CHAPTER VIII {III}

The Rocky Mountains and their Spurs--Geography of the

Mountain Region--Wyeth--The Outset--The Beaver Catcher's

Bride--Trois Butes--Addition from a Monastery--Orisons--A

Merry Mountain Trapper--Root Diggers--Enormous

Springs--Volcanic Hearths and Chasms--Carbo--An old Chief--A

Bluff--Boisais River--Incident of Trade--The Bonaks--The

Dead Wail--Fort Boisais, its Salmon, Butter and Hearty

Cheer--Mons. Payette--Curiosity--Departure--Passing the

Blue Mountains--The Grandeur of them--Their Forests,

Flowers, and Torrents--Descent of the Mountains--Plain,

a Christian Crane--Arrival at Dr. Whitman's

Mission--Wallawalla--People--Farm--Mill--Learning--Religion--Mr.

Ermitinger--Blair--Nez Percés--Racing--Indian Horse

Training--Sabbath and its joys in the Wilderness.

It will not be uninteresting while pausing here, and making

preparations to descend Snake, Lewis, or Saptin river,[183] to lead

my readers back over that portion of my journey which lay among the

mountains. I do not design to retrace my steps here, however, in

order again to attempt a description of sufferings which can never be

described. They are past; and let their remembrance {91} die. But a

succinct account of the region lying west of the Anahuac ridge, and

between latitudes 39° and 42° north--its mountains, its plains, its

rivers, &c., will, I persuade myself, be new, and not without interest

to the reader.

James' Peak, Pike's Peak, and Long's Peak, may be called the outposts

of a lofty range of rocky mountains, which, for convenience in

description, I have called Long's Range, extending nearly due north

from the Arkansas, in latitude 39°, to the Great Gap in latitude 42°

north.[184]

The range is unconnected with any other. It is separated from the Wind

River Mountains by the Great Gap or Great Southern Pass, and from the

Great Anahuac Range by the upper valleys of the Arkansas, those of the

South Fork of the Platte, and those of the Green and Grand rivers. Two

spurs spring off from it to the west: the one from James' Peak, the

other from Long's Peak. These spurs, as they proceed westward, dip

lower and lower till they terminate--the first in the rough cliffs

around the upper waters of the Arkansas, and the latter in spherical

sand-hills around the lower waters of Grand river.[185] The Anahuac

Mountains were seen from about latitude 39° to {92} 42° north. This

range lies about two hundred miles west of Long's Range, and between

latitude 39 and 40°, has a general course of north north-west. It

appeared an unbroken ridge of ice and snow, rising in some points, I

think, more than fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. From

latitude 41° it tends to the north-west by west, past the north-eastern

shore of the Great Salt Lake to the northern end of it; and thence

westwardly to a point south of Portneuf, where it unites with the

range of the Snowy Mountains.

The Snowy Mountains are a transverse range or spur of the Rocky

Mountains, which run from the Wind River Mountains, latitude 42°

north, in nearly a right line to Cape Mendocino, latitude 40°, in

Upper California. Many portions of this range, east as well as west of

Fort Hall, are very lofty, and covered with perpetual snow. About one

hundred miles from the coast of the Pacific it intersects that range

of snowy peaks called the President's Range, which comes down from

Puget's sound, and terminates in the arid plains about the mouth of the

Colorado of the West.[186]

{93} The Wind River Mountains are a spur which shoots from the great

northern chain, commonly called the Rocky Mountains, in latitude 42°

and odd minutes north; and running in a south-easterly direction into

the Great Prairie Wilderness, forms the northern wall of the Great Gap

or Great Southern Pass.[187]

On the northern side of the Wind River Peaks, are the sources of

Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers;[188] on the south-eastern

side rises the Sweetwater, the north-western-most branch of the North

Fork of the Great Platte; on the southern side the Sheetskadee or

Green river, the northern branch of the Colorado of the West; on the

north-western side and north of the Snowy Mountains, spring down

the Saptin, Snake, or Lewis river, the great southern branch of the

Columbia.

On the western side of Long's Range, rises the Grand river, the

principal branch of the Colorado of the West.[189] It furnishes four

times the quantity of water that Green river does. Further south, in

the vicinity of James' Peak, and on the west side of this range, rises

the South Fork of the Great Platte.[190]

Close under the eastern base of the Anahuac {94} or Great Main Ridge,

and nearly in latitude 39½° north, are the sources of the Arkansas.

The immense parallelogram lying within these ranges of mountains, may

be described by saying that it is a desert of arid plains and minor

mountains. And if this general appellation be qualified by the accounts

given on previous pages of Boyou Salade, Old Park, &c. very small

portions of the whole area, the description will be complete.

Fort Hall was built by Captain Wyeth, of Boston in 1832, for the

purposes of trade with the Indians in its vicinity. He had taken goods

into the lower part of the Territory, to exchange for salmon. But

competition soon drove him from his fisheries to this remote spot,

where he hoped to be permitted to purchase furs of the Indians without

being molested by the Hudson's Bay Company, whose nearest post was

seven hundred miles away.[191]

In this he was disappointed. In pursuance of the avowed doctrine of

that company, that no others have a right to trade in furs west of the

Rocky Mountains, whilst the use of capital and their incomparable skill

and perseverance can prevent it, they established a fort near him,

preceded him, {95} followed him, surrounded him every where, and cut

the throat of his prosperity with such kindness, and politeness, that

Wyeth was induced to sell his whole interest, existent and prospective,

in Oregon, to his generous but too indefatigable, skilful, and powerful

antagonists.

From what I saw and heard of Wyeth's management in Oregon, I was

impressed with the belief that he was, beyond comparison, the most

talented business-man from the States that ever established himself in

the Territory.

The business of this post consists in exchanging blankets, ammunition,

guns, tobacco, &c., with the neighbouring Indians, for the skins of the

beaver and land otter; and in furnishing white men with traps, horses,

saddles, bridles, provisions, &c., to enable them to hunt these animals

for the benefit and sole use of the owners, the Hudson's Bay Company.

In such cases the horses are borrowed without price; the other articles

of the "outfit" sold on credit till the termination of the hunt; and

the only security which the Company requires for the return of their

animals, is the pledge of honour to that effect, and that the furs

taken shall be appropriated at a stipulated price to the payment of

arrears.

{96} Goods are sold at this establishment fifty per cent lower than at

the American posts. White trappers are paid a higher price for their

furs than is paid the Indians; are charged less for the goods which

they receive in exchange; and are treated in every respect by this

shrewd Company with such uniform justice, that the American trappers

even are fast leaving the service of their countrymen, for the larger

profits and better treatment of British employment. There is also

a company of men connected with this Fort, under the command of an

American mountaineer, who, following various tribes in their migratory

expeditions in the adjacent American and Mexican domain, collect

whatever furs may chance to be among them.

By these means, and various others subsidiary to them, the gentlemen in

charge of this trading establishment, collected, in the summer of 1839,

more than thirty packs of the best beaver of the mountains.

We spent the 2nd and 3rd most agreeably with Mr. Walker, in his

hospitable adobie castle; exchanged with him our wearied horses for

fresh ones; and obtained dried buffalo meat, sugar, cocoa, tea, and

corn meal, a guide, and every other necessary within that gentleman's

{97} power to furnish for our journey to Wallawalla. And at ten

o'clock, A. M., of the 4th of September, we bade adieu to our very

obliging countryman, and took to our saddles on the trail down the

desert banks of the Saptin. As we left the Fort, we passed over the

ground of an affray, which originated in love and terminated in death.

Yes, love on the western declivity of the Rocky Mountains! and love of

a white man for an Indian dame!

It appeared that a certain white trapper had taken to himself a certain

bronze damsel of the wilderness to be his slave-wife, with all the

solemn ceremonies of purchase and payment for the same in sundry

horses, dogs, and loads of ammunition, as required by the custom in

such affairs governing; and that by his business of trapping for

beaver, &c., he was, soon after the banns were proclaimed, separated

from his beloved one, for the term of three months and upwards, much

against his tender inclination and interest, as the following showeth:

for during the terms of his said absence, another white man, with

intent to injure, &c., spoke certain tender words unto the said

trapper's slave-wife, which had the {98} effect to alienate from him

the purchased and rightfully possessed affections of his slave-spouse,

in favour of her seducer. In this said condition did the beaver-catcher

find his bride when he came in from the hunt. He loaded his rifle, and

killed the robber of his heart. The grave of the victim is there--a

warning to all who would trifle with the vested rights of an American

trapper in the love of an Indian beauty.

We made about ten miles, and halted for the night. Our guide displayed

himself a five feet nine inch stout Wallawalla.[192] He had been in

the service of the Hudson Bay Company many years, and was consequently

assiduous and dutiful. Yes, consequently so; for neither Indian nor

white man is long in their service without learning his place, and

becoming active and faithful in doing his duty. As soon as we entered

camp, our pack-horses were stripped of their burdens, and turned loose

to feed; wood was gathered, and a fire blazing under the kettles, and

"all out door" immediately rendered as comfortable to us, as skies

spangled with stars, and earth strewn with snowy sand could be made.

Wallawalla was a jolly oddity of a mortal. The frontal region of his

head had been pressed in infancy {99} most aristocratically into the

form of the German idiots; his eyes were forced out upon the corners of

the head; his nose hugged the face closely like a bunch of affectionate

leeches; hair black as a raven, and flowing over a pair of herculean

shoulders; and feet----but who can describe that which has not its like

under the skies. Such was Carbo, our Palinurus over the burnt plains of

Snake River.

The short ride of the day had shown us the western limit of the

partial fertility about Fort Hall. The earth had begun to be red,

burnt, and barren; grass, sparse and dry; the shrubs and cotton-woods

stinted and shrivelled.

The plain of the Trois Butes is situated between the Snowy mountain

range on the south, and another ridge which, diverging from it above

the sources of the Saptin River, follows that stream down to the Blue

Mountains near Wallawalla. This plain by experiment is found to be

eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. In the vicinity of

the post, there is an abundance of grass for the subsistence of many

thousands of animals. The soil, in various parts of it, also appears

well adapted to the cultivation of the small grains and esculent roots.

But {100} the fact that frosts occur almost every month of the year,

shows the extent to which the arable sections can be rendered available

for such purposes.

The Trois Butes rise on the plain fifteen or twenty miles east of the

Fort.[193] They are pyramidal peaks, probably of volcanic origin, of

two thousand feet in height above the plain, and twelve thousand feet

above the level of the sea. Around their dark bases grow evergreen

trees; from their sides burst small brooks, rendering verdant strips

of the plain which radiate beautifully in all directions from them;

and over all, during most of the year, hang their crests of glittering

snows! East of the Butes, vegetation continually decreases till it

ceases in the black crags which embosom the head streams of the river.

On the 5th, travelled thirty miles down the western bank of the

river;[194] soil sandy and volcanic, bearing wild wormwood--in fact

a desert; crossed a number of small streams putting into the Saptin;

on these a little bunch of grass, and a few alders and willows, tried

to grow. Whilst baiting at noon, we were agreeably surprised with an

addition to our company, of a young Swiss trapper, eight years in the

mountains; he {101} learned the silversmith business when in youth;

afterwards entered a monastery and studied Latin, &c., for the order

of Priests; ran away from the monastery, entered the French army,

deserted, and came to America; sickened, was visited by a Roman priest

who had been a classmate with him at the monastery; and having had a

more numerous family than was required by the canons of his order,

had fled to America, where his orisons would not be disturbed by the

cries of infants. On entering our trapper's chamber they mutually

recognized each other; and horror immediately seized the pious priest

at the recollection of the trapper's sinfulness; and particularly the

sin of forsaking the holy places of the mother church; of taking carnal

weapons in hands that had been employed in making crosses in the sacred

precincts of the cloister. The trapper had contracted the dangerous

habit of thinking for himself, and replied to the godly man in a sharp

and retaliatory manner; and among other things drew a very ungracious

comparison between escaping from prayers and chants, and flying from an

unlawful family.

This reference to former delinquencies in {102} a country to which

he had fled to escape the remembrance of them, aroused the holy

indignation of the priest to such an extent, that he immediately

consigned the witness of his fault to worms, and his soul to an

apprenticeship at fire eating in purgatory. Our trapper had become

a heretic. In the blindness of his heart he had forgotten that the

power to save and destroy the soul of man, had been committed to an

order of men chosen, and set apart as the repositories of that portion

of Omnipotence; and that whatever errors of conduct may occur in the

life of these men, the efficiency of the anathematizing and saving

commission is not thereby annulled; and he rose from his bed and

hurled at the priest sundry counter anathemas in the form of chairs,

and shovel and tongs. I could perceive in him no returning belief in

the Omnipotent key of the "Roman Catholic apostolical mother Church."

Instead of saying his prayers, and counting the beads of his rosary, he

talked of the stirring scenes of a trapper's life, and recounted the

wild adventures of the mountains; instead of the sublime Te Deum, he

sang the thrilling martial airs of his native land; instead of {103}

the crosier, he bore the faithful rifle; instead of the robes of sacred

office, he wore the fringed deer skin frock of the children of the

wilderness. He was a trapper--a merry mountain trapper.

6th. Twenty-five miles to-day; face of the country, black, hard and

barren swells; encamped on a small tributary of the Saptin; very little

grass for the animals; found here a family of the Root Digger Indians;

the man half clad, children naked, all filthy. She was clad in a

wrapper of mountain sheep skin.[195]

7th. Twenty miles. About mid-day heard a loud roaring of waters;

descended the chasm of the river and discovered two enormous springs

bursting from the basaltic cliffs of the opposite shore. Their roaring

was heard three miles. The lower one discharged water enough to turn

the machinery of twenty ordinary manufactories. The water foamed and

rushed down inclined planes of rocks the distance of two hundred

feet.[196] The country, an undulating, barren, volcanic plain; near

the river cut into bluffs; lava every where; wild wormwood and another

shrub two feet in height, bearing a yellow blossom, the only wood seen;

encamped on a small stream about three miles {104} from the river.

Found here the only grass which I had observed during the day.

8th. Still on the western bank of the Saptin; river one-fourth of a

mile wide; water extremely clear; current five miles the hour; depth

of water about four feet. On the eastern side, the soil appeared a

dark mass of imbedded fused rock, stretching in broken undulations

to the distant highlands. In that direction twenty miles lay a range

of mountains like an irregular line of darkness on the horizon.

Every thing touched by our horses' feet claimed a volcano for its

birth-place. Thirty miles to-day.

9th. Face of the country the same as that passed over on the

8th--scarcely grass enough to feed our animals, and that dried to hay.

The mountains on the west side of the river gradually nearing it. No

timber since we left the immediate vicinity of Fort Hall. We cooked our

food with the willow bushes which the Indians had killed and rendered

dry for such purposes. All the rocks more or less fused; many large

tracts of lava; a number of clear little brooks bubbling over the

cinders of this great hearth of Nature's fire. Made forty miles.

10th. Fifteen miles over "cut rock" and wormwood deserts; and at

mid-day descended {105} about six hundred feet in the chasm of the

Saptin, and travelled along the brink of the river a short distance;

crossed at a place called "The Islands," to the eastern shore.[197]

The river has been dipping deeper in the plain the last three days. A

bird's eye view of it for sixty miles above the Islands would present

a tortuous chasm, walled by basalt, trap, &c., and sunk along the

centre of the valley, from one hundred to eight hundred feet deep, a

black chasm, destitute of timber and other evidences of fertility,

from a quarter to half a mile in width. In the centre of the bottom

rushes the Saptin; over rocks and gravel a clear, pure, strong stream,

with a current of five miles to the hour; water three and four feet in

depth. Travelled seven or eight miles from the ford and fell in with

eight or ten springs of limpid water, bubbling through the flinty crust

of the plain. The sun was pouring upon us his fiercest rays, and our

thirst was excessive. A halting, dismounting and rushing to the water,

the application of our giant's lips to the liquid--a paralysis of his

thirst produced by the boiling hot sensation which it imparted to his

swearing apparatus, prepared us to resume our ride. Hot springs, {106}

boiling hot--no apparent mineral properties.[198]

11th. Travelled to-day thirty-five miles over an irregular, rough,

unseemly desert; volcanic stones strewn every where on a black,

impenetrable, baked surface; soil too poor to bear the wormwood--trail

too far east to see the river. At ten o'clock, met a petty chief of

the Snake Root Diggers and his son on horseback, from Boisais river. He

was dressed in a blanket coat, deer skin pants, and moccasins garnished

with cut glass beads and strips of red flannel; the boy entirely naked.

Carbo learned from him the situation of his tribe, and a few bits of

Indian scandal, ascertained that we could reach Boisais river the

next day, and that we could probably obtain fresh horses there. His

copper-coloured highness than left us to pursue his way to Fort Hall,

to get his guns repaired, and we continued ours to the lower Columbia,

to get out of this grave of desolation. I had not seen an acre of land

since leaving Fort Hall, capable of producing the grains or vegetables.

Encamped on a small brook running westwardly towards the Saptin.

12th. On route at six o'clock in the morning; horses weary, and getting

crippled {107} pitifully on the "cut rock;" face of the country

absolute sterility; our trail near the mountains, about two hundred

miles east of the Saptin.[199] At nine o'clock, came to the bluff

overlooking Boisais river. Here the valley is sunken six or seven

hundred feet; the whole of it below, to the limit of sight, appears to

have subsided nearly to a level with the waters of the Saptin. Lines

of timber ran along the Boisais, and plats of green grass and shrubs

dotted its banks. The mountains, whence the river came, rose in dark

stratified ridges. Where the stream escaped from them, there was an

immense chasm, with perpendicular sides, which seemed to open into

their most distant bases. Horrid crags beetled over its dismal depths.

Lofty, rocky ridges extended far into the north. In the west and

north-west towered the Blue Mountains.

We descended the bluff, followed down the Boisais three or four miles,

and crossed the river into an encampment of Snake fishermen.[200]

They were employed in laying in their winter store of salmon. Many

horses were feeding on the plain. We turned ours loose also for a bite

of the fresh {108} grass, while we bought fish, &c., and made other

arrangements to improve digestion and our speed in travelling. Our

business was transacted as follows:--For one large fish-hook we bought

one salmon; for one paper of vermillion, six bunches of spawn; for one

butcher-knife, one leathern fish rope. Carbo exchanged horses; disposed

of one worth five shillings for one worth three, and gave a blanket

and ten loads of ammunition to boot. He was vastly pleased with his

bargain, and endeavoured to show himself so, by trying to grin like

a white man; but he was not skilled in the science of manufacturing

laughter, and made a deplorable failure of it. One of my own horses,

whose feet were worn and tender, was exchanged with like profit to the

shrewd jockeys.

These Indians are more filthy than the Hottentots. Both sexes were

nearly naked. Their shelters were made with rush mats wrapped around

cones of poles.

Having finished our trading, we travelled about ten miles down the

stream, and encamped upon its bank. The plains were well covered with

grass; many portions seemed susceptible of cultivation. The bed of

{109} the river presented the usual characteristics of a mountain

torrent; broad, shallow, with extensive bars of coarse gravel crossing

the channel in all directions. The water limpid, and its quantity

might be expressed by saying that the average depth was six inches,

width ten yards, rate of current three miles an hour. In the month of

June, however, it is said to bring from its maternal mountains immense

floods.

13th. A breakfast of boiled spawn, and on trail at sunrise; travelled

rapidly down the grassy intervales of Boisais; passed many small groves

of timber. Many Indians employed in drying salmon, nearly naked, and

dirty and miserable, ran after us for tobacco, and to drive a bargain

for horses. All Indians have a mania for barter. They will trade for

good or evil to themselves, at every opportunity. Here they beset us

on every side. And if at any moment we began to felicitate ourselves

on having at last escaped from their annoying petitions for "shmoke"

and "hos," the next moment the air would resound with whips and hoofs,

and "shmoke, shmoke," "hos," from half a dozen new applicants, more

troublesome than their predecessors. No Jew, with old clothes and

a pinch-beck watch to sell, ever {110} pressed customers with more

assiduity than did these savages. But when we had travelled about

thirty miles from our night camp, they all suddenly disappeared;

and neither hut nor Shoshonie was seen more. They dare not pass the

boundary between themselves and the Bonaks.

Soon after being relieved from these pests, our guide, Carbo, intimated

that it would be according to the rules of etiquette in that country

for him to leave us, unacquainted though we were with the right trail

among the ten thousand that crossed the country in every direction, and

proceed to Fort Boisais, to make the important announcement that four

white faces were approaching the post. I remonstrated; but remonstrance

was mere air in comparison with the importance of doing his duty in

the most approved style; and away he shot, like an arrow from the bows

of his tribe, over hillock and through the streams and copses, till

lost from view. It was about four o'clock. The trails were so numerous,

that we found it useless to continue on any of them. For if we selected

any single one, that one branched into many every half mile. Thus we

deemed it best to 'take our course,' as the {111} mariner would say,

and disregard them altogether. In following this determination, we

crossed the Boisais again and again; floundered in quagmires, and

dodged along among whipping boughs and underbrush; and, when unimpeded

by such obstacles, pelted the dusty plain with as sturdy a trot as ever

echoed there, till the sun went down, and his twilight had left the

sky. No Fort yet! nor had we yet seen the Saptin. We halted, held a

council, and determined to "hold our course" westward; listened--heard

nothing but the muttering Boisais, and travelled on. In half an

hour, came to us a frightful, mournful yell, which brought us to an

instantaneous halt. We were within fifty yards of the Bonak Indians,

and were discovered!

This tribe is fierce, warlike, and athletic, inhabiting the banks of

that part of Saptin, or Snake River, which lies between the mouth of

Boisais, or Reed's River, and the Blue Mountains.[201] They make war

upon the Blackfeet and Crows; and for that purpose often cross the

mountains, through a gap between the track of Lewis and Clarke and the

'Great Gap.'[202] By these wars, their number has been much reduced.

They are said to speak a language peculiar to themselves; {112} and

are regarded by the whites as a treacherous and dangerous race. We had

approached so near their camp, that whatever might be their disposition

toward us, it was impossible to retreat. Darkness concealed the

surrounding country, and hid the river and the trails. We could not

escape without their permission and aid.

Our young Swiss trapper was the very man to grapple the dilemma. He

bribed their good will and their safe conduct to the Fort. Five or six

of them quickly seized horses, and, mounting without saddle or bridle,

led the way. While these things were being done, horrid wails came from

their huts among the bushes; and those who were with us responded to

them. The only word uttered was one, which sounded like 'yap.' This

they spoke at first in a low, plaintive key, and slowly; and then, on

a higher note and rapidly, as if under stronger emotions of grief; and

then fell away again to the low plaint of desponding sorrow. I noticed,

as we rode along, that the tails of many of their horses were shorn

of the hair in the most uncouth manner. The manes also were miserably

haggled. The men who rode them wept, and at intervals wailed.

I was afterwards informed that their tribe {113} was mourning the

death of some of their number who had lately died; and that it is a

custom with them and other western tribes, on the death of friends, in

war or by disease, for all the surviving relatives to shear the manes

and tails of their horses to the skin--kill all the animals of the

deceased--pile all his personal property around his burial-place, and

mourn, in the manner I have described, for several days. Their camp was

eight miles south of Fort Boisais.

We rode the distance in three quarters of an hour. Other Bonak horsemen

joined us along the way. Each one, as he overtook us, uttered the wail;

and then one and another took it up and bore it along the scattered

line of the cavalcade. It was not very dark--but it was night, and

all its air was filled with these expressions of savage grief. Tears

flowed, and sobs arrested oftentimes the wail half spoken. The sympathy

of the poor creatures for each other appeared very sincere, and

afforded strong inducement to doubt the correctness of the usually

received opinion that the American Indians possess little of the social

affections. They certainly manifested enough on this occasion to render

the hour I passed with them more oppressively painful than I hope ever

again to experience.

{114} Mr. Payette, the person in charge at Boisais, received us with

every mark of kindness; gave our horses to the care of his servants,

and introduced us immediately to the chairs, table and edibles of his

apartments. He is a French Canadian; has been in the service of the

Hudson's Bay Company more than twenty years, and holds the rank of

clerk; is a merry, fat old gentleman of fifty, who, although in the

wilderness all the best years of his life, has retained that manner

of benevolence in trifles, in his mode of address, of seating you and

serving you at table, of directing your attention continually to some

little matter of interest, of making you speak the French language

'_parfaitement_' whether you are able to do so or not, so strikingly

agreeable in that mercurial people. The 14th and 15th were spent very

pleasantly with this gentleman. During that time he feasted us with

excellent bread, and butter made from an American cow, obtained from

some of the missionaries; with baked, boiled, fried and broiled

salmon--and, at my request, with some of his adventures in the

wilderness.

Fort Boisais was established in 1832, as the post whence to oppose

Wyeth's operations at Fort Hall.[203] From it, the Hudson's Bay Company

sent their trading parties over {115} the country south, in advance and

rear and around every movement of Wyeth. And by using liberally the

fund laid by annually for that purpose, they undersold the American

till he was forced from the country.

On the part of the Hudson's Bay Company, I see nothing strange or

unmanly in this conduct, if looked at as a business transaction. People

having equal rights in trade, assume necessarily the relative positions

which their skill and capital can command. This is the position of

Americans and Britons in Oregon. By a pusillanimous policy on the part

of the American Government, we have given British subjects an equal

right with our own citizens to trade in all that part of the Public

Domain lying west of the Rocky Mountains. In the exercise of the rights

thus granted, the Hudson's Bay Company employ their incomparable

ingenuity and immense wealth in driving every American trader from the

coasts of the North Pacific. And who is to be blamed for this? The

Government of the United States, that has, through want of wisdom or

firmness or justice, permitted these important rights of its citizens

to be monopolized by foreign capitalists for the last thirty years.

This fort stands on the eastern bank of {116} the Saptin, eight miles

north of the mouth of Boisais or Reed's river. It consists of a

parallelogram about one hundred feet square, surrounded by a stockade

of poles about fifteen feet in height. It was entered on the west

side. Across the area north and south runs the principal building. It

is constructed of logs, and contains a large dining room, a sleeping

apartment and kitchen. On the north side of the area, in front of this,

is the store; on the south side the dwellings of the servants; back of

the main building, an outdoor oven; and in the north-east corner of the

stockade is the bastion. This was Fort Boisais in 1839. Mons. Payette

was erecting a neat adobie wall around it. He expected soon to be able

to tear away the old stockade, and before this has doubtless done

so.[204]

Among the curiosities of this establishment were the fore wheels,

axletree and thills of a one-horse waggon, said to have been run by

the American missionaries from the State of Connecticut through the

mountains thus far toward the mouth of the Columbia. It was left here

under the belief that it could not be taken through the Blue Mountains.

But fortunately for the next that shall attempt to cross the continent,

{117} a safe and easy passage has lately been discovered by which

vehicles of the kind may be drawn through to Wallawalla.[205]

At ten o'clock on the 16th we found ourselves sufficiently rested

to recommence our journey. Our packs and ourselves were sent across

the Saptin in a canoe; and our horses having swam it, and having been

packed and saddled firmly for a rapid march, and a '_bon jour_' having

been returned by Mons. Payette, with the additional kind wish of a

'_bon voyage_' to us, over the mountains, we left the old gentleman to

his solitary dominion.

He usually collects, during the twelvemonth, twelve or fifteen packs

of beaver, and employs himself in the salmon season in curing large

quantities of that fish for the supply of other posts. Our course was

down the west bank of the river. The soil was sand and clay mixed in

nearly equal proportions. Its composition is such as to render it

fruitful; but the absence of dews and rains forbids the expectation

that it will ever be so. Vegetation, bunch-grass and wild wormwood.

Travelled fifteen miles and encamped near a small bute, at the foot of

which ran a little tributary of the Saptin. From the south bank of this

{118} stream near our camp burst a great number of hot springs. Water

impregnated with sulphur: temperature at the boiling point.[206]

17th. Soil as on the track of the 16th, save that the hills became

higher and more gravelly. In the afternoon, crossed a brook putting

into the Saptin. At mid-day, touched the Saptin, and left it again for

the hills. Mid-afternoon, struck another small stream, and followed up

its valley till night.[207] Estimated our day's journey at thirty miles.

18th. The hills higher and more rocky; those in the distance to

the west and north-west partially covered with pines and cedars.

Immediately around our track, the hills were clothed with dry bunch

grass. Some of them had been burnt by the Indians. Many beautiful

little valleys were seen among the highlands. Black birch, rose,

and willow shrubs, and quaking-asp trees on the banks of the little

brooks. Encamped under the cliffs of a bute. The moon was in the first

quarter. Its cold beams harmonized well with the chilling winds of the

mountains. The atmosphere all the day smoky, as in Indian summertime in

the highlands of New England. Estimated distance travelled, twenty-five

miles.

{119} 19th. Forenoon, over gently rising conical hills, clothed with

bunch grass; soil in the valleys sand and clay. Cooked dinner at

L'Arbor Seul, a lonely pine in an extensive plain.[208] Encamped at

night on a stream coming from the Blue Mountains, in the north-west.

Distance to-day, thirty miles.

20th. Track up the valley in which we encamped the preceding night,

over gently undulating hills; high broken mountains on either side.

About twelve o'clock, came to a very steep descent, a mile in length.

The upper part of it was so precipitous that the animals with packs

were obliged to make a zigzag track of a mile, to descend the half that

distance; the lower part was less precipitous, but covered with loose

volcanic rocks. Among these the horses plunged and bruised themselves

badly; but fortunately none were seriously injured. Some rich soil

in the valleys; heavy groves of yellow pine, spruce, and hemlock;

quaking-asp on the streams, and in the ravines. From high swells, over

which ran the trail, we saw an extensive valley, deeply sunken among

the lofty mountains in the north-east. It appeared to be thickly coated

with grass, some portions dry, others green. The {120} meadow lark made

its appearance to-day. Towards night, we came again into the valley

which we had entered at mid-day, and encamped under a majestic yellow

pine.[209] Freezing breezes swept down from the woody mountain around

us, and made our fire, blazing high under the dark groaning boughs,

extremely agreeable. Travelled twenty-five miles.

21st. A day of severe travelling. In the forenoon, the trail ran over

a series of mountains swelling one above another in long and gentle

ascents, covered with noble forests of yellow pine, fir, and hemlock.

Among these were frequent glades of rich pasture land; grass green, and

numerous brooks of pure water leaping from the cliffs, or murmuring

among the shrubbery. The snow-ball, the wax plant, the yellow and

black currant--a species of whortleberry--the service berry--choke

cherry--the elder--the shrub maple--and all the beautiful flowers that

gem a mountain landscape during its short summer, clothed the ground.

At twelve o'clock, we entered a deep ravine, at the bottom of which

ran a brook of sweet clear water; we dined on its bank. A dish of

rich cocoa, mush, and sugar, and dried buffalo tongue, on the {121}

fresh grass, by a cool rivulet on the wild mountains of Oregon! Nature

stretched her bare and mighty arms around us! The mountains hid the

lower sky, and walled out the lower world! We looked upon the beautiful

heights of the Blue Mountains, and ate among its spring blossoms, its

singing pines, and holy battlements, ten thousand feet above the seas.

In the afternoon, we continued to ascend; vast rolls lifted themselves

over one another, in a northerly direction, higher and higher, till

in the distance their tops mingled with the blue of the sky. We

followed this grassy ridge till near four o'clock, when we commenced

descending. A mile over slowly declining hills, and then the descent

became frightful. It appeared to stand 45° to the plane of the horizon.

The horses, when they turned at the angles of the zigzag trail, often

found the greatest difficulty to keep on their feet. Two miles of such

descent, of bracing with might and main, deposited us in a ravine of

great depth, hung far and near with cliffs and abrupt earthy borders,

partially covered with pines. At the bottom a brook running in a

northerly direction, struggled and roared among the fallen rocks.

We {122} made our way with much difficulty down its banks a short

distance, crossed it, and proceeding in a north-westerly direction

to another stream flowing eastward, encamped among the pines. These

valleys were filled with cold winds, which rushed through them in

irregular gusts, chilling every thing they touched. We set fire to

large piles of dry pine logs in camp, spread our couches, and wayworn

as men ever were, ensconced ourselves in them for repose. Carbo did not

retire; but went whistling about among the horses; untied his wallet

of provisions, and ate a second time, punched the fire, and looked at

the eastern sky with evident interest. The vales below had been set on

fire by Indians; and I more than half supposed that he expected to see

some of his tribe at our quarters. But my supposition was groundless.

As soon as the moon peeped over the eastern heights, he roused me to

hear in broken French that our horses had nothing to eat in the place

where they were; and that we, being rested, must climb the mountain

to find food for them. No proposition, and the facts brought to urge

its adoption, could have been more unfortunately reasonable and

true--at that particular {123} time. My first impulse was to order him

to his couch; but a hungry whinny from my roan pony, browsing near

me, awakened me fully to the propriety of the measure proposed. I,

therefore, summoned my weary limbs and bruised and ulcered feet, to

their best efforts, and at twelve o'clock at night we were on march.

For some time we led our animals through the tangled wood, and then

along a steep gravelly side of the chasm, where the foothold slipped

at every step; awhile among rolling stones so thickly strewn upon

the ground, that the horses touched it only when their weight drove

their feet down between them; and then, awhile we seemed to hang on

the cliffs, and pause between advancing and following the laws of

gravitation to the bed of the torrent that battled its way in the

caverns far below; and in the desperation of a last effort, climbed the

bank to a place of safety. At length we arrived at a large indentation

in the face of the mountain, up the encircling rim of which, the

trail for half a mile was of comparatively easy ascent. At the end of

this distance, another difficulty was superadded to all we had yet

experienced.

The steeps were covered to the depth of {124} several feet with "cut

rock"--dark shining cubes from one to three inches in diameter, with

sharp corners and edges. It was well nigh impossible to force our

horses on them. The most obedient one, however, was at length led

and scourged upon them; and by repeating the same inflictions, the

remainder were finally induced to follow. All walked except Smith. His

horse was "a d--d brute, and was made to carry him or die."

The poor animals would slip, and gather, and cripple; and when unable

longer to endure the cutting stone under their feet, would suddenly

drop on their knee; but the pain caused by that position would soon

force them to rise again, and struggle up the ascent. An half hour of

such travelling conducted us over this stony surface to the smooth

grassy swells, the surface of which was pleasant to the lacerated feet

of our horses. The green grass grew thickly all around. The moon poured

her bright beams through the frosty air on the slumbering heights; in

the deep pine-clad vales dimly burned the Indian fires; from mountain

to mountain sounded the deep bass of a thousand cascades.[210]

We encamped in a grove of pines which {125} crowned the mountain, at

three o'clock in the morning.

22nd. We saddled early, and ascending for two hours a line of gentle

grassy elevations, came to the beginning of the north-western

declivities of the Blue Mountains. The trail ran down the ravines of

small brooks flowing north-west, and occasionally over high swells

which stretched down the plain that lies about the south-western

branches of the Wallawalla River: we halted to dine.[211] In the

afternoon we struck off north-westerly over the rolling plain. The

soil in the depressions was a light and loose compound of sand and

clay, and thinly covered with bunch grass. The swells were of gravel,

and generally barren; trees on the brooks only, and these few, small

and of little value.

About three o'clock we came into the camp of a middle-aged Skyuse

Indian,[212] who was on his onward march from the buffalo hunt in the

mountain valleys east and north-east of Fort Hall. He was a spare man

of five feet eight inches, dressed in a green camlet frock-coat, a

black vest, striped cotton shirt, leather pants, moccasins, and a white

felt hat. There were two children, boys, neatly clad in deer-skin. His

{126} camp equipage was very comfortable--four or five camp-kettles

with tin covers, a number of pails with covers, a leathern tent, and

an assortment of fine buffalo robes. He had had a very successful

hunt. Of the seventeen horses in his caravan, six were loaded with the

best flesh of the buffalo cow, cured in the best manner; two others

bore his tent, utensils, clothing, robes, &c.; four others were ridden

by himself and family; the five remaining were used to relieve those

that, from time to time, might tire. These were splendid animals, as

large as the best horses of the States, well knit, deep and wide at

the shoulders; a broad loin, and very small lower limbs and feet; of

extreme activity and capacity for endurance.

Learning that this Indian was proceeding to Dr. Whitman's mission

establishment, where a considerable number of his tribe had pitched

their tents for the approaching winter, I determined to leave the

cavalcade and accompany him there. My guide Carbo, therefore, having

explained my intentions to my new acquaintance, departed with the

remainder of his charge for Fort Wallawalla.[213] Crickie, (in English

"poor crane,") was a very kind man.

{127} Immediately after the departure of Carbo and company, he turned

my worn-out animals loose, and loaded my packs upon his own, gave me a

splendid saddle-horse to ride, and intimated by significant gestures

that we would go a short distance that afternoon, in order to arrive

at the mission early the next day. I gave my assent, and we were soon

on the way. Our course was north-easterly over sharp swells, among

which ran many clear and beautiful brooks; soil gravel, loam, sand and

clay, and well covered with dry bunch grass, incapable of producing the

grains without irrigation. The swells and streams run north-westerly

from the Blue Mountains. Our course was diagonally across them.

Having made about ten miles at sunset, we encamped for the night. I

noticed, during the drive, a degree of forbearance towards each other,

in this family of savages which I had never before observed in that

race. When we halted for the night the two boys were behind. They had

been frolicking with their horses, and as the darkness came on, lost

the trail. It was a half-hour before they made their appearance, and

during this time, the worthy parents exhibited the most affectionate

solicitude {128} for them. One of them was but three years old, and was

lashed to the horse he rode; the other only seven years of age. Young

pilots in the wilderness at night! But the elder, true to the sagacity

of his race, had taken his course, and struck the brook on which we had

encamped, within three hundred yards of us. The pride of the parents

at this feat, and their ardent attachment to their children, were

perceptible in the pleasure with which they received them at their

evening fire, and heard the relation of their childish adventure.

The weather was so pleasant that no tent was pitched. The willows

were beat, and buffalo robes spread over them. Underneath were laid

other robes, on which my Indian host seated himself with his wife and

children on one side, and myself on the other. A fire burned brightly

in front. Water was brought, and the evening ablutions having been

performed, the wife presented a dish of meat to her husband, and one

to myself. There was a pause. The woman seated herself between her

children. The Indian then bowed his head and prayed to God! A wandering

savage in Oregon calling upon Jehovah in the name of Jesus {129}

Christ! After the prayer, he gave meat to his children, and passed the

dish to his wife.

While eating, the frequent repetition of the words Jehovah and Jesus

Christ, in the most reverential manner, led me to suppose they

were conversing on religious topics; and thus they passed an hour.

Meanwhile, the exceeding weariness of a long day's travel admonished me

to seek rest.

I had slumbered, I know not how long, when a strain of music awoke

me. I was about rising to ascertain whether the sweet notes of

Tallis's Chant came to these solitudes from earth or sky, when a full

recollection of my situation, and of the religious habits of my host,

easily solved the rising inquiry, and induced me to observe instead of

disturbing. The Indian family was engaged in its evening devotions.

They were singing a hymn in the Nez Percés language. Having finished

it, they all knelt and bowed their faces upon the buffalo robes, and

Crickie prayed long and fervently. Afterwards they sang another hymn

and retired. This was the first breathing of religious feelings that

I had seen since leaving the States. A pleasant evidence that the

Oregon wilderness was beginning to bear the rose of Sharon {130} on its

thousand hills, and that on the barren soil of the Skyuse heart was

beginning to bud and blossom and ripen the golden fruits of faith in

Jehovah, and hope in an after-state.

23rd. We were on our way before the sun rose. The dawn on an Oregon

sky, the rich blue embankment of mountains over which the great

day-star raised his glowing rim, the blandness of the air, the lively

ambling of the caravan towards the neighbouring abode of my countrymen,

imparted to my mind and body a most agreeable exhilaration. Crickie,

and his wife and children also, appeared to enjoy the atmosphere and

scenery of their native valley; and we went on together merrily over

the swelling plains and murmuring streams till about eight o'clock,

when Crickie spurred his horse in advance of the cavalcade, and

motioned me to follow him.

We rode very rapidly for about three hours over a country gently

undulating, well set with bunch grass, and intersected with small

streams flowing north-west. The dust had risen in dark clouds during

our ride, and rendered it necessary to bathe before presenting

ourselves at the mission. We therefore halted on the bank of a little

brook {131} overhung with willows, and proceeded to make our toilet.

Crickie's paraphernalia was ample for the purpose, and showed that

among his other excellencies, cleanliness held a prominent place. A

small mirror, pocket-comb, soap and a towel, were immediately produced;

and the dust was taken from his person and wardrobe with a nicety that

would have satisfied a town exquisite.

A ride of five miles afterward brought us in sight of the groves around

the mission. The plains far and near were dry and brown. Every form

of vegetation was dead save the forest trees, whose roots drank deeply

of the waters of the stream. We crossed the river, passed the Indian

encampment hard by, and were at the gate of the mission fields in

presence of Dr. Whitman. He was speaking Skyuse at the top of his voice

to some lazy Indians who were driving their cattle from his garden,

and giving orders to others to yoke their oxen, get the axes, and go

into the forest for the lower sleepers of the new mission house.[214]

Mr. Hall, printer at the Sandwich Islands, soon appeared in working

dress, with an axe on his shoulder; next came Mr. Monger, pulling the

pine shavings from his fore-plane.[215] All seemed desirous to {132}

ask me how long a balloon line had been running between the States and

the Pacific, by which single individuals crossed the continent. The

oxen, however, were yoked, and axes glistening in the sun, and there

was no time to spend, if they would return from their labour before

nightfall. So that the whence and wherefore of my sudden appearance

among them, were left for an after explanation. The doctor introduced

me to his excellent lady, and departed to his labour.[216]

The afternoon was spent in listless rest from the toils of my journey.

At sunset, however, I strolled out and took a bird's-eye view of the

plantation and plain of the Wallawalla. The old mission-house stands on

the north-east bank of the river, about four rods from the water-side,

at the north-east corner of an enclosure containing about two hundred

and fifty acres; two hundred of which are under good cultivation. The

soil is a thin stratum of clay, mixed with sand and a small proportion

of vegetable mould, resting on a base of coarse gravel. Through

this gravel, water from the Wallawalla filtrates, and by capillary

attraction is raised to the roots of vegetation in the incumbent earth.

The products are wheat, {133} Indian corn, onions, turnips, ruta-baga,

water, musk and nutmeg melons, squashes, asparagus, tomatoes,

cucumbers, peas, &c., in the garden--all of good quality, and abundant

crops.

The Wallawalla is a pretty stream. Its channel is paved with gravel and

sand, and about three rods in width; water two feet deep, running five

or six miles the hour, and limpid and cool through the year. A hundred

yards below the house, it makes a beautiful bend to the south-west for

a short distance, and then resumes its general direction of north-west

by north, along the border of the plantation. On the opposite bank is a

line of timber and underwood, interlaced with flowering brambles. Other

small groves occur above and below along the banks.

The plain about the waters of this river is about thirty miles square.

A great part of this surface is more or less covered with bunch grass.

The branches of the river are distributed over it in such manner that

most of it can be grazed. But, from what came under my own observation,

and the information received from respectable American citizens, who

had examined it more minutely than I had time to do, I suppose {134}

there to be scarcely two thousand acres of this vast extent of surface,

which can ever be made available for the purposes of cultivation.

The absence of rains and dews in the season of crops, and the

impossibility of irrigating much of it on account of the height of the

general surface above the streams, will afford sufficient reasons for

entertaining this opinion.

The doctor returned near night with his timber, one elm and a number

of quaking-asp sticks; and appeared gratified that he had been able to

find the requisite number of sufficient size to support his floor. Tea

came on, and passed away in earnest conversation about native land and

friends left there--of the pleasure they derived from their present

occupation--and the trials that befell them while commencing the

mission and afterwards.

Among the latter, was mentioned the drowning of their child in the

Wallawalla the year before, a little girl two years old. She fell into

the river at the place where they took water for family use. The mother

was in the house, the father a short distance away on the premises. The

alarm was conveyed to them almost instantly, and they and others rushed

to the stream, and sought {135} for their child with frantic eagerness.

But the strong heavy current had carried it down and lodged it in a

clump of bushes under the bank on which they stood. They passed the

spot where it lay, but found it too late. Thus these devoted people

were bereft, in the most afflicting manner, of their only child--left

alone in the wilderness.[217]

The morning of the 24th opened in the loveliest hues of the sky. Still

none of the beauty of the harvest field--none of the fragrance of the

ripened fruits of autumn were there. The wild horses were frolicking

on the plains; but the plains smoked with dust and dearth. The green

woods and the streams sent up their harmonies with the breeze; but it

was like a dirge over the remains of the departed glories of the year.

And yet when the smoking vegetables, the hissing steak, bread white as

snow, and the newly-churned golden butter graced the breakfast table,

and the happy countenances of countrymen and countrywomen shone around,

I could with difficulty believe myself in a country so far distant

from, and so unlike my native land, in all its features. But during

breakfast, this pleasant illusion was dispelled by one of the causes

which induced it.

{136} Our steak was of horse-flesh! On such meat this poor family

subsist most of the time. They do not complain. It enables them to

exist to do the Indian good, and thus satisfies them.[218] But can it

satisfy those who give money for the support of missionaries, that the

allowance made by their agents for the support of those who abandon

parents and freedom and home, and surrender not only themselves to the

mercy of the savages, but their offspring also, should be so meagre, as

to compel them to eat horse-flesh! This necessity existed in 1839, at

the mission on the Wallawalla, and I doubt not exists in 1843.

The breakfast being over, the doctor invited me to a stroll over

his premises. The garden was first examined; its location, on the

curving bank of the Wallawalla; the apple trees, growing thriftily

on its western border; the beautiful tomato and other vegetables,

burdening the grounds. Next to the fields. The doctor's views of the

soil, and its mode of receiving moisture from the river, were such as

I have previously expressed. "For," said he, "in those places where

you perceive the stratum of gravel to be raised so as to interrupt

the capillary attraction of the superincumbent earth, the {137} crop

failed." Then to the new house. The adobie walls had been erected a

year. These were about forty feet by twenty, and one and a half stories

high. The interior area consisted of two parlours of the ordinary size,

separated by an adobie portion. The outer door opened into one of them;

and from this a door in the partition led to the other. Above were to

be sleeping apartments. To the main building was attached another of

equal height designed for a kitchen, with chambers above for servants.

Mr. Monger and a Sandwich Islander were laying the floors, making the

doors, &c.

The lumber used was a very superior quality of yellow pine plank, which

Dr. Whitman had cut with a whip saw among the blue mountains, fifteen

miles distant. Next to the "caral." A fine yoke of oxen, two cows, an

American bull, and the beginning of a stock of hogs were thereabout.

And last to the grist-mill on the other side of the river. It consisted

of a spherical wrought iron burr four or five inches in diameter,

surrounded by a counter-burred surface of the same material. The

spherical burr was permanently attached to the shaft of a horizontal

water-wheel. The surrounding burred surface was firmly fastened to

{138} timbers, in such a position that when the water-wheel was put in

motion, the operation of the mill was similar to that of a coffee-mill.

It was a crazy thing, but for it the doctor was grateful.

It would, with the help of himself and an Indian, grind enough in a

day to feed his family a week, and that was better than to beat it

with a pestle and mortar. It appeared to me quite remarkable that the

doctor could have made so many improvements since the year 1834. But

the industry which crowded every hour of the day, his untiring energy

of character, and the very efficient aid of his wife in relieving

him in a great degree from the labours of the school, are, perhaps,

circumstances which will render possibility probable, that in five

years one man without funds for such purposes, without other aid in

that business than that of a fellow missionary at short intervals,

should fence, plough, build, plant an orchard, and do all the other

laborious acts of opening a plantation on the face of that distant

wilderness; learn an Indian language and do the duties, meanwhile, of a

physician to the associate stations on the Clear Water and Spokan.[219]

In the afternoon, Dr. Whitman and his {139} lady assembled the Indians

for instruction in reading. Forty or fifty children between the ages

of seven and eighteen, and several other people gathered on the shady

side of the new mission-house at the ringing of a hand-bell, and

seated themselves in an orderly manner on wooden benches. The doctor

then wrote monosyllables, words, and instructive sentences in the

Nez Percés language, on a large blackboard suspended on the wall,

and proceeded first to teach the nature and power of the letters

in representing the simple sounds of the language, and then the

construction of words and their uses in forming sentences expressive

of thought. The sentences written during these operations were at

last read, syllable by syllable, and word after word, and explained

until the sentiments contained in them were comprehended; and it was

delightful to notice the undisguised avidity with which these people

would devour a new idea. It seemed to produce a thrill of delight that

kindled up the countenance and animated the whole frame. A hymn in the

Nez Percés language, learned by rote from their teachers, was then

sung, and the exercises closed with prayer by Dr. Whitman in the same

tongue.

{140} 25th. I was awakened at early dawn by the merry sounds of

clapping boards, the hammer, the axe and the plane; the sweet melodies

of the parent of virtue, at this cradle of civilization. When I rose

everything was in motion. Dr. Whitman's little herd was lowing in

the river; the wild horses were neighing at the morning breeze; the

birds were caroling in the groves. I said, every thing was alive. Nay,

not so. The Skyuse village was in the deepest slumber, save a few

solitary individuals who were stalking with slow and stately tread up

a neighbouring bute, to descry the retreat of their animals. Their

conical skin lodges dotted the valley above the mission, and imparted

to the morning landscape a peculiar wildness. As the sun rose, the

inmates began to emerge from them.

It was a chilly hour; and their buffalo robes were drawn over their

shoulders, with the hair next the body. The snow-white flesh side was

fringed with the dark fur that crept in sight around the edges, and

their own long black glistening tresses fell over it far down the back.

The children were out in all the buoyancy of young life, shouting to

the prancing steed, or betting gravel stones that the arrows upon their

little {141} bows would be the first to clip the sturdy thistle head

upon which they were waging mimic war. The women were busy at their

fires, weaving mats from the flag; or sewing moccasins, leggings, or

hunting shirts. Crickie was giving meat to his friends, who the past

winter had fed him, and taken care of him, while lying sick.

This is the imperial tribe of Oregon. They formerly claimed a

prescriptive right to exercise jurisdiction over the country down

the Columbia to its mouth; and up the North and South Forks to their

sources. In the reign of the late high Chief, the brother of him who

now holds that station, this claim was acceded to by all the tribes

within those districts. But that talented and brave man left at his

death but one son, who, after receiving a thorough education at the

Selkirk settlement on Red River of Lake Winnipeg, also died--and with

him the imperial dignity of the Skyuse tribe.[220]

The person in charge at Fort Wallawalla, indeed dressed the present

incumbent in better style than his fellows; proclaimed him high chief,

and by treating him with the formality usually tendered to his deceased

brother, has obtained for him the {142} name, but not the respect

and influence belonging to the office. He is a man of considerable

mental power, but has none of the fire and energy attributed to his

predecessor. The Wallawallas and Upper Chinooks are the only tribes

that continue to recognise the Skyuse supremacy.

The Skyuse are also a tribe of merchants. Before the establishment of

Forts Hall and Boisais, they were in the habit of rendezvousing at

"La Grande Rounde," an extensive valley in the Blue Mountains, with

the Shoshonies and other Indians from the Saptin, and exchanging with

them their horses for furs, buffalo robes, skin tents, &c. But since

the building of these posts, that portion of their trade is nearly

destroyed. In the winter season, a band of them usually descends to

the Dalles, barters with the Chinooks for salmon, and holds councils

over that mean and miserable band to ascertain their misdemeanors,

and punish them therefore by whipping. The Wallawallas, however, are

their most numerous and profitable customers. They may well be termed

the fishermen of the Skyuse camp. They live on both banks of the

Columbia, from the Blue Mountains to the Dalles, and employ themselves

principally {143} in taking salmon. For these, their betters, who

consider fishing a menial business, give them horses. They own large

numbers of these animals. A Skyuse is thought to be poor who has but

fifteen or twenty of them. They generally have many more. One fat,

hearty old fellow, owns something more than two thousand; all wild,

except many as he needs for use or sale.

To these reports of the Indians, Dr. Whitman gave little credence;

so at variance were some of the facts related, with what he presumed

the Hudson's Bay Company would permit to be done by any one in their

employment, or under their patronage--the abuse of American citizens,

and the ungentlemanly interference with their characters and calling.

On the morning of the 27th, the arrival of Mr. Ermetinger, the senior

clerk at Fort Hall from Fort Wallawalla, created quite a sensation.

His uniform kindness to the Missionaries has endeared him to them.[221]

My companion, Blair, accompanied him. The poor old man had become

lonely and discouraged, and as I had encouraged him to expect any

assistance from me which his circumstances might demand, it afforded

me the greatest pleasure to make his merits {144} known to the

Missionaries, who needed an artisan to construct a mill at the station

on the Clear Water. Dr. Whitman contracted with him for his services

and Blair was happy. I sincerely hope he may for ever be so.

I attended the Indian school to-day. Mrs. Whitman is an indefatigable

instructress. The children read in monosyllables from a primer lately

published at the Clear Water station. After reading, they repeated a

number of hymns in the Nez Percés, composed by Mr. Smith, of the Spokan

station.[222] These were afterwards sung. They learn music readily. At

nightfall, I visited the Indian lodges in company with Dr. Whitman.

In one of them we saw a young woman who imagined that the spirit of

a Medicine man, or conjuror, had entered into her system, and was

wasting her life. She was resorting to the native remedy for such

evils--singing wild incantations, and weeping loudly. This tribe, like

all others west of the mountains, believe in witchcraft under various

forms--practice sleight-of-hand, fire-eating, &c. They insert rough

sticks into their throats, and draw them up and down till the blood

flows freely, to make them long-winded on march. They {145} flatten

the head, and perforate the septum, or partition of the nose. In this

orifice they wear various ornaments. The more common one that I noticed

was a wolf's tooth.

The Skyuse have two distinct languages: the one used in ordinary

intercourse, the other on extraordinary occasions; as in war-councils,

&c. Both are said to be copious and expressive. They also speak the Nez

Percés and Wallawalla.

On the 28th, Mr. Ermetinger started for Fort Hall, and Blair for the

Clear Water. Early in the day, the Indians brought in large numbers of

their horses to try their speed. These are a fine race of animals; as

large, and of better form, and more activity than most of the horses

in the States. Every variety of colour is found among them, from the

shining coal-black to the milk-white. Some of them are pied very

singularly; for instance, a roan body with bay ears, and white mane and

tail. Some are spotted with white on a roan, or bay, or sorrel ground,

with tail and ears tipped with black. They are better trained to the

saddle than those of civilized countries.

When an Indian wishes an increase of his serving animals, he mounts a

fleet horse, {146} and, lasso in hand, rushes into his band of wild

animals, throws it upon the neck of the chosen one, and chokes him

down; and while in a state of insensibility, ties the hind and fore

feet firmly together. When consciousness returns, the animal struggles

violently, but in vain, to get loose. His fear is then attacked by

throwing bear-skins, wolf-skins, and blankets at his head till he

becomes quiet. He is then loosened from the cord, and rears and plunges

furiously at the end of a long rope, and receives another introduction

to bear-skins, &c. After this, he is approached and handled; or, if

still too timid, he is again beset with blankets and bear-skins, as

before, until he is docile. Then come the saddling and riding. During

this training, they uniformly treat him tenderly when near, and rudely

when he pulls at the end of the halter. Thus they make their wild steed

the most fearless and pleasant riding animals I ever mounted.

The course pursued by Mr. Whitman, and other Presbyterian Missionaries,

to improve the Indians, is to teach them the Nez Percés language,

according to fixed grammatical rules, for the purpose of opening to

them the arts and religion of civilized {147} nations through the

medium of books. They also teach them practical agriculture and the

useful arts, for the purpose of civilizing their physical condition.

By these means, they hope to make them a better and a happier people.

Perhaps it would be an easier way to the same result, if they would

teach them the English language, and thus open to them at once the

treasures which centuries of toil, by a superior race, have dug from

the mines of intelligence and truth.

This was the evening before the sabbath, and Dr. Whitman, as his

custom was, invited one of the most intelligent Indians to his study,

translated to him the text of scripture from which he intended to teach

the tribe on the morrow, explained to him its doctrines, and required

of him to explain in turn. This was repeated again and again, until the

Indian obtained a clear understanding of its doctrines.

The 29th was the sabbath, and I had an opportunity of noticing its

observance by the Skyuse. I rose before the sun. The stars were waxing

dim on the morning sky, the most charming dawn I ever witnessed. Every

possible circumstance of sublimity conspired to make it so. There was

the {148} pure atmosphere; not a wisp of cloud on all its transparent

depths. The light poured over the Blue Mountains like a cataract of

gold; first on the upper sky, then deepening its course through the

lower air, it gilded the plain with a flood of brightness, mellow,

beautiful brightness; the charms of morning light, on the brown,

boundless solitudes of Oregon. The breeze scarcely rustled the leaves

of the dying flowers; the drumming of the woodpecker on the distant

tree, sounded a painful discord; so grand, so awful, and yet so sweet,

were the unuttered symphonies of the sublime quiet of the wilderness.

At ten o'clock the Skyuse assembled for worship in the open air. The

exercises were according to the Presbyterian form; the invocation,

the hymn, the prayer, the hymn, the sermon, a prayer, a hymn, and the

blessing; all in the Nez Percés tongue. The principal peculiarity about

the services was the mode of delivering the discourse. When Dr. Whitman

arose and announced the text, the Indian who had been instructed on the

previous night, rose and repeated it; and as the address proceeded,

repeated it also by sentence or paragraph, till it was finished. This

is the custom of {149} the Skyuse in all their public speaking. The

benefit resulting from it in this case, apparently, was the giving the

doctrines which the Doctor desired to inculcate, a clearer expression

in the proper idiom of the language.

During the recess, the children were assembled in sabbath school. In

the afternoon, the service was similar to that of the morning. Every

thing was conducted with much solemnity. After worship, the Indians

gathered in their lodges, and conversed together concerning what

they had heard. If doubt arose as to any point, it was solved by the

instructed Indian. Thus passed the sabbath among the Skyuse.

On the 29th, I hired Crickie to take me to the Dalles; and, Mrs.

Whitman having filled my sacks with bread, corn-meal, and other

edibles, I lashed my packs once more for the lower Columbia.

FOOTNOTES:

[183] The river was named by Captain William Clark in honor of his

fellow explorer, Captain Meriwether Lewis, the latter being the first

white man to visit its banks. Later, the term Snake was more frequently

applied, because that tribe of Indians ranged within the basin of this

river. The word Saptin (Shahaptin) is derived from a stock of Indians,

of whom the Nez Percés are the most prominent branch.--ED.

[184] By Long's range, Farnham intends what is now known as Front

range, with Long's Peak, James's (now Pike's) Peak, and Pike's (now the

Spanish Peaks) as its outposts. For his use of these terms see _ante_,

pp. 111, 184, 283, notes 50, 111, 166. The Great Gap is South Pass, for

which see our volume xxi, p. 58, note 37.--ED.

[185] These spurs are the boundaries of South and Middle Parks, for

which see _ante_, pp. 199, 221, notes 123, 132.--ED.

[186] The range described by Farnham as the Snowy Mountains, refers

to the Sierra Nevada; but is an incorrect description. The mountains

he saw north-east and north-west of Fort Hall, covered with perpetual

snow, were part of the main Rocky Mountains trending westward from

Yellowstone Park. The President's range is that now known as Cascade

Mountains, in which Mounts Jefferson and Adams perpetuate the memory of

those early executives.--ED.

[187] For a brief description of this range see Townsend's _Narrative_

in our volume xxi, p. 184, note 35.--ED.

[188] For these three streams, which rise farther west than here

indicated, see De Smet's _Letters_ in our volume xxvii, p. 224, note

92.--ED.

[189] For Grand River see _ante_, p. 223, note 135.--ED.

[190] The South Platte rises in South Park (Bayou Salade), flows east

and then north-east, and breaking through Front Range at Platte Cañon,

above Denver, continues in a nearly northward course to old Fort St.

Vrain; it then turns abruptly east across the great plains, and unites

with the North Platte in western Nebraska.--ED.

[191] For Wyeth and the founding of Fort Hall see our volume xxi,

especially pp. 210, 211. The fort was built in 1833 (not 1832). The

nearest Hudson's Bay post was Fort Walla Walla, for which see volume

xxi, p. 278, note 73.--ED.

[192] For the Wallawalla Indians see Ross's _Oregon Settlers_, in our

volume vii, p. 137, note 37.--ED.

[193] For the Three Buttes see our volume xxi, p. 209, note 49.--ED.

[194] By western, Farnham intends the southern bank of the Lewis,

where passed the usual trail from Fort Hall. Rough as it was, the

southern bank was less cut with gulleys and rapid torrent beds than the

northern.--ED.

[195] The term Digger Indians has no ethnological significance, but

was applied to degraded bands of the Shoshonean stock who ranged

chiefly west and south of Great Salt Lake; without horses or much

clothing, they lived in a furtive way upon roots and insects. The name

is sometimes equivalent to Paiute, who have proved to be of a more

vigorous character than was formerly supposed. The French appellation

was Digne de pitié (worthy of pity); see De Smet's _Letters_ in our

volume xxvii, p. 167, note 38.--ED.

[196] Farnham must have been in the neighborhood of the great Shoshone

Falls of Lewis River. His description would better apply to Twin

Falls, two and a half miles higher up which are about two hundred

feet in height; but they are caused by the flow of the river, not by

springs.--ED.

[197] This ford is about thirty-five miles below the falls, not far

from Glenn's Ferry. It consists of two islands, with the water between

sufficiently shallow to be fordable.--ED.

[198] The entire region is volcanic, and hot springs are frequent.

Hot Spring Creek is an affluent of the Lewis, some distance below the

Malade. See Frémont's analysis of these springs in _Senate Docs._, 28

Cong., 2 sess., 174, p. 171.--ED.

[199] This must be a misprint for twenty miles "east of the Saptin" or

Lewis. The guide evidently bore off from the main river in order to

strike the Boise, which afforded wood for fuel and pasture for horses

as well as furnished a short cut to the fort at its mouth.--ED.

[200] For the Boise River, see Townsend's _Narrative_ in our volume

xxi, p. 249, note 63. The Snake Indians are noted in volume v, p. 227,

note 123.--ED.

[201] For the Bannock Indians see our volume xxi, p. 192, note 41.

The Boise was frequently called Reed's River, because of the murder

thereupon (1814) of a trapping party under the leadership of a

bourgeois of that name. See Ross's _Oregon Settlers_ in our volume vii,

pp. 265-270.--ED.

[202] Lewis and Clark passed the main ridge of the Rockies at the

source of the west fork of Jefferson's River, coming out upon the

Lemhi. By the "Great Gap," Farnham undoubtedly intends South Pass.

The Bannock crossed at the headsprings of Henry's Fork of the Snake

(see De Smet's _Letters_, our volume xxvii, p. 252), coming down into

Madison Valley, whence they made their way by Bozeman's Pass to the

Yellowstone, or country of the Crows; or possibly to the country of the

Blackfeet, on Maria's River, by continuing down the Missouri.--ED.

[203] Fort Boise was built in the spring of 1834 (not 1832) by Thomas

McKay, stepson of Dr McLoughlin, the Hudson's Bay factor at Fort

Vancouver. It was at first but a miserable pen of crooked saplings, a

few miles up Boise River; but later was, as Farnham mentions, removed

below the mouth of the river, and constructed of adobe. It was an

important station on the Oregon Trail--the resting place after the

difficult travel of the Snake River plains, and before attempting the

rough route to the Columbia. With the decline of the fur-trade, the

importance of Fort Boise was much diminished, and when it was destroyed

(1853) by a remarkable rise of Snake River, it was but partially

repaired. A neighboring Indian massacre (1854) caused the post to be

entirely abandoned the succeeding year. In 1863 the government built a

military post known as Fort Boise, or Boise Barracks, fifty miles above

the old Hudson's Bay post, at the site of the modern city of Boise.--ED.

[204] Payette commanded this post for a number of years. Whitman found

him there in 1836, and he was still in charge as late as 1843.--ED.

[205] The history of this wagon is interesting. It was brought out

by Dr. Whitman in 1836, and the following passages in Mrs. Whitman's

letters (Oregon Pioneer Association _Transactions_, 1891, pp. 40-68)

relate thereto: "July 25. Husband had a tedious time with the wagon

to-day. It got stuck in the creek this morning when crossing and he

was obliged to wade considerably in getting it out. After that, in

going between the mountains, on the side of one, so steep that it was

difficult for horses to pass, the wagon was upset twice.... 28th. One

of the axle-trees of the wagon broke to-day; was a little rejoiced, for

we were in hopes they would leave it, and have no more trouble with

it. Our rejoicing was in vain for they are making a cart of the back

wheels, this afternoon, and lashing the fore wheels to it--intending

to take it through in some shape or other". On Snake River the box

was abandoned, and finally what remained of the vehicle was left at

Fort Boise. When Joseph L. Meek came through in 1840, he secured the

remains of this historic wagon and transported his family therein to

Dr. Whitman's station at Waiilatpu.--ED.

[206] These springs are just below the entrance of Malheur River, for

which see our volume xxi, p. 264, note 64. Frémont tested them, and

found the temperature 193° Fahrenheit; he mentions the incrustation of

salt.--ED.

[207] Probably Burnt (or Brulé) River, for which see our volume xxi, p.

267, note 67.--ED.

[208] L'Arbre Seul was a well-known landmark in Powder River valley,

just at the ford of the river. When Frémont passed in 1843 he found

that some inconsiderate emigrant had felled the big tree with his axe.

The place was thereafter known as Lone Pine Stump. For Powder River see

our volume xxi, p. 268, note 68.--ED.

[209] Grande Ronde valley, for which see our volume xxi, p. 271, note

69.--ED.

[210] The passage of the Blue Mountains was one of the difficult

portions of the Oregon Trail. Compare our volume xxi, pp. 272-276; also

Mrs. Whitman's "Journal," in Oregon Pioneer Association _Transactions_,

1891, pp. 55-57.--ED.

[211] For the Walla Walla River see our volume vi, p. 338, note

142.--ED.

[212] For the Cayuse (Skyuse) Indians see Ross's _Oregon Settlers_ in

our volume vii, p. 137, note 37.--ED.

[213] For a brief description of Fort Walla Walla see our volume xxi,

p. 278, note 73.--ED.

[214] The Whitman mission station was on the north bank of the Walla

Walla, six miles west of the present city of that name. The place was

called by its Indian name Waiilatpu. See Mrs. Whitman's description of

the site in Oregon Pioneer Association _Transactions_, 1891, pp. 88-90;

she gives a plan of the new house on pp. 136, 137. For a brief sketch

of Dr. Marcus Whitman, see our volume xxi p. 352, note 125.--ED.

[215] The mission of the American Board at the Sandwich Islands

decided (1839) to present to the Oregon mission their printing press

and its appurtenances, they having recently received a new outfit

from the United States. This press, which had then seen twenty years'

service in Hawaii, was placed on board of the annual vessel to the

Columbia, and in process of time reached Dr. Whitman's station;

thence it was transferred to Lapwai, where it continued in use,

printing native texts, etc., during the existence of the mission. The

press was advertised for sale in 1860, but there being no customer,

Mrs. Spaulding presented it to the state as an historical relic. It

has found a home in the state house at Salem. See Oregon Pioneer

Association _Transactions_, 1889, p. 94. With the press came Edwin

O. Hall, an American printer, who had been employed some time in

the Sandwich Islands, and desired to leave because of the impaired

condition of his wife's health. He remained at the Oregon mission until

the next year, when he returned to the Islands, subsequently returning

to the Eastern states where he died about 1887. (See Mrs. Whitman's

"Journal," in Oregon Pioneer Association _Transactions_, 1891, p. 137.)

For Asahel Munger see _ante_, p. 275, note 161.--ED.

[216] For Narcissa Prentice Whitman see our volume xxi, p. 355, note

128.--ED.

[217] See Mrs. Whitman's own account of the loss of this daughter,

Alice Clarissa, in Oregon Pioneer Association _Transactions_, 1891, pp.

120-126.--ED.

[218] Mrs. Whitman writes in 1838: "The Indians have furnished us a

little venison--barely enough for our own eating--but to supply our

men and visitors we have killed and eaten ten wild horses bought of

the Indians. This will make you pity us, but you had better save your

pity for more worthy subjects. I do not prefer it to other meat, but

can eat it very well when we have nothing else." (See "Journal," as in

preceding note, p. 96.)--ED.

[219] For the location of the Spokan mission see De Smet's _Letters_ in

our volume xxvii, p. 367, note 187.

The Clearwater station was called Lapwai, being situated at the mouth

of a creek of that name in Nez Percé County, western Idaho. It was

founded in 1836 by Henry H. Spaulding, for whom see our volume xxi, p.

352, note 125. Abandoned after the Whitman massacre (1847), a military

post succeeded, being maintained until 1886. A portion of Spaulding's

house was recently standing.--ED.

[220] In Ross's time, Quahat was the great Cayuse war-chief. He

also speaks of the importance of the Cayuse, and their ruling

propensities--see Chittenden, _Fur-Trade_, i, p. 181.

For the Red River settlement, see Franchère's _Narrative_ in our volume

vi, pp. 379, 381, notes 195, 199.--ED.

[221] For Francis Ermatinger see De Smet's _Letters_, in our volume

xxvii, p. 235, note 108.--ED.

[222] Asa B. Smith came out in 1838 with Elkanah Walker and Cushing

Eells to re-inforce the mission to the Nez Percés. Smith had

considerable linguistic ability, and with the aid of the noted Indian

chief Lawyer compiled a grammar and vocabulary of the Nez Percé

language. Becoming discouraged, however, he left the mission at Kamai

in 1841, and resigning the following year retired to the Sandwich

Islands.--ED.