In course of time vessels on voyages of discovery drifted around Cape Horn, sailed up the long coast line of the Americas, always searching for that which would bring them wealth. Finding the immense quantities of furs gathered by Indians in the Oregon country, both the Americans and the English established trading-posts on the coast. The great Astor fortune that still remains in the family had its origin there. But the English had more money, more men, and more ships than the Americans, and before many years they ruled alone and the great "Hudson Bay Company" ruled the land. They established trading-posts eastward, and fleets of vessels carried the rich spoils of forest and ocean to all the countries of the world. At the time of the beginning of our story Dr. John McLoughlin was chief factor of the "Hudson Bay Company" and virtual king of the country. He was a noble old Scotchman, who had married an Indian wife to whom he was loyal and true all his life. He was kind and just to red men as well as white, and always ready to hold out a helping hand to all who came to him. But he served the English government and was always careful that no rivalry to the company he served should be allowed in the territory they claimed.
CHAPTER II
The Visit of the Flathead Indian Chiefs to St. Louis. Was the Story Authentic? Incidents—the Banquet Speech—Sketches of Indian Life and Character. Hoo Goo Ahu and Sacajawea.
It was a beautiful morning in the closing days of October, 1831. The trees about St. Louis were robed in their gorgeous autumnal foliage. High above came the "honk, honk, honk" of the wild geese, as in long, straight lines or in letter V's, they winged their way southward, while the birds were gathering in groups, chattering and arranging for their winter outing in warmer lands. The residents of the city were just arousing from their sleep, smoke was beginning to curl above the chimneys, shutters and doors were being opened for business activities, when the strange scene was presented of four Flathead Indian Chiefs, marching solemnly single file down the middle of one of the principal streets. At that date the now prosperous and great city of St. Louis was but a "frontier town," mainly noted as a military station, and Indians were not uncommon, as all the great and fertile country north and west was occupied by them. But these were new and unusual in appearance, and attracted attention. Their bare heads in front were as flat as boards, and their long hair was interwoven with eagle quills; their dress and dignified bearing all indicated notable men from some far-distant tribe that the people had not before seen.
CASCADES OF THE COLUMBIA. (B. H. Gifford, photo)
General George Rogers Clark, then in command of the department, was promptly notified of the visit of the strangers, and sent two of his aids to escort them to the barracks, where they could be comfortably lodged and fed. It is a singular historical fact that General Clark, in command at St. Louis in 1831 and 1832, was "the great red-head chief," as the Indians called him, who, with Captain Lewis, made the exploration of the Oregon country in 1804-1806, an exploration which for romance and completeness of its success has never been equaled in American history. General Clark in that expedition received marked kindness and aid from the Nez Perces and the Flathead Indians. He knew them in their homes, in eastern Oregon, and had a keen remembrance of their savage hospitality to him in his time of need. A band of the Flatheads also owned a large territory south of the Columbia and east from Astoria, and not far from the winter camp of the explorers. The author found them there, and spent a day with them in one of their villages in 1850.