william t. hamilton, who died in 1908, was perhaps the very last survivor of that old-time race of trappers whose courage, skill, and endurance led to the discovery, exploration, and settlement of that vast territory which we now call the empire of the west. he left st. louis in 1842 with a company of free trappers led by bill williams—famous in those days—and for many years thereafter led the wild, adventurous, and independent life of the mountain man. with the coming of the railroads and the settlement of the country that life ended, but in 1907, at the age of eighty-five, he still lived among the mountains of montana, and still made his annual trapping trips, keeping up the habits that he had practised for sixty-five years.
“uncle” bill hamilton, as he was long and affectionately known, was one of montana’s first citizens, and the residents of that state were proud of his long experience, his wide knowledge of the life of the early days, and his extraordinary skill as a sign talker. a good mountain man is, of course, a keen observer, but hamilton possessed also a retentive memory which enabled him in his later years to make valuable contributions326 to the history of the early west, which have been recorded in the proceedings of the montana historical society, in his book my sixty years on the plains, published in 1905, and in the present account, which was published in forest and stream in the spring of 1907.
it was in the year 1855 that governor i. i. stephens, called by the indians “the short man,” made, at the mouth of the judith river, the first treaty with the indians of northern montana. the object of this treaty was to bring about a general peace among the different tribes, which had long been at war with one another. like many efforts of this kind, the treaty had no lasting effect.
this story deals with another attempt to put an end to intertribal wars made ten years later, in 1865, by general francis meagher and other commissioners. william t. hamilton was sent out to try to induce the various tribes to come into fort benton and attend this council. some of the tribes were brought in and a treaty was made, but it did not last long. the account which follows is crowded with the lore of the plains—information as to the way in which in old times people travelled through a hostile country. those who read it with attention, will learn much about the ways of indians and the ways of those who fought indians.
william t. hamilton
this is bill hamilton’s story of the council at fort benton:
327 the territory of montana was organized in 1864. green clay smith was appointed its first governor, and general francis meagher became acting governor with supervision over all indians.
from 1863 to 1865 a chronic state of warfare existed between all the indian tribes in the territory. in the course of this warfare, miners and freighters had sustained serious losses in stock, and many miners and cattle-herders had been killed by the indians. there was no protection for life and property. at the mouth of the judith river, fifty miles east of benton, was stationed one company of soldiers, but they were infantry and could render no protection against mounted indians.
in 1864 i sold my place at missoula, and moved to benton—the head of navigation for the missouri river steam-boats, which carried all the supplies of every description needed by the rapidly increasing population, which was rushing into the territory attracted by fabulous reports which were constantly being circulated of the discovery of rich placer and quartz mines.
when i arrived at benton it was almost impossible to get anything to eat, and i determined that i would start a hotel. i built a log house, hired a cook, and a negro for a waiter, gave fifty dollars for an old stove, bought and borrowed all the cups, knives, forks, and tin plates that i could get from the fur company employees, and opened my hotel at one dollar per meal.328 i bought some beef steers and slaughtered one on the river bank. two whiskey barrels on end, with three slabs on them, set up by the hotel, formed the counter of a butcher shop, the first one opened in chouteau county, montana territory. i sold beef at twenty cents and twenty-five cents per pound, disposing of from one to five beeves daily to boats and freighters. presently i was obliged to hire a butcher and a herder.
in the spring of 1865 the governor appointed me sheriff of chouteau county, which was about as large as the state of new york. i was also appointed deputy united states marshal. at this time the population was a mixed and motley combination. there were some trappers and free traders, good men; but the remainder were fur company employees, in all about forty-five men. there were some half-breeds, but none of them could be trusted except one, joe kipp. the northwest fur company had bought out the old fur company and had put i. g. baker in charge. carroll and steele, former clerks of the old company, had opened a store in benton, and t. c. power afterward opened one.
through the territorial delegate, the united states government was asked to protect the inhabitants of the territory against indians, and the following occurrences were a part of the effort to secure such protection. a commission of three persons was appointed to consider this subject. it consisted of acting governor meagher, judge munson, and e. w. carpenter.329 they arrived at benton early in september, and after holding a council determined that the piegans, bloods, blackfeet, gros ventres, and crow indians must be brought into benton and there induced to make a permanent and lasting peace. runners were sent out inviting the blackfeet tribes to come in, but no one could be found who would undertake to hunt up and bring in the crows and gros ventres.
at this season the country between the missouri and yellowstone rivers was usually overrun by war parties of sioux, cheyennes, arapahoes, and blackfeet, making travel exceedingly dangerous for any one, even for an experienced prairie man.
while they were trying to find a man to make this trip, some one suggested to the commissioners that i was accustomed to travelling anywhere, and they might get me. they sent, asking me to call on them at the agency, which was then at benton, and when i came, the governor said: “sheriff, we want a man to go and get the crow and gros ventres indians to come to benton and meet us in council. will you go and get them for us? we are informed that you can and do travel anywhere on the plains.”
“yes, i do,” i answered, “if i have special business of my own to attend to.”
the governor said: “the government is anxious to bring about a general peace between these warring tribes, and also to put an end to hostilities against the white people. in a few days a steamboat load of goods330 will arrive, to be given as presents to all indians who meet us in council. we want you to go and bring in these tribes.”
“but,” i said to him, “how can i go? i have to look after my eating house, the butcher shop, the duties of sheriff, and of marshal. i have two prisoners on hand and no jail in which to confine them.”
but they kept on talking and persuading until i saw that, as the western phrase has it, they were going to get me into a jack pot. to cut it short, they prevailed on me to undertake the mission to bring in the two tribes.
i appointed a deputy to look after my business, and informed the commissioners that i must have a certain piegan indian as companion, and asked them to send a runner to little dog, the chief, with a paper, asking him to send eagle eye to benton as soon as possible. in two days eagle eye was there. i had christened him jack. i had once saved his life. he was a cool and brave man, and would die for me if called on to do so. he had been with me on two former trips.
i was at the agency when jack arrived, and when i told him what was wanted of him, he gave a warwhoop that startled the commissioners. i owned two of the fastest horses in the country, and got two good horses for jack. i selected one pack-horse, a fast one which would follow like a dog. i took some tobacco and some food with which to feast the indians, calculating to put about seventy-five pounds on the pack-horse.
331 brief digression may be interesting, and perhaps useful. i had a pair of spanish panniers made of canvas or leather fastened together and hung over the pack-saddle. at the bottom of the off-side pannier was a four-inch strap ending in a buckle. on the nigh-side pannier a strap was fastened at the bottom, and these straps were buckled together under the horse’s belly. this held both panniers down close to the horse’s body. the panniers can be made of any size, according to the amount one wishes to pack. mine would carry one hundred pounds of assorted goods. in case of emergency, the animal being saddled, you can place the panniers on the saddle, cinch, mount, and be off in twenty seconds.
on my best horse i kept day and night an indian pad-saddle as a substitute for a riding-saddle. its weight was ten pounds; the horse wore a hackamore for a bridle, and the reins were tied to the horse’s mane. this was a useful precaution in case of being surprised or jumped by indians and not having time to saddle. such an occurrence may take place notwithstanding all your alertness. my other horse i rode with a california saddle. jack was similarly fitted out, except that he had two indian pads. i had bought from judge e. r. munson the first henry rifle that ever came into the territory, paying him one hundred and six dollars in gold-dust. i had two .45 calibre colt’s revolvers. jack had a sharp’s rifle, using paper caps that i had given to him some time before. i got him two .45332 calibre remington revolvers. he had also his bow and arrows.
on the second day after jack’s arrival we packed up at the agency, a number of persons being present. the commissioners could not understand why we were so heavily armed, since we were going on a peaceful message for the government. their questions and manifest ignorance of indians brought a smile to the faces of many of those present, as if a war party would care what business we were engaged in, or, if they did care, would stop to ask. after a while we shook hands with our friends and started. many of them said, “look out, bill, this is likely to be your last trip,” but i felt that, being armed as we were, no small party would get the “age” on us.
jack had told me that a piegan war party which had returned a few days before had informed him that the crows had been camped at medicine springs between the moccasin mountains, that being about ninety miles from benton as the crow flies, but had moved their village some days before. he also told me there were three blackfeet war parties out after crows and gros ventres. we should have to look out for them. with this information as to where to pick up the trail, it would be easy for us to locate the crow village, unless we met hostile war parties. for about half the distance to the medicine springs the country is very broken.
we forded the missouri river and struck across a333 rolling country to arrow creek, thirty miles from benton, and reached the creek about sixteen miles east of rattling buttes. these buttes, at the east end of the highwood mountains, were in a dangerous country. it was a famous resort for war parties, and game of all kinds was abundant. here we stood guard turn about. because you see no indians nor signs of any, it does not follow that none are in the neighborhood. in a hostile or semi-hostile country never trust to appearances, but be as much on the alert as if you knew the enemy was in close proximity. have everything ready for action either to defend your position or to retreat.
the next morning before daylight we built a fire out of dry willows and made coffee. our bill of fare was pemican and crackers. we had discovered a few buffalo feeding over a ridge near camp, and i asked jack to try to get one with an arrow. it was too dangerous to use a gun to kill this game. if any indians were within hearing, the report would have brought them to us in force, and might have caused us annoyance. many a party has come to grief from the lack of such knowledge. jack went off, and in a short time returned with the tongue, the hump, and one dépouille, which we used as a substitute for bread. by this time i had the stock ready to start.
after viewing the surrounding country from a high knoll and observing no signs of danger, we started. we had to pass over a broken country between arrow334 creek and wolf creek, a distance of some eighteen miles. as we passed over a high ridge far over to our right, perhaps seven miles, we discovered about one hundred buffalo on a stampede. we left the ridge and approached a hill that had some trees upon it, and from this point looked over the country in order to learn, if possible, what had caused the buffalo to “raise,” for buffalo seldom stampede unless they are frightened by somebody in the vicinity. we discovered nothing, and at length went on to wolf creek, where, on the south side of the stream, we came across foot-tracks where seven men had been walking. jack declared that they were blackfeet. they had passed along that morning. evidently they had tried to find the crow village, but had missed it. i told jack that this war party would go to deep creek, and would run off some miners’ horses, and would also take in a miner if the opportunity offered. afterward we learned that some war party about this time did kill a miner and run off a number of horses.
we passed on, travelling in draws and hollows as much as possible, until we reached willow creek. the antelope and a few buffalo were feeding quietly; a sure sign that no indians were about, and that there had been none before our arrival. the grass was good, and we camped and cooked our tongue, enjoying a feast fit for the gods of old, as mountain men have it.
we did not travel fast or far, but kept our horses in prime condition, so that, if in case of any emergency335 we were forced to make fast time, we could get away and keep from being made bald-headed.
we were not disturbed during the night, and the next morning were off at daylight. the game still fed about us undisturbed. we crossed plum creek (judith river) and discovered several pony tracks some days old. we concluded that the riders were crows.
at length we got to the medicine springs between the moccasin mountains. the crow village had been there, but had gone. we followed their trail until dark, and camped at the east end of the judith mountains. the next morning jack went to the top of a high butte, called black butte, and swept the surrounding prairie with a powerful field-glass, but discovered no sign of village smokes. now began the dangerous part of our trip. a comparatively open country lay before us. to follow the lodge-pole trail was dangerous, yet that was our only means of finding the crow village. all indian war parties are likely to follow the village trail of those they are after. jack said that there were two more blackfeet war parties out besides the one that had gone up wolf creek, but these parties we did not fear, because they were on foot. the result might be different if we came in contact with either sioux, cheyennes, or arapahoes, who always go to war mounted, and in force. we could easily stand off eight or twelve indians, but fifty or one hundred is a different matter. nevertheless, we had to take the risk.
336 before starting we put everything in prime order. if some persons had been present i think they would have believed that we were preparing for a desperate fight or a desperate retreat.
from our camp in the judith mountains the big bend of the musselshell river and the bull mountains were fifty miles to the southeast. there we expected to find the crow village, unless prevented by hostile war parties.
we travelled on at a five-mile gait, carefully watching the trail for fresh tracks, either of men or horses. if either should be discovered, we would have to act according to circumstances. in front of us and on either flank a few scattered buffalo and antelope were feeding quietly.
about 2 p. m. we reached flat willow creek, just above where box elder creek flows into it. jack mounted his best horse and made a circle three-quarters of a mile in diameter, to see if he could discover any indian signs. i went to the crest of a high ridge, and with my glasses thoroughly swept the surrounding country without seeing any sign of a village smoke, then returned to where i had left the horses. when jack returned i could see by his look that he had discovered something that troubled him. when i asked him what he had found he pointed up the creek and said: “south of that butte are the pony tracks of a mounted party of twenty-five going toward the south end of the bull mountains.” if this party was hostile,337 it was the scouting party from some larger one, or it might be a scouting party of crows. we had no means of knowing which. in any case, we had to do one thing first of all, and that was to let our animals refresh themselves. one of us kept a good lookout, while the other unsaddled one horse at a time, gave him a bath from the stream, dried, and resaddled him; repeating this until all the horses had had their bath. such treatment refreshes a horse more than anything that you can do for him. all mountain men and many indian tribes understand the secret.
we were now in the most dangerous part of the country from the pan handle of texas to the british line. as an expert scout would say, “you must see all around you; must have eyes in every part of your head.”
dick, my best horse, was possessed of almost human intelligence. i had trained him to come to me on a run at a whistle, as almost any horse can be trained with a little patience. i mounted dick, leaving jack with the outfit. i went up the stream and picked up the trail that he had described and followed it. as jack had said, it led toward the south end of bull mountains. when i reached a ridge on which were some trees, a plateau lay before me about one mile in extent and ending in a broken country with scattering trees. i could see that the trail led directly through a cluster of pines. i got into a draw, or low place, which ran down toward the musselshell river and followed it down, hoping or expecting to come across the trail of338 the village. i followed the draw until within half a mile of the river, and then rode back across the country to jack, without discovering anything.
flat willow creek rises in the southeast end of the big snowy mountains. a large war-party could rendezvous there and send out small scouting parties, learn if any enemies were in the vicinity, return, and report. to a war party all human beings are considered enemies, except the members of their own party.
i asked jack what he thought of this party, whose trail he had found. the trail was not over a day old. he replied it was either a scouting war party, or a scouting party sent out by the crow chief to find out if any enemies were in the country. i had come to this same conclusion, for in years past i had been out with many such parties on different occasions. at all events, if this party were enemies of the crows, they had not as yet struck either the village or the lodge-pole trail, where the village had passed along. one thing was noticeable in this section. it was in the centre of the buffalo grazing ground at this season of the year, and yet as far as a powerful glass could view the surrounding country no buffalo were to be seen; though there was abundant sign where they had been not many days before. on the other hand, we could discover no signs where a run had been made. if anybody had been chasing the buffalo many carcasses would be in evidence on every side. a few antelope were to be seen, but they were shy and constantly on339 the watch, a sure sign that indians had passed over the country.
it would be very instructive to writers of indian lore if they could travel with an expert scout or with an indian war party and observe their actions—their caution and the care taken to avoid being seen by their enemies and to circumvent them. they learn by the actions of animals and by the flight of birds if enemies are near, or of the people who have passed through, or who may yet be hidden in, some section of the country. jack was an expert in observations of this kind. not the flight of a bird escaped his eagle eye.
we remained here about two and a half hours. the horses had eaten, and were refreshed and in prime condition. when we started, we followed the trail and crossed the creek, the trail leading down the creek on the south side to the forks of the musselshell river. here the crow village had remained only one night. they had made a long drive the day they got to this camp. jack said that the crows were frightened and were getting out of the country. it had been several days since they were in this camp. as it was sundown when we reached there, we camped, and the night passed without our being disturbed. breakfast was over before daylight next morning. we expected that the trail would follow up the river, but instead of that it went southeast, toward the divide of the yellowstone river, and when we reached the divide the trail turned east. jack was well acquainted with this section of340 the country, having been here with piegan war parties many times. the east end of the bull mountains was now some five miles south of us. like the big snowies, this is a great rendezvous for war parties. we followed the trail, and about one o’clock in the day jack turned north half a mile to a spring of water of which he knew at the head of the draw.
that night we remained there, keeping a careful lookout. nothing happened in the night, and by daylight we were off again. jack announced that he thought that the crows would be camped either on upper or lower porcupine creek. as we went along we saw a few buffalo and antelope feeding quietly, good evidence that they had not been disturbed recently. as jack was the most expert trailer, i placed him in the lead, directing him to keep his eye on the trail, while i would keep a general lookout over the country for any sign of danger.
we had travelled some five miles when, like a flash, jack dismounted. he followed on the trail on foot for a short distance, and returning held up five fingers and made the sign for the blackfeet indian. they had come up from the musselshell river. we looked at the tracks carefully and found them fresh. the ground was sandy in places, and where an indian’s foot had been, we discovered grains of sand still active, unsettled, dropping down from the sides of the track, a sure sign that they had been made recently. the same sign holds good with horse tracks, and this sign can be read by341 any person with a quick eye. let him put his foot on some sand and then carefully and patiently watch how long it takes for the sand to become inactive. all such signs are carefully studied by mountaineers and indians. it was plain enough to us. we went on, keeping a sharp lookout. some three-quarters of a mile before us, we could see some timbered buttes, and the trail led directly toward these trees. there was a possibility that those five indians might be there, and we put our tools in condition for instant use. we got within three hundred yards of the buttes, wheeled to the right, and putting our horses on a run, passed between two small hills and got beyond the first butte. nothing was discovered. when we reached the trail, jack dismounted, looked at it carefully, followed it a short distance and returned, saying: “the indians are running here.” in front of us were other buttes with trees on them, and we were now satisfied that the blackfeet had discovered us and were at this moment planning a coup by which they could take us without loss to themselves. to avoid being ambushed, we bore to the left, keeping a long rifle shot from the timber and a keen lookout. we had passed perhaps one hundred and fifty yards beyond the first butte, when two rifle shots were fired, the bullets going wide of the mark. we wheeled to the left, rode behind a small knoll and dismounted. before we got there, three more shots were fired, the bullets coming unpleasantly close, but doing no harm.
342 we had no sooner dismounted than five indians charged us with a yell, for they made sure they had us. our outfit was a tempting bait for them. there were five good horses, to say nothing of arms and other property. if they had succeeded in taking us in, they could have returned to their people as great warriors, and would have been allowed to paint their spouses’ faces to their hearts’ content, and these would have been envied by all the other women in the village, who would not have been permitted to take part in the scalp dance that would follow.
we let the indians come within sixty yards, and then we showed ourselves and ducked. the indians, fool-like, all fired; and, before they could reload or draw bows and arrows, the sharp and the henry got to work, and in less time than it takes to write this, five blackfeet were on their way to their happy hunting-ground. we got five hudson’s bay flintlock guns, bows and arrows, and other plunder. jack scalped two of the indians. i took a fancy war bonnet.
when we got back, jack told the circumstances to his friends in the piegan camp. they blamed us for killing these people, saying that as we were mounted we should have run away. if we had run, the blackfeet would have been on our trail like a wolf on the trail of a wounded deer. they are hard to shake free from or to throw off the trail. jack justified our acts, saying that they fired upon and charged us. if they had succeeded in getting us they would have scalped us343 both, they knowing him to be a piegan. he added that any indian, whether blackfoot, blood, or piegan that shot at him and missed, must expect to be scalped. he was asked if he were not afraid that some of the friends of those we had put to sleep would revenge themselves by putting him to sleep. i could not but admire jack when he answered them, his eyes sparkling like fire: “no! if any one or more want to try that, they all know when and where to find me.” as it was, we would not be annoyed any more by this war party.
jack told me that west porcupine creek took its rise a short distance from here. passing by this timbered country, we came to one that was open, where a few buffalo were in sight. here the trail bore to the right, going south, and followed a ridge. jack said that this ridge lay between east and west porcupine creeks. we travelled some twelve miles and, when we passed over a ridge, discovered the smoke of a village on the lower or easternmost stream. it seemed to be about eight miles distant. we moved toward it at a lively gait, but when we were about a mile from the village, we could discern a great commotion beyond or south of it. horsemen were galloping back and forth in every direction as if in a sham battle. jack said that he heard shots and that he believed a fight was on. we pushed ahead and got to the village, and found, sure enough, that the sioux had attacked it, trying to run off the crow ponies. they had been discovered by the young crow herders and the alarm was344 given; and, since indians always keep their best horses close to the village, the warriors soon mounted and rushed out to protect their herds. nothing is more disastrous to a camp than to lose its horses, and they will fight as desperately for them as for their families.
bull goes hunting, the chief, met us, and, as he did so, put his hand over his mouth, signifying his astonishment at seeing us. he was an old acquaintance, a friend, and we went to his lodge. i left jack and our outfit in the care of the chief, while i mounted dick to go out and see the fight. jack wished to go, but i would not allow it, for he might do some desperate act, such as to charge through the sioux and might go under. at this time, he was too valuable a man to lose. a few young warriors went with me, and we soon got to the battlefield. the first man we met was spotted horse, a war chief. there were not over two hundred sioux, and fully three hundred crows. we joined in the half fight half runaway that was going on; though they had been fighting some time, not over six on either side had been placed hors de combat. a few were wounded, and a few ponies put out of action. neither of the opposing forces showed any generalship.
without underrating the indian, or overrating the paleface, i may say that i have been with white men on the plains where forty of them would have made short work of either of these contending forces. by some poetical writers, the indian is credited with possessing spartan bravery; but, with a few exceptions,345 the reverse is true. there are but few mountain men who cannot outgeneral an indian.
after a while the crow chiefs got together for a council, and the result was more like the work of school-boys than of warriors and chiefs. i sat in the council. they spoke in their own tongue, half of which i understood. they also made signs for every word spoken, and each sign was as a, b, c, to me, as of course they knew. they wished me to understand every word that they spoke. they asked my opinion of the fight and what they should do. i advised them to call off their warriors, to form three equal bodies of men, and to charge the sioux on both flanks and at the front at the same time. then the fight would end, and the sioux would retreat. the indians gave a grunt and said nothing.
we all joined again in what one might call playful fighting. i could see that the sioux were growing discouraged, but a desultory fighting continued for a short time, when some fifty of the bravest crow warriors charged the right flank of the sioux and emptied a few saddles, but were checked by a stand made by a few sioux. this stand was made in order to give some of their wounded an opportunity to leave the field. as the sioux were better mounted than the crows, they outstripped us on the retreat. we followed them about a mile, forcing them to abandon some thirty tired ponies, which the crows captured. they scalped and mutilated a few sioux and collected all the plunder346 on the field. all the wounded sioux had retired before the fight was over. indians will remove the slain to keep the enemies from scalping them. whites do the same.
we returned to the village. the chiefs now asked my object in coming to their village. we were now sitting in the lodge, where our things were, and i got out the large envelope containing my letter. it was sealed with wax, and had an eagle stamped on it as large as a dollar. all this show had a moral effect on the indians, and when they saw it they believed that i was a messenger from the great father. after smoking the medicine-pipe, as is customary before a council, i interpreted the contents of the letter in condensed form, the substance of which i have already given. i urged the crows to go to benton, telling them that it would be to their advantage to do so. they would receive many presents, and besides would make peace with their ancient enemies. they listened to me attentively, and then gave reply in the negative, saying that their ponies’ feet were getting tender and the animals thin in flesh, that there were no buffalo between where we were and fort benton, and that they must remain where they were in order to secure meat for their families. all this was common sense from their point of view, and left me no ground for argument. a crow party had recently been to fort union, and had been informed by the traders there that the next moon some white chiefs would be there to meet the crows in347 council. this proved to be the fact, as we afterward learned. the crows could go to fort union by easy stages and be among buffalo all the way, provided their enemies did not run the game out of the country.
jack gave the crows the two scalps, the guns, and other things that he had taken, and they gave him a good mule and complimented him on being a great warrior. we told them that another blackfeet war party was out, said to be looking for crows, but that we did not know where they were. we got the women to cut some bunch-grass for our stock, in order that they might be in good condition to make an early start next morning. during the night jack and i stood guard turn about, and many young crows did the same. by daylight we had breakfasted. the chiefs had assembled to see us off, and i asked them if they knew where we might find the gros ventres. they replied that we would find them either south or east of, and near to, the bear paw mountains. i told them that we should try to get them to go to benton if we could do so. it was amusing to jack and to me to listen to the chiefs as they gave us advice about travelling, just as if neither of us had had any experience. though it was not needed, we took their advice in good part. we paid the women for the grass and started.
when we left the village, the war-dance was in progress in one part, and in another persons who had lost relations were mutilating themselves, cutting off348 their fingers or puncturing their legs and heads with the point of a knife, making the blood flow freely, and, as they did this, wailing and mourning the loss of friends and relatives in the fight. jack, whose horses were good to lead, had saddled his mule. when we started on the back track, we kept east of our old trail. we apprehended little danger of meeting sioux, cheyennes, or arapahoes, and we did not at all regard the other blackfeet war parties.
we made a bee-line for the mouth of the musselshell river, and got there at 9 a. m. next day, for jack knew every foot of the country. no indian signs were visible. we collected some dry poles, bound them together with willow twigs, put all our property on the raft, tied riatas to the end of it, and, mounting, drove the stock across the river, keeping hold of the ends of the ropes. the horses were good swimmers, and we soon had the raft across. after the horses had been rubbed down, saddled, and packed, we mounted and were off. not many minutes were occupied in accomplishing the crossing. we had no time to waste, for the indians might be upon us at any moment.
we now made a bee-line for the little rocky mountains, and when we came to a creek called poshett,9 which rises on the south side of the rockies, we began to see carcasses of the buffalo in different places. the meat had been taken off, and a careful inspection showed that the buffalo had not been slain more than349 five or six days. as we followed up the creek there were more signs that a run had recently been made.
9 fourchette creek, southeast of little rocky mountains.
we had travelled fast that day, and when we reached a cluster of box-elder trees, with good grass, we determined to remain there that night, unless some hostiles should come and veto our intention. before unpacking we looked over the surrounding country for signs of village smoke, and, discovering nothing, we cooked, feasted, and kept our live-stock on the best of grass, all the while keeping a good lookout.
we had breakfast before daylight next morning, packed up, and were off. following up the creek, we struck a lodge-pole trail going east, between the two little rockies. after it had passed the buttes, the trail bore to the left, going north, and now we saw fresh pony-tracks, a sure sign that the village was not far off. before us lay a plateau, and beyond that was beaver creek, where we found the gros ventres village. we had been discovered before we got near it, being met outside the village by famasi, the head chief, an old acquaintance, who escorted us to his lodge.
after feasting and smoking, a council of all the chiefs was held, and the object of our visit was stated to them. they consulted among themselves for some time, the result of the council being that they agreed to go to benton, and they asked me when they would be wanted there. i told them that the commissioners were now waiting for them, and that they had better start the village for benton to-morrow, for it would take them350 two and a half or three days to get there. it was sixty miles as the crow flies to benton, but i expected to be there the following night. i told the chief that he had better send two or three of his men with us, and he agreed to do so.
i got six women to cut an abundance of grass for our stock. they also built a small corral for us. before daylight the indians turned out their ponies to graze, and by daylight breakfast was over, the lodges were down, and the women were getting everything ready for packing. the ponies were now brought in. bear wolf and star robe, two sub-chiefs, were selected to accompany us. here jack traded his mule for eight fine garnished robes. he wanted me to take seven of them, but i selected four. he packed the robes on one of his horses, and by seven o’clock we started, taking the best and most direct route to benton, passing on the south side of the bear paw mountains. we nooned at eagle creek, about half-way. small bands of buffalo were seen, and we killed two fat ones. selecting the choicest parts, we feasted as no mortals ever feasted, unless they have feasted on fat cow buffalo.
our camp was about one and a half miles from the mountains. star robe, with my glass, was looking the mountain over, and when he returned to camp he said that seven indians were coming down the stream afoot. jack said: “blackfeet! i will stop them from coming here!” he stripped down to his breech-clout, mounted his best horse, and took the ridge. i had dick351 ready for emergency, in case something should happen to jack. about half a mile up the stream jack halted. some two hundred yards beyond him the seven indians came up on the ridge. i was watching every move made. one of the indians approached jack. after a short time he returned to the other indian, and they all went back to the mountain. jack informed us that he had told the indians not to come nigh us, as they would get shot, but to go to benton, where all the indians were going to meet the white chiefs in council.
those indians did go to benton, and jack, knowing them, introduced me to them. they laughed at the idea of the two of us being able to put all of them to sleep; that nettled jack, and he asked me to show them what i could do with my “medicine gun,” as he called my henry rifle. at this place the missouri river is about two hundred and fifty yards wide, and on the farther, or south, side near the water there stood a stone about one foot in diameter. there were about one hundred and fifty indians present at the time. i had practised at that rock more than once. i fired seven shots at it in rapid succession, and each shot would have hit an indian. all the indians put their hands over their mouths—a sign of astonishment. they wished to examine the rifle, but i refused to let them touch it, let alone examine it. i was determined to keep them mystified about the henry rifle as long as i could. i was offered four times the price352 i paid for it—one hundred and six dollars, as already stated.
when i reported to the commissioners, they were somewhat disappointed that the crows were not coming to the council. i notified the commissioners that the gros ventres would be here in two days, and that two of their chiefs had come here with us. the commissioners requested me to take care of these chiefs until the village arrived. i did so, charging the commissioners one dollar a meal for each indian, the same price that i charged the white men; but i ought to have had two dollars, as one of these indians could get away with as much grub as two white men.
some northern indians were now beginning to come in. three days after our return the steamboat got to benton. two days after the arrival of that boat fully thirty-five hundred indians were in camp on benton bottom. the piegans and the bloods had about three hundred and fifty lodges. father-of-all-children,10 the blackfeet chief, had fifty lodges, but doubled up; that is to say, two families in one lodge. the total number of indians, big and little, was about four thousand, and more parties were constantly arriving, swelling the number. the other blackfeet indians were too far away to attend the council, and besides that, they had no right to be there to receive presents from the united states, as353 they belonged to canada. the people from the north pitched their lodges mostly on the upper end of the bottom, but the gros ventres pitched theirs on the lower end, some three hundred yards east of the old fort. formerly they had been friends with the piegans and the bloods, but for the last four years they had been at war, and there was the bitterest hatred between them. hence this wide separation of their lodges. the council-chamber had been put in order. the american flag was handsomely displayed, with other decorations. the steamboat had been unloaded and the goods stored. this was about the 20th of september, 1865.
10 měn ěs to′ kos, literally, all are his children, but commonly spoken of as father of all children.
as stated in the earlier part of this narrative, i had been appointed deputy marshal, though i knew nothing about the duties of the office. i asked general meagher what was expected of me as marshal, and he replied: “keep order, see that the chiefs are seated in their allotted places, and that the interpreters are ordered to bring all chiefs and principal warriors to the council.”
at the appointed time, all had come except the gros ventres. tunica, the interpreter, returned from the camp, saying that the gros ventres chiefs were afraid to come. the commissioners commanded me, as sergeant-at-arms, to bring the chiefs and headmen of the tribe to the council. i was armed at all points. dick was saddled, and i went to the village. i got six of the leading chiefs, who wanted to bring their arms354 with them, but i gave them to understand that this would not be permitted by the white chiefs in council, that no one could enter the council-chamber armed, except myself. i gave them assurance that no harm would come to them in council, and soon returned with the chiefs, and placed them on the left of the piegans. they had been acquainted with each other before the war, and had been good friends.
it was one p. m. when the clerk produced a roll of closely written sheets of paper. it looked to me to be two quires, the treaty which came from the indian commissioner at washington. the clerk began reading it by sections, and then waited to have it interpreted. the piegans, bloods, and blackfeet needed but one interpreter, but the gros ventres had to have their own interpreter. it took fifteen to twenty minutes to get through with one sentence, and even then neither interpreter nor indians understood one-tenth of its meaning. i saw that it would take forty days to get through if a change was not brought about. little dog, the piegan chief, told his interpreter to inform the commissioners that the council would be adjourned until next day in order to consult on the mode of procedure to be used thereafter and the language to be employed in carrying through a treaty with a wild, untamed lot of indians, ninety per cent of whom had no desire to mix with or deal with any whites, except to trade for certain commodities which they stood in need of. the commissioners knew as little of how to proceed to make355 those indians understand their meaning as an apache would know of latin.
my eating-house now did a rushing business, for that evening i was asked to give supper to all the chiefs. it would have been amusing to any one with a knowledge of indian character to see the warriors who, when they heard i was going to give all the chiefs their supper, came to me and claimed to be chiefs. we did feed perhaps a dozen leading warriors besides the chiefs. i notified the cook to be prepared to feed about forty indians. we had plenty to eat, but no fancy dishes. the cook was well up in his business.
after supper, the commissioners called the interpreter and me to council with them, for they saw that some change must be made in the proceedings. we told them that they must condense, must leave out “party of the first part,” “party of the second part,” “for and in consideration of, etc.,” and must state in as few words as possible what they desired of the indians. the clerk got to work, and in half an hour had the forty closely written sheets of paper condensed to less than one, which contained the meaning of the whole.
at nine o’clock next morning the council met again, all the chiefs being in their seats. the small robe band of piegans claimed the land on the south side of the missouri river as far as musselshell river. they ceded in the treaty all their rights to this territory. other piegans and the blood indians claimed territory356 along the summit of the rocky mountains south to the little blackfoot river, and thence southeast to the missouri river. in the treaty they ceded all the territory from the mouth of the marias river up the marias to the teton river, following the middle of the stream to its source, for a stipulated sum to be given them for twenty years. the gros ventres had no land to cede. the blackfeet also had no land to cede, and according to the views of many they had no business in this treaty, because they lived in, and claimed to belong to, what they called red coat land, namely, that belonging to king george. some of them wore king george’s medals, and showed that they felt proud of them. all the country east of the teton river was set apart for a piegan and blood reserve. the treaty was concluded by five p. m. all the indians understood what was wanted of them, and the preliminaries were thus shortened by at least thirty-nine days. the treaty was not satisfactory to all the indians, but they had to abide by it. without the influence of some of the mountaineers—who never received any credit for the part they took in bringing it about—that treaty would not have been made at that time.
a distribution of goods to the gros ventres
the next day began the distributing of the goods. it would take the pen of a mark twain to describe the scenes that took place. two days were required to get through this distribution, and the goods that remained and were to be issued to half-breeds were put in my charge, for distribution when the breeds had all arrived.
357 the next morning the commissioners paid me out of the indian goods for feeding the indians and for my trip across the country, and i had jack paid for his time, also from the goods. the commissioners then left for helena with agent gad. e. upson. he knew as much about an indian as i did about the inhabitants of jupiter.
about ten a. m., one hour after the commissioners had left, little dog, chief of the south piegans, came into town and found us. this man was one of the noblest and bravest chiefs living at that day. he was a friend to the whites, and had killed four of the under chiefs of his tribe for warring against the whites. he could muster about two hundred and fifty warriors. when he found me, he told me that the north piegans, under mountain chief, the bloods, and the blackfeet, had secured some whiskey and were getting ugly and singing their war-songs. little dog advised the whites to remain in their houses. he believed that these northern people would attack the gros ventres camp, and might also shoot at the whites. some indian women had warned us of the situation just before little dog came in. now the agent had a twelve-pound brass cannon. we put this in a “doby” building which was used as a warehouse, and through the wall knocked a hole about twelve inches in diameter for the muzzle, as well as several portholes for rifles. there was no one present who knew much about cannons, but we loaded the piece with358 six pounds of powder rammed tight, twenty pounds of one-ounce balls, and some smaller bullets, for we were determined to have it double-shotted. j. v. cochran, who lives in billings, montana, had charge of the cannon. he was, and is, as game as a war eagle, and if called upon, would have fired the cannon if it had burst in a thousand pieces.
we had rifle-pits dug at different points of vantage, and there were forty-five white men to defend them. at the fort, the northwest fur company had twelve men, all of them in the fort, with the gates locked. no assistance could be expected from them.
i mounted dick and, with little dog and jack, paid a visit to the gros ventres. they had already been warned, had their lodges pitched in a circle, their ponies corralled, and rifle-pits dug all around the village. all the warriors were stripped to the breech-clout, and many of them were painted as demons are supposed to paint. famasi and star robe, the chiefs, met us outside. little dog informed them that he would try to prevent the hostiles from attacking them, and advised them not to shoot first if the hostiles came. he declared that he and his people would be their friends, and bidding them good-by, we returned. after looking over the ground and seeing that everything was in order for defence in the town, i went with little dog and jack to the village of the south piegans. the young men were busy putting their arms in order for action, for they expected a fight. it must be remembered that359 at this time bad blood existed between many of the north piegans and the south piegans, and though things were outwardly peaceful enough, a war between them could easily have been precipitated. leaving the south piegans, i rode around to the other villages and notified all the chiefs that they must control their young men, must not permit them to commit any overt act, and must keep them away from the gros ventres village, or half of their warriors would be killed. jack confirmed my assertion, adding much more to it. the chiefs used their utmost endeavor to control their young men, and they partially succeeded with many.
the day after the indians left the boys joked me about forty-five men going to kill half of fifteen hundred warriors, saying: “bill had more gall than the devil, and could out-bluff six.”
about eleven o’clock five hundred naked warriors in their war regalia, painted and mounted on their best ponies, which were also painted, went down the bottom toward the gros ventres village, yelling and uttering their war-cries. the ground fairly trembled under the horses’ feet. every one expected that the fight was on. little dog had sixty warriors at the upper end of the town. i remained with him, and we carefully watched the proceedings below, expecting every moment to hear shots. the indians rode around the gros ventres camp, some two hundred yards distant from it. if one shot had been fired360 by either party, a bloody fight would have followed, as those indians who were now held back by their chiefs would then have joined their friends. the whites could not have left the town to give assistance to the gros ventres, nor could the gros ventres leave their village to help the whites. i think that if it had come to the point, little dog would have joined the whites. it was believed by many experienced indian men present that our visit to the gros ventres village prevented what might have been a massacre, or at least would have been a hard fight. there were many hot-headed and brave young gros ventres, and it may have been that our warning kept them from some rash acts.
little dog notified all the hostile bands that if they attacked the whites they would have him to fight. they were all of them afraid of him, and i know that his stand had a moral effect.
the hostiles rode around the gros ventres village many times, yelling, calling names, and sending forth challenges to the gros ventres to come out and fight; but the gros ventres remained quiet in their rifle-pits. i learned afterward that it was all their chiefs could do to keep their young men from accepting the hostiles’ challenges to fight. after a great deal of this verbal defiance, the hostiles rode back to their camp on a run, firing off their guns in the air. when opposite the town they halted and formed a half circle and began to sing their war-songs. after the songs a few approached361 within two hundred yards of the agency building, calling the whites dogs and women, names which were understood. the interpreters were directed to tell the indians to stop their talk or we would kill them, and presently they rode back to their company, gave a yell of defiance, and left for their villages.
this lull gave us all an opportunity to eat dinner. i took little dog, jack, and three other chiefs with me to dinner, and just as we had finished eating a fearful yell was heard. the chiefs jumped up and mounted quickly, making signs to the whites to remain in the houses. i mounted dick and went with the chiefs, though many of the men called out to me: “don’t go, sheriff.” i had decided what i should do in case of a fight. if the hostiles attacked the town, and little dog attacked the hostiles, i would remain with him, for there i would be of more benefit to the town than i would be in the building. if, on the other hand, little dog failed to act, i could return to the town.
the yell was given by some one thousand two hundred painted savages, each of whom had tied from five to twenty yards of calico to his horse’s tail and started out on a run all over the bottom. calico of many colors was flying in all directions, and each indian was trying to make his pony step on the calico tied to the horse next in advance. they were yelling and firing off their guns in every direction. it was a wild orgy, such as neither i nor any one else had362 ever beheld, and we had witnessed many a wild scene. it was something for a rembrandt or a remington to paint; the first scene of the kind, and, i believe, the last, ever seen in the united states.
[a scene somewhat similar to the one described took place in southern nebraska in the year 1867 when the cheyennes ditched a freight train on the railroad then being constructed across the continent. the indians who took part in the wrecking of this train have told me how the freight cars were broken open, the goods taken from them and scattered over the prairie, and how the young men in sport knotted the ends of bolts of calico to their horses’ tails and then galloped wildly in all directions, the cloth streaming behind them in the wind.]
that night the gros ventres, like the arabs, silently moved their village, without being discovered by their enemies. the next morning all the indians except little dog’s band left for the north, to go to their own country. before they left two war parties had been organized to raid upon the miners and ranchmen in different sections of the territory. such was the result of this great treaty.
before they moved out a few of us visited the indian villages. as many indians were dissatisfied with the treaty, they looked on us with distrust, and hatred was plainly visible in their faces and their actions. we assumed the authority to notify the chiefs that they must control their young men and keep them from stealing363 from the whites, or war on them by the whites would continue. in part the treaty was successful. as a whole it was a failure, for a chronic state of warfare continued for years.