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Early Western Travels
1748-1846

Volume XXIII

Early Western Travels
1748-1846
A Series of Annotated Reprints of some of the best and rarest contemporary volumes of travel, descriptive of the Aborigines and Social and Economic Conditions in the Middle and Far West, during the Period of Early American Settlement

Edited with Notes, Introductions, Index, etc., by

Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D.

Editor of "The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents," "Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," "Hennepin's New Discovery," etc.

Volume XXIII

Part II of Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834

Cleveland, Ohio
The Arthur H. Clark Company
1906

Copyright 1906, by THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Lakeside Press R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY CHICAGO

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXIII
[Part II of Maximilian's Travels in the Interior of North America]

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME XXIII

(The following are text cuts in original)

Part II of Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America

Reprint of chapters xvi-xxvii of London edition: 1843

TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA, IN THE YEARS 1832, 1833, AND 1834

[PART II]

CHAPTER XVI[1]
FIRST STAY AT FORT UNION, FROM JUNE 24TH TO JULY 6TH [1833]

Departure of the Assiniboin Steamer—Excursions into the Prairie—The arrival of several bands of Assiniboins—The Crees, or Knistenaux—The Visits to the Camps of the Indians—Their Departure—Death of Matsokui—Arrival of our Keel-boat—Preparations for our Journey to Fort Mc Kenzie.

Mr. Mc Kenzie had given us a comfortable lodging in his house, and we lived here very pleasantly, in a plain style, suitable to the resources of so remote a place; for we could not hope to meet with so good a table as we had had on board the steamer. We had, every day, fresh or dried buffalo flesh, bread made of flour, and also a good supply of coffee and wine. The first days passed rapidly in examining the fort and the immediate environs, while, on board the steamer, they began already, on the 25th, to unload and convey the provisions and goods to the fort, so that all was bustle and activity. Eight hundred packs of buffalo hides, each consisting of ten, were immediately embarked, amid a heavy fall of rain, which did much injury to these hides, which are tanned by the Indians. It was, therefore, necessary to open every one of the packs, and dry them again. The furs in the interior of North America are free from a nuisance so common among us, I mean insects, especially moths, which are unknown on the Upper Missouri. Besides the buffalo hides, many beaver, bear, wolf, lynx, fox, and other skins were embarked. Of the wolf and lynx, sixty-two packs, each consisting of 100 skins. Some of the Indians were very troublesome while this was doing, continually asking and begging for various things, particularly tobacco, which they were too indolent to prepare, or to get from the forest for themselves. The tobacco which the Fur Company sells to them, to mix with their leaves or bark, is strong, clammy, and black, and is in twists, six or eight inches long. Most of the Indians now present looked wretchedly poor, and many of them had not even a pipe of their own. Several apartments in the fort were assigned to these visitors, where they cooked and slept.

{199} After we had made ourselves acquainted with the fort, we made excursions into the prairie, especially to the chain of hills, and Mr. Bodmer took many views of the country. In all such excursions it is not usual to go alone, at least not without being well armed, because the Indians, especially war parties, can never be trusted. The Assiniboin having taken in its cargo, was to depart on the afternoon of the 26th of June, and return to St. Louis; the Company, therefore, assembled once more on board, to dine together. About three o'clock, when the whole population of the place was assembled on the beach, we took leave of our travelling companions, Messrs. Sandford and Pratte, with whom some of the Company's clerks had embarked to return to the United States. In order to turn, the Assiniboin first went a little way up the river, and then passed the fort with the rapidity of an arrow, while a mutual salute of a discharge of cannon and musketry was re-echoed from the mountains, and handkerchiefs were waved till a bend of the river hid the vessel, which we had so long inhabited, from our view. On this day the Assiniboins had left the fort to go into the prairie; others, in part much better dressed, had arrived, but only as harbingers of a great number of their people, and of Crees,[2] who, in fact, came on the 27th of June, singly, and in companies.

These Crees did not much differ, in appearance, from the Assiniboins; they are robust, powerful-looking men, with lank hair falling over their shoulders, and a broad flat lock, cut off straight over their eyes; one man, however, had it hanging down to his mouth. Some had their long hair plaited in several tails; many wore skin caps adorned with feathers, and one had the whole tail of a prairie hen; several of them wore the leather cases of their bows wound round their heads, like a turban. Their faces were painted red, some with black stripes, and their dress was like that of the Assiniboins. Several of them wore long wolf skins over their shoulders, with the head of the animal on the breast, and the tail trailing on the ground. Their leggins had a quantity of long leather fringe; the men are said to be often much tattooed, and Franklin says, that this operation is painful, but we were assured that the contrary is the case. The women are said to be well made, and, in the north, they understand how to dye a beautiful red with the roots of Galium tinctorium and boreale, and black with the bark of the alder.

The chief of the Crees was Maschkepiton (the broken arm), who had a medal with the effigy of the President hung round his neck, which he had received on a visit to Washington.[3] The present intention of these people, who had no skins to sell, was to welcome Mr. Mc Kenzie, who is much beloved by the Indians, and frequently receives presents from them; and, on many occasions, they have carried him about, as in triumph, to do him honour, and prove their attachment to him. The Crees live in the same territory as the Assiniboins, that is, between the Saskatschawan, the Assiniboin, and the Missouri. They ramble about in small bands with the others, are poor, have many dogs, which carry their baggage, but only a few horses. They live, like the Assiniboins, in leather tents, follow the herds of buffaloes, of which they sometimes kill {200} great numbers in their parks. The Crees are reckoned at 600 or 800 tents; consequently, assuming the usual number of three men for each, there will be from 1,800 to 2,400 men for this tribe. Their customs, games, and religious opinions, are said to agree with those of the Assiniboins. Their language has an affinity with that of the Ojibuas, but entirely different from that of the Assiniboins, or Sioux, though many of the Crees learn the latter.

On the 26th of June, the arrival of a numerous band of Assiniboins was announced to us by several messengers; they intended to compliment Mr. Mc Kenzie, who had long been absent. All on a sudden we heard some musket-shot, which announced a very interesting scene; and all the inhabitants of the fort went out of the gate to witness the arrival of this savage horde. Towards the north-west, the whole prairie was covered with scattered Indians, whose numerous dogs drew the sledges with the baggage; a close body of warriors, about 250 or 300 in number, had formed themselves in the centre, in the manner of two bodies of infantry, and advanced in quick time towards the fort. The Indian warriors marched in close ranks, three or four men deep, not keeping their file very regularly, yet in pretty good order, and formed a considerable line. Before the centre, where, in a European battalion, the colours are carried, three or four chiefs advanced, arm in arm, and from the ranks of this motley, martial, painted mass, loud musket-shot were heard. The whole troop of these warriors now commenced their original song, consisting of many abrupt, broken tones, like those of the war-whoop, and having some resemblance to the song which we heard, in the years 1813 and 1814, from the Russian soldiers. The loaded dogs, guided by women and children, surrounded the nucleus of warriors, like the sharp-shooters that hover about the line. Thus this remarkable body advanced towards us, and many interesting features appeared the nearer they approached. All these Indians were wrapped in their buffalo robes, and dressed out in the most diverse and highly fantastical manner. Most of them had their faces painted all over with vermilion; others, quite black. In their hair they wore the feathers of eagles, or other birds of prey. Some had wolf-skin caps, notwithstanding the great heat, and these caps were partly smeared with red paint. Others had fastened green leaves round their heads; long wolves' tails were hanging down at their heels, as marks of honour for enemies they had killed, and the part of their dress made of leather was new and handsome. They had their guns in their arms, their bows and arrows on their shoulders, and, in this manner, these robust men, who were, for the most part, five feet eight or nine inches, and many six feet high, advanced with a light, quick step, in an upright posture, which gave them a perfectly military air; and this impression was heightened by the song which sounded from their ranks, and the loud beating of their drums. They advanced to within about sixty paces, then halted at a fosse running from the Missouri past the fort, and waited, the chief standing in front, for our welcome.

Mr. Mc Kenzie had sent two interpreters, Halero and Lafontaine, to meet them, who shook hands with the chiefs, and then led them to the gate of the fort, which was shut as usual, and a {201} guard set before it, for too many Indians are never admitted at the same time, because they can never be implicitly trusted. On this occasion, only the chiefs and about thirty of the principal warriors were admitted, who sat down around the apartment which was allotted to such meetings. All the other Indians went first to the Missouri to drink, and then sat down to rest in the shade.

It was natural that we, as strangers, constantly remained with the assembled Indians, for there were many interesting subjects for our observation. The thick stone pipes, with long flat tubes, were handed round, and they showed us a remarkably handsome one, ornamented with yellow horse-hair, which was intended as a present for Mr. Mc Kenzie. The whole company received something to drink; and many Indians, before they raise the vessel to their lips, dip the fore finger of their right hand into it, and sprinkle some of the liquid five or six times in the air, doubtless as an offering to the higher powers.[4] They gazed on us with much curiosity, and the interpreter gave them an account of the singular strangers, who hunted after animals, plants, and stones, and prepared the skins of the former, of which they, of course, could not see the use.

While tranquillity was gradually restored within the fort, a new and very interesting scene took place without. On the west side of the fort the Indian women were engaged in erecting temporary travelling or hunting huts, composed of poles, fixed in the ground, and the dog sledges set up against them, and covered with green boughs, as they had brought only a part of their baggage. Horses were everywhere grazing, dogs running in all directions, and groups of the red men dispersed all round. The scene was highly entertaining; and the various occupations of cooking, gaming, and making preliminary arrangements, diffused life and activity over the prairie. I was particularly struck with one Assiniboin on account of his head-dress, which I frequently saw afterwards, and the interpreter called him to us. He wore, across his head, a leather strap, to each side of which a horn was fixed, and between them, black feathers cut short. The horns, which were cut out of those of an antelope, had, at their point, a tuft of horse-hair dyed yellow, and on the side hung leather strings, with feathers at the end, and bound with yellow porcupine quills. Mr. Bodmer made a very faithful drawing of this man, as he wished to be taken in his full dress[5]. His name was Noapeh (a troop of soldiers), and his countenance and whole figure were characteristically Indian. We visited several of the newly erected huts, where the fire was already burning in the centre; we were everywhere asked for whisky and tobacco, of which only the last was here and there given. If we wished to obtain anything by barter, brandy was always demanded in payment, and, therefore, very little could be done. Late in the evening, the singing and the drum of this restless multitude were heard in the fort, and the noise and tumult continued the whole night. On the 28th of June we were early in motion, that we might lose no part of the new scenes around us. Noapeh was {202} brought at an early hour, and stood with unwearied patience to the painter, though his relations frequently endeavoured to get him away. He had put on his best dress, and had, on his breast, a rosette of dyed porcupine quills, eight or ten inches in diameter. On this day there was a great crowd of Indians in the fort, to barter several articles of their dress; part of them went away in the course of the day, for when we went to their camp in the afternoon we found most of the huts empty, and saw, at a distance, many Indians, seldom more than two or three together, returning in three principal directions. A great part of them went up the Missouri, parallel with the river, but avoided the wood on the bank, and traversed the prairie in a western direction; another part turned to the north-east, and these, about an hundred in number, went to join in a military expedition against the Mandans and the Manitaries. On occasions like the present, when many Indians assemble about the trading posts of the Whites, they are obliged to be constantly on their guard, because their enemies endeavour to obtain information of these moments, and take advantage of them for their sudden attacks. On the evening of this day, we had a violent storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, and, as the rain continued on the following day, the 29th of June, the expected arrival of more Assiniboins was delayed; they do not willingly travel with their leather tents in wet weather, because their baggage then becomes very heavy; several Indians, however, soon appeared, wet through and through, and covered with mud up to their knees, which, however, they did not mind. A sketch was taken of a tall young warrior,[6] who preserved a most inflexible gravity of countenance till Mr. Bodmer set his musical snuff-box agoing, on which he began to laugh. Another interesting young man of the branch of the Stone Indians,[7] whose name was Pitatapiu, had his portrait taken at a later period. His hair hung down like a lion's mane, especially over his eyes, so that they could scarcely be seen; over each of them a small white sea shell was fastened with a hair string; in his hand he carried a long lance, such as they use only for show, to which a number of slips of the entrails of a bear were fastened, and smeared with red paint. This slender young man had his painted leather shield on his back, to which a small packet, well wrapped up, his medicine or amulet in horse-stealing, was fastened, and which he greatly prized. These people will not part with such things on any terms. The handle of his whip was of wood, with holes in it like a flute. He and several Indians brought word that his countrymen, from the environs of the Fort des Prairies, on the Saskatschawan River, would shortly visit us, to dispose of all their beaver skins. It made us shiver to see the Indians, in the damp, cold weather, run about barefoot the whole day in the deep mud, while we, in our room, sat constantly by the fireside. They, too, greatly enjoyed the warm room, and a number of them were always sitting with us, to smoke their pipes, while Mr. Bodmer was drawing Pitatapiu's likeness. We took care that their pipes should be constantly filled, and, in general, tried every means to amuse them, that they might not lose their patience during the operation.

{203} On the 30th of June, at noon, a band of Indians had arrived, and twenty-five tents were set up near the fort. The women, who were short, and mostly stout, with faces painted red, soon finished this work, and dug up with their instruments the clods of turf, which they lay round the lower part of the hut. One of these tents, the dwelling of a chief, was distinguished from the rest. It was painted of the colour of yellow ochre, had a broad reddish-brown border below, and on each of its sides a large black bear was painted (something of a caricature it must be confessed), to the head of which, just above the nose, a piece of red cloth, that fluttered in the wind, was fastened, doubtless a medicine.[8] We now saw the Indian women returning in all directions from the forest, panting under the weight of large bundles of wood, which were fastened on their backs. Their dogs lay about the tents; they were large, quite like wolves, and of different colours, chiefly of the colour of the wild grey wolf, and some spotted black and white. Reduced to skeletons by want of food, they could not stretch out their sharp backbone; but, for the most part, went crooked and contracted, looked about for old bones, and growled at each other, showing their white teeth. They were not so savage to strangers as the dogs of the Crows, at Fort Clarke, and if one of them seemed inclined to bite us, he was immediately very roughly kicked and beaten by the Indians.

We had not been long in this camp, when another band of Assiniboins appeared at a distance. To the west, along the wood by the river-side, the prairie was suddenly covered with red men, most of whom went singly, with their dogs drawing the loaded sledges. The warriors, about sixty in number, formed a close column. They came without music, with two chiefs at their head, and proceeded towards the gate of the fort. Among them there were many old men, one, especially, who walked with the support of two sticks, and many who had only one eye.[9] The first chief of this new band was Ayanyan (as translated by the Canadians, le fils du gros Français), generally called General Jackson, because he had made a journey to Washington.[10] He was a handsome man, in a fine dress; he wore a beautifully embroidered black leather shirt, a new scarlet blanket, and the great medal round his neck. The whole column entered the fort, where they smoked, ate, and drank; and, meantime, forty-two tents were set up. The new camp had a very pretty appearance; the tents stood in a semicircle, and all the fires were smoking, while all {204} around was life and activity. We witnessed many amusing scenes; here, boys shot their arrows into the air; there, a little, brown, monkey-like child was sitting alone upon the ground, with a circle of hungry dogs round it. In one of the tents there was a man very ill, about whom the medicine men were assembled, singing with all their might. Many people had collected about this tent, and were peeping through the crevices. After the conjuration had continued some time, the tent was opened, and the men who had been assembled in it went away by threes, the one in the middle always stepping a little before the others, and they continued singing till they reached their own tents. In another tent, belonging to a young married couple, we found a child hung up in a leather pouch, of very beautiful workmanship. These pouches, which serve instead of cradles, are so large that only the head of the child is visible. This pouch had, on the upper side, two broad stripes of dyed porcupine quills, and several very pretty rosettes, with long strings of different colours, and was lined with fur. I purchased it from the woman, but, with many other interesting articles, it has never reached Europe.

On the 1st of July, in the morning, we heard that Matsokui, the young Blackfoot Indian, who had come here with us, had been shot, during the night, in the Indian camp. Berger, the Blackfoot interpreter, who was charged to have a watchful eye over this young Indian, had frequently warned him to keep away from the Assiniboins and the Crees, or some mischief would certainly befall him; but he had suffered himself to be deceived by their apparently friendly conduct, and had remained in a tent till late at night, where he was shot by a Cree, who had immediately made his escape. We saw the dead body of our poor travelling companion, laced up in a buffalo's skin, lying in the fort, and it was afterwards buried near the fort, in a coffin made by the carpenter. Kiasax had been more prudent; he had not trusted the Assiniboins, and had returned with the steam-boat to his family. Mr. Mc Kenzie told us, that he had witnessed a similar incident the year before. A Blackfoot whom he brought with him, was shot by the Crees at their departure, though he had previously been many times in their camp.

After the perpetration of this deed, a dead silence prevailed in the Indian camp; but about noon, two of the chiefs, attended by other Indians in procession, singing aloud, and among them General Jackson, came as a deputation to make excuses to Mr. Mc Kenzie for this murder. They brought, by way of present, a horse, and a couple of very beautiful pipes, one of which was a real calumet, adorned with feathers and green horse-hair. They made an address to Mr. Mc Kenzie, in which they solemnly asserted their innocence of the death of the Blackfoot, saying that the deed had been done by a Cree, who had immediately fled, and whom they had pursued, but in vain. Ayanyan is said to have spoken remarkably well on this occasion.

In the afternoon we again heard the Indian drum beating very loud in the tent of the sick man, and we went there to see their conjurations. We looked cautiously through the crevices in the tent, and saw the patient sitting on the floor, his head, covered with a small cap, sunk {205} upon his breast, and several men standing around him. Two of the medicine men were beating the drum in quick time, and a third rattled the Quakemuha (or Shishikue), which he waved up and down. These people were singing with great effort; sometimes they uttered short ejaculations, and were in a violent perspiration; sometimes they sucked the places where the patient felt pain, and pretended they could suck out or remove the morbid matter. Such jugglers are very well paid by the patients, and always regaled with tobacco. Many of the Indians went away this afternoon, because they could not find sufficient subsistence. Among others, General Jackson had taken leave. It was reported that some of the Crees had said they would take up the body of the Blackfoot that was shot, because there had not been time to scalp him; but such expressions were quite usual, and the grave was not disturbed.

The keel-boat from Fort Cass had arrived, on board of which we were to go to Fort Mc Kenzie. We had, therefore, a numerous company, but we were in no want of provisions, as our hunters had brought home, from their last excursion, the flesh of nineteen buffaloes. It was exactly a year to-day, July 4th, since we had landed at Boston. Mr. Mc Kenzie sent Berger, the interpreter,[11] and one Harvey, by land, to Fort Mc Kenzie, to which they proceeded on horseback, before us, along the north bank of the river. They had no baggage but their arms, their beds of buffalo skin, and blankets. They took some dried meat with them, but they chiefly depended for subsistence on their rifles. While the people were employed in loading the keel-boat with the goods and provisions for the tribes living higher up the river, we profited by this last day's stay in this place, to make excursions into the neighbouring woods on the river-side, and to the prairie. In a wood, below the fort, we found a tree, on which the corpses of several Assiniboins were deposited; one of them had fallen down, and been torn and devoured by the wolves. The blankets which covered the body were new, and partly bedaubed with red paint, and some of the branches and the trunk of the tree were coloured in the same manner. Dreidoppel, who discovered this tree, took up the skull of a young Assiniboin, in which a mouse had made its nest for its young; and Mr. Bodmer made an accurate drawing of the tree, under which there was a close thicket of roses in full blossom, the fragrant flowers of which seemed destined to veil this melancholy scene of human frailty and folly.[12]

The Flora keel-boat was laden, and there was only the baggage of the travellers to be taken on board. This vessel was a strong-built sloop, about sixty feet long by sixteen broad, with a deck, a mast, and sail. The goods were deposited in the middle space; at the stern there was a cabin, ten paces long and five or six broad, with two berths, one of which was allotted to Mr. Mitchell, and the second to me; the other persons, three in number, spread their beds, in the evening, on the floor. At the back of this cabin there was a little window, with a sliding shutter, and, on each side, a port-hole, which, in fine weather, admitted light and air. Round the vessel there was a ledge, about a foot and a half broad, on which the men walked backwards and forwards {206} when, the water being low, they had to propel the boat by means of poles. In the fore part of the vessel was the apartment for the engagés, and, on the deck, an iron grate for cooking: here, too, the game which we had taken was hung up. About half of our men were destined to tow the vessel when there was no wind. Formerly this was the only method of navigating the Missouri, till, about two years ago, the first essay was made with the steam-boat which now goes regularly to Fort Union. A voyage from Saint Louis to Fort Mc Kenzie used to take eight months, and is now performed by the steam-boat in a little more than a third of that time. The number of men, destined by Mr. Mc Kenzie for the voyage to the Blackfeet, consisted of double the usual crew of a keel-boat, and, including us travellers, amounted to fifty-two persons. I had taken many things, necessary for a long journey, from the Company's stores, but part of what I had brought from St. Louis had been left at Fort Pièrre, on the Teton River, the want of which I already felt, but had still more reason to lament in the sequel.

All necessary arrangements for our voyage being made, Mr. Mc Kenzie caused some fire-works to be let off before the fort on the bank of the Missouri, for the amusement of the people, which gave occasion to many jokes. The serpents dispersed the crowds of young Canadians, who had never seen anything of the kind before, and were called by their older, more experienced comrades, mangeurs de lard.[13]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This volume begins with chapter xvi of the London edition.—Ed.

[2] For the Cree, consult our volume ii, p. 168, note 75.—Ed.

[3] Catlin painted a portrait of this chief in 1832; and speaks of his visit to Washington under the care of John A. Sanford (probably in 1831-32), accompanied by several Assiniboin. See Catlin, North American Indians, i, p. 56.—Ed.

[4] Some of them assured me that the intention of this custom was, that their deceased friends or relations might participate in the enjoyment of this benefit.—Maximilian.

[5] See Plate 45, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[6] See background of Plate 65, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[7] For portrait of this Indian, see Plate 65, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[8] See Plate 16, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[9] I have spoken on this subject in the account of my "Travels in Brazil," the above defect being very common among the Brazilians. On the whole, it appears that there are more cripples among the North American Indians than in Brazil. A dwarfish Assiniboin frequently visited Fort Union, who was, at the most, between three and four feet high; his legs were short, crooked, and deformed. His head, and the upper part of his body, were perfectly well-formed; his countenance animated and intelligent, as is frequently the case with such persons. He wore a remarkably handsome dress, and rode his spirited horse exceedingly well. In the course of this journey in North America, I met with several Indian dwarfs; but not a single instance among the many Brazilians whom I have seen. Governor Cass likewise mentions a deformed Indian. On St. Peter's River there were two Sioux women, each of whom was about two feet and a half high; and there were similar dwarfs among the Blackfeet.—Maximilian.

[10] Catlin, North American Indians, i, pp. 56, 57, gives an account of the reception of these Indians on their return from Washington (1832). The stories of American sights at first created a sensation among the tribesmen, but they soon began to doubt their authenticity, and set down their narrator as a liar and impostor. "General Jackson" killed himself the year after his return, partly because of illness. Mc Kenzie had his remains interred at Fort Union. See Larpenteur's Journal, ii, pp. 412-415.—Ed.

[11] Berger (usually called "old man Berger") had in his early days been in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. Going to the Missouri with Kenneth Mc Kenzie, he rendered valuable service to the American Fur Company. The daring with which he ventured among the hostile Blackfeet, together with his knowledge of their language and customs, succeeded in persuading a band of that tribe to visit Fort Union, and make a treaty of amity (1831). Berger's salary as Blackfoot interpreter was eight hundred dollars per annum. He was still living in 1845, when he had a hostile encounter with Alexander Harvey.—Ed.

[12] See Plate 63, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[13] The British companies distinguished between "winterers"—old experienced employés, who devoted their entire time to the business of the company, and who were hardened to privations—and mangeurs de lard ("pork-eaters"), who were employed only for the summer months, chiefly in transporting the canoe loads from Montreal to the Upper Country and return. See F. J. Turner, "The Fur Trade in Wisconsin," in Wisconsin Historical Society Proceedings, 1889, pp. 78, 79.—Ed.

CHAPTER XVII
VOYAGE FROM FORT UNION TO MUSCLESHELL RIVER, FROM THE 6TH TO THE 28TH OF JULY

Difficult Navigation—Remarkable Formation of the Eminences—La Rivière aux Trembles—Prairie à la Corne du Cerf—Successful Buffalo Chase—Wreck of the Beaver Keel-boat—The rude Manners of the American Hunters—Beaver Dens—Prairies of the Upper Missouri—Successful Bear Chase—Milk River—The Orignal—Grand Détour—Big-Dry River—White Mountain Castles—Difficulties of the Naturalist—Muscleshell River.

On the 6th of July, at seven in the morning, after we had taken leave of the inmates of the fort, our men began to tow the Flora. The American flag was hoisted on the fort, and several guns were fired, on both sides, as a farewell salute. The weather was warm and fine, so that the men who towed the vessel suffered from the heat, and frequently lay down on the muddy bank of the river to drink. Beyond the wood, where the dead of the Assiniboins were deposited in the trees, a bend of the river to the north made us lose sight of the fort, and Mr. Mc Kenzie, who had accompanied us so far, wished us a happy voyage, and rode back; on which the cannon of our vessel again fired a salute. We afterwards rowed in the boat to the south bank, where we landed several of our people to hunt, and rambled through the dense forest and the prairie. The ground, which was everywhere seen between the high grass, was an indurated whitish clay, on which the plants, of which we collected several, grew only in single spots. We saw no game, it being too near the fort; but we observed traces of stags and buffaloes, and numbers of their bones. The yellow-breasted Icteria viridis was singing among the thickets, especially in the rose bushes. We ascended the high, bare, clay hills, from the summit of which we saw our vessel approaching. The prospect was very fine; we overlooked the windings of the river, the verdant moors, the forests, and the thickets, the prairies here and there extending beyond them, and the lofty fantastic chain of clay hills, of a whitish-grey colour, with some darker strata, or horizontal stripes, and regular perpendicular {208} clefts or ravines. The twenty-six men who towed our boat had been often obliged to put off the greater part of their clothes, to wade through the water, and the mud of the soft sand banks. The trunk of a tree, lying on a bank, broke the door of our cabin, and we were frequently obliged to row. For this purpose there were on the deck, two large and long oars, which were worked by three or five men, who walked backwards and forwards. At a large pile of drift-wood on the bank, an immense tree swept our deck, as the people who were towing did not hear us call to them, and broke the stays, by which I received a severe blow, which might have proved dangerous. Often, too, we came so near the bank, that the earth covered the windows, and made our cabins quite dark. We had our dinner at four o'clock, consisting of salt pork, pemmican, hard ship's biscuit, and coffee. In the evening, when the sun was setting, and illumined the chain of hills with wonderful splendour, our hunters returned with a young deer. On this day Mr. Mitchell divided the crew of the vessel into watches, so that two men might always watch, who were relieved three times in the night. Powder and ball were distributed among the men, but they were forbidden, under penalty of five dollars, to fire, which might easily have attracted Indian war parties. On the following morning (July 7), the weather was agreeable and the sky clear; we saw many swans, but could not get at them. We had before observed these beautiful birds and wild geese on the sandy beach. The young branches of the thickets had suffered by the frost, and the river had fallen four inches; to-day, however, the heat was so intense that we could scarcely bear it on deck. We observed that the stems of the poplars, to the height of five feet, or fifteen feet above the present level of the river, had the bark rubbed off by the ice. In this part there appeared, before the hills, cones of a most singular shape, burnt to a brick red; and the summits of the higher hills were often strangely formed in various angles. In the whitish strata of clay-slate between the clay are here and there apertures, arched above in the form of the gates or windows of knights' castles. The men who towed our boat killed, in the prairie, a large rattlesnake, the rattle of which we had heard on board the vessel. The hunters had seen some elks and deer; and Dechamp brought one of the latter on board. The towers had much labour at this part of our voyage, the current of the river being very strong; they were sometimes obliged to climb, in a long row, up the hills, where we saw them suspended, like chamois, in dangerous positions. Mr. Bodmer sketched some of these hills on the left bank.[14] In other places, the engagés who were towing were obliged to make a way on the bank by cutting down large poplars and thick bushes, which often cost much time and trouble. Here they often met with rattlesnakes, of which they killed several. Mr. Bodmer came so near one of these snakes, that he had nearly been bitten by it; he, however, killed it by a blow, and brought it on board. On this occasion, Mr. Mitchell told us that he had once seen an Indian boy die in an hour and a half after having been bitten by one of these snakes.

{209} According to Ross Cox,[15] the Canadians eat the rattlesnake; but I can affirm that we never saw an instance of it; on the contrary, they always manifested the greatest antipathy to those animals. This traveller likewise says that the serpent often bites itself, but I cannot believe this, as I never succeeded in any attempt to make him do so.

The next day, the 8th, we had again many difficulties. The river was shallow in places, and our men were obliged to get into the water to push our vessel on. In order to convey them from the boat to the land, there were no means but by laying a board, which had to be placed in a slanting position, so that it was no easy matter to climb up. On the left bank they were often prevented from proceeding, because the ground was so loose that it gave way under their feet. In this manner three Assiniboins had been killed, who sat down below the bank, when the sand fell, and buried them. The forest through which our men passed, had, in these parts, a very thick underwood of roses and buffalo-berries, and there were many very large frogs in it. At a place where the chain of hills recedes behind woods and thickets from the Missouri, we came to the mouth of a stream, with a soft bottom, which is called, by the Canadians, La Rivière aux Trembles, and, by Lewis and Clarke, Martha's River.[16] Of all the hunters whom we had landed at this place, Papin alone brought a very fat deer; but it cost much trouble to take our hunters on board again, for the engagés who went with the boat for that purpose, fell up to the waist in mud, after taking off their clothes. They were forced partly to swim, partly to wade, in order to reach the land. A little further up, the labour of the men towing the vessel was still greater; for, on the other side of a sand bank, the river was covered with snags, the intervals between which were hidden by foam and small twigs. The men, in a long row, had to step or jump from one of these snags to another, the sand being too soft to bear their weight; but they frequently missed the snags, and fell between them, up to their arms, into the river, so that many of them, who had never before done such work, trembled all over, and returned to the vessel. When they had got over these difficulties, they reached the prairie, beyond which, at the distance of from 150 to 200 paces from the bank of the river, the most singular pyramids rose, like towers. Our hunters had killed an elk, a variable hare,[17] and a large rattlesnake. The willow thickets on the bank, over which the goatsucker was hovering, and from the edge of which a large wolf stood looking at us, were full of mosquitoes, which, happily for us, were kept at a distance from the vessel by a slight wind, when we took up our quarters for the night on shore. If we shot a goatsucker, we found in his capacious jaws a ball of mosquitoes, which quite filled it, which are gradually collected and swallowed from time to time; so that the name, mangeur des maringouins, given to this bird by the Canadians, is very appropriate. During the night, however, those troublesome insects had found their way into our cabin, and sadly tormented us on the 9th, in the morning, for which reason we were very glad to proceed on our voyage, which, {210} however, began with new difficulties. Two deer swam through the river near us, and many shots were fired at them in vain, as well as at some buffaloes; yet our deck was quite hung round with game, especially portions of the large elks. Our men broke the large bones of these animals, and used the marrow for greasing the locks of their guns. The skins of such animals, killed on these voyages, belong to the Company, and are used to make shoes for their servants.

About twelve pair of Indian shoes are made of one large elk's skin, the making of which costs a dollar; the skin of a Virginian deer will produce only five or six pair.

About ten in the morning a violent storm arose, accompanied with rain; the thermometer was at 71°, and the mosquitoes were very troublesome. On the bank we saw a long yellow clay hill, in the shape of a fortress, and before it smaller hills, with isolated cones, partly consisting of purple clay.[18] Near these singular hills our hunters had killed a couple of deer, and brought with them the horns of a large elk, with seven antlers. We lay to for the evening at the wooded bank, where numerous beautiful shrubs were partly in flower. Early on the morning of the 10th, the hunters landed, and soon returned with the information that they had killed three buffaloes and a bear. As the distance was too great to bring the latter to the vessel, they had only cut off his claws; but some men were despatched to fetch the buffaloes. We traversed the forest into the open prairie, where the animals lay, at the distance of full half a league. In the forest we, for the first time, killed the magpie of this country (Pica Hudsonica, Bonn), which, in appearance, much resembles that of Europe; but differs considerably in its note and manners. Its nest was in a thick thorn bush, seven feet from the ground, and had two young birds in it. I have never seen these birds with more than two young ones; and the old birds are very shy in summer, and it is very difficult to surprise them. Not far from the magpie we found a couple of young owls, fully grown, sitting close to each other on a branch, while the note of the old bird was heard in the high trees in the vicinity. In the thick bushes we heard the note of the cheerful and agile Icteria viridis. The bushes of dogwood, symphoria, and roses, were so full of mosquitoes, that when we had discharged our pieces, it was difficult to reload them. The heat was great, and not a breath of air was stirring to relieve us from those cruel bloodsuckers. In the neighbouring prairie we found the cactus plant, which we have before mentioned, covered with the most beautiful flowers, which attracted vast numbers of insects. About twelve o'clock the men returned with the buffaloes, and we went on board with them. They had seen several buffaloes, but could bring away the flesh of only two of those that had been killed. After leaving this place, the bank was covered with low bushes, so that we were in no danger from the falling of high trees; but large portions of the steep bank itself frequently fell down, and dashed the water even into our cabin. Messrs. Bodmer and Mitchell made an excursion into the wood, where they saw many wild pigeons, numerous traces of bears, and the corpse of an Assiniboin deposited in a tree. There was an undergrowth of black currants, in search of which our people always {211} went, whenever they had a moment to spare. Towards evening, when we lay to near the prairie of the north bank, a violent storm seemed to threaten the safety of the vessel, and it was therefore made as fast as possible, but it passed over, the clouds dispersed, and our fears were dispelled. At half past nine in the evening we saw a faint aurora borealis, the rays of which shot up into the sky; the temperature of the air was pleasant, but the sky was not free from clouds, which diminished the brightness of the meteor.

On the morning of the 11th of July, Mr. Bodmer took sketches of the singular chain of hills, near which our people experienced great difficulties from sinking in the mud, and were often obliged to swim; twenty-nine of them were employed at the towing-rope, till a very violent storm, with torrents of rain, compelled us to take shelter on the bank, under cover of a tall poplar wood. The rain penetrated through the deck into our cabin, and wetted our baggage; luckily it was of short duration. We had now passed a place called L'Isle au Coupè (the cut-off), but the Missouri had here broken through at one of its large bends, and had formed a low island opposite to a marshy tongue of land; the channel follows the main breach, and beyond this the river is very broad: at this time it was high and full. Helianthus petiolaris, in full size and beauty, as well as the two species of willows (Salix longijolia and lucida) already mentioned, grew on the banks of the river; they are exposed to constant destruction; the river tears them away in large masses, and throws them into its rapid waves; but the ever-acting energy of nature is not to be restrained, and they soon appear again on the new alluvial soil, though, in general, only young, slender willows. We fired in vain at a couple of swans on a small stream called Porcupine River,[19] the mouth of which is on the north side, and an elk, killed by Dechamp,[20] detained us some time to take the flesh on board. We then reached Two Thousand Miles River, so called by Lewis and Clarke, which joins the Missouri on the north side, from which, to the junction of the Missouri with the Mississippi, it is said to be 2,000 miles.[21] At this place the forest joined an extensive prairie, covered with bushes of artemisia, where we found, on the ground, large cast-off elks' horns. Many isolated trees were quite dry, and of a silver-grey colour, doubtless through a prairie fire; in one of them we heard the chirping of the young of a pair of sparrow-hawks, which are very common here; the old birds flew anxiously about. Here, too, were numbers of the great fly-catcher (Muscicapa tyrannus). Elks and deer had traversed the prairie in all directions, and trodden many paths to the river. The prairie extended, without interruption, as far as the eye could reach; it is called Prairie à la Corne de Cerf, because the wandering Indians have here erected a pyramid of elks' horns. As we perceived it from the river, we went to it, accompanied by Dechamp and Sancier.

About 800 paces from the river, the hunting or war parties of the Blackfoot Indians have gradually piled up a quantity of elks' horns till they have formed a pyramid sixteen or eighteen feet high, and twelve or fifteen feet in diameter. Every Indian who passes by makes a point of {212} contributing his part, which is not difficult, because such horns are everywhere scattered about; and often the strength of the hunting party is marked, with red strokes, on the horns they have added to the heap. All these horns, of which there are certainly more than 1,000, are piled up, confusedly mixed together, and so wedged in, that we found some trouble in extricating, from the pyramid, a large one, with fourteen antlers, which we brought away with us. The horns are partly separated from the head of the animal with the skull, and partly single horns. Some buffaloes' horns were mixed with them. The purpose of this practice is said to be a medicine, or charm, by which they expect to be successful in hunting. As the drawing of this pyramid was begun, we were called away by signals from the vessel.[22]

A violent storm, which came up in the evening, was succeeded on the next day (the 12th of July) by a very high wind, which, as we attempted to proceed, twice broke the towing-rope, and we got into two successive whirlpools (remoux), twice turned the vessel round, and carried it with violence against the bank, so that the water came into the cabin, and the deck was covered with earth. As the wind did not abate, we lay to at the upper part of the Prairie à la Corne de Cerf, and immediately dispersed in quest of game. The prairie was the same as yesterday, and the wind blew dust and sand into the air, and even into the closest chests in our vessel. We met with various species of birds, among which was a black and white finch, which appeared to me to be a new species, and in its mode of life greatly resembles the rice bird. Among the wormwood bushes we roused several variable hares, and saw the yellow-headed blackbird, many sparrow-hawks, and a large rattlesnake, which escaped into a hole underground. Elks' horns were everywhere scattered about, and it would have been easy to make of them a second pyramid like the one already mentioned. Several interesting plants were gathered, among which were the Asclepias speciosa, with large fragrant flowers, and a new species of lactuca or prenanthes. Just at the place where our vessel lay, were four old Indian huts, of some war or hunting party, composed of trunks and boughs of trees piled together in a square, in which some of our people made a fire to cook their meat. Scarcely 100 paces above these huts, was the Indian Fort Creek of Lewis and Clarke—a stream with a deep bed, in which there was now but very little water. The wind, which was so violent at noon, abated towards the evening, and allowed us to proceed a little further up the river, till we lay to for the night. The air was very cool to-day, and made a striking contrast to the heat of yesterday; however, we comforted ourselves that we were not tormented by the mosquitoes. On the following morning, the 13th, it was just the same, and we were soon obliged to stop by the rising of the wind. We had seen a large bear, and accordingly took advantage of our rest to send our five hunters in pursuit of it. They did not, however, succeed in their object, but brought back, in place of it, some other game. The wood here was so thickly matted with willows, roses, dog-berry, and many burrs and other troublesome plants, and likewise so full of dry broken wood and rubbish, lying on the ground, that it was excessively difficult {213} to penetrate. I followed, alternately, the paths trodden by buffaloes, elks, bears, and deer, and at length got into such an intricate thicket, that it was not till after many hours of painful and fatiguing exertion, that I was so fortunate as to find our vessel; but all my clothes were completely torn to rags. On the inclined trunk of a tree, I saw an Assiniboin wrapped in skin; the tree itself was painted red; and on one of the boughs hung the saddle and stirrups of the deceased.

Though the weather had improved, we made but little progress this evening, because the river was too shallow, and we were not able to follow the south bank till the following morning (the 14th). Hereabouts, a chest and a cask were found, which belonged to the Beaver keel-boat, wrecked there in the preceding year, and was likewise under the command of Mr. Mitchell. As we had to contend with the soft sand banks in the river, and could not proceed without great effort, the vessel was put back, and brought into another channel, where we soon took in fresh game, for our hunters succeeded in killing five elks, of which, however, they could only bring away a part. Herds of buffaloes were in the vicinity, and several of these colossal animals crossed the Missouri in our sight. Dechamp, Papin, and Dreidoppel overtook these swimming animals in a boat, while four or five of our hunters got ashore before them, and two of these wild oxen were killed; a third escaped severely wounded, but one of those that were killed sank so deep into the mud of the river that no part of his flesh could be obtained. A white wolf appeared immediately after, and very composedly laid himself down on the bank, doubtless waiting our departure to commence his delicious repast. This part of the country was low and flat; wood, willow thickets, and prairie alternated along the bank. We here saw, for the first time, a beautiful plant, which is frequent from hence further up the river, the Rudbeckia columnaris (Pursh), the petals of which are half orange-colour and half brown. We lay to, for the night, near a wood on the right bank, when our people bathed, the evening being very fine and warm. The wood was lofty, shady, and beautiful; we looked into high, dark arcades, where the whitish trunks shone in the twilight; in front of it lay an old Indian hut; the night-swallow hovered high in the air, and numerous bats flitted across the surface of the water. The mosquitoes were not so troublesome; and at ten in the evening there was an aurora borealis, consisting of two columns of pale light, which rose high in the air, sometimes lengthening, and then again contracting. We never heard any noise accompanying these meteors.

This night and the following morning (the 15th) were very sultry; at eight o'clock, 75° Fahrenheit. Papin had shot a deer the evening before, but did not kill it; which was doubtless the cause of the loud howling of the wolves which we heard during the night; for these creatures make an incessant howling when they have found such a prize, and contend for the booty, in which cases the weaker and the young come off the worst. The ground of this forest, and of the adjoining prairie, was a heated, very hard, dry clay, and the country reminded me, at this season, except {214} in the vegetation, of the summer in the Sertao of the province of Bahia, in Brazil. Numerous birds animated the thickets, and we were preparing to pursue them, when a large buffalo bull advanced into the river, and immediately sank in the mud. We hastened up and killed him with several shot. With Messrs. Mitchell and Cuthbertson[23] I soon afterwards reached the vessel; my American friends, heated as they were, threw themselves into the water to refresh themselves. Towards noon, when the thermometer was at 86°, our other hunters returned, who had killed several buffaloes, and wounded an antelope. They had seen a herd of at least 100 elks, and wounded one of them. Mr. Mitchell, with his rifle, had shot down a white-headed eagle from a high tree, where he was devouring a large fish. The evening was very pleasant, but the mosquitoes penetrated in such swarms into the vessel, that we were obliged to stop every aperture of the cabin, and consequently suffered from the heat.

Early in the morning of the 16th we perceived a herd of buffaloes, and resolved to go in chase of them; but six bulls, standing near the bank, got the wind of us, and all fled. We endeavoured to get near them, but without success; and, after a fatiguing excursion of six hours, returned back much heated, and did not reach the vessel before twelve o'clock, which had remained far behind. We then proceeded on our voyage, and soon after Dechamp and Papin came on board, who had killed some buffalo cows. Dreidoppel, whom we found further up the river in the wood, had lighted a fire, over which he roasted the loin of a large antelope, which he had killed; while he was busy in preparing the skin of this animal for my zoological collection, he suddenly perceived two large white wolves standing about ten paces from him, which did not appear to be at all afraid. He might have shot them both, had not the ramrod of his rifle been broken. The wood where we took Dreidoppel on board was full of gooseberries, of a pleasant acid taste, of which our people brought a great quantity on board. The shrub which bears these black berries is thickly set with reddish thorns, almost like Robinia hispida.

We were now in sight of the place where Mr. Mitchell, with his keel-boat, the Beaver, had suffered shipwreck in the preceding year.[24] On the present occasion, Henry Morrin, our pilot, was very apprehensive of what might befall us in this dangerous spot. We followed a narrow channel, between the southern bank and a low willow island, where we lay to for the night. Our hunters had soon perceived in this island two large elks, and we therefore stole along before the thickets, in order to cut them off from the forest.

Mr. Mitchell succeeded in mortally wounding one of them, which, however, went on for some distance, sprinkling the bushes with its blood. We followed the trace through a very intricate thicket, till the night obliged us to return on board without accomplishing our object.

At break of day, on the 17th, we heard the loud howling of the wolves, which were doubtless disputing about the elk that we had wounded the day before; but Mr. Mitchell did not wish to lose any time, and we gave up our booty. The place where the Beaver was wrecked was about {215} 200 steps from our night's quarters, and we went to look at it. At that time the Beaver had lain about 300 paces further up the river, but in a dark night was loosened from its moorings by a storm, driven down the river, and thrown upon a sand bank. Two men were drowned, and Mr. Mitchell had escaped by an immense leap from the deck to the shore. The greater part of the cargo, worth 30,000 dollars, was lost: the crew then built a small fort, or log-house, about forty paces in length, in which they remained till part of the goods were saved, and another boat came up to fetch them. In this melancholy situation they were in danger of a quarrel with a band of Blackfoot Indians. These Indians were returning by land from Fort Union, to which they had been invited, on account of the conclusion of the treaty of peace. The presents made to them by the traders were on board the Beaver, and the greater part was lost, which much incensed the Indians. The disputants had already taken up and cocked their pieces, and it was entirely owing to the resolute conduct of Mr. Mitchell that the matter was amicably settled. Since that time the bank of the river, at this place, has undergone a considerable change. Only the pickets, at the back of the log-house, were still standing; all the rest had been swept away. At that time the whole place was bare sand; now, it was covered with willows, five feet high, and the river had carried away the bank for the breadth of, at least, 100 paces.

Soon after eight o'clock, the thermometer being at 80°, our vessel reached the place where one of the buffalo cows was lying, near which the hunters had passed the night, and we took the best part on board. The hunters of the prairies are often greater savages than the Indians themselves; they frequently eat the liver and other parts of the animals they have killed, without dressing it. We had gone but a little way along the southern bank, when we perceived, below the steep wall, a beaver's den, of which Mr. Bodmer made a drawing.[25] It consisted of a heap of twigs and logs, between four and five feet high, and the entrance was, as usual, below water. The inside of such a den consists of earth and clay, with pieces of wood, and contains several chambers, or divisions, in which these remarkable animals lie dry above the water. A bridge of earth, which likewise contained some wood, led from the land to the cone-shaped den, the interior of which I was, to my great regret, prevented from examining. In these rapid rivers, the beavers build only such light dwellings; but erect larger ones, skilfully provided with strong dams, only in stagnant waters, such as lakes, ponds, still arms of rivers, &c. &c. There are, however, some beavers here which live only in holes in the ground, the entrance to which is above water. Their chambers are then perhaps eight feet above the surface of the water, are spacious, and adapted to the number of animals that live in them.

We had sent people into the forest to cut hatchet-handles of ash wood, because further up there was no wood of this kind of a sufficient size. At noon the thermometer was at 81°; the hunters had killed an elk, and seen several bears. A thunder-storm, with a high wind, obliged us {216} to fasten the vessel to the shore, and to take other precautions; but the storm soon abated, and our people caught about five-and-twenty white cat-fish.

During our voyage, on the 18th of July, I could not help making comparisons with my journeys on the Brazilian rivers. There, where nature is so infinitely rich and grand, I heard, from the lofty, thick, primeval forests on the banks of the rivers, the varied voices of the parrots, the macaws, and many other birds, as well as of the monkeys, and other creatures; while here, the silence of the bare, dead, lonely wilderness is but seldom interrupted by the howling of the wolves, the bellowing of the buffaloes, or the screaming of the crows. The vast prairie scarcely offers a living creature, except now and then, herds of buffaloes and antelopes, or a few deer and wolves. These plains, which are dry in summer, and frozen in winter, have certainly much resemblance, in many of their features, with the African deserts. Many writers have given them the name of savannahs, or grassy plains; but this expression can be applied, at most, to those of the Lower Missouri, and is totally inapplicable to the dry, sterile tracts of the north-west, where a more luxuriant growth of grass may be expected, at best, only in a few moist places, though various plants, interesting to the botanist, are everywhere to be found.

On this day, at noon, we reached, on the south bank, an Indian fort, an expression which I shall often have occasion to use in the sequel; it is a kind of breastwork, which Indian war-parties construct in haste of dry trunks of trees. When such parties intend to stop for the night, they erect a breastwork, sufficiently large, according to their number, composed of trunks of trees, or thick branches, laid one on the other, generally either square or triangular. In this bulwark they lie down to sleep, after having placed sentinels, and are there able to repel an attack. This fort consisted of a fence, and several angles, enclosing a rather small space, with the open side towards the river. In the centre of the space there was a conical hut, composed of wood. Near this fort, on the same bank of the river, there was a beaver's den made of a heap of brushwood.

After our hunters had returned, with the flesh of a buffalo, we had a favourable wind, which allowed us to use our sail. At a turn of the river we suddenly saw a couple of bears running backwards and forwards on a sand bank before the willow thickets. One of them at length went away, and the other ran along the strand, and fell on the dead body of a buffalo cow, which was half buried in the mud. While the keel-boat sailed against the stream in the middle of the river, a boat was put out, into which Messrs. Mitchell and Bodmer, and the hunters, Dechamp and Dreidoppel, threw themselves, and rowed along the bank towards the ravenous animal. The sight of this first bear chase was interesting, and we that remained as spectators on deck awaited the result with impatience. Dechamp, a bold and experienced hunter, and an excellent marksman, was put on shore, and crept unperceived along the strand, till he got to the branch of a tree, about eighty paces from the bear, in order, in case of need, to intercept his retreat to the thickets. The {217} ravenous bear sometimes raised his colossal head, looked around him, and then greedily returned to his repast; doubtless, because the wind was in our favour, and these animals are not remarkably quick-sighted. The boat had got to within fifty paces, when the pieces were levelled. Mr. Mitchell fired the first mortal shot, behind the shoulder blade. The other shots followed in quick succession, on which the bear rolled over, uttered fearful cries, tumbled about ten steps forwards, scratched the wounded places furiously with his paws, and turned several times completely over. At this moment Dechamp came up, and put an end to his misery by shooting him through the head. The huge beast lay stretched out: it was fastened by ropes to the boat, and conveyed in triumph to the ship, where it was measured, and a drawing made of it. I much regretted that I had not taken part in the sport; but I had not believed that it was possible, in such an open, unprotected spot, to get so near the bear.

This grizzly bear was a male, about three years old, and, therefore, not of the largest size: he was six feet two inches and two lines in length, from the nose to the tip of the tail; the latter being eight inches. His colour was dark brown, with the point of the hair of a rusty colour, but new hair already appeared of a lighter grey, with yellow tips. This bear is known to be a very dangerous beast of prey, and is willingly avoided by the hunters: if fired at, he very frequently attacks, even if not wounded, when they suddenly come too near him. If he perceives a man in time, he generally gets out of the way, especially when he has the wind. Almost all the hunters of the prairie relate their adventures with the bears, and whole volumes might be filled with such stories. It is certain that many white men and Indians have been torn to pieces by these dangerous animals, especially in former times, when they were very numerous, and lived to a great age, as may be seen in Lewis and Clarke's Travels. Even last year, five of Mr. Mitchell's hunters, who had wounded one of these animals, were so quickly pursued by him, that they were obliged to take refuge in the Missouri. This species of bear cannot climb, and therefore a tree is a good means to escape their attacks. The true country of these animals on the Missouri, where they are at present the most numerous, is the tract about Milk River. Here there is no wood of any extent in which they are not found, but they are likewise seen everywhere in a north-westerly direction. In these solitudes, the long claws of this bear serve to dig up many kinds of roots in the prairie, on which he chiefly subsists, but he is especially fond of animal food, particularly the flesh of dead animals. There is no other species of bear on the Upper Missouri, for the black bear is not found so high up. At the place where we had killed the bear, it would have been easy to shoot many of these animals, by posting ourselves near the dead buffalo cow: the whole sand bank was covered with the prints of bears' footsteps, and trodden down like a threshing-floor; but our time was too short and too precious: we, therefore, proceeded on our voyage till a violent thunder-storm threatened us, and we lay to, by the high bank of the prairie, {218} where our bear was skinned. During the night, torrents of rain fell, which wetted our books and plants in the cabin.

On the following day, the 19th, we had another chase after a colossal bear, which swam through the Missouri to a dead buffalo; but our young hunters were this time too eager, and fired too soon, so that the animal escaped, though probably wounded, as fifteen rifles were discharged at him. Afterwards we saw several beaver lodges. The people towed the steamer in the afternoon, making their way along the bank, through a dense willow thicket. All of a sudden they cried that there were bears close to them; on which the hunters immediately leaped on shore. Mr. Mitchell had scarcely arrived at the head of the towers, when he perceived a she bear with two cubs. Dechamp came to his aid, and in a few minutes the three animals were in our power. Mr. Mitchell had killed the mother, which was of a pale yellowish-red colour; one of the cubs, which was brought alive on board, was whitish about the head and neck, and brownish grey on the body; the other was dark brown. The females of these animals are generally of a lighter colour than the males, which is the case with many beasts of prey, particularly the European fox. The live cub was in a great rage, and growled terribly; it was impossible for me to save his life.

After this successful chase we were detained by a high contrary wind, and it was, therefore, late when we reached the mouth of Milk River, on the north bank.[26] This river comes down in many windings, and constitutes the western frontier of the territory of the Assiniboins. Its waters are generally muddy and mixed with sand, whence it has its name. It contributes to thicken the waters of the Missouri, though Lewis and Clarke affirm that it is Maria River which chiefly contributes to dull their clearness; this, however, is not well founded, for most travellers, and we ourselves, found the waters of the Upper Missouri perfectly clear and transparent as far as Muscleshell River. Even the Maria is at times quite clear and pure. The Moose Deer or Orignal (Cervus alces Amer.) is said to be common towards the upper part of Milk River, and Dechamp himself had killed several of these animals on the Missouri, in the vicinity of this river. A little further up we lay to, for the night, on the south bank, where our hunters killed a bear and a very large buffalo. Mr. Bodmer made a drawing of the head of the latter magnificent animal, whose thick, coal-black, wavy frontal hair was eighteen inches long. Some of our engagés came up, cut up the whole animal, and ate the liver without cooking it. During the night we had again much wind, and were glad that we were able to remain in a safe channel of the river.

Early on the morning of the 20th we reached the place where the Missouri makes a great bend of fifteen miles, the distance across by land being only 400 or 500 paces. At this place the ice drives in spring over the flat land, or sandy point, and the tall poplars at the end of it were rubbed smooth, on the lower part, to half the thickness of their trunks. This bend is called {219} Le Grand Détour, and there are several such in this river. The wind, in many of these bends, being too strong for the efforts of the towers, and the masses falling from the bank, often endangering our vessel, we lay to under the protection of the hills on the north bank of a narrow prairie covered with bushes, where I found the blue-grey butcher-bird, the magpie, and several common birds, many of which we shot; we also caught a great many butterflies, which were hovering about the flowers in the burning rays of the sun. Henry Morrin, our pilot, a very good marksman, brought in a large male antelope. The other hunters had killed, on the opposite bank, twelve buffaloes, viz., four bulls, five cows, and three calves, but brought away only the flesh of the cows, leaving all the rest to the wolves, the bears, and the vultures: they had missed a large bear. Towards evening we left our anchorage, but made so little progress, that, when night came, we were not above a couple of miles from Milk River.

On the 21st we came to the place where the buffaloes were killed the day before: part of the flesh of the animals, which had not been touched, was taken away, and a full grown young bald eagle was shot down from the nest. It was now the dry season, which, in these parts, continues from the middle of July to the end of autumn. The whole prairie was dry and yellow; the least motion, even of a wolf crossing it, raised the dust. We could recognise the vicinity of the herds of buffaloes at a distance, from the clouds of dust which they occasioned. All the small rivers were completely dried up. Even the Missouri was very shallow, which it always is in summer and autumn. The prairie hills were now of a pale grey-green colour, with some bushes in the ravines, but all had a withered, sterile appearance. Soon after mid-day we saw a large buffalo bull standing on the bank, which seemed to challenge us, lowering his head and pawing the ground with his fore feet, so that the dust flew to a great distance around him. We landed the hunters, who got sight of a bear, but soon lay to, at the end of a prairie, near the mouth of Big Dry River, which joins the Missouri on the south side. Its channel, in winter, is several hundred paces in breadth, and in it was another narrow channel, in which, at this time, the water was only two feet deep.[27] The right bank of the stream is steep, and consists of grey clay; the left is covered with low willows; the whole surrounding country has a bare, desolate appearance.

Continuing our way but very slowly, we perceived, on one of the hills of the bank, some elks, and, by the aid of our telescopes, saw that they were large males with immense horns; and at this same moment, a black bear came from the thicket on the north bank, and began to swim across the river. The hunters immediately divided into two parties; the one, including Messrs. Mitchell and Bodmer, going by land along the bank of the river; the other in the boat, rowing after the bear. Unluckily our boat got aground, by which the bear got the start, and came too near to the hunters, who were posted behind the bank. As soon as he set foot on land, he was killed by several shot. He was not so large as the one lately killed, of a dark brown colour, and we contented ourselves with carrying off as trophies only his head and fore paws. On account of the {220} high wind we did not leave this spot to-day, and the chase gave us much employment. Scarcely was the bear killed, when buffalo bulls came into the river in several places, which we should certainly have killed, if our young men had known how to restrain their ardour. In the artemisia bushes of the prairie, a porcupine was caught alive, which was not killed till it was on board the keel-boat, our engagés declaring that it was a great delicacy. This animal is of great importance to the Indians, on account of its quills, which they dye, and use to embroider their clothing, and for other ornamental purposes.

On the 22nd of July we again saw clay hills, of strange forms, of friable, blackish-grey clay, with angular or small roundish cones set upon them. It was only in the clefts and ravines between them, that there was any vegetation; otherwise, not a blade of grass was to be seen on them. On the south there was a couple of clay hills resembling the ruins of an ancient castle, of which Mr. Bodmer made a drawing. They appeared to us to have some resemblance to what are called "The Two Brothers," near Bornhofen, on the Rhine. The river makes here a very considerable bend. Buffaloes were grazing in the prairies, and the cries of the wild geese were heard on all sides. The hills, with their singular forms, which were almost always the same, now came near to the river; most of the conical tops were of a greyish-brown colour; others, blackish-grey; and many had a top of a burnt-red colour. Even from our vessel we could distinguish, on all these hills, bright points, which sparkled in the sunshine, which proved, on examination, to be caused by the brilliant selenite, which has been mentioned before, and which occurs everywhere in these clay hills, either in layers or in nests. On our excursion to-day, we brought back large pieces of this fossil. We lay to for the night by a sand bank, the clay of which, where it had been wetted by the water, was cracked and cleft in all directions. This clay might certainly be used for pottery; on the surface there were prints of the footsteps of all kinds of wild animals, but we saw no living creatures but myriads of tormenting mosquitoes. We had made considerable progress to-day, because a favourable wind had allowed us to use our sails.

On the 23rd, we passed a dried-up stream, of which we had seen many on the preceding days, and all of which are among the numerous streams mentioned by Lewis and Clarke under the name of Dry River. Our hunters had killed a couple of deer, and several buffalo bulls; and Papin had roused a covey of the beautiful large prairie, or mountain cock, but could not get a shot at them. These fine birds live in the prairie, on the Upper Yellow Stone and the Missouri, and we frequently met with them in the sequel. In the middle of the day our towers had great trouble in keeping their footing on the steep, clay hills, in the barren and crumbling mass of which they sank above their ankles, and were obliged to assist each other.

The singular clay hills continued on the 24th July. The left bank of the river consisted of a high clay wall, divided into cubical figures, rent with many small clefts, and partly of overhanging {221} masses, looking like chimneys, or pillars, which threatened, every moment, to fall. There was here a stream with little water, and a marshy bed, which is, perhaps, the Sticklodge Creek of Lewis and Clarke.[28] While the wind allayed the heat of the day, we rambled through the prairies on the bank; as far as the eye could reach there were the bleached bones of the buffaloes and elks, and their immense horns. A couple of sparrow-hawks, a kind of lark, and a flock of wild geese, which had made an excursion from the river into the prairie, were the only large living creatures that we met with here. Thousands of grasshoppers, many of them of beautiful colours, were hopping and flying about: numerous butterflies, but only three or four species, were hovering about the shrubs in these dry clay steeps, which were bare of grass. There were a great many ant hills, and mosquitoes, and several other kinds of troublesome stinging insects. On the offsets of the clay hills which bounded the prairie on our right, there were banks of sand-stone and clay-slate standing out; and the detached fragments of stone, which lay about near them, were covered with beautiful orange-coloured, yellow, bluish-white and blackish lichens. Several deep ravines, or clefts, were all dry, and opened towards the high, steep bank of the Missouri. At some accessible places these ravines were crossed by the deeply trodden paths of the herds of buffaloes, which wind through the whole prairie along the chains of hills and the bank of the river. As we looked round on an eminence, whence we perceived our boat sailing with a fair wind, we saw an immense buffalo bull, which approached us slowly, not suspecting any danger: we quickly hid ourselves behind some bushes on the edge of a deep cleft, and, as the majestic animal passed through it, we killed it with three well-directed shots. The magnificent creature lay stretched out about forty paces above the ravine, and only the advance which our boat had gained obliged us to leave our prize. At length, however, by firing some shot on the steep bank of the river, we succeeded in drawing the attention of our people, and they despatched a boat for us. We took advantage of the interval to make a second attempt at buffalo hunting, and Dreidoppel, who was endeavouring to drive some of these animals towards me, killed a young bull, on which the boat arrived, the crew of which took away the tongues and part of the flesh of the buffaloes which we had killed. Much fatigued and heated, we reached our vessel at four o'clock in the afternoon, after having been exposed, since eight o'clock in the morning, without a drop of water, to the heat of the sun in the barren, withered prairies. During our absence, Mr. Bodmer had sketched some interesting tops of the neighbouring eminences, one of which[29] is called Half-way Pyramid, because it is half way between the Milk and Muscleshell Rivers. The whole chain of hills, with its manifold tops, ravines and hollows, was of a greenish-grey colour, with here and there some dark spots of pine forest; and this country, with its bright green meadows, with wood and willows on the bank of the river, has a most original, singular appearance.

On the 25th July we rambled through the prairies on the north bank, where we found {222} blackbirds, flycatchers, and the Fringilla grammaca, and roused a large covey of the prairie cock, which flew up before us with loud clapping of their wings, but which, for want of a good pointer, we were unable to find again. We took nothing but a hare and an owl, with some birds which had assembled in great numbers to teaze the poor light-shunning tyrant of evening. Mr. Bodmer sketched some more of the remarkable mountain tops.[30] Near that marked Fig. 16, some of our hunters returned with two black-tailed deer and a young fawn; and, soon afterwards, two buffalo bulls were killed, a great part of the flesh of which we brought away, because we were approaching the part of the country called Mauvaises Terres,[31] where we could not expect to find much large game. In the afternoon we saw some Indian huts under high poplars on the bank; and, on the northern bank, sketches were taken of singular mountain tops. In general, the bare grey masses of the eminences on the bank were so singularly formed that it was impossible not to wish that an able geologist might make a minute investigation of the chain. Their tops, like towers, pillars, &c., were contrasted with the clear blue sky, and the sun caused them to cast deep shadows. As we were sailing with a fair wind, I was obliged to submit to the necessity of rapidly passing these highly interesting scenes. The mountains continued to increase in height; they were more and more naked and sterile; their colour was whitish-grey, grey-brown, often spotted with white, the upper part disposed in horizontal strata, or in narrow stripes; and some isolated summits rose in the most grotesque forms, and the general appearance reminded me of the calcareous mountains of Appenzell, in Switzerland. In the steep wall of the south bank we saw, at a great height, the antlers of a stag projecting, which must have been imbedded in the alluvium, which was now washed away by the river. On these rude, naked mountains, the wild mountain sheep, called the bighorn, or grosse-corne, becomes more and more numerous the further you proceed up the river. Our towers killed, in this part, a large rattlesnake, which had just caught some kind of rat, probably a goffer, and half devoured it. A thunder-storm, with high wind, suddenly caused our vessel to be in great danger; but the same wind which had at first thrown us back, became all at once very favourable when we reached a turn in the river, and sailed, for some time, rapidly upwards. This brought us to a remarkable place, where we thought that we saw before us, two white mountain castles. On the mountain of the south bank, there was a thick, snow-white layer, a far-extended stratum of a white sand-stone, which had been partly acted upon by the waters. At the end where it is exposed, being intersected by the valley, two high pieces, in the shape of buildings, had remained standing, and upon them lay remains of a more compact, yellowish-red, thinner stratum of sand-stone, which formed the roofs of the united building. On the façade of the whole building, there were small perpendicular slits, which appeared to be so many windows. These singular natural formations, when seen from a distance, so perfectly resembled buildings raised by art, that we were deceived by them, till we were assured of our error. We agreed with {223} Mr. Mitchell to give to these original works of nature the name of "The White Castles." Mr. Bodmer has given a very faithful representation of them.[32]

There were similar formations on the north bank likewise; but the increasing storm did not allow us time to contemplate these wonders: our sail rent, and we were obliged to seek for shelter at the prairie of the south bank. We took advantage of the halt to explore the adjacent country, while the trees bent under the fury of the storm, and the thunder pealed in the very sultry air. We were now in a lateral chain of the Mauvaises Terres, a prolongation of the Black Hills, which here cross the Missouri. We proceeded on a sloping, rough flat, or prairie, which, with the usual vegetation, stretched along the river, and gradually becoming uneven and hilly, rose towards the mountains, and was covered, near the foremost hills, with diversely stratified fragments and blocks of yellowish-brown sand-stone. All around rose the wonderful chains of the lofty, bare, whitish-grey or grey-brown mountains, with their conical or singularly-shaped summits, sloped or stratified in divers ways, and dotted with scattered groups of dark green pines. It was during this day's voyage that these mountains increased so much in elevation, and in originality of character, that we seemed to be suddenly transported to the mountains of Switzerland. The Missouri, which is here rather narrow, winds its course, confined between the high ridges of clay-slate, sand-stone, and clay; and the torpid, naked scenery around is only animated on the bank by verdant strips of poplars and young shrubs. On the rough plain, at the foot of the hills, the vegetation was, for the most part, withered: the Allium reticulatum, with its white flowers, quite dried up; Cactus ferox, poor and shrivelled, and the bones of the buffaloes, bleached by exposure to the air, bore testimony, even in this solitude, to the uncertainty of life. The tracks of these colossal animals soon led our hunters to recent footsteps, and several of them appeared in the ravines; but thunder-storms, in the north-east and west, soon poured down torrents of rain, and scared the animals. When the weather cleared up, we approached nearer to the White Castles, and the illusion vanished.

On the 26th of July, in the morning, we again viewed the White Castles in another point of view. The pretty squirrel, called, by Say, Sciurus quadrivittatus, lives in the clay ground of these parts; our towers caught one, which we kept alive, for a long time, in a cage. Round the trunk of an old tree the Indians had built a conical hut with pieces of wood; but in the whole voyage from Fort Union to Fort Mc Kenzie, such huts were the only signs of human beings, and we did not see a single Indian. Game was now scarce in the Mauvaises Terres, and Morrin was the only person who killed anything to-day. In these parts the singular, perfectly spherical sand-stone balls are also found in the clay hills, which have been already described at Cannon-ball River; they are sometimes double, and, here, generally of the size of canister shot. The prairies were so covered with grasshoppers that the whole surface of the ground seemed to be alive; and where the dry leaves were still lying they caused a constant rattling noise. That species was most {224} numerous which makes a humming noise when flying. Their wings are greenish-white, with a large black spot; the thighs of a beautiful orange-red, and the sheaths of the wings a dirty white, with three blackish transverse stripes.

In the afternoon, there were everywhere, on the banks of the Missouri, fragments of rock and stone, which proved that we were approaching the more solid kinds of rock which would succeed the clay mountains. The river, which was narrow, not more than 100 paces in breadth, made, at a certain place, a sudden, very short bend in a northern direction. The south bank, which was exposed to the shock of the waves, was rent in such a remarkable manner, the clay walls so cleft, split, and washed out in a thousand varieties of fragments, cones, pyramids, and isolated points, that it was not without great difficulty, exertion, and loss of time, that the towers were able to proceed. The whole of this bank is perfectly bare, and of a greyish-brown colour; no plant can grow, because the masses of clay are always ready to fall in, and are subject to perpetual change. The great heat obliged the towers to drink frequently, which they effected in a singular, often dangerous position, lying flat on the ground, with their heads downwards, and their legs above on the slope of the bank. Beyond the bend, the river was again 180 paces broad.

The night was pleasant, and on the 27th of July, at daybreak, we left the keel-boat, and followed the track of a large bear, which had dug up roots everywhere; unluckily two of our hunters had proceeded up and caused an alarm in the forest. A wilderness full of thorns and briers joined the wood to the hill, where the mosquitoes were excessively troublesome. Under its tall slender poplars grew high grass, or a thick undergrowth of roses, mostly very nourishing food for the wild animals, which we saw in several places. In the high trees there were flocks of blackbirds, some flycatchers, which built in old hollow poplars on the bank, and a beautiful swallow (Hirundo bicolor, Bon), which we had not before seen, and in pursuit of which we spent so much time that our boat got considerably ahead of us, and we had to make our way through the prairie, where the thorny bushes sadly rent our clothes. Where the bank of the river was a steep wall, we saw a great number of bones of animals imbedded in it, and very often the skulls of buffaloes, from which the earth had been half washed away, projecting over the river. Wearied by our long excursion, we refreshed ourselves with the cool waters of the Missouri, and reached the boat soon after noon. Messrs. Mitchell and Cuthbertson returned about the same time, when the thermometer was 85°, from an excursion, in which they had a delightful prospect from the heights. To the south-west, they had seen at a distance the Little Rocky Mountain range, like blue clouds; to the south-east, Muscleshell River. In the green extensive hollow towards the mountains, they saw the whole prairie covered with herds of buffaloes. They brought from the heights beautiful impressions of shells, of which we had found some, on this day, on the bank of the Missouri. With much labour they had ascended three different eminences, on the last and highest, at which they arrived, excessively heated, they were met by a high bleak wind. Here they observed a very {225} strange formation of stone, namely, a pillar supporting a slab like a table, consisting of a friable stone—doubtless sand-stone. They had likewise seen from that eminence the mountain known by the name of the Bear's-paw.

The following morning, the 28th of July, gave me another occasion to reflect on the rude manners of our crew. For some time past we had made a numerous and interesting collection of natural history, many articles of which we were obliged, for want of room, to leave on deck. The skins, skulls of animals, and the like, some of which it had cost us much trouble to procure, were generally thrown into the river during the night, though Mr. Mitchell had set a penalty of five dollars on such irregularities. In this manner I lost many highly interesting specimens; and on board our keel-boat, with the most favourable opportunities, it was hardly possible to make a collection of natural history, if I except the herbarium, which we kept in the cabin, under our eyes, so that we brought but a small part of what we had collected to Fort Mc Kenzie.

In order to find Muscleshell River, which could not be far off, I landed early, with Messrs. Mitchell and Cuthbertson, on the south bank, where there was a fine shady poplar-grove, with a high undergrowth of roses, dogwood, and gooseberries. Through this thorny disagreeable thicket we followed the tracks of the wild animals, which led us to some open places covered with high grass; and beyond the wood a verdant prairie, where we gathered many interesting plants. We, however, did not find Muscleshell River, which was further up, and a storm with heavy rain drove us back to the boat, where we arrived wet through and through. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, however, we reached the mouth of the river which we had sought for.

Muscleshell River, the Coquille of the Canadians,[33] joins the Missouri on the south-west side, and at its mouth, which is seventy paces broad, both its banks are covered with poplars, partly high trees, partly bushes. About eight hundred paces upward there are, on its banks, high hills, covered with greyish-green short grass, and spots of pines. Its course is for a long time nearly parallel with that of the Missouri. We were told that the distance from Fort Mc Kenzie to its banks is only between thirty and forty miles, and that it is only five or six miles from its mouth that it turns towards the Missouri. Lewis and Clarke reckon 2270 miles from the junction of these two rivers to the mouth of the latter. Wandering Indians are found only occasionally on the banks of the Muscleshell, but they are said to be at all times about its sources. It is reckoned that its mouth is halfway between Fort Union and Fort Mc Kenzie: we could not hope to reach the latter in less than seventeen or eighteen days, though the navigation of the Missouri, from the mouth of the Muscleshell upwards, is more easy than before, because its course is straighter, its banks more rocky, and there are neither branches of trees nor drift-wood in its bed.

FOOTNOTES:

[14] See Plate 67, figure 1, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[15] For Ross Cox, see Franchère's Narrative, in volume vi of our series, p. 276, note 84.—Ed.

[16] Now Big Muddy River, the first large northern affluent of the Missouri west of the Yellowstone. It rises on the borders of Assiniboia, flows nearly a southern course, and forms the eastern boundary of Fort Peck Indian reservation.—Ed.

[17] The variable hare of the Upper Missouri appears to be the Lepus Virginianus of Warden. I lost all my fine specimens, and therefore cannot compare this species with those in Europe.—Maximilian.

[18] See Plate 68, figures 12, 17, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[19] Lewis and Clark so named this stream from the unusual number of porcupines seen near its mouth. The present Porcupine River is a branch of the Milk. The stream here so designated is now Poplar River, whose several branches have their rise on the southern border of Assiniboia; it flows nearly south into the Missouri, through Fort Peck Indian reservation. The station of Poplar, on the Great Northern Railway, is near its mouth.—Ed.

[20] Deschamps was probably one of the family of half-breeds who were later (1835) murdered at Fort Union. See Larpenteur's Journal, i, pp. 77, 78, 95-101; also note 124, post, p. 151.—Ed.

[21] Probably Red Water Creek, just above Poplar River, but on the south, not north, side of the Missouri. In the Original Journals, both Lewis and Clark speak of this creek as on the "larboard side." There is some reason to think that Maximilian was mistaken in his identification of these three rivers of Lewis and Clark—Martha's, Porcupine, and Two Thousand Mile Creek. The one called by him Martha's, or La Rivière aux Trembles, was probably the present Poplar, which would correspond to the French-Canadian name; but this was not the river named Martha's by Lewis and Clark (see ante, note 16). Maximilian speaks of Porcupine River as a "small stream," while in reality it was the largest river passed above the Yellowstone, and Lewis and Clark considered it as a possible line of communication with the Saskatchewan. Maximilian's "Porcupine" would thus be either Tulle Creek, or some of the smaller northern affluents of this stretch of the river, which would also account for his misplacing Two Thousand Mile Creek.—Ed.

[22] See Plate 21, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[23] Alexander Culbertson, who afterwards was prominent as chief factor and partner of the American Fur Company, had, in this year (1833), entered its employ, upon recommendation of an uncle, John Culbertson, with whom he had been in Florida the preceding years. Born of Scotch-Irish stock in Pennsylvania (1809), he was a large man, of a mild temperament, and popular both with his subordinates and the Indians. He married a Blackfoot woman, and was for several years in charge of Fort Mc Kenzie; he also built Fort Sarpy, Fort Lewis, and Fort Benton. In 1861 he retired from the company, having made a considerable fortune, and went to live in Peoria, Illinois. He nevertheless was frequently in the Indian country thereafter, and in 1863 was present at a Sioux attack upon the upper river (see Larpenteur's Journal, ii, pp. 350, 351). He also served as official interpreter for the government, in 1869 and 1874. What is essentially the journal of Major Culbertson's life in the Indian country, is published by the Montana Historical Society under title, "Affairs at Fort Benton," in their Contributions, iii, pp. 201-287. He most entertainingly describes Prince Maximilian's visit (see preface to our volume xxii).—Ed.

[24] For a description of this disaster, which was occasioned by a severe windstorm, see Montana Historical Society Contributions, iii, pp. 204, 205; two employés and one Indian were drowned. Mitchell sent an express to Fort Union with news of the catastrophe, meanwhile fortifying within a small barricade. Aid was sent, and the party enabled to proceed.—Ed.

[25] See Plate 17, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[26] Milk River was named by Lewis and Clark from the peculiar color of its waters, "being about the color of a cup of tea with the admixture of a tablespoonful of milk"—Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, ii, p. 10. It is by far the largest of the northern tributaries of the Missouri, rising in the main range of the Rockies in north-west Montana, and flowing in a generally eastern course on both sides of the international boundary line—the 49th parallel. The stream drains the territory between the Saskatchewan and the Missouri, and its valley is for many miles followed by the Great Northern Railway.—Ed.

[27] Big Dry River, which retains the name assigned it by Lewis and Clark, is the largest southern tributary of the Missouri between the Yellowstone and the Musselshell. It is, as described by Maximilian, a vast coulée, stretching to the Yellowstone watershed. When Lewis and Clark passed (May 9, 1805), there was no running water within it, although the bed was as wide at this point as that of the Missouri.—Ed.

[28] This creek is on the larboard (south) bank of the river, and was charted by Lewis and Clark; but it has not been identified, for the reason that this region has not yet been topographically studied.—Ed.

[29] See Plate 68, figure 15, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[30] See Plate 68, figures 16, 18, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[31] The French-Canadian engagés applied the term "Bad Lands" to many parts of the West. Those districts now usually thus designated, are in the valley of the Little Missouri in North Dakota. The Montana stretch here mentioned is in Dawson and Valley counties, and an outlying spur of this peculiar formation.—Ed.

[32] See Plate 70, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[33] The Musselshell, a principal southern tributary of the Missouri, rises east of the Big Belt Mountains, and flows east and north-east, parallel to the Yellowstone; it thence makes an abrupt turn northward into the Missouri. Lewis and Clark give its Indian name as "Mah-tush-ahzhah."—Ed.

CHAPTER XVIII
VOYAGE FROM MUSCLESHELL RIVER TO FORT MC KENZIE, FROM JULY 28TH TO AUGUST 9TH

Grouse Creek—Teapot Creek—Meeting with some Persons belonging to the Company—The Skeleton of the Bear—Chase of the Prairie Dogs—Little Rocky Mountain Range—Elk Island, and successful Chase there—The Mauvaises Terres, a Continuation of the Blackhills—Elk Fawn and other Rapids—The Bighorn and Chase—Thompson's Creek, the West Boundary of the Mauvaises Terres—Judith River—Meeting with the Gros Ventres des Prairies on Bighorn River—Observations on these Indians—The remarkable Country about the Stone Walls—Citadel Rock—Stonewall Creek—First Sight of the Rocky Mountains—Bear's-paw Mountain—Maria River—Arrival and Reception at Fort Mc Kenzie.

We did not make any long stay at Muscleshell River, for after our hunters, who had made an excursion into the neighbouring wood and prairies, returned, at noon, with a buffalo and an elk, we proceeded on our voyage. Dechamp brought some impressions of shells, which abound on these banks of the Missouri. Beyond a prairie where the hills, which were seventy or eighty feet high, came close to the river, we found Mr. Bodmer and Dreidoppel employed in collecting most interesting impressions of shells, and very beautiful baculites,[34] of the latter of which there were large, very fine, opalescent specimens. The edge of the bank, which was scarcely two feet broad, was covered with these fragments, which fall from the higher part of the rocky wall. The prairie now alternated with woods of tall poplars, and these trees, probably, do not form, in any part of the globe, such fine and lofty forests as they do here. Impressions of shells and baculites were collected on the bank, the last of which, a painter, who lately travelled on the Missouri, has stated to be petrified serpents.

{227} On the following morning, the 29th of July, the river was rather turbid, and there must have been heavy rain higher up. Nothing particular occurred on this day. At six in the morning of the 30th, we came to a stream which is, doubtless, the Grouse Creek of Lewis and Clarke.[35] There were a couple of islands, which we took to be Lewis and Clarke's Pot Islands, and a stream near them, for their Teapot Creek, a name which, like many others given by these travellers, amused us much.[36] We could not help observing that such names are not well chosen, especially as it would not be difficult to find better ones, even by merely retaining the generally harmonious Indian names.

Toward seven o'clock in the evening, as we were sailing by the eminences which resembled the lower mountains of Switzerland, we were much surprised to see a boat, with three men, which soon afterwards came alongside our vessel. It had on board, Doucette, the Blackfoot interpreter, and two engagés, from Fort Mc Kenzie, who had been sent to meet us; they had left the fort three days before, where they told us there were 150 tents of the Piekanns, or Blackfoot Indians; the remainder of this tribe were scattered about Maria River. They likewise said that the Fall Indians, or Gros Ventres des Prairies,[37] had encamped on Bighorn River, to wait for us: that those Indians, however, had not at this moment any articles for trade, but hoped to receive some presents. This was no pleasant information for Mr. Mitchell, as he was not just then in a condition to make many presents, and, besides, did not much trust those Indians. Not far from the place where we now were, Doucette had shot a large bear, which was left on the bank of the Missouri, a piece of news which was very agreeable to me, and of which I resolved to take advantage.

This morning, the 31st of July, being very fine, I set out early, with Messrs. Mitchell and Bodmer, Doucette, Dreidoppel, and the two brothers Beauchamp, all armed with rifles, or guns, to look for the bear, which had been killed the day before. The engagés carried ropes and hatchets. In the thick underwood and high grass of the forest, we first killed a rattlesnake, and, after proceeding a good half league, reached the bank of the river, where we found the bear still untouched. He was feeding on a buffalo cow, drowned in the river, when Doucette shot him through the heart, on which he ran up the bank, which was about ten feet high, and fell dead at the top. After taking his measure, the skin was stripped off, and the flesh cut from the bones, to prepare the skeleton. The bones having been partly cleaned, were tied together, and drawn up, by a rope, into a tree, intending to take them on our return, after they had been a little more cleaned by the birds of prey and insects. As soon as this work was finished, we followed the vessel, which, meantime, had got considerably the start of us; yet, in the prairie beyond the wood, we stopped at a large, so called, village of the prairie dogs, to kill some of these animals. They sat in parties of two or three on the flat little eminences of their burrows, uttered their cry, which is not a bark, but a shrill squeak, and vanished. Making as little noise as possible, we sat {228} down near the burrows, and succeeded in killing six of these pretty animals, which are not so shy here as at other places, and we often got within thirty paces of them. Laden with our booty, and with the plants we had collected, we proceeded by the paths trodden by the buffaloes and elks through the thick willow copses, along the river, and were just in sight of the keel-boat, when, taking advantage of a favourable wind, it hoisted its sail, and left us no alternative but to follow it as quickly as we could, for three or four hours. Our fatiguing way led through a rough prairie, covered with hard grasses, with the epinette de prairie, helianthus, and prickly cactus, through thick skirts of the forest, with a thorny undergrowth of roses, gooseberries, and burrs, where the fatigued and heated hunters refreshed themselves with the wild berries. We then had to climb over rough sand-stone hills, sometimes obliged to slide down, and at length reached the Missouri. On a wooded point of land, on the river side, we met with several of our hunters, but the whole booty of our fatiguing day's work consisted of a wild goose, an owl, and six prairie dogs. We had waded through many muddy, half-dry streams, and seen, in the blue distance, the range of the Little Rocky Mountains, about thirty miles off.[38] After our return to the vessel, a herd of buffalo cows afforded another opportunity for a chase, and our hunters killed two of them and a bull, which furnished us with some meat. On the 1st of August, early, Mr. Mitchell sent two engagés to Fort Mc Kenzie, to give notice of our coming.[39] We landed them on the south bank, laden with their arms and beds. We lay to at the wooded island, called, by Lewis and Clarke, Tea Island, in the channel on the north bank. As some elks had been seen, the hunters were landed on the island, and in a short time we heard firing in all directions, and in half an hour they had killed four elks, an elk fawn, and a young deer. On account of the number of animals found on this island, we agreed to change the foolish name of Tea Island to Elk Island.[40] Mr. Mitchell, who had often travelled this way, always found the island full of elks, and once, of buffaloes. On this day he brought from it a large eagle and a rattlesnake; and Mr. Bodmer had taken, in the neighbouring prairie, a large Coluber eximus, above four feet in length.

Near Lewis and Clarke's Bighorn Island, we again saw most singular summits on the hills. Entire rows of extraordinary forms joined each other,[41] and in the lateral valleys we had interesting glimpses of this remarkable scenery, as we were now approaching the most interesting part of the Mauvaises Terres. I have already described these mountains when speaking of the White Castles, but here they begin to be more continuous, with rough tops, isolated pillars, bearing flat slabs, or balls, resembling mountain-castles, fortresses, and the like, and they are more steep and naked at every step. Often one may plainly perceive hills or mountains that have evidently sunk into the marshy valley. Many strata inclined at an angle of 30° to 60°, and others perfectly horizontal. The course of the Missouri among these mountains is pretty straight, only narrow plains or prairies, covered with artemisia and the prickly bushes of the {229} pulpy thorn, lie on its banks before the mountains, which frequently come very near to the river, with large blocks of sand-stone at their foot, between which fragments of selenite are always seen. It were to be wished that the geologist and the painter might devote a considerable time to examine this part of the country, step by step; they would furnish a work of highest interest. In many places the loose pieces had slipped down so as to form buttresses; in other parts the mountains were spotted with groups of pines. We here collected several plants, and Mr. Bodmer made a sketch of the mountain tops.[42] The pretty striped squirrel, which lives in small round holes in the clay walls, was here frequently seen, and I conjecture that, if these mountains were closely examined, several species of this animal would be found. The country was so interesting that we waited with impatience for the morning of the 2nd of August, when a bright warm sunshine illumined the singular eminences which surrounded us. Several sketches were taken of them, but very few in proportion to their number, for large folio volumes might be filled with such representations. We saw several islands, among which was doubtless Lewis and Clarke's Good Punch Island, a name which is unworthy of being transmitted to posterity.[43] It is, in fact, difficult to find all the islands mentioned by those travellers, as many of them have certainly been since destroyed, and others arisen in their room. At seven o'clock in the morning the thermometer was at 80°, and we came to a rapid, which we passed by the aid of the towing-rope and the poles. At a bend of the river we thought we saw the ruins of an old castle, and then reached the mouth of Lewis and Clarke's Windsor or Winchers Creek,[44] where those travellers say they had the first sight of the Rocky Mountains, which, however, was certainly only the Little Rocky Mountain range. At this creek, the real pass of the Mauvaises Terres begins. The Missouri, while passing between these mountains, does not receive any lateral stream whatever, and few animals inhabit these heights, except great numbers of mountain sheep.

Dreidoppel, who landed on the bank of Windsor Creek, heard a loud noise resembling what appeared to him to be that of a waterfall, which we could not examine. After one o'clock in the afternoon, we came to Lewis and Clarke's Softshell Turtle Creek, which may be considered as the western boundary of the Mauvaises Terres. Here we saw some buffaloes, and heard the cries of the prairie dogs. Mountain tops,[45] with singular pinnacles, look like the Glacier des Bossons in the valley of Chamouny; in other places, the mountains were regularly rounded, and divided into small cones. After a thunder-storm the evening was fine and serene. We saw some wild sheep on the hills, in pursuit of which some of our young men ascended without success. On the bank of the river they found pieces of petrified wood, of a grey or blackish colour, which is here very common, in large pieces, and entire trunks.

On the following morning, the 3rd of August, we were at a second rapid, called Elk Fawn Rapid, which we passed as before.[46] The mountains here presented a rude wilderness, looking in part like a picture of destruction; large blocks of sand-stone lay scattered around, among which {230} a small squirrel is found, probably of an unknown species. Some spots were covered with a low plant, with white flowers, and there are several species of grasses, on which the mountain sheep, or bighorn, is said chiefly to feed. Some of these mountains reminded us of the Mettenburg and the Eiger, in the canton of Berne. A few pines and junipers appear here and there, and on the declivities small patches of grass, like Alpine meadows, so that we could fancy ourselves now in Switzerland, now in the valley of the Rhine; but the naked rude character of the Mauvaises Terres seems to be unique in its kind, and this impression is strengthened when you look up and down the river. Only the croaking of the raven was heard in this desolate waste, which even the Indian avoids, and very unwillingly visits these steep mountains. As those people generally travel on horseback, they prefer the open prairies beyond the mountains, where they usually find the herds of buffaloes. We passed several rapids, one of which was called Dauphin's Rapid, after one of our engagés, who had fallen into the river at this place.[47] This last rapid gave us much trouble, till a favourable wind enabled us to use our sail. When the vessel lay to on the south bank, we sat down upon the hills, and contemplated the singular conformation of the vast, rude landscape, while part of our people were surrounding a large fire on the bank, till night spread her sable veil over the scene.

On the 4th of August the tracks of the wild sheep were seen in all directions, and our hunters immediately went in search of them. When we were returning with the plants we had collected, Papin came back with two large female bighorns, which he sent on board the boat; they were strong muscular animals, somewhat resembling in shape and colour the European wild goat (Capra ibex). The chase of these animals, in these hot and dry mountains, is very fatiguing. In Switzerland the chamois hunter everywhere finds springs and water to quench his thirst; this is not the case with the hunter in the Missouri mountains, who must descend to the river when he desires to cool his parched tongue. The bighorn generally lives in small or large companies, on the declivities and tops of the mountains, but in the evening, and at night, comes down to the lower ground, where there is more food; and, even in the daytime, is often seen towards the foot of the mountains. They are shot with a rifle, and good marksmen do not find it difficult to kill them, because, standing in elevated positions, they afford him a good aim. Small projections and stones suffice them, like our European wild goats and chamois, for a footing, or with a sudden leap, with their four feet together, to fix themselves firmly upon them, at which time their white-grey colour offers a certain mark to the long American rifles. The females, and the young animals generally, keep in companies, but the old bucks remain separate from them, two, four, or six together, and are easily recognised by their size, and their colossal heavy horns. Even small, young animals are very swift, and it is extremely difficult to get one alive. Mr. Mc Kenzie had promised a hunter to give him a horse if he would bring a young bighorn alive; but, up to this time, he had not been able to procure one. The names of bighorn and grosse corne, given to this animal by the English and {231} French, are properly taken from the large thick horns of the ram, which often weigh forty pounds the two, and make the animal's head appear quite small. Many travellers have spoken of this animal; for instance, Brackenridge, who calls it argolia, or argalia; and Richardson, who has given a pretty good drawing of it.[48] After I had taken the dimensions of our specimen, Mr. Bodmer made an accurate drawing of the head; and, as it was not possible to save the skins from the hungry engagés, they were given up to the cook. Our dinner consisted of bighorn flesh, which is something like mutton, but has an unpleasant peculiar taste, so that I cannot agree with Ross Cox, who calls it delicious meat; probably because he could find nothing better in many parts of the interior of North America.

After passing several rapids, during a violent tempest, we reached Lewis and Clarke's Thompson's Creek,[49] which is considered as the western boundary of the Mauvaises Terres.[50] The appearance of the country was considerably altered; the eminences were flatter, the valley more open, and the bank of the river was more covered with green bushes. We were suddenly aroused from these contemplations of the surrounding country, by discovering that our vessel had sprung a leak; we therefore hastened on shore; the water had already risen into the cabin; the people unloaded the boat with all speed, and soon found the leak, which they stopped, so that in an hour and a half it was reloaded, for which we were indebted to the number of our crew.

On the 5th of August we passed Lewis and Clarke's Bull Creek, the mouth of which is in a pleasant country; and at six o'clock we were near Judith River, which had, at that time, several very shallow mouths on the north bank of the Missouri.[51] At half-past seven, when we lay to, to give our people time to get their breakfast, we saw five Indians coming round a hill on the south bank, whose fire-arms glistened in the bright light of the morning sun. They fired their pieces, and sat down on the bank, on which Mr. Mitchell and Dechamp immediately rode over to them. Several women, with their dogs drawing sledges, soon joined them, and the boat brought four men and a woman, who had a thick club in her hand, on board. They were tall and well made, and very different from the Assiniboins; they belonged to the tribe of the Gros Ventres, called by the English, Fall Indians. They had no covering on the upper part of the body, except buffalo skins. They sat down in the cabin, where they smoked their pipes, and had some refreshment. A troop of Indians now appeared on the bank, whom we saluted with a cannon shot, on which our visitors desired to be taken on shore. The boat brought back a chief and medicine-man, called Niatohsa (the little French man, or the French child), of whom Mr. Bodmer immediately took a very good likeness. This man wore his hair tied together in a thick bunch over the forehead, which only people of his description are allowed to do. As he spoke the Blackfoot language, Doucette was able to converse with him, while we proceeded rapidly, with a fair wind, and twenty-seven men towing us.

{232} Meantime, a number of Indians, on foot and horseback, had assembled on the bank, who hastened before to inform their countrymen of the approach of the traders, which is an event highly interesting to them. The sight of the Indians, all in motion, sometimes stopping to look at the vessel, and firing their pieces, gave great animation to the prairie. Being detained by a violent thunder-storm, it was one o'clock before we reached the place where the Missouri flows through a rather narrow gorge, from the remarkable sand-stone valley, called the Stone Walls;[52] a white sand-stone hill appeared before us on the north bank, as the first specimen of that formation; and on the left was the mouth of Bighorn River,[53] between considerable hills, on which numbers of Indians had collected. In the front of the eminences the prairie declined gently towards the river where above 260 leather tents of the Indians were set up; the tent of the principal chief was in the foreground, and, near it, a high pole, with the American flag. The whole prairie was covered with Indians, in various groups, and with numerous dogs; horses of every colour were grazing round, and horsemen galloping backwards and forwards, among whom was a celebrated chief, who made a good figure on his light bay horse. While this was passing, several Indians had been on board, many of whom swam across to us; among them, a tall man came on board in this manner, shook off the water, and went without ceremony into the cabin, but Mr. Mitchell drove him out, and gave him to understand that none but the chiefs could be admitted there; he then had the Indians told to go back to their camp, where he would visit them.

While the camp was saluted at intervals with cannon shot, and the Indians answered with their guns, the keel-boat, which had hoisted its flag, was anchored on the north bank, opposite to the tents, a very necessary precaution to prevent our coming directly into contact with all the Indians at the same time. About forty Indian warriors, drawn up on the bank, having made a running fire, and our cannon again saluted, Mr. Mitchell, with the interpreter, Doucette, took the boat and rowed across. He alone had pistols, the others were unarmed. On the summit of the bank, all the Indians formed a long red line, and immediately below, on the water's edge, sat the chiefs, in a detached small body. After Mr. Mitchell had seated himself by them, and had some conversation with them, he invited them to accompany him on board, and brought us eight of these chiefs, who sat down in the cabin to smoke their pipes. Among them were several men of a good open character; but one was a very bad man, Mexkemauastan (the iron which moves),[54] whom Mr. Mitchell had turned out of doors the year before, at Fort Mc Kenzie, on account of his bad conduct. We were now entirely in the power of these people, and had every reason to fear the vengeance of this man.[55] Prompted, doubtless, by his own interests, he behaved, to our astonishment, in a most friendly manner; shook hands with us, and, like his comrades, gratefully accepted the presents which were made him. He wore his hair in a thick knot on the forehead, and had a deceitful, fawning countenance. While we were engaged with these chiefs, we saw a number of men and women, from all parts of the bank, swim through the river, or cross {233} over to us in their round boats, made of buffalo skin, and our keel-boat was suddenly entered on every side and crowded with them. Tall, slender men covered the deck, thrust themselves into the apartments, and we were really overwhelmed with them. They all demanded brandy, powder and ball, and brought to exchange with us, skins, leather, and dried and fresh meat. The leather boats, laden with their articles for barter, were brought alongside the keel-boat, drawn by one swimmer, and pushed by another, and in this manner we were soon hemmed in, so that it was necessary to ask the chiefs to clear the vessel; they, indeed, induced the greater part of the young men to leap into the water, though only to enter the boat soon after on the other side.

Our situation was everything but agreeable, for these same Indians had entirely demolished a fort, on the frontiers of Canada, two years before, killed a clerk, and eighteen other persons, besides murdering several other white people in those parts; they had, in addition to this, had a quarrel with Lewis and Clarke,[56] and no confidence could we therefore place in them, though Mr. Mitchell affirmed that he always transacted business with them with pleasure, and had never had any proofs of the treachery imputed to them. If it was their intention to treat us in a hostile manner, there was no way for us to escape; and how easily might the most trifling dispute with these rude men lead to a breach, by which fifty whites, in the power of eight or nine hundred Indians, would have had no chance. They were therefore treated with much apparent confidence and familiarity, and everything went off very well. A favourable wind for using our sail was very welcome, in assisting us to escape from this perilous situation. Doucette had been sent on shore with some goods, and instructions to barter with the Indians, and thus, in some measure, to satisfy their desires. We on board saw our people on shore closely surrounded by a great mass of Indians; the noisy traffic was long continued, though Mr. Mitchell had repeatedly given orders for the return of the boat. We were obliged to wait a long time, and already began to be apprehensive for the safety of our dealers, when we at length saw the boat, overloaded with Indians, put off from the bank, on which orders were given to proceed immediately on our voyage. About fifty robust Indians joined our men in towing, and we were drawn along very rapidly; our keel-boat was so crammed with people, that it drew much water. In this singular company we began to pass through the most interesting part of the whole course of the Missouri, namely, the Stone Walls; but we could not breathe freely enough duly to appreciate the surrounding scenery, before we were quit of our troublesome visitors. The chiefs were repeatedly informed that the boat was ready to carry them on shore, and they had all received presents, with which, however, some of them were not satisfied; at length they were all sent off, with an intimation that they might go to Fort Mc Kenzie, to their allies, the Blackfeet, where the goods would be landed, and the barter conducted as they desired. We lay to for the night, on the right bank, at the fore part of the Stone Walls, and a number of Indians, especially women, who were found concealed in the vessel, and turned out, kindled fires near us. Many articles were missing, and we had given much more than we received, {234} yet we were truly glad at having come off as well as we did. A strong watch, with an officer, was set for the night.

The Gros Ventres des Prairies are originally, it is affirmed, a branch of the Arrapahos; they lived chiefly in the country about the Saskatschawan (Rivière aux Rapides), but roamed about in all the prairies which border on the territory of the Blackfeet and Arrapahos Indians; Alexander Mc Kenzie, and other travellers, call them Fall Indians, because they lived near the falls of the above-mentioned river.[57] They are well made, little differing in appearance from the Piekanns, and other Blackfeet. They ornament their large buffalo robes in a peculiar manner, with narrow parallel transverse stripes of porcupine quills, and many little pieces of scarlet cloth fastened to them in rows. This way of adorning their robes is said to be likewise usual among the Arrapahos; their shoes, like those of the Blackfeet, are generally of different colours; their tents, and household utensils, are quite similar. I saw many war clubs among them, made of the long end of an elk's horn; daggers, with handles made of the jaws and teeth of a bear, are not uncommon among them.[58]

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.

We approached the landing-place, and at length set foot on shore, amidst a cloud of smoke caused by the firing of the Indians and of the engagés of the fort, who were drawn up in a line on the bank. Here we were received by the whole population, with the Indian chiefs at their head, with whom we all shook hands. The Chief of the Bears was quite an original: his countenance, which was not very handsome, with a large crooked nose, was partly hid by his long hair. On his head he had a round felt hat, with a brass rim, and a silver medal on his breast. We were led through a long double line of the red men, the expression of whose countenances and their various dresses greatly amused us. When we arrived at the fort there was no end of the shaking of hands; after which we longed for repose, and distributed our baggage in the rooms. We had happily accomplished the voyage from Fort Union in thirty-four days, had lost none of our people, and subsisted during the whole time by the produce of the chase.

FOOTNOTES:

[34] The fine collection of all these impressions and petrifications made on this occasion has, unfortunately, not reached Europe. See, on this subject, "Synopsis of the Organic Remains of the Cretaceous Groups of the United States," &c., by S. G. Morton, Philad., 1834; and "Transactions of the Geological Society of Philadelphia."—Maximilian.

[35] Probably identical with Beauchamp Creek. Just above this was the site of Fort Hawley, built in 1867 by the Northwestern Fur Company.—Ed.

[36] Coues, Lewis and Clark Expedition, i, p. 321, identifies Teapot as the present Yellow Creek, a northern affluent between Beauchamp and Rocky creeks. It is also called Kannuck.—Ed.

[37] For a general sketch of the Blackfeet, see our volume v, p. 225, note 120; for the Grosventres of the Prairies, Franchère's Narrative, in our volume vi, p. 371, note 183.—Ed.

[38] Little Rocky Mountains are a short range in Chouteau County, Montana, forming part of the watershed between the Milk and the Missouri. They are but thirty miles north of the latter, and rise to an altitude of about five thousand feet. Lewis and Clark called the range North Mountain.—Ed.

[39] According to the French edition of Maximilian's Travels, the names of these engagés were Croteau and Rondin.—Ed.

[40] This island no longer exists; it was below Cow Creek, in the present Chouteau County, Montana.—Ed.

[41] See Plate 68, figure 20, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv. Bighorn Island is not specifically mentioned in the text of the Original Journals, but it was passed on the day (May 25, 1805) when Drouillard first brought one of these animals to camp. See Original Journals, ii, pp. 71-76, with small drawing. In Clark's "Summary Statement of Rivers, etc.," it is named Ibex Island; op. cit., vi, p. 61.—Ed.

[42] See Plate 68, figure 28, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[43] Our author misread the name of this island on the map. Lewis and Clark named it "Goodriches Island," for one of the men of their party; see Original Journals, vi, p. 61.—Ed.

[44] Likewise named for one of the party, Richard Windsor. This is now Cow Creek, draining the western borders of Little Rocky Mountains, and entering the Missouri from the north.—Ed.

[45] See Plate 68, figures 21, 25, 26, in the accompanying atlas, volume xxv of our series.—Ed.

[46] Lewis calls these "Elk Rapids," but Clark gives the name as "Elk & Faun Riffle," since "in the rapid we saw a Dow Elk & hir faun." Coues thinks this the present Lone Pine Rapids.—Ed.

[47] Dauphin's Rapids became a prominent landmark on the upper river. They were located about six miles below Judith River, and formed a troublesome obstruction. According to Culbertson's reminiscences, they were named for Antoine Dauphin, who was here detected in a liaison with a Blackfoot woman. He was one of the first victims of smallpox in 1837.—Ed.

[48] For Brackenridge's Journal, see our volume vi. Maximilian here refers to the eminent Scottish naturalist, Sir John Richardson (1787-1865). He entered the navy about 1807, was in several naval battles, and finally joined Sir John Franklin in both his exploring expeditions. In 1848-49 Richardson commanded a search expedition for Franklin. His published works are many, the one here noticed being his Fauna Boreali Americana (London, 1829-37), which he issued in collaboration with two other scientists.—Ed.

[49] Now Birch Creek, named by Lewis and Clark for John B. Thompson, "a valuable member of our party. This creek contains a greater proportion of running water than common"—Original Journals, ii, p. 90. It is on the north side of the Missouri, rising in Bear Paw Mountain and running directly south.—Ed.

[50] Under the 2nd August, Softshell Turtle Creek is spoken of as forming this boundary.—H. Evans Lloyd.

[51] Bull Creek was so named by Lewis and Clark because (May 29, 1805) a buffalo bull charged through their camp then lying at the mouth of the stream. It is now Dog Creek, a southern affluent two miles and a half below Judith River. The latter is the largest southern branch west of the Musselshell. It rises between Sunny and Little Belt mountains, in what is known as Judith's Gap, and flows nearly north, on its way receiving many affluents. It was so named by William Clark for Miss Julia Hancock, who afterwards became his wife. Fort Chardon (or Fort F. A. C.) was built near its mouth in 1844, being destroyed the following year.—Ed.

[52] See Plate 74, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[53] Now Arrow River, rising in Baldy Range and flowing north-east, forming part of the boundary between Chouteau and Fergus counties. There is, however, an inadvertence in the use of this name. Lewis and Clark at first named Judith's River Bighorn, later abandoning this cognomen for its present name. The next stream above, on the south side, the explorers named Slaughter River for a herd of buffalo slaughtered by Indians below its cliffs. The published map, however, errs by placing here two rivers—Bighorn (which should be an alternate for Judith) and Slaughter Creek beyond the stone walls. Clark's "Summary Statement," Original Journals, vi, p. 62, gives this correctly.—Ed.

By a typographical error the Crow name for the Bighorn is given wrongly as "Ichpnaotsa" instead of "Ichpoa-tassa" (close articulation, ich guttural, tassa soft, short, and without emphasis).—Maximilian.

[54] See Plate 20, in accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[55] This was the same tribe, possibly the same band, with whom the battle of Pierre's Hole occurred the preceding summer. See our volume xxi, pp. 69-72.—Ed.

[56] Possibly the first is the massacre at St. John's house, referred to by John McLean in Notes of Twenty-Five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Territory (London, 1849), i, pp. 234-237.

For Meriwether Lewis's difficulties with the Grosventres of the Prairies, consult Original Journals, v, pp. 218-227.—Ed.

[57] For Sir Alexander Mackenzie see Franchère's Narrative, in our volume vi, p. 185, note 4. For the Blackfeet and Arapaho see our volume v, p. 225, note 120. The tribal affinity between the Grosventres of the Prairies and the Arapaho was recognized by frequent visits of the former to the land of the latter. Consult Chittenden, Fur-Trade, ii, pp. 852, 853.—Ed.

[58] See p. [105] for illustration of Grosventre dagger.—Ed.

[59] Most of the Grosventres used the Blackfoot language as well as their own, which is described as difficult by all travellers to this region.—Ed.

[60] The Original Journals speak of Stonewall Creek and "those imence nateral walls."—Ed.

[61] Similar sand-stone strata are said to occur in other parts of North America; and, in South America, Poeppig seems to have met with them, as he describes them in the following passage:—"Towards noon we approached the highest point on this road, the Alto de Lacchagual (4718 metres, according to Rivero). We were much struck with the sand-stone rocks, which we approached about the half way of the journey, after having already seen them ever since the morning, in different directions before us. As isolated masses, of the most varied forms, they extend in rows along the ridge of the far-stretching chain of hills, and form, in many places, really gigantic walls. Low groups, probably only broken fragments, lie scattered irregularly around, but high, apparently regular pillars rise far above them in the distance, that look partly like basalt, for which they are taken at Lima; partly like works constructed by art. By their symmetrical arrangement they sometimes seem to be the ruins of an immensely large building; at others, appear like large regular quadrangles with square gates, between what seem to be high bastions. The form of the inverted cone occurs here as among the rocks at Adersbach, only the proportions must be conceived as suitable to the Andes, for many of these dark pillars are, undoubtedly, several hundred feet high. The eye exerts itself in vain to discover the termination of these stony columns. They vanish at a great distance in the north-west, between similar lines, which appear to meet them at a certain angle. At one place only we approached them close enough to be able to examine at least the lowest fragments; we saw, however, little more than a very soft, coarse sand-stone, of a whitish colour, which has become black only by the action of the air, and decomposition of the surface. These remarkable groups have no particular name, and no popular tradition is connected with their romantic forms, as in the Hartz. The Peruvian possesses, in this respect, less imagination than the Chileno, who makes something out of every rock, the form of which is unusual; sees a church on the summit of the Andes of Santa Rosa, and, in a lateral valley of the road from Mendoza, fancies that he discovers a palace, and a long procession of monks performing penance."—(Reisebeschreibung, Vol. II. p. 48).—Maximilian.

[62] See Plate 67, figures 6-9, and Plate 68, figures 22-29, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[63] The extensive collection of all kinds of rock in this remarkable sand-stone valley, was unfortunately lost in the fire on board the Company's steam-boat in the year 1834, and I am, consequently, unable to determine more particularly the kind of the above-mentioned rock, standing out in narrow perpendicular walls. Lewis and Clark call it a conglomerate; but this expression seems to me not to be well chosen.—Maximilian.

[64] See Plate 67, figure 4, and Plate 68, figure 11, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[65] See Plate 18, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[66] See Plate 74, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[67] Represented in Plate 74 of the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[68] Figure 10 of Plate 68, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[69] Now Eagle Creek, rising in Bear Paw Mountains and entering the Missouri from the north-east.—Ed.

[70] Bear Paw Mountains are located in Chouteau County, west of the Little Rockies. They are not a continuous chain, but a group of high, steep, broken hills partly covered with timber, forming part of the watershed between Milk and Missouri rivers. The western end approaches within eight or ten miles of the Missouri. In these mountains occurred the battle of September 30-October 2, 1877, when United States troops captured Chief Joseph and the largest part of his band of Nez Percés.—Ed.

[71] This group is the Highwood Mountains, on the southern borders of Chouteau County, directly south of Fort Benton. These mountains rise to an altitude of 7,600 feet.—Ed.

[72] See Lewis's own description of his cure, by the use of this fruit, in Original Journals, ii, p. 142.—Ed.

[73] Maria's River rises in the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, and flows nearly due east into the Missouri, forming its largest northern tributary beyond Milk River. Upon reaching the mouth, Lewis and Clark were uncertain, until they had explored each branch, which was the main stream of the Missouri. They named the northern tributary for Captain Lewis's cousin, Miss Maria Wood, later Mrs. Clarkson.—Ed.

[74] For James Kipp see our volume xxii, p. 345, note 319. The site of this post was directly in the angle of the rivers on the west bank of the Missouri; it has since been swept away by the river. While the fort was building, Kipp requested the Indians to depart and return after seventy-five days, when to their surprise they found a completed structure. In the spring of 1832 most of the engagés declined to re-enter the service because of the hazardous situation of the post; moreover, the furs had to be transported to Fort Union. Kipp had, therefore, no alternative but to abandon the stockade, which the Indians soon burned. Three French-Canadians, having taken Blackfoot wives, remained with this tribe. See "Affairs at Fort Benton," in Montana Historical Society Contributions, iii, pp. 203-204.—Ed.

[75] Fort Mc Kenzie, whose founding is described by Maximilian in chapter xix, post, was situated about six miles above the mouth of Maria's River, a little below a cluster of small islands, on the west side of the river, opposite bold bluffs. It was maintained until 1844. In that year Culbertson having been transferred to another post, Chardon and Harvey, in command at Fort Mc Kenzie, took summary vengeance on the neighboring Indians for theft by discharging cannon at them as they came to trade at the post, and killing over thirty. Thereupon the traders were forced by native hostility to abandon this fort and retreat to the newly-constructed Fort Chardon, near Judith's River (see note 53, ante, p. [71]). The Indians burned Fort Mc Kenzie, which was thereafter spoken of as Fort Brulé, and its site as Brulé Bottom.—Ed.

[76] Those Indians are called soldiers at the trading posts who are employed as a kind of police to maintain order among their own people.—Maximilian.

Comment by Ed. Catlin painted a portrait of a Blackfoot chief and medicine man named White Buffalo. See his North American Indians, i, p. 34, Plate 15.

CHAPTER XIX
DESCRIPTION OF FORT MC KENZIE AND THE ENVIRONS, AND OF THE INDIAN POPULATION LIVING THERE

Fort Mc Kenzie—The Blackfeet; their Appearance, Head-dress, &c.

Fort Mc Kenzie, which, at the time of its first establishment in 1832, was called by Mr. Mitchell, its founder, Fort Piekann, is designed for carrying on the fur trade with the three branches of the Blackfoot Indians, and several other neighbouring nations, as the Gros Ventres des Prairies, the Sassis,[77] and the Kutanas, or Kutnehas.[78] As I have already said, the American Fur Company concluded, in the year 1831, a commercial convention with those tribes, and sent for that purpose the interpreter, Berger, a Canadian, who was pretty well acquainted with the language of the Blackfeet, who brought seventy Indians of those nations to a conference at Fort Union.

At his first meeting with these dangerous people they were going to kill him, and he was saved by a certain chief, after many disputes. The convention which Mr. Mc Kenzie concluded with the Indians, after those negotiations, will be found in the Appendix.[79] As soon as it was agreed to by both parties, Mr. Kipp was sent with a keel-boat laden with goods to Maria River, and Fort Piekann, now in ruins, was founded. The sight of the numerous assemblage of different {243} Indian nations collected here on that occasion is said to have been highly interesting. As the situation of the fort was subsequently found to be unfavourable, Major Mitchell, who succeeded Mr. Kipp, transferred the trading post to its present situation, where an extensive prairie was better suited to the meeting of numerous Indians. When the Company's people landed at this place in 1832, the present fort was erected in a few days. While the work was going on, they lived in the keel-boat, and were actually blockaded by at least 4000 or 5000 men; and, on the whole, by an Indian population of 10,000 or 12,000 persons, extremely dangerous, in whom no confidence could be placed, and whose perfidious, sanguinary, and predatory character was sufficiently known. In fact, some insignificant disputes nearly produced a breach of the peace, which would have inevitably led to the destruction of the crew of the boat, and was prevented only by the decision and resolute conduct of Mr. Mitchell. The Indians had already cut the rope which held the keel-boat, the only hope of the Americans, to the bank, whose situation at this time was extremely critical, as the Blood Indians in particular had always been the declared enemies of the Whites. As soon as the traders got into the fort, which was quickly completed, their situation was much changed. They were secure from the attacks of the Indians, and had sufficient provisions, powder, and ball, for a considerable time. The Indians were no longer admitted indiscriminately; suitable precautions were adopted; and the Piekanns, who were the principal tribe inhabiting the surrounding country, and some families of whom are found here at all seasons of the year, set up their tents in the vicinity.

The present fort is 120 paces from the north bank of the Missouri, which a little below makes a large bend. From this to the highest chain of the Rocky Mountains is about 100 English miles; but to the beginning of the mountains, not more than fifteen or twenty miles, and a good day's journey to the Falls of the Missouri.

The fort itself is built in the same manner as the other trading posts already described; it forms a quadrangle, the sides of which are forty-five or forty-seven paces in length, and is defended by two block-houses, with some pieces of cannon. It is much smaller than Fort Union, and worse and more slightly built. The dwellings are of one story, and low; the rooms small, generally without floorings, with a chimney, a door, a small window with parchment instead of glass, and a very flat roof covered with green sods, where the inhabitants post themselves, when, in case of being attacked, they have to fire over the high pickets. The flagstaff stands in the centre of the court-yard. The gate is strong, double, and well protected; and, when the trade with the Indians is going on, the inner gate is closed: the entrance to the Indian store, between the two gates, is then free, a strong guard being stationed at the store. We had brought with us the glass windows, and other necessary materials, for the proposed new fort. Before our arrival, the inhabitants of the fort were twenty-seven white men, and several Indian women, married to them, to whom our arrival made an addition of fifty-three persons. All these people, excepting the {244} first table for six persons, lived entirely on meat, so that we may assume that two buffaloes daily were required for their consumption. When we consider the generally very good appetites of the Canadians, of whom it is proverbially said that two of them will nearly devour a whole side of a buffalo, it is evident how necessary it is to have good hunters, and also to purchase large quantities of meat from the Indians. They generally receive twenty balls and the necessary powder for all the flesh of a buffalo cow, or even less when these animals are numerous; but as many as forty charges for a gun are paid them when the buffaloes are at a distance.

A level prairie surrounds this fort; and, about 800 paces beyond it, the chain of hills, about 80 to 100 feet high, runs in the direction from south to north, and about 2000 paces above the fort reaches the Missouri, and then runs along its bank. The banks of the river, and the low islands on it, are here and there bordered with wood and bushes, and some islands are entirely covered with them. On ascending to the top of the chain of hills, you look over a level dry prairie, in which, at a small distance, are the pretty deep beds of two rivers, Maria River, and Teton River, called, by Lewis and Clarke, Tansy River.[80] The latter, which is a small river, flows through a beautifully verdant valley, the bottom of which is covered with tall, shady poplars; there is good pasture of high grasses, and other plants. It falls into the Maria not far above its mouth, after having flowed for some distance almost parallel to the Missouri, to which it approaches so nearly, at between three and four miles from the fort, that the piece of land which separates the two rivers, is not more than 500 or 600 paces broad.[81]

Below the fort, in the first bend of the river, is an island, called Horse Island, where the horses belonging to the fort are sent to graze in the winter. They never have any other food than grass in summer; and in the winter, the bark of poplar trees, which they gnaw off. They never enter a stable. The south bank of the Missouri consists of high clay walls, in which there are doubtless strata of sand-stone, because numbers of beautiful impressions of shells are found immediately at the edge of the bank. These high walls must be very dangerous to the fort, in case of an attack by the Indians, because an effective fire may be made from them into the internal quadrangle of the fort. This dangerous position was one of the causes which led to the resolution of founding a new settlement further up the river.[82]

The Missouri itself does not abound in fish in the neighbourhood of Fort Mc Kenzie, yet soft shell turtles are sometimes caught, as well as cat-fish, of the two species already mentioned, one of which we obtained during our stay, and which, as proof of the voracity of these animals, had in its stomach a stone polished by the action of the water, five inches long and four and a half broad. A sturgeon, of a species which, we were told, is not found in the Mississippi, was caught here, and universally considered as an extraordinary rarity.

{245} The prairie of which I have already spoken was now animated, in the vicinity of the fort, by the camp of the Piekanns, which was set up in four divisions at about 400 paces from the pickets. The grass was trodden down or fed off by the people and numerous horses, and on every side were horsemen, groups of pedestrians and dogs, besides the horses belonging to the fort, which were brought out in the morning, under the care of four well armed horsemen, and conducted back in the evening at sunset. As we shall have frequent occasion in the sequel to come in contact with the Indians of this part of the country, this may be the best place to speak of the Blackfeet, who are the original population of the prairies.

The Blackfeet form a numerous nation, which is divided into three tribes, speaking one and the same language. These tribes are—

1. The Siksekai or Seksekai, the Blackfeet properly so called.[83]

2. The Kahna or Kaënna, the Blood Indians.[84]

3. The Piekanns.

All together they can bring into the field 5000 or 6000 warriors, and, doubtless, amount to 18,000 or 20,000 souls, which number is assumed by Dr. Morse, though he thinks it below the truth. Warden estimates the number of the Blackfeet at only 5000 souls, of whom the half, he says, are warriors; this is unquestionably far too low an estimate. We shall have the number of 18,000 or 20,000 souls, if we reckon only three women, children, and old men, for one warrior, and this is certainly a very low estimate. The Blackfeet move about in the prairies near the Rocky Mountains, and partly live among those mountains, but especially they dwell between the three forks of the Missouri, of which Jefferson River is the most northerly; the Madison River, the western or central; and the Gallatin the most southerly or easterly. They live, however, especially the Piekanns, as far down as Maria River, in the prairies of which they move about, and where all the three tribes sometimes meet to trade with the American Fur Company. They likewise trade with the Hudson's Bay Company, and with the Spaniards of Santa Fe, as appears from the Spanish blankets, crosses, &c., which they wear. There is, probably, no reason to doubt that they take most of these things in war, for the rifles, compasses, &c., which we found in their possession, were marked with the names of the owners. They are always dangerous {246} to white men who are hunting singly in the mountains, especially to the beaver hunters, and kill them whenever they fall into their hands; hence the armed troops of the traders keep up a continual war with them. It was said that in the year 1832 they shot fifty-eight Whites, and a couple of years before that time, above eighty. In the neighbourhood of the forts they keep the peace, and the Piekanns, in particular, behave well and amicably to the Whites, whereas the Blood Indians and the Siksekai can never be trusted. They are all great adepts in horse stealing, even in the vicinity of the trading posts. All these Indians are comprehended, by the Whites, under the general name of Blackfeet, which they themselves do not, however, extend so far, but know each of the three tribes only by its own proper name. As they speak only one language, keep together, and differ but little in their external appearance, they are justly considered as one and the same nation, and I shall always speak of them as such by this general name.

We do not, at present, possess any accurate and detailed account of these people, for the American Fur Company, who trade with them, and therefore have had the best opportunity of becoming acquainted with them, seldom take any interest in scientific researches. How little has hitherto been known of these people is proved by the fact that Brackenridge declares them to be Sioux, though a comparison of some words of their language immediately proves the contrary.[85] In their exterior, the Blackfeet do not much differ from the other Indians of the Upper Missouri. They are robust, generally well made men, and some of the women and girls are very pretty. The men are partly broad shouldered and muscular, partly of middle stature, and thickset. One of the Blood Indians measured six feet eleven inches English measure. Several Piekanns were nearly six feet, French measure. The Big Soldier was five feet ten inches two lines, French measure. Their arms and legs are more slender than those of the Whites, but this is by no means a general rule. Their hands and feet are, for the most part, small, of a blackish-brown colour, with prominent veins, exactly like the Botocudos and other Brazilians, with whom, as I have already observed, evident traces of this affinity appear in all the North American Indians. Their features are in the main the same as those of the other Indians which have been before described. The nose is often slightly curved or bent downwards, frequently long and thin, almost like those of the Jews, and the nostrils not extended, which is more frequently, though not always seen in the Brazilians. Their eyes are mostly hazel, yet I saw one Piekann with a light bluish-grey circle round the iris. Their hair is jet black, and generally stiff, yet often not so shining a black as that of the Brazilians; their beard is not thin, but is carefully plucked out, for which purpose they have a twisted wire, or a piece of tin bent together like a pair of tweezers. Old people often have grey hair, but some young men are seen whose hair is dyed of a dark brown. A whole family of Piekanns, near Fort Mc Kenzie, had such hair mixed with a good deal of grey. I never saw any with bald heads. The colour of the skin of these Indians is mostly a fine bright reddish-brown, often really copper colour, and generally darker than in the Brazilians. {247} Even little children have the dark brown colour, but newly born infants are rather paler. Children, as in Brazil, have, in general, prominent bellies and thin limbs, and often the navel large and swollen.

The Blackfeet do not disfigure their bodies; none of the nations of the Missouri bore the nose and lips, except a tribe in the Rocky Mountains, who are known by the name of Pierced Nosed Indians, because they bore a hole through the gristle of the nose. It is only in the ear that the Blackfeet pierce one or two small holes, in which they wear various ornaments, such as strings of glass beads, alternating with white cylinders, which they get from the Dentalium, which they barter from the nations on the west side of the Rocky Mountains, especially the Kutanas.[86] Many Blackfeet do not wear anything in their ears, which are generally concealed by their long thick hair. I have never seen any tattooing among them. On the other hand, many had, upon their arms, parallel transverse incisions, which were cicatrized, and most of them wanted one or two joints of a finger, of which I shall have occasion to speak by-and-by. They paint their faces red with vermilion; this colour, which they procure by barter from the traders, is rubbed in with fat, which gives them a shining appearance. Others colour only the edge of their eyelids, and some stripes in the face, with red; others use a certain yellow clay for the face, and red round the eyes; others, again, paint the face red, and the forehead, a stripe down the nose, and the chin, blue, with the shining earth from the mountains which I have before mentioned, and which, being analyzed by Professor Cordier,[87] at Paris, he found to be mixed with an earthy peroxide of iron, probably mixed with some clay. Others colour the whole face black, and only the eyelids and some stripes red. The women and children paint the face only of a uniform red. The vermilion costs the Indians very dear, for the Company supply it from their stores at ten dollars a pound. The Blackfeet do not paint the body—at least, I have never seen it, and it is generally covered. Their hair hangs down straight and stiff, often in disorder over the eyes and round the head. Young people, however, who pay more attention to neatness, part it regularly over the forehead, and comb it smooth. A small sea-shell is often fastened to a tuft of hair on each side, close to the temples; others were on one side, and often on both sides of the forehead, and a lock of hair with brass and iron wire twisted round it; lastly, a few adopted the ornament usual among the Manitaries and Mandans, which forms a long string on each side of the forehead, and will be particularly described when we are treating of the latter. Such a one was worn by the son of the old Kutona, Makuie-Poka, and by a few other Blackfeet, who had had intercourse with the Manitaries. Some distinguished Blackfeet warriors had a tuft of the feathers of owls, or birds of prey, hanging at the back of the head; sometimes ermine skin, with little stripes of red cloth, adorned with bright buttons; or, on the top of the head, broad black feathers, cut short, like a brush, as represented in the portrait of the Assiniboin, Noapeh.[88] Some braid the hair in a long thick queue behind, and many, especially the {248} medicine men, or jugglers, wear it, like the Mandans and Manitaries, divided into several thick queues all round, and generally bind them all together with a leather strap, in a thick knot over the forehead. Many bind a narrow strip of skin, or a leather strap, round the head, and stick one or two feathers in it; several fasten large bears' claws in their hair; most of them, when in full dress, wear the large necklace of these claws, which is a costly and handsome ornament; or else one made of certain roots, which smell like Fœnum Græcum, which they obtain from the Kutanas.[89] Very often they adorn themselves with a braided necklace, composed of a sweet-smelling grass, probably anthoxanthum, with others of glass beads, which they buy of the Company for three or four dollars a pound, and which the women in particular highly value. Some Piekanns hang round their necks a green stone,[90] often of various shapes, or the teeth of buffaloes, stags, elks, horses, &c., or large round flat pieces cut out of shells. On their fingers they wear rings, mostly of brass, which they purchase, by dozens, of the Company—often six or eight on each finger, often only one or two on the whole hand. They generally let their finger nails grow long, always, at least, the thumb nail, which is often crooked like a claw.

The dress of the Blackfeet is made of tanned leather, and the handsomest leather shirts are made of the skin of the bighorn, which, when new, is of a yellowish-white colour, and looks very well. A narrow strip of the skin with the hair is generally left at the edge of such a skin. These shirts have half sleeves, and the seams are trimmed with tufts of human hair, or of horse-hair dyed of various colours, hanging down, and with porcupine quills sewn round their roots. These shirts generally have at the neck a flap hanging down both before and behind, which we saw usually lined with red cloth, ornamented with fringe, or with stripes of yellow and coloured porcupine quills, or of sky-blue glass beads. Some have all these fringes composed of slips of white ermine; this is a very costly ornament, these little animals having become scarce. Many of the distinguished chiefs and warriors wore such dresses, which are really handsome, ornamented with many strings hanging down, in the fashion of an Hungarian tobacco pouch. When these leather shirts begin to be dirty, they are often painted of a reddish-brown colour; but they are much handsomer when they are new. Some of these Indians wear on the breast and back round rosettes like the Assiniboins, but this is only a foreign fashion, and the genuine Blackfoot costume has no such ornament. Their leggins are made like those of the other Missouri Indians, and ornamented, in the same manner, with tufts of hair or stripes of porcupine quills; the shoes, of buffalo or elk leather, are also adorned with porcupine quills, each having a ground of a different colour for its ornaments; thus, if one is white, the other is yellow—a fashion which does not exist lower down the Missouri, where both shoes are of the same colour. The chief article of their dress, {249} the large buffalo robe, is, for the most part, painted on the tanned side, but less skilfully than among the other nations. In general, there are black parallel lines mixed with a few figures, often with arrow heads, or other bad arabesques; others, again, are painted with representations of their warlike exploits, in black, red, green, and yellow. The figures represent the taking of prisoners, dead or wounded enemies, captured arms and horses, blood, balls flying about in the air, and such subjects. Such robes are embroidered with transverse bands of porcupine quills of the most brilliant colours, divided into two equal parts by a round rosette of the same. The ground of the skin is often reddish-brown, and the figures on it black. All the Missouri Indians wear these robes, and it is well known that those of the Manitaries and the Crows are the most beautifully worked and painted. In the description of Major Long's first expedition, there is a representation of such a skin,[91] but it is the only one of this kind which has come to my knowledge, and I have, therefore, had a drawing made of such a one.[92] The Company gives the value of six to ten dollars for such a skin. During the summer, the fur is worn outside, and in winter inside. The right arm and shoulder are generally bare. It might be thought that this dress was too hot in summer, and too cold in winter, but custom reconciles us to everything, and they dress pretty nearly in the same manner in the opposite seasons.

The Blackfeet, like the other tribes, carry in their hands the wing of an eagle or a swan, the tail of an owl or bird of prey, as a fan, the handle of which is covered with leather, or coloured cloth. The Company now sends to its trading posts the tails of wild turkeys, which are much in request. In general, every Blackfoot carries a whip, as well as his weapons, in his hand; a gun and his bow and arrows on his shoulder, the latter in a quiver or bag made of skin or leather, to which a bow case of the same is fastened. On his shoulder he likewise has his pouch, containing his powder-horn, and a large knife, in a sheath, is stuck behind in his leathern girdle. In the summer, and even frequently in the winter, these Indians wear their buffalo robe without any underclothing. The dress of the women is the same as among the other Missouri Indians: it is a long leather shirt, coming down to their feet, bound round the waist with a girdle, and is often ornamented with many rows of elks' teeth, bright buttons, and glass beads. The dress wraps over the breast, and has short, wide sleeves, ornamented with a good deal of fringe, which often hang down nearly in the same manner as in the national Polish dress, but not below the elbows. The lower arm is bare. The hem of the dress is likewise trimmed with fringes and scolloped. The women ornament their best dresses, both on the hem and sleeves, with dyed porcupine quills and thin leather strips, with broad diversified stripes of sky-blue and white glass beads. The Indians do not like beads of other colours, for instance, red, next the skin; and their taste in the contrast of colours is very correct, for in their black hair they generally wear red, and on their brown skins, sky-blue, white, or yellow. The women are very skilful in making their clothes and tanning the leather; the men only make their arms and smoking apparatus. The women, {250} who, on the whole, have not an uncomfortable lot, are obliged, as among the other tribes, to perform the heavy work. They are likewise very skilful in the art of dyeing; and, to produce the beautiful yellow colour, they employ a lemon-coloured moss from the Rocky Mountains, which grows in the fir trees, my specimens of which are unfortunately lost. A certain root furnishes a beautiful red dye, and they extract many other bright colours from the goods procured from the Whites. With them they dye the porcupine quills and the quills of the feathers, with which they embroider very neatly. The girls are dressed in the same manner as the women, and their dresses are generally ornamented with elks' teeth, for which the Indians pay a high price.

The leather tents of the Blackfeet, their internal arrangement, and the manner of loading their dogs and horses, agree, in every respect, with those of the Sioux and Assiniboins, and all the wandering tribes of hunters of the Upper Missouri. The tents, made of tanned buffalo skin, last only for one year; they are, at first, neat and white, afterwards brownish, and at the top, where the smoke issues, black, and, at last, transparent, like parchment, and very light inside. Painted tents, adorned with figures, are very seldom seen, and only a few chiefs possess them. When these tents are taken down, they leave a circle of sods, exactly as in the dwellings of the Esquimaux. They are often surrounded by fifteen or twenty dogs, which serve, not for food, but only for drawing and carrying their baggage. Some Blackfeet, who have visited the Sioux, have imitated them in eating dogs, but this is rare. Near the tent they keep their dog sledges, with which they form conical piles resembling the tents themselves, but differing from them in not being covered with leather. On these they hang their shields, travelling bags, saddles and bridles; and at some height, out of the reach of the hungry dogs, they hang the meat, which is cut into long strips, their skins, &c. The medicine bag or bundle, the conjuring apparatus, is often hung and fastened to a separate pole, or over the door of the tent. Their household goods consist of buffalo robes and blankets, many kinds of painted parchment bags, some of them in a semicircular form, with leather strings and fringes;[93] wooden dishes, large {251} spoons made of the horn of the mountain sheep, which are very wide and deep;[94] similar drinking vessels made of horn, kettles, and sometimes tin utensils, which they obtain from the merchants, clothes, &c. In the centre of the tent there is a small fire in a circle composed of stones, over which the kettle for cooking is suspended. Among their household goods we may reckon the harness of their horses. The horse has, generally, only a long rope, made of buffalo hair, fastened to the lower jaw, with which it is tied in the meadow. The saddle consists of two broad flat boards, inclining towards each other at an angle, which lie along the sides of the horse's back; it has before and behind an upright piece, which frequently has a leather fringe hanging to it. It is covered with a skin, and has another under it, and these skins serve the rider, at night, for a bed. The Blackfeet are fond of a handsome housing, made of a large panther's skin, which they generally obtain from the Rocky Mountains. As these animals have now become more scarce, a high price is often given for the skin; sometimes a good horse, and even several, and seldom less than sixty dollars in value. The panther's skin is so laid across the horse that the long tail hangs down on one side, and has scarlet cloth laid under it, which forms all round a broad border, as well to the fore legs as at the head and tail.[95]

A Grosventre dagger

Horn drinking cup

Blackfoot parchment bags

Talc pipes

One of the most necessary articles to the men is the tobacco-pipe; those made by themselves are not so handsome as those of the Sioux, which they highly prize, and readily obtain by barter. The true Blackfoot pipes are made of the talc, of which I have already spoken, or of a blackish stone, which is found in the Rocky Mountains. Their shape is shown in the annexed woodcuts;[96] {252} it is often in the form of a ball, or a pear, and rests upon a cubical foot. The tube is made of wood, broad, flat, or round, and sometimes carved in imitation of a serpent. The handsomest are the large medicine pipes, the calumets of the French.[97] They are adorned with the red heads of the woodpecker, bills, and a large fan made of feathers, and are used in all the solemn treaties and festivals of the North American tribes, more or less ornamented, but, on the whole, always in the same manner. When the Blackfeet smoke, they put a piece of dried earth, or a round mass made of the filaments and pods of certain water plants, on the ground, to rest the pipe on. Their tobacco consists of the small, roundish, dried leaves of the sakakomi plant (Arbutus uva ursi). When you visit an Indian in his tent, the pipe is immediately taken up, and passes round in the company, each person handing it to his left-hand neighbour. The master of the tent often blows the smoke towards the sun and the earth; every one takes some puffs and hands it on; the last man sends the pipe back again, but gives it to the person sitting opposite to him, in another row, and it circulates as before. The Blackfeet, like most of the tribes of the Upper Missouri, sow the seeds of the Nicotiana quadrivalvis, having first burnt the place where they intend it to grow: it is only on solemn occasions that they smoke this tobacco.

The food and clothing of these people are chiefly derived from the herds of buffaloes, which they pursue, and for which they make, in the winter season, large parks, into which they are driven. The antelopes and the mountain sheep, especially the latter, furnish them with leather for their finer articles of dress; but the skins of the buffalo cow are indispensable for their large robes, tents, and for barter with the Whites. They feed on almost every kind of animal except the grizzly bear; the black bear is not found in their prairies, and they have an aversion to amphibious animals. The Blood Indians hunt wolves for the sake of their skins, which they sell. All these Indians are very expert in the use of the bow, and this weapon is dangerous in their hands; with the gun, on the contrary, they are said to be indifferent marksmen, their pieces being by no means good. From the vegetable kingdom they obtain many roots; the pomme blanche, or white turnip, is very common in their prairies. The women and children dig them up with a particular kind of wooden instrument, and bring them in strings to the Whites for sale.

Another root is bitter; it is boiled in broth, and is then very nutritious. It is said that when you are accustomed to the taste, it is not disagreeable. Another turnip-like root, called, by the Canadians, racine à tabac, is buried in the earth with hot stones, and is said to become black, like tobacco, as soon as it is fit to eat; it has a sweetish taste, like parsnips. The other wild fruits of the prairies are gathered by the women and children. Little children are obliged very early, even as soon as they have cut their teeth, to chew meat, or more properly speaking, to suck it; while older children are seen at the mother's breast. The Blackfeet are very fond of their {253} children, and, at their birth, give them names after animals, and other things, remarkable events, and all kinds of occurrences.

Brandy is the greatest luxury of these Indians, as of all the other North Americans, for which they will willingly part with everything they possess, and have about them. They will even offer their wives and children for sale in order to obtain it. It is said that, when intoxicated, they are often less dangerous than other people. Many of the men have often six or eight wives, whom they are very ready to give up to the Whites: even very young little girls are offered. On the other hand, they generally punish infidelity in their wives very severely, cutting off their noses in such cases; and we saw, about Fort Mc Kenzie, a great many of these poor creatures horribly disfigured. When ten or twelve tents were together, we were sure to see six or seven women mutilated in this manner.

The husband also cuts off the hair by way of punishment, and they then avoid showing their heads, which they seek to cover. During our stay, the Whites had punished their Indian wives in the same way. The woman whose nose is cut off, is immediately repudiated by her husband; nobody will take her as his wife; and such women generally work for wages, or for their subsistence, in other tents; attend on the children, tan hides, or perform other household work. There have been frequent instances of a husband immediately killing his wife, when she has had intercourse with others; often he avenges himself on the paramour, takes away his horse or other valuable property, to which he must submit quietly.

There is no particular marriage ceremony among the Blackfeet; the man pays for the wife, and takes her to him; the purchase-price is announced to the father of the girl by a friend or some other man. If he accepts it, the girl is given up, and the marriage is concluded. If the wife behaves ill, or if her husband is tired of her, he sends her home without any ceremony, which does not give occasion to any dispute. She takes her property and retires: the children remain the property of the husband. These Indians often have many children, who generally run and play about quite naked, and swim in the river like ducks. The boys go naked till they are thirteen or fourteen years old, but the girls have a leather dress at an early age. In their domestic life, the Blackfeet, like all the North Americans, are quiet and peaceable; they are said, however, to be more passionate than other nations. Duels sometimes take place, and vengeance is executed in most cases. If an Indian is killed, his relations avenge themselves, if possible, on the murderer; but, if they have no opportunity to do this, they take revenge on the first member of his family that they meet with; often, however, their vengeance is bought off with some articles of value.

In their camp and tents, these Indians, even the dangerous Blood Indians, are hospitable. White men, who visited them in the cold month of October, were immediately lodged in the tent {254} of a chief, while the owner, with his whole family, slept in the open air: nobody dared to molest the guests. The horses were well taken care of, and there was no need to look after them, for, under these circumstances, they were perfectly safe, as well as all the effects of the strangers, which, in other cases, would certainly have been stolen. It is not difficult for the Indians to feed a few Whites; on the other hand, it is impossible for the latter to do the same for their Indian visitors, and yet they expect it. These Indian visits are so numerous, and of such long continuance, that it is absolutely impossible to procure the necessary victuals for them. This is, doubtless, a chief cause of the animosity of the Indians to the Whites; and, though the disproportion in the numbers on both sides is shown them ever so clearly, they never understand it. Mr. Mitchell once received a severe lesson on this subject among the Sioux on the Mississippi. He was invited to a tent, and, though he was very hungry, did not get a morsel to eat. On the following morning, the Sioux came to him and said that, "though he had made him suffer hunger, he had not done so from any ill-will; but that the same thing had lately happened to him in the house of Mr. Mitchell, and, therefore, he meant only to give him a hint, not to be wanting in this respect for the future." The Blackfeet are inveterate beggars, that is, they are frequently troublesome by their constant importunities, but they are inferior in this respect to the Gros Ventres des Prairies. Horse stealing is an eminent art among them, and a dexterous horse stealer is a person of distinction. They have invented many games for their amusement. At one of them they sit in a circle, and several little heaps of beads, or other things, are piled up, for which they play. One takes some pebbles in his hand, moving it backwards and forwards in measured time, and singing; while another endeavours to guess the number of pebbles. In this manner considerable sums are lost and won.

The Blackfeet have various dances; for instance,—1. The mosquito dance. 2. The dog dance. 3. The dance of the buffalo, with thin horns. 4. The dance of the prairie dogs. 5. The dance of those who carry the raven. 6. The soldiers' dance. 7. The old bulls' dance. 8. The dance of the imprudent. 9. The medicine dance. 10. The scalp dance. The first seven are all danced in the same manner, the only difference is in the singing. This is usually sometimes loud, sometimes soft, now high, now low, always consisting of short, frequently repeated tones, and extremely monotonous, often interrupted by loud exclamations of "re, ri," or "hey, hey, hey," repeated three times, nearly the same among all the Missouri tribes, and interrupted by the war cry. The medicine dance of the women does not occur every year. It is a medicine feast for the latter, at which, however, some men likewise appear. A large wooden hut is erected, the women dress themselves as handsomely as they can, and all wear a large feather cap. Some of the women take no part in the dance, and these, with the men, are spectators. Men beat the drum, and shake the schischikué, the last day of the feast; when the dance is finished, the buffalo {255} park is imitated; the men, the children, and the remaining women form two diverging lines, b and c,[98] which proceed from the medicine lodge, out of which the women creep, crawling on all-fours, and endeavour to imitate the manners of the buffalo cows. Several men represent buffalo bulls, and are at first driven back by the women; but then, as is the practice in this kind of hunting, a fire is kindled to windward, and the women, or buffalo cows, as soon as they smell the smoke, retreat into the medicine lodge, which concludes the festival. They sometimes perform this dance in the summer, when the fancy takes them.

Plan of women's medicine dance

Badge of Prairie-dog band

Badge of Raven band

Pipe-lighting stick

The scalp dance, or, properly speaking, to dance the scalp, is performed when they have killed their enemies. The women then dress like the men, and likewise carry their arms. If women have taken part in the warlike expedition in which enemies have been slain, they paint their faces black. A woman sometimes carries the scalp, or several, according to the number they may have; sometimes it is carried by an old woman, who then remains aside and dances alone, and drums and schischikué, played by men, accompany the dance. There is likewise a dance of the brave, or warriors, who form a circle, within which several dance, imitating all the movements of a battle, and firing their guns, on which occasion their faces are painted so as to give them a fierce expression.

The bands, unions, or associations, mentioned when we were speaking of the Assiniboins, are found among the Blackfeet, as well as all the other American tribes. They have a certain name, fixed rules and laws, as well as their peculiar songs and dances, and serve in part to preserve order in the camp, on the march, in the hunting parties, &c. Seven such bands, or unions, among the Blackfeet, were mentioned to me, and to which the first seven dances above-mentioned belong. They are the following:—1. The band of the mosquitoes. This union has no police business to do, but consists of young people, many of whom are only eight or ten years of age; there are also some young men among them, and sometimes even a couple of old men, in order to see to the observance of the laws and regulations. This union performs wild, youthful pranks; they run about the camp whenever they please; pinch, nip, and scratch men, women, and children, in order to give annoyance like the mosquitoes. They do not even spare old, distinguished men. If any man offends one of them, he has to do with all of them, for they hold closely together. The young people begin with this union, and then gradually rise higher, through the others. As the badge of their band, they wear an eagle's claw, fastened round the wrist with a leather strap. They have also a particular mode of painting themselves, like every other band, and their peculiar songs and dance. 2. The dogs. Its badge is not known to me: it consists of young married men, and {256} the number is not limited. 3. The prairie dogs. This is a police union, which receives married men: its badge is a long hooked stick, wound round with otter skin, with knots of white skin at intervals, and a couple of eagle's feathers hanging from each of them.[99] 4. Those who carry the raven. Its badge is a long staff, covered with red cloth, to which black ravens' feathers, in a long thick row, are fastened from one end to the other.[100] They contribute to the preservation of order, and the police. 5. The buffalo, with thin horns. When they dance, they wear horns on their caps. In camp, the tents of the unions are in the middle of the circle, which has a free space in the centre. If disorders take place, they must help the soldiers, who mark out the camp, and then take the first place.

6. The soldiers. They are the most distinguished warriors, who exercise the police, especially in the camp and on the march; in public deliberations they have the casting vote, whether, for instance, they shall hunt, change their abode, make war, or conclude peace, &c. They carry, as their badge, a wooden club, the breadth of a hand, with hoofs of the buffalo cow hanging to the handle. They are sometimes forty or fifty men in number. Their wives, when they dance the medicine dance, are painted in the same manner as the men. 7. The buffalo bulls. They form the first, that is, the most distinguished of all the unions, and are the highest in rank. They carry in their hand a medicine badge, hung with buffalo hoofs, which they rattle when they dance, to their peculiar song. They are too old to attend to the police, having passed through all the unions, and are considered as having retired from office. In a certain degree they have descended from the union of active and distinguished soldiers. In their medicine dance they wear on their head a cap, made of the long forelock and mane of the buffalo bull, which hangs down to a considerable length. New members are chosen into all these unions, who are obliged to pay entrance; medicine men, and the most distinguished men, have to pay more than other people. If a woman, whose husband is in one of the unions, has had any intercourse with another, the union meets in one of the tents, where they smoke, and, in the evening, when all around are buried in sleep, they penetrate into the woman's tent, drag her out, ill-treat her as they please, and cut off her nose. {257} These Indians are often very cruel. The man cannot make any opposition; he must repudiate such a woman. He is then told why she has been treated in this manner, and he may have his revenge on the seducer, from whom he generally takes some horses.

We saw the Blackfeet ride to battle half naked, but some, too, in their finest dresses, with the beautifully ornamented shield obtained from the Crows, and their splendid crowns of feathers,[101] and, on these occasions, they all have their medicines, or amulets, open and hung about them. The battle, of which we were witnesses, and of which I shall give an account in the next chapter, enabled us to form a pretty correct notion of their mode of fighting, which does not differ from that of the other North Americans. Small parties, almost naked, approach the enemy by stealth, and endeavour to gain the advantage of him by stratagem, ambuscade, or surprise; and the attack is generally made at daybreak. They formed long lines, and fired from a great distance; but they are indifferent marksmen. The women and children were very attentive to the wounded, over whom they cried and lamented, as we shall see in the next chapter. The enemy, with guns, arrows, spears, and knives, killed and wounded men, women, and children indiscriminately, and scalped even the women, who are often taken prisoners, and carried off as slaves, but afterwards not usually ill-treated. I shall have occasion to speak also, in the next chapter, of the fury with which they mutilate the dead, every one, as he passes, venting his rage by firing his gun, or throwing stones at them, or by blows. No trace is now to be found, at least among the Blackfeet, of the tortures inflicted on the prisoners, as formerly practised by the American Indians.

When the warriors come near their camp, after a battle, they sing; and one rides or runs before, often in serpentine lines, backwards and forwards about the tents, holding up and shaking the scalp, and displaying it at a distance. If any one has taken a weapon, he displays it in the same manner, loudly proclaiming his name as having taken it. After a successful engagement, the men sing the song which they call aninay, that is, "they are painted black." On these occasions, they assemble in the open air about their tents, with their faces painted black, their leggins and robes spotted with black, and then sing, without the accompaniment of any instrument, nor are the scalps displayed. There are no words to this song, which consists only of the usual notes.

The weapons of the Blackfeet do not much differ from those of the other Indians on the Missouri; but they are not so handsome and well made as those of the Crows, Manitaries and Mandans. They do not themselves make bows of the horn of the elk, or of the mountain sheep, which are consequently not common among them. Their country does not produce any wood suitable for bows; and they endeavour to obtain, by barter, the bow wood, or yellow wood (Maclura aurantiaca), from the River Arkansas. For their quivers, they prefer the skin of the cougar (Felis concolor, Linn.), for which they give a horse. The tail hangs down from the quiver, is trimmed with red cloth on the inner side, embroidered with white beads, and ornamented {258} at the end or elsewhere, with strips of skin, like tassels. I saw few lances among the Blackfeet, but many war clubs, most of which they had taken from the Flatheads. Many have thick leather shields, which are usually painted green and red, and hung with feathers and other things, to which some superstitious belief is attached. When they are going to battle, they twist the leather case of their gun round their head, like a turban. Wolf skins are then useful to them, especially when they want to observe the enemy. They wear them across their shoulders, and, when they wish to approach the enemy unperceived, they throw them over their head, and lie down behind an elevation, or rising of the ground, in such a manner as to have the appearance of a white wolf.

The medicine men or physicians of the Blackfeet are very unskilful. We always saw them take water in their mouths, which they spit out over the wounded. They never wash or cleanse the wounds, and the coagulated blood was still on them on the second day. The recovery of all the severely wounded, without any proper care, shows the vigorous constitutions of these men, of which, indeed, there are many other proofs. Drums and rattles (schischikué) were daily used in their attendance on the sick, in the closed tent. Children mortally wounded lay on the ground without covering, and without any kind of attention, exposed to the burning sun, and they all died in a short time. These Indians are said to have successfully healed some severe wounds; but, as far as my observation goes, those cures were chiefly to be ascribed to the good constitutions of the patients. Among almost all the tribes of the Missouri there were individuals who had been scalped, and cured, and who wore caps; and we were told that there were some such among the Blackfeet. These Indians have some efficacious remedies derived from the vegetable kingdom, one of which is a whitish root from the Rocky Mountains, which is called, by the Canadians, rhubarb, which is said to resemble our rhubarb in its effect and taste, and likewise to act as an emetic. Another root is esteemed to be a powerful remedy against the bite of serpents. In all cases they have recourse to the drum and the rattle, and have great confidence in the intolerable noise caused by those instruments. The Blackfeet make their rattles of leather, wood, or bladder, because they do not grow any calabashes. It is well known that this remarkable instrument is in use among most of the different tribes or nations of the American race, as well in the northern as the southern half of this vast continent. They have great confidence in the medicines of the Whites, and often apply for them; but many were in such a desperate state from diseases of long standing, that a cure was quite out of the question. If Indians are cured by their doctors (which sometimes happens), they make them considerable presents, or the medicine man makes a heavy charge. Last spring several Blackfeet died very suddenly from colic, accompanied with vomiting, and the disease appears very closely to have resembled the cholera.

When a Blackfoot dies, they do not bury him in the ground if they can avoid it, but sew him up in a buffalo robe, dressed in his best clothes, his face painted red, but without his {259} weapons, and lay him in some retired place, in ravines, rocks, forests, or on a high, steep bank, and often cover the body with wood or stones, that the wolves may not get at it. Frequently, when they cannot find a solitary spot, the corpse remains above ground in a kind of wooden shed, and they were often obliged to bury it, or to give it to the Whites as a desirable present, which cannot be refused. The relations cut off their long hair, smear it, as well as their faces and clothes, with whitish-grey clay, and, during the time of mourning, wear their worst clothing. Often, too, they cut off a joint of a finger. They believe the dead go into another country, where they will have lack of nothing; and that they have often been heard when they were summoned to smoke a pipe together. At the funeral of rich Indians, several horses are often killed upon the spot; and we were told of instances when twelve or fifteen horses were killed in this manner at the funeral of a celebrated chief. On the death of Sachkomapoh (the child), a rich and distinguished chief, who is said to have possessed between 4000 and 5000 horses, 150 were killed with arrows.[102] The relations assemble at the residence of the deceased, and even the men lament and wail. The corpse is generally buried on the first day, and in case of death during the night, it is removed on the following morning.

The Blackfeet, like all the other American Indians, are superstitious, and it is rare to see a man who has not some strange custom or habit which he adopts as a charm, and on which he imagines that the success of his plans and undertakings depends. Many rattle with bells before they smoke; others spit in different directions before they drink; others, again, mutter a certain phrase, or a kind of prayer, &c. &c. We saw one man who never lighted his pipe at the fire, but made use of a stick about two feet long, and twice as thick as the ramrod of a gun, which was ornamented with feathers and bells, and painted red and black.[103] It was hollow at the end to receive another thinner stick, which he always kindled when he wanted to light his pipe. On inquiring the cause of this strange custom, he answered that he was afraid of iron, and must, therefore, light his pipe with this stick. Most of these people have such singular customs, but, unfortunately, they do not like to communicate to others their notions on such subjects, and it is, consequently, very difficult to get at the bottom of them.

{260} Mr. Berger, the interpreter, who was otherwise well acquainted with the Blackfoot Indians, could not give me any information respecting their religious ideas, further than that they worship the sun (Natohs or Nantohs); and it is probable that, like the Mandans, they look upon it either as the lord of life, or his dwelling-place. We did not observe, in their camps, either offerings for the heavenly powers, hung upon poles, as among the Mandans and Manitaries, or any other indications of the exercise of some kind of worship.[104]

FOOTNOTES:

[77] The Sassis, or Sarcis (Sarcees), are a branch of the Chippewans, who live further to the north, and must not be confounded with the Ojibbeways (Chippeways). (See A. Mc Kenzie, pages lxxi. and cxvi.) Tanner speaks of their language; and Captain Franklin, in his first journey (page [109]), says that this tribe had 150 tents. Dr. Morse, in his Report (page [34]), calls the Indians mentioned here, Sursees. According to Captain Bonneville, they are usually included under the name of Blackfeet; which, however, is by no means the case in the part of the country through which I travelled.—Maximilian.

Comment by Ed. The Sarcee are a small but brave and mischievous tribe belonging to the Athabascan family—the Tinneh stock, related either to the Chepewyan or Beaver Indians. Early in the nineteenth century they migrated southward, and joined the Blackfoot confederacy. They have always roamed in British territory, and are now upon a reserve in Alberta, a short distance south of Calgary. In 1901 they numbered 205, and were employed in farming and cattle-herding.

[78] The Kutanas, or Kutnehas, live beyond the sources of Maria River, on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, and form a tribe, few in number, of which we shall have occasion to speak in the sequel. Dr. Morse (Loc. cit. page [34]) calls them Coutouns. Several other tribes of Indian nations—for instance, the Ripids (ibid. page [34]), have never been mentioned to me.—Maximilian.

[79] See our volume xxiv. For different accounts of this embassy and the subsequent treaty, see James Stuart, "Adventure on the Upper Missouri," in Montana Historical Society Contributions, i, pp. 80-85; Bradley, "Affairs at Fort Benton (Culbertson's Journal)," ibid., iii, pp. 201-203; also Larpenteur's Journal, i, pp. 109-115.—Ed.

[80] I must here observe that Lewis and Clarke's large special map is very correct for the country about Fort Mc Kenzie.—Maximilian.

[81] Teton River—not named for the Sioux tribe of that designation, but from the French word signifying "breast," so called from three neighboring mountain peaks—was designated by Lewis and Clark first Rose then Tansy River. It is the largest affluent of Maria's, rising in the main range of the Rockies in two branches, flowing due east until very near the Missouri; then turning abruptly north-east, and discharging into Maria's. The narrows where the Teton approaches so near the Missouri was known to the voyageurs as "Cracon du Nez."—Ed.

[82] This new fort was not built until after the abandonment of Fort Mc Kenzie (see note 75, ante, p. [87]), when Culbertson founded Fort Lewis, which was in turn soon deserted for Fort Benton.—Ed.

[83] The Siksekai signifies, in their language, Blackfoot, and all the other nations have translated the name into their languages.—Maximilian.

[84] The name of Blood Indians is said to have the following origin. Before the Blackfeet divided into separate bands, they were encamped in the neighbourhood of five or six tents of the Kutonas or the Sarcees, I believe of the former. The Siksekai and the Kahna desired to kill the Kutonas; and though the Piekanns declared against it, a part of those Indians attacked the few huts during the night, killed all the inmates, took the scalps, stained their faces and hands with the blood, and then returned. Disputes ensued in consequence of this cruel action; the Indians separated from each other, and the murderers received the name which they have ever since retained. They have always manifested a more sanguinary and predatory character than the others, of whom the Piekanns have always been remarked as the most moderate and humane of their nation.—Maximilian.

[85] Referring probably to the Blackfoot band of Sioux. See our volume xxii, p. 326, note 287.—Ed.

[86] For the Nez Percés see Franchère's Narrative, in our volume vi, p. 340, note 145; for the Kutenai, our volume vii, p. 211, note 73.—Ed.

[87] Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier, a French geologist of repute. In 1819 he was called to the professorship of that science in the museum of natural history at Paris. Under Louis Philippe, Professor Cordier was a councillor and peer of France.—Ed.

[88] See Plate 45, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[89] These roots, which are cut into short cylinders, and strung together, are bought at high prices from other nations; for example, the Crees and the Ojibbeways. They are likewise used as an ingredient in the bait for beavers.—Maximilian.

[90] This green stone is a compact talc or steatite, which is found in the Rocky Mountains.—Maximilian.

[91] This is represented in our volume xiv, p. 202.—Ed.

[92] See Plate 54, figure 1, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[93] See p. [105] for illustration of Blackfoot parchment bags.—Ed.

[94] See p. [105] for illustration of horn drinking cup.—Ed.

[95] See the portrait of the Piegan on horseback, in Plate 19, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[96] See p. [105] for illustration of talc pipes.—Ed.

[97] See Plate 81, figure 13, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[98] See plan of women's medicine dance, p. [113].—Ed.

[99] See p. [113] for badge of Prairie-dog band.—Ed.

[100] See p. [113] for badge of Raven band.—Ed.

[101] See Plate 81, figures 5, 6, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.—Ed.

[102] Among the Araucanians, Patagonians, Puelches, and Charruas, the domestic animals belonging to the deceased are killed upon his grave (see D'Orbigny Voy. Introd., p. 112), and the women cut off joints of their fingers.—Maximilian.

[103] See p. [113] for illustration of pipe-lighting stick.—Ed.

[104] In Dr. Morse's Report (page 354), there are many incorrect statements respecting the religion of the Indians to the east of the Rocky Mountains.—Maximilian.

CHAPTER XX
STAY AT FORT MC KENZIE, FROM AUGUST 9TH TO SEPTEMBER 14TH