with Michaux at four A. M. I breakfasted at five, and started with Mr.
La Barge. When we reached the hunting-grounds, about six miles
distant, we saw Bell making signs to us to go to him, and I knew from
that that they had some fresh meat. When we reached them, we found a
very large Deer that Michaux had killed. Squires shot a Woodcock,
which I ate for my dinner, in company with the captain. Michaux had
brought the Deer--Indian fashion--about two miles. I was anxious to
examine some of the intestines, and we all three started on the tracks
of Michaux, leaving Squires to keep the Wolves away from the dead
Deer. We went at once towards a small stream meandering at the foot of
the hills, and as we followed it, Bell shot at a Turkey-cock about
eighty yards; his ball cut a streak of feathers from its back, but the
gobbler went off. When we approached the spot where Michaux had opened
the Deer, we did so cautiously, in the hope of then shooting a Wolf,
but none had come; we therefore made our observations, and took up the
tongue, which had been forgotten. Bell joined us, and as we were
returning to Squires we saw flocks of the Chestnut-collared Lark or
Ground-finch, whose exact measurement I have here given, and almost at
the same time saw Harris. He and Bell went off after the Finches; we
pursued our course to Squires, and waited for their return. Seeing no
men to help carry the Deer, Michaux picked it up, Squires took his
gun, etc., and we made for the river again. We had the good luck to
meet the barge coming, and we reached our boat easily in a few
minutes, with our game. I saw upwards of twelve of Harris' new Finch
(?) a Marsh Hawk, Henslow's Bunting, _Emberiza pallida_, Robins, Wood
Thrushes, Bluebirds, Ravens, the same abundance of House Wrens, and
all the birds already enumerated. We have seen floating eight
Buffaloes, one Antelope, and one Deer; how great the destruction of
these animals must be during high freshets! The cause of their being
drowned in such extraordinary numbers might not astonish one
acquainted with the habits of these animals, but to one who is not, it
may be well enough for me to describe it. Some few hundred miles above
us, the river becomes confined between high bluffs or cliffs, many of
which are nearly perpendicular, and therefore extremely difficult to
ascend. When the Buffaloes have leaped or tumbled down from either
side of the stream, they swim with ease across, but on reaching these
walls, as it were, the poor animals try in vain to climb them, and
becoming exhausted by falling back some dozens of times, give up the
ghost, and float down the turbid stream; their bodies have been known
to pass, swollen and putrid, the city of St. Louis. The most
extraordinary part of the history of these drowned Buffaloes is, that
the different tribes of Indians on the shores, are ever on the lookout
for them, and no matter how putrid their flesh may be, provided the
hump proves at all fat, they swim to them, drag them on shore, and cut
them to pieces; after which they cook and eat this loathsome and
abominable flesh, even to the marrow found in the bones. In some
instances this has been done when the whole of the hair had fallen
off, from the rottenness of the Buffalo. Ah! Mr. Catlin, I am now
sorry to see and to read your accounts of the Indians _you_
saw[286]--how very different they must have been from any that I have
seen! Whilst we were on the top of the high hills which we climbed
this morning, and looked towards the valley beneath us, including the
river, we were undetermined as to whether we saw as much land dry as
land overflowed; the immense flat prairie on the east side of the
river looked not unlike a lake of great expanse, and immediately
beneath us the last freshet had left upwards of perhaps two or three
hundred acres covered by water, with numbers of water fowl on it, but
so difficult of access as to render our wishes to kill Ducks quite out
of the question. From the tops of the hills we saw only a continual
succession of other lakes, of the same form and nature; and although
the soil was of a fair, or even good, quality, the grass grew in
tufts, separated from each other, and as it grows green in one spot,
it dies and turns brown in another. We saw here no "carpeted
prairies," no "velvety distant landscape;" and if these things are to
be seen, why, the sooner we reach them the better. This afternoon I
took the old nest of a Vireo, fully three feet above my head, filled
with dried mud; it was attached to two small prongs issuing from a
branch fully the size of my arm; this proves how high the water must
have risen. Again, we saw large trees of which the bark had been torn
off by the rubbing or cutting of the ice, as high as my shoulder. This
is accounted for as follows: during the first breaking up of the ice,
it at times accumulates, so as to form a complete dam across the
river; and when this suddenly gives way by the heat of the atmosphere,
and the great pressure of the waters above the dam, the whole rushes
on suddenly and overflows the country around, hurling the ice against
any trees in its course. Sprague has shot two _Emberiza pallida_, two
Lincoln's Finches, and a Black and Yellow Warbler, _Sylvicola
[Dendroeca] maculosa_. One of our trappers, who had gone to the
hills, brought on board two Rattlesnakes of a kind which neither
Harris nor myself had seen before. The four Indians we have on board
are three Puncas[287] and one Sioux; the Puncas were formerly attached
to the Omahas; but, having had some difficulties among themselves,
they retired further up the river, and assumed this new name. The
Omahas reside altogether on the west side of the Missouri. Three of
the Puncas have walked off to the establishment of Mr. Cerre to
procure moccasins, but will return to-night. They appear to be very
poor, and with much greater appetites than friend Catlin describes
them to have. Our men are stupid, and very superstitious; they believe
the rattles of Snakes are a perfect cure for the headache; also, that
they never die till after sunset, etc. We have discovered the female
of Harris's Finch, which, as well as in the White-crowned Finch,
resembles the male almost entirely; it is only a very little paler in
its markings. I am truly proud to name it _Fringilla Harrisii_, in
honor of one of the best friends I have in this world.
_May 18, Thursday._ Our good captain called us all up at a quarter
before four this fair morning, to tell us that four barges had arrived
from Fort Pierre, and that we might write a few letters, which Mr.
Laidlaw,[288] one of the partners, would take to St. Louis for us. I
was introduced to that gentleman and also to Major Dripps,[289] the
Indian agent. I wrote four short letters, which I put in an envelope
addressed to the Messieurs Chouteau & Co., of St. Louis, who will post
them, and we have hopes that some may reach their destination. The
names of these four boats are "War Eagle," "White Cloud," "Crow
feather," and "Red-fish." We went on board one of them, and found it
comfortable enough. They had ten thousand Buffalo robes on the four
boats; the men live entirely on Buffalo meat and pemmican. They told
us that about a hundred miles above us the Buffalo were by thousands,
that the prairies were covered with dead calves, and the shores lined
with dead of all sorts; that Antelopes were there also, and a great
number of Wolves, etc.; therefore we shall see them after a while. Mr.
Laidlaw told me that he would be back at Fort Pierre in two months,
and would see us on our return. He is a true Scot, and apparently a
clean one. We gave them six bottles of whiskey, for which they were
very thankful; they gave us dried Buffalo meat, and three pairs of
moccasins. They breakfasted with us, preferring salt meat to fresh
venison. They departed soon after six o'clock, and proceeded rapidly
down-stream in Indian file. These boats are strong and broad; the
tops, or roofs, are supported by bent branches of trees, and these are
covered by water-proof Buffalo hides; each has four oarsmen and a
steersman, who manages the boat standing on a broad board; the helm is
about ten feet long, and the rudder itself is five or six feet long.
They row constantly for sixteen hours, and stop regularly at sundown;
they, unfortunately for us, spent the night about two miles above us,
for had we known of their immediate proximity we should have had the
whole of the night granted for writing long, long letters. Our
prospect of starting to-day is somewhat doubtful, as the hammering at
the boilers still reaches my ears. The day is bright and calm. Mr.
Laidlaw told us that on the 5th of May the snow fell two feet on the
level, and destroyed thousands of Buffalo calves. We felt the same
storm whilst we were fast on the bar above Fort Leavenworth. This has
been a day of almost pure idleness; our tramps of yesterday and the
day previous had tired me, and with the exception of shooting at
marks, and Sprague killing one of Bell's Vireo, and a Least Pewee, as
well as another female of Harris's Finch, we have done nothing. Bell
this evening went off to look for Bats, but saw none.
_May 19, Friday._ This has been a beautiful, but a very dull day to us
all. We started by moonlight at three this morning, and although we
have been running constantly, we took the wrong channel twice, and
thereby lost much of our precious time; so I look upon this day's
travel as a very poor one. The river was in several places
inexpressibly wide and shallow. We saw a Deer of the common kind
swimming across the stream; but few birds were killed, although we
stopped (unfortunately) three times for wood. I forgot to say
yesterday two things which I should have related, one of which is of a
dismal and very disagreeable nature, being no less than the account
given us of the clerks of the Company having killed one of the chiefs
of the Blackfeet tribe of Indians, at the upper settlement of the
Company, at the foot of the great falls of the Missouri, and therefore
at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and Mr. Laidlaw assured us that it
would be extremely dangerous for us to go that far towards these
Indians. The other thing is that Mr. Laidlaw brought down a daughter
of his, a half-breed of course, whom he is taking to St. Louis to be
educated. We saw another Deer crossing the river, and have shot only a
few birds, of no consequence.
_May 20, Saturday._ We have not made much progress this day, for the
wind rose early, and rather ahead. We have passed to-day Jacques
River,[290] or, as I should call it, La Riviere a Jacques, named after
a man who some twenty or more years ago settled upon its banks, and
made some money by collecting Beavers, etc., but who is dead and gone.
Three White Wolves were seen this morning, and after a while we saw a
fourth, of the brindled kind, which was trotting leisurely on, about
150 yards distant from the bank, where he had probably been feeding on
some carrion or other. A shot from a rifle was quite enough to make
him turn off up the river again, but farther from us, at a full
gallop; after a time he stopped again, when the noise of our steam
pipe started him, and we soon lost sight of him in the bushes. We saw
three Deer in the flat of one of the prairies, and just before our
dinner we saw, rather indistinctly, a number of Buffaloes, making
their way across the hills about two miles distant; after which,
however, we saw their heavy tracks in a well and deep cut line across
the said hills. Therefore we are now in what is pronounced to be the
"Buffalo country," and may expect to see more of these animals
to-morrow. We have stopped for wood no less than three times this day,
and are fast for the night. Sprague killed a _Pipilo arcticus_, and
Bell three others of the same species. We procured also another Bat,
the _Vespertilio subulatus_ of Say, and this is all. The country
around us has materially changed, and we now see more naked, and to my
eyes more completely denuded, hills about us, and less of the rich
bottoms of alluvial land, than we passed below our present situation.
I will not anticipate the future by all that we hear of the country
above, but will continue steadily to accumulate in this, my poor
journal, all that may take place from day to day. Three of our Indian
rascals left us at our last wooding-ground, and have gone towards
their miserable village. We have now only one Sioux with us, who will,
the captain says, go to Fort Pierre in our company. They are, all that
we have had as yet, a thieving and dirty set, covered with vermin. We
still see a great number of Black-headed Gulls, but I think fewer
Geese and Ducks than below; this probably on account of the very
swampy prairie we have seen, and which appears to become scarce as we
are advancing in this strange wilderness.
_May 21, Sunday._ We have had a great deal that interested us all this
day. In the first place we have passed no less than five of what are
called rivers, and their names are as follows:[291] Manuel, Basil,
L'Eau qui Court, Ponca Creek, and Chouteau's River, all of which are
indifferent streams of no magnitude, except the swift-flowing L'Eau
qui Court,[292] which in some places is fully as broad as the Missouri
itself, fully as muddy, filled with quicksands, and so remarkably
shallow that in the autumn its navigation is very difficult indeed. We
have seen this day about fifty Buffaloes; two which we saw had taken
to the river, with intent to swim across it, but on the approach of
our thundering, noisy vessel, turned about and after struggling for a
few minutes, did make out to reach the top of the bank, after which
they travelled at a moderate gait for some hundreds of yards; then,
perhaps smelling or seeing the steamboat, they went off at a good
though not very fast gallop, on the prairie by our side, and were soon
somewhat ahead of us; they stopped once or twice, again resumed their
gallop, and after a few diversions in their course, made to the
hill-tops and disappeared altogether. We stopped to wood at a very
propitious place indeed, for it was no less than the fort put up some
years ago by Monsieur Le Clerc. Finding no one at the spot, we went to
work cutting the pickets off his fortifications till we were loaded
with the very best of dry wood. After we left that spot, were found
several _Pipilo arcticus_ which were shot, as well as a Say's
Flycatcher. The wind rose pretty high, and after trying our best to
stem the current under very high cliffs, we were landed on Poncas
Island, where all of us excepting Squires, who was asleep, went on
shore to hunt, and to shoot whatever we might find. It happened that
this island was well supplied with game; we saw many Deer, and Bell
killed a young Doe, which proved good as fresh meat. Some twelve or
fourteen of these animals were seen, and Bell saw three Elks which he
followed across the island, also a Wolf in its hole, but did not kill
it. Sprague saw a Forked-tailed Hawk, too far off to shoot at. We
passed several dead Buffaloes near the shore, on which the Ravens were
feeding gloriously. The _Pipilo arcticus_ is now extremely abundant,
and so is the House Wren, Yellow-breasted Chat, etc. We have seen this
day Black-headed Gulls, Sandpipers, and Ducks, and now I am going to
rest, for after my long walk through the deep mud to reach the ridge
on the islands, I feel somewhat wearied and fatigued. Three Antelopes
were seen this evening.
_May 22, Monday._ We started as early as usual, _i. e._, at half-past
three; the weather was fine. We breakfasted before six, and
immediately after saw two Wild Cats of the common kind; we saw them
running for some hundreds of yards. We also saw several large Wolves,
noticing particularly one pure white, that stood and looked at us for
some time. Their movements are precisely those of the common cur dog.
We have seen five or six this day. We began seeing Buffaloes again in
small gangs, but this afternoon and evening we have seen a goodly
number, probably more than a hundred. We also saw fifteen or twenty
Antelopes. I saw ten at once, and it was beautiful to see them running
from the top of a high hill down to its base, after which they went
round the same hill, and were lost to us. We have landed three times
to cut wood, and are now busy at it on Cedar Island.[293] At both the
previous islands we saw an immense number of Buffalo tracks, more,
indeed, than I had anticipated. The whole of the prairies as well as
the hills have been so trampled by them that I should have considered
it quite unsafe for a man to travel on horseback. The ground was
literally covered with their tracks, and also with bunches of hair,
while the bushes and the trunks of the trees, between which they had
passed, were hanging with the latter substance. I collected some, and
intend to carry a good deal home. We found here an abundance of what
is called the White Apple,[294] but which is anything else but an
apple. The fruit grows under the ground about six inches; it is about
the size of a hen's egg, covered with a woody, hard pellicle, a
sixteenth of an inch thick, from which the fruit can be drawn without
much difficulty; this is quite white; the exterior is a dirty, dark
brown. The roots are woody. The flowers were not in bloom, but I
perceived that the leaves are ovate, and attached in fives. This plant
is collected in great quantities by the Indians at this season and
during the whole summer, and put to dry, which renders it as hard as
wood; it is then pounded fine, and makes an excellent kind of mush,
upon which the Indians feed greedily. I will take some home. We found
pieces of crystallized gypsum; we saw Meadow Larks whose songs and
single notes are quite different from those of the Eastern States; we
have not yet been able to kill one to decide if new or not.[295] We
have seen the Arkansas Flycatcher, Sparrow-hawks, Geese, etc. The
country grows poorer as we ascend; the bluffs exhibit oxide of iron,
sulphur, and also magnesia. We have made a good day's run, though the
wind blew rather fresh from the northwest. Harris shot a Marsh Hawk,
Sprague a Night-hawk, and some small birds, and I saw Martins breeding
in Woodpeckers' holes in high and large cotton-trees. We passed the
"Grand Town"[296] very early this morning; I did not see it, however.
Could we have remained on shore at several places that we passed, we
should have made havoc with the Buffaloes, no doubt; but we shall have
enough of that sport ere long. They all look extremely poor and
shabby; we see them sporting among themselves, butting and tearing up
the earth, and when at a gallop they throw up the dust behind them.
We saw their tracks all along both shores; where they have landed and
are unable to get up the steep cliffs, they follow along the margin
till they reach a ravine, and then make their way to the hills, and
again to the valleys; they also have roads to return to the river to
drink. They appear at this season more on the west side of the
Missouri. The Elks, on the contrary, are found on the islands and low
bottoms, well covered with timber; the common Deer is found
indifferently everywhere. All the Antelopes we have seen were on the
west side. After we had left our first landing-place a few miles, we
observed some seven or eight Indians looking at us, and again retiring
to the woods, as if to cover themselves; when we came nearly opposite
them, however, they all came to the shore, and made signs to induce us
to land. The boat did not stop for their pleasure, and after we had
fairly passed them they began firing at us, not with blank cartridges,
but with well-directed rifle-balls, several of which struck the
"Omega" in different places. I was standing at that moment by one of
the chimneys, and saw a ball strike the water a few feet beyond our
bows; and Michaux, the hunter, heard its passing within a few inches
of his head. A Scotchman, who was asleep below, was awakened and
greatly frightened by hearing a ball pass through the partition,
cutting the lower part of his pantaloons, and deadening itself against
a trunk. Fortunately no one was hurt. Those rascals were attached to a
war party, and belong to the Santee tribes which range across the
country from the Mississippi to the Missouri. I will make no comment
upon their conduct, but I have two of the balls that struck our boat;
it seems to be a wonder that not one person was injured, standing on
deck as we were to the number of a hundred or more. We have not seen
Parrakeets or Squirrels for several days; Partridges have also
deserted us, as well as Rabbits; we have seen Barn Swallows, but no
more Rough-winged. We have yet plenty of Red-headed Woodpeckers. Our
captain has just sent out four hunters this evening, who are to hunt
early to-morrow morning, and will meet the boat some distance above;
Squires has gone with them. How I wish I were twenty-five years
younger! I should like such a tramp greatly; but I do not think it
prudent now for me to sleep on the ground when I can help it, while it
is so damp.
_May 23, Tuesday._ The wind blew from the south this morning and
rather stiffly. We rose early, and walked about this famous Cedar
Island, where we stopped to cut large red cedars [_Juniperus
virginianus_] for one and a half hours; we started at half-past five,
breakfasted rather before six, and were on the lookout for our
hunters. _Hunters!_ Only two of them had ever been on a Buffalo hunt
before. One was lost almost in sight of the river. They only walked
two or three miles, and camped. Poor Squires' first experience was a
very rough one; for, although they made a good fire at first, it never
was tended afterwards, and his pillow was formed of a buck's horn
accidentally picked up near the place. Our Sioux Indian helped himself
to another, and they all felt chilly and damp. They had forgotten to
take any spirits with them, and their condition was miserable. As the
orb of day rose as red as blood, the party started, each taking a
different direction. But the wind was unfavorable; it blew up, not
down the river, and the Buffaloes, Wolves, Antelopes, and indeed every
animal possessed of the sense of smell, had scent of them in time to
avoid them. There happened however to be attached to this party two
good and true men, that may be called hunters. One was Michaux; the
other a friend of his, whose name I do not know. It happened, by hook
or by crook, that these two managed to kill four Buffaloes; but one of
them was drowned, as it took to the river after being shot. Only a few
pieces from a young bull, and its tongue, were brought on board, most
of the men being too lazy, or too far off, to cut out even the tongues
of the others; and thus it is that thousands multiplied by thousands
of Buffaloes are murdered in senseless play, and their enormous
carcasses are suffered to be the prey of the Wolf, the Raven and the
Buzzard. However, the hunters all returned safely to the boat, and we
took them in, some tired enough, among whom was friend Squires. He had
worn out his moccasins, and his feet were sore, blistered, and
swollen; he was thirsty enough too, for in taking a drink he had gone
to a beautiful clear spring that unfortunately proved to be one of
magnesia, which is common enough in this part of our country, and this
much increased his thirst. He drank four tumblers of water first, then
a glass of grog, ate somewhat of a breakfast, and went to bed, whence
I called him a few minutes before dinner. However, he saw some
Buffaloes, and had hopes of shooting one, also about twenty Antelopes.
Michaux saw two very large White Wolves. At the place where we decided
to take the fatigued party in, we stopped to cut down a few dead
cedars, and Harris shot a common Rabbit and one Lark Finch. Bell and
Sprague saw several Meadow-larks, which I trust will prove new, as
these birds have quite different notes and songs from those of our
eastern birds. They brought a curious cactus, some handsome
well-scented dwarf peas, and several other plants unknown to me. On
the island I found abundance of dwarf wild-cherry bushes in full
blossom, and we have placed all these plants in press. We had the
misfortune to get aground whilst at dinner, and are now fast till
to-morrow morning; for all our efforts to get the boat off, and they
have been many, have proved ineffectual. It is a bad spot, for we are
nearly halfway from either shore. I continued my long letter for home,
and wrote the greatest portion of another long one to John Bachman. I
intend to write till a late hour this night, as perchance we may
reach Fort Pierre early next week.