These Indians were formerly very poor, had bad tents, and could not buy any fire-arms; they have, however, recovered of late, and supplied their wants. They are addicted to begging, like all the Indians; steal sometimes, especially the women and children; but, in this respect, the Crows are said to surpass all the other tribes. These people had lately been compelled to make vigorous efforts to ransom about thirty of their men, who had fallen into the hands of their enemies—the Crows. In their engagements with this tribe, they lost so many men as to occasion among them an undue proportion between the sexes. Well informed persons affirm, that they have at present not many more than 200 tents, and from 400 to 500 warriors; though others have assured me that their number far exceeds this. Alexander Mc Kenzie estimated them, at the time of his journey, at 600 warriors. They possess many dogs, and at present more horses than they formerly had. In case of distress, they sometimes eat the dogs; of late they have conducted themselves very well in trading, and behaved peaceably towards the Whites; whereas they were formerly enemies to the Americans. The buffalo skins, dressed by them, are said to be now better than those of most of the other Indians. In the main, their customs agree with those of the Blackfeet, and they dispose of their dead in the same manner. They are reputed to be brave in war. Their language is the most difficult of all those of the Missouri and the Rocky {235} Mountains. The Fur Company had not a single interpreter for this language, though great pains had been taken to procure one.[59]
The Indians who had passed the night near our vessel returned very early, on the 6th of August, to their camp, that they might be able to travel in one day to Fort Mc Kenzie. The night, which was very cool, had passed over quietly, and we had every reason to be satisfied with the behaviour of this numerous band of Indians, for few other tribes would have conducted themselves so peaceably and moderately on a similar occasion. This, it is true, was for their own interest, since they had hitherto been sufferers from the bad reputation which they had among the Whites.
At break of day the weather was extremely cool and disagreeable; the thermometer at half-past seven was only at 58°, and a bleak wind prevailed, which enabled us to use our sails. The part of the country called The Stone Walls, which now opened before us, has nothing like it on the whole course of the Missouri; and we did not leave the deck for a single moment the whole forenoon. Lewis and Clarke have given a short description of this remarkable tract, without, however, knowing the name of Stone Walls, which has since been given it.[60] In this tract of twelve or fifteen miles, the valley of the Missouri has naked, moderately high mountains, rounded above, or extending like ridges, with tufts of low plants here and there, on which the thick strata[61] of whitish coarse-grained friable sand-stone, which extends over all this country, are everywhere visible. As soon as we have passed Judith River this white sand-stone begins to stand out in some places, till we have passed Bighorn River, and entered the narrower valley of the Stone {236} Walls, where the strata extend, without interruption, far through the country, and lie partly halfway up the mountain, and partly form the summits. They are the continuation of the white sand-stone which occurs in such singular forms at the Blackhills. At all the places which are bare of grass, they are visible, and there we see horizontal or perpendicular angles and ledges resembling walls, some of which contain caverns. This sand-stone formation is the most striking when it forms the tops of more isolated mountains, separated by gentle valleys and ravines. Here, on both sides of the river, the most strange forms are seen, and you may fancy that you see colonnades, small round pillars with large globes or a flat slab at the top, little towers, pulpits, organs with their pipes, old ruins, fortresses, castles, churches, with pointed towers, &c. &c., almost every mountain bearing on its summit some similar structure.
Towards nine o'clock the valley began to be particularly interesting, for its fantastic forms were more and more numerous; every moment, as we proceeded along, new white fairy-like castles appeared, and a painter who had leisure might fill whole volumes with these original landscapes. As proofs of this we may refer to some of these figures, which Mr. Bodmer sketched very accurately.[62] In many places the clay formed the summits of the hills; in these parts there were patches of Juniperus repens, and on the bank of the river, small and narrow strips covered with artemisia and the thorn with flesh-coloured leaves (Sarcobatus nees). Long tracts of the sand-stone strata perfectly resembled a large blown-up fortress, because the stratification everywhere gave these walls a certain regularity, while, at the same time, they bore marks of having been destroyed by violence. In several places where the sand-stone summit appeared plainly to represent an ancient knight's castle, another remarkable rock was seen to traverse the mountain in narrow perpendicular strata, like regularly built walls. These walls consist of a blackish-brown rock, in the mass of which large olive-green crystals are disseminated.[63] They run in a perfectly straight line from the summits of the mountain to the foot, appearing to form the outworks of the old castles.[64] The surface is divided by rents or furrows into pretty regular cubic figures like bricks, which renders their similarity to a work of art still more complete. The breadth of these perpendicular strata seldom exceeds one or two feet. One of these walls was particularly striking, which ran, without interruption, over the tops of three mountains, and through the clefts between them, and connected the three masses of white sand-stone on the summits in so regular a manner, that one could hardly fancy they were natural, but that they were a work of art. All these eminences are inhabited by numerous {237} troops of the wild mountain sheep, of which we often saw thirty or fifty at a time climbing and springing over the sand-stone formation. These harmless animals often stood on a lofty peak, far beyond the reach of our rifles, while the outlines of their forms were clearly defined against the bright blue sky. As we passed a hollow lateral valley, we were shown the place at which the hunters of the keel-boat had, last year, hemmed in a whole herd of these animals in such a manner that not one escaped.
Early in the afternoon we came to a remarkable place where the Missouri seems to issue from a narrow opening, making a turn round a dark brown rugged pointed towerlike rock on the south, to which the traders have given the name of the Citadel Rock.[65] This singular isolated rock seems to consist of clay-slate, grauwacke, and a conglomerate of fragments of rock in yellowish clay, and is joined to the south bank by a ridge. On the bank opposite to it the white sand-stone runs over the ridge of the hills, which Mr. Bodmer has very accurately represented.[66] After we had doubled the Citadel Rock we lay to on the south bank, and our people took their dinner. We did not stop long, and had to contend against a cold, very high wind, while the country was flatter and more open, with only a few of the oddly-fashioned rocks. Immediately above the Citadel there is a similar dark brown much smaller rock, and soon afterwards we saw, on the north bank, a jagged conical rock, which stands quite isolated on a hill covered with short grass. Two other less remarkable tops follow, of which the towers (according to the course of the river) resemble a small castle, while the other hills in this part have again the flat and rounded forms. A herd of wild sheep looked down upon us from these heights. We had, however, not yet taken leave of the extraordinary sand-stone valley, on the contrary, we now came to a most remarkable place. The stratum of sand-stone, regularly bedded in low hills, runs along both banks of the river, which is rather narrow, like a high, smooth, white wall, pretty equally horizontal above, with low pinnacles on the top. At some distance before us, the eye fell on an apparently narrow gate, the white walls in the two banks approaching so near to each other, that the river seemed to be very contracted in breadth as it passed between them,[67] and this illusion was heightened by the turn which the Missouri makes in this place to the south-west. Looking backwards, the high, black, conical rock rose above the surrounding country; and on our right hand, there were, on the bank, dark perpendicular walls, seemingly divided into cubes, in the form of an ancient Gothic chapel with a chimney. Some pines grew singly about these walls, where there appear to be regular gateways formed by art. A little further on there was, on the north bank, a mass which much resembled a long barrack or some other considerable building,[68] the corners of which were as regular as if they had been hewn and built up by a skilful workman. Beyond the rocky gate a herd of buffaloes were grazing on a small lateral valley; our hunters contrived to get near them and to kill four. As {238} evening was come, and the people had to cut up the buffaloes, we lay to for the night on the north bank. I took this opportunity to ascend the remarkable eminences. I found the sand-stone so soft that it crumbled in my hand; whereas the yellowish-red sand-stone, which, in some places, formed the tops or roofs of the strange white masses, were of a rather harder grain. Extremely stunted and often strangely contorted cedars (juniperus) grew among these rocks; but the pines (Pinus flexilis) were well grown and flourishing, though not above forty feet high. When standing among the remarkable masses of the sand-stone, we fancied ourselves in a garden laid out in the old French style, where urns, obelisks, statues, as well as hedges and trees clipped into various shapes, surround the astonished spectator. The balls and slabs, often of a colossal size, which rested on the above-mentioned pedestals, were likewise soft and friable, but not so much so as the white sand-stone, and there were in them many round holes. Stratification could be perceived in all these stones, for even round spherical blocks were easily divided into regular plates, nearly an inch thick. Among these fragments the tracks of the mountain sheep were everywhere discernible, and on the lower declivities, which were covered with grass, those of the buffaloes. In the prairie beyond the Stone Walls, Cactus ferox grew, and at their foot, the beautiful Bartonia ornata, with its large snow-white flowers.
We looked with impatience for the following day, the 7th, in order to reach what is called the Gate of the Stone Walls. We soon came to a dark brown rock, like a tower, rising in the middle of the white wall, the front of which had fallen down, and had a great number of boulders about it. From this tower it is between 600 and 800 paces to the place which appeared to us yesterday to form a narrow gate; before reaching it, there is, on the north bank, a stream called, by Lewis and Clarke, Stonewall Creek, which is about fifty paces broad at the mouth, and its banks are bordered with high poplars.[69] A cold wind blew from the gate, beyond which there was another towerlike dark brown rock, not so large as the other, while the white sand-stone walls decreased and became less regular. The hills became gradually lower, the sand-stone partly disappeared, and was only seen occasionally. About eleven o'clock we saw two Indians—a man and a woman—who, on their approach, were recognized to be Blood Indians. They were returning from the Manitaries, where we recollected having seen them: the man was well made, and both were very neatly dressed. We took them on board, passed several islands, and had a fine view of Bear's-paw Mountain, nearly behind us, in the north-east.[70] The hills on the bank had, in general, nothing remarkable in their appearance; the strata of the sand-stone were partly exposed at their base, because the sand under them had either fallen or been washed away. The stratum of whitish-grey sand-stone still ran along the hills with an equally thick layer of clay and sand over it, covered with green turf; but what might here be called sand-stone was rather a half indurated clay and sand, mixed with blocks of sand-stone. A mile further up, we saw, to {239} the south, in the direction of the river, the foremost chain of the Rocky Mountains, looking like a distant blue range, which was soon hid behind the naked, sterile banks of the river, which had only here and there some old trees.[71]
On the morning of the 8th of August, we again saw before us the summits of the Rocky Mountains, and came to Spaniard Island, where several of our hunters returned from an excursion with wild geese and a large rattlesnake. They had seen from the eminences the eternal snow of the Oregon, and observed six Indians on horseback, who were going in the direction of Fort Mc Kenzie. They brought with them a quantity of choke cherries, the fruit of the Prunus padus Virginiana, which is considered to be very indigestible. This fruit is said to have cured Captain Lewis, on his journey, of a dysentery and fever.[72] Proceeding on our voyage, we followed the right bank, composed of steep, yellowish-red walls, the base of which was a bluish clay, and were delighted with the fine bright green colour of the waters of the Missouri, which contradicted the assertion that it is discoloured by the junction of Maria River, from the mouth of which we were now not far distant. Turning round a point of land, we saw before us a long table-formed range of hills, behind which is Fort Mc Kenzie, which we might have reached by land in half an hour. In the front of these hills, on the north bank, is the mouth of Maria River, called, by the Canadians, Marayon;[73] after we had passed it, we saw, about six o'clock, on the same bank, the ruins of the first fort, or trading post, which Mr. Kipp, clerk of the American Fur Company, had built, in the year 1831, in the territory of the Blackfeet. This fort was abandoned in 1832, and the present Fort Mc Kenzie built in its stead, and this, too, is soon to be abandoned. In this manner the Fur Company continues to advance, and firmly establishes itself among nations that are but little known, where the fur trade is still profitable. The forsaken ruins of the first fort were entirely demolished and partly burnt by the Indians after the departure of the Whites. On the heights of this part, we saw two Indians on horseback, who galloped off as soon as they perceived us, doubtless to carry the news of our arrival to the fort.[74] Several islands, opposite the ruins of the fort, obliged us to pass through a narrow channel on the south bank, which was not more than forty paces broad, with a very rapid current.
At twilight we lay to under the high clay wall of the southern bank. We were much surprised that no notice had yet been taken of us by the fort, which was so near, though, in the two preceding years, the steamer had been welcomed by the Blackfeet further down the river; and as we were now so close to the fort, we might expect to see the white inhabitants of the post; besides this, the Manitaries had told us that the garrison of Fort Mc Kenzie had had a dispute with the Indians, and Dechamp affirmed that he had heard to-day some cannon-shot. All these considerations, taken together, excited in Mr. Mitchell—who was well aware of the little reliance that could be placed on the Indians—some apprehensions for the safety of the fort and our expedition. Small parties of Whites, at a distance from the Missouri, are generally murdered, or at {240} least plundered, by the Blackfeet, if they take them for fur hunters; we had, therefore, reason to proceed with much caution. Accordingly, Major Mitchell resolved to reconnoitre the fort in person, and, meantime, a strong night watch was ordered on board the vessel. Mr. Mitchell chose four of our hunters, who were thoroughly acquainted with the country, and well armed, to accompany him. The boat landed them on the north bank of the river, where it remained in safety. They set out on their expedition at nightfall, the moon shining brightly. It was agreed that, in case of a misunderstanding with the Indians, we should drop down the river if Mr. Mitchell had not returned before midnight. The people on board the vessel remained on the alert, awaiting the result. The night was exceedingly fine, warm, and serene, but the moonlight did not last long. We plainly heard the drums of the Indians in the direction of the fort, and, on the opposite bank of the river, the loud howling of the wolves. At half-past ten o'clock Mr. Mitchell returned with two of his men. He had ascended the hills, but had lost his way, and came to the mouth of the Maria River, from which he now returned. The other two had again proceeded towards the fort. The feet of our wanderers had suffered severely by the thorns of the cactus plants. As we had no information of the state of the fort, we had nothing to do but patiently to wait for daylight.
Before daybreak, on the 9th, a heavy rain set in, which continued, at intervals, the whole day, and the mosquitoes were very troublesome. We proceeded early along the steep clay walls of the southern bank, which were above a hundred feet high, and saw, on our right hand, gentle eminences, from which the antelopes fled at our approach. We were just doubling a point of land, when we saw five white horsemen coming towards us. The party consisted of Mr. Patton, clerk of the Company, and hitherto director of Fort Mc Kenzie, and some of his people. They galloped to the bank, discharged their pieces, and were welcomed on board. The news they brought dispelled all our apprehensions; universal joy prevailed on account of our happy arrival; and, after we had breakfasted together, they rode back to the fort, to which we had thirteen miles to go by water. We saw the horsemen gallop over the high banks of the river, on which groups of Indians were everywhere seen. Whole bands of their brown children came to the river's edge, and accompanied the vessel with shouts of joy. Frequently two Indians were riding on one horse; great numbers of those animals, of all colours, were grazing in the prairie. Our arrival gave animation to the whole scene, and our guns began to fire salutes from time to time, in which the heavy rain was very troublesome.
We passed the last winding of the river, and a most interesting scene presented itself. A prairie extends along the north bank, at a point to which, projecting towards the river, we saw Fort Mc Kenzie, on which the American flag was displayed.[75] A great number of Indian tents was erected in the plain, which was covered with the red population in various groups, all of whom hastened to the bank. Near to the fort, the men (about 800 Blackfeet) were drawn up {241} in a close body, like a well-ordered battalion. They formed a long dark brown line, with a black stripe at the top, which was occasioned by their black hair. The palisades and the roof of the fort, as well as the neighbouring trees, were occupied by Indian women and their children, singly, or in groups, and the whole prairie was covered with them. The smoke of the powder rose in the fort, and the thunder of the cannon re-echoed from the high banks. While our vessel was slowly approaching this interesting scene, the boat brought an Indian, the White Buffalo (soldier of the fort),[76] who was well known as a good-natured, tolerably trustworthy man. The fire of musketry among the mass of the Indian warriors was uninterrupted, and their war cry sounded over to us, while our vessel, in spite of the rain, kept up a brisk fire. In front of the Indians we saw three or four chiefs in red and blue uniforms, trimmed with lace, and wearing round hats with plumes of feathers. The most distinguished among them was Mexkehme-Sukahs (the iron shirt), dressed in a scarlet uniform, with blue facings and lace, with a drawn sabre in his hand; riding without stirrups, he managed, with great dexterity, his light bay horse, which was made very restiff by the firing of the musketry. The most respected chief among the Blackfeet, at this time, was the Spotted Elk (Ketscpenn-Nuka), who, after a successful battle with the Flatheads, had changed his name, and was now called Ninoch-Kiaiu (chief of the bears). The other chiefs besides these two were called the Old Heart, now called the Stiff Foot, the Stiff Leg, the Big Soldier, and the Red Buffalo.