News of the battle at Fort Mc Kenzie had been brought, on the 13th of September, by the Assiniboins on their return. Dechamp had brought the horses that were sent from Fort Mc Kenzie, without accident, to Fort Union. He had been followed by some of the Gros Ventres, whom he, however, contrived to keep at a distance. When he crossed the river to Fort Union, the Assiniboins who were there called to him "to take care of himself, else he would be shot, for he had disabled many of their people;" to which he answered, "that he was not afraid; that they should take care of themselves; for, as they had attacked the fort, every brave man had to defend himself." He then landed boldly, and met with nothing unpleasant. His relations and his wife (a Cree) were assembled here, who said to him, "that he had nothing to fear from them, but that he must be on his guard against the other Indians." He replied, "that he did not fear open violence, but that he must expect secret treachery." We had scarcely been a couple of days at Fort Union, when some Ojibua Indians arrived, who announced that more of their tribe would follow.[146] They were rather mean-looking people, but strongly built, with their hair hanging down to the shoulders, and not very different from the Crees. They were, for the most part, covered with blankets.
The nation of the Ojibuas, generally called, by the English, Chippeways, and by the French, Sauteurs,[147] inhabits the whole extensive tract of country between Lake Superior, the Red River, the Assiniboin River, and, further north, about Lake Winnipeg, the Lake of the Woods, &c. They are a very numerous, vigorous, and warlike nation, but divided into several small, scattered companies. An estimate of their number was given by Pike,[148] but others have since been attempted; and, in the new history of the Indian tribes of North America, by Mc Kenney and Hall,[149] they are reckoned at 15,000 souls.
They speak the Algonquin language, which is likewise that of the Nipissings, Ottawas, Knistenaux, or Crees, and other tribes. The French formerly gave different names to all those little bands of one and the same nation, and thereby caused great confusion in the history of those people. Trifling diversities in the language are met with in each of these Indian tribes, living apart from each other. The Algonquin language is said, however, to be very complete and rich, and is spread over the whole country about the northern lakes. Many terms, current in the United States, are derived from this language, e. g. squaw, moccasin, wigwam, &c.[150]
{301} As the hunters of the fort generally went out twice in a week to replenish our stock of meat, I resolved to accompany them, and join in the chase of the buffalo on horseback. On the 11th of October, after breakfasting earlier than usual, the horses were sent, in a large boat, across the Missouri. The weather was pleasant; at half-past seven the thermometer was at 40°, and in the afternoon at 65½°. We landed in a lofty forest of poplar, ash, negundo, and elm, with a thick undergrowth of symphoria, roses covered with beautiful red blossom, and buffalo berries, which had then ripe red fruit. Here we collected the horses and mules, of which we had eighteen, loaded them, and warmed ourselves a little while at a fire. Our party consisted of Mr. Bodmer, Chardon, and myself, and the half-Indian hunters, Dechamp, Marcellais, and Joseph Basile,[151] a negro slave belonging to Mr. Mc Kenzie, with three or four more who led the horses that were to carry the meat. We soon proceeded on our expedition; and, as we rode along, were amused by the cheerful and enterprising Chardon, who had lived long among the Osages, and was able to give the most authentic information respecting that people, and the Indians in general. Listening to his animated descriptions, his communications relative to the Indian languages, alternating with Indian songs and the war-whoop, we passed through the forest, then across a meadow, where a few isolated bushes grew, and where we raised a covey of prairie hens; and then over a chain of hills, where we followed a beaten path. Skeletons of buffaloes, nearly entire, and numbers of skulls, which might have furnished many an osteological cabinet, lay scattered around. The hills seemed to consist of a whitish sand-stone, with a layer of clay over it; and, here and there, they exhibited some singular forms, but not to be compared with those already mentioned, when speaking of the Stone Walls. From the summit of the chain of hills we had a fine view of the valley of the Missouri. On the further side runs a whitish chain of hills, with their singular angles and ravines, before them the yellow prairie, with its orange-coloured woods of poplar and ash on the banks, where Fort Union appears: on this side of the wood were dark stripes of bushes, and large forest trees, the reddish or brown bark of which contrasted with the yellow foliage of the poplars; at our feet were the whitish-grey sand-stone hills, and the greyish-brown eminences covered with dry grass, and dark green cedars, under which was the grassy plain, with its silvery green shrubs. {302} When we had ridden some miles, we found the prairie was more and more level, that is, it became a gently undulating plain, traversed by low hills, which, at the distance of a couple of miles, generally bounded the horizon, and when we had reached them, we had a similar uniform prospect. The whole is grey and dry, without diversity, covered with dry low plants, which yet afford food to numerous herds of the large heavy buffaloes. Here and there small hollows, in which there is rather more moisture, cross the prairie, and here some water-plants and grasses grow: in the spring and winter there is running or stagnant water in them, which is generally salt. At this time the ground was, in many places, entirely covered with Glauber salt, which is collected for use, and of which there is a considerable stock at Fort Union. Lewis and Clarke frequently observed this white deposit on the banks of the Missouri. In the moister parts of the prairie, where there was more vegetation, we saw a small flock of birds of the species numenius, or charadrius. Among the plants there were whole tracts covered with dwarf rose bushes, about a foot high; some species of solidago and aster, with bunches of whitish flowers, and snake-root (Galardia bicolor). The wolf, the prairie fox, and the striped squirrel, are found in these prairies.
We proceeded in quick trot and gallop across the prairie, where the larks flew up before us, and ravens and crows appeared in great numbers. A few buffaloes that we saw at a distance did not induce us to stop, for we had twenty miles to ride before we could think of the chase. Towards noon we came to a little creek, called La Rivière aux Tortues, meandering through a meadow, a hill on the north side of which protected us from the wind. Here we halted a little, the baggage was taken off the horses, and they were left to graze, while a fire of buffalo dung was kindled, and a duck roasted, which had been shot by a Half-breed, who had hastened on before us. The creek was partly dry, with high grass growing in it; but there were still some shallow pools, where a beautiful tortoise, resembling Emys picta, lived. After resting for some time, we proceeded over gentle hills till about five in the afternoon, when we came to a pretty considerable hill, beyond which herds of buffaloes are usually met with. Before we reached the summit, we crossed a small ravine, where we found a spring of cool clear water, which refreshed us greatly. The ravine itself is filled with a narrow strip of ash, elm, and maple, between tufts of roses, bird-cherry, and other species, entwined by the clematis.
When we reached the top of the hill, we examined with the telescope the extensive plain, and perceived some small groups of buffaloes, four, five, or six together, the most numerous of which we resolved to attack. The pack-horses followed slowly, and the hunters proceeded, in quick trot, to a hollow between two hills, where we saw the animals at no great distance on our left hand. With our pieces ready to fire, we made a regular cavalry charge on the heavy animals, which, however, galloped away at a pretty brisk rate. The horsemen divided, and pursued the bulls, which were partly shot by the practised marksmen, and partly wounded by the others; these were pursued, and did not fall till many shot had been fired at them. I had followed a wounded {303} bull into the ravine, and three of us repeatedly fired at him. He often put himself in a threatening attitude, and even pursued us for ten or twenty paces, but, in such cases, it is easy to avoid him, and the frightened animal immediately took to flight again as soon as we halted. At length, after twenty shot, perhaps, had been fired at him, his strength failed, and he sunk down.
The Half-breed and the Indians are so skilful in this kind of hunting on horseback, that they seldom have to fire several times at a buffalo. They do not put the gun to their shoulder, but extend both arms, and fire in this unusual manner as soon as they are within ten or fifteen paces of the animal. They are incredibly quick in loading; for they put no wadding to the charge, but let the ball (of which they generally have several in their mouth) run down to the powder, where it sticks, and is immediately discharged. With this rapid mode of firing these hunters of the prairie soon make a terrible slaughter in a herd of buffaloes. In the present case, the whole of the little herd of buffaloes was killed; nine bulls lay on the field, and our hunters had dispersed in such a manner that we had not a little trouble to collect our whole party. I had separated from the rest, rode for some miles over low eminences, and, at length, when it was getting dusk, met with Marcellais, who had killed a buffalo.[152] Here, too, I found Mr. Bodmer, who took a sketch of the animal that was killed. We rode back to the ravine, and endeavoured to kindle a fire of buffalo dung in this place of general rendezvous; the wind was bleak, and we could not make our fire burn bright. There was no wood at all; but we threw fat and marrow-bones into the fire, by way of fuel. Some meat was roasted as well as the circumstances permitted; and when we were going to lie down to rest, it appeared that my portable bed, of buffalo skins and blankets, had been forgotten. This was no very pleasant discovery, for the wind was raw, the fire bad, and the rain falling; however, the hunters, who were quite used to such bivouacs, gave me a part of their blankets, and we slept very comfortably.
On the 12th of October we breakfasted on roast meat and buffalo marrow; the horses were collected and saddled, and the flesh of the buffaloes fastened to the pack-saddles. Eighteen years before I had had my mules collected in the same manner in the Campos of Brazil, when I wanted to continue my journey; but in that beautiful and warm country, where nature is so grand and so rich, the bivouacs in the forest are more cheerful and pleasant, and form a striking contrast to the melancholy life in the prairies, where you have to suffer so many privations. We rode rapidly forward, and halted at noon, in the bed of a dried-up stream, in order to rest, and take some refreshment. About four miles from Fort Union, our half-breed Indians found the fresh traces of an Indian war party, who had, probably, observed us in the prairie, and might have cut off our retreat in the only path among the hills and ravines to the banks; we therefore put spurs to our horses, and rode the whole way at full gallop, so that we were much out of breath when we arrived at the bank opposite the fort. We hastened to cross the river, and the pack-horses, with {304} the meat, arrived soon after. A bleak, disagreeable wind had prevailed the whole day, the temperature, at noon, being only 61°. We, therefore, enjoyed the evening in conversation with Mr. Hamilton, by the fireside, over a glass of punch, which beverage was our daily refreshment during our four weeks' stay at Fort Union. I obtained from Mr. Hamilton much information relative to the country in which we now were; and he read to us an interesting MS. which he had composed, respecting the life of Glass, the beaver hunter, written down from his own words a short time before he was shot, with two of his companions, by the Arikkaras. A man of the name of Gardner, who afterwards happened to meet with these Indians, killed two of them with his own hand, and I received the scalp of one of them, as a present, during my stay in the fort. Mr. Hamilton intended to have this life printed.[153]
As early as the 16th of October a truly wintry wind blew in the prairie; the temperature was only 46° at noon. On the following day the ground was thickly covered with snow; and, at eight o'clock in the morning, the mercury had fallen to 39°. We paid several visits to Fort William, a new settlement, founded by Messrs. Soublette[154] and Campbell, opposite the mouth of the Yellow Stone, which was not yet entirely surrounded with palisades. Mr. Campbell, who resided there, gave us a very friendly reception, and afterwards visited us at Fort Union.[155] I often walked along the banks of the Missouri to Fort William, in agreeable conversation with Mr. Hamilton, and received, from Mr. Campbell, much information respecting his residence and travels in the Rocky Mountains. The remainder of our time we employed in excursions in the prairies.