wounded another. This morning Provost started at daylight, and Bell
followed him; but they returned without game. After breakfast Harris
went off on horseback, and brought in a Sharp-tailed Grouse. He saw only
one Deer, species not identified. Sprague and I went off last, but
brought in nothing new. This afternoon I thought would be a fair
opportunity to examine the manners of Sprague's Lark on the wing. Bell
drove Peter for me, and I killed four Larks; we then watched the flight
of several. The male rises by constant undulations to a great height,
say one hundred yards or more; and whilst singing its sweet-sounding
notes, beats its wings, poised in the air like a Hawk, without rising at
this time; after which, and after each burst of singing, it sails in
divers directions, forming three quarters of a circle or thereabouts,
then rises again, and again sings; the intervals between the singing are
longer than those which the song occupies, and at times the bird remains
so long in the air as to render it quite fatiguing to follow it with the
eye. Sprague thought one he watched yesterday remained in the air about
one hour. Bell and Harris watched one for more than half an hour, and
this afternoon I gazed upon one, whilst Bell timed it, for thirty-six
minutes. We continued on to Fort Mortimer to see its condition, were
received as kindly as yesterday, and saw the same persons. It was four
o'clock, and the men were all at dinner, having been obliged to wait
until this time because they had no meat in the fort, and their hunters
had returned only one hour and a half before. We found that the river
had fallen about fourteen inches since last evening, and the men would
not remove for the present. On our way homeward Bell shot a fifth Lark,
and when we reached the ravine I cut out of a tree-stump the nest of an
Arctic Bluebird, with six eggs in it, of almost the same size and color
as those of the common Bluebird. Sprague had brought a female of his
Lark, and her nest containing five eggs; the measurements of these two
species I will write out to-morrow. Our Buffalo hunters are not yet
returned, and I think that Squires will feel pretty well fatigued when
he reaches the fort. Mr. Culbertson presented me with a pair of
stirrups, and a most splendid Blackfoot crupper for my saddle. The day
has been warm and clear. We caught seven catfish at the river near the
fort, and most excellent eating they are, though quite small when
compared with the monsters of this species on the Missouri below.
_June 25, Sunday._ This day has been warm and the wind high, at first
from the south, but this afternoon from the north. Little or nothing has
been done in the way of procuring birds or game, except that Harris and
Mr. Denig brought in several Arkansas Flycatchers. Not a word from the
hunters, and therefore they must have gone far before they met
Buffaloes. A few more catfish have been caught, and they are truly
excellent.
_June 26, Monday._ The hunters returned this afternoon about three
o'clock; _i. e._, Squires and McKenzie; but the carts did not reach the
fort till after I had gone to bed. They have killed three Antelopes,
three bull Buffaloes, and one Townsend's Hare, but the last was lost
through carelessness, and I am sorry for it. The men had eaten one of
the Antelopes, and the two others are fine males; Bell skinned one, and
saved the head and the fore-legs of the other. One of them had the tips
of the horns as much crooked inwardly (backwards) as the horns of the
European Chamois usually are. This afternoon early Provost brought in a
Deer of the large kind, and this also was skinned. After this Harris and
Bell went off and brought in several Lazuli Finches, and a black Prairie
Lark Finch of the species brought from the Columbia by Townsend and
Nuttall. We caught several catfish and a very curious sturgeon, of which
Sprague took an outline with the camera, and I here give the
measurements.... It had run on the shore, and was caught by one of the
men. I made a bargain this morning with the hunter Bonaventure Le Brun
to procure me ten Bighorns, at $10.00 apiece, or the same price for any
number he may get. Mr. Culbertson lent him old Peter, the horse, and I
wrote a _petit billet_ to Mr. John Collins, to ask him to have them
ferried across the river, as our boat was away on a wood-cutting
expedition. As Le Brun did not return, of course he was taken across,
and may, perhaps, come back this evening, or early to-morrow morning,
with something worth having. At this moment Bell has shot a Wolf from
the ramparts, and sadly crippled another, but it made off somehow.
_June 27, Tuesday._ This morning was quite cool, and the wind from the
north. After breakfast Bell and Owen McKenzie went off on horseback on
this side of the river, to see how far off the Buffaloes are, and they
may probably bring home some game. Sprague and I have been drawing all
day yesterday and most of to-day. Provost has been making whistles to
call the Deer; later he, Harris, and I, walked to the hills to procure
the black root plant which is said to be the best antidote for the bite
of the rattlesnake. We found the root and dug one up, but the plant is
not yet in bloom. The leaves are long and narrow, and the flowers are
said to resemble the dwarf sunflower. Harris shot two of what he calls
the Small Shore Lark, male and female; but beyond the size being a
little smaller than those found at Labrador, I cannot discover any
specific difference. From the top of the hills we saw a grand panorama
of a most extensive wilderness, with Fort Union beneath us and far away,
as well as the Yellowstone River, and the lake across the river. The
hills across the Missouri appeared quite low, and we could see the high
prairie beyond, forming the background. Bell and McKenzie returned,
having shot a Wolf in a curious manner. On reaching the top of a hill
they found themselves close to the Wolf. Bell's horse ran quite past it,
but young McKenzie shot and broke one fore-leg, and it fell. Bell then
gave his horse to McKenzie, jumped off, ran to the Wolf, and took hold
of it by the tail, pulling it towards the horses; but it got up and ran
rapidly. Bell fired two shots in its back with a pistol without stopping
it, then he ran as fast as he could, shot it in the side, and it fell.
Bell says its tail was longer than usual, but it was not measured, and
the Wolf was left on the prairie, as they had no means of bringing it
in. They saw an Antelope, some Magpies, and a Swift Fox, but no
Buffaloes, though they were fifteen miles from the fort. They ran a
Long-tailed Deer, and describe its movements precisely as do Lewis and
Clark.[31] Between every three or four short leaps came the long leap of
fully twenty-five feet, if not more. The Kit or Swift Fox which they saw
stood by a bunch of wormwood, and whilst looking at the hunters, was
seen to brush off the flies with his paws.
I am now going to take this book to Lewis Squires and ask him to write
in it his account of the Buffalo hunt.
(The following is in Mr. Squires' handwriting:)
"By Mr. Audubon's desire I will relate the adventures that befell me in
my first Buffalo hunt, and I am in hopes that among the rubbish a
trifle, at least, may be obtained which may be of use or interest to
him. On the morning of Friday, the 23d, before daylight, I was up, and
in a short time young McKenzie made his appearance. A few minutes
sufficed to saddle our horses, and be in readiness for our contemplated
hunt. We were accompanied by Mr. Bonaventure the younger, one of the
hunters of the fort, and two carts to bring in whatever kind of meat
might be procured. We were ferried across the river in a flatboat, and
thence took our departure for the Buffalo country. We passed through a
wooded bottom for about one mile, and then over a level prairie for
about one mile and a half, when we commenced the ascent of the bluffs
that bound the western side of the Missouri valley; our course then lay
over an undulating prairie, quite rough, and steep hills with small
ravines between, and over dry beds of streams that are made by the
spring and fall freshets. Occasionally we were favored with a level
prairie never exceeding two miles in extent. When the carts overtook us,
we exchanged our horses for them, and sat on Buffalo robes on the
bottom, our horses following on behind us. As we neared the place where
the Buffaloes had been killed on the previous hunt, Bonaventure rode
alone to the top of a hill to discover, if possible, their whereabouts;
but to our disappointment nothing living was to be seen. We continued on
our way watching closely, ahead, right and left. Three o'clock came and
as yet nothing had been killed; as none of us had eaten anything since
the night before, our appetites admonished us that it was time to pay
attention to them. McKenzie and Bonaventure began to look about for
Antelopes; but before any were 'comeatable,' I fell asleep, and was
awakened by the report of a gun. Before we, in the carts, arrived at the
spot from whence this report proceeded, the hunters had killed, skinned,
and nearly cleaned the game, which was a fine male Antelope. I regretted
exceedingly I was not awake when it was killed, as I might have saved
the skin for Mr. Audubon, as well as the head, but I was too late. It
was now about five o'clock, and one may well imagine I was _somewhat_
hungry. Owen McKenzie commenced eating the raw liver, and offered me a
piece. What others can eat, I felt assured I could at least taste. I
accordingly took it and ate quite a piece of it; to my utter
astonishment, I found it not only palatable but very good; this
experience goes far to convince me that our prejudices make things
appear more disgusting than fact proves them to be. Our Antelope cut up
and in the cart, we proceeded on our 'winding way,' and scarcely had we
left the spot where the entrails of the animal remained, before the
Wolves and Ravens commenced coming from all quarters, and from places
where a minute before there was not a sign of one. We had not proceeded
three hundred yards at the utmost, before eight Wolves were about the
spot, and others approaching. On our way, both going and returning, we
saw a cactus of a conical shape, having a light straw-colored, double
flower, differing materially from the flower of the flat cactus, which
is quite common; had I had any means of bringing one in, I would most
gladly have done so, but I could not depend on the carts, and as they
are rather unpleasant companions, I preferred awaiting another
opportunity, which I hope may come in a few days. We shot a young of
Townsend's Hare, about seven or eight steps from us, with about a dozen
shot; I took good care of it until I left the cart on my return to the
fort, but when the carts arrived it had carelessly been lost. This I
regretted very much, as Mr. Audubon wanted it. It was nearly sunset when
Bonaventure discovered a Buffalo bull, so we concluded to encamp for the
night, and run the Buffaloes in the morning. We accordingly selected a
spot near a pond of water, which in spring and fall is quite a large
lake, and near which there was abundance of good pasture; our horses
were soon unsaddled and hoppled, a good fire blazing, and some of the
Antelope meat roasting on sticks before it. As soon as a bit was done,
we commenced operations, and it was soon gone 'the way of all flesh.' I
never before ate meat without salt or pepper, and until then never fully
appreciated these two _luxuries_, as they now seemed, nor can any one,
until deprived of them, and seated on a prairie as we were, or in some
similar situation. On the opposite side of the lake we saw a Grizzly
Bear, but he was unapproachable. After smoking our pipes we rolled
ourselves in our robes, with our saddles for pillows, and were soon lost
in a sound, sweet sleep. During the night I was awakened by a crunching
sound; the fire had died down, and I sat up and looking about perceived
a Wolf quietly feeding on the remains of our supper. One of the men
awoke at the same time and fired at the Wolf, but without effect, and
the fellow fled; we neither saw nor heard more of him during the night.
By daylight we were all up, and as our horses had not wandered far, it
was the work of a few minutes to catch and saddle them. We rode three or
four miles before we discovered anything, but at last saw a group of
three Buffaloes some miles from us. We pushed on, and soon neared them;
before arriving at their feeding-ground, we saw, scattered about,
immense quantities of pumice-stone, in detached pieces of all sizes;
several of the hills appeared to be composed wholly of it. As we
approached within two hundred yards of the Buffaloes they started, and
away went the hunters after them. My first intention of being merely a
looker-on continued up to this moment, but it was impossible to resist
following; almost unconsciously I commenced urging my horse after them,
and was soon rushing up hills and through ravines; but my horse gave
out, and disappointment and anger followed, as McKenzie and Bonaventure
succeeded in killing two, and wounding a third, which escaped. As soon
as they had finished them, they commenced skinning and cutting up one,
which was soon in the cart, the offal and useless meat being left on the
ground. Again the Wolves made their appearance as we were leaving; they
seemed shy, but Owen McKenzie succeeded in killing one, which was old
and useless. The other Buffalo was soon skinned and in the cart. In the
meantime McKenzie and I started on horseback for water. The man who had
charge of the keg had let it all run out, and most fortunately none of
us had wanted water until now. We rode to a pond, the water of which was
very salt and warm, but we had to drink this or none; we did so, filled
our flasks for the rest of the party, and a few minutes afterward
rejoined them. We started again for more meat to complete our load. I
observed, as we approached the Buffaloes, that they stood gazing at us
with their heads erect, lashing their sides with their tails; as soon as
they discovered what we were at, with the quickness of thought they
wheeled, and with the most surprising speed, for an animal apparently so
clumsy and awkward, flew before us. I could hardly imagine that these
enormous animals could move so quickly, or realize that their speed was
as great as it proved to be; and I doubt if in this country one horse in
ten can be found that will keep up with them. We rode five or six miles
before we discovered any more. At last we saw a single bull, and while
approaching him we started two others; slowly we wended our way towards
them until within a hundred yards, when away they went. I had now begun
to enter into the spirit of the chase, and off I started, full speed,
down a rough hill in swift pursuit; at the bottom of the hill was a
ditch about eight feet wide; the horse cleared this safely. I continued,
leading the others by some distance, and rapidly approaching the
Buffaloes. At this prospect of success my feelings can better be
imagined than described. I kept the lead of the others till within
thirty or forty yards of the Buffaloes, when I began making preparations
to fire as soon as I was sufficiently near; imagine, if possible, my
disappointment when I discovered that now, when all my hopes of success
were raised to the highest pitch, I was fated to meet a reverse as
mortifying as success would have been gratifying. My horse failed, and
slackened his pace, despite every effort of mine to urge him on; the
other hunters rushed by me at full speed, and my horse stopped
altogether. I saw the others fire; the animal swerved a little, but
still kept on. After breathing my horse a while, I succeeded in starting
him up again, followed after them, and came up in time to fire one shot
ere the animal was brought down. I think that I never saw an eye so
ferocious in expression as that of the wounded Buffalo; rolling wildly
in its socket, inflamed as the eye was, it had the most frightful
appearance that can be imagined; and in fact, the picture presented by
the Buffalo as a whole is quite beyond my powers of description. The
fierce eyes, blood streaming from his sides, mouth, and nostrils, he was
the wildest, most unearthly-looking thing it ever fell to my lot to gaze
upon. His sufferings were short; he was soon cut up and placed in the
cart, and we retraced our steps homeward. Whilst proceeding towards our
camping-ground for the night, two Antelopes were killed, and placed on
our carts. Whenever we approached these animals they were very curious
to see what we were; they would run, first to the right, and then to the
left, then suddenly run straight towards us until within gun-shot, or
nearly so. The horse attracted their attention more than the rider, and
if a slight elevation or bush was between us, they were easily killed.
As soon as their curiosity was gratified they would turn and run, but it
was not difficult to shoot before this occurred. When they turned they
would fly over the prairie for about a mile, when they would again stop
and look at us. During the day we suffered very much for want of water,
and drank anything that had the appearance of it, and most of the water,
in fact all of it, was either impregnated with salt, sulphur, or
magnesia--most disgusting stuff at any other time, but drinkable now.
The worst of all was some rain-water that we were obliged to drink,
first placing our handkerchiefs over the cup to strain it, and keep the
worms out of our mouths. I drank it, and right glad was I to get even
this. We rode about five miles to where we encamped for the night, near
a little pond of water. In a few minutes we had a good fire of Buffalo
dung to drive away mosquitoes that were in clouds about us. The water
had taken away our appetites completely, and we went to bed without
eating any supper. Our horses and beds were arranged as on the previous
evening. McKenzie and I intended starting for the fort early in the
morning. We saw a great many Magpies, Curlews, Plovers, Doves, and
numbers of Antelopes. About daylight I awoke and roused McKenzie; a man
had gone for the horses, but after a search of two hours returned
without finding them; all the party now went off except one man and
myself, and all returned without success except Bonaventure, who found
an old horse that had been lost since April last. He was despatched on
this to the fort to get other horses, as we had concluded that ours were
either lost or stolen. As soon as he had gone, one of the men started
again in search of the runaways, and in a short time returned with them.
McKenzie and I soon rode off. We saw two Grizzly Bears at the lake
again. Our homeward road we made much shorter by cutting off several
turns; we overtook Bonaventure about four miles from our encampment, and
passed him. We rode forty miles to the fort in a trifle over six hours.
We had travelled in all about one hundred and twenty miles. Bonaventure
arrived two hours after we did, and the carts came in the evening."
_Wednesday, June 28._ This is an account of Squires' Buffalo hunt, his
first one, which he has kindly written in my journal and which I hope
some day to publish. This morning was very cloudy, and we had some rain,
but from ten o'clock until this moment the weather has been beautiful.
Harris shot a handsome though rather small Wolf; I have made a large
drawing, and Sprague a fine diminished one, of the rascal. The first
news we had this morning was that the ferry flat had been stolen last
night, probably by the deserters from the fort who have had the wish to
return to St. Louis. Some person outside of the fort threw a large stone
at an Indian woman, and her husband fired in the dark, but no one could
be found on searching. There is much trouble and discomfort to the
managers of such an establishment as this. Provost went shooting, but
saw nothing. Young McKenzie and another man were sent to find the scow,
but in vain. On their return they said a hunter from Fort Mortimer had
brought a Bighorn, and skinned it, and that he would let me have it if I
wished. I sent Bell and Squires, and they brought the skin in. It proves
to be that of an old female in the act of shedding her winter coat, and
I found that she was covered with abundance of downy wool like the
Antelopes under similar circumstances. Mr. Larpenteur caught five small
catfish, which we ate at breakfast. After dinner Le Brun returned home,
but brought only the skin of a young female of the White-tailed Deer,
and I was surprised to see that it had the germ of a horn about one inch
long; the skin was quite red, and it is saved. A young Elk was brought
in good condition, as the hunters here know how to save skins properly;
it was too young, however, to take measurements. The horns were in
velvet about six inches long. When one sees the powerful bones and
muscles of this young animal, one cannot fail to think of the great
strength of the creature when mature, and its ability to bear with ease
the enormous antlers with which its head is surmounted. The flesh of the
Antelope is not comparable with that of the Deer, being dry and usually
tough. It is very rarely indeed that a fat Antelope is killed. Bell has
been very busy in skinning small birds and animals. We procured a young
Red-shafted Woodpecker, killed by an Indian boy with a bow and arrow.
Mr. Kipp's "Mackinaw" was launched this evening, and sent across the
river with men to relieve the charcoal-burners; she returned immediately
and we expect that Mr. Kipp's crew will go off to-morrow about twelve. I
was told a curious anecdote connected with a Grizzly Bear, that I will
write down; it is as follows: One of the _engages_ of the Company was
forced to run away, having killed an Indian woman, and made his way to
the Crow Fort, three hundred miles up the Yellowstone River. When he
arrived there he was in sad plight, having his own squaw and one or two
children along, who had all suffered greatly with hunger, thirst, and
exposure. They were received at the fort, but in a short time, less than
a week afterwards, he again ran off with his family, and on foot. The
discovery was soon made, and two men were sent after him; but he eluded
their vigilance by keeping close in ravines, etc. The men returned, and
two others with an Indian were despatched on a second search, and after
much travel saw the man and his family on an island, where he had taken
refuge from his pursuers. The Buffalo-hide canoe in which he had
attempted to cross the river was upset, and it was with difficulty that
he saved his wife and children. They were now unable to escape, and when
talking as to the best way to secure their return to the fort, the
soldiers saw him walk to the body of a dead Buffalo lying on the shore
of the island, with the evident intention of procuring some of it for
food. As he stooped to cut off a portion, to his utter horror he saw a
small Grizzly Bear crawl out from the carcass. It attacked him fiercely,
and so suddenly that he was unable to defend himself; the Bear lacerated
his face, arms, and the upper part of his body in a frightful manner,
and would have killed him, had not the Indian raised his gun and fired
at the Bear, wounding him severely, while a second shot killed him. The
_engage_ was too much hurt to make further effort to escape, and one of
the Company's boats passing soon after, he and his family were taken
back to the fort, where he was kept to await his trial.