On the Yellowstone--Repeated Disappointments--Carson Enters the Employ
of a Hudson Bay Trader--Poor Success--A Trying Journey--Arrival at Fort
Hall--The American Buffalo or Bison.
With the approach of cool weather, preparations were made for the fall
hunt. When all was ready, the trappers headed for the Yellowstone, which
was reached without mishap, and they immediately set their traps. The
country as a rule, was a good one for those valuable animals, but the
visitors were disappointed to learn they were unusually scarce.
When it became evident that it was useless to work on the Yellowstone,
they gathered up their traps and made their way to the Big Horn, but,
failing again, tried their fortunes on other rivers in that vicinity
with no better results.
It was while engaged in this discouraging work that they met a trader
belonging to the Hudson Bay Company. He had been pushing operations in
every direction, but the stories he told were of the same general tenor
as those of the larger party. He had been as unsuccessful in the way of
trade as they had been in catching the fur bearing animals.
The Hudson Bay trader, however, was confident he could succeed where
they had failed, and he made such liberal offers to Carson that he and
several of his companions accepted them on the spot.
The first point which they visited was the Humboldt River, from which
had come reports of the abundance of beavers. They began near the head
waters of the stream, and carefully trapped down to the Great Basin.
Meeting with only moderate success, they made their way to Big Snake
River. After remaining there a considerable time, the party divided,
the Hudson Bay trader and his friends going northward toward Fort Walla
Walla, while Carson and the larger number set out for Fort Hall.
The journey thither was one of the most distressing which Kit Carson
ever undertook. The country through which most of the march led is one
of the most dismal wastes on the American continent. Except in extent, a
journey across it is similar to that of the parched caravans across the
flaming sands of Sahara. Carson and his companions were accustomed to
all manner of privations, but more than once their endurance was tried
to the utmost point.
The trappers had gathered some nutritious roots upon which they managed
to subsist for a time, but these soon gave out, and their situation grew
desperate. When almost famishing they bled their mules and drank the
warm current. They would have killed one of the animals, but for the
fact that they could not spare it, and, as there was no calculating how
long the others would last, they were afraid to take the step, which was
likely to cripple them fatally.
This strange source of nourishment served them for the time, but a
repetition would endanger the lives of their animals, who were also in
sore straits, inasmuch as the grass was not only poor but very scanty.
Matters rapidly grew worse, and soon became so desperate that Carson
said they would have to kill one of their animals or else lie down and
perish themselves.
At this trying crisis, they discovered a band of Indians approaching.
Perhaps the hapless situation in which all were placed left no room for
enmity, for the red men showed a friendly disposition. The high hopes of
Carson and his friends were chilled when it was found that the Indians
were in about as bad a plight as themselves. They had barely a mouthful
of food among them, and, when besought to barter with the whites, they
shook their heads. They had nothing to trade, and, while they felt no
hostility toward the suffering trappers, they gave them to understand
they could not afford any help at all.
But Carson had fixed his eyes on a plump old horse, and never did a
shrewd New Englander apply himself more persistently to secure a prize
than did he. Kit's companions put forth all their powers of persuasion,
but in vain, and they advised Carson that he was throwing away his
efforts in attempting the impossible.
But Carson succeeded, and when the equine was slaughtered and broiled,
the trappers enjoyed one of the most delicious feasts of their lives.
They filled themselves to repletion and felt that the enjoyment it
brought was almost worth the suffering they had undergone to obtain it.
When their strength was recruited, they resumed their journey and a few
days later reached Fort Hall. There they found abundance of food and
received a cordial welcome. In a brief while they were as strong as ever
and eager for any new enterprise.
Hundreds of bisons were in the neighborhood of the fort and Carson
and his friends slew them by the score. Indeed they kept the post well
supplied with fresh meet as long as they remained there.
The animal almost universally known as the "buffalo" is miscalled, his
correct name being the "bison," of which there are droves numbering, it
is said, as high as a hundred thousand. The flesh is held in high
repute by hunters, and not only is nourishing but possesses the valuable
quality of not cloying the appetite. The most delicate portion of the
animal is the hump which gives the peculiar appearance to his back. That
and the tongue and marrow bones are frequently the only portions made
use of by the hunter.
The hide answers many useful purposes. All know how much a "buffalo
robe" is appreciated in wintry weather by those exposed to cold. It
serves to form the Indian's tents, his bed, parts of his dress and is
sometimes made into a shield which will turn aside a rifle ball that
does not strike it fairly.
Hundreds of thousands of bisons are killed annually--myriads of them
in pure wantonness--and yet enormous droves may be encountered today in
many portions of the west, where it is hard for the experienced hunters
to detect any decrease in their numbers.
Some of the methods employed to slay bisons are cruel in the extreme.
Many a time a large herd has been stampeded in the direction of some
precipice. When the leaders found themselves on the edge, they have
endeavored to recoil; but there was no stemming the tide behind them.
The terrified animals literally pushed the leaders over the rocks and
then tumbled upon them. In a little while the gully or stream would be
choked with the furiously struggling creatures and hundreds would be
killed within a few minutes.
The bison is as fond as the hog of wallowing in mud. When he comes upon
a marshy spot he lies down and rolls about until he has worn out a large
and shallow excavation into which the water oozes through the damp soil.
Lying down again he rolls and turns until he is plastered from head
to tail with mud. Though it cannot be said that it adds to his
attractiveness, yet the coating no doubt serves well as a protection
against the swarms of insects, which are sometimes terrible enough to
sting animals to death.
Those who have viewed the scraggy specimens in the menageries and
zoological gardens would scarcely suspect the activity and power of
running possessed by them. The body is covered with such an abundance
of hair that it looks larger than it really is, while the legs appear
smaller. But the bison not only can run swiftly, but possesses great
endurance. They will often dash at full speed over ground so rough that
the more graceful horse will stumble.
When wounded by the hunters, a bull will sometimes turn in desperation
on his persecutor. Then, unless the horse is well trained, serious
consequences are likely to follow. The plunging thrust of his stumpy
horns perhaps rips open the steed, sending the rider flying over the
back of the furious bison, who may turn upon him and slay him before he
can escape.
This rarely happens, however, the bison being a huge, cowardly creature
which prefers to run rather than fight, and a hunt of the game in these
days often takes the character of wholesale butchery in which no true
sportsman would engage.