as  a  ship  upon 
the  ocean.  Usurping  the  empyreal  realm  of 
the  eagle,  he  assumes  for  a  time  the  port  and 
dignity  of  that  majestic  bird,  and  often  is  mis- 
taken for  him  by  ignorant  crawlers  upon  earth. 
It  is  only  when  he  descends  from  the  clouds 
to  pounce  upon  carrion  that  he  betrays  his  low 
propensities,  and  reveals  his  caitiff  character. 
Near  at  hand  he  is  a  disgusting  bird,  ragged 
in  plumage,  base  in  aspect,  and  of  loathsome 
odor. 


216 


Bstoria 


On  the  iyth  of  April  Mr.  Hunt  arrived  with 
his  party  at  the  station  near  the  Nodowa  River, 
where  the  main  body  had  been  quartered  dur- 
ing the  winter. 


Cbapter 


Return  of  Spring  —  Renewal  of  the  Voyage  —  Night 
Encampments  —  Platte  River  —  Ceremonials  on  Pass- 
ing it  —  Signs  of  Indian  War  Parties  —  Magnificent 
Prospect  at  Papillion  Creek  —  Desertion  of  Two 
Hunters—  Village  of  the  Omahas—  Story  of  Black- 
bird, the  Famous  Omaha  Chief. 

THE  weather  continued  rainy  and  unge- 
nial  for  some  days  after  Mr.  Hunt's 
return  to  Nodowa  ;    yet  spring   was 
rapidly  advancing  and  vegetation  was 
putting  forth  with  all  its  early  freshness  and 
beauty.    The  snakes  began  to  recover  from 
their  torpor  and  crawl  forth  into  day,  and  the 
neighborhood  of  the  wintering  house  seems  to 
have  been    much    infested  with  them.     Mr. 
Bradbury,   in  the  course  of  his  botanical  re- 
searches, found  a  surprising  number  in  a  half 
torpid  state,  under  flat  stones  upon  the  banks. 
which   overhung  the  cantonment,    and    nar- 
rowly escaped  being  struck  by  a  rattlesnake,, 
217 


218  Bstoria 


which  darted  at  him  from  a  cleft  in  the  rock, 
but  fortunately  gave  him  warning  by  his 
rattle. 

The  pigeons,  too,  were  filling  the  woods  in 
vast  migratory  flocks.  It  is  almost  incredible 
to  describle  the  prodigious  flights  of  these 
birds  in  the  western  wildernesses.  They  ap- 
pear absolutely  in  clouds,  and  move  with  as- 
tonishing velocity,  their  wings  making  a 
whistling  sound  as  they  fly.  The  rapid  evo- 
lutions of  these  flocks,  wheeling  and  shifting 
suddenly  as  if  with  one  mind  and  one  impulse  ; 
the  flashing  changes  of  color  they  present,  as 
their  backs,  their  breasts,  or  the  under  part 
of  their  wings  are  turned  to  the  spectator,  are 
singularly  pleasing.  When  they  alight,  if  on 
the  ground,  they  cover  whole  acres  at  a  time  ; 
if  upon  trees,  the  branches  often  break  be- 
neath their  weight.  If  sudden tly  startled 
while  feeding  in  the  midst  of  a  forest,  the 
noise  they  make  in  getting  on  the  wing  is  like 
the  roar  of  a  cataract  or  the  sound  of  distant 
thunder. 

A  flight  of  this  kind,  like  an  Egyptian  flight 
of  locusts,  devours  everything  that  serves  for 
its  food  as  it  passes  along.  So  great  were  the 
numbers  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camp  that  Mr. 
Bradbury,  in  the  course  of  a  morning's  excur- 
sion, shot  nearly  three  hundred  with  a  fowling- 


•Renewal  of  tbe  \t)o^age  219 

piece.  He  gives  a  curious,  though  apparently 
a  faithful,  account  of  the  kind  of  discipline 
observed  in  these  immense  flocks,  so  that  each 
may  have  a  chance  of  picking  up  food.  As 
the  front  ranks  must  meet  with  the  greatest 
abundance,  and  the  rear  ranks  must  have 
scanty  pickings,  the  instant  a  rank  finds  itself 
the  hindmost,  it  rises  in  the  air,  flies  over  the 
whole  flock,  and  takes  its  place  in  the  ad- 
vance. The  next  rank  follows  in  its  course,  and 
thus  the  last  is  continually  becoming  first,  and 
all  by  turns  have  a  front  place  at  the  banquet. 

The  rains  having  at  length  subsided,  Mr. 
Hunt  broke  up  the  encampment  and  resumed 
his  course  up  the  Missouri. 

The  party  now  consisted  of  nearly  sixty  per- 
sons of  whom  five  were  partners,  one,  John 
Reed,  was  a  clerk  ;  forty  were  Canadian  "  voy- 
ageurs  "  or  * '  engages, ' '  and  there  were  several 
hunters.  They  embarked  in  four  boats,  one 
of  which  was  of  a  large  size,  mounting  a  swivel 
and  two  howitzers.  All  were  furnished  with 
masts  and  sails,  to  be  used  when  the  wind  was 
sufficiently  favorable  and  strong  to  overpower 
the  current  of  the  river.  Such  was  the  case 
for  the  first  four  or  five  days,  when  they  were 
wafted  steadily  up  the  stream  by  a  strong  south- 
easter. 

Their    encampments    at    night   were  often 


220  Bstorla 


pleasant  and  picturesque  :  on  some  beautiful 
bank,  beneath  spreading  trees,  which  afforded 
them  shelter  and  fuel.  The  tents  were  pitched, 
the  fires  made,  and  the  meals  prepared  by  the 
voyageurs,  and  many  a  story  was  told,  and  joke 
passed,  and  song  sung  round  the  evening  fire. 
All,  however,  were  asleep  at  an  early  hour. 
Some  under  the  tents,  others  wrapped  in  blank- 
ets before  the  fire,  or  beneath  the  trees ;  and 
some  few  in  the  boats  and  canoes. 

On  the  28th,  they  breakfasted  on  one  of  the 
islands  which  lie  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nebraska 
or  Platte  River — the  largest  tributary  of  the 
Missouri,  and  about  six  hundred  miles  above 
its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi.  This 
broad  but  shallow  stream  flows  for  an  immense 
distance  through  a  wide  and  verdant  valley 
scooped  out  of  boundless  prairies.  It  draws 
its  main  supplies,  by  several  forks  or  branches, 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  mouth  of 
this  river  is  established  as  the  dividing  point 
between  the  upper  and  lower  Missouri ;  and 
the  earlier  voyagers,  in  their  toilsome  ascent, 
before  the  introduction  of  steamboats,  con- 
sidered one  half  of  their  labors  accomplished 
when  they  reached  this  place.  The  passing 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Nebraska,  therefore,  was 
equivalent  among  boatmen  to  the  crossing  of 
the  line  among  sailors,  and  was  celebrated  with 


Stems  of  TlUar  parties  221 


like  ceremonials  of  a  rough  and  waggish 
nature,  practised  upon  the  uninitiated  ;  among 
which  was  the  old  nautical  joke  of  shaving. 
The  river  deities,  however,  like  those  of  the 
sea,  were  to  be  propitiated  by  a  bribe,  and  the 
infliction  of  these  rude  honors  to  be  parried  by 
a  treat  to  the  adepts. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Nebraska  new  signs 
were  met  with  of  war  parties  which  had 
recently  been  in  the  vicinity.  There  was  the 
frame  of  a  skin  canoe,  in  which  the  warriors 
had  traversed  the  river.  At  night,  also,  the 
lurid  reflection  of  immense  fires  hung  in  the 
sky,  showing  the  conflagration  of  great  tracts 
of  the  prairies.  Such  fires  not  being  made  by 
hunters  so  late  in  the  season,  it  was  supposed 
they  were  caused  by  some  wandering  war 
parties.  These  often  take  the  precaution  to 
set  the  prairies  on  fire  behind  them  to  conceal 
their  traces  from  their  enemies.  This  is  chiefly 
done  when  the  party  has  been  unsuccessful, 
and  is  on  the  retreat  and  apprehensive  of  pur- 
suit. At  such  time  it  is  not  safe  even  for 
friends  to  fall  in  with  them,  as  they  are  apt  to 
be  in  savage  humor,  and  disposed  to  vent  their 
spleen  in  capricious  outrage.  These  signs, 
therefore,  of  a  band  of  marauders  on  the  prowl, 
called  for  some  degree  of  vigilance  on  the  part 
of  the  travellers. 


Bdtorta 


After  passing  the  Nebraska,  the  party  halted 
for  part  of  two  days  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  a 
little  above  Papillion  Creek,  to  supply  them- 
selves with  a  stock  of  oars  and  poles  from  the 
tough  wood  of  the  ash,  which  is  not  met  with 
higher  up  the  Missouri.  While  the  voyagers 
were  thus  occupied,  the  naturalists  rambled 
over  the  adjacent  country  to  collect  plants. 
From  the  summit  of  a  range  of  bluffs  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  high,  they  had  one  of  those  vast 
and  magnificent  prospects  which  sometimes 
unfold  themselves  in  those  boundless  regions. 
Below  them  was  the  Valley  of  the  Missouri, 
about  seven  miles  in  breadth,  clad  in  the  fresh 
verdure  of  spring  ;  enamelled  with  flowers  and 
interspersed  with  clumps  and  groves  of  noble 
trees,  between  which  the  mighty  river  poured 
its  turbulent  and  turbid  stream.  The  interior 
of  the  country  presented  a  peculiar  scene  ;  the 
immense  waste  being  broken  up  by  innumer- 
able green  hills,  not  above  eight  feet  in  height, 
but  extremely  steep,  and  actually  pointed  at 
their  summits.  A  long  line  of  bluffs  extended 
for  upwards  of  thirty  miles  parallel  to  the 
Missouri,  with  a  shallow  lake  stretching  along 
their  base,  which  had  evidently  once  formed  a 
bed  of  the  river.  The  surface  of  this  lake  was 
covered  with  aquatic  plants,  on  the  broad  leaves 


Desertion  of  £wo  Ibunters  223 

of  which  numbers  of  water-snakes,  drawn  forth 
by  the  genial  warmth  of  spring,  were  basking 
in  the  sunshine. 

On  the  2d  day  of  May,  at  the  usual  hour  of 
embarking,  the  camp  was  thrown  into  some 
confusion  by  two  of  the  hunters,  named  Har- 
rington, expressing  their  intention  to  abandon 
the  expedition  and  return  home.  One  of  these 
had  joined  the  party  in  the  preceding  autumn, 
having  been  hunting  for  two  years  on  the 
Missouri  ;  the  other  had  engaged  at  St.  Louis, 
in  the  following  March,  and  had  come  up  from 
thence  with  Mr.  Hunt.  He  now  declared  that 
he  had  enlisted  merely  for  the  purpose  of  follow- 
ing his  brother,  and  persuading  him  to  return  ; 
having  been  enjoined  to  do  so  by  his  mother, 
whose  anxiety  had  been  awakened  by  the  idea 
of  his  going  on  such  a  wild  and  distant  expe- 
dition. 

The  loss  of  two  stark  hunters  and  prime 
riflemen  was  a  serious  affair  to  the  party,  for 
they  were  approaching  the  region  where  they 
might  expect  hostilities  from  the  Sioux  ;  in- 
deed, throughout  the  whole  of  their  perilous 
journey,  the  services  of  such  men  would  be 
all  important,  for  little  reliance  was  to  be  placed 
upon  the  valor  of  the  Canadians  in  case  ot 
attack.  Mr.  Hunt  endeavored  by  arguments, 
expostulations,  and  entreaties,  to  shake  the 


224  Bstorfa 


determination  of  the  two  brothers.  He  repre- 
sented to  them  that  they  were  between  six  and 
seven  hundred  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri ;  that  they  would  have  four  hundred 
miles  to  go  before  they  could  reach  the  habi- 
tation of  a  white  man,  throughout  which  they 
would  be  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  risks  ;  since, 
he  declared,  if  they  persisted  in  abandoning 
him  and  breaking  their  faith,  he  would  not 
furnish  them  with  a  single  round  of  ammuni- 
tion. All  was  in  vain  ;  they  obstinately  per- 
sisted in  their  resolution ;  whereupon,  Mr. 
Hunt,  partly  incited  by  indignation,  partly  by 
the  policy  of  deferring  others  from  desertion,  put 
his  threat  into  execution,  and  left  them  to  find 
their  way  back  to  the  settlement  without,  as  he 
supposed,  a  single  bullet  or  charge  of  powder. 
The  boats  now  continued  their  slow  and  toil- 
some course  for  several  days  against  the  cur- 
rent of  the  river.  The  late  signs  of  roaming 
war  parties  caused  a  vigilant  watch  to  be  kept 
up  at  night  when  the  crews  encamped  on 
shore  ;  nor  was  this  vigilance  superfluous  ;  for 
on  the  night  of  the  seventh  instant,  there  was 
a  wild  and  fearful  yell,  and  eleven  Sioux  war- 
riors, stark  naked,  with  tomahawks  in  their 
hands,  rushed  into  camp.  They  were  instantly 
surrounded  and  seized,  whereupon  their  leader 
called  out  to  his  followers  to  desist  from  any 


Untrusion  in  Camp  225 


violence,  and  pretended  to  be  perfectly  pacific 
in  his  intentions.  It  proved,  however,  that 
they  were  a  part  of  the  war  party,  the  skeleton 
of  whose  canoe  had  been  seen  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Platte,  and  the  reflection  of  whose 
fires  had  been  descried  in  the  air.  They  had 
been  disappointed  or  defeated  in  the  foray,  and 
in  their  rage  and  mortification  these  eleven 
warriors  had  '  *  devoted  their  clothes  to  the 
medicine."  This  is  a  desperate  act  of  Indian 
braves  when  foiled  in  war,  and  in  dread  of 
scoffs  and  sneers.  In  such  case  they  some- 
times throw  off  their  clothes  and  ornaments, 
devote  themselves  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and 
attempt  some  reckless  exploit  with  which  to 
cover  their  disgrace.  Woe  to  any  defenceless 
party  of  white  men  that  may  then  fall  in  their 
way  ! 

Su^ch  was  the  explanation  given  by  Pierre 
Dorion,  the  half-breed  interpreter,  of  this  wild 
intrusion  into  the  camp  ;  and  the  party  was 
so  exasperated  when  apprised  of  the  sanguin- 
ary intentions  of  the  prisoners,  that  they  were 
for  shooting  them  on  the  spot.  Mr.  Hunt, 
however,  exerted  his  usual  moderation  and 
humanity,  and  ordered  that  they  should  be 
conveyed  across  the  river  in  one  of  the  boats, 
threatening  them,  however,  with  certain  death, 
if  again  caught  in  any  hostile  act. 


226  Bstoria 


On  the  loth  of  May  the  party  arrived  at  the 
Omaha  (pronounced  Omawhaw)  village,  about 
eight  hundred  and  thirty  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and  encamped  in  its 
neighborhood.  The  village  was  situated  under 
a  hill  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  consisted 
of  about  eighty  lodges.  These  were  of  a  circular 
and  conical  form,  and  about  sixteen  feet  in 
diameter  ;  being  mere  tents  of  dressed  buffalo 
skins,  sewed  together  and  stretched  on  long 
poles  inclined  towards  each  other  so  as  to  cross 
at  about  half  their  height.  Thus  the  naked 
tops  of  the  poles  diverge  in  such  a  manner 
that,  if  they  were  covered  with  skins  like  the 
lower  ends,  the  tent  would  be  shaped  like  an 
hour-glass,  and  present  the  appearance  of  one 
cone  inverted  on  the  apex  of  another. 

The  forms  of  Indian  lodges  are  worthy  of 
attention,  each  tribe  having  a  different  mode 
of  shaping  and  arranging  them,  so  that  it  is 
easy  to  tell,  on  seeing  a  lodge  or  an  encamp- 
ment at  a  distance,  to  what  tribe  the  inhabi- 
tants belong.  The  exterior  of  the  Omaha 
lodges  have  often  a  gay  and  fanciful  appear- 
ance, being  painted  with  undulating  bands  of 
red  or  yellow,  or  decorated  with  rude  figures 
of  horses,  deer,  and  buffaloes,  and  with  human 
faces,  painted  like  full  moons,  four  and  five 
feet  broad. 


•ffnDfan  bribes  on  tbe  /DMssouri       227 

The  Omahas  were  once  one  of  the  numerous 
and  powerful  tribes  of  the  prairies,  vying  in 
warlike  might  and  prowess  with  the  Sioux, 
Pawnees,  the  Sauks,  the  Konzas,  and  the 
latans.  Their  wars  with  the  Sioux,  however, 
had  thinned  their  ranks,  and  the  small-pox  in 
1802  had  swept  off  two  thirds  of  their  number. 
At  the  time  of  Mr.  Hunt's  visit  they  still 
boasted  about  two  hundred  warriors  and  hunt- 
ers, but  they  are  now  fast  melting  away,  and 
before  long,  will  be  numbered  among  those 
extinguished  nations  of  the  west  that  exist  but 
in  tradition. 

In  his  correspondence  with  Mr.  Astor,  from 
this  point  of  his  journey,  Mr.  Hunt  gives  a  sad 
account  of  the  Indian  tribes  bordering  on  the 
river.  They  were  in  continual  war  with  each 
other,  and  their  wars  were  of  the  most  harass- 
ing kind  ;  consisting,  not  merely  of  main  con- 
flicts and  expeditions  of  moment,  involving  the 
sackings,  burnings,  and  massacres  of  towns 
and  villages,  but  of  individual  acts  of  treach- 
ery, murder,  and  cold-blooded  cruelty  ;  or  of 
vaunting  and  foolhardy  exploits  of  single  war- 
riors, either  to  avenge  some  personal  wrong, 
or  gain  the  vainglorious  trophy  of  a  scalp. 
The  lonely  hunter,  the  wandering  wayfarer, 
the  poor  squaw  cutting  wood  or  gathering  corn, 
was  liable  to  be  surprised  and  slaughtered. 


22S  Bstoria 


In  this  way  tribes  were  either  swept  away  at 
once,  or  gradually  thinned  out,  and  savage 
life  was  surrounded  with  constant  horrors  and 
alarms.  That  the  race  of  red  men  should 
diminish  from  year  to  year,  and  so  few  should 
survive  of  the  numerous  nations  which  evi- 
dently once  peopled  the  vast  regions  of  the 
west,  is  nothing  surprising  ;  it  is  rather  matter 
of  surprise  that  so  many  should  survive  ;  for 
the  existence  of  a  savage  in  these  parts  seems 
little  better  than  a  prolonged  and  all-besetting 
death.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  caricature  of  the 
boasted  romance  of  feudal  times  ;  chivalry  in 
its  native  and  uncultured  state,  and  knight- 
errantry  run  wild. 

In  their  most  prosperous  days,  the  Omahas 
looked  upon  themselves  as  the  most  powerful 
and  perfect  of  human  beings,  and  considered 
all  created  things  as  made  for  their  peculiar 
use  and  benefit.  It  is  this  tribe  of  whose  chief, 
the  famous  Wash-ing-guh-sah-ba,  or  Black- 
bird, such  savage  and  romantic  stories  are  told. 
He  had  died  about  ten  years  previous  to  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Hunt's  party,  but  his  name  was 
still  mentioned  with  awe  by  his  people.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  among  the  Indian  chiefs 
on  the  Missouri  to  deal  with  the  white  traders, 
and  showed  great  sagacity  in  levying  his  royal 
dues.  When  a  trader  arrived  in  his  village, 


JSlacftbirD,  tbe  ©maba  Cbief  229 

he  caused  all  his  goods  to  be  brought  into  his 
lodge  and  opened.  From  these  he  selected 
whatever  suited  his  sovereign  pleasure ;  blank- 
ets, tobacco,  whiskey,  powder,  ball,  beads, 
and  red  paint ;  and  laid  the  articles  on  one 
side,  without  deigning  to  give  any  compensa- 
tion. Then  calling  to  him  his  herald  or  crier, 
he  would  order  him  to  mount  on  top  of  the 
lodge  and  summon  all  the  tribe  to  bring  in 
their  peltries,  and  trade  with  the  white  man. 
The  lodge  would  soon  be  crowded  with  Indians 
bringing  bear,  beaver,  otter,  and  other  skins. 
No  one  was  allowed  to  dispute  the  prices  fixed 
by  the  white  trader  upon  his  articles  ;  who 
took  care  to  indemnify  himself  five  times 
over  for  the  goods  set  apart  by  the  chief. 
In  this  way  the  Blackbird  enriched  him- 
self and  enriched  the  white  men,  and  be- 
came exceedingly  popular  among  the  traders 
of  the  Missouri.  His  people,  however,  were 
not  equally  satisfied  by  a  regulation  of  trade 
which  worked  so  manifestly  against  them, 
and  began  to  show  signs  of  discontent.  Upon 
this  a  crafty  and  unprincipled  trader  revealed 
a  secret  to  the  Blackbird,  by  which  he  might 
acquire  unbounded  sway  over  his  ignorant  and 
superstitious  subjects.  He  instructed  him  in 
the  poisonous  qualities  of  arsenic,  and  fur- 
nished him  with  an  ample  supply  of  that  bane- 


230  Bstoria 


ful  drug.  From  this  time  the  Blackbird 
seemed  endowed  with  supernatural  powers,  to 
possess  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  to  hold  the 
disposal  of  life  and  death  within  his  hands. 
Woe  to  any  one  who  questioned  his  authority 
or  dared  to  dispute  his  commands  !  The  Black- 
bird prophesied  his  death  within  a  certain 
time,  and  he  had  the  secret  means  of  verifying 
his  prophecy.  Within  the  fated  period  the 
offender  was  smitten  with  strange  and  sudden 
disease,  and  perished  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.  Every  one  stood  aghast  at  these  multi- 
plied examples  of  his  superhuman  might,  and 
dreaded  to  displease  so  omnipotent  and  vindic- 
tive a  being  ;  and  the  Blackbird  enjoyed  a 
wide  and  undisputed  sway. 

It  was  not,  however,  by  terror  alone  that  he 
ruled  his  people  ;  he  was  a  warrior  of  the  first 
order,  and  his  exploits  in  arms  were  the  theme 
of  young  and  old.  His  career  had  begun  by 
hardships,  having  been  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Sioux,  in  early  youth.  Under  his  command, 
the  Cmahas  obtained  great  character  for  mili- 
tary prowess  ;  nor  did  he  permit  an  insult  or 
an  injury  to  one  of  his  tribe  to  pass  unrevenged. 
The  Pawnee  republicans  had  inflicted  a  gross 
indignity  on  a  favorite  and  distinguished 
Omaha  brave.  The  Blackbird  assembled  his 
warfiors,  led  them  against  the  Pawnee  town, 


JSlacfcbfrfc's  prowess  231 


attacked  it  with  irresistible  fury,  slaughtered  a 
great  number  of  its  inhabitants,  and  burnt  it  to 
the  ground.  He  waged  fierce  and  bloody  war 
against  the  Ottoes  for  many  years,  until  peace 
was  effected  between  them  by  the  mediation  of 
the  whites.  Fearless  in  battle,  and  fond  of 
signalizing  himself,  he  dazzled  his  followers 
by  daring  acts.  In  attacking  a  Kanza  village, 
he  rode  singly  round  it,  loading  and  discharg- 
ing his  rifle  at  the  inhabitants  as  he  galloped 
past  them.  He  kept  up  in  war  the  same  idea 
of  mysterious  and  supernatural  power.  At 
one  time,  when  pursuing  a  war  party  by  their 
tracks  across  the  prairies,  he  repeatedly  dis- 
charged his  rifle  into  the  prints  made  by  their 
feet  and  by  the  hoofs  of  their  horses,  assuring 
his  followers  that  he  would  thereby  cripple  the 
fugitives,  so  that  they  would  easily  be  over- 
taken. He  in  fact  did  overtake  them,  and  de- 
stroyed them  almost  to  a  man  ;  and  his  victory 
was  considered  miraculous  both  by  friend  and 
foe.  By  these  and  similar  exploits,  he  made 
himself  the  pride  and  boast  of  his  people,  and 
became  popular  among  them,  notwithstanding 
his  death-denouncing  fiat. 

With  all  his  savage  and  terrific  qualities,  he 
was  sensible  of  the  power  of  female  beauty,  and 
capable  of  love.  A  war  party  of  the  Poncas 
had  made  a  foray  into  the  lands  of  the  Omahas, 


232  Sstorta 


and  carried  off  a  number  of  women  and  horses. 
The  Blackbird  was  roused  to  fury,  and  took 
the  field  with  all  his  braves,  swearing  to 
"  eat  up  the  Ponca  nation  " — the  Indian  threat 
of  exterminating  war.  The  Poncas,  sorely 
pressed  took  refuge  behind  a  rude  bulwark  of 
earth  ;  but  the  Blackbird  kept  up  so  galling  a 
fire,  that  he  seemed  likely  to  execute  his 
menace.  In  their  extremity  they  sent  forth 
a  herald,  bearing  the  calumet  or  pipe  of 
peace,  but  he  was  shot  down  by  order 
of  the  Blackbird.  Another  herald  was  sent 
forth  in  similar  guise,  but  he  shared  a  like 
fate.  The  Ponca  chief  then,  as  a  last  hope, 
arrayed  his  beautiful  daughter  in  her  finest 
ornaments,  and  sent  her  forth  with  a  calumet, 
to  sue  for  peace.  The  charms  of  the  Indian 
maid  touched  the  stern  heart  of  the  Blackbird  ; 
he  accepted  the  pipe  at  her  hand,  smoked  it, 
and  from  that  time  a  peace  took  place  between 
the  Poncas  and  the  Omahas. 

This  beautiful  damsel,  in  all  probability,  was 
the  favorite  wife  whose  fate  makes  so  tragic 
an  incident  in  the  story  of  the  Blackbird.  Her 
youth  and  beauty  had  gained  an  absolute  sway 
over  his  rugged  heart,  so  that  he  distinguished 
her  above  all  his  other  wives.  The  habitual 
gratification  of  his  vindictive  impulses,  how- 
ever, had  taken  away  from  him  all  mastery 


Crime  233 


over  his  passions,  and  rendered  him  liable  to 
the  most  furious  transports  of  rage.  In  one  of 
these  his  beautiful  wife  had  the  misfortune  to 
offend  him,  when  suddenly  drawing  his  knife, 
he  laid  her  dead  at  his  feet  with  a  single  blow. 

In  an  instant  his  frenzy  was  at  an  end.  He 
gazed  for  a  time  in  mute  bewilderment  upon 
his  victim  ;  then  drawing  his  buffalo  robe  over 
his  head,  he  sat  down  beside  the  corpse,  and 
remained  brooding  over  his  crime  and  his  loss. 
Three  days  elapsed,  yet  the  chief  continued 
silent  and  motionless  ;  tasting  no  food,  and  ap- 
parently sleepless.  It  was  apprehended  that 
he  intended  to  starve  himself  to  death  ;  his 
people  approached  him  in  trembling  awe,  and 
entreated  him  once  more  to  uncover  his  face 
and  be  comforted  ;  but  he  remained  unmoved. 
At  length  one  of  his  warriors  brought  in  a 
small  child,  and  laying  it  on  the  ground  placed 
the  foot  of  the  Blackbird  upon  its  neck.  The 
heart  of  the  gloomy  savage  was  touched  by 
this  appeal ;  he  threw  aside  his  robe  ;  made  an 
harangue  upon  what  he  had  done ;  and  from 
that  time  forward  seemed  to  have  thrown  the 
load  of  grief  and  remorse  from  his  mind. 

He  still  retained  his  fatal  and  mysterious 
secret,  and  with  it  his  terrific  power  ;  but, 
though  able  to  deal  death  to  his  enemies,  he 
could  not  avert  it  from  himself  or  his  friends. 


234  Bstoria 


In  1802  the  small-pox,  that  dreadful  pestilence, 
which  swept  over  the  land  like  a  fire  over  the 
prairie,  made  its  appearance  in  the  village  of 
the  Omahas.  The  poor  savages  saw  with  dis- 
may the  ravages  of  a  malady,  loathsome  and 
agonizing  in  its  details,  and  which  set  the  skill 
and  experience  of  their  conjurers  and  medicine 
men  at  defiance.  In  a  little  while,  two  thirds 
of  the  population  were  swept  from  the  face  of 
the  earth,  and  the  doom  of  the  rest  seemed 
sealed.  The  stoicism  of  the  warriors  was  at 
an  end ;  they  became  wild  and  desperate  ; 
some  set  fire  to  the  village  as  a  last  means  of 
checking  the  pestilence  ;  others,  in  a  frenzy  of 
despair,  put  their  wives  and  children  to  death, 
that  they  might  be  spared  the  agonies  of  an 
inevitable  disease,  and  that  they  might  all  go 
to  some  better  country. 

When  the  general  horror  and  dismay  was  at 
its  height,  the  Blackbird  himself  was  struck 
down  with  the  malady.  The  poor  savages, 
when  they  saw  their  chief  in  danger,  forgot  their 
own  miseries,  and  surrounded  his  dying  bed. 
His  dominant  spirit,  and  his  love  for  the  white 
men,  were  evinced  in  his  latest  breath,  with 
which  he  designated  his  place  of  sepulture. 
It  was  to  be  on  a  hill  or  promontory,  upwards 
of  four  hundred  feet  in  height,  overlooking  a 
great  extent  of  the  Missouri,  from  whence  he 


JSuriat  of  JSlacfcbirD  235 


had  been  accustomed  to  watch  for  the  barks 
of  the  white  men.  The  Missouri  washes  the 
base  of  the  promontory,  and  after  winding  and 
doubling  in  many  links  and  mazes  in  the  plain 
below,  returns  to  within  nine  hundred  yards 
of  its  starting-place ;  so  that  for  thirty  miles 
navigating  with  sail  and  oar,  the  voyager  finds 
himself  continually  near  to  this  singular  prom- 
ontory as  if  spellbound. 

It  was  the  dying  command  of  the  Blackbird 
that  his  tomb  should  be  on  the  summit  of  this 
hill,  in  which  he  should  be  interred,  seated 
on  his  favorite  horse,  that  he  might  overlook 
his  ancient  domain,  and  behold  the  barks  of 
the  white  men  as  they  came  up  the  river  to 
trade  with  his  people. 

His  dying  orders  were  faithfully  obeyed. 
His  corpse  was  placed  astride  of  his  war-steed 
and  a  mound  raised  over  them  on  the  summit 
of  the  hill.  On  top  of  the  mound  was  erected 
a  staff,  from  which  fluttered  the  banner  of  the 
chieftain,  and  the  scalps  that  he  had  taken  in 
battle.  When  the  expedition  under  Mr.  Hunt 
visited  that  part  of  the  country,  the  staff  still 
remained,  with  the  fragments  of  the  banner ; 
and  the  superstitious  rite  of  placing  food  from 
time  to  time  on  the  mound,  for  the  use  of  the 
deceased,  was  still  observed  by  the  Omahas. 
That  rite  has  since  fallen  into  disuse,  for  the 


236 


Bstotia 


tribe  itself  is  almost  extinct.  Yet  the  hill  of 
the  Blackbird  continues  an  object  of  veneration 
to  the  wandering  savage,  and  a  landmark  to 
the  voyager  of  the  Missouri ;  and  as  the  civil- 
ized traveller  comes  within  sight  of  its  spell- 
bound crest,  the  mound  is  pointed  out  to  him 
from  afar,  which  still  incloses  the  grim  skele- 
tons of  the  Indian  warrior  and  his  horse. 


Cbapter  £ IDU1T. 

Rumors  of  Danger  from  the  Sioux  Tetons — Pirates  of 
the  Missouri — Their  Affair  with  Crooks  and  M'Lel- 
lan  —  M'L/ellan's  Vow  of  Vengeance  —  Departure 
from  the  Omaha  Village— Meeting  with  Jones  and 
Carson,  two  Adventurous  Trappers — Scientific  Pur- 
suits of  Messrs.  Bradbury  and  Nuttall — Adventure 
of  Mr.  Bradbury  with  a  Ponca  Indian — A  Messenger 
from  Lisa — Motives  for  Pressing  Forward. 

WHILE  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  party  were 
sojourning   at   the  village   of  the 
Omahas,    three  Sioux  Indians  of 
the  Yankton  Ahna  tribe  arrived, 
bringing    unpleasant    intelligence.     They   re- 
ported that  certain  bands  of  the  Sioux  Tetons, 
who  inhabited  a  region  manjr  leagues  farther 
up  the  Missouri,  were  near  at  hand,  awaiting 
the  approach  of  the  party,   with  the   avowed 
intention  of  opposing  their  progress. 

The  Sioux  Tetons  were  at  that  time  a  sort 
of  pirates  of  the  Missouri,  who  considered  the 
237 


238  Bstoria 


well- freighted  bark  of  the  American  trader  fair 
game.  They  had  their  own  traffic  with  the 
British  merchants  of  the  Northwest,  who 
brought  them  regular  supplies  of  merchandise 
by  way  of  the  river  St.  Peter.  Being  thus 
independent  of  the  Missouri  traders  for  their 
supplies,  they  kept  no  terms  with  them,  but 
plundered  them  whenever  they  had  an  oppor- 
tunity. It  has  been  insinuated  that  they  were 
prompted  to  these  outrages  by  the  British  mer- 
chants, who  wished  to  keep  off  all  rivals  in  the 
Indian  trade  ;  but  others  allege  another  motive, 
and  one  savoring  of  a  deeper  policy.  The 
Sioux,  by  their  intercourse  with  the  British 
traders,  had  acquired  the  use  of  fire-arms, 
which  had  given  them  vast  superiority  over 
other  tribes  higher  up  the  Missouri.  They  had 
made  themselves  also,  in  a  manner,  factors  for 
the  upper  tribes,  supplying  them  at  second 
hand,  and  at  greatly  advanced  prices,  with 
goods  derived  from  the  white  men.  The  Sioux, 
therefore,  saw  with  jealousy  the  American 
traders  pushing  their  way  up  the  Missouri ; 
foreseeing  that  the  upper  tribes  would  thus  be 
relieved  from  all  dependence  on  them  for  sup- 
plies ;  nay,  what  was  worse,  would  be  furnished 
with  fire-arms,  and  elevated  into  formidable 
rivals. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  a  case  in  which 


pirates  of  tbe  /BMsaouri  239 

Mr.  Crooks  and  Mr.  M'Lellan  had  been  inter- 
rupted in  a  trading  voyage  by  these  ruffians  of 
the  river,  and,  as  it  is  in  some  degree  con- 
nected with  circumstances  hereafter  to  be 
related,  we  shall  specify  it  more  particularly. 

About  two  years  before  the  time  of  which 
we  are  treating,  Crooks  and  M'Lellan  were 
ascending  the  river  in  boats  with  a  party  of 
about  forty  men,  bound  on  one  of  their  trading 
expeditions  to  the  upper  tribes.  In  one  of  the 
bends  of  the  river,  where  the  channel  made  a 
deep  curve  under  impending  banks,  they  sud- 
denly heard  yells  and  shouts  above  them,  and 
beheld  the  cliffs  overhead  covered  with  armed 
savages.  It  was  a  band  of  Sioux  warriors, 
upwards  of  six  hundred  strong.  They  bran- 
dished their  weapons  in  a  menacing  manner, 
and  ordered  the  boats  to  turn  back  and  land 
lower  down  the  river.  There  was  no  disputing 
these  commands,  for  they  had  the  power  to 
shower  destruction  upon  the  white  men  with- 
out risk  to  themselves.  Crooks  and  M'l^ellan, 
therefore,  turned  back  with  feigned  alacrity, 
and,  landing,  had  an  interview  with  the  Sioux. 
The  latter  forbade  them,  under  pain  of  exter- 
minating hostility,  from  attempting  to  proceed 
up  the  river,  but  offered  to  trade  peacefully 
with  them  if  they  would  halt  where  they  were. 
The  party,  being  principally  composed  of 


240  Bstoria 


voyageurs,  was  too  weak  to  contend  with  so 
superior  a  force,  and  one  so  easily  augmented  ; 
they  pretended,  therefore,  to  comply  cheer- 
fully with  their  arbitrary  dictation,  and  im- 
mediately proceeded  to  cut  down  trees  and 
erect  a  trading  house.  The  warrior  band  de- 
parted for  their  village,  which  was  about  twenty 
miles  distant,  to  collect  objects  of  traffic  ;  they 
left  six  or  eight  of  their  number,  however,  to 
keep  watch  upon  the  white  men,  and  scouts 
were  continually  passing  to  and  fro  with 
intelligence. 

Mr.  Crooks  saw  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  prosecute  his  voyage  without  the  danger  of 
having  his  boats  plundered,  and  a  great  part 
of  his  men  massacred  ;  he  determined,  how- 
ever, not  to  be  entirely  frustrated  in  the  objects 
of  his  expedition.  While  he  continued,  there- 
fore, with  great  apparent  earnestness  and  assi- 
duity, the  construction  of  the  trading  house, 
he  despatched  the  hunters  and  trappers  of  his 
party  in  a  canoe,  to  make  their  way  up  the 
river  to  the  original  place  of  destination,  there 
to  busy  themselves  in  trapping  and  collecting 
peltries,  and  to  await  his  arrival  at  some  future 
period. 

As  soon  as  the  detachment  had  had  sufficient 
time  to  ascend  beyond  the  hostile  country  of 
the  Sioux,  Mr.  Crooks  suddenly  broke  up  his 


Iflow  241 


feigned  trading  establishment,  embarked  his 
men  and  effects,  and,  after  giving  the  aston- 
ished rear-guard  of  savages  a  galling  and  in- 
dignant message  to  take  to  their  countrymen, 
pushed  down  the  river  with  all  speed,  sparing 
neither  oar  nor  paddle,  day  nor  night,  until 
fairly  beyond  the  swoop  of  these  river  hawks. 

What  increased  the  irritation  of  Messrs. 
Crooks  and  M'L/ellan,  at  this  mortifying  check 
to  their  gainful  enterprise,  was  the  information 
that  a  rival  trader  was  at  the  bottom  of  it ;  the 
Sioux,  it  is  said,  having  been  instigated  to  this 
outrage  by  Mr.  Manuel  Lisa,  the  leading  partner 
and  agent  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  al- 
ready mentioned.  This  intelligence,  whether 
true  or  false,  so  roused  the  fiery  temper  of 
M'Lellan,  that  he  swore,  if  ever  he  fell  in  with 
Lisa  in  the  Indian  country,  he  would  shoot 
him  on  the  spot ;  a  mode  of  redress  perfectly 
in  unison  with  the  character  of  the  man,  and 
the  code  of  honor  prevalent  beyond  the  frontier. 

If  Crooks  and  M'Lellan  had  been  exasper- 
ated by  the  insolent  conduct  of  the  Sioux 
Tetons,  and  the  loss  which  it  had  occasioned, 
those  freebooters  had  been  no  less  indignant  at 
being  outwitted  by  the  white  men,  and  dis- 
appointed of  their  anticipated  gains,  and  it  was 
apprehended  they  would  be  particularly  hostile 
against  the  present  expedition,  when  they 

TOL.  I.— 16 


242  Betorla 


should  learn  that  these  gentlemen  were  engaged 
in  it. 

All  these  causes  of  uneasiness  were  concealed 
as  much  as  possible  from  the  Canadian  voya- 
geurs,  lest  they  should  become  intimidated  ;  it 
was  impossible,  however,  to  prevent  the  ru- 
mors brought  by  the  Indians  from  leaking 
out,  and  they  became  subjects  of  gossiping 
and  exaggeration.  The  chief  of  the  Omahas, 
too,  on  returning  from  a  hunting  excursion, 
reported  that  two  men  had  been  killed  some 
distance  above,  by  a  band  of  Sioux.  This 
added  to  the  fears  that  already  began  to  be 
excited.  The  voyageurs  pictured  to  themselves 
bands  of  fierce  warriors  stationed  along  each 
bank  of  the  river,  by  whom  they  would  be  ex- 
posed to  be  shot  down  in  their  boats  ;  or  lurk- 
ing hordes,  who  would  set  on  them  at  night, 
and  massacre  them  in  their  encampments. 
Some  lost  heart,  and  proposed  to  return,  rather 
than  fight  their  way,  and,  in  a  manner,  run  the 
gauntlet  through  the  country  of  these  piratical 
marauders.  In  fact,  three  men  deserted  while 
at  this  village.  I,uckily,  their  place  was  sup- 
plied by  three  others  who  happened  to  be  there, 
and  who  were  prevailed  on  to  join  the  expedi- 
tion by  promise  of  liberal  pay,  and  by  being 
fitted  out  and  equipped  in  complete  style. 

The  irresolution  and  discontent  visible  among 


TUneasfness  fn  tbe  Camp  243 

some  of  his  people,  arising  at  times  almost  to 
mutiny,  and  the  occasional  desertions  which 
took  place  while  thus  among  friendly  tribes, 
and  within  reach  of  the  frontiers,  added  greatly 
to  the  anxieties  of  Mr.  Hunt,  and  rendered 
him  eager  to  press  forward  and  leave  a  hostile 
tract  behind  him,  so  that  it  would  be  as  peril- 
ous to  return  as  to  keep  on,  and  no  one  would 
dare  to  desert. 

Accordingly,  on  the  I5th  of  May  he  departed 
from  the  village  of  the  Omahas,  and  set  for- 
ward towards  the  country  of  the  formidable 
Sioux  Tetons.  For  the  first  five  days  they 
had  a  fair  and  fresh  breeze,  and  the  boats  made 
good  progress.  The  wind  then  came  ahead, 
and  the  river  beginning  to  rise,  and  to  increase 
in  rapidity,  betokened  the  commencement  of 
the  annual  flood,  caused  by  the  melting  of  the 
snow  on  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  vernal 
rains  of  the  upper  prairies. 

As  they  were  now  entering  a  region  where 
foes  might  be  lying  in  wait  on  either  bank, 
it  was  determined  in  hunting  for  game,  to 
confine  themselves  principally  to  the  islands, 
which  extend  to  considerable  length,  and  are 
beautifully  wooded,  affording  abundant  pas- 
turage and  shade.  On  one  of  these  they  killed 
three  buffaloes  and  two  elks,  and  halting  on 
the  edge  of  a  beautiful  prairie,  made  a  sump- 


244  Bstoria 


tuous  hunter's  repast.  They  had  not  long 
resumed  their  boats  and  pulled  along  the  river 
banks  when  they  descried  a  canoe  approaching, 
navigated  by  two  men,  whom,  to  their  surprise, 
they  ascertained  to  be  white  men.  They  proved 
to  be  two  of  those  strange  and  fearless  wan- 
derers of  the  wilderness,  the  trappers.  Their 
names  were  Benjamin  Jones  and  Alexander 
Carson.  They  had  been  for  two  years  past 
hunting  and  trapping  near  the  head  of  the 
Missouri,  and  were  thus  floating  for  thousands 
of  miles  in  a  cockle-shell,  down  a  turbulent 
stream,  through  regions  infested  by  savage 
tribes,  yet  apparently  as  easy  and  unconcerned 
as  if  navigating  securely  in  the  midst  of  civili- 
zation. 

The  acquisition  of  two  such  hardy,  experi- 
enced, and  dauntless  hunters  was  peculiarly 
desirable  at  the  present  moment.  They  needed 
but  little  persuasion.  The  wilderness  is  the 
home  of  the  trapper ;  like  the  sailor,  he  cares 
but  little  to  which  point  of  the  compass  he 
steers  ;  and  Jones  and  Carson  readily  aban- 
doned their  voyage  to  St.  Louis,  and  turned 
their  faces  towards  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
the  Pacific. 

The  two  naturalists,  Mr.  Bradbury  and  Mr. 
Nuttall,  who  had  joined  the  expedition  at  St. 
Louis,  still  accompanied  it,  and  pursued  their 


£'cal  of  a  JBotanist  245 


researches  on  all  occasions.  Mr.  Nuttall  seems 
to  have  been  exclusively  devoted  to  his  scien- 
tific pursuits.  He  was  a  zealous  botanist,  and 
all  his  enthusiasm  was  awakened  at  beholding 
a  new  world,  as  it  were,  opening  upon  him  in 
the  boundless  prairies,  clad  in  the  vernal  and 
variegated  robe  of  unknown  flowers.  When- 
ever the  boats  landed  at  meal  times,  or  for  any 
temporary  purpose,  he  would  spring  on  shore, 
and  set  out  on  a  hunt  for  new  specimens.  Kvery 
plant  or  flower  of  a  rare  or  unknown  species 
was  eagerly  seized  as  a  prize.  Delighted  with 
the  treasures  spreading  themselves  out  before 
him,  he  went  groping  and  stumbling  along 
among  the  wilderness  of  sweets,  forgetful  of 
everything  but  his  immediate  pursuit,  and  had 
often  to  be  sought  after  when  the  boats  were 
about  to  resume  their  course.  At  such  times 
he  would  be  found  far  off  in  the  prairies,  or  up 
the  course  of  some  petty  stream  laden  with 
plants  of  all  kinds. 

The  Canadian  voyageurs,  who  are  a  class  of 
people  that  know  nothing  out  of  their  imme- 
diate line,  and  with  constitutional  levity  make 
a  jest  of  anything  they  cannot  understand, 
were  extremely  puzzled  by  this  passion  for  col- 
lecting what  they  considered  mere  useless 
weeds.  When  they  saw  the  worthy  botanist 
coming  back  heavy  laden  with  his  specimens, 


246 


and  treasuring  them  up  as  carefully  as  a 
miser  would  his  hoard,  they  used  to  make 
merry  among  themselves  at  his  expense, 
regarding  him  as  some  whimsical  kind  of 
madman. 

Mr.  Bradbury  was  less  exclusive  in  his  tastes 
and  habits,  and  combined  the  hunter  and 
sportsman  with  the  naturalist.  He  took  his 
rifle  or  his  fowling-piece  with  him  in  his  geo- 
logical researches,  conformed  to  the  hardy  and 
rugged  habits  of  the  men  around  him,  and  of 
course  gained  favor  in  their  eyes.  He  had  a 
strong  relish  for  incident  and  adventure,  was 
curious  in  observing  savage  manners,  and 
savage  life,  and  ready  to  join  any  hunting  or 
other  excursion.  Even  now,  that  the  expedi- 
tion was  proceeding  through  a  dangerous 
neighborhood,  he  could  not  check  his  propen- 
sity to  ramble.  Having  observed,  on  the 
evening  of  the  22d  of  May,  that  the  river 
ahead  made  a  great  bend  which  would  take  up 
the  navigation  of  the  following  day,  he  deter- 
mined to  profit  by  the  circumstance.  On  the 
morning  of  the  23d,  therefore,  instead  of  em- 
barking, he  filled  his  shot-pouch  with  parched 
corn,  for  provisions,  and  set  off  to  cross  the 
neck  on  foot  and  meet  the  boats  in  the  after- 
noon at  the  opposite  side  of  the  bend.  Mr. 
Hunt  felt  uneasy  at  his  venturing  thus  alone, 


.  JBraOburg's  Sfcventure  247 


and  reminded  him  that  he  was  in  an  enemy's 
country  ;  but  Mr.  Bradbury  made  light  of  the 
danger,  and  started  off  cheerily  upon  his  ram- 
ble. His  day  was  passed  pleasantly  in  trav- 
ersing a  beautiful  tract,  making  botanical 
and  geological  researches,  and  observing  the 
habits  of  an  extensive  village  of  prairie  dogs, 
at  which  he  made  several  ineffectual  shots, 
without  considering  the  risk  he  ran  of  attract- 
ing the  attention  of  any  savages  that  might  be 
lurking  in  the  neighborhood.  In  fact,  he  had 
totally  forgotten  the  Sioux  Tetons,  and  all  the 
other  perils  of  the  country,  when,  about  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon,  as  he  stood  near  the 
river  bank,  and  was  looking  out  for  the  boat, 
he  suddenly  felt  a  hand  laid  on  his  shoulder. 
Starting  and  turning  round,  he  beheld  a  naked 
savage  with  a  bow  bent,  and  the  arrow  pointed 
at  his  breast.  In  an  instant  his  gun  was  lev- 
elled and  his  hand  upon  the  lock.  The  Indian 
drew  his  bow  still  farther,  but  forebore  to 
launch  the  shaft.  Mr.  Bradbury,  with  admir- 
able presence  of  mind,  reflected  that  the  savage, 
if  hostile  in  his  intents,  would  have  shot  him 
without  giving  him  a  chance  of  defence  ;  he 
paused,  therefore,  and  held  out  his  hand.  The 
other  took  it  in  sign  of  friendship,  and  de- 
manded in  the  Osage  language  whether  he 
was  a  Big  Knife,  or  American.  He  answered 


248  Sstorfa 


in  the  affirmative,  and  inquired  whether  the 
other  were  a  Sioux.  To  his  great  relief  he 
found  that  he  was  a  Ponca.  By  this  time  two 
other  Indians  came  running  up,  and  all  three 
laid  hold  of  Mr.  Bradbury  and  seemed  disposed 
to  compel  him  to  go  off  with  them  among  the 
hills.  He  resisted,  and  sitting  down  on  a 
sand  hill  contrived  to  amuse  them  with  a  pocket 
compass.  When  the  novelty  of  this  was  ex- 
hausted they  again  seized  him,  but  he  now 
produced  a  small  microscope.  This  new  won- 
der again  fixed  the  attention  of  the  savages, 
who  have  more  curiousity  than  it  has  been  the 
custom  to  allow  them.  While  thus  engaged, 
one  of  them  suddenly  leaped  up  and  gave  a 
war-whoop.  The  hand  of  the  hardy  naturalist 
was  again  on  his  gun,  and  he  was  prepared  to 
make  battle,  when  the  Indian  pointed  down  the 
river  and  revealed  the  true  cause  of  his  yell. 
It  was  the  mast  of  one  of  the  boats  appearing 
above  the  low  willows  which  bordered  the 
stream.  Mr.  Bradbury  felt  infinitely  relieved 
by  the  sight.  The  Indians,  on  their  part,  now 
showed  signs  of  apprehension,  and  were  dis- 
posed to  run  away  ;  but  he  assured  them  of 
good  treatment  and  something  to  drink  if  they 
would  accompany  him  on  board  of  the  boats. 
They  lingered  for  a  time,  but  disappeared  be- 
fore the  boats  came  to  land. 


B  /Ifcesscmicr  trom  Xi»a  249 

On  the  following  morning  they  appeared  at 
camp  accompanied  by  several  of  their  tribe. 
With  them  came  also  a  white  man,  who  an- 
nounced himself  as  a  messenger  bearing  mis- 
sives for  Mr.  Hunt.  In  fact,  he  brought  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Manuel  Lisa,  partner  and  agent 
of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company.  As  has  already 
been  mentioned,  this  gentleman  was  going  in 
search  of  Mr.  Henry  and  his  party,  who  had 
been  dislodged  from  the  forks  of  the  Missouri 
by  the  Black  feet  Indians,  and  had  shifted  his 
post  somewhere  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Mr.  Lisa  had  left  St.  Louis  three  weeks  after 
Mr.  Hunt,  and  having  heard  of  the  hostile 
intentions  of  the  Sioux,  had  made  the  greatest 
exertions  to  overtake  him,  that  they  might 
pass  through  the  dangerous  part  of  the  river 
together.  He  had  twenty  stout  oarsmen  in  his 
service,  and  they  plied  their  oars  so  vigorously 
that  he  had  reached  the  Omaha  village  just 
four  days  after  the  departure  of  Mr.  Hunt. 
From  this  place  he  despatched  the  messenger  in 
question,  trusting  to  his  overtaking  the  barges 
as  they  toiled  up  against  the  stream,  and 
were  delayed  by  the  windings  of  the  river. 
The  purport  of  his  letter  was  to  entreat  Mr. 
Hunt  to  wait  until  he  come  up  with  him,  that 
they  might  unite  their  forces  and  be  a  protec- 
tion to  each  other  in  their  perilous  course 


250  Betoria 


through  the  country  of  the  Sioux.  In  fact,  as 
it  was  afterwards  ascertained,  Lisa  was  appre- 
hensive that  Mr.  Hunt  would  do  him  some  ill 
office  with  the  Sioux  band,  securing  his  own 
passage  through  their  country  by  pretending 
that  he,  with  whom  they  were  accustomed  to 
trade,  was  on  his  way  to  them  with  a  plentiful 
supply  of  goods.  He  feared,  too,  that  Crooks 
and  M'Lellan  would  take  this  opportunity  to 
retort  upon  him  the  perfidy  which  they  accused 
him  of  having  used,  two  years  previously, 
among  these  very  Sioux.  In  this  respect,  how- 
ever, he  did  them  signal  injustice.  There  was 
no  such  thing  as  covert  design  or  treachery  in 
their  thought ;  but  M'Lellan,  when  he  heard 
that  Lisa  was  on  his  way  up  the  river,  renewed 
his  open  threat  of  shooting  him  the  moment  he 
met  him  on  Indian  land. 

The  representations  made  by  Crooks  and 
M'Lellan  of  the  treachery  they  had  experi- 
enced, or  fancied,  on  the  part  of  Lisa,  had 
great  weight  with  Mr.  Hunt,  especially  when 
he  recollected  the  obstacles  that  had  been 
thrown  in  his  own  way  by  that  gentleman  at 
St.  Louis.  He  doubted,  therefore,  the  fair 
dealing  of  Lisa,  and  feared  that,  should  they 
enter  the  Sioux  country  together,  the  latter 
might  make  use  of  his  influence  with  that 
tribe,  as  he  had  in  the  case  of  Crooks  and 


tmnt's  Suspicions  251 


M'Lellan,  and  instigate   them   to   oppose  his 
progress  up  the  river. 

He  sent  back,  therefore,  an  answer  calculated 
to  beguile  Lisa,  assuring  him  that  he  would 
wait  for  him  at  the  Poncas  village,  which  was 
but  a  little  distance  in  advance  ;  but,  no  sooner 
had  the  messenger  departed,  than  he  pushed 
forward  with  all  diligence,  barely  stopping  at 
the  village  to  procure  a  supply  of  dried  buffalo 
meat,  and  hastening  to  leave  the  other  party 
as  far  behind  as  possible,  thinking  there  was 
less  to  be  apprehended  from  the  open  hostility 
of  Indian  foes  than  from  the  quiet  strategy  of 
an  Indian  trader. 


Cbapter  glPf  f  f . 

Camp  Gossip — Kentucky  Hunters — A  Veteran  Wood- 
man —  Tidings  of  Mr.  Henry  —  Danger  from  the 
Blackfeet— Country  of  the  Sioux — A  Land  of  Danger 
— A  Council  of  War — A  Parley — The  Pipe  of  Peace. 

IT  was  about  noon  when  the  party  left  the 
Poncas  village,    about  a  league  beyond 
which  they  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Qui- 
court,  or  Rapid  River  (called,  in  the  origi- 
nal French,   Veau  qui  court}.      After  having 
proceeded  some  distance  farther,  they  landed, 
and  encamped  for  the  night.     In  the  evening 
camp,  the  voyageurs  gossiped,  as  usual,  over 
the  events  of  the   day ;    and  especially  over 
intelligence    picked   up   among    the    Poncas. 
These   Indians   had    confirmed   the    previous 
reports  of  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  Sioux, 
and  had  assured  them  that  five  tribes,  or  bands, 
of  that  fierce  nation  were  actually  assembled 
higher  up  the  river,  and  waiting  to  cut  them 
off.      This  evening  gossip,    and    the   terrific 
252 


Sbree  "  DreaOnougbt "  fcentucfctana     253 


stories  of  Indian  warfare  to  which  it  gave  rise, 
produced  a  strong  effect  upon  the  imaginations 
of  the  irresolute  ;  and  in  the  morning  it  was 
discovered  that  the  two  men,  who  had  joined 
the  party  at  the  Omaha  village,  and  been  so 
bounteously  fitted  out,  had  deserted  in  the 
course  of  the  night,  carrying  with  them  all 
their  equipments.  As  it  was  known  that  one 
of  them  could  not  swim,  it  was  hoped  that  the 
banks  of  the  Quicourt  River  would  bring  them 
to  a  halt.  A  general  pursuit  was  therefore 
instituted,  but  without  success. 

On  the  following  morning  (May  26th),  as 
they  were  all  on  shore,  breakfasting  on  one  of 
the  beautiful  banks  of  the  river,  they  observed 
two  canoes  descending  along  the  opposite  side. 
By  the  aid  of  spy-glasses,  they  ascertained  that 
there  were  two  white  men  in  one  of  the  canoes, 
and  one  in  the  other.  A  gun  was  discharged, 
which  called  the  attention  of  the  voyagers, 
who  crossed  over.  They  proved  to  be  three 
Kentucky  hunters,  of  the  true  ' '  dreadnought ' ' 
stamp.  Their  names  were  Kdward  Robinson, 
John  Hoback,  and  Jacob  Rezner.  Robinson 
was  a  veteran  backwoodsman,  sixty-six  years 
of  age.  He  had  been  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Kentucky,  and  engaged  in  many  of  the  con- 
flicts of  the  Indians  on  ' '  the  Bloody  Ground. ' ' 
In  one  of  these  battles  he  had  been  scalped, 


254  Bstoria 


and  he  still  wore  a  handkerchief  bound  round 
his  head  to  protect  the  part.  These  men  had 
passed  several  years  in  the  upper  wilderness. 
They  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Missouri 
Company  under  Mr.  Henry,  and  had  crossed 
the  Rocky  Mountains  with  him  in  the  preced- 
ing year,  when  driven  from  his  post  on  the 
Missouri  by  the  hostilities  of  the  Blackfeet. 
After  crossing  the  mountains,  Mr.  Henry  had 
established  himself  on  one  of  the  head  branches 
of  the  Columbia  River.  There  they  had  re- 
remained  with  him  some  months,  hunting  and 
trapping,  until,  having  satisfied  their  wander- 
ing propensities,  they  felt  disposed  to  return  to 
the  families  and  comfortable  homes  which  they 
had  left  in  Kentucky.  They  had  accordingly 
made  their  way  back  across  the  mountains, 
and  down  the  rivers,  and  were  in  full  career 
for  St.  L,ouis,  when  thus  suddenly  interrupted. 
The  sight  of  a  powerful  party  of  traders,  trap- 
pers, hunters,  and  voyageurs,  well  armed  and 
equipped,  furnished  at  all  points,  in  high 
health  and  spirits,  and  banqueting  lustily  on 
the  green  margin  of  the  river,  was  a  spectacle 
equally  stimulating  to  these  veteran  back- 
woodsmen with  the  glorious  array  of  a  cam- 
paigning army  to  an  old  soldier ;  but  when 
they  learned  the  grand  scope  and  extent  of 
the  enterprise  in  hand,  it  was  irresistible  ;  homes 


a  Hew  "Route  255 


and  families  and  all  the  charms  of  green  Ken- 
tucky vanished  from  their  thoughts ;  they 
cast  loose  their  canoes  to  drift  down  the  stream, 
and  joyfully  enlisted  in  the  band  of  adventur- 
ers. They  engaged  on  similar  terms  with  some 
of  the  other  hunters.  The  company  was  to 
fit  them  out,  and  keep  them  supplied  with  the 
requisite  equipments  and  munitions,  and  they 
were  to  yield  one  half  of  the  produce  of  their 
hunting  and  trapping. 

The  addition  of  three  such  staunch  recruits 
was  extremely  acceptable  at  this  dangerous 
part  of  the  river.  The  knowledge  of  the 
country  which  they  had  acquired,  also,  in  their 
journeys  and  hunting  excursions  along  the 
rivers  and  among  the  Rocky  Mountains  was 
all  important ;  in  fact,  the  information  derived 
from  them  induced  Mr.  Hunt  to  alter  his 
future  course.  He  had  hitherto  intended  to 
proceed  by  the  route  taken  by  Lewis  and 
Clarke  in  their  famous  exploring  expedition, 
ascending  the  Missouri  to  its  forks,  and  thence 
going,  by  land,  across  the  mountains.  These 
men  informed  him,  however,  that,  on  taking 
that  course  he  would  have  to  pass  through  the 
country  infested  by  the  savage  tribe  of  the 
Blackfeet,  and  would  be  exposed  to  their 
hostilities ;  they  being,  as  has  already  been 
observed,  exasperated  to  deadly  animosity 


256  Bstoria 


against  the  whites,  on  account  of  the  death  of 
one  of  their  tribe  by  the  hand  of  Captain 
L,ewis.  They  advised  him  rather  to  pursue 
a  route  more  to  the  southward,  being  the  same 
by  which  they  had  returned.  This  would 
carry  them  over  the  mountains  about  where 
the  head  waters  of  the  Platte  and  the  Yellow- 
stone take  their  rise,  at  a  place  much  more 
easy  and  practicable  than  that  where  Lewis 
and  Clarke  had  crossed.  In  pursuing  this 
course,  also,  he  would  pass  through  a  country 
abounding  with  game,  where  he  would  have 
a  better  chance  of  procuring  a  constant  supply 
of  provisions  than  by  the  other  route,  and 
would  run  less  risk  of  molestation  from  the 
Blackfeet.  Should  he  adopt  this  advice,  it 
would  be  better  for  him  to  abandon  the  river 
at  the  Arickara  town,  at  which  he  would  arrive 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  As  the  Indians 
at  that  town  possessed  horses  in  abundance, 
he  might  purchase  a  sufficient  number  of  them 
for  his  great  journey  overland,  which  would 
commence  at  that  place. 

After  reflecting  on  this  advice,  and  consult- 
ing with  his  associates,  Mr.  Hunt  came  to  the 
determination  to  follow  the  route  thus  pointed 
out,  to  which  the  hunters  engaged  to  pilot 
him. 

The  party  continued  their  voyage  with  de- 


tawotfoY 

tqa 


the  death  of 

-land    of    Captain 

rather  to  pursue 

a  to?1  .ward,  being  the  same 

by  jud   returned.      This  would 

mountains  about  where 

ie  Platte  and  the  Yellow- 

,  at  a  place  much  more 

i  practicable  than  that  where  Lewis 

ike    had  crossed.     In  pursuing  this 

>e,  also,  he  would  pass  through  a  country 

:g  with  game,  where  he  would  have 

f  procuring  a  constant  supply 

View  of  the  Yellowstone  River     ate,    and 

d   run    bFromaphotdgiBffclestation  from  the 

Blackfeet.     Should  he  adopt  this  advice,    it 

would  be  better  for  him  to  abandon  the  river 

at  the  Arickara  town,  at  whic  Id  arrive 

in  the  course  of  a  fev  the  Indians 

at  that  town  possessed   horses  in  abundance, 

he  might  purchase  a  sufficient  number  of  them 

for  his  great  jou:  rland,  which  would 

commence  at  that  pi: 

After  r  'his  advice,  and  consul t- 

issociates,  Mr.  Hunt  came  to  the 

i  to  follow  the  route  thus  pointed 

out,  ii  the  hunters  engaged  to  pilot 

him. 

The  pv  inued  their  voyage  with  de- 


I 


0 


Scenerg  of  tbc  IRiver  257 


lightful  May  weather.  The  prairies  bordering 
on  the  river  were  gayly  painted  with  innumer- 
able flowers,  exhibiting  the  motley  confusion 
of  colors  of  a  Turkey  carpet.  The  beautiful 
islands,  also,  on  which  they  occasionally 
halted,  presented  the  appearance  of  mingled 
grove  and  garden.  The  trees  were  often 
covered  with  clambering  grapevines  in  blossom, 
which  perfumed  the  air.  Between  the  stately 
masses  of  the  groves  were  grassy  lawns  and 
glades,  studded  with  flowers,  or  interspersed 
with  rose-bushes  in  full  bloom.  These  islands 
were  often  the  resort  of  the  buffalo,  the  elk, 
and  the  antelope,  who  had  made  innumerable 
paths  among  the  trees  and  thickets,  which  had 
the  effect  of  the  mazy  walks  and  alleys  of 
parks  and  shrubberies.  Sometimes,  where  the 
river  passed  between  high  banks  and  bluffs, 
the  roads,  made  by  the  tramp  of  buffaloes  for 
many  ages  along  the  face  of  the  heights,  looked 
like  so  many  well-travelled  highways.  At 
other  places  the  banks  were  branded  with  great 
veins  of  iron  ore,  laid  bare  by  the  abrasion  of 
the  river.  At  one  place  the  course  of  the  river 
was  nearly  in  a  straight  line  for  about  fifteen 
miles.  The  banks  sloped  gently  to  its  margin, 
without  a  single  tree,  but  bordered  with  grass 
and  herbage  of  a  vivid  green.  Along  each 
bank,  for  the  whole  fifteen  miles,  extended  a 

VOL.  I. — 17 


258  Astoria 


stripe,  one  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  of  a  deep 
rusty  brown,  indicating  an  inexhaustible  bed 
of  iron,  through  the  centre  of  which  the  Mis- 
souri had  worn  its  way.  Indications  of  the 
continuance  of  this  bed  were  afterwards  ob- 
served higher  up  the  river.  It  is,  in  fact,  one 
of  the  mineral  magazines  which  nature  has 
provided  in  the  heart  of  this  vast  realm  of  fer- 
tility, and  which,  in  connection  with  the  im- 
mense beds  of  coal  on  the  same  river,  seem 
garnered  up  as  the  elements  of  the  future 
wealth  and  power  of  the  mighty  West. 

The  sight  of  these  mineral  treasures  greatly 
excited  the  curiosity  of  Mr.  Bradbury,  and  it 
was  tantalizing  to  him  to  be  checked  in  his 
scientific  researches,  and  obliged  to  forego  his 
usual  rambles  on  shore  ;  but  they  were  now 
entering  the  fated  country  of  the  Sioux  Tetons, 
in  which  it  was  dangerous  to  wander  about 
unguarded. 

This  country  extends  for  some  days'  journey 
along  the  river,  and  consists  of  vast  prairies, 
here  and  there  diversified  by  swelling  hills,  and 
cut  up  by  ravines,  the  channels  of  turbid 
streams  in  the  rainy  seasons,  but  almost  desti- 
tute of  water  during  the  heats  of  summer. 
Here  and  there  on  the  sides  of  the  hills,  or 
along  the  alluvial  borders  and  bottoms  of  the 
ravines,  are  groves  and  skirts  of  forest  :  but 


3Lanfc  of  Banker  259 


for  the  most  part  the  country  presented  to  the 
eye  a  boundless  waste,  covered  with  herbage, 
but  without  trees. 

The  soil  of  this  immense  region  is  strongly 
impregnated  with  sulphur,  copperas,  alum, 
and  glauber  salts  ;  its  various  earths  impart  a 
deep  tinge  to  the  streams  which  drain  it,  and 
these,  with  the  crumbling  of  the  banks  along 
the  Missouri,  gives  to  the  water  of  that  river 
much  of  the  coloring  matter  with  which  they 
are  clouded. 

Over  this  vast  tract  the  roving  bands  of  the 
Sioux  Tetons  hold  their  vagrant  sway,  sub- 
sisting by  the  chase  of  the  buffalo,  the  elk, 
the  deer,  and  the  antelope,  and  waging  ruth- 
less warfare  with  other  wandering  tribes. 

As  the  boats  made  their  way  up  the  stream 
bordered  by  this  land  of  danger,  many  of  the 
Canadian  voyageurs,  whose  fears  had  been 
awakened,  would  regard  with  a  distrustful  eye 
the  boundless  waste  extending  on  each  side. 
All,  however,  was  silent,  and  apparently  un- 
tenanted  by  a  human  being.  Now  and  then  a 
herd  of  deer  would  be  seen  feeding  tranquilly 
among  the  flowery  herbage,  or  a  line  of 
buffaloes,  like  a  caravan  on  its  march,  moving 
across  the  distant  profile  of  the  prairie.  The 
Canadians,  however,  began  to  apprehend  an 
ambush  in  every  thicket,  and  to  regard  the 


260  Betorta 


broad,  tranquil  plain  as  a  sailor  eyes  some 
shallow  and  perfidious  sea,  which,  though 
smooth  and  safe  to  the  eye,  conceals  the  lurk- 
ing rock  or  treacherous  shoal.  The  very  name 
of  a  Sioux  became  a  watchword  of  terror.  Not 
an  elk,  a  wolf,  or  any  other  animal,  could 
appear  on  the  hills,  but  the  boats  resounded 
with  exclamations  from  stem  to  stern,  "Voila 
les  Sioux!  voila  les  Sioux /"  (There  are  the 
Sioux  !  there  are  the  Sioux  !)  Whenever  it 
was  practicable,  the  night  encampment  was  on 
some  island  in  the  centre  of  the  stream. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3ist  of  May,  as  the 
travellers  were  breakfasting  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  the  usual  alarm  was  given,  but 
with  more  reason,  as  two  Indians  actually 
made  their  appearance  on  a  bluff  on  the  oppo- 
site or  northeast  side,  and  harangued  them  in 
a  loud  voice.  As  it  was  impossible  at  that 
distance  to  distinguish  what  they  said,  Mr. 
Hunt,  after  breakfast,  crossed  the  river  with 
Pierre  Dorion,  the  interpreter,  and  advanced 
boldly  to  converse  with  them,  while  the  rest 
remained  watching  in  mute  suspense  the  move- 
ments of  the  parties.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Hunt 
landed,  one  of  the  Indians  disappeared  behind 
the  hill,  but  shortly  reappeared  on  horseback, 
and  went  scouring  off  across  the  heights.  Mr. 
Hunt  held  some  conference  with  the  remaining 


Betorta 


ranquil    ;  r  eyes  some 

ow  and    perfriiiiti?*    *ea,   which,    though 
>th  and  safr  conceals  the  lurk- 

ing rock  .joal.     The  very  name 

of  a  Sioux  tk  v  atchword  of  terror.     Not 

an  elk,   a  w  any  other  animal,    could 

appear  CM  dls,  but  the  boats  resounded 

with  exclamations  from  stem  to  stern,  "Voila 
les  S  les  Sioux  /"     (There  are  the 

>ux  !)  Whenever  it 
ampment  was  on 
ic  stream. 

On  tlu  Indians,  Horse-racing  the 

travellers  were  breif&rom  an  old  print 
of  the  river,  the  usual  alarm  was  given,  but 
with   more    reason,    as  two   Indians  actually 
made  their  appearance  on  a  bluff  on  the  oppo- 
site or  north*  irangued  them  in 
a  loud  voice  at  that 
distance  to  disi                what  they  said,    Mr. 
Hunt,  after  breH-kt*                 i    the  river  with 
Pierre  I                \*  interpreter,  and  advanced 
boldly  t<               .*e  with  them,  while  the  rest 
remained  watching  in  mute  suspense  themove- 
mer                   parties.     As  soon  as  Mr.  Hunt 
ne  of  the  Indians  disappeared  behind 
hill,  but  shortly  reappeared  on  horseback, 
went  scouring  off  across  the  heights.     Mr. 
t  held  some  conference  with  the  remaining 


hostilities  261 


savage,  and  then  re-crossed  the  river  to  his 
party. 

These  two  Indians  proved  to  be  spies  or 
scouts  of  a  large  war  party  encamped  about  a 
league  off,  and  numbering  two  hundred  and 
eighty  lodges,  or  about  six  hundred  warriors, 
of  three  different  tribes  of  Sioux  ;  the  Yang- 
tons  Ahna,  the  Tetons  Bois-brule,  and  the 
Tetons  Min-na-kine-azzo.  They  expected  daily 
to  be  reinforced  by  two  other  tribes,  and  had 
been  waiting  eleven  days  for  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Hunt's  party,  with  a  determination  to  oppose 
their  progress  up  the  river  ;  being  resolved  to 
prevent  all  trade  of  the  white  men  with  their 
enemies,  the  Arickaras,  Mandans,  and  Mina- 
tarees.  The  Indian  who  had  galloped  off  on 
horseback  had  gone  to  give  notice  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  party,  so  that  they  might  now 
look  out  for  some  fierce  scenes  with  those 
piratical  savages,  of  whom  they  had  received 
so  many  formidable  accounts. 

The  party  braced  up  their  spirits  to  the  en- 
counter, and  re-embarking,  pulled  resolutely 
up  the  stream.  An  island  for  some  time  inter- 
vened between  them  and  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river  ;  but,  on  clearing  the  upper  end,  they 
came  in  full  view  of  the  hostile  shore.  There 
was  a  ridge  of  hills  down  which  the  savages 
were  pouring  in  great  numbers,  some  on  horse- 


262  Batoria 


back,  and  some  on  foot.  Reconnoitring  them 
with  the  aid  of  glasses,  they  perceived  that 
they  were  all  in  warlike  array,  painted  and 
decorated  for  battle.  Their  weapons  were 
bows  and  arrows,  and  a  few  short  carbines, 
and  most  of  them  had  round  shields.  Alto- 
gether they  had  a  wild  and  gallant  appearance, 
and,  taking  possession  of  a  point  which  com- 
manded the  river,  ranged  themselves  along  the 
bank  as  if  prepared  to  dispute  their  passage. 

At  sight  of  this  formidable  front  of  war,  Mr. 
Hunt  and  his  companions  held  counsel  together. 
It  was  plain  that  the  rumors  they  had  heard 
were  correct,  and  the  Sioux  were  determined 
to  oppose  their  progress  by  force  of  arms.  To 
attempt  to  elude  them  and  continue  along  the 
river  was  out  of  the  question.  The  strength 
of  the  midcurrent  was  too  violent  to  be  with- 
stood, and  the  boats  were  obliged  to  ascend 
along  the  river  banks.  These  banks  were  often 
high  and  perpendicular,  affording  the  savages 
frequent  stations,  from  whence,  safe  themselves 
and  almost  unseen,  they  might  shower  down 
their  missiles  upon  the  boats  below,  and  retreat 
at  will,  without  danger  from  pursuit.  Nothing 
apparently  remained,  therefore,  but  to  fight  or 
turn  back.  The  Sioux  far  out-numbered  them, 
it  is  true,  but  their  own  party  was  about  sixty 
strong,  well  armed  and  supplied  with  ammu- 


preparations  tor  2>efence  263 

nition  ;  and,  beside  their  guns  and  rifles,  they 
had  a  swivel  and  two  howitzers  mounted  in  the 
boats.  Should  they  succeed  in  breaking  this 
Indian  force  by  one  vigorous  assault,  it  was 
likely  they  would  be  deterred  from  making  any 
future  attack  of  consequence.  The  fighting 
alternative  was,  therefore,  instantly  adopted, 
and  the  boats  pulled  to  shore  nearly  opposite 
to  the  hostile  force.  Here  the  arms  were  all 
examined  and  put  in  order.  The  swivel  and 
howitzers  were  then  loaded  with  powder  and 
discharged,  to  let  the  savages  know  by  the 
report  how  formidably  they  were  provided. 
The  noise  echoed  along  the  shores  of  the  river, 
and  must  have  startled  the  warriors  who  were 
only  accustomed  to  sharp  reports  of  rifles. 
The  same  pieces  were  then  loaded  with  as 
many  bullets  as  they  would  probably  bear  ; 
after  which  the  whole  party  embarked,  and 
pulled  across  the  river.  The  Indians  remained 
watching  them  in  silence,  their  painted  forms 
and  visages  glaring  in  the  sun,  and  their 
feathers  fluttering  in  the  breeze.  The  poor 
Canadians  eyed  them  with  rueful  glances,  and 
now  and  then  a  fearful  ejaculation  escaped 
them.  "  Parbleu  !  this  is  a  sad  scrape  we  are 
in,  brother!  "  one  would  mutter  to  the  next 
oarsman.  "  Aye,  aye  !  "  the  other  would  reply, 
' '  we  are  not  going  to  a  wedding,  my  friend  ! ' ' 


264  Bstoria 


When  the  boats  arrived  within  rifle-shot,  the 
hunters  and  other  fighting  personages  on  board 
seized  their  weapons,  and  prepared  for  action. 
As  they  rose  to  fire,  a  confusion  took  place 
among  the  savages.  They  displayed  their 
buffalo  robes,  raised  them  with  both  hands 
above  their  heads,  and  then  spread  them  before 
them  on  the  ground.  At  sight  of  this,  Pierre 
Dorion  eagerly  cried  out  to  the  party  not  to 
fire,  as  this  movement  was  a  peaceful  signal, 
and  an  invitation  to  a  parley.  Immediately 
about  a  dozen  of  the  principal  warriors,  separat- 
ing from  the  rest,  descended  to  the  edge  of 
the  river,  lighted  a  fire,  seated  themselves  in  a 
semi-circle  round  it,  and  displaying  the  calumet, 
invited  the  party  to  land.  Mr.  Hunt  now  called 
a  council  of  the  partners  on  board  of  his  boat. 
The  question  was,  whether  to  trust  to  the 
amicable  Overtures  of  these  ferocious  people  ? 
It  was  determined  in  the  affirmative  ;  for, 
otherwise,  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  fight 
them.  The  main  body  of  the  party  were 
ordered  to  remain  on  board  of  the  boats,  keep- 
ing within  shot  and  prepared  to  fire  in  case  of 
any  signs  of  treachery ;  while  Mr.  Hunt  and 
the  other  partners  (M'Kenzie,  Crooks,  Miller, 
and  M'Lellan)  proceeded  to  land,  accompanied 
by  the  interpreter  and  Mr.  Bradbury.  The 
chiefs,  who  awaited  them  on  the  margin  of  the 


IMpe  ot  peace  265 


river,  remained  seated  in  their  semi-circle,  with- 
out stirring  a  limb  or  moving  a  muscle,  motion- 
less as  so  many  statues.  Mr.  Hunt  and  his 
companions  advanced  without  hesitation,  and 
took  their  seats  on  the  sand  so  as  to  complete 
the  circle.  The  band  of  warriors  who  lined  the 
banks  above  stood  looking  down  in  silent  groups 
and  clusters,  some  ostentatiously  equipped  and 
decorated,  others  entirely  naked  but  fantasti- 
cally painted,  and  all  variously  armed. 

The  pipe  of  peace  was  now  brought  forward 
with  due  ceremony.  The  bowl  was  of  a  species 
of  red  stone  resembling  porphyry  ;  the  stem 
was  six  feet  in  length,  decorated  with  tufts  of 
horse-hair  dyed  red.  The  pipe-bearer  stepped 
within  the  circle,  lighted  the  pipe,  held  it 
towards  the  sun,  then  towards  the  different 
points  of  the  compass,  after  which  he  handed 
it  to  the  principal  chief.  The  latter  smoked  a 
few  whiffs,  then,  holding  the  head  of  the  pipe 
in  his  hand,  offered  the  other  end  to  Mr.  Hunt, 
and  to  each  one  successively  in  the  circle. 
When  all  had  smoked,  it  was  considered  that 
an  assurance  of  good  faith  and  amity  had  been 
interchanged.  Mr.  Hunt  now  made  a  speech 
in  French,  which  was  interpreted  as  he  pro- 
ceeded by  Pierre  Dorion.  He  informed  the 
Sioux  of  the  real  object  of  the  expedition  of 
himself  and  his  companions,  which  was,  not 


266  Bstoria 


to  trade  with  any  of  the  tribes  up  the  river, 
but  to  cross  the  mountains  to  the  great  salt 
lake  in  the  west,  in  search  of  some  of  their 
brothers,  whom  they  had  not  seen  for  eleven 
months.  That  he  had  heard  of  the  intention 
of  the  Sioux  to  oppose  his  passage,  and  was 
prepared,  as  they  might  see,  to  effect  it  at  all 
hazards  ;  nevertheless,  his  feelings  towards  the 
Sioux  were  friendly,  in  proof  of  which  he 
had  brought  them  a  present  of  tobacco  and 
corn.  So  saying,  he  ordered  about  fifteen 
carottes  of  tobacco,  and  as  many  bags  of  corn, 
to  be  brought  from  the  boat  and  laid  in  a  heap 
near  the  council  fire. 

The  sight  of  these  presents  mollified  the 
chieftain,  who  had,  doubtless,  been  previously 
rendered  considerate  by  the  resolute  conduct  of 
the  white  men,  the  judicious  disposition  of 
their  little  armament,  the  completeness  of  their 
equipments,  and  the  compact  array  of  battle 
which  they  presented.  He  made  a  speech  in 
reply,  in  which  he  stated  the  object  of  their 
hostile  assemblage,  which  had  been  merely  to 
prevent  supplies  of  arms  and  ammunition  from 
going  to  the  Arickaras,  Mandans,  and  Mina- 
tarees,  with  whom  they  were  at  war  ;  but  now 
being  convinced  that  the  party  were  carrying 
no  supplies  of  the  kind,  but  merely  proceeding 
in  quest  of  their  brothers  beyond  the  moon- 


Smfcable  Close  of  tbe  Conference        267 

tains,  they  would  not  impede  them  in  their 
voyage.  He  concluded  by  thanking  them  for 
their  present,  and  advising  them  to  encamp  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  as  he  had  some 
young  men  among  his  warriors  for  whose  dis- 
cretion he  could  not  be  answerable,  and  who 
might  be  troublesome. 

Here  ended  the  conference;  they  all  arose, 
shook  hands  and  parted.  Mr.  Hunt  and  his 
companions  re-embarked,  and  the  boats  pro- 
ceeded on  their  course  unmolested. 


Cbapter 


The  Great  Bend  of  the  Missouri  —  Crooks  and  M'Lel- 
lan  Meet  with  Two  of  their  Indian  Opponents  — 
Dangers  and  Precautions  —  An  Indian  War  Party  — 
A  Friendly  Encampment  —  Approach  of  Manuel 
Lisa  and  his  Party  —  A  Grim  Meeting  between  Old 
Rivals. 

ON  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day 
(June  ist)  they  arrived  at  the  great 
bend,  where  the  river  winds  for  about 
thirty  miles  round  a  circular  penin- 
sula, the  neck  of  which  is  not  above  two  thous- 
and yards  across.     On  the  succeeding  morning, 
at  an  early   hour,  they  descried  two   Indians 
standing  on  a  high  bank  of  the  river,  waving 
and  spreading  their  buffalo  robes  in  signs  of 
amity.     They  immediately  pulled  to  shore,  and 
landed.     On   approaching  the    savages,  how- 
ever, the  latter  showed  evident  symptoms  of 
alarm,  spreading  out  their  arms  horizontally, 
according  to  their  mode  of  supplicating  clem- 
268 


Cbe  UnNan's  3Law  of  IRevenge          269 

ency.  The  reason  was  soon  explained.  They 
proved  to  be  two  chiefs  of  the  very  war  party 
that  had  brought  Messrs.  Crooks  and  M'I,ellan 
to  a  stand  two  years  before,  and  obliged  them 
to  escape  down  the  river.  They  ran  to  embrace 
these  gentlemen,  as  if  delighted  to  meet  with 
them  ;  yet  they  evidently  feared  some  retalia- 
tion of  their  past  misconduct,  nor  were  they 
quite  at  ease  until  the  pipe  of  peace  had  been 
smoked. 

Mr.  Hunt  having  been  informed  that  the 
tribe  to  which  these  men  belonged  had  killed 
three  white  men  during  the  preceding  summer, 
reproached  them  with  the  crime,  and  demanded 
their  reasons  for  such  savage  hostility.  "We 
kill  white  men,"  replied  one  of  the  chiefs,  "  be- 
cause white  men  kill  us.  That  very  man," 
added  he,  pointing  to  Carson,  one  of  the  new 
recruits,  "  killed  one  of  our  brothers  last  sum- 
mer. Three  white  men  were  slain  to  avenge 
his  death." 

Their  chief  was  correct  in  his  reply.  Carson 
admitted  that,  being  with  a  party  of  Arickaras 
on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  and  seeing  a 
war  party  of  Sioux  on  the  opposite  side,  he  had 
fired  with  his  rifle  across.  It  was  a  random 
shot,  made  without  much  expectation  of  effect, 
for  the  river  was  full  half  a  mile  in  breadth. 
Unluckily  it  brought  down  a  Sioux  warrior, 


270  Bstorta 


for  whose  wanton  destruction  threefold  ven- 
geance had  been  taken,  as  has  been  stated.  In 
this  way  outrages  are  frequently  committed 
on  the  natives  by  thoughtless  or  mischievous 
white  men  ;  the  Indians  retaliate  according  to 
a  law  of  their  code,  which  requires  blood  for 
blood ;  their  act,  of  what  with  them  is  pious 
vengeance,  resounds  throughout  the  land,  and 
is  represented  as  wanton  and  unprovoked  ;  the 
neighborhood  is  roused  to  arms  ;  a  war  ensues, 
which  ends  in  the  destruction  of  half  the  tribe, 
the  ruin  of  the  rest,  and  their  expulsion  from 
their  hereditary  homes.  Such  is  too  often  the 
real  history  of  Indian  warfare,  which  in  gen- 
eral is  traced  up  only  to  some  vindictive  act  of 
a  savage  ;  while  the  outrage  of  the  scoundrel 
white  man  that  provoked  it  is  sunk  in  silence. 
The  two  chiefs,  having  smoked  their  pipe  of 
peace  and  received  a  few  presents,  departed 
well  satisfied.  In  a  little  while  two  others 
appeared  on  horseback,  and  rode  up  abreast  of 
the  boats.  They  had  seen  the  presents  given 
to  their  comrades,  but  were  dissatisfied  with 
them,  and  came  after  the  boats  to  ask  for  more. 
Being  somewhat  peremptory  and  insolent  in 
their  demands,  Mr.  Hunt  gave  them  a  flat 
refusal,  and  threatened,  if  they  or  any  of  their 
tribe  followed  him  with  similar  demands,  to 
treat  them  as  enemies.  They  turned  and  rode 


3>anger£  and  precautions  271 

off  in  a  furious  passion.  As  he  was  ignorant 
what  force  these  chiefs  might  have  behind  the 
hills,  and  as  it  was  very  possible  they  might 
take  advantage  of  some  pass  of  the  river  to 
attack  the  boats,  Mr.  Hunt  called  all  stragglers 
on  board  and  prepared  for  such  emergency.  It 
was  agreed  that  the  large  boat  commanded  by 
Mr.  Hunt  should  ascend  along  the  northeast 
side  of  the  river,  and  the  three  smaller  boats 
along  the  south  side.  By  this  arrangement 
each  party  would  command  a  view  of  the  oppo- 
site heights  above  the  heads  and  out  of  sight 
of  their  companions,  and  could  give  the  alarm 
should  they  perceive  any  Indians  lurking  there. 
The  signal  of  alarm  was  to  be  two  shots  fired 
in  quick  succession. 

The  boats  proceeded  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  day  without  seeing  any  signs  of  an  enemy. 
About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  large 
boat,  commanded  by  Mr.  Hunt,  came  to  where 
the  river  was  divided  by  a  long  sand-bar,  which 
apparently,  however,  left  a  sufficient  channel 
between  it  and  the  shore  along  which  they 
were  advancing.  He  kept  up  this  channel, 
therefore,  for  some  distance,  until  the  water 
proved  too  shallow  for  the  boat.  It  was  neces- 
sary, therefore,  to  put  about,  return  down  the 
channel,  and  pull  round  the  lower  end  of  the 
sand-bar  into  the  main  stream.  Just  as  he 


272  Bstoria 


had  given  orders  to  this  effect  to  his  men,  two 
signal  guns  were  fired  from  the  boats  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river.  At  the  same  mo- 
ment, a  file  of  savage  warriors  was  observed 
pouring  down  from  the  impending  bank,  and 
gathering  on  the  shore  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
bar.  They  were  evidently  a  war  party,  being 
armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  battle  clubs  and 
carbines,  and  round  bucklers  of  buffalo  hide, 
and  their  naked  bodies  were  painted  with  black 
and  wlrte  stripes.  The  natural  inference  was, 
that  they  belonged  to  the  two  tribes  of  Sioux 
which  had  been  expected  by  the  great  war 
party,  and  that  they  had  been  incited  to  hostil- 
ity by  the  two  chiefs  who  had  been  enraged  by 
the  refusal  and  the  menace  of  Mr.  Hunt. 
Here,  then,  was  a  fearful  predicament.  Mr. 
Hunt  and  his  crew  seemed  caught,  as  it  were, 
in  a  trap.  The  Indians,  to  the  number  of 
about  a  hundred,  had  already  taken  possession 
of  a  point  near  which  the  boat  would  have  to 
pass  :  others  kept  pouring  down  the  bank,  and 
it  was  probable  that  some  would  remain  posted 
on  the  top  of  the  height. 

The  hazardous  situation  of  Mr.  Hunt  was 
perceived  by  those  in  the  other  boats,  and  they 
hastened  to  his  assistance.  They  were  at  some 
distance  above  the  sand-bar,  however,  and  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  saw,  with 


f nfcfan  jfrienDs  273 


intense  anxiety,  the  number  of  savages  contin- 
ually augmenting,  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
channel,  so  that  the  boat  would  be  exposed  to 
a  fearful  attack  before  they  could  render  it  any 
assistance.  Their  anxiety  increased,  as  they 
saw  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  party  descending  the 
channel  and  dauntlessly  approaching  the  point 
of  danger ;  but  it  suddenly  changed  into  sur- 
prise on  beholding  the  boat  pass  close  by  the 
savage  horde  unmolested,  and  steer  out  safely 
into  the  broad  river. 

The  next  moment  the  whole  band  of  warriors 
was  in  motion.  They  ran  along  the  bank  until 
they  were  opposite  to  the  boats,  then  throwing 
by  their  weapons  and  buffalo  robes,  plunged 
into  the  river,  waded  and  swam  off  to  the 
boats  and  surrounded  them  in  crowds,  seeking 
to  shake  hands  with  every  individual  on  board  ; 
for  the  Indians  have  long  since  found  this  to 
be  the  white  man's  token  of  amity,  and  they 
carry  it  to  an  extreme. 

All  uneasiness  was  now  at  an  end.  The 
Indians  proved  to  be  a  war  party  of  Arickaras, 
Mandans,  and  Minatarees,  consisting  of  three 
hundred  warriors  and  bound  on  a  foray  against 
the  Sioux.  Their  war  plans  were  abandoned 
for  the  present,  and  they  determined  to  return 
to  the  Arickara  town,  where  they  hoped  to 
obtain  from  the  white  men  arms  and  ammuni- 

VOL.  t.— 1 8 


274  Bstorla 


tion  that  would  enable  them  to  take  the  field 
with  advantage  over  their  enemies. 

The  boats  now  sought  the  first  convenient 
place  for  encamping.  The  tents  were  pitched  ; 
the  warriors  fixed  their  camp  at  about  a  hun- 
dred yards  distant ;  provisions  were  furnished 
from  the  boats  sufficient  for  all  parties  ;  there 
was  hearty  though  rude  feasting  in  both  camps, 
and  in  the  evening  the  red  warriors  entertained 
their  white  friends  with  dances  and  songs,  that 
lasted  until  after  midnight. 

On  the  following  morning  (July  3d)  the  travel- 
lers re-embarked,  and  took  a  temporary  leave 
of  their  Indian  friends,  who  intended  to  pro- 
ceed immediately  for  the  Arickara  town,  where 
they  expected  to  arrive  in  three  days,  long 
before  the  boats  could  reach  there.  Mr.  Hunt 
had  not  proceeded  far  before  the  chief  came 
galloping  along  the  shore  and  made  signs  for  a 
parley.  He  said  his  people  could  not  go  home 
satisfied  unless  they  had  something  to  take 
with  them  to  prove  that  they  had  met  white 
men.  Mr.  Hunt  understood  the  drift  of  the 
speech,  and  made  the  chief  a  present  of  a  cask 
of  powder,  a  bag  of  balls,  and  three  dozen  of 
knives,  with  which  he  was  highly  pleased. 
While  the  chief  was  receiving  these  presents 
an  Indian  came  running  along  the  shore,  and 
announced  that  a  boat,  filled  with  white  men, 


Bpproacb  of  Xtea  275 


was  coming  up  the  river.  This  was  by  no  means 
agreeable  tidings  to  Mr.  Hunt,  who  correctly 
concluded  it  to  be  the  boat  of  Mr.  Manuel  Lisa  ; 
and  he  was  vexed  to  find  that  alert  and  adven- 
turous trader  upon  his  heels,  whom  he  hoped 
to  have  out-manoeuvred,  and  left  far  behind. 
Lisa,  however,  was  too  much  experienced  in 
the  wiles  of  Indian  trade  to  be  lulled  by  the 
promise  of  waiting  for  him  at  the  Poncas  vil- 
lage ;  on  the  contrary,  he  had  allowed  himself 
no  repose,  and  had  strained  every  nerve  to 
overtake  the  rival  party,  and  availing  himself 
of  the  moonlight,  had  even  sailed  during  a 
considerable  part  of  the  night.  In  this  he  was 
partly  prompted  by  his  apprehensions  of  the 
Sioux,  having  met  a  boat  which  had  probably 
passed  Mr.  Hunt's  party  in  the  night,  and 
which  had  been  fired  into  by  these  savages. 

On  hearing  that  Lisa  was  so  near  at  hand, 
Mr.  Hunt  perceived  that  it  was  useless  to  at- 
tempt any  longer  to  evade  him  ;  after  proceed- 
ing a  few  miles  farther,  therefore,  he  came  to 
a  halt  and  waited  for  him  to  come  up.  In  a 
little  while  the  barge  of  Lisa  made  its  appear- 
ance. It  came  sweeping  gently  up  the  river, 
manned  by  its  twenty  stout  oarsmen,  and  armed 
by  a  swivel  mounted  at  the  bow.  The  whole 
number  on  board  amounted  to  twenty-six  men  : 
among  whom  was  Mr.  Henry  Breckenridge, 


276  Bstoria 


then  a  young,  enterprising  man ;  who  was  a 
mere  passenger,  tempted  by  notions  of  curiosity 
to  accompany  Mr.  Lisa.  He  has  since  made 
himself  known  by  various  writings,  among 
which  may  be  noted  a  narrative  of  this  very 
voyage. 

The  approach  of  Lisa,  while  it  was  regarded 
with  uneasiness  by  Mr.  Hunt,  roused  the  ire 
of  M'Lellan ;  who,  calling  to  mind  old  griev- 
ances, began  to  look  round  for  his  rifle,  as  if 
he  really  intended  to  carry  his  threat  into  exe- 
cution and  shoot  him  on  the  spot ;  and  it  was 
with  some  difficulty  that  Mr.  Hunt  was  enabled 
to  restrain  his  ire,  and  prevent  a  scene  of  out- 
rage and  confusion. 

The  meeting  between  the  two  leaders,  thus 
mutually  distrustful,  could  not  be  very  cordial : 
and  as  to  Messrs.  Crooks  and  M'Lellan,  though 
they  refrained  from  any  outbreak,  yet  they  re- 
garded in  grim  defiance  their  old  rival  and 
underplotter.  In  truth,  a  general  distrust  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  party  concerning  Lisa 
and  his  intentions.  They  considered  him  art- 
ful and  slippery,  and  secretly  anxious  for  the 
failure  of  their  expedition.  There  being  now 
nothing  more  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
Sioux,  they  suspected  that  Lisa  would  take 
advantage  of  his  twenty-oared  barge  to  leave 
them  and  get  first  among  the  Arickaras.  As 


Pierre  Borfon  an£>  3Ltea  277 

he  had  traded  with  those  people  and  possessed 
great  influence  over  them,  it  was  feared  he 
might  make  use  of  it  to  impede  the  business 
of  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  party.  It  was  resolved, 
therefore,  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  upon  his 
movements ;  and  M'L,ellan  swore  that  if  he  saw 
the  least  sign  of  treachery  on  his  part,  he  would 
instantly  put  his  old  threat  into  execution. 

Notwithstanding  these  secret  jealousies  and 
heart-burnings,  the  two  parties  maintained  an 
outward  appearance  of  civility,  and  for  two  days 
continued  forward  in  company  with  some  de- 
gree of  harmony.  On  the  third  day,  however, 
an  explosion  took  place,  and  it  was  produced 
by  no  less  a  personage  than  Pierre  Dorion,  the 
half-breed  interpreter.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  this  worthy  had  been  obliged  to  steal  a 
march  from  St.  Louis,  to  avoid  being  arrested 
for  an  old  whiskey  debt  which  he  owed  to  the 
Missouri  Fur  Company,  and  by  which  Mr. 
Lisa  had  hoped  to  prevent  his  enlisting  in  Mr. 
Hunt's  expedition.  Dorion,  since  the  arrival 
of  Lisa,  had  kept  aloof  and  regarded  him  with 
a  sullen  and  dogged  aspect.  On  the  5th  of 
July  the  two  parties  were  brought  to  a  halt  by 
a  heavy  rain,  and  remained  encamped  about  a 
hundred  yards  apart.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  Lisa  undertook  to  tamper  with  the  faith 
of  Pierre  Dorion,  and,  inviting  him  on  board 


278  Sstoria 


of  his  boat,  regaled  him  with  his  favorite 
whiskey.  When  he  thought  him  sufficiently 
mellowed,  he  proposed  to  him  to  quit  the  ser- 
vice of  his  new  employers  and  return  to  his 
old  allegiance.  Finding  him  not  to  be  moved 
by  soft  words,  he  called  to  mind  his  old  debt 
to  the  company,  and  threatened  to  carry  him 
off  by  force,  in  payment  of  it.  The  mention 
of  this  debt  always  stirred  up  the  gall  of  Pierre 
Dorion,  bringing  with  it  the  remembrance  of 
the  whiskey  extortion.  A  violent  quarrel 
arose  between  him  and  Lisa,  and  he  left  the 
boat  in  high  dudgeon.  His  first  step  was  to 
repair  to  the  tent  of  Mr.  Hunt  and  reveal  the 
attempt  that  had  been  made  to  shake  his  faith. 
While  he  was  yet  talking  Lisa  entered  the 
tent,  under  the  pretext  of  coming  to  borrow  a 
towing  line.  High  words  instantly  ensued  be- 
tween him  and  Dorion,  which  ended  by  the 
half-breed's  dealing  him  a  blow.  A  quarrel 
in  the  ' '  Indian  country, ' '  however,  is  not  to 
be  settled  with  fisticuffs.  Lisa  immediately 
rushed  to  his  boat  for  a  weapon.  Dorion 
snatched  up  a  pair  of  pistols  belonging  to  Mr. 
Hunt,  and  placed  himself  in  battle  array.  The 
noisehad roused  the  camp,  and  everyone  pressed 
to  know  the  cause.  Lisa  now  reappeared  upon 
the  field  with  a  knife  stuck  in  his  girdle.  Mr. 
Breckenridge,  who  had  tried  in  vain  to  mollify 


•fount  Challenges  Xisa  279 


his  ire,  accompanied  him  to  the  scene  of  action. 
Pierre  Do ri on 's  pistols  gave  him  the  advantage, 
and  he  maintained  a  most  warlike  attitude. 
In  the  meantime,  Crooks  and  M'Lellan  had 
learnt  the  cause  of  the  affray,  and  were  each 
eager  to  take  the  quarrel  into  their  own 
hands.  A  scene  of  uproar  and  hubbub  ensued 
that  defies  description.  M'Lellan  would  have 
brought  his  rifle  into  play  and  settled  all  old 
and  new  grudges  by  a  pull  of  the  trigger,  had 
he  not  been  restrained  by  Mr.  Hunt.  That 
gentleman  acted  as  moderator,  endeavoring  to 
prevent  a  general  mel£e ;  in  the  midst  of  the 
brawl,  however,  an  expression  was  made  use 
of  by  Lisa  derogatory  to  his  own  honor.  In 
an  instant  the  tranquil  spirit  of  Mr.  Hunt  was 
in  a  flame.  He  now  became  as  eager  for  the 
fight  as  any  one  on  the  ground,  and  challenged 
Lisa  to  settle  the  dispute  on  the  spot  with  pis- 
tols. Lisa  repaired  to  his  boat  to  arm  himself 
for  the  deadly  feud.  He  was  followed  by 
Messrs.  Bradbury  and  Breckenridge,  who, 
novices  in  Indian  life  and  the  "chivalry"  of 
the  frontier,  had  no  relish  for  scenes  of  blood 
and  brawl.  By  their  earnest  mediation  the 
quarrel  was  brought  to  a  close  without  blood- 
shed ;  but  the  two  leaders  of  the  rival  camps 
separated  in  anger,  and  all  personal  intercourse 
ceased  between  them. 


Cbapter  ££ 

Features  of  the  Wilderness— John  Day — Interview 
with  Three  Arickaras— Negotiations  between  the 
Rival  Parties — Arickara  Village — Ceremonials  on 
Landing — A  Council  Lodge — Encampment  of  the 
Trading  Parties. 

THE  rival  parties  now  coasted  along  the 
opposite    sides    of   the   river,   within 
sight  of  each  other ;    the  barges  of 
Mr.  Hunt  always  keeping  some  dis- 
tance in  the  advance,  lest  Lisa  should  push  on 
and   get  first   to   the  Arickara  village.     The 
scenery  and  objects,  as  they  proceeded,   gave 
evidence  that  they  were  advancing  deeper  and 
deeper  into  the    domains  of  savage  nature. 
Boundless  wastes  kept  extending  to  the  eye, 
more  and  more  animated  by  herds  of  buffalo. 
Sometimes  these  unwieldy  animals  were  seen 
moving  in   long  procession  across  the  silent 
landscape  ;  at  other  times  they  were  scattered 
about,  singly  or  in  groups,  on  the  broad,  en- 
280 


JBuffalos,  Beer,  an&  antelopes         281 

amelled  prairies  and  green  acclivities,  some 
cropping  the  rich  pasturage,  others  reclining 
amidst  the  flowery  herbage ;  the  whole  scene 
realizing  in  a  manner  the  old  Scriptural  de- 
scriptions of  the  vast  pastoral  countries  of 
the  Orient,  with  ' '  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills." 

At  one  place  the  shores  seemed  absolutely 
lined  with  buffaloes  ;  many  were  making  their 
way  across  the  stream,  snorting,  and  blowing, 
and  floundering.  Numbers,  in  spite  of  every 
effort,  were  borne  by  the  rapid  current  within 
shot  of  the  boats,  and  several  were  killed.  At 
another  place  a  number  were  descried  on  the 
beach  of  a  small  island,  under  the  shade  of 
the  trees,  or  standing  in  the  water,  like  cattle, 
to  avoid  the  flies  and  the  heat  of  the  day. 

Several  of  the  best  marksmen  stationed 
themselves  in  the  bow  of  a  barge  which  ad- 
vanced slowly  and  silently,  stemming  the  cur- 
rent with  the  aid  of  a  broad  sail  and  a  fair 
breeze.  The  buffaloes  stood  gazing  quietly  at 
the  barge  as  it  approached,  perfectly  uncon- 
scious of  their  danger.  The  fattest  of  the  herd 
was  selected  by  the  hunters,  who  all  fired 
together  and  brought  down  their  victim. 

Beside  the  buffaloes  they  saw  abundance  of 
deer,  and  frequent  gangs  of  stately  elks,  to- 
gether with  light  troops  of  sprightly  antelopes,, 


282  Bstoria 


the  fleetest  and  most  beautiful  inhabitants  of 
the  prairies. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  antelopes  in  these 
regions,  one  nearly  the  size  of  the  common 
deer,  the  other  not  much  larger  than  a  goat. 
Their  color  is  a  light  gray,  or  rather  dun, 
slightly  spotted  with  white  ;  and  they  have 
small  horns  like  those  of  the  deer,  which  they 
never  shed.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  delicate 
and  elegant  finish  of  their  limbs,  in  which 
lightness,  elasticity,  and  strength  are  wonder- 
fully combined.  All  the  attitudes  and  move- 
ments of  this  beautiful  animal  are  graceful 
and  picturesque  ;  and  it  is  altogether  as  fit  a 
subject  for  the  fanciful  uses  of  the  poet  as  the 
oft-sung  gazelle  of  the  Kast. 

Their  habits  are  shy  and  capricious  ;  they 
keep  on  the  open  plains,  are  quick  to  take  the 
alarm,  and  bound  away  with  a  fleetness  that 
defies  pursuit.  When  thus  skimming  across  a 
prairie  in  the  autumn,  their  light  gray  or  dun 
color  blends  with  the  hue  of  the  withered  her- 
bage, the  swiftness  of  their  motion  baffles  the 
eye,  and  they  almost  seem  unsubstantial  forms, 
driven  like  gossamer  before  the  wind. 

While  they  thus  keep  to  the  open  plain  and 
trust  to  their  speed,  they  are  safe  ;  but  they 
have  a  prurient  curiosity  that  sometimes  betrays 
them  to  their  ruin.  When  they  have  scud  for 


Curfositg  of  tbe  antelope  283 

some  distance  and  left  their  pursuer  behind, 
they  will  suddenly  stop  and  turn  to  gaze  at 
the  object  of  their  alarm.  If  the  pursuit  is 
not  followed  up  they  will,  after  a  time,  yield 
to  their  inquisitive  hankering,  and  return  to  the 
place  from  whence  they  have  been  frightened. 

John  Day,  the  veteran  hunter  already  men- 
tioned, displayed  his  experience  and  skill  in 
entrapping  one  of  these  beautiful  animals. 
Taking  advantage  of  its  well-known  curiosity, 
he  laid  down  flat  among  the  grass,  and  putting 
his  handkerchief  on  the  end  of  his  ramrod, 
waved  it  gently  in  the  air.  This  had  the  effect 
of  the  fabled  fascination  of  the  rattlesnake. 
The  antelope  approached  timidly,  pausing  and 
reconnoitring  with  increased  curiosity  ;  mov- 
ing round  the  point  of  attraction  in  a  circle, 
but  still  drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  until  being 
within  range  of  the  deadly  rifle,  he  fell  a 
victim  to  his  curiosity. 

On  the  loth  of  June,  as  the  party  were  mak- 
ing brisk  progress  with  a  fine  breeze,  they  met 
a  canoe  with  three  Indians  descending  the 
river.  They  came  to  a  parley,  and  brought 
news  from  the  Arickara  village.  The  war 
party,  which  had  caused  such  alarm  at  the 
sand-bar,  had  reached  the  village  some  days 
previously,  announced  the  approach  of  a  party 
of  traders,  and  displayed  with  great  ostentation 


284  Bstoria 


the  presents  they  had  received  from  them. 
On  further  conversation  with  these  three  Indi- 
ans, Mr.  Hunt  learnt  the  real  danger  which  he 
had  run,  when  hemmed  up  within  the  sand- 
bar. The  Mandans,  who  were  of  the  war 
party,  when  they  saw  the  boat  so  completely 
entrapped  and  apparently  within  their  power, 
had  been  eager  for  attacking  it,  and  securing 
so  rich  a  prize.  The  Minatarees,  also,  were 
nothing  loth,  feeling  in  some  measure  com- 
mitted in  hostility  to  the  whites,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  tribe  having  killed  two  white 
men  above  the  fort  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany. Fortunately,  the  Arickaras,  who  formed 
the  majority  of  the  war  party,  proved  true 
in  their  friendship  to  the  whites,  and  prevented 
any  hostile  act,  otherwise  a  bloody  affray, 
and  perhaps  a  horrible  massacre  might  have 
ensued. 

On  the  nth  of  June,  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  com- 
panions encamped  near  an  island  about  six 
miles  below  the  Arickara  village.  Mr.  Lisa 
encamped,  as  usual,  at  no  great  distance  ;  but 
the  same  sullen  and  jealous  reserve,  and  non- 
intercourse  continued  between  them.  Shortly 
after  pitching  the  tents,  Mr.  Breckenridge 
made  his  appearance  as  an  ambassador  from 
the  rival  camp.  He  came,  on  behalf  of  his 
companions,  to  arrange  the  manner  of  making 


Bn  Brfcfcara  Bmbassg  285 

their  entrance  into  the  village  and  of  receiving 
the  chiefs ;  for  everything  of  the  kind  is  a 
matter  of  grave  ceremonial  among  the  Indians. 

The  partners  now  expressed  frankly  their 
deep  distrust  of  the  intentions  of  Mr.  I^isa,  and 
their  apprehensions,  that,  out  of  the  jealousy 
of  trade,  and  resentment  of  recent  disputes,  he 
might  seek  to  instigate  the  Arickaras  against 
them.  Mr.  Breckenridge  assured  them  that 
their  suspicions  were  entirely  groundless,  and 
pledged  himself  that  nothing  of  the  kind 
should  take  place.  He  found  it  difficult,  how- 
ever, to  remove  their  distrust ;  the  conference, 
therefore,  ended  without  producing  any  cordial 
understanding ;  and  M'lyellan  recurred  to  his 
old  threat  of  shooting  L,isa  the  instant  he  dis- 
covered anything  like  treachery  in  his  pro- 
ceedings. 

That  night  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  accom- 
panied by  thunder  and  lightning.  The  camp 
Was  deluged,  and  the  bedding  and  baggage 
drenched.  All  hands  embarked  at  an  early 
hour,  and  set  forward  for  the  village.  About 
nine  o'clock,  when  halfway,  they  met  a  canoe, 
on  board  of  which  weretwoArickara  dignitaries. 
One,  a  fine-looking  man,  much  above  the  com- 
mon size,  was  hereditary  chief  of  the  village  ; 
he  was  called  the  Left-handed,  on  account  of  a 
personal  peculiarity.  The  other,  a  ferocious- 


286  Bstorfa 


looking  savage,  was  the  war  chief,  or  general- 
issimo ;  he  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  Big 
Man,  an  appellation  he  well  deserved  from  his 
size,  for  he  was  of  a  gigantic  frame.  Both  were 
of  fairer  complexion  than  is  usual  with  savages. 

They  were  accompanied  by  an  interpreter ; 
a  French  Creole,  one  of  those  haphazard  wights 
of  Gallic  origin  who  abound  upon  our  frontier, 
living  among  the  Indians  like  one  of  their  own 
race.  He  had  been  twenty  years  among  the 
Arickaras,  had  a  squaw  and  troop  of  piebald 
children,  and  officiated  as  interpreter  to  the 
chiefs.  Through  this  worthy  organ  the  two 
dignitaries  signified  to  Mr.  Hunt  their  sover- 
eign intention  to  oppose  the  further  progress 
of  the  expedition  up  the  river  unless  a  boat 
were  left  to  trade  with  them.  Mr.  Hunt,  in 
reply,  explained  the  object  of  his  voyage,  and 
his  intention  of  debarking  at  their  village  and 
proceeding  thence  by  land  ;  and  that  he  would 
willingly  trade  with  them  for  a  supply  of  horses 
for  his  journey.  With  this  explanation  they 
were  perfectly  satisfied,  and  putting  about, 
steered  for  their  village  to  make  preparations 
for  the  reception  of  the  strangers. 

The  village  of  the  Rikaras,  Arickaras,  or 
Ricarees,  for  the  name  is  thus  variously  written, 
is  between  the  46th  and  47 th  parallels  of  north 
latitude,  and  fourteen  hundred  and  thirty  miles 


Cbe  Milage  of  tbe  IRifcaras  287 

above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  The  party 
reached  it  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
but  landed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
where  they  spread  out  their  baggage  and  ef- 
fects to  dry.  From  hence  they  commanded 
an  excellent  view  of  the  village.  It  was  di- 
vided into  two  portions,  about  eighty  yards 
apart,  being  inhabited  by  two  distinct  bands. 
The  whole  extended  about  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  along  the  river  bank,  and  was  composed 
of  conical  lodges,  that  looked  like  so  many 
small  hillocks,  being  wooden  frames  inter- 
twined with  osier,  and  covered  with  earth. 
The  plain  beyond  the  village  swept  up  into 
hills  of  considerable  height,  but  the  whole 
country  was  nearly  destitute  of  trees.  While 
they  were  regarding  the  village,  they  beheld 
a  singular  fleet  coming  down  the  river.  It 
consisted  of  a  number  of  canoes,  each  made  of 
a  single  buffalo  hide  stretched  on  sticks,  so  as 
to  form  a  kind  of  circular  trough.  Bach  one 
was  navigated  by  a  single  squaw,  who  knelt 
in  the  bottom  and  paddled  ;  towing  after  her 
frail  bark  a  bundle  of  floating  wood  intended 
for  firing.  This  kind  of  canoe  is  in  frequent 
use  among  the  Indians  ;  the  buffalo  hide  being 
readily  made  up  into  a  bundle  and  transported 
on  horseback  ;  it  is  very  serviceable  in  convey- 
ing baggage  across  the  rivers. 


288  Bstoria 


The  great  number  of  horses  grazing  around 
the  village,  and  scattered  over  the  neighbor- 
ing hills  and  valleys,  bespoke  the  equestrian 
habit  of  the  Arickaras,  who  are  admirable 
horsemen.  Indeed,  in  the  number  of  his 
horses  consists  the  wealth  of  an  Indian  of  the 
prairies,  who  resembles  an  Arab  in  his  passion 
for  this  noble  animal,  and  in  his  adroitness  in 
the  management  of  it. 

After  a  time,  the  voice  of  the  sovereign  chief, 
"  the  Left-handed,"  was  heard  across  the  river, 
announcing  that  the  council  lodge  was  prepar- 
ing, and  inviting  the  white  men  to  come  over. 
The  river  was  half  a  mile  in  width,  yet  every 
word  uttered  by  the  chieftain  was  heard  ;  this 
may  be  partly  attributed  to  the  distinct  man- 
ner in  which  every  syllable  of  the  compound 
words  in  the  Indian  languages  is  articulated 
and  accented  ;  but,  in  truth,  a  savage  warrior 
might  often  rival  Achilles  himself  for  force  of 
lungs.* 

Now  came  the  delicate  point  of  management 
— how  the  two  rival  parties  were  to  conduct 
their  visit  to  the  village  with  proper  circum- 
spection and  due  decorum.  Neither  of  the 
leaders  had  spoken  to  each  other  since  their 
quarrel.  All  communication  had  been  by  am- 
bassadors, Seeing  the  jealousy  entertained 
*  Bradbury,  p.  no. 


' 

dug  arotind 

cr  the  neighbor- 

poke  the  equestrian 

habit  of  ;io  are  admirable 

horsemen.      I.:j«.k-  the    number  of  his 

horses  consi  :i  of  an  Indian  of  the 

prai  resembles  an  Arab  in  his  passion 

for  imal,  and  in  his  adroitness  in 

the  maiiagftnent  of  it. 

f  the  sovereign  chief, 

d,"  was  heard  across  the  river, 

s  prepar- 

me  over, 
Mandan  Village  and  Buffalo-Hide  Boats         yery 


v  attributed  to  the  distinct  man- 

iinpound 

langua,  rticulated 

i  savage  warrior 

inself  for  force  of 

Mieate  point  of  management 

parties  were  to  conduct 

the  village  with  proper  circum- 

•e   decorum.     Neither  of  the 

ken  to  each  other  since  their 

iimunication  had  been  by  am- 

MMftdors.      Setting  the  jealousy    entertained 

*  Bmdbury,  p.  no. 


•Reception  bg  tbe  Cbiet  289 

of  Lisa,  Mr.  Breckenridge,  in  his  negotiation, 
had  arranged  that  a  deputation  from  each  party 
should  cross  the  river  at  the  same  time,  so  that 
neither  would  have  the  first  access  to  the  ear 
of  the  Arickaras. 

The  distrust  of  Lisa,  however,  had  increased 
in  proportion  as  they  approached  the  sphere 
of  action ;  and  M'Lellan,  in  particular,  kept  a 
vigilant  eye  upon  his  motions,  swearing  to  shoot 
him  if  he  attempted  to  cross  the  river  first. 

About  two  o'clock  the  large  boat  of  Mr. 
Hunt  was  manned,  and  he  stepped  on  board, 
accompanied  by  Messrs.  M'Kenzie  and  M' Lei- 
Ian  ;  Lisa  at  the  same  time  embarked  in  his 
barge  ;  the  two  deputations  amounted  in  all  to 
fourteen  persons,  and  never  was  any  movement 
of  rival  potentates  conducted  with  more  wary 
exactness. 

They  landed  amidst  a  rabble  crowd,  and  were 
received  on  the  bank  by  the  left-handed-chief, 
who  conducted  them  into  the  village  with  grave 
courtesy  ;  driving  to  the  right  and  left  the 
swarms  of  old  squaws,  imp-like  boys,  and  vaga- 
bond dogs,  with  which  the  place  abounded. 
They  wound  their  way  between  the  cabins, 
which  looked  like  dirt-heaps  huddled  together 
without  any  plan,  and  surrounded  by  old  pali- 
sades ;  all  filthy  in  the  extreme,  and  redolent 
of  villainous  smells. 

VOL.  I. — 19 


Bstorfa 


At  length  they  arrived  at  the  council  lodge. 
It  was  somewhat  spacious,  and  formed  of  four 
forked  trunks  of  trees  placed  upright,  support- 
ing cross-beams  and  a  frame  of  poles  interwoven 
with  osiers,  and  the  whole  covered  with  earth. 
A  hole  sunken  in  the  centre  formed  the  fire- 
place, and  immediately  above  was  a  circular 
hole  in  the  apex  of  the  lodge,  to  let  out  the 
smoke  and  let  in  the  daylight.  Around  the 
lodge  were  recesses  for  sleeping,  like  the  berths 
on  board  ships,  screened  from  view  by  curtains 
of  dressed  skins.  At  the  upper  end  of  the 
lodge  was  a  kind  of  hunting  and  warlike 
trophy,  consisting  of  two  buffalo  heads  gair- 
ishly  painted,  surmounted  by  shields,  bows, 
quivers  of  arrows,  and  other  weapons. 

On  entering  the  lodge  the  chief  pointed  to 
mats  or  cushions  which  had  been  placed  around 
for  the  strangers  and  on  which  they  seated  them- 
selves, while  he  placed  himself  on  a  kind  of 
stool.  An  old  man  then  came  forward  with  the 
pipe  of  peace  or  good-fellowship,  lighted  and 
handed  it  to  the  chief,  and  then  falling  back, 
squatted  himself  near  the  door.  The  pipe  was 
passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  each  one  taking  a 
whiff,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  inviolable 
pledge  of  faith,  of  taking  salt  together  among 
the  ancient  Britons.  The  chief  then  made  a 
sign  to  the  old  pipe-bearer,  who  seemed  to  fill, 


<3ranD  Conference  291 


likewise,  the  station  of  herald,  seneschal,  and 
public  crier,  for  he  ascended  to  the  top  of  the 
lodge  to  make  proclamation.  Here  he  took  his 
post  beside  the  aperture  for  the  emission  of 
smoke  and  the  admission  of  light ;  the  chief 
dictated  from  within  what  he  was  to  proclaim 
and  he  bawled  it  forj;h  with  a  force  of  lungs 
that  resounded  over  all  the  village.  In  this 
way  he  summoned  the  warriors  and  great  men 
to  council ;  every  now  and  then  reporting  pro- 
gress to  his  chief  through  the  hole  in  the  roof. 

In  a  little  while  the  braves  and  sages  began 
to  enter  one  by  one,  as  their  names  were  called 
or  announced,  emerging  from  under  the  buffalo 
robe  suspended  over  the  entrance  instead  of  a 
door,  stalking  across  the  lodge  to  the  skins  placed 
on  the  floor,  and  crouching  down  on  them  in 
silence.  By  this  way  twenty  entered  and  took 
their  seats,  forming  an  assemblage  worthy  of 
the  pencil :  for  the  Arickaras  are  a  noble  race 
of  men,  large  and  well  formed,  and  maintain 
a  savage  grandeur  and  gravity  of  demeanor  in 
their  solemn  ceremonials. 

All  being  seated,  the  old  seneschal  prepared 
the  pipe  of  ceremony  or  council,  and  having 
lit  it,  handed  it  to  the  chief.  He  inhaled  the 
sacred  smoke,  gave  a  puff  upward  to  the  hea- 
ven, then  downward  to  the  earth,  then  towards 
the  east ;  after  this  it  was  as  usual  passed  from 


292  Bstoria 


mouth  to  mouth,  each  holding  it  respectfully 
until  his  neighbor  had  taken  several  whiffs  : 
and  now  the  grand  council  was  considered  as 
opened  in  due  form. 

The  chief  made  an  harangue  welcoming  the 
white  men  to  his  village,  and  expressing  his 
happiness  in  taking  them  by  the  hand  as  friends ; 
but  at  the  same  time  complaining  of  the  poverty 
of  himself  and  his  people ;  the  usual  prelude 
among  Indians  to  begging  or  hard  bargaining. 

I/isa  rose  to  reply,  and  the  eyes  of  Hunt  and 
his  companions  were  eagerly  turned  upon  him, 
those  of  M'L,ellan  glaring  like  a  basilisk's. 
He  began  by  the  usual  expressions  of  friend- 
ship, and  then  proceeded  to  explain  the  object 
of  his  own  party.  * '  Those  persons,  however, ' ' 
said  he,  pointing  to  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  compan- 
ions, "  are  of  a  different  party,  and  are  quite 
distinct  in  their  views;  but,"  added  he,  "though 
we  are  separate  parties,  we  make  but  one 
common  cause  when  the  safety  of  either  is 
concerned.  Any  injury  or  insult  offered  to 
them  I  shall  consider  as  done  to  myself,  and 
will  resent  it  accordingly.  I  trust,  therefore, 
that  you  will  treat  them  with  the  same  friend- 
ship that  you  have  always  manifested  for  me, 
doing  everything  in  your  power  to  serve  them 
and  to  help  them  on  their  way."  The  speech 
of  Lisa,  delivered  with  an  air  of  frankness 


•negotiation  for  f>orsea  293 

and  sincerity,  agreeably  surprised  and  disap- 
pointed the  rival  party. 

Mr.  Hunt  then  spoke,  declaring  the  object 
of  his  journey  to  the  great  Salt  L,ake  beyond 
the  mountains,  and  that  he  should  want  horses 
for  the  purpose,  for  which  he  was  ready  to 
trade,  having  brought  with  him  plenty  of 
goods.  Both  he  and  L,isa  concluded  their 
speeches  by  making  presents  of  tobacco. 

The  left-handed  chieftain  in  reply  promised 
his  friendship  and  aid  to  the  new-comers,  and 
welcomed  them  to  his  village.  He  added  that 
they  had  not  the  number  of  horses  to  spare 
that  Mr.  Hunt  required,  and  expressed  a  doubt 
whether  they  should  be  able  to  part  with  any. 
Upon  this,  another  chieftain,  called  Gray  Eyes, 
made  a  speech,  and  declared  that  they  could 
readily  supply  Mr.  Hunt  with  all  the  horses 
he  might  want,  since  if  they  had  not  enough 
in  the  village,  they  could  easily  steal  more. 
This  honest  expedient  immediately  removed 
the  main  difficulty  ;  but  the  chief  deferred  all 
trading  for  a  day  or  two  ;  until  he  should  have 
time  to  consult  with  his  subordinate  chiefs  as 
to  market  rates  ;  for  the  principal  chief  of  a 
village,  in  conjunction  with  his  council,  usually 
fixes  the  prices  at  which  articles  shall  be 
bought  and  sold,  and  to  them  the  village 
must  conform. 


294  Bstoria 


The  council  now  broke  up.  Mr.  Hunt  trans- 
ferred his  camp  across  the  river  at  a  little  dis- 
tance below  the  village,  and  the  left-handed 
chief  placed  some  of  his  warriors  as  guard  to 
prevent  the  intrusion  of  any  of  his  people. 
The  camp  was  pitched  on  the  river  bank  just 
above  the  boats.  The  tents,  and  the  men 
wrapped  in  their  blankets  and  bivouacking  on 
skins  in  the  open  air,  surrounded  the  baggage  at 
night.  Four  sentinels  also  kept  watch  within 
sight  of  each  other  outside  of  the  camp  until 
midnight,  when  they  were  relieved  by  four 
others  who  mounted  guard  until  daylight. 
Mr.  lyisa  encamped  near  to  Mr.  Hunt,  between 
him  and  the  village. 

The  speech  of  Mr.  Lisa  in  the  council  had 
produced  a  pacific  effect  in  the  encampment. 
Though  the  sincerity  of  his  friendship  and 
good -will  towards  the  new  company  still  re- 
mained matter  of  doubt,  he  was  no  longer  sus- 
pected of  an  intention  to  play  false.  The 
intercourse  between  the  two  leaders  was  there- 
fore resumed,  and  the  affairs  of  both  parties 
went  on  harmoniousty. 


Cbaptet  f  f  fl* 

An  Indian  Horse  Fair — Indian  Hospitality — Duties 
of  Indian  Women — Game  Habits  of  the  Men — 
— Indian  Dogs — An  Indian  Deputation — Dress  of 
the  Arickaras — Triumphal  Entry  of  the  War  Party 
— Indian  Sensibility — Festivities  and  Lamentations. 

A  TRADE    now    commenced    with    the 
Arickaras  under  the  regulation  and 
supervision   of   their    two   chieftains. 
Lisa  sent  a  part  of  his  goods  to  the 
lodge  of  the  left-handed   dignitary,  and  Mr. 
Hunt  established  his  mart  in  the  lodge  of  the 
Big  Man.     The  village  soon  presented  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  busy  fair  ;  and  as  horses  were  in 
demand,  the  purlieus  and  the  adjacent  plain 
were  like  the  vicinity  of  a  Tartar  encampment ; 
horses  were  put  through  all  their  paces,  and 
horsemen  were  careering  about  with  that  dex- 
terity and  grace  for  which  the  Arickaras  are 
noted.     As  soon  as  a  horse  was  purchased,  his 
tail  was  cropped,  a  sure  mode  of  distinguishing 
295 


296  Sstoria 


him  from  the  horses  of  the  tribe ;  for  the  In- 
dians disdain  to  practise  this  absurd,  barbar- 
ous, and  indecent  mutilation,  invented  by  some 
mean  and  vulgar  mind,  insensible  to  the  merit 
and  perfections  of  the  animal.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  Indian  horses  are  suffered  to  remain 
in  every  respect  the  superb  and  beautiful  ani- 
mals which  nature  formed  them. 

The  wealth  of  an  Indian  of  the  far  West  con- 
sists principally  in  his  horses,  of  which  each 
chief  and  warrior  possesses  a  great  number,  so 
that  the  plains  about  an  Indian  village  or  en- 
campment are  covered  with  them.  These  form 
objects  of  traffic,  or  objects  of  depredation,  and 
in  this  way  pass  from  tribe  to  tribe  over  great 
tracts  of  country.  The  horses  owned  by  the 
Arickaras  are,  for  the  most  part,  of  the  wild 
stock  of  the  prairies  ;  some,  however,  had  been 
obtained  from  the  Poncas,  Pawnees,  and  other 
tribes  to  the  southwest,  who  had  stolen  them 
from  the  Spaniards  in  the  course  of  horse- 
stealing  expeditions  into  the  Mexican  territo- 
ries. These  were  to  be  known  by  being  branded  ; 
a  Spanish  mode  of  marking  horses  not  practised 
by  the  Indians. 

As  the  Arickaras  were  meditating  another 
expedition  against  their  enemies  the  Sioux, 
the  articles  of  traffic  most  in  demand  were 
guns,  tomahawks,  scalping-knives,  powder, 


Domestic  TLife  of  an  ITnoian  297 

ball,  and  other  munitions  of  war.  The  price 
of  a  horse,  as  regulated  by  the  chiefs,  was 
commonly  ten  dollars'  worth  of  goods  at  first 
cost.  To  supply  the  demand  thus  suddenly 
created,  parties  of  young  men  and  braves  had 
sallied  forth  on  expeditions  to  steal  horses  ;  a 
species  of  service  among  the  Indians  which 
takes  precedence  of  hunting,  and  is  considered 
a  department  of  honorable  warfare. 

While  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  were  ac- 
tively engaged  in  preparing  for  the  approaching 
journey,  those  who  had  accompanied  it  for 
curiosity  or  amusement,  found  ample  matter 
for  observation  in  the  village  and  its  inhabi- 
tants. Wherever  they  went  they  were  kindly 
entertained.  If  they  entered  a  lodge,  the  buf- 
falo robe  was  spread  before  the  fire  for  them  to 
sit  down  ;  the  pipe  was  brought,  and  while  the 
master  of  the  lodge  conversed  with  his  guests, 
the  squaw  put  the  earthen  vessel  over  the  fire, 
well  filled  with  dried  buffalo-meat  and  pounded 
corn  ;  for  the  Indian  in  his  native  state,  before 
he  has  mingled  much  with  white  men,  and  ac- 
quired their  sordid  habits,  has  the  hospitality 
of  the  Arab  ;  never  does  a  stranger  enter  his 
door  without  having  food  placed  before  him  ; 
and  never  is  the  food  thus  furnished  made  a 
matter  of  traffic. 

The  life  of  an  Indian  when  at  home  in  his 


298  Bstoria 


village  is  a.  life  of  indolence  and  amusement. 
To  the  woman  is  consigned  the  labors  of  the 
household  and  the  field ;  she  arranges  the 
lodge  ;  brings  wood  for  the  fire  ;  cooks  ;  jerks 
venison  and  buffalo  meat ;  dresses  the  skins  of 
the  animals  killed  in  the  chase  ;  cultivates  the 
little  patch  of  maize,  pumpkins,  and  pulse, 
which  furnishes  a  great  part  of  their  provisions. 
Their  time  for  repose  and  recreation  is  at  sun- 
set, when  the  labors  of  the  day  being  ended, 
they  gather  together  to  amuse  themselves  with 
petty  games,  or  to  hold  gossiping  convocations 
on  the  tops  of  their  lodges. 

As  to  the  Indian,  he  is  a  game  animal,  not 
to  be  degraded  by  useful  or  menial  toil.  It  is 
enough  that  he  exposes  himself  to  the  hard- 
ships of  the  chase  and  the  perils  of  war  ;  that 
he  brings  home  food  for  his  family,  and  watches 
and  fights  for  its  protection.  Everything  else 
is  beneath  his  attention.  When  at  home,  he 
attends  only  to  his  weapons  and  his  horses, 
preparing  the  means  of  future  exploit.  Or  he 
engages  with  his  comrades  in  games  of  dexter- 
ity, agility  and  strength  ;  or  in  gambling  games 
in  which  everything  is  put  at  hazard  with  a 
recklessness  seldom  witnessed  in  civilized  life. 

A  great  part  of  the  idle  leisure  of  the  Indians, 
when  at  home,  is  passed  in  groups,  squatted 
together  on  the  bank  of  a  river,  on  the  top  of  a 


Blarming  IRumore  299 


mound  on  the  prairie,  or  on  the  roof  of  one  of 
their  earth-covered  lodges,  talking  over  the 
news  of  the  day,  the  affairs  of  the  tribe,  the 
events  and  exploits  of  their  last  hunting  or 
fighting  expedition  ;  or  listening  to  the  stories 
of  old  times  told  by  some  veteran  chronicler  ; 
resembling  a  group  of  our  village  quidnuncs 
and  politicians,  listening  to  the  prosings  of 
some  superannuated  oracle,  or  discussing  the 
contents  of  an  ancient  newspaper. 

As  to  the  Indian  women,  they  are  far  from 
complaining  of  their  lot.  On  the  contrary,  they 
would  despise  their  husbands  could  they  stoop 
to  any  menial  office,  and  would  think  it  con- 
veyed an  imputation  upon  their  own  conduct. 
It  is  the  worst  insult  one  virago  can  cast  upon 
another  in  a  moment  of  altercation.  "  Infa- 
mous woman  !  ' '  will  she  cry,  '  *  I  have  seen 
your  husband  carrying  wood  into  his  lodge  to 
make  the  fire.  Where  was  his  squaw,  that  he 
should  be  obliged  to  make  a  woman  of  him- 
self!" 

Mr.  Hunt  and  his  fellow-travellers  had  not 
been  many  days  at  the  Arickara  village,  when 
rumors  began  to  circulate  that  the  Sioux  had 
followed  them  up,  and  that  a  war  party,  four 
or  five  hundred  in  number,  were  lurking  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood.  These  rumors 
produced  much  embarrassment  in  the  camp- 


300  Bstorta 


The  white  hunters  were  deterred  from  ventur- 
ing forth  in  quest  of  game,  neither  did  the 
leaders  think  it  proper  to  expose  them  to  such 
a  risk.  The  Arickaras,  too,  who  had  suffered 
greatly  in  their  wars  with  this  cruel  and  fero- 
cious tribe,  were  roused  to  increased  vigilance, 
and  stationed  mounted  scouts  upon  the  neigh- 
boring hills.  This,  however,  is  a  general  pre- 
caution among  the  tribes  of  the  prairies. 
Those  immense  plains  present  a  horizon  like 
the  ocean,  so  that  any  object  of  importance  can 
be  descried  afar,  and  information  communicated 
to  a  great  distance.  The  scouts  are  stationed 
on  the  hills,  therefore,  to  look  out  both  for 
game  and  for  enemies,  and  are,  in  a  manner, 
living  telegraphs  conveying  their  intelligence 
by  concerted  signs.  If  they  wish  to  give  notice 
of  a  herd  of  buffalo  in  the  plain  beyond,  they 
gallop  backwards  and  forwards  abreast,  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill.  If  they  perceive  an  enemy 
at  hand,  they  gallop  to  and  fro,  crossing  each 
other  ;  at  sight  of  which  the  whole  village  flies 
to  arms. 

Such  an  alarm  was  given  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  1 5th.  Four  scouts  were  seen  crossing  and 
recrossing  each  other  at  full  gallop,  on  the 
summit  of  a  hill  about  two  miles  distant  down 
the  river.  The  cry  was  up  that  the  Sioux 
were  coming.  In  an  instant  the  village  was 


Bn  Sricfcara  JEjcttemcnt  301 

in  an  uproar.  Men,  women,  and  children  were 
all  brawl  ing  and  shouting  ;  dogs  barking,  yelp- 
ing, and  howling.  Some  of  the  warriors  ran 
for  the  horses  to  gather  and  drive  them  in  from 
the  prairie,  some  for  their  weapons.  As  fast 
as  they  could  arm  and  equip  they  sallied  forth  ; 
some  on  horseback,  some  on  foot.  Some 
hastily  arrayed  in  their  war  dress,  with  coro- 
nets of  fluttering  feathers,  and  their  bodies 
smeared  with  paint ;  others  naked  and  only 
furnished  with  the  weapons  they  had  snatched 
up.  The  women  and  children  gathered  on  the 
tops  of  the  lodges  and  heightened  the  confusion 
of  the  scene  by  their  vociferation.  Old  men  who 
could  no  longer  bear  arms  took  similar  stations, 
and  harangued  the  warriors  as  they  passed, 
exhorting  them  to  valorous  deeds.  Some  of 
the  veterans  took  arms  themselves,  and  sallied 
forth  with  tottering  steps.  In  this  way,  the 
savage  chivalry  of  the  village  to  the  number 
of  five  hundred,  poured  forth,  helter-skelter, 
riding  and  running,  with  hideous  yells  and 
war-whoops,  like  so  many  bedlamites  or  demo- 
niacs let  loose. 

After  a  while  the  tide  of  war  rolled  back, 
but  with  far  less  uproar.  Either  it  had  been  a 
false  alarm,  or  the  enemy  had  retreated  on 
finding  themselves  discovered,  and  quiet  was 
restored  to  the  village.  The  white  hunters  con- 


302  Bstoria 


tinuing  to  be  fearful  of  ranging  this  dangerous 
neighborhood,  fresh  provisions  began  to  be 
scarce  in  the  camp.  As  a  substitute,  therefore, 
for  venison  and  buffalo  meat,  the  travellers 
had  to  purchase  a  number  of  dogs  to  be  shot 
and  cooked  for  the  supply  of  the  camp.  Fortu- 
nately, however  chary  the  Indians  might  be 
of  their  horses,  they  were  liberal  of  their  dogs. 
In  fact,  these  animals  swarm  about  an  Indian 
village  as  they  do  about  a  Turkish  town.  Not 
a  family  but  has  two  or  three  dozen  belonging 
to  it,  of  all  sizes  and  colors  ;  some  of  a  superior 
breed  are  used  for  hunting  ;  others,  to  draw 
the  sledge,  while  others,  of  a  mongrel  breed, 
and  idle  vagabond  nature,  are  fattened  for  food. 
They  are  supposed  to  be  descended  from  the 
wolf,  and  retain  something  of  his  savage  but 
cowardly  temper,  howling  rather  than  barking  ; 
showing  their  teeth  and  snarling  on  the 
slightest  provocation,  but  sneaking  away  on 
the  least  attack. 

The  excitement  of  the  village  continued  from 
day  to  day.  On  the  day  following  the  alarm 
just  mentioned,  several  parties  arrived  from 
different  directions,  and  were  met  and  con- 
ducted by  some  of  the  braves  to  the  council 
lodge,  where  they  reported  the  events  and 
success  of  their  expeditions,  whether  of  war  or 
hunting  ;  which  news  was  afterwards  promul- 


a  Cbegenne  BmbassB  303 


gated  throughout  the  village,  by  certain  old 
men  who  acted  as  heralds  or  town  criers. 
Among  the  parties  which  arrived  was  one  that 
had  been  among  the  Snake  nation  stealing 
horses,  and  returned  crowned  with  success. 
As  they  passed  in  triumph  through  the  village 
they  were  cheered  by  the  men,  women,  and 
children,  collected  as  usual  on  the  tops  of  the 
lodges,  and  were  exhorted  by  the  Nestors  of 
the  village  to  be  generous  in  their  dealings  with 
the  white  men. 

The  evening  was  spent  in  feasting  and  re- 
joicing among  the  relations  of  the  successful 
warriors  ;  but  the  sounds  of  grief  and  wailing 
were  heard  from  the  hills  adjacent  to  the 
village — the  lamentations  of  women  who  had 
lost  some  relative  in  the  foray. 

An  Indian  village  is  subject  to  continual 
agitations  and  excitements.  The  next  day 
arrived  a  deputation  of  braves  from  the  Chey- 
enne or  Shienne  nation ;  a  broken  tribe,  cut 
up,  like  the  Arickaras,  by  wars  with  the  Sioux, 
and  driven  to  take  refuge  among  the  Black 
Hills,  near  the  sources  of  the  Cheyenne  River, 
from  which  they  derive  their  name.  One  of 
these  deputies  was  magnificently  arrayed  in  a 
buffalo  robe,  on  which  various  figures  were 
fancifully  embroidered  with  split  quills  dyed 
red  and  yellow ;  and  the  whole  was  fringed 


304  astorfa 


with  the  slender  hoofs  of  young  fawns,  that 
rattled  as  he  walked. 

The  arrival  of  this  deputation  was  the  signal 
for  another  of  those  ceremonials  which  occupy 
so  much  of  Indian  life ;  for  no  being  is  more 
courtly  and  punctilious,  and  more  observing  of 
etiquette  and  formality  than  an  American 
savage. 

The  object  of  the  deputation  was  to  give 
notice  of  an  intended  visit  of  the  Shienne  (or 
Cheyenne)  tribe  to  the  Arickara  village  in  the 
course  of  fifteen  days.  To  this  visit  Mr.  Hunt 
looked  forward  to  procure  additional  horses 
for  his  journey  ;  all  his  bargaining  being  inef- 
fectual in  obtaining  a  sufficient  supply  from 
the  Arickaras.  Indeed,  nothing  could  prevail 
upon  the  latter  to  part  with  their  prime  horses, 
which  had  been  trained  to  buffalo  hunting. 

As  Mr.  Hunt  would  have  to  abandon  his 
boats  at  this  place,  Mr.  Lisa  now  offered  to 
purchase  them,  and  such  of  his  merchandise 
as  was  superfluous,  and  to  pay  him  in  horses 
to  be  obtained  at  a  fort  belonging  to  the  Mis- 
souri Fur  Company,  situated  at  the  Mandan 
villages,  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  far- 
ther up  the  river.  A  bargain  was  promptly 
made,  and  Mr.  Lisa  and  Mr.  Crooks,  with  sev- 
eral companions,  set  out  for  the  fort  to  procure 
the  horses.  They  returned,  after  upwards  of 


jf  resb  Blarms  305 


a  fortnight's  absence,  bringing  with  them  the 
stipulated  number  of  horses.  Still  the  cavalry 
was  not  sufficiently  numerous  to  convey  the 
party  and  baggage  and  merchandise,  and  a  few 
days  more  were  required  to  complete  the  ar- 
rangements for  the  journey. 

On  the  Qth  of  July,  just  before  daybreak,  a 
great  noise  and  vociferation  was  heard  in  the 
village.  This  being  the  usual  Indian  hour  of 
attack  and  surprise,  and  the  Sioux  being  known 
to  be  in  the  neighborhood,  the  camp  was  in- 
stantly on  the  alert.  As  the  day  broke  Indians 
were  descried  in  considerable  number  on  the 
bluffs,  three  or  four  miles  down  the  river.  The 
noise  and  agitation  in  the  village  continued. 
The  tops  of  the  lodges  were  crowded  with  the 
inhabitants,  all  earnestly  looking  toward  the 
hills,  and  keeping  up  a  vehement  chattering. 
Presently  an  Indian  warrior  galloped  past  the 
camp  towards  the  village,  and  in  a  little  while 
the  legions  began  to  pour  forth. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  was  now  ascertained. 
The  Indians  upon  the  distant  hills  were  three 
hundred  Arickara  braves,  returning  home  from 
a  foray.  They  had  met  the  war  party  of  Sioux 
who  had  been  so  long  hovering  about  the  neigh- 
borhood, had  fought  them  the  day  before, 
killed  several,  and  defeated  the  rest  with  the 
loss  of  but  two  or  three  of  their  own  men  and 


306  Bstoria 


about  a  dozen  wounded  ;  and  they  were  now 
halting  at  a  distance  until  their  comrades  in 
the  village  should  come  forth  to  meet  them, 
and  swell  the  parade  of  their  triumphal  entry. 
The  warrior  who  had  galloped  past  the  camp 
was  the  leader  of  the  party  hastening  home  to 
give  tidings  of  his  victory. 

Preparations  were  now  made  for  this  great 
martial  ceremony.  All  the  finery  and  equip- 
ments of  the  warriors  were  sent  forth  to  them, 
that  they  might  appear  to  the  greatest  advan- 
tage. Those,  too,  who  had  remained  at  home, 
tasked  their  wardrobes  and  toilets  to  do  honor 
to  the  procession. 

The  Arickaras  generally  go  naked,  but,  like 
all  savages,  they  have  their  gala  dress,  of  which 
they  are  not  a  little  vain.  This  usually  consists 
of  a  gray  surcoat  and  leggings  of  the  dressed 
skin  of  the  antelope,  resembling  chamois 
leather,  and  embroidered  with  porcupine  quills 
brilliantly  dyed.  A  buffalo  robe  is  thrown  over 
the  right  shoulder,  and  across  the  left  is  slung 
a  quiver  of  arrows.  They  wear  gay  coronets 
of  plumes,  particularly  those  of  the  swan  ;  but 
the  feathers  of  the  black  eagle  are  considered 
the  most  worthy,  being  a  sacred  bird  among 
the  Indian  warriors.  He  who  has  killed  an 
enemy  in  his  own  land,  is  entitled  to  drag  at 
his  heels  a  fox-skin  attached  to  each  rnocca- 


Bn  fnDfan  toilet  307 


sin  ;  and  he  who  has  slain  a  grizzly  bear,  wears 
a  necklace  of  his  claws,  the  most  glorious  trophy 
that  a  hunter  can  exhibit. 

An  Indian  toilet  is  an  operation  of  some  toil 
and  trouble  ;  the  warrior  often  has  to  paint 
himself  from  head  to  foot,  and  is  extremely  ca- 
pricious and  difficult  to  please,  as  to  the  hid- 
eous distribution  of  streaks  and  colors.  A  great 
part  of  the  morning,  therefore,  passed  away 
before  there  were  any  signs  of  the  distant  pa- 
geant. In  the  meantime  a  profound  stillness 
reigned  over  the  village.  Most  of  the  inhabi- 
tants had  gone  forth  ;  others  remained  in  mute 
expectation.  All  sports  and  occupations  were 
suspended,  excepting  that  in  the  lodges  the 
painstaking  squaws  were  silently  busied  in  pre- 
paring the  repasts  for  the  warriors. 

It  was  near  noon  that  a  mingled  sound  of 
voices  and  rude  music,  faintly  heard  from  a 
distance,  gave  notice  that  the  procession  was 
on  the  march.  The  old  men  and  such  of  the 
squaws  as  could  leave  their  employments  has- 
tened forth  to  meet  it.  In  a  little  while  it 
emerged  from  behind  a  hill,  and  had  a  wild 
and  picturesque  appearance  as  it  came  moving 
over  the  summit  in  measured  step,  and  to  the 
cadence  of  songs  and  savage  instruments  ;  the 
warlike  standards  and  trophies  flaunting  aloft, 
and  the  feathers,  and  paint,  and  silver  orna- 


308  Bstocia 


ments  of  the  warriors  glaring  and  glittering 
in  the  sunshine. 

The  pageant  had  really  something  chival- 
rous in  its  arrangement.  The  Arickaras  are 
divided  into  several  bands,  each  bearing  the 
name  of  some  animal  or  bird,  as  the  buffalo, 
the  bear,  the  dog,  the  pheasant.  The  present 
party  consisted  of  four  of  these  bands,  one  of 
which  was  the  dog,  the  most  esteemed  on  war, 
being  composed  of  young  men  under  thirty, 
and  noted  for  prowess.  It  is  engaged  in  the 
most  desperate  occasions.  The  bands  marched 
in  separate  bodies  under  their  several  leaders. 
The  warriors  on  foot  came  first,  in  platoons 
of  ten  or  twelve  abreast ;  then  the  horsemen. 
Kach  band  bore  as  an  ensign  a  spear  or  bow 
decorated  with  beads,  porcupine  quills,  and 
painted  feathers.  Kach  bore  its  trophies  of 
scalps,  elevated  on  poles,  their  long  black  locks 
streaming  in  the  wind.  Each  was  accompa- 
nied by  its  rude  music  and  minstrelsy.  In 
this  way  the  procession  extended  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.  The  warriors  were  vari- 
ously armed,  some  few  with  guns,  others  with 
bows  and  arrows  and  war  clubs ;  all  had 
shields  of  buffalo  hide,  a  kind  of  defence  gen- 
erally used  by  the  Indians  of  the  open  prairies, 
who  have  not  the  covert  of  trees  and  forests 
to  protect  them.  They  were  painted  in  the 


acfumpbant  procession  309 

most  savage  style.  Some  had  the  stamp  of  a 
red  hand  across  their  mouths,  a  sign  that  they 
had  drunk  the  life-blood  of  a  foe  ! 

As  they  drew  near  to  the  village  the  old 
men  and  the  women  began  to  meet  them,  and 
now  a  scene  ensued  that  proved  the  fallacy  of 
the  old  fable  of  Indian  apathy  and  stoicism. 
Parents  and  children,  husbands  and  wives, 
brothers  and  sisters  met  with  the  most  raptur- 
ous expressions  of  joy  ;  while  wailings  and 
lamentations  were  heard  from  the  relatives  of 
the  killed  and  wounded.  The  procession,  how- 
ever, continued  on  with  slow  and  measured 
step,  in  cadence  to  the  solemn  chant,  and  the 
warriors  maintained  their  fixed  and  stern  de- 
meanor. 

Between  two  of  the  principal  chiefs  rode  a 
young  warrior  who  had  distinguished  himself 
in  the  battle.  He  was  severely  wounded,  so 
as  with  difficulty  to  keep  on  his  horse  ;  but  he 
preserved  a  serene  and  steadfast  countenance, 
as  if  perfectly  unharmed.  His  mother  had 
heard  of  his  condition.  She  broke  through 
the  throng,  and  rushing  up,  threw  her  arms 
around  him  and  wept  aloud.  He  kept  up  the 
spirit  and  demeanor  of  a  warrior  to  the  last, 
but  expired  shortly  after  he  had  reached  his 
home. 

The  village  was  now  a  scene  of  the  utmost 


310  Bstoria 


festivity  and  triumph.  The  banners,  and  tro- 
phies, and  scalps,  and  painted  shields  were 
elevated  on  poles  near  the  lodges.  There  were 
war-feasts,  and  scalp-dances,  with  warlike 
songs  and  savage  music  ;  all  the  inhabitants 
were  arrayed  in  their  festal  dresses  ;  while  the 
old  heralds  went  round  from  lodge  to  lodge, 
promulgating  with  loud  voices  the  events  of 
the  battle  and  the  exploits  of  the  various 
warriors. 

Such  was  the  boisterous  revelry  of  the  vil- 
lage ;  but  sounds  of  another  kind  were  heard 
on  the  surrounding  hills ;  piteous  wailings  of 
the  women,  who  had  retired  thither  to  mourn 
in  darkness  and  solitude  for  those  who  had 
fallen  in  battle.  There  the  poor  mother  of  the 
youthful  warrior,  who  had  returned  home  in 
triumph  but  to  die,  gave  full  vent  to  the  an- 
guish of  a  mother's  heart.  How  much  does 
this  custom  among  the  Indian  women  of  re- 
pairing to  the  hilltops  in  the  night,  and  pouring 
forth  their  wailings  for  the  dead,  call  to  mind 
the  beautiful  and  affecting  passage  of  Scripture: 
"  In  Rama  was  there  a  voice  heard,  lamenta- 
tion, and  weeping,  and  great  mourning,  Ra- 
chel weeping  for  her  children,  and  would  not 
be  comforted,  because  they  are  not." 


unners,  and  tro- 

^hields  were 

There  were 

and    •*€;;  ath    warlike 

:d  sava^;  ,  all  the  inhabitants 

arrayed  in  i  tal  dresses  ;  while  the 

md  from  lodge  to  lodge, 

promulgating  with  loud  voices  the  events  of 

the  battle  and  the  exploits  of   the    various 

warn 

Such  v  velry  of  the  vil- 

1  were  heard 

["S   of 

The  Mourner 

Woodcut.    Drawn  by  F.  S.  Church 

er  of  the 

iiful  warrior,  who  had  returned  home  in 
triumph  but  gave  full  vent  to  the  an- 

h  of  a  mother's  heart.  How  much  does 
among  the  Indian  women  of  re- 
pairing to  the  hilltops  in  the  night,  and  pouring 
forth  their  wailings  for  the  dead,  call  to  mind 
the  beautiful  and  affecting  passage  of  Scripture: 
"  In  as  there  a  voice  heard,  lamenta- 

tion, and  weeping,  and  great  mourning,  Ra- 
chel weeping  for  her  children,  and  would  not 
be  comforted,  because  they  are  not." 


1 


Cbapter 

Wilderness  of  the  Far  West — Great  American  Desert 
—Black  Hills— Rocky  Mountains— Wandering  and 
Predatory  Hordes — Speculations  on  What  may  be 
the  Future  Population — Rose,  the  Interpreter — His 
Sinister  Character — Departure  from  the  Arickara 
Village. 

WHILE  Mr.  Hunt  was  diligently  pre- 
paring  for  his  arduous    journey, 
some  of  his  men  began  to  lose 
heart  at  the  perilous  prospect  be- 
fore them  ;  but  before  we  accuse  them  of  want 
of  spirit,  it  is  proper  to  consider  the  nature  of 
the  wilderness  into  which  they  were  about  to 
adventure.     It  was  a  region  almost  as  vast  and 
trackless  as  the  ocean,   and,  at  the  time  of 
which  we  treat,  but  little  known,  excepting 
through  the  vague  accounts  of  Indian  hunters. 
A  part  of  their  route  would  lay  across  an  im- 
mense  tract,  stretching   north   and   south   for 
hundreds  of  miles  along  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,    and    drained     by    the    tributary 


312  Bstorta 


streams  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi. 
This  region,  which  resembles  one  of  the  im- 
measurable steppes  of  Asia,  has  not  inaptly 
been  termed  "the  great  American  desert." 
It  spreads  forth  into  undulating  and  treeless 
plains,  and  desolate  sandy  wastes  wearisome  to 
the  eye  from  their  extent  and  monotony,  and 
which  are  supposed  by  geologists  to  have 
formed  the  ancient  floor  of  the  ocean,  count- 
less ages  since,  when  its  primeval  waves  beat 
against  the  granite  bases  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

It  is  a  land  where  no  man  permanently 
abides ;  for,  in  certain  seasons  of  the  year 
there  is  no  food  either  for  the  hunter  or  his 
steed.  The  herbage  is  parched  and  withered  ; 
the  brooks  and  streams  are  dried  up  ;  the  buf- 
falo, the  elk,  and  the  deer  have  wandered  to 
distant  parts,  keeping  within  the  verge  of  ex- 
piring verdure,  and  leaving  behind  them  a 
vast  uninhabited  solitude,  seamed  by  ravines, 
the  beds  of  former  torrents,  but  now  serving 
only  to  tantalize  and  increase  the  thirst  of  the 
traveller. 

Occasionally  the  monotony  of  this  vast  wil- 
derness is  interrupted  by  mountainous  belts 
of  sand  and  limestone,  broken  into  confused 
masses  ;  with  precipitous  cliffs  and  yawning 
ravines,  looking  like  the  ruins  of  a  world  ;  or 


THflflfcerness  of  tbc  afar  Tldest  313 

is  traversed  by  lofty  and  barren  ridges  of  rock, 
almost  impassable,  like  those  denominated  the 
Black  Hills.  Beyond  these  rise  the  stern 
barriers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  limits, 
as  it  were,  of  the  Atlantic  world.  The  rugged 
defiles  and  deep  valleys  of  this  vast  chain  form 
sheltering  places  for  restless  and  ferocious 
bands  of  savages,  many  of  them  the  remnants 
of  tribes,  once  inhabitants  of  the  prairies,  but 
broken  up  by  war  and  violence,  and  who  carry 
into  their  mountain  haunts  the  fierce  passions 
and  reckless  habits  of  desperadoes. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  this  immense  wilder- 
ness of  the  far  West ;  which  apparently  defies 
cultivation,  and  the  habitation  of  civilized  life. 
Some  portions  of  it  along  the  rivers  may  par- 
tially be  subdued  by  agriculture,  others  may 
form  vast  pastoral  tracts,  like  those  of  the 
Bast ;  but  it  is  to  be  feared  that  a  great  part 
of  it  will  form  a  lawless  interval  between  the 
abodes  of  civilized  man,  like  the  wastes  of  the 
ocean  or  the  deserts  of  Arabia  ;  and,  like  them, 
be  subject  to  the  depredations  of  the  marauder. 
Here  may  spring  up  new  and  mongrel  races, 
like  new  formations  in  geology,  the  amalga- 
mation of  the  ' '  debris  ' '  and  ' '  abrasions  ' '  of 
former  races,  civilized  and  savage  ;  the  remains 
of  broken  and  almost  extinguished  tribes ;  the 
descendants  of  wandering  hunters  and  trap- 


314  2l0torfa 


pers ;  of  fugitives  from  the  Spanish  and  Amer- 
ican frontiers  ;  of  adventurers  and  desperadoes 
of  every  class  and  country,  yearly  ejected  from 
the  bosom  of  society  into  the  wilderness.  We 
are  contributing  incessantly  to  swell  this  singu- 
lar and  heterogeneous  cloud  of  wild  population 
that  is  to  hang  about  our  frontier,  by  the  trans- 
fer of  whole  tribes  from  the  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  great  wastes  of  the  far  West. 
Many  of  these  bear  with  them  the  smart  of 
real  or  fancied  inj  uries  ;  many  consider  them- 
selves expatriated  beings,  wrongfully  exiled 
from  their  hereditary  homes,  and  the  sepul- 
chres of  their  fathers,  and  cherish  a  deep  and 
abiding  animosity  against  the  race  that  has  dis- 
possessed them.  Some  may  gradually  become 
pastoral  hordes,  like  those  rude  and  migratory 
people,  half  shepherd,  half  warrior,  who,  with 
their  flocks  and  herds,  roam  the  plains  of  upper 
Asia  ;  others,  it  is  to  be  apprehended,  will 
become  predatory  bands,  mounted  on  the  fleet 
steeds  of  the  prairies,  with  the  open  plains  for 
their  marauding  grounds,  and  the  mountains 
for  their  retreats  and  lurking-places.  Here 
they  may  resemble  those  great  hordes  of  the 
North,  "  Gog  and  Magog  with  their  bands," 
that  haunted  the  gloomy  imaginations  of  the 
prophets.  "A  great  company  and  a  mighty 
host,  all  riding  upon  horses,  and  warring  upon 


BpprebenDefc  Bangers  315 


those  nations  which  were  at  rest,  and  dwelt 
peaceably,  and  had  gotten  cattle  and  goods." 

The  Spaniards  changed  the  whole  character 
and  habits  of  the  Indians  when  they  brought 
the  horse  among  them.  In  Chili,  Tucuman, 
and  other  parts,  it  has  converted  them,  we  are 
told,  into  Tartar-like  tribes,  and  enabled  them 
to  keep  the  Spaniards  out  of  their  country,  and 
even  to  make  it  dangerous  for  them  to  venture 
far  from  their  towns  and  settlements.  Are  we 
not  in  danger  of  producing  some  such  state  of 
things  in  the  boundless  regions  of  the  far  West  ? 
That  these  are  not  mere  fanciful  and  extrava- 
gant suggestions  we  have  sufficient  proofs  in 
the  dangers  already  experienced  by  the  trad- 
ers to  the  Spanish  mart  of  Santa  Fe,  and  to 
the  distant  posts  of  the  fur  companies.  These 
are  obliged  to  proceed  in  armed  caravans,  and 
are  subject  to  murderous  attacks  from  bands 
of  Pawnees,  Comanches,  and  Blackfeet,  that 
come  scouring  upon  them  in  their  weary  march 
across  the  plains,  or  lie  in  wait  for  them  among 
the  passes  of  the  mountains. 

We  are  wandering,  however,  into  excursive 
speculations,  when  our  intention  was  merely 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  wilderness 
which  Mr.  Hunt  was  about  to  traverse ;  and 
which  at  that  time  was  far  less  known  than  at 
present ;  though  it  still  remains,  in  a  great 


316  Bstoria 


measure,  an  unknown  land.  We  cannot  be 
surprised,  therefore,  that  some  of  the  least  res- 
olute of  his  party  should  feel  dismay  at  the 
thought  of  adventuring  into  this  perilous  wil- 
derness under  the  uncertain  guidance  of  three 
hunters,  who  had  merely  passed  once  through 
the  country  and  might  have  forgotten  the 
landmarks.  Their  apprehensions  were  ag- 
gravated by  some  of  Lisa's  followers,  who, 
not  being  engaged  in  the  expedition,  took 
a  mischievous  pleasure  in  exaggerating  its 
dangers.  They  painted  in  strong  colors,  to 
the  poor  Canadian  voyageurs,  the  risk  they 
would  run  of  perishing  with  hunger  and 
thirst  ;  of  being  cut  off  by  war-parties  of 
the  Sioux  who  scoured  the  plains  ;  of  hav- 
ing their  horses  stolen  by  the  Upsarokas  or 
Crows,  who  infested  the  skirts  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  ;  or  of  being  butchered  by  the  Black- 
feet,  who  lurked  among  the  defiles.  In  a  word, 
there  was  little  chance  of  their  getting  alive 
across  the  mountains  ;  and  even  if  they  did, 
those  three  guides  knew  nothing  of  the  howl- 
ing wilderness  that  lay  beyond. 

The  apprehensions  thus  awakened  in  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  men  came  well-nigh 
proving  detrimental  to  the  expedition.  Some 
of  them  determined  to  desert,  and  to  make 
their  way  back  to  St.  Louis.  They  accordingly 


Crow  Indians  317 


purloined  several  weapons  and  a  barrel  of  gun- 
powder, as  ammunition  for  their  enterprise, 
and  buried  them  in  the  river  bank,  intending 
to  seize  one  of  the  boats,  and  make  off  in  the 
night.  Fortunately  their  plot  was  overheard 
by  John  Day,  the  Kentuckian,  and  communi- 
cated to  the  partners,  who  took  quiet  and 
effectual  means  to  frustrate  it. 

The  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
Crow  Indians  had  not  been  overrated  by  the 
camp  gossips.  These  savages,  through  whose 
mountain  haunts  the  party  would  have  to 
pass,  were  noted  for  daring  and  excursive 
habits,  and  great  dexterity  in  horse  stealing. 
Mr.  Hunt,  therefore,  considered  himself  fortu- 
nate in  having  met  with  a  man  who  might  be 
of  great  use  to  him  in  any  intercourse  he  might 
have  with  the  tribe.  This  was  a  wandering 
individual  named  Edward  Rose,  whom  he  had 
picked  up  somewhere  on  the  Missouri,  one  of 
those  anomalous  beings  found  on  the  frontier, 
who  seem  to  have  neither  kin  nor  country. 
He  lived  some  time  among  the  Crows,  so  as  to 
become  acquainted  with  their  language  and 
customs  ;  and  was,  withal,  a  dogged,  sullen, 
silent  fellow,  with  a  sinister  aspect,  and  more 
of  the  savage  than  the  civilized  man  in  his 
appearance.  He  was  engaged  to  serve  in  gen- 
eral as  a  hunter,  but  as  guide  and  interpreter 


astotia 


when  they  should  reach  the  country  of  the 
Crows. 

On  the  i8th  of  July,  Mr.  Hunt  took  up  his 
line  of  March  by  land  from  the  Arickara  vil- 
lage, leaving  Mr.  Lisa  and  Mr.  Nuttall  there, 
where  they  intended  to  await  the  expected 
arrival  of  Mr.  Henry  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. As  to  Messrs.  Bradbury  and  Brecken- 
ridge  they  had  departed  some  days  previously, 
on  a  voyage  down  the  river  to  St.  Louis,  with 
a  detachment  from  Mr.  Lisa's  party.  With  all 
his  exertions,  Mr.  Hunt  had  been  unable  to 
obtain  a  sufficient  number  of  horses  for  the 
accommodation  of  all  his  people.  His  caval- 
cade consisted  of  eighty-two  horses,  most  of 
them  heavily  laden  with  Indian  goods,  beaver 
traps,  ammunition,  Indian  corn,  corn  meal,  and 
other  necessaries.  Each  of  the  partners  was 
mounted,  and  a  horse  was  allotted  to  the  inter- 
preter, Pierre  Dorion,  for  the  transportation  of 
his  luggage  and  his  two  children.  His  squaw, 
for  the  most  part  of  the  time,  trudged  on  foot, 
like  the  residue  of  the  party  ;  nor  did  any  of 
the  men  show  more  patience  and  fortitude  than 
this  resolute  woman  in  enduring  fatigue  and 
hardship. 

The  veteran  trappers  and  voyageurs  of  Lisa's 
party  shook  their  heads  as  their  comrades  set 
out,  and  took  leave  of  them  as  of  doomed  men  ; 


departure  trom  tbe  Bricfcacas          319 

and  even  Lisa  himself  gave  it  as  his  opinion, 
after  the  travellers  had  departed,  they  would 
never  reach  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  but  would 
either  perish  with  hunger  in  the  wilderness, 
or  be  cut  off  by  the  savages. 


Cbapter 


Summer  Weather  of  the  Prairies  —  Purity  of  the  At- 
mosphere —  Canadians  on  the  March  —  Sickness 
in  the  Camp  —  Big  River  —  Suggestions  About  the 
Original  Indian  Names  —  Character  of  the  Chey- 
ennes  —  Historical  Anecdotes  of  the  Tribe. 

THE  course  taken  by  Mr.  Hunt  was  at 
first  to  the  northwest,  but  soon  turned 
and  kept  generally  to  the  southwest, 
to  avoid  the   country  infested  by  the 
Blackfeet.     His  route  took  him  across  some  of 
the  tributary  streams  of  the  Missouri,  and  over 
immense  prairies,  bounded  only  by  the  horizon, 
and  destitute  of  trees.     It  was  now  the  height 
of  summer,  and  these  naked  plains  would  be 
intolerable  to  the  traveller  were  it  not  for  the 
breezes  which   sweep   over   them   during   the 
fervor  of  the  day,  bringing  with  them  temper- 
ing airs  from  the  distant  mountains.     To  the 
prevalence  of  these  breezes,  and  to  the  want 
of  all  leafy  covert,  may  we  also  attribute  the 
320 


Gbe  Btmogpbere  of  tbe  prairies        321 

freedom  from  those  flies  and  other  insects  so 
tormenting  to  man  and  beast  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  in  the  lower  plains,  which  are 
bordered  and  interspersed  with  woodland. 

The  monotony  of  these  immense  landscapes, 
also,  would  be  as  wearisome  as  that  of  the 
ocean,  were  it  not  relieved  in  some  degree  by 
the  purity  and  elasticity  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  heavens.  The  sky  has 
that  delicious  blue  for  which  the  sky  of  Italy 
is  renowned  ;  the  sun  shines  with  a  splendor 
unobscured  by  any  cloud  or  vapor,  and  a  star- 
light night  on  the  prairies  is  glorious.  This 
purity  and  elasticity  of  atmosphere  increases 
as  the  traveller  approaches  the  mountains  and 
gradually  rises  into  more  elevated  prairies. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  journey,  Mr.  Hunt 
arranged  the  party  into  small  and  convenient 
messes,  distributing  among  them  the  camp 
kettles.  The  encampments  at  night  were  as 
before  ;  some  sleeping  under  tents,  and  others 
bivouacking  in  the  open  air.  The  Canadians 
proved  as  patient  of  toil  and  hardship  on  the 
land  as  on  the  water  ;  indeed,  nothing  could 
surpass  the  patience  and  good-humor  of  these 
men  upon  the  march.  They  were  the  cheerful 
drudges  of  the  party,  loading  and  unloading 
the  horses,  pitching  the  tents,  making  the  fires, 
cooking  ;  in  short,  performing  all  those  house- 


322  Bstotfa 


hold  and  menial  offices  which  the  Indians 
usually  assign  to  the  squaws ;  and,  like  the 
squaws,  they  left  all  the  hunting  and  fighting 
to  others.  A  Canadian  has  but  little  affection 
for  the  exercise  of  the  rifle. 

The  progress  of  the  party  was  but  slow  for 
the  first  few  days.  Some  of  the  men  were 
indisposed ;  Mr.  Crooks,  especially,  was  so 
unwell  that  he  could  not  keep  on  his  horse. 
A  rude  kind  of  litter  was,  therefore,  prepared 
for  him,  consisting  of  two  long  poles,  fixed, 
one  on  each  side  of  two  horses,  with  a  matting 
between  them,  on  which  he  reclined  at  full 
length,  and  was  protected  from  the  sun  by  a 
canopy  of  boughs. 

On  the  evening  of  the  23d  (July)  they  en- 
camped on  the  banks  of  what  they  term  Big 
River  ;  and  here  we  cannot  but  pause  to  lament 
the  stupid,  commonplace,  and  often  ribald 
names  entailed  upon  the  rivers  and  other 
features  of  the  great  West,  by  traders  and 
settlers.  As  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  these 
magnificent  regions  are  yet  in  existence,  the 
Indian  names  might  easily  be  recovered ; 
which,  beside  being  in  general  more  sonorous 
and  musical,  would  remain  mementoes  of  the 
primitive  lords  of  the  soil,  of  whom  in  a  little 
while  scarce  any  traces  will  be  left.  Indeed, 
it  is  to  be  wished  that  the  whole  of  our  country 


Gamp  ot  Cbcgenne  IFnOtans  323 

•could  be  rescued,  as  much  as  possible,  from  the 
wretched  nomenclature  inflicted  upon  it,  by 
ignorant  and  vulgar  minds  ;  and  this  might 
be  done,  in  a  great  degree,  by  restoring  the 
Indian  names,  wherever  significant  and  eupho- 
nious. As  there  appears  to  be  a  spirit  of 
research  abroad  in  respect  to  our  aboriginal 
antiquities,  we  would  suggest,  as  a  worthy 
object  of  enterprise,  a  map,  or  maps,  of  every 
part  of  our  country,  giving  the  Indian  names 
wherever  they  could  be  ascertained.  Whoever 
achieves  such  an  object  worthily,  will  leave  a 
monument  to  his  own  reputation. 

To  return  from  this  digression.  As  the 
travellers  were  now  in  a  country  abounding 
with  buffalo,  they  remained  for  several  days 
encamped  upon  the  banks  of  Big  River,  to 
obtain  a  supply  of  provisions,  and  to  give  the 
invalids  time  to  recruit. 

On  the  second  day  of  their  sojourn,  as  Ben 
Jones,  John  Day,  and  others  of  the  hunters 
were  in  pursuit  of  game,  they  came  upon  an 
Indian  camp  on  the  open  prairie,  near  to  a 
small  stream  which  ran  through  a  ravine. 
The  tents  or  lodges  were  of  dressed  buffalo 
skins,  sewn  together  and  stretched  on  tapering 
pine  poles,  joined  at  top,  but  radiating  at  bot- 
tom, so  as  to  form  a  circle  capable  of  admitting 
fifty  persons.  Numbers  of  horses  were  grazing 


324  Sstoria 


in  the  neighborhood  of  the  camp,  or  straying 
at  large  in  the  prairie  ;  a  sight  most  acceptable 
to  the  hunters.  After  reconnoitring  the  camp 
for  some  time,  they  ascertained  it  to  belong  to 
a  band  of  Cheyenne  Indians,  the  same  that 
had  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Arickaras.  They 
received  the  hunters  in  the  most  friendly  man- 
ner ;  invited  them  to  their  lodges,  which  were 
more  cleanly  than  Indian  lodges  are  prone  to 
be,  and  set  food  before  them  with  true  uncivil- 
ized hospitality.  Several  of  them  accompanied 
the  hunters  back  to  the  camp,  when  a  trade 
was  immediately  opened.  The  Cheyennes  were 
astonished  and  delighted  to  find  a  convoy  of 
goods  and  trinkets  thus  brought  into  the  very- 
heart  of  the  prairie  ;  while  Mr.  Hunt  and  his 
companions  were  overjoyed  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  obtaining  a  further  supply  of  horses 
from  these  equestrian  savages. 

During  a  fortnight  that  the  travellers  lin- 
gered at  this  place,  their  encampment  was  con- 
tinually thronged  by  the  Cheyennes.  They 
were  a  civil,  well-behaved  people,  cleanly  in 
their  persons  and  decorous  in  their  habits.  The 
men  were  tall,  straight,  and  vigorous,  with 
aquiline  noses  and  high  cheek  bones.  Some 
were  almost  as  naked  as  ancient  statues,  and 
might  have  stood  as  models  for  a  statuary  ; 
others  had  leggings  and  moccasins  of  deer-skin, 


fn&ian  f>or0e0  3*5 


and  buffalo  robes,  which  they  threw  gracefully 
over  their  shoulders.  In  a  little  while,  how- 
ever, they  began  to  appear  in  more  gorgeous 
array,  tricked  out  in  the  finery  obtained  from 
the  white  men  ;  bright  cloths,  brass  rings, 
beads  of  various  colors  ;  and  happy  was  he 
who  could  render  himself  hideous  with  ver- 
milion. 

The  travellers  had  frequent  occasion  to  ad- 
mire the  skill  and  grace  with  which  these  In- 
dians managed  their  horses.  Some  of  them 
made  a  striking  display  when  mounted,  them- 
selves and  their  steeds  decorated  in  gala  style  ; 
for  the  Indians  often  bestow  more  finery  upon 
their  horses  than  upon  themselves.  Some 
would  hang  around  the  necks,  or  rather  on  the 
breasts  of  their  horses,  the  most  precious  orna- 
ments they  had  obtained  from  the  white  men  ; 
others  interwove  feathers  in  their  manes  and 
tails.  The  Indian  horses,  too,  appear  to  have 
an  attachment  to  their  wild  riders  ;  and  indeed 
it  is  said  that  the  horses  of  the  prairies  readily 
distinguish  an  Indian  from  a  white  man  by 
the  smell,  and  give  a  preference  to  the  former. 
Yet  the  Indians,  in  general,  are  hard  riders, 
and,  however  they  may  value  their  horses,  treat 
them  with  great  roughness  and  neglect.  Oc- 
casionally the  Cheyennes  joined  the  white 
hunters  in  pursuit  of  the  elk  and  buffalo  ;  and 


326  Bstorta 


when  in  the  ardor  of  the  chase,  spared  neither 
themselves  nor  their  steeds,  scouring  the  prai- 
ries at  full  speed,  and  plunging  down  precipices 
and  frightful  ravines  that  threatened  the  necks 
of  both  horse  and  horseman.  The  Indian 
steed,  well  trained  to  the  chase,  seems  as  mad 
as  the  rider,  and  pursues  the  game  as  eagerly 
as  if  it  were  its  natural  prey,  on  the  flesh  of 
which  he  was  to  banquet. 

The  history  of  the  Cheyennes  is  that  of  many 
of  those  wandering  tribes  of  the  prairies.  They 
were  the  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  people 
called  the  Shaways,  inhabiting  a  branch  of  the 
Red  River  which  flows  into  Lake  Winnipeg. 
Every  Indian  tribe  has  some  rival  tribe  with 
which  it  wages  implacable  hostility.  The 
deadly  enemies  of  the  Shaways  were  the  Sioux, 
who,  after  a  long  course  of  warfare,  proved  too 
powerful  for  them,  and  drove  them  across  the 
Missouri.  They  again  took  root  near  the 
Warricanne  Creek,  and  established  themselves 
there  in  a  fortified  village. 

The  Sioux  still  followed  them  with  deadly 
animosity  ;  dislodged  them  from  their  village, 
and  compelled  them  to  take  refuge  in  the  Black 
Hills,  near  the  upper  waters  of  the  Sheyenne 
or  Cheyenne  River.  Here  they  lost  even  their 
name,  and  became  known  among  the  French 
colonists  by  that  of  the  river  they  frequented. 


fbfstorical  anecdotes  327 


The  heart  of  the  tribe  was  now  broken  ;  its 
numbers  were  greatly  thinned  by  their  harass- 
ing wars.  They  no  longer  attempted  to  es- 
tablish themselves  in  any  permanent  abode 
that  might  be  an  object  of  attack  to  their  cruel 
foes.  They  gave  up  the  cultivation  of  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  and  became  a  wandering 
tribe,  subsisting  by  the  chase,  and  following 
the  buffalo  in  its  migrations. 

Their  only  possessions  were  horses,  which 
they  caught  on  the  prairies,  or  reared,  or  cap- 
tured on  predatory  incursions  into  the  Mexican 
territories,  as  has  already  been  mentioned. 
With  some  of  these  they  repaired  once  a  year 
to  the  Arickara  villages,  exchanged  them  for 
corn,  beans,  pumpkins,  and  articles  of  Euro- 
pean merchandise,  and  then  returned  into  the 
heart  of  the  prairies. 

Such  are  the  fluctuating  fortunes  of  these 
savage  nations.  War,  famine,  pestilence,  to- 
gether or  singly,  bring  down  their  strength 
and  thin  their  numbers.  Whole  tribes  are 
rooted  up  from  their  native  places,  wander 
for  a  time  about  these  immense  regions,  be- 
come amalgamated  with  other  tribes,  or  disap- 
pear from  the  face  of  the  earth.  There  appears 
to  be  a  tendency  to  extinction  among  all  the 
savage  nations  ;  and  this  tendency  would  seem 
to  have  been  in  operation  among  the  aborigi- 


328  Bstoria 


nals  of  this  country  long  before  the  advent  of 
the  white  men,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  traces 
and  traditions  of  ancient  populousness  in  re- 
gions which  were  silent  and  deserted  at  the 
time  of  the  discovery  ;  and  from  the  mysteri- 
ous and  perplexing  vestiges  of  unknown  races, 
predecessors  of  those  found  in  actual  possession, 
and  who  must  long  since  have  become  gradually 
extinguished  or  been  destroyed.  The  whole 
history  of  the  aboriginal  population  of  this 
country,  however,  is  an  enigma,  and  a  grand 
one — Will  it  ever  be  solved  ? 


Cbapter  £f  flit) 

New  Distribution  of  Horses — Rose,  the  Interpreter — 
His  Perfidious  Character — Anecdotes  of  the  Crow 
Indians— A  Desperado  of  the  Frontier. 

ON  the  sixth  of  August  the  travellers 
bade  farewell  to  the  friendly  band  of 
Cheyennes,  and  resumed  their  jour- 
ney.    As  they  had  obtained  thirty-six 
additional  horses  by  their  recent  traffic,  Mr. 
Hunt  made  a  new  arrangement.     The  baggage 
was  made  up  in  smaller  loads.     A  horse  was 
allotted  to  each  of  the  six  prime  hunters,  and 
others  were  distributed  among  the  voyageurs, 
a  horse  for  every  two,  so  that  they  could  ride 
and  walk  alternately.     Mr.  Crooks  being  still 
too  feeble  to  mount  the  saddle,  was  carried  on 
a  litter. 

Their  march   this  day  lay  among  singular 

hills  and   knolls   of  an   indurated   red  earth, 

resembling  brick,    about   the  bases  of  which 

were  scattered  pumice  stones  and  cinders,  the 

329 


330  Bstoria 


whole  bearing  traces  of  the  action  of  fire.  In 
the  evening  they  encamped  on  a  branch  of 
Big  River. 

They  were  now  out  of  the  tract  of  country 
infested  by  the  Sioux,  and  had  advanced  such 
a  distance  into  the  interior  that  Mr.  Hunt  no 
longer  felt  apprehensive  of  the  desertion  of 
any  of  his  men.  He  was  doomed,  however, 
to  experience  new  cause  of  anxiety.  As  he 
was  seated  in  his  tent  after  nightfall,  one  of 
the  men  came  to  him  privately,  and  informed 
him  that  there  was  mischief  brewing  in  the 
camp.  Edward  Rose,  the  interpreter,  whose 
sinister  looks  we  have  already  mentioned,  was 
denounced  by  this  secret  informer  as  a  design- 
ing, treacherous  scoundrel,  who  was  tamper- 
ing with  the  fidelity  of  certain  of  the  men, 
and  instigating  them  to  a  flagrant  piece  of 
treason.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  they 
would  arrive  at  the  mountainous  district  in- 
fested by  the  Upsarokas  or  Crows,  the  tribe 
among  which  Rose  was  to  officiate  as  interpre- 
ter. His  plan  was  that  several  of  the  men 
should  join  with  him,  when  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, in  carrying  off  a  number  of  horses  with 
their  packages  of  goods,  and  deserting  to  those 
savages.  He  assured  them  of  good  treatment 
among  the  Crows,  the  principal  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  whom  he  knew ;  they  would  soon 


of  tbe  Crows  331 


become  great  men  among  them,  and  have  the 
finest  women,  and  the  daughters  of  the  chiefs 
for  wives ;  and  the  horses  and  goods  they 
carried  off  would  make  them  rich  for  life. 

The  intelligence  of  this  treachery  on  the 
part  of  Rose  gave  much  disquiet  to  Mr.  Hunt, 
for  he  knew  not  how  far  it  might  be  effective 
among  his  men.  He  had  already  had  proofs 
that  several  of  them  were  disaffected  to  the 
enterprise,  and  loath  to  cross  the  mountains. 
He  knew  also  that  savage  life  had  charms  for 
many  of  them,  especially  the  Canadians,  who 
were  prone  to  intermarry  and  domesticate 
themselves  among  the  Indians. 

And  here  a  word  or  two  concerning  the 
Crows  may  be  of  service  to  the  reader,  as  they 
will  figure  occasionally  in  the  succeeding  nar- 
ration. 

The  tribe  consists  of  four  bands,  which 
have  their  nestling-places  in  fertile,  well-wooded 
valleys,  lying  among  the  Rocky  Mountains^ 
and  watered  by  the  Big  Horse  River  and  its 
tributary  streams ;  but,  though  these  are 
properly  their  homes,  where  they  shelter  their 
old  people,  their  wives,  and  their  children,  the 
men  of  the  tribe  are  almost  continually  on  the 
foray  and  the  scamper.  They  are,  in  fact, 
notorious  marauders  and  horse-stealers  ;  cross- 
ing and  recrossing  the  mountains,  robbing  on 


332  Bstorfa 


the  one  side,  and  conveying  their  spoils  to  the 
other.  Hence,  we  are  told,  is  derived  their 
name,  given  to  them  on  account  of  their  unset- 
tled and  predatory  habits  ;  winging  their  flight 
like  the  crows,  from  one  side  of  the  mountains 
to  the  other,  and  making  free  booty  of  every- 
thing that  lies  in  their  way.  Horses,  however, 
are  the  especial  objects  of  their  depredations, 
and  their  skill  and  audacity  in  stealing  them 
are  said  to  be  astonishing.  This  is  their  glory 
and  delight ;  an  accomplished  horse-stealer  fills 
up  their  idea  of  a  hero.  Many  horses  are 
obtained  by  them,  also,  in  barter  from  tribes  in 
and  beyond  the  mountains.  They  have  an 
absolute  passion  for  this  roble  animal ;  beside 
which  he  is  with  them  an  important  object  of 
traffic.  Once  a  year  they  make  a  visit  to  the 
Mandans,  Minatarees,  and  other  tribes  of  the 
Missouri,  taking  with  them  droves  of  horses 
which  they  exchanged  for  guns,  ammunition, 
trinkets,  vermilion,  cloths  of  bright  colors, 
and  various  other  articles  of  European  manu- 
facture. With  these  the}'  supply  their  own 
wants  and  caprices,  and  carry  on  the  internal 
trade  for  horses  already  mentioned. 

The  plot  of  Rose  to  rob  and  abandon  his 
countrymen  when  in  the  heart  of  the  wilder- 
ness, and  to  throw  himself  into  the  hands  of 
a  horde  of  savages,  may  appear  strange  and 


B  Besperafco  of  tbe  jf  rentier  333 

improbable  to  those  unacquainted  with  the 
singular  and  anomalous  characters  that  are 
to  be  found  about  the  borders.  This  fellow, 
it  appears,  was  one  of  those  desperadoes  of  the 
frontiers,  outlawed  by  their  crimes,  who  com- 
bine the  vices  of  civilized  and  savage  life,  and 
are  ten  times  more  barbarous  than  the  Indians 
with  whom  they  consort.  Rose  had  formerly 
belonged  to  one  of  the  gangs  of  pirates  who 
infested  the  islands  of  the  Mississippi,  plun- 
dering boats  as  they  went ,  up  and  down  the 
river,  and  who  sometimes  shifted  the  scene  of 
their  robberies  to  the  shore,  waylaying  travel- 
lers as  they  returned  by  land  from  New  Or- 
leans with  the  proceeds  of  their  downward 
voyage,  plundering  them  of  their  money  and 
effects,  and  often  perpetrating  the  most  atro- 
cious murders. 

These  hordes  of  villains  being  broken  up  and 
dispersed,  Rose  had  betaken  himself  to  the 
wilderness,  and  associated  himself  with  the 
Crows,  whose  predatory  habits  were  congenial 
with  his  own,  had  married  a  woman  of  the 
tribe,  and,  in  short,  had  identified  himself  with 
those  vagrant  savages. 

Such  was  the  worthy  guide  and  interpreter, 
Edward  Rose.  We  give  his  story,  however, 
not  as  it  was  known  to  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  com- 
panions at  the  time,  but  as  it  has  been  subse- 


334 


Bstoria 


quently  ascertained.  Enough  was  known  of 
the  fellow  and  his  dark  and  perfidious  charac- 
ter to  put  Mr.  Hunt  upon  his  guard  ;  still,  as 
there  was  no  knowing  how  far  his  plans  might 
have  succeeded,  and  as  any  rash  act  might 
blow  the  mere  smouldering  sparks  of  treason 
into  a  sudden  blaze,  it  was  thought  advisable 
by  those  with  whom  Mr.  Hunt  consulted,  to 
conceal  all  knowledge  or  suspicion  of  the  medi- 
tated treachery,  but  to  keep  up  a  vigilant  watch 
upon  the  movements  of  Rose,  and  a  strict  guard 
upon  the  horses  at  night. 


Gbapter  f  f  ID. 

Substitute  for  Fuel  on  the  Prairies — Three  Hunters 
Missing — Signal  Fires  and  Smokes — New  Arrange- 
ment with  Rose — Return  of  the  Wanderers. 

THE  plains  over  which  the  travellers  were 
journeying  continued  to  be  destitute  of 
trees  or  even  shrubs ;  insomuch  that 
they  had  to  use  the  dung  of  the  buffalo 
for  fuel,  as  the  Arabs  of  the  desert  use  that  of 
the  camel.     This  substitute  for  fuel  is  universal 
among  the  Indians  of  these  upper  prairies,  and 
is  said  to  make  a  fire  equal  to  that  of  turf.     If 
a  few  chips  are  added,  it  throws  out  a  cheerful 
and  kindly  blaze. 

These  plains,  however,  had  not  always  been 
equally  destitute  of  wood,  as  was  evident  from 
the  trunks  of  the  trees  which  the  travellers  re- 
peatedly met  with,  some  still  standing,  others 
lying  about  in  broken  fragments,  but  all  in  a 
fossil  state,  having  flourished  in  times  long 
past.  In  these  singular  remains,  the  original 
335 


336  Sstoria 


grain  of  the  wood  was  still  so  distinct  that 
they  could  be  ascertained  to  be  the  ruins  of 
oak  trees.  Several  pieces  of  the  fossil  wood 
were  selected  by  the  men  to  serve  as  whet- 
stones. 

In  this  part  of  the  journey  there  was  no  lack 
of  provisions,  for  the  prairies  were  covered 
with  immense  herds  of  buffalo.  These,  in 
general,  are  animals  of  peaceful  demeanor, 
grazing  quietly  like  domestic  cattle ;  but  this 
was  the  season  when  they  are  in  heat,  and 
when  the  bulls  are  usually  fierce  and  pugna- 
cious. There  was  accordingly  a  universal  rest- 
lessness and  commotion  throughout  the  plain  ; 
and  the  amorous  herds  gave  utterance  to  their 
feelings  in  low  bellowings  that  resounded  like 
distant  thunder.  Here  and  there  fierce  duellos 
took  place  between  rival  enamorados ;  but- 
ting their  huge  shagged  fronts  together,  gor- 
ing each  other  with  their  short  black  horns, 
and  tearing  up  the  earth  with  their  feet  in 
perfect  fury. 

In  one  of  the  evening  halts,  Pierre  Dorion, 
the  interpreter,  together  with  Carson  and  Gard- 
pie,  two  of  the  hunters,  were  missing  ;  nor  had 
they  returned  by  morning.  As  it  was  sup- 
posed the}'  had  wandered  away  in  pursuit  of 
buffalo,  and  would  readily  find  the  track  of  the 
party,  no  solicitude  was  felt  on  their  account. 


Signal  #  ires  337 


A.  fire  was  left  burning,  to  guide  them  by  its 
column  of  smoke,  and  the  travellers  proceeded 
on  their  march.  In  the  evening  a  signal  fire 
was  made  on  a  hill  adjacent  to  the  camp,  and 
in  the  morning  it  was  replenished  with  fuel  so 
as  to  last  throughout  the  day.  These  signals 
are  usual  among  the  Indians,  to  give  warnings 
to  each  other,  or  to  call  home  straggling  hunt- 
ers ;  and  such  is  the  transparency  of  the  atmos- 
phere in  those  elevated  plains,  that  a  slight 
column  of  smoke  can  be  discerned  from  a  great 
distance,  particularly  in  the  evenings.  Two 
or  three  days  elapsed,  however,  without  the 
reappearance  of  the  three  hunters ;  and  Mr. 
Hunt  slackened  his  march  to  give  them  time 
to  overtake  him. 

A  vigilant  watch  continued  to  be  kept  upon 
the  movements  of  Rose,  and  of  such  of  the  men 
as  were  considered  doubtful  in  their  loyalty  ; 
but  nothing  occurred  to  excite  immediate  ap- 
prehensions. Rose  evidently  was  not  a  favor- 
ite among  his  comrades,  and  it  was  hoped  that 
he  had  not  been  able  to  make  any  real  parti- 
sans. 

On  the  loth  of  August  they  encamped  among 
hills,  on  the  highest  peak  of  which  Mr.  Hunt 
caused  a  huge  pyre  of  pine  wood  to  *be  made, 
which  soon  sent  up  a  great  column  of  flame 
that  might  be  seen  far  and  wide  over  the  prai- 

VOL.  I.— *a 


338  Bstoria 


ries.  This  fire  blazed  all  night,  and  was  amply 
replenished  at  daybreak  ;  so  that  the  towering 
pillar  of  smoke  could  not  but  be  descried  by 
the  wanderers  if  within  the  distance  of  a  day's 
journey. 

It  is  a  common  occurrence  in  these  regions, 
where  the  features  of  the  country  so  much  re- 
semble each  other,  for  hunters  to  lose  them- 
selves and  wander  for  many  days,  before  they 
can  find  their  way  back  to  the  main  body  of 
their  party.  In  the  present  instance,  however, 
a  more  than  common  solicitude  was  felt,  in 
consequence  of  the  distrust  awakened  by  the 
sinister  designs  of  Rose. 

The  route  now  became  excessively  toilsome, 
over  a  ridge  of  steep  rocky  hills,  covered  with 
loose  stones.  These  were  intersected  by  deep 
valleys,  formed  by  two  branches  of  Big  River, 
coming  from  the  south  of  west,  both  of  which 
they  crossed.  These  streams  were  bordered 
by  meadows,  well  stocked  with  buffaloes. 
Loads  of  meat  were  brought  in  by  the  hunt- 
ers ;  but  the  travellers  were  rendered  dainty 
by  profusion,  and  would  cook  only  the  choice 
pieces. 

They  had  now  travelled  for  several  days  at 
a  very  slow  rate,  and  had  made  signal-fires 
and  left  traces  of  their  route  at  every  stage,  yet 
nothing  was  heard  or  seen  of  the  lost  men.  It 


Bribe  to  be  fjonest  339 


began  to  be  feared  that  they  might  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  some  lurking  band  of  sav- 
ages. A  party  numerous  as  that  of  Mr.  Hunt, 
with  a  long  train  of  pack-horses,  moving  across 
open  plains  or  naked  hills,  is  discoverable  at  a 
great  distance  by  Indian  scouts,  who  spread 
the  intelligence  rapidly  to  various  points,  and 
assemble  their  friends  to  hang  about  the  skirts 
of  the  travellers,  steal  their  horses,  or  cut  off 
any  stragglers  from  the  main  body. 

Mr.  Hunt  and  his  companions  were  more 
and  more  sensible  how  much  it  would  be  in 
the  power  of  this  sullen  and  daring  vagabond 
Rose  to  do  them  mischief,  when  they  should 
become  entangled  in  the  denies  of  the  moun- 
tains, with  the  passes  of  which  they  were 
wholly  unacquainted,  and  which  were  infested 
by  his  freebooting  friends,  the  Crows.  There, 
should  he  succeed  in  seducing  some  of  the 
party  into  his  plans,  he  might  carry  off  the 
best  horses  and  effects,  throw  himself  among 
his  savage  allies,  and  set  all  pursuit  at  defiance. 
Mr.  Hunt  resolved,  therefore,  to  frustrate  the 
knave,  divert  him,  by  management,  from  his 
plans,  and  make  it  sufficiently  advantageous 
for  him  to  remain  honest.  He  took  occasion, 
accordingly,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  to 
inform  Rose  that,  having  engaged  him  chiefly 
as  a  guide  and  interpreter  through  the  country 


340  Bstorfa 


of  the  Crows,  they  would  not  stand  in  need  of 
his  services  beyond.  Knowing,  therefore,  his 
connection  by  marriage  with  that  tribe,  and 
his  predilection  for  a  residence  among  them, 
they  would  put  no  restraint  upon  his  will,  but, 
whenever  they  met  with  a  party  of  that  people, 
would  leave  him  at  liberty  to  remain  among 
his  adopted  brethren.  Furthermore,  that,  in 
thus  parting  with  him,  they  wTould  pay  him 
half  a  year's  wages  in  consideration  of  his  past 
services,  and  would  give  him  a  horse,  three 
beaver  traps,  and  sundry  other  articles  calcu- 
lated to  set  him  up  in  the  world. 

This  unexpected  liberality,  which  made  it 
nearly  as  profitable  and  infinitely  less  hazard- 
ous for  Rose  to  remain  honest  than  to  play  the 
rogue,  completely  disarmed  him.  From  that 
time  his  whole  deportment  underwent  a 
change.  His  brow  cleared  up  and  appeared 
more  cheerful ;  he  left  off  his  sullen,  skulking 
habits,  and  made  no  further  attempts  to  tamper 
with  the  faith  of  his  comrades. 

On  the  1 3th  of  August  Mr.  Hunt  varied  his 
course,  and  inclined  westward,  in  hopes  of 
falling  in  with  the  three  lost  hunters ;  who,  it 
was  now  thought,  might  have  kept  to  the 
right  hand  of  Big  River.  This  course  soon 
brought  him  to  a  fork  of  the  L,ittle  Missouri, 
about  a  hundred  yards  wide,  and  resembling 


Gbe  5Lo0t  dfcen  ffounfc  341 


the  great  river  of  the  same  name  in  the  strength 
of  its  current,  its  turbid  water,  and  the  fre- 
quency of  driftwood  and  sunken  trees. 

Rugged  mountains  appeared  ahead,  crowd- 
ing down  to  the  water  edge,  and  offering  a 
barrier  to  further  progress  on  the  side  they 
were  ascending.  Crossing  the  river,  therefore, 
they  encamped  on  its  northwest  bank,  where 
they  found  good  pasturage  and  buffalo  in 
abundance.  The  weather  was  overcast  and 
rainy,  and  a  general  gloom  pervaded  the  camp  ; 
the  voyageurs  sat  smoking  in  groups,  with 
their  shoulders  as  high  as  their  heads,  croak- 
ing their  foreboding,  when  suddenly  towards 
evening  a  shout  of  joy  gave  notice  that  the 
lost  men  were  found.  They  came  slowly  lag- 
ging into  the  camp,  with  weary  looks,  and 
horses  jaded  and  wayworn.  They  had,  in  fact, 
been  for  several  days  incessantly  on  the  move. 
In  their  hunting  excursion  on  the  prairies  they 
had  pushed  so  far  in  pursuit  of  buffalo,  as  to 
find  it  impossible  to  retrace  their  steps  over 
plains  trampled  by  innumerable  herds ;  and 
were  baffled  by  the  monotony  of  the  landscape 
in  their  attempts  to  recall  landmarks.  They 
had  ridden  to  and  fro  until  they  had  almost 
lost  the  points  of  the  compass,  and  become 
totally  bewildered  ;  nor  did  they  ever  perceive 
any  of  the  signal  fires  and  columns  of  smoke 


342  Sstorta 


made  by  their  comrades.  At  length,  about 
two  days  previously,  when  almost  spent  by 
anxiety  and  hard  riding,  they  came,  to  their 
great  joy,  upon  the  "trail"  of  the  party, 
which  they  had  since  followed  up  steadily. 

Those  only,  who  have  experienced  the  warm 
cordiality  that  grows  up  between  comrades  in 
wild  and  adventurous  expeditions  of  the  kind, 
can  picture  to  themselves  the  hearty  cheering 
with  which  the  stragglers  were  welcomed  to 
the  camp.  Every  one  crowded  round  them  to 
ask  questions,  and  to  hear  the  story  of  their 
mishaps ;  and  even  the  squaw  of  the  moody 
half-breed,  Pierre  Dorion,  forgot  the  sternness 
of  his  domestic  rule,  and  the  conjugal  disci- 
pline of  the  cudgel,  in  her  joy  at  his  safe 
return. 


Cbapter  f  £  W. 

The  Black  Mountains — Haunts  of  Predatory  Indians 
—Secret  Mines— Hidden  Treasures— Black-Tailed 
Deer — The  Bighorn  or  Ahsahta — Plain  with  Herds 
of  Buffalo — Distant  Peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
— Adventures  of  William  Cannon  and  John  Day 
with  Grizzly  Bears. 


M 


R.  HUNT  and  his  party  were  now  on 
the  skirts  of  the  Black  Hills,  or 
Black  Mountains,  as  they  are  some- 
times called  ;  an  extensive  chain,  ly- 
ing about  a  hundred  miles  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  stretching  in  a  northeast  direc- 
tion from  the  south  fork  of  the  Nebraska,  or 
Platte  River,  to  the  great  north  bend  of  the 
Missouri.  The  Sierra  or  ridge  of  the  Black 
Hills,  in  fact,  forms  the  dividing  line  between 
the  waters  of  the  Missouri  and  those  of  the 
Arkansas  and  the  Mississippi,  and  gives  rise  to 
the  Cheyenne,  the  Little  Missouri,  and  several 
tributary  streams  of  the  Yellowstone. 
343 


344  Bstocia 


The  wild  recesses  of  these  hills,  like  those 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  are  retreats  and  lurk- 
ing-places for  broken  and  predatory  tribes,  and 
it  was  among  them  that  the  remnant  of  the 
Cheyenne  tribe  took  refuge,  as  has  been  stated, 
from  their  conquering  enemies,  the  Sioux. 

The  Black  Hills  are  chiefly  composed  of 
sandstone,  and  in  many  places  are  broken  into 
savage  cliffs  and  precipices,  and  present  the 
most  singular  and  fantastic  forms  ;  sometimes 
resembling  towns  and  castellated  fortresses. 
The  ignorant  inhabitants  of  plains  are  prone 
to  clothe  the  mountains  that  bound  their  hori- 
zon with  fanciful  and  superstitious  attributes. 
Thus  the  wandering  tribes  of  the  prairies,  who 
often  behold  clouds  gathering  round  the  sum- 
mits of  these  hills,  and  lightning  flashing,  and 
thunder  pealing  from  them,  when  all  the 
neighboring  plains  are  serene  and  sunny,  con- 
sider them  the  abode  of  the  genii  or  thunder- 
spirits  who  fabricate  storms  and  tempests.  On 
entering  their  defiles,  therefore,  they  often 
hang  offerings  on  the  trees,  or  place  them  on 
the  rocks,  to  propitiate  the  invisible  "lords  of 
the  mountains,"  and  procure  good  weather 
and  successful  hunting ;  and  they  attach  un- 
usual significance  to  the  echoes  which  haunt 
the  precipices.  This  superstition  may  also 
have  arisen,  in  part,  from  a  natural  phenome- 


Singular  fountain  jpbenomenon        345 

non  of  a  singular  nature.  In  the  most  calm 
and  serene  weather,  and  at  all  times  of  the 
day  or  night,  successive  reports  are  now  and 
then  heard  among  these  mountains,  resembling 
the  discharge  of  several  pieces  of  artillery. 
Similar  reports  were  heard  by  Messrs.  Lewis 
and  Clarke  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which 
they  say  were  attributed  by  the  Indians  to  the 
bursting  of  the  rich  mines  of  silver  contained 
in  the  bosom  of  the  mountains. 

In  fact,  these  singular  explosions  have  re- 
ceived fanciful  explanations  from  learned  men, 
and  have  not  been  satisfactorily  accounted  for 
even  by  philosophers.  They  are  said  to  occur 
frequently  in  Brazil.  Vasconcelles,  a  Jesuit 
father,  describes  one  which  he  heard  in  the 
Sierra,  or  mountain  region  of  Piratininga,  and 
which  he  compares  to  the  discharges  of  a  park 
of  artillery.  The  Indians  told  him  it  was  an 
explosion  of  stones.  The  worthy  father  had 
soon  a  satisfactory  proof  of  the  truth  of  their 
information,  for  the  very  place  was  found  where 
a  rock  had  burst  and  exploded  from  its  entrails 
a  stony  mass,  like  a  bomb-shell,  and  of  the 
size  of  a  bull's  heart.  This  mass  was  broken 
either  in  its  ejection  or  its  fall,  and  wonderful 
was  the  internal  organization  revealed.  It  had 
a  shell  harder  even  than  iron  ;  within  which 
were  arranged,  like  the  seeds  of  a  pomegran- 


346  Bstorta 


ate,  jewels  of  various  colors  ;  some  transparent 
as  crystal ;  others  of  a  fine  red,  and  others  of 
mixed  hues.  The  same  phenomenon  is  said 
to  occur  occasionally  in  the  adjacent  province 
of  Guayra,  where  stones  of  the  bigness  of  a 
man's  hand  are  exploded,  with  a  loud  noise, 
from  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and  scatter  about 
glittering  and  beautiful  fragments  that  look 
like  precious  gems,  but  are  of  no  value. 

The  Indians  of  the  Orellanna,  also,  tell  of 
horrible  noises  heard  occasionally  in  the  Para- 
guaxo,  which  they  consider  the  throes  and 
groans  of  the  mountain,  endeavoring  to  cast 
forth  the  precious  stones  hidden  within  its  en- 
trails. Others  have  endeavored  to  account  for 
these  discharges  of  ' '  mountain  artillery  ' '  on 
humbler  principles  ;  attributing  them  to  the 
loud  reports  made  by  the  disruption  and  fall 
of  great  masses  of  rock,  reverberated  and  pro- 
longed by  the  echoes  ;  others,  to  the  disengage- 
ment of  hydrogen,  produced  by  subterraneous 
beds  of  coal  in  a  state  of  ignition.  In  what- 
ever way  this  singular  phenomenon  may  be 
accounted  for,  the  existence  of  it  appears  to  be 
well  established.  It  remains  one  of  the  linger- 
ing mysteries  of  nature  which  throw  something 
of  a  supernatural  charm  over  her  wild  moun- 
tain solitudes ;  and  we  doubt  whether  the 
imaginative  reader  will  not  rather  join  with 


347 


the  poor  Indian  in  attributing  it  to  the  thun- 
der-spirits, or  the  guardian  genii  of  unseen 
treasures,  than  to  any  commonplace  physical 
cause. 

Whatever  might  be  the  supernatural  influ- 
ences among  these  mountains,  the  travellers 
found  their  physical  difficulties  hard  to  cope 
with.  They  made  repeated  attempts  to  find  a 
passage  through  or  over  the  chain,  but  were  as 
often  turned  back  by  impassable  barriers. 
Sometimes  a  defile  seemed  to  open  a  practica- 
ble path,  but  it  would  terminate  in  some  wild 
chaos  of  rocks  and  cliffs,  which  it  was  impos- 
sible to  climb.  The  animals  of  these  solitary 
regions  were  different  from  those  they  had 
been  accustomed  to.  The  black-tailed  deer 
would  bound  up  the  ravines  on  their  approach, 
and  the  bighorn  would  gaze  fearlessly  down 
upon  them  from  some  impending  precipice,  or 
skip  playfully  from  rock  to  rock.  These  ani- 
mals are  only  to  be  met  with  in  mountainous 
regions.  The  former  is  larger  than  the  com- 
mon deer,  but  its  flesh  is  not  equally  esteemed 
by  hunters.  It  has  very  large  ears,  and  the 
tip  of  the  tail  is  black,  from  which  it  derives 
its  name. 

The  bighorn  is  so  named  from  its  horns  ; 
which  are  of  a  great  size,  and  twisted  like 
those  of  a  ram.  It  is  called  by  some  the  ar- 


348  Bstorfa 


gali,  by  others  the  ibex,  though  differing  from 
both  of  these  animals.  The  Mandans  call  it 
the  ahsahta,  a  name  much  better  than  the 
clumsy  apellation  which  it  generally  bears. 
It  is  of  the  size  of  a  small  elk,  or  large  deer, 
and  of  a  dun  color,  excepting  the  belly  and 
round  the  tail,  where  it  is  white.  In  its  habits 
it  resembles  the  goat,  frequenting  the  rudest 
precipices ;  cropping  the  herbage  from  their 
edges  ;  and,  like  the  chamois,  bounding  lightly 
and  securely  among  dizzy  heights,  where  the 
hunter  dares  not  venture.  It  is  difficult,  there- 
fore, to  get  within  shot  of  it.  Ben  Jones,  the 
hunter,  however,  in  one  of  the  passes  of  the 
Black  Hills,  succeeded  in  bringing  down  a  big- 
horn from  the  verge  of  a  precipice,  the  flesh  of 
which  was  pronounced  by  the  gormands  of  the 
camp  to  have  the  flavor  of  excellent  mutton. 

Baffled  in  his  attempts  to  traverse  this  moun- 
tain chain,  Mr.  Hunt  skirted  along  it  to  the 
southwest,  keeping  it  on  the  right  ;  and  still 
in  hopes  of  finding  an  opening.  At  an  early 
hour  one  day,  he  encamped  in  a  narrow  valley 
on  the  banks  of  a  beautifully  clear  but  rushy 
pool ;  surrounded  by  thickets  bearing  abun- 
dance of  wild  cherries,  currants,  and  yellow  and 
purple  gooseberries. 

While  the  afternoon's  meal  was  in  prepara- 
tion, Mr.  Hunt  and  Mr.  M'Kenzie  ascended 


349 


to  the  summit  of  the  nearest  hill,  from  whence, 
aided  by  the  purity  and  transparency  of  the 
evening  atmosphere,  they  commanded  a  vast 
prospect  on  all  sides.  Below  them  extended  a 
plain,  dotted  with  innumerable  herds  of  buffalo. 
Some  were  lying  down  among  the  herbage, 
others  roaming  in  their  unbounded  pastures, 
while  many  were  engaged  in  fierce  contests 
like  those  already  described,  their  low  bellow- 
ings  reaching  the  ear  like  the  hoarse  murmurs 
of  the  surf  on  a  distant  shore. 

Far  off  in  the  west  they  descried  a  range  of 
lofty  mountains  printing  the  clear  horizon, 
some  of  them  evidently  capped  with  snow. 
These  they  supposed  to  be  the  Bighorn  Moun- 
tains, so  called  from  the  animal  of  that  name, 
with  which  they  abound.  They  are  a  spur  of 
the  great  Rocky  chain.  The  hill  from  whence 
Mr.  Hunt  had  this  prospect  was,  according  to 
his  computation,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  the  Arickara  village. 

On  returning  to  the  camp,  Mr.  Hunt  found 
some  uneasiness  prevailing  among  the  Cana- 
dian voyageurs.  In  straying  among  the  thick- 
ets they  had  beheld  tracks  of  grizzly  bears  in 
every  direction,  doubtless  attracted  thither  by 
the  fruit.  To  their  dismay,  they  now  found 
that  they  had  encamped  in  one  of  the  favorite 
resorts  of  this  dreaded  animal.  The  idea 


350  Bstorfa 


marred  all  the  comfort  of  the  encampment.  As 
night  closed,  the  surrounding  thickets  were 
peopled  with  terrors  ;  insomuch  that,  according 
to  Mr.  Hunt,  they  could  not  help  starting  at 
every  little  breeze  that  stirred  the  bushes. 

The  grizzly  bear  is  the  only  really  formid- 
able quadruped  of  our  continent.  He  is  the 
favorite  theme  of  the  hunters  of  the  far  West, 
who  describe  him  as  equal  in  size  to  a  common 
cow  and  of  prodigious  strength.  He  makes 
battle  if  assailed,  and  often,  if  pressed  by 
hunger,  is  the  assailant.  If  wounded,  he  be- 
comes furious  and  will  pursue  the  hunter. 
His  speed  exceeds  that  of  a  man,  but  is  inferior 
to  that  of  a  horse.  In  attacking  he  rears  him- 
self on  his  hind  legs,  and  springs  the  length 
of  his  body.  Woe  to  the  horse  or  rider  that 
comes  within  the  sweep  of  his  terrific  claws, 
which  are  sometimes  nine  inches  in  length, 
and  tear  everything  before  them. 

At  the  time  we  are  treating  of,  the  grizzly  bear 
was  still  frequent  on  the  Missouri  and  in  the 
lower  country  ;  but,  like  some  of  the  broken 
tribes  of  the  prairie,  he  has  gradually  fallen 
back  before  his  enemies,  and  is  now  chiefly  to 
be  found  in  the  upland  regions,  in  rugged  fast- 
nesses like  those  of  the  Black  Hills  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Here  he  lurks  in  caverns, 
or  holes  which  he  has  digged  in  the  sides  of 


Bfcventure  of  William  Cannon          351 

hills,  or  under  the  roots  and  trunks  of  fallen 
trees.  Like  the  common  bear,  he  is  fond  of 
fruits,  and  mast,  and  roots,  the  latter  of  which 
he  will  dig  up  with  his  fore-claws.  He  is  car- 
nivorous also,  and  will  even  attack  and  con- 
quer the  lordly  buffalo,  dragging  his  huge 
carcass  to  the  neighborhood  of  his  den,  that  he 
may  prey  upon  it  at  his  leisure. 

The  hunters,  both  white  and  red  men,  con- 
sider this  the  most  heroic  game.  They  prefer 
to  hunt  him  on  horseback,  and  will  venture  so 
near  as  sometimes  to  singe  his  hair  with  the 
flash  of  the  rifle.  The  hunter  of  the  grizzly 
bear,  however,  must  be  an  experienced  hand, 
and  know  where  to  aim  at  a  vital  part ;  for  of 
all  quadrupeds,  he  is  the  most  difficult  to  be 
killed.  He  will  receive  repeated  wounds  with- 
out flinching,  and  rarely  is  a  shot  mortal  unless 
through  the  head  or  heart. 

That  the  dangers  apprehended  from  the 
grizzly  bear,  at  this  night  encampment,  were 
not  imaginary,  was  proved  on  the  following 
morning.  Among  the  hired  men  of  the  party 
was  one  William  Cannon,  who  had  been  a 
soldier  at  one  of  the  frontier  posts,  and  entered 
into  the  employ  of  Mr.  Hunt  at  Mackinaw. 
He  was  an  inexperienced  hunter  and  a  poor 
shot,  for  which  he  was  much  bantered  by  his 
more  adroit  comrades.  Piqued  at  their  raillery, 


352  Bstoria 


he  had  been  practising  ever  since  he  had  joined 
the  expedition,  but  without  success.  In  the 
course  of  the  present  afternoon,  he  went  forth 
by  himself  to  take  a  lesson  in  venerie,  and,  to 
his  great  delight,  had  the  good  fortune  to  kill 
a  buffalo.  As  he  was  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  camp,  he  cut  out  the  tongue  and  some 
of  the  choice  bits,  made  them  into  a  parcel, 
and  slinging  them  on  his  shoulders  by  a  strap 
passed  round  his  forehead,  as  the  voyageurs 
carry  packages  of  goods,  set  out  all  glorious 
for  the  camp,  anticipating  a  triumph  over  his 
brother  hunters.  In  passing  through  a  narrow 
ravine,  he  heard  a  noise  behind  him,  and  look- 
ing round  beheld,  to  his  dismay,  a  grizzly  bear 
in  full  pursuit,  apparently  attracted  by  the  scent 
of  the  meat.  Cannon  had  heard  so  much  of 
the  invulnerability  of  this  tremendous  animal, 
that  he  never  attempted  to  fire,  but,  slipping 
the  strap  from  his  forehead,  let  go  the  buffalo 
meat  and  ran  for  his  life.  The  bear  did  not 
stop  to  regale  himself  with  the  game,  but  kept 
on  after  the  hunter.  He  had  nearly  overtaken 
him  when  Cannon  reached  a  tree,  and,  throw- 
ing down  his  rifle,  scrambled  up  it.  The  next 
instant  Bruin  was  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  ;  but, 
as  this  species  of  bear  does  not  climb,  he  con- 
tented himself  with  turning  the  chase  into  a 
blockade.  Night  came  on.  In  the  darkness 


and  tbe  <5d33l£  JBcar         353 


Cannon  could  not  perceive  whether  or  not  the 
enemy  maintained  his  station  ;  but  his  fears 
pictured  him  rigorously  mounting  guard.  He 
passed  the  night,  therefore,  in  the  tree,  a  prey 
to  dismal  fancies.  In  the  morning  the  bear 
was  gone.  Cannon  warily  descended  the  tree, 
gathered  up  his  gun,  and  made  the  best  of  his 
way  back  to  the  camp,  without  venturing  to 
look  after  his  buffalo  meat. 

While  on  this  theme  we  will  add  another 
anecdote  of  an  adventure  with  a  grizzly  bear, 
told  of  John  Day,  the  Kentucky  '  hunter,  but 
which  happened  at  a  different  period  of  the 
expedition.  Day  was  hunting  in  company 
with  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  company,  a  lively 
youngster,  who  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
veteran,  but  whose  vivacity  he  had  continually 
to  keep  in  check.  They  were  in  search  of  deer, 
when  suddenly  a  huge  grizzly  bear  emerged 
from  a  thicket  about  thirty  yards  distant,  rear- 
ing himself  upon  his  hind  legs  with  a  terrific 
growl,  and  displaying  a  hideous  array  of  teeth 
and  claws.  The  rifle  of  the  young  man  was 
levelled  in  an  instant,  but  John  Day's  iron  hand 
was  as  quickly  upon  his  arm.  "  Be  quiet, 
boy  !  be  quiet  !  '  '  exclaimed  the  hunter  between 
his  clenched  teeth,  and  without  turning  his 
eyes  from  the  bear.  They  remained  motion- 
less. The  monster  regarded  them  for  a  time, 

VOL.    I  —  23 


354  Bstorla 


then,  lowering  himself  on  his  fore  paws,  slowly 
withdrew.  He  had  not  gone  many  paces  be- 
fore he  again  returned,  reared  himself  on  his 
hind  legs,  and  repeated  his  menace.  Day's 
hand  was  still  on  the  arm  of  his  young  com- 
panion ;  he  again  pressed  it  hard,  and  kept 
repeating  between  his  teeth  :  '  *  Quiet,  boy  ! — 
keep  quiet ! — keep  quiet !  " — though  the  latter 
had  not  made  a  move  since  his  first  prohibition. 
The  bear  again  lowered  himself  on  all  fours, 
retreated  some  twenty  yards  farther,  and  again 
turned,  reared,  showed  his  teeth,  and  growled. 
This  third  menace  was  too  much  for  the  game 
spirit  of  John  Da)'.  "  By  Jove  !  "  exclaimed 
he,  "I  can  stand  this  no  longer,"  and  in  an 
instant  a  ball  from  his  rifle  whizzed  into  the 
foe.  The  wound  was  not  mortal ;  but,  luckily, 
it  dismayed  instead  of  enraging  the  animal, 
and  he  retreated  into  the  thicket. 

Day's  young  companion  reproached  him  for 
not  practising  the  caution  which  he  enjoined 
upon  others.  "  Why,  boy,"  replied  the  vete- 
ran, "  caution  is  caution,  but  one  must  not  put 
up  with  too  much,  even  from  a  bear.  Would 
you  have  me  suffer  myself  to  be  bullied  all  day 
by  a  varmint  ?" 


Cbaptet  £ f IDf fl, 

Indian  Trail — Rough  Mountain  Travelling — Suffering 
from  Hunger  and  Thirst — Powder  River — A  Hunt- 
er's Paradise — Rocky  Mountains — The  Great  Ameri- 
can Desert — Various  Characteristics  of  the  Moun- 
tains— Indian  Superstitions  Concerning  Them. 

FOR  the  two  following  days,  the  travellers 
pursued  a  westerly  course  for  thirty- 
four  miles  along  a  ridge  of  country 
dividing  the  tributary  waters  of  the 
Missouri  and  Yellowstone.    As  landmarks  they 
guided  themselves  by  the  summits  of  the  far 
distant  mountains,  which  they  supposed  to  be- 
long to  the  Bighorn  chain.     They  were  gradu- 
ally rising  into  a  higher  temperature,  for  the 
weather  was  cold  for  the  season,  with  a  sharp 
frost  in  the  night,  and  ice  of  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  in  thickness. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  August,  early  in 
the  day,  they  came  upon  the  trail  of  a  numer- 
ous band.     Rose  and  the  other  hunters  exam- 
355 


356  Bstorta 


ined  the  foot-prints  with  great  attention,  and 
determined  it  to  be  the  trail  of  a  party  of  Crows, 
returning  from  an  annual  trading  visit  to  the 
Mandans.  As  this  trail  afforded  more  commo- 
dious travelling,  they  immediately  struck  into 
it,  and  followed  it  for  two  days.  It  led  them 
over  rough  hills,  and  through  broken  gullies, 
during  which  time  they  suffered  great  fatigue 
from  the  ruggedness  of  the  country.  The 
weather,  too,  which  had  recently  been  frosty, 
was  now  oppressively  warm,  and  there  was  a 
great  scarcity  of  water,  insomuch  that  a  valua- 
ble dog  belonging  to  Mr.  M'Kenzie  died  of 
thirst. 

At  one  time  they  had  twenty-five  miles  of 
painful  travel,  without  a  drop  of  water,  until 
they  arrived  at  a  small  running  stream .  Here 
they  eagerly  slaked  their  thirst ;  but,  this  being 
allayed,  the  calls  of  hunger  became  equally  im- 
portunate. Ever  since  they  had  got  among 
these  barren  and  arid  hills,  where  there  was  a 
deficiency  of  grass,  they  had  met  with  no  buffa- 
loes ;  those  animals  keeping  in  the  grassy 
meadows  near  the  streams.  They  were  obliged, 
therefore,  to  have  recourse  to  their  corn  meal, 
which  they  reserved  for  such  emergencies. 
Some,  however,  were  lucky  enough  to  kill  a 
wolf,  which  they  cooked  for  supper,  and  pro- 
nounced excellent  food. 


twnter's  paraDise  357 


The  next  morning  they  resumed  their  way- 
faring, hungry  and  jaded,  and  had  a  dogged 
march  of  eighteen  miles  among  the  same  kind 
of  hills.  At  length  they  emerged  upon  a 
stream  of  clear  water,  one  of  the  forks  of 
Powder  River,  and  to  their  great  joy  beheld 
once  more  wide  grassy  meadows,  stocked  with 
herds  of  buffalo.  For  several  days  they  kept 
along  the  banks  of  the  river,  ascending  it  about 
eighteen  miles.  It  was  a  hunter's  paradise  ; 
the  buffaloes  were  in  such  abundance  that  they 
were  enabled  to  kill  as  many  as  they  pleased, 
and  to  jerk  a  sufficient  supply  of  meat  for  sev- 
eral days'  journeying.  Here,  then,  they  rev- 
elled and  reposed  after  their  hungry  and  weary 
travel,  hunting  and  feasting,  and  reclining 
upon  the  grass.  Their  quiet,  however,  was  a 
little  marred  by  coming  upon  traces  of  Indians, 
who,  they  concluded,  must  be  Crows  ;  they 
were  therefore  obliged  to  keep  a  more  vigilant 
watch  than  ever  upon  their  horses.  For  sev- 
eral days  they  had  been  directing  their  march 
towards  the  lofty  mountain  descried  by  Mr. 
Hunt  and  Mr.  M'Kenzie  on  the  iyth  of  Au- 
gust, the  height  of  which  rendered  it  a  land- 
mark over  a  vast  extent  of  country.  At  first 
it  had  appeared  to  them  solitary  and  detached  ; 
but  as  they  advanced  towards  it,  it  proved  to 
be  the  principal  summit  of  a  chain  of  mountains. 


358  Bstoria 


Day  by  day  it  varied  in  form,  or  rather  its 
lower  peaks,  and  the  summits  of  others  of  the 
chain  emerged  above  the  clear  horizon,  and 
finally  the  inferior  line  of  hills  which  connected 
most  of  them  rose  to  view.  So  far,  however,  are 
objects  discernible  in  the  pure  atmosphere  of 
these  elevated  plains,  that  from  the  place  where 
they  first  descried  the  main  mountain,  they  had 
to  travel  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  before  they 
reached  its  base.  Here  they  encamped,  on  the 
3oth  of  August,  having  come  nearly  four  hun- 
dred miles  since  leaving  the  Arickara  village. 
The  mountain  which  now  towered  above 
them  was  one  of  the  Bighorn  chain,  bordered 
by  a  river  of  the  same  name,  and  extending 
a  long  distance  rather  east  of  north  and  west 
of  south.  It  was  a  part  of  the  great  system  of 
granite  mountains  which  forms  one  of  the 
most  important  and  striking  features  of  North 
America,  stretching  parallel  to  the  coast  of  the 
Pacific  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  almost  to 
the  Arctic  Ocean ;  and  presenting  a  correspond- 
ing chain  to  that  of  the  Andes  in  the  southern 
hemisphere.  This  vast  range  has  acquired, 
from  its  rugged  and  broken  character  and  its 
summits  of  naked  granite,  the  appellation  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  a  name  by  no  means 
distinctive,  as  all  elevated  ranges  are  rocky. 
Among  the  early  explorers  it  was  known  as 


(Sreat  Bmerfcan  Desert  359 


the  range  of  Chippewyan  Mountains,  and  this 
Indian  name  is  the  one  it  is  likely  to  retain  in 
poetic  usage.  Rising  from  the  midst  of  vast 
plains  and  prairies,  traversing  several  degrees 
of  latitude,  dividing  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific,  and  seeming  to  bind  with  di- 
verging ridges  the  level  regions  on  its  flanks, 
it  has  been  figuratively  termed  the  backbone 
of  the  northern  continent. 

The  Rocky  Mountains  do  not  present  a  range 
of  uniform  elevation,  but  rather  groups  and 
occasionally  detached  peaks.  Though  some  of 
these  rise  to  the  region  of  perpetual  snows,  and 
are  upwards  of  eleven  thousand  feet  in  real 
altitude,  yet  their  height  from  their  immediate 
basis  is  not  so  great  as  might  be  imagined,  as 
they  swell  up  from  elevated  plains,  several 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 
These  plains  are  often  of  a  desolate  sterility  ; 
mere  sandy  wastes,  formed  of  the  detritus  of 
the  granite  heights,  destitute  of  trees  and  herb- 
age, scorched  by  the  ardent  and  reflected  rays 
of  the  summer's  .sun,  and  in  winter  swept 
by  chilling  blasts  from  the  snow-clad  moun- 
tains. Such  is  a  great  part  of  that  vast  region 
extending  north  and  south  along  the  moun- 
tains, several  hundred  miles  in  width,  which 
has  not  improperly  been  termed  the  Great 
American  Desert.  It  is  a  region  that  almost 


360  Bstoria 


discourages  all  hope  of  cultivation,  and  can 
only  be  traversed  with  safety  by  keeping  near 
the  streams  which  intersect  it.  Extensive  plains 
likewise  occur  among  the  higher  regions  of  the 
mountains,  of  considerable  fertility.  Indeed, 
these  lofty  plats  of  table-land  seem  to  form  a 
peculiar  feature  in  the  American  continents. 
Some  occur  among  the  Cordilleras  of  the  An- 
des, where  cities,  and  towns,  and  cultivated 
farms  are  to  be  seen  eight  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  Rocky  Mountains,  as  we  have  already 
observed,  occur  sometimes  singly  or  in  groups, 
and  occasionally  in  collateral  ridges.  Between 
these  are  deep  valleys,  with  small  streams 
winding  through  them,  which  find  their  way 
into  the  lower  plains,  augmenting  as  they  pro- 
ceed, and  ultimately  discharging  themselves 
into  vast  rivers,  which  traverse  the  prairies 
like  great  arteries,  and  drain  the  continent. 

While  the  granitic  summits  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  are  bleak  and  bare,  many  of  the 
inferior  ridges  are  scantily  clothed  with 
scrubbed  pines,  oaks,  cedar,  and  furze.  Vari- 
ous parts  of  the  mountains  also  bear  traces  of 
volcanic  action.  Some  of  the  interior  valleys 
are  strewed  with  scoria  and  broken  stones, 
evidently  of  volcanic  origin  ;  the  surrounding 
rocks  bear  the  like  character,  and  vestiges  of 


{Towns  of  tbc  (Senerous  Spirits         361 

extinguished  craters  are  to  be  seen  on  the 
elevated  heights. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  superstitious 
feelings  with  which  the  Indians  regard  the 
Black  Hills  ;  but  this  immense  range  of  moun- 
tains, which  divides  all  that  they  know  of  the 
world,  and  gives  birth  to  such  mighty  rivers, 
is  still  more  an  object  of  awe  and  veneration. 
They  call  it  "  the  crest  of  the  world,"  and 
think  that  Wacondah,  or  the  master  of  life,  as 
they  designate  the  Supreme  Being,  has  his  resi- 
dence among  these  aerial  heights.  The  tribes 
on  the  eastern  prairies  call  them  the  moun- 
tains of  the  setting  sun.  Some  of  them  place 
the  "  happy  hunting-ground,"  their  ideal  par- 
adise, among  the  recesses  of  these  mountains  ; 
but  say  that  they  are  invisible  to  living  men. 
Here  also  is  the  "  L,and  of  Souls,"  in  which 
are  the  ' '  towns  of  free  and  generous  spirits, ' ' 
where  those  who  have  pleased  the  master  of 
life  while  living,  enjoy  after  death  all  manner 
of  delights. 

Wonders  are  told  of  these  mountains  by  the 
distant  tribes,  whose  warriors  or  hunters  have 
ever  wandered  in  their  neighborhood.  It  is 
thought  by  some  that,  after  death,  they  will 
have  to  travel  to  these  mountains  and  ascend 
one  of  their  highest  and  most  rugged  peaks, 
among  rocks  and  snows  and  tumbling  tor- 


362  Betoria 


rents.  After  many  moons  of  painful  toil  they 
will  reach  the  summit,  from  whence  they  will 
have  a  view  over  the  land  of  souls.  There  they 
will  see  the  happy  hunting-grounds,  with  the 
souls  of  the  brave  and  good  living  in  tents  in 
green  meadows,  by  bright  running  streams,  or 
hunting  the  herds  of  buffalo,  and  elk,  and  deer, 
which  have  been  slain  on  earth.  There,  too, 
they  will  see  the  villages  or  towns  of  the  free 
and  generous  spirits  brightening  in  the  midst 
of  delicious  prairies.  If  they  have  acquitted 
themselves  well  while  living,  they  will  be  per- 
mitted to  descend  and  enjoy  this  happy  coun- 
try ;  if  otherwise  they  will  but  be  tantalized 
with  this  prospect  of  it,  and  then  hurled  back 
from  the  mountain  to  wander  about  the  sandy 
plains,  and  endure  the  eternal  pangs  of  unsat- 
isfied thirst  and  hunger. 


Cbapter 


Region  of  the  Crow  Indians  —  A  Crow  Camp  —  Pres- 
ents to  the  Crow  Chief  —  Crow  Bullies  —  Rose 
among  his  Indian  Friends  —  Parting  with  the 
Crows  —  Esquestrian  Children  —  Search  after 
Stragglers. 

THE  travellers  had  now  arrived  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mountain  regions  in- 
fested by  the  Crow  Indians.     These 
restless  marauders,  as  has  already  been 
observed,  are    apt  to  be  continually  on  the 
prowl  about  the  skirts  of  the  mountains  ;  and 
even  when  encamped  in  some  deep  and  se- 
cluded glen,  they  keep  scouts  upon  the  cliffs 
and  promontories,  who,  unseen  themselves,  can 
discern  every  living  thing  that  moves  over  the 
subjacent  plains  and  valleys.     It  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  our  travellers  could  pass  unseen 
through  a  region  thus  vigilantly  sentinelled  ;, 
accordingly,    in  the  edge  of  the  evening,  not 
long  after  they  had  encamped  at  the  foot  of  the 
363 


364  Bstoria 


Bighorn  Sierra,  a  couple  of  wild-looking  be- 
ings, scantily  clad  in  skins,  but  well  armed, 
and  mounted  on  horses  as  wild-looking  as 
themselves,  were  seen  approaching  with  great 
caution  from  among  the  rocks.  They  might 
have  been  mistaken  for  two  of  the  evils  spirits 
of  the  mountains  so  formidable  in  Indian  fable. 

Rose  was  immediately  sent  out  to  hold  a 
parley  with  them,  and  invite  them  to  the  camp. 
They  proved  to  be  two  scouts  from  the  same 
band  that  had  been  tracked  for  some  days  past, 
and  which  was  now  encamped  at  some  dis- 
tance in  the  folds  of  the  mountain.  They 
were  easily  prevailed  upon  to  come  to  the 
camp,  where  they  were  well  received,  and, 
after  remaining  there  until  late  in  the  evening, 
departed  to  make  a  report  of  all  they  had  seen 
and  experienced  to  their  companions. 

The  following  day  had  scarce  dawned, 
when  a  troop  of  these  wild  mountain  scamper- 
ers  came  galloping  with  whoops  and  yells  into 
the  camp,  bringing  an  invitation  from  their 
chief  for  the  white  men  to  visit  him.  The 
tents  were  accordingly  struck,  the  horses 
laden,  and  the  party  were  soon  on  the  march. 
The  Crow  horsemen,  as  they  escorted  them, 
appeared  to  take  pride  in  showing  off  their 
equestrian  skill  and  hardihood  ;  careering  at 
full  speed  on  their  half-savage  steeds,  and 


Crow  "fcorsemansbtp  365 


dashing  among  rocks  and  crags,  and  up  and 
down  the  most  rugged  and  dangerous  places 
with  perfect  ease  and  unconcern. 

A  ride  of  sixteen  miles  brought  them,  in  the 
afternoon,  in  sight  of  the  Crow  camp.  It  was 
composed  of  leathern  tents,  pitched  in  a  meadow 
on  the  border  of  a  small  clear  stream  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain.  A  great  number  of  horses 
were  grazing  in  the  vicinity,  many  of  them 
doubtless  captured  in  marauding  excursions. 

The  Crow  chieftain  came  forth  to  meet  his 
guests  with  great  professions  of  friendship, 
and  conducted  them  to  his  tents,  pointing  out, 
by  the  way,  a  convenient  place  where  they 
might  fix  their  camp.  No  sooner  had  they 
done  so,  than  Mr.  Hunt  opened  some  of  the 
packages  and  made  the  chief  a  present  of  a 
scarlet  blanket  and  a  quantity  of  powder  and 
ball ;  he  gave  him  also  some  knives,  trinkets, 
and  tobacco  to  be  distributed  among  his  war- 
riors, with  all  which  the  grim  potentate  seemed, 
for  the  time,  well  pleased.  As  the  Crows, 
however,  were  reputed  to  be  perfidious  in  the 
extreme,  and  as  errant  freebooters  as  the  bird 
after  which  they  were  so  worthily  named  ; 
and  as  their  general  feelings  towards  the 
whites  were  known  to  be  by  no  means  friendly, 
the  intercourse  with  them  was  conducted  with 
great  circumspection. 


366  Bstoria 


The  following  day  was  passed  in  trading 
with  the  Crows  for  buffalo  robes  and  skins, 
and  in  bartering  galled  and  jaded  horses  for 
others  that  were  in  good  condition.  Some  of 
the  men,  also,  purchased  horses  on  their  own 
account,  so  that  the  number  now  amounted  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-one,  most  of  them 
sound  and  active,  and  fit  for  mountain  service. 

Their  wants  being  supplied,  they  ceased  all 
further  traffic,  much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of 
the  Crows,  who  became  extremely  urgent  to 
continue  the  trade,  and,  finding  their  impor- 
tunities of  no  avail,  assumed  an  insolent  and 
menacing  tone.  All  this  was  attributed  by 
Mr.  Hunt  and  his  associates  to  the  perfidious 
instigations  of  Rose,  the  interpreter,  whom  they 
suspected  of  the  desire  to  foment  ill-will  be- 
tween them  and  the  savages,  for  the  promotion 
of  his  nefarious  plans.  M'L,ellan,  with  his 
usual  tranchant  mode  of  dealing  out  justice, 
resolved  to  shoot  the  desperado  on  the  spot  in 
case  of  any  outbreak.  Nothing  of  the  kind, 
however,  occurred.  The  Crows  were  probably 
daunted  by  the  resolute,  though  quiet  de- 
meanor of  the  white  men,  and  the  constant 
vigilance  and  armed  preparations  which  they 
maintained ;  and  Rose,  if  he  really  still  har- 
bored his  knavish  designs,  must  have  per- 
ceived that  they  were  suspected,  and,  if  at- 


parting  wftb  tbe  Crows  367 

tempted  to  be  carried  into  effect,  might  bring 
ruin  on  his  own  head. 

The  next  morning,  bright  and  early,  Mr. 
Hunt  proposed  to  resume  his  journeying.  He 
took  a  ceremonious  leave  of  the  Crow  chieftain, 
and  his  vagabond  warriors,  and  according  to 
previous  arrangements,  consigned  to  their 
cherishing  friendship  and  fraternal  adoption 
their  worthy  confederate  Rose,  who,  having 
figured  among  the  water  pirates  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, was  well  fitted  to  rise  to  distinction 
among  the  land  pirates  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  ruffian  was  well 
received  among  the  tribe,  and  appeared  to  be 
perfectly  satisfied  with  the  compromise  he  had 
made  ;  feeling  much  more  at  his  ease  among 
savages  than  among  white  men.  It  is  outcasts 
from  civilization,  fugitives  from  justice,  and 
heartless  desperadoes  of  this  kind  who  sow  the 
seeds  of  enmity  and  bitterness  among  the  un- 
fortunate tribes  of  the  frontier.  There  is  no 
enemy  so  implacable  against  a  country  or  a 
community  as  one  of  its  own  people  who  has 
rendered  himself  an  alien  by  his  crimes. 

Right  glad  to  be  delivered  from  this  treacher- 
ous companion,  Mr.  Hunt  pursued  his  course 
along  the  skirts  of  the  mountain,  in  a  southern 
direction,  seeking  for  some  practicable  defile 


368  Bgtoria 


by  which  he  might  pass  through  it ;  none  such 
presented,  however,  in  the  course  of  fifteen 
miles,  and  he  encamped  on  a  small  stream,  still 
on  the  outskirts.  The  green  meadows  which 
border  these  mountain  streams  are  generally 
well  stocked  with  game,  and  the  hunters  killed 
several  fat  elks,  which  supplied  the  camp  with 
fresh  meat.  In  the  evening  the  travellers  were 
surprised  by  an  unwelcome  visit  from  several 
Crows  belonging  to  a  different  band  from  that 
which  they  recently  left,  and  who  said  their 
camp  was  among  the  mountains.  The  con- 
sciousness of  being  environed  by  such  danger- 
ous neighbors,  and  of  being  still  within  the 
range  of  Rose  and  his  fellow  ruffians,  obliged 
the  party  to  be  continually  on  the  alert,  and  to 
maintain  weary  vigils  throughout  the  night, 
lest  they  should  be  robbed  of  their  horses. 

On  the  3d  of  September,  finding  that  the 
mountain  still  stretched  onwards,  presenting  a 
continued  barrier,  they  endeavored  to  force  a 
passage  to  the  westward,  but  soon  became  en- 
tangled among  rocks  and  precipices  which  set 
all  their  efforts  at  defiance.  The  mountain 
seemed,  for  the  most  part,  rugged,  bare,  and 
sterile  ;  yet  here  and  there  it  was  clothed  with 
pines,  and  with  shrubs  and  flowering  plants, 
some  of  which  were  in  bloom.  In  toiling 
among  these  weary  places,  their  thirst  became 


"{Unwelcome  Visitors  369 


excessive,  for  no  water  was  to  be  met  with. 
Numbers  of  the  men  wandered  off  into  rocky 
dells  and  ravines  in  hopes  of  finding  some 
brook  or  fountain  ;  some  of  whom  lost  their 
way  and  did  not  rejoin  the  main  party. 

After  a  day  of  painful  and  fruitless  scram- 
bling, Mr.  Hunt  gave  up  the  attempt  to  pene- 
trate in  this  direction,  and,  returning  to  the 
little  stream  on  the  skirts  of  the  mountain, 
pitched  his  tents  within  six  miles  of  his  en- 
campment of  the  preceding  night.  He  now 
ordered  that  signals  should  be  made  for  the 
stragglers  in  quest  of  water ;  but  the  night 
passed  away  without  their  return. 

The  next  morning,  to  their  surprise,  Rose 
made  his  appearance  at  the  camp,  accompanied 
by  some  of  his  Crow  associates.  His  unwel- 
come visit  revived  their  suspicions  ;  but  he 
announced  himself  as  a  messenger  of  good- will 
from  the  chief,  who,  finding  they  had  taken 
the  wrong  road,  had  sent  Rose  and  his  com- 
panions to  guide  them  to  a  nearer  and  better 
one  across  the  mountain. 

Having  no  choice,  being  themselves  utterly 
at  fault,  they  set  out  under  this  questionable 
escort.  They  had  not  gone  far  before  they 
fell  in  with  the  whole  party  of  Crows,  who, 
they  now  found,  were  going  the  same  road 
with  themselves.  The  two  cavalcades  of  white 

VOL.    I.— 34 


370  Sstoria 


and  red  men,  therefore,  pushed  on  together, 
and  presented  a  wild  and  picturesque  spectacle, 
as,  equipped  with  various  weapons  and  in  vari- 
ous garbs,  with  trains  of  pack-horses,  they 
wound  in  long  lines  through  the  rugged  de- 
files, and  up  and  down  the  crags  and  steeps  of 
the  mountain. 

The  travellers  had  again  an  opportunity  to 
see  and  admire  the  equestrian  habitudes  and 
address  of  this  hard-riding  tribe.  They  were 
all  mounted,  man,  woman,  and  child,  for  the 
Crows  have  horses  in  abundance,  so  that  no 
one  goes  on  foot.  The  children  are  perfect 
imps  on  horseback.  Among  them  was  one  so 
young  that  he  could  not  yet  speak.  He  was 
tied  on  a  colt  of  two  years  old,  but  managed 
the  reins  as  if  by  instinct,  and  plied  the  whip 
with  true  Indian  prodigality.  Mr.  Hunt  in- 
quired the  age  of  this  infant  jockey,  and  was 
answered  that  "  he  had  seen  two  winters." 

This  is  almost  realizing  the  fable  of  the  cen- 
taurs ;  nor  can  we  wonder  at  the  equestrian 
adroitness  of  these  savages,  who  are  thus  in 
a  manner  cradled  in  the  saddle,  and  become 
in  infancy  almost  identified  with  the  animal 
they  bestride. 

The  mountain  defiles  were  exceedingly 
rough  and  broken,  and  the  travelling  painful 
to  the  burdened  horses.  The  party,  therefore, 


IReturn  of  tbe  Stragglers  371 

proceeded  but  slowly,  and  were  gradually  left 
behind  by  the  band  of  Crows,  who  had  taken 
the  lead.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  Mr. 
Hunt  loitered  in  his  course,  to  get  rid  of  such 
doubtful  fellow-travellers.  Certain  it  is  that 
he  felt  a  sensation  of  relief  as  he  saw  the 
whole  crew,  the  renegade  Rose  and  all,  disap- 
pear among  the  windings  of  the  mountain, 
and  heard  the  last  yelp  of  the  savages  die 
away  in  the  distance. 

When  they  were  fairly  out  of  sight,  and  out 
of  hearing,  he  encamped  on  the  head-waters 
of  the  little  stream  of  the  preceding  day,  hav- 
ing come  about  sixteen  miles.  Here  he  re- 
mained all  the  succeeding  day,  as  well  to  give 
time  for  the  Crows  to  get  in  advance,  as  for 
the  stragglers,  who  had  wandered  away  in 
quest  of  water  two  days  previously,  to  rejoin 
the  camp.  Indeed,  considerable  uneasiness 
began  to  be  felt  concerning  these  men,  lest 
they  should  become  utterly  bewildered  in  the 
defiles  of  the  mountains,  or  should  fall  into 
the  hands  of  some  marauding  band  of  savages. 
Some  of  the  most  experienced  hunters  were 
sent  in  search  of  them ;  others,  in  the  mean- 
time, employed  themselves  in  hunting.  The 
narrow  valley  in  which  they  encamped  being 
watered  by  a  running  stream,  yielded  fresh 
pasturage,  and  though  in  the  heart  of  the 


372 


Bstocia 


Bighorn  Mountains,  was  well  stocked  with 
buffalo.  Several  of  these  were  killed,  as  also 
a  grizzly  bear.  In  the  evening,  to  the  satis- 
faction of  all  parties,  the  stragglers  made  their 
appearance,  and  provisions  being  in  abundance, 
there  was  hearty  good  cheer  in  the  camp. 


Cbaptet  £ f  1Ff . 

Mountain  Glens — Anecdotes  of  Shoshonies  and  Flat- 
heads — Root  Diggers — Wind  River — Scarcity  of 
Food — The  Pilot  Knobs  or  Tetons — Branch  of  the 
Colorado — Hunting  Camp. 

RESUMING  their  course  on  the  following 
morning,  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  companions 
continued  on  westward  through  a  rug- 
ged region  of  hills  and  rocks,  but  di- 
versified in  many  places  by  grassy  little  glens, 
with  springs  of  water,  bright  sparkling  brooks, 
clumps    of   pine   trees,    and   a    profusion    of 
flowering  plants,  which  were  in  bloom,   al- 
though the  weather  was  frosty.     These  beau- 
tiful and  verdant  recesses,  running  through  and 
softening  the  rugged  mountains,  were  cheering 
and  refreshing  to  the  way-worn  travellers. 

In  the  course  of  the  morning,  as  they  were 

entangled  in  a  defile,  they  beheld  a  small  band 

of  savages,  as  wild-looking  as  the  surrounding 

scenery,  who  reconnoitred  them  warily  from 

373 


374  Bstoria 


the  rocks  before  they  ventured  to  advance. 
Some  of  them  were  mounted  on  horses  rudely 
caparisoned  with  bridles  or  halters  of  buffalo 
hide,  one  end  trailing  after  them  on  the  ground. 
They  proved  to  be  a  mixed  party  of  Flatheads 
and  Shoshonies,  or  Snakes  ;  and  as  these  tribes 
will  be  frequently  mentioned  in  the  course  of 
this  work,  we  shall  give  a  few  introductory 
particulars  concerning  them. 

The  Flatheads  in  question  are  not  to  be 
confounded  with  those  of  the  name  who  dwell 
about  the  lower  waters  of  the  Columbia ; 
neither  do  they  flatten  their  heads,  as  the 
others  do.  They  inhabit  the  banks  of  a  river 
on  the  west  side  of  the  mountains,  and  are 
described  as  simple,  honest,  and  hospitable. 
I^ike  all  people  of  similar  character,  whether 
civilized  or  savage,  they  are  prone  to  be  im- 
posed upon  ;  and  are  especially  maltreated  by 
the  ruthless  Blackfeet,  who  harass  them  in 
their  villages,  steal  their  horses  by  night,  or 
openly  carry  them  off  in  the  face  of  day, 
without  provoking  pursuit  or  retaliation. 

The  Shoshonies  are  a  branch  of  the  once 
powerful  and  prosperous  tribe  of  the  Snakes, 
who  possessed  a  glorious  hunting  country  about 
the  upper  forks  of  the  Missouri,  abounding  in 
beaver  and  buffalo.  Their  hunting  ground 
was  occasionally  invaded  by  the  Blackfeet,  but 


Cbe  Sbosbonies  and  Sbucfcerg          375 

the  Snakes  battled  bravely  for  their  domains, 
and  a  long  and  bloody  feud  existed,  with  vari- 
able success.  At  length  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  extending  their  trade  into  the  in- 
terior, had  dealings  with  the  Blackfeet,  who 
were  nearest  to  them,  and  supplied  them  with 
fire-arms.  The  Snakes,  who  occasionally 
traded  with  the  Spaniards,  endeavored,  but  in 
vain,  to  obtain  similar  weapons  ;  the  Spanish 
traders  wisely  refused  to  arm  them  so  for- 
midably. The  Blackfeet  had  now  a  vast  advan- 
tage, and  soon  dispossessed  the  poor  Snakes 
of  their  favorite  hunting  grounds,  their  land 
of  plenty,  and  drove  them  from  place  to  place, 
until  they  were  fain  to  take  refuge  in  the  wild- 
est and  most  desolate  recesses  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Kven  here  they  are  subject  to 
occasional  visits  from  their  implacable  foes,  as 
long  as  they  have  horses,  or  any  other  property 
to  tempt  the  plunderer.  Thus,  by  degrees, 
the  Snakes  have  become  a  scattered,  broken- 
spirited,  impoverished  people  ;  keeping  about 
lonely  rivers  and  mountain  streams,  and  sub- 
sisting chiefly  upon  fish.  Such  of  them  as 
still  possess  horses,  and  occasionally  figure  as 
hunters,  are  called  Shoshonies  ;  but  there  is 
another  class,  the  most  abject  and  forlorn,  who 
are  called  Shuckers,  or  more  commonly  Dig- 
gers and  Root  Eaters.  These  are  a  shy,  secret, 


376  Bstoria 


solitary  race,  who  keep  in  the  most  retired 
parts  of  the  mountains,  lurking  like  gnomes 
in  caverns  and  clefts  of  the  rocks,  and  subsist- 
ing in  a  great  measure  on  the  roots  of  the  earth. 
Sometimes,  in  passing  through  a  solitary  moun- 
tain valley,  the  traveller  comes  perchance  upon 
the  bleeding  carcass  of  a  deer  or  buffalo  that 
has  just  been  slain.  He  looks  round  in  vain 
for  the  hunter  ;  the  whole  landscape  is  lifeless 
and  deserted  ;  at  length  he  perceives  a  thread 
of  smoke,  curling  up  from  among  the  crags 
and  cliffs,  and  scrambling  to  the  place,  finds 
some  forlorn  and  skulking  brood  of  Diggers, 
terrified  at  being  discovered. 

The  Shoshonies,  however,  who,  as  has  been 
observed,  have  still  ' '  horse  to  ride  and  weapon 
to  wear,"  are  somewhat  bolder  in  their  spirit, 
and  more  open  and  wide  in  their  wanderings. 
In  the  autumn,  when  salmon  disappear  from 
the  rivers,  and  hunger  begins  to  pinch,  they 
even  venture  down  in  their  ancient  hunting 
grounds,  to  make  a  foray  among  the  buffaloes. 
In  this  perilous  enterprise  they  are  occasionally 
joined  by  the  Flatheads,  the  persecutions  of 
the  Blackfeet  having  produced  a  close  alliance 
and  co-operation  between  these  luckless  and 
maltreated  tribes.  Still,  notwithstanding  their 
united  force,  every  step  they  take  within  the 
debatable  ground  is  taken  in  fear  and  trem- 


Bread  ot  tbc  JSIacftfcet  377 

bling,  and  with  the  utmost  precaution  ;  and  an 
Indian  trader  assures  us  that  he  has  seen  at 
least  five  hundred  of  them,  armed  and  equipped 
for  action,  and  keeping  watch  upon  the  hill- 
tops, while  about  fifty  were  hunting  in  the 
prairie.  Their  excursions  are  brief  and  hur- 
ried ;  as  soon  as  they  have  collected  and  jerked 
sufficient  buffalo  meat  for  winter  provisions, 
they  pack  their  horses,  abandon  the  dangerous 
hunting  grounds,  and  hasten  back  to  the 
mountains,  happy  if  they  have  not  the  terrible 
Blackfeet  rattling  after  them. 

Such  a  confederate  band  of  Shoshonies  and 
Flatheads  was  the  one  met  by  our  travellers. 
It  was  bound  on  a  visit  to  the  Arrapahoes,  a 
tribe  inhabiting  the  banks  of  the  Nebraska. 
They  were  armed  to  the  best  of  their  scanty 
means,  and  some  of  the  Shoshonies  had  buck- 
lers of  buffalo  hide,  adorned  with  feathers  and 
leathern  fringes,  and  which  have  a  charmed 
virtue  in  their  eyes,  from  having  been  prepared, 
with  mystic  ceremonies,  by  their  conjurers. 

In  company  with  this  wandering  band  our 
travellers  proceeded  all  day.  In  the  evening 
they  encamped  near  to  each  other  in  a  defile 
of  the  mountains,  on  the  borders  of  a  stream 
running  north,  and  falling  into  Bighorn  River, 
In  the  vicinity  of  the  camp,  they  found  goose- 
berries, strawberries,  and  currants,  in  great 


378  Bstorfa 


abundance.  The  defile  bore  traces  of  having 
been  a  throughfare  for  countless  herds  of  buf- 
faloes, though  not  one  was  to  be  seen.  The 
hunters  succeeded  in  killing  an  elk  and  several 
black-tailed  deer. 

They  were  now  in  the  bosom  of  the  second 
Bighorn  ridge,  with  another  lofty  and  snow- 
crowned  mountain  full  in  view  to  the  west. 
Fifteen  miles  of  western  course  brought  them, 
on  the  following  day,  down  into  an  intervening 
plain,  well  stocked  with  buffalo.  Here  the 
Snakes  and  Flatheads  joined  with  the  white 
hunters  in  a  successful  hunt,  that  soon  filled 
the  camp  with  provisions. 

On  the  morning  of  the  gth  of  September,  the 
travellers  parted  company  with  their  Indian 
friends,  and  continued  on  their  course  to  the 
west.  A  march  of  thirty  miles  brought  them, 
in  the  evening,  to  the  banks  of  a  rapid  and 
beautifully  clear  stream  about  a  hundred  yards 
wide.  It  is  the  north  fork  or  branch  of  the 
Bighorn  River,  but  bears  its  peculiar  name  of 
the  Wind  River,  from  being  subject  in  the 
winter  seasons  to  a  continued  blast  which 
sweeps  its  banks  and  prevents  the  snow  from 
lying  on  them.  This  blast  is  said  to  be  caused 
by  a  narrow  gap  or  funnel  in  the  mountains, 
through  which  the  river  forces  its  way  between 
perpendicular  precipices,  resembling  cut  rocks. 


MinD  TRivcr  379 


This  river  gives  its  name  to  a  whole  range 
of  mountains  consisting  of  three  parallel  chains, 
eighty  miles  in  length,  and  about  twenty  or 
twenty-five  broad.  One  of  its  peaks  is  proba- 
bly fifteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  being  one  of  the  highest  of  the  Rocky 
Sierra.  These  mountains  give  rise,  not  merely 
to  the  Wind  or  Bighorn  River,  but  to  several 
branches  of  the  Yellowstone  and  the  Missouri 
on  the  east,  and  of  the  Columbia  and  Colorado 
on  the  west ;  thus  dividing  the  sources  of  these 
mighty  streams. 

For  five  succeeding  days,  Mr.  Hunt  and  his 
party  continued  up  the  course  of  the  Wind 
River,  to  the  distance  of  about  eighty  miles, 
crossing  and  recrossing  it,  according  to  its 
windings,  and  the  nature  of  its  banks  ;  some- 
times passing  through  valleys,  at  other  times 
scrambling  over  rocks  and  hills.  The  country 
in  general  was  destitute  of  trees,  but  they 
passed  through  groves  of  worm- wood,  eight 
and  ten  feet  in  height,  which  they  used  occa- 
sionally for  fuel,  and  they  met  with  large  quan- 
tities of  wild  flax. 

The  mountains  were  destitute  of  game  ;  they 
came  in  sight  of  two  grizzly  bears,  but  could 
not  get  near  enough  for  a  shot  ;  provisions, 
therefore,  began  to  be  scanty.  They  saw  large 
flights  of  the  kind  of  thrush  commonly  called 


the  robin,  and  many  smaller  birds  of  migratory 
species ;  but  the  hills  in  general  appeared  lonely 
and  with  few  signs  of  animal  life.  On  the 
evening  of  the  i4th  September,  they  encamped 
on  the  forks  of  the  Wind  or  Bighorn  River. 
The  largest  of  these  forks  came  from  the  range 
of  Wind  River  Mountains. 

The  hunters,  who  served  as  guides  to  the 
party  in  this  part  of  their  route,  had  assured 
Mr.  Hunt  that,  by  following  up  Wind  River, 
and  crossing  a  single  mountain  ridge,  he  would 
come  upon  the  head- waters  of  the  Columbia. 
This  scarcity  of  game,  however,  which  already 
had  been  felt  to  a  pinching  degree,  and  which 
threatened  them  with  famine  among  the  sterile 
heights  which  lay  before  them,  admonished 
them  to  change  their  course.  It  was  deter- 
mined, therefore,  to  make  for  a  stream,  which 
they  were  informed  passed  the  neighboring 
mountains,  to  the  south  of  west,  on  the  grassy 
banks  of  which  it  was  probable  they  would 
meet  with  buffalo.  Accordingly,  about  three 
o'clock  on  the  following  day,  meeting  with  a 
beaten  Indian  road  which  led  in  the  proper 
direction,  they  struck  into  it,  turning  their 
backs  upon  Wind  River. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  they  came  to  a 
height  that  commanded  an  almost  boundless 
prospect.  Here  one  of  the  guides  paused,  and, 


jf  irst  Xanfcmarfcs  of  tbc  Columbia       381 

after  considering  the  vast  landscape  attentively, 
pointed  to  three  mountain  peaks  glistening 
with  snow,  which  rose,  he  said,  above  a  fork 
of  Columbia  River.  They  were  hailed  by  the 
travellers  with  that  joy  with  which  a  beacon  on 
a  sea-shore  is  hailed  by  mariners  after  a  long 
and  dangerous  voyage.  It  is  true  there  was 
many  a  weary  league  to  be  traversed  before 
they  should  reach  these  landmarks,  for,  allow- 
ing for  their  evident  height  and  the  extreme 
transparency  of  the  atmosphere,  they  could 
not  be  much  less  than  a  hundred  miles  distant. 
Kven  after  reaching  them,  there  would  yet  re- 
main hundreds  of  miles  of  their  journey  to  be 
accomplished.  All  these  matters  were  forgotten 
in  the  joy  at  seeing  the  first  landmarks  of  the 
Columbia,  that  river  which  formed  the  bourne 
of  the  expedition.  These  remarkable  peaks 
were  known  as  the  Tetons  ;  as  guiding  points 
for  many  days,  to  Mr.  Hunt,  he  gave  them  the 
names  of  the  Pilot  Knobs. 

The  travellers  continued  their  course  to  the 
south  of  west  for  about  forty  miles,  through  a 
region  so  elevated  that  patches  of  snow  lay  on 
the  highest  summits  and  on  the  northern  de- 
clivities. At  length  they  came  to  the  desired 
stream,  the  object  of  their  search,  the  waters  of 
which  flowed  to  the  west.  It  was,  in  fact,  a 
branch  of  the  Colorado,  which  falls  info  the 


382  B0toria 


Gulf  of  California,  and  had  received  from  the 
hunters  the  name  of  Spanish  River,  from  in- 
formation given  by  the  Indians  that  Spaniards 
resided  upon  its  lower  waters. 

The  aspect  of  this  river  and  its  vicinity  was 
cheering  to  the  way-worn  and  hungry  travellers. 
Its  banks  were  green,  and  there  were  grassy 
valleys  running  from  it  in  various  directions, 
into  the  heart  of  the  rugged  mountains,  with 
herds  of  buffalo  quietly  grazing.  The  hunters 
sallied  forth  with  keen  alacrity,  and  soon  re- 
turned laden  with  provisions. 

In  this  part  of  the  mountains  Mr.  Hunt  met 
with  three  different  kinds  of  gooseberries.  The 
common  purple,  on  a  low  and  very  thorny 
bush  ;  a  yellow  kind,  of  an  excellent  flavor, 
growing  on  a  stock  free  from  thorns  ;  and  a 
deep  purple,  of  the  size  and  taste  of  our  winter 
grape,  with  a  thorny  stalk.  There  were  also 
three  kinds  of  currants,  one  very  large  and 
well  tasted,  of  a  purple  color,  and  growing  on 
a  bush  eight  or  nine  feet  high.  Another  of  a 
yellow  color,  and  of  the  size  and  taste  of  the 
large  red  currant,  the  bush  four  or  five  feet 
high  ;  and  the  third  a  beautiful  scarlet,  resem- 
bling the  strawberry  in  sweetness,  though 
rather  insipid,  and  growing  on  a  low  bush. 

On  the  i  yth  they  continued  down  the  course 
of  the  river,  making  fifteen  miles  to  the  south- 


•fcuntfng  anD  "Resting  383 


west.  The  river  abounded  with  geese  and 
ducks,  and  there  were  signs  of  its  being  in- 
habited by  beaver  and  otters  ;  indeed,  they  were 
now  approaching  regions  where  these  animals, 
the  great  objects  of  the  fur  trade,  are  said  to 
abound.  They  encamped  for  the  night  oppo- 
site the  end  of  a  mountain  in  the  west,  which 
was  probably  the  last  chain  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  On  the  following  morning  they 
abandoned  the  main  course  of  the  Spanish 
River,  and  taking  a  northwest  direction  for 
eight  miles,  came  upon  one  of  its  little  tribu- 
taries, issuing  out  of  the  bosom  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  running  through  green  meadows, 
yielding  pasturage  to  herds  of  buffalo.  As 
these  were  probably  the  last  of  that  animal 
they  would  meet  with,  they  encamped  on  the 
grassy  banks  of  the  river,  determined  to  spend 
several  days  in  hunting,  so  as  to  be  able  to  jerk 
sufficient  meat  to  supply  them  until  they  should 
reach  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  where  they 
trusted  to  find  fish  enough  for  their  support. 
A  little  repose,  too,  was  necessary  for  both  men 
and  horses,  after  their  rugged  and  incessant 
marching  ;  having,  in  the  course  of  the  last 
seventeen  days,  traversed  two  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  of  rough,  and  in  many  parts  sterile, 
mountain  country. 


Cbapter 


A  Plentiful  Hunting  Camp  —  Shoshonie  Hunters  — 
Hoback's  River  —  Mad  River  —  Encampment  Near 
the  Pilot  Knobs  —  Preparations  for  a  Perilous  Voy- 
age. 

FIVE  days  were  passed  by  Mr.  Hunt  and 
his  companions  in  the  fresh  meadows 
watered  by  the  bright  little  mountain 
stream.  The  hunters  made  great  havoc 
among  the  buffaloes,  and  brought  in  quanti- 
ties of  meat  ;  the  voyageurs  busied  themselves 
about  the  fires,  roasting  and  stewing  for  present 
purposes,  or  drying  provisions  for  the  journey  ; 
the  pack-horses,  eased  of  their  burdens,  rolled 
on  the  grass,  or  grazed  at  large  about  the 
ample  pastures  ;  those  of  the  party  who  had 
no  call  upon  their  services,  indulged  in  the 
luxury  of  perfect  relaxation,  and  the  camp 
presented  a  picture  of  rude  feasting  and  revelry, 
of  mingled  bustle  and  repose,  characteristic  of 
a  halt  in  a  fine  hunting  country.  In  the  course 


B  1RIUID  fountain  Scene  385 

of  one  of  their  excursions,  some  of  the  men 
came  in  sight  of  a  small  party  of  Indians,  who 
instantly  fled  in  great  apparent  consternation. 
They  immediately  returned  to  camp  with  the 
intelligence,  upon  which  Mr.  Hunt  and  four 
others  flung  themselves  upon  their  horses,  and 
sallied  forth  to  reconnoitre.  After  riding  for 
about  eight  miles,  they  came  upon  a  wild 
mountain  scene .  A  lonely  green  valley  stretched 
before  them,  surrounded  by  rugged  heights; 
A  herd  of  buffalo  were  careering  madly  through 
it,  with  a  troop  of  savage  horsemen  in  full 
chase,  plying  them  with  their  bows  and  arrows. 
The  appearance  of  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  compan- 
ions put  an  abrupt  end  to  the  hunt ;  the  buffalo 
scuttled  off  in  one  direction,  while  the  Indians 
plied  their  lashes  and  galloped  off  in  another, 
as  fast  as  their  steeds  could  carry  them.  Mr. 
Hunt  gave  chase  ;  there  was  a  sharp  scamper, 
though  of  short  continuance.  Two  young  In- 
dians, who  were  indifferently  mounted,  were 
soon  overtaken.  They  were  terribly  frightened, 
and  evidently  gave  themselves  up  for  lost. 
By  degrees  their  fears  were  allayed  by  kind 
treatment ;  but  they  continued  to  regard  the 
strangers  with  a  mixture  of  awe  and  wonder, 
for  it  was  the  first  time  in  their  lives  they  had 
ever  seen  a  white  man. 

They  belonged  to  a  party  of  Snakes  who  had 

VOL.    I. — 25 


386  Hstorta 


come  across  the  mountains  on  their  autumnal 
hunting  excursion  to  provide  buffalo  meat  for 
the  winter.  Being  persuaded  of  the  peaceable  in- 
tentions of  Mr.  Hunt  and  his  companions,  they 
willingly  conducted  them  to  their  camp.  It  was 
pitched  in  a  narrow  valley  on  the  margin  of  a 
stream.  The  tents  were  of  dressed  skins,  some 
of  them  fantastically  painted  ;  with  horses  graz- 
ing about  them.  The  approach  of  the  party 
caused  a  transient  alarm  in  the  camp,  for  these 
poor  Indians  were  ever  on  the  look-out  for  cruel 
foes.  No  sooner,  however,  did  they  recognize 
the  garb  and  complexion  of  their  visitors,  than 
their  apprehensions  were  changed  into  joy  ;  for 
some  of  them  had  dealt  with  white  men,  and 
knew  them  to  be  friendly,  and  to  abound  with 
articles  of  singular  value.  They  welcomed  them, 
therefore,  to  their  tents,  set  food  before  them ; 
and  entertained  them  to  the  best  of  their  power. 
They  had  been  successful  in  their  hunt,  and 
their  camp  was  full  of  jerked  buffalo  meat,  all 
of  the  choicest  kind,  and  extremely  fat.  Mr. 
Hunt  purchased  enough  of  them,  in  addition 
to  what  had  been  killed  and  cured  by  his  own 
hunters,  to  load  all  the  horses  excepting  those 
reserved  for  the  partners  and  the  wife  of  Pierre 
Dorion.  He  found,  also,  a  few  beaver  skins  in 
camp,  for  which  he  paid  liberally,  as  an  induce- 
ment to  them  to  hunt  for  more  ;  informing 


tbe  Columbia          387 


them  that  some  of  his  party  intended  to  live 
among  the  mountains,  and  trade  with  the  native 
hunters  for  their  peltries.  The  poor  Snakes 
soon  comprehended  the  advantages  thus  held 
out  to  them,  and  promised  to  exert  themselves 
to  procure  a  quantity  of  beaver  skins  for  future 
traffic. 

Being  now  well  supplied  with  provisions, 
Mr.  Hunt  broke  up  his  encampment  on  the 
24th  of  September,  and  continued  on  to  the 
west.  A  march  of  fifteen  miles,  over  a  moun- 
tain ridge,  brought  them  to  a  stream  about 
fifty  feet  in  width,  which  Hoback,  one  of  their 
guides,  who  had  trapped  about  the  neighbor- 
hood when  in  the  service  of  Mr.  Henry,  re- 
cognized for  one  of  the  head-waters  of  the 
Columbia.  The  travellers  hailed  it  with  de- 
light, as  the  first  stream  they  had  encountered 
tending  toward  their  point  of  destination. 
They  kept  along  it  for  two  days,  during  which, 
from  the  contribution  of  many  rills  and  brooks, 
it  gradually  swelled  into  a  small  river.  As  it 
meandered  among  rocks  and  precipices,  they 
were  frequently  obliged  to  ford  it,  and  such  was 
its  rapidity,  that  the  men  were  often  in  danger 
of  being  swept  away.  Sometimes  the  banks 
advanced  so  close  upon  the  river,  that  they 
were  obliged  to  scramble  up  and  down  their 
rugged  promontories,  or  to  skirt  along  their 


388  Bdtoria 


bases  where  there  was  scarce  a  foothold. 
Their  horses  had  dangerous  falls  in  some  of 
these  passes.  One  of  them  rolled,  with  his 
load,  nearly  two  hundred  feet  down  hill  into 
the  river,  but  without  receiving  any  injury. 
At  length  they  emerged  from  these  stupendous 
defiles,  and  continued  for  several  miles  along 
the  bank  of  Hoback's  River,  through  one  of 
the  stern  mountain  valleys.  Here  it  was 
joined  by  a  river  of  greater  magnitude  and 
swifter  current,  and  their  united  waters  swept 
off  through  the  valley  in  one  impetuous  stream, 
which,  from  its  rapidity  and  turbulence,  had 
received  the  name  of  the  Mad  River.  At  the 
confluence  of  these  streams  the  travellers  en- 
camped. An  important  point  in  their  arduous 
journey  had  been  attained.  A  few  miles  from 
their  camp  rose  the  three  vast  snowy  peaks 
called  the  Tetons,  or  the  Pilot  Knobs,  the 
great  land-marks  of  the  Columbia,  by  which 
they  had  shaped  their  course  through  this 
mountain  wilderness.  By  their  feet  flowed  the 
rapid  current  of  Mad  River,  a  stream  ample 
enough  to  admit  of  the  navigation  of  canoes, 
and  down  which  they  might  possibly  be  able 
to  steer  their  course  to  the  main  body  of  the 
Columbia.  The  Canadian  voyageurs  rejoiced 
at  the  idea  of  once  more  launching  themselves 
upon  their  favorite  element ;  of  exchanging 


anoisT  ea-irfT 


**s    scarce    a    foothold. 

erous  falls  in  some  of 

ueni   rolled,    with  his 

Ired  feet  down  hill  into 

ut  rev-diving  any   injury. 

ged  from  these  stupendous 

,'d  for  several  miles  along 

'^          vr,  through  one  of 

the    si-  tain  .     Here    it  was 

join  r  magnitude  and 

swiO  ted  waters  swept 

The  three  TetoH^OUSstream' 

Draw.  bvC.HarrvKato^«le^.  ^d 

At  the 

i  few  miles  from 

-nowy  peaks 

Knobs,   the 

f>ia,  by  which 

through   this 

By  their  feet  flowed  the 

Slad  River,  a  stream  ample 

vn  of  canoes, 

ighl   possibly  be  able 

tost  th<          n  body  of  the 

?dian  voyageurs  rejoiced 

*be  i  launching  themselves 

of  exchanging 


i 


pleasing  anticipations  389 

their  horses  for  canoes,  and  of  gliding  down 
the  bosom  of  rivers,  instead  of  scrambling 
over  the  backs  of  the  mountains.  Others 
of  the  party,  also,  inexperienced  in  this  kind 
of  travelling,  considered  their  toils  and  troubles 
as  drawing  to  a  close.  They  had  conquered 
the  chief  difficulties  of  this  great  rocky  barrier, 
and  now  flattered  themselves  with  the  hope  of 
any  easy  downward  course  for  the  rest  of  their 
journey.  Little  did  they  dream  of  the  hard- 
ships and  perils  by  land  and  water,  which  were 
yet  to  be  encountered  in  the  frightful  wilder- 
ness that  intervened  between  them  and  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  ! 


END  OF  VOLUME;  i. 


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