CHAPTER XIX.
The Great Bend of the Missouri- Crooks and M'Lellan Meet With Two of Their Indian
Opponents- Wanton Outrage of a White Man the Cause of Indian Hostility- Dangers
and Precautions.-An Indian War Party.- Dangerous Situation of Mr. Hunt.- A Friendly
Encampment. -Feasting and Dancing.- Approach of Manuel Lisa and His Party -.A Grim
Meeting Between Old Rivals.- Pierre Dorion in a Fury.- A Burst of chivalry.
ON the afternoon of the following day (June 1st) they arrived at the great bend, where
the river winds for about thirty miles round a circular peninsula, the neck of which is not
above two thousand yards across. On the succeeding morning, at an early hour, they
descried two Indians standing on a high bank of the river, waving and spreading their
buffalo robes in signs of amity. They immediately pulled to shore and landed. On
approaching the savages, however, the latter showed evident symptoms of alarm,
spreading out their arms horizontally, according to their mode of supplicating clemency.
The reason was soon explained. They proved to be two chiefs of the very war party that
had brought Messrs. Crooks and M'Lellan to a stand two years before, and obliged
them to escape down the river. They ran to embrace these gentlemen, as if delighted to
meet with them; yet they evidently feared some retaliation of their past misconduct, nor
were they quite at ease until the pipe of peace had been smoked.
Mr. Hunt having been informed that the tribe to which these men belonged had killed
three white men during the preceding summer, reproached them with the crime, and
demanded their reasons for such savage hostility. "We kill white men," replied one of
the chiefs, "because white men kill us. That very man," added he, pointing to Carson,
one of the new recruits, "killed one of our brothers last summer. The three white men
were slain to avenge his death."
Their chief was correct in his reply. Carson admitted that, being with a party of
Arickaras on the banks of the Missouri, and seeing a war party of Sioux on the opposite
side, he had fired with his rifle across. It was a random shot, made without much
expectation of effect, for the river was full half a mile in breadth. Unluckily it brought
down a Sioux warrior, for whose wanton destruction threefold vengeance had been
taken, as has been stated. In this way outrages are frequently committed on the natives
by thoughtless or mischievous white men; the Indians retaliate according to a law of
their code, which requires blood for blood; their act, of what with them is pious
vengeance, resounds throughout the land, and is represented as wanton and
unprovoked; the neighborhood is roused to arms; a war ensues, which ends in the
destruction of half the tribe, the ruin of the rest, and their expulsion from their hereditary
homes. Such is too often the real history of Indian warfare, which in general is traced
up only to some vindictive act of a savage; while the outrage of the scoundrel white
man that provoked it is sunk in silence.
The two chiefs, having smoked their pipe of peace and received a few presents,
departed well satisfied. In a little while two others appeared on horseback, and rode up
abreast of the boats. They had seen the presents given to their comrades, but were
dissatisfied with them, and came after the boats to ask for more. Being somewhat
peremptory and insolent in their demands, Mr. Hunt gave them a flat refusal, and
threatened, if they or any of their tribes followed him with similar demands, to treat them
as enemies. They turned and rode off in a furious passion. As he was ignorant what
force these chiefs might have behind the hills, and as it was very possible they might
take advantage of some pass of the river to attack the boats, Mr. Hunt called all
stragglers on board and prepared for such emergency. It was agreed that the large
boat commanded by Mr. Hunt should ascend along the northeast side of the river, and
the three smaller boats along the south side. By this arrangement each party would
command a view of the opposite heights above the heads and out of sight of their
companions, and could give the alarm should they perceive any Indians lurking there.
The signal of alarm was to be two shots fired in quick succession.
The boats proceeded for the greater part of the day without seeing any signs of an
enemy. About four o'clock in the afternoon the large boat, commanded by Mr. Hunt,
came to where the river was divided by a long sand-bar, which apparently, however,
left a sufficient channel between it and the shore along which they were advancing. He
kept up this channel, therefore, for some distance, until the water proved too shallow
for the boat. It was necessary, therefore, to put about, return down the channel, and
pull round the lower end of the sand-bar into the main stream. Just as he had given
orders to this effect to his men, two signal guns were fired from the boats on the
opposite side of the river. At the same moment, a file of savage warriors was observed
pouring down from the impending bank, and gathering on the shore at the lower end of
the bar. They were evidently a war party, being armed with bows and arrows, battle
clubs and carbines, and round bucklers of buffalo hide, and their naked bodies were
painted with black and white stripes. The natural inference was, that they belonged to
the two tribes of Sioux which had been expected by the great war party, and that they
had been incited to hostility by the two chiefs who had been enraged by the refusal and
the menace of Mr. Hunt. Here then was a fearful predicament. Mr. Hunt and his crew
seemed caught, as it were, in a trap. The Indians, to a number of about a hundred, had
already taken possession of a point near which the boat would have to pass: others
kept pouring down the bank, and it was probable that some would remain posted on the
top of the height.
The hazardous situation of Mr. Hunt was perceived by those in the other boats, and
they hastened to his assistance. They were at some distance above the sand-bar,
however, and on the opposite side of the river, and saw, with intense anxiety, the
number of savages continually augmenting, at the lower end of the channel, so that the
boat would be exposed to a fearful attack before they could render it any assistance.
Their anxiety increased, as they saw Mr. Hunt and his party descending the channel
and dauntlessly approaching the point of danger; but it suddenly changed into surprise
on beholding the boat pass close by the savage horde unmolested, and steer out safely
into the broad river.
The next moment the whole band of warriors was in motion. They ran along the bank
until they were opposite to the boats, then throwing by their weapons and buffalo robes,
plunged into the river, waded and swam off to the boats and surrounded them in
crowds, seeking to shake hands with every individual on board; for the Indians have
long since found this to be the white man's token of amity, and they carried it to an
extreme.
All uneasiness was now at an end. The Indians proved to be a war party of Arickaras,
Mandans, and Minatarees, consisting of three hundred warriors, and bound on a foray
against the Sioux. Their war plans were abandoned for the present, and they
determined to return to the Arickara town, where they hoped to obtain from the white
men arms and ammunition that would enable them to take the field with advantage over
their enemies.
The boats now sought the first convenient place for encamping. The tents were pitched;
the warriors fixed their camp at about a hundred yards distant; provisions were
furnished from the boats sufficient for all parties; there was hearty though rude feasting
in both camps, and in the evening the red warriors entertained their white friends with
dances and songs, that lasted until after midnight.
On the following morning (July 3) the travellers re-embarked, and took a temporary
leave of their Indian friends, who intended to proceed immediately for the Arickara
town, where they expected to arrive in three days, long before the boats could reach
there. Mr. Hunt had not proceeded far before the chief came galloping along the shore
and made signs for a parley. He said, his people could not go home satisfied unless
they had something to take with them to prove that they had met with the white men.
Mr. Hunt understood the drift of the speech, and made the chief a present of a cask of
powder, a bag of balls, and three dozen of knives, with which he was highly pleased.
While the chief was receiving these presents an Indian came running along the shore,
and announced that a boat, filled with white men, was coming up the river. This was by
no means agreeable tidings to Mr. Hunt, who correctly concluded it to be the boat of
Mr. Manuel Lisa; and he was vexed to find that alert and adventurous trader upon his
heels, whom he hoped to have out-maneuvered, and left far behind. Lisa, however, was
too much experienced in the wiles of Indian trade to be lulled by the promise of waiting
for him at the Poncas village; on the contrary, he had allowed himself no repose, and
had strained every nerve to overtake the rival party, and availing himself of the
moonlight, had even sailed during a considerable part of the night. In this he was partly
prompted by his apprehensions of the Sioux, having met a boat which had probably
passed Mr. Hunt's party in the night, and which had been fired into by these savages.
On hearing that Lisa was so near at hand, Mr. Hunt perceived that it was useless to
attempt any longer to evade him; after proceeding a few miles further, therefore, he
came to a halt and waited for him to come up. In a little while the barge of Lisa made its
appearance. It came sweeping gently up the river, manned by its twenty stout oarsmen,
and armed by a swivel mounted at the bow. The whole number on board amounted to
twenty-six men: among whom was Mr. Henry Breckenridge, then a young, enterprising
man; who was a mere passenger, tempted by notions of curiosity to accompany Mr.
Lisa. He has since made himself known by various writings, among which may be noted
a narrative of this very voyage.
The approach of Lisa, while it was regarded with uneasiness by Mr. Hunt, roused the
ire of M'Lellan; who, calling to mind old grievances, began to look round for his rifle, as
if he really intended to carry his threat into execution and shoot him on the spot; and it
was with some difficulty that Mr. Hunt was enabled to restrain his ire, and prevent a
scene of outraged confusion.
The meeting between the two leaders, thus mutually distrustful, could not be very
cordial: and as to Messrs. Crooks and M'Lellan, though they refrained from any
outbreak, yet they regarded in grim defiance their old rival and underplotter. In truth a
general distrust prevailed throughout the party concerning Lisa and his intentions. They
considered him artful and slippery, and secretly anxious for the failure of their
expedition. There being now nothing more to be apprehended from the Sioux, they
suspected that Lisa would take advantage of his twenty-oared barge to leave them and
get first among the Arickaras. As he had traded with those people and possessed great
influence over them, it was feared he might make use of it to impede the business of
Mr. Hunt and his party. It was resolved, therefore, to keep a sharp look-out upon his
movements; and M'Lellan swore that if he saw the least sign of treachery on his part,
he would instantly put his old threat into execution.
Notwithstanding these secret jealousies and heart-burnings, the two parties maintained
an outward appearance of civility, and for two days continued forward in company with
some degree of harmony. On the third day, however, an explosion took place, and it
was produced by no less a personage than Pierre Dorion, the half-breed interpreter. It
will be recollected that this worthy had been obliged to steal a march from St. Louis, to
avoid being arrested for an old whiskey debt which he owed to the Missouri Fur
Company, and by which Mr. Lisa had hoped to prevent his enlisting in Mr. Hunt's
expedition. Dorion, since the arrival of Lisa, had kept aloof and regarded him with a
sullen and dogged aspect. On the fifth of July the two parties were brought to a halt by
a heavy rain, and remained encamped about a hundred yards apart. In the course of
the day Lisa undertook to tamper with the faith of Pierre Dorion, and, inviting him on
board of his boat, regaled him with his favorite whiskey. When he thought him
sufficiently mellowed, he proposed to him to quit the service of his new employers and
return to his old allegiance. Finding him not to be moved by soft words, he called to
mind his old debt to the company, and threatened to carry him off by force, in payment
of it. The mention of this debt always stirred up the gall of Pierre Dorion, bringing with it
the remembrance of the whiskey extortion. A violent quarrel arose between him and
Lisa, and he left the boat in high dudgeon. His first step was to repair to the tent of Mr.
Hunt and reveal the attempt that had been made to shake his faith. While he was yet
talking Lisa entered the tent, under the pretext of coming to borrow a towing line. High
words instantly ensued between him and Dorion, which ended by the half-breed's
dealing him a blow. A quarrel in the "Indian country", however, is not to be settled with
fisticuffs. Lisa immediately rushed to his boat for a weapon. Dorion snatched up a pair
of pistols belonging to Mr. Hunt, and placed himself in battle array. The noise had
roused the camp, and every one pressed to know the cause. Lisa now reappeared
upon the field with a knife stuck in his girdle. Mr. Breckenridge, who had tried in vain to
mollify his ire, accompanied him to the scene of action. Pierre Dorion's pistols gave him
the advantage, and he maintained a most warlike attitude. In the meantime, Crooks and
M'Lellan had learnt the cause of the affray, and were each eager to take the quarrel
into their own hands. A scene of uproar and hubbub ensued that defies description.
M'Lellan would have brought his rifle into play and settled all old and new grudges by a
pull of the trigger, had he not been restrained by Mr. Hunt. That gentleman acted as
moderator, endeavoring to prevent a general melee; in the midst of the brawl, however,
an expression was made use of by Lisa derogatory to his own honor. In an instant the
tranquil spirit of Mr. Hunt was in a flame. He now became as eager for the fight as any
one on the ground, and challenged Lisa to settle the dispute on the spot with pistols.
Lisa repaired to his boat to arm himself for the deadly feud. He was followed by Messrs.
Bradbury and Breckenridge, who, novices in Indian life and the "chivalry" of the frontier,
had no relish for scenes of blood and brawl. By their earnest mediation the quarrel was
brought to a close without bloodshed; but the two leaders of the rival camps separated
in anger, and all personal intercourse ceased between them.