experienced in this wild kind of navigation. It required all his
attention and skill, however, to pilot her clear of sand-bars and snags
of sunken trees. There was often, too, a perplexity of choice, where
the river branched into various channels, among clusters of islands; and
occasionally the voyagers found themselves aground and had to turn back.
It was necessary, also, to keep a wary eye upon the land, for they were
passing through the heart of the Crow country, and were continually in
reach of any ambush that might be lurking on shore. The most formidable
foes that they saw, however, were three grizzly bears, quietly
promenading along the bank, who seemed to gaze at them with surprise as
they glided by. Herds of buffalo, also, were moving about, or lying
on the ground, like cattle in a pasture; excepting such inhabitants as
these, a perfect solitude reigned over the land. There was no sign
of human habitation; for the Crows, as we have already shown, are a
wandering people, a race of hunters and warriors, who live in tents and
on horseback, and are continually on the move. At night they landed,
hauled up their boat to dry, pitched their tent, and made a rousing
fire. Then, as it was the first evening of their voyage, they indulged
in a regale, relishing their buffalo beef with inspiring alcohol; after
which, they slept soundly, without dreaming of Crows or Blackfeet. Early
in the morning, they again launched the boat and committed themselves to
the stream.
In this way they voyaged for two days without any material occurrence,
excepting a severe thunder storm, which compelled them to put to shore,
and wait until it was passed. On the third morning they descried
some persons at a distance on the river bank. As they were now, by
calculation, at no great distance from Fort Cass, a trading post of the
American Fur Company, they supposed these might be some of its people. A
nearer approach showed them to be Indians. Descrying a woman apart from
the rest, they landed and accosted her. She informed them that the main
force of the Crow nation, consisting of five bands, under their several
chiefs, were but about two or three miles below, on their way up along
the river. This was unpleasant tidings, but to retreat was impossible,
and the river afforded no hiding place. They continued forward,
therefore, trusting that, as Fort Cass was so near at hand, the Crows
might refrain from any depredations.
Floating down about two miles further, they came in sight of the first
band, scattered along the river bank, all well mounted; some armed with
guns, others with bows and arrows, and a few with lances. They made
a wildly picturesque appearance managing their horses with their
accustomed dexterity and grace. Nothing can be more spirited than a band
of Crow cavaliers. They are a fine race of men averaging six feet in
height, lithe and active, with hawks’ eyes and Roman noses. The
latter feature is common to the Indians on the east side of the Rocky
Mountains; those on the western side have generally straight or flat
noses.
Wyeth would fain have slipped by this cavalcade unnoticed; but the
river, at this place, was not more than ninety yards across; he was
perceived, therefore, and hailed by the vagabond warriors, and,
we presume, in no very choice language; for, among their other
accomplishments, the Crows are famed for possessing a Billingsgate
vocabulary of unrivalled opulence, and for being by no means sparing
of it whenever an occasion offers. Indeed, though Indians are generally
very lofty, rhetorical, and figurative in their language at all great
talks, and high ceremonials, yet, if trappers and traders may be
believed, they are the most unsavory vagabonds in their ordinary
colloquies; they make no hesitation to call a spade a spade; and when
they once undertake to call hard names, the famous pot and kettle, of
vituperating memory, are not to be compared with them for scurrility of
epithet.
To escape the infliction of any compliments of this kind, or the
launching, peradventure, of more dangerous missiles, Wyeth landed with
the best grace in his power and approached the chief of the band. It was
Arapooish, the quondam friend of Rose the outlaw, and one whom we have
already mentioned as being anxious to promote a friendly intercourse
between his tribe and the white men. He was a tall, stout man, of good
presence, and received the voyagers very graciously. His people, too,
thronged around them, and were officiously attentive after the Crow
fashion. One took a great fancy to Baptiste the Flathead boy, and a
still greater fancy to a ring on his finger, which he transposed to his
own with surprising dexterity, and then disappeared with a quick step
among the crowd.
Another was no less pleased with the Nez Perce lad, and nothing would do
but he must exchange knives with him; drawing a new knife out of the Nez
Perce’s scabbard, and putting an old one in its place. Another stepped
up and replaced this old knife with one still older, and a third helped
himself to knife, scabbard and all. It was with much difficulty that
Wyeth and his companions extricated themselves from the clutches of
these officious Crows before they were entirely plucked.
Falling down the river a little further, they came in sight of the
second band, and sheered to the opposite side, with the intention of
passing them. The Crows were not to be evaded. Some pointed their guns
at the boat, and threatened to fire; others stripped, plunged into the
stream, and came swimming across. Making a virtue of necessity, Wyeth
threw a cord to the first that came within reach, as if he wished to be
drawn to the shore.
In this way he was overhauled by every band, and by the time he and his
people came out of the busy hands of the last, they were eased of most
of their superfluities. Nothing, in all probability, but the proximity
of the American trading post, kept these land pirates from making a good
prize of the bull boat and all its contents.
These bands were in full march, equipped for war, and evidently full of
mischief. They were, in fact, the very bands that overran the land in
the autumn of 1833; partly robbed Fitzpatrick of his horses and effects;
hunted and harassed Captain Bonneville and his people; broke up their
trapping campaigns, and, in a word, drove them all out of the Crow
country. It has been suspected that they were set on to these pranks by
some of the American Fur Company, anxious to defeat the plans of
their rivals of the Rocky Mountain Company; for at this time, their
competition was at its height, and the trade of the Crow country was a
great object of rivalry. What makes this the more probable, is, that the
Crows in their depredation seemed by no means bloodthirsty, but intent
chiefly on robbing the parties of their traps and horses, thereby
disabling them from prosecuting their hunting.
We should observe that this year, the Rocky Mountain Company were
pushing their way up the rivers, and establishing rival posts near those
of the American Company; and that, at the very time of which we are
speaking, Captain Sublette was ascending the Yellowstone with a keel
boat, laden with supplies; so that there was every prospect of this
eager rivalship being carried to extremes.
The last band of Crow warriors had scarcely disappeared in the clouds
of dust they had raised, when our voyagers arrived at the mouth of the
river and glided into the current of the Yellowstone. Turning down this
stream, they made for Fort Cass, which is situated on the right bank,
about three miles below the Bighorn. On the opposite side they beheld
a party of thirty-one savages, which they soon ascertained to be
Blackfeet. The width of the river enabled them to keep at a sufficient
distance, and they soon landed at Fort Cass. This was a mere
fortification against Indians; being a stockade of about one hundred and
thirty feet square, with two bastions at the extreme corners. M’Tulloch,
an agent of the American Company, was stationed there with twenty men;
two boats of fifteen tons burden were lying here; but at certain seasons
of the year a steamboat can come up to the fort.
They had scarcely arrived, when the Blackfeet warriors made their
appearance on the opposite bank, displaying two American flags in token
of amity. They plunged into the river, swam across, and were kindly
received at the fort. They were some of the very men who had been
engaged, the year previously, in the battle at Pierre’s Hole, and a
fierce-looking set of fellows they were; tall and hawk-nosed, and very
much resembling the Crows. They professed to be on an amicable errand,
to make peace with the Crows, and set off in all haste, before night, to
overtake them. Wyeth predicted that they would lose their scalps; for he
had heard the Crows denounce vengeance on them, for having murdered two
of their warriors who had ventured among them on the faith of a treaty
of peace. It is probable, however, that this pacific errand was all a
pretence, and that the real object of the Blackfeet braves was to hang
about the skirts of the Crow band, steal their horses, and take the
scalps of stragglers.
At Fort Cass, Mr. Wyeth disposed of some packages of beaver, and a
quantity of buffalo robes. On the following morning (August 18th), he
once more launched his bull boat, and proceeded down the Yellowstone,
which inclined in an east-northeast direction. The river had alluvial
bottoms, fringed with great quantities of the sweet cotton-wood,
and interrupted occasionally by “bluffs” of sandstone. The current
occasionally brings down fragments of granite and porphyry.
In the course of the day, they saw something moving on the bank among
the trees, which they mistook for game of some kind; and, being in want
of provisions, pulled toward shore. They discovered, just in time,
a party of Blackfeet, lurking in the thickets, and sheered, with all
speed, to the opposite side of the river.
After a time, they came in sight of a gang of elk. Wyeth was
immediately for pursuing them, rifle in hand, but saw evident signs
of dissatisfaction in his half-breed hunters; who considered him as
trenching upon their province, and meddling with things quite above
his capacity; for these veterans of the wilderness are exceedingly
pragmatical, on points of venery and woodcraft, and tenacious of their
superiority; looking down with infinite contempt upon all raw beginners.
The two worthies, therefore, sallied forth themselves, but after a time
returned empty-handed. They laid the blame, however, entirely on their
guns; two miserable old pieces with flint locks, which, with all their
picking and hammering, were continually apt to miss fire. These great
boasters of the wilderness, however, are very often exceeding bad shots,
and fortunate it is for them when they have old flint guns to bear the
blame.
The next day they passed where a great herd of buffalo was bellowing on
a prairie. Again the Castor and Pollux of the wilderness sallied forth,
and again their flint guns were at fault, and missed fire, and nothing
went off but the buffalo. Wyeth now found there was danger of losing
his dinner if he depended upon his hunters; he took rifle in hand,
therefore, and went forth himself. In the course of an hour he returned
laden with buffalo meat, to the great mortification of the two regular
hunters, who were annoyed at being eclipsed by a greenhorn.
All hands now set to work to prepare the midday repast. A fire was made
under an immense cotton-wood tree, that overshadowed a beautiful piece
of meadow land; rich morsels of buffalo hump were soon roasting before
it; in a hearty and prolonged repast, the two unsuccessful hunters
gradually recovered from their mortification; threatened to discard
their old flint guns as soon as they should reach the settlements, and
boasted more than ever of the wonderful shots they had made, when they
had guns that never missed fire.
Having hauled up their boat to dry in the sun, previous to making their
repast, the voyagers now set it once more afloat, and proceeded on
their way. They had constructed a sail out of their old tent, which they
hoisted whenever the wind was favorable, and thus skimmed along down the
stream. Their voyage was pleasant, notwithstanding the perils by sea and
land, with which they were environed. Whenever they could they encamped
on islands for the greater security. If on the mainland, and in a
dangerous neighborhood, they would shift their camp after dark, leaving
their fire burning, dropping down the river some distance, and making
no fire at their second encampment. Sometimes they would float all night
with the current; one keeping watch and steering while the rest slept.
in such case, they would haul their boat on shore, at noon of the
following day to dry; for notwithstanding every precaution, she was
gradually getting water-soaked and rotten.
There was something pleasingly solemn and mysterious in thus floating
down these wild rivers at night. The purity of the atmosphere in these
elevated regions gave additional splendor to the stars, and heightened
the magnificence of the firmament. The occasional rush and laving of
the waters; the vague sounds from the surrounding wilderness; the dreary
howl, or rather whine of wolves from the plains; the low grunting and
bellowing of the buffalo, and the shrill neighing of the elk, struck the
ear with an effect unknown in the daytime.
The two knowing hunters had scarcely recovered from one mortification
when they were fated to experience another. As the boat was gliding
swiftly round a low promontory, thinly covered with trees, one of them
gave the alarm of Indians. The boat was instantly shoved from shore and
every one caught up his rifle. “Where are they?” cried Wyeth.
“There--there! riding on horseback!” cried one of the hunters.
“Yes; with white scarfs on!” cried the other.
Wyeth looked in the direction they pointed, but descried nothing but
two bald eagles, perched on a low dry branch beyond the thickets, and
seeming, from the rapid motion of the boat, to be moving swiftly in an
opposite direction. The detection of this blunder in the two veterans,
who prided themselves on the sureness and quickness of their sight,
produced a hearty laugh at their expense, and put an end to their
vauntings.
The Yellowstone, above the confluence of the Bighorn, is a clear stream;
its waters were now gradually growing turbid, and assuming the yellow
clay color of the Missouri. The current was about four miles an hour,
with occasional rapids; some of them dangerous, but the voyagers passed
them all without accident. The banks of the river were in many places
precipitous with strata of bituminous coal. They now entered a region
abounding with buffalo--that ever-journeying animal, which moves in
countless droves from point to point of the vast wilderness; traversing
plains, pouring through the intricate defiles of mountains, swimming
rivers, ever on the move, guided on its boundless migrations by some
traditionary knowledge, like the finny tribes of the ocean, which, at
certain seasons, find their mysterious paths across the deep and revisit
the remotest shores.
These great migratory herds of buffalo have their hereditary paths
and highways, worn deep through the country, and making for the surest
passes of the mountains, and the most practicable fords of the rivers.
When once a great column is in full career, it goes straight forward,
regardless of all obstacles; those in front being impelled by the moving
mass behind. At such times they will break through a camp, trampling
down everything in their course.
It was the lot of the voyagers, one night, to encamp at one of these
buffalo landing places, and exactly on the trail. They had not been long
asleep, when they were awakened by a great bellowing, and tramping, and
the rush, and splash, and snorting of animals in the river. They had
just time to ascertain that a buffalo army was entering the river on the
opposite side, and making toward the landing place. With all haste they
moved their boat and shifted their camp, by which time the head of the
column had reached the shore, and came pressing up the bank.
It was a singular spectacle, by the uncertain moonlight, to behold
this countless throng making their way across the river, blowing,
and bellowing, and splashing. Sometimes they pass in such dense and
continuous column as to form a temporary dam across the river, the
waters of which rise and rush over their backs, or between their
squadrons. The roaring and rushing sound of one of these vast herds
crossing a river, may sometimes in a still night be heard for miles.
The voyagers now had game in profusion. They could kill as many
buffaloes as they pleased, and, occasionally, were wanton in their
havoc; especially among scattered herds, that came swimming near the
boat. On one occasion, an old buffalo bull approached so near that the
half-breeds must fain try to noose him as they would a wild horse. The
noose was successfully thrown around his head, and secured him by the
horns, and they now promised themselves ample sport. The buffalo
made prodigious turmoil in the water, bellowing, and blowing, and
floundering; and they all floated down the stream together. At length he
found foothold on a sandbar, and taking to his heels, whirled the boat
after him like a whale when harpooned; so that the hunters were obliged
to cast off their rope, with which strange head-gear the venerable bull
made off to the prairies.
On the 24th of August, the bull boat emerged, with its adventurous crew,
into the broad bosom of the mighty Missouri. Here, about six miles above
the mouth of the Yellowstone, the voyagers landed at Fort Union, the
distributing post of the American Fur Company in the western country.
It was a stockaded fortress, about two hundred and twenty feet
square, pleasantly situated on a high bank. Here they were hospitably
entertained by Mr. M’Kenzie, the superintendent, and remained with him
three days, enjoying the unusual luxuries of bread, butter, milk, and
cheese, for the fort was well supplied with domestic cattle, though it
had no garden. The atmosphere of these elevated regions is said to be
too dry for the culture of vegetables; yet the voyagers, in coming down
the Yellowstone, had met with plums, grapes, cherries, and currants, and
had observed ash and elm trees. Where these grow the climate cannot be
incompatible with gardening.
At Fort Union, Wyeth met with a melancholy memento of one of his men.
This was a powder-flask, which a clerk had purchased from a Blackfoot
warrior. It bore the initials of poor More, the unfortunate youth
murdered the year previously, at Jackson’s Hole, by the Blackfeet, and
whose bones had been subsequently found by Captain Bonneville. This
flask had either been passed from hand to hand of the youth, or,
perhaps, had been brought to the fort by the very savage who slew him.
As the bull boat was now nearly worn out, and altogether unfit for the
broader and more turbulent stream of the Missouri, it was given up,
and a canoe of cottonwood, about twenty feet long, fabricated by the
Blackfeet, was purchased to supply its place. In this Wyeth hoisted his
sail, and bidding adieu to the hospitable superintendent of Fort Union,
turned his prow to the east, and set off down the Missouri.
He had not proceeded many hours, before, in the evening, he came to a
large keel boat at anchor. It proved to be the boat of Captain William
Sublette, freighted with munitions for carrying on a powerful opposition
to the American Fur Company. The voyagers went on board, where they
were treated with the hearty hospitality of the wilderness, and passed a
social evening, talking over past scenes and adventures, and especially
the memorable fight at Pierre’s Hole.
Here Milton Sublette determined to give up further voyaging in the
canoe, and remain with his brother; accordingly, in the morning, the
fellow-voyagers took kind leave of each other and Wyeth continued on
his course. There was now no one on board of his boat that had ever
voyaged on the Missouri; it was, however, all plain sailing down the
stream, without any chance of missing the way.
All day the voyagers pulled gently along, and landed in the evening and
supped; then re-embarking, they suffered the canoe to float down with
the current; taking turns to watch and sleep. The night was calm and
serene; the elk kept up a continual whinnying or squealing, being the
commencement of the season when they are in heat. In the midst of the
night the canoe struck on a sand-bar, and all hands were roused by the
rush and roar of the wild waters, which broke around her. They were
all obliged to jump overboard, and work hard to get her off, which was
accomplished with much difficulty.
In the course of the following day they saw three grizzly bears at
different times along the bank. The last one was on a point of land, and
was evidently making for the river, to swim across. The two half-breed
hunters were now eager to repeat the manoeuvre of the noose; promising
to entrap Bruin, and have rare sport in strangling and drowning him.
Their only fear was, that he might take fright and return to land before
they could get between him and the shore. Holding back, therefore, until
he was fairly committed in the centre of the stream, they then pulled
forward with might and main, so as to cut off his retreat, and take him
in the rear. One of the worthies stationed himself in the bow, with the
cord and slip-noose, the other, with the Nez Perce, managed the paddles.
There was nothing further from the thoughts of honest Bruin, however,
than to beat a retreat. Just as the canoe was drawing near, he turned
suddenly round and made for it, with a horrible snarl and a tremendous
show of teeth. The affrighted hunter called to his comrades to paddle
off. Scarce had they turned the boat when the bear laid his enormous
claws on the gunwale, and attempted to get on board. The canoe was
nearly overturned, and a deluge of water came pouring over the gunwale.
All was clamor, terror, and confusion. Every one bawled out--the bear
roared and snarled--one caught up a gun; but water had rendered it
useless. Others handled their paddles more effectually, and beating old
Bruin about the head and claws, obliged him to relinquish his hold. They
now plied their paddles with might and main, the bear made the best
of his way to shore, and so ended the second exploit of the noose; the
hunters determined to have no more naval contests with grizzly bears.
The voyagers were now out of range of Crows and Black-feet; but they
were approaching the country of the Rees, or Arickaras; a tribe no less
dangerous; and who were, generally, hostile to small parties.