none. The nine Indians, having received their presents, went off with
apparent reluctance, for when you begin to give them, the more they seem
to demand. The horseguards brought in another _Spermophilus hoodii_;
after dinner we are going to examine one of their burrows. We have been,
and have returned; the three burrows which we dug were as follows:
straight downward for three or four inches, and gradually becoming
deeper in an oblique slant, to the depth of eight or nine inches, but
not more, and none of these holes extended more than six or seven feet
beyond this. I was disappointed at not finding nests, or rooms for
stores. Although I have said much about Buffalo running, and butchering
in general, I have not given the particular manner in which the latter
is performed by the hunters of this country,--I mean the white
hunters,--and I will now try to do so. The moment that the Buffalo is
dead, three or four hunters, their faces and hands often covered with
gunpowder, and with pipes lighted, place the animal on its belly, and by
drawing out each fore and hind leg, fix the body so that it cannot fall
down again; an incision is made near the root of the tail, immediately
above the root in fact, and the skin cut to the neck, and taken off in
the roughest manner imaginable, downwards and on both sides at the same
time. The knives are going in all directions, and many wounds occur to
the hands and fingers, but are rarely attended to at this time. The pipe
of one man has perhaps given out, and with his bloody hands he takes the
one of his nearest companion, who has his own hands equally bloody. Now
one breaks in the skull of the bull, and with bloody fingers draws out
the hot brains and swallows them with peculiar zest; another has now
reached the liver, and is gobbling down enormous pieces of it; whilst,
perhaps, a third, who has come to the paunch, is feeding luxuriously on
some--to me--disgusting-looking offal. But the main business proceeds.
The flesh is taken off from the sides of the boss, or hump bones, from
where these bones begin to the very neck, and the hump itself is thus
destroyed. The hunters give the name of "hump" to the mere bones when
slightly covered by flesh; and it is cooked, and very good when fat,
young, and well broiled. The pieces of flesh taken from the sides of
these bones are called _filets_, and are the best portion of the animal
when properly cooked. The fore-quarters, or shoulders, are taken off, as
well as the hind ones, and the sides, covered by a thin portion of
flesh called the _depouille_, are taken out. Then the ribs are broken
off at the vertebrae, as well as the boss bones. The marrow-bones, which
are those of the fore and hind legs only, are cut out last. The feet
usually remain attached to these; the paunch is stripped of its covering
of layers of fat, the head and the backbone are left to the Wolves, the
pipes are all emptied, the hands, faces, and clothes all bloody, and now
a glass of grog is often enjoyed, as the stripping off the skins and
flesh of three or four animals is truly very hard work. In some cases
when no water was near, our supper was cooked without our being washed,
and it was not until we had travelled several miles the next morning
that we had any opportunity of cleaning ourselves; and yet, despite
everything, we are all hungry, eat heartily, and sleep soundly. When the
wind is high and the Buffaloes run towards it, the hunter's guns very
often snap, and it is during their exertions to replenish their pans,
that the powder flies and sticks to the moisture every moment
accumulating on their faces; but nothing stops these daring and usually
powerful men, who the moment the chase is ended, leap from their horses,
let them graze, and begin their butcher-like work.
_August 11, Friday._ The weather has been cold and windy, and the day
has passed in comparative idleness with me. Squires returned this
afternoon alone, having left Provost and La Fleur behind. They have seen
only two Bighorns, a female and her young. It was concluded that, if our
boat was finished by Tuesday next, we would leave on Wednesday morning,
but I am by no means assured of this, and Harris was quite startled at
the very idea. Our boat, though forty feet long, is, I fear, too small.
_Nous verrons!_ Some few preparations for packing have been made, but
Owen, Harris, and Bell are going out early to-morrow morning to hunt
Buffaloes, and when they return we will talk matters over. The activity
of Buffaloes is almost beyond belief; they can climb the steep defiles
of the Mauvaises Terres in hundreds of places where men cannot follow
them, and it is a fine sight to see a large gang of them proceeding
along these defiles four or five hundred feet above the level of the
bottoms, and from which pathway if one of the number makes a mis-step or
accidentally slips, he goes down rolling over and over, and breaks his
neck ere the level ground is reached. Bell and Owen saw a bull about
three years old that leaped a ravine filled with mud and water, at least
twenty feet wide; it reached the middle at the first bound, and at the
second was mounted on the opposite bank, from which it kept on bounding,
till it gained the top of quite a high hill. Mr. Culbertson tells me
that these animals can endure hunger in a most extraordinary manner. He
says that a large bull was seen on a spot half way down a precipice,
where it had slid, and from which it could not climb upwards, and either
could not or would not descend; at any rate, it did not leave the
position in which it found itself. The party who saw it returned to the
fort, and, on their way back on the _twenty-fifth_ day after, they
passed the hill, and saw the bull standing there. The thing that
troubles them most is crossing rivers on the ice; their hoofs slip from
side to side, they become frightened, and stretch their four legs apart
to support the body, and in such situations the Indians and white
hunters easily approach, and stab them to the heart, or cut the
hamstrings, when they become an easy prey. When in large gangs those in
the centre are supported by those on the outposts, and if the stream is
not large, reach the shore and readily escape. Indians of different
tribes hunt the Buffalo in different ways; some hunt on horseback, and
use arrows altogether; they are rarely expert in reloading the gun in
the close race. Others hunt on foot, using guns, arrows, or both. Others
follow with patient perseverance, and kill them also. But I will give
you the manner pursued by the Mandans. Twenty to fifty men start, as
the occasion suits, each provided with two horses, one of which is a
pack-horse, the other fit for the chase. They have quivers with from
twenty to fifty arrows, according to the wealth of the hunter. They ride
the pack horse bareback, and travel on, till they see the game, when
they leave the pack-horse, and leap on the hunter, and start at full
speed and soon find themselves amid the Buffaloes, on the flanks of the
herd, and on both sides. When within a few yards the arrow is sent, they
shoot at a Buffalo somewhat ahead of them, and send the arrow in an
oblique manner, so as to pass through the lights. If the blood rushes
out of the nose and mouth the animal is fatally wounded, and they shoot
at it no more; if not, a second, and perhaps a third arrow, is sent
before this happens. The Buffaloes on starting carry the tail close in
between the legs, but when wounded they switch it about, especially if
they wish to fight, and then the hunter's horse shies off and lets the
mad animal breathe awhile. If shot through the heart, they occasionally
fall dead on the instant; sometimes, if not hit in the right place, a
dozen arrows will not stop them. When wounded and mad they turn suddenly
round upon the hunter, and rush upon him in such a quick and furious
manner that if horse and rider are not both on the alert, the former is
overtaken, hooked and overthrown, the hunter pitched off, trampled and
gored to death. Although the Buffalo is such a large animal, and to all
appearance a clumsy one, it can turn with the quickness of thought, and
when once enraged, will rarely give up the chase until avenged for the
wound it has received. If, however, the hunter is expert, and the horse
fleet, they outrun the bull, and it returns to the herd. Usually the
greater number of the gang is killed, but it very rarely happens that
some of them do not escape. This however is not the case when the animal
is pounded, especially by the Gros Ventres, Black Feet, and
Assiniboins. These pounds are called "parks," and the Buffaloes are made
to enter them in the following manner: The park is sometimes round and
sometimes square, this depending much on the ground where it is put up;
at the end of the park is what is called a _precipice_ of some fifteen
feet or less, as may be found. It is approached by a funnel-shaped
passage, which like the park itself is strongly built of logs,
brushwood, and pickets, and when all is ready a young man, very swift of
foot, starts at daylight covered over with a Buffalo robe and wearing a
Buffalo head-dress. The moment he sees the herd to be taken, he bellows
like a young calf, and makes his way slowly towards the contracted part
of the funnel, imitating the cry of the calf, at frequent intervals. The
Buffaloes advance after the decoy; about a dozen mounted hunters are
yelling and galloping behind them, and along both flanks of the herd,
forcing them by these means to enter the mouth of the funnel. Women and
children are placed behind the fences of the funnel to frighten the
cattle, and as soon as the young man who acts as decoy feels assured
that the game is in a fair way to follow to the bank or "precipice," he
runs or leaps down the bank, over the barricade, and either rests, or
joins in the fray. The poor Buffaloes, usually headed by a large bull,
proceed, leap down the bank in haste and confusion, the Indians all
yelling and pursuing till every bull, cow, and calf is impounded.
Although this is done at all seasons, it is more general in October or
November, when the hides are good and salable. Now the warriors are all
assembled by the pen, calumets are lighted, and the chief smokes to the
Great Spirit, the four points of the compass, and lastly to the
Buffaloes. The pipe is passed from mouth to mouth in succession, and as
soon as this ceremony is ended, the destruction commences. Guns shoot,
arrows fly in all directions, and the hunters being on the outside of
the enclosure, destroy the whole gang, before they jump over to clean
and skin the murdered herd. Even the children shoot small, short arrows
to assist in the destruction. It happens sometimes however, that the
leader of the herd will be restless at the sight of the precipices, and
if the fence is weak will break through it, and all his fellows follow
him, and escape. The same thing sometimes takes place in the pen, for so
full does this become occasionally that the animals touch each other,
and as they cannot move, the very weight against the fence of the pen is
quite enough to break it through; the smallest aperture is sufficient,
for in a few minutes it becomes wide, and all the beasts are seen
scampering over the prairies, leaving the poor Indians starving and
discomfited. Mr. Kipp told me that while travelling from Lake Travers to
the Mandans, in the month of August, he rode in a heavily laden cart for
six successive days through masses of Buffaloes, which divided for the
cart, allowing it to pass without opposition. He has seen the immense
prairie back of Fort Clark look black to the tops of the hills, though
the ground was covered with snow, so crowded was it with these animals;
and the masses probably extended much further. In fact it is _impossible
to describe or even conceive_ the vast multitudes of these animals that
exist even now, and feed on these ocean-like prairies.
_August 12, Saturday._ Harris, Bell, and Owen went after Buffaloes;
killed six cows and brought them home. Weather cloudy, and rainy at
times. Provost returned with La Fleur this afternoon, had nothing, but
had seen a Grizzly Bear. The "Union" was launched this evening and
packing, etc., is going on. I gave a memorandum to Jean Baptiste
Moncrevier of the animals I wish him to procure for me.
_August 13, Sunday._ A most beautiful day. About dinner time I had a
young Badger brought to me dead; I bought it, and gave in payment two
pounds of sugar. The body of these animals is broader than high, the
neck is powerfully strong, as well as the fore-arms, and strongly clawed
fore-feet. It weighed 81/2 lbs. Its measurements were all taken. When the
pursuer gets between a Badger and its hole, the animal's hair rises, and
it at once shows fight. A half-breed hunter told Provost, who has just
returned from Fort Mortimer, that he was anxious to go down the river
with me, but I know the man and hardly care to have him. If I decide to
take him Mr. Culbertson, to whom I spoke of the matter, told me my only
plan was to pay him by the piece for what he killed and brought on
board, and that in case he did not turn out well between this place and
Fort Clark, to leave him there; so I have sent word to him to this
effect by Provost this afternoon. Bell is skinning the Badger, Sprague
finishing the map of the river made by Squires, and the latter is
writing. The half-breed has been here, and the following is our
agreement: "It is understood that Francois Detaille will go with me,
John J. Audubon, and to secure for me the following quadrupeds--if
possible--for which he will receive the prices here mentioned, payable
at Fort Union, Fort Clark, or Fort Pierre, as may best suit him.
For each Bighorn male $10.00
For a large Grizzly Bear 20.00
For a large male Elk 6.00
For a Black-tailed Deer, male or female 6.00
For Red Foxes 3.00
For small Gray Foxes 3.00
For Badgers 2.00
For large Porcupine 2.00
Independent of which I agree to furnish him with his passage and food,
he to work as a hand on board. Whatever he kills for food will be
settled when he leaves us, or, as he says, when he meets the Opposition
boat coming up to Fort Mortimer." He will also accompany us in our hunt
after Bighorns, which I shall undertake, notwithstanding Mr. Culbertson
and Squires, who have been to the Mauvaises Terres, both try to dissuade
me from what they fear will prove over-fatiguing; but though my strength
is not what it was twenty years ago, I am yet equal to much, and my
eyesight far keener than that of many a younger man, though that too
tells me I am no longer a youth....
The only idea I can give in _writing_ of what are called the "Mauvaises
Terres" would be to place some thousands of loaves of sugar of different
sizes, from quite small and low, to large and high, all irregularly
truncated at top, and placed somewhat apart from each other. No one who
has not seen these places can form any idea of these resorts of the
Rocky Mountain Rams, or the difficulty of approaching them, putting
aside their extreme wildness and their marvellous activity. They form
paths around these broken-headed cones (that are from three to fifteen
hundred feet high), and run round them at full speed on a track that, to
the eye of the hunter, does not appear to be more than a few inches
wide, but which is, in fact, from a foot to eighteen inches in width. In
some places there are piles of earth from eight to ten feet high, or
even more, the tops of which form platforms of a hard and shelly rocky
substance, where the Bighorn is often seen looking on the hunter far
below, and standing immovable, as if a statue. No one can imagine how
they reach these places, and that too with their young, even when the
latter are quite small. Hunters say that the young are usually born in
such places, the mothers going there to save the helpless little one
from the Wolves, which, after men, seem to be their greatest destroyers.
The Mauvaises Terres are mostly formed of grayish white clay, very
sparsely covered with small patches of thin grass, on which the Bighorns
feed, but which, to all appearance, is a very scanty supply, and there,
and there only, they feed, as not one has ever been seen on the bottom
or prairie land further than the foot of these most extraordinary hills.
In wet weather, no man can climb any of them, and at such times they are
greasy, muddy, sliding grounds. Oftentimes when a Bighorn is seen on a
hill-top, the hunter has to ramble about for three or four miles before
he can approach within gunshot of the game, and if the Bighorn ever sees
his enemy, pursuit is useless. The tops of some of these hills, and in
some cases whole hills about thirty feet high, are composed of a
conglomerated mass of stones, sand, and clay, with earth of various
sorts, fused together, and having a brick-like appearance. In this mass
pumice-stone of various shapes and sizes is to be found. The whole is
evidently the effect of volcanic action. The bases of some of these
hills cover an area of twenty acres or more, and the hills rise to the
height of three or four hundred feet, sometimes even to eight hundred or
a thousand; so high can the hunter ascend that the surrounding country
is far, far beneath him. The strata are of different colored clays,
coal, etc., and an earth impregnated with a salt which appears to have
been formed by internal fire or heat, the earth or stones of which I
have first spoken in this account, lava, sulphur, salts of various
kinds, oxides and sulphates of iron; and in the sand at the tops of some
of the highest hills I have found marine shells, but so soft and
crumbling as to fall apart the instant they were exposed to the air. I
spent some time over various lumps of sand, hoping to find some perfect
ones that would be hard enough to carry back to St. Louis; but 't was
"love's labor lost," and I regretted exceedingly that only a few
fragments could be gathered. I found globular and oval shaped stones,
very heavy, apparently composed mostly of iron, weighing from fifteen to
twenty pounds; numbers of petrified stumps from one to three feet in
diameter; the Mauvaises Terres abound with them; they are to be found
in all parts from the valleys to the tops of the hills, and appear to be
principally of cedar. On the sides of the hills, at various heights, are
shelves of rock or stone projecting out from two to six, eight, or even
ten feet, and generally square, or nearly so; these are the favorite
resorts of the Bighorns during the heat of the day, and either here or
on the tops of the highest hills they are to be found. Between the hills
there is generally quite a growth of cedar, but mostly stunted and
crowded close together, with very large stumps, and between the stumps
quite a good display of grass; on the summits, in some _few_ places,
there are table-lands, varying from an area of one to ten or fifteen
acres; these are covered with a short, dry, wiry grass, and immense
quantities of flat leaved cactus, the spines of which often warn the
hunter of their proximity, and the hostility existing between them and
his feet. These plains are not more easily travelled than the hillsides,
as every step may lead the hunter into a bed of these pests of the
prairies. In the valleys between the hills are ravines, some of which
are not more than ten or fifteen feet wide, while their depth is beyond
the reach of the eye. Others vary in depth from ten to fifty feet, while
some make one giddy to look in; they are also of various widths, the
widest perhaps a hundred feet. The edges, at times, are lined with
bushes, mostly wild cherry; occasionally Buffaloes make paths across
them, but this is rare. The only safe way to pass is to follow the
ravine to the head, which is usually at the foot of some hill, and go
round. These ravines are mostly between every two hills, although like
every general rule there are variations and occasionally places where
three or more hills make only one ravine. These small ravines all
connect with some larger one, the size of which is in proportion to its
tributaries. The large one runs to the river, or the water is carried
off by a subterranean channel. In these valleys, and sometimes on the
tops of the hills, are holes, called "sink holes;" these are formed by
the water running in a small hole and working away the earth beneath the
surface, leaving a crust incapable of supporting the weight of a man;
and if an unfortunate steps on this crust, he soon finds himself in
rather an unpleasant predicament. This is one of the dangers that attend
the hunter in these lands; these holes eventually form a ravine such as
I have before spoken of. Through these hills it is almost impossible to
travel with a horse, though it is sometimes done by careful management,
and a correct knowledge of the country. The sides of the hills are very
steep, covered with the earth and stones of which I have spoken, all of
which are quite loose on the surface; occasionally a bunch of wormwood
here and there seems to assist the daring hunter; for it is no light
task to follow the Bighorns through these lands, and the pursuit is
attended with much danger, as the least slip at times would send one
headlong into the ravines below. On the sides of these high hills the
water has washed away the earth, leaving caves of various sizes; and, in
fact, in some places all manner of fantastic forms are made by the same
process. Occasionally in the valleys are found isolated cones or domes,
destitute of vegetation, naked and barren. Throughout the Mauvaises
Terres there are springs of water impregnated with salt, sulphur,
magnesia, and many other salts of all kinds. Such is the water the
hunter is compelled to drink, and were it not that it is as cold as ice
it would be almost impossible to swallow it. As it is, many of these
waters operate as cathartics or emetics; this is one of the most
disagreeable attendants of hunting in these lands. Moreover, venomous
snakes of many kinds are also found here. I saw myself only one
copperhead, and a common garter-snake. Notwithstanding the rough nature
of the country, the Buffaloes have paths running in all directions, and
leading from the prairies to the river. The hunter sometimes, after
toiling for an hour or two up the side of one of these hills, trying to
reach the top in hopes that when there he will have for a short distance
at least, either a level place or good path to walk on, finds to his
disappointment that he has secured a point that only affords a place
scarcely large enough to stand on, and he has the trouble of descending,
perhaps to renew his disappointment in the same way, again and again,
such is the deceptive character of the country. I was thus deceived time
and again, while in search of Bighorns. If the hill does not terminate
in a point it is connected with another hill, by a ridge so narrow that
nothing but a Bighorn can walk on it. This is the country that the
Mountain Ram inhabits, and if, from this imperfect description, any
information can be derived, I shall be more than repaid for the trouble
I have had in these tiresome hills. Whether my theory be correct or
incorrect, it is this: These hills were at first composed of the clays
that I have mentioned, mingled with an immense quantity of combustible
material, such as coal, sulphur, bitumen, etc.; these have been
destroyed by fire, or (at least the greater part) by volcanic action, as
to this day, on the Black Hills and in the hills near where I have been,
fire still exists; and from the immense quantities of pumice-stone and
melted ores found among the hills, even were there no fire now to be
seen, no one could doubt that it had, at some date or other, been there;
as soon as this process had ceased, the rains washed out the loose
material, and carried it to the rivers, leaving the more solid parts as
we now find them; the action of water to this day continues. As I have
said, the Bighorns are very fond of resorting to the shelves, or ledges,
on the sides of the hills, during the heat of the day, when these places
are shaded; here they lie, but are aroused instantly upon the least
appearance of danger, and, as soon as they have discovered the cause of
alarm, away they go, over hill and ravine, occasionally stopping to look
round, and when ascending the steepest hill, there is no apparent
diminution of their speed. They will ascend and descend places, when
thus alarmed, so inaccessible that it is almost impossible to conceive
how, and where, they find a foothold. When observed before they see the
hunter, or while they are looking about when first alarmed, are the only
opportunities the hunter has to shoot them; for, as soon as they start
there is no hope, as to follow and find them is a task not easily
accomplished, for where or how far they go when thus on the alert,
heaven only knows, as but few hunters have ever attempted a chase. At
all times they have to be approached with the greatest caution, as the
least thing renders them on the qui vive. When not found on these
shelves, they are seen on the tops of the most inaccessible and highest
hills, looking down on the hunters, apparently conscious of their
security, or else lying down tranquilly in some sunny spot quite out of
reach. As I have observed before, the only times that these animals can
be shot are when on these ledges, or when moving from one point to
another. Sometimes they move only a few hundred yards, but it will take
the hunter several hours to approach near enough for a shot, so long are
the _detours_ he is compelled to make. I have been thus baffled two or
three times. The less difficult hills are found cut up by paths made by
these animals; these are generally about eighteen inches wide. These
animals appear to be quite as agile as the European Chamois, leaping
down precipices, across ravines, and running up and down almost
perpendicular hills. The only places I could find that seemed to afford
food for them, was between the cedars, as I have before mentioned; but
the places where they are most frequently found are barren, and without
the least vestige of vegetation. From the character of the lands where
these animals are found, their own shyness, watchfulness, and agility,
it is readily seen what the hunter must endure, and what difficulties he
must undergo to near these "Wild Goats." It is one constant time of
toil, anxiety, fatigue, and danger. Such the country! Such the animal!
Such the hunting!
_August 16._ Started from Fort Union at 12 M. in the Mackinaw barge
"Union." Shot five young Ducks. Camped at the foot of a high bluff. Good
supper of Chickens and Ducks.
_Thursday, 17th._ Started early. Saw three Bighorns, some Antelopes, and
many Deer, fully twenty; one Wolf, twenty-two Swans, many Ducks. Stopped
a short time on a bar. Mr. Culbertson shot a female Elk, and I killed
two bulls. Camped at Buffalo Bluff, where we found Bear tracks.