Dreidoppel, who landed on the bank of Windsor Creek, heard a loud noise resembling what appeared to him to be that of a waterfall, which we could not examine. After one o'clock in the afternoon, we came to Lewis and Clarke's Softshell Turtle Creek, which may be considered as the western boundary of the Mauvaises Terres. Here we saw some buffaloes, and heard the cries of the prairie dogs. Mountain tops,[45] with singular pinnacles, look like the Glacier des Bossons in the valley of Chamouny; in other places, the mountains were regularly rounded, and divided into small cones. After a thunder-storm the evening was fine and serene. We saw some wild sheep on the hills, in pursuit of which some of our young men ascended without success. On the bank of the river they found pieces of petrified wood, of a grey or blackish colour, which is here very common, in large pieces, and entire trunks.
On the following morning, the 3rd of August, we were at a second rapid, called Elk Fawn Rapid, which we passed as before.[46] The mountains here presented a rude wilderness, looking in part like a picture of destruction; large blocks of sand-stone lay scattered around, among which {230} a small squirrel is found, probably of an unknown species. Some spots were covered with a low plant, with white flowers, and there are several species of grasses, on which the mountain sheep, or bighorn, is said chiefly to feed. Some of these mountains reminded us of the Mettenburg and the Eiger, in the canton of Berne. A few pines and junipers appear here and there, and on the declivities small patches of grass, like Alpine meadows, so that we could fancy ourselves now in Switzerland, now in the valley of the Rhine; but the naked rude character of the Mauvaises Terres seems to be unique in its kind, and this impression is strengthened when you look up and down the river. Only the croaking of the raven was heard in this desolate waste, which even the Indian avoids, and very unwillingly visits these steep mountains. As those people generally travel on horseback, they prefer the open prairies beyond the mountains, where they usually find the herds of buffaloes. We passed several rapids, one of which was called Dauphin's Rapid, after one of our engagés, who had fallen into the river at this place.[47] This last rapid gave us much trouble, till a favourable wind enabled us to use our sail. When the vessel lay to on the south bank, we sat down upon the hills, and contemplated the singular conformation of the vast, rude landscape, while part of our people were surrounding a large fire on the bank, till night spread her sable veil over the scene.
On the 4th of August the tracks of the wild sheep were seen in all directions, and our hunters immediately went in search of them. When we were returning with the plants we had collected, Papin came back with two large female bighorns, which he sent on board the boat; they were strong muscular animals, somewhat resembling in shape and colour the European wild goat (Capra ibex). The chase of these animals, in these hot and dry mountains, is very fatiguing. In Switzerland the chamois hunter everywhere finds springs and water to quench his thirst; this is not the case with the hunter in the Missouri mountains, who must descend to the river when he desires to cool his parched tongue. The bighorn generally lives in small or large companies, on the declivities and tops of the mountains, but in the evening, and at night, comes down to the lower ground, where there is more food; and, even in the daytime, is often seen towards the foot of the mountains. They are shot with a rifle, and good marksmen do not find it difficult to kill them, because, standing in elevated positions, they afford him a good aim. Small projections and stones suffice them, like our European wild goats and chamois, for a footing, or with a sudden leap, with their four feet together, to fix themselves firmly upon them, at which time their white-grey colour offers a certain mark to the long American rifles. The females, and the young animals generally, keep in companies, but the old bucks remain separate from them, two, four, or six together, and are easily recognised by their size, and their colossal heavy horns. Even small, young animals are very swift, and it is extremely difficult to get one alive. Mr. Mc Kenzie had promised a hunter to give him a horse if he would bring a young bighorn alive; but, up to this time, he had not been able to procure one. The names of bighorn and grosse corne, given to this animal by the English and {231} French, are properly taken from the large thick horns of the ram, which often weigh forty pounds the two, and make the animal's head appear quite small. Many travellers have spoken of this animal; for instance, Brackenridge, who calls it argolia, or argalia; and Richardson, who has given a pretty good drawing of it.[48] After I had taken the dimensions of our specimen, Mr. Bodmer made an accurate drawing of the head; and, as it was not possible to save the skins from the hungry engagés, they were given up to the cook. Our dinner consisted of bighorn flesh, which is something like mutton, but has an unpleasant peculiar taste, so that I cannot agree with Ross Cox, who calls it delicious meat; probably because he could find nothing better in many parts of the interior of North America.
After passing several rapids, during a violent tempest, we reached Lewis and Clarke's Thompson's Creek,[49] which is considered as the western boundary of the Mauvaises Terres.[50] The appearance of the country was considerably altered; the eminences were flatter, the valley more open, and the bank of the river was more covered with green bushes. We were suddenly aroused from these contemplations of the surrounding country, by discovering that our vessel had sprung a leak; we therefore hastened on shore; the water had already risen into the cabin; the people unloaded the boat with all speed, and soon found the leak, which they stopped, so that in an hour and a half it was reloaded, for which we were indebted to the number of our crew.
On the 5th of August we passed Lewis and Clarke's Bull Creek, the mouth of which is in a pleasant country; and at six o'clock we were near Judith River, which had, at that time, several very shallow mouths on the north bank of the Missouri.[51] At half-past seven, when we lay to, to give our people time to get their breakfast, we saw five Indians coming round a hill on the south bank, whose fire-arms glistened in the bright light of the morning sun. They fired their pieces, and sat down on the bank, on which Mr. Mitchell and Dechamp immediately rode over to them. Several women, with their dogs drawing sledges, soon joined them, and the boat brought four men and a woman, who had a thick club in her hand, on board. They were tall and well made, and very different from the Assiniboins; they belonged to the tribe of the Gros Ventres, called by the English, Fall Indians. They had no covering on the upper part of the body, except buffalo skins. They sat down in the cabin, where they smoked their pipes, and had some refreshment. A troop of Indians now appeared on the bank, whom we saluted with a cannon shot, on which our visitors desired to be taken on shore. The boat brought back a chief and medicine-man, called Niatohsa (the little French man, or the French child), of whom Mr. Bodmer immediately took a very good likeness. This man wore his hair tied together in a thick bunch over the forehead, which only people of his description are allowed to do. As he spoke the Blackfoot language, Doucette was able to converse with him, while we proceeded rapidly, with a fair wind, and twenty-seven men towing us.
{232} Meantime, a number of Indians, on foot and horseback, had assembled on the bank, who hastened before to inform their countrymen of the approach of the traders, which is an event highly interesting to them. The sight of the Indians, all in motion, sometimes stopping to look at the vessel, and firing their pieces, gave great animation to the prairie. Being detained by a violent thunder-storm, it was one o'clock before we reached the place where the Missouri flows through a rather narrow gorge, from the remarkable sand-stone valley, called the Stone Walls;[52] a white sand-stone hill appeared before us on the north bank, as the first specimen of that formation; and on the left was the mouth of Bighorn River,[53] between considerable hills, on which numbers of Indians had collected. In the front of the eminences the prairie declined gently towards the river where above 260 leather tents of the Indians were set up; the tent of the principal chief was in the foreground, and, near it, a high pole, with the American flag. The whole prairie was covered with Indians, in various groups, and with numerous dogs; horses of every colour were grazing round, and horsemen galloping backwards and forwards, among whom was a celebrated chief, who made a good figure on his light bay horse. While this was passing, several Indians had been on board, many of whom swam across to us; among them, a tall man came on board in this manner, shook off the water, and went without ceremony into the cabin, but Mr. Mitchell drove him out, and gave him to understand that none but the chiefs could be admitted there; he then had the Indians told to go back to their camp, where he would visit them.
While the camp was saluted at intervals with cannon shot, and the Indians answered with their guns, the keel-boat, which had hoisted its flag, was anchored on the north bank, opposite to the tents, a very necessary precaution to prevent our coming directly into contact with all the Indians at the same time. About forty Indian warriors, drawn up on the bank, having made a running fire, and our cannon again saluted, Mr. Mitchell, with the interpreter, Doucette, took the boat and rowed across. He alone had pistols, the others were unarmed. On the summit of the bank, all the Indians formed a long red line, and immediately below, on the water's edge, sat the chiefs, in a detached small body. After Mr. Mitchell had seated himself by them, and had some conversation with them, he invited them to accompany him on board, and brought us eight of these chiefs, who sat down in the cabin to smoke their pipes. Among them were several men of a good open character; but one was a very bad man, Mexkemauastan (the iron which moves),[54] whom Mr. Mitchell had turned out of doors the year before, at Fort Mc Kenzie, on account of his bad conduct. We were now entirely in the power of these people, and had every reason to fear the vengeance of this man.[55] Prompted, doubtless, by his own interests, he behaved, to our astonishment, in a most friendly manner; shook hands with us, and, like his comrades, gratefully accepted the presents which were made him. He wore his hair in a thick knot on the forehead, and had a deceitful, fawning countenance. While we were engaged with these chiefs, we saw a number of men and women, from all parts of the bank, swim through the river, or cross {233} over to us in their round boats, made of buffalo skin, and our keel-boat was suddenly entered on every side and crowded with them. Tall, slender men covered the deck, thrust themselves into the apartments, and we were really overwhelmed with them. They all demanded brandy, powder and ball, and brought to exchange with us, skins, leather, and dried and fresh meat. The leather boats, laden with their articles for barter, were brought alongside the keel-boat, drawn by one swimmer, and pushed by another, and in this manner we were soon hemmed in, so that it was necessary to ask the chiefs to clear the vessel; they, indeed, induced the greater part of the young men to leap into the water, though only to enter the boat soon after on the other side.
Our situation was everything but agreeable, for these same Indians had entirely demolished a fort, on the frontiers of Canada, two years before, killed a clerk, and eighteen other persons, besides murdering several other white people in those parts; they had, in addition to this, had a quarrel with Lewis and Clarke,[56] and no confidence could we therefore place in them, though Mr. Mitchell affirmed that he always transacted business with them with pleasure, and had never had any proofs of the treachery imputed to them. If it was their intention to treat us in a hostile manner, there was no way for us to escape; and how easily might the most trifling dispute with these rude men lead to a breach, by which fifty whites, in the power of eight or nine hundred Indians, would have had no chance. They were therefore treated with much apparent confidence and familiarity, and everything went off very well. A favourable wind for using our sail was very welcome, in assisting us to escape from this perilous situation. Doucette had been sent on shore with some goods, and instructions to barter with the Indians, and thus, in some measure, to satisfy their desires. We on board saw our people on shore closely surrounded by a great mass of Indians; the noisy traffic was long continued, though Mr. Mitchell had repeatedly given orders for the return of the boat. We were obliged to wait a long time, and already began to be apprehensive for the safety of our dealers, when we at length saw the boat, overloaded with Indians, put off from the bank, on which orders were given to proceed immediately on our voyage. About fifty robust Indians joined our men in towing, and we were drawn along very rapidly; our keel-boat was so crammed with people, that it drew much water. In this singular company we began to pass through the most interesting part of the whole course of the Missouri, namely, the Stone Walls; but we could not breathe freely enough duly to appreciate the surrounding scenery, before we were quit of our troublesome visitors. The chiefs were repeatedly informed that the boat was ready to carry them on shore, and they had all received presents, with which, however, some of them were not satisfied; at length they were all sent off, with an intimation that they might go to Fort Mc Kenzie, to their allies, the Blackfeet, where the goods would be landed, and the barter conducted as they desired. We lay to for the night, on the right bank, at the fore part of the Stone Walls, and a number of Indians, especially women, who were found concealed in the vessel, and turned out, kindled fires near us. Many articles were missing, and we had given much more than we received, {234} yet we were truly glad at having come off as well as we did. A strong watch, with an officer, was set for the night.
The Gros Ventres des Prairies are originally, it is affirmed, a branch of the Arrapahos; they lived chiefly in the country about the Saskatschawan (Rivière aux Rapides), but roamed about in all the prairies which border on the territory of the Blackfeet and Arrapahos Indians; Alexander Mc Kenzie, and other travellers, call them Fall Indians, because they lived near the falls of the above-mentioned river.[57] They are well made, little differing in appearance from the Piekanns, and other Blackfeet. They ornament their large buffalo robes in a peculiar manner, with narrow parallel transverse stripes of porcupine quills, and many little pieces of scarlet cloth fastened to them in rows. This way of adorning their robes is said to be likewise usual among the Arrapahos; their shoes, like those of the Blackfeet, are generally of different colours; their tents, and household utensils, are quite similar. I saw many war clubs among them, made of the long end of an elk's horn; daggers, with handles made of the jaws and teeth of a bear, are not uncommon among them.[58]