Chapter XII: Siberia and Kamchatka 275 (9)

The scene of plunder and confusion which ensued beggars all
description. Perceiving that the mischief was likely to be more
extensive than he had imagined, the Governor went on board with a
party of soldiers to arrest its progress. But he soon discovered that
it is easier to set a mob in motion than to control it afterwards.
With his utmost efforts, aided by the soldiers, and by the commandant
of the custom-house guards and his satellites, he was incapable of
resisting the progress of the plunderers, until, being satiated, they
retreated with their booty to the shore as opportunity offered. When
there were but few remaining he succeeded in driving them away, and
placed the ship in charge of the mates.

CALL ON THE GOVERNOR.

After such an achievement, such a gathering of laurels, there
was some hazard to a foreigner in calling on the Governor, even
though it were to compliment him. But, being determined that the
Captain-General should have our version, of the transaction, I
called on him at noon for leave to send an express to the capital to
complain of the outrage, and to demand that redress there which we
asked in vain here. In an angry tone, and instead of replying to my
request, he inquired if we were desirous of provoking him to serve
us in the manner he had done the ship. I replied that I hoped there
was no danger of our causing him any provocation, but should it be
our misfortune to do so to the extent intimated, there could exist no
cause for such violent measures as had been used towards the ship,
as no resistance would be made. I then remarked on the advantage
that would result to the government in keeping away the rabble, and
thus securing the whole property. I stated, also, that there were
many valuable instruments, charts, and books on board which would be
useful to the Spanish marine, but which might be destroyed if, as he
suggested, “he served us in the manner he had done the ship”; and I
repeated a hope that he would not do so. Seeing that I was not to be
intimidated, and was, moreover, determined not to go to sea without
communicating with the Captain-General, he at length reluctantly
consented to our sending an express....

LETTERS.

The letter written by Mr. Shaler in Spanish, and complaining of the
outrageous conduct of the Governor to the unoffending citizens of
a friendly power, was sent by a courier. It produced an interchange
of several letters, the purport of which was, on one side, to deny
the right of any foreign vessel to traverse these seas, which, his
Excellency said, like the territory, belonged exclusively to his
Catholic Majesty; on the other, to refute the absurd doctrine of any
nation’s possessing an exclusive right to any particular sea, and
giving chapter and verse in the treaty, not only for our right to
sail where we please, but to enter their ports and demand succor. His
Excellency closed the correspondence by expressing a hope that if
we did not admit their exclusive right to these seas, we would, at
least, allow them to be masters in their own ports....

WAIT ON THE GOVERNOR.

Having assisted in bringing Rowan’s affairs into such a train
as promised a speedy and satisfactory adjustment, there existed
no farther inducement to remain longer in port. Accordingly,
having settled our various accounts of disbursements, Mr. Shaler,
accompanied by Mr. Rouissillon, waited on the Governor to notify him
of his intention to proceed to sea next morning, and to take leave.
He received them with great cordiality, expressed much regret at what
had occurred, promised to remedy the mischief as far as he was able,
offered us every facility in his power to insure our departure at the
time appointed, and, though it would not have been surprising if he
had wished us to the devil, on the contrary, wished us a good voyage.

There was a number of our unfortunate countrymen in port, principally
the crews of the condemned vessels, who had lost their little all,
and whose situation excited commiseration. We knew that if they
could get to Masafuera with the provisions they could obtain here,
they would, by pursuing their vocation, soon bring up arrears.
We determined, therefore, to go so far out of our way as to give
them all passages thither. They all very gratefully accepted our
invitation. Being ready on the 21st of April, and on the point of
leaving the port, a message was brought from the Governor, requesting
to see Mr. Shaler. He went immediately to him, and found, to his
astonishment, that he wanted him to defer his departure a few days.
It appeared that some suspicious or malicious person had suggested to
this silly governor that our object in taking so many men on board
was to capture the large ship, then on the point of sailing for Lima.
To guard against this, he begged Mr. Shaler to defer sailing till
forty-eight hours after that ship had sailed, and, moreover, hoped we
would not revenge ourselves on any unarmed Spanish vessel we might
chance to meet....

QUICKSILVER.

The time we had agreed to wait had not quite expired when we were all
taken aback again. It appeared that one of our sailors, an Irishman,
who had deserted, had given information that we had many kegs of
dollars on board, stowed under the ballast. As he had pointed out
precisely where they were, an armed force came on board by order of
the Governor, and, proceeding directly to the place indicated by the
sailor, found, instead of kegs of dollars, kegs of quicksilver, of
which they took away four, giving a receipt for them.

We flattered ourselves that this aggression would be the means of
opening the way for our going to the capital. Renewing, therefore,
our correspondence with the Captain-General, to complain of this
outrage, and remarking on our entire want of confidence in the
capacity or honesty of the Governor and his advisers, we reiterated
our request for leave to repair to Santiago for the more speedy
adjustment of our grievance. In reply, his Excellency remarked on the
loss of time which our coming to Santiago would cause, and observed
that the difficulty could be easily adjusted at Valparaiso by
answering satisfactorily the following questions, viz.: Why was the
quicksilver hidden under the ballast? To whom does it belong? To what
port destined? These interrogatories, being solemnly propounded by
the Governor to Mr. Shaler, a notary public being present, he replied
to the first that it was not hidden; to the second, that it belonged
to the owners of the vessel and cargo; to the third, that its
destination was round the world; and to this deposition he took an
oath on an odd volume of Shakespeare, presented him by the Governor
for that purpose.

The result of this investigation was immediately despatched to the
Captain-General, and an answer returned by his Excellency with
the least possible delay, the purport of which was that the four
kegs of quicksilver should be restored to us on board, and that
we should then leave the port without further delay.... During
this controversy, the men whom we intended taking to Masafuera had
dispersed in various directions, so that having on board only our
original small complement of men, the authorities had no cause to
apprehend any acts of piracy from us.

TAKING LEAVE.

The functions of Don Antonio as Governor _ad interim_ having ceased
on the arrival of his senior from Santiago, when we were on the
point of sailing, we made him a visit as soon after his arrival
as etiquette would permit. He gave us a most cordial, frank, and
friendly reception, and expressed much regret at having been absent
on our arrival; as, he said, not only would the trouble we had
experienced have been avoided, but he would have obtained permission
for us to visit Santiago. The order for our departure, however, being
now given by the Captain-General, was irrevocable, and he therefore
hoped there would be no further delay. On taking leave he inundated
us with civilities and good wishes, promising, moreover, to use his
best endeavors to bring the affair of our unfortunate countryman,
Rowan, to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion. These civilities,
professions, and promises passed with us for no more than they were
worth, after the observations our opportunities had afforded us of
judging of the character and motives of action of the authorities
here.

It was now the 6th of May, being two and a half months from the date
of our arrival,--a long time, considering that we were allowed only
twenty-four hours by the Captain-General to remain in port; and for
the third time had settled our accounts, and made all ready for our
departure. No further obstacle to our sailing occurring, and having
taken leave of our acquaintance and countrymen, we left Valparaiso to
the great satisfaction of the Governor and authorities, no less than
of ourselves.

“Another such book,” said Uncle Fritz, “is Captain Bennett Forbes’s account of his reminiscences. But as you are all Boston bred, I suppose you have all seen that.”

And it proved that they had.

XI.

THE NORTHWEST.

[Sidenote: 1881.]

“Uncle Fritz, you spoke of Jefferson as a geographer or naturalist.”

“Oh, yes,” said Uncle Fritz, “when he was in France he was a great deal with the philosophical set, who all thought that if people knew the length of a degree of the meridian, and could rightly analyze water, all would be well.”

“They should learn Dr. Watts,” said Esther.

“Dr. Watts! Frenchmen learn Dr. Watts?”

“Why, Dr. Watts implies that knowing is not quite enough. Don’t you remember?

‘Who know what’s right, not only so,
But also _practise_ what they know.’”

And Esther gave a very funny emphasis and accent to “practise,” just as she said Mr. Ockley, the Sunday-school teacher at North Holderness, did.

Uncle Fritz, not displeased with the comment, went on to say that some of Jefferson’s worst follies and some of his most sensible enterprises were dictated by his wish to be called a philosopher. “Of the whole set of the philosophers whom he used to meet in the society of Paris, about the time when the French Revolution was brewing, he only came to an important post of power.

“One of his theories was peaceful war. He thought that the United States could starve Europe into submission, if he cut off all trade. But alas! It was the United States which starved, and Europe did not know that anything was happening.

“Then he had a plan for keeping his navy on land, and carrying it about in carts wherever the enemy might attack. But this never worked well.

“But he wrote an interesting book on the resources of Virginia,--he was president of the Philosophical Society, and when you go and visit Mary Lesley, at Philadelphia, she will take you to the library, and show you no end of curious things in the archives, which have to do with him.

“I have a copy of a letter which he wrote to our old friend, Phil. Nolan, when he was hunting wild horses in Texas. His namesake, Mr. Joseph Jefferson, was kind enough to hunt that up for me in the State Department at Washington.

“Philip Nolan was the first person to bring back to the United States any accurate knowledge of the wonderful resources of Texas. The Spaniards caught him there, violated their own safeguard, and killed him in 1801. That is probably the reason why we have no answer to Mr. Jefferson’s letter to him.

“Then, when Jefferson was well established in the presidency, he determined to find what there was between the Mississippi and the Pacific. Nobody who had left any reliable account had ever gone across in the regions north of Mexico.

“If you will look in the Popular History again,” said Uncle Fritz, “where you were looking when we had the Coronado reading, you will find how four poor fellows of Narvaez’s expedition straggled across from the gulf, slaves most of the time to Indians, in the years following 1528. But after them there was no authentic account of any passage.

“It is odd enough,” continued Uncle Fritz, “that every cyclopædia, till within a few years, says that Carver, who went from here to Lake Superior in 1768, went to the Pacific. You will find that in the earlier editions of Appleton. So the old French cyclopædias say that Chateaubriand, in 1792, went to the Pacific. In truth, he never went beyond the Red River of Louisiana. Lewis and Clarke were the first men to cross the Rocky Mountains and back, from the Mississippi to the Pacific.

[Sidenote: 1804.]

“You see that as long ago as 1792, in that very fur-trade of which Captain Cleveland gives you some account, Robert Gray, from Salem, here in the ship Columbia, discovered the Columbia River. He sailed up, gave his vessel’s name to it, and on that discovery, in a considerable measure, rested, at one time, our claim to Oregon. Jefferson selected two captains from the army, Meriwether Lewis and George Clarke, and bade them organize an expedition to find this same Columbia River and descend to the sea. This they did in the years 1804, 1805, and 1806. You see, there were as yet no steamboats. They had to row, sail, and tow, on their way up the Missouri, till they came to the mountains. Slow work it was, to be sure. Then they bought horses from the Indians and crossed the passes,--in the same regions where the Northern Pacific Railroad was built in our own time,--and to them are due the names of Lewis’s River and Clarke’s River, the two branches which unite in the Columbia River.

“When they came back, they had not been heard from for more than two years.

“This was the beginning of a series of government explorations which have lasted till our time. The authorities at Washington publish every year valuable reports of their agents in the Ethnological Department, in the Irrigation Department, and in the Alaskan Department. Keep your eyes on these reports. They do not get into book stores, but are distributed with great liberality at Washington to any persons who are interested. Of all the books made out of the journals of those explorations, Irving’s ‘Astoria’ and ‘Captain Bonneville’ are the most entertaining. Later down Francis Parkman’s book, when he spent a summer with the Sioux, is charming.[25] Fremont is very entertaining. There are several of his reports.

“Suppose we try the Great Northwest. That is a country which, before Fulton invented the steamboat, seemed so useless that we almost lost it at the treaty of Ghent by the mere indifference of our own negotiators.

“It was our dear old John Quincy Adams who hung on. He hated the English so that he would not let them have even a wilderness if he could help it.”

[Sidenote: 1814.]

Then Uncle Fritz asked Clement to bring him the third volume of Adams’s Memoirs,[26] and he showed Clem. some of his marks at passages in the negotiation of the treaty of 1814 with England.

“Mr. Gallatin told them that if they considered the remainder of the article, the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, an equivalent, he wished them to understand that we attached no importance to it at all. It would, indeed, be a convenience to have the boundary settled; but the lands there were of so little value, and the period when they might be settled so remote, that we were perfectly willing that the boundary there should remain as it is now, and without any further arrangement.”

“Why, Uncle Fritz, it was the State of Minnesota which Gallatin says was of so little value,” said Bedford, who was on the floor, with Colton’s Atlas open.

“To be sure it was, my boy. But please think what the State of Minnesota would be without steamboats and without railroads. And even in 1814, even Mr. Gallatin did not dream of what steamboats were to do.

[Sidenote: 1823.]

“But the steamboat was already pushing its nose into every river of the West. And nine years after that remark of Mr. Gallatin, Col. Long was sent up there to see where the new boundary--which is our present boundary of 49° north latitude--would run. The old boundary of the first treaty had proved quite impossible, because the Mississippi did not rise where they thought it did.”

“And with Col. Long,” said Col. Ingham, “your readings connect with Uncle Fritz. For this same Col. Long afterwards was interested in railroads, and invented a locomotive which should burn hard coal,--anthracite. When I was a boy, Mr. Hale bought one of these engines for the Boston and Worcester Railroad. Those were days, Bedford, when a good-natured boy had more rights than he has now, and rules and regulations were not so many. I used to be a good deal at the railroad station in Washington Street, and more than once have I coaxed a good-natured engine-driver to give me a ride on ‘Col. Long,’ as we always called his engine. What her real name was I have forgotten.

“But Laura did not come here to hear stories about locomotives; she is all ready to read.”

And Laura read from the narrative of an expedition to the source of St. Peter’s River.

PLAN OF THE PARTY.

The success which attended the expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and
the important information which it imparted concerning the nature
of the valley drained by the Missouri and its tributaries, of which
nothing was known but what had been observed by Lewis and Clarke,
induced the Government of the United States to continue its endeavors
to explore the unknown wilds within its limits. The first object
which appeared to it deserving of investigation was the district of
country bounded by the Missouri, the Mississippi, and the northern
boundary of the United States.

Accordingly it was determined in the spring of 1823, by the
executive, that an expedition be immediately fitted out for exploring
the river St. Peter’s and the country situated on our northern
boundary between the Red River of Hudson’s Bay and Lake Superior.

The command of the expedition was intrusted to Major S. H. Long, and
he received orders from the War Department, dated April 25, 1823,
from which the following is taken:--

“The route of the expedition will be as follows: commencing at
Philadelphia, thence proceeding to Wheeling in Virginia, thence to
Chicago via Fort Wayne, thence to Fort Armstrong or Dubuque’s Lead
Mines, thence up the Mississippi to Fort Anthony, thence to the
source of the St. Peter’s River, thence to the point of intersection
between Red River and the forty-ninth degree of north latitude,
thence along the northern boundary of the United States to Lake
Superior, and thence homeward by the lakes.

“The object of the expedition is to make a general Survey of the
country on the route pointed out, together with a topographical
description of the same, to ascertain the latitude and longitude of
all the remarkable points, to examine and describe its productions,
animal, vegetable, and mineral, and to inquire into the character,
customs, etc., of the Indian tribes inhabiting the same.”...

The party travelled in light carriages from Philadelphia to Wheeling,
where they disposed of them and purchased horses in exchange. The
usual route through Lancaster, Columbia, York, and Gettysburg, was
travelled. Here they left the Pittsburg turnpike road and reached
Hagerstown in Maryland by a cross road; from Hagerstown they
continued along the Maryland turnpike road to Cumberland, where
it unites with the national road, upon which they travelled to
Wheeling....

The country about the Muskingum appears to have been at a former
period the seat of a very extensive aboriginal population. Everywhere
do we observe in this valley remains of works which attest at the
same time the number, the genius, and the perseverance of those
departed nations. Their works have survived the lapse of ages, but
the spirit which prompted them has disappeared. We wander over the
face of the country; wherever we go we mark the monuments which they
have erected; we would interrogate them as to the authors of these
mighty works, but no voice replies to ours save that of the echo.
The mind seeks in vain for some clew to assist it in unravelling the
mystery. Was their industry stimulated by the desire of protecting
themselves against the inroads of invaders, or were they themselves
the trespassers? did they migrate to this spot, and if so, whence
came they? who were they? where went they? and wherefore came they
here? Their works have been torn open; they have been searched
into, but all in vain. The mound is now levelled with the sod of
the valley; the accumulated earth, which was perhaps collected
from a distance into one immense mass to erect a monument, deemed
indestructible, over the remains of some western Pharaoh, is now
scattered over the ground so that its concealed treasure may be
brought to light. Every bone is accurately examined, every piece
of metal or fragment of broken pottery is curiously studied; still
no light has as yet been thrown upon the name and date of the once
populous nation which formerly flourished on the banks of the
numerous tributary streams of the Ohio.

Such were the reflections suggested to us by our visit to the
numerous mounds and Indian works which abound in this part of the
country, the first of which we observed in the small village of
Irville, situated eleven miles west of Zanesville. It has been
opened, and as usual it has yielded bones. This mound was about
fifteen feet in diameter and four and a half in height; it appears to
have had an elliptic basis. Our guide told us that he was present at
the opening of it, and that there were a number of human bones, and
among others a tolerably entire skeleton which laid with its head to
the northwest; the arms were thrown back over the head. Besides the
bones there were numerous spear and arrow points, and of the latter
we picked up one on the spot. There was also a plate of copper of
the length of the hand, and from five to six inches in width; it was
rolled up at the sides and had two holes near the centre; its weight
we were told might have been about a quarter of a pound, but was
probably heavier; for it must have been very thin, if, with those
dimensions, it weighed so little. What could have been the use of it,
except as an ornament, was not determined; indeed, the inhabitants
of that part of the country are so much accustomed to dig up the
bones and remains of the aborigines that they are very careless about
observing or recording the objects found, and the circumstances
under which they were discovered. We are told that pieces of copper,
and even of brass, had been frequently collected. The copper may
be easily accounted for without a reference to a higher degree of
civilization or to an intercourse with nations more advanced in the
arts. The existence of native copper strewed upon the surface of the
ground in many places will easily account for the circumstance of its
being used by the natives as an ornament, in the same manner that the
Copper Indians of the north have been known, from the earliest days
of their discovery by the whites, to adorn their persons with it; but
we cannot account for the discovery of ornaments of brass unless we
admit an intercourse with nations that had advanced in civilization.

The existence, therefore, of fragments of this alloy in mounds
appears to us doubtful; for, if true, the Indians who constructed
them must have been much more refined than we can suppose they
were, or they must have had intercourse with civilized nations. The
erection of these mounds, which appear to be in a great measure
contemporary, was certainly much anterior to the discovery of this
continent in the fifteenth century; and therefore it is not from
Europeans that these pieces of brass were obtained, if, again we
repeat it, they have been found interred in these works.

Besides this mound there are many others in the immediate vicinity
of Irville, some of which have very great dimensions. We observed
one near the road, which had been but recently excavated at its
summit; it was perhaps thirty-five or forty feet high. These mounds
were for the most part overgrown with bushes; we could discover no
order or plan in their relative positions, and from the scattered
and irregular manner in which they lie, it does not appear that
they were intended to be connected with any work of defence; it is
more probable that they were erected as mausoleums over the remains
of the dead, and that the difference in their size was intended to
convey an idea of the difference in the relative importance of those
whose bones they covered. We were informed that this valley and the
neighboring hills abound in excavations resembling wells. We met with
none of these; they are said to be very numerous, and are generally
attributed to the first French adventurers, who, being constantly
intent upon the search of the precious metals, commenced digging
wherever they observed a favorable indication. Not having seen any of
these, we could not pretend to express an opinion upon their origin,
but from the number in which they are represented to be, as well as
from their dimensions, they appear to us far exceeding the abilities
of those to whom they are attributed, and to have required a much
more numerous and permanent population than these adventurers are
known to have brought over with them; we would, therefore, prefer
the opinion which ascribes them to the nations that erected the
mounds, and who may have sunk these wells, either for purposes of
self-defence according to the usual mode of Indian warfare, or as
habitations, in the manner known to be practised by some tribes,
or, finally, for some other cause as yet undiscovered. Their great
depth, which is said at this time to exceed twenty feet, may be
considered as an objection to the opinion which we have advanced. The
supposition of Mr. Atwater that these wells, which he states to be
at least a thousand in number, were opened for the mere purpose of
extracting rock-crystal and horn-stone, appears to us too refined.
Whatever may have been the advances in civilization of these nations,
we have no reason to believe that they had carried them so far as
to be induced to undertake immense mining operations for the mere
purpose of obtaining these articles.

“All this,” said Uncle Fritz, “is about Ohio, you see. Now if you will turn over to my mark you will find something farther off.”

AN INDIAN TRIBE.

While travelling over the prairie which borders upon that part of St.
Peter that connects Lac-qui-parle with Big Stone Lake, our attention
was aroused by the sight of what appeared to be buffaloes chased
across the prairie. They, however, soon proved to be Indians. Their
number, at first limited to two, gradually increased to near one
hundred. They were seen rising from every part of the prairie, and
after those in the advance had reconnoitered us and made signals that
we were friends by discharging their guns, they all came running
toward us, and in a few minutes we found ourselves surrounded by a
numerous band. They had at first been apprehensive that we might be
enemies, and this was the cause of the different manœuvres which they
made previous to discharging their guns. The effect of these guns
fired upon the prairie in every direction, and by each as soon as he
had required the requisite degree of certainty that the strangers
were friends, was really very beautiful.

As they approached we had an opportunity of observing that these
Indians were good-looking and straight; none were large, nor were
remarkable for the symmetry of their forms. They were for the most
part destitute of clothing, except the breech-cloth which they wore.
Some of them, and particularly the young men, were dressed with
care and ostentation. They wore looking-glasses suspended to their
garments. Others had papers of pins, purchased from the traders, as
ornaments. We observed that one who appeared to be a man of some
note among them had a live sparrow-hawk upon his head by way of
distinction; this man wore, also, a buffalo-robe, on which eight
bear-tracks were painted. Some of them were mounted on horseback,
and were constantly drumming with their heels upon the sides of
their horses, being destitute of whip and spur. Many of them came
and shook hands with us, while the rest were riding all round us in
different directions. They belonged, as we were told, to one of the
tribes of the Dakotas. Their chief being absent, the principal man
among them told us that they had thirty lodges of their people at the
lower end of the lake, and invited us to visit them, which invitation
we accepted. These Indians demonstrated the greatest friendship
and affection at seeing us. The village to which they directed us
consisted of thirty skin-lodges, situated on a fine meadow on the
bank of the lake.

Their permanent residence, or at least that which they have occupied
for the last five years, is on a rocky island in the lake, nearly
opposite to, and within a quarter of a mile of their present
encampment. Upon the island they cultivate their cornfields, secure
against the aggressions of their enemies. They had been lately
engaged in hunting buffalo, apparently with much success.

The principal man led us to his lodge, wherein a number of the
influential men were admitted, the women being excluded. But we
observed that they, with all the children, went about the lodge,
peeping through the crevices, and not unfrequently raising the skins,
to observe our motions. They soon brought in a couple of large wooden
dishes filled with pounded buffalo meat boiled, and covered with the
marrow of the same animal; of this we partook with great delight. It
was the first time that several of the party had tasted fresh buffalo
meat; and it was the first meal made by any of us upon fresh meat
since we had left Fort Anthony.

During the entertainment Major Long made known to them the objects
of the expedition, at which they appeared very much gratified. As
we rose to depart we were informed that another feast was preparing
for us in one of the adjoining tents, of which we were invited to
partake. We were too familiar with Indian manners not to know that
the excuse of having just eaten a very hearty meal would not be
considered as sufficient among them; and so we readily resigned
ourselves to the necessity of again testifying our friendly
disposition by doing honor to their meal. It consisted of a white
root, similar in appearance to a small turnip; it is called by the
French _pomme blanche_. It was boiled down into a sort of mush, and
was very much relished by most of the party; had it been seasoned
with salt or sugar, it might have been delicious. This was held, even
by the guides, to be a great treat. As we were rising from this meal
we were informed that a third was preparing for us. We begged to
decline it, having a considerable distance to travel that afternoon;
but we were informed that this would be a great disappointment to
him who had prepared the feast, as, in order to outdo all the others,
he had killed a dog, which is considered not only as the greatest
delicacy, but also as a sacred animal, of which they eat only on
great occasions. In order to meet his wishes we deferred our journey
for an hour, but the repast not being then prepared we were compelled
to leave the village, to the great and manifest mortification of our
third host, and to the no small disappointment of most of our party,
who were desirous of tasting of the sacred animal. In order to make a
return for the civilities which we had received at the hands of the
Indians, we informed them that if they would despatch a messenger
with us we would send them from a neighboring trader’s house some
tobacco, all ours having been lost on the river. They gladly accepted
the proposal, and sent two lads with us for it. We met on the bluff
which commands the superintendent’s house an Indian who claims the
command of the Mahkpatoons. We had declined his invitation to stay at
his lodge in the afternoon, being desirous of reaching Mr. Moore’s
house as early as possible, but we promised to return about sunset,
and he accordingly made all due preparations to receive us. The chief
and his principal men were in waiting. We entered the skin-lodge, and
were seated on fine buffalo-robes spread all around; on the fire,
which was in the centre of the lodge, two large iron kettles, filled
with choicest pieces of buffalo, were placed. When the chief took his
seat he had near him a large pouch or bag, decorated with but little
taste, although he seemed to have gathered up all that he could
collect in the way of ornament. Among other things we observed an
old and dirty comb. He had, since our first visit, bedaubed his face
with white clay. After the usual preliminaries of shaking of hands,
smoking the pipe of peace, etc., we proceeded to the feast, which was
found excellent. The buffalo meat had been selected with care, the
fat and the lean judiciously portioned out, the whole boiled to a
proper degree; and in fine, though our appetites were not stimulated
to a long fast, this repast was one of the best of which we had ever
partaken. Our hosts were gratified and flattered at the quantity
which we ate; the residue of the feast was sent to our soldiers. In
this, and every other instance where we have been invited to a feast
by the Indians, we observed that they never eat with their guests.

Tatanka Wechachita is the nephew of a man of considerable distinction
among these Dakotas. Since the death of his uncle he has attempted
to be considered as his successor; but the former was never duly
acknowledged as chief, this title residing in Nunpakea, a man of
considerable bravery, who, by the influence of his family and his
talents, acquired that dignity in preference to his first cousins on
the death of their father.

Our host boasted of many flags and medals which his uncle had
obtained from our government, and which were then in his possession;
these and the influence of his great magician may probably secure
to him the dignity to which he aspires if he has talent enough to
uphold it. After the feast was over our host rose, shook hands with
all the gentlemen of our party, then resumed his seat and delivered
a speech which at the time appeared to us very pertinent and
interesting. It was delivered with apparent feeling, but not without
some hesitation. Having expressed to Renville our satisfaction at the
speech, he immediately observed that it expressed too much adulation
and too much whining; had Tatanka Wechachita been the chief that he
professed himself to be, his tone would have been more imposing, and
his style more dignified and decisive.

“Brothers, the subject upon which I am to address you is grievous
to me; and this grief is the motive which has thus far prevented me
from speaking to you. Since the lamented death of my revered uncle,
who died last year, I hate been called upon to succeed him, but as I
am not endued with experience to know how to direct myself, I shall
follow the advice which I have received from him, and therefore I
rejoice at seeing you, and I am gratified at your visit.

“I regret that my followers are now all absent. This is our hunting
season. In the autumn we collect in our villages to meet the traders.
Had you seen us thus collected, you would have found me at the head
of a large and powerful band of men. At present I am alone; still I
am pleased to see you.

“Brothers, there are two roads which we Dakotas usually travel;
my uncle trod both these paths. The first led him to the British,
far towards the rising sun. From them he received both kindness
and honor; they made him many presents, among which were flags
and medals. The other road led him to the Americans at St. Louis;
this road he subsequently travelled. From them he, in like manner,
received flags and medals. These he has bequeathed all to me.

“I should have unfurled my flags at your approach, but I am
unacquainted with the customs of your nation, and I am new in the
duties of my rank. I am ignorant how to act; but I am desirous of
following the advice of my dying uncle, who bade me remain at peace
with the Americans, and always consider them as my friends; and as
such I hold you.

“My friends, I am poor and very destitute; not so was my uncle. But I
have as yet followed neither of the roads which he travelled. Since I
have been called upon to rule over my people I have dwelt among them,
and have not been able to visit St. Louis in order to obtain presents
of powder and tobacco.

“I have already told you that my followers are absent; they are
hunting at the north; I have left with them my flags. I know not
whither you are going, but I presume you may meet them. They will
exhibit to you my flags, and you will know them, for they are those
of your nation. I shall send them word of your intention to travel
that way, and bid them if they see you to treat you with becoming
respect, assist you, supply you with provisions, and with whatever
else you may require.

“My friends, I am poor, and could not do much; but I have prepared
this little feast. You have partaken of it, and it has gratified me.
I am young, and inexperienced in speaking, but I have done my best.
Again I thank you for your flattering visit.”

While riding quietly across the prairie, with the eye intent upon the
beautiful prospect of the buffaloes that were grazing, our attention
was suddenly aroused by the discharge of a gun in the vicinity of the
river (Red River), which flowed about half a mile west of the course
that we were then travelling. While we were reckoning up our party to
know if any had straggled to a distance, we saw two Indians running
across the prairie; their number increased very soon to twelve or
fifteen, who hastened towards us, but as soon as they came near our
party, stopped and examined us with minuteness, after which they
presented their hands to us; we gave them ours. It was immediately
observed that they were in a complete state of preparation for war,
being perfectly naked with the exception of the breech-cloth. They
had even laid their blankets by. All of them were armed with guns,
apparently in very good order, or with bows and arrows, and some
with both. Their appearance, though at first friendly, soon became
insulting. Their party had, in the mean while, increased to thirty
or forty, so that they outnumbered ours. We found that they belonged
to the Wahkpakota or Leaf Indians, whose character, even among their
own countrymen, is very bad. We availed ourselves of Mr. Snelling’s
knowledge of the language to communicate to them, in the course of
conversation, our objects and intentions, as well as the friendly
reception which we had met with on the part of Wanotan and the other
Indians whom we had seen. In a tone rather imperative than courteous,
they expressed their wish that we should go to their camp and speak
to their old chief. This we declined doing, informing them that some
of our party had separated from us, and that we had a long journey to
travel.

They pointed to the sun, which was then low in the horizon, and added
that we had no time to proceed further, and that we had better encamp
with them that night.

While this conversation was going on Mr. Say remarked that, either
through design or accident, the Indians had intermixed themselves so
with our party that every one of our number was placed between two or
more of theirs. Mr. Snelling overheard them talking of our horses,
admiring them, and examining the points of each; one of their band
had even ventured so far as to ask him which horse was considered the
best of the party.

Finding that all further conversation was a waste of time, and
having given them as much tobacco as our small stock allowed us to
spare, Major Long mounted his horse and gave his men orders to march.
The Indians attempted no opposition at the time, but after we had
travelled about a quarter of a mile, they following in our rear, a
gun was fired at some distance on the prairie to the right of our
line, and a number of mounted Indians were seen in that direction
coming towards us. Those who had followed us then made a signal to
them that we were white men, and ran up to desire that, as their
chief was then coming up, we would stop and shake hands with him. The
party halted until the mounted Indians had come up and greeted us
in the usual manner. Observing that their chief was not among them,
Major Long again set his men in motion, but before we had proceeded
far several of them ran up to the head of the line, fired their guns
across our path, reloaded them immediately, and formed a crescent
in front of the leader to prevent him from proceeding. At that time
the number of Indians must have been about seventy or eighty, while
ours amounted only to twenty-five. Their intentions could not be
misunderstood. It was probable they did not care to harm our persons,
but they were anxious to pilfer our baggage, and especially to secure
our horses; and as we were resolved not to part with them without a
struggle, it was evident that the first gun fired would be the signal
for an attack which must end in the total destruction of our party;
for the number of the Indians, and their mode of dispersing upon the
prairie, and continually changing their situation during a skirmish,
would have given them a very great advantage over us, as, in order to
protect our horses and baggage, we would have remained in a body, and
exposed to their arrows and balls. But even in such a case they must
have lost some of their number, and this consideration, all-powerful
with Indians, probably induced them to defer their attack until
night, when their advantages would be still greater; and hence their
anxiety that we should encamp in the vicinity. Had Major Long been
entirely free to act as he pleased he would have avoided all further
conversation, and have proceeded the whole night without stopping
at all that evening; but this he could not do so long as some of
the gentlemen were separated from us, for in such a case they would
easily have been cut off by the Indians. It was to give them a chance
to overtake us that he had continued the conference so long, and that
he finally decided upon encamping at a point of wood then in sight,
but further than that which had been proposed by the Indians.

With this view the Major ordered his men to march, when one of the
Indians advanced up to the head of the line, stopped the horse of
the leader, and cocked his gun. The soldier who was there, and whose
name was George Bunker, immediately imitated this action, determined
to be prepared for a shot as soon as his antagonist. At this moment
Major Long marched up to the head of the line and led off his party.
There can be no doubt that the resolution thus manifested had a great
influence in preventing the Indians from making an immediate attack.
The party being again safely united, Major Long considering that if
an attack was intended it would be made a short time before daylight,
determined to allow the horses to rest until midnight, when the moon,
rising, would make it safe and pleasant to travel. Accordingly at
that hour we resumed our line of march. Our preparations were made
with the greatest expedition and silence, so as not to be observed
by the Indians at a distance, and to avoid disturbing the old
Indian sleeping, or affecting to sleep, under one of our carts.
In the latter purpose, however, we failed; the old man awoke, and
seeing what we were about, he left us immediately, notwithstanding
the attempt made to amuse him with conversation until we should be
ready to start; but we could not detain him; we saw him walk over
the prairie, and by the light of the moon traced his figure until he
approached near to the river, when he disappeared in the woods. This
was the last Dakota whom we saw....

Had not our attention been seriously occupied by the hostile
disposition manifested by these Indians we should have taken much
interest in witnessing one of their great diversions.

Some time before we met them we observed a fine buffalo bull, who
seemed to challenge a combat with our party; he travelled for about
two miles abreast of us, and almost within gun-shot; his eyes were
intently bent upon us. Though occasionally driven off by our dog, he
would constantly return, and continue in a parallel line, as though
he were watching our motions. This fearless character, so unlike
that of buffaloes in general, excited our surprise and admiration;
and accordingly we determined to spare him and see how long he would
continue to travel with us. But the noble animal offered too strong a
temptation to the Indians. Seeing him stop at the same place where we
halted, a few of them, especially the youngest of the party, ran up
to him, and in a few moments several balls and perhaps a dozen arrows
had reduced the animal to his last gasp. They then approached on all
sides, and while he was engaged in keeping off those on his left the
youths on his right would come so near him as to draw his attention
to them; the animal appeared galled, his rage was extreme, but his
weakness was equally so. At length some of them came very near to him
and caught hold of his tail: at this moment he was observed to be
tottering; they all drew off, the animal fell, and after two or three
convulsive throes he expired. A shout from the Indians announced the
death of their victim. This seemed to be a schooling for the youngest
of their party, a few of whom were mere boys.

XII.

SIBERIA AND KAMCHATKA.

[Sidenote: 1881.]

They were talking about the Nihilists, and being exiled to Siberia. Some of the children had been at the theatre two years ago, and had seen the Exiles of Siberia, with white paper snow, and real oxen to draw the sledge.

Bertha asked, with a shudder, whether anybody ever came back to tell the story.

“Why, Bertha, Uncle Fritz himself built a telegraph across the Lake of Baikal.”

Then they all looked at Uncle Fritz. But he would not go into any detail of his Siberian adventures. It is a subject on which he is always shy. But the boys got out “The Ingham Papers,” and began looking for “Nofpo Ston” on the map.

“If you will go to the fountain of all knowledge,” said Will Withers, “that is, to Robinson Crusoe, you will have a good travelling knowledge of Siberia.”

“Siberia!” cried Alice. “It is not a year since you all said that Robinson Crusoe lived in the Oronooko.[27] I was disgraced. I thought he lived in Juan Fernandez before. And now I am told that he raised his melons under the shade of an avalanche, and that the savages were clothed in bear-skins, and skated across to his island. I am in despair.”

“My dear Alice,” said Will, who is very fond of her, “if he had never come back from the ‘great river Oronooko,’ we should never have known anything about him.”

“All the same,” the girl persisted, “he came home to England. The fact of his coming home does not prove that the book told about Siberia. Now see here,--here is dear Uncle Fritz’s table copy.”

As has been said already, Robinson Crusoe is one of seven books always at Uncle Fritz’s side. Sure enough, there was not a word about Siberia on the titlepage.

But Will was not to be defeated. “Why do you read me the titlepage to the first volume?” he said. Then he turned to the title of the second volume, “The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.”

“You see he went to Nanquin, where your famous Capt. Cleveland could not go. A Chinese exclusiveness had not been settled on then. He went to the great city of Peking, and here he sold opium, among other things.”

“Just as he had sold slaves before,” said Alice, and she pretended to shudder. “A famous hero, indeed!”

“My dear Alice, it was the error of his time. That is what you must always say.” And the boy rapidly turned the pages. “See! ‘Robinson joins a caravan proceeding to Moscow,’ and here, ‘I could not but discover an infinite satisfaction that I was so soon arrived in a Christian country.’”

“But here,” persisted Alice, “they are burning an idol.”

“I cannot help that,” said poor Will, who was no match for her in changing his ground and hopping from point to point. “All the same, it was Siberia”; and as he turned he read in triumph, “I came to Tobolski, the capital city of Siberia, where I continued some time.”

“I should think he would,” said Uncle Fritz. “There is a very decent hotel there now. I stayed there a good while. I saw the annual gathering of the convicts before they were scattered to the villages. Tobolsk is the place where they meet.”

“Uncle Fritz, you should write your travels in Siberia. If no one has been there since poor Robinson Crusoe, and nobody but Will Withers knows that, you should make a book.”

The old gentleman smiled grimly. But he said that plenty of people had gone to Kamchatka and to Siberia also. And he sent Alice for Peter Dobell’s travels. “That’s a very good book, and you may read me to sleep by hunting up my marks in it. I read that book as I was floating down the Obi River on a timber raft.”

“I had a great deal rather read your book, Uncle Fritz,” said the girl, with admiration.

“For that, my dear child, you must wait till it is written.” So Alice began:--

A POORGA.

[Sidenote: 1812.]

We were happy on the 9th to inhale the fresh air, and leave our
smoky habitation at Timlatee to pursue our journey, which now lay
over a mountainous country, along the sea-coast, and almost wholly
bare of timber. The morning was clear and cold, but the wind blew
rather fresh from the sea, and the white clouds hurried rapidly over
the blue expanse. About ten o’clock the Toyune of Govenskoy came to
me and said, “We must not stop at twelve to-day, as usual, to take
our luncheon, as I perceive we are going to have one of those cold
poorgas, which on these plains are very violent; and we may be frozen
to death, should we not chance to meet with the Reindeer Karaikees.
For a long distance,” added he, “there is no house, or hut, or any
sort of shelter: therefore order your people to push on, and keep
close together; for if the Karaikees are here, they will be on the
middle of the moor, but yet a considerable distance from us.”