EXPLORING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
September 22. This morning we bade adieu to Fort Benton, and
separated from the portions of the expedition who were assigned to
duty east of the mountains. Before sunrise we saw Lieutenant Saxton
off in his keelboat, drawing eighteen inches of water, accompanied
by Mr. Culbertson, who was directed by me to report to the
department at Washington, and to urge the importance of the
Blackfoot council. Lieutenant Grover, on a smaller craft, commenced
his minute examination of the Missouri. Mr. Doty, who had won very
much upon me by his intelligence, his fidelity, his promptitude, and
energy of character, parted from me with feelings of hope and pride
at the idea that now a field was opening to him where he could be
useful to his country, and make a reputation for himself.
In order to make a long march this day, the evening before I
dispatched my train to a point well up on the Teton, some twelve
miles from Fort Benton; and there Mr. Osgood and Mr. Stanley, who
had remained behind with me at Fort Benton, and myself, breakfasted
with the rest of our party. Dr. Suckley and Messrs. Evans and
Kendall, who had assisted me in my correspondence, were the
additional members of my party.
The whole party moved off at nine o'clock, continuing for some
distance up the valley of the Teton, when we ascended a hill to the
prairie, and in twenty-one miles reached a coulee, where there were
springs of water sufficient for our animals. Large bands of
antelopes were seen on the road. We struck the Prairie Lake at five
P.M. Our guide, the voyageur Baptiste Champagne, took us to the
nearest point of Sun River, hoping to get in before dark, but we did
not reach camp till some time after. The view at almost any point of
the plateau between the Teton and Sun rivers is exceedingly
picturesque and suggestive. The various minor upheavals and swales
of ground, which here and there dot the surface of the country,
have connected with them some story of Indian war, wrong, or
suffering. This whole country was once occupied by the Snakes, and
in later times by some of the tribes of the Flathead nation. It
belongs now to the Blackfeet by conquest.
September 23. Moved up the valley of the Sun River, having made an
early start this morning. The Sun has a wide, open valley, grazing
exceedingly good and soil excellent. We continued up in the
direction of the pass between the Crown Butte and the Rattlers,
prominent landmarks west of the river, and visible at a great
distance. This is a favorite resort of deer, antelope, and bighorn.
They were present to-day in very large numbers. Continuing on, we
came in view of the Bird Tail Rock, and immediately to the west, in
a line near it, is another landmark, known as the Piegan's Tear.
After making forty miles we found a camp a little off our route, in
a most delightful valley, a spring of water gushing out near by, and
the remains of an old camp of the Blackfeet at hand, furnishing us
with fuel already prepared to our hands.
September 24. Started as usual very early this morning, and in four
miles came to Beaver Creek, a very beautiful stream of water. The
stream is now full of beaver, and is much obstructed by their dams.
The country is somewhat more broken to-day than it was yesterday;
timber comes in view on the tops of the mountains, and the scenery
becomes more grand with each mile as we proceed. Three miles beyond
Beaver Creek, a high peak, called the Goose's Neck, comes in view to
the south of us; at the southern foot of which equally as good a
road is found, though some two days longer, as the one now being
traveled by us. It is a branch of the present trail, and is usually
pursued by the Flatheads on their way to buffalo. That is called the
Flathead and our own the Blackfoot trail.
We now crossed several mountain streams in the course of a few
miles, and in sixteen miles we struck the Dearborn River. At noon we
moved forward to the dividing ridge, which was reached at four
o'clock. To this point our road from near the Dearborn lay over
sideling hills and through timber. As we ascended the divide, a
severe pelting hail and rain storm, accompanied with high wind,
thunder, and lightning, suddenly came upon us, and did not abate
until we had reached the summit. The wind blew very violently, and
the mist resulting from the storm prevented our getting a very clear
view of the country before us. It was with great gratification that
we now left the plains of the Missouri to enter upon the country
watered by the Columbia; and it was the more especially gratifying
to me as, looking to my future duties in the Territory, I felt that
I could welcome to my future home and the scene of my future labors
the gentlemen of the party, which I did very cordially and heartily.
The scenery throughout the day's march, up to the divide, has been
picturesque in the extreme; and the latter portion of it, from the
entrance proper to the pass, our road passed between hills on every
side covered with timber, on the sides of which we were constantly
traveling; while many feet below are to be seen the small upper
tributaries of the Missouri, flowing from their source in a valley
that is very wide for so small a channel, and lined with verdure and
the foliage in yellow leaf. All this made a combination full of
interest to the eye of one who could appreciate the beauties of
nature.
The ascent from the eastern base by the Indian trail is somewhat
steep, though in 1855 I gained the summit by a large, wide, open
ravine north of the Indian trail by a very gradual ascent, and
without much increase of distance; I was a good deal surprised to
find how small an obstacle this divide was to the movement of a
wagon-train. Had we gone on with our wagons, there would not have
been the slightest interruption, up to the entrance of the pass, to
making the usual journeys each day.
We were twenty minutes simply descending on the western side, which
was somewhat more steep than the eastern. Continuing on, we followed
the valley of the Blackfoot River some ten miles, and camped in good
grass, with excellent water and abundance of wood. Shortly after
getting into camp it commenced raining, and continued steadily all
night, the weather being raw and cold.
Immediately on crossing the divide, on the summit of the Rocky
Mountains, Governor Stevens issued his proclamation, declaring the civil
territorial government extended and inaugurated over the new Territory
of Washington. And then, as related in the narrative, he heartily
welcomed the members of the party to his new home.
It was on the summit of Cadotte's Pass that this dramatic and
interesting scene occurred. As originally outlined, the main divide of
the Rocky Mountains formed the eastern boundary of Washington, but
subsequently the mountain section was joined to Idaho and Montana.
September 25. Raining hard this morning. The animals having strayed
some distance, we were detained until eight A.M. The first fourteen
miles was through an open, wide, and beautiful prairie, after which
much of our way was through wood, where fallen timber offered
serious impediment to our rapid progress. At one o'clock Stanley and
myself, having gone rapidly ahead, had a big fire built to receive
our party as they came up. Here we lunched. By three o'clock the
clouds were breaking away, and the rain had ceased. Crossed several
hills to-day, traveling on the sides of some of them. Just before we
came out on the prairie on which we found Lieutenant Donelson and
the main train encamped, we were three hundred feet above the level
of the river. On the sides of the hill below us was growing the
mountain pine; in the valley beneath, right at the base of this
hill, was the clear, rapid stream; beyond was the foliage of the
trees growing in the bottom. The tops looked like a rich, green
carpet; further on were wide prairies, all bounded by a high ridge
of beautiful hills, altogether forming a scene of surpassing beauty.
At five P.M. we reached Lieutenant Donelson's camp, and found we had
traveled one hundred and forty-four miles since leaving Fort Benton.
September 26. The gentlemen not required by my rapid trip to the
westward, namely, Dr. Suckley, Mr. Evans, and Mr. Kendall, now
joined the main party, and we pushed on over the Blackfoot prairie
(called, in Lewis and Clark's narrative, the Prairie of the Knobs),
and after a march of thirty-odd miles came to a beautiful camp, near
what is known in the country as the cañon. To show the condition of
the animals of the expedition, I will observe that as I passed by
the mules of the train (for I remained somewhat late in camp this
morning to confer with Lieutenant Donelson, the whole party being
several miles on the march before I started), I observed that their
rate of travel on a fast walk was from four to four and a half miles
per hour, and the advance of the train moved thirty miles that day,
getting into camp early, the animals being apparently not fatigued.
We had hardly made up our camp-fire, when seeing a black bear and
two cubs near by, we felt sure that we should have bear-meat for
supper, but although all the voyageurs were on their track, they
made their escape.
September 27. We started about seven o'clock, and soon entered the
cañon, not, properly speaking, a cañon, for throughout its extent,
until you reach the debouch of Hell Gate, there is no special
difficulty on the trail, nor would there be excessive work to open a
good wagon-road. But a good many sharp spurs come down close to the
river, throwing the trail well back, or involving a crossing of the
stream to avail one's self of the prairies invariably found opposite
each of these spurs. Much of the country was of a very excellent
description, abounding in timber, well watered, and with soil of an
excellent quality. Emerging from the cañon, we came into a wide,
open valley, commencing half a mile before reaching the mouth of the
Blackfoot, continuing down the valley of the Hell Gate until we
enter the Hell Gate Ronde, a large, extensive tract of many miles in
circuit, and where the Hell Gate joins its waters to the Bitter
Root. Crossing the Bitter Root at a good ford, we continued up its
valley and reached a most excellent camp on the west side of the
Bitter Root, some twenty miles from Fort Owen.[4]
September 28. Keeping up the west bank of the Bitter Root River we
crossed two streams, one being the Traveler's Rest Creek of Lewis
and Clark, and, passing through a grove of pine timber, in twelve
and one half miles crossed the Bitter Root River, just before
reaching which we met some Indians from Fort Owen. Lieutenant
Arnold, whom we met after crossing the river, on his way to
Victor's camp, returned with us. We reached Fort Owen[5] about noon,
where we met the other gentlemen of Lieutenant Arnold's party. I
found Mr. Lander in camp near Fort Owen, and learned that he arrived
the day before yesterday.
Fort Owen is situated on the Scattering Creek of Lewis and Clark. It
was a matter of the greatest gratification, with their narrative in
hand, to pass through this valley and realize the fidelity and
graphic character of their descriptions. Lieutenant Arnold had been
jerking beef against our arrival, and making all arrangements to
enable us without delay to push on westward. I examined very
carefully into the condition of the train left by Lieutenant Saxton,
and of the provisions brought to this point, and had every reason to
congratulate myself for having assigned to him this undertaking. We
found there nearly two thousand rations, but the animals were very
few of them serviceable, yet from their appearance it was obvious
that none of them would continue unserviceable for any considerable
time, and I believed they would be entirely equal to any service
which Lieutenant Mullan's duties might require of them.
September 29-October 3. During these days we were all occupied in
making arrangements for the movement of the parties westward, and to
establish Lieutenant Mullan's winter post. Lieutenant Donelson
arrived on the 29th with the main party, and Lieutenant Mullan on
the 30th with a delegation of chiefs from the Flathead nation.
It will not be attempted here to give any extended account of the
explorations made by the detached parties, which is very fully done in
the final report by Governor Stevens. No less than nine passes across
the main chain, covering the range from the 49th parallel to the
Yellowstone, and four passes across the Bitter Root Range, were
examined. The most northerly of these, the Marias Pass, is now traversed
by the Great Northern Railroad, and one of the more southerly ones, the
Mullan Pass, situated some fifty miles south of Cadotte's Pass, is
crossed by the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Mr. Lander ran a line from the Marias River via the Teton, Sun, and
Dearborn rivers to Lewis and Clark's Pass, being the one crossed by
Captain Lewis on his return trip, and situated twelve miles north of
Cadotte's Pass, and made an examination of the pass. After traveling
some distance down the valley of the Blackfoot, he left it, and went
across country to the Hell Gate River, and moved up the valley of this
stream, mistaking it for the Bitter Root. Finally, realizing his
mistake, he turned from it, and, crossing over a number of divides and
streams, he followed an Indian trail which led him to Fort Owen. In
consequence of this eccentric route, and his animals having been much
pushed, they came in exceedingly jaded, although he started with the
best train of the whole party. He made no observations bearing upon the
railroad line except for seven miles of the pass, a short distance
thence down the Blackfoot valley, and a small portion of the Hell Gate
valley.
Lieutenant Mullan's trip to the Muscle Shell was a very extended one,
four hundred and fifteen miles in length. He returned by the pass which
now bears his name, accompanied by a delegation of the Flathead Indians.
Mr. Tinkham, after examining the approaches to Cadotte's Pass from the
Sun River, on a more northern route than that taken by the main party,
had left it at the camp of the 26th on the Blackfoot to explore a route
westward to the Jocko and Clark's Fork, which it was expected might
prove a cut-off, and had not yet rejoined the main party.
On September 30 and October 1 Governor Stevens had conferences with the
chiefs of the Flatheads, and broached to them his great idea of a
Blackfoot peace council. They were very doubtful at first, having too
recent and bitter experience of Blackfoot depredations. What should they
do, they asked, in case the Blackfeet came near their camp at night? In
reply the governor advised them not to attack unless it was evident they
intended to do mischief. Still they must not remain quiet and see their
men killed or horses stolen. "I would leave Lieutenant Mullan with ten
or fifteen men to protect you from the Blackfeet, but they have promised
not to disturb you, and I believe they mean to abide by it," etc. After
considering the matter for a day among themselves, the Indians promised
to attend the council.
The governor decided to establish a post in the Bitter Root valley for
the winter, under the charge of Lieutenant Mullan, in order to determine
the winter regimen of the mountains, the depth and duration of snow, the
climate, etc. Thirteen men were left with Lieutenant Mullan, and a large
band of animals and ample supplies, and he was instructed to make
careful meteorological observations during the winter, to continue the
exploration of the mountain section, extending it to Fort Hall on the
south, and as far as Flathead Lake or Clark's Fork on the north, and to
keep a watchful and protective eye over the Flathead Indians.
The governor directed Lieutenant Donelson to proceed with the main party
by way of Clark's Fork and Pend Oreille Lake, and assigned Lander to
duty with him for side examinations, while the governor himself took the
more direct but rugged C[oe]ur d'Alene route over the Bitter Roots. To
Dr. Suckley was intrusted the adventurous duty of descending the Bitter
Root River, Clark's Fork, Pend Oreille Lake, and the Columbia River by
canoe to the Dalles, then the frontier settlement. Lieutenant Arnold was
to proceed from Pend Oreille Lake, separating from the main party at
that point, in a direct westerly course to Colville, and thence to
explore the plains of the great bend of the Columbia, east of that
river.
Mr. Tinkham, who came in a few days later, was directed to explore the
Marias Pass from the west side, and, crossing the mountains by it, to
proceed to Fort Benton, confer with and take letters of instruction to
Lieutenant Grover and Mr. Doty, and return to the Bitter Root valley by
one of the southerly passes. Thence he was to cross the Bitter Root
Mountains by one of the Nez Perces trails, and proceed to Walla Walla
valley and Olympia.
Thus by the establishment of the two stations at Fort Benton and in the
Bitter Root valley, under Mr. Doty and Lieutenant Mullan, respectively,
and by the explorations of the detached parties, Governor Stevens kept
the whole mountain region under observation and solved the questions of
climate and snows. Indeed, he had the range crossed at every month in
the year by one or other of these parties.
Continues the personal narrative:--
Accordingly, on the 2d Mr. Lander went down the valley to make some
examinations of Hell Gate, and on the 3d Lieutenant Donelson was
under way with the main party. I left on the 4th and overtook and
camped with the main party in my old camp of the 27th and 28th of
September. Continuing on, on the 5th we both moved down the valley,
and encamped on the Bitter Root, some three or four miles below the
mouth of Hell Gate. Here I ascertained that Mr. Lander, instead of
waiting for the arrival of Lieutenant Donelson to receive the
instructions which I had directed to be issued to him, to go down
the Bitter Root to its mouth and join the main party at the Horse
Plain, had preceded him on the main trail, and must be somewhere
near the divide between the Bitter Root and the Jocko. Accordingly
instructions were sent directing him to return in order to proceed
on the duty which had been assigned to him.
This same day I visited Victor at his camp on the Hell Gate, three
miles above its junction with the Bitter Root, and in return was
visited by him at our camp, where we had much interesting
conversation in regard to the Indians, the character of the country,
and the passes, particularly in the winter. I determined to remain
here until Mr. Tinkham returned, who had not yet been heard from.
October 6. Lieutenant Donelson moved off this morning on the route
of the Jocko River and Clark's Fork. Mr. Lander, who had returned to
my camp in compliance with instructions, moved down the Bitter Root
this afternoon. I sent up to Fort Owen for Lieutenant Mullan, and we
remained in camp, passing the time as pleasantly as we could,
awaiting the arrival of Mr. Tinkham. Meanwhile a huge joint of beef
was placed upon the spit, to be in readiness when the explorers
should come in, and honest Sergeant Simpson undertook to act as
cook. Bending over the fire, with huge drops of perspiration rolling
from his glowing red face, a picture was presented which Mr. Stanley
thought not unworthy a trial of his pencil, while Osgood jokingly
told Simpson he was working then for "two dollars a day and roast
beef." The meat was cooked in the nicest manner, and at half past
five o'clock we sat down to it, having as guests Mr. Tinkham and his
party, the returned "lost sheep of the house of Israel," also
Lieutenant Mullan, who had arrived in season to join in our meal.
Having no guide, Mr. Tinkham had not succeeded in finding a direct
route, but after a circuitous trip got through to the Jocko, and, moving
back on Lieutenant Donelson's trail, joined the governor, who now gave
him the instructions to examine the Marias Pass, etc. The narrative
continues:--
It is extraordinary how easy of passage the mountains are in this
latitude. A favorite time of the return of the Flathead Indians from
the buffalo hunt is between Christmas and New Year's; it is only in
winters of unusual severity that they are unable to cross during any
month.
We have to-day seen at our camp a good deal of Victor, the Flathead
chief, celebrated in the book of De Smet. He appears to be
simple-minded, but rather wanting in energy, which might, however,
be developed in an emergency. I secured a Flathead guide to go with
Mr. Tinkham through the Marias Pass, returning with him by the
Flathead Pass. He was at first reluctant to go, but afterwards
consented. In the course of the evening he came to me to decline
going, and one or two of the men wished to back out. On tracing the
cause to its source, I found they had been alarmed by some remarks
of the guide Monroe, who told them he was afraid they would fall in
with parties of Blackfoot young men. I will here remark that the
Indian agent, Dr. Lansdale, in 1856 went over the route from the
Jocko to the Big Blackfoot, sought by Mr. Tinkham in 1853. It is
much used by the upper Pend Oreille Indians in going to hunt buffalo
east of the mountains.
October 7. At 8.30 o'clock we were on the road, the party consisting
of Mr. Stanley, Mr. Osgood, and four voyageurs, with Antoine Plante,
the half-breed guide. Mr. Lander, who had preceded us, we overtook
in twenty-seven miles, when continuing on eight miles over a rolling
country, we came to a good camp on a small stream of water; wood and
grass most excellent. The valley of the Bitter Root is generally a
wide valley, with occasional spurs running sharp down to the banks
of the stream, but having opposite to such spurs an open prairie on
the other side of the river.
October 8. We started at 7.30 o'clock, passing over a hilly, wooded,
and at times difficult country, with several patches of prairie, one
of which, two and a half miles long and containing probably 1000
acres, was covered with an excellent growth of grass. Here we met a
band of fifty Nez Perces Indians going to hunt. They have from 250
to 300 horses, most of them splendid animals, in fine condition, and
with perfectly sound backs. Women and children helped to compose the
band, and babies of fifteen months old, packed in a sitting posture,
rode along without fear, grasping the reins with their tiny hands.
We met them in the entrance to a narrow place, a mile in length,
leading along the water's edge; and wishing to have a talk with
them, but unwilling to lose time in returning to the open ground, I
invited them to turn around to the first prairie, which Antoine
assured me was not more than a mile or two beyond. The prairie we
found to be well grassed, open, and wooded. We now made our halt,
and, while preparing for our talk, a band of C[oe]ur d'Alenes
joined us. They, too, were on their way to the hunt, and numbered
about sixty, men, women, and children, and had about 200 horses. We
had a long talk. I told them about the steps taken to meet in
council at Fort Benton; dwelt particularly upon the prospect of the
Blackfeet making peace with all the Indian tribes,--upon the promise
they had given that their war parties should be stopped; and told
them that at Fort Benton and at St. Mary's I had left men who would
interfere unless these war parties ceased. This intelligence was
most gratefully received. They tell me that they return from the
hunt in March, going home by the Pend Oreille route. We parted with
them at two o'clock, and at six made a good camp near the ford by
which we mean to cross to the left bank of the Bitter Root River.
Two miles from camp we met two Pend Oreilles, who turned around with
us. At the camp we found a mother and daughter who had just crossed
the river and pitched their lodge. They had eight pack and as many
spare animals, and were on their way to join the Indians we met this
morning. We gave all the Indians coffee, and the women in return
gave us some cooked kamas root. It is of a dark color, small,
between the pear and onion in shape, and of a sweet, agreeable
flavor.
October 9. We started at eight, and crossed the ford. The ride of
to-day has been rather tedious. We left the valley to get rid of the
undergrowth of bushes, and took a trail over the side-hill, which
carried us up and down hill successively, and in some instances
through woods, occasionally obstructed by fallen timber. At noon we
halted at a creek, where we found a single Indian family drying
venison. For a little tobacco they gave us some fresh meat and
trout, which we roasted before the fire, and which made us a
substantial lunch; after which, pursuing our course, we fell upon a
stream flowing from the dividing ridge, and, continuing up it six
miles, made a camp where we found an abundance of grass. Distance
to-day nineteen miles.
October 10. We continued in the valley about ten miles, the road
leading through wood. Larch and spruce, and inexhaustible supplies
of limestone and marble, were met with, and the latter we afterwards
found in large quantities all through the mountains. At this point
the trail forks, one keeping to the right along the stream, and the
other turning to the left, and passing over a high, overhanging
mountain spur. Our guide, Antoine, informed us that the mountain
trail was more easy for the animals, the one to the right being much
obstructed by fallen timber. After commencing the ascent we heard
the voices of our men driving the animals in the valley beneath us,
and waited until we had turned them upon the trail we had concluded
to take. We ascended the dividing ridge, and reached a camp with
good grass upon a small lake, within a mile of its top. The lake, to
which we were obliged to descend for water, is twelve hundred feet
below the camp.
C[OE]UR D'ALENE OR STEVENS PASS.
October 11. The pass beneath us was made by two rivers flowing from
the dividing ridge in opposite directions, having their sources in
lakes not more than half a mile apart; the general direction of the
valleys being east and west. We estimated our camp to be two
thousand feet above the eastern base of the mountain, and two
thousand five hundred feet above the western base. The lake upon the
eastern side was about twelve hundred feet below us, and that upon
the western side about seven hundred feet higher. After pitching
camp last night a drizzling rain commenced falling, which we
supposed would turn into snow before morning. Upon awakening this
morning we were surprised to greeted with one of the loveliest days
imaginable. The sky was clear, and the air as soft and balmy as a
morn in summer. After striking camp we ascended to the highest point
of the ridge, about a mile and a half from camp. Here we made a long
halt, enjoying the magnificent view spread open to us, which, I
venture to say, can scarcely be surpassed in any country. Far
distant in the east the peaks of the Rocky Mountains loomed up into
view, stretched out to a great length, while the Flathead Lake and
the valley thence to the Blackfoot Pass were plainly visible. Nearly
the entire range of the C[oe]ur d'Alene Mountains, clothed with
evergreen forests, with here and there an open summit covered with
grass; numerous valleys intersecting the country for miles around;
courses of many streams marked by the ascending fog,--all conduced
to render the view fascinating in the greatest degree to the
beholder. The mountains were covered with luxuriant, coarse grass.
Seated on this point, Mr. Stanley was enabled to transfer this
beautiful panorama to his sketch-book. Descending the peak to the
general level of the ridge, we continued on for six miles, when the
descent commenced, and in less than three miles we passed down a
very steep descent and gained the base of the mountains, which we
estimated rose thirty-five hundred feet above us. This brought us
into a valley filled with gigantic cedars. The larch, spruce, and
vine-maple were found in to-day's march in large quantities, the
latter giving a pleasing variety to the forest growth. About four
o'clock we encamped upon the bank of a stream, which here grows much
wider. A C[oe]ur d'Alene accompanied us to this point from the
eastern base of the dividing ridge, and at to-night's encampment we
found a C[oe]ur d'Alene and his wife on their way to hunt.
October 12. The scarcity of grass last night caused our animals to
wander, and three of them were found at the base of the mountains
six miles back. It was not until half past ten o'clock that our men
had them all collected, and we were prepared to move. We rode until
half past three, when we halted at a beautiful camp, although the
day's march had been but twelve miles. Learning from Antoine that
the C[oe]ur d'Alene Mission was only eleven miles beyond, I
determined on going in to-night. Antoine and I accordingly mounted,
and rode to the Mission in an hour and three quarters.
C[OE]UR D'ALENE MISSION.
The Mission is beautifully located upon a hill overlooking extensive
prairies stretching to the east and west towards the C[oe]ur d'Alene
Mountains and the Columbia River. About a hundred acres of the
eastern prairie adjoining the Mission are inclosed and under
cultivation, furnishing employment to thirty or forty Indians, men,
women, and children. I observed two ploughing, which they executed
skillfully; others were sowing wheat, and others digging potatoes.
Père Gazzoli received me with the most pleasing hospitality.
Associated with him are Père Ravalli, now absent to procure
supplies, and Brothers Charles Huet and Maginn. Towards evening I
witnessed the burial of an Indian chief. The funeral ceremonies were
conducted after the Catholic form, and I was struck with the
harmonious voices of the Indian choristers, and with their solemn
observance of the ceremonies.
The Mission is composed of buildings inclosing a square. Some of
them are quite old, but the barn is large and new. The church stands
a little distance from the rest, and does much credit to those who
erected it. It is constructed upon a plan designed by Père Ravalli,
and is of the Roman demi-style of architecture. Pulleys and ropes
were the only mechanical aids in the construction. The interior is
prettily arranged. The altar is supported by two massive timbers of
pine which are four feet in diameter. The priests live in a
self-denying manner, and the good effect of their influence over the
Indians around them is plainly manifest. There is quite a village of
Indians near the Mission. They have some half dozen log-houses, but
most of them live in lodges.
October 13. While awaiting the arrival of the train, I was enabled
more particularly to observe the manner in which the affairs of the
Mission are conducted. Brother Charles has charge of the buildings,
and attends to the indoor work, cooks, makes butter and cheese,
issues provisions, and pays the Indians for their work, which
payment is made in tickets bearing a certain value, "good for so
many potatoes, or so much wheat," etc. By this arrangement the
Indians are able to procure their subsistence in the summer by
hunting and fishing, and have tickets in store for living during the
winter. They are well contented, and I was pleased to observe habits
of industry growing upon them. In the barn we saw their operations
of threshing: four boys rode as many mules abreast in a circle,
being followed by two girls with flails, who appeared to be
perfectly at home in their business. One half of the barn is
reserved for their crops, while the other is arranged for cattle.
Their stock at present consists of twenty cows, eight pairs of oxen,
and ninety pigs, which are driven to pasture upon the prairie by
Indian boys daily. I noticed an Indian woman milking, and was
surprised to see her use both hands, something rarely seen amongst
the Indians. We afterwards visited the field; a large fire was
burning, and around it sat Indians roasting and eating potatoes.
There appeared to be a great scarcity of proper implements, and in
digging potatoes many had nothing better than sharpened sticks. The
train arrived about one o'clock, and Père Gazzoli allowed us to turn
our animals into the inclosure.
I have heard of an ingenious method of hunting deer which is
practiced by the Indians. When the C[oe]ur d'Alenes, Pend Oreilles,
Spokanes, and Nez Perces meet together to fish and hunt, they form a
large circle, and upon the trees, around its circumference, attach
pieces of cloth made to resemble the human figure as much as
possible. Then the hunters enter the area and start up the deer.
Each cloth having the effect of a man, the deer, being afraid to
pass them, are kept within the circle and easily killed. Last year
the Pend Oreilles killed eight hundred in one hunt; the C[oe]ur
d'Alenes, more than four hundred.
When the Indians returned from the field I addressed them as
follows:--
"I am glad to see you and find that you are under such good
direction. I have come four times as far as you go to hunt
buffalo, and have come with directions from the Great Father to
see you, to talk to you, and do all I can for your welfare. I see
cultivated fields, a church, houses, cattle, and the fruits of the
earth, the work of your own hands. The Great Father will be
delighted to hear this, and will certainly assist you. Go on, and
every family will have a house and a patch of ground, and every
one will be well clothed. I have had talks with the Blackfeet, who
promise to make peace with all the Indian tribes. Listen to the
good Father and to the good brothers, who labor for your good."
October 15. We started at eight o'clock, after having given Brother
Charles as many lariats for raising the timbers of the church as we
could spare, and made eighteen miles and a quarter, meeting on the
way some forty Indians, C[oe]ur d'Alenes, Nez Perces, and Spokanes,
on their way to buffalo. We camped to-day in a beautiful prairie,
called the Wolf's Lodge, with good grass. Here we found nearly a
hundred Spokanes, with some three hundred horses, on their way to
the hunt. Towards sundown this evening I was greatly interested in
observing the Spokanes at their devotions. A bell rang, and the
whole band gathered in and around a large lodge for evening prayers.
There was something solemn and pathetic in the evening psalm
resounding through the forests around us. This shows what good
results can flow from the labors of devoted missionaries, for the
Spokanes have had no religious instruction for the last five years.
As I went down the river and met band after band of the Spokanes, I
invariably found the same regard for religious services.
Afterwards they came around to my camp-fire, and we had a talk.
Garry, they say, is at his farm, four miles from the Spokane House.
October 16. We started at eight o'clock, our route being through an
open wooded prairie. Soon after leaving camp the C[oe]ur d'Alene
Lake came in view to the south of us, and eleven miles from camp we
struck it near its western extremity. It is a beautiful sheet of
water, surrounded by picturesque hills, mostly covered with wood.
Its shape is irregular, unlike that given it upon the maps. Its
waters are received from the C[oe]ur d'Alene River, which runs
through it. Below the lake the river is not easily navigable, there
being many rapids, and in numerous places it widens greatly, and
runs sluggishly through a shallow channel. Above the lake I am
informed by the missionaries that it is navigable nearly to the
Mission. Leaving the lake, we followed the river on its northern
bank, passing a camp of C[oe]ur d'Alenes, occupied with their trout
fisheries. Here we witnessed a touching sight, a daughter
administering to her dying father. Still keeping through open woods
on a most excellent road, in two miles farther we came to the
C[oe]ur d'Alene prairie, a beautiful tract of land containing
several hundred square miles. After crossing the prairie, a distance
of some eighteen miles, we continued on and encamped at a spring
with sparse grass. Had we gone two miles farther, we should have
found an excellent camp on the river, and the next morning some of
our animals were found in this very spot. The horses of the Spokanes
roam over this prairie in herds of from twelve to twenty. Towards
the latter portion of the march the river runs over a rocky bed of
trap.
October 17. Leaving camp, Antoine, Osgood, Stanley, and myself
turned from the trail to visit the falls of the C[oe]ur d'Alene
River, while Lavatte took the train ahead on the trail to the
Spokane House. There are two principal falls, one of twenty feet and
the other of from ten to twelve feet, in the latter there being a
perpendicular fall of seven or eight feet; for a quarter of a mile
the descent is rapid, over a rough bed of rocks, and in this
distance we estimated a fall of ninety or one hundred feet. One mile
below this point we came to the ferry crossed by Saxton. Here there
is a small Indian village, and the inhabitants were engaged in
catching salmon. I noticed one large woman who seemed to pride
herself upon her person, which she took pains to set off in the most
becoming manner by means of a blanket wrapped around her. The road
to the Spokane House was over a sandy prairie, interspersed with
groves of pine. Crossing a dividing ridge with high and steep banks,
we came into the prairie in which the Spokane House is situated, in
which were two Spokane villages. We inquired for Garry, and I sent
him a request that he would visit me at my camp. The train we found
a mile below the junction, across the Spokane. The Indians
indicating a good camp some distance beyond, we moved on eight and a
half miles to it, which we reached half an hour before sundown. Here
there was good grass and plenty of water, and we soon made up a
large campfire. After arranging matters in camp, I observed about
nightfall a fire down the river, and, strolling down to the place,
came upon a little camp of Spokane Indians, and found them engaged
in religious services, which I was glad of an opportunity to
witness. There were three or four men, the same number of women, and
half a dozen children. Their exercises were, 1, address; 2, Lord's
prayer; 3, Psalms; 4, benediction, and were conducted with great
solemnity.
In the evening Garry visited us with some of his tribe. They gave
rumors of a large party having arrived opposite Colville, also of a
small party having gone from Walla Walla to Colville.
Garry was educated by the Hudson Bay Company at Red River, where he
lived four years with six other Indians from this vicinity, all of
whom are now dead. He speaks English and French well, and we have
had a long conversation this evening; but he is not frank, and I do
not understand him. He has an extensive field, where he raises a
large quantity of wheat. To-morrow he is going to Colville to get
some of it ground. Garry promises to send me to-morrow the Indian
who has just arrived from the Yakima country, and who is posted up
concerning the news of that place.
October 18. A Spokane breakfasted with us this morning, and we
started at 8.30 o'clock. After riding till ten o'clock we were
joined by the old Indian referred to yesterday, and Antoine's
services were immediately put into requisition to obtain
information. At twelve o'clock we lunched. The old man stated that a
large party reached the bank of the river opposite Colville
yesterday, and that they would cross to-day. I was satisfied from
his accounts that the party was McClellan's, and accordingly
determined on going to Colville to-night. Antoine has horses half
way. We rested until two o'clock and then set out, Antoine and
myself pushing ahead of the train. We met Antoine's family encamped
on a fine prairie, with whom Antoine remained, sending his
brother-in-law with us as a guide. At 4.15 we reached the ferry,
where we were detained fifteen minutes. At 4.45 we met Jack
(Lieutenant Macfeely's guide), who informed me that Macfeely reached
Walla Walla three weeks ago, being twenty-two days coming from St.
Mary's. He lost twenty animals, and was detained two days in an
unsuccessful search for a man who had strayed from the trail. The
road was bad, and they got off the trail, having struck too high up.
Jack told us it was twenty-eight miles to Colville, and that we
could not reach there to-night, but, being determined to do so, we
pushed on and reached Brown's at 5.45, who informed us that the
distance to Colville was eighteen miles. After partaking of some
bread and milk, we resumed the road with the same animals, dashing
off at full speed, going eight or nine miles an hour most of the
way, and reached Colville at nine o'clock. Mr. McDonald, the trader
in charge, gave me a most hospitable reception, and addressed a note
to McClellan, who had just gone to his camp near by, informing him
of my arrival. McClellan came up immediately, and, though I was
fairly worn out with the severeness of the ride, we sat up till one
o'clock. At eleven we sat down to a nice supper, prepared by Mrs.
McDonald, and regaled ourselves with steaks cooked in buffalo fat,
giving them the flavor of buffalo meat. I retired exhausted with the
fatigues of the day.
CAPTAIN MCCLELLAN'S EXPLORATIONS.
It took Captain McClellan a month to fit out his train after he reached
Vancouver, on the lower Columbia, so that he did not start on his survey
until the last of July. Crossing the Cascade Range by a pass south of
Mount Adams, he proceeded northward over the plains on the eastern side
of the range to the Yakima valley, moving one hundred and eighty miles
in thirty days, and remained there a month longer, during which Mr.
Gibbs examined the lower and Lieutenant Duncan the upper valley. Captain
McClellan himself, leaving his party in camp, made a hasty examination
of the Snoqualmie Pass, at the head of the main Yakima. Then he crossed
over a dividing ridge to the Columbia River, and continued up its right
or western bank to the Okinakane (Okanogan) River, a distance of ninety
miles, spent several days in exploring that and neighboring streams,
then ascended the Okinakane (Okanogan) River some fifty miles to Lake
Osoyoos, and moved eastward from this point eighty-two miles to the
Columbia, opposite Colville, and crossed on the 18th, the very day of
Governor Stevens's arrival at the same point.
McClellan, as appears from his report, took a decidedly unfavorable view
of the country, and of a railroad route across the Cascades. He declared
in substance that the Columbia River Pass was the only one worth
considering, that there was no pass whatever north of it except the
Snoqualmie Pass, and gave it as his firm and settled opinion that the
snow in winter was from twenty to twenty-five feet deep in that pass.
His examination of the pass was a very hasty and cursory one, with no
other instruments than a compass and a barometer, and extended only
three miles across the summit. His only information as to the depth of
winter snow was the reports of Indians, and the marks of snow on the
trees, or what he took to be such. Thus the most important point, the
real problem of the field of exploration intrusted to him, namely, the
existence and character of the Cascade passes, he failed to determine.
He failed utterly to respond to Governor Stevens's earnest and manly
exhortation, "We must not be frightened with long tunnels, or enormous
snows, but set ourselves to work to overcome them." He manifested the
same dilatoriness in preparation and moving, the same timidity in
action, the same magnifying of difficulties, that later marked and
ruined his career as an army commander.
Two railroads now cross the range which he examined,--the Northern
Pacific, by a pass just south of the Snoqualmie and north of the
Nahchess, the very place of which McClellan reported that "there
certainly is none between this (the Snoqualmie) and the Nahchess Pass;"
and the Great Northern, by a pass at the head of the Wenachee or
Pisquouse River, of which stream he declared, "It appears certain that
there can be no pass at its head for a road." The snows he so much
exaggerated have proved no obstacle, and in fact have actually caused
less trouble and obstruction in these passes than in the Columbia Pass
itself.[6]
FOOTNOTES:
[4] The town of Missoula is seated at the entrance to Hell Gate. The
Bitter Root River is now known as the Missoula, the name Bitter
Root being transferred to a branch of Clark's Fork. The Bitter
Root or St. Mary valley is likewise now known as the Missoula
valley.
[5] Fort Owen occupied the site of the Flathead village and Catholic
mission of St. Mary, which had been recently abandoned in
consequence of the incessant forays of the Blackfeet.
[6] One of the lines of the Northern Pacific Railroad now crosses
the C[oe]ur d'Alene Pass on Governor Stevens's route, to the
vicinity of the Mission, running thence south of the C[oe]ur
d'Alene Lake to Spokane.