CHAPTER XVII.
Rumors of Danger From the Sioux Tetons.- Ruthless Character of Those Savages.-
Pirates of the Missouri.- Their Affair with Crooks and M'Lellan.- A Trading Expedition
Broken Up.- M'Lellan's Vow of Vengeance.- Uneasiness in the Camp.- Desertions.-
Departure From the Omaha Village.- Meeting With Jones and Carson, two Adventurous
Trappers.- Scientific Pursuits of Messrs. Bradbury and Nuttall. - Zeal of a Botanist.-
Adventure of Mr. Bradbury with a Ponca Indian. -Expedient of the Pocket Compass and
Microscope.- A Messenger From Lisa.- Motives for Pressing Forward.
WHILE Mr. Hunt and his party were sojourning at the village of the Omahas, three
Sioux Indians of the Yankton Alma tribe arrived, bringing unpleasant intelligence. They
reported that certain bands of the Sioux Tetons, who inhabited a region many leagues
further up the Missouri, were near at hand, awaiting the approach of the party, with the
avowed intention of opposing their progress.
The Sioux Tetons were at that time a sort of pirates of the Missouri, who considered the
well freighted bark of the American trader fair game. They had their own traffic with the
British merchants of the Northwest, who brought them regular supplies of merchandise
by way of the river St. Peter. Being thus independent of the Missouri traders for their
supplies, they kept no terms with them, but plundered them whenever they had an
opportunity. It has been insinuated that they were prompted to these outrages by the
British merchants, who wished to keep off all rivals in the Indian trade; but others allege
another motive, and one savoring of a deeper policy. The Sioux, by their intercourse
with the British traders, had acquired the use of firearms, which had given them vast
superiority over other tribes higher up the Missouri. They had made themselves also, in
a manner, factors for the upper tribes, supplying them at second hand, and at greatly
advanced prices, with goods derived from the white men. The Sioux, therefore, saw
with jealousy the American traders pushing their way up the Missouri; foreseeing that
the upper tribes would thus be relieved from all dependence on them for supplies; nay,
what was worse, would be furnished with fire-arms, and elevated into formidable rivals.
We have already alluded to a case in which Mr. Crooks and Mr. M'Lellan had been
interrupted in a trading voyage by these ruffians of the river, and, as it is in some
degree connected with circumstances hereafter to be related, we shall specify it more
particularly.
About two years before the time of which we are treating, Crooks and M'Lellan were
ascending the river in boats with a party of about forty men, bound on one of their
trading expeditions to the upper tribes. In one of the bends of the river, where the
channel made a deep curve under impending banks, they suddenly heard yells and
shouts above them, and beheld the cliffs overhead covered with armed savages. It was
a band of Sioux warriors, upwards of six hundred strong. They brandished their
weapons in a menacing manner, and ordered the boats to turn back and land lower
down the river. There was no disputing these commands, for they had the power to
shower destruction upon the white men, without risk to themselves. Crooks and
M'Lellan, therefore, turned back with feigned alacrity, and, landing, had an interview
with the Sioux. The latter forbade them, under pain of exterminating hostility, from
attempting to proceed up the river, but offered to trade peacefully with them if they
would halt where they were. The party, being principally composed of voyageurs, was
too weak to contend with so superior a force, and one so easily augmented; they
pretended, therefore, to comply cheerfully with their arbitrary dictation, and immediately
proceeded to cut down trees and erect a trading house. The warrior band departed for
their village, which was about twenty miles distant, to collect objects of traffic; they left
six or eight of their number, however, to keep watch upon the white men, and scouts
were continually passing to and fro with intelligence.
Mr. Crooks saw that it would be impossible to prosecute his voyage without the danger
of having his boats plundered, and a great part of his men massacred; he determined,
however, not to be entirely frustrated in the objects of his expedition. While he
continued, therefore, with great apparent earnestness and assiduity, the construction of
the trading house, he despatched the hunters and trappers of his party in a canoe, to
make their way up the river to the original place of destination, there to busy
themselves in trapping and collecting peltries, and to await his arrival at some future
period.
As soon as the detachment had had sufficient time to ascend beyond the hostile
country of the Sioux, Mr. Crooks suddenly broke up his feigned trading establishment,
embarked his men and effects, and, after giving the astonished rear-guard of savages a
galling and indignant message to take to their countrymen, pushed down the river with
all speed, sparing neither oar nor paddle, day nor night, until fairly beyond the swoop of
these river hawks.
What increased the irritation of Messrs. Crooks and M'Lellan, at this mortifying check to
their gainful enterprise, was the information that a rival trader was at the bottom of it;
the Sioux, it is said, having been instigated to this outrage by Mr. Manuel Lisa, the
leading partner and agent of the Missouri Fur Company, already mentioned. This
intelligence, whether true or false, so roused the fiery temper of M'Lellan, that he
swore, if ever he fell in with Lisa in the Indian country, he would shoot him on the spot;
a mode of redress perfectly in unison with the character of the man, and the code of
honor prevalent beyond the frontier.
If Crooks and M'Lellan had been exasperated by the insolent conduct of the Sioux
Tetons, and the loss which it had occasioned, those freebooters had been no less
indignant at being outwitted by the white men, and disappointed of their anticipated
gains, and it was apprehended they would be particularly hostile against the present
expedition, when they should learn that these gentlemen were engaged in it.
All these causes of uneasiness were concealed as much as possible from the
Canadian voyageurs, lest they should become intimidated; it was impossible, however,
to prevent the rumors brought by the Indians from leaking out, and they became
subjects of gossiping and exaggeration. The chief of the Omahas, too, on returning
from a hunting excursion, reported that two men had been killed some distance above,
by a band of Sioux. This added to the fears that already began to be excited. The
voyageurs pictured to themselves bands of fierce warriors stationed along each bank of
the river, by whom they would be exposed to be shot down in their boats: or lurking
hordes, who would set on them at night, and massacre them in their encampments.
Some lost heart, and proposed to return, rather than fight their way, and, in a manner,
run the gauntlet through the country of these piratical marauders. In fact, three men
deserted while at this village. Luckily, their place was supplied by three others who
happened to be there, and who were prevailed on to join the expedition by promises of
liberal pay, and by being fitted out and equipped in complete style.
The irresolution and discontent visible among some of his people, arising at times
almost to mutiny, and the occasional desertions which took place while thus among
friendly tribes, and within reach of the frontiers, added greatly to the anxieties of Mr.
Hunt, and rendered him eager to press forward and leave a hostile tract behind him, so
that it would be as perilous to return as to keep on, and no one would dare to desert.
Accordingly, on the 15th of May he departed from the village of the Omahas, and set
forward towards the country of the formidable Sioux Tetons. For the first five days they
had a fair and fresh breeze, and the boats made good progress. The wind then came
ahead, and the river beginning to rise, and to increase in rapidity, betokened the
commencement of the annual flood, caused by the melting of the snow on the Rocky
Mountains, and the vernal rains of the upper prairies.
As they were now entering a region where foes might be lying in wait on either bank, it
was determined, in hunting for game, to confine themselves principally to the islands,
which sometimes extend to considerable length, and are beautifully wooded, affording
abundant pasturage and shade. On one of these they killed three buffaloes and two
elks, and halting on the edge of a beautiful prairie, made a sumptuous hunter's repast.
They had not long resumed their boats and pulled along the river banks when they
descried a canoe approaching, navigated by two men, whom, to their surprise, they
ascertained to be white men. They proved to be two of those strange and fearless
wanderers of the wilderness, the trappers. Their names were Benjamin Jones and
Alexander Carson. They had been for two years past hunting and trapping near the
head of the Missouri, and were thus floating for thousands of miles in a cockle-shell,
down a turbulent stream, through regions infested by savage tribes, yet apparently as
easy and unconcerned as if navigating securely in the midst of civilization.
The acquisition of two such hardy, experienced, and dauntless hunters was peculiarly
desirable at the present moment. They needed but little persuasion. The wilderness is
the home of the trapper; like the sailor, he cares but little to which point of the compass
he steers; and Jones and Carson readily abandoned their voyage to St. Louis, and
turned their faces towards the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific.
The two naturalists, Mr. Bradbury and Mr. Nuttall, who had joined the expedition at St.
Louis, still accompanied it, and pursued their researches on all occasions. Mr. Nuttall
seems to have been exclusively devoted to his scientific pursuits. He was a zealous
botanist, and all his enthusiasm was awakened at beholding a new world, as it were,
opening upon him in the boundless prairies, clad in the vernal and variegated robe of
unknown flowers. Whenever the boats landed at meal times, or for any temporary
purpose, he would spring on shore, and set out on a hunt for new specimens. Every
plant or flower of a rare or unknown species was eagerly seized as a prize. Delighted
with the treasures spreading themselves out before him, he went groping and stumbling
along among the wilderness of sweets, forgetful of everything but his immediate
pursuit, and had often to be sought after when the boats were about to resume their
course. At such times he would be found far off in the prairies, or up the course of some
petty stream, laden with plants of all kinds.
The Canadian voyageurs, who are a class of people that know nothing out of their
immediate line, and with constitutional levity make a jest of anything they cannot
understand, were extremely puzzled by this passion for collecting what they considered
mere useless weeds. When they saw the worthy botanist coming back heavy laden with
his specimens, and treasuring them up as carefully as a miser would his hoard, they
used to make merry among themselves at his expense, regarding him as some
whimsical kind of madman.
Mr. Bradbury was less exclusive in his tastes and habits, and combined the hunter and
sportsman with the naturalist. He took his rifle or his fowling-piece with him in his
geological researches, conformed to the hardy and rugged habits of the men around
him, and of course gained favor in their eyes. He had a strong relish for incident and
adventure, was curious in observing savage manners, and savage life, and ready to
join any hunting or other excursion. Even now, that the expedition was proceeding
through a dangerous neighborhood, he could not check his propensity to ramble.
Having observed, on the evening of the 22d of May, that the river ahead made a great
bend which would take up the navigation of the following day, he determined to profit
by the circumstance. On the morning of the 23d, therefore, instead of embarking, he
filled his shot-pouch with parched corn, for provisions, and set off to cross the neck on
foot and meet the boats in the afternoon at the opposite side of the bend. Mr. Hunt felt
uneasy at his venturing thus alone, and reminded him that he was in an enemy's
country; but Mr. Bradbury made light of the danger, and started off cheerily upon his
ramble. His day was passed pleasantly in traversing a beautiful tract, making botanical
and geological researches, and observing the habits of an extensive village of prairie
dogs, at which he made several ineffectual shots, without considering the risk he ran of
attracting the attention of any savages that might be lurking in the neighborhood. In fact
he had totally forgotten the Sioux Tetons, and all the other perils of the country, when,
about the middle of the afternoon, as he stood near the river bank, and was looking out
for the boat, he suddenly felt a hand laid on his shoulder. Starting and turning round,
he beheld a naked savage with a bow bent, and the arrow pointed at his breast. In an
instant his gun was leveled and his hand upon the lock. The Indian drew his bow still
further, but forbore to launch the shaft. Mr. Bradbury, with admirable presence of mind,
reflected that the savage, if hostile in his intents, would have shot him without giving
him a chance of defense; he paused, therefore, and held out his hand. The other took it
in sign of friendship, and demanded in the Osage language whether he was a Big
Knife, or American. He answered in the affirmative, and inquired whether the other
were a Sioux. To his great relief he found that he was a Ponca. By his time two other
Indians came running up, and all three laid hold of Mr. Bradbury and seemed disposed
to compel him to go off with them among the hills. He resisted, and sitting down on a
sand hill contrived to amuse them with a pocket compass. When the novelty of this was
exhausted they again seized him, but he now produced a small microscope. This new
wonder again fixed the attention of the savages, who have more curiosity than it has
been the custom to allow them. While thus engaged, one of them suddenly leaped up
and gave a war-whoop. The hand of the hardy naturalist was again on his gun, and he
was prepared to make battle, when the Indian pointed down the river and revealed the
true cause of his yell. It was the mast of one of the boats appearing above the low
willows which bordered the stream. Mr. Bradbury felt infinitely relieved by the sight. The
Indians on their part now showed signs of apprehension, and were disposed to run
away; but he assured them of good treatment and something to drink if they would
accompany him on board of the boats. They lingered for a time, but disappeared before
the boats came to land.
On the following morning they appeared at camp accompanied by several of their tribe.
With them came also a white man, who announced himself as a messenger bearing
missives for Mr. Hunt. In fact he brought a letter from Mr. Manuel Lisa, partner and
agent of the Missouri Fur Company. As has already been mentioned, this gentleman
was going in search of Mr. Henry and his party, who had been dislodged from the forks
of the Missouri by the Blackfeet Indians, and had shifted his post somewhere beyond
the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Lisa had left St. Louis three weeks after Mr. Hunt, and having
heard of the hostile intentions of the Sioux, had made the greatest exertions to
overtake him, that they might pass through the dangerous part of the river together. He
had twenty stout oarsmen in his service and they plied their oars so vigorously, that he
had reached the Omaha village just four days after the departure of Mr. Hunt. From this
place he despatched the messenger in question, trusting to his overtaking the barges
as they toiled up against the stream, and were delayed by the windings of the river. The
purport of his letter was to entreat Mr. Hunt to wait until he could come up with him, that
they might unite their forces and be a protection to each other in their perilous course
through the country of the Sioux. In fact, as it was afterwards ascertained, Lisa was
apprehensive that Mr. Hunt would do him some ill office with the Sioux band, securing
his own passage through their country by pretending that he, with whom they were
accustomed to trade, was on his way to them with a plentiful supply of goods. He
feared, too, that Crooks and M'Lellan would take this opportunity to retort upon him the
perfidy which they accused him of having used, two years previously, among these very
Sioux. In this respect, however, he did them signal injustice. There was no such thing
as court design or treachery in their thought; but M'Lellan, when he heard that Lisa was
on his way up the river, renewed his open threat of shooting him the moment he met
him on Indian land.
The representations made by Crooks and M'Lellan of the treachery they had
experienced, or fancied, on the part of Lisa, had great weight with Mr. Hunt, especially
when he recollected the obstacles that had been thrown in his way by that gentleman at
St. Louis. He doubted, therefore, the fair dealing of Lisa, and feared that, should they
enter the Sioux country together, the latter might make use of his influence with that
tribe, as he had in the case of Crooks and M'Lellan, and instigate them to oppose his
progress up the river.
He sent back, therefore, an answer calculated to beguile Lisa, assuring him that he
would wait for him at the Poncas village, which was but a little distance in advance; but,
no sooner had the messenger departed, than he pushed forward with all diligence,
barely stopping at the village to procure a supply of dried buffalo meat, and hastened to
leave the other party as far behind as possible, thinking there was less to be
apprehended from the open hostility of Indian foes than from the quiet strategy of an
Indian trader.