University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXII.

SECOND RESIDENCE AT FORT UNION, FROM SEPTEMBER 29TH TO OCTOBER 30TH.

The appearance of the country about Fort Union had much changed since our visit in the
month of July. At that time there was a numerous body of Indians here; now we saw only one
tent, inhabited by a half Blackfoot. The whole prairie was naked, dry, and withered; the plants
were in seed, which were then covered with flowers; the woods had put on their yellow tint; the
river was shallow, narrow, and full of sand banks; the mornings and evenings were chilly, the
nights cold. Changes had also taken place in the fort itself. Mr. Mc Kenzie, with more than
twenty men, had gone down the river to the Little Missouri; he was expected back in about two
months; and there were now only about fifty persons in the fort. Mr. Hamilton, who received
us in a very friendly manner, had the direction of the place during the absence of Mr. Mc Kenzie,
and had under him three clerks, Messrs. Chardon, Brazeau, and Moncrevier. The people were
employed on various buildings and improvements. In particular, very strong new pickets were
placed round the fort, with a basis of brickwork. A very handsome solid powder magazine, of
hewn stone, which was capable of containing 50,000 lbs. of powder, was completed.[1] Mr.

Hamilton allowed my chests to be opened in the very light spacious loft of the governor's house,
in order completely to dry my things, which were still damp. A well-lighted and pleasant
apartment likewise enabled us to continue our employments during our four weeks' stay.

News of the battle at Fort Mc Kenzie had been brought, on the 13th of September, by the
Assiniboins on their return. Dechamp had brought the horses that were sent from Fort
Mc Kenzie, without accident, to Fort Union. He had been followed by some of the Gros Ventres,
whom he, however, contrived to keep at a distance. When he crossed the river to Fort Union,
the Assiniboins who were there called to him "to take care of himself, else he would be shot, for
he had disabled many of their people;" to which he answered, "that he was not afraid; that they
should take care of themselves; for, as they had attacked the fort, every brave man had to defend
himself." He then landed boldly, and met with nothing unpleasant. His relations and his wife (a
Cree) were assembled here, who said to him, "that he had nothing to fear from them, but that
he must be on his guard against the other Indians." He replied, "that he did not fear open
violence, but that he must expect secret treachery." We had scarcely been a couple of days at
Fort Union, when some Ojibua Indians arrived, who announced that more of their tribe would
follow. They were rather mean-looking people, but strongly built, with their hair hanging down
to the shoulders, and not very different from the Crees. They were, for the most part, covered
with blankets.

The nation of the Ojibuas, generally called, by the English, Chippeways, and by the French,
Sauteurs,[2] inhabits the whole extensive tract of country between Lake Superior, the Red River,
the Assiniboin River, and, further north, about Lake Winnipeg, the Lake of the Woods, &c. They
are a very numerous, vigorous, and warlike nation, but divided into several small, scattered companies.
An estimate of their number was given by Pike (Gov. Cass's Exped., 1820, p. 225), but
others have since been attempted; and, in the new history of the Indian tribes of North America,
by Mc Kenney and Hall, they are reckoned at 15,000 souls.

They speak the Algonquin language, which is likewise that of the Nipissings, Ottawas,
Knistenaux, or Crees, and other tribes. The French formerly gave different names to all those
little bands of one and the same nation, and thereby caused great confusion in the history of
those people. Trifling diversities in the language are met with in each of these Indian tribes,
living apart from each other. The Algonquin language is said, however, to be very complete and
rich, and is spread over the whole country about the northern lakes. Many terms, current in
the United States, are derived from this language, e. g. squaw, moccasin, wigwam, &c.[3]

As the hunters of the fort generally went out twice in a week to replenish our stock of meat,
I resolved to accompany them, and join in the chase of the buffalo on horseback. On the 11th of
October, after breakfasting earlier than usual, the horses were sent, in a large boat, across the
Missouri. The weather was pleasant; at half-past seven the thermometer was at 40°, and in
the afternoon at 65½°. We landed in a lofty forest of poplar, ash, negundo, and elm, with a thick
undergrowth of symphoria, roses covered with beautiful red blossom, and buffalo berries, which had
then ripe red fruit. Here we collected the horses and mules, of which we had eighteen, loaded them,
and warmed ourselves a little while at a fire. Our party consisted of Mr. Bodmer, Chardon, and
myself, and the half-Indian hunters, Dechamp, Marcellais, and Joseph Basile, a negro slave
belonging to Mr. Mc Kenzie, with three or four more who led the horses that were to carry the
meat. We soon proceeded on our expedition; and, as we rode along, were amused by the
cheerful and enterprising Chardon, who had lived long among the Osages, and was able to give
the most authentic information respecting that people, and the Indians in general. Listening to
his animated descriptions, his communications relative to the Indian languages, alternating with
Indian songs and the war-whoop, we passed through the forest, then across a meadow, where a
few isolated bushes grew, and where we raised a covey of prairie hens; and then over a chain of
hills, where we followed a beaten path. Skeletons of buffaloes, nearly entire, and numbers of
skulls, which might have furnished many an osteological cabinet, lay scattered around. The hills
seemed to consist of a whitish sand-stone, with a layer of clay over it; and, here and there, they
exhibited some singular forms, but not to be compared with those already mentioned, when speaking
of the Stone Walls. From the summit of the chain of hills we had a fine view of the valley of the
Missouri. On the further side runs a whitish chain of hills, with their singular angles and ravines,
before them the yellow prairie, with its orange-coloured woods of poplar and ash on the
banks, where Fort Union appears: on this side of the wood were dark stripes of bushes, and
large forest trees, the reddish or brown bark of which contrasted with the yellow foliage of the
poplars; at our feet were the whitish-grey sand-stone hills, and the greyish-brown eminences covered
with dry grass, and dark green cedars, under which was the grassy plain, with its silvery green shrubs.

When we had ridden some miles, we found the prairie was more and more level, that is, it became
a gently undulating plain, traversed by low hills, which, at the distance of a couple of miles, generally
bounded the horizon, and when we had reached them, we had a similar uniform prospect.
The whole is grey and dry, without diversity, covered with dry low plants, which yet afford food to
numerous herds of the large heavy buffaloes. Here and there small hollows, in which there is
rather more moisture, cross the prairie, and here some water-plants and grasses grow: in the
spring and winter there is running or stagnant water in them, which is generally salt. At this
time the ground was, in many places, entirely covered with Glauber salt, which is collected for use,
and of which there is a considerable stock at Fort Union. Lewis and Clarke frequently observed
this white deposit on the banks of the Missouri. In the moister parts of the prairie, where there
was more vegetation, we saw a small flock of birds of the species numenius, or charadrius. Among
the plants there were whole tracts covered with dwarf rose bushes, about a foot high; some species
of solidago and aster, with bunches of whitish flowers, and snake-root (Galardia bicolor). The
wolf, the prairie fox, and the striped squirrel, are found in these prairies.

We proceeded in quick trot and gallop across the prairie, where the larks flew up before us,
and ravens and crows appeared in great numbers. A few buffaloes that we saw at a distance did
not induce us to stop, for we had twenty miles to ride before we could think of the chase. Towards
noon we came to a little creek, called La Rivière aux Tortues, meandering through a meadow, a
hill on the north side of which protected us from the wind. Here we halted a little, the baggage
was taken off the horses, and they were left to graze, while a fire of buffalo dung was kindled,
and a duck roasted, which had been shot by a Half-breed, who had hastened on before us. The
creek was partly dry, with high grass growing in it; but there were still some shallow pools, where
a beautiful tortoise, resembling Emys picta, lived. After resting for some time, we proceeded
over gentle hills till about five in the afternoon, when we came to a pretty considerable hill, beyond
which herds of buffaloes are usually met with. Before we reached the summit, we crossed a small
ravine, where we found a spring of cool clear water, which refreshed us greatly. The ravine
itself is filled with a narrow strip of ash, elm, and maple, between tufts of roses, bird-cherry, and
other species, entwined by the clematis.

When we reached the top of the hill, we examined with the telescope the extensive plain,
and perceived some small groups of buffaloes, four, five, or six together, the most numerous of which
we resolved to attack. The pack-horses followed slowly, and the hunters proceeded, in quick trot,
to a hollow between two hills, where we saw the animals at no great distance on our left hand.
With our pieces ready to fire, we made a regular cavalry charge on the heavy animals, which,
however, galloped away at a pretty brisk rate. The horsemen divided, and pursued the bulls,
which were partly shot by the practised marksmen, and partly wounded by the others; these
were pursued, and did not fall till many shot had been fired at them. I had followed a wounded

bull into the ravine, and three of us repeatedly fired at him. He often put himself in a threatening
attitude, and even pursued us for ten or twenty paces, but, in such cases, it is easy to avoid him,
and the frightened animal immediately took to flight again as soon as we halted. At length, after
twenty shot, perhaps, had been fired at him, his strength failed, and he sunk down.

The Half-breed and the Indians are so skilful in this kind of hunting on horseback, that they
seldom have to fire several times at a buffalo. They do not put the gun to their shoulder, but
extend both arms, and fire in this unusual manner as soon as they are within ten or fifteen paces
of the animal. They are incredibly quick in loading; for they put no wadding to the charge, but
let the ball (of which they generally have several in their mouth) run down to the powder, where
it sticks, and is immediately discharged. With this rapid mode of firing these hunters of the
prairie soon make a terrible slaughter in a herd of buffaloes. In the present case, the whole of the
little herd of buffaloes was killed; nine bulls lay on the field, and our hunters had dispersed in
such a manner that we had not a little trouble to collect our whole party. I had separated
from the rest, rode for some miles over low eminences, and, at length, when it was
getting dusk, met with Marcellais, who had killed a buffalo. (Plate XXXI.) Here, too,
I found Mr. Bodmer, who took a sketch of the animal that was killed. We rode back
to the ravine, and endeavoured to kindle a fire of buffalo dung in this place of general rendezvous;
the wind was bleak, and we could not make our fire burn bright. There was no wood
at all; but we threw fat and marrow-bones into the fire, by way of fuel. Some meat was roasted
as well as the circumstances permitted; and when we were going to lie down to rest, it appeared
that my portable bed, of buffalo skins and blankets, had been forgotten. This was no very pleasant
discovery, for the wind was raw, the fire bad, and the rain falling; however, the hunters,
who were quite used to such bivouacs, gave me a part of their blankets, and we slept very
comfortably.

On the 12th of October we breakfasted on roast meat and buffalo marrow; the horses were
collected and saddled, and the flesh of the buffaloes fastened to the pack-saddles. Eighteen years
before I had had my mules collected in the same manner in the Campos of Brazil, when I wanted
to continue my journey; but in that beautiful and warm country, where nature is so grand
and so rich, the bivouacs in the forest are more cheerful and pleasant, and form a striking contrast
to the melancholy life in the prairies, where you have to suffer so many privations. We
rode rapidly forward, and halted, at noon, in the bed of a dried-up stream, in order to rest, and
take some refreshment. About four miles from Fort Union, our half-breed Indians found the fresh
traces of an Indian war party, who had, probably, observed us in the prairie, and might have cut
off our retreat in the only path among the hills and ravines to the banks; we therefore put spurs
to our horses, and rode the whole way at full gallop, so that we were much out of breath when we
arrived at the bank opposite the fort. We hastened to cross the river, and the pack-horses, with

the meat, arrived soon after. A bleak, disagreeable wind had prevailed the whole day, the temperature,
at noon, being only 61°. We, therefore, enjoyed the evening in conversation with Mr.
Hamilton, by the fireside, over a glass of punch, which beverage was our daily refreshment during
our four weeks' stay at Fort Union. I obtained from Mr. Hamilton much information relative to
the country in which we now were; and he read to us an interesting MS. which he had composed,
respecting the life of Glass, the beaver hunter, written down from his own words a short
time before he was shot, with two of his companions, by the Arikkaras. A man of the name of
Gardner, who afterwards happened to meet with these Indians, killed two of them with his own
hand, and I received the scalp of one of them, as a present, during my stay in the fort. Mr.
Hamilton intended to have this life printed.

As early as the 16th of October a truly wintry wind blew in the prairie; the temperature
was only 46° at noon. On the following day the ground was thickly covered with snow; and,
at eight o'clock in the morning, the mercury had fallen to 39°. We paid several visits to Fort
William, a new settlement, founded by Messrs. Soublette and Campbell, opposite the mouth of
the Yellow Stone, which was not yet entirely surrounded with palisades. Mr. Campbell, who
resided there, gave us a very friendly reception, and afterwards visited us at Fort Union. I often
walked along the banks of the Missouri to Fort William, in agreeable conversation with Mr.
Hamilton, and received, from Mr. Campbell, much information respecting his residence and
travels in the Rocky Mountains. The remainder of our time we employed in excursions in the
prairies.

The appearance of the country differed, in many respects, from what we had found it on
our preceding visit. The forests were tinged with yellow, or other varied hues; large flights of
blackbirds, and numbers of ravens, crows, and magpies, were flying along the skirts of the woods;
thrushes were departing in small companies, and some species of finches still animated the thorny
bushes; the yellow goldfinch had already put on its winter dress. In the bleak prairie we found
the prairie hens singly, or in small flocks, whose crops were full of the red berries of the low
rose bushes. The cactus was still green, but the fruit was withered. These plants bear the
winter of this climate, which is often severe, extremely well; but their joints generally become
wrinkled, and are often frozen, but the roots always produce new shoots. Flocks of ducks and
wild geese were in the river, and on the lakes, for instance, one near the mouth of the Yellow
Stone, there were always great numbers of water fowl. Our hunters often resorted thither, and
returned heavily laden with wild geese, ducks, and musk-rats. The cranes and pelicans passed
in large flocks, and Antoine, the negro, killed many of them. The little squirrels were no
longer seen in the prairies, having retired for their winter sleep; but we perceived, at the mouth
of their burrows, that they had taken in a quantity of prairie grass. The wolves now came very
near to the fort, and prowled round it, even in the daytime, so that, while I was there, one of

them was shot from the gate of the fort. Troops of thirty or forty antelopes now came nearer
to the Missouri, but it seems an exaggeration to say, as Mr. Warden does, that the herds of these
animals consist of several hundreds. The little prairie fox was so hungry, and, therefore, so tame,
that it often visited the environs of the fort, and we found these pretty little animals among the
circles of turf which were left on the removal of the Indian tents. Here they remained in the
daytime, and at nightfall came to look for the remains of provisions in the neighbourhood of the
buildings. Our dogs frequently pursued them, but their extreme swiftness enabled them to
escape, and retreat to their burrows, where they were easily caught by setting snares. The
amphibious animals had, for the most part, crept underground. The workmen employed in
setting the palisades of the new fort, dug up several snakes of the beautiful variety, Coluber
proximus (Say), which I have already mentioned.

As there were now but very few Indians in the vicinity, the wild animals were not disturbed.
However, those restless hunters of the prairie gradually arrived, and put an end to our monotonous
way of life. When the first tents were set up, I took the opportunity of making myself
acquainted with the mode in which they dressed their skins, and discovered what I had not
previously known. They scraped the skins very quickly and perfectly with their tooth instruments,
threw away the first shavings, but preserved those beneath, which they boiled in water and ate.
We learned that, during our absence, the Assiniboins had made peace with the Manitaries. Their
principal chief, Uahktahno (the killer), had concluded a convention with the Gros Ventres
themselves; but such treaties are seldom of long duration. Several Cree Indians arrived at Fort
Union, among whom was the celebrated medicine man, or conjuror, Mahsette-Kuinab (le sonnant),
whose portrait Mr. Bodmer took with great difficulty, because he could not get him to sit still. (See
Vignette XXII.) He was suffering severely from an affection of the eyes; complained of his poverty,
and wanted to borrow a horse, promising to pay for it at a future time. This man is highly respected
among his countrymen, because his incantations are said to be very efficacious; and even the engagés
of the Company firmly believe in such mummeries. They relate wonderful anecdotes of this
Indian. "Often," say they, "he has caused a small tent to be covered with skins and blankets,
and closely shut, he himself having his arms and hands bound, and being fastened to a stake,
his whole body closely muffled up. Some time afterwards, sounds of drums, and the schischikué,
were heard; the whole tent began to tremble and shake; the voices of bears, buffaloes, and
other animals, were heard; and the Indians believed that the evil spirit had come down. When
the tent was afterwards opened, the conjuror was found fastened and bound as before, and he
related what he had learnt from the spirit whom he had interrogated." The Canadians and
Indians affirm, that his predictions invariably come to pass; and it would have been in vain to
attempt to convince these superstitious people of the contrary. On one occasion it was said, that
Le Sonnant was at Fort Clarke, where all persons present witnessed his performances. He told

them, beforehand, that a horseman would arrive upon a grey horse, and be killed; and not long
afterwards some Chayenne Indians arrived, of whom one, riding a grey horse, was taken and
killed. This circumstance is still quoted as a proof that Le Sonnant has intercourse with supernatural
powers. His medicine or charm, which the enchanter upon such occasions wears upon
his head, is the skin stripped off the head of a bear. So much is certain, that many of these
Indian jugglers are very dextrous in sleight-of-hand, and, by their adroitness and artful tricks,
know how to deceive the ignorant multitude.

On the 20th of October, several distinguished men of the Assiniboins arrived at the fort,
among whom were Ajanjan (the son of the tall Frenchman), generally called General Jackson;
Manto-Uitkatt (the mad bear); Huh-Jiob (the wounded foot); all three tall, handsome men.
Ajanjan, as we were told, was not to be trusted. He showed us, on his body, the scars of several
wounds, such as of an arrow in his breast, and a musket-ball in his arm. The handsomest of
the three warriors was the Mad Bear. The upper part of his face was painted red, his chin and
lower part of the face black, and his breast strongly marked with black tatooed stripes, while on
the upper arm and wrist he wore bright metal armlets; his dress was, on the whole, extremely
handsome. All these people were Stone Indians (Gens de Roche). Several Assiniboins, whom
we had not seen before, arrived successively, so that, on the 21st, General Jackson, with twenty-three
of his warriors, was able to make his entry in due form into the fort. They advanced in a
line, and were conducted to the Indian apartment, where they smoked their pipes. Among them
was a man wearing his winter dress, having on his head a badger's skin, by way of cap, and
gloves, which are very rare among the Indians. His name was Pasesick-Kaskutau (nothing but
gunpowder), and Mr. Bodmer took an admirable full-length portrait of him. Many women
arrived with their loaded dogs, and I never saw such miserable, starved animals. Their backs
were quite bent, and they could hardly walk, yet they were cruelly beaten. One of them was
lame, and could not go on, and at every blow the poor animal howled most lamentably; another,
quite starved, fell down dead near the tent. The Indians themselves frequently suffer hunger,
and their dogs, of course, suffer still more; so that the poultry in the fort was in constant
danger. Many of these dogs were very handsomely marked; a pale yellow, with greyish-blue, or
blackish stripes; there were some of all colours.

The Indians at this time fared very well with us; for the opposition of Fort William, in our
neighbourhood, induced our people to pay them higher prices for their goods, in order to draw
them away. Endeavours were made by each party to outdo the other in entertaining them, in
which the more powerful and firmly established American Fur Company could hold out the
longest. The Indians who came to us had, generally, been already treated at Fort William; they
were, therefore, extremely merry, and their singing and beating the drum were incessant. A tall
chief, Pteh-Skah (the white cow), visited us, and a very good portrait was taken of him. His

face was characterized by a long nose, his hair smeared with clay, and his summer robe
painted of variegated colours. This chief was commended as a man thoroughly to be depended
upon. When the portrait was finished he received a small present. On seeing our stock of snuff,
which was laid out to dry, he frequently exclaimed with delight, "Oh! how much! How much!"
He then drew out a bottle containing brandy, and drank some, on taking leave, intending to cross
the Missouri on this day to hunt buffaloes. The good humour and merriment of the Indians
was increased by the circumstance, that a clerk of the Company bought a wife of them, for
whom he paid the value of about 250 dollars. The relations sat in a circle round the fire,
roasting, eating, and drinking, and kept up their noisy mirth and revelry, with loud music, till
late at night. Several beaver hunters arrived, among whom was the Cree Indian, Piah-Sukah-Ketutt
(the speaking thunder), who is engaged as a hunter in the service of the Company. He
brought me a part of the skin of the head of an orignal, which he had killed on the Milk River,
and affirmed that he had there found the entire skeleton of a colossal serpent. A part of a tooth
which he brought proved that these bones belonged to a fossil mastodon, which, unluckily, was
at too great a distance for me to be able to go and examine it. He said that he had broken
the head to pieces, in order to obtain the piece of the tooth. Mr. Bodmer drew a very good
portrait of this Cree in his Indian dress, and likewise of a woman of that nation, who was married
to the hunter Dechamp. (Plate XXXIII.)

In this manner we continued to employ ourselves, and were sometimes agreeably interrupted
by the arrival of fresh Indians. On the 25th of October, a party of twenty-four warriors
arrived, who, as usual in such cases, were meanly dressed; some had painted their faces black,
others red. Most of them wore leather caps, or an old piece of skin over their heads, and
carried on their backs small bundles containing their effects—pieces of meat, generally a pair
of shoes, and a large quantity of the plant Arbutus uva ursi, as a substitute for tobacco.
Most of them wore wolf's skins. Their arms consisted of lances ornamented with feathers, a
gun in its case, and bows and arrows on their shoulders. The chief of this savage band was
Uatschin-Tonshenih (the fool); and there was among them a young Indian, whom his father,
Uitchasta-Juta (the cannibal, a chief much devoted to the Company, and who lived at the
distance of six days' journey), had sent to Mr. Mc Kenzie, to inform him that a war party of the
Assiniboins was approaching, with the intention of stealing the horses belonging to the fort, and
warning him to take the necessary precautions. He further informed him, that another chief,
the Knife-holder, being offended on account of the battle at Fort Mc Kenzie, had gone
northwards with a hundred tents to the English, in order to trade with the Hudson's Bay
Company. The young man added, that he had several other messages, but that he had
forgotten them by the way, as the journey was so long. The intention of this war party to do
some injury to the Manitaries was no agreeable news for us travellers, because, in our voyage

down the river, we should have to take that very direction. As Mr. Mc Kenzie would
soon return to Fort Pièrre, it was intimated to the leader, that it would be advisable to go
another way with his people; for, if he met the travellers, his young people might, perhaps,
be tempted to steal the horses. The Indian immediately expressed his willingness to follow
this advice. Most of the Assiniboins now gradually withdrew, and only a couple of tents
remained near the fort, so that the prairie, already naked and desolate, was scarcely animated by
a living creature, except that a hungry wolf or dog sometimes prowled about in search of food.
The forests, too, had entirely lost their foliage; a cold wind swept the country; and, as early as
the 27th of October, we had a heavy fall of snow, and the cold was so intense, that we did not
willingly leave the fire-side. On the following day the weather was again bright, calm, and
cold, and the forest thickly covered with hoar frost. We now, for the first time, saw the prairie
in its winter dress; all was drear and cheerless; only the smoke of the fires of the men that
guarded the horses rose in the distant horizon. The horses could now find no food, except the
bark of the poplar trees, and appeared to be quite ravenous; for, during the night, when they were
always driven into the fort, they completely gnawed off the oil paint on the wooden palisades.

The four weeks that I lived at Fort Union passed rapidly away, to which the agreeable conversation
of Mr. Hamilton, a well-informed Englishman, greatly contributed. Every evening we
formed a circle round the fire, where the conversation turned as well on our distant native land
as on the wildernesses of America. As the time for our departure approached, the necessary preparations
were made. I had exchanged my boat, which was too small, for a larger one, which
was old and in bad condition, but which Mr. Hamilton quickly had repaired. Mr. Chardon
had caused a stone hearth to be fixed in this boat, but we were obliged to remove it, as it proved
too heavy. A deck or covering of Indian tent skins was put up as a protection against the weather.
The people whom I obtained from the Company for this voyage, were, besides my steersman,
Henry Morrin, four Canadians, two of whom were inexperienced young men. Mr. Hamilton
had the kindness to provide us with many necessaries and comforts. I shall always be grateful to
him for his friendliness, and remember, with pleasure, the time passed at Fort Union. We took
a cordial farewell of our obliging and courteous host, and of Mr. Chardon, who had likewise given
himself much trouble for my accommodation.