Among the Indians. Eight years in the far West: 1858-1866. Embracing sketches of Montana and Salt Lake

Preface

. sl^HE following pages have been written from a jour- _L nal and notes kept during my residence of eight years in the Far "West. I have endeavored to narrate truthfully, and without exaggeration, only sueh incidents as fell under my personal observation, and also to portray faithfully Indian life in its home aspect. At the present time, when the Indian is being held up before the world as an incarnate fiend, it is but fair that his redeeming qualities should likewise be recorded. I shall ever look back upon the years spent in the Indian country as among the pleasantest of my life, and if in all my dealings with white men I had found the same sense of honor that characterized my " savage " friends, my appreciation of human nature would be much higher. Philadelphia, July, 1867. CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Paqb

The Great West — Fur Trade — Navigation of the Missouri — The First Steamboat, 17

Chapter II

St. Louis — Scenes at Starting — Arrival among the Sioux — Council — More Indians — Fort Pierre — Stopped by Yanctohwahs — Village of the Riccarees, . .... 1*2

Chapter III

Old Mandan Village — A Speck of War — Minnetarees or Gros Ventres — Scenery — A Hunting-Camp — Meet with Assinniboines — Indian and Squaw on their Bridal Trip — Elk Shot — Tortuous Course of the Missouri — Fort William — Mouth of the Yellowstone — Fort Union — Return to Fort Atkinson, 36

Chapter VIII

Going to "Nickaway" — A Prudent General — Affairs at the Village — Sioux About — Ludicrous Rage of a Fat Indian — The Panic — Retreat — The Dry-Pumpkin's Harangue — His Warlike Antecedents — Cause of the Alarm Explained, 91

Chapter IX

The Mandans make their Great Bull-Medicine — The Invocation — The Medicine Lodge — The Bull-Dance — The Tortures — Diversions of the Villagers — Indian Religion, . 100

Chapter X

War's Alarums — Panic among the Squaws — The Fort Invaded — A Mixed-up State of Affairs — "All's Well," . CONTENTS. XI

Chapter XI. Page

Hunting — Harvesting Corn — Drudgery of the Squaws — Assinniboines Arrive — Journey to their Camp — Incidents by the Way— Gambling — Troubles of a Lame Assinni boine — Squaw murders her Child — Buffalo Bull killed — Prairie Delicacies — Wild Fowl — A Fairy Dell — Camp Discovered — Arrival, 117

Chapter XII

Scenes in Camp — Feast — Council — Trade — On the Homeward Trail — Desolate Country — Hostile "Signs" — Indian Craft — The Comet — Return to the Post — Battle with the Sioux — The Doctor carried in a Blanket, . . 133

Chapter XIII

Goose-Medicine — Gros Ventres return from the Rees — Arrival of Oncpapas and Blackfeet Sioux — Jealousies — Scarcity of Meat in Camp — Changing Face of Nature, . 147

Chapter XIV

First Snow — Poor Living — Trading-Party of Sioux — Billiards — Death of the Four-Bear's Squaw — Preparations for the Sioux Trade — Building Houses — Conflicting Rumors — Final Departure of the Sioux — Rest, . . . 167

Chapter XVIII

Wolf-Trapping at the Fort — A New Invention — Ludicrous Incident — Sports in Winter — A "Sell" — Hunting Adventure — Starvation Among the Sioux — Origin of the Feud between the Gros Ventres and Sioux — Elk Medicine, . 200

Chapter XIX

Indians make "Medicine to bring the Buffalo" — Potency of Dreams — Orders of the Soldiers — A Large Family — White-Cow Band — Strong Medicine — A Bull in Camp! — Triumphant Dance of the White-Cows — "Plenty of Buffalo!" 212

Chapter XX

Buffalo Hunt in the Snow — Butchering — Feasting — Delicacies — Deadly Effects of the Indian Arrow — Accidents — Sweat-Houses — Curing Tongues, ..... 224

Chapter XXI

My Abode in the Winter Camp — Making Meat — My Comrade, the Bobtail-Wolf — His Lessons in the Language — Honesty of the Gros Ventres — Their Past History — Matrimonial — Ravages of the Small-Pox — Affecting Incident, 238

Chapter XXVI

Spring — "Making Packs" — Dancing — Buffalo Everywhere — Medicine Pictures— Assinniboines on the War-Path — A Successful Partisan — Kindling the War-Spirit — Grim Meeting of Hostile Indians — Wild Fowl — Breaking Up of the Ice — Exciting Scenes, 281

Chapter XXX

June Rise — Indian Talk —"Medicine "—The Hermit of the Black Hills — Mandans leave for their Old Village— Wolf Hunt — Crow's Arrive— Their Thieving Propensities— Our Horses lost — Crows depart for the Wind River Mountains, ...•••••• 320

Chapter XXXIV

Off for the "Mountains" — The Border — Condition of Affairs Indian Troubles — Murder of Friendly Indians — Deserted Village — Old Memories — Among the Gros Vcn- |res Old Friends — Horses Stolen by the Sioux, . . CONTENTS. XV

Chapter XXXV. Page

Trouble Ahead — The Steamboats Attacked by Sioux — Strange Proceedings — Deck-Hands Massacred — Burial — Avenged — Old Fort William — Fort Union 363

Chapter XXXVI

Fort Union as it was — Scenery — A Social Circle — Dangerous Hunting-Grounds — Grizzly Bears — Indians Around — Horses Stolen — In a Bad Predicament — Afoot! . . 370

Chapter XXXVII

Caught Napping — The Fort Surprised — Narrow Escape — Gros Ventres of the Prairie — Annuities Demanded — Indian Agents — Obtain Horses — Leave the Indian Country — Arrive at the Gold Mines of Montana, . . . 379

Chapter XLI. Page

The "Presidency" on their Travels — The Prophet's Barber — An Evening with Presidents Y'oung and Kimball — Future of Mormonism — What the Mormons have done — They are entitled to Great Praise — Overland Stage — Drivers and Attache's — Comforts of "Home Stations" — Driving Mules — Chain Whips — Mustang Horses — Wonderful Endurance of a Colt, ........ 404

Chapter XLII

Past and Present — Changes — Palmy Days of Alder-Gulch — Fort Benton — Fort Union — Among the Gros Ventres once More — Sad Changes — Farewell to the Indian Country — Down the River — Glimpses of Civilization — Arrival at Saint Louis — End of my Wanderings, .... 411

Chapter I. The Great West Fur Trade Navigation Of

TnE MIS- SOURI TUE FIRST STEAM1SOAT. AT no period in its history has the Great West attracted such universal interest as the present. From the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast to the magnificent enterprises which are now being inaugurated, the changes have succeeded each other with wonderful rapidity. The daring of the Pio neers who first explored the fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains, the toilsome emigration to Oregon and California, the constantly increasing commerce of the plains, the telegraph, the daily mail stage, and now, last and greatest, the Pacific Railroad; — all these changes in an ordinary lifetime! Of the various great fur companies that formerly thrived and flourished, with their wild array of re tainers, the Hudson's Bay alone remains, ami is 2* b n?) every year becoming more and more circumscribed in its sphere of action.

It is also the oldest, having been chartered in 1670 by Charles the Second, and granted almost unlimited powers. The Northwest Company, established in 1783, was for a time a most formidable rival. Next came the Mackinaw Com pany, who claimed the trade of the country watered by the Mississippi and its tributary streams; the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1808, with its headquarters at St. Louis ; and the American Fur Company in 1809, under the auspices of John Jacob Astor. Besides these, there were minor associations and numerous individual traders. St. Louis, formerly a frontier village, inhabited principally by French Creoles, and a general ren dezvous for traders and trappers, whence they started on their long and perilous journeys, is now the lead ing city in the Mississippi Valley. The Mackinaw boat has given place to the steamboat ; the cordelle, or towing-line, has been superseded by the steam engine.

There are yet voyageurs living who have been on the cordelle from Independence, Missouri, to Fort Benton, a distance of uearly three thousand miles. The most incessant and persevering toil was necessary to stem the turbulent current, and the hardy THE FIRST STEAMBOAT. 19 voyageurs never hesitated for a moment to plunge into the water, reckless of heat or cold, when the shifting channel made it necessary to cross from point to point. In 1832 the American Fur Com pany ascended with a steamboat as high as Fort Union, six miles above the mouth of the Yellow stone. This wras the second grand link in the chain of events. The cordelle was now reduced to seven hundred miles, that being the distance between Fort Union and the Blackfoot Post. For a number of years the Fur Company's steamboat regularly made its annual trip, and the subject of navigating the upper river was as often talked of.

Iu 1850 the El Paso ascended without difficulty as high as the "Round Butte," a distance of perhaps three hundred miles. In the summer of 1859 the Fur Company sent up, in addition to their annual steamer, a small stern-wheel boat, called the Chip pewa, drawing very little water, expressly to make the attempt, which was entirely successful ; and to Mr. Charles P. Chouteau, of the American Fur Com pany, and Captain John B. La Barge, of the Chip pewa, belongs the credit of proving that the Mis souri River was navigable by steam to within a few miles of the Great Falls. The cordelle was a memory of the past ; a new era in the history of the Great West had been inaugurated, whose effects were not apparent, how ever, until several years later. The American Fur Company (Upper Missouri Outfit) held their sway for many years.

During most of the time they had more or less opposition, principally from traders who had been at some time or other in their employ. These traders were usually well sustained by the Indians, who fully appreciated the advantages to be gained from competition. In 1860 this competing interest was bought out by the American Fur Company, with the expectation of monopolizing the entire trade of the Missouri, as in the early days. In 1866 they retired from the field they had so long occupied, and in which such striking changes were going on. Up to 1864 the Fur Company's steamers were the only ones that ascended the river. In that year Montana became the grand centre of attraction, and a number of steamboats went up, under individual auspices, loaded with passengers and freight. Each succeeding year this number increased, until, in 1867, over forty steamboats ascended the Missouri.

Military Posts have been established at various points on the river ; the Indian tribes are in a state of anarchy, the quiet seclusion of the Indian country is forever destroyed, and the reign of the fur trader virtually at an end. CHANGES GOING ON. 21 When the toils aud sufferings of the pioneer ex plorers of the Missouri River and the trackless wil derness are compared with the steady progress of improvement, sometimes scarcely perceptible at first, but increasing with giant strides as the years roll rouud, who will not unhesitatingly admit that " Westward the star of empire takes its way " ?

Chapter II. St

LOUIS — SCENES AT STARTING — ARRIVAL AMONG THE SIOUX COUNCIL MORE INDIANS FORT PIERRE STOPPED BY YANCTOHWAHS — VILLAGE OF THE RICCAREES. THE annual departure of the Fur Company's steamboat from St. Louis, with supplies for the various trading-posts on the Upper Missouri and its tributaries, was an event that formerly excited great interest. Crowds thronged the levee, watching the bustle to and fro, and the last hurried preparations for starting. Black volumes of smoke pour from the tall chimneys, the waste steam escapes with a hoarse roar, and a few preliminary turns of the wheels add to the fast increasing excitement. Cu riosity-seekers crowd the cabin, peering into every nook and corner, as if they expected to discover some phantom of the wilderness, and listen eagerly to the conversation between the members of the Fur Company and their friends.

Here is the well-known Col. Robert Campbell, himself a "mountaineer" in the early days of the Fur Trade; and although he has not taken an t SCENES AT. STARTING. 23 active part for many years, he still feels that inter est in seeing the Expedition off, which is natural to any one who has shared in the perils and excite ment of frontier life. The Colonel is talking to Indian Agent Vaughan and Malcolm Clark, the latter a veteran of over twenty years' experience, and thoroughly versed in all the wiles and mysteries of Indian trading. Clark wears a blue blanket capote, and displays a tobacco-sack of scarlet cloth beautifully garnished with beads, the handiwork of his Blackfoot wife. At length the order is given in sharp, decided tones, to " clear the boat." The rush and confusion are at their height ; farewells are heartily exchanged, and the deck-hands haul in the heavy stages.

On the hurricane-deck the Captain is calling the roll of his voyageurs, who are singing, or rather shouting, their Canadian boat-songs with greater energy than music. Some few stragglers hurry aboard at the last moment, fearful of being left, carrying a "shooting-iron " in one hand, and a mysterious black bottle in the other. Much amusement is created among the voyageurs by the fruitless attempts of a couple of landlords to find delinquent boarders who have been snugly hid away by their comrades, and intend to remain so until under weigh, leaving their too confiding hosts to mourn over hopes departed. The last hawser is at length cast loose, and the last plank drawn in, thereby compelling the luckless Bouifaces to leap ashore, up to their knees in water, to the delight and amusement of the lookers-on; and, after slowly swinging out into the stream, on the morning of May 23d, 1858, the good steamboat Twilight, Captain John Shaw, commenced her long mountain trip.

The voyage up the river was unmarked by any incident worthy of notice until we had passed be yond the confines of civilization and entered the borders of the Sioux country, more than twelve hundred miles above St. Louis. Here we met the first large body of Indians, a band of Yanktons, who were encamped, awaiting the arrival of their annui ties, which were on board of the Twilight, in charge of the Agent, Col. Redfield. This band of Yanktons had recently, through a delegation sent to Washington, sold a portion of their beautiful country, Dacotah, to the United States, reserving a tract on which Government bound itself to establish a farm and school for their benefit. The white skin lodges scattered over the broad green prairie, the horses feeding in all directions, and the gay dresses of the Indians, on the river's bank, formed a wild and picturesque scene.

As we ARRIVE AMONG THE SIOUX. 25 neared the camp, firing salutes meanwhile from the cannon on board, men, women, and children flocked down to the water's edge to witness the landing of the "Fire Canoe." The squaws, however, generally remained iu the background, although the young and pretty ones, with their cheeks tinged with vermilion, were, like their sisters of a lighter hue, by no means averse to displaying their charms, or displeased with the at tention they excited. The old ones, on the con trary, their scant leathern dresses blackened and greasy with age and dirt, remained completely in the rear, scolding almost incessantly at the dogs and children. None of the squaws with this band would have stood for types of that female beauty which has its existence only in the imagination of the novelist; some of the old ones, worn out by age and hard work, were surely fit living representations of Egyptian mummies.

The boys and dogs ran about, and, like boys and dogs everywhere else, contrived to be constantly in the way. The urchins were mostly naked, or at best wore a breechcloth only, and carried small bows with blunt arrows. As soon as the landing was effected, Col. Redfield stepped ashore, when the chiefs and principal men hastened to grasp him by the hand, uttering the S universal salutation, "How!" The cabin having been previously arranged, by removing the tables and placing a semicircle of chairs, the chiefs were at once formally invited on board. The Council made slow progress, like most Indian "talks," during which the pipe was industriously circulated. The Agent, through his interpreter, addressed them at length, urging them to "love their enemies " and obey the wishes of their Great Father, the Presi dent ; and this advice, though well meant, would doubtless be more honored in the breach than the observance.

It was difficult to satisfy the Indians about their presents, and they would not consent to receive them until they had gone on shore and counted the bales and boxes. Then, finding that the number agreed with what their Agent had told them, they returned to continue the Council. The cabin of the Twilight presented an unusual appearance. The group of Indians comprised the dignitaries of the band, dressed and painted after their own wild fashion. A handsome pipe of red stone, filled with " chash-hash-ash," or inner bark of the red willow, passed from one to another almost without interruption, and its fragrant odor pervaded the entire apartment. During the council, a few visitors were permitted to come on board; they peered into every nook and corner, and nothing COUNCIL. seemed to escape their prying glances.

Those on shore indulged freely in remarks upon the deliber ations of their chiefs ; and among other pleasant suggestions, one fellow coolly proposed a general scalping of the whites ! Although this humane project seemed to meet with universal favor, it was deemed inexpedient for the present. At the close of the council the Agent presented the two prin cipal chiefs with large silver medals, bearing the likeness of their Great Father, President Buchanan, saying, as he did so, " This is made of the real stuff," which information was doubtless highly gratifying to two such profound judges of the purity of metals in general, and silver in particular, as "He-who strikes-the-Rees" and the "Little Crow." After wards he presented the head chief (Strike-the-Rees) with a spy-glass of inferior quality, and a box of India-rubber balls ; the latter "for his boys," said the Agent, bouncing one.

The expression on the Indian's countenance, when he received these muni ficent gifts, was one of mingled amusement aud contempt. The Council concluded with a feast, consisting of "black medicine" (coffee) and hard bread. The decks were then cleared, and the expedition once more proceeded on its way. The next excitement was caused, a few days later, by a party of twenty-five or thirty mounted Sioux, on the Dacotah side, who ordered us to stop and land. Their commands not being complied with, they began firing, but without effect, as the distance was too great. Another party now showed them selves on the Nebraska side, and as the boat kept steadily on her way, they too fired, but with like result. Our Dacotah friends, finding their efforts to stop us unavailing, rode furiously off, with gleaming weapons and fluttering pennons, forming a striking picture as their outlines became sharply defined against the clear, blue sky, while cresting the hills in their wild gallop.

A few miles farther on, where the channel ran close in shore, a crackling of branches was heard, and the Indians appeared on the bank, demanding a talk with the Agent. Making a merit of necessity, the boat landed, and Col. Redfield, with Zephyr his interpreter, went ashore. The Indians seemed greatly excited by their chase after the boat, and Medicine Cow, the chief, gave the Agent the com forting assurance that he would get (as the in terpreter expressed it) at Fort Pierre, where several thousands of the different bands of the great Sioux nation were encamped, impatiently awaiting their annuities. After a present of tobacco and pro visions, the boat was permitted to move on. FORT PIERRE. The Indians in this party were splendid-looking men, well armed and equipped. It was at the close of a beautiful day in June when we laid up iu sight of Fort Pierre, the first trading-post on the river.

All that night our ears were greeted with the unaccustomed sound of the wolves howling in every direction. Fort Pierre was one of the largest posts in the Indian country, and some years ago was the centre of a flourishing trade with the Sioux, which has since greatly fallen off, many of them trading on the Platte and at the posts on the upper Missouri with the Rees and Gros Ven tres, having patched up a very convenient treaty with their old enemies. The Indians here assem bled belonged principally to the Minnecongew, Two Kettle, and Yanc-toh-wah bands of the Sioux. Hundreds of lodges were pitched in the vicinity of the fort, and bands of horses were feeding over the prairie. Some of the squaws, especially those belonging to the Two Kettle band, were quite prepossessing in their appearance.

One in particular excited uni versal admiration : she wore a dress made from the skin of the big-horn, tanned soft and white, and lavishly embroidered with beads, and managed the spirited American horse upon which she was mounted with a dashing grace worthy of a Di Vernon. 3* The presents for each band were placed in sepa rate piles ; and immediately upon the termination of the council, most of the Indians hurried off to their respective camps, whence they quickly re turned, leading horses harnessed to travees, and upon these primitive vehicles the goods were speedily dragged away to be distributed by the chiefs at their leisure. These travees are of the simplest possible construction, being merely two poles tied together at one end and fastened to the pack-saddle, the remaining ends being left to trail on either side.

A couple of stretchers are lashed behind the horse at suitable distances, to which is secured a network of raw hide, and it is then ready for use. A horse will draw from two hundred and fifty to three hun dred pounds weight upon one of them, and the lodge, household utensils, dried meat, children, and puppies are usually transported in this way. Smaller ones are made for the benefit of the dogs, who are thus unwillingly compelled to make themselves useful. After leaving Fort Pierre no incident occurred worthy of notice until the afternoon of the fourth day, when several horsemen appeared on a high bluff, close under which the boat would have to pass. Warrior after warrior came dashing up at full speed, until fifteen or twenty dark forms stood out against the sky. STOPPED BY YANCTOHWAHS. 31 Preparations were made to land, seeing which, the Indians turned their ponies loose, and remained quiet and impassive.

This was a portion of Big Head's band of Yanc-toh-wahs ; the camp itself was out of sight beyond a distant range of hills. A long, dark line of warriors, riding abreast, emerged from an intervening roll of the prairie, and with full pomp and panoply advanced to meet us, headed by the famous chieftain Big Head iu person. All were dressed in shirts of deerskin, profusely decorated with scalp-locks, stained horsehair, and devices worked in porcupine-quills and beads. War eagle feathers were fastened in their hair, and pennons of scarlet cloth fluttered from the lances. They were armed cap-a-pie with shields, bows and arrows, and firearms, while the tomahawk and scalping-knife were indispensable accompaniments. Some wore necklaces formed of the claws of the grizzly bear, highly prized as trophies and ornaments.

Onward they came, firing their guns into the air, with whoops and yells, and finally halted about fifty yards from where the Agent and his interpreter stood. Then dismounting, they seated themselves in a line, holding their horses behind them by their lariats. Big Head and his principal chiefs advancing, shook hands haughtily with the Agent, and conducted themselves in an insolent and overbearing manner. In reply to the question, why they had fired off their guns as they approached, the chief said that when they met friends on the prairie they met them with empty guns. As they had carefully reloaded, the only inference to be drawn from this remark was, that they considered us in the light of possible foes. We all breathed more freely when the good Twi light was once more breasting the swift current of the Missouri, and we had left Big Head and his grim warriors far in our rear.

None of the old mountaineers weut ashore on this occasion, but had their rifles ready for instant use, well knowing the treacherous nature of this band. Malcolm Clark remarked to me that we were very fortunate in getting off without a difficulty, as they were evidently ripe for mischief. Early in the morning of the 19th of June we arrived at the village of the Riccarees. Unlike the Sioux, who are always roaming, the Rees have a permanent settlement, which they occupy during the spring and summer, moving away in the fall to some well timbered point where there are good indications of game and abundance of grass for their horses. Here, securely sheltered from the fierce wintry winds, they devote themselves to the chase, dressing furs, and drying meat to serve them when hunting becomes dangerous and difficult from the VILLAGE OF THE RICCAREES. 33 breaking up of the rivers and the forays of their enemies.

They cultivate large fields of corn, and also pumpkins and squashes, which agreeably vary their diet of buffalo-meat. These summer lodges are large and covered with dirt, forming a great con trast to the white conical ones of the Sioux. Both the trading-posts presented rather a dilapidated appearance, owing to the great scarcity of timber and the danger of sending their men to secure a supply from a distance. Fort Clark, (so named after the renowned explorer of the Missouri,) the post of the American Fur Company, was built on the lower side of the village ; and about three hundred yards from it, Fort Primeau, the post of the Opposition Company. This fort took its name from Mr. Charles Primeau, one of the oldest and best of the mountain traders. Both the forts, as well as the village itself, were completely infested with rats, to the discomfort and annoyance of all the inhabitants, both white and red.

These pests had been an importation from one of the Company's steamboats years before, and had multiplied to such an alarming extent that the Indians, who at first felt themselves particularly favored above their neighbors by the acquisition, had abundant reason to change their opinion. The Riccarees were savage-looking Indians, and more sullen and insolent than any we had yet met. The men had villanous countenances, which, in many cases, were disfigured by the loss of an eye, either from accident or disease. Sore and inflamed eyes are very common among them, owing to their filthy habits and smoky lodges. Out ou the prairie, beyond the village, were circles of human skulls, with two medicine poles in the centre of each, bearing propitiatory offerings to the Great Spirit*. The dead, dressed in their best garments, are laid on scaffolds in the open air, and after they decay and fall to pieces, the skulls are arranged in circles, the bones collected and buried, and the mounds sur mounted with a buffalo skull.

While strolling about with several of the party, we heard shooting in the direction of the boat, and rapidly retraced our steps. We found, upon reach ing the landing, that the Indians had attempted to come on board in numbers, and upon being re pulsed, fired their guns into the air in token of their anger, and sullenly retired to the village, where they held an excited talk among themselves. The Ao-ent having some business at Fort Clark, was proceeding thither, alone and unarmed, when a well-known rascal — the White-faced Bear — ran up to him and discharged his gun into the ground, close by his VILLAGE OF THE RICCAREES. 35 feet. The onlv notice taken of this outrage was an involuntary jump, and the Agent continued his walk without further molestation. After a tedious delay the Council finally came off.

The chief White Parflesh was the principal speaker, and for a long time refused, in the name of his tribe, to take the annuities. The necessities of his people, however, and the tempting display of presents, over came his scruples. The goods were soon put ashore, and speedily transported by the Indians to their village. Quite an addition was here made to our party in the shape of some eighteen Mandans, men, women, and children, who were desirous of rejoining their people at the Gros Ventres village, some sixty miles higher up. The various delays had consumed so much time that it was noon before we were ready to continue our voyage. As the boat would have to pass close under the high promontory upon which the village was built, some apprehension was felt as to the probability of our being attacked ; for an armed band of Riccareea was gathered there.

The pilot-house had been pro tected by heavy plankings before starting, but, happily, the precaution was unnecessary: tin* Twilight swept majestically through the bend, and all thoughts of danger passed away.

Chapter III. Old Mandan Village

— A SPECK OF WAR — MINNETAREES, OR GROS VENTRES — SCENERY A HUNTING-CAMP MEET WITH ASSINNIBOINES INDIAN AND SQUAW ON THEIR BRIDAL TRIP — ELK SHOT TORTUOUS COURSE OF THE MISSOURI FORT WILLIAM MOUTH OF THE YELLOW- STONE FORT UNION — RETURN TO FORT ATKINSON. NINE miles above the Riccarees, at the mouth of Little Knife River, was a small village of Man dans. Most of the survivors of this nearly extinct tribe live w7ith the Rees and Gros Ventres, but a few families still remained here to cultivate their old corn fields, which, from present appearances, promised an abundant yield. At sundown, when we stopped to cut wood as usual, our Indians wTent out to look for game, but hastily returned, saying that they had discovered Sioux on horseback. This intelligence caused con siderable alarm among them, and the whole party ascended to the hurricane deck, and were soon in battle-array.