Oregon and Eldorado; or, Romance of the Rivers

by Thomas Bulfinch

Several successive days were passed in this manner (the daily progress seldom exceeding a dozen miles), while the party anxiously expected to be rejoined by Capt. Lewis and his men, with intelligence of some relief by the aid of friendly Indians. In the mean time, Capt. Lewis was as anxiously expecting their arrival, to confirm the good impressions he had made on the Indians, as well as to remove some lurking doubts they still felt as to his intentions.

CAPT. LEWIS AMONG THE SHOSHONEES.

Aug. 14.—In order to give time for the boats to reach the forks of Jefferson River, Capt. Lewis determined to remain where he was, and obtain all the information he could with regard to the country. Having nothing to eat but a little flour and parched meal, with the berries of the Indians, he sent out Drewyer and Shields, who borrowed horses of the natives, to hunt. At the same time, the young warriors set out for the same purpose.

There are but few elk or black-tailed deer in this region; and, as the common red deer secrete themselves in the bushes when alarmed, they are soon safe from the arrows of the Indian hunters, which are but feeble weapons against any animal which the huntsmen cannot previously run down. The chief game of the Shoshonees, therefore, is the antelope, which, when pursued, runs to the open plains, where the horses have full room for the chase. But such is this animal's extraordinary fleetness and wind, that a single horse has no chance of outrunning it, or tiring it down; and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort to stratagem. About twenty Indians, mounted on fine horses, and armed with bows and arrows, left the camp. In a short time, they descried a herd of ten antelopes. They immediately separated into little squads of two or three, and formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six miles, keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them till they were perfectly enclosed. Having gained their positions, a small party rode towards the herd; the huntsman preserving his seat with wonderful tenacity, and the horse his footing, as he ran at full speed over the hills, and down the ravines, and along the edges of precipices. They were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, on gaining the other limit of the circle, were driven back, and pursued by fresh hunters. They turned, and flew, rather than ran, in another direction; but there, too, they found new enemies. In this way they were alternately driven backwards and forwards, till at length, notwithstanding the skill of the hunters, they all escaped; and the party, after running two hours, returned without having caught any thing, and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase, the greater part of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene; but to the hunters it is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, even when they are able to worry the animal down and shoot him, that forty or fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for half a day without obtaining more than two or three antelopes. Soon after they returned, our two huntsmen came in with no better success. Capt. Lewis therefore made a little paste with the flour, and the addition of some berries formed a tolerable repast.

Having now secured the good-will of Cameahwait, Capt. Lewis informed him of his wish,—that he would speak to the warriors, and endeavor to engage them to accompany him to the forks of Jefferson River, where, by this time, another chief, with a large party of white men, were waiting his return. He added, that it would be necessary to take about thirty horses to transport the merchandise; that they should be well rewarded for their trouble; and that, when all the party should have reached the Shoshonee camp, they would remain some time among them, and trade for horses, as well as concert plans for furnishing them in future with regular supplies of merchandise. Cameahwait readily consented to do as requested; and, after collecting the tribe together, he made a long harangue, and in about an hour and a half returned, and told Capt. Lewis that they would be ready to accompany him next morning.

Capt. Lewis rose early, and, having eaten nothing yesterday except his scanty meal of flour and berries, felt the pain of extreme hunger. On inquiry, he found that his whole stock of provisions consisted of two pounds of flour. This he ordered to be divided into two equal parts, and one-half of it boiled with the berries into a sort of pudding; and, after presenting a large share to the chief, he and his three men breakfasted on the remainder. Cameahwait was delighted with this new dish. He took a little of the flour in his hand, tasted it, and examined it very carefully, asking if it was made of roots. Capt. Lewis explained how it was produced, and the chief said it was the best thing he had eaten for a long time.

Breakfast being finished, Capt. Lewis endeavored to hasten the departure of the Indians, who seemed reluctant to move, although the chief addressed them twice for the purpose of urging them. On inquiring the reason, Capt. Lewis learned that the Indians were suspicious that they were to be led into an ambuscade, and betrayed to their enemies. He exerted himself to dispel this suspicion, and succeeded so far as to induce eight of the warriors, with Cameahwait, to accompany him. It was about twelve o'clock when his small party left the camp, attended by Cameahwait and the eight warriors. At sunset they reached the river, and encamped about four miles above the narrow pass between the hills, which they had noticed in their progress some days before. Drewyer had been sent forward to hunt; but he returned in the evening unsuccessful; and their only supply, therefore, was the remaining pound of flour, stirred in a little boiling water, and divided between the four white men and two of the Indians.

Next morning, as neither our party nor the Indians had any thing to eat, Capt. Lewis sent two of his hunters out to procure some provision. At the same time, he requested Cameahwait to prevent his young men from going out, lest, by their noise, they might alarm the game. This measure immediately revived their suspicions, and some of them followed our two men to watch them. After the hunters had been gone about an hour, Capt. Lewis mounted, with one of the Indians behind him, and the whole party set out. Just then, they saw one of the spies coming back at full speed across the plain. The chief stopped, and seemed uneasy: the whole band were moved with fresh suspicions; and Capt. Lewis himself was anxious, lest, by some unfortunate accident, some hostile tribe might have wandered that way. The young Indian had hardly breath to say a few words as he came up, when the whole troop dashed forward as fast as their horses could carry them; and Capt. Lewis, astonished at this movement, was borne along for nearly a mile, before he learned, with great satisfaction, that it was all caused by the spy's having come to announce that one of the white men had killed a deer.

When they reached the place where Drewyer, in cutting up the deer, had thrown out the intestines, the Indians dismounted in confusion, and ran, tumbling over each other, like famished dogs: each tore away whatever part he could, and instantly began to devour it. Some had the liver, some the kidneys: in short, no part on which we are accustomed to look with disgust escaped them. It was, indeed, impossible to see these wretches ravenously feeding on the refuse of animals, and the blood streaming from their mouths, without deploring how nearly the condition of savages approaches that of the brute creation. Yet, though suffering with hunger, they did not attempt to take (as they might have done) by force the whole deer, but contented themselves with what had been thrown away by the hunter. Capt. Lewis had the deer skinned, and, after reserving a quarter of it, gave the rest of the animal to the chief, to be divided among the Indians, who immediately devoured the whole without cooking.

THEY MEET THE BOAT PARTY.