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BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST PASSAGE ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF NORTH —————
CHAPTER V.  April 10, 1792. The
weather was now
again most delicious, and revived our spirits exceedingly. The
sun
began to have power, and the river was quite free of ice, so the
Indians
assured us, for a hundred miles ahead. We bade adieu to Little
Snake
[a chief of the Ricarees who had shown the voyagers many evidences of
friendship
during the winter] and his band, with unfeigned regret, and set out,
after
breakfast, on our voyage. Perrine [an agent of the Hudson Bay fur
company on his way to Petite Côte] accompanied us with
three
Indians for the first ten miles, when he took leave of us and made his
way back to the village, where (as we afterwards heard) he met with a
violent
death from the hands of a squaw, to whom he offered some insult. Upon
parting with the agent, we pushed on vigorously up the river, and
made great way, notwithstanding a rapid current. In the
afternoon,
Thornton, who had been complaining for some days past, was taken
seriously
ill; so much so that I urged the return of the whole party to the hut,
there to wait until he should get better; but he resisted this offer so
strongly that I was forced to yield. We made him a comfortable
bed
in the cabin, and paid him every attention; but he had a raging fever,
with occasional delirium, and I was much afraid that we should lose
him. In the meantime we still pushed ahead with resolution, and by
night had
made twenty miles — an excellent day's work. April 11. Still
beautiful
weather. We started early, and had a good wind, which aided us greatly;
so that,
but for Thornton's illness, we should all have been in fine
spirits. He seemed to grow much worse, and I scarcely knew how to act.
Every
thing was done for his comfort which could be done; Jules, the
Canadian,
made him some tea, from prairie herbs, which had the effect of inducing
perspiration, and allayed the fever very sensibly. We stopped at
night on the main land to the north, and three hunters went out into
the
prairie by moonlight, returning at one in the morning, without their
rifles,
and with a fat antelope. They related that, having proceeded
many miles
across
the country, they reached the banks of a beautiful rivulet, where they
were much surprised and alarmed at discovering a large war-party of the
Saonie Sioux, who immediately took them prisoners, and carried them a
mile
on the other side of the stream to a kind of park, or enclosure, walled
with mud and sticks, in which was a large herd of antelopes. These
animals were still coming into the park, the gates of which were so
contrived
as to prevent escape. This was an annual practice of the
Indians. In the autumn, the antelopes retire for food and shelter from
the
prairie
to the mountainous regions on the south of the river. In the
spring
they re-cross it in great numbers, and are then easily taken by being
enticed
into a strong enclosure as above described. The hunters, (John Greely, the
Prophet, and a
Canadian)
had scarcely any hope of escape from the clutches of the Indians, (who
numbered as many as fifty,) and had well nigh made up their minds to
die. Greely and the Prophet were disarmed and tied hand and foot; the
Canadian,
however, was suffered, for some reason not perfectly understood, to
remain
unbound, and was only deprived of his rifle, the savages leaving him in
possession of his hunter's knife, (which, possibly they did not
perceive,
as it was worn in a sort of sheath in the side of his legging) and
treating
him otherwise with a marked difference from their demeanor to the
others. This circumstance proved the source of the party's deliverance.
It was, perhaps, nine o'clock at
night when they
were first taken. The moon was bright, but, as the air was
unusually
cool for the season, the savages had kindled two large fires at a
sufficient
distance from the park not to frighten the antelopes, who were still
pouring
into it continually. At these fires they were occupied in cooking
their game when the hunters so unexpectedly came upon them from round a
clump of trees. Greely and the Prophet, after being disarmed and
bound with strong thongs of buffalo hide, were thrown down under a tree
at some distance from the blaze; while the Canadian was permitted to
seat
himself, in charge of two savages, by one of the fires, the rest of the
Indians forming a circle round the other and larger one. In this
arrangement, the time wore away slowly, and the hunters were in
momentary
expectation of death; the cords of the two who were bound caused them,
also, infinite pain, from the tightness with which they were
fastened. The Canadian had endeavored to hold a conversation with his
guards, in
the hope of bribing them to release him, but could not make himself
understood. About midnight, the congregation around the [page 207:]
large fire were suddenly
disturbed
by the dash of several large antelopes in succession through the midst
of the blaze. These animals had burst through a portion of the
mud
wall which confined them, and, mad with rage and affright, had made for
the light of the fire, as is the habit of insects at night in like
circumstances. It seems, however, that the Saonies had never heard of
any similar feat
of these usually timid creatures, for they were in great terror at the
unexpected interruption, and their alarm increased to perfect dismay,
as
the whole captured herd came rushing and bounding upon them, after the
lapse of a minute or so from the outbreak of the first few. The
hunters
described the scene as one of the most singular nature. The
beasts
were apparently frantic, and the velocity and impetuosity with which
they
flew, rather than leaped, through the flames, and through the midst of
the terrified savages, was said by Greely (a man not in the least prone
to exaggerate) to have been not only an imposing but even a terrible
spectacle. They carried every thing before them in their first plunges;
but,
having
cleared the large fire, they immediately dashed at the small one,
scattering
the brands and blazing wood about; then returned, as if bewildered, to
the large one, and so backwards and forwards until the decline of the
fires,
when, in small parties, they scampered off like lightning to the
woods. Many of the Indians were knocked down
in this
furious
mêlée, and there is no doubt that some of them were
seriously,
if not mortally, wounded by the sharp hoofs of the agile
antelopes. Some threw themselves flat on the ground, and so avoided
injury. The Prophet and Greely, not being near the fires, were in no
danger. The Canadian was prostrated at the first onset by a kick which
rendered
him senseless for some minutes. When he came to himself he was
nearly
in darkness; for the moon had gone behind a heavy thundercloud, and the
fires were almost out, or only existed in brands scattered hither and
thither. He saw no Indians near him, and instantly arousing himself to
escape,
made,
as well as he could, for the tree where his two comrades were
lying. Their thongs were soon cut, and the three set off at full speed
in the
direction of the river, without stopping to think of their rifles, or
of
any thing beyond present security. Having run for some miles, and
finding no one in pursuit, they slackened their pace, and made their
way
to a spring for a draught of water. Here it was they met with the
antelope which, as I mentioned before, they brought with them to the
boats. The poor creature lay panting, and unable to move, by the border
of the
spring. One of its legs was broken, and it bore evident traces of
fire. It was no doubt one of the herd which had been the means of
deliverance. Had there been even a chance of its recovery the
hunters
would have spared it in token of their gratitude, but it was miserably
injured, so they put it at once out of its misery, and brought it home
to the boats, where we made an excellent breakfast upon it next
morning. April 12, 13, 14, and 15. During
these
four days we kept on our course without any adventure of note. The
weather was very pleasant during the middle of the day, but the nights
and mornings were exceedingly cold, and we had sharp frosts. Game
was abundant. Thornton still continued ill, and his sickness
perplexed
and grieved me beyond measure. I missed his society very much,
and
now found that he was almost the only member of our party in whom I
could
strictly confide. By this I merely mean that he was almost the
only
one to whom I could, or would, freely unburthen my heart, with all its
wild hopes, and fantastic wishes — not that any individual among us was
unworthy of implicit faith. On the contrary, we were all like
brothers,
and a dispute, of any importance, never occurred. One interest
seemed
to bind all; or rather we appeared to be a band of voyagers without
interest in view — mere travellers for pleasure. What
ideas
the
Canadians might have held upon this subject I cannot, indeed, exactly
say. These fellows talked a great deal, to be sure, about the profits
of the
enterprise, and especially about their expected share of it; yet I can
scarcely think they cared much for these points, for they were the most
simple-minded, and certainly the most obliging set of beings upon the
face
of the earth. As for the rest of the crew, I have no doubt in the
world that the pecuniary benefit to be afforded by the expedition was
the
last thing upon which they speculated. Some singular evidences of
the feeling which more or less pervaded us all occurred during the
prosecution
of the voyage. Interests, which, in the settlements, would have
been
looked upon as of the highest importance, were here treated as matters
unworthy of a serious word, and neglected, or totally discarded upon
the
most frivolous pretext. Men who had travelled thousands of miles
through a howling wilderness, beset by horrible dangers, and enduring
the
most heart-rending privations for the ostensible purpose of collecting
peltries, would seldom take the trouble to secure them when obtained,
and
would leave behind them without a sigh an entire cache of fine
beaver
skin rather than forego the pleasure of pushing up some
romantic-looking
river, or penetrating into some craggy and dangerous cavern, for
minerals
whose use they knew nothing about, and which they threw aside as lumber
at the first decent opportunity. In all this my own heart was very
much with the
rest
of the party; and I am free to say that, as we proceeded on our
journey,
I found myself less and less interested in the main business of the
expedition,
and more and more willing to turn aside in pursuit of idle amusement —
if indeed I am right in calling by so feeble a name as amusement that
deep
and most intense excitement with which I surveyed the wonders and
majestic
beauties of the wilderness. No sooner had I examined one region
than
I was possessed with an irresistible desire to push forward and explore
another. As yet, however, I felt as if in too close proximity to
the settlements for the full enjoyment of my burning [page 208:]
love of Nature,
and
of the unknown. I could not help being aware that some
civilized footsteps, although few, had preceded me in my journey — that
some eyes before mine own had been enraptured with
the scenes
around
me. But for this sentiment, ever obtruding itself, I should no
doubt
have loitered more frequently on the way, turning aside to survey the
features
of the region bordering upon the river, and perhaps penetrating deeply,
at times, into the heart of the country to the north and south of our
route. But I was anxious to go on — to get, if possible,
beyond the
extreme
bounds of civilization — to gaze, if I could, upon those gigantic
mountains
of which the existence had been made known to us only by the vague
accounts
of the Indians. These ulterior hopes and views I communicated
fully
to no one of our party save Thornton. He participated in all my
most
visionary projects, and entered completely into the spirit of romantic
enterprise which pervaded my soul. I therefore felt his illness
as
a bitter evil. He grew worse daily, while it was out of our power
to render him any effectual assistance. April 16. To-day we had
a cold rain
with a high wind from the north, obliging us to come to anchor until
late
in the afternoon. At four o'clock, P. M., we proceeded, and made
five miles by night. Thornton was much worse. April 17, and 18. During both these
days we had a continuance of raw unpleasant weather, with the same cold
wind from the north. We observed many large masses of ice in the
river, which was much swollen and very muddy. The time passed
unpleasantly,
and we made no way. Thornton appeared to be dying, and I now
resolved
to encamp at the first convenient spot, and remain until his illness
should
terminate. We accordingly, at noon this day, drew the boats up a
large creek coming in from the south, and formed an encampment on the
main
land. April 25. We remained
at the creek
until
this morning, when, to the great joy of us all, Thornton was
sufficiently
recovered to go on. The weather was fine, and we proceeded gaily
through a most lovely portion of the country, without encountering a
single
Indian, or meeting with any adventure out of the usual course until the
last of the month, when we reached the country of the Mandans, or
rather
of the Mandans, the Minnetarees, and the Ahnahaways; for these three
tribes
all live in the near vicinity of each other, occupying five
villages. Not a great many years ago the Mandans were settled in nine
villages,
about
eighty miles below, the ruins of which we passed without knowing what
they
were — seven on the west and two on the east of the river; but they
were
thinned off by the small-pox and their old enemies the Sioux, until
reduced
to a mere handful, when they ascended to their present position. [Mr.
R.
gives here a tolerably full account of the Minnetarees and Ahnahaways
or
Wassatoons; but we omit it, as differing in no important particular
from
the ordinary statements respecting these nations.] The Mandans received
us with perfect friendliness, and we remained in their neighborhood
three
days, during which we overhauled and repaired the piroque, and
otherwise
refitted. We also obtained a good supply of a hard corn, of a
mixed
color, which the savages had preserved through the winter in holes,
near
the front of their lodges. While with the Mandans we were visited
by a Minnetaree chief, called Waukerassah, who behaved with much
civility,
and was of service to us in many respects. The son of this chief
we engaged to accompany us as interpreter as far as the great
fork. We made the father several presents, with which he was greatly
pleased.* On the first of May we bade adieu to
the Mandans, and went on our
way. May 1. The weather was
mild, and the
surrounding country began to assume a lovely appearance with the
opening
vegetation, which was now much advanced. The cotton-wood leaves
were
quite as large as a crown, and many flowers were full blown. The
low grounds began to spread out here more than usual, and were well
supplied
with timber. The cotton-wood and common willow, as well as red
willow,
abounded; with rose-bushes in great plenty. Beyond the low
grounds
on the river, the country extended in one immense plain without wood of
any kind. The soil was remarkably rich. The game was more
abundant
than we had ever yet seen it. We kept a hunter ahead of us on
each
bank, and to-day they brought in an elk, a goat, five beavers, and a
great
number of plovers. The beavers were very tame and easily
taken. This animal is quite a bonne bouche as an article of
food;
especially
the tail, which is of a somewhat glutinous nature, like the fins of the
halibut. A beaver tall will suffice for a plentiful dinner for
three
men. We made twenty miles before night. May 2. We had a fine
wind this
morning,
and used our sails until noon, when it became rather too much for us,
and
we stopped for the day. Our hunters went out and shortly returned
with an immense elk, whom Neptune had pulled down after a long chase,
the
animal having been only slightly wounded by a buck shot. He
measured
six feet in height. An antelope was also caught about dusk. As soon as
the creature saw our men, it flew off with the greatest
velocity,
but after a few minutes stopped, and returned on its steps, apparently
through curiosity — then bounded away again. This conduct was
repeated
frequently, each time the game coming nearer and nearer, until at
length
it ventured within rifle distance, when a shot from the Prophet brought
it down. It was lean and with young. These animals,
although
of incredible swiftness of foot, are still bad swimmers, [page 209:]
and thus
frequently
fall a victim to the wolves, in their attempts to cross a stream. Today
made twelve miles. May 3. This morning we
made great
headway,
and by night had accomplished full thirty miles. The game
continued
to be abundant. Buffaloes, in vast numbers, lay dead along the
shore,
and we saw many wolves devouring the carcases. They fled always
at
our approach. We were much at a loss to account for the death of
the buffaloes, but some weeks afterwards the mystery was cleared
up. Arriving at a pass of the river where the bluffs were steep and the
water
deep at their base, we observed a large herd of the huge beasts
swimming
across, and stopped to watch their motions. They came in a
sidelong
manner down the current, and had apparently entered the water from a
gorge,
about half a mile above, where the bank sloped into the stream. Upon
reaching the land on the west side of the river they found it
impossible
to ascend the cliffs, and the water was beyond their depth. After
struggling for some time, and endeavoring in vain to get a foothold in
the steep and slippery clay, they turned and swam to the eastern shore,
where the same kind of inaccessible precipices presented themselves,
and
where the ineffectual struggle to ascend was repeated. They now
turned
a second time, a third, a fourth, and a fifth — always making the shore
at very nearly the same places. Instead of suffering themselves
to
go down with the current in search of a more favorable landing, (which
might have been found a quarter of a mile below), they seemed bent upon
maintaining their position, and, for this purpose, swam with their
breasts
at an acute angle to the stream and used violent exertions to prevent
being
borne down. At the fifth time of crossing, the poor beasts were
so
entirely exhausted that it was evident they could do no more. They
now struggled fearfully to scramble up the bank, and one or two of them
had nearly succeeded, when, to our great distress (for we could not
witness
their noble efforts without commisseration) the whole mass of loose
earth
above caved in, and buried several of them in its fall, without leaving
the cliff in better condition for ascent. Upon this the rest of
the
herd commenced a lamentable kind of lowing or moaning — a sound
conveying
more of a dismal sorrow and despair than any thing which it is possible
to imagine — I shall never get it out of my head. Some of the
beasts
made another attempt to swim the river, struggled a few minutes, and
sank
— the waves above them being dyed with the red blood that gushed from
their
nostrils in the death agony. But the greater part, after the
moaning
described, seemed to yield supinely to their fate, rolled over on their
backs, and disappeared. The whole herd were drowned — not a
buffalo
escaped. Their carcases were thrown up in half an hour afterwards
upon the flat grounds a short distance below, where, but for their
ignorant
obstinacy, they might so easily have landed in safety. May 4. The weather was
delightful,
and,
with a fair warm wind from the south, we made twenty-five miles before
night. To-day Thornton was sufficiently recovered to assist in
the
duties of the boat. In the afternoon he went out with me into the
prairie on the west, where we saw a great number of early spring
flowers
of a kind never seen in the settlements. Many of them were of a
rare
beauty and delicious perfume. We saw also game in great variety,
but shot none, as we were sure the hunters would bring in more than was
wanted for use, and I was averse to the wanton destruction of
life. On our way home we came upon two Indians of the Assiniboin
nation, who
accompanied us to the boats. They had evinced nothing like
distrust
on the way, but, on the contrary, had been frank and bold in demeanor;
we were therefore much surprised to see them, upon coming within a
stone's
throw of the piroque, turn, both of them, suddenly round, and make off
into the prairie at full speed. Upon getting a good distance from
us, they stopped and ascended a knoll which commanded a view of the
river. Here they lay on their bellies, and, resting their chins on
their
hands,
seemed to regard us with the deepest astonishment. By the aid of
a spy-glass I could minutely observe their countenances, which bore
evidence
of both amazement and terror. They continued watching us for a
long
time. At length, as if struck with a sudden thought, they arose
hurriedly
and commenced a rapid flight in the direction from which we had seen
them
issue at first. May 5. As we were
getting under way
very early this morning, a large party of Assiniboins suddenly rushed
upon
the boats, and succeeded in taking possession of the piroque before we
could make any effectual resistance. No one was in it at the time
except Jules, who escaped by throwing himself into the river, and
swimming
to the large boat, which we had pushed out into the stream. These
Indians had been brought upon us by the two who had visited us the day
before, and the party must have approached us in the most stealthy
manner
imaginable, as we had our sentries regularly posted, and even Neptune
failed
to give any token of their vicinity. We were preparing to fire upon the
enemy when
Misquash
(the new interpreter — son of Waukerassah) gave us to understand that
the
Assiniboins were friends and were now making signals of amity. Although
we could not help thinking that the highway robbery of our boat was but
an indifferent way of evincing friendship, still we were willing to see
what these people had to say, and desired Misquash to ask them why they
had behaved as they did. They replied with many protestations of
regard; and we at length found that they really had no intention of
molesting
us any farther than to satisfy an ardent curiosity which consumed them,
and which they now entreated us to appease. It appeared that the
two Indians of the day before, whose singular conduct had so surprised
us, had been struck with sudden amazement at the sooty appearance of
our
negro, Toby. They had never before seen or heard of a blackamoor,
and it must therefore be confessed that their astonishment [page
210:] was not
altogether
causeless. Toby, moreover, was as ugly an old gentleman as ever
spoke
— having all the peculiar features of his race; the swollen lips, large
white protruding eyes, flat nose, long ears, double head, pot-belly,
and
bow legs. Upon relating their adventure to their companions, the
two savages could obtain no credit for the wonderful story, and were
about
losing caste for ever, as liars and double-dealers, when they proposed
to conduct the whole band to the boats by way of vindicating their
veracity. The sudden attack seemed to have been the mere result of
impatience on
the part of the still incredulous Assiniboins; for they never
afterwards
evinced the slightest hostility, and yielded up the piroque as soon as
we made them understand that we would let them have a good look at old
Toby. The latter personage took the matter as a very good joke,
and
went ashore at once, in naturalibus, that the inquisitive
savages
might observe the whole extent of the question. Their
astonishment
and satisfaction were profound and complete. At first they
doubted
the evidence of their own eyes, spitting upon their fingers and rubbing
the skin of the negro to be sure that it was not painted. The
wool
on the head elicited repeated shouts of applause, and the bandy legs
were
the subject of unqualified admiration. A jig dance on the part of
our ugly friend brought matters to a climax. Wonder was now at
its
height. Approbation could go no farther. Had Toby but
possessed
a single spark of ambition he might then have made his fortune for ever
by ascending the throne of the Assiniboins, and reigning as King Toby
the
First. This incident detained us until late
in the
day. After interchanging some civilities and presents with the savages,
we
accepted
the aid of six of the band in rowing us about five miles on our route —
a very acceptable assistance, and one for which we did not fail to
thank
Toby. We made, to-day, only twelve miles, and encamped at night
on
a beautiful island which we long remembered for the delicious fish and
fowl which its vicinity afforded us. We staid at this pleasant
spot
two days, during which we feasted and made merry, with very little care
for the morrow, and with very little regard to the numerous beaver
which
disported around us. We might have taken at this island one or
two
hundred skins without difficulty. As it was, we collected about
twenty. The island is at the mouth of a tolerably large river coming in
from
the
south, and at a point where the Missouri strikes off in a due westerly
direction. The latitude is about 48. May 8. We proceeded
with fair winds
and fine weather, and after making twenty or twenty-five miles, reached
a large river coming in from the north. Where it debouches,
however, it is very narrow — not more than a dozen yards wide, and
appears
to be quite choked up with mud. Upon ascending it a short
distance,
a fine bold stream is seen, seventy or eighty yards wide, and very
deep,
passing through a beautiful valley, abounding in game. Our new
guide
told us the name of this river, but I have no memorandum of it.*
Robert
Greely shot here some geese which build their nests upon trees. May 9. In many places a
little
distant
from the river banks, to-day, we observed the ground encrusted with a
white
substance which proved to be a strong salt. We made only fifteen
miles, owing to several petty hindrances, and encamped at night on the
main land, among some clumps of cotton-wood and rabbit-berry bushes. May 10. To-day the
weather was
cold,
and the wind strong, but fair. We made great headway. The
hills
in this vicinity are rough and jagged, showing irregular broken masses
of rock, some of which tower to a great height, and appear to have been
subject to the action of water. We picked up several pieces of
petrified
wood and bone; and coal was scattered about in every direction. The
river gets very crooked. May 11. Detained the
greater part
of
the day by squalls and rain. Towards evening it cleared up
beautifully
with a fair wind, of which we took advantage, making ten miles before
encamping. Several fat beavers were caught, and a wolf was shot upon
the
bank. He seemed to have strayed from a large herd which were prowling
about
us. May 12. Landed to-day
at noon,
after
making ten miles, upon a small steep island, for the purpose of
overhauling
some of our things. As we were about taking our departure, one of
the Canadians, who led the van of the party and was several yards in
advance,
suddenly disappeared from our view with a loud scream. We all ran
forward immediately, and laughed heartily upon finding that our man had
only tumbled into an empty cache, from which we soon extricated
him. Had he been alone, however, there is much room for question
if he would have got out at all. We examined the hole carefully
but
found nothing in it beyond a few empty bottles; we did not even see any
thing serving to show whether French, British, or Americans had
concealed
their goods here; and we felt some curiosity upon this point. May 13. Arrived at the
junction of
the
Yellowstone with the Missouri, after making twenty-five miles during
the
day. Misquash here left us, and returned home. [[Continued . . . ]] |
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