the markets of civilized lands, and in the Snake country,
through which our friends were travelling, thousands of
them were to be had from the Indians for trinkets and
baubles that were scarce worth a farthing. A beaver
skin could be procured from the Indians for a brass
finger-ring or a penny looking-glass. Horses were also
so numerous that one could be procured for an axe or a
knife.
Let not the reader, however, hastily conclude that the
traders cheated the Indians in this traffic, though the