i

with the northwest fur company

after the downfall of the pacific fur company, the occupation of astoria by the northwesters, and the change of its name to fort george, ross took service with the northwest company. it is life as a fur trader with the northwest company that he describes in his book the fur hunters of the far west. in point of time, these volumes precede most of the books on the far western fur trade, and they give faithful and interesting accounts of the conditions met with at the time. ross’s books, in fact, are foundation stones for any history of the settlement of the northwest. although the books were not written until long after the period of which they treat—for the preface of this work is dated june 1, 1854, while the book was published the next year—ross must have kept full diaries of his goings and comings, for in most of his dates he is exact, and his narrative is full of details that would almost certainly have slipped from an unaided memory.

in his new service ross discovered that matters were42 now in charge of men who knew very little about the indians of the pacific coast, and who lightly regarded those persons who had been in the service of mr. astor, whom they called yankees. the new-comers had much to learn.

one of the first acts of the northwest company was to despatch an expedition of twenty men, in charge of messrs. keith and alexander stuart, to report to fort william, on lake superior, the news of the acquisition of astoria by the northwest company. on reaching the cascades of the columbia they were attacked by a large number of indians, and mr. stuart was wounded. two indians were killed, and the expedition returned to fort george. the attack caused great indignation there, and an extraordinary expedition was fitted out to punish the indians. eighty-five picked men and two chinook interpreters constituted the force; and besides the ordinary arms carried in the west they had “two great guns, six swivels, cutlasses, hand grenades, and hand knives.”

as the expedition passed along up the river, it struck terror to the hearts of the indians, while it is said that “the two chinook interpreters could neither sleep nor eat, so grieved were they at the thoughts of the bloody scenes that were to be enacted.”

the people who were to be punished, however—the cath-le-yach-é-yach, a chinookan tribe living below the cascades—were not all frightened, and when they were required to deliver up the property taken43 from keith and stuart, they declared themselves ready to do so, but not until after the whites had delivered to them those who had killed two of their people. they sent off their women and children into the forest and prepared to fight. there were multitudinous parleys lasting for three or four days, at the end of which time the whites, regarding discretion as the better part of valor, “without recovering the property, firing a gun, or securing a single prisoner, sounded a retreat and returned home on the ninth day, having made matters ten times worse than they were before.”

the expedition was much derided by the indians, and the white people who took part in it were extremely mortified about it. the situation was really one of war, and when a short time afterward the northwest brigade departed for the interior, the indians at the cascades did not come near to the camp nor in any degree interrupt their progress.

consulted by mcdonald, who was in charge of the columbia trade, ross had urged on him the importance of taking the “usual precautions” in travelling up the river. nevertheless, no guard was set at night, and an alarm taking place, people jumped up and began to fire their guns at random and one of the men was shot dead. there seems no reason to suppose that there were actually any indians in the camp.

at fort okanagan the expedition passed on, leaving ross behind in charge of the post. he was now in a prairie country where horses were absolutely essential44 to travel, and no horses were to be had nearer than eyakema valley, two hundred miles away, where the horse indians, cayuses, nez percés, and other warlike tribes encamped each spring, to collect the roots of the camas. here horses were plenty, but, as it was a great camp occupied by many different tribes, to visit it was to incur some danger. however, ross took a few trade goods and set out with three men, young mckay and two french canadians, these last taking with them their indian wives, to assist in the care of the horses.

it was an anxious time, and the perplexities of the journey were not lessened when, on the fourth night after leaving okanagan, the chief of the pisscows tribe, who had learned where ross was going, sent two men to urge him to turn back, declaring that if they did not do so they were all dead men. however, ross determined to go on; as he puts it, “i had risked my life there for the americans, i could now do no less for the north-west company; so with deep regret the friendly couriers left us and returned, and with no less reluctance we proceeded.”

on the sixth day after leaving the fort they reached the valley, where they found a great camp, of which they could see the beginning, but not the end. it must have contained not less than 3,000 men, exclusive of women and children, and three times that number of horses. everywhere was seen the active life of these primitive people. councils were being held, women45 were gathering roots, men were hunting. horse racing, games, singing, dancing, drumming, yelling, and a thousand other things were going on. the noise and confusion are hardly to be described; but the interest and the beauty of the scene could not have been appreciated by these men, who were carrying their lives in their hands and marching into danger.

“our reception was cool, the chiefs were hostile and sullen, they saluted us in no very flattering accents. ‘these are the men,’ said they, ‘who kill our relations, the people who have caused us to mourn.’ and here, for the first time, i regretted we had not taken advice in time, and returned with the couriers, for the general aspect of things was against us. it was evident we stood on slippery ground; we felt our weakness. in all sudden and unexpected rencontres with hostile indians, the first impulse is generally a tremor or sensation of fear, but that soon wears off; it was so with myself at this moment, for after a short interval i nerved myself to encounter the worst.

“the moment we dismounted, we were surrounded, and the savages, giving two or three war-whoops and yells, drove the animals we had ridden out of our sight; this of itself was a hostile movement. we had to judge from appearances, and be guided by circumstances. my first care was to try and direct their attention to something new, and to get rid of the temptation there was to dispose of my goods; so without a moment’s delay, i commenced a trade in horses;46 but every horse i bought during that and the following day, as well as those we had brought with us, were instantly driven out of sight, in the midst of yelling and jeering: nevertheless, i continued to trade while an article remained, putting the best face on things i could, and taking no notice of their conduct, as no insult or violence had as yet been offered to ourselves personally. two days and nights had now elapsed since our arrival, without food or sleep; the indians refused us the former, our own anxiety deprived us of the latter.

“during the third day i discovered that the two women were to have been either killed or taken from us and made slaves. so surrounded were we for miles on every side, that we could not stir unobserved; yet we had to devise some means for their escape, and to get them clear of the camp was a task of no ordinary difficulty and danger. in this critical conjuncture, however, something had to be done, and that without delay. one of them had a child at the breast, which increased the difficulty. to attempt sending them back by the road they came, would have been sacrificing them. to attempt an unknown path through the rugged mountains, however doubtful the issue, appeared the only prospect that held out a glimpse of hope; therefore, to this mode of escape i directed their attention. as soon as it was dark, they set out on their forlorn adventure without food, guide, or protection, to make their way home, under a kind providence!

47 “‘you are to proceed,’ said i to them, ‘due north, cross the mountains, and keep in that direction till you fall on the pisscows river; take the first canoe you find, and proceed with all diligence down to the mouth of it and there await our arrival. but if we are not there on the fourth day, you may proceed to oakanagan, and tell your story.’ with these instructions we parted; and with but little hopes of our ever meeting again. i had no sooner set about getting the women off, than the husbands expressed a wish to accompany them; the desire was natural, yet i had to oppose it. this state of things distracted my attention: my eyes had now to be on my own people as well as on the indians, as i was apprehensive they would desert. ‘there is no hope for the women by going alone,’ said the husbands, ‘no hope for us by remaining here: we might as well be killed in the attempt to escape, as remain to be killed here,’ ‘no,’ said i, ‘by remaining here we do our duty; by going we should be deserting our duty.’ to this remonstrance they made no reply. the indians soon perceived that they had been outwitted. they turned over our baggage, and searched in every hole and corner. disappointment creates ill humor: it was so with the indians. they took the men’s guns out of their hands, fired them off at their feet, and then, with savage laughter, laid them down again; took their hats off their heads, and after strutting about with these for some time, jeeringly gave them back to their owners: all this time, they never48 interfered with me, but i felt that every insult offered to my men was an indirect insult offered to myself.

“the day after the women went off, i ordered one of the men to try and cook something for us; for hitherto we had eaten nothing since our arrival, except a few raw roots which we managed to get unobserved. but the kettle was no sooner on the fire than five or six spears bore off, in savage triumph, the contents: they even emptied out the water, and threw the kettle on one side; and this was no sooner done than thirty or forty ill-favored wretches fired a volley in the embers before us, which caused a cloud of smoke and ashes to ascend, darkening the air around us: a strong hint not to put the kettle any more on the fire, and we took it.

“at this time the man who had put the kettle on the fire took the knife with which he had cut the venison to lay it by, when one of the indians, called eyacktana, a bold and turbulent chief, snatched it out of his hand; the man, in an angry tone, demanded his knife, saying to me, ‘i’ll have my knife from the villain, life or death.’ ‘no,’ said i. the chief, seeing the man angry, threw down his robe, and grasping the knife in his fist, with the point downwards, raised his arm, making a motion in advance as if he intended using it. the crisis had now arrived! at this moment there was a dead silence. the indians were flocking in from all quarters: a dense crowd surrounded us. not a moment was to be lost; delay would be fatal, and nothing49 now seemed to remain for us but to sell our lives as dearly as possible. with this impression, grasping a pistol, i advanced a step towards the villain who held the knife, with the full determination of putting an end to his career before any of us should fall; but while in the act of lifting my foot and moving my arm, a second idea floated across my mind, admonishing me to soothe, and not provoke, the indians, that providence might yet make a way for us to escape: this thought saved the indian’s life, and ours too. instead of drawing the pistol, as i intended, i took a knife from my belt, such as travellers generally use in this country, and presented it to him, saying, ‘here, my friend, is a chief’s knife, i give it to you; that is not a chief’s knife, give it back to the man.’ fortunately, he took mine in his hand; but, still sullen and savage, he said nothing. the moment was a critical one; our fate hung as by a thread: i shall never forget it! all the bystanders had their eyes now fixed on the chief, thoughtful and silent as he stood; we also stood motionless, not knowing what a moment might bring forth. at last the savage handed the man his knife, and turning mine round and round for some time in his hand, turned to his people, holding up the knife in his hand, exclaimed, ‘she-augh me-yokat waltz’—look, my friends, at the chief’s knife: these words he repeated over and over again. he was delighted. the indians flocked round him: all admired the toy, and in the excess of his joy he harangued the multitude in our favour. fickle, indeed,50 are savages! they were now no longer enemies, but friends! several others, following eyacktana’s example, harangued in turn, all in favour of the whites. this done, the great men squatted themselves down, the pipe of peace was called for, and while it was going round and round the smoking circle, i gave each of the six principal chiefs a small paper-cased looking-glass and a little vermilion, as a present; and in return, they presented me with two horses and twelve beavers, while the women soon brought us a variety of eatables.

“this sudden change regulated my movements. indeed, i might say the battle was won. i now made a speech to them in turn, and, as many of them understood the language i spoke, i asked them what i should say to the great white chief when i got home, when he asks me where are all the horses i bought from you. what shall i say to him? at this question it was easy to see that their pride was touched. ‘tell him,’ said eyacktana, ‘that we have but one mouth, and one word; all the horses you have bought from us are yours, they shall be delivered up.’ this was just what i wanted. after a little counselling among themselves, eyacktana was the first to speak, and he undertook to see them collected.

“by this time it was sun-down. the chief then mounted his horse, and desired me to mount mine and accompany him, telling one of his sons to take my men and property under his charge till our return. being acquainted with indian habits, i knew there would be51 repeated calls upon my purse, so i put some trinkets into my pocket, and we started on our nocturnal adventure; which i considered hazardous but not hopeless.

“such a night we had! the chief harangued, travelled and harangued, the whole night, the people replied. we visited every street, alley, hole and corner of the camp, which we traversed lengthwise, crossway, east, west, south, and north, going from group to group, and the call was ‘deliver up the horses.’ here was gambling, there scalp-dancing; laughter in one place, mourning in another. crowds were passing to and fro, whooping, yelling, dancing, drumming, singing. men, women, and children were huddled together; flags flying, horses neighing, dogs howling, chained bears, tied wolves, grunting and growling, all pell-mell among the tents; and, to complete the confusion, the night was dark. at the end of each harangue the chief would approach me, and whisper in my ear, ‘she-augh tamtay enim’—i have spoken well in your favour—a hint for me to reward his zeal by giving him something. this was repeated constantly, and i gave him each time a string of beads, or two buttons, or two rings. i often thought he repeated his harangues more frequently than necessary; but it answered his purpose, and i had no choice but to obey and pay.

“at daylight we got back; my people and property were safe; and in two hours after my eighty-five horses were delivered up, and in our possession. i was now52 convinced of the chief’s influence, and had got so well into his good graces with my beads, buttons, and rings, that i hoped we were out of all our troubles. our business being done, i ordered my men to tie up and prepare for home, which was glad tidings to them. with all this favourable change, we were much embarrassed and annoyed in our preparations to start. the savages interrupted us every moment. they jeered the men, frightened the horses, and kept handling, snapping, and firing off our guns; asking for this, that, and the other thing. the men’s hats, pipes, belts, and knives were constantly in their hands. they wished to see everything, and everything they saw they wished to get, even to the buttons on their clothes. their teasing curiosity had no bounds; and every delay increased our difficulties. our patience was put to the test a thousand times; but at last we got ready, and my men started. to amuse the indians, however, till they could get fairly off, i invited the chiefs to a parley, which i put a stop to as soon as i thought the men and horses had got clear of the camp. i then prepared to follow them, when a new difficulty arose. in the hurry and bustle of starting, my people had left a restive, awkward brute of a horse for me, wild as a deer, and as full of latent tricks as he was wild. i mounted and dismounted at least a dozen times; in vain i tried to make him advance. he reared, jumped and plunged; but refused to walk, trot, or gallop. every trial to make him go was a failure. a young conceited53 fop of an indian, thinking he could make more of him than i could, jumped on his back; the horse reared and plunged as before, when, instead of slackening the bridle as he reared, he reined it tighter and tighter, till the horse fell right over on his back, and almost killed the fellow. here eyacktana, with a frown, called out, ‘kap-sheesh she-eam’—the bad horse—and gave me another; and for the generous act i gave him my belt, the only article i had to spare. but although the difficulties i had with the horse were galling enough to me, they proved a source of great amusement to the indians, who enjoyed it with roars of laughter.”

when ross got out of the camp he rode hard and took a short cut in the effort to overtake his people, but could not find them. presently, however, from the top of a ridge, he saw three horsemen coming toward him at full tilt. he made preparation for defence, and hiding behind a rock awaited the onslaught, but before they got close to him he discovered that these were the friendly pisscows, who before had warned him to turn back, and with them he went on. at last they saw ross’s people, who were driving their horses as fast as they could, but when they saw ross and his companions behind them they thought them enemies, and stopped to fight. all were glad enough to get together, and at last, after various adventures, they reached the fort at okanagan.

54

ii

work of a fur trader

a little later ross went north to his own post at the she-whaps, where he made a good trade. from here he decided to go west to the pacific coast on foot, believing that the distance was not more than two hundred miles, but before he reached the coast a destructive hurricane passed so close to his party that his guide, altogether discouraged by fatigue and failure, deserted during the night, and ross was obliged to return.

one winter, much alarm was caused among the indians by the depredations of strange wolves, reported to be hundreds in number, and as big as buffalo, which were coming into the country, and on their march were killing all the horses. the indians declared that all the horses would be killed, for men could not go near these wolves, nor would arrows or balls kill them. shortly after the head chief of the okanagan indians had told this story to ross, wolves killed five of the traders’ horses. ross took up those left alive, and then put out a dozen traps about the carcass of one that had been killed. the next morning four of the traps were sprung. “one of them held a large white wolf by the fore leg, a foot equally large was gnawed off and left in another, the third held a fox, and the fourth trap had disappeared altogether.” unable to get away, the captured wolf was quite ready to fight. it55 had gnawed the trap until its teeth were broken and its head was covered with blood. when killed it was found to weigh one hundred and twenty-seven pounds, an enormous animal. the one that had carried off the trap was at last discovered making the best of its way over the country, and pursuit resulted in its capture. the animal had dragged a trap and chain weighing eight and one-half pounds a distance of twenty-five miles, without appearing at all fatigued. ross wanted the skin, but had left his knife behind him. however, it was not for nothing that he had been for years associated with indians, and he took the flint out of his gun, skinned the animal, and went home with skin and trap.

the killing of these two wolves and the crippling of the third put an end to the destruction, and not another horse was killed in that part of the country during the season.

ross comments interestingly on the methods used by wolves in decoying horses.

“if there is no snow, or but little, on the ground, two wolves approach in the most playful and caressing manner, lying, rolling, and frisking about, until the too credulous and unsuspecting victim is completely put off his guard by curiosity and familiarity. during this time the gang, squatted on their hind-quarters, look on at a distance. after some time spent in this way, the two assailants separate, when one approaches the horse’s head, the other his tail, with a slyness and56 cunning peculiar to themselves. at this stage of the attack, their frolicsome approaches become very interesting—it is in right good earnest; the former is a mere decoy, the latter is the real assailant, and keeps his eyes steadily fixed on the ham-strings or flank of the horse. the critical moment is then watched, and the attack is simultaneous; both wolves spring at their victim the same instant, one to the throat, the other to the flank, and if successful, which they generally are, the hind one never lets go his hold till the horse is completely disabled. instead of springing forward or kicking to disengage himself, the horse turns round and round without attempting a defence. the wolf before, then springs behind, to assist the other. the sinews are cut, and in half the time i have been describing it, the horse is on his side; his struggles are fruitless: the victory is won. at this signal, the lookers-on close in at a gallop, but the small fry of followers keep at a respectful distance, until their superiors are gorged, then they take their turn unmolested. the wolves, however, do not always kill to eat; like wasteful hunters, they often kill for the pleasure of killing, and leave the carcases untouched. the helplessness of the horse when attacked by wolves is not more singular than its timidity and want of action when in danger by fire. when assailed by fire, in the plains or elsewhere, their strength, swiftness, and sagacity, are of no avail; they never attempt to fly, but become bewildered in the smoke, turn round and round, stand and tremble,57 until they are burnt to death: which often happens in this country, in a conflagration of the plains.”

it must be remembered, however, that ross is speaking of wolves of the western mountains, animals which were not familiar with the buffalo, and which now, since horses had been brought into the country, had been supplied with a new food animal. ross says also, and he is almost the only writer who speaks of anything of this kind, that wolves sometimes attacked men, and instances two men forced to take shelter for several hours in a tree by a band of seventeen wolves.

it was about this time that a change of heart began to take place among the authorities of the northwest company. since astoria had become fort george few or no steps had been taken to make the most of the possibilities of the country, but those who were on the ground dwelt constantly on the poverty of the country, the hostility of the indians, and the impracticability of trade. the people who came over the mountains to take the place of the astorians brought with them their habits of the fur country of the east, and seemed unable to change them. the traders from the east preferred the birch-bark canoe, and spent much time in searching for bark. it was even provided—lest that of good quality should not be found on the waters of the pacific slope—that a stock of bark should be shipped from montreal to london, and thence around cape horn to fort george, in order that canoes might be made.

58 in 1816 the columbia river district was divided by the authorities at fort william into two separate departments, each one with a bourgeois at the head. mr. keith was chosen to preside at fort george, while mr. mckenzie was given charge of the department of the interior. there was much grumbling at this last appointment. ross was appointed as second in command to mr. keith. shortly after this there were various troubles at fort george, one of the most important being the desertion of the blacksmith jacob, who fled to a hostile tribe, from which he was taken by ross, who went after him with thirty men. the enterprise was one which required that courage and endurance which ross so often displayed in times of difficulty. the west coast trade was further complicated by the jealousy which mr. keith felt for mr. mckenzie. these difficulties were overcome, and mckenzie again set out for his interior command, accompanied by a force of iroquois, abenakis, and sandwich islanders. mr. keith remained in command at fort george.

many of the hunters and trappers at fort george lacked experience in dealing with the natives, and before long there was trouble with the indians. these tried to exact tribute from the fur traders for trapping on the tribal land, and the fur traders, far from showing patience, were quite ready to quarrel. one or more of the hunters were wounded on the willamette and some indians were killed. ross was sent out to try to59 effect a reconciliation, but, as so often is the case where indians have been killed, the people in the camps declined to smoke and to consider any other course than war. it was only by the exercise of great patience and forbearance, and finally by the gift of a flag to a chief, that the trouble was at last smoothed over, and the opposing parties smoked and made long speeches and then concluded a treaty—the whites having paid for the dead—which greatly pleased mr. keith.

mckenzie on his way up the columbia did not get beyond the cascades, for here he found the river frozen; so he camped and spent the winter among the indians, showing, in his dealings with them, remarkable tact and judgment.

ross describes with some humor the happenings at a feast, such as frequently took place in the camp where mckenzie now was:

“on the score of cheer, we will here gratify the curiosity of our readers with a brief description of one of their entertainments, called an indian feast. the first thing that attracts the attention of a stranger, on being invited to a feast in these parts, is, to see seven or eight bustling squaws running to and fro with pieces of greasy bark, skins of animals, and old mats, to furnish the banqueting lodge, as receptacles for the delicate viands: at the door of the lodge is placed, on such occasions, a sturdy savage with a club in his hand, to keep the dogs at bay, while the preparations are going on.

60 “the banqueting hall is always of a size suitable to the occasion, large and roomy. a fire occupies the centre, round which, in circular order, are laid the eatables. the guests form a close ring round the whole. every one approaches with a grave and solemn step. the party being all assembled, the reader may picture to himself our friend seated among the nobles of the place, his bark platter between his legs, filled top-heavy with the most delicious mélange of bear’s grease, dog’s flesh, wappatoes, obellies, amutes, and a profusion of other viands, roots and berries. round the festive board, placed on terra firma, all the nabobs of the place are squatted down in a circle, each helping himself out of his platter with his fingers, observing every now and then to sleek down the hair by way of wiping the hands. only one knife is used, and that is handed round from one to another in quick motion. behind the banqueting circle sit, in anxious expectation, groups of the canine tribe, yawning, howling, and growling; these can only be kept in the rear by a stout cudgel, which each of the guests keeps by him, for the purpose of self-defence; yet it not unfrequently happens that some one of the more daring curs gets out of patience, breaks through the front rank, and carries off his booty; but when a trespass of this kind is committed, the unfortunate offender is well belaboured in his retreat, for the cudgels come down upon him with a terrible vengeance. the poor dog, however, has his revenge in turn, for the squabble and61 brawl that ensues disturbs all the dormant fleas of the domicile. this troop of black assailants jump about in all directions, so that a guest, by helping himself to the good things before him, keeping the dogs at bay behind him, and defending himself from the black squadrons that surround him, pays, perhaps, dearer for his entertainment at the columbian cascades than a foreign ambassador does in a london hotel!”

on leaving this place in the spring, the traders broke one of their boats while towing it up the cascades, and there was no room in the other boats to load the cargo of the one that had been broken. there were sixty packages, of ninety pounds each, and this large and valuable cargo mckenzie turned over to a chief, to be kept for him until his return. when the brigade returned six months later the whole cargo was handed over safe and untouched to mckenzie. such care for the property of their guests was often given by the old-time indians.

the next summer when the inland brigade left fort george for the interior, ross accompanied it, for he was starting for his own post at she-whaps. as usual, there were many annoyances—men deserted, others fell sick, some of the iroquois were about to fire on the native indians—and altogether the leaders of the party had their hands full in trying to keep peace.

ross had with him a little dog which an indian one morning got hold of and carried away. the dog, anxious to get back to his master, in its struggles to62 escape happened to scratch one of the children of his captor, and presently ross saw the dog running to him, followed by two men with guns in their hands. the dog lay down by its master’s feet, and one of the indians cocked his gun to shoot the animal. ross jumped up and took the gun from the indian, who seemed very angry and demanded it again. after a time ross handed it back to him, at the same time picking up his own gun and telling the indian that if he attempted to kill the dog he himself would die. the man did not shoot the dog, but telling his trouble to the other indians, they gathered about ross and there was every prospect of a pretty quarrel. however, ross and mckenzie, strong in their knowledge of indian character, smoothed things over, made a little gift to the child that had been scratched, gave the chief some tobacco, and presently went on their way with the apparent good-will of the whole camp.

a day or two later another example was seen of the way in which ross handled the indians. the chiefs and the traders were smoking and talking.

“while thus engaged, and the crowd thronging around us, a fellow more like a baboon than a man, with a head full of feathers and a countenance of brass, having a fine gun in his hand, called out, ‘how long are the whites to pass here, troubling our waters and scaring our fish, without paying us? look at all these bales of goods going to our enemies,’ said he; ‘and look at our wives and children naked.’ the fellow then63 made a pause, as if waiting an answer; but, as good fortune would have it, the rest of the indians paid but little attention to him. no answer was made; nor was it a time to discuss the merits or demerits of such a question. happening, however, to be near the fellow when he spoke, i turned briskly round, ‘so long,’ said i, ‘as the indians smoke our tobacco; just so long, and no longer, will the whites pass here.’ then i put some questions to him in turn. ‘who gave you that fine gun on your hand?’ ‘the whites,’ answered he. ‘and who gives you tobacco to smoke?’ ‘the whites,’ he replied. continuing the subject, ‘are you fond of your gun?’ ‘yes,’ ‘and are you fond of tobacco to smoke?’ to this question also the reply was ‘yes,’ ‘then,’ said i, ‘you ought to be fond of the whites who supply all your wants.’ ‘oh, yes!’ rejoined he. the nature of the questions and answers set the bystanders laughing; and taking no further notice of the rascal, he sneaked off among the crowd, and we saw him no more. the question put by the feathered baboon amounted to nothing in itself; but it proved that the subject of tribute had been discussed among the indians.”

there was constant demand for readiness and quick-wittedness, for the whites were very few in number and the indians numerous; moreover, these primitive people were altogether disposed to see how far the whites would permit them to go, and it was thus exceedingly easy to begin a quarrel about some trifling matter in which blood might be shed.

64 from his post in the she-whaps ross soon went east toward the rocky mountains, having been ordered to explore this country and see what it contained. he set out on foot with two of his best hands and two indians. each carried as baggage one-half dozen pairs of moccasins, a blanket, some ammunition, needles, thread, and tobacco, besides a small axe, a knife, a fire steel, and an awl. all they had besides was a kettle and a pint pot. for subsistence they depended on their guns, and for a further supply of shoes and clothing on the animals that they might kill by the way.

the country was extraordinarily rough. fur-bearing animals were not plenty, but game was abundant, elk and deer being seen in great numbers, and so tame as to make it appear that they had never been disturbed.

in six days’ travel down a stream, which ross calls the grisly-bear, they shot four elks, twenty-two deer, two otters, two beavers, and three black bears, without stepping out of the trail. a little later they saw moose, and still later is given a curious account of a battle between two large birds, both of which were captured. one of these was a white-headed eagle which weighed eight and three-quarter pounds, and the other “a wild-turkey cock, or what we call the columbia grouse,” which could only have been a sage grouse. this is said to have weighed eleven and one-quarter pounds!

during this same summer mckenzie had trouble with the iroquois—seemingly most untrustworthy servants—who65 tried to kill mckenzie, perhaps with the idea of taking all the property of the expedition. however, mckenzie’s quickness and readiness enabled him to put the iroquois to flight.

soon after his return from his eastern exploration ross was invited by the indians to accompany them on a bear-hunt, which he describes:

“the party were all mounted on horseback, to the number of seventy-three, and exhibited a fine display of horsemanship. after some ten miles’ travel, we commenced operations. having reached the hunting-ground, the party separated into several divisions. we then perambulated the woods, crossed rivers, surrounded thickets, and scampered over hill and dale, with yell and song, for the greater part of two days; during which time we killed seven bears, nine wolves, and eleven small deer: one of the former i had the good luck to shoot myself. in the evening of the third day, however, our sport was checked by an accident. one of the great men, the chief pacha of the hunting party, named tu-tack-it, is-tso-augh-an, or short legs, got severely wounded by a female bear.

“the only danger to be apprehended in these savage excursions is by following the wounded animal into a thicket, or hiding-place; but with the indians the more danger the more honour, and some of them are foolhardy enough to run every hazard in order to strike the last fatal blow, (in which the honour lies,) sometimes with a lance, tomahawk, or knife, at the risk of their66 lives. no sooner is a bear wounded than it immediately flies for refuge to some hiding-place, unless too closely pursued; in which case, it turns round in savage fury on its pursuers, and woe awaits whoever is in the way.

“the bear in question had been wounded and took shelter in a small coppice. the bush was instantly surrounded by the horsemen, when the more bold and daring entered it on foot, armed with gun, knife, and tomahawk. among the bushrangers on the present occasion was the chief, short legs, who, while scrambling over some fallen timber, happened to stumble near to where the wounded and enraged bear was concealed, but too close to be able to defend himself before the vicious animal got hold of him. at that moment i was not more than five or six paces from the chief, but could not get a chance of shooting, so i immediately called out for help, when several mustered round the spot. availing ourselves of the doubtful alternative of killing her—even at the risk of killing the chief—we fired, and as good luck would have it, shot the animal and saved the man; then carrying the bear and wounded chief out of the bush, we laid both on the open ground. the sight of the chief was appalling: the scalp was torn from the crown of his head, down over the eyebrows! he was insensible, and for some time we all thought him dead; but after a short interval his pulse began to beat, and he gradually showed signs of returning animation.

“it was a curious and somewhat interesting scene to67 see the party approach the spot where the accident happened. not being able to get a chance of shooting, they threw their guns from them, and could scarcely be restrained from rushing on the fierce animal with their knives only. the bear all the time kept looking first at one, then at another, and casting her fierce and flaming eyes around the whole of us, as if ready to make a spring at each; yet she never let go her hold of the chief; but stood over him. seeing herself surrounded by so many enemies, she moved her head from one position to another, and these movements gave us ultimately an opportunity of killing her.

“the misfortune produced a loud and clamorous scene of mourning among the chief’s relations; we hastened home, carrying our dead bears along with us, and arrived at the camp early in the morning of the fourth day. the chief remained for three days speechless. in cutting off the scalp and dressing the wound, we found the skull, according to our imperfect knowledge of anatomy, fractured in two or three places; and at the end of eight days, i extracted a bone measuring two inches long, of an oblong form, and another of about an inch square, with several smaller pieces, all from the crown of the head! the wound, however, gradually closed up and healed, except a small spot about the size of an english shilling. in fifteen days, by the aid of indian medicine, he was able to walk about, and at the end of six weeks from the time he got wounded, he was on horseback again at the chace.”

68 more or less wolf-hunting was done through the winter, and ross describes certain methods of catching and killing these animals.

the killing of wolves, foxes, and other wild animals by the whites was really only a recreation, and the traders preferred shooting them to any other mode of destruction. the wolves were usually afoot and searching for food at all hours of the day and night. they liked to get up on nearby hills or knolls, to sit and look about. it was the practice of the traders to scatter food about the places frequented by the wolves, and—when there were no wolves there—to practise shooting at a mark, watching where the balls hit and learning the elevation of the gun required to reach the spot, until finally many of them became very expert at this long-distance shooting.

“a band of indians happening to come to the fort one day, and observing a wolf on one of the favourite places of resort, several of them prepared to take a circuitous turn to have a shot at the animal. seeing them prepare—‘try,’ said i, ‘and kill it from where you are,’ the indians smiled at my ignorance. ‘can the whites,’ said the chief, ‘kill it at that distance?’ ‘the whites,’ said i, ‘do not live by hunting or shooting as do the indians, or they might.’ ‘there is no gun,’ continued the chief, ‘that could kill at that distance,’ by this time the wolf had laid hold of a bone, or piece of flesh, and was scampering off with it, at full speed, to the opposite woods. taking hold of my gun—‘if69 we cannot kill it,’ said i, ‘we shall make it let go its prey.’ ‘my horse against your shot,’ called out the chief, ‘that you do not hit the wolf.’ ‘done,’ said i; but i certainly thought within myself that the chief ran no great risk of losing his horse, nor the wolf of losing his life. taking an elevation of some fifteen or sixteen feet over it, by chance i shot the animal in his flight, to the astonishment of the chief, as well as all present, who, clapping their hands to their mouths in amazement, measured the distance by five arrow-shots: nothing but their wonder could exceed their admiration of this effect of fire-arms.

“when the ball struck the wolf, it was in the act of leaping; and we may judge of its speed at the time, from the fact that the distance from whence it took the last leap to where it was lying stretched, measured twenty-four feet! the ball struck the wolf in the left thigh, and passing through the body, neck and head, it lodged in the lower jaw; i cut it out with my pen-knife. the chief, on delivering up his horse, which he did cheerfully, asked me for the ball, and that ball was the favourite ornament of his neck for years afterwards. the horse i returned to its owner. the indians then asked me for the skin of the dead wolf; and to each of the guns belonging to the party was appended a piece: the indians fancying that the skin would enable them, in future, to kill animals at a great distance.”

the following summer, mckenzie with ross and70 ninety-five men went up the river and encamped at the site determined on for the new establishment of fort nez percés, about one-half mile from the mouth of the walla walla. this country was occupied by indians of the shahaptian stock—fierce, good warriors, and impulsive—easily moved in one direction or the other. they seemed by no means favorable to the coming whites; did not shake hands with them, and in fact appeared disposed to boycott the new arrivals.

the situation was a difficult one, because the construction of a fort required a dividing of the party into many small bands, and also because more indians were constantly coming in, and their actions caused much uneasiness. they insisted on receiving pay for the timber to be used in building the fort; they forbade hunting and fishing; they set the price on all articles of trade, and it was difficult to know what the outcome of this might be.

the difficulties threatening the traders caused an almost complete suspension of work. they stood on their guard, ready for an attack at any time, while for five days there was no intercourse between whites and indians; food was short, and one night the party went to bed supperless. the indians continued to gather, and the traders thought that they were plotting and planning—no one knew what.

a slight enclosure had been put up, behind which the traders awaited whatever might happen. after a time, the chiefs opened negotiations with the whites and71 insisted that liberal presents should be made to all the indians roundabout, in order to gain their favor. this was obviously impracticable, since all the property of the traders would not have sufficed to make a present to each indian, and the demand was refused, with the result that the firmness of the white men caused the indians to reduce their requests and finally to submit to the proposals of the whites, and as soon as this was agreed on a brisk trade went on.

the position chosen for the fort was noteworthy among the natives because it was the ground on which, some years before, lewis and clark had ratified a general peace between themselves and the tribes of the surrounding country. the situation was commanding. to the west was a spacious view of the great river, to the north and east were the wide expanses of the yellow plains, while to the south lay wild, rough hills on either side of the river, overlooked by two singular towering rocks on the east side of the stream, called by the natives “the twins.” in the distance lay the blue mountains.

presently a large war-party returned to the camp with scalps and captives—a great triumph. now came a demand from the indians that the white traders should not give guns or balls to the enemies of these indians, but after much negotiation and many speeches, the indians agreed that peace should be made between themselves and the snakes.

it was not long after this that a considerable party72 was sent off to penetrate the country inhabited by the snakes and other tribes to the south. the traders had secured two hundred and eighty horses, enough for riding and packing, and the most of these were to go off with the snake expedition, which consisted of fifty-five men, nearly two hundred horses, three hundred beaver-traps, and a considerable stock of trade goods. mr. mckenzie led the expedition, which left fort nez percés at the end of september. ross, with the remaining party, stayed at the fort.

the neighboring indians, of whom ross speaks in most cordial terms, treated the traders well and were respectful and good-natured, but presently came rumors of difficulties between the trading party to the snakes and that tribe, and one of these rumors was confirmed by the arrival of a member of that expedition, an iroquois, who had evidently had a hard time. according to his account, the iroquois after a time separated from mckenzie to trap a small river which was well stocked with beaver. the iroquois, according to the story, began to exchange their horses, guns, and traps with a small party of snakes, and presently had little or nothing left. the returned iroquois man got lost, and finally, with great difficulty, without food, blanket, or arms, got back to fort nez percés. other iroquois returned and told various stories, and finally, going back to fort george, persuaded mr. keith to send out a party to punish the indians, who they said had injured them. such a party was sent out to the cowlitz73 river, and the iroquois getting away from mr. ogden killed twelve men, women, and children, and scalped three of them. this seemed fatal to further friendly relations; nevertheless, at last peace was concluded between the traders and the cowlitz indians, and was sealed by the marriage of the chief’s daughter to one of the fur traders.

there was more sporadic fighting and killing of indians and the murder of five people belonging to fort george, so that things got into a very bad condition, which it took a long time to smooth over.

late in the season mr. mckenzie with six men on snow-shoes returned from the interior and gave an interesting account of the new country through which he had passed—a country to him not wholly new, because he had been through it in 1811. he reported that the iroquois, instead of trapping and hunting, had separated and were scattered all over the country by twos and threes, living with the indians, without horses, without traps, without furs, and without clothing. he left them as he found them.

of the region traversed, mr mckenzie reported:

“on our outward journey, the surface was mountainous and rugged, and still more so on our way back. woods and valleys, rocks and plains, rivers and ravines, alternately met us; but altogether it is a delightful country. there animals of every class rove about undisturbed; wherever there was a little plain, the red deer were seen grazing in herds about the rivers; round74 every other point were clusters of poplar and elder, and where there was a sapling, the ingenious and industrious beaver was at work. otters sported in the eddies; the wolf and the fox were seen sauntering in quest of prey; now and then a few cypresses or stunted pines were met with on the rocky parts, and in their spreading tops the raccoon sat secure. in the woods, the martin and black fox were numerous; the badger sat quietly looking from his mound; and in the numberless ravines, among bushes laden with fruits, the black, the brown, and the grisly bear were seen. the mountain sheep, and goat white as snow, browsed on the rocks, and ridges; and the big horn species ran among the lofty cliffs. eagles and vultures, of uncommon size, flew about the rivers. when we approached, most of these animals stood motionless; they would then move off a little distance, but soon came anew to satisfy a curiosity that often proved fatal to them.

“the report of a gun did not alarm them: they would give a frisk at each shot, and stand again; but when the flag was unfurled, being of a reddish hue, it was with apparent reluctance they would retire beyond the pleasing sight. hordes of wild horses were likewise seen on this occasion; and of all the animals seen on our journey they were the wildest, for none of them could be approached; their scent is exceedingly keen, their hearing also; and in their curiosity they were never known to come at any time within gun-shot. one75 band of these contained more than two hundred. some of them were browsing on the face of the hills; others were running like deer up and down the steeps; and some were galloping backwards and forwards on the brows of the sloping mountains, with their flowing manes and bushy tails streaming in the wind.”

mr. mckenzie’s successful trip commanded the admiration of all of the council of the head men at fort george. those who had formerly been opposed to him were now loud in his praises, and the establishment of fort nez percés and the gaining of a foothold in the snake country were warmly approved. he remained at fort nez percés only seven days and then started back again. his report of the prospects in the snake country was gratifying, but his people were giving great trouble.

iii

indians and their battles

fort nez percés was stockaded with an enclosure of pickets of sawn timber some twelve or fifteen feet high with four towers or bastions. the pickets were two and one-half feet broad by six inches thick. near the top of the stockade was a balustrade four feet high, and a gallery five feet broad extended all around it, while the walls were loopholed. at each angle of the fort was a large reservoir holding two hundred gallons of water, and within the stockade were all the76 buildings, warehouses, stores, and dwelling-houses. these buildings were all loopholed and had sliding doors, and the trading-room was arranged with a small door in the wall, eighteen inches square, through which the indians passed their furs, receiving from the traders on the inside the goods to which they were entitled. the outer gate was arranged to open and shut by a pulley, and besides this there were two double doors. except on special occasions, the indians were never invited into the fort. nevertheless, at the gate there was a house for the accommodation of the indians, with fire, tobacco, and a man to look after them at all times. the indians, however, did not like this arrangement, because it seemed to show suspicion on the part of the white men; they themselves were suspicious of some plots. they asked whether the traders were afraid of them or afraid that they would steal, and while the traders denied that they were afraid of anything, they persisted in their plan, and at length the indians accepted the situation. the traders were supplied with cannons, swivels, muskets, and bayonets, boarding-pikes and hand-grenades, while above the gate stood a small mortar. the position was a strong one, and ross calls it the “gibraltar of columbia” and speaks of it as “a triumph of british energy and enterprise, of civilization over barbarism.”

mckenzie, on his return to the interior, had promised to be at the river skam-naugh about the 5th of june and had asked that an outfit with supplies for77 his party be sent to meet him there. for this reason ross returned from his annual trip to fort george nearly a month earlier than usual—by the 15th of may. a party of fifteen men under a clerk named kittson was sent out to take mckenzie his supplies and reinforce him. kittson was a new man in the service, and was full of confidence that he could handle and defeat all the indians on the continent. he had good luck until the party got into the debatable land in the snake territory, and here, first, a dozen of his horses were stolen, and then, a little later, all of them.

meantime mckenzie had had the usual difficulties with his iroquois trappers, who could not be trusted with goods to trade with the snakes. when the people whom he expected to meet at the river were not there, he sent out ten men to look for them. two days after starting, as they were passing through a canyon, they met, face to face, the indians who had just taken all of kittson’s horses, and, recognizing the animals, charged the three horse-thieves. one was killed, another wounded and escaped, and a third was taken captive, and the traders turned the herd about and drove the horses back to kittson’s camp.

kittson now had thirty-six men and joined mckenzie, on the way capturing two more indian horse-thieves, caught at night while cutting loose the horses. kittson handed over his supplies, received mckenzie’s furs, and set out again for fort nez percés.

78 when mckenzie and kittson separated, the former had only three men left with him, for his iroquois did not arrive, as expected. while waiting for them, a threatening party of mountain snakes appeared at his camp, who were very importunate, so much so that at last mckenzie took from his pile of goods a keg of gunpowder and, lighting a match, threatened, if the indians continued to advance, to blow up the whole party. taken by surprise, they hesitated, and then suddenly, without a word, took to flight, not from fear of the threats of mckenzie, but because of the sudden appearance of a large war-party of shahaptians on the other side of the river. fortunately, these people could not cross the high and rushing stream, but a little later they made an attack on kittson’s party and killed two of his men. as soon as the war-party had gone mckenzie and his men, with their property, crossed the channel of the river to an island, where they remained twenty-two days, until the return of kittson. mckenzie and kittson were now in a situation not at all agreeable. on one side were the nez percés, on the other the blackfeet, and all about were the snakes. all these tribes were hostile to one another, and all of them more or less ill-disposed toward the whites, so the summer was an anxious one, but mckenzie purposed to winter in the upper country as well as he might. here ross interjects an interesting sketch of trappers’ methods.

“a safe and secure spot, near wood and water, is first79 selected for the camp. here the chief of the party resides with the property. it is often exposed to danger, or sudden attack, in the absence of the trappers, and requires a vigilant eye to guard against the lurking savages. the camp is called head quarters. from hence all the trappers, some on foot, some on horseback, according to the distance they have to go, start every morning, in small parties, in all directions, ranging the distance of some twenty miles around. six traps is the allowance for each hunter; but to guard against wear and tear, the complement is more frequently ten. these he sets every night, and visits again in the morning; sometimes oftener, according to distance, or other circumstances. the beaver taken in the traps are always conveyed to the camp, skinned, stretched, dried, folded up with the hair in the inside, laid by, and the flesh used for food. no sooner, therefore, has a hunter visited his traps, set them again, and looked out for some other place, than he returns to the camp, to feast, and enjoy the pleasures of an idle day.

“there is, however, much anxiety and danger in going through the ordinary routine of a trapper’s duty. for as the enemy is generally lurking about among the rocks and hiding-places, watching an opportunity, the hunter has to keep a constant lookout; and the gun is often in one hand, while the trap is in the other. but when several are together, which is often the case in suspicious places, one-half set the traps, and the other half keep guard over them. yet notwithstanding80 all their precautions, some of them fall victims to indian treachery.

“the camp remains stationary while two-thirds of the trappers find beaver in the vicinity; but whenever the beaver becomes scarce, the camp is removed to some more favourable spot. in this manner, the party keeps moving from place to place, during the whole season of hunting. whenever serious danger is apprehended, all the trappers make for the camp. were we, however, to calculate according to numbers, the prospects from such an expedition would be truly dazzling: say, seventy-five men, with each six traps, to be successfully employed during five months; that is, two in the spring, and three in the fall, equal to 131 working days, the result would be 58,950 beaver! practically, however, the case is very different. the apprehension of danger, at all times, is so great, that three-fourths of their time is lost in the necessary steps taken for their own safety. there is also another serious drawback unavoidably accompanying every large party. the beaver is a timid animal; the least noise, therefore, made about its haunt will keep it from coming out for nights together; and noise is unavoidable when the party is large. but when the party is small, the hunter has a chance of being more or less successful. indeed, were the nature of the ground such as to admit of the trappers moving about in safety, at all times, and alone, six men, with six traps each, would, in the same space of time, and at the same rate, kill81 as many beavers—say 4,716—as the whole seventy-five could be expected to do! and yet the evil is without a remedy; for no small party can exist in these parts. hence the reason why beavers are so numerous.”

ross points out also some of the troubles that the traders must meet with, which troubles were largely due, of course, to the absolute inability of the indians to comprehend the conditions of this new life. the indians asked for everything that they saw and berated the traders because their requests were not complied with. they were constantly playing jokes—or what they considered jokes—on the white men, which were irritating enough; and looked with contempt on the whites who were engaged in ordinary labor, which they, of course, did not in the least understand. the indians, with all their freedom, were far from happy, because they were in a state of constant anxiety and alarm. people who felt themselves injured were likely to make war excursions and kill some one belonging to another tribe, which, of course, extended the field of the trouble.

when fighting took place, and people supposedly friendly to the whites were injured, the traders were blamed, because they sold guns, powder, and balls to any one who might wish to trade with them. the life of the trader was thus one of anxiety, and to handle the indians successfully called for extraordinary self-control.

not long before this time some shahaptians had killed two of kittson’s men and several snakes. the82 snakes followed them, but before overtaking them came upon some indians belonging to the walla walla, camped not three miles from fort nez percés, where they killed a man, four women, and two children, and captured two young women and a man. the next day the whole walla walla camp moved down to the fort, carrying the bodies of the dead. ross saw the disorderly procession coming on with shrieks and lamentations, and at first did not know what to make of the advance, but presently the indians reached the gate of the fort, placed their dead upon the ground there, and began to gash themselves with knives in the old-time way of mourning. they called to ross to come out to them, and he, while very reluctant, had no choice—if he was to retain his influence with them—but to obey.

“turning round to the sentinel at the door, i told him to lock the gate after me, and keep a sharp look out. the moment i appeared outside the gate, so horrible was the uproar, that it baffles all description. intoxicated with wrath and savage rage, they resembled furies more than human beings; and their ghastly, wild, and forbidding looks were all directed towards me, as if i had been the cause of their calamity. tam-a-tap-um the chief then coming up to me, and pointing to one of the dead bodies, said, ‘you see my sister there,’ then uncovering the body to show the wounds, added, ‘that is a ball hole.’ ‘the whites’, said he again, ‘have murdered our wives and our children.83 they have given guns and balls to our enemies. those very guns and balls have killed our relations.’ these words were no sooner uttered than they were repeated over and over again by the whole frantic crowd; who, hearing the chief, believed them to be true. excitement was now at its height. their gestures, their passionate exclamations, showed what was working within, and i expected every moment to receive a ball or an arrow. one word of interruption spoken by me at the critical moment, in favour of the whites, might have proved fatal to myself. i therefore remained silent, watching a favourable opportunity, and also examining closely the holes in the garments of the dead bodies. the holes i was convinced were made by arrows, and not by balls as the chief had asserted; but it remained for me to convince others when an opportunity offered.

“every violent fit of mourning was succeeded, as is generally the case among savages, by a momentary calm. as soon, therefore, as i perceived the rage of the crowd beginning to subside, and nature itself beginning to flag, i availed myself of the interval to speak in turn; for silence then would have been a tacit acknowledgment of our guilt. i therefore advanced, and taking the chief by the hand, said in a low tone of voice, as if overcome by grief, ‘my friend, what is all this? give me an explanation. you do not love the whites; you have told me nothing yet.’ tam-a-tap-um then turning to his people, beckoned to them with the84 hand to be silent; entire silence was not to be expected. he then went over the whole affair from beginning to end. when the chief ended, and the people were in a listening mood, i sympathized with their misfortunes, and observed that the whites had been undeservedly blamed. ‘they are innocent,’ said i, ‘and that i can prove. look at that,’ said i, pointing to an arrow wound, which no one could mistake, ‘the wounds are those of arrows, not balls. nor were the snakes themselves so much to blame; as we shall be able to show.’

“at these assertions the chief looked angry, and there was a buzz of disapprobation, among the crowd; but i told the chief to listen patiently until i had done. the chief then composed himself, and i proceeded. ‘after your solemn acquiescence in a peace between yourselves and the snakes, through the influence of the whites, the shaw-ha-ap-tens violated the second pledge by going again to war, across the blue mountains; and not content with having killed their enemies, they killed their friends also. they killed two of the whites. the snakes in the act of retaliation have therefore made you all to mourn this day; they have made the whites to mourn also. but your loss is less than ours; your relations have been killed; but still you have their bodies: that consolation is denied us. our friends have been killed, but we know not where their bodies lie.’ these facts neither the chief nor the crowd could gainsay. the chief, with a loud voice,85 explained what i had said to the listening multitude; when they with one voice exclaimed, ‘it is true, it is true!’ leaving the chief, i then entered the fort, and taking some red cloth, laid six inches of it on each body, as a token of sympathy; then i told them to go and bury their dead. a loud fit of lamentation closed the scene. the bodies were then taken up, and the crowd moved off, in a quiet and orderly manner.

“but the satisfaction we enjoyed at the departure of the savages was of short duration, for they were scarcely out of sight, and i scarcely inside the door, when another band, related to those who had been killed, arrived at the fort gate, and the loud and clamorous scene of mourning was again renewed.

“among this second crowd of visitors was a fellow dignified by the name of prince, and brother to one of the young women who had been carried off by the snakes. prince encamped within fifty yards of the fort, and his tent was no sooner pitched than he began to chant the song of death. when an indian resorts to this mode of mourning, it is a sure sign that, ‘he has thrown his body away,’ as the indians term it, and meditates self-destruction. being told of prince’s resolution, i went to his tent to see him, and found him standing, with his breast leaning upon the muzzle of his gun; his hair was dishevelled, and he was singing with great vehemence: he never raised his head to see who i was. i knew all was not right, and spoke to him; but receiving no answer, i went away, on my return86 to the fort. i had scarcely advanced twenty yards from his tent, before i heard the report of a gun behind me, and turning back again, i found the unfortunate fellow lying on the ground weltering in his blood, his gun partly under him. he was still breathing. the ball had entered his left breast, below the nipple, and came out near the backbone. the wound was bleeding freely, and he disgorged great quantities of blood. i went to the fort for some assistance, but on our return i expected that every moment would have been his last; however we dressed his wound, and did what we could to allay his suffering.

“the indians now assembled in great numbers, and were noisy and violent. in the first instance, they threw all the blame of the unfortunate affair on the whites; but in their rage and violence, they quarrelled among themselves, and this new direction in their excitement removed the odium in some degree from the whites, and diverted the tide of popular fury into another channel. during the affair, one of those unfortunate wretches called medicine-men happened to be sitting at the fort gate, when a brother of the man who had just shot himself went up to him, saying, ‘you dog! you have thrown your bad medicine on my brother, and he is dead; but you shall not live,’ and in saying so, he shot him dead on the spot. the ball, after passing through the man’s body, went more than three inches into one of the fort palisades. i was standing on the gallery at the moment he was shot,87 and had it been on any other occasion but in the midst of a quarrel between the indians, we certainly should have avenged his death on the spot; for the murdered man was an excellent indian, and a sincere friend of the whites.

“the scene now assumed a threatening aspect. guns, bows, arrows, and every missile that could be laid hold of, came into requisition; and robes, feathers, bells, belts, and trinkets of every description, were rattling about in true savage style. the fellow who had just shot the medicine-man was shot in his turn, and before the chiefs arrived, or could get a hearing, three others were shot. the place appeared more like a field of battle than anything else; for besides the five bodies that lay lifeless on the ground, twice that number were desperately wounded.

“as soon as the deadly quarrel began, not knowing the intent of the indians, nor how it might end, i shut the gates, and kept as clear of the quarrel as possible. in the midst of the confusion, the indians poured in from all quarters, adding fuel to the flame; and some of them in approaching the place, thinking it was a quarrel between the whites and themselves, fired a shot or two at the fort before they were aware of the mistake. this made us take to our bastions: our matches were lighted, guns pointed, and we ourselves watched the man?uvres of the savages around us. one unguarded shot would have involved us in the quarrel, which it was our interest to avoid; as it88 would have put an end to all our prospects in the snake as well as the nez percés quarter.

“as soon as the chiefs could get a hearing, peace was generally restored; and the five dead bodies were removed to the indian camp, at a distance from the fort. such a scene i should never wish to witness again. this affray, happening at our very door, gave us much uneasiness; as to keep the balance of good will at all times in our favour was a task of more than ordinary difficulty.”

the next day more indians came in, and soon several tribes were represented. the whites were indirectly taxed with all the troubles, and there was a vast deal of speech-making and many threats. at last, however, after a week of counselling, the matter quieted down, the different tribes all smoked together, and peace was made—to last for a time.

ross has much to say about the different tribes of shoshoni stock and their relations to each other. he was long with them and studied them carefully.

the ban-at-tees, which we call bannocks, seem to have been held by the snake tribes to the south and west as chargeable with most of the disturbances between the whites and the snakes, and after a time it developed that the indians that murdered mr. reid and his party in the autumn of 1813 were bannocks.

during the winter a hunter named hodgens became separated from his party during a violent snow-storm and lost his way. a little later, in the same way,89 he lost his horse; his gun became broken so that he could not make a fire, and during two days and two nights he was obliged to lie out without fire.

“on the fourteenth day, however, while scarcely able to crawl, he had the good luck to fall on the main camp of the war-are-ree-kas; where recognizing the chief’s tent, from the manner in which it was painted, he advanced towards it, looking more like a ghost than a living being. on his entering, ama-ketsa, surprised at his unexpected arrival, and still more surprised at his emaciated appearance, stared him in the face for some time, and could scarcely believe that it was a white man; but as soon as he was convinced of the reality, and made acquainted with the wanderer’s forlorn state, he ordered one of his wives to put a new pair of shoes on his feet, gave him something to eat, and was extremely kind to him. here hodgens remained for eleven days in the chiefs tent, nursed with all the care and attention of a child of the family, until his strength was recovered; and as soon as he was on his legs again, ama-ketsa furnished him with a horse, some provisions, and sent one of his own sons to conduct him to the whites. although hodgens could give the indians no clue as to where the hunters were encamped, yet on the eighth day they arrived safe and sound at their friends’, and as straight as if they had been led by a line to them; which convinced our people that the indians knew well the place of their retreat....

90 “a party of our people had been out a whole week in search of hodgens, and found his dead horse, but despairing of finding him they returned to their camp; and all hope of ever finding hodgens alive vanished: when he did come, their astonishment was equal to their delight. the friendly conduct of ama-ketsa towards him was a strong proof of that chiefs good-will towards our people. during our friends’ stay in this place they had several surprises from the indians, but they managed matters so well that no more of their horses were stolen.”

there is distinct reference in this volume to the yellowstone national park, which may very well have been visited by ross or some of his trappers. he speaks of “pilot knobs”—the three tetons—salt and sulphur springs and of boiling fountains, some of them so hot as to boil meat. these allusions do not, of course, necessarily refer to yellowstone park, for there are many other places in the rocky mountains where such things are found, but the references to the three tetons and to the source of the lewis river are suggestive enough.

ross speaks also of various foods of the country; of the use of horse flesh and dog flesh and also of the snake tobacco, which, for a time at least, the indians preferred to that imported by the whites. he credits the snake indians with extraordinary skill in woodcraft, shown especially by the methods they employ to avoid possible enemies.

91

iv

with the hudson bay company

the time was now at hand when the northwest company should be merged into the hudson bay company. this consolidation naturally cast a gloom over the retainers of the northwest company wherever they were situated. the people who had been employed by the northwest company were uncertain where they stood. those who had been promoted prior to the “deed-poll”—march 26, 1821—were provided for by the hudson bay company, whereas all others were excluded from these benefits. some of them, however, received pecuniary compensation for their disappointment, and of these ross was one, or he was told by an officer of the company that five hundred pounds sterling had been placed to his credit, but of this he never received a penny.

ross now entered the service of the hudson bay company. he had been for a short time with the pacific fur company; had spent seven years with the northwest company and, except for his experience, was about where he had been when he started.

the servants of the northwest company had been in the habit of depositing their savings with the firm which was its head, and a few years after the consolidation of the two companies this concern failed and all these savings disappeared.

92 toward the end of his first volume, after much information about indians, half-breeds, trading, trappers, and travel, ross draws an interesting picture of the manner in which the bourgeois—or proprietary partner—journeys through the fur country, and the absolute loyalty to him and to the company felt by the voyageurs, who were, indeed, the backbone of the northern fur trade. he says:

“the bourgeois is carried on board his canoe upon the back of some sturdy fellow generally appointed for this purpose. he seats himself on a convenient mattress, somewhat low in the centre of his canoe; his gun by his side, his little cherubs fondling around him, and his faithful spaniel lying at his feet. no sooner is he at his ease, than his pipe is presented by his attendant, and he then begins smoking, while his silken banner undulates over the stern of his painted vessel. then the bending paddles are plied, and the fragile craft speeds through the currents with a degree of fleetness not to be surpassed;—yell upon yell from the hearty crew proclaiming their prowess and skill.

“a hundred miles performed, night arrives; the hands jump out quickly into the water, and their nabob and his companions are supported to terra firma. a roaring fire is kindled and supper is served; his honour then retires to enjoy his repose. at dawn of day they set out again; the men now and then relax their arms, and light their pipes; but no sooner does the headway of the canoe die away, than they renew93 their labours and their chorus: a particular voice being ever selected to lead the song. the guide conducts the march.

“at the hour of breakfast they put ashore on some green plot. the tea-kettle is boiling; a variegated mat is spread, and a cold collation set out. twenty minutes—and they start anew. the dinner-hour arrives, they put aground again. the liquor-can accompanies the provision-basket; the contents are quickly set forth in simple style; and, after a refreshment of twenty minutes more, off they set again, until the twilight checks their progress.

“when it is practicable to make way in the dark, four hours is the voyageurs’ allowance of rest; and at times, on boisterous lakes and bold shores, they keep for days and nights together on the water, without intermission, and without repose. they sing to keep time to their paddles; they sing to keep off drowsiness, caused by their fatigue; and they sing because the bourgeois likes it.

“through hardships and dangers, wherever he leads, they are sure to follow with alacrity and cheerfulness—over mountains and hills, along valleys and dales, through woods and creeks, across lakes and rivers. they look not to the right, nor to the left; they make no halt in foul or fair weather. such is their skill, that they venture to sail in the midst of waters like oceans, and, with amazing aptitude, they shoot down the most frightful rapids; and they generally come off safely.

94 “when about to arrive at the place of their destination, they dress with neatness, put on their plumes, and a chosen song is raised. they push up against the beach, as if they meant to dash the canoe into splinters; but most adroitly back their paddles at the right moment; whilst the foreman springs on shore, and, seizing the prow, arrests the vessel in its course. on this joyful occasion, every person advances to the waterside, and great guns are fired to announce the bourgeois’ arrival. a general shaking of hands takes place, as it often happens that people have not met for years: even the bourgeois goes through this mode of salutation with the meanest. there is, perhaps, no country where the ties of affection are more binding than here. each addresses his comrades as his brothers; and all address themselves to the bourgeois with reverence, as if he were their father.”

about this time, mr. mckenzie retired from the fur trade and went to live in northern new york. this left without occupation a number of hunters and trappers in the country, where ross was stationed, and ross made up his mind to leave the country and abandon the business which he had so long followed. he was still merely a clerk in the service of the great company. finan mcdonald, a northwest veteran, now in the service of the hudson bay company, was to be in charge of the people in the snake country, and a little later john warren dease, a chief trader in the new company, reached fort nez percés and told ross that95 he had been named to take charge of the fort and the country immediately about it, while ross was to succeed mckenzie in charge of the snake country.

nevertheless, ross was determined to go back to the east and had started with his family, but on his way—when he reached the rocky mountains—he received a letter from governor simpson, offering him the management of the snake country for three years at a liberal salary. ross hesitated to accept, but finally did so, and went to spokane house to make up his party. mcdonald had recently come in there and with much grumbling; for he had had trouble with the piegan blackfeet, in which one of his men had been shot by treachery, and in a pitched battle afterward had with the same party he lost seven more of his men.

the account of this battle may properly be inserted here:

“one day, when they had travelled until dark in search of water, they found some at the bottom of a deep and rocky ravine, down which they went and encamped. they had seen no traces of enemies during the day, and being tired, they all went to sleep, without keeping watch. in the morning, however, just at the dawn of day, they were saluted from the top of the ravine before they got up, with a volley of balls about their ears; without, however, any being killed or wounded: one of them had the stock of his gun pierced through with a ball, and another of them his powder-horn shivered to pieces; but this was all the injury they96 sustained from the enemy’s discharge. the alarm was instantly given, all hands in confusion sprang up and went out to see what was the matter; some with one shoe on and the other off, others naked, with a gun in one hand and their clothes in the other. when they perceived the indians on the top of the rocks, yelling and flourishing their arms, the whites gave a loud huzza, and all hands were collected together in an instant; but the indians instead of taking advantage of their position, wheeled about and marched off without firing another shot.

“mcdonald, at the head of thirty men, set out to pursue them; but finding the ravine too steep and rocky to ascend, they were apprehensive that the sudden disappearance of the indians was a stratagem to entrap them, when they might have been popped off by the enemy from behind stones and trees, without having an opportunity of defending themselves. acting on this opinion, they returned, and taking a supply of powder and ball with them, they mounted their horses, to the number of forty-five, and then pursued the enemy, leaving twenty men behind to guard the camp. when our people got to the head of the ravine, the indians were about a mile off, and all on foot, having no horses, with the exception of five for carrying their luggage; and our people, before they could get up with them, had to pass another ravine still deeper and broader than the one they were encamped in, so that before they got down on one side of it the enemy had97 got up on the other side. and here again the indians did not avail themselves of their advantage, but allowed our people to follow without firing a shot at them, as if encouraging them on; and so bold and confident were they, that many of them bent themselves down in a posture of contempt, by way of bidding them defiance.

“as soon as our people had got over the second ravine, they took a sweep, wheeled about, and met the indians in the teeth; then dismounting, the battle began, without a word being spoken on either side. as soon as the firing commenced, the indians began their frantic gestures, and whooped and yelled with the view of intimidating; they fought like demons, one fellow all the time waving a scalp on the end of a pole: nor did they yield an inch of ground till more than twenty of them lay dead; at last, they threw down their guns, and held up their hands as a signal of peace. by this time our people had lost three men, and not thinking they had yet taken ample vengeance for their death, they made a rush on the indians, killed the fellow who held the pole, and carried off the scalp and the five horses. the indians then made a simultaneous dash on one side, and got into a small coppice of wood, leaving their dead on the spot where they fell. our people supposed that they had first laid down their arms and next taken to the bush because they were short of ammunition, as many of the shots latterly were but mere puffs. unfortunately for the indians,98 the scalp taken proved to be none other than poor anderson’s, and this double proof of their guilt so enraged our people, that to the bush they followed them.

“mcdonald sent to the camp for buck-shot, and then poured volleys into the bush among them, from the distance of some twenty or thirty yards, till they had expended fifty-six pounds weight; the indians all this time only firing a single shot now and then when the folly and imprudence of our people led them too near; but they seldom missed their mark, and here three more of the whites fell. at this part of the conflict, two of our own people, an iroquois and a canadian, got into a high dispute which was the bravest man; when the former challenged the latter to go with him into the bush and scalp a piegan. the canadian accepted the challenge; taking each other by one hand, with a scalping knife in the other, savage like, they entered the bush, and advanced until they were within four or five feet of a piegan, when the iroquois said, ‘i will scalp this one, you go and scalp another;’ but just as the iroquois was in the act of stretching out his hand to lay hold of his victim the piegan shot him through the head, and so bespattered the canadian with his brains that he was almost blind; the latter, however, got back again to his comrades, but deferred taking the scalp.

“m’donald and his men being fatigued with firing, thought of another and more effectual plan of destroying99 the piegans. it blew a strong gale of wind at the time, so they set fire to the bush of dry and decayed wood; it burnt with the rapidity of straw, and the devouring element laid the whole bush in ashes in a very short time. when it was first proposed, the question arose who should go and fire the bush, at the muzzle of the piegans’ guns. ‘the oldest man in the camp,’ said m’donald; ‘and i’ll guard him.’ the lot fell upon bastony, a superannuated hunter on the wrong side of seventy; the poor and wrinkled old man took the torch in his hand and advanced, trembling every step with the fear of instant death before him; while m’donald and some others walked at his heels with their guns cocked. the bush was fired, the party returned, and volleys of buck-shot were again poured into the bush to aid the fire in the work of destruction.

“about one hundred yards from the burning bush, was another much larger bush, and while the fire was consuming the one, our people advanced and stationed themselves at the end of the other, to intercept any of the piegans who might attempt the doubtful alternative of saving themselves by taking refuge in it. to ensure success, our people left open the passage from the one bush to the other, while they themselves stood in two rows, one upon each side, with their guns cocked; suddenly the half-roasted piegans, after uttering a scream of despair, burst through the flames and made a last and expiring effort to gain the other bush; then our people poured in upon each side of them a fatal100 volley of ball and buck-shot, which almost finished what the flames had spared. yet, notwithstanding all these sanguinary precautions, a remnant escaped by getting into the bush. the wounded victims who fell under the last volley, the iroquois dealt with in their own way—with the knife.

“after the massacre was ended, our people collected their dead and returned to the camp at sunset; not we should suppose to rejoice, but rather to mourn. we afterwards learned that only seven out of the seventy-five which formed the party of the unfortunate piegans, returned home to relate the mournful tale. although our people were drawn into this unfortunate affair with justice on their side, yet they persevered in it with folly and ended it with cruelty: no wonder, then, if they afterwards paid for their cruelty with their own blood.”

after a short stay at spokane house, ross, who had been given—on paper—a force of eighty men, was able to get together only forty, a number of whom were quite unsatisfactory. at the flathead river post, at the foot of the mountains, he picked up fourteen more, making the whole party fifty-five. it was a curious mixture of americans, canadian frenchmen, half-breeds, iroquois, natives of eastern canada, saulteaux, crees, spokanes, kutenais, flatheads, kalispels, palouse, and one snake. of the canadians, five were more than sixty years of age, and two more than seventy. the iroquois were good hunters, but untrustworthy,101 while the local indians were useful chiefly in looking after the horses. twenty-five of the people were married, so that in the company there were twenty-five women and sixty-four children. they carried with them a brass three-pounder cannon, more than two hundred beaver-traps, and about four hundred horses. it is understood, of course, that they carried no provisions, depending wholly on their guns for food, and ross complains that on the day of starting they had killed but one deer, a slender repast for one hundred and thirty-seven hungry mouths.

trouble with the iroquois began almost at once. having received their advances, they thought little about the debts that they owed for guns, horses, traps, clothing, and ammunition.

at a defile in hell’s gate, where the piegans and blackfeet used to cross the mountains on their war journeys, they camped for some little time, and here the hunters, to their great satisfaction, killed four wild horses, besides twenty-seven elk and thirty-two small deer. the capture of the horses was a great triumph for the hunters, who were more delighted with their success in this little adventure than if they had killed a hundred buffalo.

not long after this, two iroquois deserted and turned back, and the leader, having previously lost another iroquois by desertion, felt that this must be stopped. he therefore followed the deserters about sixteen miles back on the trail and captured them, but they102 refused to return, and it was necessary to threaten to tie one of them to a horse’s tail before he would consent to go.

they were frequently meeting indians; piegans first and then nez percés, and whenever strangers were met with, the iroquois traded off their property, even to their guns, receiving in return what ross calls “trash.”

the weather was now growing cold, partly, perhaps, because they were climbing all the time. beaver were plenty and elk, deer, and mountain goats extremely abundant. they were now getting close to the head of the flathead river and were fronting great mountains, largely snow-covered. six men were sent out to try to find a way through the mountains, and at length returned reporting that it was quite impracticable to cross the mountains here, because after reaching the plateau above the timber the snow was five or six feet deep for about twelve long miles. beyond the mountains, however, they said, was a large open plain where the snow was scarcely a foot deep. these scouts had killed buffalo and brought in backloads of it. to travel with horses for a dozen miles, through snow five or six feet deep and crusted, was quite impossible, and ross was bitterly discouraged. nevertheless, he determined that this was the best way to cross the mountains, and sent the men back to camp, with instructions to greatly modify their story for the ears of the people. the outcome of it was that, after much counselling and more or less quarrelling, the party started to break a103 way through this snow-covered plateau. it proved much more difficult than even ross had supposed, but by working with horses and men and using wooden mallets to break the crust, and shovels to cut the way, they at length, thirty-three days from the time they reached that camp and after twenty-one days’ extraordinary labor, got through the snow and came out on the other side, where there was feed for the horses and game for the men. now, however, they were in the enemy’s country, for it was here that the blackfeet were constantly travelling about, and just beyond here that mcdonald had lost seven of his men the year before.

just after they came down out of the mountains, they crossed the trail made by lewis and clark up the middle fork of the missouri, nearly twenty years before.

after they had passed beyond the snow, they found beaver extraordinarily abundant in certain localities. at one place they took ninety-five beaver in a single morning and sixty more during the same day. but, as they continued to go down the mountains, the beaver became more scarce, but the snow was less. the young grass had started, and buffalo were enormously abundant, though at this time not fat. blackfeet and piegan war roads were constantly crossed, and fresh tracks of men and horses often seen. these signs made ross more and more vigilant, and presently he discovered that his iroquois were turning out their horses to wander among the hills, and although104 he warned them against repeating this, they paid little attention to the warning. under such carelessness it was evident that any war-party discovering the trappers would have no difficulty in running off the animals. these, though nominally belonging to the individuals who used them, had been obtained on credit from the company, and if they were stolen, the loss would be the company’s. only a day or two later, martin, an iroquois, was discovered to have turned loose six horses, whereupon ross sent out for the horses, took them back into his own charge, gave martin credit for the horses, and proceeded to move camp. martin and his family remained sitting by the fire. however, the other iroquois brought them along on some of their horses, and at night old men came to ross to intercede with him, begging him to give back the horses to martin. after much persuasion he did so, and the example was not forgotten either by the iroquois or by others of the trappers.

the party proceeded eastward with disappointing results, for they found few beaver. before long, therefore, they turned back, and, passing over the divide between the salmon and goddin rivers, ross sent off eight men to trap it downstream, but made them leave their horses behind, in order that they might more readily conceal themselves from the enemy, for piegan blackfeet were thought to be in the country. meantime, the main party went off to john day’s valley to supply themselves with buffalo meat, for recently105 game had been scarce and they had been wasteful of food when they had passed through a country of abundance.

from a camp in day’s valley, two men were sent to goddin river to bring back the eight who had been trapping there, and these messengers, carelessly advancing toward a smoke, which they took to be the fire of their own people, walked into the camp of a piegan war-party. their horses were captured, but the men threw themselves into the undergrowth and escaped by creeping along the margin of the river under its banks, which were overgrown with bushes. in the middle of the second night, they reached the camp in rags, with moccasins wholly worn out. a party of thirty-five started in pursuit of the piegans. they did not overtake them, but found the eight trappers safe. they had slept within half a mile of the piegan camp, neither party being aware of the presence of the other.

passing over high, rough country, and pestered by the iroquois, who spent most of their time in trying to get away from the main party, they reached the rivière aux malades. ross now thought it best to let the iroquois go off and hunt by themselves, but not all of them wished to go, and two of those who had given most trouble—grey and martin—preferred to remain with the main party. on the malades river, there were good signs of beaver, and in one place they counted one hundred and forty-eight poplar trees cut down by that animal, in a space less than one hundred106 yards square. the first night they got fifty-two beaver, but were troubled by the rising and the falling of the water, caused, of course, by the melting of the snows on the mountains.

one afternoon a piegan war-party, discovered approaching the camp, caused the greatest excitement. they did not attack, and presently ross went out to meet them, gave them some tobacco, and told them to remain where they were. there were ninety-two indians, and after a time ross invited them to the camp, where they passed the night in smoking, dancing, and singing. ross secured the piegan arms, ordered forty of their horses hobbled and put in with the traders’ horses, and thus provided against any hostile action. these piegans claimed to be on a peace mission to the shoshoni, and denied all knowledge of the horses taken from the two trappers only a few days before. ross believed that they felt themselves too few to attack his party and planning to give them a fright, he seized two of their horses and four of their guns, to repay the loss of the horses and traps on goddin river. the piegans were humble and apologetic and denied everything, and finally ross returned their property and gave them a little tobacco and ammunition. they went off in separate parties, but before they disappeared in the mountains all gathered together again.

a little later another piegan war-party came to the camp in ross’s absence; but he returned before they had entered the camp. there were one hundred and107 ten of these, but they were badly armed, having only twenty-three guns and little or no ammunition. they professed to be friendly, and declared that they were not trying to take the property of the whites; for two nights before they had come into the camp and gone about among the horses, and had left evidences of their presence by moving a piece of meat which was roasting at the fire, and by rubbing two spots of red paint on a riding saddle at one of the tent doors. the chief who talked with ross seemed so honest and frank that he was given some ammunition, tobacco, and a knife, and the two parties separated in a very friendly manner. only a little later, they came across a snake camp, to which also had come a number of cayuse chiefs, and here were held ceremonial smokes and speeches, of a most friendly character.

dropping down reid’s river and trapping constantly, the party at last reached another great snake camp. by this time they had 1,855 beaver. in this neighborhood there was more or less trouble. the indians practised all sorts of stratagems to secure the horses of the trappers, and did succeed in getting ten of them, eight of which were later returned. the natives also took a number of traps. moreover, as they were not punished for what they did, their boldness grew, and at last an indian picked up a bundle and when it was taken from him by force, he strung his bow and threatened to shoot the man. ross gave his people much good advice, and pointed out that if they108 would stick together they were perfectly able to cow the snakes; but they must act together. his plan was to capture and hold ten of the indians’ horses as security for property that had been taken. they went out and caught the horses, and when they returned with them to the camp, finding two indians there, they counted out one hundred bullets, and loaded their cannon, letting the indians see what was being done, and sent a message to the camp that as soon as the stolen traps had been delivered, they would give up the horses.

“when the two indians had returned with the message to their camp, i instructed my people to have their arms in readiness, in such a position that each man could have his eye upon his gun, and could lay hold of it at a moment’s warning; but to appear as careless as if nothing was expected. that if the indians did come, as they certainly would, to claim their horses, and insisted on taking them, i would reason the matter with them; and when that failed, i would give the most forward of them a blow with my pipe stem, which was to be the signal for my people to act. the moment, therefore, the signal was given, the men were to shout according to indian custom, seize, and make a demonstration with their arms; but were not to fire, until i had first set the example. during this time there was a great stir in the indian camp; people were observed running to and fro, and we awaited the result with anxiety.

109 “not long after, we saw a procession of some fifty or sixty persons, all on foot and unarmed, advancing in a very orderly manner towards our camp; in front of which was placed our big gun, well loaded, pointed, and the match lit. my men were in the rear, whistling, singing, and apparently indifferent. on the indians coming up to me and another man, who stood in front to receive them near to where the horses were tied, i drew a line of privilege, and made signs for them not to pass it. they, however, looked very angry, and observed the line with reluctance, so that i had to beckon to them several times before i was obeyed, or could make them understand. at last they made a sort of irregular halt.

“i then made signs for the indians to sit down; but they shook their heads. i asked where was ama-ketsa; but got no satisfactory reply. one of the fellows immediately introduced the subject of the horses, in very fierce and insolent language; i however, to pacify him, and make friends, spoke kindly to them, and began to reason the matter, and explain it to them as well as i could; but the fellow already noticed, being more forward and daring than the rest, sneered at my argument, and at once laid hold of one of the horses by the halter, and endeavoured to take it away without further ceremony. i laid hold of the halter, in order to prevent him, and the fellow every now and then gave a tug to get the halter out of my hand; the others kept urging him on, and they were the more110 encouraged, seeing my people did not interfere; the latter were, however, on the alert, waiting impatiently for the signal, without the indians being in the least aware of it. beginning to get a little out of humour, i made signs to the indian, that if he did not let go, i would knock him down; but, prompted no doubt by the strong party that backed him, and seeing no one with me, he disregarded my threat by giving another tug at the halter. i then struck him smartly on the side of the head with my pipe stem, and sent him reeling back among his companions; upon which my men sprang up, seized their arms, and gave a loud shout! the sudden act, with the terror conveyed by the cocking of so many guns, so surprised the indians that they lost all presence of mind; throwing their robes, garments, and all from them, they plunged headlong into the river, and swam with the current till out of danger, every now and then popping up their heads and diving again, like so many wild fowl! in less than a minute’s time, there was not a soul of the embassy to be seen about our camp! never was anything more decisive.

“it may be satisfactory to the reader to know what kind of pipe stem it was that one could strike a heavy blow with. the pipe-bowls generally used, both by indians and indian traders, are made of stone, and are large and heavy; the stems resemble a walking-stick more than anything else, and they are generally of ash, and from two-and-a-half to three feet long.

111 “we had intended removing camp the same day; but after what had happened, i thought it better to pass another day where we were, in order to give the snakes as well as ourselves an opportunity of making up matters. not a soul, however, came near us all that day afterwards, and we were at a loss to find out what was going on in the snake camp. i therefore got about twenty of my men mounted on horseback, to take a turn round, in order to observe the movements of the indians, but they having brought me word that the women were all employed in their usual duties, i felt satisfied.

“during the following day, ten persons were observed making for our camp, who, on arrival, spread out a buffalo robe, on which was laid all our stolen traps! some whole, some broken into several pieces, which they had been flattening for knives; the whole rendered almost useless to us. ama-ketsa, who had not been present at the affray of the preceding day, accompanied this party, and made a long and apparently earnest apology for the loss of our traps, and the misunderstanding that ensued; but he did not forget to exculpate his own people from all blame, laying the odium of the whole affair on the banatees. we knew the contrary: the war-are-ree-kas were the guilty parties, and perhaps ama-ketsa himself was not altogether innocent; at least, some of his people said so. we, however, accepted the apology, and the traps, as they were; and delivering up all the horses, treated the112 chief with due honours, satisfied that the business ended so well.

“the chief had no sooner returned to his camp with the horses, than a brisk trade was opened; the indians, men, women, and children, coming to us with as much confidence as if nothing had happened. on the next morning, while we were preparing to start, one of my men fell from his horse and broke his thigh; we, however, got it so set, as not to prevent our removal. although everything wore the appearance of peace, yet i thought it necessary to take precautions, in order to avoid any trouble with the natives in passing their camp. i therefore appointed ten men mounted on horseback to go before, the camp followed in order after, while myself and twenty men brought up the rear; and all was peace and good order.”

after a wide round from here they found themselves again on the malades river, where thirty-seven of the people were poisoned, apparently by beaver meat, and it was from this circumstance that the river got its name. just beyond this, they captured a bannock, by whom they were told that the beavers with the white flesh—supposedly poisonous—were always roasted by the indians and never boiled; unless roasted the meat was bad.

at a point on the bear river the travelling party observed two animals apparently playing in the water, and on approaching the place these were found to be black bears, one of which was shot. they found113 that the bears were apparently hunting a beaver which was found concealed in the shoal water, and the signs seemed to indicate that this was a hunting-place where the bears often came to kill beaver.

returning to canoe point, they rested for a couple of days. their horses, which, of course, were unshod, had become very tender-footed, and they provided moccasins—so to speak—for no less than twenty-seven head. this, of course, is an old indian practice. not far from here they found buffalo in great numbers, and began to kill and dry meat, and just here ross gives interesting testimony with regard to some characteristics of the buffalo which is worth repeating in these days, when the buffalo are no longer with us:

“while on the subject of buffalo, we may notice that there is perhaps not an animal that roams in this, or in the wilds of any other country, more fierce and formidable, than a buffalo bull during the rutting season: neither the polar bear, nor the bengal tiger, surpass that animal in ferocity. when not mortally wounded, buffalo turn upon man or horse; but when mortally wounded, they stand fiercely eyeing their assailant, until life ebbs away.

“as we were travelling one day among a herd, we shot at a bull and wounded him severely—so much so, that he could neither run after us, nor from us; propping himself on his legs, therefore, he stood looking at us till we had fired ten balls through his body, now and then giving a shake of the head. although114 he was apparently unable to stir, yet we kept at a respectful distance from him; for such is the agility of body and quickness of eye, and so hideous are the looks of buffalo, that we dared not for some time approach him: at last, one more bold than the rest went up and pushed the beast over;—he was dead! if not brought to the ground by the first or second shot, let the hunter be on his guard! the old bulls, when badly wounded and unable to pursue their assailant, prop themselves, as we have seen, and often stand in that position till dead; but the head of a wounded bull, while in an upright position, is invariably turned to his pursuer; so if the hunter be in doubt, let him change his position, to see if the bull changes his position also. the surest mark of his being mortally wounded and unable to stir, is, when he cannot turn his head round to his pursuer; in that case, you may safely walk up and throw him down.

“the wild cow calves generally at one period, and that period later by a month than our tame cattle; then they all, as if with one accord, withdraw themselves from the mountains and rocks, and resort in large families to the valleys, where there is open ground, with small clumps of wood affording shelter and preservation; as there they can see the approach of an enemy from afar. the cows herd together in the centre, and the bulls graze in the distance: all in sight of each other.

“the calving season is may, when the heat of the115 sun is sufficiently strong for the preservation of their young in the open air; during which time the herd feeds round and round the place as if to defend the young calves from the approach of an enemy or from wolves. the resident indian tribes seldom hunt or disturb the buffalo at this season, or before the first of july. the indians often assured me, that, during the calving season, the bulls keep guard; and have been frequently known to assemble together, in order to keep at a distance any wolves, bears or other enemies, that might attempt to approach the cows.”

a party sent after the iroquois, who had gone off to trap by themselves, returned on the 14th of october, bringing with them not only the ten iroquois but also seven american trappers. the iroquois had had their usual success. they had no beaver, no traps, were naked and destitute of almost everything, and were in debt to the american trappers for having been brought to the three tetons. according to their story, they had been attacked by a war-party and robbed of nine hundred beaver, all their steel traps, and twenty-seven horses. ross had the small satisfaction of saying to them, “i told you so,” but this did not bring back the lost property. on the other hand, other stories were told by certain of the iroquois, which suggested that perhaps the iroquois had sold their beaver to the americans.

it was not long before another war-party made its appearance, causing the usual excitement and alarm,116 but these proved to be nez percés who had started for the blackfeet to steal horses. before they got there, the blackfeet discovered and ambushed them, killing six of the nez percés.

the newcomers warned ross that enemies were about, and as the trapping party was just about to enter a narrow valley, ross with thirty-five men set out to examine it before the main party entered. they had looked it partly over, when they saw distant indians hurrying to cover, and pursued them. the strangers got into the timber. the trappers asked the indians to come out of the woods and smoke, and the indians invited them to come into the woods and smoke; but neither party accepted the invitation. the indians claimed to be crows, but ross believed they were blackfeet. the traders picked up some robes, arms, and moccasins, thrown away in flight, which they left near the hiding-place of the indians, and were just about to return, when, as they were mounting, they saw what looked like a large party of people coming. they made preparations for a fight, and then discovered that the approaching body consisted of a large band of horses, driven by four men. ross with fifteen men charged toward the horses, whose drivers fled, leaving the herd. among the horses were forty-three which belonged in ross’s camp and one of those taken from the two trappers sent as messengers to the goddin river party. the trappers overtook and captured three of the indians and took them back to the camp.117 there a court-martial was held and the three captives were condemned to die, but ross the next morning succeeded in letting them escape.

the return to the flathead house was devoid of any special events save those of ordinary prairie and mountain travel. on the way they had to pass through deep snows and across frozen rivers where the ice was not always safe, and at one such point they lost a horse, and two of the men came near sharing its fate. they reached there the last of november.

the results of the trip amounted to five thousand beaver, exclusive of other furs—a very successful summer.

in a note appended to a brief vocabulary of the snake language given by ross he makes the following interesting prophecy: “i can state with undiminished confidence, that the snake country towards the rocky mountains is, and will be, rich in furs for some generations to come, and full of interest to men of enterprise. indeed, the dangers by which it was then, and still is, in a more or less degree, surrounded, will always tend to preserve the furs in that inland quarter.”

little more than two generations have passed, and the fur in what used to be the snake country has absolutely disappeared. the dangers from indians have long been forgotten, though among the indians toward the coast the tradition of the terrible blackfeet yet persists, and they still speak of the blackfeet as “bad people.”

the following spring governor simpson wrote to118 ross, asking him to try and procure two indian boys to be educated at the red river colony. ross succeeded in getting a kutenai and a spokane boy, each ten or twelve years old. they were given up by the indians with great regret. one of the fathers said: “we have given you our hearts—our children are our hearts; but bring them back again to us before they become white men—we wish to see them once more indians—and after that, you can make them white men, if you like.” the kutenai boy died after two or three years at school, but some years later the spokane boy returned to his people. he did not turn out very well.

the next spring ross started to spokane house to turn in his furs, and then finally to leave the fur trade. here he met governor simpson, who promised him a situation in red river colony until such time as he should be able to establish himself. the governor started back with the party. the return journey was long and laborious. isolated parties of indians were met, in all of whom ross took keen interest. he gives a graphic description of travel through mountains, and draws a picture which gives some idea of the difficulties of the journeys made by these early travellers, and of the hardihood and endurance of those who performed them.

little does the traveller of the present day, hurrying along by train, or by steamboat, comprehend the constant labor of those early days.

they were journeying on foot up the course of a winding, rushing river:

119 “when the current proves too strong or the water too deep for one person to attempt [to cross] it alone, the whole join hands together, forming a chain, and thus cross in an oblique line, to break the strength of the current; the tallest always leading the van. by their united efforts, when a light person is swept off his feet, which not unfrequently happens, the party drag him along; and the first who reaches the shore always lays hold of the branches of some friendly tree or bush that may be in the way; the second does the same, and so on till all get out of the water. but often they are no sooner out than in again; and perhaps several traverses will have to be made within the space of a hundred yards, and sometimes within a few yards of each other; just as the rocks, or other impediments bar the way. after crossing several times, i regretted that i had not begun sooner to count the number; but before night, i had sixty-two traverses marked on my walking-stick, which served as my journal throughout the day.

“when not among ice and snow, or in the water, we had to walk on a stony beach, or on gravelly flats, being constantly in and out of the water: many had got their feet blistered, which was extremely painful. the cold made us advance at a quick pace, to keep ourselves warm; and despatch was the order of the day. the governor himself, generally at the head, made the first plunge into the water, and was not the last to get out. his smile encouraged others, and his120 example checked murmuring. at a crossing-place there was seldom a moment’s hesitation; all plunged in, and had to get out as they could. and we had to be lightly clad, so as to drag less water. our general course to-day was north-east, but we had at times to follow every point of the compass, and might have travelled altogether twenty miles, although in a direct line we scarcely advanced eight. the ascent appeared to be gradual, yet the contrary was indicated by the rapidity of the current. after a day of excessive fatigue, we halted at dusk, cooked our suppers, dried our clothes, smoked our pipes, then, each spreading his blanket, we laid ourselves down to rest; and, perhaps, of all rest, that enjoyed on the voyage, after a hard day’s labour, is the sweetest.

“to give a correct idea of this part of our journey, let the reader picture in his own mind a dark, narrow defile, skirted on one side by a chain of inaccessible mountains, rising to a great height, covered with snow, and slippery with ice from their tops down to the water’s edge. and on the other side, a beach comparatively low, but studded in an irregular manner with standing and fallen trees, rocks, and ice, and full of drift-wood; over which the torrent everywhere rushes with such irresistible impetuosity, that very few would dare to adventure themselves in the stream. let him again imagine a rapid river descending from some great height, filling up the whole channel between the rocky precipices on the south and the no121 less dangerous barrier on the north. and lastly, let him suppose that we were obliged to make our way on foot against such a torrent, by crossing and recrossing it in all its turns and windings from morning till night, up to the middle in water,—and he will understand that we have not exaggerated the difficulties to be overcome in crossing the rocky mountains.”

at last the party reached the summit of the rocky mountains, and passing by the rocky mountain house, took canoes. here they found joseph felix larocque, and from here they went on down the athabasca in canoes to jasper house and to fort assiniboine; and there again changing to horses, at last reached edmonton. this was then the centre of a great trade, and was under charge of mr. rowan, chief factor of the hudson bay company, and earlier a partner in the northwest company.

the further journey back toward the red river was marked by the meeting, near lake bourbon—cedar lake—with captain franklin and dr. richardson on their overland arctic expedition.

at norway house governor simpson stopped, while ross was to keep on eastward. governor simpson, after again trying to persuade ross to remain in the service of the company, made him a free grant of one hundred acres of land in the red river settlement, and paid him many compliments on his efficiency and success in the snake country.

with a party of twenty-seven people, a motley crew122 of incompetents, ross started from norway house for red river. he quotes an interestingly boastful speech by an ancient french voyageur:

“‘i have now,’ said he, ‘been forty-two years in this country. for twenty-four i was a light canoe-man; i required but little sleep, but sometimes got less than i required. no portage was too long for me; all portages were alike. my end of the canoe never touched the ground till i saw the end of it. fifty songs a day were nothing to me. i could carry, paddle, walk, and sing with any man i ever saw. during that period, i saved the lives of ten bourgeois, and was always the favourite, because when others stopped to carry at a bad step, and lost time, i pushed on—over rapids, over cascades, over chutes; all were the same to me. no water, no weather, ever stopped the paddle or the song. i have had twelve wives in the country; and was once possessed of fifty horses, and six running dogs, trimmed in the first style. i was then like a bourgeois, rich and happy: no bourgeois had better-dressed wives than i; no indian chief finer horses; no white man better-harnessed or swifter dogs. i beat all indians at the race, and no white man ever passed me in the chase. i wanted for nothing; and i spent all my earnings in the enjoyment of pleasure. five hundred pounds, twice told, have passed through my hands; although now i have not a spare shirt to my back, nor a penny to buy one. yet, were i young again, i should glory in commencing the same career again.123 i would gladly spend another half-century in the same fields of enjoyment. there is no life so happy as a voyageur’s life; none so independent; no place where a man enjoys so much variety and freedom as in the indian country. huzza! huzza! pour le pays sauvage!’ after this cri de joie, he sat down in the boat, and we could not help admiring the wild enthusiasm of the old frenchman. he had boasted and excited himself, till he was out of breath, and then sighed with regret that he could no longer enjoy the scenes of his past life.”

on the journey there was excitement enough, storms and running aground—usual incidents of canoe travel—but at last they reached red river, and ross’s fur trading journeys were over.