Active Operations at Astoria--Various Expeditions Fitted
Out.--Robert Stuart and a Party Destined for New York--
Singular Conduct of John Day.--His Fate.--Piratical Pass and
Hazardous Portage.-Rattlesnakes.--Their Abhorrence of
Tobacco.--Arrival Among the Wallah-Wallahs.--Purchase of
Horses--Departure of Stuart and His Band for the Mountains.
THE arrival of the Beaver with a reinforcement and supplies, gave new
life and vigor to affairs at Astoria. These were means for extending the
operations of the establishment, and founding interior trading posts.
Two parties were immediately set on foot to proceed severally under the
command of Messrs. M’Kenzie and Clarke, and establish posts above the
forks of the Columbia, at points where most rivalry and opposition were
apprehended from the Northwest Company.
A third party, headed by Mr. David Stuart, was to repair with supplies
to the post of that gentleman on the Oakinagan. In addition to these
expeditions, a fourth was necessary to convey despatches to Mr. Astor,
at New York, in place of those unfortunately lost by John Reed. The
safe conveyance of these despatches was highly important, as by them Mr.
Astor would receive an account of the state of the factory, and regulate
his reinforcements and supplies accordingly. The mission was one
of peril and hardship and required a man of nerve and vigor. It was
confided to Robert Stuart, who, though he had never been across the
mountains, and a very young man, had given proofs of his competency to
the task. Four trusty and well-tried men, who had come overland in Mr.
Hunt’s expedition, were given as his guides and hunters. These were Ben
Jones and John Day, the Kentuckians, and Andri Vallar and Francis Le
Clerc, Canadians. Mr. M’Lellan again expressed his determination to take
this opportunity of returning to the Atlantic States. In this he was
joined by Mr. Crooks,--who, notwithstanding all that he had suffered
in the dismal journey of the preceding winter, was ready to retrace
his steps and brave every danger and hardship, rather than remain at
Astoria. This little handful of adventurous men we propose to accompany
in its long and perilous peregrinations.
The several parties we have mentioned all set off in company on the
29th of June, under a salute of cannon from the fort. They were to
keep together for mutual protection through the piratical passes of the
river, and to separate, on their different destinations, at the forks of
the Columbia. Their number, collectively, was nearly sixty, consisting
of partners and clerks, Canadian voyageurs, Sandwich Islanders, and
American hunters; and they embarked in two barges and ten canoes.
They had scarcely got under way, when John Day, the Kentucky hunter,
became restless and uneasy, and extremely wayward in his deportment.
This caused surprise, for in general he was remarkable for his cheerful,
manly deportment. It was supposed that the recollection of past
sufferings might harass his mind in undertaking to retrace the scenes
where they had been experienced. As the expedition advanced, however,
his agitation increased. He began to talk wildly and incoherently, and
to show manifest symptoms of derangement.
Mr. Crooks now informed his companions that in his desolate wanderings
through the Snake River country during the preceding winter, in which
he had been accompanied by John Day, the poor fellow’s wits had been
partially unsettled by the sufferings and horrors through which they had
passed, and he doubted whether they had ever been restored to perfect
sanity. It was still hoped that this agitation of spirits might pass
away as they proceeded; but, on the contrary, it grew more and more
violent. His comrades endeavored to divert his mind and to draw him into
rational conversation, but he only became the more exasperated, uttering
wild and incoherent ravings. The sight of any of the natives put him
in an absolute fury, and he would heap on them the most opprobrious
epithets; recollecting, no doubt, what he had suffered from Indian
robbers.
On the evening of the 2d of July he became absolutely frantic, and
attempted to destroy himself. Being disarmed, he sank into quietude, and
professed the greatest remorse for the crime he had meditated. He then
pretended to sleep, and having thus lulled suspicion, suddenly
sprang up, just before daylight, seized a pair of loaded pistols, and
endeavored to blow out his brains. In his hurry he fired too high, and
the balls passed over his head. He was instantly secured and placed
under a guard in one of the boats. How to dispose of him was now
the question, as it was impossible to keep him with the expedition.
Fortunately Mr. Stuart met with some Indians accustomed to trade with
Astoria. These undertook to conduct John Day back to the factory, and
deliver him there in safety. It was with the utmost concern that his
comrades saw the poor fellow depart; for, independent of his invaluable
services as a first-rate hunter, his frank and loyal qualities had made
him a universal favorite. It may be as well to add that the Indians
executed their task faithfully, and landed John Day among his friends at
Astoria; but his constitution was completely broken by the hardships he
had undergone, and he died within a year.
On the evening of the 6th of July the party arrived at the piratical
pass of the river, and encamped at the foot of the first rapid. The next
day, before the commencement of the portage, the greatest precautions
were taken to guard against lurking treachery, or open attack.
The weapons of every man were put in order, and his cartridge-box
replenished. Each one wore a kind of surcoat made of the skin of the
elk, reaching from his neck to his knees, and answering the purpose of
a shirt of mail, for it was arrow proof, and could even resist a musket
ball at the distance of ninety yards. Thus armed and equipped, they
posted their forces in military style. Five of the officers took their
stations at each end of the portage, which was between three and four
miles in length; a number of men mounted guard at short distances along
the heights immediately overlooking the river, while the residue, thus
protected from surprise, employed themselves below in dragging up the
barges and canoes, and carrying up the goods along the narrow margin of
the rapids. With these precautions they all passed unmolested. The only
accident that happened was the upsetting of one of the canoes, by
which some of the goods sunk, and others floated down the stream. The
alertness and rapacity of the hordes which infest these rapids, were
immediately apparent. They pounced upon the floating merchandise with
the keenness of regular wreckers. A bale of goods which landed upon one
of the islands was immediately ripped open, one half of its contents
divided among the captors, and the other half secreted in a lonely hut
in a deep ravine. Mr. Robert Stuart, however, set out in a canoe with
five men and an interpreter, ferreted out the wreckers in their retreat,
and succeeded in wrestling from them their booty.
Similar precautions to those already mentioned, and to a still greater
extent, were observed in passing the Long Narrows, and the falls, where
they would be exposed to the depredations of the chivalry of Wish-ram,
and its freebooting neighborhood. In fact, they had scarcely set their
first watch one night, when an alarm of “Indians!” was given. “To arms”
was the cry, and every man was at his post in an instant. The alarm
was explained; a war party of Shoshonies had surprised a canoe of the
natives just below the encampment, had murdered four men and two women,
and it was apprehended they would attack the camp. The boats and canoes
were immediately hauled up, a breastwork was made of them and the
packages, forming three sides of a square, with the river in the rear,
and thus the party remained fortified throughout the night.
The dawn, however, dispelled the alarm; the portage was conducted in
peace; the vagabond warriors of the vicinity hovered about them while
at work, but were kept at a wary distance. They regarded the loads
of merchandise with wistful eyes, but seeing the “long-beards” so
formidable in number, and so well prepared for action, they made no
attempt either by open force or sly pilfering to collect their usual
toll, but maintained a peaceful demeanor, and were afterwards rewarded
for their good conduct with presents of tobacco.
Fifteen days were consumed in ascending from the foot of the first rapid
to the head of the falls, a distance of about eighty miles, but full of
all kinds of obstructions. Having happily accomplished these difficult
portages, the party, on the 19th of July, arrived at a smoother part of
the river, and pursued their way up the stream with greater speed and
facility.
They were now in the neighborhood where Mr. Crooks and John Day had
been so perfidiously robbed and stripped a few months previously, when
confiding in the proffered hospitality of a ruffian band. On landing at
night, therefore, a vigilant guard was maintained about the camp. On the
following morning a number of Indians made their appearance, and came
prowling round the party while at breakfast. To his great delight, Mr.
Crooks recognized among them two of the miscreants by whom he had been
robbed. They were instantly seized, bound hand and foot, and thrown into
one of the canoes. Here they lay in doleful fright, expecting summary
execution. Mr. Crooks, however, was not of a revengeful disposition, and
agreed to release the culprits as soon as the pillaged property should
be restored. Several savages immediately started off in different
directions, and before night the rifles of Crooks and Day were produced;
several of the smaller articles pilfered from them, however, could not
be recovered.
The bands of the culprits were then removed, and they lost no time in
taking their departure, still under the influence of abject terror,
and scarcely crediting their senses that they had escaped the merited
punishment of their offenses.
The country on each side of the river now began to assume a different
character. The hills, and cliffs, and forests disappeared; vast sandy
plains, scantily clothed here and there with short tufts of grass,
parched by the summer sun, stretched far away to the north and south.
The river was occasionally obstructed with rocks and rapids, but often
there were smooth, placid intervals, where the current was gentle, and
the boatmen were enabled to lighten their labors with the assistance of
the sail.
The natives in this part of the river resided entirely on the northern
side. They were hunters, as well as fishermen, and had horses in plenty.
Some of these were purchased by the party, as provisions, and killed on
the spot, though they occasionally found a difficulty in procuring
fuel wherewith to cook them. One of the greatest dangers that beset
the travellers in this part of their expedition, was the vast number of
rattlesnakes which infested the rocks about the rapids and portages, and
on which the men were in danger of treading. They were often found, too,
in quantities about the encampments. In one place, a nest of them lay
coiled together, basking in the sun. Several guns loaded with shot were
discharged at them, and thirty-seven killed and wounded. To prevent
any unwelcome visits from them in the night, tobacco was occasionally
strewed around the tents, a weed for which they have a very proper
abhorrence.
On the 28th of July the travellers arrived at the mouth of the
Wallah-Wallah, a bright, clear stream, about six feet deep, and
fifty-five yards wide, which flows rapidly over a bed of sand and
gravel, and throws itself into the Columbia, a few miles below Lewis
River. Here the combined parties that had thus far voyaged together were
to separate, each for its particular destination.
On the banks of the Wallah-Wallah lived the hospitable tribe of the
same name who had succored Mr. Crooks and John Day in the time of their
extremity. No sooner did they hear of the arrival of the party, than
they hastened to greet them. They built a great bonfire on the bank of
the river, before the camp, and men and women danced round it to the
cadence of their songs, in which they sang the praises of the white men,
and welcomed them to their country.
On the following day a traffic was commenced, to procure horses for such
of the party as intended to proceed by land. The Wallah-Wallahs are
an equestrian tribe. The equipments of their horses were rude and
inconvenient. High saddles, roughly made of deer skin, stuffed with
hair, which chafe the horse’s back and leave it raw; wooden stirrups,
with a thong of raw hide wrapped round them; and for bridles they have
cords of twisted horse-hair, which they tie round the under jaw. They
are, like most Indians, bold but hard riders, and when on horseback
gallop about the most dangerous places, without fear for themselves, or
pity for their steeds.
From these people Mr. Stuart purchased twenty horses for his party; some
for the saddle, and others to transport the baggage. He was fortunate
in procuring a noble animal for his own use, which was praised by the
Indians for its great speed and bottom, and a high price set upon it.
No people understand better the value of a horse than these equestrian
tribes; and nowhere is speed a greater requisite, as they frequently
engage in the chase of the antelope, one of the fleetest of animals.
Even after the Indian who sold this boasted horse to Mr. Stuart had
concluded his bargain, he lingered about the animal, seeming loth to
part from him, and to be sorry for what he had done.
A day or two were employed by Mr. Stuart in arranging packages and
pack-saddles, and making other preparations for his long and arduous
journey. His party, by the loss of John Day, was now reduced to six, a
small number for such an expedition. They were young men, however,
full of courage, health, and good spirits, and stimulated rather than
appalled by danger.
On the morning of the 31st of July, all preparations being concluded,
Mr. Stuart and his little band mounted their steeds and took a farewell
of their fellow-travellers, who gave them three hearty cheers as they
set out on their dangerous journey. The course they took was to the
southeast, towards the fated region of the Snake River. At an immense
distance rose a chain of craggy mountains, which they would have to
traverse; they were the same among which the travellers had experienced
such sufferings from cold during the preceding winter, and from their
azure tints, when seen at a distance, had received the name of the Blue
Mountains.