Punca Indians in buffalo robes
139 While the Yellow Stone remained stationary, the Assiniboin attempted to pass the shallow place on the river, during which time the hunters went into the prairie. The Indians had a conference with their agent, in which the chief expressed a wish that their great father (the President) would send them several articles, particularly agricultural implements. The attitude and gestures of the speaker were graceful; his right arm and shoulder were bare, while he gesticulated with his hand; and his fine, manly countenance was very expressive. As he had not put on his leggins, we observed, on his muscular calves, two tattooed stripes crossing each other, X; otherwise, he was neither tattooed nor painted. Some of these Indians had been inoculated with the smallpox by a surgeon, whom Major Bean had taken to them the year before, and who had inoculated 2,600 Indians of different tribes. Many of them had manifested distrust on this occasion; and, when he offered to perform the operation, said, "Now we are well; if we should become sick it will be time enough to submit to the operation." Shudegacheh had on the upper part of his arm a large, round scar, which he is said to have burnt into his flesh with his tobacco-pipe, on the death of a relation. Major Bean presented to the Indians, in the name of the Government, tobacco, powder, and ball, and the chief received a fine blanket. Mr. Mc Kenzie observed to him, that "the Puncas furnished too few skins, and did not plant maize enough; it was not possible to purchase anything of them;" to which he replied, that "there was no unity among his people; that they lived too scattered, and, therefore, he could not superintend them, and keep them to work." At noon, the thermometer being at 67°, our hunters returned, without having seen anything of consequence, except a couple of large curlews. The boats, which had been sent out to take soundings, likewise came back, and great exertions were made to lighten the steamer, by transferring part of the cargo to the Maria keel-boat. At length, at two o'clock, we were able to weigh anchor, and run awhile down the river, which was done with such rapidity that the Indians became giddy, and sat down on the floor. In this manner we turned round a sand bank, and proceeded upwards, along the south coast of the river, and in twenty minutes were opposite the huts of the Punca Indians. They lay in the shade of a forest, like white cones, and, in front of them, a sand bank extended into the river, which was separated from the land by a narrow channel. The whole troop was assembled on the edge of the bank, and it was amusing to see how the motley group crowded together, wrapped in brown buffalo skins, white and red blankets—some naked, of a deep brown colour. The little children, with their protuberant bellies,[252] and their legs, of a dark brown colour, carrying bows and arrows in their hands, were running along the beach, or cowering like little monkeys, while the men walked about, very gravely, with their weapons in their hands. We landed our Indian visitors on the sand bank; the boat brought back some skins, and we afterwards saw Primeau, with the Indians, wade through 140 the channel. A little further up we witnessed a great prairie fire, on the left bank. The flames rose from the forest to the height of 100 feet—fiery smoke filled the air: it was a splendid sight! A whirlwind had formed a remarkable towering column of smoke, which rose, in a most singular manner, in graceful undulations, to the zenith. Afterwards we came to steep hills, behind which is Manoel's Creek, so called from Manoel Lisa, a Spaniard, who formerly carried on the fur trade in these parts.[253] Towards evening we were near the Assiniboin steamer, which lay before us, and halted in the vicinity of Basil Creek, where the Puncas formerly dwelt, numbers of whose graves are seen upon the hills. The trunks of trees in the river had much injured our paddles.
CHAPTER XII
VOYAGE FROM L'EAU QUI COURT TO FORT PIERRE, ON THE TETON RIVER (THE LITTLE MISSOURI), AND STAY THERE, FROM MAY 13TH TO JUNE 4TH
Running-water River (l'eau qui court)—Punca Creek—Remarkable Mountains—Cedar Island—Delay caused by the insufficient Depth of the Water—First Sight of Buffaloes and Antelopes—Burning Mountain—Black Strata of bituminous Coal—Bijoux Hills—Prairie Dogs—Shannon, or Dry River—White River—Ruins of Cedar Fort—Fort Look-out (Sioux Agency)—Visit to it—The Dacotas of the Branch of the Yanktons—Wahktageli—Big Bend, or Grand Détour—Medicine Hills—Teton River—Fort Pierre—Stay there—The Tetons, a branch of the Dacotas or Sioux.
On the morning of the 13th of May, the Yellow Stone passed the mouth of the Running-water River (l'eau qui court),[254] when the thermometer was at 55°. The Assiniboin was before us. We reached the mouth of Punca Creek, which runs along the chain of hills obliquely to the Missouri. At the time when the Puncas separated from the Omahas, they built a kind of fort of earth, some miles up this river, which, however, they no longer occupy. There are said to be hot springs in the neighbourhood, such as are known to exist in several places on the banks of the Missouri.[255] Springs of any kind are, however, very rare in these dry prairies. In this neighbourhood are many villages of the prairie dogs (Arctomys ludoviciana, Ord.), in the abandoned burrows of which, rattlesnakes abound. It has been affirmed that these two species of animals live peaceably together in these burrows; but observers of nature have proved that the snakes take possession of abandoned burrows only, which is in the usual course of things. Deep 142 gullies traverse the summits of the banks, above which the turkey buzzards were hovering. On a sudden, three Punca Indians appeared and hailed us; they were wrapped in their buffalo skins, and carried their bows and arrows on their shoulders. One of them had a very singular appearance, having bound up the hair of his head, so that it stood quite upright. Though they made signs to us to take them on board, we did not stop, but renounced the pleasure of more closely observing these interesting people. The trees on the edge of the prairie, by which we passed, were old, thick, and low, with their summits depressed and cramped. They were the resort of the Carolina pigeon, which is found all along the banks of the river. The red cedars, in particular, were stunted and crippled, often thicker than a man's body in the trunk, and very frequently wholly withered. The swallows' nests—numbers of which were built against the steep banks—were not yet inhabited. We were unable, on account of the shallowness, to reach a fine grove of poplars on the right bank, and proceeded along the hills of the left bank, which were seventy or eighty feet in height, where the red cedar abounded, and we stopped to fell a number of these trees. A wild lateral ravine here opened to the Missouri, up the steep sides of which our wood-cutters climbed, and cut down the cedars, which were loaded with their black berries. The wood of this tree emits a very aromatic scent, and it is much used by the steam-boats for fuel, because it supplies a great deal of steam, and the berries, as we were told, are eaten by the Indians for certain medicinal purposes. At the bottom of the narrow ravine, there was a thicket of elm, cedar, bird-cherry, clematis, celtis, celastrus, vine, and other shrubs; and the neighbouring lofty verdant hills of the prairie produced many beautiful plants, among which was Stanleya pinnatifida, with its splendid long bunches of yellow flowers. Returning to our vessel, when the bell gave the signal for departure, we found one of the three Punca Indians whom we had seen in the morning. He had taken advantage of our slow progress to overtake us. His hair hung down to his shoulders, and was tied together in a queue. His countenance was good-natured and friendly; he wore a buffalo robe, had a bow and arrows on his back, and, in his hand, a large hussar sabre, which he had received as a present. Major Bean gave him some tobacco, powder, lead, and ball; and after he had satisfied his craving appetite he returned, well satisfied, to his comrades. In the afternoon the country was by no means attractive, rather flat, and not so verdant; our vessel sustained many violent shocks. The chain of hills, in the distance, appeared in more and more singular forms, partly resembling ramparts and batteries, and then again perfectly flat, like table-land. An isolated, round, conical eminence, which is called the Tower, stands on them.[256] On the bank were, again, singularly stunted woods and thickets, probably kept down by the cold winds of the prairie. The soil and the whole character of the country was changed; on the Lower Missouri it was a black mould, and very fertile. Cedars flourished here, growing to the height of forty or fifty feet, yet they were often withered, or, at least, many had dry branches on their summits.
143 On the following morning, the 14th, we had a very difficult navigation, and were even obliged to put back, so that the Assiniboin overtook and passed us, and we followed it up the river on the north bank, and afterwards landed forty men to lighten the vessel; ran happily over a sand bank, and again passed the Assiniboin. In the preceding year, the whole prairie was seen from the steamer to be covered with herds of buffaloes, but now there were no living creatures, except a few wild geese and ducks, which had likewise become scarce, since the termination of the great forest below the La Platte River. The monotony of this rude landscape was, however, soon interrupted by the appearance of a canoe, in which were four white men rowing down the river. A boat was speedily manned, into which Mr. Mc Kenzie and Mr. Sandford went, well armed, in order to speak to them, because they were supposed to be engagés of the Company who were deserting. We were informed by them, that the Arikkaras, a dangerous Indian tribe, had lately murdered three beaver hunters, one of whom was a man named Glass, well known in the country, of whom I shall have occasion to speak in the sequel.[257]