On the following morning (the 8th of May), we passed some extensive sand banks, on which we observed the avoset, and many wild geese. Towards ten o'clock we reached the mouth of Vermilion River,[77] where many Sioux Indians were at that time assembled: here commence the lofty forests, which are peculiar to the banks of the lower Missouri, and in which the note of the whip-poor-will resounds in the evening.
I had been informed, on board the steamer, that a man named Gardner, one of the best pilots on the whole course of the Missouri, and, at the same time, thoroughly acquainted with the Indian wilderness from his having been long engaged in hunting beavers, had gone down the river a short time before me, and I was advised to overtake him, and, if possible, to engage him as pilot, as our steersman was unskilful, and the snags in many parts of the river very dangerous.[78] We soon perceived Gardner's miserable flat leather boat, with a cargo of skins, before us, and presently overtook it. I immediately offered to take his furs into my boat, which was more secure, if he would act as steersman, to which he most readily agreed. His boat was very unsafe and bad, and at the same time was so heavily laden, that its edge was scarcely above the water, {462} and it proceeded very slowly. He was on his return from hunting beavers on the Upper Yellow Stone, and had two men with him. We lay-to, and, while the people were transferring the cargo of Gardner's boat to ours, we made an excursion into the interesting country. The chain of hills was clothed with young verdure, and covered and surrounded with tall trees and forests; beautiful thickets, mixed with cedars, grew on the banks; all appeared in the fresh loveliness of spring. In the hollow upper boughs of the lofty, colossal trees, numbers of the purple swallow (Hirundo purpurea) had built their nests; flocks of blackbirds were among the high grass, between the trunks of the trees, where the little wren (Troglodytes aedon) poured forth its cheerful song; the sparrow-hawk was sitting at the end of a high branch; and on the ground, among the roots of the trees, we descried what we thought was a mouse running along, which, however, proved to be a little bird; it was too near to be fired at, and we could not make it rise on its wing. At length, however, we killed it, and found it to be the pretty little finch called, by Wilson, Fringilla candacuta. The ash-grey finch (Fringilla hyemalis), the snow-bird of Wilson, who represents this bird larger than it is in nature, built its nest here.
Towards one o'clock in the afternoon we reached Le Roi's plantation, and lay-to at the sand bank opposite to it, the wind being very high. We dispersed in order to try our fortune with our fowling-pieces, but found on the bank an intricate thicket full of burs, so that we could scarcely penetrate it. Numbers of birds animated this thicket, the cormorant (Carbo) sat on the tall trees on the bank, the whip-poor-will uttered its plaintive note, and bats hovered over the river. We passed the evening sitting round our fire, when Gardner told us anecdotes of his many adventures and combats with the Indians. He gave me a particular account of the death of Glass, the old beaver-hunter whom I have already mentioned, and which particularly interested me, because I possessed the scalp of one of the two Arikkara Indians who were killed by Gardner on account of that murder. The following were the circumstances of that event. Old Glass, with two companions, had gone from Fort Cass to hunt beavers on the Yellow Stone, and, as they were crossing the river on the ice further down, they were all three shot, scalped, and plundered by a war party of thirty Arikkaras who were concealed on the opposite bank. These Indians, who are most dangerous enemies to the Whites, went then to the sources of Powder River, and it happened that Gardner, with about twenty men, and thirty horses, was in the neighbourhood.[79] As it was dark when they were seated about several fires, the Indians suddenly appeared, addressed them in the Manitari language, surrounded the fire, and dried their shoes. Gardner, being well acquainted with the character of the Indians, immediately took some precautions, which was the more necessary, as a Manitari woman, who was with his party, told him that the strangers were Arikkaras. He gradually collected his people round one of their fires, with their arms in readiness to act. He was also afraid for his horses, which were scattered in the prairie, and some of which were actually missing, and he had already sent some of his men to {463} erect in the neighbourhood what is called a fort, of trunks of trees, for the night. The Indians are accustomed, when they intend to steal horses, suddenly to give a signal, on which they all jump up, scatter the horses, and drive them away with them. Gardner, aware of this, watched the enemy closely, and when, on the signal being given, they all withdrew, three of them were seized, thrown down and bound. When the Arikkaras perceived this, several of them came back, pretended to be innocent of the stealing of the horses, and begged for their captive comrades; but Gardner declared to them that, if they did not immediately deliver up all the horses, the prisoners must die; one of whom, however, had cut the cords with which he was bound, and escaped. The Indians entreated for a long time, but were refused. The others seeing that they must die, commenced their death-song, related their exploits, and affirmed that they were distinguished warriors. One of them had old Glass's knife, and his rifle also had been seen in the possession of these Indians. The horses, however, were not brought, and the prisoners, alleging a pressing necessity, were taken aside; but in the thick copse they attempted to escape, on which one of them was stabbed, and several shots fired at the other, who was then killed with the knife. They were both scalped, and I received one of the scalps as a present, which was unfortunately lost in the fire on board the steamer. Gardner, by way of precaution, had all the fires put out, and passed the night in the fort, which was now completed. They were not disturbed during the night, and found, in the morning, that the Indians had retired with their booty, leaving the prisoners to their fate. The Arikkaras had begged for one of them in particular, who was a celebrated warrior, and had even brought back three horses, which they tied up near at hand, to exchange them for the prisoners; but Gardner did not attend to their request.
On the 9th of May we reached the mouth of Joway River, and at three in the afternoon that of Big Sioux.[80] The heat was pretty considerable; and we saw the great heron (Ardea herodias), and a flock of pelicans, some of which were grey, go up the river. We then came to Floyd's Grave, and at a bend in the river reached a spot, to the northwest of which there was a village of the Omahas, of about fifty huts. I wished much to visit these people, but we could not well stop, because our provisions were getting low, and we had already lost too much time through the continued storms. In the evening we stopped for the night on the left bank opposite the mouth of Omai Creek.[81]
On the following morning the weather was fine and warm, the thermometer at eight o'clock being at 72°. Wood-ducks in pairs, and flocks of wild geese and pelicans, attracted our attention, till we reached, about ten o'clock, the beautiful green hills of Waschinga-Saba's grave,[82] where we saw some deer and wolves, and found the tracks of these animals in all directions. The rising wind afterwards obliged us to lay-to, because there was a very dangerous place, with many snags, just before us; but when the wind abated Gardner steered my boat very skilfully between the snags. About sunset we passed the mouth of Little Sioux River, and lay-to three miles {464} below it, on the opposite bank. On the 11th we were very frequently obliged to stop, and meanwhile amused ourselves with looking at the beautiful birds in the thickets. At six o'clock we reached Soldier's River, and lay-to in a safe bay on the left bank. The weather was cool on the 12th. When we set out, one of my hunters shot a cormorant with his rifle. At ten o'clock we passed the ruins of the old fort of Council Bluffs, and in the afternoon reached Boyer's Creek, just before which we saw the first plane tree on the Missouri.[83] From this spot this species of tree becomes more and more common as you descend the river, which is very winding. We landed, between one and two o'clock, at Major Pilcher's trading house, formerly belonging to Mr. Cabanné.[84]
Mr. Pilcher gave us a very cordial reception after so long an absence, and we passed the whole day with him. A lawyer, of the name of Randolph, was at this time here to investigate a criminal case which had lately occurred; an engagé had shot his comrade, as was supposed in cold blood. There were not many Indians at the trading house at this time; however, there were some Otos, Missouris, Omahas and a couple of Joways, and Ongpa or Onpa-Tanga (the big elk), the principal chief of the Omahas, was daily expected;[85] I would gladly have waited to see him, had time permitted my doing so. Mr. Bodmer took the portraits of an Omaha and an Oto Indian. These two tribes do not differ in their manners, dress, and personal appearance. They wear their hair short, nay, sometimes the head is completely shorn, except a tuft behind, and in front; the upper part of the body naked, and strings of wampum in their ears.
At this time there was more order and cleanliness in Mr. Pilcher's house than during our former visit, and the store had been removed into the upper floor. It contained a large quantity of skins, among which were 24,000 musk-rats, which are sold at twenty-five cents a piece. The packs of these latter were very regularly piled up in a square. There was also a good stock of buffalo and beaver skins. Mr. Pilcher presented me with a very beautiful skin of a large dark brown wolf, which had been killed on the upper part of Boyer's Creek; it is, however, not a species, only a variety.
After dinner I took an excursion to the neighbouring finely wooded hills, which were now flourishing in the greatest luxuriance. Birds of various kinds were very numerous in a beautiful gently sloping valley, through which the Omahas pass when they go to their villages. Among the many kinds of trees and shrubs, I observed cratægus, or pyrus, twenty feet in height, covered with white blossoms, oaks, elms, &c. Near the house very fine cattle were grazing, and numbers of swine, all of which roamed at liberty in the woods. There are extensive plantations of maize and fields of potatoes, and Mr. Pilcher was so good as to furnish me with a supply of provisions from his store. This place had likewise been visited by the cholera in the preceding summer, but it had not carried off so many persons as at Dougherty's agency at Belle Vue, because Mr. Pilcher had a better stock of medicines. At nightfall we took leave of Mr. Pilcher, and went on board our boat, intending to proceed early the next morning, the 13th of May. During the night a dog stole a part of our stock of meat, the {465} door of the cabin not having been very well secured. Towards eight o'clock we lay-to on the right bank of the river, at a lovely verdant prairie covered with thickets and tall insulated trees. There we found many beautiful birds; among them were numbers of the red-breasted Fringilla ludoviciana; we shot a good many of them, but they were so fat that we had considerable difficulty in preserving the skins. We had a fruitless chase after some wild turkeys. Towards noon we arrived at Belle Vue, Major Dougherty's agency,[86] which is about thirty-four miles from Pilcher's trading house, and lies at the foot of the wooded chain of hills on which Mr. Pilcher's residence is situated. We landed, but unfortunately found only a few engagés, for Major Dougherty was absent at St. Louis, and was not expected to return till the middle of July. The majority of the persons whom we had seen here on our first visit had died of cholera, during the preceding summer, seven of ten persons having been carried off in the short space of twenty-four hours. They had all been buried by one man, who was now here, and who himself was ill when he was obliged to perform this last office for the dead. The disease had, however, quite passed away, and the fort was now healthy. The environs of Belle Vue presented great attractions to the naturalist at this season. The richly wooded hills, with their deep shady ravines and wild glens, were animated by the cuckoo, and a number of splendid birds, while innumerable bright winged butterflies fluttered about over the strawberry blossoms, the magnificent azure phlox, and a variety of other beautiful flowers.
After we had luxuriated in this romantic spot, we returned to take in a stock of provisions, and, being refreshed by that great rarity, a glass of new milk, we continued our journey. Towards noon we reached the mouth of the river La Platte, which is about six miles distant from Belle Vue. At sunset we passed Fife-Barrel Creek, and stopped opposite an island of the same name on the right bank of the Missouri. As soon as we landed I set out with my gun in my hand, and, passing through a lofty avenue of willows, came to a narrow marsh, quite overgrown with typha. The ground was swampy, but the raccoons had trod a regular footpath. The morass was bounded by hills covered with trees and bushes of the loveliest verdure, enlivened by the baltimore and the green icteria. The latter incessantly poured forth its song, which contains a strophe similar to that of the nightingale. It is remarkable that the cheerfulness and activity of these birds increase greatly towards evening. The whip-poor-wills were very numerous in the willow copse on the bank, and in the evening twilight their notes resounded on every side.