Chapter III: Up the Yellowstone River (2)

Bull Goes Hunting, the chief, met us, and, as he did so, put his hand over his mouth, signifying his astonishment at seeing us. He was an old acquaintance, a friend, and we went to his lodge. I left Jack and our outfit in the care of the chief, while I mounted Dick to go out and see the fight. Jack wished to go, but I would not allow it, for he might do some desperate act, such as to charge through the Sioux and might go under. At this time, he was too valuable a man to lose. A few young warriors went with me, and we soon got to the battlefield. The first man we met was Spotted Horse, a war chief. There were not over two hundred Sioux, and fully three hundred Crows. We joined in the half fight half runaway that was going on; though they had been fighting some time, not over six on either side had been placed _hors de combat_. A few were wounded, and a few ponies put out of action. Neither of the opposing forces showed any generalship.

Without underrating the Indian, or overrating the paleface, I may say that I have been with white men on the plains where forty of them would have made short work of either of these contending forces. By some poetical writers, the Indian is credited with possessing Spartan bravery; but, with a few exceptions, the reverse is true. There are but few mountain men who cannot outgeneral an Indian.

After a while the Crow chiefs got together for a council, and the result was more like the work of school-boys than of warriors and chiefs. I sat in the council. They spoke in their own tongue, half of which I understood. They also made signs for every word spoken, and each sign was as a, b, c, to me, as of course they knew. They wished me to understand every word that they spoke. They asked my opinion of the fight and what they should do. I advised them to call off their warriors, to form three equal bodies of men, and to charge the Sioux on both flanks and at the front at the same time. Then the fight would end, and the Sioux would retreat. The Indians gave a grunt and said nothing.

We all joined again in what one might call playful fighting. I could see that the Sioux were growing discouraged, but a desultory fighting continued for a short time, when some fifty of the bravest Crow warriors charged the right flank of the Sioux and emptied a few saddles, but were checked by a stand made by a few Sioux. This stand was made in order to give some of their wounded an opportunity to leave the field. As the Sioux were better mounted than the Crows, they outstripped us on the retreat. We followed them about a mile, forcing them to abandon some thirty tired ponies, which the Crows captured. They scalped and mutilated a few Sioux and collected all the plunder on the field. All the wounded Sioux had retired before the fight was over. Indians will remove the slain to keep the enemies from scalping them. Whites do the same.

We returned to the village. The chiefs now asked my object in coming to their village. We were now sitting in the lodge, where our things were, and I got out the large envelope containing my letter. It was sealed with wax, and had an eagle stamped on it as large as a dollar. All this show had a moral effect on the Indians, and when they saw it they believed that I was a messenger from the Great Father. After smoking the medicine-pipe, as is customary before a council, I interpreted the contents of the letter in condensed form, the substance of which I have already given. I urged the Crows to go to Benton, telling them that it would be to their advantage to do so. They would receive many presents, and besides would make peace with their ancient enemies. They listened to me attentively, and then gave reply in the negative, saying that their ponies’ feet were getting tender and the animals thin in flesh, that there were no buffalo between where we were and Fort Benton, and that they must remain where they were in order to secure meat for their families. All this was common sense from their point of view, and left me no ground for argument. A Crow party had recently been to Fort Union, and had been informed by the traders there that the next moon some white chiefs would be there to meet the Crows in council. This proved to be the fact, as we afterward learned. The Crows could go to Fort Union by easy stages and be among buffalo all the way, provided their enemies did not run the game out of the country.

Jack gave the Crows the two scalps, the guns, and other things that he had taken, and they gave him a good mule and complimented him on being a great warrior. We told them that another Blackfeet war party was out, said to be looking for Crows, but that we did not know where they were. We got the women to cut some bunch-grass for our stock, in order that they might be in good condition to make an early start next morning. During the night Jack and I stood guard turn about, and many young Crows did the same. By daylight we had breakfasted. The chiefs had assembled to see us off, and I asked them if they knew where we might find the Gros Ventres. They replied that we would find them either south or east of, and near to, the Bear Paw Mountains. I told them that we should try to get them to go to Benton if we could do so. It was amusing to Jack and to me to listen to the chiefs as they gave us advice about travelling, just as if neither of us had had any experience. Though it was not needed, we took their advice in good part. We paid the women for the grass and started.

When we left the village, the war-dance was in progress in one part, and in another persons who had lost relations were mutilating themselves, cutting off their fingers or puncturing their legs and heads with the point of a knife, making the blood flow freely, and, as they did this, wailing and mourning the loss of friends and relatives in the fight. Jack, whose horses were good to lead, had saddled his mule. When we started on the back track, we kept east of our old trail. We apprehended little danger of meeting Sioux, Cheyennes, or Arapahoes, and we did not at all regard the other Blackfeet war parties.

We made a bee-line for the mouth of the Musselshell River, and got there at 9 A. M. next day, for Jack knew every foot of the country. No Indian signs were visible. We collected some dry poles, bound them together with willow twigs, put all our property on the raft, tied riatas to the end of it, and, mounting, drove the stock across the river, keeping hold of the ends of the ropes. The horses were good swimmers, and we soon had the raft across. After the horses had been rubbed down, saddled, and packed, we mounted and were off. Not many minutes were occupied in accomplishing the crossing. We had no time to waste, for the Indians might be upon us at any moment.

We now made a bee-line for the Little Rocky Mountains, and when we came to a creek called Poshett,[9] which rises on the south side of the Rockies, we began to see carcasses of the buffalo in different places. The meat had been taken off, and a careful inspection showed that the buffalo had not been slain more than five or six days. As we followed up the creek there were more signs that a run had recently been made.

[9] Fourchette Creek, southeast of Little Rocky Mountains.

We had travelled fast that day, and when we reached a cluster of box-elder trees, with good grass, we determined to remain there that night, unless some hostiles should come and veto our intention. Before unpacking we looked over the surrounding country for signs of village smoke, and, discovering nothing, we cooked, feasted, and kept our live-stock on the best of grass, all the while keeping a good lookout.

We had breakfast before daylight next morning, packed up, and were off. Following up the creek, we struck a lodge-pole trail going east, between the two Little Rockies. After it had passed the buttes, the trail bore to the left, going north, and now we saw fresh pony-tracks, a sure sign that the village was not far off. Before us lay a plateau, and beyond that was Beaver Creek, where we found the Gros Ventres village. We had been discovered before we got near it, being met outside the village by Famasi, the head chief, an old acquaintance, who escorted us to his lodge.

After feasting and smoking, a council of all the chiefs was held, and the object of our visit was stated to them. They consulted among themselves for some time, the result of the council being that they agreed to go to Benton, and they asked me when they would be wanted there. I told them that the commissioners were now waiting for them, and that they had better start the village for Benton to-morrow, for it would take them two and a half or three days to get there. It was sixty miles as the crow flies to Benton, but I expected to be there the following night. I told the chief that he had better send two or three of his men with us, and he agreed to do so.

I got six women to cut an abundance of grass for our stock. They also built a small corral for us. Before daylight the Indians turned out their ponies to graze, and by daylight breakfast was over, the lodges were down, and the women were getting everything ready for packing. The ponies were now brought in. Bear Wolf and Star Robe, two sub-chiefs, were selected to accompany us. Here Jack traded his mule for eight fine garnished robes. He wanted me to take seven of them, but I selected four. He packed the robes on one of his horses, and by seven o’clock we started, taking the best and most direct route to Benton, passing on the south side of the Bear Paw Mountains. We nooned at Eagle Creek, about half-way. Small bands of buffalo were seen, and we killed two fat ones. Selecting the choicest parts, we feasted as no mortals ever feasted, unless they have feasted on fat cow buffalo.

Our camp was about one and a half miles from the mountains. Star Robe, with my glass, was looking the mountain over, and when he returned to camp he said that seven Indians were coming down the stream afoot. Jack said: “Blackfeet! I will stop them from coming here!” He stripped down to his breech-clout, mounted his best horse, and took the ridge. I had Dick ready for emergency, in case something should happen to Jack. About half a mile up the stream Jack halted. Some two hundred yards beyond him the seven Indians came up on the ridge. I was watching every move made. One of the Indians approached Jack. After a short time he returned to the other Indian, and they all went back to the mountain. Jack informed us that he had told the Indians not to come nigh us, as they would get shot, but to go to Benton, where all the Indians were going to meet the white chiefs in council.

Those Indians did go to Benton, and Jack, knowing them, introduced me to them. They laughed at the idea of the two of us being able to put all of them to sleep; that nettled Jack, and he asked me to show them what I could do with my “medicine gun,” as he called my Henry rifle. At this place the Missouri River is about two hundred and fifty yards wide, and on the farther, or south, side near the water there stood a stone about one foot in diameter. There were about one hundred and fifty Indians present at the time. I had practised at that rock more than once. I fired seven shots at it in rapid succession, and each shot would have hit an Indian. All the Indians put their hands over their mouths--a sign of astonishment. They wished to examine the rifle, but I refused to let them touch it, let alone examine it. I was determined to keep them mystified about the Henry rifle as long as I could. I was offered four times the price I paid for it--one hundred and six dollars, as already stated.

When I reported to the commissioners, they were somewhat disappointed that the Crows were not coming to the council. I notified the commissioners that the Gros Ventres would be here in two days, and that two of their chiefs had come here with us. The commissioners requested me to take care of these chiefs until the village arrived. I did so, charging the commissioners one dollar a meal for each Indian, the same price that I charged the white men; but I ought to have had two dollars, as one of these Indians could get away with as much grub as two white men.

Some northern Indians were now beginning to come in. Three days after our return the steamboat got to Benton. Two days after the arrival of that boat fully thirty-five hundred Indians were in camp on Benton Bottom. The Piegans and the Bloods had about three hundred and fifty lodges. Father-of-all-Children,[10] the Blackfeet chief, had fifty lodges, but doubled up; that is to say, two families in one lodge. The total number of Indians, big and little, was about four thousand, and more parties were constantly arriving, swelling the number. The other Blackfeet Indians were too far away to attend the council, and besides that, they had no right to be there to receive presents from the United States, as they belonged to Canada. The people from the north pitched their lodges mostly on the upper end of the Bottom, but the Gros Ventres pitched theirs on the lower end, some three hundred yards east of the old fort. Formerly they had been friends with the Piegans and the Bloods, but for the last four years they had been at war, and there was the bitterest hatred between them. Hence this wide separation of their lodges. The council-chamber had been put in order. The American flag was handsomely displayed, with other decorations. The steamboat had been unloaded and the goods stored. This was about the 20th of September, 1865.

[10] _Měn ěs tō´ kōs_, literally, All are his children, but
commonly spoken of as Father of all children.

As stated in the earlier part of this narrative, I had been appointed deputy marshal, though I knew nothing about the duties of the office. I asked General Meagher what was expected of me as marshal, and he replied: “Keep order, see that the chiefs are seated in their allotted places, and that the interpreters are ordered to bring all chiefs and principal warriors to the council.”

At the appointed time, all had come except the Gros Ventres. Tunica, the interpreter, returned from the camp, saying that the Gros Ventres chiefs were afraid to come. The commissioners commanded me, as sergeant-at-arms, to bring the chiefs and headmen of the tribe to the council. I was armed at all points. Dick was saddled, and I went to the village. I got six of the leading chiefs, who wanted to bring their arms with them, but I gave them to understand that this would not be permitted by the white chiefs in council, that no one could enter the council-chamber armed, except myself. I gave them assurance that no harm would come to them in council, and soon returned with the chiefs, and placed them on the left of the Piegans. They had been acquainted with each other before the war, and had been good friends.

It was one P. M. when the clerk produced a roll of closely written sheets of paper. It looked to me to be two quires, the treaty which came from the Indian Commissioner at Washington. The clerk began reading it by sections, and then waited to have it interpreted. The Piegans, Bloods, and Blackfeet needed but one interpreter, but the Gros Ventres had to have their own interpreter. It took fifteen to twenty minutes to get through with one sentence, and even then neither interpreter nor Indians understood one-tenth of its meaning. I saw that it would take forty days to get through if a change was not brought about. Little Dog, the Piegan chief, told his interpreter to inform the commissioners that the council would be adjourned until next day in order to consult on the mode of procedure to be used thereafter and the language to be employed in carrying through a treaty with a wild, untamed lot of Indians, ninety per cent of whom had no desire to mix with or deal with any whites, except to trade for certain commodities which they stood in need of. The commissioners knew as little of how to proceed to make those Indians understand their meaning as an Apache would know of Latin.

My eating-house now did a rushing business, for that evening I was asked to give supper to all the chiefs. It would have been amusing to any one with a knowledge of Indian character to see the warriors who, when they heard I was going to give all the chiefs their supper, came to me and claimed to be chiefs. We did feed perhaps a dozen leading warriors besides the chiefs. I notified the cook to be prepared to feed about forty Indians. We had plenty to eat, but no fancy dishes. The cook was well up in his business.

After supper, the commissioners called the interpreter and me to council with them, for they saw that some change must be made in the proceedings. We told them that they must condense, must leave out “party of the first part,” “party of the second part,” “for and in consideration of, etc.,” and must state in as few words as possible what they desired of the Indians. The clerk got to work, and in half an hour had the forty closely written sheets of paper condensed to less than one, which contained the meaning of the whole.

At nine o’clock next morning the council met again, all the chiefs being in their seats. The Small Robe band of Piegans claimed the land on the south side of the Missouri River as far as Musselshell River. They ceded in the treaty all their rights to this territory. Other Piegans and the Blood Indians claimed territory along the summit of the Rocky Mountains south to the Little Blackfoot River, and thence southeast to the Missouri River. In the treaty they ceded all the territory from the mouth of the Marias River up the Marias to the Teton River, following the middle of the stream to its source, for a stipulated sum to be given them for twenty years. The Gros Ventres had no land to cede. The Blackfeet also had no land to cede, and according to the views of many they had no business in this treaty, because they lived in, and claimed to belong to, what they called Red Coat Land, namely, that belonging to King George. Some of them wore King George’s medals, and showed that they felt proud of them. All the country east of the Teton River was set apart for a Piegan and Blood reserve. The treaty was concluded by five P. M. All the Indians understood what was wanted of them, and the preliminaries were thus shortened by at least thirty-nine days. The treaty was not satisfactory to all the Indians, but they had to abide by it. Without the influence of some of the mountaineers--who never received any credit for the part they took in bringing it about--that treaty would not have been made at that time.

The next day began the distributing of the goods. It would take the pen of a Mark Twain to describe the scenes that took place. Two days were required to get through this distribution, and the goods that remained and were to be issued to half-breeds were put in my charge, for distribution when the breeds had all arrived.

The next morning the commissioners paid me out of the Indian goods for feeding the Indians and for my trip across the country, and I had Jack paid for his time, also from the goods. The commissioners then left for Helena with Agent Gad. E. Upson. He knew as much about an Indian as I did about the inhabitants of Jupiter.

About ten A. M., one hour after the commissioners had left, Little Dog, chief of the South Piegans, came into town and found us. This man was one of the noblest and bravest chiefs living at that day. He was a friend to the whites, and had killed four of the under chiefs of his tribe for warring against the whites. He could muster about two hundred and fifty warriors. When he found me, he told me that the North Piegans, under Mountain Chief, the Bloods, and the Blackfeet, had secured some whiskey and were getting ugly and singing their war-songs. Little Dog advised the whites to remain in their houses. He believed that these northern people would attack the Gros Ventres camp, and might also shoot at the whites. Some Indian women had warned us of the situation just before Little Dog came in. Now the agent had a twelve-pound brass cannon. We put this in a “doby” building which was used as a warehouse, and through the wall knocked a hole about twelve inches in diameter for the muzzle, as well as several portholes for rifles. There was no one present who knew much about cannons, but we loaded the piece with six pounds of powder rammed tight, twenty pounds of one-ounce balls, and some smaller bullets, for we were determined to have it double-shotted. J. V. Cochran, who lives in Billings, Montana, had charge of the cannon. He was, and is, as game as a war eagle, and if called upon, would have fired the cannon if it had burst in a thousand pieces.

We had rifle-pits dug at different points of vantage, and there were forty-five white men to defend them. At the fort, the Northwest Fur Company had twelve men, all of them in the fort, with the gates locked. No assistance could be expected from them.

I mounted Dick and, with Little Dog and Jack, paid a visit to the Gros Ventres. They had already been warned, had their lodges pitched in a circle, their ponies corralled, and rifle-pits dug all around the village. All the warriors were stripped to the breech-clout, and many of them were painted as demons are supposed to paint. Famasi and Star Robe, the chiefs, met us outside. Little Dog informed them that he would try to prevent the hostiles from attacking them, and advised them not to shoot first if the hostiles came. He declared that he and his people would be their friends, and bidding them good-by, we returned. After looking over the ground and seeing that everything was in order for defence in the town, I went with Little Dog and Jack to the village of the South Piegans. The young men were busy putting their arms in order for action, for they expected a fight. It must be remembered that at this time bad blood existed between many of the North Piegans and the South Piegans, and though things were outwardly peaceful enough, a war between them could easily have been precipitated. Leaving the South Piegans, I rode around to the other villages and notified all the chiefs that they must control their young men, must not permit them to commit any overt act, and must keep them away from the Gros Ventres village, or half of their warriors would be killed. Jack confirmed my assertion, adding much more to it. The chiefs used their utmost endeavor to control their young men, and they partially succeeded with many.

The day after the Indians left the boys joked me about forty-five men going to kill half of fifteen hundred warriors, saying: “Bill had more gall than the devil, and could out-bluff six.”

About eleven o’clock five hundred naked warriors in their war regalia, painted and mounted on their best ponies, which were also painted, went down the bottom toward the Gros Ventres village, yelling and uttering their war-cries. The ground fairly trembled under the horses’ feet. Every one expected that the fight was on. Little Dog had sixty warriors at the upper end of the town. I remained with him, and we carefully watched the proceedings below, expecting every moment to hear shots. The Indians rode around the Gros Ventres camp, some two hundred yards distant from it. If one shot had been fired by either party, a bloody fight would have followed, as those Indians who were now held back by their chiefs would then have joined their friends. The whites could not have left the town to give assistance to the Gros Ventres, nor could the Gros Ventres leave their village to help the whites. I think that if it had come to the point, Little Dog would have joined the whites. It was believed by many experienced Indian men present that our visit to the Gros Ventres village prevented what might have been a massacre, or at least would have been a hard fight. There were many hot-headed and brave young Gros Ventres, and it may have been that our warning kept them from some rash acts.

Little Dog notified all the hostile bands that if they attacked the whites they would have him to fight. They were all of them afraid of him, and I know that his stand had a moral effect.

The hostiles rode around the Gros Ventres village many times, yelling, calling names, and sending forth challenges to the Gros Ventres to come out and fight; but the Gros Ventres remained quiet in their rifle-pits. I learned afterward that it was all their chiefs could do to keep their young men from accepting the hostiles’ challenges to fight. After a great deal of this verbal defiance, the hostiles rode back to their camp on a run, firing off their guns in the air. When opposite the town they halted and formed a half circle and began to sing their war-songs. After the songs a few approached within two hundred yards of the agency building, calling the whites dogs and women, names which were understood. The interpreters were directed to tell the Indians to stop their talk or we would kill them, and presently they rode back to their company, gave a yell of defiance, and left for their villages.

This lull gave us all an opportunity to eat dinner. I took Little Dog, Jack, and three other chiefs with me to dinner, and just as we had finished eating a fearful yell was heard. The chiefs jumped up and mounted quickly, making signs to the whites to remain in the houses. I mounted Dick and went with the chiefs, though many of the men called out to me: “Don’t go, sheriff.” I had decided what I should do in case of a fight. If the hostiles attacked the town, and Little Dog attacked the hostiles, I would remain with him, for there I would be of more benefit to the town than I would be in the building. If, on the other hand, Little Dog failed to act, I could return to the town.

The yell was given by some one thousand two hundred painted savages, each of whom had tied from five to twenty yards of calico to his horse’s tail and started out on a run all over the bottom. Calico of many colors was flying in all directions, and each Indian was trying to make his pony step on the calico tied to the horse next in advance. They were yelling and firing off their guns in every direction. It was a wild orgy, such as neither I nor any one else had ever beheld, and we had witnessed many a wild scene. It was something for a Rembrandt or a Remington to paint; the first scene of the kind, and, I believe, the last, ever seen in the United States.

[A scene somewhat similar to the one described took place in southern Nebraska in the year 1867 when the Cheyennes ditched a freight train on the railroad then being constructed across the continent. The Indians who took part in the wrecking of this train have told me how the freight cars were broken open, the goods taken from them and scattered over the prairie, and how the young men in sport knotted the ends of bolts of calico to their horses’ tails and then galloped wildly in all directions, the cloth streaming behind them in the wind.]

That night the Gros Ventres, like the Arabs, silently moved their village, without being discovered by their enemies. The next morning all the Indians except Little Dog’s band left for the north, to go to their own country. Before they left two war parties had been organized to raid upon the miners and ranchmen in different sections of the Territory. Such was the result of this great treaty.

Before they moved out a few of us visited the Indian villages. As many Indians were dissatisfied with the treaty, they looked on us with distrust, and hatred was plainly visible in their faces and their actions. We assumed the authority to notify the chiefs that they must control their young men and keep them from stealing from the whites, or war on them by the whites would continue. In part the treaty was successful. As a whole it was a failure, for a chronic state of warfare continued for years.

INDEX

Abenakis, 58.

Abert, Lt., 205.

A Boy in Indian Camps, 235, 237.

_Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains_, 194.

_Adventures on the Oregon or Columbia River_, 4.

Agave Americana, 197.

“Albatross,” 36.

Ama-ketsa, 89, 90, 111.

American Fur Co., 5, 153.

Antelope, habits of, 310.

Apache, 138, 154, 188.

Arapahoes, 154, 161, 188, 260, 329, 335.

Arkansas River, 128, 129, 130, 189.

Arkansor River, 278.

Arrow Creek, 333.

Arroyo Hondo, 147.

Assiniboine, Fort, 121.

Astor Company, 5.

Astor House, 278.

Astor, John Jacob, 3, _et seq._

Astor project, 38.

Astoria, 3, 12, 42.

Astoria, building of, 10.

Bait for alligator, 279.

Baker, I. G., 328.

Baker’s Bay, 8, 37.

Ban-at-tees, 88, 111.

Bannocks, 88.

Barbadoes, 194.

Battle of bulls, 294.

Battles at Adobe Walls, 154, _et seq._

Battle with Piegans, 95.

Bay, Baker’s, 8, 37.

Bayard, Lt. Geo. D., 155.

Bayou Salado, 207, 208, 230.

Bear hunting, 65, 313, 317.

Bear Paw Mountains, 346, 350.

Bear River, 112.

Bear Wolf, 350.

Beaubien, Charles, 170.

Beaubien, Narcisse, 170.

“Beaver,” 25, 26.

Beaver Creek, 349.

Beaver trap, 79.

Bellevue Point, 14.

Bent, Charles, 128, 137, 141, 142, 162, 215.

Bent, Charles (the younger), 130.

Bent, Colonel (_See_ Wm. W. Bent).

Bent County (Colo.), 190.

Bent, George, 128, 130, 139.

Bent, George (the younger), 130.

Bent, Governor (death of), 144.

Bent, John, 127.

Bent, Julia, 130.

Bent, Mary, 130.

Bent, Robert, 128, 130, 139.

Bent, Robert (the younger), 130.

Bent, St. Vrain & Co., 237.

Bent, Silas, 127.

Bent, Silas (the younger), 127.

Bent, Wm. W., 127, 128, 139, 141;
(death of), 158.

Bent & St. Vrain, 132.

Benton, 326.

Bent’s Fort, 127, 130, 248;
(Farnham’s description), 158.

Bent’s Old Fort (described), 132.

Big Bend, 304.

Big Snowy Mountains, 338, 340.

Big Timbers, 157.

Birch bark, 57.

Birch-bark canoes, 57.

Black Beaver, 171.

Black Butte, 335.

Black, Captain, 37.

Black Hills, 132.

Blackfeet, 101, 103, 104, 116, 329, 335, 352.

Blair, Frank P., 140, 170.

Bloods, 329, 352.

Boast of voyageur, 122.

Boggs, Charles, 153.

Boggs, Tom, 153, 179, 182, 188.

_Bois de vaches_, 242.

Boucharville, 306, 311, 312, 316, 320.

Bourgeois, 92.

Box Elder Creek, 336.

Breakfast, Indian, 17.

Breaking mules, 239.

Buchanan, Honorable James, 142.

Buffalo bull, adventure with, 299.

Buffalo habit, 113.

Buffalo hunting, 222.

Buffalo running, 290, 296.

Building of Astoria, 10.

Bull Goes Hunting, 344.

Bull Mountains, 336, 337, 340.

_California and Oregon Trail_, 237.

Calispels, 100.

Camp on the march, 250.

Camp on the prairie, 282.

Campbell, Robert, 128.

Canadian River, 138.

Candles, tallow, 185.

Candy-pulling, 185.

Canoe management, 8.

Canoe Point, 113.

Captain Black, 37.

Captain Thorn, 7, 9, 24.

Carcajou, 229.

Carpenter, E. W., 328.

Carroll & Steele, 328.

Carson, Kit, 131, 132, 154, 162, 163, 169, 170, 179;
(death of), 158.

Cascades, 26, 59.

Cath-le-yach-é-yach, 42.

Catlin, 281.

Cayuse, 44.

Cedar Lake, 121.

Chadwick, Mr., 238, 244.

Chardon, Mr., 304, 306, 315.

Cheyennes, 131, 154, 157, 161, 188, 329, 335.

Chihuahua, 194, 203.

Chihuahua, game of, 203.

Chinooke, 8.

Chinook Point, 9.

Chinooks, 9.

Chipita, 184, 185.

Chouteau County (Mont.), 328.

Chouteau, Jr. & Co., Pierre, 238.

Chouteaus, 130.

Cimarron River, 167.

Clarke, John, 35.

Clark’s Fork, 17.

Cochran, J. V., 358.

Columbia, Forks of, 26.

Columbia River, 3, _et seq._

Comanches, attack by, 260.

Comanches, 138, 154, 163, 176, 188, 260.

Come Comly, 37.

Comeloups, 27.

Coolidge, Mr., 264, 266, 267.

Council at Fort Benton, The, 323, 325.

Council Bluffs, 282.

Council Grove, Kan., 241.

Cowlitz River, 72.

Cox, Ross, 5, 24.

Creeks (_see_ River).

Crees, 100.

Crooks, Ramsey, 24, 25, 27.

Crows, 116, 312, 329, 332, 335.

Cuba, 194.

Daughters of the American Revolution, 190.

Davis, Charles, 179.

Dawson, James, 320.

Day, John, 25, 27.

Day’s, John, Valley, 104, 105.

Dease, J. W., 94.

Deep Creek, 334.

Delawares, 171, 175.

De Lisle, Frank, 239.

Diamond Springs, 142.

Diaz, Porfirio, 195.

Dog flesh as food, 253.

“Dolly” (schooner), 23.

Doniphan, Colonel A. W., 142, 204.

_Doniphan’s Expedition_, 132, 136.

Drinker, Mr., 238.

Eagle Creek, 350.

Eagle Eye, 330.

Eagle Tail Feathers, 138.

Edmonton, 121.

El Paso, 194, 205.

Emigrant trail, 183.

Eyacktana, 48, 50.

Eyakema Valley, 44.

Famasi, 349, 358.

Farnham, R., 24.

Farnham, Thos. J., 158.

Father of all Children, 352.

Feast, Indian, 60.

Fernandez, 145.

Fight at Arroyo Hondo, 147.

Fight with Blackfeet, 341.

Fisher, 179.

Fitzpatrick, Thos., 140, 172.

Flathead House, 117.

Flathead River, 102.

Flathead River Post, 100.

Flatheads, 100.

Flat Willow Creek, 336, 338.

Fontaine-qui-bouille, 208.

_Forest and Stream_, 326.

Fort Adobe, 138, 139, 153.
Assiniboine, 121.
Bent, 127, 130, 248.
Benton, 326.
Berthold, 316.
Fauntleroy, 158.
Flathead River Post, 100.
Garry, 5.
George, 5, 42.
Jasper House, 121.
Larpenteur’s Post, 304.
Leavenworth, 132.
Lyon, 158.
McKenzie, 301.
Minitaree, 304.
Minitaree Post, 320.
Nez Percés, 71, 72, 75, 94.
Okanagan, 43, 53.
Pierre, 290.
Rocky Mountain House, 121.
St. Vrain, 138, 139, 153.
Spokane, 27, 28, 32.
Spokane House, 95, 100.
Union, 290, 306, 307, 309, 320, 346.
Vermilion, 289.
White River Post, 303, 304.
William (Bent’s), 130, 171, 248.
William (N. W. Co.), 42.
Wise, 158.

Fourchette Creek, 348.

Francisco, 131.

Franklin, Captain John, 121.

Fraser River, 23.

_Fur Hunters of the Far West_, 4, 41.

Game of Chihuahua, 203.

Garrard, Lewis H., 132, 145, 237.

Garry, Fort, 5.

George, Fort, 5, 42.

“Gibraltar of Columbia,” 76.

Goat, white, 19.

Goddin River, 104, 105, 116.

Governor Charles Bent, 141, 259.

Grand Detour, 304.

Greeley, Colo., 154.

Green, Andrew, 137, 184.

Green, Dick, 138.

Greenhorn River, 152, 208.

Grizzly bear, 64.

Gros Ventres, 329, 332, 349, 352, 353.

Hallock, Charles, 176.

Hamilton, Wm. T., 325.

Hatcher, 179, 180, 182, 184.

Hawkins, John, 208.

Hē-hĭm´nĭ-ho-năh´, Freckled Hand, 179.

Hell’s Gate, 101.

Highwood Mountains, 333.

Hĭs´sī-o-mē´tă-nē, 167.

Hodgens, 88, 89, 90.

Ho-nīh´, Wolf, 179.

Horses recovered from Crows, 165.

Horse-taking by Comanches, 164.

Hudson Bay Company, 3, _et seq._

Hudson Bay Company, With the, 91.

Huerfano River, 208.

Hughes, J. T., 132.

Hunt, Wilson Price, 5, 24, 35.

Independence, Mo., 281.

Indian feast, 60.

Indian tribes:
Abenakis, 58;
Apache, 138, 154, 188;
Arapahoes, 154, 161, 188, 260, 329, 335;
Ban-at-tees, 88, 111;
Bannocks, 88;
Blackfeet, 101, 103, 104, 116, 329, 335, 352;
Bloods, 329, 352;
Calispels, 100;
Cath-le-yach-é-yach, 42;
Cayuse, 44;
Cheyennes, 131, 154, 157, 161, 188, 329, 335, 362;
Chinooke or Chinooks, 9;
Comanches, 138, 154, 163, 176, 188, 260;
Crees, 100;
Crows, 116, 312, 329, 332, 335;
Delawares, 171, 175;
Flatheads, 100;
Gros Ventres, 329, 332, 349, 352, 353;
Iroquois, 58, 65, 72, 73, 100, 101, 115;
Kiowas, 138, 154, 155, 161, 188;
Kutenais, 100;
Minitarees, 309;
Navajo, 142;
Nez Percés, 16, 27, 32, 44, 88, 102, 116;
Okanagan, 54;
Palouse, 100;
Piegans, 95, 98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 105, 106, 329, 352, 355;
Pisscows, 44, 53;
Saulteaux, 100;
Shahaptin, 16, 17;
Shaw-ha-ap-tens (_See_ Shahaptin);
Shawnees, 171, 175;
She-Whaps, 23, 27, 61, 64;
Shoshoni, 88, 178;
Sioux, 329, 335;
Snakes, 25, 72, 81, 84, 85, 88, 90, 100;
Spokanes, 100;
Suhtai, 167;
Walla Walla, 17, 82;
War-are-ree-kas (Shoshoni), 89, 111;
Wy-am-pams, 16;
Wyandottes, 239.

Indians and Their Battles, 75.

International boundary, 321.

Iroquois, 58, 65, 72, 73, 100, 101, 115.

Ishmah, 301, 308.

Jack, 330, 358.

Jasper House, 121.

Juarez, 195.

Judith Mountains, 335, 336.

Judith River, 326, 327, 335.

Kamloops, 27.

Kansas City, Mo., 141.

Kearny, General S. W., 142, 161, 162, 204.

Keith, James, 42, 43, 58.

Kiowas, 138, 154, 161, 188.

Kiowa woman, 168.

Kipp, James, 281, 289, 320.

Kipp, Joe, 328.

Kittson, Mr., 77, 78, 81.

Knife River, 304.

Kutenais, 100.

La Bonté, 233.

La Cañada, 148.

Lake Bourbon, 121.

Larocque, Joseph Felix, 121.

Larpenteur’s Post, 304.

Leavenworth, Fort, 132.

Lee, General, 238.

Lewis and Clark, 71, 103.

Lewis Fork, 17, 90.

Life at Bent’s Fort, 170.

Little Blackfoot River, 356.

Little Dog, 330, _et seq._

Little Missouri River, 316, 317.

Little Mountain, 138.

Little Rocky Mountains, 348, 349.

Little White Man, 128.

Long Narrows, 24, 26.

Madeira Islands, 194.

Maguey, 197.

Malades River, 105, 112.

Mammoth Cave, Ky., 280.

Marias River, 356.

“Martha,” 320.

Maxwell, L., 179.

McDonald, Finan, 94, 98, 99, 103.

McDonald, John (Bras Croche), 43.

McDougall, Duncan, 6, 10, 36.

McKay, Alexander, 6, 24.

McKay, young, 44.

McKenzie, Alexander, 3.

McKenzie, Donald, 24, 25, 26, 33, 58, 69, 73, 78.

McKenzie, Kenneth, 238.

McLellan, Donald, 5, 24.

McTavish, J. G., 32.

Meagher, General Francis, 326, 327, 328, 353.

Medicine Springs, 332, 335.

Měn-ěs-tō´-kōs, 352.

Minitaree Fort, 304.

Minitaree Post, 320.

Minitarees, 309.

Missoula, Mont., 327.

Missouri River, 332.

Moccasin Mountains, 332.

Mora, N. M., 158.

Mormons, 282.

Mountain Chief, 357.

Mountain sheep, 221.

Mountains:
Bear Paw, 346, 350;
Big Snowy, 338, 340;
Bull, 336, 337, 340;
Highwood, 333;
Judith, 335, 336;
Little Rocky, 348, 349;
Moccasin, 332;
Turtle, 316.

Mourning, Indian, 82, 347.

Munson, Judge, 328.

Murray, 178, 179, 180.

Musselshell River, 336, 337, 339, 348, 357.

_My Sixty Years on the Plains_, 326.

Navajo Indians, 142.

New Caledonia, 25.

Nez Percés, 16, 27, 32, 44, 88, 102, 116.

Nez Percés Fort, 71, 72, 75, 94.

Nō-mă-nĭh´, Fish, 179.

North Platte River, 183.

Northwest Company, 3, _et seq._

Northwesters, 4, _et seq._

Northwest Fur Co., 41.

Norway House, 121, 122.

Oakinacken River, 19.

Ogden, Peter, 73.

Okanagan, Fort, 43, 53.

Okanagan Indians, 54.

Okanagan River, 19, _et seq._

Okanogan, 20.

Okinagan, 20.

“Old Bark,” 259.

One-eyed Juan, 183.

Otero Co. (Colo.), 190.

Outfit for prairie travel, 330.

Owl Woman, 129.

Pacific Fur Co., 5, _et seq._

Paint, 239.

Palliser, Colonel Wray, 277.

Palliser, John, 277.

Palouse, 100.

Paquenode, 306.

Parkman, 237.

Pau-ē-sīh´, Flat Nose, 179.

Pawnee Fork, 176, 260.

“Pawnee” (Kiowa chief), 155.

Payette River, 107.

Peacock’s Ranch, 155.

Peck, R. M., 154.

Pérey, 306, 308.

Piegans, 98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 105, 106, 329, 352.

Piegans, battle with, 95.

Pierre, Fort, 290.

Pierre, S. D., 290.

“Pilot Knobs,” 90.

Pisscow River, 19.

Pisscows, 44, 53.

Plum Creek, 335.

Point Canoe, 113.

Point Chinook, 9.

Point George, 9.

Point Vancouver, 14.

Pŏ-ō-om´măts, Gray Blanket, 179.

Poor (Lean) Bear, 138.

Porcupine Creek, 340, 343.

Poshett Creek, 348.

Power, T. C., 328.

Prairie fire, 284.

Prairie traveller, 277.

Priest Rapids, 19.

Prince, 85.

Pueblo, Colo., 129, 130, 157.

Pulque, 197.

Purgatoire River, 129, 130, 157 171.

Quarrel, Indian, 86.

“Raccoon,” 37.

Raids by Indians, 198.

Rattling Buttes, 335.

Red Coat Land, 356.

Red River (of North,) 121, 122, 123.

Red River (of Texas), 167.

Red River settlement, 4.

Red Sleeves, 176.

Red Sleeves Creek, 176.

Reed, John, 33.

Reid (_See_ Reed, J.), 88.

Reid’s River (_see_ Payette River, 107).

Reynolds, A. E., 189.

Richardson, Dr., 121.

Rio del Norte, 205.

Rio Grande, 205.

Rivers:
Arkansas, 128, 129, 130, 189;
Arkansor, 278;
Arrow, 333;
Bear, 112;
Beaver, 349;
Box Elder, 336;
Canadian, 138;
Cimarron, 167;
Clark’s Fork, 17;
Columbia, 3, _et seq._;
Columbia, Forks of, 26;
Cowlitz, 72;
Deep, 334;
Eagle, 350;
Flathead, 102;
Flat Willow, 336, 338;
Fontaine-qui-bouille, 208;
Fourchette, 348;
Fraser, 23;
Goddin, 104, 105, 116;
Greenhorn, 152, 208;
Huerfano, 208;
Judith, 326, 327, 335;
Knife, 304;
Lewis Fork, 17, 90;
Little Blackfoot, 356;
Little Missouri, 316, 317;
Malades, 105, 112;
Marias, 356;
Missouri, 332;
Musselshell, 336, 337, 339, 348, 357;
North Platte, 183;
Oakinacken, 19;
Okanagan, 19, _et seq._;
Oregon, 4;
Pawnee Fork, 176, 260;
Payette, 107;
Pisscow, 19;
Plum, 335;
Porcupine, 340, 343;
Poshett, 348;
Purgatoire, 129, 130, 157, 171;
Red (of North), 121, 122, 123;
Red (of Texas), 167;
Red Sleeves, 176;
Reid’s (_See_ Payette), 107;
Rio del Norte, 205;
Rio Grande, 205;
Rivière aux Malades, 105, 112;
Saint Vrain’s Fork, 138;
Salmon, 104;
Sa-mick-a-meigh, 31;
Skam-naugh, 76;
Smilkameen, 31;
Snake, 25;
Teton, 356;
Walnut, 155;
Willamette, 58;
Willow, 334;
Wolf, 334;
Yellowstone, 281, 306.

Rivière aux Malades, 105, 112.

Rocky Mountain House, 121.

Ross, Alexander, 3, _et passim_.

Rowan, Mr., 121.

Running down a calf, 314.

Russell, Colonel, 264.

Russian America, 5.

Ruxton, George Frederick, 191, 193.

Sagacity of wolves, 208.

Sage grouse, 64.

St. Louis, 194.

St. Vrain, Ceran, 130.

St. Vrain (death of C.), 158.

St. Vrain, Felix, 158.

St. Vrain’s Fork, 138.

Salmon River, 104.

Sa-mick-a-meigh River, 31.

Sand Creek massacre, 249.

Sandwich Islanders, 58.

Sandwich Islands, 7.

San Fernandez, 145.

San Fernando, 142.

Santa Anna, General, 195.

Santa Fé, 129, _et seq._

Santa Fé trail, 127.

Saulteaux, 100.

Scalp dance, 256.

Seaton, Alfred, 33.

Sedgwick, Major, 155.

Shahaptin, 16, 17.

Shaved Head, 138.

Shaw-ha-ap-tens (_see_ Shahaptin).

Shawnees, 171, 175.

She-Whaps, 23, 27, 61, 64.

“Short Man, The,” 326.

Shoshoni, 88, 178.

Simplicity of Indians, 19.

Simpson, Governor, 95, 117, 121.

Sioux, 329, 335.

Skam-naugh River, 76.

Skunk, adventure with, 20.

Small Robe band (Piegan), 355.

Smallpox at Bent’s Fort, 131.

Smilkameen River, 31.

Smith, Green Clay, 327.

Smith, John, 179, 248, 252, 253, 254, 255.

Snake Indians, 25, 72, 81, 84, 85, 88, 90, 100.

Snake River, 25.

_Solitary Hunter, The_, 275, 277, 321.

Spokane House, 95, 100.

Spokanes, 100.

Spotted Horse, 344.

Staked Plains, 167.

Star Robe, 350, 358.

Stevens, Governor I. I., 326.

Stuart, Alexander, 42, 43.

Stuart, David, 6, 22, 25, 26, 27.

Stuart, Robert, 24, 25, 27.

Suhtai, 167.

Tailing the bull, 200.

Taos, 129, 137, 145.

Teton River, 356.

Thompson, David, 13, 15, 17.

Thorn, Captain, 7, 9, 24.

Three Tetons, 90, 115.

Thunder Birds, 187.

“Tod Issac,” 36.

To´hau sen, 138, 155.

“Tonquin,” 7, 13, 23.

Tonquin Point, 9.

Trade for horses, 182.

Trade for liquor, 181.

Trade for robes, 182.

Trade, winter’s, 23.

_Trails of the Pathfinders_, 24, 31.

Train-wrecking by Cheyennes, 362.

Trapper’s earnings, 219.

Trappers’ methods, 79.

Trapper’s outfit, 216.

Traps stolen, 107.

Travel by ox train, 172.

Travois dog, 300.

Tummatapam, 17.

Tunica, 353.

Turley, 147.

Turley’s Ranch, 147.

Turtle Mountains, 316.

“Twins, The,” 71.

Union, Fort, 290, 306, 307, 309, 320, 346.

Upson, Gad. E., 357.

Valley, John Day’s, 104, 105.

Vasquez, Benito, 130.

Vera Cruz, 194.

Vermilion, Fort, 289.

Vide Poche, 242.

Vigil, 144.

Vī-hiu-nĭs´, Little Chief, 179.

_Wah-To-Yah and the Taos Trail_, 237.

Walla Walla, 27.

Walla Walla Indians, 17, 82.

Walnut Creek, 155.

War-are-ree-kas, 89, 111.

War of 1812, 36.

Wa-si´cha-chischi´-la, 128.

Westport, Mo., 141, 171, 238.

White Cow Woman, 168.

White goat, 19.

White River Post, 303, 304.

White Thunder, 130.

Willamette River, 58.

William, Fort (Bent’s), 130, 171, 248.

William, Fort (N. W. Co.), 42.

Williams, Bill, 228, 294, 325.

Willow Creek, 334.

Winnipeg, 5.

Winter storm, 211.

Wŏhk´po-hŭm´, White Horse, 179.

Wolf Creek, 334.

Wolf-shooting, 68.

Wolverine, 229.

Wolves, sagacity of, 208.

Wolves, sleeping, 300.

Wolves, ways of, 54.

Work of a fur trader, 54.

Wounded bull, 246.

Wō-wĭhph´pai-ī-sīh´, Big Nostrils, 179.

Wy-am-pams, 16.

Wyandottes, 239.

Yellow Woman, 130.

Yellowstone National Park, 90.

Yellowstone River, 281, 306.

_ADVENTURE AND EXPLORATION_

Beyond the Old Frontier

Adventures of Indian Fighters, Hunters, and Fur Traders

By GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL

A series of personal narratives of hunting, Indian fighting, and exploration in the early pioneer days.

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By MARY GAY HUMPHREYS

The stories of the first and greatest of American missionaries to the American Indians, told largely in their own words.

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By MAJOR-GENERAL A. W. GREELY, U. S. A.

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The Boy’s Story of Zebulon M. Pike

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Edited by MARY GAY HUMPHREYS

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Trails of the Pathfinders

By GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL

Accounts taken from the journals of Henry, Lewis and Clark, Pike, Frémont, and others.

The Boy’s Catlin

My Life Among the Indians

Edited with Biographical Introduction by

MARY GAY HUMPHREYS

“As interesting a story of Indians as was ever written and has the merit of being true.”--_New York Sun._

The Boy’s Drake

By EDWIN M. BACON

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By WILLIAM H. WRIGHT

Illustrated from Photographs by the Author and J. B. Kerfoot. $1.50 net

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Illustrated from Photographs by the Author and J. B. Kerfoot. $1.00 net. Postpaid, $1.10

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* * * * * *

Transcriber’s note:

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained.

Some Indian names appear to have spaces in some of their occurrences, but not in others.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.

Index not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page references. Some index entries have been changed to match the spelling of the text they reference.

Duplicate chapter titles removed by Transcriber

Page 67: “at the chace” was printed that way.