USA > Oregon > The Oregon trail : sketches of prairie and Rocky Mountain life > Part 8
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At that moment, I heard Shaw and Henry shouting to 40 me; but the muscles of a stronger arm than mine could
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not have checked at once the furious course of Pontiac. whose mouth was as insensible as leather. Added to this, I rode him that morning with a common snaffle,° having the day before, for the benefit of my other horse, unbuckled 5 from my bridle the curb which I ordinarily used. A stronger and hardier brute never trod the prairie; but the novel sight of the buffalo filled him with terror, and when at full speed he was almost incontrollable. Gaining the top of the ridge, I saw nothing of the buffalo; they had all vanished Io amid the intricacies of the hills and hollows. Reloading my pistols, in the best way I could, I galloped on until I saw them again scuttling° along at the base of the hill, their panic somewhat abated. Down went old Pontiac among them, scattering them to the right and left, and then we 15 had another long chase. About a dozen bulls were before us, scouring over the hills, rushing down the declivities with tremendous weight and impetuosity, and then laboring with a weary gallop upward. Still Pontiac, in spite of spurring and beating, would not close with them. One bull at 20 length fell a little behind the rest, and by dint of much effort I urged my horse within six or cight yards of his side. His back was darkened with sweat; he.was panting heavily, while his tongue lolled out a foot from his jaws. Gradually I came up abreast of him, urging Pontiac with 25 leg and rein nearer to his side, when suddenly he did what buffalo in such circumstances will always do; he slackened his gallop, and turning toward us, with an aspect of mingled rage and distress, lowered his huge shaggy head for a charge. Pontiac, with a snort, leaped aside in terror, nearly throw- 3º ing me to the ground, as I was wholly unprepared for such an evolution. I raised my pistol in a passion to strike him on the head, but thinking better of it, fired the bullet after the bull, who had resumed his flight; then drew rein, and determined to rejoin my companions. It was high time.
35 The breath blew hard from Pontiac's nostrils, and the sweat rolled in big drops down his sides; I myself felt as if drenched in warm water. Pledging myself (and I redeemed the pledge) to take my revenge at a future opportunity, I looked round for some indications to show me where I 40 was, and what course I ought to pursue; I might as well have looked for landmarks in the midst of the ocean. How
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THE BUFFALO
many miles I had run or in what direction, I had no idea; and around me the prairie was rolling in steep swells and pitches, without a single distinctive feature to guide me. I had a little compass hung at my neck; and ignorant that the Platte at this point diverged considerably from its east- 5 erly course, I thought that by keeping to the northward I should certainly reach it. So I turned and rode about two hours in that direction. The prairie changed as I advanced, softening away into easier undulations, but nothing like the Platte appeared, nor any sign of a human being; the Ic same wild endless expanse lay around me still; and to all appearance I was as far from my object as ever. I began now to consider myself in danger of being lost; and there- fore, reining in my horse, summoned the scanty share of woodcraft that I possessed (if that term be applicable upon 15 the prairie) to extricate me. Looking round, it occurred to me that the buffalo might prove my best guides. I soon found one of the paths made by them in their passage to the river ; it ran nearly at right angles to my course; but turning my horse's head in the direction it indicated, his 20 freer gait and erected ears assured me that I was right.
But in the meantime my ride had been by no means a solitary one. The whole face of the country was dotted far and wide with countless hundreds of buffalo. They trooped along in files and columns, bulls, cows, and calves, 25 on the green faces of the declivities in front. They scrambled away over the hills to the right and left; and far off, the pale blue swells in the extreme distance were dotted with innumerable specks. Sometimes I surprised shaggy old bulls grazing alone, or sleeping behind the 3º ridges I ascended. They would leap up at my approach, stare stupidly at me through their tangled manes, and then gallop heavily away. The antelope were very numer- ous; and as they are always bold when in the neighbor- hood of buffalo, they would approach quite near to look 35 at me, gazing intently with their great round eyes, then suddenly leap aside, and stretch lightly away over the prairie, as swiftly as a racehorse. Squalid, ruffianlike wolves sneaked through the hollows and sandy ravines. Several times I passed through villages of prairie dogs, 40 who sat, each at the mouth of his burrow, holding his paws
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before him in a supplicating attitude, and yelping away most vehemently, energetically whisking his little tail with every squeaking cry he uttered. Prairie dogs are not fastidious in their choice of companions; various long, 5 checkered snakes were sunning themselves in the midst of the village, and demure little gray owls, with a large white ring around each eye, were perched side by side with the rightful inhabitants, The prairie tecmed with life. Again and again I looked toward the crowded hillsides, and was Io sure I saw horsemen; and riding near, with a mixture of hope and dread, for Indians were abroad, I found them transformed into a group of buffalo. There was nothing in human shape amid all this vast congregation of brute forms. When I turned down the buffalo path, the prairie seemed 15 changed; only a wolf or two glided past at intervals, like conscious felons, never looking to the right or left. Being now free from anxiety, I was at leisure to observe minutely the objects around me; and here, for the first time, I noticed insects wholly different from any of the 20 varieties found farther to the castward, Gaudy butter- flies fluttered about my horse's head; strangely formed beetles, glittering with metallic luster, were crawling upon plants that I had never seen before; multitudes of lizards, too, were darting like lightning over the sand.
25 I had run to a great distance from the river. It cost me a long ride on the buffalo path before I saw from the ridge of a sand-hill the pale surface of the Platte glistening in the midst of its desert valleys, and the faint outline of the hills beyond waving along the sky, From where I stood, 3º not a tree nor a bush nor a living thing was visible through- out the whole extent of the sun-scorched landscape, In half an hour I came upon the trail, not far from the river; and seeing that the party had not yet passed, I turned east- ward to meet them, old Pontiac's long swinging trot again 35 assuring me that I was right in doing so. Having been slightly ill on leaving camp in the morning, six or seven hours of rough riding had fatigued me extremely. I soon stopped, therefore; flung my saddle on the ground, and with my head resting on it, and my horse's trail-rope tied loosely 40 to my arm, lay waiting the arrival of the party, speculating meanwhile on the extent of the injuries Pontiac had received.
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At length the white wagon coverings rose from the verge of the plain. By a singular coincidence, almost at the same moment two horsemen appeared coming down from the hills. They were Shaw and Henry, who had searched for me awhile in the morning, but well knowing the futility 5 of the attempt in such a broken country, had placed them- selves on the top of the highest hill they could find, and picketing their horses near them, as a signal to me, had lain down and fallen asleep. The stray cattle had been recov- ered, as the emigrants told us, about noon. Before sunset, Io we pushed forward eight miles farther.
JUNE 7, 1846. - Four men are missing; R., Sorel, and two emi- grants. They set out this morning after buffalo, and have not yet made their appearance; whether killed or lost, we cannot tell.
I find the above in my notebook, and well remember 15 the council held on the occasion. Our fire was the scene of it; for the palpable superiority of Henry Chatillon's experience and skill made him the resort of the whole camp upon every question of difficulty. He was molding bullets at the fire, when the captain drew near, with a perturbed 20 and care-worn expression of countenance, faithfully re- flected on the heavy features of Jack, who followed close behind. Then emigrants came straggling from their wagons toward the common center; various suggestions were made to account for the absence of the four men, 25 and one or two of the emigrants declared that when out after the cattle they had seen Indians dogging them, and crawling like wolves along the ridges of the hills. At this the captain slowly shook his head with double gravity, and solemnly remarked : 30
"It's a serious thing to be traveling through this cursed wilderness;" an opinion in which Jack immediately ex- pressed a thorough coincidence. Henry would not com- mit himself by declaring any positive opinion :
"Maybe he only follow the buffalo too far; maybe 35 Indian kill him; maybe he got lost; I cannot tell !"
With this the auditors were obliged to rest content; the emigrants, not in the least alarmed, though curious to know what had become of their comrades, walked back
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to their wagons, and the captain betook himself pensively to his tent. Shaw and I followed his example.
"It will be a bad thing for our plans," said he as we entered, "if these fellows don't get back safe. The cap- 5 tain is as helpless on the prairie as a child. We shall have to take him and his brother in tow; they will hang on us like lead."
"The prairie is a strange place," said I. "A month ago I should have thought it rather a startling affair to have Io an acquaintance ride out in the morning and lose his scalp before night, but here it seems the most natural thing in the world; not that I believe that R. has lost his yet."
If a man is constitutionally liable to nervous apprehen- sions, a tour on the distant prairies would prove the best 15 prescription; for though when in the neighborhood of the Rocky mountains he may at times find himself placed in circumstances of some danger, I believe that few ever breathe that reckless atmosphere without becoming almost indifferent to any evil chance that may befall theinselves zo or their friends.
Shaw had a propensity for luxurious indulgence. He spread his blanket with the utmost accuracy on the ground, picked up the sticks and stones that he thought mnight interfere with his comfort, adjusted his saddle to serve as 25 a pillow, and composed himself for his night's rest. I had the first guard that evening; so, taking my rifle, I went out of the tent. It was perfectly dark. A brisk wind blew down from the hills, and the sparks from the fire were streaming over the prairie. One of the emigrants, named 30 Morton, was my companion; and laying our rifles on the grass, we sat down together by the fire. Morton was a Kentuckian, an athletic fellow, with a fine intelligent face, and in his manners and conversation he showed the essen- tial characteristics of a gentleman. Our conversation 35 turned on the pioneersº of his gallant native state. The three hours of our watch dragged away at last, and we went to call up the relief.
R.'s guard succeeded mine. He was absent; but the captain, anxious lest the camp should be left defense- 40 less, had volunteered to stand in his place; so I went to wake him up. There was no occasion for it, for the cap-
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tain had been awake since nightfall. A fire was blazing outside of the tent, and by the light which struck through the canvas, I saw him and Jack lying on their backs, with their eyes wide open. The captain responded instantly to my call; he jumped up, seized the double-barreled rifle, ; and came out of the tent with an air of solemn determina- tion, as if about to devote himself to the safety of the party. I went and lay down, not doubting that for the next three hours our slumbers would be guarded with sufficient vigilance.
CHAPTER VIII
TAKING FRENCH LEAVE
ON the eighth of June, at eleven o'clock, we reached the South fork of the Platte, at the usual fording place. For league upon league the desert uniformity of the prospect was almost unbroken; the hills were dotted with little 5 tufts of shriveled grass, but betwixt these the white sand was glaring in the sun; and the channel of the river, al- most on a level with the plain, was but one great sand-bed, about half a mile wide. It was covered with water, but so scantily that the bottom was scarcely hidden; for, wide Io as it is, the average depth of the Platte does not at this point exceed a foot and a half. Stopping near its bank, we gathered bois de vache, and made a meal of buffalo meat. Far off, on the other side, was a green meadow, where we could see the white tents and wagons of an emigrant camp; 15 and just opposite to us we could discern a group of men and animals at the water's edge. Four or five horsemen soon entered the river, and in ten minutes had waded across and clambered up the loose sand-bank. They were ill- looking fellows, thin and swarthy, with care-worn, anxious 20 faces and lips rigidly compressed. They had good cause for anxiety ; it was three days since they first encamped here, and on the night of their arrival they had lost 123 of their best cattle, driven off by the wolves, through the neglect of the man on guard. This discouraging and alarming 25 calamity was not the first that had overtaken them. Since leaving the settlements, they had met with nothing but mis- fortune. Some of their party had died; one man had been killed by the Pawnees; and about a week before, they had been plundered by the Dahcotahs of all their best horses, 30 the wretched animals on which our visitors were mounted being the only ones that were left. They had encamped,
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they told us, near sunset, by the side of the Platte, and their oxen were scattered over the meadow, while the band of horses were feeding a little farther off. Suddenly the ridges of the hills were alive with a swarm of mounted Indians, at least six hundred in number, who, with a tre- 5 mendous yell, came pouring down toward the camp, rush- ing up within a few rods, to the great terror of the emi- grants; but suddenly wheeling, they swept around the band of horses, and in five minutes had disappeared with their prey through the openings of the hills. IO
As these emigrants were telling their story, we saw four other men approaching. They proved to be R. and his companions, who had encountered no mischance of any kind, but had only wandered too far in pursuit of the game. They said they had seen no Indians, but only "millions of 15 buffalo"; and both R. and Sorel had meat dangling behind their saddles.
The emigrants recrossed the river, and we prepared to follow. First the heavy ox-wagons plunged down the bank, and dragged slowly over the sand-beds; sometimes 20 the hoofs of the oxen were scarcely wetted by the thin sheet of water; and the next moment the river would be boiling against their sides, and eddying fiercely around the wheels. Inch by inch they receded from the shore, dwindling every moment, until at length they seemed to 25 be floating far in the very middle of the river. A more critical experiment awaited us; for our little mule-cart was but ill-fitted for the passage of so swift a stream. We watched it with anxiety till it seemed to be a little motion- less white speck in the midst of the waters; and it was 30 motionless, for it had stuck fast in a quicksand. The little mules were losing their footing, the wheels were sinking deeper and deeper, and the water began to rise through the bottom and drench the goods within. All of us who had remained on the hither bank galloped to the rescue; the 35 men jumped into the water, adding their strength to that of the mules, until by much effort the cart was extricated, and conveyed in safety across.
As we gained the other bank, a rough group of men surrounded us. They were not robust, nor large of frame, 4c yet they had an aspect of hardy endurance. Finding at
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home no scope for their fiery energies, they had betaken themselves to the prairie; and in them seemed to be re- vived, with redoubled force, that fierce spirit which im- pelled their ancestors, scarce more lawless than them- 5 selves, from the German forests,º to inundate Europe and break to pieces the Roman empire. A fortnight afterward this unfortunate party passed Fort Laramie, while we were there. Not one of their missing oxen had been re- covered, though they had remained encamped a week in Io search of them; and they had been compelled to abandon a great part of their baggage and provisions, and yoke cows and heifers to their wagons to carry them forward upon their journey, the most toilsome and hazardous part of which lay still before them.
I5 It is worth noticing that on the Platte one may some- times see the shattered wrecks of ancient claw-footed tables, well waxed and rubbed, or massive bureaus of carved oak. These, many of them no doubt the relics of ancestral prosperity in the colonial time, must have en- 20 countered strange vicissitudes. Imported, perhaps, origi- nally from England; then, with the declining fortunes of their owners, borne across the Alleghanies to the remote wilderness of Ohio or Kentucky; then to Illinois or Mis- souri; and now at last fondly stowed away in the family
25 wagon for the interminable journey to Oregon. But the stern privations of the way are little anticipated. The cher- ished relic is soon flung out to seorch and crack upon the hot prairie.
We resumed our journey; but we had gone scarcely a 3º mile, when R. called out from the rear :
" We'll camp here."
"Why do you want to camp? Look at the sun. It is not three o'clock yet."
" We'll camp here !"
35 This was the only reply vouchsafed. Deslauriers was in advance with his cart. Seeing the mule-wagon wheeling from the track, he began to turn his own team in the same direction.
"Go on, Deslauriers," and the little cart advanced again.
40 As we rode on, we soon heard the wagon of our confed- erates creaking and jolting on behind us, and the driver,
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Wright, discharging a furious volley of oaths against his mules; no doubt venting upon them the wrath which he dared not direct against a more appropriate object.
Something of this sort had frequently occurred. Our English friend was by no means partial to us, and we 5 thought we discovered in his conduct a deliberate intention to thwart and annoy us, especially by retarding the move- ments of the party, which he knew that we, being Yankees, were anxious to quicken. Therefore he would insist on encamping at all unseasonable hours, saying that fifteen 10 miles was a sufficient day's journey. Finding our wishes systematically disregarded, we took the direction of affairs into our own hands. Keeping always in advance, to the inexpressible indignation of R., we encamped at what time and place we thought proper, not much caring whether 15 the rest chose to follow or not. They always did so, how- ever, pitching their tents near ours, with sullen and wrathful countenances.
Traveling together on these agreeable terms did not suit our tastes; for some time we had meditated a separation. 20 The connection with this party had cost us various delays and inconveniences; and the glaring want of courtesy and good sense displayed by their virtual leader did not dispose us to bear these annoyances with much patience. We resolved to leave camp early in the morning, and push 25 forward as rapidly as possible for Fort Laramie, which we hoped to reach, by hard traveling, in four or five days. The captain soon trotted up between us, and we explained our intentions.
" A 'very extraordinary proceeding, upon my word !" he 30 remarked. Then he began to enlarge upon the enormity of the design. The most prominent impression in his mind evidently was that we were acting a base and treacherous part in deserting his party, in what he considered a very dangerous stage of the journey. To palliate the atrocity 35 of our conduct, we ventured to suggest that we were only four in number while his party still included sixteen men; and as, moreover, we were to go forward and they were to follow, at least a full proportion of the perils he apprehended would fall upon us. But the austerity of the captain's 40 features would not relax. "A very extraordinary proceed-
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ing, gentlemen !" and repeating this, he rode off to confer with his principal.
By good luck, we found a meadow of fresh grass, and a large pool of rain-water in the midst of it. We encamped 5 here at sunset. Plenty of buffalo skulls were lying around, bleaching in the sun; and sprinkled thickly among the grass was a great variety of strange flowers. I had nothing else to do, and so gathering a handful, I sat down on a buffalo skull to study them. Although the offspring of a wilder- ro ness, their texture was frail and delicate, and their colors extremely rich; pure white, dark blue, and a transparent crimson. One traveling in this country seldom has leisure to think of anything but the stern features of the scenery and its accompaniments, or the practical details of each 15 day's journey. Like them, he and his thoughts grow hard and rough. But now these flowers suddenly awakened a train of associations as alien to the rude scene around me as they were themselves; and for the moment my thoughts went back to New England. A throng of fair and well- 20 remembered faces rose, vividly as life, before me. "There are good things," thought I, "in the savage life, but what can it offer to replace those powerful and ennobling influ- ences that can reach unimpaired over more than three thou- sand miles of mountains, forests, and deserts ?"
25 Before sunrise on the next morning our tent was down; we harnessed our best horses to the cart and left the camp. But first we shook hands with our friends the emigrants, who sincerely wished us a safe journey, though some others of the party mnight easily have been consoled had we en- 30 countered an Indian war party on the way. The captain and his brother were standing on the top of a hill, wrapped in their plaids, like spirits of the mist, keeping an anxious eye on the band of horses below. We waved adieu to them as we rode off the ground. The captain replied with a salu- 35 tation of the utmost dignity, which Jack tried to imitate; but being little practiced in the gestures of polite society, his effort was not a very successful one.
In five minutes we had gained the foot of the hills, but here we came to a stop. Old Hendrick was in the shafts, 40 and being the very incarnation of perverse and brutish obstinacy, he utterly refused to move. Deslauriers lashed
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and swore till he was tired, but Hendrick stood like a rock, grumbling to himself and looking askance at his enemy, until he saw a favorable opportunity to take his revenge, when he struck out under the shaft with such cool malig- nity of intention that Deslauriers only escaped the blow by a 5 sudden skip into the air, such as no one but a Frenchman could achieve. Shaw and he then joined forces, and lashed on both sides at once. The brute stood still for a while till he could bear it no longer, when all at once he began to kick and plunge till he threatened the utter demolition of Ic the cart and harness. We glanced back at the camp, which was in full sight. Our companions, inspired by emulation, were leveling their tents and driving in their cattle and horses.
"Take the horse out," said I.
15
I took the saddle from Pontiac and put it upon Hendrick ; the former was harnessed to the cart in an instant. " Avance donc! " cried Deslauriers. Pontiac strode up the hill, twitching the little cart after him as if it were a feather's weight; and though, as we gained the top, we saw the 20 wagons of our deserted comrades just getting into motion, we had little fear that they could overtake us. Leaving the trail, we struck directly across the country, and took the shortest cut to reach the main stream of the Platte. A deep ravine suddenly intercepted us. We skirted its 25 sides until we found them less abrupt, and then plunged through the best way we could. Passing behind the sandy ravines called Ash Hollow, we stopped for a short nooning at the side of a pool of rain-water; but soon resumed our journey, and some hours before sunset were descending 30 the ravines and gorges opening downward upon the Platte to the west of Ash Hollow. Our horses waded to the fetlock in sand; the sun scorched like fire, and the air swarmed with sand-flies and mosquitoes.
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