Jack Among the Indians; Or, A Boy's Summer on the Buffalo Plains

by George Bird Grinnell

"Well," said Hugh, "I expect there is quite a few in there, but I've noticed that a good many of these old timers don't seem to have much to tell that's very interesting; the main things that they remember are about some time when they came with a big load of furs and sold them at a big price, and then had a terrible fine drunk with the money. I don't guess most of the stories they'd tell would interest you very much. Still, might be such a thing as we'd run across somebody that could give you a talk that was interesting and true, but I don't look for it."

The next afternoon, shortly before sundown, Hugh and Jack rode into the streets of Ft. Benton, and halting before a great log store and warehouse, Hugh dismounted and went in. In a few moments he came out again and riding a short distance down the wide street, turned in to a large building which bore over the door a sign "Stable". Here they unpacked, piled their possessions in a corner, turned out their animals into a corral, and gave them feed and hay, and then Jack and Hugh started out to explore the town.

"I reckon we'll sleep in the stable to-night, and make an early start in the morning. The folks in the store where I stopped told me that there's quite a lot of Piegans in town, and if we can see them we'll find out which way to go to-morrow. Now let's go down to the river and see the old fort."

It did not seem to Jack as if very much of the fort was left, though the tumbled-down walls and one of the old bastions, washed and guttered by the rains of many years, still stood upright in part. To any one interested in the old West or the fur trade, the ground on which Jack stood was historic, and he made up his mind that as soon as he got back east he would find out from the books all that he could about Fort Benton. Hugh could not tell him very much; he thought it was built about 1848 or '49, or maybe earlier, and he knew that it was the place where the Indians used to trade in the old days.

Sauntering along the high bank of the river, toward the edge of the settlement, Hugh's eye at length detected three or four buffalo-skin lodges standing among the sage-brush near the water. They walked over to them and soon saw that they were in an Indian camp, and after a moment's hesitation, Hugh addressed a naked man who was lying in the shade, speaking to him in his own tongue. A sentence or two seemed to galvanize the man, who sprang to his feet and shook Hugh's hand heartily, talking volubly in his own tongue. After a brief conversation Hugh turned to Jack and said:—

"They say the main camp is over on the St. Mary's River, quite a long way from here, and I expect we'll have to go over there to join them. Old Four Bears, here, says he is going back in three or four days, and wants us to wait for him, but I reckon we'll start on to-morrow morning, and get there as quick as we can. An Indian's three or four days is likely to spin out pretty long."

That night, for the first time in weeks, Jack and Hugh ate their supper sitting in chairs at a table in the Fort Benton hotel. They slept that night in the stable, and the next morning replenished their stock of flour, coffee and other provisions, and immediately started northwest in search of the Piegan camp. For several days they travelled northward over the rolling prairie, without adventure. Buffalo were often in sight, antelope were abundant, and sometimes on crossing important streams like the Teton, Birch Creek and Badger Creek, they started deer from the willows along the stream. Several times they came upon small camps of Indians, and Hugh usually stopped to inquire of these small parties where the main camp was. All the people whom he spoke with agreed that it was on the St. Mary's River, and all said that they were about to start north to join it.

Soon after they had left Fort Benton, the great mountains to the westward had begun to be seen, and as they travelled northward they seemed to draw nearer and nearer, until now always on their left this great wall rose up, high, jagged and snow-covered far down towards its base.

One day they made a long march, and toward night camped on the shores of a little prairie lake, on the surface of which many water birds were swimming. After they had made camp, Jack went down to the lake to get a bucket of water. As he stooped to fill his bucket he noticed off to the left a deep bay in which a number of large birds were swimming. The entrance to this bay was narrow, and the birds were near its head, so that it seemed to him that by going to its mouth he could cut them off and keep them from getting out into the main lake. He left his pail standing on the shore, and running to the mouth of the bay found the water there very shoal. The birds which were at the upper end of the bay seemed frightened but made no attempt to fly, though flapping clumsily along on the water away from him. He could now see that they were geese, and as he thought, young ones. He waded into the water which, at the middle of the mouth, was not more than up to his knees, and began to walk toward the geese, and presently these walked up out of the water onto the prairie and hid themselves in the long grass. Going slowly toward them, Jack followed them out of the water and presently saw one crouched on the ground, its head thrust in among the grass. He caught it and, lifting it up, found that it was a goose, nearly, or quite full grown, but as yet unable to fly, for the quill feathers of its wings were soft and bent easily. These he thought would be pretty good eating, and looking about a little he found two more in the grass, and killing the three, went back to his water bucket, filled that and took it up to camp.

"Well," said Hugh, "I was beginning to wonder what had got you. Where did you get them birds?"