 | CHAPTER XVII. Travels in the interior of North America. |  |
CHAPTER XVII.
VOYAGE FROM FORT UNION TO MUSCLESHELL RIVER, FROM THE 6TH TO THE 28TH OF JULY.
Difficult Navigation—Remarkable Formation of the Eminences—La Rivière aux Trembles—Prairie à la Corne du Cerf—
Successful Buffalo Chase—Wreck of the Beaver Keel-boat—The rude Manners of the American Hunters—Beaver
Dens—Prairies of the Upper Missouri—Successful Bear Chase—Milk River—The Original—Grand Détour—Big-Dry
River—White Mountain Castles—Difficulties of the Naturalist—Muscleshell River.
On the 6th of July, at seven in the morning, after we had taken leave of the inmates of the
fort, our men began to tow the Flora. The American flag was hoisted on the fort, and several
guns were fired, on both sides, as a farewell salute. The weather was warm and fine, so that the
men who towed the vessel suffered from the heat, and frequently lay down on the muddy bank
of the river to drink. Beyond the wood, where the dead of the Assiniboins were deposited in the
trees, a bend of the river to the north made us lose sight of the fort, and Mr. Mc Kenzie, who had
accompanied us so far, wished us a happy voyage, and rode back; on which the cannon of our
vessel again fired a salute. We afterwards rowed in the boat to the south bank, where we landed
several of our people to hunt, and rambled through the dense forest and the prairie. The ground,
which was everywhere seen between the high grass, was an indurated whitish clay, on which the
plants, of which we collected several, grew only in single spots. We saw no game, it being too near
the fort; but we observed traces of stags and buffaloes, and numbers of their bones. The yellow-breasted
Icteria viridis was singing among the thickets, especially in the rose bushes. We ascended
the high, bare, clay hills, from the summit of which we saw our vessel approaching. The prospect
was very fine; we overlooked the windings of the river, the verdant moors, the forests, and the
thickets, the prairies here and there extending beyond them, and the lofty fantastic chain of clay
hills, of a whitish-grey colour, with some darker strata, or horizontal stripes, and regular perpendicular
put off the greater part of their clothes, to wade through the water, and the mud of the soft
sand banks. The trunk of a tree, lying on a bank, broke the door of our cabin, and we
were frequently obliged to row. For this purpose there were on the deck, two large and
long oars, which were worked by three or five men, who walked backwards and forwards. At
a large pile of drift-wood on the bank, an immense tree swept our deck, as the people who were
towing did not hear us call to them, and broke the stays, by which I received a severe blow,
which might have proved dangerous. Often, too, we came so near the bank, that the earth
covered the windows, and made our cabins quite dark. We had our dinner at four o'clock,
consisting of salt pork, pemmican, hard ship's biscuit, and coffee. In the evening, when the sun
was setting, and illumined the chain of hills with wonderful splendour, our hunters returned with
a young deer. On this day Mr. Mitchell divided the crew of the vessel into watches, so that
two men might always watch, who were relieved three times in the night. Powder and ball were
distributed among the men, but they were forbidden, under penalty of five dollars, to fire, which
might easily have attracted Indian war parties. On the following morning (July 7), the weather
was agreeable and the sky clear; we saw many swans, but could not get at them. We had
before observed these beautiful birds and wild geese on the sandy beach. The young branches
of the thickets had suffered by the frost, and the river had fallen four inches; to-day, however,
the heat was so intense that we could scarcely bear it on deck. We observed that the stems of
the poplars, to the height of five feet, or fifteen feet above the present level of the river, had the
bark rubbed off by the ice. In this part there appeared, before the hills, cones of a most singular
shape, burnt to a brick red; and the summits of the higher hills were often strangely formed in
various angles. In the whitish strata of clay-slate between the clay are here and there apertures,
arched above in the form of the gates or windows of knights' castles. The men who
towed our boat killed, in the prairie, a large rattlesnake, the rattle of which we had heard on
board the vessel. The hunters had seen some elks and deer; and Dechamp brought one of the
latter on board. The towers had much labour at this part of our voyage, the current of the river
being very strong; they were sometimes obliged to climb, in a long row, up the hills, where we
saw them suspended, like chamois, in dangerous positions. Mr. Bodmer sketched some of these
hills on the left bank. (Plate XXXIV. Fig. 1.) In other places, the engagés who were towing were
obliged to make a way on the bank by cutting down large poplars and thick bushes, which often
cost much time and trouble. Here they often met with rattlesnakes, of which they killed several.
Mr. Bodmer came so near one of these snakes, that he had nearly been bitten by it; he, however,
killed it by a blow, and brought it on board. On this occasion, Mr. Mitchell told us that
he had once seen an Indian boy die in an hour and a half after having been bitten by one of
these snakes.
According to Ross Cox, the Canadians eat the rattlesnake; but I can affirm that we never
saw an instance of it; on the contrary, they always manifested the greatest antipathy to those
animals. This traveller likewise says that the serpent often bites itself, but I cannot believe this,
as I never succeeded in any attempt to make him do so.
The next day, the 8th, we had again many difficulties. The river was shallow in places, and
our men were obliged to get into the water to push our vessel on. In order to convey them from
the boat to the land, there were no means but by laying a board, which had to be placed in a
slanting position, that it was no easy matter to climb up. On the left bank they were often prevented
from proceeding, because the ground was so loose that it gave way under their feet. In this
manner three Assiniboins had been killed, who sat down below the bank, when the sand fell,
and buried them. The forest through which our men passed, had, in these parts, a very thick
underwood of roses and buffalo-berries, and there were many very large frogs in it. At a place
where the chain of hills recedes behind woods and thickets from the Missouri, we came to the mouth
of a stream, with a soft bottom, which is called, by the Canadians, La Rivière aux Trembles, and,
by Lewis and Clarke, Martha's River. Of all the hunters whom we had landed at this place, Papin
alone brought a very fat deer; but it cost much trouble to take our hunters on board again, for the
engagés who went with the boat for that purpose, fell up to the waist in mud, after taking off
their clothes. They were forced partly to swim, partly to wade, in order to reach the land. A
little further up, the labour of the men towing the vessel was still greater; for, on the other side
of a sand bank, the river was covered with snags, the intervals between which were hidden by foam
and small twigs. The men, in a long row, had to step or jump from one of these snags to another,
the sand being too soft to bear their weight; but they frequently missed the snags, and fell between
them, up to their arms, into the river, so that many of them, who had never before done such work,
trembled all over, and returned to the vessel. When they had got over these difficulties, they
reached the prairie, beyond which, at the distance of from 150 to 200 paces from the bank of the
river, the most singular pyramids rose, like towers. Our hunters had killed an elk, a variable hare,[1]
and a large rattlesnake. The willow thickets on the bank, over which the goatsucker was hovering,
and from the edge of which a large wolf stood looking at us, were full of mosquitoes, which, happily
for us, were kept at a distance from the vessel by a slight wind, when we took up our quarters for
the night on shore. If we shot a goatsucker, we found in his capacious jaws a ball of mosquitoes,
which quite filled it, which are gradually collected and swallowed from time to time; so that the
name, mangeur des maringouins, given to this bird by the Canadians, is very appropriate. During the
night, however, those troublesome insects had found their way into our cabin, and sadly tormented
us on the 9th, in the morning, for which reason we were very glad to proceed on our voyage, which,
were fired at them in vain, as well as at some buffaloes; yet our deck was quite hung round with
game, especially portions of the large elks. Our men broke the large bones of these animals, and
used the marrow for greasing the locks of their guns. The skins of such animals, killed on these
voyages, belong to the Company, and are used to make shoes for their servants. About twelve
pair of Indian shoes are made of one large elk's skin, the making of which costs a dollar; the skin
of a Virginian deer will produce only five or six pair.
About ten in the morning a violent storm arose, accompanied with rain; the thermometer was
at 71°, and the mosquitoes were very troublesome. On the bank we saw a long yellow clay hill, in
the shape of a fortress, and before it smaller hills, with isolated cones, partly consisting of purple
clay. (Plate XXXV. Figs. 17 and 12.) Near these singular hills our hunters had killed a couple of
deer, and brought with them the horns of a large elk, with seven antlers. We lay to for the
evening at the wooded bank, where numerous beautiful shrubs were partly in flower. Early on the
morning of the 10th, the hunters landed, and soon returned with the information that they had
killed three buffaloes and a bear. As the distance was too great to bring the latter to the vessel,
they had only cut off his claws; but some men were despatched to fetch the buffaloes. We traversed
the forest into the open prairie, where the animals lay, at the distance of full half a league.
In the forest we, for the first time, killed the magpie of this country (Pica Hudsonica, Bonn),
which, in appearance, much resembles that of Europe; but differs considerably in its note and
manners. Its nest was in a thick thorn bush, seven feet from the ground, and had two young
birds in it. I have never seen these birds with more than two young ones; and the old birds are
very shy in summer, and it is very difficult to surprise them. Not far from the magpie we found
a couple of young owls, fully grown, sitting close to each other on a branch, while the note of the
old bird was heard in the high trees in the vicinity. In the thick bushes we heard the note of
the cheerful and agile Icteria viridis. The bushes of dog-wood, symphoria, and roses, were so
full of mosquitoes, that when we had discharged our pieces, it was difficult to reload them. The
heat was great, and not a breath of air was stirring to relieve us from those cruel bloodsuckers.
In the neighbouring prairie we found the cactus plant, which we have before mentioned, covered
with the most beautiful flowers, which attracted vast numbers of insects. About twelve o'clock
the men returned with the buffaloes, and we went on board with them. They had seen several
buffaloes, but could bring away the flesh of only two of those that had been killed. After
leaving this place, the bank was covered with low bushes, so that we were in no danger from the
falling of high trees; but large portions of the steep bank itself frequently fell down, and dashed
the water even into our cabin. Messrs. Bodmer and Mitchell made an excursion into the wood,
where they saw many wild pigeons, numerous traces of bears, and the corpse of an Assiniboin deposited
in a tree. There was an undergrowth of black currants, in search of which our people always
of the north bank, a violent storm seemed to threaten the safety of the vessel, and it was therefore
made as fast as possible, but it passed over, the clouds dispersed, and our fears were dispelled.
At half past nine in the evening we saw a faint aurora borealis, the rays of which shot up into
the sky; the temperature of the air was pleasant, but the sky was not free from clouds, which
diminished the brightness of the meteor.
On the morning of the 11th of July, Mr. Bodmer took sketches of the singular chain of hills,
near which our people experienced great difficulties from sinking in the mud, and were often
obliged to swim; twenty-nine of them were employed at the towing-rope, till a very violent
storm, with torrents of rain, compelled us to take shelter on the bank, under cover of a tall poplar
wood. The rain penetrated through the deck into our cabin, and wetted our baggage; luckily it
was of short duration. We had now passed a place called L'Isle au Coupé (the cut-off), but the
Missouri had here broken through at one of its large bends, and had formed a low island opposite
to a marshy tongue of land; the channel follows the main breach, and beyond this the river is very
broad: at this time it was high and full. Helianthus petiolaris, in full size and beauty, as well as
the two species of willows (Salix longifolia and lucida) already mentioned, grew on the banks of
the river; they are exposed to constant destruction; the river tears them away in large masses,
and throws them into its rapid waves; but the ever-acting energy of nature is not to be restrained,
and they soon appear again on the new alluvial soil, though, in general, only young,
slender willows. We fired in vain at a couple of swans on a small stream called Porcupine River,
the mouth of which is on the north side, and an elk, killed by Dechamp, detained us some time
to take the flesh on board. We then reached Two Thousand Miles River, so called by Lewis and
Clarke, which joins the Missouri on the north side, from which, to the junction of the Missouri with
the Mississippi, it is said to be 2,000 miles. At this place the forest joined an extensive prairie,
covered with bushes of artemisia, where we found, on the ground, large cast-off elks' horns.
Many isolated trees were quite dry, and of a silver-grey colour, doubtless through a prairie fire;
in one of them we heard the chirping of the young of a pair of sparrow-hawks, which are very
common here; the old birds flew anxiously about. Here, too, were numbers of the great flycatcher
(Muscicapa tyrannus). Elks and deer had traversed the prairie in all directions, and
trodden many paths to the river. The prairie extended, without interruption, as far as the eye
could reach; it is called Prairie à la Corne de Cerf, because the wandering Indians have here
erected a pyramid of elks' horns. As we perceived it from the river, we went to it, accompanied
by Dechamp and Sancier.
About 800 paces from the river, the hunting or war parties of the Blackfoot Indians have
gradually piled up a quantity of elks' horns till they have formed a pyramid sixteen or eighteen
feet high, and twelve or fifteen feet in diameter. Every Indian who passes by makes a point of
and often the strength of the hunting party is marked, with red strokes, on the horns they
have added to the heap. All these horns, of which there are certainly more than 1,000, are piled
up, confusedly mixed together, and so wedged in, that we found some trouble in extricating,
from the pyramid, a large one, with fourteen antlers, which we brought away with us. The horns
are partly separated from the head of the animal with the skull, and partly single horns. Some
buffaloes' horns were mixed with them. The purpose of this practice is said to be a medicine,
or charm, by which they expect to be successful in hunting. As the drawing of this pyramid
was begun, we were called away by signals from the vessel. (Vignette XXI.)
A violent storm, which came up in the evening, was succeeded on the next day (the 12th of
July) by a very high wind, which, as we attempted to proceed, twice broke the towing-rope, and
we got into two successive whirlpools (remoux), twice turned the vessel round, and carried it
with violence against the bank, so that the water came into the cabin, and the deck was covered
with earth. As the wind did not abate, we lay to at the upper part of the Prairie à la Corne de
Cerf, and immediately dispersed in quest of game. The prairie was the same as yesterday, and
the wind blew dust and sand into the air, and even into the closest chests in our vessel. We met
with various species of birds, among which was a black and white finch, which appeared to me
to be a new species, and in its mode of life greatly resembles the rice bird. Among the wormwood
bushes we roused several variable hares, and saw the yellow-headed blackbird, many
sparrow-hawks, and a large rattlesnake, which escaped into a hole underground. Elks' horns
were everywhere scattered about, and it would have been easy to make of them a second pyramid
like the one already mentioned. Several interesting plants were gathered, among which were the
Asclepias speciosa, with large fragrant flowers, and a new species of lactuca or prenanthes. Just
at the place where our vessel lay, were four old Indian huts, of some war or hunting party, composed
of trunks and boughs of trees piled together in a square, in which some of our people made
a fire to cook their meat. Scarcely 100 paces above these huts, was the Indian Fort Creek of
Lewis and Clarke—a stream with a deep bed, in which there was now but very little water. The
wind, which was so violent at noon, abated towards the evening, and allowed us to proceed a little
further up the river, till we lay to for the night. The air was very cool to-day, and made a striking
contrast to the heat of yesterday; however, we comforted ourselves that we were not tormented
by the mosquitoes. On the following morning, the 13th, it was just the same, and we were
soon obliged to stop by the rising of the wind. We had seen a large bear, and accordingly took
advantage of our rest to send our five hunters in pursuit of it. They did not, however, succeed
in their object, but brought back, in place of it, some other game. The wood here was so thickly
matted with willows, roses, dog-berry, and many burrs and other troublesome plants, and likewise
so full of dry broken wood and rubbish, lying on the ground, that it was excessively difficult
and at length got into such an intricate thicket, that it was not till after many hours of painful
and fatiguing exertion, that I was so fortunate as to find our vessel; but all my clothes were completely
torn to rags. On the inclined trunk of a tree, I saw an Assiniboin wrapped in skin; the
tree itself was painted red; and on one of the boughs hung the saddle and stirrups of the
deceased.
Though the weather had improved, we made but little progress this evening, because the
river was too shallow, and we were not able to follow the south bank till the following morning
(the 14th). Hereabouts, a chest and a cask were found, which belonged to the Beaver keel-boat,
wrecked there in the preceding year, and was likewise under the command of Mr. Mitchell. As
we had to contend with the soft sand banks in the river, and could not proceed without great effort,
the vessel was put back, and brought into another channel, where we soon took in fresh game,
for our hunters succeeded in killing five elks, of which, however, they could only bring away a
part. Herds of buffaloes were in the vicinity, and several of these colossal animals crossed the
Missouri in our sight. Dechamp, Papin, and Dreidoppel overtook these swimming animals
in a boat, while four or five of our hunters got ashore before them, and two of these wild oxen
were killed; a third escaped severely wounded, but one of those that were killed sank so deep
into the mud of the river that no part of his flesh could be obtained. A white wolf appeared
immediately after, and very composedly laid himself down on the bank, doubtless waiting our departure
to commence his delicious repast. This part of the country was low and flat; wood, willow
thickets, and prairie alternated along the bank. We here saw, for the first time, a beautiful plant,
which is frequent from hence further up the river, the Rudbeckia columnaris (Pursh), the petals of
which are half orange-colour and half brown. We lay to, for the night, near a wood on the right
bank, when our people bathed, the evening being very fine and warm. The wood was lofty,
shady, and beautiful; we looked into high, dark arcades, where the whitish trunks shone in the
twilight; in front of it lay an old Indian hut; the night-swallow hovered high in the air, and
numerous bats flitted across the surface of the water. The mosquitoes were not so troublesome;
and at ten in the evening there was an aurora borealis, consisting of two columns of pale light,
which rose high in the air, sometimes lengthening, and then again contracting. We never heard
any noise accompanying these meteors.
This night and the following morning (the 15th) were very sultry; at eight o'clock, 75° Fahrenheit.
Papin had shot a deer the evening before, but did not kill it; which was doubtless the
cause of the loud howling of the wolves which we heard during the night; for these creatures
make an incessant howling when they have found such a prize, and contend for the booty, in which
cases the weaker and the young come off the worst. The ground of this forest, and of the adjoining
prairie, was a heated, very hard, dry clay, and the country reminded me, at this season, except
birds animated the thickets, and we were preparing to pursue them, when a large buffalo bull
advanced into the river, and immediately sank in the mud. We hastened up and killed him with
several shot. With Messrs. Mitchell and Cuthbertson I soon afterwards reached the vessel; my
American friends, heated as they were, threw themselves into the water to refresh themselves.
Towards noon, when the thermometer was at 86°, our other hunters returned, who had killed
several buffaloes, and wounded an antelope. They had seen a herd of at least 100 elks, and
wounded one of them. Mr. Mitchell, with his rifle, had shot down a white-headed eagle from a
high tree, where he was devouring a large fish. The evening was very pleasant, but the mosquitoes
penetrated in such swarms into the vessel, that we were obliged to stop every aperture of the cabin,
and consequently suffered from the heat.
Early in the morning of the 16th we perceived a herd of buffaloes, and resolved to go in
chase of them; but six bulls, standing near the bank, got the wind of us, and all fled. We endeavoured
to get near them, but without success; and, after a fatiguing excursion of six hours, returned
back much heated, and did not reach the vessel before twelve o'clock, which had remained
far behind. We then proceeded on our voyage, and soon after Dechamp and Papin came on
board, who had killed some buffalo cows. Dreidoppel, whom we found further up the river in the
wood, had lighted a fire, over which he roasted the loin of a large antelope, which he had killed;
while he was busy in preparing the skin of this animal for my zoological collection, he suddenly
perceived two large white wolves standing about ten paces from him, which did not appear to be
at all afraid. He might have shot them both, had not the ramrod of his rifle been broken. The
wood where we took Dreidoppel on board was full of gooseberries, of a pleasant acid taste, of
which our people brought a great quantity on board. The shrub which bears these black berries
is thickly set with reddish thorns, almost like Robinia hispida.
We were now in sight of the place where Mr. Mitchell, with his keel-boat, the Beaver, had
suffered shipwreck in the preceding year. On the present occasion, Henry Morrin, our pilot, was
very apprehensive of what might befall us in this dangerous spot. We followed a narrow channel,
between the southern bank and a low willow island, where we lay to for the night. Our hunters
had soon perceived in this island two large elks, and we therefore stole along before the thickets,
in order to cut them off from the forest. Mr. Mitchell succeeded in mortally wounding one of
them, which, however, went on for some distance, sprinkling the bushes with its blood. We followed
the trace through a very intricate thicket, till the night obliged us to return on board without
accomplishing our object.
At break of day, on the 17th, we heard the loud howling of the wolves, which were doubtless
disputing about the elk that we had wounded the day before; but Mr. Mitchell did not wish to
lose any time, and we gave up our booty. The place where the Beaver was wrecked was about
about 300 paces further up the river, but in a dark night was loosened from its moorings by a
storm, driven down the river, and thrown upon a sand bank. Two men were drowned, and Mr.
Mitchell had escaped by an immense leap from the deck to the shore. The greater part of the
cargo, worth 30,000 dollars, was lost: the crew then built a small fort, or log-house, about forty
paces in length, in which they remained till part of the goods were saved, and another boat came
up to fetch them. In this melancholy situation they were in danger of a quarrel with a band of
Blackfoot Indians. These Indians were returning by land from Fort Union, to which they had
been invited, on account of the conclusion of the treaty of peace. The presents made to them
by the traders were on board the Beaver, and the greater part was lost, which much incensed the
Indians. The disputants had already taken up and cocked their pieces, and it was entirely owing
to the resolute conduct of Mr. Mitchell that the matter was amicably settled. Since that time
the bank of the river, at this place, has undergone a considerable change. Only the pickets, at the
back of the log-house, were still standing; all the rest had been swept away. At that time the
whole place was bare sand; now, it was covered with willows, five feet high, and the river had
carried away the bank for the breadth of, at least, 100 paces.
Soon after eight o'clock, the thermometer being at 80°, our vessel reached the place where one
of the buffalo cows was lying, near which the hunters had passed the night, and we took the best
part on board. The hunters of the prairies are often greater savages than the Indians themselves;
they frequently eat the liver and other parts of the animals they have killed, without dressing it.
We had gone but a little way along the southern bank, when we perceived, below the steep wall,
a beaver's den, of which Mr. Bodmer made a drawing. (See Vignette XVII.) It consisted of a
heap of twigs and logs, between four and five feet high, and the entrance was, as usual, below
water. The inside of such a den consists of earth and clay, with pieces of wood, and contains
several chambers, or divisions, in which these remarkable animals lie dry above the water. A
bridge of earth, which likewise contained some wood, led from the land to the cone-shaped den, the
interior of which I was, to my great regret, prevented from examining. In these rapid rivers, the
beavers build only such light dwellings; but erect larger ones, skilfully provided with strong dams,
only in stagnant waters, such as lakes, ponds, still arms of rivers, &c. &c. There are, however,
some beavers here which live only in holes in the ground, the entrance to which is above water.
Their chambers are then perhaps eight feet above the surface of the water, are spacious, and
adapted to the number of animals that live in them.
We had sent people into the forest to cut hatchet-handles of ash wood, because further up
there was no wood of this kind of a sufficient size. At noon the thermometer was at 81°; the
hunters had killed an elk, and seen several bears. A thunder-storm, with a high wind, obliged us
our people caught about five-and-twenty white catfish.
During our voyage, on the 18th of July, I could not help making comparisons with my journeys
on the Brazilian rivers. There, where nature is so infinitely rich and grand, I heard, from the lofty,
thick, primeval forests on the banks of the rivers, the varied voices of the parrots, the macaws,
and many other birds, as well as of the monkeys, and other creatures; while here, the silence of the
bare, dead, lonely wilderness is but seldom interrupted by the howling of the wolves, the bellowing
of the buffaloes, or the screaming of the crows. The vast prairie scarcely offers a living creature,
except, now and then, herds of buffaloes and antelopes, or a few deer and wolves. These plains,
which are dry in summer, and frozen in winter, have certainly much resemblance, in many of
their features, with the African deserts. Many writers have given them the name of savannahs,
or grassy plains; but this expression can be applied, at most, to those of the Lower Missouri,
and is totally inapplicable to the dry, sterile tracts of the north-west, where a more luxuriant
growth of grass may be expected, at best, only in a few moist places, though various plants, interesting
to the botanist, are everywhere to be found.
On this day, at noon, we reached, on the south bank, an Indian fort, an expression which I
shall often have occasion to use in the sequel; it is a kind of breastwork, which Indian war-parties
construct in haste of dry trunks of trees. When such parties intend to stop for the night,
they erect a breastwork, sufficiently large, according to their number, composed of trunks of
trees, or thick branches, laid one on the other, generally either square or triangular. In this
bulwark they lie down to sleep, after having placed sentinels, and are there able to repel an attack.
This fort consisted of a fence, and several angles, enclosing a rather small space, with the open side
towards the river. In the centre of the space there was a conical hut, composed of wood. Near
this fort, on the same bank of the river, there was a beaver's den made of a heap of brushwood.
After our hunters had returned, with the flesh of a buffalo, we had a favourable wind, which
allowed us to use our sail. At a turn of the river we suddenly saw a couple of bears running
backwards and forwards on a sand bank before the willow thickets. One of them at length went
away, and the other ran along the strand, and fell on the dead body of a buffalo cow, which was
half buried in the mud. While the keel-boat sailed against the stream in the middle of the river, a
boat was put out, into which Messrs. Mitchell and Bodmer, and the hunters, Dechamp and Dreidoppel,
threw themselves, and rowed along the bank towards the ravenous animal. The sight of this
first bear chase was interesting, and we that remained as spectators on deck awaited the result
with impatience. Dechamp, a bold and experienced hunter, and an excellent marksman, was put
on shore, and crept unperceived along the strand, till he got to the branch of a tree, about eighty
paces from the bear, in order, in case of need, to intercept his retreat to the thickets. The
to his repast; doubtless, because the wind was in our favour, and these animals are not remarkably
quick-sighted. The boat had got to within fifty paces, when the pieces were levelled.
Mr. Mitchell fired the first mortal shot, behind the shoulder blade. The other shots followed in
quick succession, on which the bear rolled over, uttered fearful cries, tumbled about ten steps
forwards, scratched the wounded places furiously with his paws, and turned several times completely
over. At this moment Dechamp came up, and put an end to his misery by shooting him
through the head. The huge beast lay stretched out: it was fastened by ropes to the boat, and
conveyed in triumph to the ship, where it was measured, and a drawing made of it. I much
regretted that I had not taken part in the sport; but I had not believed that it was possible, in
such an open, unprotected spot, to get so near the bear.
This grizzly bear was a male, about three years old, and, therefore, not of the largest size: he
was six feet two inches and two lines in length, from the nose to the tip of the tail; the latter
being eight inches. His colour was dark brown, with the point of the hair of a rusty colour, but
new hair already appeared of a lighter grey, with yellow tips. This bear is known to be a very
dangerous beast of prey, and is willingly avoided by the hunters: if fired at, he very frequently
attacks, even if not wounded, when they suddenly come too near him. If he perceives a man in
time, he generally gets out of the way, especially when he has the wind. Almost all the hunters
of the prairie relate their adventures with the bears, and whole volumes might be filled with such
stories. It is certain that many white men and Indians have been torn to pieces by these dangerous
animals, especially in former times, when they were very numerous, and lived to a great
age, as may be seen in Lewis and Clarke's Travels. Even last year, five of Mr. Mitchell's hunters,
who had wounded one of these animals, were so quickly pursued by him, that they were obliged
to take refuge in the Missouri. This species of bear cannot climb, and therefore a tree is a
good means to escape their attacks. The true country of these animals on the Missouri, where
they are at present the most numerous, is the tract about Milk River. Here there is no wood of
any extent in which they are not found, but they are likewise seen everywhere in a northwesterly
direction. In these solitudes, the long claws of this bear serve to dig up many kinds of
roots in the prairie, on which he chiefly subsists, but he is especially fond of animal food, particularly
the flesh of dead animals. There is no other species of bear on the Upper Missouri, for
the black bear is not found so high up. At the place where we had killed the bear, it would
have been easy to shoot many of these animals, by posting ourselves near the dead buffalo cow:
the whole sand bank was covered with the prints of bears' footsteps, and trodden down like a
threshing-floor; but our time was too short and too precious: we, therefore, proceeded on our
voyage till a violent thunder-storm threatened us, and we lay to, by the high bank of the prairie,
plants in the cabin.
On the following day, the 19th, we had another chase after a colossal bear, which swam
through the Missouri to a dead buffalo; but our young hunters were this time too eager, and
fired too soon, so that the animal escaped, though probably wounded, as fifteen rifles were discharged
at him. Afterwards we saw several beaver lodges. The people towed the steamer in the
afternoon, making their way along the bank, through a dense willow thicket. All on a sudden
they cried that there were bears close to them; on which the hunters immediately leaped on
shore. Mr. Mitchell had scarcely arrived at the head of the towers, when he perceived a she bear
with two cubs. Dechamp came to his aid, and in a few minutes the three animals were in our
power. Mr. Mitchell had killed the mother, which was of a pale yellowish-red colour; one of
the cubs, which was brought alive on board, was whitish about the head and neck, and brownish
grey on the body; the other was dark brown. The females of these animals are generally of a
lighter colour than the males, which is the case with many beasts of prey, particularly the
European fox. The live cub was in a great rage, and growled terribly; it was impossible for
me to save his life.
After this successful chase we were detained by a high contrary wind, and it was, therefore,
late when we reached the mouth of Milk River, on the north bank. This river comes down in many
windings, and constitutes the western frontier of the territory of the Assiniboins. Its waters are
generally muddy and mixed with sand, whence it has its name. It contributes to thicken the
waters of the Missouri, though Lewis and Clarke affirm that it is Maria River which chiefly
contributes to dull their clearness; this, however, is not well founded, for most travellers, and we
ourselves, found the waters of the Upper Missouri perfectly clear and transparent as far as Muscleshell
River. Even the Maria is at times quite clear and pure. The Moose Deer or Orignal
(Cervus alces Amer.) is said to be common towards the upper part of Milk River, and Dechamp
himself had killed several of these animals on the Missouri, in the vicinity of this river. A little
further up we lay to, for the night, on the south bank, where our hunters killed a bear and a very
large buffalo. Mr. Bodmer made a drawing of the head of the latter magnificent animal, whose
thick, coal-black, wavy frontal hair was eighteen inches long. Some of our engagés came up,
cut up the whole animal, and eat the liver without cooking it. During the night we had again
much wind, and were glad that we were able to remain in a safe channel of the river.
Early on the morning of the 20th we reached the place where the Missouri makes a great
bend of fifteen miles, the distance across by land being only 400 or 500 paces. At this place
the ice drives in spring over the flat land, or sandy point, and the tall poplars at the end of it
were rubbed smooth, on the lower part, to half the thickness of their trunks. This bend is called
being too strong for the efforts of the towers, and the masses falling from the bank, often
endangering our vessel, we lay to under the protection of the hills on the north bank of a
narrow prairie covered with bushes, where I found the blue-grey butcher-bird, the magpie, and
several common birds, many of which we shot; we also caught a great many butterflies, which
were hovering about the flowers in the burning rays of the sun. Henry Morrin, our pilot, a
very good marksman, brought in a large male antelope. The other hunters had killed, on the
opposite bank, twelve buffaloes, viz., four bulls, five cows, and three calves, but brought away
only the flesh of the cows, leaving all the rest to the wolves, the bears, and the vultures: they
had missed a large bear. Towards evening we left our anchorage, but made so little progress,
that, when night came, we were not above a couple of miles from Milk River.
On the 21st we came to the place where the buffaloes were killed the day before: part of
the flesh of the animals, which had not been touched, was taken away, and a full grown young
bald eagle was shot down from the nest. It was now the dry season, which, in these parts, continues
from the middle of July to the end of autumn. The whole prairie was dry and yellow; the
least motion, even of a wolf crossing it, raised the dust. We could recognise the vicinity of the
herds of buffaloes at a distance, from the clouds of dust which they occasioned. All the small
rivers were completely dried up. Even the Missouri was very shallow, which it always is in
summer and autumn. The prairie hills were now of a pale grey-green colour, with some bushes
in the ravines, but all had a withered, sterile appearance. Soon after mid-day we saw a large
buffalo bull standing on the bank, which seemed to challenge us, lowering his head and pawing
the ground with his fore feet, so that the dust flew to a great distance around him. We landed
the hunters, who got sight of a bear, but soon lay to, at the end of a prairie, near the mouth of
Big Dry River, which joins the Missouri on the south side. Its channel, in winter, is several
hundred paces in breadth, and in it was another narrow channel, in which, at this time, the water
was only two feet deep. The right bank of the stream is steep, and consists of grey clay; the
left is covered with low willows; the whole surrounding country has a bare, desolate appearance.
Continuing our way but very slowly, we perceived, on one of the hills of the bank, some elks,
and, by the aid of our telescopes, saw that they were large males with immense horns; and at
this same moment, a black bear came from the thicket on the north bank, and began to swim
across the river. The hunters immediately divided into two parties; the one, including Messrs.
Mitchell and Bodmer, going by land along the bank of the river; the other in the boat, rowing
after the bear. Unluckily our boat got aground, by which the bear got the start, and came too
near to the hunters, who were posted behind the bank. As soon as he set foot on land, he was
killed by several shot. He was not so large as the one lately killed, of a dark brown colour, and we
contented ourselves with carrying off as trophies only his head and fore paws. On account of the
was the bear killed, when buffalo bulls came into the river in several places, which we should
certainly have killed, if our young men had known how to restrain their ardour. In the artemisia
bushes of the prairie, a porcupine was caught alive, which was not killed till it was on board the
keel-boat, our engagés declaring that it was a great delicacy. This animal is of great importance
to the Indians, on account of its quills, which they dye, and use to embroider their
clothing, and for other ornamental purposes.
On the 22nd of July we again saw clay hills, of strange forms, of friable, blackish-grey clay,
with angular or small roundish cones set upon them. It was only in the clefts and ravines
between them, that there was any vegetation; otherwise, not a blade of grass was to be seen on
them. On the south there was a couple of clay hills resembling the ruins of an ancient castle, of
which Mr. Bodmer made a drawing. They appeared to us to have some resemblance to what
are called "The Two Brothers," near Bornhofen, on the Rhine. The river makes here a very
considerable bend. Buffaloes were grazing in the prairies, and the cries of the wild geese were
heard on all sides. The hills, with their singular forms, which were almost always the same, now
came near to the river; most of the conical tops were of a greyish-brown colour; others,
blackish-grey; and many had a top of a burnt-red colour. Even from our vessel we could
distinguish, on all these hills, bright points, which sparkled in the sunshine, which proved, on
examination, to be caused by the brilliant selenite, which has been mentioned before, and
which occurs everywhere in these clay hills, either in layers or in nests. On our excursion today,
we brought back large pieces of this fossil. We lay to for the night by a sand bank, the
clay of which, where it had been wetted by the water, was cracked and cleft in all directions.
This clay might certainly be used for pottery; on the surface there were prints of the footsteps
of all kinds of wild animals, but we saw no living creatures but myriads of tormenting mosquitoes.
We had made considerable progress to-day, because a favourable wind had allowed us to use
our sails.
On the 23rd, we passed a dried-up stream, of which we had seen many on the preceding
days, and all of which are among the numerous streams mentioned by Lewis and Clarke under
the name of Dry River. Our hunters had killed a couple of deer, and several buffalo bulls; and
Papin had roused a covey of the beautiful large prairie, or mountain cock, but could not get a shot
at them. These fine birds live in the prairie, on the Upper Yellow Stone and the Missouri, and we
frequently met with them in the sequel. In the middle of the day our towers had great trouble
in keeping their footing on the steep, clay hills, in the barren and crumbling mass of which they
sank above their ankles, and were obliged to assist each other.
The singular clay hills continued on the 24th July. The left bank of the river consisted of
a high clay wall, divided into cubical figures, rent with many small clefts, and partly of overhanging
here a stream with little water, and a marshy bed, which is, perhaps, the Sticklodge Creek of
Lewis and Clarke. While the wind allayed the heat of the day, we rambled through the
prairies on the bank; as far as the eye could reach there were the bleached bones of the buffaloes
and elks, and their immense horns. A couple of sparrow-hawks, a kind of lark, and a flock of
wild geese, which had made an excursion from the river into the prairie, were the only large
living creatures that we met with here. Thousands of grasshoppers, many of them of beautiful
colours, were hopping and flying about: numerous butterflies, but only three or four species, were
hovering about the shrubs in these dry clay steeps, which were bare of grass. There were a great
many ant hills, and mosquitoes, and several other kinds of troublesome stinging insects. On the
offsets of the clay hills which bounded the prairie on our right, there were banks of sand-stone
and clay-slate standing out; and the detached fragments of stone, which lay about near them,
were covered with beautiful orange-coloured, yellow, bluish-white and blackish lichens. Several
deep ravines, or clefts, were all dry, and opened towards the high, steep bank of the Missouri.
At some accessible places these ravines were crossed by the deeply trodden paths of the herds of
buffaloes, which wind through the whole prairie along the chains of hills and the bank of the river.
As we looked round on an eminence, whence we perceived our boat sailing with a fair wind, we
saw an immense buffalo bull, which approached us slowly, not suspecting any danger: we quickly
hid ourselves behind some bushes on the edge of a deep cleft, and, as the majestic animal passed
through it, we killed it with three well-directed shots. The magnificent creature lay stretched
out about forty paces above the ravine, and only the advance which our boat had gained obliged
us to leave our prize. At length, however, by firing some shot on the steep bank of the river,
we succeeded in drawing the attention of our people, and they despatched a boat for us. We
took advantage of the interval to make a second attempt at buffalo hunting, and Dreidoppel, who
was endeavouring to drive some of these animals towards me, killed a young bull, on which the
boat arrived, the crew of which took away the tongues and part of the flesh of the buffaloes
which we had killed. Much fatigued and heated, we reached our vessel at four o'clock in the
afternoon, after having been exposed, since eight o'clock in the morning, without a drop of water,
to the heat of the sun in the barren, withered prairies. During our absence, Mr. Bodmer had
sketched some interesting tops of the neighbouring eminences, one of which (Plate XXXV. Fig. 15)
is called Half-way Pyramid, because it is half way between the Milk and Muscleshell Rivers.
The whole chain of hills, with its manifold tops, ravines and hollows, was of a greenish-grey
colour, with here and there some dark spots of pine forest; and this country, with its bright
green meadows, with wood and willows on the bank of the river, has a most original, singular
appearance.
On the 25th July we rambled through the prairies on the north bank, where we found
cock, which flew up before us with loud clapping of their wings, but which, for want of a good
pointer, we were unable to find again. We took nothing but a hare and an owl, with some
birds which had assembled in great numbers to teaze the poor light-shunning tyrant of evening.
Mr. Bodmer sketched some more of the remarkable mountain tops. (Plate XXXV. Figs. 16 and
18.) Near that marked Fig. 16, some of our hunters returned with two black-tailed deer and a
young fawn; and, soon afterwards, two buffalo bulls were killed, a great part of the flesh of
which we brought away, because we were approaching the part of the country called Mauvaises
Terres, where we could not expect to find much large game. In the afternoon we saw some
Indian huts under high poplars on the bank; and, on the northern bank, sketches were taken
of singular mountain tops. In general, the bare grey masses of the eminences on the bank
were so singularly formed that it was impossible not to wish that an able geologist might make
a minute investigation of the chain. Their tops, like towers, pillars, &c., were contrasted with
the clear blue sky, and the sun caused them to cast deep shadows. As we were sailing with a
fair wind, I was obliged to submit to the necessity of rapidly passing these highly interesting
scenes. The mountains continued to increase in height; they were more and more naked and
sterile; their colour was whitish-grey, grey-brown, often spotted with white, the upper part
disposed in horizontal strata, or in narrow stripes; and some isolated summits rose in the most
grotesque forms, and the general appearance reminded me of the calcareous mountains of
Appenzell, in Switzerland. In the steep wall of the south bank we saw, at a great height, the
antlers of a stag projecting, which must have been imbedded in the alluvium, which was now
washed away by the river. On these rude, naked mountains, the wild mountain sheep, called the
bighorn, or grossecorne, becomes more and more numerous the further you proceed up the river.
Our towers killed, in this part, a large rattlesnake, which had just caught some kind of rat, probably
a goffer, and half devoured it. A thunder-storm, with high wind, suddenly caused our
vessel to be in great danger; but the same wind which had at first thrown us back, became all
at once very favourable when we reached a turn in the river, and sailed, for some time, rapidly
upwards. This brought us to a remarkable place, where we thought that we saw before us, two
white mountain castles. On the mountain of the south bank, there was a thick, snow-white layer,
a far-extended stratum of a white sand-stone, which had been partly acted upon by the waters. At
the end where it is exposed, being intersected by the valley, two high pieces, in the shape of
buildings, had remained standing, and upon them lay remains of a more compact, yellowish-red,
thinner stratum of sand-stone, which formed the roofs of the united building. On the façade of
the whole building, there were small perpendicular slits, which appeared to be so many windows.
These singular natural formations, when seen from a distance, so perfectly resembled buildings
raised by art, that we were deceived by them, till we were assured of our error. We agreed with
Bodmer (Plate XXXVII.) has given a very faithful representation of them.
There were similar formations on the north bank likewise; but the increasing storm did not
allow us time to contemplate these wonders: our sail rent, and we were obliged to seek for
shelter at the prairie of the south bank. We took advantage of the halt to explore the adjacent
country, while the trees bent under the fury of the storm, and the thunder pealed in the very
sultry air. We were now in a lateral chain of the Mauvaises Terres, a prolongation of the Black
Hills, which here cross the Missouri. We proceeded on a sloping, rough flat, or prairie, which,
with the usual vegetation, stretched along the river, and gradually becoming uneven and hilly, rose
towards the mountains, and was covered, near the foremost hills, with diversely stratified fragments
and blocks of yellowish-brown sand-stone. All around rose the wonderful chains of the
lofty, bare, whitish-grey or grey-brown mountains, with their conical or singularly-shaped summits,
sloped or stratified in divers ways, and dotted with scattered groups of dark green pines. It was
during this day's voyage that these mountains increased so much in elevation, and in originality
of character, that we seemed to be suddenly transported to the mountains of Switzerland. The
Missouri, which is here rather narrow, winds its course, confined between the high ridges of
clay-slate, sand-stone, and clay; and the torpid, naked scenery around is only animated on the
bank by verdant strips of poplars and young shrubs. On the rough plain, at the foot of the
hills, the vegetation was, for the most part, withered: the Allium reticulatum, with its white
flowers, quite dried up; Cactus ferox, poor and shrivelled, and the bones of the buffaloes, bleached
by exposure to the air, bore testimony, even in this solitude, to the uncertainty of life. The
tracks of these colossal animals soon led our hunters to recent footsteps, and several of them
appeared in the ravines; but thunder-storms, in the north-east and west, soon poured down torrents
of rain, and scared the animals. When the weather cleared up, we approached nearer to
the White Castles, and the illusion vanished.
On the 26th of July, in the morning, we again viewed the White Castles in another point of
view. The pretty squirrel, called, by Say, Sciurus quadrivittatus, lives in the clay ground of these
parts; our towers caught one, which we kept alive, for a long time, in a cage. Round the trunk
of an old tree the Indians had built a conical hut with pieces of wood; but in the whole voyage
from Fort Union to Fort Mc Kenzie, such huts were the only signs of human beings, and we did
not see a single Indian. Game was now scarce in the Mauvaises Terres, and Morrin was the only
person who killed anything to-day. In these parts the singular, perfectly spherical sand-stone balls
are also found in the clay hills, which have been already described at Cannon-ball River; they
are sometimes double, and, here, generally of the size of canister shot. The prairies were so
covered with grasshoppers that the whole surface of the ground seemed to be alive; and where
the dry leaves were still lying they caused a constant rattling noise. That species was most
large black spot; the thighs of a beautiful orange-red, and the sheaths of the wings a dirty white,
with three blackish transverse stripes.
In the afternoon, there were everywhere, on the banks of the Missouri, fragments of rock and
stone, which proved that we were approaching the more solid kinds of rock which would succeed
the clay mountains. The river, which was narrow, not more than 100 paces in breadth, made,
at a certain place, a sudden, very short bend in a northern direction. The south bank, which
was exposed to the shock of the waves, was rent in such a remarkable manner, the clay walls so
cleft, split, and washed out in a thousand varieties of fragments, cones, pyramids, and isolated
points, that it was not without great difficulty, exertion, and loss of time, that the towers were
able to proceed. The whole of this bank is perfectly bare, and of a greyish-brown colour; no
plant can grow, because the masses of clay are always ready to fall in, and are subject to perpetual
change. The great heat obliged the towers to drink frequently, which they effected in a singular,
often dangerous position, lying flat on the ground, with their heads downwards, and their legs
above on the slope of the bank. Beyond the bend, the river was again 180 paces broad.
The night was pleasant, and on the 27th of July, at daybreak, we left the keel-boat, and
followed the track of a large bear, which had dug up roots everywhere; unluckily two of our
hunters had proceeded up and caused an alarm in the forest. A wilderness full of thorns and
briers joined the wood to the hill, where the mosquitoes were excessively troublesome. Under its
tall slender poplars grew high grass, or a thick undergrowth of roses, mostly very nourishing food
for the wild animals, which we saw in several places. In the high trees there were flocks of
blackbirds, some flycatchers, which built in old hollow poplars on the bank, and a beautiful swallow
(Hirundo bicolor, Bon), which we had not before seen, and in pursuit of which we spent so much
time that our boat got considerably ahead of us, and we had to make our way through the prairie,
where the thorny bushes sadly rent our clothes. Where the bank of the river was a steep wall,
we saw a great number of bones of animals imbedded in it, and very often the skulls of buffaloes,
from which the earth had been half washed away, projecting over the river. Wearied by our
long excursion, we refreshed ourselves with the cool waters of the Missouri, and reached the boat
soon after noon. Messrs. Mitchell and Cuthbertson returned about the same time, when the
thermometer was 85°, from an excursion, in which they had a delightful prospect from the heights.
To the south-west, they had seen at a distance the Little Rocky Mountain range, like blue clouds;
to the south-east, Muscleshell River. In the green extensive hollow towards the mountains, they
saw the whole prairie covered with herds of buffaloes. They brought from the heights beautiful
impressions of shells, of which we had found some, on this day, on the bank of the Missouri. With
much labour they had ascended three different eminences, on the last and highest, at which they
arrived, excessively heated, they were met by a high bleak wind. Here they observed a very
stone—doubtless sand-stone. They had likewise seen from that eminence the mountain known
by the name of the Bear's-paw.
The following morning, the 28th of July, gave me another occasion to reflect on the rude
manners of our crew. For some time past we had made a numerous and interesting collection
of natural history, many articles of which we were obliged, for want of room, to leave on deck.
The skins, skulls of animals, and the like, some of which it had cost us much trouble to procure,
were generally thrown into the river during the night, though Mr. Mitchell had set a penalty of
five dollars on such irregularities. In this manner I lost many highly interesting specimens; and
on board our keel-boat, with the most favourable opportunities, it was hardly possible to make
a collection of natural history, if I except the herbarium, which we kept in the cabin, under our
eyes, so that we brought but a small part of what we had collected to Fort Mc Kenzie.
In order to find Muscleshell River, which could not be far off, I landed early, with Messrs.
Mitchell and Cuthbertson, on the south bank, where there was a fine shady poplar-grove, with a
high undergrowth of roses, dogwood, and gooseberries. Through this thorny disagreeable thicket
we followed the tracks of the wild animals, which led us to some open places covered with high
grass; and beyond the wood a verdant prairie, where we gathered many interesting plants. We,
however, did not find Muscleshell River, which was further up, and a storm with heavy rain
drove us back to the boat, where we arrived wet through and through. At eleven o'clock in the
forenoon, however, we reached the mouth of the river which we had sought for.
Muscleshell River, the Coquille of the Canadians, joins the Missouri on the south-west side,
and at its mouth, which is seventy paces broad, both its banks are covered with poplars, partly
high trees, partly bushes. About eight hundred paces upward there are, on its banks, high hills,
covered with greyish-green short grass, and spots of pines. Its course is for a long time nearly
parallel with that of the Missouri. We were told that the distance from Fort Mc Kenzie to its
banks is only between thirty and forty miles, and that it is only five or six miles from its mouth
that it turns towards the Missouri. Lewis and Clarke reckon 2270 miles from the junction of
these two rivers to the mouth of the latter. Wandering Indians are found only occasionally on
the banks of the Muscleshell, but they are said to be at all times about its sources. It is
reckoned that its mouth is half way between Fort Union and Fort Mc Kenzie: we could not hope
to reach the latter in less than seventeen or eighteen days, though the navigation of the Missouri,
from the mouth of the Muscleshell upwards, is more easy than before, because its course is
straighter, its banks more rocky, and there are neither branches of trees nor drift-wood in
its bed.
| CHAPTER XVII. Travels in the interior of North America. | |