[page 80, unnumbered:] |
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—————
 AFTER
the
death of my father, and both sisters, I took no farther interest in our
plantation at the Point, and sold it, at a complete sacrifice, to M.
Junôt. I had often thought of trapping up the Missouri, and
resolved now to go
on an expedition up that river, and try to procure peltries, which I
was
sure of being able to sell at Petite Côte to the private
agents
of the Northwest Fur Company. I believed that much more property
might be acquired in this way, with a little enterprise and courage,
than
I could make by any other means. I had always been fond, too, of
hunting and trapping, although I had never made a business of either,
and
I had a great desire to explore some portion of our western country,
about
which Pierre Junôt had often spoken to me. He was the
eldest
son of the neighbor who bought me out, and was a man of strange manners
and somewhat eccentric turn of mind, but still one of the best-hearted
fellows in the world, and certainly as courageous a man as ever drew
breath,
although of no great bodily strength. He was of Canadian descent,
and having gone, once or twice, on short excursions for the Fur
Company,
in which he had acted as voyageur, was fond of calling himself
one,
and of talking about his trips. My father had been very fond of
Pierre,
and I thought a good deal of him myself; he was a great favorite, too,
with my younger sister, Jane, and I believe they would have been
married
had it been God's will to have spared her. When Pierre discovered that I had not
entirely
made
up my mind what course to pursue after my father's death, he urged me
to
fit out a small expedition for the river, in which he would accompany
me;
and he had no difficulty in bringing me over to his wishes. We
agreed
to push up the Missouri as long as we found it possible, hunting and
trapping
as we went, and not to return until we had secured as many peltries as
would be a fortune for us both. His father made no objection, and
gave him about three hundred dollars; when we proceeded to Petite
Côte
for the purpose of getting our equipments, and raising as many men as
we
could for the voyage. Petite Côte* is a small
place on
the
north bank of the Missouri, about twenty miles from its junction with
the
Mississippi. It lies at the foot of a range of low hills, and
upon
a sort of ledge, high enough above the river to be out of reach of the
June freshets. There are not more than five or six houses, and
these
of wood, in the upper part of the place; but, nearer to the east, there
is a chapel and twelve or fifteen good dwellings, running parrallel
with
the river. There are about a hundred inhabitants, mostly Creoles
of Canadian descent. They are extremely indolent, and make no
attempt
at cultivating the country around them, which is a rich soil; except
now
and then when a little is done in the way of gardening. They live
principally by hunting, and trading with the Indians for peltries,
which
they sell again to the North-West Company's agents. We expected
to
meet with no difficulty here in getting recruits for our journey, or
equipments,
but were disappointed in both particulars; for the place was too poor
in
every respect to furnish all that we wanted, so as to render our voyage
safe and efficient. We designed to pass through the heart
of a
country
infested with Indian tribes, of whom we knew nothing except by vague
report,
and whom we had every reason to believe ferocious and
treacherous. It was therefore particularly necessary that we should go
well provided
with arms and ammunition, as well as in some force as regards numbers;
and if our voyage was to be a source of profit, we must take with us
canoes
of sufficient capacity to bring home what peltries we might
collect. It was the middle of March when we first reached Petite
Côte,
and we did not succeed in getting ready until the last of May. We
had to send twice down the river to the Point for men and supplies, and
neither could be obtained except at great cost. We should have
failed
at last in getting many things absolutely requisite, if it had not so
happened
that Pierre met with a party on its return from a trip up the
Mississippi,
and engaged six of its best men, besides a canoe or piroque;
purchasing,
at the same time, most of the surplus stores and ammunition. This seasonable aid enabled us to get
fairly
ready
for the voyage before the first of June. On the third of this
month
(1791) we bid adieu to our friends at Petite Côte [[Petite
Côte]], and
started
on our expedition. Our party consisted in all of fifteen
persons. Of these, five were Canadians from Petite Côte [[Petite
Côte]],
and had
all
been on short excursions up the river. They were good boatmen,
and
excellent companions, as far as singing French songs went, and
drinking,
at which they were pre-eminent; although, in truth, it was a rare thing
to see any of them so far the worse for liquor, as to be incapable of
attending
to duty. They were always in a good humor, and always ready to
work;
but as hunters I did not think them worth much, and as fighting men I
soon
discovered they were not to be depended [page 81:] upon. There
were two of
these
five Canadians who engaged to act as interpreters for the first five or
six hundred miles up the river (should we proceed so far) and then we
hoped
to procure an Indian occasionally to interpret, should it be necessary;
but we had resolved to avoid, as far as possible, any meetings with the
Indians, and rather to trap ourselves, than run the great risk of
trading,
with so small a party as we numbered. It was our policy to
proceed
with the greatest caution, and expose ourselves to notice only when we
could not avoid it. The six men whom Pierre had engaged
from aboard
the
return Mississippi boat were as different a set from the Canadians as
could
well be imagined. Five of them were brothers, by the name of
Greely
(John, Robert, Meredith, Frank, and Poindexter) and bolder or finer
looking
persons it would have been difficult to find. John Greely was the
eldest and stoutest of the five, and had the reputation of being the
strongest
man, as well as best shot in Kentucky — from which State they all
came. He was full six feet in height, and of most extraordinary breadth
across
the shoulders, with large strongly-knit limbs. Like most men of
great
physical strength, he was exceedingly good-tempered, and on this
account
was greatly beloved by us all. The other four brothers were all
strong
well-built men, too, although not to be compared with John. Poindexter
was as tall, but very gaunt, and of a singularly fierce appearance;
but,
like his elder brother, he was of peaceable demeanor. All of them
were experienced hunters and capital shots. They had gladly
accepted
Pierre's offer to go with us, and we made an arrangement with them
which
ensured them an equal share with Pierre and myself in the profits of
the
enterprise — that is to say, we divided the proceeds into three parts;
one of which was to be mine, one Pierre's, and one shared among the
five
brothers. The sixth man whom we enlisted from
the return
boat
was, also, a good recruit. His name was Alexander Wormley, a
Virginian,
and a very strange character. He had originally been a preacher
of
the gospel, and had afterwards fancied himself a prophet, going about
the
country with a long beard and hair, and in his bare feet, haranguing
every
one he met. This hallucination was now diverted into another
channel,
and he thought of nothing else than of finding gold mines in some of
the
fastnesses of the country. Upon this subject he was as entirely
mad
as any man could well be; but upon all others was remarkably sensible
and
even acute. He was a good boatman and a good hunter, and as brave
a fellow as ever stepped, besides being of great bodily strength and
swiftness
of foot. I counted much upon this recruit, on account of his
enthusiastic
character, and in the end I was not deceived, as will appear. Our other two recruits were a negro
belonging to
Pierre Junôt, named Toby, and a stranger whom we had picked up in
the woods near Mills' Point, and who joined our expedition upon the
instant
as soon as we mentioned our design. His name was Andrew Thornton,
also a Virginian, and I believe of excellent family, belonging to the
Thorntons
of the northern part of the State. He had been from Virginia
about
three years; during the whole of which time he had been rambling about
the
western country, with no other companion than a large dog of the
Newfoundland
species. He had collected no peltries, and did not seem to have
any
object in view, more than the gratification of a roving and adventurous
propensity. He frequently amused us, when sitting around our camp
fires at night, with the relation of his adventures and hardships in
the
wilderness — recounting them with a strait-forward earnestness which
left
us no room to doubt their truth; although indeed, many of them had a
marvellous
air. Experience afterwards taught us that the dangers and
difficulties
of the solitary hunter can scarcely be exaggerated, and that the real
task
is to depict them to the hearer in sufficiently distinct colors. I took
a great liking to Thornton, from the first hour in which I saw
him. I have only said a few words
respecting Toby; but
he was not the least important personage of our party. He had
been
in old M. Junôt's family for a great number of years, and had
proved
himself a faithful negro. He was rather too old to accompany such
an expedition as ours; but Pierre was not willing to leave him. He
was an able-bodied man, however, and still capable of enduring great
fatigue. Pierre himself was probably the feeblest of our whole company,
as
regards
bodily strength, but he possessed great sagacity, and a courage which
nothing
could daunt. His manners were sometimes extravagant and
boisterous,
which led him to get into frequent quarrels, and had once or twice
seriously
endangered the success of our expedition; but he was a true friend, and
in that one point I considered him invaluable. I have now given a brief account of
all our
party,
as it was when we left Petite Côte.*
To carry
ourselves
and accoutrements, as well as to bring home what peltries might be
obtained,
we had two large boats. The smallest of these was a piroque made
of birch bark, sewed together with the fibres of the roots of the
spruce
tree, the seams payed with pine resin, and the whole so light that six
men could carry it with case. It was twenty feet long, and could
be rowed with from four to twelve oars; [page 82:] drawing
about eighteen inches
water
when loaded to the gunwale, and, when empty, not more than ten. The
other was a keeb-oat which we had made at Petite Côte (the
canoe having been purchased by Pierre from the Mississippi party.) It
was
thirty feet long, and, when loaded to the gunwale, drew two feet
water. It had a deck for twenty feet of its length forward, forming a
cuddy-cabin,
with a strong door, and of sufficient dimensions to contain our whole
party
with close crowding, as the boat was very broad. This part of it
was bullet-proof, being wadded with oakum between two coatings of
oak-plank;
and in several positions we had small holes bored, through which we
could
have fired upon an enemy in case of attack, as well as observe their
movements;
these holes, at the same time, gave us air and light, when we closed
the
door; and we had secure plugs to fit them when necessary. The
remaining
ten feet of the length was open, and here we could use as many as six
oars
— but our main dependance was upon poles which we employed by walking
along
the deck. We had also a short mast, easily shipped and unshipped,
which was stepped about seven feet from the bow, and upon which we set
a large square sail when the wind was fair, taking in mast and all when
it was ahead. In a division made in the bow, under
deck, we
deposited
ten kegs of good powder, and as much lead as we considered
proportionate,
one tenth ready moulded in rifle bullets. We had also stowed away
here, a small brass cannon and carriage, dismounted and taken to
pieces,
so as to lie in little compass, thinking that such a means of defence
might
possibly come into play at some period of our expedition. This
cannon
was one of three which had been brought down the Missouri by the
Spaniards
two years previously, and lost overboard from a piroque, some miles
above Petite Côte. A sand-bar had so far
altered the
channel
at the place where the canoe capsized, that an Indian discovered one of
the guns, and procured assistance to carry it down to the settlement,
where
he sold it for a gallon of whiskey. The people at Petite
Côte
then went up and procured the other two. They were very small
guns,
but of good metal, and beautiful workmanship, being carved and
ornamented
with serpents like some of the French field pieces. Fifty iron
balls
were found with the guns, and these we procured. I mention the
way
in which we obtained this cannon, because it performed an important
part
in some of our operations, as will be found hereafter. Besides
it,
we had fifteen spare rifles, boxed up, and deposited forward with the
other
heavy goods. We put the weight here, to sink our bows well in the
water, which is the best method, on account of the snags and sawyers in
the river. In the way of other arms we were
sufficiently
provided;
each man having a stout hatchet, and knife, besides his ordinary rifle
and ammunition. Each boat was provided with a camp kettle, three
large axes, a towing-line, two oil-cloths to cover the goods when
necessary,
and two large sponges for bailing. The piroque had also a small
mast
and sail, (which I omitted to mention,) and carried a quantity of gum,
birch-bark and watape, to make repairs with. She, also, had in
charge
all the Indian goods which we had thought necessary to bring with us,
and
which we purchased from the Missisippi boat. It was not our
design
to trade with the Indians; but these goods were offered us at a low
rate,
and we thought it better to take them, as they might prove of
service. They consisted of silk and cotton handkerchiefs; thread, lines
and
twine;
hats, shoes, and hose; small cutlery and ironmongery; calicoes and
printed
cottons; Manchester goods; twist and carrot tobacco; milled blankets;
and
glass toys, beads, etc., etc. All these were done up in small
packages,
three of which were a man's load. The provisions were also put up
so as to be easily handled; and a part was deposited in each
boat. We had, altogether, two hundred weight of pork, six hundred
weight of
buiscuit [[biscuit]],
and six hundred weight of pemmican. This we had made at Petite
Côte, by the Canadians, who told us that it was used by the
Northwest
Fur Company in all their long voyages, when it is feared that game may
not
prove abundant. It is manufactured in a singular manner. The
lean parts of the flesh of the larger animals is cut into thin slices,
and placed on a wooden grate over a slow fire, or exposed to the sun,
(as
ours was) or sometimes to the frost. When it was sufficiently
dried
in this way, it is pounded between two heavy stones, and will then keep
for years. If, however, much of it is kept together, it ferments
upon the breaking up of the frost in the spring, and, if not well
exposed
to the air, soon decays. The inside fat, with that of the rump,
is
melted down and mixed, in a boiling state, with the pounded meat, half
and half; it is then squeezed into bags, and is ready to eat without
any
farther cooking, being very palatable without salt, or
vegetables. The best pemmican is made with the addition of marrow and
dried
berries,
and is a capital article of food.* Our
whiskey was in carboys, of
five gallons each, and we had twenty of these, a hundred gallons in
all. [page 83:] When every thing was well on board,
with our
whole
company, including Thornton's dog, we found that there was but little
room to spare, except in the big cabin, which we wished to preserve
free
of goods, as a sleeping place in bad weather; we had nothing in here
except
arms and ammunition, with some beaver-traps and a carpet of
bear-skins. Our crowded state suggested an expedient which ought to
have been
adopted
at all events; that of detaching four hunters from the party, to course
along the river banks, and keep us in game, as well as to act in
capacity
of scouts, to warn us of the approach of Indians. With this
object
we procured two good horses, giving one of them in charge of Robert and
Meredith Greely, who were to keep upon the south bank; and the other in
charge of Frank and Poindexter (Greely) who were to course along the
north
side. By means of the horses they could bring in what game was
shot. This arrangement relieved our boats
very
considerably,
lessening our number to eleven. In the small boat were two of the
men from Petite Côte, with Toby and Pierre
Junôt. In the large one were the Prophet (as we called him) or
Alexander
Wormley,
John Greely, Andrew Thornton, three of the Petite Côte
men,
and myself, with Thomton's dog. Our mode of proceeding was sometimes
with oars,
but
not generally; we most frequently pulled ourselves along by the limbs
of
trees on shore; or, where the ground permitted it, we used a tow-line,
which is the easiest way; some of us being on shore to haul, while some
remained on board, to set the boat off shore with poles. Very
often
we poled altogether. In this method, (which is a good one when
the
bottom is not too muddy, or full of quicksands, and when the depth of
water
is not too great) the Canadians are very expert, as well as at
rowing. They use long, stiff, and light poles, pointed with iron; with
these
they
proceed to the bow of the boat, an equal number of men at each side;
the
face is then turned to the stern, and the pole inserted in the river,
reaching
the bottom; a firm hold being thus taken, the boatmen apply the heads
of
the poles to the shoulder, which is protected by a cushion, and,
pushing
in this manner, while they walk along the gunwale, the boat is urged
forward
with great force. There is no necessity for any steersman, while
using the pole; for the poles direct the vessel with wonderful
accuracy. In these various modes of getting
along, now and
then varied with the necessity of wading, and dragging our vessels by
hand,
in rapid currents, or through shallow water, we commenced our eventful
voyage up the Missouri river. The skins which were considered as
the leading objects of the expedition were to be obtained, principally,
by hunting and trapping, as privately as possible, and without direct
trade
with the Indians, whom we had long learned to know as, in the main, a
treacherous
race, not to be dealt with safely in so small a party as ours. The
furs usually collected by previous adventurers upon our contemplated
route,
included beaver, otter, marten, lynx, mink, musquash, bear, fox,
kitt-fox,
wolverine, racoon, fisher, wolf, buffalo, deer, and elk; but we
proposed
to confine ourselves to the more costly kinds. The morning on which we set out from Petite
Côte was one of the most inspiring, and delicious; and
nothing could
exceed
the hilarity of our whole party. The summer had hardly yet
commenced,
and the wind, which blew a strong breeze against us, at first starting,
had all the voluptuous softness of spring. The sun shone clearly,
but with no great heat. The ice had disappeared from the river,
and
the current, which was pretty full, concealed all those marshy, and
ragged
alluvia which disfigure the borders of the Missouri at low water. It
had now the most majestic appearance, washing up among the willows
and
cotton-wood on one side, and rushing, with a bold volume, by the sharp
cliffs on the other. As I looked up the stream (which here
stretched
away to the westward, until the waters apparently met the sky in the
great
distance) and reflected on the immensity of territory through which
those
waters had probably passed, a territory as yet altogether unknown to
white
people, and perhaps abounding in the magnificent works of God, I felt
an
excitement of soul such as I had never before experienced, and secretly
resolved that it should be no slight obstacle which should prevent my
pushing
up this noble river farther than any previous adventurer had
done. At that moment I seemed possessed of an energy more than human;
and my
animal spirits rose to so high a degree that I could with difficulty
content
myself in the narrow limits of the boat. I longed to be with the
Greelys on the bank, that I might give full vent to the feelings which
inspired me, by leaping and running in the prairie. In these
feelings
Thornton participated strongly, evincing a deep interest in our
expedition,
and an admiration of the beautiful scenery around us, which rendered
him
from that moment a particular favorite with myself. I never, at
any
period of my life, felt so keenly as I then did, the want of some
friend
to whom I could converse freely, and without danger of being
misunderstood. The sudden loss of all my relatives by death, had
saddened, but not
depressed
my spirits, which appeared to seek relief in a contemplation of the
wild
scenes of Nature; and these scenes and the reflections which they
encouraged,
could not, I found, be thoroughly enjoyed, without the society of some
one person of reciprocal sentiments. Thornton was precisely the
kind
of individual to whom I could unburthen my full heart, and unburthen it
of all its extravagant emotion, without fear of incurring a shadow of
ridicule,
and even in the certainty of finding a listener as impassioned as
myself. I never, before or since, met with any one who so fully entered
into my
own notions respecting natural scenery; and this circumstance alone was
sufficient to bind him to me in a firm friendship. We were as
intimate,
during our whole expedition, as brothers could possibly be, and I took
no steps without consulting him. Pierre and myself were also
friends,
but there was not the tie of reciprocal [page 84:] thought
between us — that
strongest
of all mortal bonds. His nature, although sensitive, was too
volatile,
to comprehend all the devotional fervor of my own. The incidents of the first day of our
voyage had
nothing remarkable in them; except that we had some difficulty in
forcing
our way, towards nightfall, by the mouth of a large cave on the south
side
of the river. This cave had a very dismal appearance as we passed
it, being situated at the foot of a lofty bluff, full two hundred feet
high, and jutting somewhat over the stream. We could not
distinctly
perceive the depth of the cavern, but it was about sixteen or seventeen
feet high, and at least fifty in width.* The
current ran past it
with great velocity, and, as from the nature of the cliff, we could not
tow, it required the utmost exertion to make our way by it; which we at
length effected by getting all of us, with the exception of one man,
into
the large boat. This one remained in the piroque, and anchored it
below the cave. By uniting our force, then, in rowing, we brought
the large boat up beyond the difficult pass, paying out a line to the
piroque
as we proceeded, and by this line hauling it up after us, when we had
fairly
ascended. We passed, during the day, Bonhomme, and Osage Femme
Rivers,
with two small creeks, and several islands of little extent. We
made
about twenty-five miles, notwithstanding the head wind, and encamped at
night on the north bank, and at the foot of a rapid called Diable.
June the fourth. Early
this
morning,
Frank and Poindexter Greely came into our camp with a fat buck, upon
which
we all breakfasted in high glee, and afterwards pushed on with
spirit. At the Diable rapid, the current sets with much force against
some
rocks
which jut out from the south, and render the navigation
difficult. A short distance above this we met with several quicksand
bars, which
put
us to trouble; the banks of the river here fall in continually, and, in
the process of time, must greatly alter the bed. At eight o'clock
we had a fine fresh wind from the eastward, and, with its assistance,
made
rapid progress, so that by night we had gone perhaps thirty miles, or
more. We passed, on the north, the river Du Bois, a creek called
Charité,† and several small islands. The
river was rising fast as we came
to,
at night, under a group of cotton-wood trees, there being no ground
near
at hand upon which we were disposed to encamp. It was beautiful
weather, and I felt too much excited to sleep; so, asking Thornton to
accompany
me, I took a stroll into the country, and did not return until nearly
daylight. The rest of our crew occupied the cabin, for the first time,
and found
it quite roomy enough for five or six more persons. They had been
disturbed, in the night, by a strange noise overhead, on deck, the
origin
of which they had not been able to ascertain; as, when some of the
party
rushed out to see, the disturber had disappeared. From the
account
given of the noise, I concluded that it must have proceeded from an
Indian
dog, who had scented our fresh provisions (the buck of yesterday) and
was
endeavoring to make off with a portion. In this view I felt
perfectly
satisfied; but the occurrence suggested the great risk we ran in not
posting
a regular watch at night, and it was agreed to do so for the future.Having thus given, in Mr. Rodman's
own words, the
incidents of the two first days of the voyage, we forbear to follow him
minutely in his passage up the Missouri to the mouth of the Platte, at
which he arrived on the tenth of August. The character of the
river
throughout this extent is so well known, and has been so frequently
described,
that any farther account of it is unnecessary; and the Journal takes
note
of little else, at this portion of the tour, than the natural features
of the country — together with the ordinary boating and hunting
occurrences. The party made three several halts for the purpose of
trapping, but met
with no great success; and finally concluded to push farther into the
heart
of the country, before making any regular attempts at collecting
peltries. [page
85:]
Only two events, of moment, are recorded, for the two months which we
omit. One of these was the death of a Canadian, Jacques Lauzanne, by
the bite
of a rattle-snake; the other was the encountering a Spanish commission
sent to intercept and turn the party back, by order of the commandant
of
the province. The officer in charge of the detachment, however,
was
so much interested in the expedition, and took so great a fancy to Mr.
Rodman, that our travellers were permitted to proceed. Many small
bodies of Osage and Kanzas Indians hovered occasionally about the
boats,
but evinced nothing of hostility. We leave the voyagers for the
present,
therefore, at the mouth of the river Platte, on the tenth of August,
1791
— their number having been reduced to fourteen. [[Continued . . . ]] |
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