The Snake River Deserts.--Scanty Fare.--Bewildered
Travellers--Prowling Indians--A Giant Crow Chief.--A Bully
Rebuked--Indian Signals.--Smoke on the Mountains.--Mad
River.--An Alarm.--An Indian Foray--A Scamper.--A Rude
Indian joke.--A Sharp-Shooter Balked of His Shot.
ON the 1st of September, Mr. Stuart and his companions resumed their
journey, bending their course eastward, along the course of Snake River.
As they advanced the country opened. The hills which had hemmed in the
river receded on either hand, and great sandy and dusty plains extended
before them. Occasionally there were intervals of pasturage, and the
banks of the river were fringed with willows and cottonwood, so that its
course might be traced from the hilltops, winding under an umbrageous
covert, through a wide sunburnt landscape. The soil, however, was
generally poor; there was in some places a miserable growth of wormwood,
and a plant called saltweed, resembling pennyroyal; but the summer had
parched the plains, and left but little pasturage. The game, too, had
disappeared. The hunter looked in vain over the lifeless landscape;
now and then a few antelope might be seen, but not within reach of the
rifle. We forbear to follow the travellers in a week’s wandering over
these barren wastes, where they suffered much from hunger, having to
depend upon a few fish from the streams, and now and then a little dried
salmon, or a dog, procured from some forlorn lodge of Shoshonies.
Tired of these cheerless wastes, they left the banks of Snake River on
the 7th of September, under guidance of Mr. Miller, who having acquired
some knowledge of the country during his trapping campaign, undertook
to conduct them across the mountains by a better route than that by
Fort Henry, and one more out of the range of the Blackfeet. He proved,
however, but an indifferent guide, and they soon became bewildered among
rugged hills and unknown streams, and burnt and barren prairies.
At length they came to a river on which Mr. Miller had trapped, and to
which they gave his name; though, as before observed, we presume it
to be the same called Bear River, which empties itself into Lake
Bonneville. Up this river and its branches they kept for two or three
days, supporting themselves precariously upon fish. They soon found that
they were in a dangerous neighborhood. On the 12th of September, having
encamped early, they sallied forth with their rods to angle for their
supper. On returning, they beheld a number of Indians prowling about
their camp, whom, to their infinite disquiet, they soon perceived to be
Upsarokas, or Crows. Their chief came forward with a confident air. He
was a dark herculean fellow, full six feet four inches in height, with
a mingled air of the ruffian and the rogue. He conducted himself
peaceably, however, and despatched some of his people to their camp,
which was somewhere in the neighborhood, from whence they returned with
a most acceptable supply of buffalo meat. He now signified to Mr. Stuart
that he was going to trade with the Snakes who reside on the west base
of the mountains, below Henry’s Fort. Here they cultivate a delicate
kind of tobacco, much esteemed and sought after by the mountain tribes.
There was something sinister, however, in the look of this Indian,
that inspired distrust. By degrees, the number of his people increased,
until, by midnight, there were twenty-one of them about the camp, who
began to be impudent and troublesome. The greatest uneasiness was
now felt for the safety of the horses and effects, and every one kept
vigilant watch throughout the night.
The morning dawned, however, without any unpleasant occurrence, and
Mr. Stuart, having purchased all the buffalo meat that the Crows had
to spare, prepared to depart. His Indian acquaintances, however, were
disposed for further dealings; and above all, anxious for a supply
of gunpowder, for which they offered horses in exchange. Mr. Stuart
declined to furnish them with the dangerous commodity. They became more
importunate in their solicitations, until they met with a flat refusal.
The gigantic chief now stepped forward, assumed a swelling air, and,
slapping himself upon the breast, gave Mr. Crooks to understand that he
was a chief of great power and importance. He signified, further, that
it was customary for great chiefs when they met, to make each other
presents. He requested, therefore, that Mr. Stuart would alight, and
give him the horse upon which he was mounted. This was a noble animal,
of one of the wild races of the prairies; on which Mr. Stuart set
great value; he, of course, shook his head at the request of the Crow
dignitary. Upon this the latter strode up to him, and taking hold of
him, moved him backwards and forwards in his saddle, as if to make him
feel that he was a mere child within his grasp. Mr. Stuart preserved his
calmness, and still shook his head. The chief then seized the bridle,
and gave it a jerk that startled the horse, and nearly brought the rider
to the ground. Mr. Stuart instantly drew forth a pistol, and presented
it at the head of the bully-ruffian. In a twinkling his swaggering was
at an end, and he dodged behind his horse to escape the expected shot.
As his subject Crows gazed on the affray from a little distance, Mr.
Stuart ordered his men to level their rifles at them, but not to fire.
The whole crew scampered among the bushes, and throwing themselves upon
the ground, vanished from sight.
The chieftain thus left alone was confounded for an instant; but,
recovering himself with true Indian shrewdness, burst into a loud laugh,
and affected to turn off the whole matter as a piece of pleasantry. Mr.
Stuart by no means relished such equivocal joking, but it was not his
policy to get into a quarrel; so he joined with the best grace he could
assume in the merriment of the jocular giant; and, to console the latter
for the refusal of the horse, made him a present of twenty charges of
powder. They parted, according to all outward professions, the best
friends in the world; it was evident, however, that nothing but the
smallness of his own force, and the martial array and alertness of the
white men, had prevented the Crow chief from proceeding to open outrage.
As it was, his worthy followers, in the course of their brief interview,
had contrived to purloin a bag containing almost all the culinary
utensils of the party.
The travellers kept on their way due east, over a chain of hills. The
recent rencontre showed them that they were now in a land of danger,
subject to the wide roamings of a predacious tribe; nor, in fact, had
they gone many miles before they beheld sights calculated to inspire
anxiety and alarm. From the summits of some of the loftiest mountains,
in different directions, columns of smoke be-an to rise. These they
concluded to be signals made by the runners of the Crow chieftain, to
summon the stragglers of his band, so as to pursue them with greater
force. Signals of this kind, made by outrunners from one central point,
will rouse a wide circuit of the mountains in a wonderfully short space
of time; and bring the straggling hunters and warriors to the standard
of their chieftain.
To keep as much as possible out of the way of these freebooters, Mr.
Stuart altered his course to the north, and, quitting the main stream of
Miller’s River, kept up a large branch that came in from the mountains.
Here they encamped, after a fatiguing march of twenty-five miles. As the
night drew on, the horses were hobbled or fettered, and tethered close
to the camp; a vigilant watch was maintained until morning, and every
one slept with his rifle on his arm.
At sunrise, they were again on the march, still keeping to the north.
They soon began to ascend the mountains, and occasionally had wide
prospects over the surrounding country. Not a sign of a Crow was to be
seen; but this did not assure them of their security, well knowing the
perseverance of these savages in dogging any party they intend to rob,
and the stealthy way in which they can conceal their movements, keeping
along ravines and defiles. After a mountain scramble of twenty-one
miles, they encamped on the margin of a stream running to the north.
In the evening there was an alarm of Indians, and everyone was instantly
on the alert. They proved to be three miserable Snakes, who were no
sooner informed that a band of Crows was prowling in the neighborhood
than they made off with great signs of consternation.
A couple more of weary days and watchful nights brought them to a strong
and rapid stream, running due north, which they concluded to be one of
the upper branches of Snake River. It was probably the same since called
Salt River.
They determined to bend their course down this river, as it would take
them still further out of the dangerous neighborhood of the Crows. They
then would strike upon Mr. Hunt’s track of the preceding autumn, and
retrace it across the mountains. The attempt to find a better route
under guidance of Mr. Miller had cost them a large bend to the south;
in resuming Mr. Hunt’s track, they would at least be sure of their road.
They accordingly turned down along the course of this stream, and at
the end of three days’ journey came to where it was joined by a larger
river, and assumed a more impetuous character, raging and roaring among
rocks and precipices. It proved, in fact, to be Mad River, already noted
in the expedition of Mr. Hunt. On the banks of this river, they encamped
on the 18th of September, at an early hour.
Six days had now elapsed since their interview with the Crows; during
that time they had come nearly a hundred and fifty miles to the north
and west, without seeing any signs of those marauders. They considered
themselves, therefore, beyond the reach of molestation, and began to
relax in their vigilance, lingering occasionally for part of a day,
where there was good pasturage. The poor horses needed repose.
They had been urged on, by forced marches, over rugged heights, among
rocks and fallen timber, or over low swampy valleys, inundated by the
labors of the beaver. These industrious animals abounded in all the
mountain streams and watercourses, wherever there were willows for
their subsistence. Many of them they had so completely dammed up as to
inundate the low grounds, making shallow pools or lakes, and extensive
quagmires; by which the route of the travellers was often impeded.
On the 19th of September, they rose at early dawn; some began to prepare
breakfast, and others to arrange the packs preparatory to a march. The
horses had been hobbled, but left at large to graze upon the adjacent
pasture. Mr. Stuart was on the bank of a river, at a short distance from
the camp, when he heard the alarm cry--“Indians! Indians!--to arms! to
arms!”
A mounted Crow galloped past the camp, bearing a red flag. He reined
his steed on the summit of a neighboring knoll, and waved his flaring
banner. A diabolical yell now broke forth on the opposite side of the
camp, beyond where the horses were grazing, and a small troop of savages
came galloping up, whooping and making a terrific clamor. The horses
took fright, and dashed across the camp in the direction of the
standard-bearer, attracted by his waving flag. He instantly put spurs
to his steed, and scoured off followed by the panic-stricken herd, their
fright being increased by the yells of the savages in their rear.
At the first alarm, Mr. Stuart and his comrades had seized their rifles,
and attempted to cut off the Indians who were pursuing the horses. Their
attention was instantly distracted by whoops and yells in an opposite
direction.
They now apprehended that a reserve party was about to carry off their
baggage. They ran to secure it. The reserve party, however, galloped by,
whooping and yelling in triumph and derision. The last of them proved to
be their commander, the identical giant joker already mentioned. He was
not cast in the stern poetical mold of fashionable Indian heroism, but
on the contrary, was grievously given to vulgar jocularity. As he passed
Mr. Stuart and his companions, he checked his horse, raised himself
in his saddle, and clapping his hand on the most insulting part of his
body, uttered some jeering words, which, fortunately for their delicacy,
they could not understand. The rifle of Ben Jones was leveled in an
instant, and he was on the point of whizzing a bullet into the target so
tauntingly displayed. “Not for your life! not for your life!” exclaimed
Mr. Stuart, “you will bring destruction on us all!”
It was hard to restrain honest Ben, when the mark was so fair and the
insult so foul. “O, Mr. Stuart,” exclaimed he, “only let me have one
crack at the infernal rascal, and you may keep all the pay that is due
to me.”
“By heaven, if you fire,” cried Mr. Stuart, “I’ll blow your brains out.”
By this time the Indian was far out of reach, and had rejoined his men,
and the whole dare-devil band, with the captured horses, scuttled off
along the defiles, their red flag flaunting overhead, and the rocks
echoing to their whoops and yells, and demoniac laughter.
The unhorsed travellers gazed after them in silent mortification and
despair; yet Mr. Stuart could not but admire the style and spirit with
which the whole exploit had been managed, and pronounced it one of the
most daring and intrepid actions he had ever heard of among Indians.
The whole number of the Crows did not exceed twenty. In this way a small
gang of lurkers will hurry off the cavalry of a large war party, for
when once a drove of horses are seized with panic, they become frantic,
and nothing short of broken necks can stop them.
No one was more annoyed by this unfortunate occurrence than Ben Jones.
He declared he would actually have given his whole arrears of pay,
amounting to upwards of a year’s wages, rather than be balked of such a
capital shot. Mr. Stuart, however, represented what might have been the
consequence of so rash an act. Life for life is the Indian maxim. The
whole tribe would have made common cause in avenging the death of a
warrior. The party were but seven dismounted men, with a wide mountain
region to traverse, infested by these people, and which might all be
roused by signal fires. In fact, the conduct of the band of marauders in
question, showed the perseverance of savages when once they have fixed
their minds upon a project. These fellows had evidently been silent and
secretly dogging the party for a week past, and a distance of a
hundred and fifty miles, keeping out of sight by day, lurking about the
encampment at night, watching all their movements, and waiting for a
favorable moment when they should be off their guard. The menace of
Mr. Stuart, in their first interview, to shoot the giant chief with
his pistol, and the fright caused among the warriors by presenting
the rifles, had probably added the stimulus of pique to their usual
horse-stealing propensities. And in this mood of mind they would
doubtless have followed the party throughout their whole course over the
Rocky Mountains, rather than be disappointed in their scheme.