CHAPTER Lll.
Banks of the Wallah-Wallah.- Departure of David Stuart for the Oakinagan.- Mr.
Clarke's Route Up Lewis River.- Chipunnish, or Pierced-Nose Indians- Their Character,
Appearance, and Habits.- Thievish Habits.- Laying Up of the Boats.- Post at Pointed
Heart and Spokan Rivers.- M'Kenzie, His Route Up the Camoenum.-Bands of Travelling
Indians.- Expedition of Reed to the Caches.- Adventures of Wandering Voyageurs and
Trappers.
THE course of our narrative now takes us back to the regions beyond the mountains, to
dispose of the parties that set out from Astoria, in company with Mr. Robert Stuart, and
whom he left on the banks of the Wallah-Wallah. Those parties likewise separated from
each other shortly after his departure, proceeding to their respective destinations, but
agreeing to meet at the mouth of the Wallah-Wallah about the beginning of June in the
following year, with such peltries as they should have collected in the winter, so as to
convoy each other through the dangerous passes of the Columbia.
Mr. David Stuart, one of the partners, proceeded with his men to the post already
established by him at the mouth of the Oakinagan; having furnished this with goods
and ammunition, he proceeded three hundred miles up that river, where he established
another post in a good trading neighborhood.
Mr. Clarke, another partner, conducted his little band up Lewis River to the mouth of a
small stream coming in from the north, to which the Canadians gave the name of the
Pavion. Here he found a village or encampment of forty huts or tents, covered with
mats, and inhabited by Nez Perces, or Pierced-nose Indians, as they are called by the
traders; but Chipunnish, as they are called by themselves. They are a hardy, laborious,
and somewhat knavish race, who lead a precarious life, fishing and digging roots
during the summer and autumn, hunting the deer on snow-shoes during the winter, and
traversing the Rocky Mountains in the spring, to trade for buffalo skins with the hunting
tribes of the Missouri. In these migrations they are liable to be waylaid and attacked by
the Blackfeet, and other warlike and predatory tribes, and driven back across the
mountains with the loss of their horses, and of many of their comrades.
A life of this unsettled and precarious kind is apt to render man selfish, and such Mr.
Clarke found the inhabitants of this village, who were deficient in the usual hospitality of
Indians; parting with everything with extreme reluctance, and showing no sensibility to
any act of kindness. At the time of his arrival, they were all occupied in catching and
curing salmon. The men were stout, robust, active, and good looking, and the women
handsomer than those of the tribes nearer to the coast.
It was the plan of Mr. Clarke to lay up his boats here, and proceed by land to his place
of destination, which was among the Spokan tribe of Indians, about a hundred and fifty
miles distant. He accordingly endeavored to purchase horses for the journey, but in this
he had to contend with the sordid disposition of these people. They asked high prices
for their horses, and were so difficult to deal with, that Mr. Clarke was detained seven
days among them before he could procure a sufficient number. During that time he was
annoyed by repeated pilferings, for which he could get no redress. The chief promised
to recover the stolen articles; but failed to do so, alleging that the thieves belonged to a
distant tribe, and had made off with their booty. With this excuse Mr. Clarke was fain to
content himself, though he laid up in his heart a bitter grudge against the whole
Pierced-nose race, which it will be found he took occasion subsequently to gratify in a
signal manner.
Having made arrangements for his departure, Mr. Clarke laid up his barge and canoes
in a sheltered place, on the banks of a small bay, overgrown with shrubs and willows,
confiding them to the care of the Nez Perce chief, who, on being promised an ample
compensation, engaged to have a guardian eye upon them; then mounting his steed,
and putting himself at the head of his little caravan, he shook the dust off his feet as he
turned his back upon this village of rogues and hard dealers. We shall not follow him
minutely in his journey; which lay at times over steep and rocky hills, and among crags
and precipices; at other times over vast naked and sunburnt plains, abounding with
rattlesnakes, in traversing which, both men and horses suffered intolerably from heat
and thirst. The place on which he fixed for a trading post, was a fine point of land, at
the junction of the Pointed Heart and Spokan Rivers. His establishment was intended to
compete with a trading post of the Northwest Company, situated at no great distance,
and to rival it in the trade with the Spokan Indians; as well as with the Cootonais and
Flatheads. In this neighborhood we shall leave him for the present.
Mr. M'Kenzie, who conducted the third party from the Wallah-Wallah, navigated for
several days up the south branch of the Columbia, named the Camoenum by the
natives, but commonly called Lewis River, in honor of the first explorer. Wandering
bands of various tribes were seen along this river, travelling in various directions; for
the Indians generally are restless, roving beings, continually intent on enterprises of
war, traffic, and hunting. Some of these people were driving large gangs of horses, as if
to a distant market. Having arrived at the mouth of the Shahaptan, he ascended some
distance up that river, and established his trading post upon its banks. This appeared
to be a great thoroughfare for the tribes from the neighborhood of the Falls of the
Columbia, in their expeditions to make war upon the tribes of the Rocky Mountains; to
hunt buffalo on the plains beyond, or to traffic for roots and buffalo robes. It was the
season of migration, and the Indians from various distant parts were passing and
repassing in great numbers.
Mr. M'Kenzie now detached a small band, under the conduct of Mr. John Reed, to visit
the caches made by Mr. Hunt at the Caldron Linn, and to bring the contents to his post;
as he depended, in some measure, on them for his supplies of goods and ammunition.
They had not been gone a week, when two Indians arrived of the Pallatapalla tribe,
who live upon a river of the same name. These communicated the unwelcome
intelligence that the caches had been robbed. They said that some of their tribe had, in
the course of the preceding spring, been across the mountains, which separated them
from Snake River, and had traded horses with the Snakes in exchange for blankets,
robes and goods of various descriptions. These articles the Snakes had procured from
caches to which they were guided by some white men who resided among them, and
who afterwards accompanied them across the Rocky Mountains. This intelligence was
extremely perplexing to Mr. M'Kenzie, but the truth of part of it was confirmed by the
two Indians, who brought them an English saddle and bridle, which was recognized as
having belonged to Mr. Crooks. The perfidy of the white men who revealed the secret
of the caches, was, however, perfectly inexplicable. We shall presently account for it in
narrating the expedition of Mr. Reed.
That worthy Hibernian proceeded on his mission with his usual alacrity. His forlorn
travels of the preceding winter had made him acquainted with the topography of the
country, and he reached Snake River without any material difficulty. Here, in an
encampment of the natives, he met with six white men, wanderers from the main
expedition of Mr. Hunt, who, after having had their respective shares of adventures and
mishaps, had fortunately come together at this place. Three of these men were
Turcotte, La Chapelle, and Francis Landry; the three Canadian voyageurs who, it may
be recollected, had left Mr. Crooks in February, in the neighborhood of Snake River,
being dismayed by the increasing hardships of the journey, and fearful of perishing of
hunger. They had returned to a Snake encampment, where they passed the residue of
the winter.
Early in the spring, being utterly destitute, and in great extremity, and having worn out
the hospitality of the Snakes, they determined to avail themselves of the buried
treasures within their knowledge. They accordingly informed the Snake chieftains that
they knew where a great quantity of goods had been left in caches, enough to enrich
the whole tribe; and offered to conduct them to the place, on condition of being
rewarded with horses and provisions. The chieftains pledged their faith and honor as
great men and Snakes, and the three Canadians conducted them to the place of
deposit at the Caldron Linn. This is the way that the savages got knowledge of the
caches, and not by following the tracks of wolves, as Mr. Stuart had supposed. Never
did money diggers turn up a miser's hoard with more eager delight, than did the
savages lay open the treasures of the caches. Blankets and robes, brass trinkets and
blue beads were drawn forth with chuckling exultation, and long strips of scarlet cloth
produced yells of ecstasy.
The rifling of the caches effected a change in the fortunes and deportment of the whole
party. The Snakes were better clad and equipped than ever were Snakes before, and
the three Canadians, suddenly finding themselves with horse to ride and weapon to
wear, were like beggars on horseback, ready to ride on any wild scamper. An
opportunity soon presented. The Snakes determined on a hunting match on the buffalo
prairies, to lay in a supply of beef, that they might live in plenty, as became men of their
improved condition. The three newly mounted cavaliers, must fain accompany them.
They all traversed the Rocky Mountains in safety, descended to the head waters of the
Missouri, and made great havoc among the buffaloes.
Their hunting camp was full of meat; they were gorging themselves, like true Indians,
with present plenty, and drying and jerking great quantities for a winter's supply. In the
midst of their revelry and good cheer, the camp was surprised by the Blackfeet. Several
of the Snakes were slain on the spot; the residue, with their three Canadian allies, fled
to the mountains, stripped of horses, buffalo meat, everything; and made their way back
to the old encampment on Snake River, poorer than ever, but esteeming themselves
fortunate in having escaped with their lives. They had not been long there when the
Canadians were cheered by the sight of a companion in misfortune, Dubreull, the poor
voyageur who had left Mr. Crooks in March, being too much exhausted to keep on with
him. Not long afterwards, three other straggling members of the main expedition made
their appearance. These were Carson, St. Michael, and Pierre Delaunay, three of the
trappers who, in company with Pierre Detaye, had been left among the mountains by
Mr. Hunt, to trap beaver, in the preceding month of September. They had departed from
the main body well armed and provided, with horses to ride, and horses to carry the
peltries they were to collect. They came wandering into the Snake camp as ragged and
destitute as their predecessors. It appears that they had finished their trapping, and
were making their way in the spring to the Missouri, when they were met and attacked
by a powerful band of the all-pervading Crows. They made a desperate resistance, and
killed seven of the savages, but were overpowered by numbers. Pierre Detaye was
slain, the rest were robbed of horses and effects, and obliged to turn back, when they
fell in with their old companions as already mentioned.
We should observe, that at the heels of Pierre Delaunay came draggling an Indian wife,
whom he had picked up in his wanderings; having grown weary of celibacy among the
savages.
The whole seven of this forlorn fraternity of adventurers, thus accidentally congregated
on the banks of Snake River, were making arrangements once more to cross the
mountains, when some Indian scouts brought word of the approach of the little band
headed by John Reed.
The latter, having heard the several stories of these wanderers, took them all into his
party, and set out for the Caldron Linn, to clear out two or three of the caches which
had not been revealed to the Indians.
At that place he met with Robinson, the Kentucky veteran, who, with his two comrades,
Rezner and Hoback, had remained there when Mr. Stuart went on. This adventurous
trio had been trapping higher up the river, but Robinson had come down in a canoe, to
await the expected arrival of the party, and obtain horses and equipments. He told
Reed the story of the robbery of his party by the Arapahays, but it differed, in some
particulars, from the account given by him to Mr. Stuart. In that, he had represented
Cass as having shamefully deserted his companions in their extremity, carrying off with
him a horse; in the one now given, he spoke of him as having been killed in the affray
with the Arapahays. This discrepancy, of which, of course, Reed could have had no
knowledge at the time, concurred with other circumstances, to occasion afterwards
some mysterious speculations and dark surmises as to the real fate of Cass; but as no
substantial grounds were ever adduced for them, we forbear to throw any deeper
shades into this story of sufferings in the wilderness.
Mr. Reed, having gathered the remainder of the goods from the caches, put himself at
the head of his party, now augmented by the seven men thus casually picked up, and
the squaw of Pierre Delaunay, and made his way successfully to M'Kenzie's Post, on
the waters of the Shahaptan.