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 Of ILLINOIS 
 
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 copo2 
 
 111. Hist. Survj 
 
 JLMNOlii HIblUKY bUKVLi 
 yBRARY
 
 ) /-> (\Jot^u/
 
 Narrative 
 
 of the Adventures of 
 
 Zenas Leonard
 
 MAP OF LEONARD COUNTRY 
 
 . Outward route of Leonard from Fort Osage to Monterey
 
 ^fje ILaktsiiht €la^iit^ 
 
 Narrative of 
 
 the Adventures of 
 
 Zenas Leonard 
 
 Written by Hifnself 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 MiLO Milton Quaife 
 
 SECRETARY AND EDITOR OF 
 THE BURTON HISTORICAL COLLECTION 
 
 "^1- ^^^ ^i-'. . •-? 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. 
 Christmas, 1934
 
 ^ublisiljer's^ preface m 
 
 WE present as the content of this 
 year's volume of The Lakeside Clas- 
 sics another story of the American 
 fur trade. Zenas Leonard, the author of this 
 year's volume, unlike Larpenteur, was not 
 an agent of a fur company living at an es- 
 tablished trading post, but was a trapper, 
 living entirely cut off from contact with 
 civilization, in the Rocky Mountains amid 
 unfriendly Indians and sustaining himself 
 entirely by his rifle and traps. Veteran 
 frontiersmen and young men from the 
 settled parts of the United States seeking 
 high adventure, gradually drifted over the 
 plains into the mountains beyond and be- 
 came known as mountaineers. They were 
 courageous, self-reliant and resourceful, and 
 from them graduated the guides and scouts 
 of later days. Among these mountaineers 
 and as one of them Leonard lived for five 
 and one-half years during the thirties of the 
 last century. Returning to his father's farm 
 in Pennsylvania, he wrote his story for a 
 local newspaper. It was later published in
 
 l^vMi^i)tt*^ preface 
 
 1839 in book form by a printer in Clearfield, 
 Pennsylvania, a copy of which is extremely 
 rare and of great value. A reprint, edited by 
 Dr. W. F. Wagner, was published by The 
 Burrows Brothers Company of Cleveland, 
 Ohio, in 1904, but being a limited edition of 
 only five hundred and twenty-five copies, 
 the book is little known except to bibliophiles 
 and collectors of Americana. The Burrows 
 Brothers Company have generously con- 
 sented to the reprinting of it in this series, 
 and The Publishers feel that it will be an 
 important addition to the list of The Lake- 
 side Classics. 
 
 The Publishers 
 
 Christmas, 1934 
 
 VI
 
 Contents^ 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 Historical Introduction xi 
 
 Narrative 3 
 
 Index 267 
 
 vu
 
 Historical Introduction
 
 |^is;torical Sntrobuction 
 
 THE Narrative of the Adveyitures of 
 Zenas Leonard, to which the present 
 volume in the Lakeside Classics series 
 is devoted, returns our readers to a familiar 
 field. A year ago Charles Larpenteur's Forty 
 Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri, 
 was published, dealing in large part with the 
 scenes, and to some extent with the identical 
 time, of Leonard's recital. Earlier volumes 
 in the series — notably James Ohio Pattie's 
 Personal Narrative (published in 1930), and 
 General John Bidwell's Echoes of the Past 
 About California (published in 1928) — cover 
 in large part the scene of Leonard's Califor- 
 nia adventures. 
 
 Larpenteur has described, in his opening 
 pages, the thrill which moved him upon see- 
 ing at St. Louis in the autumn of 1832 a 
 party of "mountain men," newly returned to 
 civilization with a veritable fortune in bea- 
 ver skins borne upon the backs of their hard- 
 worked mules. Despite the hardships and 
 dangers of such a life, the youth promptly 
 determined that he, too, would become a 
 
 XI
 
 J^iiB^torical Sntrobuction 
 
 "mountain man," and in the spring of 1833 
 he embarked upon the tumultuous scenes of 
 his forty-years' adventure. Two years earher 
 another young man, Zenas Leonard, had 
 embarked from St. Louis upon a similar ad- 
 venture. After four years of wandering, 
 which took him to the then strange land of 
 Spanish California, he returned to his pa- 
 rental home in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, in 
 the autumn of 1835, where he was greeted 
 by his relatives as one returned from the 
 dead. So great was the interest aroused in the 
 recital of the wonders he had experienced 
 that he finally became tired of repeating 
 his story to succeeding groups of auditors, 
 and to save himself the trouble of doing so, 
 he wrote it out for publication in the local 
 paper. For some reason it was published only 
 in part at the time, but two or three years 
 later the enterprising editor of the Clearfield 
 Republican procured the manuscript, and in 
 addition to printing it in his paper, issued it 
 in book form in 1839. 
 
 The printing was crudely done (apparently 
 the type used in the newspaper was utilized 
 also for the book), but the narrative thus 
 preserved is one of great human interest and 
 of decided historical value. It was long un- 
 known to historians of the West and copies 
 of the original edition have become so rare 
 
 xii
 
 J^isJtorical 3fntrobuction 
 
 as to command a price, in the auction mar- 
 ket, of many hundreds of dollars. In 1904 a 
 reprint edition of 520 copies was brought 
 out at Cleveland, under the editorship of 
 Dr. W. F. Wagner, thereby enabling many 
 individuals and institutions to become pos- 
 sessors of the book. The present issue con- 
 stitutes the third printing (aside from the 
 contemporary newspaper publication) of 
 Leonard's narrative, ensuring for it the wider 
 distribution which its character richly merits. 
 The activities which form the subject of 
 Leonard's narrative are such as to make it 
 one of the fundamental sources for the ex- 
 ploration of the American West. In our intro- 
 duction to Larpenteur's narrative, a year 
 ago, we presented a sketch of the develop- 
 ment of the fur trade in the upper Missouri 
 region during the first four decades of the 
 nineteenth century. To this we refer those 
 readers of the present volume who may care 
 to understand the broader background of 
 Leonard's narrative. His fur-trading years 
 belonged to a period of intense activity in 
 the exploitation of the trade of the Far West. 
 Fortunately these very years found an able 
 contemporary historian in the person of 
 Washington Irving, whose book, The Rocky 
 Mountains, or Scenes, h^cidents, and Ad- 
 ventures in the Far West . . . was published at 
 
 Xlll
 
 li^isitotml Sntrobuction 
 
 Philadelphia in 1837. The remainder of the 
 title indicates that the work was ''digested" 
 from the journal of Captain B. L. E. Bonne- 
 ville, and "illustrated" from other sources. 
 Subsequently the title was changed to The 
 Adventures of Captain Bonneville . . . , thereby 
 advertising more prominently the principal 
 source of Irving's information. In recent 
 years the old title has been forgotten, and 
 the book is commonly known by the newer 
 one as the Adventures of Captain Bonneville. 
 Until the summer of 1833 Leonard was a 
 free trapper. He then entered the employ of 
 Captain Bonneville, and continued therein 
 until the end of his narrative at St. Louis in 
 the summer of 1835. -^^ follows that Irving's 
 history, chiefly "digested" from Captain 
 Bonneville's journal, is the history of the 
 larger enterprise with which the experiences 
 of Leonard's last two years in the fur-trade 
 were identified. It might be presumed from 
 this circumstance that Leonard's recital 
 would agree, in the main, with Irving's pres- 
 entation. In fact, however, the divergence 
 between the two is very material. Leonard 
 was attached to Captain Walker's party, 
 which Irving would have us believe Bonne- 
 ville dispatched to explore Great Salt Lake. 
 Apparently the great lake loomed large in 
 Bonneville's mind, for on Irving's maps 
 
 xiv
 
 J&isitorical Sntrotiuction 
 
 (the material for which must have been de- 
 rived from Captain Bonneville) it appears 
 as "Lake Bonneville." Instead of exploring 
 it, Captain Walker departed via Humboldt 
 River for California, consuming in this 
 journey a large portion of the years 1833-34. 
 Although one would suppose, from reading 
 Leonard's narrative, that the relations be- 
 tween Bonneville and Walker were entirely 
 amicable to the end, one gains a very dif- 
 ferent impression from Irving. In his recital, 
 "digested," of course, from Bonneville's 
 journal. Walker is presented as disloyal, in- 
 competent, and senselessly cruel. 
 
 None of these things does one gather from 
 Leonard's recital, of whose publication in 
 the local newspaper he was evidently ig- 
 norant. Irving, indeed, expressly speaks of 
 the "scanty" details available to him con- 
 cerning Walker's California expedition; to 
 the enlargement of these scanty details, 
 approximately one-half of Leonard's entire 
 volume is devoted. 
 
 Without pretending to determine the issue 
 as between Captain Bonneville and Captain 
 Walker which Irving's narrative sets up, we 
 content ourselves with pointing out that 
 Leonard's recital affords an important re- 
 buttal of Irving's presentation. Captain 
 Bonneville's own journals, which Irving 
 
 XV
 
 W^toxital Sntrobuction 
 
 used, have disappeared, apparently, forever. 
 There seems no reason for questioning, how- 
 ever, the good faith of Irving's relation of 
 their contents. If the resulting narrative is 
 unfair or inaccurate, the responsibility rests 
 squarely upon Captain Bonneville. 
 
 We are compelled, therefore, to take notice 
 of his own situation and perplexities. Bonne- 
 ville was a native of France who had been 
 brought to America in childhood and, having 
 graduated from West Point in 1815, had 
 devoted his further career to the army. In 
 1830 he obtained leave of absence for eight 
 months from his station at Fort Gibson 
 (Oklahoma), and going to New York inter- 
 ested certain business men in financing a fur- 
 trade expedition, which he proposed to lead 
 into the western country. He then obtained 
 a two-year leave of absence from the army 
 and in the spring of 1832 departed from Fort 
 Osage, Missouri, for the Rocky Mountains, 
 where he remained until the summer of 1835, 
 engaged more in trading than in exploring. 
 Since he had obtained leave of absence for 
 the purpose of exploration, and since he long 
 overstayed his leave, he returned to find he 
 had been dropped from the army list over a 
 year before. He was restored in the spring of 
 1836 by the personal act of President Jack- 
 son, who was persuaded that his services 
 
 xvi
 
 J^isftotical Sntrobuction 
 
 merited a different reward than the one 
 which had been accorded them. It would 
 seem from Irving's narrative that the chief 
 effort at exploration which Bonneville made 
 was the sending of Captain Walker to ex- 
 plore Great Salt Lake. Since Walker failed 
 to do this, his anger and disapproval were 
 great, and this state of mind Irving's narra- 
 tive amply reflects. Yet Captain Walker had 
 found the way to California, and had ac- 
 cumulated geographical information far 
 more important, one would think, than any 
 which would have resulted from a mere ex- 
 ploration of Great Salt Lake. Captain Bon- 
 neville was curiously blind to the significance 
 of this material, and all unwittingly he left 
 to John C. Fremont the opportunity to 
 snatch, in the succeeding decade, the fame 
 and fortune which he thus blindly cast aside. 
 As for Leonard, information derived from 
 Dr. Wagner, and from the history of Cass 
 County, Missouri, discloses that after a so- 
 journ of several months at his parental home 
 in Clearfield, during which time he prepared 
 his narrative, he returned in 1836 to western 
 Missouri. Here he established a store (re- 
 puted to be the first) on the site of present- 
 day Sibley. He also operated a boat between 
 St. Louis and western Missouri, carrying 
 merchandise up-river and furs and other 
 
 xvii
 
 J^iiB^torical Sntrobuction 
 
 products of the Indian trade down stream. 
 He married Isabel Harrelson, and three chil- 
 dren were born to them. He died at Sibley 
 in 1858, having achieved a position of promi- 
 nence in his community. A son, Zenas 
 Leonard Jr., born in 1846, likewise achieved 
 local prominence, living for many years at 
 Pleasant Hill, Missouri. In 1872 he married 
 Elizabeth Duncan of this place, and in 1904, 
 he married (second) Mollie E. Stephens. A 
 son of the first union, William D. Leonard, 
 is a present resident of Kansas City. He is, 
 of course, a grandson of our author. 
 
 Leonard returned to civilization possessed 
 of but a modest competence as the reward of 
 his years of wilderness exposure to privation 
 and death — $1,100, according to information 
 procured by Dr. Wagner. This scanty ma- 
 terial return, however, comprised but the 
 smaller part of his reward. The major por- 
 tion consisted in the satisfaction derived 
 from his experiences and exploits. "We felt," 
 he writes of his party, on reaching the Pa- 
 cific, *'as if all our previous hardships and 
 privations would be adequately compen- 
 sated if we would be spared to return in 
 safety to the homes of our kindred and have 
 it to say that we had stood upon the extreme 
 end of the great west." Love of adventure 
 for its own sake, and a patriotic pride in 
 
 xviii
 
 W^tovital Sntrobuction 
 
 advancing the onward march of the American 
 people were prominent among the motives 
 which animated him and his trapper com- 
 panions. It will be a sorry day for the Re- 
 public when motives such as these cease to 
 evoke a thrill in the breasts of her young 
 men. 
 
 The present reprint — verbatim, save for 
 the correction of a few awkward misprints 
 or grammatical errors for which the author's 
 original editor is clearly responsible — has 
 been made direct from a copy of the original 
 edition owned by the Newberry Library. 
 Acknowledgment is due this great institu- 
 tion for courteous permission to photostat 
 its volume for use in reprinting. 
 
 M. M. QUAIFE 
 Detroit Public Library- 
 October I, 1934. 
 
 XIX
 
 preface 
 
 THE title of the following work suffi- 
 ciently explains itself; however, before 
 presenting it to the public, in its pres- 
 ent form, the publisher deems it necessary to 
 accompany it with a few remarks explana- 
 tory of the motives which induced the author 
 to commit his adventures to paper: 
 
 Mr. Zenas Leoxard (the author) is a na- 
 tive of Clearfield county. Pa., where his par- 
 ents and other relatives still reside; and it 
 may not be improper here to remark, that 
 they are well known as among the most re- 
 spectable inhabitants of the county. 
 
 After receiving the advantages of a com- 
 mon English education, and being possessed 
 of strong mental faculties and a vigorous con- 
 stitution, Mr. Leoxard left his parental roof 
 in the spring of 1830, and after spending the 
 succeeding year in a mercantile house in 
 Pittsburg, Pa., ventured to embark in an ex- 
 pedition across the Rocky Mountains, in the 
 capacity of Clerk to the company. The last 
 letter received by his parents, left him at the 
 extreme white settlement, where they were 
 busily occupied in making preparations for 
 
 xxi
 
 preface 
 
 the expedition to the mountains — from 
 whence he promised to write at short inter- 
 vals; but one misfortune after another hap- 
 pening the company, he was deprived of all 
 sources of communication — so that no tid- 
 ings were received of him until he unexpect- 
 edly returned to the scenes of his childhood, 
 to the house of his father, in the fall of 
 1835 — after an absence of 5 years and 6 
 months! 
 
 In the interval, and at various times, ru- 
 mors and answers to letters written by his 
 friends to different individuals on the route 
 up the Missouri, were received, which repre- 
 sented the major part of the company he was 
 with, as having perished, and that he was not 
 among the number who survived. The grief 
 of his parents from that time until his joyous 
 return, can only be imagined. They had long 
 mourned him as lost forever, and all hope of 
 again meeting him this side the grave ceased 
 to exist. The Scriptural phrase, that ''the 
 dead's alive, and the lost is found,'' in a tempo- 
 ral point of view, was never more beautifully 
 illustrated; nor was ever grief and mourning 
 changed to inexpressible joy and gladness 
 more unexpectedly and triumphantly. 
 
 After again mingling with his former com- 
 rades and old acquaintances, so great was 
 the curiosity manifested by them to hear him 
 
 xxii
 
 preface 
 
 relate his adventures, that he was continually 
 beset by crowds of anxious inquirers wher- 
 ever he happened to be. But few were satis- 
 fied with a partial account, and finding that 
 it would consume too much of the time he 
 purposed spending among his former friends, 
 ere he should again embark for the west, to 
 repeat the whole story on every occasion, he 
 finally yielded to the importunities of his 
 friends to adopt Franklin's notion of " saying 
 grace over the whole barrel of beef at once, in 
 order to save time," and he prepared a narra- 
 tive of his travels for publication in the news- 
 papers of the county, that all might have an 
 equal opportunity to read it. It was for this 
 purpose, and under these circumstances, that 
 he wrote it out — but from various causes it 
 was never published entire, until we procured 
 the manuscript last winter and gave it to the 
 public through the columns of a public news- 
 paper during the past season. The great in- 
 terest the public took in it, was satisfactorily 
 illustrated by the increase and demand for 
 the paper in which it was published. A num- 
 ber of persons sent in their names as sub- 
 scribers from all the adjoining counties, be- 
 sides others more distant — many of whom 
 we were unable to accommodate. From this 
 evidence, as well as the repeated solicitations 
 from every quarter, we have been induced to 
 
 xxni
 
 preface 
 
 re-print it, and now offer it to the public in a 
 more convenient form. 
 
 Our author kept a minute journal of every 
 incident that occurred, but unfortunately, a 
 part of his narrative was stolen from him by 
 hostile Indians; still, however, he was en- 
 abled to replace the most important events, 
 by having access to the journal kept by the 
 commander of the expedition. His character 
 for candour and truth, among his acquaint- 
 ances, we have never heard suspected; and, 
 indeed, among the many who heard the nar- 
 rative from his own lips, we have yet to hear 
 the first one say they disbelieve it. At all 
 events, in its perusal, the reader will encoun- 
 ter no improbabilities, much less irnpossibili- 
 ties: — hence it is but reasonable to suppose 
 that in traversing such a wilderness as lays 
 west of the Rocky Mountains, such hard- 
 ships, privations and dangers as those de- 
 scribed by Mr. Leonard, must necessarily 
 be encountered. 
 
 He remained at home but a short time, 
 when he returned to the west, and now re- 
 sides in Jackson county. Mo., where he is 
 surrounded with competence — being at pres- 
 ent engaged as a merchant and trader with 
 the different companies employed in the fur 
 trade of the mountains. 
 
 The Publisher. 
 
 xxiv
 
 Narrative 
 
 of the Adventures of 
 
 Zenas Leonard
 
 Narrative 
 
 of the Adventures of 
 
 Zenas Leonard 
 
 Narrative 
 
 Of the adventures of a company of yo men^ who 
 left St. Louis in the Spring of iSjiy on an 
 expedition to the Rocky Mountains, for the 
 purpose of trapping for Furs, and trading 
 with the Indians, by one of the company, 
 Mr. Zenas Leonard, of Clearfield county. 
 Pa. — comprising a minute description of the 
 incidents of the adventure, and a valuable 
 history of this immense territory — not from 
 maps and charts, but from personal observa- 
 tion. 
 
 THE Company under the command of 
 Capt's. Gant and Blackwell, left St. 
 Louis on the 24th of x'\pril, 1831. Each 
 man was furnished with the necessary equip- 
 ments for the expedition — such as traps, 
 guns, &c.; also horses and goods of various 
 descriptions, to trade with the Lidians for
 
 Sibbenturefii of Eenas; ICeonarb 
 
 furs and Buffaloe robes. We continued our 
 journey in a western direction, in the state of 
 Missouri, on the south side of the Missouri 
 river, through a country thinly inhabited by 
 the whites and friendly Indians, until we ar- 
 rived at Fort Osage the extreme point of the 
 white settlement.^ Here we remained several 
 days and purchased and packed up a suffi- 
 ciency of provision, as we then thought, for 
 our subsistance through the wilderness to 
 what is called the Buffaloe country; a dis- 
 tance of about 200 miles. From thence we pro- 
 ceeded up the Missouri until we arrived at 
 the mouth of the Kanzas river,- where we 
 again tarried two or three days, for the pur- 
 pose of trading some goods to the Kanzas 
 Indians for corn, moccasins, &c. 
 
 This tribe of Indians live in small huts, 
 built of poles, covered with straw & dirt, and 
 
 ^ Fort Osage was established by the Government in 
 1808 to control the Osage Indians, and for many years 
 was the westernmost outpost of the United States. It 
 was on the south bank of the Missouri River, in present- 
 day Jackson County, Mo., 330 miles by water above 
 the mouth of the Missouri River, and about 50 miles 
 below the mouth of the Kansas. It was abandoned 
 when the new military post ot Fort Leavenworth was 
 established in 1827. x^s late as 1820 it was still the 
 extreme frontier settlement up the Missouri. 
 
 ^ At this point the city of Kansas City, Missouri, has 
 since developed.
 
 ^bentures^ of Henas( ILeonarb 
 
 in shape are similar to a potatoe hole. They 
 cultivate the soil quite extensively, and raise 
 very good corn, pumpkins, beans and other 
 vegetables. The principal chief is called 
 ''White PloomT — The nation is supposed to 
 contain 800 warriors. 
 
 From thence we proceeded on our journey 
 up the river. We found the country here 
 beautiful indeed — abounding with the most 
 delightful prairies, with here & there a small 
 brook, winding its way to the river, the mar- 
 gins of which are adorned with the lofty Pine 
 and Cedar tree. These prairies were com- 
 pletely covered with fine low grass, and deco- 
 rated with beautiful flowers of various colors; 
 and some of them are so extensive and clear 
 of timber and brush that the eye might 
 search in vain for an object to rest upon. I 
 have seen beautiful and enchanting sceneries 
 depicted by the artist, but never any thing 
 to equal the work of rude nature in those 
 prairies. In the spring of the year when the 
 grass is green and the blossoms fresh, they 
 present an appearance, which for beauty and 
 charms, is beyond the art of man to depict. 
 
 We continued on our journey westward, 
 up the republican fork of Kanzas river — 
 passing through these prairies, till the 20th 
 of June, when we happened on another tribe 
 of Indians, called the Otoes, from whom we
 
 ^bbenturesi of Henasf iLeonarb 
 
 obtained a quantity of sweet corn and some 
 wild turnips; we also understood from this 
 tribe that it was much farther to the Buffaloe 
 country than we had before anticipated, and 
 that game in that direction, was very scarce. 
 From thence we proceeded in a N. W. direc- 
 tion, up the Republican Branch — finding but 
 very little game; and on the 2ist of June we 
 killed our last beef, which was equally di- 
 vided to each mess. Here we began to feel 
 somewhat alarmed — starvation began to 
 stare us in the face, and some of the company 
 became refractory and were for turning back. 
 Stimulated, however, by the hope of reach- 
 ing game in a few days, we continued in the 
 direction of the Buffaloe country. Hunters 
 were sent out daily in quest of game, but as 
 often returned without any. We still contin- 
 ued to travel — subsisting chiefly on muscles 
 and small fish which we caught in the river; 
 finally the Captain ordered two of the best 
 horses to be killed, to keep the company from 
 starving, which was immediately done, and 
 the carcasses equally distributed to each 
 mess. We proceeded on our journey slowly — 
 sending out hunters as usual, but without 
 success; game appeared to become scarcer 
 and scarcer, and in a few days our provision 
 (if I may call it such) again exhausted. Find- 
 ing it impossible, owing to the scarcity of 
 
 6
 
 0bbenture£J ot Henas; Heonatb 
 
 game, to continue any further up the Repub- 
 lican, we concluded to leave it and steer for 
 the head waters of the Missouri.^ Accord- 
 ingly we changed our direction as well as 
 our manner of travelling. Instead of travel- 
 ling in a close mass as heretofore, we now 
 scattered over a considerable range of coun- 
 try for the purpose of hunting, leaving ten or 
 twelve men only to bring on the pack-mules, 
 and at night we would collect together with 
 our game, which generally consisted of 
 wolves, wild cats, muscles, and some times 
 an Antelope. In this way we continued our 
 journey slowly, some of the company being 
 half starved to death, for eight or ten days, 
 eating at night what little game we caught 
 through the day; at last we collected one 
 evening, I think about the middle of July, in 
 a barren prairie where we could not get wood 
 enough to make a fire, much less any thing 
 to cook on it — not a mouthfull of game was 
 returned that evening. This was a trying 
 time indeed — despondency & horror was de- 
 picted in the countenance of every man, and 
 the enquiry, " what shall we do," was passing 
 from every lip. In this condition, without 
 fire or food, we spent the night. In the morn- 
 ing we held a consultation to decide whether 
 
 ^No doubt the author intended to say the Platte 
 River, which his narrative shows was presently reached. 
 
 7
 
 Sbbentutesf of Henasi ILtonavh 
 
 to continue in that direction or turn. We 
 finally agreed to proceed straight ahead & 
 by night we arrived on the banks of the river 
 Platte, a distance of about ten miles from 
 where we had encamped the night before, 
 where we pitched our tents for the night. 
 Most of our hunters had collected without 
 game, and pronounced it very scarce, and we 
 were about to kill another of our horses, 
 when we saw one of our hunters approaching 
 us with unusual rapidity, without his gun or 
 hat and his countenance indicating great ex- 
 citement. I never wish to feel more pleasure 
 than I did as he rushed into the tent exclaim- 
 ing, " I have killed two big Buck Elk ! " Early 
 the next morning — refreshed with what 
 meat we had obtained and animated and en- 
 couraged with the hope of obtaining plenty 
 more, we set out with unusual fine spirits. 
 We continued to travel up the river Platte 
 for several days — passing through extensive 
 barren prairies, the soil being too poor even 
 to produce grass; and game exceedingly 
 scarce. Some of us again became alarmed, 
 and one morning when the roll was called it 
 was discovered that two of the company had 
 stolen two of the best horses and started 
 back to the state of Missouri. This had a bad 
 efl^ect — it impaired that full confidence which 
 had heretofore existed between the members 
 
 8
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henasi ILtonavh 
 
 of the company, but we continued up the 
 river and in a few days arrived at the 
 Buffaloe country. After encamping, on a 
 pleasant evening, in the latter part of July, 
 some of the company discovered two Buffa- 
 loe bulls feeding in the prairie, about half a 
 mile from camp. Four or five of us immedi- 
 ately mounted our horses and started to take 
 them; but returned in a short time without 
 success — one of the men having got his arm 
 broken, by falling from his horse. But the 
 next day we happened on a large drove of 
 these animals, and killed six or seven of 
 them. The flesh of the Buffaloe is the whole- 
 somest and most palatable of meat kind. 
 The ma]e of these animals are much the larg- 
 est — weighing from looo to 1500 pounds, 
 and may be seen in droves of hundreds feed- 
 ing in the plains. We remained here several 
 days feasting upon Buffaloe meat. From 
 thence proceeded up the river; finding an 
 abundance of game, such as Buffaloe, Elk, 
 Deer and Antelope — and killing more or less 
 every day. On the first day of August we ar- 
 rived at the forks of the river Platte; and by 
 means of boats made of buffaloe skins, 
 crossed the south Fork and continued our 
 journey up the valley. Here the soil appeared 
 to be very poor, producing but little grass; 
 and in some places for three or four miles we
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henaj^ Heonarb 
 
 would travel over sand plains where there 
 was scarcely a spear of grass to be seen. Im- 
 mediately on the water courses the soil is 
 better and produces good grass. As we trav- 
 elled up the river, we occasionally came in 
 contact with cliffs of rocks and hard clay, 
 from two to three hundred feet above the 
 level of the plain. One of these cliffs is very 
 peculiar in its appearance, and is known 
 among the whites as ''Chimney cliff," and 
 among the natives as **Elk Peak." It is only 
 about 150 yards in circumferance at its basis, 
 and about 25 at the summit; and projects 
 into the air to the highth of 300 feet. Its 
 towering summit may be seen at the distance 
 of 15 or 20 miles — presenting the appearance 
 of some huge fabric that had been con- 
 structed by the art of man.^ 
 
 We continued to travel in a western direc- 
 tion — found game plenty — met with no 
 difficulty in getting along; and on the 27th 
 
 * Chimney Rock was one of the notable landmarks 
 on the later Oregon Trail, and as such was noted by- 
 most travelers who passed this way. A good descrip- 
 tion of the Rock is given by Father De Smet, in his 
 Letters and Sketches^ reprinted in Thwaites' Early fVest- 
 ern Travels (Cleveland, 1906), XXVII, 218-19. General 
 John Bidwell briefly describes the Rock ("a noted 
 landmark on the North Fork, which we sighted fifty 
 miles away") in Echoes of the Past about California^ 
 reprinted in the Lakeside Classics for 1928, p. 23- 
 
 10
 
 atibentures; of Eenasi ILeonarb 
 
 of August we arrived at the junction of the 
 Laramies river with the river Platte — about 
 12 or 1300 miles from the United States, and 
 two or three hundred from the top of the 
 Rocky Mountains. Here we stopped for the 
 purpose of reconnoitering. Several scouting 
 parties were sent out in search of Beaver 
 signs, who returned in a few days and re- 
 ported that they had found Beaver signs, &c. 
 Capt. Gant then gave orders to make prepa- 
 rations for trapping. Accordingly the com- 
 pany was divided into parties of from 15 to 
 20 men in each party, with their respective 
 captains placed over them — and directed by 
 Captain Gant in what direction to go. Cap- 
 tain Washburn ascended the Timber Fork; 
 Capt. Stephens the Laramies; Capt. Gant 
 the Sweet Water — all of which empty into 
 the river Platte near the same place. Each of 
 these companies were directed to ascend 
 these rivers until they found Beaver suffi- 
 ciently plenty for trapping, or till the snow 
 and cold weather compelled them to stop; 
 at which event they were to return to the 
 mouth of the Laramies river,^ to pass the 
 
 ^ Here a fur trade post was established in 1834 by 
 Smith, Jackson, and Sublette, who presently sold it to 
 Robert Campbell (for whom see Charles Larpenteur's 
 Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri, the 
 Lakeside Classics volume for 1933, p. 10 et passim). In 
 
 II
 
 ^bbentureiEf of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 winter together. While at this place, engaged 
 in secreting our merchandize, which we did 
 by digging a hole in the ground, sufficiently- 
 large to contain them, and covering them 
 over so that the Indians might not discover 
 them — four men (three whites and one In- 
 dian) came to our tent. This astonished us 
 not a little, for a white man was the last of 
 living beings that we expected to visit us 
 in this vast wilderness — where nothing was 
 heard from dark to day light but the fierce 
 and terrifying growls of wild beasts, and the 
 more shrill cries of the merciless savages. 
 The principal of these men was a Mr. Fitz- 
 patrick,^ who had been engaged in trapping 
 along the Columbia river, on the west side of 
 the Rocky mountains, & was then on his way 
 to St. Louis. He was an old hand at the busi- 
 ness and we expected to obtain some useful 
 
 1834 Campbell sold Fort Laramie (as he had named it) 
 to the American Fur Company. In 1848 the American 
 Fur Company establishment was sold to the United 
 States Government, and Fort Laramie became a regu- 
 lar army post. For half a century the spot was a 
 famous rendezvous of traders, explorers, officials, and 
 settlers. Here Francis Parkman made his headquarters 
 on his western sojourn in 1846. 
 
 ^ For the career of Thomas Fitzpatrick, notable 
 trapper, trader, and Indian agent, see Larpenteur's 
 Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri^ 
 14. 
 
 12
 
 ^bbentures^ of HenasJ Ileonartr 
 
 information from him, but we were disap- 
 pointed. The selfishness of man is often dis- 
 graceful to human nature; and I never saw 
 more striking evidence of this fact, than was 
 presented in the conduct of this man Fitz- 
 patrick. Notwithstanding we had treated 
 him with great friendship and hospitality, 
 merely because we were to engage in the 
 same business with him, which he knew we 
 never could exhaust or even impair — he re- 
 fused to give us any information whatever, 
 and appeared disposed to treat us as in- 
 truders. On the 3d of September, Captain 
 Blackwell, with two others, joined Fitz- 
 patrick, and started back to the state of 
 Missouri, for an additional supply of mer- 
 chandise, and were to return in the summer 
 of 1832. 
 
 I was one of 21 that composed the com- 
 pany under the command of Capt. A. K. 
 Stephens, a man well calculated to pilot or 
 manage in case of difficulty with the Indians. 
 He received a portion of the profits arising 
 from the merchandize, say $2 per pound for 
 Coffee, and the same for Tea, Sugar, Lead, 
 Powder, Tobacco, Allspice, Pepper, &c., and 
 for every yard of coarse cloth $10, and for 
 fine cloth $20; this, however, is governed en- 
 tirely by their value with the Indians. For 
 twenty or thirty loads of powder you can 
 
 13
 
 3bbentures( of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 generally get from eight to twelve dollars 
 worth of fur. 
 
 On the 4th of September, having every- 
 thing in readiness, after shaking hands all 
 round, we separated, each party to meander 
 the rivers that had been respectively allotted 
 to them, with the intention, if nothing hap- 
 pened them, of re-assembling in the latter 
 part of December, to spend the winter to- 
 gether. 
 
 Mr. Stephen's party commenced their tour 
 up the Laramies river and continued several 
 days without any important occurrence. 
 Found the prairies or plains in this direction 
 very extensive — unobstructed with timber 
 or brush — handsomely situated, with here 
 and there a small creek passing through 
 them, and in some places literally covered 
 with game, such as Buffaloe, White and 
 Black tailed Deer, Grizzly, Red, and White 
 Bear, Elk, Prairie Dog, wild Goat, Big 
 horned mountain Sheep, Antelope, &c. 
 
 On the 20th of Sept. we stopped on the 
 bank of a small creek, to let our horses graze, 
 at the junction of which we seen signs of 
 beaver. Two hunters were sent up this stream 
 with their traps and guns on search of bea- 
 ver, who, if they should be successful in find- 
 ing game, were not to return till the next day 
 — the main body of the company to move on 
 
 14
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 slowly. After travelling several miles, & hear- 
 ing nothing of our hunters, we deemed it ad- 
 visable to encamp for the night, which we 
 did. About midnight we were alarmed by the 
 report of two rifles. Supposing it to be hostile 
 Indians, we put ourselves in an attitude of 
 defence, as soon as possible by throwing up a 
 fort of logs and brush, and keeping up senti- 
 nels until morning. On the next morning, 
 about sun rise the two hunters came in, and 
 informed us that it was the report of their 
 guns that had alarmed us, as they had fired 
 them oflF near the spot where they had ex- 
 pected to find the camp, with the hope of re- 
 ceiving some signal. They had meandered 
 the creek till they came to beaver dams, 
 where they set their traps and turned their 
 horses out to pasture; and were busily en- 
 gaged in constructing a camp to pass the 
 night in, when they discovered, at a short 
 distance off, a tremendous large Grizzly 
 Bear, rushing upon them at a furious rate. — 
 They immediately sprang to their rifles 
 which were standing against a tree hard-by, 
 one of which was single and the other double 
 triggered; unfortunately in the hurry, the 
 one that was accustomed to the single trig- 
 ger, caught up the double triggered gun, and 
 when the bear came upon him, not having 
 set the trigger, he could not get his gun ofl^; 
 
 15
 
 ^bbenturesf of HenasJ ILeonarb 
 
 and the animal approaching within a few 
 feet of him, he was obliged to commence 
 beating it over the head with his gun. Bruin, 
 thinking this rather rough usage, turned his 
 attention to the man with the single trig- 
 gered gun, who, in trying to set the trigger 
 (supposing he had the double triggered gun) 
 had fired it off, and was also obliged to fall to 
 beating the ferocious animal with his gun; 
 finally, it left them without doing much in- 
 jury, except tearing the sleeve off one of 
 their coats and biting him through the hand. 
 Four men were immediately despatched for 
 the traps, who returned in the evening with 
 seven or eight beaver. The Grizzly Bear is 
 the most ferocious animal that inhabits these 
 prairies, and are very numerous. They no 
 sooner see you than they will make at you 
 with open mouth. If you stand still, they will 
 come within two or three yards of you, and 
 stand upon their hind feet, and look you in 
 the face, if you have fortitude enough to face 
 them, they will turn and run off; but if you 
 turn they will most assuredly tear you to 
 pieces; furnishing strong proof of the fact, 
 that no wild beast, however daring and fero- 
 cious, unless wounded, will attack the face of 
 man. 
 
 On the morning of the 22d Sept. we again 
 renewed our tour, travelling at the rate of 8 
 
 i6
 
 abtientures^ of Henajf Heonarb 
 
 or lo miles a day; catching a few Beaver, as 
 we passed along — nothing strange occurring 
 until the 30th, when we arrived at the foot of 
 a great mountain, through which the river 
 Laramies passes. We attempted to follow the 
 river through the mountain, but we soon 
 found this to be impossible, as the bluffs of 
 huge rocks projecting several hundred feet 
 high, closed in to the very current. We then 
 turned down the side of the mountain, on 
 search of a place to cross it. On the ist day of 
 Oct. we came to a Buffaloe trail crossing the 
 mountain, and after ascending to near the 
 summit, we encamped for the night. About 
 midnight it commenced snowing, and con- 
 tinued to fall so fast that we were obliged to 
 remain there until the morning of the 4th, 
 when we again renewed our journey, and in 
 the evening we arrived in the valley on the 
 North or West side of the mountain. Here, 
 finding no snow & Beaver signs plenty, we 
 deemed it advisable to remain a few days for 
 the purpose of trapping, and the first night 
 we caught 20 Beaver. We remained here un- 
 til the 1 2th, when we proceeded eight or ten 
 miles further up the South fork of the river, 
 and again encamped for the purpose of trap- 
 ping. On the 1 8th, finding Beaver getting 
 rather scarce, we proceeded a few miles 
 further up the valley, and encamped again. 
 
 17
 
 Sibbenturej^ of Henasf ILeonatb 
 
 This valley is supposed to be 70 or 80 miles 
 long, and from 10 to 15 miles wide; and is en- 
 closed on the one side by the main chain of 
 the Rocky Mountains, and on the other by 
 great Piney Hills, running out from the main 
 body of the mountain, with the river Lara- 
 mies passing through the centre of it, the 
 banks of which are covered with timber, from 
 yi to j4 2i mile wide. Out side of this timber, 
 the plain is completely smooth; and on a 
 clear morning, by taking a view with a spy- 
 glass, you can see the different kinds of game 
 that inhabit these plains, such as Buffaloe, 
 Bear, Deer, Elk, Antelope, Bighorn, Wolves, 
 &c. These plains are poor, sandy and level — 
 the grass thin and short. 
 
 Oct. 22d. The nights getting somewhat 
 cold, and snow falling more or less every day, 
 we began to make preparations to return to 
 our winter quarters, at the mouth of Lara- 
 mies river; and on the 25th commenced our 
 tour down the river. On the 28th we arrived 
 at the mountain, that we crossed going up, 
 but found it impossible, owing to the enor- 
 mous depth of the snow to pass over it. On 
 the morning of the 30th we started a num- 
 ber of men up and down the valley, on search 
 of a place to cross the mountain, who re- 
 turned the next day and reported that they 
 had found no passing place over the moun- 
 
 18
 
 Sbbentureiei of Ztnaa Heonarb 
 
 tain; when under these circumstances a ma- 
 jority of the company decided in favor of en- 
 camping in this valley for the winter, and 
 when the ice melted out of the river, in the 
 spring, commence trapping until such times 
 as the snow melted off the mountain; when 
 we would return to the mouth of the river, 
 where we had secreted our goods. 
 
 On the 1st day of November we com- 
 menced travelling up the valley, on search 
 of a suitable place to pass the winter, and on 
 the evening of the 4th, we arrived at a large 
 grove of Cottonwood timber, which we 
 deemed suitable for encamping in.^ — Several 
 weeks were spent in building houses, stables, 
 &c. necessary for ourselves, and horses dur- 
 ing the winter season. — This being done, we 
 commenced killing Buffaloe, and hanging up 
 the choice pieces to dry, so that if they 
 should leave the valley we would have a suffi- 
 cient quantity of meat to last us until spring. 
 We also killed Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Elk, 
 Antelope, &c., and dressed the hides to make 
 moccasins. 
 
 About the ist of December finding our 
 horses getting very poor, we thought it 
 necessary to commence feeding them on 
 
 ^Apparently this winter camp was on the Laramie 
 River, west of the Laramie Mountains, somewhere in 
 south-central Albany County, Wyoming.
 
 Sbbenturej? of Henas? ILtonavh 
 
 Cottonwood bark; for which purpose each 
 man turned out and peeled and collected a 
 quantity of this bark, from the grove in which 
 we were encamped for his horses; but to our 
 utter surprise and discomfiture, on presenting 
 it to them they would not eat it, and upon 
 examining it by tasting, we found it to be the 
 bitter, instead of the sweet Cottonwood. Im- 
 mediately upon finding we were deceived, 
 men were despatched up and down the val- 
 ley, on search of Sweet Cottonwood, but re- 
 turned without success. Several weeks were 
 spent in fruitless exertion to obtain feed for 
 our horses; finally we were compelled to give 
 it up, and agreed that our horses must all 
 starve to death. The great depth of the snow, 
 and the extreme coldness of the weather, 
 soon prevented our horses from getting any 
 thing to subsist upon, & they commenced dy- 
 ing. It seldom happened during all our diffi- 
 culties, that my sympathies were more sen- 
 sibly touched, than on viewing these starv- 
 ing creatures. I would willingly have divided 
 my provision with my horses, if they would 
 have eat it. 
 
 On new-years day, notwithstanding our 
 horses were nearly all dead, as being fully 
 satisfied that the few that were yet living 
 must die soon, we concluded to have a feast 
 in our best style; for which purpose we made 
 
 20
 
 Sbbenturesi of Zenajf Heonarb 
 
 preparation by sending out four of our best 
 hunters, to get a choice piece of meat for the 
 occasion. These men killed ten Buffaloe, 
 from which they selected one of the fattest 
 humps they could find and brought in, and 
 after roasting it handsomely before the fire, 
 we all seated ourselves upon the ground, en- 
 circling, what we there called a splendid re- 
 past to dine upon. Feasting sumptuously, 
 cracking a few jokes, taking a few rounds 
 with our rifles, and wishing heartily for some 
 liquor, having none at that place we spent 
 the day. 
 
 The glorious 8th arrived, the recollection 
 of the achievements of which, are calculated 
 to gladden the hearts of the American peo- 
 ple^; but it was not so glorious to us. We 
 found our horses on that day, like Paken- 
 ham's forces, well nigh defunct. Here we 
 were in this valley, surrounded on either side 
 by insurmountable barriers of snow, with all 
 our merchandize and nothing to pack it upon, 
 but two mules — all the rest of our horses be- 
 ing dead. For ourselves we had plenty to eat, 
 and were growing fat and uneasy; — but how 
 we were to extricate ourselves from this per- 
 ilous situation, was a question of deep and 
 
 * The allusion is to General Jackson's victory of New 
 Orleans, January 8, 1815, which was for many years the 
 occasion of recurring patriotic celebrations. 
 
 21
 
 abbentures? of Henas; ICeonarb 
 
 absorbing interest to each individual. About 
 the loth we held a consultation, to decide 
 what measures should be taken for our relief. 
 Mr. Stephens, our pilot, having been at San- 
 tafee, in New Mexico, some 8 or lo years 
 previous, informed the company that horses 
 in that place, were very cheap; and that he 
 was of the opinion he could take them to it, 
 if they saw proper to follow him. It was 
 finally agreed upon by the company, that a 
 part of them should start for Santafee; but 
 not, however, without a good deal of confu- 
 sion; as many were of the opinion that the 
 snow on the mountain in the direction of 
 Santafee, would be found to be as insur- 
 mountable, as in the direction of their mer- 
 chandize, and also that the distance was too 
 great to attempt to travel on foot, at that 
 season of the year. It appearing from the 
 maps to be little short of 800 miles. 
 
 On the morning of the 14th, finding every 
 thing in readiness for our Santafee trip, we 
 set out, each man with his bedding, rifle and 
 nine Beaver skins, packed upon his back; 
 leaving four men only to take care of our 
 merchandize, and the two mules. The beaver 
 skins we took for the purpose of trading to 
 the inhabitants of Santafee for horses, mules, 
 &c. We appointed from the middle of x-\pril 
 till the middle of may, as our time for return- 
 
 22
 
 Sbbenturesi of Ztnaa ileonarb 
 
 ing; and if we did not return within that time, 
 our four men were to wait no longer, but re- 
 turn to the mouth of the Laramies river, to 
 meet the rest of the company. We continued 
 in the direction of Santafee, without any ex- 
 traordinary occurrence, for several days — 
 found game plenty and but little snow, until 
 we arriv^ed at the foot of a great mountain, 
 which appeared to be totally covered with 
 snow. Here we thought it advisable to kill 
 and jirk some buffaloe meat, to eat while 
 crossing this mountain, after which we con- 
 tinued our course; finding much difficulty in 
 travelling, owing to the stormy weather & 
 deep snow — so much so indeed, that had it 
 not been for a path made by the buffaloe 
 bulls it would have been impossible to travel. 
 The channel of the river where it passes 
 through these mountains^ is quite narrow in 
 places and the banks very steep. In such 
 places the beaver build their dams from bank 
 to bank; and when they become old the bea- 
 ver leave them, and they break and overflow 
 the ground, which then produces a kind of 
 flag grass. In the fall of the year, the Buffaloe 
 collect in such places to eat this grass, and 
 when the snow falls too deep they retreat to 
 
 'Apparently they had ascended the Laramie River 
 to the ^Iedicine Bow mountain range, in southwestern 
 Albany County, Wyoming. 
 
 23
 
 aibbentures; of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 the plains; and it was in these trails that we 
 ascended the mountain. 
 
 We still continued our course along this 
 buffaloe path, which led us to the top of the 
 mountain; nothing occurring more than it 
 continued to snow day and night. On the 
 2,5th we arrived on the top of the mountain, 
 and wishing to take a view of the country, if 
 it should cease snowing. In the morning it 
 still continued to snow so rapidly that we 
 were obliged to remain in camp all day, and 
 about the middle of the day, we eat the last 
 of our jirk, and that evening we were obliged 
 to go to bed supperless. 
 
 On the 29th it still continued to snow, and 
 having nothing to eat, we thought it high 
 time to be making some move, for our preser- 
 vation, or we must perish in this lonely wil- 
 derness. The question then arose, shall we re- 
 turn to the valley from whence we came, or 
 continue in the direction of Santafee. This 
 question caused considerable disturbance. 
 Those who were in favor of going ahead, ar- 
 gued that it was too far back to game — that 
 it would be impossible to return before starv- 
 ing to death; while those who were for re- 
 turning contended that it was the highth of 
 imprudence, to proceed in the direction of 
 Santafee. Accordingly we made prepara- 
 tions, and started. We travelled across the 
 
 24
 
 abbenturesi of Henasi TLtonaxh 
 
 summit of the mountain, where we found a 
 plain about a mile wide, which with great 
 difficulty, owing to the fierceness of the wind, 
 we succeeded in crossing; but when we at- 
 tempted to go into the timber, on the oppo- 
 site side from the mountain, we found it im- 
 possible, in consequence of the depth of the 
 snow, and were obliged to turn back and re- 
 cross the plain. i\s we returned by the fire we 
 had made going over the plain the first time, 
 we halted for the purpose of mutually de- 
 ciding what to do; when it was determined 
 by the company, that we would, if possible, 
 return to our four men & two mules. We then 
 started on search of the bufi^aloe path which 
 we had followed to the top of the mountain; 
 but owing to the strong wind, that had 
 blown for several days, and the increased 
 depth of the snow, it was invisible. We 
 then attempted to travel in the snow with- 
 out the path, but we found this equally 
 as impossible, as in the direction of San- 
 tafee. 
 
 Here we were, in a desolate wilderness, un- 
 inhabited (at that season of the year) by 
 even the hardy savage or wild beast — sur- 
 rounded on either side by huge mountains of 
 snow, without one mouthful to eat, save a 
 few beaver skins — our eyes almost destroyed 
 by the piercing wind, and our bodies at times 
 
 25
 
 9bbenture£f of Henas^ ILeonarb 
 
 almost buried by the flakes of snow which 
 were driven before it. Oh! how heartily I 
 wished myself at home; but wishing, in such 
 a case appeared useless — action alone could 
 save us. We had not even leather to make 
 snow shoes, but as good fortune would have 
 it, some of the men had the front part of their 
 pantaloons lined with deer skin, and others 
 had great coats of different kinds of skin, 
 which we collected together to make snow 
 shoes of. This appeared to present to us the 
 only means of escape from starvation and 
 death. After gathering up every thing of 
 leather kind that could be found, we got to 
 making snow shoes, and by morning each 
 man was furnished with a pair. But what 
 were we to subsist upon while crossing the 
 mountain, was a painful question that agi- 
 tated every bosom, and employed every 
 tongue in company. Provision, we had none, 
 of any description; having eaten every thing 
 we had that could be eat with the exception 
 of a few beaver skins, and, after having 
 fasted several days, to attempt to travel the 
 distance of the valley, without any thing to 
 eat, appeared almost worse than useless. 
 Thinking, however, that we might as well 
 perish one place as another, and that it was 
 the best to make an exertion to save our- 
 selves; and after each man had selected two 
 
 26
 
 ^bbenture£^ ot Henasi Heonatb 
 
 of the best beaver skins to eat as he trav- 
 elled along, we hung the remainder upon a 
 tree, and started to try our fortune with the 
 snow shoes. Owing to the softness of the 
 snow, and the poor construction of our snow 
 shoes, we soon found this to be a difficult and 
 laborious mode of travelling. The first day- 
 after we started with our snow shoes we trav- 
 elled but three or four miles and encamped 
 for the night, which, for want of a good fire, 
 we passed in the most distressing manner. 
 Wood was plenty but we were unable to get 
 it, and it kept one or two of the men busy to 
 keep what little fire we had from going out as 
 it melted the snow and sunk down. On the 
 morning (30th Jan.) after roasting and eat- 
 ing some of our beaver skins, we continued 
 our journey through the snow. In this way 
 we continued to travel until the first day of 
 February, in the afternoon, when we came 
 to where the crust on the snow was suffi- 
 ciently strong to carry us. Here we could 
 travel somewhat faster, but at the best not 
 much faster than a man could crawl on his 
 hands and feet, as some of the men from 
 hunger and cold were almost insensible of 
 their situation, and so weak that they could 
 scarcely stand on their feet, much less walk 
 at speed. As we approached the foot of the 
 mountain the snow became softer and would 
 
 27
 
 SbbEntureiei of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 not carry us. This caused the most resolute 
 despair, as it was obviously impossible, ow- 
 ing to extreme weakness, for us to wade 
 much further through the snow. As we moved 
 down the mountain plunging and falling 
 through the snow, we approached a large 
 spruce or cedar tree, the drooping branches 
 of which had prevented the snow from falling 
 to the ground about its trunk — here we 
 halted to rest. While collected under the shel- 
 tering boughs of this tree, viewing, with hor- 
 rified feelings, the way-worn, and despairing 
 countenances of each other, a Mr. Carter, a 
 Virginian, who was probably the nighest ex- 
 hausted of any of the company, burst into 
 tears and said, "here I must die." This made 
 a great impression upon the remainder of the 
 company, and they all, with the exception of 
 a Mr. Hockday and myself, despaired of 
 going any further. Mr. Hockday, however, 
 after some persuasion, telling them that if 
 they had strength to follow us we would 
 break the road as far as possible, if not out 
 to the valley, succeeded in getting them 
 started once more. — Mr. Hockday was a 
 large muscular man, as hardy as a mule and 
 as resolute as a lion; yet kind and affection- 
 ate. He was then decidedly the stoutest 
 man in the company, and myself, probably, 
 the next stoutest. As for our Captain, Mr. 
 
 28
 
 Sbbenturejai of Ztna^ TLtonaxh 
 
 Stephens, he was amongst the weakest of 
 the company. 
 
 We resumed our journey, and continued to 
 crawl along through the deep snow slowly 
 till the evening of the fourth, when we ar- 
 rived in the plain at the foot of the moun- 
 tain. Here we found the snow so shallow that 
 we could dispense with the use of our snow 
 shoes; and while in the act of taking them off 
 some of the men discovered, at the distance 
 of 70 or 80 yards; two animals feeding in the 
 brush, which they supposed to be buffaloe, 
 but from blindness, caused by weakness and 
 pine smoke, could not be positive. Mr. Hock- 
 day and I were selected to approach and kill 
 one of the animals without regard to what 
 they might prove to be, while the remainder 
 of the company were to go to a neighboring 
 grove of timber and kindle a fire. Having 
 used our guns as walking canes in the snow, 
 we found them much out of order, and were 
 obliged to draw out the old loads and put in 
 new ones, before attempting to shoot. After 
 taking every precaution we deemed neces- 
 sary to insure success, we started and crawled 
 along on our hands and knees, until we ap- 
 proached within ten or fifteen steps of the 
 animals, when Mr. Hockday prepared to 
 shoot; but upon finding that he could not see 
 the sight of the gun or hold it at arms length, 
 
 29
 
 abbentures; of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 forbore, and proposed to me to shoot. I ac- 
 cordingly fixed myself and pulled trigger. 
 My gun missed fire! I never was so wrecked 
 with agitation as at that moment. "There," 
 said I, "our game is gone, and we are not 
 able to follow it much further;" but as good 
 fortune had it, the Buffaloe, (for such we had 
 discovered them to be), did not see nor smell 
 us, and after raising their heads out of the 
 snow, and looking around for a few moments 
 for the cause of the noise, again commenced 
 feeding. I then picked the flint of my gun, 
 fired and broke the back of one of the Buf- 
 faloe, my ball not taking efl-'ect within i8 
 inches of where I thought I aimed. — The 
 men in the grove of timber, on hearing the 
 report of my rifle came staggering forth to 
 learn the result, and when they received the 
 heart-cheering intelligence of success they 
 raised a shout of joy. It was amusing to wit- 
 ness the conduct of some of the men on this 
 occasion. Before we had caught the buft'aloe 
 they appeared scarcely able to speak — but a 
 moment after that, were able to hollow like 
 Indians at war. I will not describe the scene 
 that followed here — the reader may imagine 
 it — an account of it would be repulsive and 
 off^ensive rather than agreeable. This was the 
 ninth day since we had eaten any thing but 
 dried beaver skins. We remained at this 
 
 30
 
 Sbbenturesi of Zena£( iLeonarb 
 
 place four days feasting upon the carcass of 
 this BufFaloe, during which time we recruited 
 considerably in strength and spirits, and on 
 the 8th we resumed our journey down the 
 river in search of our four men and two 
 mules, and soon landed in the valley where 
 game was plenty, and but little snow to ob- 
 struct our march. We continued our jour- 
 ney, killing plenty of game and living well, 
 without any strange occurrence until the 
 14th, when we halted within a short distance 
 of our old camp, and sent two or three of our 
 worst looking men ahead to see whether they 
 would be recognized by the four men. They 
 were not known immediately on arriving at 
 the camp, but no sooner engaged in conver- 
 sation than they were recognized by the four 
 men, and heartily welcomed back. 
 
 Here we remained at our old station until 
 the 14th of March, during which period, 
 having plenty of good buffaloe meat to eat, 
 we regained our usual health and appear- 
 ance. Anxious to be doing something, eight 
 of us made preparations to start again to 
 Santefee for horses. We were to travel 
 south, along the foot of the mountain till 
 we came to a certain river which heads in 
 the mountain near where we had hung the 
 beaver skins on the pine tree; after finding 
 this river we were to commence trapping, 
 
 31
 
 ^tibentutes; of Zcnas; ILeonarb 
 
 and also to endeavor to get the beaver fur 
 off the mountain into the valley. The bal- 
 ance of the company, 13 in number, were to 
 remain at the camp and secrete the merchan- 
 dize, and then follow us to this river, where 
 we were to meet; and if we had succeeded in 
 getting the beaver skins off the mountain, 
 we were to join together and proceed in the 
 direction of Santefee. With this understand- 
 ing we started, and pursued our course 
 slowly along the base of the mountain — 
 found game plenty — met with no obstacle 
 to impede our march, and on the 20th we 
 arrived on the bank of the river. After 
 remaining here a few days the ice melted 
 out of the creeks and we commenced and 
 continued to trap for beaver until the 28th 
 during which time we caught a fine quantity 
 of fur, and built ourselves a wigwam after 
 the Indian fashion. The weather continuing 
 warm and pleasant, and having a large quan- 
 tity of dried meat on hand we concluded to 
 hide our traps, beaver skins, baggage, &c., in 
 our wigwam and pack a portion of the jirked 
 meat on our backs and make an effort to get 
 the beaver skins off the pine tree where we 
 had left them in January. We started, and 
 after travelling up the river along the side of 
 the mountain for two or three days, we came 
 in contact with huge mountains of snow and 
 
 32
 
 abbentures; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 insurmountable icebergs, and were com- 
 pelled to abandon our course & return back 
 again to the plain. When we had arrived 
 within a short distance of our wigwam, on 
 our return, we discovered several trails of 
 moccasin tracks in the snow. Some of the 
 company became somewhat alarmed at these 
 signs, supposing them to be the trails of hos- 
 tile Indians — others appeared rejoiced, and 
 said it was the remainder of our company. — 
 The dispute was soon decided, for on arriving 
 at our wigwam, we found it completely 
 robbed of every thing we had left in it — 
 traps, blankets, beaver skins and other uten- 
 sils were all gone — nothing remained but the 
 naked frame of the little hut. — We had now 
 nothing left to sleep on save one old blanket 
 for each man which we had with us on the 
 mountain, and had lost nearly all our traps. 
 Under these highly aggravating circum- 
 stances some of the men became desperate, 
 declared they would retake their property or 
 die in the attempt. For my part, I viewed the 
 matter calmly and seriously and determined 
 to abide the dictates of prudence only. Seeing 
 from the trail of the Indians that they were 
 not very numerous, and had a number of 
 horses with them, we determined, after some 
 controversy, to rob them of their horses, 
 or other property commensurate to our loss. 
 
 33
 
 ^bbentureiE^ of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 Accordingly we made preparations for our 
 perilous adventure — we eat supper, prepared 
 our fire arms, and a little after dark set out 
 on search of the enemy — the night was calm 
 and clear. We traversed the valley up and 
 down for several hours without making any 
 discoveries; we then ascended an adjacent 
 hill, from the summit of which we discovered 
 at a considerable distance a number of dim 
 fires. A controversy here arose amongst the 
 men as to the expediency of attacking the 
 Indians. It was finally decided, however, by 
 a majority of the company, that we should 
 attack them at all hazards. We started in the 
 direction of the fires, and after travelling 
 some distance, and having lost sight of the 
 fires, some of the men again became discour- 
 aged, and strongly urged the propriety of 
 abandoning the project; but on calling a vote 
 a majority again decided in favor of attack- 
 ing the Indians and in a few minutes after 
 we arrived on the top of a hill, within 50 or 
 60 yards of the enemy's camp. Here we halt- 
 ed for the purpose of reconnoitering. At this 
 time the moon was just rising above the 
 summit of the mountain, and casting its 
 glimmering rays o'er the valley beneath, but 
 did not shine on the Indian camp. — There 
 were five fires, and the Indians appearing 
 more numerous than we had expected to 
 
 34
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henajf ILeonarb 
 
 find them, we thought it advisable to be as 
 careful and judicious about attacking them 
 as possible. /\t the foot of this hill, near a 
 large rock, we left our hats, coats and every- 
 thing that was unnecessary in action — we 
 also designated this as a point of meeting, in 
 case we should get separated in the skirmish; 
 and had an understanding that but two 
 should fire at a time, and that Capt. Ste- 
 phens was to command. Mr. Hockday and I 
 were selected to shoot first. We then started 
 & crawled silently along on our hands and 
 knees until we got within eight or ten steps 
 of one of the fires, where we laid down in the 
 brush, with our heads close together to con- 
 sult as to the most proper mode of surprising 
 the savages, whose dusky forms were then 
 extended in sleep around the dying embers. 
 While in this position, some eager for the 
 conflict, others trembling with fear, a large 
 dog rose from one of the fires and com- 
 menced growling and barking in the most 
 terrifying manner. The spell of silence was 
 now broken, and an immediate and final 
 skirmish with our enemy rendered unavoid- 
 able. Thinking ourselves rather too much 
 exposed to the fire of the Indians we retreat- 
 ed fifteen or twenty steps down the bank. 
 Some of the Indians then came to the top of 
 the bank and commenced shooting arrows at 
 
 35
 
 us, and yelling at the extent of their lungs. 
 At this moment Mr. Stephens was heard to 
 say in a firm tone "now is the time my boys, 
 we must fight or die;" upon this Mr. Hockday 
 and I fired; one of the Indians on the bank 
 was seen to fall, and the remainder ran back 
 to the camp. On hearing the report of our 
 rifles the Indians, to the number of two or 
 three hundred, rose out of the bushes and 
 literally covered the plain, while their terrific 
 war whoop — mingled with an occasional 
 crack of a rifle, rendered the aspect of things 
 more threatening than the most timid had 
 before anticipated. We ran to our appointed 
 place to meet, but before we had time to 
 gather our baggage, we found ourselves com- 
 pletely surrounded and hemmed in on every 
 side by the savages. Finding that we could 
 not escape by flight, but must fight, we ran 
 to the top of the hill, and having sheltered 
 ourselves as well as we could amongst the 
 rocks, commenced yelling and firing in turn, 
 (yelling is a very essential point in Indian 
 warfare.) This scene was kept up for near an 
 hour without any damage to our company, 
 and as we supposed, but little injury to the 
 Indians. The savages seeing we were deter- 
 mined to defend ourselves to the last gave 
 way on the opposite side of the hill from 
 their camp, and we made our escape out of 
 
 36
 
 aibbenturesJ of Henasi ileonartr 
 
 their circle, and were glad to get away with 
 our lives, without any of our property or 
 that of the Indians. The scenes of this night 
 will ever be indelibly impressed upon my 
 memory. 
 
 After travelling five or six miles we came 
 to a deep ravine or hollow — we carefully de- 
 scended the precipice to the flat below, where 
 we encamped for the night; but from fright, 
 fatigue, cold and hunger, I could not sleep, 
 and lay contemplating on the striking con- 
 trast between a night in the villages of Penn- 
 sylvania and one on the Rocky Mountains. 
 In the latter, the plough-boy's whistle, the 
 gambols of the children on the green, the 
 lowing of the herds, and the deep tones of the 
 evening bell, are unheard; not a sound strikes 
 upon the ear, except perchance the distant 
 howling of some wild beast, or war-whoop of 
 the uncultivated savage — all was silent on 
 this occasion save the muttering of a small 
 brook as it wound its way through the deep 
 cavities of the gulph down the mountain, and 
 the gentle whispering of the breeze, as it 
 crept through the dark pine or cedar forest, 
 and sighed in melancholy accents; nor is it 
 the retiring of the "god of day" to his 
 couch in the western horizon that brings 
 on this desolate scene — his rising in the 
 east does not change the gloomy aspect — 
 
 37
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 night and day are nearly the same in this 
 respect. 
 
 x^bout midnight we were alarmed by a 
 shrill whistle on the rocks above, & suppos- 
 ing it to be the Indians on pursuit of us we 
 seized our guns and ran a few rods from 
 our fires. After waiting for some time, with- 
 out hearing any more noise, one of the men 
 ascended the precipice, and discovered that 
 the object of our fears was a large drove of 
 Elk. In the morning we continued to travel 
 down this ravine, — and I was struck with the 
 rough and picturesque appearance of the ad- 
 jacent hills. On our right and left, arose like 
 two perpendicular ramparts, to the heighth 
 of near two hundred feet, two chains of 
 mountains. Not a blade of grass, bush or 
 plant was to be seen on these hard slopes, — 
 huge rocks detached from the main body, 
 supported by the recumbent weight of other 
 unseen rocks appeared in the act of falling, 
 and presented a frightful appearance — noth- 
 ing met the eye but an inexhaustible ava- 
 lanch of rocks — sombre, gray or black rocks. 
 If Dante had designed to picture in one of 
 his circles, the Hell of Stones, he might have 
 taken this scene for his model. — This is one 
 scenery in the vicinity of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains; and perhaps an hour's travel would 
 present another of a very different character 
 
 38
 
 ^hbtntnxtsi of Zenasi Heonarb 
 
 — one that the artist who designed to depict 
 a beautiful and enchanting landscape would 
 select for a model. 
 
 After travelling some fifteen or twenty 
 miles, we came to the trail where the main 
 body of the Indians with whom we had the 
 skirmish the evening before, had passed 
 along. It was near half a mile wide, and the 
 snow was literally trodden into the earth. I 
 have since understood from whites who had 
 been in the habit of trading with this na- 
 tion, prior to their declaration of hostilities 
 against the whites, that they numbered from 
 seven to eight hundred warriors. Alarmed at 
 this formidable appearance of the hostile 
 Indians, we mutually declined the idea of 
 going to Santa Fee, and turned and travelled 
 in the direction of the main body of our 
 company. 
 
 We continued to travel day after day, 
 with all possible speed — occasionally killing 
 a buffaloe, a goat, or a bighorn, as we passed 
 over the plains and prairies which were liter- 
 ally covered with these animals; and on the 
 morning of the 9th of April, we arrived safe 
 at our old camp, & were gratified to find our 
 thirteen men and two mules in the enjoy- 
 ment of good health, with plenty to eat and 
 drink. After exchanging civilities all around, 
 by a hearty shake of the hand, and taking 
 
 39
 
 ^bbenturesf of Zenasi Heonarb 
 
 some refreshment, which was immediately 
 prepared for us, I related to the company the 
 dismal tidings of the near approach of the 
 hostile Indians, and the circumstances of be- 
 ing robbed by them, and being defeated in 
 the attempt to retake our property. — All 
 were now satisfied of the imprudence of at- 
 tempting to go to Santa Fee by this route, as 
 well as of the necessity of devising some 
 other method of saving our merchandise. We 
 finally concluded to conceal our merchan- 
 dise, baggage, fur, and every thing that we 
 could not pack on our backs or on the two 
 mules, and return to our appointed winter 
 quarters, at the mouth of the Laramies 
 River, with the expectation of meeting Capt. 
 Gant, and obtaining some assistance from 
 him. On the morning of the 2oth of April, 
 having made every necessary preparation, 
 we set out on our journey for the mouth of 
 the Laramies river. After two days travel, 
 we came to the foot of the mountain which 
 we had endeavored in vain to cross in No- 
 vember. The snow was still deep on the top 
 of it; but by aid of the buffaloe trails, we 
 were enabled to scale it without much diffi- 
 culty, except that our mules suffered with 
 hunger, having had nothing to eat but pine 
 brush. At the foot of the mountain we found 
 abundance of sweet cottonwood, and our 
 
 40
 
 Sbbenturesi of Ztnasi ILtonaxh 
 
 mules being very fond of it, we detained two 
 or three days to let them recruit from their 
 suffering in crosing the mountains. This 
 mountain and the one we left our fur on, are 
 covered with the most splendid timber of 
 different kinds such as fir, cedar, white pine, 
 &c. On the margin of the rivers and creeks in 
 the plains, the only timber is Cottonwood, 
 undergrowth, willow and rose bushes; out in 
 the middle of the plains there is none of any 
 description. In the month of June, a person 
 by taking a view of the country east of this 
 mountain with a spy glass, could see nothing 
 but a level plain extending from the foot of 
 the mountain as far as the eye can penetrate, 
 covered with green grass, and beautiful flow- 
 ers of various descriptions; and by turning to 
 the northwest, the eye meets nothing but a 
 rough and dismal looking mountain, covered 
 with snow, and presenting all the appearance 
 of dreary winter. These plains extend to the 
 state of Missouri, with scarce a hill or a grove 
 of timber to interrupt the sight, and literally 
 covered with game of almost every kind. 
 
 On the 25th we again resumed our journey 
 down the river, and continued ahead without 
 any difficulty — passing over nearly the same 
 ground that we had travelled over going up 
 the fall before; killing plenty of game — buffa- 
 loe, deer, bear, bighorn, antelope, &c., and 
 
 41
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 on the 2oth May we landed at the mouth of 
 the Laramies; but to our utter astonishment 
 and discomfiture we discovered that not one 
 of the parties had returned according to 
 agreement. 
 
 [Here is the end of what was published before. 
 The manuscript continues as follows lY' 
 
 After remaining here until the 29th, our 
 commander, Mr. Stephens, and another man 
 took the two mules, which by this time had 
 greatly recovered from their famished state, 
 and started in search of the other parties. In 
 vain they travelled up and down the La 
 Platte and its tributaries, but no traces of 
 the lost companions could be discovered, and 
 on the 6th of June they returned, much 
 fatigued and disheartened. During their trav- 
 els they had discovered, on some of the 
 creeks, 60 or 70 miles from our encampment, 
 many signs of beaver — encountered several 
 Grizzly bears, and several times narrowly 
 escaped the Indians; Mr. Stephens having 
 had several balls shot through his clothes. In 
 this situation we remained for five or six 
 days, when Mr. Stephens proposed that each 
 man should go on foot, with a trap or two on 
 his back, his blankets, together with what 
 
 ^° This note, by the Editor, evidently refers to the 
 prior publication, in the Clearfield Republican^ of a por- 
 tion of Leonard's narrative. 
 
 42
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasi TLtonath 
 
 we could pack upon the two mules, and com- 
 mence trapping on these creeks. This propo- 
 sition was objected to by some of the com- 
 pany who were in favour of securing some of 
 Capt. Gant's merchandise, find the Indians 
 and purchase horses of them. So many differ- 
 ent propositions were here made, that noth- 
 ing definite could be agreed upon. — Mr. 
 Smith, Mr. Fully and myself agreed to repair 
 to the trapping ground and commence opera- 
 tions, with the understanding that Capt. S., 
 should receive a certain share of the profits, 
 as a recompense for the discovery he had 
 made. Accordingly having every thing ar- 
 ranged, on the nth we started, leaving the 
 remainder of the company to pursue their 
 own course. 
 
 Mr. Stephens having a part of the men 
 indebted to him for clothing, &c., and know- 
 ing that if they remained at camp he w^ould 
 not be able to collect it, told them that if 
 they would go and bring the beaver fur off 
 the mountain, where we had left it in Janu- 
 ary last, he would ensure them an equal 
 share of the proceeds of our trapping expedi- 
 tion — and they, with this understanding set 
 out. This contract was made without any 
 consultation having been had with us; and 
 the men, not aware of any thing but fairness 
 on the part of Stephens in making this bargain, 
 
 43
 
 gibbentureji of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 marched for the fur, and succeeded in get- 
 ting it off the mountain into the plain, 
 without much difficulty, packed it on their 
 mules, together with what we had left in our 
 winter cabins, and brought the whole to the 
 mouth of the Laramies river. In the mean- 
 time. Smith, Fully, and myself were busily 
 engaged in trapping on the tributary streams 
 of the river Platte. We encountered much 
 difficulty and danger in this excursion, from 
 wild beasts and hostile Indians. — One cir- 
 cumstance with a bear I must relate: — On 
 a pleasant summer evening, when nothing 
 seemed disposed to disturb the tranquility of 
 our forest home, we built a fire under the 
 cliff of a large rock, on the bank of a small 
 creek, to roast some buffaloe meat. After 
 having cooked and eat our evening repast, I 
 was standing close to the rock, apart from 
 the other men ten or twelve feet, — all at once 
 one of them jumped up and ran off, exclaim- 
 ing *'the bear," "the bear!" I instantly cast 
 my eyes to the top of the precipice, where 
 they encountered this hideous monster seat- 
 ed on the rock with his mouth wide open, and 
 his eyes sparkling like fire. My whole frame 
 shook with agitation. I knew that to attempt 
 to run would be certain death. My gun was 
 standing against a tree within my reach, and 
 after calling for the aid of my companions, I 
 
 44
 
 ^bbentureiB; of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 raised my rifle to my face and taking deliber- 
 ate aim at the most fatal spot, fired — which 
 brought sir Bruin to the ground. — In the 
 meantime Smith and Fully came to my 
 assistance, and also discharged the contents 
 of their rifles into his head. 
 
 In a few days afterwards we were joined 
 by the rest of the company, who, having 
 secreted the fur, &c., at the mouth of the 
 Laramies river, had come on search of us. We 
 now, for the first time, got a knowledge of 
 the conduct of Stephens relative to our fur. 
 The men informed us of the contract be- 
 tween them and Stephens. We answered 
 that we could agree to no such contract — 
 that the fur belonged to us, and that we 
 intended to keep it. They then devised other 
 means to secure their share of 150 beaver 
 skins, (the whole number we had caught.) 
 Stephens then told the men that he would 
 not be accountable for any of the fur, 
 and the only way to obtain any of it, was 
 to take it by force. Seeing the folly of fur- 
 ther resistance — 18 against 3 — we were 
 obliged to surrender our earnings, which 
 they took and divided equally among them- 
 selves. 
 
 The next day we left this company at 
 whose hands we had received such ill-treat- 
 ment, and returned to the mouth of the 
 
 45
 
 abbenture£i of Ztnasi Heonarb 
 
 Laramies, with the expectation of meeting 
 Capt. Gant — but we were sadly mistaken — 
 on our arrival there no traces of Capt. G's 
 company could be discovered. Next day Mr. 
 Stephens & his party also returned. After 
 remaining here 3 days together, hunting, 
 fishing, and indulging in other amusements, 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick and a company of 115 men, 
 came to our camp. He was on his way to join 
 his company on the west side of the moun- 
 tains, on the Columbia river, and to supply 
 them with merchandize, ammunition, horses, 
 &c. This company informed us that the firm 
 of Gant & Blackwell had become insolvent. 
 At this news we all became discouraged; and 
 finally Mr. Stephens and the whole company 
 agreed to join in with Fitzpatrick and go 
 with him to his rendezvous, where we were 
 to make arrangements as to hiring, purchas- 
 ing equipments, &c. Mr. Stephens took 120 
 beaver skins, which belonged to Captain 
 Gant, and sold them to Fitzpatrick, which he 
 secreted in the ground, with the intention of 
 raising them when on his return to Missouri 
 — in consideration of which, he was to fur- 
 nish him with horses and such other equip- 
 ments as he might want. 
 
 July 1st. Having made this arrangement 
 with Mr. F., our camp was all confusion at 
 an early hour this morning, preparing to 
 
 46
 
 aibbentures; of Henas; ILtonavh 
 
 depart for the Columbia river.^^ Mr. F., took 
 one of the fleetest and most hardy horses in 
 his train, and set out in advance of the main 
 body, in order to discover the disposition of 
 the various Indian tribes through whose do- 
 minions we were to travel, and to meet us at a 
 designated point on the head of the Colum- 
 bia river. After packing up all our moveable 
 property, we started in the course which he 
 had taken, with a force of near 150 strong, 
 many of whom were afraid of nothing, & 
 anxious to meet any danger. We this day, 
 travelled about twenty miles and encamped 
 for the night. The weather was serene and 
 warm, and the men all in high spirits, as we 
 had plenty of fresh meat. 
 
 July 2d. Early in the morning we resumed 
 our journey — stopped in the heat of the day 
 to rest our horses — country quite beautiful — 
 soil rather poor, abounding with sand plains. 
 Travelled about 15 or 20 miles and encamped 
 for the night. 
 
 July 3d. This day we made but little prog- 
 ress in travelling in consequence of a heavy 
 fall of rain — came in contact with a large 
 drove of buffaloe, out of which our hunters 
 succeeded in killing ten — one of the men 
 
 ^^ Present-day Snake River, which rises in Yellow- 
 stone Park and flows west and northwest to its junc- 
 tion with the Columbia. 
 
 47
 
 received a bite from a snake, but as it was 
 not of a very poisenous species, the wound 
 soon healed, and the victim was more scared 
 than hurt — but little variation in the scenery 
 of the country. 
 
 July 5, 6 & 7. The weather was fair — trav- 
 elled at the rate of 25 miles per day — nothing 
 of interest occurred. The country through 
 which we passed is rather rough, abounding 
 with game of every description, and is re- 
 markable for the plentitude of wild goats. I 
 have seen the plains literally covered with 
 them. Occasionally the men would fall to and 
 kill them by hundreds. We also fell in with 
 a party of Indians, but on their seeing our 
 forces, fled, without attempting to injure us. 
 We were unable to ascertain the name of the 
 tribe to which they belonged. 
 
 July 8 th. Early in the morning we resumed 
 our journey, but had not proceeded far until 
 we found ourselves in the midst of a bed of 
 quicksand. So deep was the sand in some 
 places that several of our horses were com- 
 pletely swamped in it, & it was with great 
 difficulty that we succeeded in getting round 
 this swamp, as it were, to continue our jour- 
 ney. Having surmounted this difficulty, one 
 of our men, a Mr. White, who wandered 
 from the company, came well nigh falling a 
 victim to the fury of a grizzly bear — having 
 
 48
 
 abbentures^ of Ztnasi Heonarb 
 
 in the encounter, had one of his arms literally 
 torn from his body, and had it not been for 
 the timely assistance rendered by some of 
 his companions, who afterwards killed the 
 bear, his death would have been the inevi- 
 table consequence. This night we selected a 
 high piece of ground for our encampment, 
 where the wind continued to assail us most 
 violently during the whole night. The next 
 day we travelled about twenty miles, with- 
 out meeting with any thing of consequence. 
 July loth. Finding that we were making 
 but little headway in our travelling, we re- 
 solved to increase our speed, & accordingly 
 the whole company was on the move at an 
 early hour this morning. We found our route 
 beginning to grow still more obstructed by 
 rocky cliffs, which are dispersed over this 
 section of the mountain region for many 
 miles, and present an appearance to the be- 
 holder similar to a meadow covered with 
 hay-cocks. As the country continued to grow 
 rough, game became scarce, and we began to 
 kill such meat as we cou/d, and not such as 
 we chose; indeed we thought ourselves very 
 fortunate when one of our hunters would 
 succeed in killing a goat or an antelope — 
 species of meat which we would not look at, 
 when in the vicinity of deer and buffaloe. 
 This part of the mountain is covered with 
 
 49
 
 ^bbenturesf of Zenasi ILeonarb 
 
 beautiful timber of the best quality, such as 
 fir, pine, cedar, &c. We only travelled about 
 ten miles this day. On the following morning 
 we resumed our journey, and continued to 
 travel day after day, when, after a long and 
 toilsome voyage, we arrived at the point on 
 the Columbia river, designated to meet Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick. Judge of our surprise, when on 
 arriving here no traces of him could be dis- 
 covered. In vain we searched for some clue to 
 this, to us, melancholy circumstance. What 
 can detain him? was the question asked by 
 each of us. Disappointment is heart-sickening 
 under any circumstance, but to be disappoint- 
 ed under such circumstances, and in such a 
 place, was perplexing in the extreme. — One 
 scouting party after another were despatched 
 to gather some tidings of the lost Fitzpat- 
 rick, but all to no purpose. Had he been de- 
 stroyed by the savages? The former brilliant 
 success of the man's intercourse with the 
 Indians would not warrant such a belief, as 
 he had many times previously passed over 
 these mountains with no other companion 
 than his trusty steed. The most natural con- 
 clusion at which to arrive, was, that the dull 
 and cloudy weather had caused him to lose 
 his course, and that he had become bewil- 
 dered, and was yet wandering through the 
 wilderness. 
 
 50
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henas; Heonartr 
 
 After a fruitless search of several days, we 
 concluded to descend the river and search 
 for the company which Mr. Fitzpatrick had 
 left there the summer before, — where we had 
 a faint hope that we might find Mr. F., in 
 safety. The first day we travelled about 20 
 miles and encamped for the night on the 
 bank of the river. Although we knew that we 
 were in the vicinity of the savage Blackfeet 
 Indians, yet but few traces of them had been 
 discovered through the day, and we there- 
 fore retired to rest in our encampment with- 
 out taking the necessary precautions for de- 
 fence, in case of an attack. But it was not 
 long before we were enabled to appreciate 
 the consequence of our negligence, or fancied 
 security. About midnight we were awoke 
 from our slumbers by a furious attack by a 
 large party of Blackfeet. They fired into our 
 tents before we were aware of their approach. 
 Immediately each man was on his feet, and 
 on the look out. After a small skirmish of 
 random shooting, which lasted an hour or 
 so, the Indians, finding the strength of our 
 forces, thought it best to retire from the 
 field, with the loss of three killed, and as we 
 supposed, 8 or 10 wounded. The loss on our 
 side was one man wounded in the leg, 5 
 horses killed, 3 wounded, and 14 stolen. The 
 Blackfeet are a powerful nation, and are 
 
 51 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 ILLINOIS LIBRARY
 
 aibbenturesf of Henasi ILtonaxh 
 
 better supplied with implements of war, than 
 almost any other tribe of this region. They 
 have always retained a most inveterate hos- 
 tility to the Flatheads, against whom they 
 wage a continual warfare, having at one 
 time greatly reduced their strength, and on 
 several occasions came well nigh exterminat- 
 ing the entire tribe. Of late years the Flat- 
 heads have been better prepared for war, and 
 have bravely held their own. This undying 
 hostility appears to be owing to the Black- 
 feet refusing to let the Flatheads hunt buffa- 
 loe on the east side of the mountain. 
 
 The following morning we took up our 
 march and continued down the river. As we 
 travelled along we saw many fresh signs of 
 Indians, and apprehended much danger from 
 them, which caused us to labour under the 
 most intense fear, lest we should fall into an 
 ambush of this crafty tribe. We killed several 
 fat deer, goats, and an antelope, and en- 
 camped on a high hill, from which we had a 
 beautiful view of the surrounding country; 
 where we could see the different kinds of 
 game traversing the plains at leisure, con- 
 tented, and undisturbed, save when aroused 
 from their lair by the sudden onset of the 
 Indian hunter. This night we very prudently 
 stationed a strong guard round our encamp- 
 ment, and were permitted to pass the night 
 
 52
 
 Sbbentutes; of Henas; ILtonavh 
 
 in peace, which was quite warm and pleas- 
 ant. In the morning we resumed our journey, 
 and about the middle of the day found our- 
 selves in the vicinity of another tribe of 
 Indians. We sent a flag to their camp, which 
 was received in the most friendly manner. 
 This proved to be the Flathead tribe. These 
 Indians are more pacific and pleasing in 
 their manners than any tribe we had yet 
 encountered, and reside mostly on the river 
 of that name. I will here quote the descrip- 
 tion of this tribe as given by Mr. Cox,^^ a 
 gentleman well acquainted with the Indian 
 character, which fully embraces my own 
 views: — "The Flatheads have fewer failings 
 than any tribe I ever met with. They are 
 honest in their dealings — brave in the field — 
 quiet and amiable to their chiefs — fond of 
 cleanliness, and are decided enemies to false- 
 hood of every description. — The women are 
 
 ^2 Ross Cox was born in Dublin in 1793. Like 
 Alexander Ross, whose narratives of experiences on the 
 Columbia River were reprinted in the Lakeside Classics 
 volumes for 1923 and 1924, Cox joined the Astorian 
 expedition in 181 1, and for several years was a trader 
 in the Columbia River area. In 1818 he returned to 
 Dublin, where he married the following year, became 
 associated with the Dublin Police Office, reared a large 
 family, and died in 1853. His Adventures on the Colum- 
 bia River, published in London in 1831, is a valuable and 
 readable narrative of the Astorian episode. 
 
 53
 
 Slbbenturesi of Zenas; ILtonaxh 
 
 excellent wives and mothers, and their char- 
 acter for fidelity is so well established that 
 we never heard of one single instance of one 
 proving unfaithful to her husband. They are 
 remarkably well made — rather tall — slender, 
 and never corpulent." The Flatheads are 
 well accustomed to the manners and customs 
 of the white race, and in many respects ap- 
 pear ambitious to follow their example. — 
 Some years ago, they were in the habit of 
 using a process to flatten the heads of their 
 children, which they deemed a very essential 
 addition to their appearance; but since they 
 have had intercourse with the whites they 
 have abandoned this abominable practice. 
 The process of flattening the head is this: — 
 Soon after the birth of the infant, it is placed 
 in a kind of trough and a piece of bark fas- 
 tened by means of strings through the 
 trough, and pressed hard upon the forepart 
 of the head, which causes it to grow flat. In 
 this painful position they are kept a year, 
 and in some instances over a year. They are 
 very hospitable to strangers, and are tried 
 friends of the white people. On coming to 
 their village a white person always receives 
 the best to eat, drink and smoke, and are 
 always ready to pilot the traveller through 
 their country. In the summer season this 
 tribe live in the buff"aloe country on the head 
 
 54
 
 SbbentureiEf of Henasf ILtonaxh 
 
 of the Columbia river, where they never fail 
 to come in contact with their cold hearted 
 enemies, the Blackfeet, who are the most 
 ferocious and unsparing enemy of the white 
 men, because the Flatheads have been sup- 
 plied by the whites with munitions of war. 
 In the fall the Flatheads again return to the 
 plains, and in the winter subsist on Salmon, 
 roots and small game. They are always well 
 supplied with horses, and when provision 
 becomes scarce in one section, they pack all 
 they have upon the backs of their horses, and 
 remove to another. Their houses are made of 
 slim pine poles from 20 to 30 feet long, 12 or 
 15 feet apart at the bottom, and joined to- 
 gether at the top, forming a structure in the 
 shape of the roof of a common dwelling 
 house. These are covered with dressed buffa- 
 loe skins sewed together. A fire is built in the 
 middle of the cabin, and its shape forms a 
 kind of flue or draft for the smoke — render- 
 ing this simple structure quite a comfortable 
 habitation at the most inclement season of 
 the year. No storm can affect them, nor no 
 cold can reach their inmates. When moving 
 camp these poles are taken down & one end 
 fastened to the sides of the mule or horse and 
 the other end dragging on the ground form- 
 ing a sort of dray. The infants are put into a 
 sack or bag, made of leather, which closes on 
 
 55
 
 atjbenturesi of Ztnan ILtonaxh 
 
 one side by strings; this is fastened to a 
 board near three feet long & one wide, where 
 they are kept constantly, with the exception 
 of an occasional dressing, &c., until a year 
 old. To the back of this board they have a 
 cord attached, by which they hang the sack 
 to the saddle, whilst travelling. 
 
 x^fter remaining here two days to observe 
 their manners, customs, and mode of living, 
 and getting all the information we desired, 
 we resumed our journey, taking one of the 
 Indians to pilot us to the station of Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick's company. — After several days 
 tedious and toilsome travelling, and no ex- 
 traordinary occurrence, we joined the com- 
 pany on the 2nd of August. It was with 
 feelings of peculiar delight that we here be- 
 held the visages of white men, who were no 
 less pleased to give us a welcome reception. 
 But a melancholy gloom was visible in every 
 countenance, when we discovered that Fitz- 
 patrick had not arrived. Great excitement 
 prevailed, and vigorous measures were im- 
 mediately taken to rescue him, if he had not 
 before this, as many supposed, fallen a vic- 
 tim to the enraged fury of the merciless sav- 
 age, or the ravenous appetite of some fero- 
 cious beast of prey. Small companies were 
 despatched in various directions on the trib- 
 utary streams of the Columbia. Diligent 
 
 S6
 
 abbenturesf of ZtnaH ILtonavh 
 
 search was kept up for some time without 
 success, and our search was about to be 
 abandoned as fruitless; and indeed some of 
 the parties had given up in despair, and re- 
 turned to camp, when, a party, who had 
 wandered into the vicinity of the Blackfeet 
 Indians, were reconnoitering their move- 
 ments in a valley from a high bluff, saw, and 
 immediately recognized, Fitzpatrick's horse, 
 with which the Indians were running races. 
 — Was this calculated to inspire hope? or 
 was it not rather an omen that our employer 
 was destroyed by these Indians. Vigilant 
 search was made to make further discoveries; 
 and, to the great joy of every man, he was at 
 length found on the banks of the Pieres river, 
 which forms a junction with the Columbia, 
 near the rendezvous of Fitzpatrick's com- 
 pany. When found he was completely ex- 
 hausted, and so much wasted in flesh, and 
 deformed in dress, that, under other circum- 
 stances, he would not have been recognized. 
 The poor man was reduced to a skeleton, and 
 was almost senseless. When his deliverers 
 spoke of taking him to camp, he scarcely 
 seemed to comprehend their meaning. After 
 eating some dried buffaloe meat, and a little 
 maize, he grew better, and placing him on a 
 horse, he was safely conveyed to camp. A 
 general rejoicing ensued, for his appearance 
 
 57
 
 abbenturesi of Zenasi Heonartr 
 
 among us again, was like that of one risen 
 from the dead. Although I was not much 
 attached to the man, for I could not banish 
 from my mind the craftiness evinced by him 
 when we first met with him on the east side 
 of the mountains, yet I can scarcely describe 
 my feelings of joy on beholding him safely 
 returned. After resting a few days, and being 
 nourished by the provender our camp would 
 afford, he became able to relate the misfor- 
 tunes which befel him in crossing the moun- 
 tain, which I will give in his own words, as 
 follows: 
 
 ADVENTURES OF FITZPATRICK 
 
 "For three or four days after I left the com- 
 pany I travelled without any difficulty, and 
 at great speed, but the fourth and fifth, the 
 weather being dull and cloudy, I got strayed 
 from my course, and soon found myself in 
 the midst of a rough hilly country, abound- 
 ing with large loose rocks which some places 
 almost prevented me from passing at all, and 
 covered wath various kinds of timber of the 
 most magnificent description. In passing the 
 nights in these solitudes my rest was con- 
 stantly disturbed by the dismal howl of the 
 wolf and the fierce growl of the bear — which 
 animals were very numerous and would fre- 
 quently approach within a few steps and 
 
 S8
 
 aibbenturefii of Eenasi ILtonaxh 
 
 threaten to devour me. One day after a toil- 
 some ride, I dismounted, turned my horse 
 loose to graze and seated myself on a rock, 
 with the little remaining provision I had, to 
 refresh myself. While thus seated resting my 
 wearied limbs, and satisfying the gnawings 
 of hunger, I was suddenly startled by a 
 scrambling on the rocks immediately in my 
 rear. I turned round and beheld a huge bear 
 approaching me in double quick time. I in- 
 stantly sprang to my feet, for I was well 
 acquainted with his mode of warfare. I 
 turned and faced his lordship, when he ap- 
 proached within about six feet of me, rose on 
 his hind feet and most impudently stared me 
 right in the face, for more than a minute. 
 After discovering that I was no ways bash- 
 ful, he bowed, turned and run — I did the 
 same, and made for my horse. Bruin was not 
 so easy fooled; he seen my retreat & gave 
 chase. I thought I could reach my horse and 
 mount before the bear could reach me, but 
 the approach of the bear frightened my 
 beast, and just as I was going to mount he 
 sprang loose and threw me on the broad of 
 my back. The bear was at my heels, and I 
 thought that all chance of escape was now 
 gone. Instantly I was again on my feet, — 
 and, as it were, in a fit of desperation, rushed 
 towards the bear, which, fearing, as they do, 
 
 59
 
 aibbenturejBf of Henas^ ILeonatb 
 
 the face of man, again turned and run. — Sir 
 Bruin stopped to secure the little morsel I 
 had been eating, and retired a few paces to 
 devour it. While the bear was thus employed, 
 I crept to my gun, keeping the rock between 
 him and me, having reached it, took deliber- 
 ate aim and killed him dead on the spot. 
 Having secured my horse, I fell to work at 
 the carcase of my vanquished foe, and, after 
 cooking and eating a choice piece of his flesh, 
 left the rest to feed his kindred. It being now 
 near night, I travelled two or three miles 
 further, and encamped for the night. The 
 next morning appeared more favourable 
 over head, and I made an early start. Being 
 on the banks of a small creek, I concluded 
 to follow it a while. After winding my way 
 through the rocks and trees, till near the 
 middle of the day, I came to a valley which 
 seemed to be hemmed in on every side by 
 huge towering hills. I had not travelled far in 
 this valley before I found myself ushered 
 into the presence of a hostile tribe of Indians. 
 1 halted to devise some means to effect a 
 return without being discovered; but I soon 
 found that it was too late. Immediately in 
 my rear was a choice set of young warriors — 
 in front, and on both sides by high and 
 craggy mountains. My noble steed, than 
 him, I would defy the whole Indian world to 
 
 60
 
 Sbbentures^ of Henasi litonavh 
 
 produce a stouter, swifter, or better, was 
 now brought to the test. He started with the 
 velocity of the rein deer, — bounding over 
 ditches, stones, logs, and brush. — Soon I be- 
 gan to ascend the mountain, but found it 
 much too steep and rough. The Indians dis- 
 mounted and followed on foot. I applied the 
 whip, but in vain. My horse was compelled 
 to yield to exhausted nature — and I dis- 
 mounted, and left my much prized animal to 
 fall a prey to the savages. I ran up the moun- 
 tain with all possible speed, but finding that 
 I must eventually be overtaken, I secreted 
 myself in a hole among the rocks, and closed 
 the mouth of it with leaves and sticks. After 
 remaining a few minutes in this subterrane- 
 ous cavern, I heard the ferocious yells of 
 triumph of my pursuers, as they captured 
 my lamented horse. The victory was not yet 
 complete, although the horse was the prin- 
 cipal prize. Some of them followed on and 
 came close to my hiding place, passed and 
 re-passed within reach without discovering 
 me. What a moment of intense anxiety was 
 this! All chance of escape cut off". No pros- 
 pect of mercy if taken! Hope began to die — 
 and death inevitable seemed to be the very 
 next incident that would occur. They con- 
 tinued their search until near sunset, for they 
 knew that I had not reached the summit of 
 
 6i
 
 glbbenturesi of HenasJ ILeonarb 
 
 the mountain. As they retired down the 
 mountain, squads of four or five would fre- 
 quently halt and hold a busy consultation — 
 then suddenly return to complete their 
 search, as if they feared that some hollow 
 tree or rocky cavern might escape unex- 
 plored. Finally, they gave me up in despair, 
 and retired into the valley, with my horse. 
 
 "Now that I had escaped this scrutinizing 
 search, I began to breathe more free and 
 easy; but I was yet far from being out of 
 danger. I was conscious that I had lost the 
 course to the Columbia river, and could not 
 tell how to regain it, even if I should succeed 
 in escaping from my present perilous situ- 
 ation. I remained secreted in the rocks till 
 long after dark, when I crawled out, and sur- 
 veyed the country as well as the darkness of 
 the night would permit, and finally started in 
 the direction which I thought I would have 
 the least chance of meeting the Indians. I 
 had not travelled far, however, until I was 
 again doomed to be disappointed, for I was 
 on the very borders of their encampment. 
 Happily the camp was all quiet, and I re- 
 turned quietly to my hiding place on the 
 mountain, hoping that on the morrow I 
 would be able to make some new discovery 
 by which to extricate myself from these sav- 
 ages — which I judged to be the merciless 
 
 62
 
 Sbtienturesi of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 Blackfeet. Early in the morning of the next 
 day the hunt was resumed with increased 
 vigilance; but again returned with disap- 
 pointment. After the sound of their voices 
 no longer reached me, I crawled to the mouth 
 of the hole from which I presently beheld 
 them running races with the horse they had 
 taken from me. In this sport they spent the 
 day. This village did not appear to be their 
 permanent residence, but was handsomely 
 situated on the banks of a small creek, and I 
 suppose they had came here on a sporting 
 expedition. The second night I made another 
 effort to save myself, and gradually descend- 
 ed the mountain, to the creek some distance 
 below the camp. — This I followed, until day- 
 light again compelled me to hide myself; 
 which I did by crawling into the brush close 
 to the creek, where I secreted myself till 
 darkness again give me an opportunity to 
 resume my journey. During the day I seen a 
 number of the Indians pass and repass up 
 and down the valley, whom I supposed to be 
 hunters. This day I again had a view of my 
 horse under the saddle of the chief of the 
 tribe, as I supposed; but did not attempt to 
 rescue him. The following night I travelled a 
 short distance down the creek when I came 
 to where it empties into the Pieres river.^^ 
 ^^ Pierre's River (also called Teton River) a tributary 
 
 63
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 Here I came to my reckoning of the country, 
 and thought that if I could escape from 
 hunger and beasts of prey, I could manage to 
 elude the Indians. Supposing that the In- 
 dians were not so numerous on the opposite 
 side of the river, I resolved to cross over — for 
 which purpose I built a raft of old logs, laid 
 my shot-pouch, gun, blanket, &c. on it, and 
 pushed for the opposite shore. After getting 
 nearly across, the current became very rapid, 
 and I began to descend the river at a rapid 
 rate until I struck a rock which tore my frail 
 craft to pieces — committing myself, gun, 
 blanket and all to the watery element. Being 
 weak from hunger and exertion, it was with 
 great difficulty that I succeeded in reaching 
 the land, with the loss of my only compan- 
 ion, and my only hope in this wilderness of 
 dangers — my gun. I stood on the bank in the 
 midst of despair. I had no other weapon than 
 a butcher knife to fight my way through a 
 country swarming with savages and equally 
 
 of the Snake which flows through Pierre's Hole, or 
 Valley, adjoining the Wyoming-Idaho boundary, south- 
 west of Yellowstone Park. The valley was a well- 
 known fur-trade rendezvous, taking its name trom an 
 Iroquois fur-trade employee who lost his life here. The 
 battle of July i8, 1832, which Leonard presently de- 
 scribes, is perhaps the most notable incident in the 
 history of the valley. See Larpenteur, Forty Years a 
 Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri^ 27. 
 
 64
 
 atibenturesi of Hena^i lleonarb 
 
 dangerous wild beasts. On my knife depend- 
 ed all hope of preventing starvation. The 
 loss of my blanket was also severe, as the 
 weather was sometimes quite cold, and I had 
 no other clothing than a shirt and vest — 
 having thrown the rest away when pursued 
 by the Indians on the mountain. I followed 
 the banks of this river for two days, subsist- 
 ing upon buds, roots, weeds, &c. On the sec- 
 ond evening whilst digging for a sweet kind 
 of root, in a swamp, I was alarmed by the 
 growl of wolves, which were descending the 
 hill to the river, about fifty yards distant. 
 The only chance of escape now, was to climb 
 a tree, which I did immediately. Here I was 
 compelled to roost until daylight, in the 
 most painful agitation. The wolves tearing 
 up the ground and gnawing at the tree so 
 that I sometimes feared they would cut it 
 through. The third day I travelled with 
 great speed, not even stopping for any thing 
 to eat. On the fourth I happened where the 
 wolves had killed a buffaloe. — Here I satis- 
 fied my appetite by collecting all the meat 
 that was left on the bones, made a fire by 
 rubbing two sticks together, and cooked it. 
 From the gluttenous fill which I took of this 
 meat, I was enabled to travel three or four 
 days, without any particular occurrence; but 
 I found that the further I descended the 
 
 65
 
 ^bbentureiBi of Ztnasi Heonarb 
 
 river, the scarcer became the roots, buds, 
 &c., on which I must depend for subsistence, 
 and I was finally obliged to turn my atten- 
 tion to get something to eat, without travel- 
 ing any further. For several days I loitered 
 about from place to place, but could find no 
 nourishment. My body began to grow weak- 
 er and weaker, until I was no longer able to 
 walk. Still my mind held its sway, and I was 
 well aware how desperate was my situation. 
 Finally losing all prospect of getting any 
 thing more to eat, & no hope of being found 
 by my companions or friendly Indians, I 
 thought of preparing myself for death, and 
 committed my soul to the Almighty. I have 
 no recollection of any thing that occurred 
 after this, until I found myself in the hands 
 of my deliverers." 
 
 The story of Fitzpatrick created much ex- 
 citement in our camp. Some were determined 
 on immediately chastising the Indians, and 
 retaking his horse. Others, who were not 
 friendly disposed towards Mr. F., would not 
 credit his story. For my part I thought the 
 man had related nothing more than the truth 
 as to his sufl^erings, for nothing less could 
 have reduced him to the condition in which 
 he was found. In a few days all was restored 
 to order and tranquility, and we commenced 
 making arrangements for trapping, &c. 
 
 66
 
 aibbcntures; o! Henasi Heonarb 
 
 The Columbia is a strong, clear and beau- 
 tiful river at this point, (the junction of the 
 Lewis river,) and is about looo yards wide. 
 The Wallah Wallah empties into it about 14 
 miles lower down — which is rather muddy, 
 and a very rapid stream. There was at this 
 rendezvous^'* at this time, about 400 white 
 people, who lived in constant intercourse 
 with the Flatheads and "Nez Perces," or 
 Pierced Nose tribe, which latter consists of 
 1000 warriors, besides women and children, 
 and live in the closest friendship with their 
 neighbors, the Flatheads. They are said to 
 act honorable in all their dealings, nor do 
 they now practice treachery and stealing so 
 extensively as most of the tribes below this; 
 although, when first discovered by the 
 whites, a brave was esteemed according to his 
 success in stealing. They have now reformed, 
 and a white man can at all times find a 
 trusty friend in a Nez Perces. 
 
 Among the discoveries of importance 
 which we made here was nine of Captain 
 Gant's men, who had left us at the mouth of 
 
 ^* Apparently Leonard's Editor fell into confusion at 
 this point. The "rendezvous" was Pierre's Hole on the 
 tributary of the upper Snake River in eastern Idaho, 
 having no connection with the Columbia at its junction 
 with the Snake, several hundred miles to the north- 
 westward. 
 
 67
 
 abbentutesi of Henas; Heonarti 
 
 the Laramies. In crossing the mountain they 
 had several encounters with the Indians, and 
 finally lost their horses and 3 of their men. 
 After travelling about for a number of days, 
 under the direction of a Mr. Saunders, their 
 leader, they came across a party belonging to 
 this rendezvous, whom they followed, and 
 had arrived at camp a few days before us. 
 No important arrangement was made among 
 the men with regard to trapping, &c., until 
 the people gathered in from the different 
 parts of the mountain. In the meantime 15 
 of us joined together, each man furnishing an 
 equal quantity of merchandize, horses, &c., 
 and to receive an equal share of the proceeds. 
 August 25th. ^^ Every thing necessary for 
 our expedition being ready this morning, we 
 started in a southern direction, but did not 
 go far until we encamped for the night — 
 thinking that if we had neglected any thing 
 which we would stand in need of, we would 
 thus discover it. The next morning finding all 
 things in order, we continued travelling 
 down what is called Pieres hole, or valley. 
 This valley is situated on the river of the 
 
 ^^ Here, as in many places throughout the narrative, 
 the author's dates are inaccurate. The battle of Pierre's 
 Hole, which he is about to describe, occurred on July 
 18, 1832, over five weeks earlier than Leonard's date for 
 the affair. 
 
 68
 
 ^bbentures; of Henag Heonatb 
 
 same name, and is from 70 to 80 miles in 
 length, with a high mountain on the east and 
 west — each so high that it is impossible to 
 pass over them, and is from eight to ten 
 miles wide. The river runs immediately 
 through the centre, with a beautiful grove of 
 timber along either bank; from this timber to 
 the mountain, a distance of four or five miles, 
 there is nothing but a smooth plain. This 
 meadow or prairie is so perfectly level that a 
 person may look up or down as far as the eye 
 will reach without meeting any thing to 
 obstruct the sight, until the earth and sky 
 appear to meet. After travelling a few miles 
 this morning, some of the men, in taking a 
 view of the country before us, discovered 
 something like people upon horses, who ap- 
 peared to be coming towards us. After con- 
 tinuing in the same direction for some time 
 we came in view with the naked eye, when 
 we halted. — They advanced towards us dis- 
 playing a British flag. This we could not 
 comprehend; but on coming closer discov- 
 ered them to be hostile Indians. We immedi- 
 ately despatched a messenger back to the 
 rendezvous for reinforcements and prepared 
 ourselves for defence. The Indians com- 
 menced building a fort in the timber on the 
 bank of the river; but at the time we were 
 not aware of what they were doing. After 
 
 69
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henasi Ueonarb 
 
 waiting here a few hours we were reinforced 
 by 200 whites, 200 Flatheads, and 300 Nez 
 Perces Indians. The Indians with the British 
 flag, on seeing such a number of people gal- 
 loping down the plain at full speed, immedi- 
 ately retreated within their fort, whither 
 they were hotly pursued. The friendly In- 
 dians soon discovered them to belong to the 
 Blackfeet tribe, who are decidedly the most 
 numerous and warlike tribe in the moun- 
 tains, and for this reason are not disposed to 
 have any friendly intercourse with any other 
 nation of an inferior number, unless they are 
 good warriors and well armed with guns, &c. 
 We thought we could rush right on them and 
 drive them out of the brush into the plain 
 and have a decisive battle at once. We ad- 
 vanced with all possible speed, and a full 
 determination of success, until we discovered 
 their fort by receiving a most destructive 
 fire from the enclosure. This throwed our 
 ranks into complete confusion, & we all re- 
 treated into the plain, with the loss of 5 
 whites, 8 Flatheads and 10 Nez Perces In- 
 dians killed, besides a large number of 
 whites and Indians wounded. The formation 
 of their fort astonished all hands. We had 
 been within a few hundred yards of them all 
 day and did not discover that they were 
 building it. It was large enough to contain 
 
 70
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasi Heonarb 
 
 500 warriors; and built strong enough to 
 resist almost any attempt we might make to 
 force it. After dressing the wounded, and 
 having reconnoitered their fort, our forces 
 were divided into several detachments, and 
 sent in different directions with the intention 
 of surrounding the fort and making them 
 prisoners. This was done under the superin- 
 tendance of Fitzpatrick, who acted as com- 
 mander-in-chief. 
 
 In a case of this kind any man not evincing 
 the greatest degree of courage, and every 
 symptom of bravery, is treated as a coward; 
 and the person who advances first, furthest 
 and fastest, and makes the greatest display 
 of animal courage, soon rises in the estima- 
 tion of his companions. Accordingly with the 
 hope of gaining a little glow while an oppor- 
 tunity offered, though not for any election- 
 eering purpose, as a politician in the States 
 would do — I started into the brush, in com- 
 pany with two acquaintances (Smith and 
 Kean) and two Indians. We made a circuit- 
 ous route and came towards the fort from a 
 direction which we thought we would be 
 least expected. We advanced closer and 
 closer, crawling upon our hands and knees, 
 with the intention of giving them a select 
 shot; and when within about forty yards of 
 their breast work, one of our Indians was 
 
 71
 
 Stibenture£i of HenasJ Heonartr 
 
 shot dead. At this we all lay still for some 
 time, but Smith's foot happening to shake 
 the weeds as he was laying on his belly, was 
 shot through. I advanced a little further, but 
 finding the balls to pass too quick and close, 
 concluded to retreat. When I turned, I found 
 that my companions had deserted me. In 
 passing by, Smith asked me to carry him 
 out, which met my approbation precisely, 
 for I was glad to get out of this unpleasant 
 situation under any pretext — provided my 
 reputation for courage would not be ques- 
 tioned. After getting him on my back, still 
 crawling on my hands and knees, I came 
 across Kean, lying near where the first In- 
 dian fell, who was also mortally wounded, 
 and died soon after. I carried Smith to a 
 place of safety and then returned to the 
 siege. A continual fire was kept up, doing 
 more or less execution on both sides until 
 late in the afternoon, when we advanced to 
 close quarters, having nothing but the thick- 
 ness of their breast work between us, and 
 having them completely surrounded on all 
 sides to prevent any escaping. This position 
 we maintained until sun-set, in the meantime 
 having made preparations to set fire to the 
 fort, which was built principally of old dry 
 logs, as soon as night would set in, and sta- 
 tioned men at the point where we thought 
 
 72
 
 ^bbenturesJ ot Henasf Heonartr 
 
 they would be most likely to make the first 
 break, for the purpose of taking them on the 
 wing, in their flight. Having made all these 
 preparations, which were to put an end to all 
 further molestation on the part of the Black- 
 feet, our whole scheme and contemplated 
 victory was frustrated by a most ingenious 
 and well executed device of the enemy. A 
 few minutes before the torch was to be ap- 
 plied, our captives commenced the most tre- 
 mendous yells and shouts of triumph, and 
 menaces of defiance, which seemed to move 
 heaven and earth. Quick as thought a report 
 spread through all quarters, that the plain 
 was covered wnth Blackfeet Indians coming 
 to reinforce the besieged. So complete was 
 the consternation in our ranks, created by 
 this stratagem, that in five minutes after- 
 wards, there was not a single white man, 
 Flathead or Nez Perces Indian within a hun- 
 dred yards of the fort. Every man thought 
 only of his own security, and run for life 
 without ever looking round, which would at 
 once have convinced him of his folly. In a 
 short time it was ascertained that it was only 
 a stratagem, and our men began to collect 
 together where our baggage was. I never 
 shall forget the scene here exhibited. The 
 rage of some was unbounded, and ap- 
 proached to madness. For my own part, 
 
 73
 
 ^hbtntnxt^ oC Zenas; Heonarb 
 
 although I felt much regret at the result 
 after so much toil and danger, yet I could 
 not but give the savages credit for the skill 
 they displayed in preserving their lives, at 
 the very moment when desperation, as we 
 thought, had seized the mindof each of them. 
 By the time we were made sensible of the 
 full extent of our needless alarm, it had be- 
 gan to get dark; and on ascertaining the 
 extent of the injury which we received, (hav- 
 ing lost 32 killed, principally Indians,) it was 
 determined not to again attempt to surround 
 the fort, which was a sore disappointment to 
 some of the men who were keen for chastising 
 the Indians for their trick. We then took up 
 our march for the rendezvous; but on start- 
 ing one of our party of 15 men, who had first 
 started out the day before, could not be 
 found. Search was made, and he was found 
 in the brush, severely wounded. — After car- 
 rying him on a litter a few miles he died and 
 was buried in the Indian style: — which is by 
 digging a hole in the ground, wrapping a 
 blanket or skin round the body, placing it 
 in the hole, and covering it with poles and 
 earth. This is the manner of interring the 
 dead in this country both by the Indians and 
 whites, except in the winter season on ac- 
 count of the ground being frozen, when the 
 Indians are in the habit of wrapping their 
 
 74
 
 ^bentures? of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 dead in buffaloe robes, and laying them on 
 poles from one tree to another, on which 
 poles the corpse is tied with cords. 
 
 The next morning we raised another war 
 party and went back to the battle ground, 
 but no Indians could be found. — They must 
 have left the fort in great haste for we found 
 42 head of horses, together with Fitzpatrick's 
 which they had taken on the mountain, two 
 warriors and one squaw lying dead inside of 
 their fort, besides a large quantity of their 
 baggage, such as furs, skins, &c. There must 
 have been a great number of them, from 
 the holes they had dug in the ground around 
 their dead horses and the edges of the fort, 
 say from three to four hundred. I learned 
 afterwards that the Nez Perces Indians 
 shortly after found seven more dead Black- 
 feet, in some brush close by, where they had 
 been secreted to save their scalps, which is 
 the principal object with these Indians, in 
 order to have their women dance. In the 
 afternoon we returned to the rendezvous and 
 presented Mr. Fitzpatrick with his long-lost 
 and highly valued horse, which seemed to 
 compensate for all the sufferings and hard- 
 ships which he had encountered. 
 
 After remaining here a few days a violent 
 dispute arose between Stephens and Fitz- 
 patrick about the price of the horses which 
 
 75
 
 Sibbenturesf of Henas ILeonarb 
 
 the latter was to give to the former for the 
 beaver skins of Gant's which Stephens had 
 sold to Fitzpatrick. No person interfered, for 
 we all knew that it was a dishonest transac- 
 tion from beginning to end. Fitzpatrick hav- 
 ing every thing in his own possession, was 
 therefore contented and as independent as 
 any mean man who had it in his power to 
 make his own terms. Stephens, on the con- 
 trary, was in a bad situation — having paid 
 before hand, and not being able to force 
 measures, had to put up with what he could 
 get. Finally he succeeded in hiring four men, 
 and started back to the mouth of the Lara- 
 mies to secure the fur which he had sold to 
 Fitzpatrick. He had not left many days, how- 
 ever, until he was overtaken by a scouting 
 party of those Indians we had surrounded in 
 the fort. Two of his men were killed, and him- 
 self shot through the thigh — having the two 
 mules along, which was the ballance of the 
 original stock, one of which was killed, and the 
 other brought back the wounded Stephens, 
 who died in a few days afterwards from mor- 
 tification taking place in the wounded leg. 
 
 A few days after this occurrence, we were 
 visited by a party belonging to the Nor- 
 West, or British trading company,^^ from 
 
 ^^ The Hudson's Bay Company, with which the North 
 West Company of Montreal had amalgamated in 1821. 
 
 76
 
 ^bbenturesf of Henasf Heonatn 
 
 whom we were enabled to learn the way the 
 Blackfeet Indians had got possession and 
 fought under the British flag. It appeared by 
 their story that these Indians some months 
 previous, had fell on a party belonging to 
 their company — but few of whom escaped to 
 tell the fate of their comrades — and among 
 the spoils which they obtained, was this flag, 
 which they used as a signal to deceive and 
 mislead their enemies, whom they might 
 meet in these extensive plains. 
 
 Sept. 1st. After remaining here until to- 
 day, during which time Mr. Saunders joined 
 our company of fifteen, which made up for 
 the one that was killed, and who was the 
 only one besides myself, of Capt. Gant's 
 company; leaving the balance with Fitzpat- 
 rick — some hiring with their equipments 
 which they purchased on credit. — We set to 
 work making preparation to start the follow- 
 ing morning, on our second attempt to reach 
 some region where we could prosecute our 
 business of trapping to some advantage. The 
 conditions of our agreement were the same 
 as on the first expedition, viz.: — each man to 
 find an equal portion of traps, guns, and am- 
 munition, and to receive an equal share of 
 the peltries which we might catch. 
 
 On the morning of the 2nd Sept., having 
 every thing ready, we left the rendezvous, all 
 
 77
 
 Sltibentures; of Henas; Heonarti 
 
 in a fine humor. We arrived on the head 
 waters of the Multenemough river^^ without 
 any thing of moment occurring — where we 
 made our fall's hunt. After travelling near 
 loo miles South West from the top of the 
 mountains, or from the head of Lewis river, 
 we got totally out of the range of the buffa- 
 loe. We were told by the natives that those 
 animals were never known further west, 
 which is something singular, as the country 
 is just the same, if not better as to grass. 
 These Indians subsist principally upon salm- 
 on, and such other fish as they can catch, 
 with the assistance of roots, buds, berries, & 
 some small game, which they kill with the 
 bow and arrow. They are generally of a 
 more swarthy nature, small and cowardly, 
 and travel in small gangs of from four to five 
 families — this they are compelled to do in 
 order to keep from starvation. They are 
 always roving from plain to plain, and from 
 
 ^^ The Multnomah (so named by Lewis and Clark in 
 1805) was the modern Willamette of western Oregon. 
 Obviously this is not the stream visited by Leonard's 
 party, which seems, from his further description, to 
 have gone southward from Pierre's Hole into the region 
 of modern Nevada, west of Great Salt Lake. Dr. 
 Wagner, editor of the 1904 reprint of Leonard's nar- 
 rative, supposes the party to have been on the Hum- 
 boldt or the Owyhee River of northeastern Nevada. 
 The conclusion seems probable. 
 
 78
 
 Sbbentures^ of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 valley to valley — never remaining in one 
 place longer than till game gets scarce. When 
 on the move the women have to perform the 
 most laborious part — having charge of the 
 transportation of their baggage. While doing 
 this, a female, the most feeble of their sex, 
 will carry a load of perhaps a hundred weight 
 a whole day, without manifesting the least 
 fatigue or complaint. This tribe, which I 
 believe is called the Bawnack, or Shoshonies, 
 are the most indolent, and have the least 
 ambition of any tribe we had yet discovered. 
 They are lazy and dirty; and only strive to 
 get as much as will keep them from starving. 
 They are no way ill disposed towards the 
 whites, or at least they never disturbed us — 
 with the exception of stealing a few of our 
 traps. We continued moving down the Mul- 
 tenemough for several hundred miles, during 
 which time we subsisted principally upon 
 beaver, deer, and bighorn — though we still 
 had a little jirked buffaloe meat. Between 
 trapping and trading w^e had made quite a 
 profitable hunt. To get a beaver skin from 
 these Indians worth eight or ten dollars, 
 never cost more than an awl, a fish-hook, a 
 knife, a string of beads, or something equally 
 as trifling. 
 
 As winter was approaching, we began to 
 make arrangements to return to some more 
 
 79
 
 Sitibenturefii of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 favourable climate, by collecting our fur, and 
 giving each man his share of the baggage. 
 We travelled back with great speed, and 
 arrived in the buffaloe country on the first of 
 November, where we met with a nation of 
 Snake Indians, with whom we made some 
 small trades for buffaloe robes and skins for 
 the winter. The manners and customs of the 
 Snake Indians are very similar to those of 
 the Flatheads, with the exception of stealing, 
 which they consider no harm. The Snake 
 Indians, or as some call them, the Shosho- 
 nies, were once a powerful nation, possessing 
 a glorious hunting ground on the east side of 
 the mountains; but they, like the Flatheads, 
 have been almost annihilated by the re- 
 vengeful Blackfeet, who, being supplied with 
 firearms were enabled to defeat all Indian 
 opposition. Their nation has been entirely 
 broken up and scattered throughout all this 
 wild region. The Shoshonies are a branch of 
 the once powerful Snake tribe, as are also the 
 more abject and forlorn tribe of Shuckers, or 
 more generally termed. Diggers and Root 
 eaters, who keep in the most retired recesses 
 of the mountains and streams, subsisting on 
 the most unwholesome food, and living the 
 most like animals of any race of beings. 
 
 We left the Snake Indians and took a more 
 Southern direction to the Bear river, which 
 
 80
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 empties into Big Salt Lake — followed this 
 river for two days, and then crossed over to 
 Weabers river. These two rivers are about 
 the same size, say from two to three hundred 
 yards wide, & from three to four hundred 
 miles long. — They run South parallel with 
 each other, and empty into the Big Salt Lake 
 on the North side, at no great distance apart. 
 — This lake is much larger than any other 
 west of the mountains — supposed to be 200 
 miles long, and near the same in width. It is 
 surrounded on the North, about the mouths 
 of the rivers, by a mountainous & broken 
 country, and on the South & West by a bar- 
 ren, sandy plain, in a manner incapable of 
 vegetation. There is also a hill or peak near 
 the centre of it so high that the snow re- 
 mains on it the greater part of the year. The 
 water is of such a brackish nature that only 
 part of it freezes in the coldest weather of the 
 winter season. Its briny substance prevents 
 all vegetation within a considerable distance 
 of the margin of the lake. The Bear and 
 Weabers rivers are the principal streams by 
 which it is fed. In the Spring of the year, 
 when the snow and ice melts and runs down 
 off the mountains, this lake rises very high, 
 on account of it having no outlet; and in the 
 fall, or latter part of summer it sinks — leav- 
 ing salt one and two inches thick on some 
 
 81
 
 abbentures; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 parts of its shores. It is situated on the west 
 side of the mountains, between the waters 
 of the Columbia and Rio Colerado, or Red 
 river, and is called by the natives, the Great 
 Salt Lake. The rivers which empty into this 
 lake abound with many kinds of fish, such as 
 trout, cat-fish, and others suitable for hook 
 and line, particularly at their mouths. Where 
 the country is low, and small streams emp- 
 ties into them, the dams of the beaver causes 
 the water to overflow its banks, and makes 
 a swampy, marshy country for miles round. 
 People trapping on these streams are com- 
 pelled to construct canoes of Bull and buffa- 
 loe skins, in order to visit their traps. 
 
 On leaving this lake we continued our 
 journey towards the head waters of the Cole- 
 rado, which stream empties into the Gulf of 
 Calafornia. After a tedious, but not unpleas- 
 ant tramp of several days we came to a 
 beautiful situation on one of the main feeders 
 of this river, where we halted to make prep- 
 arations to spend the winter — it now being 
 about the middle of November. We had re- 
 mained here but a few days, during which 
 time we were occupied in building tents, &c, 
 for winter, when we were visited by a party 
 of 70 or 80 Indian warriors. These Indians 
 manifested the best of friendship towards us, 
 while in our camp, and said they were going 
 
 82
 
 ^bbentures; of Zenasi Ileonarb 
 
 to war with the Snake Indians — whose coun- 
 try we were now in — and they also said they 
 belonged to the Crow nation on the East side 
 of the mountains. In all the intercourse had 
 with them, while they were with us, not the 
 least symptom of deception was discovered, 
 and they parted with us manifesting as much 
 regret as if we had been old acquaintances. 
 But we were doomed to experience the faith 
 of the Crow nation — for, on the same night 
 of their departure, they returned and stole 
 five of our best hunting horses. This was a 
 serious loss to us, and a valuable prize for 
 them — for an Indian belonging to these 
 hunting and warring tribes is poor indeed if 
 he is not the owner of a horse, as it is upon 
 this animal they much depend for success in 
 chasing the buffaloe, and upon him greatly 
 depends the fate of the battle. 
 
 Having a man in our company who had 
 once been a captive in their village, and who 
 could talk and understand a little of their 
 language, we resolved at all hazards to give 
 chase and retake our horses. We steered 
 across the mountains towards the Southern 
 head waters of the Missouri river. The first 
 stream we came to on the east side is called 
 Bighorn river — down which stream we trav- 
 elled for some days, until we came to their 
 village situated at the mouth of Stinking 
 
 83
 
 Sbbenture£f of Henais Heonarb 
 
 river. In this village we found a negro man, 
 who informed us that he first came to this 
 country with Lewis & Clark^^ — with whom 
 he also returned to the State of Missouri, and 
 in a few years returned again with a Mr. 
 Mackinney, a trader on the Missouri river, 
 and has remained here ever since — which is 
 about ten or twelve years. He has acquired a 
 correct knowledge of their manner of living, 
 and speaks their language fluently. He has 
 rose to be quite a considerable character, or 
 chief, in their village; at least he assumes all 
 the dignities of a chief, for he has four wives 
 with whom he lives alternately. This is the 
 custom of many of the chiefs. 
 
 After informing the negro of our stolen 
 horses, he told us that they had them, and 
 that the reason they were taken from us was 
 because we were found in their enemies' 
 country, and that they supposed we were go- 
 ing to trade them guns, &c. By giving the 
 chiefs some trifling presents our horses were 
 
 ^^ York, a negro servant of Captain Clark, accom- 
 panied Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Coast in 1804- 
 1806. Of his subsequent history we know nothing, but 
 it seems improbable that he was the individual en- 
 countered by Leonard's party. Dr. Wagner supposes 
 the latter to have been Edward Rose, a renegade among 
 the Crow Indians, who figures prominently in Irving's 
 narrative of Astoria. 
 
 84
 
 Sbbenture£^ of Henasi ILtonavh 
 
 produced in as good trim as when they left 
 us. (I shall say nothing more of these Indi- 
 ans at present, as I shall have occasion to 
 speak of them when I again visit their vil- 
 lage.) 
 
 About the first of January 1833, the game 
 getting scarce in this vicinity, the Indians 
 left us & moved down the river. We remained 
 at this station employing our time in hunt- 
 ing, fishing, and such other sports as we 
 could come at, but without any particular 
 occurrence, until the 20th of February, when 
 we set out on our spring hunt. We crossed 
 the country to the river Platte without any 
 difficulty, and continued down this stream 
 to the junction of it and the Laramies, where 
 we had joined Fitzpatrick's company in the 
 previous spring, and where also we had 
 parted with Capt. Gant. On encamping for 
 the night we found a tree off which the bark 
 was peeled, and wrote on with a coal, that, 
 by searching in a certain place mentioned, 
 we would find a letter, — which we did, and 
 found the document, written in Gant's hand, 
 which stated that only two parties had re- 
 turned, viz. — Washburns and his own — and 
 also that Capt. Blackwell had came up from 
 the States with a supply of provision, mer- 
 chandize, ammunition, &c. The letter went 
 on to detail the hardships, sufferings, and 
 
 85
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henasf ILtonaxh 
 
 misfortunes which they had encountered, 
 which only amounted to this: that they had 
 lost their horses last winter, and had been to 
 Santa Fe and purchased more — while cross- 
 ing the mountain his party had accidentally 
 met with Washburn and his company — that 
 they then ascertained for the first, that the 
 company was insolvent and had declined do- 
 ing business in this country — and that they 
 [Gant's party] had left this place in Septem- 
 ber last, to go and establish a trading post 
 on the x^rkansas river, with the Arpahee In- 
 dians. The letter closed by stating that Ste- 
 phens' party had left him and joined Fitz- 
 patrick. This letter was directed to Mr. 
 Saunders, who was in our company, and 
 who, Gant supposed, would be the first to 
 return. 
 
 Soon after the contents of the letter were 
 made known to the company, some men were 
 sent across the Laramies river to see if they 
 could make any discoveries of importance, as 
 we could see the remains of what we sup- 
 posed to be an old encampment on its banks. 
 These men, after searching for some time, 
 found where several buffaloe had been 
 slaughtered, and from the manner in which 
 it was done, it was evident that it was the 
 work of a party of hostile Indians — and not 
 being able to trace which direction they had 
 
 86
 
 aibbenturesf of Henasi ILtonaxh 
 
 steered, we were at a great loss to know what 
 to do — having no person to act as comman- 
 der. There was much difference of opinion 
 and great contention about which way we 
 should take. Our object was, if possible, to 
 avoid meeting with the Indians, as our force 
 was small, and not well prepared to encoun- 
 ter a band of savages defended with firearms. 
 Finally, it was decided that we should leave 
 the rivers and strike for the mountains — 
 thinking this route the least dangerous. After 
 travelling an hour or so, we suddenly met 
 with a body of eight or ten on horse back, 
 who we judged to be hunting — not being 
 backward about meeting with such a num- 
 ber, we marched boldly towards them. On 
 this they immediately galloped off under full 
 speed, in the direction which we were going. 
 Thinking the main body to be in that direc- 
 tion, we thought to avoid them by turning 
 to the right and keeping near the river. We 
 did not advance far in this direction, how- 
 ever, until we suddenly came upon their en- 
 campment. Being thus led into their strong 
 hold by mere accident, we held a hurried 
 consultation as to our own safety. Their 
 horses and white lodges could be distinctly 
 seen although we were some distance off, and 
 we flattered ourselves that we had not yet 
 been discovered by any in the village, and 
 
 87
 
 aibbentures; of Ztna^ Heonarti 
 
 that we might yet escape. With this hope we 
 sounded a retreat and marched slowly & si- 
 lently back for the purpose of sheltering our- 
 selves with the timber, where we intended 
 to build a fort immediately, for we knew that 
 even if we were not discovered now, the 
 party we first met would give the alarm, and 
 the chase would be commenced. In going 
 along, juking from bluff to bluff, in order to 
 avoid being seen, we were overtaken by a 
 single Indian on horseback. He would ride 
 up at full gallop within 20 or 30 steps of us, 
 and then suddenly wheel, ride back towards 
 the camp, and then return as before. After 
 repeating this several times, some of our 
 men, when he came close, raised their guns, 
 and he, thinking there might be danger in 
 running away, came to us and told us that 
 the chief had sent for us to come to his tent, 
 to eat, smoke and be friendly. Not having 
 confidence in his good intentions, all de- 
 clined the invitation, but told the messenger 
 that we would just retire into the timber, 
 (where we intended to be occupied in the 
 meantime in building a fort,) and that if the 
 chief wished to have any thing to say to us, 
 he could come there — for which we started 
 into the woods, taking this fellow with us, 
 with the intention of keeping him until the 
 fort would be erected. 
 
 88
 
 Sbbentures; oC Zenasi ILeonarb 
 
 After going but a short distance our pris- 
 oner broke loose, and immediately ran onto 
 some rising ground, where he made his horse 
 perform many singular feats as a signal for 
 his followers. We galloped off as fast as we 
 could, but were soon surrounded on all sides, 
 without any thing to shelter us, except a hole 
 formed by the sinking of water — which are 
 very numerous in some of these plains. Into 
 this hole we drove our horses, and expected 
 to reach the top in time to keep the Indians 
 at bay, and make peace with them. Before 
 we got our horses properly secured in this 
 hole there was hundreds of red men standing 
 above and eagerly looking down upon us, 
 uttering the most terrifying yells of ven- 
 geance, brandishing their guns, bows and 
 spears as if they would devour us. — We were 
 in just such a situation now, as is calculated 
 to bring on despair, with all its horrifying 
 feelings, — each man holding his gun cocked 
 and ready, resolved to sell his life only with 
 the last drop of blood. — We stood in this 
 situation, for a few minutes, waiting for 
 them to commence, when there was one 
 rushed into their ranks apparently much ex- 
 cited, who on addressing a few words to the 
 warriors, they all put down their arms, and 
 made signs to us to come out, that they 
 would not molest us. This we did, but it was 
 
 89
 
 with a watchful, jealous eye. The man whose 
 timely arrival seemed to have put a stop to 
 their designs, and who doubtless here saved 
 our lives, now came forward and signified to 
 us that we had better go with them to their 
 camp, and eat, drink and smoke, and he 
 would exert his influence not to have us hurt 
 — which advice we accordingly followed — 
 taking our horses with us. On arriving at 
 their camp, we found two who could talk the 
 Crow language. The Rickarees (the nation in 
 whose hands we now were) on being at war 
 with the Crow nation took these two prison- 
 ers, as they told us, and adopted them as 
 their brethren. — After manifesting a desire 
 to be friendly with them, by smoking, &c. 
 these Crow prisoners informed us that, had 
 it not been for the timely arrival of the chief, 
 when we were in the hole, we would most 
 certainly have been cut to pieces. This is 
 altogether probable. The feelings of every 
 individual, as well as those of myself, when 
 surrounded in this hole, were horrible in the 
 extreme. The thought struck me, as I leaned 
 against a rock, that here I must end my ca- 
 reer. Our feelings may be imagined, but not 
 described. 
 
 The Crow prisoners told us that the only 
 reason they knew why the chief had inter- 
 ceded for us, was because he had not previ- 
 
 90
 
 aibbenturesf of Henasi ICeonarb 
 
 ously been consulted on the subject, (having 
 been absent when we were discovered in the 
 plain.) This chief took a particular liking for 
 us, and seemed determined to save us from 
 the destructive vengeance of his people. He 
 prepared a comfortable lodge for our own ac- 
 commodation, in which we slept and eat. We 
 remained in this situation two days and part 
 of the third night, without any thing to dis- 
 turb us — during which time the Crow pris- 
 oners had many questions to ask about their 
 own people. They appeared to be well 
 treated, but notwithstanding they were anx- 
 ious to make their escape. About midnight 
 of the third night, our friendly chief, who 
 slept with us every night, awoke us all, and 
 told us the horrors of our situation. He said 
 that he had a great many bad men among his 
 followers, and that he was unable to appease 
 their angry nature much longer — the red 
 man thirsts for blood — that he had suc- 
 ceeded in saving us thus far, through much 
 exertion — & that now, as the whole village 
 was wrapt in slumber, it would be a fit time 
 for us to escape. He gave us strict orders to 
 travel with all speed, and not to slacken our 
 pace for two days and nights, for he said as 
 soon as our departure would be known, we 
 would be pursued. When our horses were 
 brought out and all things was ready, we
 
 ^bbenturej? of Zenasi ILtonaxh 
 
 were escorted by the chief until dayhght, 
 when he left us and returned — manifesting 
 the most intense anxiety for our safety. In- 
 deed we were loth to part with this kind man, 
 for we felt as if we were indebted to him for 
 our lives. After parting with the chief, we 
 pursued our journey with great speed, until 
 the evening of the second day, when we were 
 obliged to stop by a snow storm, which 
 threatened us with destruction. We here 
 turned our panting horses loose to graze, and 
 made preparations to pass the night — which 
 we did undisturbed. In the morning, two of 
 the horses were not to be found. All search 
 was in vain, and we gave them up for lost — 
 concluding that they had fell into the hands 
 of our enemies, and if so, we had better be 
 on the move, as they were doubtless close at ! 
 
 hand; but the owner, not being satisfied, 
 again started out. — This detained us a while 
 longer, when, apprehending danger from the 
 Indians, we fired two guns as a signal for him 
 that we were going, if he was yet in hearing. j 
 
 We resumed our journey, and after travel- ' 
 
 ling a few miles, halted for the straggler — 
 but he never returned. 
 
 The Rickarees are a powerful nation, con- 
 sisting of about looo warriors. Their princi- 
 pal chief is called Highbacked Wolf. Some 
 twelve or fifteen years since, they were very 
 
 92
 
 aibbentures; of Zenas; ILtonaxh 
 
 friendly with the whites. This friendship was 
 interrupted by the following circumstance: 
 — About eight or ten years since, Mr. Mac- 
 kenzie*^^ took a chief from three different 
 nations (one of which was a Rickaree,) to 
 Washington city, and while taking them 
 back to their native wilds through Virginia, 
 the Rickaree chief took sick and died in the 
 city of Richmond. Mackenzie returned with 
 the other two, Asnaboin and Mandan. While 
 passing the Rickaree village, (which was 
 then situated on the Missouri river, from 
 whence they have since removed to this 
 country,) Mackenzie stopped and informed 
 them of the fate of their chief — which they 
 disbelieved, and immediately declared war 
 against the whites. They were much en- 
 raged, and made a violent attack upon the 
 boats containing the merchandize of Mr. 
 Mackenzie — a great part of which they de- 
 stroyed, and have since been the cause of the 
 death of numbers of white men. 
 
 April loth. Having lost all hope of being 
 rejoined by our lost man, who we con- 
 cluded had been captured by the Indians, we 
 
 *This name has heretofore been printed Mackinny 
 — by mistake. — Pub. 
 
 ^^ This may have been Kenneth McKcnzie, whose 
 activities figure so largely in Larpenteur's Forty Years 
 a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri. 
 
 93
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 resumed our journey with 14 men. — Beaver 
 we found in abundance — catching more or 
 less every day, and every thing seemed to 
 promise a profitable business, until the 7th 
 day of May — a day which will ever be re- 
 membered by each of us. Having encamped 
 the night previous on a small creek in the 
 Black Hills, or on the head waters of the 
 river Platte, without timber or any thing to 
 shelter ourselves, in case of an attack by the 
 Indians, within 80 or 100 yards. We this eve- 
 ning again turned our horses loose to graze, 
 which is not by any means customary and 
 much less prudent, while travelling through 
 a country infested with hostile savages, as 
 they are always hovering around the en- 
 campment, ready to lay hands on any thing 
 which they fancy. But on the present occa- 
 sion we thought ourselves secure, as we had 
 not seen nor met with any Indians for several 
 days. On the following morning our horses 
 were in sight on a hill a little above the 
 encampment. About 9 o'clock three of us 
 started to bring them down preparatory to 
 our start. As there was no danger appre- 
 hended, neither of us took our guns. When 
 we got to the top of the hill the horses were 
 not to be seen — having descended the hill on 
 the other side. The other two men soon found 
 their horses and started with them to camp. 
 
 94
 
 aitibentures? of Henas( IleonarO 
 
 After searching a while I found mine with 
 several others. The horses appeared much 
 frightened, and I began to apprehend some 
 danger. Whilst leading my horse towards the 
 camp, an Indian, armed with a bow and ar- 
 row, came rushing upon me. — I made several 
 attempts to mount, but as often failed, for as 
 I would spring to get on he would jump from 
 under me. The savage now approached within 
 about fifteen steps of me, and signified that 
 he would slay me unless I stopped and deliv- 
 ered up my horse. I sprang behind a bunch 
 of bushes, which afforded me a tolerable shel- 
 ter. He then made signs to me that if I would 
 deliver myself up he would not hurt me. But 
 this I refused. My only weapon was a large 
 knife, which I carried in a scabbard at my 
 waist. I drew this out and proposed to meet 
 him. He then gave me to understand, that if 
 I would lay down the knife he would lay 
 down the bow and arrow, and we would meet 
 and be friends. This I also refused to do. — 
 He made use of various inducements to get 
 me from behind the bush, but I heeded them 
 not, for I knew his intention was to kill me if 
 it was in his power. He still advanced slowly 
 toward me. I had been in several dangerous 
 situations with the Indians and wild beasts, 
 — in some of which I had almost despaired. 
 But none seemed to cause the same feeling as 
 
 95
 
 atlbenturesf of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 did my present predicament. Alone, and un- 
 armed — my situation was distressing indeed. 
 I had no chance of escaping, and an immedi- 
 ate and cruel death I knew would be my fate 
 if I surrendered. Whilst reflecting on what to 
 do, and looking at him through an aperture 
 in the bush, he shot an arrow at me, which 
 fortunately missed its aim, and struck a 
 branch within a few inches of my face, and 
 fell harmless to the ground. By this time he 
 had got quite close and being below me on 
 the hill side, the thought struck me that I 
 might despatch him with a stone — for which 
 purpose I stooped down to get one, and care- 
 lessly let my body move from the shelter 
 afforded by the brush, and at that instant I 
 felt the pointed arrow pierce my side. I jirked 
 the weapon out immediately, and started to 
 run, still holding to my horse. I expected 
 every moment as I ran quartering past the 
 Indian to receive another, which I most cer- 
 tainly would have done, if the savage had 
 been in the possession of any more; and to 
 run to the brush for those he had already dis- 
 charged at me, would only be giving me time 
 to escape. He then pursued me. After run- 
 ning a short distance I thought that my 
 horse might be the means of saving my life, 
 if I would leave him for the Indian, and ac- 
 cordingly I released my hold; but the Indian 
 
 96
 
 Sbbenturcs; oi Henasi Heonarb 
 
 disregarded the horse and followed me. By 
 this time, owing to the loss of blood from my 
 wound, and the great excitement I was un- 
 der, I began to grow weak and faint, for I 
 thought that ev^ery moment would be my 
 last, as I heard the Indian puffing & blowing 
 in my rear. We were now within sight of our 
 camp, and were fortunately discovered by 
 the men then there, who immediately ran to 
 my relief. When I seen the face of my com- 
 panions, I lost all my strength and fell pros- 
 trate to the ground. The Indian, foiled in his 
 design on my life, retreated for the purpose 
 of making sure of my horse, but in this he 
 was also mistaken, for in turn he was pur- 
 sued by my companions as hotly as he had 
 chased me. When my mind again resumed 
 its sway, I found myself in the camp care- 
 fully attended by my companions. 
 
 On entering into conversation with my 
 companions, I found that I was not the only 
 one who had encountered the Indians. I was 
 ignorant of any more Indians being in the 
 neighborhood than the one above alluded to, 
 but it appeared by their story that, when the 
 two men who started out with me, were re- 
 turning with the horses, they came across a 
 large body of Indians, supposed to be about 
 200, who, after a sharp engagement, in which 
 one of our men, named Gillam, of Illinois, 
 
 97
 
 abbenturesf of Ztna^ Heonarb 
 
 was killed, and two wounded, succeeded in 
 taking all our horses except two. Whilst I 
 was listening to this lamentable story, our 
 spies came running to the camp, bringing the 
 unwelcome tidings that the Indians were 
 again approaching with great speed, deter- 
 mined to ride over us. Each man now gath- 
 ered a robe, blanket, guns, and such things 
 as he could not do without, & carried the 
 wounded into the brush at the foot of the 
 hill, where we immediately commenced 
 building a fort. The Indians approached and 
 surrounded our encampment very cautiously, 
 thinking that they would take us by surprise, 
 and capture man, beast and baggage without 
 any difficulty — but they were outrageous 
 when they found that there was no body at 
 home. They made the best of their victory 
 however, and took every thing we had left. — 
 When they had completed the pillage, which 
 was only done when they could no longer 
 find any thing on which to lay their hands, 
 they started off with their booty. — After 
 they had travelled some distance they halted 
 and collected in a circle, within plain view of 
 where we were, and smoked to the Sun, or 
 Great Spirit. While going through this cere- 
 mony, some of them happened to discover us. 
 On this, they quit smoking, left their horses 
 and came on foot within 30 or 40 steps of 
 
 98
 
 ^bbentures? of Henaj^ ILeonarb 
 
 us, — but on seeing our fort, which was only 
 partly built, they turned away and left us, 
 without making any attack. We remained in 
 this situation until morning — those who were 
 able, being occupied in completing our fort. 
 Soon after daylight the Indians again made 
 their appearance, and approached within a 
 stones throw of the fort, and on reconnoiter- 
 ing our situation they concluded that we 
 were too well defended for them to gain any 
 advantage over us, — and the second time 
 they left us without giving us a chance of 
 trying our strength. 
 
 This morning I felt very weak and feeble 
 from my wound, and began to fear that it 
 was more serious than was at first supposed. 
 About lo o'clock the company was ready for 
 the move, and I was packed between two 
 horses. After travelling two or three miles we 
 halted to rest near some brush — but not 
 without having sentinels stationed for the 
 purpose of keeping a vigilant look-out, for 
 we still expected an attack from the Indians. 
 Not long after we halted our sentinels in- 
 formed us that the savages were again ap- 
 proaching. We immediately went into the 
 brush and commenced throwing up a fort. 
 They this time approached very cautiously, 
 & seemed determined to put an end to our 
 lives. When they observed that we were 
 
 99
 
 defended by a breast work, they halted, rec- 
 onnoitered on every side, and finally gave up 
 and left us. These Indians who had hung 
 round our path so long, robbed us of so much 
 necessary property, killed one and wounded 
 three of us, and came so nigh exterminating 
 our whole company, we found out, belonged 
 to the Rickaree tribe — the same who fright- 
 ened us in the sink hole, on Platte river. 
 
 It was now that we had leisure to contem- 
 plate our situation. Some of us had laboured 
 hard, encountered one danger only to be 
 eclipsed by another. We had at times en- 
 dured the most excruciating suffering from 
 hunger and fatigue — living in constant com- 
 munion with the terrors of a wilderness 
 studded with savages and no less dangerous 
 beasts of prey, for two long years, and now 
 left destitute of every thing except an old 
 greasy blanket, a rifle and a few loads of am- 
 munition, some thousands of miles from our 
 paternal homes. To reflect on our present 
 situation was enough to fill every heart with 
 all the horrors of remorse. In fact, we felt a 
 disposition about this time to do that which 
 would not have been right, had an opportu- 
 nity afforded. When we first embarked in 
 this business it was with the expectation that 
 to ensure a fortune in the fur trade only 
 required a little perseverance and industry. 
 
 loo
 
 Sbbentures; of HenasJ ILeonarb 
 
 We were not told that we were to be con- 
 stantly annoyed by the Indians, but that it 
 only required the observance of a peaceful 
 disposition on our part, to secure their friend- 
 ship and even support. Some of the Indians 
 with whom we had intercourse, it is true, had 
 been of great advantage to us in our trap- 
 ping expeditions; but then it would be of 
 short duration, — for, if they would not ren- 
 der themselves obnoxious by their own 
 treachery, our friendship with them would 
 be sure to meet with an interruption 
 through some ingenious artifice of a neigh- 
 bouring jealous tribe. Such had been the life 
 we had led, and such the reward. 
 
 Our situation was not at all suited for so- 
 ber calculation. Some appeared altogether 
 careless what would become of them — seem- 
 ing to have a willingness to turn in with and 
 live the life of a savage; some two or three 
 were anxious to leave the wilderness and re- 
 turn to the States as empty as when we left 
 them. But this was rejected by nearly all, for 
 we still had a distant hope of having better 
 luck. 
 
 Some of our men were acquainted with the 
 situation of the rendezvous of a company of 
 traders on the head waters of the Colerado, 
 trading under the firm of B. L. E. Bowville, 
 & Co. and it was proposed to start for this 
 
 lOI
 
 Strbenturejf of Henasi Heonarb 
 
 post immediately. ^° After much debate and 
 persuasion, it was agreed that we should 
 make the attempt. We got every thing ready 
 — the wounded having entirely recovered — 
 and started on our long and tedious journey. 
 As we travelled along we killed plenty of va- 
 rious kinds of game — met with nothing to 
 interrupt our journey, and on the 25th of 
 July arrived at the camp of Bowville, which 
 at this time consisted of 195 men, together 
 with a small company belonging to Macken- 
 zie, from the Missouri river, of 60 men. We 
 were well received by these men, most of 
 whom had been in the woods for several 
 years, and experienced many hardships and 
 privations, similar to what we had suffered. 
 
 2" The allusion is to Captain Benjamin Louis Eulalie 
 de Bonneville, who graduated from West Point in 1815 
 and served in the U. S. Army, with one significant inter- 
 val, until his retirement in 1866. Attracted by the fur 
 trade, he secured a leave of absence from the Army and 
 with funds supplied by certain New York capitalists in 
 1832 left Fort Osage for Green River in charge of a 
 formidable and well-equipped expedition. His adven- 
 tures during the three ensuing years are related by 
 Washington Irving in his The Rocky Mountains^ or 
 Some Incidents and Adventures in the Far West; digested 
 from the Journal of Capt. B. L. E. Bonneville. . . . 
 
 Bonneville's rendezvous on Green River was visited 
 by Larpenteur about the same time as Leonard arrived 
 there. For his account of the place, see his Forty Years 
 a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri, 26 S. 
 
 102
 
 ^bbentureis? of Henaj^ Heonarb 
 
 They seemed to sympathize with us about 
 our loss, and all appeared anxious that we 
 should turn in with them and restore our lost 
 fortunes. After we had become thoroughly 
 rested from the fatigue of our long tramp to 
 this post, most of our men hired in different 
 ways with this company. These men had 
 been engaged in trapping in the vicinity of 
 this rendezvous for a long time, & had caught 
 nearly all the beaver, and were thinking 
 about moving to some other section of coun- 
 try. There was a large tract of land laying to 
 the South West of this, extending to the Co- 
 lumbia river on the North, and to the Pacific 
 ocean and Gulph of Calafornia on the West 
 and South, which was said to abound with 
 beaver, and otherwise suited as a trading 
 country. As our company was now very 
 large, the officers concluded on dividing it 
 into three divisions. Accordingly Capt. Bow- 
 ville was left here with a considerable force 
 to watch the movements of the Indians, and 
 to do what he could at trapping; as this had 
 been a great harbor for beaver, it was 
 thought that there might be still some more 
 to be caught. A Mr. Cerren-^ with a few men 
 
 2^ Michael Sylvestre Cerre, St. Louis resident and 
 trader, was a grandson of Gabriel Cerre who came from 
 Canada to Kaskaskia about the middle of the eight- 
 eenth century, and at the time of Clark's conquest of 
 
 103
 
 abbentutesf of Henaief ICeonarb 
 
 was sent back to St. Lewis, with 4000 lbs. of 
 beaver fur, with instructions to return and 
 meet Capt. Bowville at the Great Salt Lake 
 in the following summer, with a supply of 
 provisions to do the company, for the two 
 following years. The other division, under 
 the command of a Mr. Walker,^^ was or- 
 dered to steer through an unknown country, 
 towards the Pacific, and if he did not find 
 beaver, he should return to the Great S. L. in 
 the following summer. Mr. Walker was a 
 man well calculated to undertake a business 
 of this kind. He was well hardened to the 
 hardships of the wilderness — understood the 
 
 the Illinois was perhaps the leading citizen of Kas- 
 kaskia. He acceded to the American cause, but later 
 crossed the Mississippi to St. Louis to enjoy the bet- 
 ter government afforded by Spanish Louisiana. The 
 grandson, our present subject, was born in 1803. He 
 early embarked upon the trade with Santa Fe, and in 
 1832 joined Captain Bonneville's western expedition, 
 where he was serving at the time of Leonard's recital. 
 22 Joseph Reddeford Walker, who was born in Knox- 
 ville, Tenn., in 1798 and died in California in 1876. In 
 early manhood he removed to Jackson County, Mo., 
 where he entered upon his career as trapper and guide. 
 The expedition which he led from Green River to Cali- 
 fornia in 1 833 was one of much geographical importance, 
 and has been the subject of much, sometimes acrid, 
 discussion. Leonard's narrative furnishes one of the 
 earliest and most authoritative accounts of it. Con- 
 fusion concerning Walker's name has led even reputable 
 historians to mistake his identity. 
 
 104
 
 atibentureji of Henasi ICeonarb 
 
 character of the Indians very well — was kind 
 and affable to his men, but at the same time 
 at liberty to command without giving of- 
 fence, — and to explore unknown regions was 
 his chief delight. I was anxious to go to the 
 coast of the Pacific, and for that purpose 
 hired with Mr. Walker as clerk, for a certain 
 sum per year. The 20th of Aug. was fixed as 
 the day for each company to take its depar- 
 ture.^^ When the day arrived every thing 
 was in readiness, — each man provided with 
 four horses, and an equal share of blankets, 
 buffaloe robes, provisions, and every article 
 necessary for the comfort of men engaged in 
 an expedition of this kind. As we travelled 
 along each man appeared in better spirits, 
 and more lively than on any other similar oc- 
 casion, — and I sometimes thought that we 
 were now on an expedition from which we 
 would realize some profit. On the fourth day 
 of our journey we arrived at the huts of some 
 Bawnack Indians. These Indians appear to 
 live very poor and in the most forlorn condi- 
 tion. They generally make but one visit to 
 the buffaloe country during the year, where 
 they remain until they jirk as much meat as 
 
 23 As on previous occasions, the author mistakes the 
 date of Walker's departure from Green River, which 
 was July 24, 1833. The dates which follow are also 
 several weeks too late. 
 
 105
 
 Sbbenture^i of Hena£i Ileonatb 
 
 their females can lug home on their backs. 
 They then quit the mountains and return to 
 the plains, where they subsist on fish and 
 small game the remainder of the year. They 
 keep no horses, & are always an easy prey for 
 other Indians provided with guns and horses. 
 On telling these Indians the route we in- 
 tended to take, they told us we must provide 
 ourselves with meat enough to subsist upon 
 for many days — which we found to be very 
 good advice. We now set to work laying in a 
 stock of provision, and in a few days each 
 man was provided with about 60 pounds of 
 substantial meat, which was packed upon 
 our horses, and we set sail in good cheer. 
 
 On the 4th of September we killed our last 
 buffaloe on the West side of the Salt Lake. 
 We still continued along the margin of the 
 Lake, with the intention of leaving it when 
 we got to the extreme west side of it. About 
 the 1 2th we found the country very poor, and 
 almost without game, except goats and some 
 few rabbits. On the 13th we left the Lake and 
 took a westerly course into the most exten- 
 sive & barren plains I ever seen. This day we 
 came to a spring, where we found some Indi- 
 ans encamped, who were on their way up to 
 the buffaloe country, to lay in their winters 
 supply of meat. These Indians appear to be 
 more wealthy, and exercise more ingenuity 
 
 106
 
 Sbbenturesf of Zenas; ILtonaxh 
 
 in providing for themselves than those we 
 had met with a few days ago. They have 
 paths beat from one spring or hole of water 
 to another, and by observing these paths, 
 they told us, we would be enabled to find wa- 
 ter without much trouble. The chief of this 
 tribe, further told us, that after travelling so 
 many days South-west, (the course we were 
 now about to take,) we would come to a high 
 mountain which was covered with snow at 
 the top the whole year round, and on each 
 side of which we would find a large river to 
 head, and descend into the sandy plains be- 
 low, forming innumerable small lakes, and 
 sinks into the earth and disappears. Some 
 distance further down these plains, he said, 
 we would come to another mountain, much 
 larger than the first, which he had never been 
 across. In all this space, he said, there was no 
 game; but that near this latter mountain we 
 would come across a tribe of poor Indians, 
 whom he supposed would not be friendly. 
 
 On the next morning we left these Indians, 
 and pursued our course Northwest. Our 
 men, who were in such fine spirits when we 
 left the rendezvous, began to show symptoms 
 of fatigue, & were no longer so full of sport. 
 We travelled along these paths according to 
 the directions of the Indians, now and then 
 meeting with a few straggling natives, who 
 
 107
 
 ^bbenture£{ of HenasJ ICeonarb 
 
 were in a manner naked, on the trail of the 
 main body to the buffaloe country. — Some 
 of these straggling Indians showed us some 
 lumps of salt, which was the most white, 
 clear and beautiful I ever seen. 
 
 On the 30th we arrived at a considerable 
 hill, which, in appearance, is similar to a 
 smooth rock, — where we encamped for the 
 night, and let our horses loose to graze — 
 which we thought might now be done with 
 safety, as we were no longer beset by the 
 murderous Rickarees. While laying about 
 resting ourselves, some of the men observed 
 the horses very eagerly licking the stones 
 which lay on the surface of the ground, near 
 the spring. This circumstance caused the 
 men to examine the stones, which we found 
 to be salt, and had been carried here from the 
 hill by the Indians. Their surface was cov- 
 ered with moss or rust, but on breaking 
 them, or rubbing off the rust, the salt is seen 
 in its purity. This hill runs North and South, 
 and is from one to three miles across, and 
 produces no kind of vegetation, whatever ex- 
 cept a little grass which grows in holes or 
 gutters around its base, formed by water de- 
 scending from the hill during the rainy sea- 
 son. This country appeared the most like a 
 desert of any I had yet seen. It is so dry and 
 sandy that there is scarcely any vegetation 
 
 108
 
 Sbbcnturesf of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 to be found — not even a spear of grass, ex- 
 cept around the springs. The water in some 
 of these springs, too, is so salt that it is im- 
 possible to drink it. The Indians say that it 
 never rains, only in the spring of the year. 
 Every thing here seems to declare that, here 
 man shall not dwell.* 
 
 After travelling a few days longer thro' 
 these barren plains; we came to the moun- 
 tain described by the Indian as having its 
 peak covered with snow. It presents a most 
 singular appearance — beng entirely uncon- 
 nected with any other chain. It is surrounded 
 on either side by level plains, and rises ab- 
 ruptly to a great highth, rugged, and hard 
 to ascend. To take a view of the surrounding 
 country from this mountain, the eye meets 
 with nothing but a smooth, sandy, level 
 
 *This hill was seen in 1824, by a Mr. Smith,-^ who 
 extended his explorations to the Pacific coast, and 
 was there taken prisoner by the Spaniards. See his 
 travels. 
 
 2'* Jedediah S, Smith, one of the ablest of the Rocky 
 Mountain fur traders. For a brief characterization of 
 his activities, see Larpenteur's Forty Years a Fur Trader 
 on the Upper Missouri, p. XVII. Smith was a rare 
 character, expert alike with the Bible and the rifle. In 
 1826 he led the first overland expedition to California, 
 returning again in 1827 for a second visit. Harrison C. 
 Dale has edited the original records of The Ashley- 
 Smith Expeditio77S and the Discovery of a Ceritral Route 
 to the Pacific, 1 822-1 829 (Cleveland, 191 8). 
 
 109
 
 abbenturesi of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 plain. On the whole, this mountain may be 
 set down as one of the most remarkable phe- 
 nomenas of nature. Its top is covered with 
 the pinone tree, bearing a kind of mast, 
 which the natives are very fond of, and 
 which they collect for winter provision. This 
 hill is nearly round, and looks like a hill or 
 mound, such as may be met with in the prai- 
 ries on the east side of the mountain. 
 
 Not far from our encampment we found 
 the source of the river mentioned by the In- 
 dian. After we all got tired gazing at this 
 mountain and the adjacent curiosities, we 
 left it and followed down the river, in order 
 to find water and grass for our horses. On this 
 stream we found old signs of beaver, and we 
 supposed that, as game was scarce in this 
 country, the Indians had caught them for 
 provision. The natives which we occasion- 
 ally met with, still continued to be of the 
 most poor and dejected kind — being entirely 
 naked and very filthy. We came to the hut of 
 one of these Indians who happened to have a 
 considerable quantity of fur collected. — At 
 this hut we obtained a large robe composed 
 of beaver skins fastened together, in ex- 
 change for two awls and one fish-hook. This 
 robe was worth from 30 to 40 dollars. We 
 continued travelling down this river, now 
 and then catching a few beaver. But, as we 
 
 no
 
 abbentures; of HenasJ ILtonavh 
 
 continued to extend our acquaintance with 
 the natives, they began to practice their na- 
 tional faihng of steahng. So eager were they 
 to possess themselves of our traps, that we 
 were forced to quit trapping in this vicinity 
 and make for some other quarter. The great 
 annoyance we sustained in this respect 
 greatly displeased some of our men, and they 
 were for taking vengeance before we left the 
 country — but this was not the disposition of 
 Captain Walker. These discontents being 
 out hunting one day, fell in with a few In- 
 dians, two or three of whom they killed, and 
 then returned to camp, not daring to let the 
 Captain know it. The next day while hunt- 
 ing, they repeated the same violation — but 
 this time not quite so successful, for the Cap- 
 tain found it out, and immediately took 
 measures for its effectual suppression. 
 
 At this place, all the branches of this 
 stream is collected from the mountain into 
 the main channel, which forms quite a large 
 stream; and to which we gave the name of 
 Barren River-^ — a name which we thought 
 would be quite appropriate, as the country, 
 natives and every thing belonging to it, 
 justly deserves the name. — You may travel 
 
 2^ The Humboldt River, otherwise known as the 
 Ogden, after Peter Skene Ogden, and the Mary's, after 
 Ogden's Indian wife. 
 
 Ill
 
 ^h\)tnt\xxt^ of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 for many days on the banks of this river, 
 without finding a stick large enough to make 
 a walking cane. — While we were on its mar- 
 gin, we were compelled to do without fire, 
 unless we chanced to come across some drift 
 that had collected together on the beach. As 
 we proceeded down the river we found that 
 the trails of the Indians began to look as if 
 their numbers were increasing, ever since our 
 men had killed some of their brethren. The 
 further we descended the river, the more 
 promising the country began to appear, 
 although it still retained its dry, sandy na- 
 ture. We had now arrived within view of a 
 cluster of hills or mounds, which presented 
 the appearance, from a distance, of a number 
 of beautiful cities built up together. Here we 
 had the pleasure of seeing timber, which 
 grew in very sparing quantities some places 
 along the river beach. 
 
 On the 4th of September we arrived at some 
 lakes, formed by this river, which we sup- 
 posed to be those mentioned by the Indian 
 chief whom we met at the Great Salt Lake. 
 Here the country is low and swampy, pro- 
 ducing an abundance of very fine grass — 
 which was very acceptable to our horses, as 
 it was the first good grazing they had been 
 in for a long time — and here, on the borders 
 of one of these lakes, we encamped, for the 
 
 112
 
 abbenturejf of Ztna^ Heonarb 
 
 purpose of spending the night, and letting 
 our horses have their satisfaction. A little 
 before sun-set, on taking a view of the sur- 
 rounding waste with a spy-glass, we dis- 
 covered smoke issuing from the high grass in 
 every direction. This was sufficient to con- 
 vince us that we were in the midst of a large 
 body of Indians; but as we could see no tim- 
 ber to go to, we concluded that it would be 
 as well to remain in our present situation, 
 and defend ourselves as well as we could. We 
 readily guessed that these Indians were in 
 arms to revenge the death of those which our 
 men had killed up the river; & if they could 
 succeed in getting any advantage over us, we 
 had no expectation that they would give us 
 any quarter. Our first care, therefore, was to 
 secure our horses, which we did by fastening 
 them all together, and then hitching them to 
 pickets drove into the ground. This done, we 
 commenced constructing something for our 
 own safety. The lake was immediately in our 
 rear, and piling up all our baggage in front, 
 we had quite a substantial breast work — 
 which would have been as impregnable to 
 the Indian arrows, as were the cotton-bags to 
 the British bullets at New Orleans in 1815. 
 Before we had got every thing completed, 
 however, the Indians issued from their hid- 
 ing places in the grass, to the number, as near 
 
 113
 
 aibtienturesf of Ztna^ Heonarb 
 
 as I could guess, of 8 or 900, and marched 
 straight towards us, dancing and singing in 
 the greatest glee. When within about 150 
 yards of us, they all sat down on the ground, 
 and despatched five of their chiefs to our 
 camp to inquire whether their people might 
 come in and smoke with us. This request 
 Capt. Walker very prudently refused, as 
 they evidently had no good intentions, but 
 told them that he was willing to meet them 
 halfway between our breast work, and where 
 their people were then sitting. This appeared 
 to displease them very much, and they went 
 back not the least bit pleased with the recep- 
 tion they had met with. 
 
 After the five deputies related the result of 
 their visit to their constituents, a part of them 
 rose up and signed to us, (which was the only 
 mode of communicating with them) that 
 they were coming to our camp. At this 10 or 
 12 of our men mounted the breast work and 
 made signs to them that if they advanced a 
 step further it was at the peril of their lives. 
 They wanted to know in what way we would 
 do it. Our guns were exhibited as the weap- 
 ons of death. This they seemed to discredit 
 and only laughed at us. They then wanted to 
 see what effect our guns would have on some 
 ducks that were then swimming in the lake, 
 not far from the shore. We then fired at the 
 
 114
 
 abbentures? of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 ducks — thinking by this means to strike ter- 
 rour into the savages and drive them away. 
 The ducks were killed, which astonished the 
 Indians a good deal, though not so much as 
 the noise of the guns — which caused them to 
 fall flat to the ground. After this they put up 
 a beaver skin on a bank for us to shoot at for 
 their gratification — when they left us for the 
 night. This night we stationed a strong 
 guard, but no Indians made their appear- 
 ance, and were permitted to pass the night 
 in pleasant dreams. 
 
 Early in the morning we resumed our jour- 
 ney along the lakes, without seeing any signs 
 of the Indians until after sunrise, when we 
 discovered them issuing from the high grass 
 in front, rear, and on either side of us. This 
 created great alarm among our men, at first, 
 as we thought they had surrounded us on 
 purpose, but it appeared that we had only 
 happened amongst them, and they were as 
 much frightened as us. From this we turned 
 our course from the border of the lake into 
 the plain. We had not travelled far until the 
 Indians began to move after us — first in small 
 numbers, but presently in large companies. — 
 They did not approach near until we had 
 travelled in this way for several hours, when 
 they began to send small parties in advance, 
 who would solicit us most earnestly to stop
 
 ^bbenturesf of Ztna^ Heonarb 
 
 and smoke with them. After they had re- 
 peated this several times, we began to under- 
 stand their motive — which was to detain us 
 in order to let their whole force come up and 
 surround us, or to get into close quarters with 
 us, when their bows and arrows would be as 
 fatal and more effective than our firearms. 
 We now began to be a little stern with them, 
 and gave them to understand, that if they 
 continued to trouble us, they would do it at 
 their own risk. In this manner we were teased 
 until a party of 80 or 100 came forward, who 
 appeared more saucy and bold than any 
 others. This greatly excited Capt. Walker, 
 who was naturally of a very cool tempera- 
 ment, and he gave orders for the charge, say- 
 ing that there was nothing equal to a good 
 start in such a case. This was sufficient. A 
 number of our men had never been engaged 
 in any fighting with the Indians, and were 
 anxious to try their skill. When our com- 
 mander gave his consent to chastise these 
 Indians, and give them an idea of our strength, 
 32 of us dismounted and prepared ourselves 
 to give a severe blow. We tied our extra horses 
 to some shrubs and left them with the main 
 body of our company, and then selected each 
 a choice steed, mounted and surrounded this 
 party of Indians. We closed in on them and 
 fired, leaving thirty-nine dead on the field — 
 
 116
 
 aibbenturesf of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 which was nearly the half — the remainder 
 were overwhelmed with dismay — running 
 into the high grass in every direction, howl- 
 ing in the most lamentable manner. 
 
 Capt. Walker then gave orders to some of 
 the men to take the bows of the fallen Indians 
 and put the wounded out of misery. The 
 severity with which we dealt with these 
 Indians may be revolting to the heart of the 
 philanthropist; but the circumstances of the 
 case altogether atones for the cruelty. It must 
 be borne in mind, that we were far removed 
 from the hope of any succour in case we were 
 surrounded, and that the country we were 
 in was swarming with hostile savages, suffi- 
 ciently numerous to devour us. Our object 
 was to strike a decisive blow. This we did — 
 even to a greater extent than we had in- 
 tended. 
 
 These Indians are totally naked — both 
 male and female — with the exception of a 
 shield of grass, which they wear around their 
 loins. They are generally small and weak, 
 and some of them very hairy. They subsist 
 upon grass-seed, frogs, fish, &c. — Fish, how- 
 ever, are very scarce — their manner of catch- 
 ing which, is somewhat novel and singular. 
 They take the leg-bone of a sand-hill crane, 
 which is generally about i8 inches long, this 
 is fastened in the end of a pole — they then, 
 
 117
 
 ^bbenturesf of Henasf ILtonatti 
 
 by means of a raft made of rushes, which are 
 very plenty — float along the surface of these 
 lakes, and spear the fish. They exhibit great 
 dexterity with this simple structure — some- 
 times killing a fish with it at a great distance. 
 They also have a kind of hook by which they 
 sometimes are very successful, but it does 
 not afford them as much sport as the spear. 
 This hook is formed of a small bone, ground 
 down on a sand-stone, and a double beard 
 cut in it with a flint — they then have a line 
 made of wild flax. This line is tied nearest the 
 beard end of the hook, by pulling the line the 
 sharp end with the beard, catches, and turns 
 the bone crossways in its mouth. 
 
 These lakes are all joined together by 
 means of the river which passes from one to 
 another, until it reaches the largest,^^ which 
 has no out-let. The water in this lake be- 
 comes stagnant and very disagreeable — its 
 surface being covered with a green substance, 
 similar to a stagnant frog pond. In warm 
 weather there is a fly, about the size and 
 similar to a grain of wheat, on this lake, in 
 great numbers. — When the wind rolls the 
 waters onto the shore, these flies are left on 
 the beach — the female Indians then care- 
 fully gather them into baskets made of wil- 
 low branches, and lay them exposed to the 
 
 26 Humboldt Lake. 
 
 ii8
 
 abbentures? of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 sun until they become perfectly dry, when 
 they are laid away for winter provender. 
 These flies, together with grass seed, and a 
 few rabbits, is their principal food during the 
 winter season. 
 
 Their habitations are formed of a round 
 hole dug in the ground, over which sticks are 
 placed, giving it the shape of a potatoe hole 
 — this is covered with grass & earth — the 
 door at one side and the fire at the other. 
 They cook in a pot made of stiff mud, which 
 they lay upon the fire & burn; but from the 
 sandy nature of the mud, after cooking a few 
 times, it falls to pieces, when they make a 
 new one. 
 
 These Indians call themselves Shoshocoes; 
 and the Lakes have been named Battle Lakes. 
 
 On the loth of October we left these In- 
 dians and built rafts out of rushes to convey 
 us across the river, when we left the Lakes 
 and continued our course in the direction of 
 a large mountain, which was in sight, and 
 which we could see was covered with snow on 
 the summit. In the evening we encamped on 
 the margin of a large Lake formed by a river 
 which heads in this mountain. ^^ This lake, 
 likewise, has no outlet for the water, except 
 that which sinks into the ground. The water 
 in this lake is similar to lie, and tastes much 
 
 "Apparently Carson Lake. 
 
 119
 
 aibtjenturejEi of Henaji Heonatb 
 
 like pearlash. If this river was in the vicinity 
 of some city, it would be of inestimable value, 
 as it is admirably calculated to wash clothes 
 without soap, and no doubt could be appro- 
 priated to many valuable uses. There is also 
 a great quantity of pummice stone floating on 
 the surface of the water, and the shore is cov- 
 ered with them. The next day we travelled 
 up this river towards the mountain, where 
 we encamped for the night. This mountain is 
 very high, as the snow extends down the side 
 nearly half way — the mountain runs North 
 and South. 
 
 In the morning we despatched hunters to 
 the mountain^^ on search of game and also to 
 look out for a pass over the mountain, as our 
 provisions were getting scarce — our dried buf- 
 faloe meat being almost done. After prowling 
 about all day, our hunters returned in the 
 evening, bringing the unwelcome tidings that 
 they had not seen any signs of game in all 
 their ramblings, and what was equally dis- 
 couraging, that they had seen no practicable 
 place for crossing the mountain. They, how- 
 ever, had with them a young colt and camel,^^ 
 
 2^ They were about to undertake the passage of the 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
 
 23 Camels were imported from Africa for use in the 
 Southwest by the United States Government in the 
 fifties, and their presence at large was from time to time 
 
 1 20
 
 3bbenture£i of Ztna^ Ueonarb 
 
 which they secured by the natives taking 
 fright and running off, when the hunters 
 came in sight. The next morning, having 
 eaten the last of our dried buffaloe meat, it 
 was decided that the colt should be killed 
 and divided equally to each man. Our situ- 
 ation was growing worse every hour, and 
 something required to be done to extricate 
 ourselves. Our horses were reduced very 
 much from the fatigues of our journey and 
 light food, having travelled through a poor, 
 sandy country extending from the buffaloe 
 country of the Rocky Mountains, to our 
 present encampment, a distance of about 
 1 200 miles, without encountering a single 
 hill of any consequence, (with the exception 
 of the one in which Barren river heads, and 
 that we went around,) and so poor and bare 
 that nothing can subsist on it with the excep- 
 tion of rabbits — these being the only game 
 we had met with since we had left the buf- 
 faloe country, with the exception of one or 
 two antelopes. Notwithstanding these plains 
 forbids the support of animals of every de- 
 scription, yet I do not believe that we passed 
 a single day without seeing Indians, or fresh 
 signs, and some days hundreds of them. 
 
 reported in subsequent years. Leonard's Editor must 
 have erred here, for none are known to have been in 
 the West prior to the experiment noted. 
 
 121
 
 Sbbentures; of Henafii Heonarb 
 
 Today we sent out several scouting parties to 
 search out a pass over the mountain. Capt. 
 Walker, Nidever and myself started out to- 
 gether. After getting part of the way up the 
 mountain we came to a grove of timber, where 
 the mountain was too steep for our horses, 
 and we left them, and travelled on foot. Nide- 
 ver was separated from us, when two Indians 
 made their appearance, but as soon as they 
 saw us, they took to flight and run directly 
 towards Nidever, who at once supposed they 
 had been committing some mischief with us, 
 fired, and, as they were running one behind 
 the other, killed them both at one shot. After 
 this unpleasant circumstance we went back 
 to our horses, and from thence to camp. Mr. 
 Nidever was very sorry when he discovered 
 what he had done. In the evening the balance 
 of our scouting parties returned, but none of 
 them had killed any game. One of them had 
 found an Indian path, which they thought 
 led over the mountain — whereupon it was re- 
 solved that in the morning we would take 
 this path, as it seemed to be our only pros- 
 pect of preservation. Accordingly, at an 
 early hour the next morning we started on 
 our journey along the foot of the mountain 
 in search of the path discovered on the pre- 
 vious day, and found it. On examination we 
 found that horses travelled it, and must of 
 
 122
 
 abbentures? of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 course come from the west. This gave us 
 great encouragement, as we were very fear- 
 ful we would not be able to get our horses 
 over at all. Here we encamped for the night. 
 In the morning we started on our toilsome 
 journey. Ascending the mountain we found 
 to be v^ery difficult from the rocks and its 
 steepness. This day we made but poor speed, 
 and encamped on the side of the mountain. 
 
 Oct. i6. Continued our course until in the 
 afternoon, when we arrived at what we took 
 for the top, where we again encamped, but 
 without any thing to eat for our horses, as 
 the ground was covered with a deep snow, 
 which from appearance, lays on the North 
 side of the peaks, the whole year around. 
 These peaks are generally covered with rocks 
 and sand, — totally incapable of vegetation; 
 except on the South side, where grows a kind 
 of Juniper or Gin shrub, bearing a berry 
 tasting similar to gin. Here we passed the 
 night without anything to eat except these 
 gin berries, and some of the insects from the 
 lake described above, which our men had 
 got from the Indians. We had not suffered 
 much from cold for several months previous 
 to this; but this night, surrounded as we were 
 with the everlasting snows on the summit of 
 this mountain, the cold was felt with three 
 fold severity. 
 
 123
 
 ^bbenture£( of Henas^ Heonarb 
 
 In taking a view the next morning of the ex- 
 tensive plains through which we had travelled, 
 its appearance is awfully sublime. As far 
 as the eye can reach, you can see nothing but 
 an unbroken level, tiresome to the eye to be- 
 hold. To the East the aspect is truly wonder- 
 ful. The sight meets with nothing but a poor 
 sandy plain, extending from the base of the 
 Rocky mountains to the level below — -inter- 
 posed with several rivers winding their way, 
 here and there forming innumerable lakes, 
 having their margins thinly adorned with a 
 few withering and fading cottonwood trees 
 — where the water ceases to flow, and sinks 
 into the sand. But this is not all. The rivers 
 which head in this mountain, all lead towards 
 the East, as if to meet those from the Rocky 
 mountains, and likewise empty into the 
 lakes. The next morning it was with no 
 cheerful prospect that each man prepared 
 himself for travelling, as we had nothing to 
 eat worth mentioning. As we advanced, in 
 the hollows sometimes we would encounter 
 prodigious quantities of snow. When we 
 would come to such places, a certain portion 
 of the men would be appointed alternately 
 to go forward and break the road, to enable 
 our horses to get through; and if any of the 
 horses would get swamped, these same men 
 were to get them out. In this tedious and 
 
 124
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henas; lleonarb 
 
 tiresome manner we spent the whole day 
 without going more than 8 or lo miles. In 
 some of these ravines where the snow is 
 drifted from the peaks, it never entirely 
 melts, and may be found at this season of the 
 year, from ten to one hundred feet deep. 
 From appearance it never melts on the top, 
 but in warm weather the heap sinks by that 
 part melting which lays next the ground. 
 This day's travel was very severe on our 
 horses, as they had not a particle to eat. They 
 began to grow stupid and stiff, and we began 
 to despair of getting them over the moun- 
 tain. We encamped this night on the south 
 side of one of these peaks or ridges without 
 any thing to eat, and almost without fire. To 
 add to the troubles and fatigues which we 
 encountered in the day time, in getting over 
 the rocks and through the snow, we had the 
 mortification this evening to find that some 
 of our men had become almost unmanage- 
 able, and were desirous of turning back and 
 retracing our steps to the buffaloe country! 
 The voice of the majority, which always 
 directs the movements of such a company, 
 would not pacify them; nor had the earnest 
 appeals of our captain any effect. The dis- 
 tance was too great for them to undertake 
 without being well provided, and the only way 
 they could be prevented, was by not letting 
 
 125
 
 Sbbenturefii of Ztna^ ILeonarb 
 
 them have any of the horses or ammuni- 
 tion. Two of our horses were so much re- 
 duced that it was thought they would not be 
 able to travel in the morning at all, where- 
 upon it was agreed that they should be butch- 
 ered for the use of the men. This gave our 
 men fresh courage, and we went to bed this 
 night in better spirits than we had done for a 
 long time. Some of the men had fasted so 
 long, and were so much in want of nourish- 
 ment, that they did not know when they had 
 satisfied the demands of nature, and eat as 
 much and as eagerly of this black, tough, 
 lean, horse flesh, as if it had been the choicest 
 piece of beef steak. 
 
 In the morning, after freely partaking of 
 the horse meat, and sharing the remainder to 
 each man, we renewed our journey, now and 
 then coming onto an Indian path, but as 
 they did not lead in the direction we were 
 going, we did not follow them — but the most 
 of the distance we this day travelled, we had 
 to encounter hills, rocks and deep snows. 
 The snow in most of the hollows we this day 
 passed through, looks as if it had remained 
 here all summer, as eight or ten inches from 
 the top it was packed close and firm — the 
 top being loose and light, having fell only a 
 day or two previous. About the middle of the 
 afternoon we arrived at a small Lake or 
 
 126
 
 abbentures; of Henas; ILtonaxh 
 
 pond, where we concluded to encamp, as at 
 this pond we found a small quantity of very- 
 indifferent grass, but which our horses crop- 
 ped off with great eagerness. Here we spent 
 the night, having yet seen nothing to create 
 a hope that we had arrived near the opposite 
 side of the mountain — and what was equally 
 as melancholy, having yet discovered no 
 signs of game. 
 
 The next morning we resumed our labour, 
 fortunately finding less snow and more tim- 
 ber, besides a number of small lakes, and 
 some prospect of getting into a country that 
 produced some kind of vegetation. The tim- 
 ber is principally pine, cedar and red wood, 
 mostly of a scrubby and knotty quality. 
 After travelling a few miles, further however, 
 than any other day since we had reached the 
 top of the mountain, we again encamped on 
 the margin of another small lake, where we 
 also had the good fortune to find some pas- 
 ture for our horses. This evening it was again 
 decided to kill three more of our horses 
 which had grown entirely worthless from 
 severe travelling and little food. The next 
 morning several parties were despatched on 
 search of a pass over the mountain, and to 
 make search for game; but they all returned 
 in the evening without finding either. The 
 prospect at this time began to grow some- 
 
 127
 
 ^trbenturesi o! Henasf Heonarb 
 
 what gloomy and threaten us with hard 
 times again. We were at a complete stand. 
 No one was acquainted with the country, nor 
 no person knew how wide the summit of this 
 mountain was. — We had travelled for five 
 days since we arrived at what we supposed 
 to be the summit — were now still surrounded 
 with snow and rugged peaks — the vigour of 
 every man almost exhausted — nothing to 
 give our poor horses, which were no longer 
 any assistance to us in travelling, but a 
 burthen, for we had to help the most of them 
 along as we would an old and feeble man. 
 
 This mountain must be near as high as the 
 main chain of the Rocky mountains — at 
 least a person would judge so from the vast 
 quantity of snow with which it is covered, 
 and the coldness of the air. The descent from 
 the Rocky mountains to this is but trifling, 
 and supposed by all the company not to be 
 greater than we had ascended this mountain 
 from the plain — though we had no means of 
 ascertaining the fact. It is true, however, 
 that the vast plain through which we had 
 travelled was almost perfectly level, on part 
 of which the water gradually descended to 
 the West, and on the other towards the East. 
 
 Our situation was growing more distress- 
 ing every hour, and all we now thought of, 
 was to extricate ourselves from this inhospit- 
 
 128
 
 ^benturesf of Henasf ICeonarb 
 
 able region; and, as we were perfectly aware, 
 that to travel on foot was the only way of 
 succeeding, we spent no time in idleness — 
 scarcely stopping in our journey to view an 
 occasional specimen of the wonders of na- 
 ture's handy-work. We travelled a few miles 
 every day, still on the top of the mountain, 
 and our course continually obstructed with 
 snow hills and rocks. Here we began to en- 
 counter in our path, many small streams 
 which would shoot out from under these high 
 snow-banks, and after running a short dis- 
 tance in deep chasms which they have 
 through ages cut in the rocks, precipitate 
 themselves from one lofty precipice to anoth- 
 er, until they are exhausted in rain below. — 
 Some of these precipices appeared to us to be 
 more than a mile high. Some of the men 
 thought that if we could succeed in descend- 
 ing one of these precipices to the bottom, we 
 might thus work our way into the valley 
 below — but on making several attempts we 
 found it utterly impossible for a man to 
 descend, to say nothing of our horses. ^° We 
 
 ^^ It seems probable that the party had discovered 
 the famed Yosemite Valley. Captain Walker later 
 claimed that he was on the heights overlooking it on 
 Nov. 13, 1833. Dr. L. H. Bunnell, historian of the 
 Yosemite, who was with the first party known to have 
 actually entered it, in 1851, accords Captain Walker 
 the honor of being its discoverer. 
 
 129
 
 aibbenturesf o! Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 were then obliged to keep along the top of 
 the dividing ridge between two of these 
 chasms which seemed to lead pretty near in 
 the direction we were going — which was 
 West, — in passing over the mountain, sup- 
 posing it to run north & south. In this man- 
 ner we continued until the 25th, without any 
 particular occurrence, except that of our 
 horses dying daily — the flesh of which we 
 preserved for food. Our course was very 
 rough & tiresome, having to encounter one 
 hill of snow and one ledge of rocks after 
 another. On the 25th every man appeared to 
 be more discouraged and down-spirited than 
 ever, and I thought that our situation would 
 soon be beyond hope if no prospect of getting 
 from the mountain would now be discovered. 
 This day we sent out several parties on dis- 
 coveries, who returned in the evening with- 
 out bringing the least good news, except one 
 man, who was last coming, having separated 
 from his companions, brought a basket full 
 of acorns to camp. These were the first 
 acorns we had seen since we left the State of 
 Missouri. These nuts our hunter had got 
 from an Indian who had them on his back 
 travelling as though he was on a journey 
 across the mountain, to the East side. — 
 When the Indian seen our hunter he dropped 
 his basket of provision and run for life. These 
 
 130
 
 abbentures; of Henag KLeonarb 
 
 nuts caused no little rejoicing in our camp, 
 not only on account of their value as food, 
 but because they gave us the gratifying evi- 
 dence that a country mild and salubrious 
 enough to produce acorns was not far dis- 
 tant, which must be vastly different from 
 any we had passed through for a long time. 
 We now felt agreeably surprised that we had 
 succeeded so far and so prosperously, in a 
 region of many miles in extent where a native 
 Indian could find nothing to eat in traversing 
 the same route, but acorns. These nuts are 
 quite different from those in Missouri — being 
 much larger and more palatable. They are 
 from i>^ to 3 inches in length, and about ^ 
 in diameter, and when roasted in the ashes 
 or broiled, are superior to any chestnuts I 
 ever eat — (though a person subsisting upon 
 very lean horse meat for several days is 
 hardly capable of judging with precision in 
 a case of this kind.) 
 
 The next morning we resumed our journey 
 somewhat revived with the strong expecta- 
 tion that after a few days more tedious trav- 
 elling, we would find ourselves in a country 
 producing some kind of game by which we 
 might recruit our languid frames, and pas- 
 ture to resuscitate the famished condition of 
 our horses. We still found snow in abun- 
 dance, but our course was not so much 
 
 131
 
 Sbbenture£( of Zenasi ILeonatb 
 
 obstructed with rocks as formerly. In two or 
 three days we arrived at the brink of the 
 mountain. This at first was a happy sight, 
 but when we approached close, it seemed to 
 be so near perpendicular that it would be 
 folly to attempt a descent. In looking on the 
 plain below with the naked eye, you have 
 one of the most singular prospects in nature; 
 from the great height of the mountain the 
 plain presents a dim yellow appearance; — 
 but on taking a view with the spy glass we 
 found it to be a beautiful plain stretched out 
 towards the west until the horizon presents 
 a barrier to the sight. From the spot where 
 we stood to the plain beneath, must at least 
 be a distance of three miles, as it is almost 
 perpendicular, a person cannot look down 
 without feeling as if he was wafted to and fro 
 in the air, from the giddy height. A great 
 many were the surmises as to the distance 
 and direction to the nearest point of the 
 Pacific. Captain Walker, who was a man 
 well acquainted with geography, was of the 
 opinion that it was not much further than 
 we could see with the aid of our glass, as the 
 plain had the appearance of a sea shore. Here 
 we encamped for the night, and sent men out 
 to discover some convenient passage down 
 towards the plain — who returned after an 
 absence of a few hours and reported that 
 
 132
 
 Sbbenturesf o! Henas? ILeonarb 
 
 they had discovered a pass or Indian trail 
 which they thought would answer our pur- 
 pose, and also some signs of deer and bear, 
 which was equally as joyful news — as we 
 longed to have a taste of some palatable food. 
 The next morning after pursuing our course 
 a few miles along the edge of the mountain 
 top we arrived at the path discovered by our 
 men, and immediately commenced the de- 
 scent, gladly leaving the cold and famished 
 region of snow behind. The mountain was 
 extremely steep and difficult to descend, and 
 the only way we could come any speed was 
 by taking a zigzag direction, first climbing 
 along one side and then turning to the other, 
 until we arrived at a ledge or precipice of 
 rocks, of great height, and extending eight 
 or ten miles along the mountain — where we 
 halted and sent men in each direction to 
 ascertain if there was any possibility of get- 
 ting over this obstruction. In the afternoon 
 of the same day our men returned without 
 finding any safe passage thro' the rocks — but 
 one man had succeeded in killing a small 
 deer, which he carried all the way to camp on 
 his back — this was dressed, cooked and eat 
 in less time than a hungry wolf would devour 
 a lamb. 
 
 This was the first game larger than a rab- 
 bit we had killed since the 4th of August 
 
 ^33
 
 when we killed the last buffaloe near the 
 Great Salt Lake, and the first we had eat 
 since our dried meat was exhausted, (being 
 14 days,) during which time we lived on stale 
 and forbidden horse flesh. I was conscious 
 that it was not such meat as a dog would 
 feast on, but we were driven to extremes and 
 had either to do this or die. It was the most 
 unwholesome as well as the most unpleasant 
 food I ever eat or ever expect to eat — and I 
 hope that no other person will ever be com- 
 pelled to go through the same. It seemed to 
 be the greatest cruelty to take your rifle, 
 when your horse sinks to the ground from 
 starvation, but still manifests a desire and 
 willingness to follow you, to shoot him in the 
 head and then cut him up & take such parts 
 of their flesh as extreme hunger alone will 
 render it possible for a human being to eat. 
 This we done several times, and it was the 
 only thing that saved us from death. 24 of 
 our horses died since we arrived on top of 
 the mountain — 17 of which we eat the best 
 parts. 
 
 When our men returned without finding 
 any passage over the rocks, we searched for 
 a place that was as smooth and gradual in 
 the descent as possible, and after finding one 
 we brought our horses, and by fastening 
 ropes round them let them down one at a 
 
 134
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasi ICeonarb 
 
 time without doing them any injury. After 
 we got our horses and baggage all over the 
 rocks we continued our course down the 
 mountain, which still continued very steep 
 and difficult. The circumstance of one of our 
 men killing a deer greatly cheered the lan- 
 guid spirits of our hunters, and after we got 
 safely over the rocks several of the men 
 started out on search of game, although it 
 was then near night. The main body con- 
 tinued on down until we arrived at some 
 green oak bushes, where we encamped for 
 the night, to wait for our hunters, — who 
 returned soon after dark well paid for their 
 labour, having killed two large black tailed 
 deer and a black bear, and all very fat and 
 in good eating order. This night we passed 
 more cheerful and in better heart than any 
 we had spent for a long time. Our meat was 
 dressed and well cooked, and every man felt 
 in good order to partake of it. 
 
 In descending the mountain this far we 
 have found but little snow, and began to 
 emerge into a country which had some signs 
 of vegetation — having passed thro' several 
 groves of green oak bushes, &c. The principal 
 timber which we came across, is Red- Wood, 
 White Cedar and the Balsom tree. We con- 
 tinued down the side of the mountain at our 
 leisure, finding the timber much larger and 
 
 135
 
 Sbbenturesi of Ztnasi Heonatb 
 
 better, game more abundant and the soil 
 more fertile. Here we found plenty of oak 
 timber, bearing a large quantity of acorns, 
 though of a different kind from those taken 
 from the Indian on the mountain top. In the 
 evening of the 30th we arrived at the foot or 
 base of this mountain — having spent almost 
 a month in crossing over. Along the base of 
 this mountain it is quite romantic — the soil 
 is very productive — the timber is immensely 
 large and plenty, and game, such as deer, 
 elk, grizzly bear and antelopes are remark- 
 ably plenty. — From the mountain out to the 
 plain, a distance varying from 10 to 20 miles, 
 the timber stands as thick as it could grow, 
 and the land is well watered by a number of 
 small streams rising here and there along the 
 mountain. In the last two days travelling we 
 have found some trees of the Red-wood spe- 
 cies, incredibly large — some of which would 
 measure from 16 to 18 fathoms round the 
 trunk at the height of a man's head from the 
 ground. ^^ 
 
 ^^ This seems to be the earliest published notice of 
 the famed giant red-wood trees of California, Appar- 
 ently Captain Walker's party may be accounted the 
 discoverers of these, as well as of the Yosemite Valley. 
 General Bidwell, who passed this way in 1841, mistaken- 
 ly supposed himself to have been the discoverer of the 
 great trees. See his Echoes oj the Past About Calif ornia^ 
 
 136
 
 Strbenturesi of Henasi Heonartr 
 
 On the 31st we pursued our course to- 
 wards the plain in a western direction. — 
 Now, that we had reached a country thickly 
 filled with almost all kinds of game, our men 
 and particularly those fond of hunting, were 
 in fine spirits. This day our company was 
 much scattered, and we could hardly tell 
 which was the main body, as the men were 
 stretched over a large space of ground, all 
 moving within each others hearing towards 
 the plain. After a walk of about fifteen miles 
 we arrived at the margin of the woods, 
 where we concluded to spend the remainder 
 of the day and night. When our men all 
 gathered together it was astonishing to see 
 the quantity of game which they had col- 
 lected — principally deer and bear. Our hunt- 
 ers complained very much because there was 
 no buffaloe here — as killing these animals 
 afford the hunter such fine sport; and they 
 would not believe any thing else than that 
 buffaloe inhabited this region until they had 
 made several unsuccessful hunts — as the cli- 
 mate and soil is about the same, the grass 
 equally as good and plenty, and the prairies 
 and forests as extensive as those of the region 
 of the Rocky Mountains. But none of these 
 animals have ever been found west of the 
 
 60-61. He was, of course, ignorant of the prior passage 
 of Captain Walker's party.
 
 ^bbenturesf of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 Great Salt Lake, which is about three hun- 
 dred miles west of the summit of the Rocky- 
 mountains. ^- 
 
 On the following morning we directed our 
 course across or rather along the plain, until 
 we came to a large river heading in the 
 mountain and wending its way through the 
 plain. ^^ This river presents more wonderful 
 curiosities than any other stream we passed. 
 Its bed lays very deep forming very high 
 banks, even in smooth and level parts of the 
 country; but where there is rocks its appear- 
 ance is beyond doubt the most remarkable 
 of any other water course. Some places the 
 rocks are piled up perpendicular to such a 
 height that a man on top, viewed from the 
 bed of the river, does not look larger than a 
 small child. From the appearance of these 
 precipices it is not exaggerating to state that 
 they may be found from a quarter to half a 
 mile high — and many of them no wider at 
 the top than at the bottom. Through such 
 places the river forces its way with great 
 rapidity, tossing pitching & foaming to such 
 
 ^2 The buffalo originally ranged from the Alleghenies 
 on the east to the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the 
 west. They seem never to have crossed the latter bar- 
 rier, although possessed of much agility, considering 
 their size and apparent clumsiness. 
 
 33 Apparently the Merced River, a tributary of the 
 San Joaquin.
 
 glbbentures; of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 a degree that no Indian has the courage to 
 attempt to navigate it with his canoe. — 
 When the water passes through these nai^- 
 rows it spreads out in a beautiful deep bay 
 as if to repose after its turbulent dashing 
 against the rocks immediately above, until 
 it reaches the next rapids, when it again 
 pitches forward. This plain is well watered 
 and is quite productive, as we found a large 
 quantity of wild pumpkins and wild oats. 
 
 This night it was decided that we should 
 forthwith commence trapping for furs and 
 make this expedition as profitable as possi- 
 ble, for, as yet we had spent much time and 
 toil, and lost many horses, without realizing 
 any profit whatever — although every man 
 expressed himself fully compensated for his 
 labour, by the many natural curiosities 
 which we had discovered. /According to the 
 arrangements made on the evening previous, 
 we all the next morning commenced travel- 
 ling down the river at a slow rate, carefully 
 examining for beaver signs, and recruiting 
 our horses, which they had much need of, as 
 we found them to be much more injured in 
 crossing the mountains than we had at first 
 supposed — many of them being sprained and 
 stiffened almost beyond recovery, and cer- 
 tainly beyond present use. We laid up a large 
 supply of deer, elk, and bear meat, of the 
 
 139
 
 aibbenturesf of Ztxxasi ILeonarb 
 
 best kind. These animals are the fattest of 
 the kind I had ever eat. Here we found a 
 large quantity of acorns, such as those taken 
 from the Indian. These acorns compose the 
 principal food of the wild animals in this 
 section, — the bear, I believe, solely subsists 
 upon them, and where acorns are scarce, the 
 game is both poor and scarce. 
 
 The country here appears to be in many 
 respects similar to the east side of the Rocky 
 mountains. The land is generally smooth and 
 level, and the plains or prairies are very 
 extensive, stretching towards the setting sun 
 as far as the eye can reach; whilst a number 
 of beautiful rivers, all heading in this rugged 
 mountain, running parallel with each other 
 thro' the plain, also to the west, with their 
 banks handsomely adorned with flourishing 
 timber of different kinds, such as Blackwal- 
 nut, Hickory, Oak, Elm, Mulbery, Hack- 
 berry, Alder, Shoemack, &c. This grove of 
 timber may be found along the river at any 
 point, and generally extends about four miles 
 into the plain. Between this grove of timber, 
 and the forest extending from the foot of the 
 mountain, there is a level prairie of the richest 
 soil, producing grass in abundance of the 
 most delightful and valuable quality. 
 
 These prairies are in many places swarm- 
 ing with wild Horses, some of which are 
 
 140
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henas; iteonarb 
 
 quite docile, particularly the males, on seeing 
 our horses. They are all very fat, and can be 
 seen of all colors, from spotted or white, to 
 jet black; and here, as in the land of civiliza- 
 tion, they are the most beautiful and noble, 
 as well as the most valuable of the whole 
 brute creation. 
 
 Since we left the mountain we have seen 
 many signs of Indians, such as moccasin 
 tracks, and smoke rising from the prairies in 
 different places, but as yet we had not suc- 
 ceeded in getting in company with any. At 
 this season of the year, when the grass in 
 these plains is dry, if a fire should be started 
 it presents a spectacle truly grand — and if 
 the flame is assisted with a favorable wind, 
 it will advance with such speed that the wild 
 horses and other animals are sometimes 
 puzzled to get out of the road, and every 
 thing looks overwhelmed with consternation. 
 We continued travelling down the river until 
 the 7th of November, when we arrived at 
 five Indian huts, containing 15 or 20 Indians 
 male and female. When they first beheld the 
 approach of beings so mysterious as we were 
 to them, they exhibited the most unbounded 
 alarm and fear. But it was not long till we 
 succeeded in calming their terror, and con- 
 vincing them that they had no reason to ap- 
 prehend any danger, by showing a willingness 
 
 141
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henasf ILtonath 
 
 to smoke, (this being the first token of 
 friendship with all Indians,) which they at 
 once understood and immediately became 
 reconciled, and we commenced gathering all 
 the information from them that our limited 
 means would afford — each being entirely 
 ignorant of the others language, and the 
 Indians being extremely awkward both in 
 making and understanding signs — which is 
 the principal method of conversation with 
 the different tribes in this region. After mak- 
 ing many efforts to get some information 
 from them with reference to the Big Water, 
 white people, beaver, &c., without receiving 
 any further satisfaction by way of answer to 
 our inquiries, than a grunt similar to that of 
 a hog, we concluded to spend the night with 
 them for further trial. Towards night whilst 
 passing through their camp, some of our men 
 found two blankets and a knife, which con- 
 vinced us at once that they had some com- 
 munication with white people. When the 
 blankets were held up to them they pro- 
 nounced in tolerable distinctness, the word 
 Spanish^ and pointed to the west — from 
 which circumstance we inferred that the 
 Spanish settlement could not be far distant. 
 The next morning our Indian hosts bro't 
 some horses to the camp for the purpose of 
 trading, which were marked with a Spanish 
 
 142
 
 brand. After trading for five of the best of 
 their horses, for which we gave one yard of 
 scarlet cloth and two knives, we left these 
 Indians and continued down the river in 
 search of beaver, which are very scarce. 
 These Indians are quite small, & much dark- 
 er than those of the buffaloe country, as well 
 as more indolent & slothful. They generally 
 run naked with the exception of a few, who 
 wear shields made of some kind of skins. 
 Their huts are composed of dry poles or logs 
 set upon end, and their bedding consists of 
 grass. Their food is composed principally of 
 horse meat and acorns — the latter are very 
 large and of a good quality, which they 
 manufacture into a kind of mush. Their 
 method of manufacturing this is as follows: 
 — Thev go to a large log and build a fire upon 
 it and burn it half or two-thirds of the way 
 through, which is done by keeping the log 
 wet except about a foot in diameter, where 
 the fire is kept up until the hole is deep 
 enough, and of the proper shape. After the 
 hole is burnt deep enough they extinguish 
 the fire, scrape out the coals and ashes, and 
 have a tolerably well shaped hopper. When 
 this is done they get a long stone which is 
 rounded at one end, and put the acorns in 
 and commence mashing them fine, which is 
 easily done as they are always previously 
 
 143
 
 Sbbentureiei of HenasJ Heonarb 
 
 dried by fire or the sun. The meal thus made 
 is then taken out & mixed with water in 
 a basket made almost water-tight — which 
 they broil by making stones red hot and 
 throwing them into the basket. By this proc- 
 ess they make a kind of mush with which any 
 hungry man would be glad to satiate his 
 appetite. 
 
 These Indians also appear very delicate 
 and feeble — which they attribute to eating 
 acorns. To-day, whilst some of our hunters 
 were searching for beaver signs along the 
 river beach, they found the carcases of four 
 Indians, two of which were partly consumed 
 by Grizzly bears. They appeared as if they 
 had died natural deaths, and been laid there 
 by their friends according to their custom of 
 disposing of the dead, as two of them were 
 well wrapped up in beaver skins. This day 
 our course lay through a large prairie cov- 
 ered with wild oats — which at this season of 
 the year when nothing but the stock re- 
 mains, has much the appearance of common 
 oats. — This plain lays on the South side of 
 the river, to which we gave the name of Oat 
 Plain. The grizzly bear and wild horses 
 appeared more numerous in the country 
 through which we this day passed, than I 
 had ever before known them. In the evening 
 just before sunset we came across the carcase 
 
 144
 
 Sbbenture£f of Henajf Heonarb 
 
 of another Indian, which was also partly 
 eaten by the wild beasts. From the numerous 
 signs we were led to the belief that the coun- 
 try through which we were now travelling 
 was thickly inhabited with Indians, but not- 
 withstanding we kept watch both night and 
 day we were unable to discover any but 
 those we had left in the morning; nor could 
 we find any of their habitations, although 
 we would sometimes come across a trail that 
 looked as if it was traversed by hundreds at 
 a time. We also discovered some signs of 
 white people, as we would occasionally come 
 across a tree or log chopped with an axe as if 
 done by trappers and hunters. At this place 
 the river is from two to three hundred yards 
 wide, as the country is generally level the 
 water moves gently forward, being quite 
 deep, clear and smooth. This night we en- 
 camped on the bank of the river in a very 
 beautiful situation. Soon after the men went 
 to rest and the camp had became quieted, 
 we were startled by a loud distant noise simi- 
 lar to that of thunder. Whilst lying close to 
 the ground this noise could be distinctly 
 heard for a considerable length of time with- 
 out intermission. When it was at first ob- 
 served some of our men were much alarmed, 
 as they readily supposed it was occasioned 
 by an earthquake, and they began to fear 
 
 H5
 
 aibbentures; of Henas; ICeonarb 
 
 that we would all be swallowed up in the 
 bowels of the earth; and others judged it to 
 be the noise of a neighboring cataract. Capt. 
 Walker, however, suggested a more plausible 
 cause, which allayed the fears of the most 
 timid. He supposed that the noise origined 
 by the Pacific rolling and dashing her bois- 
 terous waves against the rocky shore. Had 
 any of us ever before been at the coast, we 
 would have readily accounted for the mys- 
 terious noise. 
 
 The idea of being within hearing of the end 
 of the Far West inspired the heart of every 
 member of our company with a patriotic 
 feeling for his country's honor, and all were 
 eager to lose no time until they should behold 
 what they had heard. We felt as if all our 
 previous hardships and privations would be 
 adequately compensated, if we would be 
 spared to return in safety to the homes of our 
 kindred and have it to say that we had stood 
 upon the extreme end of the great west. The 
 two next days we travelled very fast, without 
 meeting with any thing to impede our prog- 
 ress. On the night of the I2th our men were 
 again thrown into great consternation by the 
 singular appearance of the heavens. Soon 
 after dark the air appeared to be completely 
 thickened with meteors falling towards the 
 earth, some of which would explode in the 
 
 146
 
 Sbbentureg of Henas? ILtonavh 
 
 air and others would be dashed to pieces on 
 the ground, frightening our horses so much 
 that it required the most active vigilance of 
 the whole company to keep them together. 
 This was altogether a mystery to some of the 
 men who probably had never before seen or 
 heard of anything of the kind, but after an 
 explanation from Capt. Walker, they were 
 satisfied that no danger need be apprehended 
 from the falling of the stars, as they were 
 termed.'^"* 
 
 After travelling a few miles the next morn- 
 ing we arrived at the head of tide water, 
 which convinced us that the noise we had 
 heard a few days previous was created by the 
 ocean. We continued down the river until 
 we arrived at the bay, where it mingles its 
 water with the briny ocean. ^^ The country 
 here lays very low, & looks as if it was 
 subject to being overflowed. Here we found 
 
 ^* This was the tamous meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 
 1833, which was visible generally throughout North 
 America. The scientific study ot the orbits of shooting 
 stars dates from this display. The closeness to accuracy 
 in Leonard's date at this point seems to support the 
 conclusion that he was here following his contemporary 
 journal ot events. An alternative possibility would be 
 that the date was supplied by his Editor. 
 
 3^ Apparently they had descended the Merced and 
 San Joaquin rivers to the northern arm of San Fran- 
 cisco Bay.
 
 Sbbenturesi of Ztna^ Heonarb 
 
 difficult travelling owing to the ground being 
 wet and swampy. In the vicinity of this bay 
 we found a great many Indians, who were 
 mostly occupied in fishing — which are very 
 plenty. These Indians appeared friendly 
 enough, but then they manifested a kind of 
 careless indifference, whether they treated us 
 well or ill, that we did not like, and we there- 
 fore concluded to leave this place and make 
 for the main coast as soon as possible, — and 
 accordingly we started in a southern direc- 
 tion and after travelling a day and a half the 
 broad Pacific burst forth to view on the 
 2oth. The first night we encamped quite 
 close to the beach near a spring of delightful 
 water. The scenes which we could now con- 
 template was quite different from those we 
 had beheld and dwelt amidst for months 
 back. Here was a smooth unbroken sheet of 
 water stretched out far beyond the reach 
 of the eye — altogether different from moun- 
 tains, rocks, snows & the toilsome plains we 
 had traversed. Here we occasionally found 
 the traces of white men, and as the Indians 
 still appeared to act so strange, we began to 
 think that the Spaniards had the Indians 
 under complete subjection, and that they 
 could, if so disposed, set them on us and give 
 us trouble. It was therefore thought best to 
 find out the whereabouts of the Spaniards 
 
 148
 
 Slbbentures; of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 and cultivate their friendship. The Indians 
 here practice fishing to a great extent; indeed 
 it seems to be the only thing they do. — They 
 have many methods of catching them — but 
 the principle process is by spearing them 
 with bones made sharp, and some have prop- 
 er instruments of Spanish manufacture, in 
 which they are very expert. — The principal 
 fish in the river we came down, and which 
 has the principal Indian fisheries, are shad 
 and salmon. We did not find out the name of 
 this tribe, or whether they consider them- 
 selves distinct from any other tribe. Most all 
 of the natives we met with since crossing the 
 last mountain, seem to belong to the same 
 nation, as they were about the same colour 
 and size — spoke the same language for any 
 thing we could discover to the contrary, and 
 all appeared equally ignorant and dillatory — 
 and most of them entirely naked. They have 
 no particular place of residence but claim the 
 whole of the country stretching from the 
 mountain to the sea shore as their own. In 
 some parts the natives raise a small quantity 
 of corn, pumpkins, melons, &c., the soil being 
 so very strong and mellow, that it requires 
 but little labour to raise good crops. 
 
 2ist. This morning the ocean was not so 
 calm as it was the previous evening. — All its 
 sleeping energies were lashed into fury, and 
 
 149
 
 aibbenturesi of Henajf Heonarb 
 
 the mountain waves of the great deep would 
 roll and dash against the shore, producing 
 the most deafening sound. In the course of 
 the day a detachment of our company was 
 despatched to make discoveries, who re- 
 turned in the evening and stated that they 
 had discovered many signs of white people, 
 whom they supposed to be Spaniards, but 
 they were unable to come up with them. 
 This same party also found the carcase of a 
 whale which was ninety feet long — the tusks 
 weighing 4^^ pounds. About noon of the 
 third day after we arrived here, the attention 
 of the company was directed to an object 
 which could be dimly seen at a distance 
 riding on the water, which was immediately 
 judged to be a ship, but no one knew from 
 whence it came, where it belonged or where 
 going. It was now our curiosity to know 
 more of this singular object and if possible 
 to attract their attention and bring them to 
 shore. Accordingly we fastened two white 
 blankets together and hoisted them into the 
 air on a pole. This had the desired effect. It 
 was not long until we could tell that the dis- 
 tance between us was fast diminishing, and 
 our joy and surprise may be imagined when 
 we beheld the broad stripes and bright stars 
 of the American flag waving majestically in 
 the air at the mast head. The ship anchored 
 
 150
 
 abbenturesf of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 some distance from the shore and the boats 
 were despatched to see what nation we be- 
 longed to, and what our business was. Their 
 astonishment was equally as great as ours 
 when they ascertained that we were children 
 of the same nation of themselves. On making 
 this discovery, and a signal to that effect 
 being given by the boats, the ship fired sev- 
 eral salutes of cannon in honor of our meeting, 
 which made the welkin ring. — On further 
 acquaintance we ascertained this ship (the 
 Lagoda) to belong to Boston, commanded by 
 Capt. Baggshaw. After exchanging civilities 
 by shaking hands all round, Capt. Baggshaw 
 strongly insisted on us going on board and 
 partaking of the ships fare, stating that he 
 had a few casks of untapped Coneac. This 
 was an invitation that none of us had the 
 least desire to refuse, and accordingly 45 of 
 us went on board the Lagoda, leaving the 
 remainder to take care of the camp, &c. 
 When arriving on the ship Capt. B., had a 
 table spread with the choicest of liquors & 
 best fare the ship would afford, which was 
 immediately surrounded with hungry Capt's. 
 Mates, Clerks, Sailors and greasy trappers — 
 after eating, the glass was passed around 
 in quick succession, first drinking after the 
 fashion of brave Jack Tars, and afterwards 
 in the mountain style, mixed with something
 
 aibbenturefii of HenasJ ILeonarb 
 
 of the manners of the natives, in order to 
 amuse the sailors. 
 
 x^fter we got on board, the sea became 
 very rough, causing the vessel to pitch and 
 plunge a great deal as she lay at anchor, and 
 consequently I was compelled to return to 
 shore from sea sickness. The balance re- 
 mained and kept up the celebration until 
 daylight the next morning, when they all 
 returned to land, accompanied by the ships 
 crew to taper off on the harder fare of the 
 trapper and hunter. The feast on the vessel 
 was far superior to anything we could give 
 them, although they appeared perfectly 
 satisfied with the reception they met with 
 from us, as it was a long time since they had 
 tasted any fresh meat, or any thing but 
 salted victuals; and theirs was the first 
 bread, butter, cheese, &c., that we had seen 
 for more than two years. 
 
 After the feasting was at an end, Capt. 
 Baggshaw gave us a description of the coun- 
 try to enable us to lay our plans accordingly. 
 He said the nearest settlement was the town 
 of St. Francisco, about forty miles north of 
 our present encampment, situated on the 
 south side of the Francisco Bay, formed by 
 the river which we descended, which he calls 
 Two Laries, or Bush river. It is about three- 
 fourths of a mile wide at its mouth, and is 
 
 152
 
 3bbenture£^ of Ztnasi ILtonavh 
 
 considered a safe harbor for almost any 
 quantity of vessels; and within 60 or 70 
 miles South of us is the town of Monterey, 
 also Spanish, the capital of this province, & 
 which is called Upper Calafornia. He also 
 informed us that about 60 or 70 miles north 
 of St. Francisco, and about 100 miles from 
 our present position was a Russian settle- 
 ment,^*' which consists of about 150 families 
 who settled in this country a few years ago 
 for the purpose of catching sea otter, which 
 are of great value, on account of the quality 
 of the fur. They also cultivate the ground to 
 a considerable extent. Captain Baggshaw 
 went and examined the carcase of the whale 
 which our men had found, and pronounced 
 it to be the Sperm whale, the oil of which is 
 of the most valuable kind. He supposed it 
 had been washed here when the sea was 
 rough during a storm, and was unable to 
 make its way back over the sand bars. From 
 him we also learned some further particulars 
 concerning the mountain which had caused 
 us so many hardships in crossing, parts of 
 
 ^^ This was the settlement of the Russian-American 
 Fur Company at Fort Ross and Bodega. In 1842 the 
 Russians abandoned the country selling their property 
 to Capt. John A. Sutter. A good account of this 
 establishment in these years is supplied by General 
 Bidwell in Echoes 0/ the Past About California, 77-80.
 
 ^bbenturesf of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 which was visible from the ocean, particu- 
 larly the snow covered peaks. This he called 
 the Calafornia mountain, as it runs parallel 
 with the coast for a great distance, com- 
 mencing at the mouth of the Columbia river, 
 and extending along the coast to the mouth 
 of Red river, or Gulf of Calafornia, forming 
 a beautiful country from the sea shore to the 
 base of the mountain, and extending north 
 and south a distance of about 6 or 700 miles 
 of rich soil, well timbered and abundantly 
 watered by innumerable small streams head- 
 ing in the mountain and flowing toward the 
 Father of Waters. 
 
 Most of this vast waste of territory be- 
 longs to the Republic of the United States. 
 What a theme to contemplate its settlement 
 and civilization. Will the jurisdiction of the 
 federal government ever succeed in civilizing 
 the thousands of savages now roaming over 
 these plains, and her hardy freeborn popu- 
 lation here plant their homes, build their 
 towns and cities, and say here shall the arts 
 and sciences of civilization take root and 
 flourish? yes, here, even in this remote part 
 of the great west before many years, will 
 these hills and valleys be greeted with the 
 enlivening sound, of the workman's hammer, 
 and the merry whistle of the plough-boy. 
 But this is left undone by the government, 
 
 154
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 and will only be seen when too late to apply 
 the remedy. The Spaniards are making in- 
 roads on the South — the Russians are en- 
 croaching with impunity along the sea shore 
 to the North, and further North-east the 
 British are pushing their stations into the 
 very heart of our territory, which, even at 
 this day, more resemble military forts to 
 resist invasion, than trading stations. Our 
 government should be vigilant. She should 
 assert her claim by taking possession of the 
 whole territory as soon as possible — for we 
 have good reason to suppose that the terri- 
 tory west of the mountain will some day be 
 equally as important to a nation as that on 
 the east. 
 
 The next day Capt. Baggshaw took leave 
 of us and started out on his trading expedi- 
 tion — appointing Monterey as the point 
 where we were to meet in a few days. 
 
 The next morning after the departure of 
 'the ship, we were all in readiness to start 
 for Monterey, the Capital of the Province, 
 which lays in a southern direction. After 
 travelling a few miles along the coast finding 
 it very difficult in consequence of the wet, 
 swampy ground, we found the carcase of 
 another large fish, measuring 47 feet in 
 length, with a horn or sword projecting from 
 its nose I2j/^ inches long. As travelling so 
 
 155
 
 Sbbenturesf of HenasJ ILtonaxh 
 
 near the water still continued difficult, we 
 here concluded to strike out into the plain, 
 where we found much better walking, the 
 country being quite level, soil rich, and a few 
 Indians. Some of these natives live well, as 
 they cultivate pumpkins, beans, and some of 
 them Indian corn — they also raise an abun- 
 dance of melons, which grow to an enormous 
 size. But all these Indians still seemed to be 
 very ignorant and stupid. 
 
 On the evening of the 22d November we 
 encamped at some rough hills near a small 
 creek. In this neighborhood there are a great 
 number of these hills, all of which are well 
 covered with excellent timber, and abound- 
 ing with all kinds of game except buffaloe. 
 The most of our company had become nearly 
 bare-footed for want of moccasins, as we had 
 wore out every thing of the kind in travelling 
 from the Rocky mountains — and, as winter 
 was approaching, and no one knowing what 
 kind of a reception we would meet with 
 among the Spaniards, it was advised that we 
 should tarry here and provide ourselves with 
 an abundant winter supply of shoes. Accord- 
 ingly, our hunters were despatched to scour 
 these hills for the purpose of getting hides to 
 make moccasins, &c., when we would be at 
 leisure. In the evening the hunters all re- 
 turned to camp, with the tongues of 93 deer 
 
 156
 
 Sihbtntnvta of Henasf ILtonaxh 
 
 and some of the hides, and also of some wild 
 cattle, which are likewise very numerous. 
 They brought the tongues in order to show 
 the number each man had killed. The wild 
 cattle are very timerous, keeping hid pretty 
 much all day and feed at night. They are 
 much wilder than deer, elk, &c. Our hunters 
 brought in some of the choice parts of the 
 cattle they had killed, which was quite fat 
 beef, but it was much inferior to the meat of 
 the buffaloe of the Rocky mountains. These 
 cattle incline much to rough and hilly parts 
 of the country, owing, it is supposed, to the 
 Spaniards and Indians hunting them when 
 found in the plains. 
 
 23d. This morning we directed our course 
 across these hills. On arriving at the foot of 
 the hills on the South side, we found one of 
 the horns of these cattle which measured ^H 
 feet on the outside or bend, and one foot in 
 circumference at the root or thickest part. 
 This we supposed had been the horn of an 
 ox. These cattle are much larger and look 
 better in their wild state than when domesti- 
 cated. Their horns particularly are much 
 larger than those of our country — but this is 
 probably owing to the softness of the cli- 
 mate; as here there is no winter nor freezing 
 weather. We continued across the plain and 
 arrived on the banks of a small creek which
 
 aibbentures; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 empties into the sea at the distance of 7 or 8 
 miles, where we encamped for the night. Not 
 long after we had halted, there was eight 
 Spaniards arrived at our camp, from whom 
 we found it as difficult to get information of 
 any kind, as from most of the Indians. All 
 our efforts to make them understand signs 
 was unavailing, and not one of our company 
 understood a word of Spanish. — They were 
 fine portly looking men, but looked as if they 
 had been [out] cast from civilized society as 
 long as ourselves. They remained with us all 
 night. 
 
 24th. We set out this morning for Mon- 
 terey accompanied by the Spaniards as 
 guides, who piloted us to the house of a Mr. 
 Gilroy,^^ who had been a brave and dutiful 
 Tar in his younger days, when he had 
 learned to speak a little English. — From this 
 
 ^^ This interesting character was John Gilroy, a 
 native of Scotland, who came to Calitornia in 18 14, 
 having been left behind at San Francisco, ill of the 
 scurvy, by the captain of the armed British merchant- 
 man, "Isaac Todd," which had gone to the Pacific to 
 seize x'\storia from its American founders. Gilroy re- 
 covered, adopted a Spanish name and the Catholic 
 religion, acquired a Spanish bride, and spent the 
 remainder of his life in California, being one of the 
 earliest non-Spanish settlers on the coast. Leonard 
 exaggerates his age, which was only about torty at the 
 time. 
 
 158
 
 atibentures; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 old man we gathered much useful informa- 
 tion as to the country, climate, people, na- 
 tives, &c. Here we concluded to remain for 
 the night. The old man showed every dispo- 
 sition to give us all the information he could, 
 and treated us very kindly. We ascertained 
 that we were within 35 miles of Monterey. 
 In the morning we started in the direction of 
 Monterey, intending to pass through the 
 town of St. Juan or John which lay in the 
 course we were going. Here we found the 
 travelling much easier, as we now had some 
 kind of roads to travel on, although they 
 were far from being wagon roads — running 
 through an extensive prairie of rich soil, with 
 here and there a lonely hut built near some 
 grove of timber or brook. Towards evening 
 we arrived at St. Juan, which we now found 
 to be a Spanish Missionary station for the 
 establishment of the christian religion and 
 civilization among the Indians. 
 
 Here Capt. Walker deemed it prudent to 
 halt for a few days, in order to ascertain the 
 disposition of the people, & make further 
 inquiries with respect to the country, &c., 
 lest we might be considered as intruders and 
 treated in a way that we would not much 
 like. It was our desire to keep on peaceable 
 terms with the Spaniards, at least no one 
 desired to give the least offence of any kind — 
 
 159
 
 Sbbenture£i of Zenasi ILeonarb 
 
 knowing that Spaniards and Indians had 
 quite a different mode of carrying on a war- 
 fare. We obtained privilege from the Priests 
 to select a convenient place for grass, wood, 
 water, &c., to pitch our encampment, and 
 immediately commenced erecting a breast 
 work, with which to defend ourselves in case 
 we were attacked by Indians or anything 
 else that chose to molest us. From informa- 
 tion gained here, Capt. Walker thought it 
 advisable to go no further into their country, 
 or the inhabited parts of it, owing to the 
 difficulty in getting pasture for our horses 
 and provisions for ourselves — as there is no 
 preparations of any kind made for the ac- 
 commodation of travellers; besides the ex- 
 pense of living would be much less to 
 remain here where game was plenty and 
 grass good. 
 
 To-day Capt. Walker, after getting a pass- 
 port, which is necessary for a stranger to 
 have in passing from one ward or district to 
 another, and which must be renewed by the 
 Alcalde or Squire in each district, took two 
 men and started for Monterey, where he in- 
 tended presenting himself to the Governor, 
 and asking the permission of his Excellency 
 to pass the winter in his settlements, and to 
 inform him where we were from, our busi- 
 ness, intentions, &c. 
 
 1 60
 
 abbentutes? of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 St. Juan or St. John is beautifully situated 
 on the banks of a small creek in a rich level 
 plain, about 20 miles from the coast and 
 about the same distance from Monterey, 
 containing from six to seven hundred inhabi- 
 tants — all of whom are Indians, with the 
 exception of the Priests and 15 or 20 people, 
 who are occupied in teaching and instructing 
 these heathens in the ways of religion and 
 truth; besides giving them instructions in the 
 art of farming and rendering the soil produc- 
 tive — with the hope that they will eventually 
 succeed in inculcating into the minds of the 
 savages such a knowledge of agriculture as 
 will greatly conduce to the amelioration of 
 the red man's condition. Their habitations 
 are simple in construction — mostly such as 
 may be found in the wildest parts of the 
 mountains. But those of the Missionary es- 
 tablishment are quite different, & plainly 
 show the superiority of the white man over 
 the Indian, both as regards comfort and con- 
 venience. This station much resembles a fort 
 or garrison. The part which is called the 
 Church, forms one side or end. The other 
 three sides are divided into different depart- 
 ments like cells, each cell sheltering so many 
 Indians, and covers near half an acre of 
 ground, with the door of each cell opening to 
 the inside. These buildings are the same as if 
 
 161
 
 ^bbenturesi of Henas; iLeonarb 
 
 they were under one roof, with the exception 
 of a gate at each corner of the square. The 
 buildings are constructed of brick, the prin- 
 cipal part of which are dried in the sun. — 
 The walls are built thick and strong when 
 built of this kind of brick. For rafters they 
 use poles tolerably well shaped, and for lath- 
 ing they make use of poles of a smaller size. 
 The roof is generally composed of a kind of 
 cane grass which is carefully laid on the 
 rafters and then covered with earth; for 
 which purpose they generally have the roof 
 nearly flat in order to hold the earth. But the 
 church, or principal building, is built of 
 handsome brick, and is well finished, being 
 covered with tile. For the instruction of 
 these Indians there is four hours of each day 
 devoted to education and prayer, and the 
 balance of the day is occupied in teaching 
 them the rudiments of agriculture and the 
 mechanical arts. The females are carefully 
 instructed in the art of sewing, and other 
 accomplishments of housewifery. Every 
 thing in this station is under the control & 
 management of the Priests, who exercise the 
 authority of Governor, Judge, &c., being 
 privileged to try and condemn all criminal 
 acts. 
 
 On the first evening we spent in our new 
 encampment, we were shown the manner in 
 
 162
 
 aibbentureji of Eena£( ILeonarb 
 
 which the Spaniards take wild cattle, which 
 was quite a different practice from that used 
 by the Indians of the Rocky mountains in 
 taking buffaloe, &c. Never less than two goes 
 at a time, who are always on the back of 
 their fleetest horses, each provided with a 
 strong cord with a noose fixed on one end. 
 When the animal is started they give chase 
 and the rider that overtakes the game first, 
 throws the noose round its neck or horns, 
 and begins to draw the noose tight. When the 
 noose is found to be secure he gives the cord 
 several winds round the pummel of the 
 saddle, (which is made strong for this pur- 
 pose) and stops his horse all of a sudden, 
 which throws the animal to the ground and 
 frequently breaks its neck. If the animal is 
 thrown without injury, the other hunter 
 comes forward with his noose and fastens it 
 round its hind foot, which enables them to 
 manage the stoutest and most ferocious 
 bulls. Having thus captured their object of 
 pursuit, they sometimes have great trouble 
 in getting them home alive. The one with the 
 cord round the animals head goes before 
 while he with the cord fastened to the hind 
 foot stays in the rear. If their prisoner be- 
 comes refractory and refuses to advance, the 
 man in the rear commences whipping, while 
 he in front uses many devices to provoke the 
 
 163
 
 abbenturesi of Henas? Ueonarb 
 
 brute, until it in a fit of rage makes at him, 
 when he puts off at full speed, and some- 
 times run two or three miles in this way 
 without stopping. In this manner they 
 brought a large handsome cow into our camp 
 this evening which we purchased, and found 
 to be good beef. 
 
 Although they exhibit a great degree of 
 dexterity in taking these wild beasts, their 
 mode of killing them is far different. — When 
 they want to butcher their beef they make 
 the horse with the noose round the neck pull 
 a different way from the one with the noose 
 round the foot, until the animal is thrown on 
 the ground, when they dismount and cut its 
 throat with large knives. 
 
 They appear to do most of their work on 
 horse-back. If they want wood they repair to 
 the forest, ride along until they find a log to 
 suit them, when they drop their noose round 
 the end of it; and thus drag it to their homes. 
 They are very expert on horseback, nor 
 could it be otherwise, for they are constantly 
 riding & never appear so well satisfied as 
 when they are seated on a prancing steed. 
 
 On the first of December, Capt. Walker 
 returned from Monterey, where he had met 
 with a hospitable reception by the Governor 
 and principal people in and about the Cap- 
 ital, and where he also again met with Capt. 
 
 164
 
 ^bbentures; of HenasJ iLeonarb 
 
 Baggshaw, who served as an interpreter for 
 Capt. Walker and the Governor, as he was 
 fully capable of fulfilling such an office. With 
 the Governor, Capt. W^alker succeeded in 
 every thing he desired, having obtained per- 
 mission to remain in the country during the 
 approaching winter, to hunt and kill as much 
 game as would support our company, and to 
 trade as much with the Spaniards as we 
 pleased, but were forbid trapping in the 
 Indian lands or trading with the natives. The 
 Spaniards manifest a warm friendship for the 
 Indians under their jurisdiction, as those 
 who were friendly towards us were con- 
 stantly reminding us of the danger of wrong- 
 ing the Indians. 
 
 Here we remained until about the i8th of 
 December, without anything occurring ex- 
 cept the daily visits we received from the 
 Spaniards and Indians, who were curious to 
 know how we lived, and all about us. They 
 however, only found that we lived like they 
 did themselves, any more than they lived in 
 habitations built of wood, brick, mortar, &c. 
 while we lived in huts made of skins of ani- 
 mals. About this time Capt. Walker pro- 
 posed to me to take a tramp through the 
 settlements for the purpose of taking a view 
 of the country, and the manners and customs 
 of the inhabitants. This was precisely what I 
 
 165
 
 aibbenturesi of Henafi; ILeonarb 
 
 had long been wanting. Accordingly, Capt. 
 W., two others and myself left the camp and 
 steered to the south-east, intending to return 
 through Monterey. The country thro' which 
 we passed contained rich soil, tolerably well 
 timbered, but thinly inhabited with a few 
 Spaniards and Indians, who appeared to live 
 there because they were not permitted to 
 live any other place. These people, generally, 
 are very ignorant and much more indolent — 
 have little or no ingenuity — and only seem 
 to enjoy themselves when engaged in the 
 chase. This is the only occupation of the 
 wealthier portion of Spaniards. Their habita- 
 tions are built of sun-dried brick, some of 
 which appear well enough on the outside, but 
 the inside shows no kind of mechanism — 
 there being no floor, partition, or work of any 
 kind except the bare walls. Their floors are 
 made smooth by taking a large beetle and 
 hammering the surface of the ground until it 
 becomes perfectly level — thus they never 
 fail of having a solid foundation! — They 
 have a small fire-place in one corner of the 
 house, with a chimney extending only a 
 little above the mantle. Their beds and bed- 
 ding generally consists of blankets spread 
 upon a large hide layed on the ground, and 
 after rising in the morning these beds are 
 rolled up in one corner, where they answer 
 
 1 66
 
 9bbenture£? of Zenasf ILzonavh 
 
 the purpose of seats through the day time. 
 Their diet is generally composed of beans 
 and meat made into a kind of soup, with but 
 little bread. Most of them are entirely desti- 
 tute of cooking utensils, and, were it not that 
 they are all provided with knives, their man- 
 ner of cooking and eating would be equally 
 as inconvenient as the wildest savages of the 
 Rocky mountains. But the wealthy, who, it 
 may be supposed, constitute the aristocracy 
 of this country, appear to live at ease, sur- 
 rounded with all the comforts of life, are 
 entirely independent and unconnected with 
 the common people. They carry on farming 
 to a considerable extent in some districts, the 
 principal labour of which is done by the 
 Indians from the missionary station. The 
 principal productions are wheat, corn, and 
 beans. They also have many vine-yards, and 
 manufacture a large quantity of wine — 
 which is their principal drink. Their mode of 
 preparing the soil for grain is of an awkward 
 and rather novel nature. When they want to 
 plough, they repair to the woods and get a 
 sapling with a knot or branch jutting out on 
 one side, which they make sharp, hitch two or 
 more teams of oxen to it and then proceed to 
 score out the ground — which is generally done 
 in wet weather, when the ground is moist. 
 Another method, no less novel, however, 
 
 167
 
 abbenturesf of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 is to get a crooked log, much the shape 
 of a sled-runner, fix a piece of iron in front 
 which answers for a coulter, then sharpening 
 the log they make a furrow similar to the 
 track of a sled. As a substitute for a harrow, 
 they use a brush, and by laying a weight on 
 it, some times scratch the ground in tolerable 
 style. This manner of tilling the soil could 
 not be done with such success in any other 
 country where the soil is less mellow and 
 tender than here. 
 
 These people have no fences round their 
 cleared or cultivated land, although they 
 raise an immense amount of stock, such as 
 horses, mules and horned cattle — all of 
 which range at large over these extensive 
 prairies all seasons of the year, many being 
 in a manner totally wild, so much so, that 
 when they wish to milk a cow, they mount 
 one of their coursers and noose her, fasten 
 the cord to a tree, and then tie her feet, when 
 she is forced to be quiet. During our whole 
 stay in this country I have never seen any 
 thing like a stable or a barn, as a shelter for 
 the dumb brutes — nor did I ever see any one 
 feeding an animal, unless it was a favourite 
 cow or horse that was sick. This, however, is 
 not at all singular as any number of animals 
 could subsist, and be in good order all sea- 
 sons of the year, on these plains, as in many 
 
 i68
 
 ^bbentureg of Henasi ILtonath 
 
 spots the grass is green the whole year round. 
 The months of August, September and Octo- 
 ber are the least enticing to animals, as it is 
 the warmest and driest season of the year, 
 x^s soon as August sets in the beasts inhabit- 
 ing the dry prairies and hills, repair to the 
 low wet ground, where they can get enough 
 to subsist upon until the dry season passes 
 away. The rainy season commences generally 
 in the latter part of October, and continues 
 until the first and sometimes middle of Janu- 
 ary, when the weather becomes fair and the 
 farmers sow their grain, such as wheat and 
 rye. During this wet weather the animals 
 grow fat, and the inhabitants employ the 
 principal part of this time in catching and 
 domesticating them. This fair weather gener- 
 ally lasts about two months, or until the first 
 of March, when the rain again descends and 
 continues until about the middle of June — 
 the grain, however, grows & ripens during 
 the wet weather. It then keeps dry for a 
 month or so until the farmers gather their 
 crops — which occupies about a month, when 
 the warm weather sets in; destroying all 
 kinds of vegetation, giving but a poor sub- 
 sistance to the dumb brutes, and to the 
 country the appearance of an unproductive 
 climate. About the end of the dry season 
 (say about the first of November) the face 
 
 169
 
 ^bbentures; of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 of nature in this country has more the ap- 
 pearance of spring in the United States than 
 any other part of the year, and, as there is no 
 winter nor freezing weather here it may be 
 said that August, September and October, is 
 their only winter, (to substitute warm for 
 cold) as, at the end of this period the face of 
 nature assumes a new dress and vegetation 
 shoots forth precisely in the manner that it 
 does in Pennsylvania when the frost leaves 
 the ground in the Spring of the year. The dry 
 season is occupied by the inhabitants in 
 gathering the mules into large droves and 
 driving them off to the market at Santa Fee, 
 a distance of 12 or 1400 miles from this part 
 of the coast, through a wild and desert coun- 
 try. Here they meet with ready sale at a 
 profitable price from the traders of Missouri, 
 who repair to Santa Fee annually for that 
 purpose. ^^ These traders are generally well 
 supplied with merchandize which they ex- 
 change at Santa Fee for gold and silver, and 
 with these Calafornian traders for mules and 
 Spanish hides. The price of a mule at Santa 
 Fee is generally from 6 to $10. — Merchan- 
 dize is sold at a great advance, particularly 
 silks, jewelry and groceries. 
 
 3^ The classic account of this commerce is Josiah 
 Gregg's The Commerce of the Prairies, reprinted in part 
 in the Lakeside Classics series for 1926. 
 
 170
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 The principal part of their hides are sold 
 to U. S. vessels trading on the coast. '"^^ When 
 a trading vessel anchors on the coast for the 
 purpose of trading, the news is spread over 
 the whole country like wild fire. The owners 
 of cattle, who are of the wealthier class, col- 
 lect together all the poorer Spaniards and 
 Indians for the purpose of catching and 
 butchering the cattle, in order to get their 
 hides. This is the commencement of their 
 sporting season. They are all mounted on 
 their fleetest horses, and on these occasions 
 the hunters go in pairs, one provided with a 
 noose and the other with a spear or lance, 
 which is used in cutting the sinews of the 
 animals hind legs after it is noosed, which 
 causes it to fall to the ground, after which 
 they are easily despatched. After they strip 
 off the hides and take out the tallow, and 
 sometimes the choice part of the meat, the 
 remainder of the carcase is left on the ground 
 to be devoured by the wolves. The hides 
 are then stretched out on the ground, and 
 the tallow moulded into large cakes. As a 
 
 ^^ Another classic, which describes this trade, is 
 Richard H. Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. Sug- 
 gestive of the essential closeness to us, in point of time, 
 of this seemingly remote period of California history is 
 the fact that the present editor is acquainted with a 
 citizen of Detroit whose father was a companion and 
 friend of Dana on the voyage which his book celebrates. 
 
 171
 
 Sbbenturesf of Zenasf ILeonarb 
 
 compensation for their labour, the butchers, 
 or hunters, receive one third of all the tallow 
 they can collect. When the vessel is about 
 leaving the coast, the hides and tallow which 
 has been collected, is conveyed to the beach, 
 where the hides are sold at $1.50 a piece, and 
 the tallow at 4 cents per pound. 
 
 The greater part of this cargo is paid for 
 in merchandize at high prices, but which is 
 as valuable here as money itself, and much 
 more useful. A vessel loaded with hides and 
 tallow from this coast is of the greatest 
 value, and has afforded an easy path to 
 wealth for many of the American merchants. 
 
 After travelling leisurely along through 
 their country, which still continued thinly 
 inhabited by these people, and passing two 
 small missionary establishments, we arrived 
 at a small town called St. Hose, or St. 
 Joseph, about 10 miles south of Monterey, 
 where we arrived on the 25th of December.'*^ 
 This is also a missionary station, and the 
 largest of any we had yet encountered, con- 
 taining about 900 Indians, principally from 
 the mountains. This station is constructed 
 and managed similar to that of St. Juan, 
 except the church, which is much larger, and 
 
 *° The mission of San Jose Is north of Monterey, 
 which place Leonard's narrative renders It evident he 
 had not yet reached. 
 
 172
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henas; ILtonavh 
 
 built with a greater display of the arts of 
 civilization. Here we remained for two days, 
 employing our time in watching the proceed- 
 ings of these Indians in their devotional exer- 
 cises. The manoeuvres of those who have 
 been lately converted to the christian reli- 
 gion (being of the Catholic faith,) is some- 
 thing very singular, as they at one moment 
 manifest the most unbounded transports of 
 joy, and the next throw themselves into the 
 greatest paroxysm of weeping and lamenta- 
 tion. — We then continued our journey and 
 soon arrived at Monterey, which town is 
 built on a beautiful situation on the south 
 side of Monterey Bay — this Bay being 
 formed by Kings river. This is the Capital of 
 Upper, or North Calafornia, and under the 
 government of New Mexico. The town is 
 small containing only about 30 or 40 dwelling 
 houses, one church, one calaboose a part of 
 which is used as a house of justice, or in 
 other words, a court house, where the Gov- 
 ernor transacts his public business, and a 
 kind of a fort, built in a commanding situation 
 on the edge of the bay, to be used in the 
 defence of the town in case an attack should 
 be made upon it from the sea, containing 
 several pieces of artillery. 
 
 This bay is very deep, affording an excel- 
 lent harbor for any number of vessels. The 
 
 173
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 town has every natural advantage that a 
 seaport could desire; and if a proper spirit of 
 enterprize prevailed among the inhabitants, 
 it might be made to flourish equal to any 
 other town in the dominions of New Mexico. 
 Vessels sailing along the coast of the Pacific 
 to the north, all stop here to take in supplies, 
 as it is the last white settlement they pass, 
 until they reach the Russian dominions of 
 the North-West; but as the inhabitants raise 
 no grain only what is used for home con- 
 sumption; the mariner is only enabled to 
 supply his vessel with meat and water. — 
 Besides the advantage the agriculturalist 
 might derive by supplying vessels with pro- 
 visions, he might be enabled to carry on a 
 large exporting business — as the soil and 
 climate is very calculated to raise large 
 crops of grain. Another prominent advan- 
 tage the town of St. Joseph^^ would have, is 
 the facility of internal communication with 
 the Indians now inhabiting the prairies and 
 mountains of the interior, or the white race, 
 who, it may reasonably be expected, will 
 have undisputed dominion over this entire 
 region before long. 
 
 As it is at present, there are some men here 
 
 ^^ "St. Joseph" is evidently used inadvertently lor 
 Monterey, the town Leonard is discussing. The same 
 correction applies to the second succeeding paragraph.
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henasi ILtonavta 
 
 of considerable wealth, the principal part of 
 which they have acquired by trading with 
 vessels different kinds of peltries, such as 
 Spanish hides, tallow, beaver, sea-otter, 
 bear, deer and elk skins, and also horses and 
 mules. There is also a brisk trade carried on 
 in this place with the Sandwich Islands, 
 about nine days sail from this port, — and 
 which might be rendered quite lucrative. 
 The most of the vessels, however that put 
 into this bay are on fishing expeditions. The 
 Sperm whale are very numerous in this part 
 of the Pacific ocean — the oil of which affords 
 a profitable reward to all who embark in this 
 dangerous and toilsome business. 
 
 On the 29th some of our men arrived in 
 St. Joseph, with a portion of the peltries we 
 had collected whilst crossing the mountains, 
 and which we exchanged with Capt. Bagg- 
 shaw for merchandise, such as groceries and 
 ammunition to do us whilst on our return to 
 Missouri the next summer. After concluding 
 our trade with Captain Baggshaw, and 
 spending the last day of the expiring year on 
 land, we all resolved by invitation, to cele- 
 brate New- Years day on board the Lagoda, 
 with the Governor and Capt. Baggshaw. The 
 day was spent quite merrily, and the whole 
 company manifested the best possible hu- 
 mor, each one contributing to keep up the 
 
 175
 
 Sbbentureg of Zenasi ILeonarb 
 
 sport by telling some mountain adventure or 
 sea-faring exploit. In the evening we ended 
 the celebration by returning on shore and 
 taking a few rounds with our rifles — which 
 terminated by conclusively convincing the 
 sailors that if they could beat us in telling 
 "long yarns," we were more than a match 
 for them with the rifle. 
 
 On the morning of the 2d of January 1 834, 
 Capt. Baggshaw insisted on us again visiting 
 his vessel, for the purpose of taking a glass, 
 which we gladly accepted, and after shaking 
 hands all round, and afi^ectionately bidding 
 farewell with our friends on board the vessel, 
 returned to land in company with the Gov- 
 ernor, when his Excellency offered our Cap- 
 tain a gratuity of a tract of land seven miles 
 square if he would bring 50 families, com- 
 posed of different kinds of mechanicks, and 
 settle on it. Capt. Walker was well pleased 
 with the country, and said he had a great 
 mind to accept the Governor's offer, as he 
 had no doubt he could in a few years amass 
 a fortune, and be at the head of a rich and 
 flourishing settlement; but his love for the 
 laws and free institutions of the United 
 States, and his hatred for those of the Span- 
 ish Government, deterred him from accept- 
 ing the Governor's benevolent offer — and we 
 bid farewell to the Governor and his people, 
 
 176
 
 Sbbenturcji of Zenasi ILeonarb 
 
 well pleased with the reception we had thus 
 far every where met with among the Span- 
 iards. 
 
 We now left St. Joseph^- and returned with 
 our merchandize, consisting principally of 
 groceries, ammunition, &c., to our encamp- 
 ment, where we arrived without meeting 
 with any difficulty; finding everything in 
 good order, and all well except one man 
 named Philips, who was laying in a very 
 precarious state from wounds inflicted by a 
 bear. It appeared that Philips had been out 
 hunting deer, and having killed one, took out 
 the insides and hung it upon a tree, and 
 started to the camp to get a horse to bring it 
 home. After travelling a mile or so, whilst 
 ascending a hill, came suddenly upon an old 
 bear and two cubs. — The bear immediately 
 on seeing Philips, as is their custom, reared 
 on her hind feet, and being very close, com- 
 menced growling most furiously. This our 
 hero could not brook, and fearing the conse- 
 quences if he should shoot and wound her, 
 lost his presence of mind, and started to run. 
 — The bear immediately pursued and caught 
 him. He now found it quite useless to at- 
 tempt to get loose, and only saved his life by 
 sinking to the ground and affecting to be 
 dead. The bear then left him, but not with- 
 
 ^2 Monterey is intended, as above.
 
 abbentureiEf of HenajS ICeonarb 
 
 oat wounding him to such a degree that it 
 was a long time before he could collect 
 strength enough to raise to his feet. It was 
 late at night when he reached the camp, and 
 was so far gone, from hunger & loss of blood, 
 that his life was despaired of at first. One of 
 his arms was broke & his body most shock- 
 ingly cut and mangled. 
 
 On our way from the Capital to our camp, 
 we had an opportunity of witnessing a part 
 of the Spanish mode of gambling in this 
 country, which was rare amusement to us, 
 and which they call bull-baiting. It is in this 
 fashion, as near as I could understand: When 
 a number of sporting gentlemen get together 
 for this purpose, they repair to the prairies, 
 all well mounted and prepared for the chase. 
 When they come across a herd of cattle they 
 make large bets on who shall be the first to 
 noose one of the cattle in the drove in sight. 
 When every thing is arranged this far, they 
 all take an even start. The one that gets the 
 rope round the animals horn or neck first 
 claims the assistance of the rest to throw the 
 animal to the ground — which ends the chase 
 for this time. As the Spaniards are generally 
 skilled in the art of throwing the noose, the 
 chase in a case of this kind mostly depends 
 on the fleetness of the horses. When they 
 have secured a bull in this way, they take 
 
 178
 
 abbentures; of Ztnaa TLtonaxh 
 
 him to a pen made strong for this purpose, 
 where they put him in for safe-keeping, and 
 settle the bets. Having got through with this 
 game, to give the losers an opportunity 
 to regain their losses, they start out on the 
 hunt of a grizzly bear, always prefering the 
 largest, which they capture in the same way. 
 Taking a bear is a much more dangerous 
 piece of work, than any other animal, owing 
 to their enormous strength. It often happens 
 that, in taking a bear, they are unhorsed; 
 when, if alone, they are in imminent danger 
 of being tore to pieces; but this seldom hap- 
 pens unless the horse is thrown, or the saddle 
 tore loose. In taking a bear, their object is to 
 noose him round one of the hind legs, in 
 order to keep him from biting the cord, 
 which they are very apt to do if fast round 
 the neck. A single hunter can do but little 
 with a large bear, and they are seldom at- 
 tacked single handed, or without the certainty 
 of assistance from some of their comrades. 
 When overtaken by the foremost rider, the 
 bear stops running & prepares for war. This 
 man will then engage the attention of the 
 bear by teasing him, whilst another hunter 
 will come up in the rear of the excited animal 
 and noose him by the hind foot; when the 
 cord is securely fastened to the hind foot, he 
 is generally considered safe. It is then that 
 
 179
 
 aibbentutefif of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 their sport begins in good earnest, and the 
 feats that are sometimes performed by the 
 men, bear and horses, would be incredible to 
 any person who has never seen any sport of 
 this kind. After the bear finds himself secure 
 and has become pretty well worried, he seats 
 himself sullenly on the ground and lets the 
 horse pull at the cord, stretching his leg out 
 until the pain becomes too severe, when he 
 will draw up his leg, horse and all, with as 
 much apparent ease as a horse would a 
 sleigh. I have been told that some of the 
 largest bears have been known to drag two 
 horses a considerable distance in a fit of rage, 
 in spite of all the exertions of the horses and 
 riders to the contrary. After the bear is 
 pretty well worried in this way, another 
 noose is fastened round one of the fore feet 
 or neck, when the bear will commence beat- 
 ing the ground with his feet and manifesting 
 the most intense rage and anger imaginable 
 — and in this manner they drag, whip and 
 coax him along to the pen where the bull is 
 confined. 
 
 Their cords are made of green cow-hide, 
 which they cut into narrow strips, hang 
 them in the sun and rub them as they dry, 
 making them soft and pliable, when they are 
 platted into a rope which no weight can 
 sever. 
 
 1 80
 
 3bbentures( of Henas; ILeonartr 
 
 When the bear has arrived at the bull pen, 
 their bets on taking him and all disputes are 
 settled, refreshments taken, and prepara- 
 tions made for another scene, which is by far 
 the most pleasing to the Spaniards. They 
 begin to enrage the bull by pricking him 
 with a nail fixed in the end of a stick, and 
 when his anger has rose to the war pitch, the 
 bear is let into the pen with the bull/^ The 
 men now bet all they are worth on which 
 will be the conquerer, and every thing mani- 
 fests the greatest possible excitement. Some- 
 times the animals refuse to fight until they 
 are forced to it by being tormented with the 
 sharpened sticks, but when one receives a 
 blow from the other, nothing can part them 
 until one or the other falls. These fights last 
 sometimes half an hour without relaxation. 
 The bear is much the strongest, but it has no 
 chance of avoiding the thrusts of the bull, in 
 consequence of the smallness of the pen; but 
 in an open field, a grizzly bear will conquer 
 a bull in a few moments. 
 
 When the fight is over the conquered ani- 
 mal is taken out and the bets are again 
 settled. If it is the bear that is whipt, the 
 game is continued and the bets renewed on 
 
 *^ For a similar description of this sport, see James 
 Ohio Pattie's Personal NarrativCy the Lakeside Classics 
 volume for 1930, pp. 385-86. 
 
 181
 
 Sbbentures? of Henas; ILtonaxh 
 
 some person who will offer to go into the pen 
 with the enraged bull, lay his hand on some 
 part of his body and escape untouched. This 
 is by far the most dangerous part of the 
 whole play, and many lives have been lost at 
 it; but so fond are the Spaniards of gambling, 
 that in play a life is of but little consequence. 
 When the bets are all arranged, the adven- 
 turer stands at the door of the pen with his 
 blanket in his hand, and the company is 
 occupied in maddening the bull, — when he 
 has become sufficiently enraged the hero 
 steps in, when the bull will make a desperate 
 plunge at him with his horns, which the man 
 escapes by throwing the blanket over the 
 face of the bull and blinding him — he then 
 claps his hand on the designated spot, 
 snatches the blanket off his horns & makes 
 his escape. If he gets out without the bull 
 striking him, he has won the stakes for all 
 those who bet on him — which will be a 
 profitable business for him, as he receives 
 a certain per centage on all the money thus 
 won. 
 
 It happened that one of these games was 
 to be played while we were in the neighbor- 
 hood, and on being invited to attend Capt. 
 Walker, several others, and myself concluded 
 on going to see the performance. When we 
 reached the ground the Spaniards had the 
 
 182
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henasf ILeonatb 
 
 bull and the bear both secured, and were 
 just going to set them to fighting. Presently 
 the animals got to blows, and continued for 
 a short time, when the bull became master 
 and the bear was let out of the pen. The 
 battle was very closely contested, and I 
 never seen animals so much enraged, and 
 fight with so much fierceness. The bear could 
 master the bull for a good spell, when it 
 could get its arms around him, but the large 
 body of the bull would prevent any serious 
 injury, and presently the bear would be 
 shaken to the ground, when the bull would 
 have a chance to plunge at him with efi^ect. 
 It was in this manner that the bull managed 
 to get the advantage of bruin. — After the 
 bear was taken out, the company com- 
 menced betting on an old time-worn Span- 
 iard who offered to go into the pen and touch 
 the enraged animal. In a short time all the 
 preliminaries were arranged, and the man 
 entered the pen in the manner as described 
 above, but unfortunately, when he went to 
 pull his blanket off the animals head and 
 come out, one of the beasts horns was thrust 
 quite thro' his thigh. As soon as this hap- 
 pened, the Spaniards commenced plagueing 
 the bull at the opposite side of the pen and 
 the wounded man was suffered to crawl out 
 in the best manner he could. 
 
 183
 
 ^bbentures; of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 There are also many other methods of 
 gambling practised by these people, — and 
 vice of every description seems to be openly 
 countenanced in some parts of the settle- 
 ments, such as horse racing, card playing, 
 and even stealing, the latter of which is 
 carried on to a considerable extent by both 
 male and female, and is even recognized, 
 under some circumstances, as one of the 
 established customs of the country. The men 
 are always provided with dirks, which they 
 can use with superior skill. 
 
 We remained at our old encampment near 
 St. Juan, without meeting with any thing 
 to disturb our situation, and on the most 
 friendly intercourse with both Spaniards and 
 Indians, until last night, when six of our best 
 horses were stolen, and which we at first sup- 
 posed to be the work of Indians. We had 
 heretofore trusted every thing in the fidelity 
 of both the Spaniards and Indians, but when 
 our horses had been thus taken from us we 
 began to keep a sharp look out. In the morn- 
 ing (loth) several scouting parties were des- 
 patched on search of the stolen property, 
 and returned in the evening with only one, 
 after following the trail far into the Spanish 
 settlement, which convinced us immediately 
 that it was not the Indians but the Spaniards 
 who had behaved so dishonorable. In the 
 
 184
 
 Sbbenturejf of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 following morning Captain Walker went 
 himself to one of the Alcaldes or Esquires 
 for the purpose of enquiring what steps had 
 best be taken to restore our stolen property, 
 or how we could be recompensed. On having 
 an interview with the magistrate he learned 
 a good many things more than he had for- 
 merly known — which was this, that Span- 
 iards, whilst travelling through the country 
 with a poor horse, was at liberty to take a 
 good one if he could find such, no matter 
 who it belonged to, or whether wild or tame, 
 and continue his journey. And also, if two 
 men set down to play at cards, and the loser 
 thinks that his opponent has cheated or de- 
 frauded him, he is at liberty to visit his 
 horses and help himself to such as he can, 
 but if the owner catches him in the act, it 
 generally ends in bloodshed. — For this and 
 other reasons, a Spaniard is never seen away 
 from home without his rope or cord, in order 
 to noose any thing he stands in need of. 
 
 Stealing horses is practised more than any 
 other kind of theft, and it is not recognized 
 as a crime, owing, probably, to the cheapness 
 of these animals — as they can be bought at 
 any time for from one to ten dollars. Those 
 costing $1 are unbroke fillies, and those for 
 ^lo are first rate horses well tamed. When 
 we became aware that such was the practice 
 
 185
 
 ^bbentures^ of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 of the country, Capt. Walker thought it 
 would be the best plan for us to pack up and 
 leave the neighborhood, in order to avoid a 
 difficulty with a people of a ferocious and 
 wicked nature, at a time too, when we were 
 not very well prepared to contend against 
 such an enemy in their own country. Accord- 
 ingly we set about purchasing provision, and 
 the next day we were pretty well supplied 
 with flour, corn, beans, &c. 
 
 13th. This morning every thing was pre- 
 pared and we took up our march in an east- 
 ern direction. We only travelled 12 or 15 
 miles this day and encamped for the night, 
 which we spent without the occurrence of 
 any thing of importance more than the re- 
 calling to mind of the scenes encountered 
 and hardships endured by each of us in our 
 way-faring to this remote corner of the 
 world. 
 
 The two following days we continued with- 
 out interruption in the same direction, and 
 encamped on the banks of a beautiful stream 
 called Sulphur river, where we concluded to 
 remain until in the Spring, when it would be 
 more pleasant travelling eastward to the 
 Rocky mountains. Our encampment is beau- 
 tifully located on a rising piece of ground, 
 with a handsome river gliding smoothly 
 along immediately in front, an extensive oat 
 
 186
 
 ^bbenturefi? of Henasi ICeonarb 
 
 plain stretching out as far as the eye will 
 reach to the rear, and is about 40 miles east 
 of St. Juan. — The banks of this river are 
 most delightfully shaded with timber, prin- 
 cipally oak and elm. The soil in the plain is 
 very strong and deep, producing heavy crops 
 of wild oats and grass — affording excellent 
 pasture for horses, at this season of the year. 
 After we had made every arrangement 
 necessary to our comfort while we remained 
 here, our men commenced hunting in good 
 style — bear, elk and deer being very plenty, 
 and the fattest we had anywhere met with. 
 On the 20th, it being a fine day for hunting, 
 a large portion of our sportsmen set out early 
 in the morning bound for a general hunt, and 
 determined to rake the whole prairie. To- 
 wards the middle of the day, two of the men 
 came in sight of a large drove of elk, feeding 
 in the open prairie, and as they were cau- 
 tiously approaching near enough to shoot, 
 they unexpectedly came upon five grizzly 
 bear that were sleeping in the grass — two old 
 ones and three cubs; the latter began to 
 howl most piteously, which enraged the old 
 ones, and they made at our hunters with 
 open mouth. But as one of them was an old 
 practitioner in such matters, having a good 
 gun, carrying an ounce ball, which he called 
 '' Knock-hhn-stijffy' stood quite composed 
 
 187
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasf ICeonarb 
 
 (bidding his companion, who was about to 
 run, to stand his ground) until the bear came 
 within reach of him when he discharged it 
 with the muzzle in her mouth — which, as our 
 hero said, gave her a very bad cough. This 
 inspired the other hunter with courage, and 
 he treated the other bear in nearly the same 
 manner. The cubs not showing any desire to 
 depart alone, were also killed. This days 
 hunt was exceedingly lucky, not only to these 
 two men, but to nearly all who were out, as 
 they all returned with heavy loads of game. 
 
 On the 25th Capt. Walker started to Mon- 
 terey with eight men for the purpose of lay- 
 ing in a larger supply of provision for us on 
 our journey to the east, in the spring, as we 
 began to reflect that we might fall in with 
 some other companies on the road who 
 would need assistance. 
 
 26th. To-day about 10 o'clock, we discov- 
 ered a large drove of horses passing through 
 the plain, followed by a few people, whom we 
 supposed to be Spaniards or Indians — but 
 they did not appear to know that we were in 
 the neighborhood, & we were not anxious to 
 let them know it for fear they might travel 
 our way some time. In the evening, as some 
 of our men who had been out hunting, were 
 returning home, they accidentally came 
 across a large bear laying in a hole, sound 
 
 188
 
 Sbbenturc£f of ZtnaH Heonarb 
 
 asleep. Our men were anxious to see some 
 sport, and commenced making a noise, and 
 even fired a gun or two without bringing her 
 to her senses, and getting her out of the hole. 
 They then dismounted, stationed themselves 
 around the hole and shot her before she 
 moved. On examination, they found her to 
 be of the grizzly species and of the largest 
 size; and also having two young ones in the 
 hole with her, not larger than a common 
 sized cat. The old one was extremely fat, and 
 from the signs about the hole, it appeared 
 that she must have had this as a permanent 
 place of residence. It is the first instance I 
 ever knew of taking a bear of this size whilst 
 asleep. 
 
 28th. To-day a party of Spaniards arrived 
 at our encampment on search of a party of 
 Indians who had eloped from the St. Juan 
 Missionary station, and taken with them 300 
 head of horses — which we supposed to be the 
 party seen by us on the 26th. These men 
 stayed with us all night and the next morn- 
 ing some of our men joined the Spaniards in 
 the chase, who were to get one half of the 
 horses as a compensation for their trouble, if 
 lucky enough to find them. These men fol- 
 lowed the Indians to the foot of a large 
 mountain, where they discovered several 
 smokes rising out of the forest along the base 
 
 189
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasf ICeonarb 
 
 of the mountain in a thicket of timber. From 
 the smoke that arose, they thought the whole 
 Indian force was concentrated, and the Span- 
 ish and American force surrounded the spot 
 in battle array, determined to give the offend- 
 ers a severe chastisement at once. When all 
 the preparations were made, the word to fire 
 was given. But instead of the lamentations of 
 wounded Indians, and the frantic prancing 
 of frightened horses, nothing but a dead si- 
 lence answered the discharge of their artil- 
 lery. — They then dismounted and went into 
 the thicket, where they found a large portion 
 of their horses well butchered, and partly 
 dried and a few old and feeble Indians, with 
 some squaws and children. The Indians hav- 
 ing killed some of the horses, were engaged 
 in drying the meat, — but on seeing the white 
 men approach, fled to the mountain, leaving 
 nothing behind but what is above stated. 
 The disappointment of the Spaniards now 
 exceeded all bounds, and gave our men some 
 evidence of the depravity of the Spanish 
 character. By way of revenge, after they 
 found that there was no use in following the 
 Indians into the mountain, the Spaniards 
 fell to massacreing, indiscriminately, those 
 helpless creatures who were found in the 
 wigwams with the meat, and cutting off their 
 ears. Some of them were driven into a wigwam, 
 
 190
 
 abbcnture£f of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 when the door was barricaded, and a large 
 quantity of combustible matter thrown 
 on and around the hut, for the purpose of 
 setting fire to it, and burning them all to- 
 gether. This barbarous treatment our men 
 would not permit and they went and released 
 the prisoners, when the Spaniards fell to 
 work and despatched them as if they were 
 dogs. When this tragedy was completed they 
 all returned to our encampment on the 31st. 
 On their arrival at our camp, the Span- 
 iards told me that their object in taking off 
 the ears, was to show the Priests and Al- 
 caldes, that they had used every effort to 
 regain the stolen property. These people also 
 informed me that the Indians of this coun- 
 try are in the habit of coming in large droves 
 to the missionary stations, & make the most 
 sincere professions of religion, until they gain 
 the confidence of the priests, when they will 
 suddenly decamp, and take off all the horses 
 they can get, to the mountain, where they 
 remain as long as their meat lasts — when 
 they will send another detachment, whose 
 duty it is to do likewise. They prefer eating 
 domesticated horses because the act of steal- 
 ing them gives their flesh a superior flavour 
 — and it would be less trouble for them to 
 catch wild horses, if they could thus gratify 
 their stealing propensities. 
 
 191
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasf ICeonarb 
 
 There is supposed to be about ten Indians 
 to one white man, or Spaniard, in this coun- 
 try. The population is divided or classed into 
 three degrees, ist. The whites or Spaniards. 
 2nd. The Indians; & third the offspring of a 
 white and an Indian. — The seasons are dis- 
 tinguished only as wet anddry — there being no 
 snow and very little frost. The only established 
 religion is that of the Roman Catholic faith, 
 which is professed by almost every Spaniard. 
 
 To-day Capt. Walker returned from the 
 settlements well supplied with such articles 
 as he was in need of — bringing with him lOO 
 horses, 47 cow cattle, and 30 or 35 dogs, to- 
 gether with some flour, corn, beans, &c., 
 suitable for our subsistance in the long jour- 
 ney, for which every man was now busily en- 
 gaged in making preparations. Two or three 
 days after Captain Walker returned from 
 this expedition, we were visited by 40 or 50 
 Spaniards, all well mounted, and each man 
 prepared with a noose, on their way into the 
 neighborhood of wild horses, for the purpose 
 of catching some. In this company we found 
 one of the horses which had been stolen from 
 us before we left the settlement. — The Span- 
 iards honorably gave him up after we proved 
 our claim. As the manner of taking wild 
 horses was altogether a curiosity to me, I was 
 anxious to see the sport, and accordingly 
 
 192
 
 abbentures; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 several others and myself joined the Spaniards 
 and accompanied them. After travelling a 
 short distance we arrived at a large pen, en- 
 closing about three-fourths of an acre, which 
 they call a park or correll. This pen is built 
 quite strong, to prevent horses from break- 
 ing through. Attached to this pen, are two 
 wings extending to the right and left, in the 
 shape of a V, upwards of a mile & a half in 
 length. The wings are made by posts being 
 set in the ground and poles tied to them with 
 a piece of elk or horse hide, about four feet 
 high — the neck or pen being built much 
 higher and stronger. This pen appears as if 
 it had been used for this purpose many years. 
 After we halted here, the Spaniards were oc- 
 cupied during the remainder of the day in 
 repairing some weak parts of the pen and 
 wings, and in the morning all hands pro- 
 ceeded to drive in the horses, which was done 
 by sending out parties in different directions, 
 mounted upon the swiftest horses in order to 
 outrun the wild ones and turn them in front 
 of the pen, when the men all collect in a 
 breast and drive them down into the pen; 
 which answers the same purpose as a basket 
 does a fish-dam. When the animals are all in 
 the pen, a fence is erected across the neck to 
 prevent the escape of any horses. The men 
 will then dismount and pass along close to 
 
 193
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henasi ILtonavh 
 
 the pen for the purpose of accustoming the 
 horses to the smell of human beings. When 
 this is done, four or five will enter the pen, 
 leaving the balance on the outside to prevent 
 them from breaking out, and with their cords 
 noose and tie all under two or three years 
 old. After securing 70 or 80 in this manner, 
 all over this age were turned out, — as they 
 are considered too hard to tame. They then 
 blind-folded those they had taken & turned 
 them loose with the tame horses, and they 
 followed the same as a dog. It is in this way 
 they always get them into the settlements, 
 where they are divided to each man, who 
 brands and hobbles them, and then turns 
 them loose upon the prairie. After they have 
 been confined in this situation two or three 
 days, they are considered domesticated, 
 their fetters taken off, and treated similar to 
 the other horses. 
 
 There is another way of catching these 
 horses, which is this: They are noosed, 
 thrown to the ground, partly blind-folded 
 and saddled, when some adventurous Span- 
 iard will mount on his back, let the horse rise 
 to his feet, and if he becomes unmanageable, 
 they give him the whip, and run the brute 
 until he is no longer able to keep his feet 
 under him, after which he is generally suffi- 
 ciently docile. 
 
 194
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasf ICeonarb 
 
 On the 1 2th we returned to our camp, 
 when Capt. Walker traded with the Span- 
 iards for several of these horses — and in the 
 evening they bid us farewell and continued 
 their homeward journey. 
 
 Feb. 14th. This morning had been ap- 
 pointed for our departure, and accordingly 
 every thing requisite for our comfort was in 
 readiness, and we lazily left our camp for the 
 east — leaving six of our company behind, all 
 of whom are tradesmen, such as carpenters, 
 hatters, &c. where they purposed following 
 their occupations, which will no doubt be 
 profitable to themselves, and of great advan- 
 tage to the indolent and stupid Spaniard. 
 The price of furniture here is exceedingly 
 high. A rough table (more like a bench,) con- 
 sisting of rough hewn boards nailed together, 
 will cost 8 and 10 dollars. A pair of similar 
 made bedsteads the same. Two of our men 
 constructed a wind-mill which they sold for 
 |iio. All kinds of mechanical productions 
 command a corresponding price. — This is 
 partly owing to the inconvenience of getting 
 out the stuff — there being no saw-mills in 
 the country, the carpenter is compelled to 
 cut out his stuff by hand; and as there are 
 very few tools in the country, it requires 
 great labour to manufacture a piece of work 
 with any kind of taste. 
 
 195
 
 ^bbentures; of Ztnaa ILtonavh 
 
 The parting scene between the company 
 and these six men appeared the most melan- 
 choly separation we had undergone since we 
 left the States. On other occasions, when we 
 had separated with a portion of our hunters, 
 it was with the confident hope of meeting 
 again. But these men remained with the de- 
 termination of making a permanent residence 
 in the country, and never again returning to 
 the states; whilst the most of us were as de- 
 terminedly bent on never again returning to 
 this region — hence we parted as if we were 
 forever afterwards to be separated by worlds. 
 On shaking hands with these men, with 
 whom I had been in daily intercourse for the 
 last eighteen months, it appeared more like 
 parting with brothers, than any thing else. 
 
 Our company was now reduced to 52 men, 
 315 horses — and for provisions, 47 beef, and 
 30 dogs, together with a considerable portion 
 of flour, Indian corn, beans, some groceries 
 and a few other articles necessary on such an 
 expedition. We continued up Sulphur River 
 in an eastern direction, and for the first night 
 encamped on the South side of this stream, 
 after travelling not more than 12 or 15 miles. 
 
 15th. Continued our journey up Sulphur 
 river, passing through a fine country, most 
 of which is prairie, covered plentifully with 
 wild oats and grass. After we had encamped 
 
 196
 
 Sbbcnturej; of Zenas( Hconarb 
 
 this evening, two Spaniards came to our 
 camp bringing with them 25 very fine horses, 
 which they sold to the company, and engaged 
 themselves to accompany us to the buiTaloe 
 country. They informed us that they had de- 
 serted from the Spanish army, and that as it 
 was the second time, if taken now, according 
 to the Spanish military discipline, their pun- 
 ishment would be certain death. 
 
 We continued travelling from day to day, 
 the country all the way being of the most en- 
 ticing nature, soil very strong, timber toler- 
 ably plenty, and game in abundance. The 
 two Spaniards we found to be of great ad- 
 vantage to us, as some of our horses caused 
 us great trouble, and one of the Spaniards 
 being an excellent rider and well acquainted 
 with the art of noosing, would catch and 
 bring together our horses at any time they 
 would become separated. 
 
 i^bout the 27th we arrived at the base of 
 the Calafornia mountain, having past many 
 Indians on our way, and also finding many 
 here. 
 
 On the 28th we continued our journey to 
 the south along the base of the mountain in 
 search of pasture for our cattle and a con- 
 venient pass over the mountain. — Here game 
 is very scarce, owing to the numerous swarms 
 of Indians scattered along in every direction. 
 
 197
 
 ^tibentures; of HenajS ICeonarb 
 
 On the second of March we killed one of our 
 beef. Pursued our course, still in a southern 
 direction finding game rather scarce, Indians 
 plenty, pasture improving, and vegetation of 
 every description beginning to grow rapidly 
 — weather showery with warm sun, until the 
 loth of March, when we arrived at 60 or 70 
 huts, containing from 250 to 300 Indians. 
 These Indians appear quite different from 
 those more convenient to the Spanish settle- 
 ments, and call themselves Pagans, their 
 chief Capetaine, and have names for several 
 things nearly the same as we have. Their 
 wives they call wifa, — kettle, wood, and meat 
 the same as we do. These people seem to live 
 poor, and are equally as indolent as any of 
 those we had met with in the Spanish domin- 
 ions. They are generally small in stature, 
 complexion quite dark, and some quite hairy. 
 Whilst here we killed another of our beef, 
 and made a present of some of the beef, to- 
 gether with a dog and some tobacco, to these 
 Indians. Their principal diet during this sea- 
 son of the year, consists of roots and weeds, 
 amongst which is parsly, and a kind of cab- 
 bage, all of which they eat raw. In the sum- 
 mer they subsist principally upon acorns, at 
 least a person would so judge to see the num- 
 ber of holes that are burnt into the logs for 
 the purpose of mashing them. 
 
 198
 
 When we were about leaving these Indi- 
 ans, their chief brought a hearty and good- 
 looking young female to our Captain and 
 proposed to give her in exchange for an ox. 
 Capt. Walker very prudently declined the 
 offer, telling the chief that we had a great 
 distance to travel, and would probably be 
 without meat half the time. We travelled 
 along quite comfortably meeting with no un- 
 usal occurrence. The country through which 
 we passed still continued as charming as the 
 heart of man could desire. The Indians were 
 quite numerous, some of whom would at 
 times manifest the most unbounded alarm. 
 We also passed a great number of streams 
 flowing out of the mountain, and stretching 
 afar towards the Pacific. The prairies were 
 most beautifully decorated with flowers and 
 vegetation, interspersed with splendid groves 
 of timber along the banks of the rivers — giv- 
 ing a most romantic appearance to the whole 
 face of nature. 
 
 We at length arrived at an Indian village, 
 the inhabitants of which seemed to be greatly 
 alarmed on seeing us, and they immedi- 
 ately commenced gathering up their food 
 and gathering in their horses — but as soon 
 as they discovered that we were white peo- 
 ple, they became perfectly reconciled. After 
 we halted here we found that these people 
 
 199
 
 Sbbenture£{ oC Henag Heonarb 
 
 could talk the Spanish language, which we 
 thought might be of great advantage to the 
 company, and on inquiry ascertained that 
 they were a tribe called the Concoas, which 
 tribe some eight or ten years since resided in 
 the Spanish settlements at the missionary 
 station near St. Barbara, on the coast, where 
 they rebelled against the authority of the 
 country, robbed the church of all its golden 
 images & candle-sticks, and one of the 
 Priests of several thousand dollars in gold 
 and silver, when they retreated to the spot 
 where we found them — being at least five or 
 six hundred miles distant from the nearest 
 Spanish settlement. This tribe are well ac- 
 quainted with the rules of bartering for 
 goods or any thing they wish to buy — much 
 more so than any other tribe we met with. 
 They make regular visits to such posts where 
 they are unknown, and also make appoint- 
 ments with ship-traders to meet at some des- 
 ignated time and place; thus they are en- 
 abled to carry on a considerable degree of 
 commerce. They still retain several of the 
 images which they pilfered from the church 
 — the greater part of which is the property of 
 the chiefs. — These people are seven or eight 
 hundred strong, their houses are constructed 
 of poles and covered with grass, and are tol- 
 erably well supplied with house-hold furni- 
 
 200
 
 Sbbenturejf of Ztnai Heonarb 
 
 ture which they brought with them at the 
 time they robbed the church. They follow 
 agricultural pursuits to some extent, raising 
 very good crops of corn, pumpkins, melons, 
 &c. All the out-door labour is done by the fe- 
 males. They are also in the habit of making 
 regular visits to the settlements for the pur- 
 pose of stealing horses, which they kill and eat. 
 
 We passed one night with these Indians, 
 during which time they informed us of an 
 accessible passage over the mountain. In the 
 morning we resumed our journey, hiring two 
 of these Indians as pilots, to go with us across 
 the mountain — continued all day without 
 any interruption, and in the evening en- 
 camped at the foot of the passover. 
 
 In the morning we continued up the moun- 
 tain in an eastern direction, and encamped 
 this evening at the lower end of the snow. 
 The next day we found the snow more 
 plenty, and encamped without grass of any 
 kind. We now began to apprehend hard 
 times again. Our horses no longer resumed 
 their march in the mornings with a playful 
 cheerfulness, but would stumble along and 
 go just when their riders would force them to 
 do so. We continued travelling in this way 
 for four days when we landed safely on the 
 opposite side of the mountain, in a temper- 
 ate climate, and among tolerable pasture, 
 
 20 1
 
 ^bbentutesf of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 which latter was equally as gratifying to our 
 horses as the former was to the men. 
 
 We here made our pilots presents of a 
 horse, some tobacco, and many trifling 
 trinkets captivating to the eye of an In- 
 dian, when they left us to return to their 
 friends. 
 
 Our horses and cattle were pretty much 
 fatigued, but not as much as we anticipated. 
 The country on this side is much inferior to 
 that on the opposite side — the soil being thin 
 and rather sandy, producing but little grass, 
 which was very discouraging to our stock, as 
 they now stood in great want of strong feed. 
 On the opposite side vegetation had been 
 growing for several weeks — on this side, it 
 has not started yet. 
 
 After discharging our pilots we travelled a 
 few miles and encamped at some beautiful 
 springs, where we concluded to spend the re- 
 mainder of the day, in order to give our 
 horses and cattle rest. Our Capt. here con- 
 cluded on following the base of the mountain 
 to the north until we would come to our trail 
 when crossing to the west, or Calafornia. 
 
 May 2nd. This morning we resumed our 
 journey, every man possessed of doubtful 
 apprehensions as to the result of this deter- 
 mination, as the hardships which we en- 
 countered in this region on a former occasion, 
 
 202
 
 ^bbenturesi of Henas? ICeonarb 
 
 were yet fresh in the minds of many of us. 
 The country we found to be very poor, and 
 almost entirely destitute of grass. We con- 
 tinued through this poor country travelling a 
 few miles every day, or as far as the weak- 
 ened state of our dumb brutes would admit 
 of. The weather was mostly clear and other- 
 wise beautiful, but we had quite a cold wind 
 most all the time. Travelling along the east- 
 ern base of this (Calafornia) mountain, we 
 crossed many small rivers flowing towards 
 the east, but emptying into lakes scattered 
 through the plain, or desert, where the water 
 sinks and is exhausted in the earth. This 
 plain extends from here to the Rocky moun- 
 tains, being an almost uninterrupted level, 
 the surface of which is covered with dry, 
 loose sand. 
 
 In this manner we travelled along, passing 
 such scenes as are described above, until at 
 length we arrived at some springs which pre- 
 sented a really remarkable appearance, and 
 may be called boiling, or more properly 
 Steam Springs, situated near the base of the 
 mountain, on or near the banks of a small 
 river. These springs are three in number, and 
 rise within a short distance of each other, one 
 being much larger than the other two. The 
 water constantly boils as if it was in a kettle 
 over a fire, and is so hot that if a piece of 
 
 203
 
 aibbentures; of Henas; ILtonaxh 
 
 meat is put under the water at the fountain- 
 head, it will cook in a few minutes, emitting 
 a strong, sulphurous smell — the water also 
 tastes of sulphur. In a clear morning the 
 steam or smoke rising from these springs 
 may be seen a great distance as it hangs in 
 the air over the springs, similar to a dense 
 sheet of fog. There is not a spear of vegeta- 
 tion growing within several rods of the spot, 
 and the surface of the ground presents the 
 appearance of one solid piece of crust, or 
 hard baked mud. When the water empties in 
 and mixes with the river water, it leaves an 
 oily substance floating on the surface similar 
 to tar or grease of any kind. 
 
 About the 25th of May, we again contin- 
 ued our journey, but our difficulties had been 
 multiplying for some time, until now we 
 found them quite formidable. — The princi- 
 pal part of our present difficulties arose from 
 the scarcity of pasture for our horses and cat- 
 tle. After travelling the best way we could, 
 for a few days towards the North, we arrived 
 at another beautiful sandy plain, or desert, 
 stretching out to the east far beyond the 
 reach of the eye, as level as the becalmed 
 surface of a lake. We occasionally found the 
 traces of Indians, but as yet, we have not 
 been able to gain an audiance with any of 
 them, as they flee to the mountain as soon as 
 
 204
 
 ^bbenturesf of Henas; ICeonartr 
 
 we approach. Game being very scarce, and 
 our cattle poor, gives us very indiflferent liv- 
 ing. 
 
 Our direct course, after reaching the east- 
 ern base of this mountain, would have been 
 a north-east direction, but we were appre- 
 hensive of perishing for water in crossing this 
 extensive desert — which would doubtless be 
 the fate of any traveller who would under- 
 take it, when it is recollected that it extends 
 from the base of the Rocky mountains to 
 this mountain, a distance of several hundred 
 miles. This being the case we were obliged to 
 pass along the base of the mountain in a 
 northern direction, until we would arrive at 
 the point where we ascended the mountain 
 when going to the coast, and then follow the 
 same trail east towards the Rocky moun- 
 tains, or Great Salt Lake, where we expected 
 to meet the company we had left at the lat- 
 ter place. Travelling along the mountain 
 foot, crossing one stream after another, was 
 any thing but pleasant. Day after day we 
 travelled in the hope each day of arriving at 
 the desired point when we would strike off 
 in a homeward direction. Every now and 
 then some of the company would see a high 
 peak or promontory, which he would think 
 was seen by the company on a former occa- 
 sion, but when we would draw near to it our 
 
 205
 
 Strbenturesf of Hena£f ICeonarb 
 
 pleasing anticipations would be turned into 
 despondency; and at one time, about the 
 middle of May, our Captain was so certain 
 that he could see a point in the distance, 
 which he had distinctly marked as a guide on 
 our former tramp, that he ordered the men 
 to prepare for leaving the mountain: — this 
 also proved to be the result of imagination 
 only. 
 
 The next morning our Captain, thinking 
 the desert not very wide at this point, de- 
 cided on striking across in a north-eastern 
 direction, which would shorten our route 
 considerably, if we could only be so success- 
 ful as to surmount the difficulties of travel- 
 ling through loose sand, without water, (as 
 the streams descending from the mountain 
 into the plain all sink.) 
 
 On the 1 6th of May,^^ every thing neces- 
 sary for our dry tramp being in readiness, we 
 started across the plain, which was done 
 with a willing heart by almost every man, as 
 we were all anxious to get home, and had 
 been travelling many days without getting 
 any nearer. The travelling in the plain, after 
 
 ^* The dates throughout this part of the narrative 
 are evidently much confused, either because of the loss 
 of this portion of Leonard's journal, or because of errors 
 committed by his Editor. 
 
 206
 
 Sbbentures; at Henas? Heonarb 
 
 passing the termination of the streams, we 
 found to be extremely laborious. The sand 
 lavs quite loose, and as the wind would blow 
 whilst driving our horses and cattle ahead 
 of us, the sand would be raised up in such 
 clouds that we could scarcely see them, which 
 was very painful to our eyes. The first night 
 in the plain we encamped at a large hole or 
 well dug deep in the ground, which we sup- 
 posed to be the work of Indians, and in 
 which we found a small portion of stagnant 
 water, but not half enough to slake the thirst 
 of our numerous herd. 
 
 The next morning we resumed our toil- 
 some march at an early hour, finding our 
 stock suffering greatly for the want of water. 
 This day we travelled with as much speed as 
 possible, with the hope of finding water 
 whereat to encamp; but at length night ar- 
 rived, and the fatigues of the day obliged us 
 to encamp without water, wood or grass. 
 The day had been excessively warm, except 
 when the wind would blow, and in the after- 
 noon two of our dogs died for want of water. 
 On examination we found that the feet of 
 many of our dumb brutes were completely 
 crippled by the sand. 
 
 Our situation at present seemed very crit- 
 ical. A dull, gloomy aspect appeared to 
 darken the countenance of every member of 
 
 207
 
 the company. We were now completely sur- 
 rounded with the most aggravating perplexi- 
 ties — having travelled two long day's jour- 
 ney into the plain and no idea how far yet to 
 its termination, and from the manifestations 
 of many of our most valuable stock, we were 
 well convinced they could not endure these 
 hardships much longer. To add vexation to 
 our present difficulties, a violent altercation 
 took place between the men as to whether 
 we would proceed in our present direction, or 
 turn back to the mountain. — A majority of 
 the men were in favour of the latter, but 
 Capt. Walker, who never done any thing by 
 halves, with a few others, were of the opin- 
 ion that we were half way across, and could 
 as easily proceed as return. On all such dis- 
 putes, on all former occasions, the majority 
 decided on what steps should be taken; but 
 when our Captain was in the minority, and 
 being beloved by the whole company, and 
 being a man also who was seldom mistaken 
 in any thing he undertook, the men were 
 very reluctant in going contrary to his will. 
 The dispute created much confusion in our 
 ranks; but fortunately, about midnight the 
 Captain yielded to the wishes of his men, and 
 as it was cool, and more pleasant travelling 
 than in the day time, we started back to- 
 wards the mountain, intending to follow the 
 
 208
 
 ^bbentures; of Henafif ILeonarb 
 
 same trail, in order to come to the hole at 
 which we encamped on the first night in the 
 plain. 
 
 Previous to starting, we took the hides off 
 our dead cattle and made a kind of moccasin 
 for such of our beasts as were lame, which we 
 found to be of great advantage, as it effec- 
 tually shielded their feet from the scouring 
 effects of the sand. 
 
 Nothing happened through the night, and 
 we moved carelessly along our trail, as we 
 thought; but our feelings cannot be de- 
 scribed at daylight when no signs of our for- 
 mer tracks could be discovered. Men were 
 despatched in every direction on search, but 
 all returned without any tidings with which 
 to comfort our desponding company. The 
 compass told which direction we should go, 
 but otherwise we were completely bewil- 
 dered. Our horses, cattle and dogs were almost 
 exhausted this morning. The pitiful lamen- 
 tations of our dogs were sufficient to melt the 
 hardest heart. The dumb brutes suffered 
 more for water than food, and these dogs, 
 when death threatened to seize them, would 
 approach the men, look them right in the 
 face with the countenances of a distracted 
 person, and if no help could be afforded, 
 would commence a piteous and lamentable 
 howl, drop down and expire. When the day 
 
 209
 
 aibbentures; of Henas; ICeonarb 
 
 became warm we slackened our pace, and 
 moved slowly forward, but without any hope 
 of meeting with any water at least for a day 
 longer. When night came we halted for a 
 short time in order to collect the men and 
 animals together, which were scattered in 
 every direction for a mile in width, lest we 
 should get separated at night, as we intended 
 to travel on without ceasing until we would 
 find water or arrive at the mountain. 
 
 When our forces collected together, we 
 presented a really forlorn spectacle. At no 
 time, either while crossing the Rocky or Cal- 
 afornia mountains, did our situation appear 
 so desperate. We had to keep our dumb 
 brutes constantly moving about on their 
 feet, for if they would once lay down it would 
 be impossible to get them up again, and we 
 would then be compelled to leave them. Nor 
 were the men in a much better condition. It 
 is true, we had food, but our thirst far ex- 
 ceeded any description. At last it became so 
 intense, that whenever one of our cattle or 
 horses would die the men would immediately 
 catch the blood and greedily swallow it down. 
 
 When our men had collected together, and 
 rested their wearied limbs a little, our jour- 
 ney was resumed, finding that the cattle and 
 horses travelled much better at night than 
 in daylight. We advanced rapidly this eve- 
 
 2IO
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henas; litonaxh 
 
 ning without any interruption, until about 
 midnight, when our horses .became unman- 
 ageable, and contrary to our utmost exer- 
 tions would go in a more northern direction 
 than we desired. After several ineffectual at- 
 tempts to check them, we thought perhaps 
 it would be well enough to follow wherever 
 they would lead. We had not followed our 
 horses far until we discovered, to our inde- 
 scribable joy, that the instinct of our horses 
 was far more extensive and more valuable 
 than all the foresight of the men, as we, un- 
 awares, came suddenly upon a beautiful 
 stream of fresh water. 
 
 We now had the greatest trouble to keep 
 our beasts from killing themselves drinking 
 water — in which we succeeded only in part, 
 and were thus occupied until daylight, when 
 we counted our force for the purpose of as- 
 certaining how much loss we sustained by 
 undertaking to cross the desert, and found 
 that we had lost 64 horses, 10 cows, and 15 
 dogs. 
 
 In order to get something to eat for our 
 stock, and also to keep them from drinking 
 too much water, we left this stream which 
 had afforded such delight, before either the 
 men or beasts had time to repose their wea- 
 ried limbs. After travelling a few miles this 
 morning we had the good luck to come across 
 
 211
 
 ^bbenturesf ot Henag ILeonarb 
 
 tolerable pasture and plenty of wood and 
 water. Here we determined on staying until 
 the next morning, for the purpose of resting 
 our wearied stock. 
 
 This desert which had presented such an 
 insurmountable barrier to our route, is bound- 
 ed on the east by the Rocky mountains, on 
 the west by the Calafornia mountain, on the 
 North by the Columbia river,^^ and on the 
 south by the Red, or Colorado river. These 
 two mighty rivers rise in the Rocky moun- 
 tains adjacent to each other, and as the for- 
 mer flows in a N. W. and the latter in a south- 
 ern direction, forms this plain in the shape of 
 the letter A. — There are numerous small riv- 
 ers rising in either mountain, winding their 
 way far towards the centre of the plain, where 
 they are emptied into lakes or reservoirs, and 
 the water sinks in the sand. Further to the 
 North where the sand is not so deep and loose, 
 the streams rising in the spurs of the Rocky 
 and those descending from the Calafornia 
 mountains, flow on until their waters at 
 length mingle together in the same lakes. 
 
 The Calafornia mountain extends from the 
 Columbia to the Colorado river, running 
 parallel with the coast about 150 miles dis- 
 tant, and 12 or 15 hundred miles in length 
 
 ^^ As heretofore, the author means the Snake River, 
 the great southern affluent of the Columbia. 
 
 212
 
 Sbbentures; of Henasf ileonarb 
 
 with its peaks perpetually covered with eter- 
 nal snows. There is a large number of water 
 courses descending from this mountain on 
 either side — those on the east side stretching 
 out into the plain, and those on the west flow 
 generally in a straight course until they emp- 
 ty into the Pacific; but in no place is there a 
 water course through the mountain. 
 
 The next morning after finding the pas- 
 ture, our herd having rested and satisfied 
 their hunger pretty well, we resumed our 
 journey along the edge of the plain, travelled 
 as fast as their weakened state would admit 
 of, still finding pasture sufficient for their 
 subsistance, until, after several day's con- 
 stant travelling, we fortunately came to our 
 long sought for passage to the west. This was 
 hailed with greater manifestations of joy by 
 the company, than any circumstance that 
 had occurred for some time, as it gave us to 
 know where we were, and also to know when 
 we might expect to arrive in a plentiful coun- 
 try of game. — Here we again layed by a day 
 for the purpose of resting, and making prep- 
 arations to follow our old trail towards the 
 Great Salt Lake. 
 
 June 8th. This morning we left the Cala- 
 fornia mountain, and took a north-east direc- 
 tion, keeping our former path, many traces 
 of which were quite visible in places. Here 
 
 213
 
 atJbenturesi of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 vegetation is growing rapidly, giving our 
 herd abundant pasture, in consequence of 
 which they have greatly improved in appear- 
 ance, and are enabled to travel quite fast. 
 After continuing our course in this direction 
 for a few days without interruption, we at 
 length arrived in the neighborhood of the 
 lakes at the mouth of Barren river, and which 
 we had named Battle Lakes. All along our 
 route from the mountain this far, we had 
 seen a great number of Indians, but now 
 that we had reached the vicinity of the place 
 where we had the skirmish with the savages 
 when going to the coast, they appeared to us 
 in double the numbers that they did at that 
 time; and as we were then compelled to fight 
 them, by their movements now, we saw that 
 this would be the only course for us to pur- 
 sue. We had used every endeavor that we 
 could think of, to reconcile and make them 
 friendly, but all to no purpose. We had given 
 them one present after another — made them 
 all the strongest manifestations of a desire 
 for peace on our part, by promising to do 
 battle against their enemies if required, and 
 we found that our own safety and comfort 
 demanded that they should be severely chas- 
 tised for provoking us to such a measure. 
 Now that we were a good deal aggravated, 
 some of our men said hard things about what 
 
 214
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henasf ILtonaxh 
 
 they would do if we would again come in con- 
 tact with these provoking Indians; and our 
 Captain was afraid that, if once engaged, the 
 passion of his men would become so wild 
 that he could not call them off, whilst there 
 was an Indian found to be slaughtered. Being 
 thus compelled to fight, as we thought, in a 
 good cause and in self defence, we drew up in 
 battle array, and fell on the Indians in the 
 wildest and most ferocious manner we could, 
 which struck dismay throughout the whole 
 crowd, killing 14, besides wounding a great 
 many more as we rode right over them. Our 
 men were soon called off, only three of whom 
 were slightly wounded. 
 
 This decisive stroke appeared to give the 
 Indians every satisfaction they required, as 
 we were afterwards permitted to pass through 
 the country without molestation. We then 
 continued our course up Barren river, with- 
 out meeting with any thing to interrupt us, 
 until about the 20th of June, when we found 
 that if we continued in this direction our pro- 
 visions would become scarce long before we 
 would reach the Rocky mountains; and ac- 
 cordingly on the 2ist our Captain decided on 
 leaving this river and taking a Northern di- 
 rection for the purpose of striking the head 
 waters of the Columbia river, where we would 
 find game plenty, and also beaver. 
 
 215
 
 abbentureg of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 After leaving Barren river we made a 
 quick passage across the country and the 
 first waters we came to, was Lewis river, near 
 its head, where we found game such as deer, 
 elk, bear and beaver plenty. After laying in a 
 small stock of fresh meat here, we resumed 
 our journey towards the bufFaloe country. 
 On the morning of the 3d of July we were de- 
 lighted by seeing some buffaloe in company 
 with four of our Spanish cattle that had 
 strayed a short distance from the main body 
 during the night, two of which our hunters 
 killed, being the first we had seen since we 
 left the Great Salt Lake the year before. We 
 travelled a short distance to-day when on ar- 
 riving at a large spring of most delicious 
 water situated in a beautiful grove, where we 
 concluded to spend the National Anniver- 
 sary of American Independence; and accord- 
 ingly our hunters went out in the afternoon 
 and killed several very fat buffalo, which 
 were dressed and the choice parts prepared 
 for a grand feast on the morrow. When the 
 morn of the glorious /oz^r/-^ first dawned we 
 gave three salutes, spent the morning in 
 various kinds of amusement, and at noon 
 partook of our national dinner, which was 
 relished the better as we had a small portion 
 of good old brandy, which we drank in a few 
 minutes, deeply regretting that we had not a 
 
 216
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henas; Ileonarb 
 
 small portion of what was that day destroyed 
 by the millions of freemen in the States. — 
 The remainder of the day was celebrated by 
 drinking toasts, singing songs, shooting at 
 mark, running, jumping, and practising on 
 our horses — having the two Spaniards still 
 with us, who learned us many singular 
 pranks, and were a valuable addition to our 
 company, as they created a great deal of fun, 
 and were always in a good humor. 
 
 July 5th. To-day continued on search of 
 Capt. Bonneville,* on Bear river, in finding 
 whom we succeeded without having much 
 difficulty, on the 12th, after travelling 
 through a luxuriant, though rather rough 
 country — where we again had intercourse 
 with people of our own nation, being the first 
 we had met with, except the crew of the 
 Lagoda, since we separated from these same 
 men at the Great Salt Lake. Here we en- 
 camped for the purpose of resting a few days, 
 and probably remaining until we would re- 
 ceive supplies of provisions, merchandize, 
 &c., from St. Lewis — spending our time in 
 discussing the many scenes encountered by 
 each of us, and the many hair-breadth 'scapes 
 that such-and-such a one had made. 
 
 After remaining in this situation a few 
 
 *This name has heretofore been printed Bowville — by- 
 mistake. 
 
 217
 
 aibbentures; of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 days, there arrived at our camp a company 
 of 25 men belonging to the British North- 
 West Fur Company, from Fort Vancouvre, 
 situated near the mouth of the Columbia 
 river.'*^ These people informed me that the 
 infant colony at the mouth of the Columbia 
 river had revived, and was now increasing 
 rapidly, under the superintendance of the 
 British, and contained 150 families, the ma- 
 jor part of which are English, Canadian, 
 French and Indians, and but few Americans. 
 They carry on agriculture to a considerable 
 extent — the soil being very fertile, climate 
 mild, and frost and snow but seldom known. 
 They also have a Grist and Saw-Mill, and 
 are establishing an extensive fishery at the 
 mouth of the river, for the purpose of catch- 
 ing Salmon, as they are very abundant in 
 this stream. They have a Governor, and live 
 under a Republican form of Government. 
 From all accounts, however, their govern- 
 ment is not of much use, as the most un- 
 bounded freedom of action is exercised by all 
 
 ^^ Fort Vancouver was on the north bank of the 
 Columbia, six miles above the mouth of the Willamette. 
 It was founded in 1824 by Dr. John McLoughlin to 
 serve as the emporium of the Hudson's Bay Company 
 in the valley of the Columbia. Its history comprises an 
 important link in the story of the development of 
 civilization in the Pacific Northwest. 
 
 218
 
 Sbbentures? of Henasf ILeonarb 
 
 the members of the colony, & their govern- 
 ment is intended more for effect with the In- 
 dians, than any advantage to the people. 
 
 About the 17th of July this party left us 
 and continued their journey on search of the 
 Blackfeet Indians for the purpose of trading, 
 — after which they said it was their intention 
 to return to the coast by the same route. 
 
 We remained here until the 20th without 
 meeting with any thing particularly, when 
 Capt. Cerrie joined us with 40 men, bringing 
 a large supply of merchandize packed upon 
 mules and horses from Missouri. With what 
 we had on hand these men brought enough 
 of merchandize and provision to supply our 
 present company for a whole year. This party 
 intended to return immediately to Missouri 
 with what peltries we had on hand. 
 
 These succouring companies are always 
 looked for with great anxiety by the people 
 who have been in the mountains any length 
 of time. Many are at times entirely destitute 
 of such articles as would be of great advan- 
 tage to their comfort — many expect letters 
 or some other manifestations of remem- 
 brance from their friends — besides some, 
 who have been strictly temperate (because 
 they could not help it, as the supply of liquor 
 will always be exhausted,) look forward with 
 longing anticipations for the supply which is 
 
 219
 
 Sbbentures; of Henas; ILtonavh 
 
 always sent to this country by the owners of 
 these companies, for the purpose of selUng it 
 to the men and thus paying their wages. It 
 is generally brought in a refined state, and is 
 a cash article, which they retail at the enor- 
 mous price of $i per gill. Generally when a 
 succouring company of this kind arrives at 
 the camp of the trapper, the men get a little 
 mellow and have a real jubilee — with the ex- 
 ception of a few (after the Indian fashion) 
 who are always prevented, as they must 
 watch the rest, and keep a look-out lest the 
 whole company should be surprised and mas- 
 sacred by the Indians. Scarcely one man in 
 ten, of those employed in this country ever 
 think of saving a single dollar of their earn- 
 ings, but spend it as fast as they can see an 
 object to spend it for. They care not what 
 may come to pass to-morrow — but think 
 only of enjoying the present moment. 
 
 We now began to make the necessary ar- 
 rangements for our future operations — such 
 as dividing such men as wished to remain in 
 the mountains, into one company, and such 
 as wished to return to the States in another, 
 and settling with the men for the last year's 
 services, and hiring them for the ensuing year. 
 
 July 30th. Having every necessary ar- 
 rangement completed, Mr. Cerrie returned 
 to the State of Missouri with 45 men, and 
 
 220
 
 ^bbentures? of Henafif Heonarb 
 
 what fur, &c. we had in store. Capt. Bonne- 
 ville was left to make his fall hunt on the 
 head waters of Columbia river, and the ad- 
 jacent country with 50 men, and Capt. Walk- 
 er with 55 men, being the ballance of our 
 force, to cross the Rocky mountains to the 
 waters of the Missouri river, and then con- 
 tinue hunting and trading with the Indians 
 until the month of June, 1835, when Capt. 
 Bonneville with his men would join us on the 
 Bighorn river, at the mouth of Popoasia 
 creek,'*'^ which empties into the Bighorn be- 
 low Wind river mountain. 
 
 After the usual ceremony of parting on 
 such occasions, which is performed by each 
 one affectionately shaking hands all round — 
 we separated, each division taking off in a 
 separate direction. Capt. Walker continued 
 up Bear river in an eastern direction, and the 
 first night encamped at Smith's Fork. In the 
 morning we resumed our journey in the same 
 direction, being the most direct route to the 
 summit of the mountains, nothing occurring 
 more than usual with the exception of killing 
 any quantity of game we might think proper, 
 until about the 8th of August, when, as the 
 company were passing through a small prairie, 
 
 ^^ Popo Agie River, a tributary of the Big Horn, 
 lying east of the Wind River Range in west central 
 Wyoming. 
 
 221
 
 ^tibenture£f of Ztna^ Heonarb 
 
 we discovered a large grizzly bear laying 
 in the shade of some brush at the edge of the 
 woods, when four of us started for the pur- 
 pose of killing him, but on coming close, the 
 bear heard us and ran into the thicket. We 
 now took separate courses, intending to sur- 
 round the bear & chase him out and have 
 some sport; but one man, as we came to the 
 thicket, acted very imprudently by dis- 
 mounting and following a buffaloe path into 
 the brush, when the bear, hearing our horses 
 on the opposite side, started out on the same 
 path and met the man, when he attempted 
 to avoid it by climbing a small tree, but being 
 too closely pressed was unable to get out of 
 the reach of the bear, and as it passed, 
 caught him by the leg and tore the tendon of 
 his thigh in a most shocking manner. Before 
 we could get to his aid the bear made off and 
 finally escaped. 
 
 Here we encamped and remained until the 
 next day, when the wounded man expired — 
 having bled to death from the wound, al- 
 though every effort in our power was of no 
 use. After burying this man, which was done 
 in the customary manner of interring the 
 dead in the mountains — having dug a deep 
 hole in the ground, into which we deposited 
 the body well wrapt up in blankets, and then 
 filled up the grave, first with bark and then 
 
 222
 
 with earth, we continued our journey a short 
 distance in the afternoon, and encamped on 
 the head waters of Lewis river, and at the 
 base of the Rocky mountains. 
 
 Here we made preparations for our voyage 
 across the mountains. Few that have once 
 performed a journey across these hills will 
 encounter them a second time with a cheerful 
 spirit; and particularly will they dread the 
 task if they have encountered as many hard- 
 ships and perils as some of the company that 
 now reposed at its base, silently contemplat- 
 ing the dreadful fatigues to be encountered 
 until we would reach the eastern base. 
 
 In the morning at an early hour, we left 
 the waters which empty into the Pacific, and 
 continued our way up the mountain, which 
 we found tolerable rough, and covered, in 
 places, with a large quantity of snow. We 
 travelled without ceasing, and without meet- 
 ing with any interruption, until we at last 
 arrived in the Prairies, on the east side, near 
 the head waters of the Yellow Stone river. 
 On our passage across, we found several 
 pieces of petrified wood, one of which was six 
 or eight feet long — which our men divided 
 amongst themselves, for the purpose of mak- 
 ing whet-stones. Here we concluded on com- 
 mencing our fall's hunt, as the beaver ap- 
 peared to be quite numerous. 
 
 223
 
 Sbbenturesf of Henasf Heonarb 
 
 In the neighborhood of the head waters of 
 this river, the country is generally composed 
 of prairie hills, covered with excellent grass, 
 and abound with plenty of game of different 
 kinds. After trapping here a few days, we 
 agreed to move down onto Wind river, which 
 empties into Yellow Stone a short distance 
 below this,'*^ and whilst leisurely travelling 
 along one day through an extensive prairie, a 
 large horde of buffaloe were discovered at a 
 distance making towards us with considera- 
 ble speed. No one was disposed to take any 
 notice of them, as we had plenty of provision, 
 until we seen them advance closer and faster, 
 as if they were going to ride right over us. 
 The whole drove came rushing past, at which 
 our loose and pack horses took fright, and 
 started in advance of the buffaloe, scattering 
 our baggage in every direction over the prai- 
 rie for several miles, leaving us nothing but 
 our riding horses. This occasioned us to en- 
 camp for the purpose of collecting our stray 
 horses and lost baggage, which was done, 
 with the exception of one horse and some 
 merchandize, which we were unable to find. 
 To see a drove of perhaps a thousand buffa- 
 loe driving through a level plain as fast as 
 their strength will permit them, is a most 
 
 ** Wind River empties into the Big Horn, which in 
 turn is a tributary of the Yellowstone. 
 
 224
 
 Sbbentures; of Ztna^ Heonatb 
 
 frightful spectacle; and then, when our horses 
 started in advance, pitching and snorting, 
 the scene was beyond description. Many of 
 our horses were severely crippled in conse- 
 quence of this chase, — so much so that we 
 were detained three days in waiting on them 
 and repairing our injured merchandize. 
 
 A few days after leaving this place we ar- 
 rived, Aug. 20, on Popoasia creek, where we 
 found an oil spring, rising out of the earth 
 similar to that of any other spring. i\fter 
 emptying into the creek, the oil can be seen 
 floating on the surface for a considerable dis- 
 tance. The oil is of a dark hue when in the 
 fountain, almost like tar, but is as thin as 
 water. If this spring was in the States, I have 
 no doubt the chemist might make a valuable 
 use of it. A Mr. Bergen, belonging to our 
 company, & who had been severely afliicted 
 with the rheumatism, procured a phial of 
 it, which he used, and afterwards said it 
 afforded him entire relief. 
 
 Aug. 2ist. To-day we continued in pursuit 
 of beaver, which is our daily occupation, 
 passing from one water course to another, 
 through plains and over hills, all of which are 
 prairie, with the exception of the base of the 
 mountain, where there is an abundance of 
 timber. We travelled in this manner, and 
 spending our time mostly in this way, with- 
 
 225
 
 abbentures^ of Henas^ Heonarb 
 
 out meeting with any misfortunes, or any 
 thing unusual in a backwood's life, occasion- 
 ally being quite successful in catching beav- 
 er, until near the middle of October, when we 
 arrived among the tribe of Crow Indians. 
 
 We now find the weather getting cold, 
 with plenty of snow, frost and ice, which 
 compels us to suspend our trapping for this 
 season, having done a very fair business; and 
 to increase our store of peltries, we now com- 
 menced trading with these Indians for buffa- 
 loe robes, beaver fur, &c. for which purpose 
 we intend passing the winter in this neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 After remaining here a few days, in the 
 meantime obtaining the principal part of the 
 valuable peltries of the Indians, the company 
 left them and appointed Wind river as the 
 place to meet and resume the trading as soon 
 as the Indians could collect a supply — leav- 
 ing two men and myself among the Crows 
 for the purpose of instigating them in the 
 business of catching beaver and buffaloe. 
 
 Nov. 1st. This morning Capt. Walker and 
 his followers left us, and continued in the di- 
 rection of Wind river, there to erect a tempo- 
 rary trading house for the winter season, and 
 we remained with the Indians who were en- 
 gaged in collecting their winter's supply of 
 meat, which is the custom of all tribes in a 
 
 226
 
 atibenturesi of HenasJ Heonarb 
 
 plentiful country of game, to go in bodies 
 sufficiently large to defend themselves in 
 case of an attack by a neighboring hostile 
 tribe, as there is scarcely three tribes to be 
 found in the whole Indian country, on friend- 
 ly terms with each other. 
 
 I now found myself in a situation that had 
 charms which I had many times longed for. 
 Ever since I engaged in the trapping business, 
 I had occasional intercourse with the In- 
 dians, but never resided with them until now; 
 which would afford me every opportunity to 
 minutely observe their internal mode of liv- 
 ing. The Crows are a powerful nation, and 
 inhabit a rich and extensive district of coun- 
 try. They raise no vegetation, but entirely 
 depend on the chase for a living. This is the 
 situation of nearly every tribe, and when 
 game gets scarce in one part of the country 
 claimed by a certain tribe, they remove to 
 another part, until after a while their game 
 becomes scarce, when they are induced to 
 encroach upon the territory of a neighboring 
 tribe, which will at once create a fearful 
 strife, and not unfrequently ends in the total 
 destruction of some powerful nation. 
 
 It will be recollected that I was amongst 
 these Indians once before, when some of 
 our horses were stolen and we followed them 
 into the Crow village, — where we found our 
 
 227
 
 Sbbenturesi of Henasi ILeonarb 
 
 horses and also a negro man, in the winter of 
 1832-33. This man we found to be of as great 
 advantage to us now as on former occasions, 
 as he has become thoroughly acquainted with 
 their language, method of transacting their 
 public and private business, and considered 
 of great value by the Indians. He enjoys per- 
 fect peace and satisfaction, and has every 
 thing he desires at his own command. 
 
 The Crow nation contains from 7 to 8,000 
 souls, and are divided into two divisions of 
 an equal number in each — there being too 
 great a number to travel together, as they 
 could not get game in many places to supply 
 such a force. Each division is headed by a 
 separate chief, whose duty it is to pilot them 
 from one hunting ground to another, and to 
 lead his followers to battle in time of war — 
 one of whom they call Grizzly Bear and the 
 other. Long Haired Chief, which name he de- 
 rives from the extreme length of his hair, 
 which is no less than nine feet eleven inches 
 long. This is the principal chief, or Sachem, 
 of the nation, and is quite a worthy and ven- 
 erable looking old man of 75 or 80 years of 
 age. He uses every possible precaution to pre- 
 serve his hair, which is perfectly white, and 
 has never had it cut since his infancy. He 
 worships it as the director or guide of his fate 
 through life — never rising or laying down 
 
 228
 
 Sbbentures; of Henas? ILeonarb 
 
 without humbly and devoutly adoring this 
 talisman, and which they term Bah-park 
 (medicine.) 
 
 It is customary for every tribe of Indians 
 in the regions of the Rocky mountains to 
 have some instrument or article to pay hom- 
 age to and invoke, but no nation, I believe, 
 are so devoutly attached to their talismans 
 as the Crow nation — it is their life — their 
 very existence. Almost every individual of 
 the Crow tribe has something of this kind, 
 and which generally consists of a seed, a 
 stone, a piece of wood, a bear or eagle's claw, 
 or any thing which their fancy may lead them 
 to believe has a successful virtue, and which 
 has been purchased of some noted warrior 
 who has been successful in his undertakings 
 whilst in the possession of such an article. 
 This magical thing, whatever it may be, is 
 carefully enveloped in a piece of skin, and 
 then tied round their neck or body. If an old 
 experienced warrior gives one or two young 
 men an article of this kind on going to war, 
 and they happen to be successful in taking 
 scalps or stealing horses, the whole affair is 
 attributed to the virtue of his talisman, and 
 he can then sell it for almost any price he de- 
 mands, and if it be a precious stone, or seed, 
 or piece of wood, all similar articles are im- 
 mediately enhanced in value, and the greater 
 
 229
 
 abbenturesi of Henas; ILeonarb 
 
 the price they pay for such an article, the 
 greater service it will be to them in the hour 
 of need. — Some of them will even give four 
 or five good horses for the most trifling and 
 simple article of this kind. 
 
 Their principal wealth consists of horses, 
 porcupine quills, and fine dressed skins, for 
 clothing, &c. but nothing is of so much value 
 as their idol; without which an Indian is a 
 poor miserable drone to society, unworthy 
 the esteem and companionship of brutes. 
 Long-haired chief worships nothing but his 
 hair, which is regularly combed and carefully 
 folded up every morning into a roll about 
 three feet long by the principal warriors of 
 his tribe. 
 
 Their houses are composed of dressed buf- 
 faloe hides and pine poles about 25 or 30 feet 
 in length, and about three inches in diam- 
 eter. These poles are stuck upon end in a 
 circle, and all coming together at the top 
 forms the shape of a hay-stack. — The bufFa- 
 loe robes are then cut in proper shape, sewed 
 together and covered over their habitation. 
 Their fire is placed in the centre of the lodge, 
 and the poles being left apart at the top af- 
 fords a very good draught for the smoke. 
 Some of these houses are much larger than 
 others, such as are intended for the transact- 
 ing of public business. These are constructed 
 
 230
 
 aibbentures? of Zenasf TLtonavh 
 
 with much care, and are quite comfortable 
 and convenient habitations — the buffaloe 
 robes affording a sufficient shield from the 
 effects of the cold. In their public buildings 
 all their national affairs are discussed at stat- 
 ed periods by the warriors and principal men. 
 Here they have their public smokes and 
 public rejoicings. 
 
 This tribe is also governed by a species of 
 police, such as having a committee of soldiers 
 appointed for the purpose of keeping order 
 and regulation in their village, appointing a 
 day for a general hunt and keeping any who 
 might be so disposed, from running ahead 
 and chasing off the game, in order that each 
 individual may have a fair chance to obtain 
 an equal share of provision, with his neigh- 
 bor. — These soldiers are also to observe that 
 on such occasions their village is not left in 
 a weak and unsafe condition by too many 
 going to war, or to horse stealing, (which 
 generally ends in war) at a time, and also to 
 see that such a party is properly provided 
 with a competent commander, and if not, it 
 is their duty to supply the deficiency by ap- 
 pointing one to act in his place. If any person 
 acts contrary to their laws, these soldiers 
 have the liberty of punishing him for it, 
 which is done by shaving his horses mane and 
 tail, cut up his lodge, and whip him, if not 
 
 231
 
 ^bbentures; of Henasi ICeonarb 
 
 contrary to the decision of the principal 
 chief, in whom is invested the power of veto- 
 ing every act of this executive committee if 
 not agreeable to his wish. 
 
 When game becomes scarce, and they are 
 about to move to another section, every 
 moveable article is packed upon horseback, 
 when they travel on until they arrive in a 
 country abounding with game. — Their chil- 
 dren from two to three years of age, and 
 unable to ride, are tied upon the baggage, 
 and those younger are fastened upon a board 
 and conveyed in manner as heretofore de- 
 scribed. They have a sort of dray formed by 
 these poles, which is done by fastening one 
 end to the pack saddle, and the other end 
 dragging on the ground, on which they place 
 their furniture. 
 
 There is more personal ambition and rival- 
 ry existing among this tribe than any other 
 I became acquainted with — each one trying 
 to excel the other in merit, whilst engaged in 
 some dangerous adventure. — Their preda- 
 tory wars afford them every opportunity for 
 this, as they are at liberty and sometimes 
 compelled to engage in the battle's strife as 
 soon as they are able to bend the bow or 
 wield the tomahawk. — Their first promotion 
 from the ranks of a private citizen, is secured 
 by stealing a few horses and killing one or 
 
 232
 
 ^bbentureiE^ of Zenas; Heonarb 
 
 two of their enemies, when they are ehgible 
 to the title of a Small Brave. By adding so 
 many more acts of this kind, they receive 
 the title of a Large or Great Brave; from 
 thence to a Little Chief, and to rise to the 
 station of a Great Chief, they must steal 
 such a number of horses, kill and scalp such 
 a number of the enemy, and take so many 
 guns or bows and arrows. 
 
 Whenever one person exceeds the existing 
 chief in these deeds, he is installed into the 
 office of chief of the nation, which he retains 
 until some other ambitious, daring brave 
 exceeds him. They always take good care, 
 however, not to excel their present chief, old 
 Long-hair. 
 
 This school, as it was, creates a great deal 
 of jealousy and envy among the people, but 
 it seldom leads to any disturbance, as the 
 executive soldiers, or police, are always ready 
 to chastise and punish any such conduct. 
 
 Any person not rising to either of these 
 stations by the time he is twenty years of 
 age, has nothing to say or do in any public 
 business whatever, but is compelled to per- 
 form different kinds of meniel labour alto- 
 gether degrading to a man, as it is putting 
 him on an equality with the squaws — which 
 is low enough indeed in the estimation of the 
 Indian. Such a man becomes the slave of the 
 
 ^22
 
 ^bbenturesi of Zenasi ICeonarb 
 
 women, as they are at liberty to order him 
 to do any thing they may think proper, such 
 as carry wood, water, &c., or any drudgery 
 that is required to be done. 
 
 After receiving the title of Little Chief 
 they are at liberty to speak and take part in 
 all public debates in relation to the affairs of 
 the nation, and are exempt from all kinds of 
 labour in going to war, which has to be done 
 by the privates, who are generally young 
 men, as on such occasions they have no 
 women with them; and as they progressively 
 rise, they are at liberty to order and com- 
 mand those who are beneath them. This is 
 the principal cause of their ambition, which 
 far exceeds description. If one of the men 
 who has fallen into the rank of a woman, and 
 has became tired of that occupation, he will 
 undergo any exertion, and encounter any 
 danger, no matter how great, in order to dis- 
 tinguish himself and improve his forlorn and 
 dishonorable condition. 
 
 Soon after we took up our quarters with 
 these Indians, I occupied my time in ascer- 
 taining their manner of taking game, which, 
 if it is more laborious, it is more success- 
 ful than the Spanish mode of taking wild 
 horses. When their families are in want of 
 provision, or desirous of having a hunt, one 
 of the principal men, who might be called the 
 
 234
 
 Stibenturesf of Ztna^ ILtonaxh 
 
 trumpeter, will mount a horse and ride round 
 through the encampment, village, or settle- 
 ment, and publicly proclaim that on a stated 
 day the whole tribe must be prepared for a 
 general hunt, or surround. When the day 
 arrives the village is alive betimes in the 
 morning, and several hundred will sometimes 
 mount their race-horses and repair to a cer- 
 tain designated section of country, which 
 they are to surround. When the men have all 
 had time to get to their allotted stations, 
 they begin to close in, driving the game, 
 principally buffalo, into a circle and when 
 they are pretty well confined in the circle, 
 they commence killing them — until which 
 time, no man dare attempt to take any of the 
 game. In this manner they have sometimes 
 caught several hundred buffalo, besides 
 many other animals, at a single surround. 
 
 When they are in a country suitable, these 
 people will destroy the buffaloe by driving 
 a herd of some hundreds to the edge of a 
 convenient rocky precipice, when they are 
 forced headlong down the craggy descent. 
 This is more dangerous than the other meth- 
 od, as the buffaloe, unless the Indians are 
 very numerous, will sometimes rush in a 
 solid column through their ranks, knocking 
 down the horses and tramping their riders 
 under their feet.
 
 aibbentures^ of Henas; ICeonarb 
 
 They have another method of taking the 
 buffalo, which is in this way: — If they know 
 of a place at the base of some mountain that 
 is surrounded on three sides with inaccessible 
 precipices, and a leavel valley leading into it, 
 they manage to drive the whole gang of buf- 
 faloe into this neck and force them up to its 
 termination, when they erect a strong fence 
 across the valley, or outlet, and then butcher 
 their prisoners at leisure. 
 
 In a place of this kind I was shewn by the 
 chief Grizzly Bear, upwards of seven hun- 
 dred buffalo skulls which he said had been 
 caught at a single hunt, and which had taken 
 place about four years previous. 
 
 About the 20th of November, after travel- 
 ling for three or four days in pursuit of provi- 
 sion, we at length arrived in the vicinity of 
 buffalo, where we pitched our tents and the 
 Indians prepared for a general hunt. In the 
 evening their horses were all dressed in the 
 best style, and at an early hour the next 
 morning four or five hundred Indians were 
 mounted and ready for the chase. 
 
 This was a favourable opportunity for me 
 to gratify my curiosity in seeing this kind of 
 sport, and my companions and myself fol- 
 lowed in the rear of the Indians. — Our hunt- 
 ers had not advanced far on this sporting 
 expedition until they met with an object 
 
 236
 
 abbenturesf of Henasi TLtonaxh 
 
 which entirely put them out of the notion of 
 showing us their ajility in catching buffalo, 
 for, at some distance across the plain, along 
 the base of some rough craggy hills, was 
 espied a considerable body of people, who 
 appeared to be advancing towards us. Im- 
 mediately a halt was called, for the purpose 
 of observing the movements of the strangers, 
 and consulting on what steps should be 
 taken. It did not require the keen eye of a 
 Crow Indian long to tell that their visitors 
 were Indians and belonged to their impla- 
 cable enemies, the Blackfeet tribe. This was 
 enough. War was now their only desire, and 
 our Indians advanced towards their enemies 
 as fast as the speed of their horses would 
 admit, who, being on foot, were soon over- 
 taken and forced to ascend the rocks, which 
 they did in safety. The Crows immediately 
 surrounded the Blackfeet, confident of an 
 easy victory but when they made the attack 
 they found that their enemy was too well 
 prepared for defence, and they immediately 
 despatched an express to the village for a 
 reinforcement of men, conscious that the 
 Blackfeet would not attempt to leave their 
 present position until such reinforcement 
 would have time to arrive. 
 
 This was quite a different kind of sport 
 from that which I expected to witness when 
 
 237
 
 aitrbentures? of HenajS ILeonarb 
 
 I left the Indian camp, but one of no less 
 interest, and far more important to me. 
 Whilst the express was absent both parties 
 employed their time in strengthening their 
 positions — the Blackfeet had chosen a most 
 fortunate spot to defend themselves, and by 
 a little labour found themselves in a fort that 
 might have done credit to an army of fron- 
 tier regulars. It was situated on the brow of a 
 hill, in a circle of rocks shaped similar to a 
 horse-shoe, with a ledge of rocks from three 
 to four feet high on either side, and about ten 
 feet, on the part reaching to the brink of the 
 hill, with a very creditable piece of breast 
 work built in front, composed of logs, brush 
 and stones. From their present situation 
 they have a decided advantage over the 
 Crows, and if well prepared for war, could 
 hold out a considerable length of time, and 
 deal destruction thick and fast on any force 
 that might attempt to scale their fort — 
 which looks more like the production of art 
 than nature. Whilst the Blackfeet were as- 
 siduously engaged in defending their posi- 
 tion, the Crows were no less idle in preparing 
 for the attack, the destruction of which, they 
 were determined should not be relaxed as 
 long as there was a living Blackfoot Indian 
 to be found in the neighborhood. Previous to 
 the arrival of the reinforcement, which was 
 
 238
 
 Sbbenturesf of Ztna^ Heonarb 
 
 about ten o'clock, there had been three 
 Crows and one Blackfoot killed, which was 
 done at the first attack after the latter were 
 driven into their fort. 
 
 When the express reached the Crow vil- 
 lage every man, woman, and child able to 
 point a gun or mount a horse repaired with 
 all speed to the scene of action, who came up 
 uttering the most wild and piercing yells I 
 ever heard in my life. A great deal of conten- 
 tion at first took place among the principal 
 men of the Crow tribe as to the manner of 
 attacking their enemy, who appeared to look 
 down upon them in defiance; notwithstand- 
 ing the Crows kept up a continual yelling 
 and firing of guns, all of which was without 
 effect. Finally they appeared to harmonize 
 and understand each other. 
 
 As matters now seemed to indicate the ap- 
 proach of a crisis, I repaired to an eminence 
 about 200 yards from the fort among some 
 cedar trees, where I had an excellent view 
 of all their movements. At first the Crows 
 would approach the fort by two or three 
 hundred in a breast, but on arriving near 
 enough to do any execution, the fire from the 
 fort would compel them to retreat. They 
 then formed in a trail along the top of the 
 ridge, and in rotation would ride at full speed 
 past the breast-work, firing as they passed, 
 
 239
 
 Sbbenturesf of Zenas^ Heonatb 
 
 and then throwing themselves on the side of 
 the horse until nothing will be exposed to 
 the enemy except one arm and one leg. This 
 they found to be very destructive to their 
 horses and also their men, there being now 
 ten Crows and several horses laying dead on 
 the field. Urged by their ill success thus far, 
 and by the piteous lamentations of the 
 wives, children and relatives of those who 
 had fell, the Crow Chiefs decided on sus- 
 pending the attack, and determined to hold 
 a council of war for the purpose of deciding 
 on what measures should be adopted, in 
 order to destroy these brave Blackfeet. 
 
 When the principal chiefs met in council, 
 all was still except the lamentations of the 
 bereaved, who, perhaps, regret the severe 
 penance which the customs of their people 
 compelled them to endure for the memory of 
 a deceased friend, and lament more on ac- 
 count of the prospect of trouble ahead, than 
 for the loss which they have sustained. The 
 chiefs held a hasty and stormy council. Some 
 were in favour of abandoning the Blackfeet 
 entirely, & others were determined on charg- 
 ing into their fort and end the battle in a total 
 and bloody massacre. This was finally decided 
 upon, but not until after several speeches 
 were made for and against it, and the pipe 
 of war smoked by each brave and chief. 
 
 240
 
 ^benturesf of HenaiE? Ueonarb 
 
 i\s soon as this determination of the chiefs 
 was made known the war-whoop again re- 
 sounded with the most deafening roar 
 through the plain — every voice that was 
 able to make a noise was strained to its very- 
 utmost to increase the sound, until the very- 
 earth, trees and rocks seemed to be possessed 
 of vocal powers. By their tremendous howl- 
 ing they had worked as great a change in the 
 courage of their soldiery, as the most soul- 
 enlivening martial music would the cowardly 
 fears of a half-intoxicated militia company. 
 
 Now was the moment for action. Each 
 man appeared willing to sacrifice his life if 
 it would bring down an enemy; and in this 
 spirit did they renew and repeat the attack 
 on the breast-work of their enemy, but as 
 often did they retreat with severe loss. Again 
 and again did they return to the charge, but 
 all was of no use — all their efforts were of no 
 avail — confusion began to spread through 
 their ranks — many appeared overwhelmed 
 with despair — and the whole Crow nation 
 was about to retreat from the field, when the 
 negro, who has been heretofore mentioned, 
 and who had been in company with us, ad- 
 vanced a few steps towards the Crows and 
 ascended a rock from which he addressed the 
 Crow warriors in the most earnest and im- 
 pressive manner. He told them that they had 
 
 241
 
 aibtjentures; of Zmasi Heonarb 
 
 been here making a great noise, as if they 
 could kill the enemy by it — that they had 
 talked long and loud about going into the 
 fort, and that the white men would say the 
 Indian had a crooked tongue, when talking 
 about his war exploits. He told them that 
 their hearts were small, and that they were 
 cowardly — that they acted more like squaws 
 than men, and were not fit to defend their 
 hunting ground. He told them that the white 
 men were ashamed of them and would refuse 
 to trade with such a nation of cowards — that 
 the Blackfeet would go home and tell their 
 people that three thousand Crows could not 
 take a handful of them, — that they would be 
 laughed at, scorned, and treated with con- 
 tempt by all nations wherever known — that 
 no tribe would degrade themselves hereafter 
 by waging war with them, and that the 
 whole Crow nation, once so powerful, would 
 forever after be treated as a nation of 
 squaws. The old negro continued in this 
 strain until they became greatly animated, 
 & told them that if the red man was afraid to 
 go amongst his enemy, he would show them 
 that a black man was not, and he leaped 
 from the rock on which he had been stand- 
 ing, and, looking neither to the right nor to 
 the left, made for the fort as fast as he could 
 run. The Indians guessing his purpose, and 
 
 242
 
 ^tibentures? of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 inspired by his words and fearless example, 
 followed close to his heels, and were in the 
 fort dealing destruction to the right and left 
 nearly as soon as the old man. 
 
 Here now was a scene of no common occur- 
 rence. A space of ground about the size of 
 an acre, completely crowded with hostile In- 
 dians fighting for life, with guns, bows and 
 arrows, knives and clubs, yelling and scream- 
 ing until the hair seemed to lift the caps from 
 our heads. As soon as most of the Crows got 
 into the fort, the Blackfeet began to make 
 their escape out of the opposite side, over the 
 rocks about lo feet high. Here they found 
 themselves no better off, as they were im- 
 mediately surrounded and hemmed in on all 
 sides by overwhelming numbers. A large 
 number on both sides had fell in the engage- 
 ment in the inside of the fort, as there the 
 Crows had an equal chance with their ene- 
 my, but when on the outside the advantage 
 was decidedly against them, as they were 
 confined in a circle and cut down in a few 
 moments. When the Blackfeet found there 
 was no chance of escape, and knowing that 
 there was no prospect of mercy at the hands 
 of their perplexed and aggravated, but vic- 
 torious enemy, they fought with more than 
 human desperation. From the time they left 
 their fort, they kept themselves in regular 
 
 243
 
 atibenture£( of Henas^ Heonarb 
 
 order, moving forward in a solid breast, cut- 
 ting their way through with their knives, 
 until their last man fell, pierced, perhaps, 
 with an hundred wounds. In this massacre, 
 if one of the Blackfeet would receiv^e a dan- 
 gerous wound he would drop to the ground, 
 as if dead, and if his strength was not too far 
 exhausted, he would suddenly rise to his feet 
 and plunge his knife to the heart of an enemy 
 who would be rushing through the crowd, 
 and then die. This would not be done in self 
 defence, nor with a hope of escape, but 
 through revenge. 
 
 This was truly a scene of carnage, enough 
 to sicken the stoutest heart — but nothing at 
 all in comparison with what took place after- 
 wards. The Crows, when they found the 
 enemy strewed over the field, none having 
 escaped their vengeance, commenced a gen- 
 eral rejoicing, after which they retired a 
 short distance for the purpose of taking re- 
 pose and some refreshment. 
 
 Although the victory was complete, the 
 Crows paid dear for it, having lost about 
 thirty killed, and as many more wounded, 
 besides a great number of horses. The loss of 
 their companions did not appear to dampen 
 the rejoicing of the men the least bit, and 
 indeed it would appear that the squaws 
 should do all the mourning and lamenting, 
 
 244
 
 ^bbenturcs; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 as well as all the labour. Their dead were all 
 collected together, when the squaws went 
 round and claimed their kindred. This was a 
 most affecting scene — but what was it when 
 contrasted with that enacted by the men as 
 soon as they had rested from the toil of 
 battle. The women would throw themselves 
 upon the dead bodies of their husbands, 
 brothers, &c. and there manifest the most 
 excruciating anguish that any human being 
 could suffer. The women were occupied in this 
 manner when the men went to work to glut 
 their merciless vengeance on their fallen foe. 
 Many of the Blackfeet who were scattered 
 over the battle ground had fallen by broken 
 limbs or wounded in some way, & were yet 
 writhing in agony, unable to injure any one 
 or help themselves in any way. All such were 
 collected together, and then tormented in a 
 manner too shocking to relate. These fiends 
 would cut off their ears, nose, hands and 
 feet, pluck out their eyes, pull out their hair, 
 cut them open and take out part of their 
 insides, piercing them with sharp sticks — in 
 short, every method of inflicting pain was 
 resorted to. In order that they might render 
 their mode of torment still more excruciat- 
 ing, they would bring into the presence of the 
 dying the bodies of those who were already 
 dead, and then tear out their hearts, livers, 
 
 245
 
 atJbenturesi of Zma^ ILtonaxh 
 
 and brains, and throw them in the faces of 
 the living, cutting them to pieces, and after- 
 wards feeding them to their dogs — accom- 
 panying the whole with the most taunting 
 and revengeful epithets, whilst those not 
 engaged in this fiendish work, were occupied 
 in keeping up a constant screaming, howling 
 and yelling. When this torment commenced, 
 all the sufferers who could get hold of a knife 
 or any thing with which they could take 
 away their lives, would do so immediately. 
 All the torment that could be inflicted by 
 their persecutors, failed to bring a single 
 murmur of complaint from the sufferers — 
 nor would they signify the least symptoms of 
 being conquered. No — not if they had been 
 offered undisturbed liberty, would those suf- 
 ferers who had lost so many of their com- 
 panions, acknowledge themselves prisoners 
 in the Crow village. Death they preferred to 
 this, and death with indescribable horrors, 
 did they all receive. 
 
 After they had finished tormenting the 
 living, which was not done until there was no 
 more to kill, they commenced cutting off the 
 heads of the mangled bodies, which were 
 hoisted on the ends of poles and carried 
 about, and afterwards dashed them against 
 trees, rocks, &c. leaving them on the plain to 
 be devoured by wild beasts. 
 
 246
 
 Sbbentures; of Henag ILtonaxh 
 
 The men now repaired to their dead 
 friends, where they went through various 
 manoeuvres, as much as to say that they had 
 revenged their death, and soon afterwards 
 every thing was on the move towards the 
 camp, where we arrived soon after dark, not 
 to rest, and calmly meditate on the scenes of 
 the day, but to see further developements of 
 the superstitious propensities of the poor 
 neglected savage. 
 
 x^fter arriving in the village, a part of the 
 men commenced their public rejoicings, by 
 beating upon drums, dancing and singing, 
 which, together with the incessant wailings 
 and lamentations of those who had lost rela- 
 tives, gave us a night that was entirely free 
 from repose, and averse to sober reflection. 
 In this manner the whole night was spent, 
 nor did the morning bring any prospect of a 
 cessation of these singular customs. 
 
 About ten o'clock the whole tribe was 
 engaged in performing the funeral obsequies 
 to the remains of their deceased relatives. 
 At an early hour the wife had seated herself 
 by the side of her dead husband, where she 
 would remain until it came his turn to be 
 interred, when she would clasp the cold and 
 lifeless form of him, whom she still seems to 
 love, and cling to it until forced away by 
 some of the men: Their manner of burying
 
 9bbenture£f oC Hena£f ILeonarb 
 
 their dead is also most singular in some 
 respects: The corpse is carefully wrapped up 
 in buffalo robes and laid into the grave, 
 together with his talisman, and any thing 
 else to which he was attached, — and if he be 
 a chief of some importance, his horse's tail 
 & mane are shaved off" and buried with him — 
 these benighted Indians believing that each 
 of these hairs will turn into a beautiful horse 
 in the land of spirits, where they think that 
 a horse and bow and arrow are all that a man 
 requires to perfect his happiness and peace. 
 As soon as the dead were deposited in the 
 silent tomb, the musicians collected together 
 and marched through the camp, beating 
 upon sticks and drums, as a signal for the 
 mourners to fall in the rear, which they did, 
 and the whole procession then proceeded to 
 the top of some rising ground, not far off, 
 where the males and females separated into 
 different groups. — The female mourners now 
 took the point of an arrow, which was fixed 
 in a stick, & commenced pricking their 
 heads, beginning at one ear and continuing 
 round the forehead to the other, making in- 
 cisions half an inch apart all round; and the 
 men went through a similar course on their 
 legs, arms, &c., until the blood oozed out in 
 streams. All this performance was done 
 without creating the least appearance of pain. 
 
 248
 
 abbenturesf of Zenasi iLeonarb 
 
 After doing this each female that had lost 
 a near relative or particular friend, collected 
 along a log and deliberately cut off a finger 
 at the first joint, which was done with as 
 much coolness as the pricking process. This 
 is done by the males, also, except the two 
 first fingers on the right hand, which they 
 preserve for the purpose of bending the bow, 
 and many of the aged females may be seen 
 with the end off each of their fingers, and 
 some have even taken off the second crop. 
 Whilst this was being done by the mourners, 
 the other Indians kept up a continual noise 
 with their music, singing, dancing and yell- 
 ing. 
 
 The procession now returned to the village 
 with the faces of all the female mourners 
 daubed over with their own blood, which 
 they never remove until it wears off. Those 
 not wishing to lose a finger are at liberty to 
 shave off their hair close, but it is the general 
 custom among the Crows to lose a piece of 
 their finger. Any one who has lost a relative 
 is not allowed to take part in the dance or 
 any kind of sport for 12 or 13 moons, unless 
 one of their surviving friends take the life of 
 an Indian belonging to the tribe that killed 
 the mourned one — which will at once atone 
 for all loss, and drown all grief, and she is 
 then allowed to wash the blood from her face 
 
 249
 
 ^bbenturesf of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 and resume her former standing in society. 
 This night was spent in about the same man- 
 ner as last night — some being engaged in 
 dancing and singing, and others crying and 
 lamenting the loss they had sustained. 
 
 Nov. 22d. This morning the chief of the 
 nation gave orders to move for the purpose 
 of getting among the buffalo and other game 
 — and also to be prepared for a national 
 dance on their march. About ten o'clock the 
 whole tribe was in readiness and we started 
 in the direction of the battle ground, and on 
 arriving there a halt was ordered for the 
 purpose of giving the dead carcases of the 
 Blackfeet the last evidence of the Crow's 
 revenge — which was done by beating and 
 mangling every piece of flesh they could find. 
 This done, the march was resumed to a 
 beautiful level plain, perfectly smooth and 
 covered with short grass, for two or three 
 miles square — where the national dance was 
 to take place. When they had dismounted, 
 the whole nation formed a ring, when 69 of 
 the oldest squaws, all painted black, formed 
 themselves in a line in the centre of the cir- 
 cle, each bearing a pole from 1 2 to 1 5 feet in 
 length. The person who struck the first blow 
 at their late battle with the Blackfeet now 
 commenced dancing, and was immediately 
 followed by every young man and woman 
 
 250
 
 abbenturesf of Zenasf Heonarb 
 
 belonging to the tribe, (except the mourners, 
 who stood silent, melancholy spectators) all 
 clad in their best dresses, handsomely worked 
 with porcupine quills, and their heads de- 
 lightfully ornamented with magpie and 
 pheasant tails — forming themselves in dou- 
 ble file, and dancing round the whole circle to 
 wild, though not irregular music — which 
 they make by stretching a piece of buffalo 
 skin over a hoop similar to a riddle, where it 
 is well stretched, and then sewed together 
 and filled with sand and left until it is dry 
 and properly shaped, when the sand is 
 thrown out and some pebbles or bullets put 
 in, when it is ready for the hand of the 
 musician — and is in shape similar to a goard. 
 After dancing round the circle once or 
 twice, they would suddenly halt; shout their 
 terrible war-whoop — shoot off their guns, 
 when the rattling music would again com- 
 mence and they would all be engaged in the 
 dance. Each member of the tribe, who was 
 not mourning, from the child up to the en- 
 feebled old man and woman took part in this 
 exercise. After about two hours spent in this 
 manner, they concluded their celebration by 
 the display of an Indian battle, which was 
 exceedingly grand, far beyond any descrip- 
 tion I had ever heard. 70 or 80 of their best 
 warriors mounted their most active horses.
 
 one party acting the part of their enemies, 
 the Blackfeetj each one armed with a gun, 
 a club or lance, and some with both. They 
 separated, one party to one side and the 
 other to the other side of the plain, and at a 
 given signal would advance towards each 
 other as fast as their horses would run, firing 
 and striking as they would pass — throwing 
 themselves nearly under their horses, so 
 much so, that they could fire at each other 
 under their horse's belly. During the time 
 they seemed to exert every nerve, yet they 
 kept up a continual noise, by repeating the 
 most wild and ferocious yells I ever heard. 
 Their activity in throwing the lance is no 
 less wonderful — being so expert in this busi- 
 ness that they can throw it 20 or 25 yards 
 and strike a mark the size of a man's head, 
 whilst riding past as swift as their horses 
 will go. 
 
 The greater part of the day was occupied 
 in this manner, after which they took up 
 their march towards the river No-wood, on 
 the banks of which stream we encamped for 
 the night. In this vicinity buffalo appeared 
 to be quite numerous and the Indians killed 
 several this evening. As the prospect of game 
 appeared so good, the Indians determined on 
 remaining here a few days for the purpose of 
 laying in a stock of buffalo robes to trade 
 
 252
 
 ^bbentures? of Henas; ICeonarb 
 
 with Capt. Walker. The Indians would go 
 out in large companies and kill a great num- 
 ber of these animals, when it would be the 
 duty of the women to follow after and gather 
 up the hides, which they would convey to the 
 camp, and dress them ready for market. It 
 is the duty of the squaws to dress the buffalo 
 robes alone, which is done by stretching the 
 hide tight on the ground and there let it dry, 
 when they have a piece of iron or sharp 
 stone, fixed in a stick, making a tool similar 
 to a foot-adze, with which they cut and 
 scrape the fleshy side until it becomes thin 
 and smooth — after this they have a mixture 
 composed of the brains and liver of the ani- 
 mal mixed together, in which they soak the 
 hide a couple of days, when it is taken out 
 and again stretched on the ground, where it 
 is beat and rubbed with a paddle until it 
 becomes perfectly soft and dry. 
 
 After catching a good many buffalo and 
 some beaver at this place, we removed to- 
 wards the point designated to meet Capt. 
 Walker and his men. On the 30th we en- 
 camped at the junction of the Bighorn and 
 Wind rivers. Not long after dark our en- 
 campment was surprised by a party of about 
 fifty Blackfeet suddenly appearing among 
 our horses for the purpose of stealing them. 
 This created a great uproar in our camp.
 
 abbentures; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 Every Indian was on his feet and ready for 
 fight in an instant. The enemy was discov- 
 ered too soon, and had to retreat with the 
 loss of one man, without taking any horses at 
 all. They were followed a great ways across 
 the plain to the mountain, but as the night 
 was very dark they could not be overtaken, 
 and finally escaped. The one who had fallen 
 was a principal chief among the Blackfeet, 
 and had ventured too near the encampment 
 for the purpose of choosing a valuable horse. 
 
 Here we were to have another scene of 
 Indian exultation. On the former occasion, 
 when the 69 Blackfeet had been killed there 
 was too much grief mingled with the joy of 
 the Crows to render it any thing like com- 
 plete; but now it was quite different, — an 
 enemy had fallen without costing a drop of 
 blood on their part. On the former occasion 
 it was joy only imitated — now it was exulta- 
 tion in reality. It appears natural for these 
 Indians to exult more over the death and 
 scalping of one enemy without the loss of one 
 of their own — than they would to kill fifty 
 of the enemy and lose one of their own. 
 
 After those who had given chase to the 
 Blackfeet returned to camp, this dead Indian 
 was taken in hand. After every one had care- 
 fully examined him, he was taken to a tree 
 and there suspended by the neck, when the 
 
 254
 
 abbenturesf of Hena£( ILeonarb 
 
 men commenced shooting at him and the 
 squaws piercing him with sharp sticks. This 
 work was kept up until after midnight, when 
 they commenced dancing and singing, yell- 
 ing & shouting, which was carried far beyond 
 that of the 21 st and 22d Nov. In this manner 
 they spent their time until near ten o'clock, 
 when they prepared to remove up Wind 
 river — which they did after all taking leave 
 of the dead Indian by abusing it in some 
 manner to show their spite. 
 
 We travelled up Wind river until the 4th 
 of Dec. when we arrived at the camp of 
 Capt. Walker, whom, together with his men 
 we found in good health and spirits. This 
 camp is situated 60 or 70 miles east of the 
 main chain of the Rocky mountains, on the 
 head waters of Wind river, which, after run- 
 ning 150 or 200 miles in an eastern direction, 
 empties into the Bighorn. The Wind river 
 valley, through which this river passes, is one 
 of the most beautiful formations of nature. 
 It is upwards of 20 miles wide in some places, 
 and is as level as a floor, with the margin of 
 the river evenly ornamented with thriving 
 cotton wood. A great many white people 
 pass the winters in this valley, on account of 
 the abundance of buffalo and other game. 
 
 The first night after reaching the camp of 
 my old companions was spent in telling and
 
 ^bbenturesf of Henasf ILeonatb 
 
 hearing told the many exploits and adven- 
 tures which we had severally seen and took 
 part in since our separation. Capt. Walker 
 and his men had passed the time without 
 encountering any hardships, or being dis- 
 turbed in any way, with the exception of a 
 party of hostile Indians who watched their 
 movements for some time & who at last 
 succeeded in stealing a few of their horses. 
 
 The following day the Crow chiefs were 
 made presents of some small articles of mer- 
 chandize, when we commenced bartering 
 with them for their furs and buffalo robes. 
 As soon as they had sold out their present 
 stock they left us all highly pleased with 
 their success, and commenced hunting for 
 more. As game was very plenty here we de- 
 termined on spending the winter in this val- 
 ley, where we occupied our time in hunting 
 and trapping a little ourselves, but deriving 
 our principal profits by trading with the 
 Indians for robes, which they would bring 
 into our camp as fast as they could dress 
 them. 
 
 The daily hunting of the Indians, as well 
 as ourselves, had thinned the buffalo pretty 
 well, and driven them across the country 
 onto the Platte river — in consequence of 
 which the Indians are now (ist March, 1835) 
 preparing to leave us and go down to the 
 
 256
 
 ^benturesf of Henas; ILeonartr 
 
 Yellow-Stone river, which empties into the 
 Missouri, where they intend spending the 
 summer. 
 
 The Indians left with us one of their tribe 
 who had received a stroke of the palsy, or a 
 similar affliction, which had deprived him of 
 speech and of the use of one-half of his body. 
 He was a man of 30 or 35 years of age, ap- 
 peared to be in good health, but was entirely 
 helpless, one arm and one leg, being entirely 
 numb, or dead, and beginning to decay. He 
 was entirely speechless, and had been in this 
 situation for four years. They told us that 
 this man had been a great warrior, and that 
 the morning after returning from a hard, 
 though successful battle, he was found in his 
 bed dead, as they supposed, and that, when 
 about to bury him in the evening, he gave 
 signs of remaining life — when he was con- 
 veyed back to his wigwam and remained 
 there for two days and nights, when he 
 recovered to the situation in which he was 
 left with us. As he had been such a valuable 
 chief, they did all in their power to restore 
 him the use of his body, and had conveyed 
 him about with them from place to place 
 ever since, but had resolved to do so no 
 longer, and therefore left him with us, telling 
 us to do with him as we pleased — if we saw 
 proper to take him with us well and good, if 
 
 257
 
 abbentureiEf of HenasJ iLeonarb 
 
 not, we might leave him to be food for the 
 beasts of the forest. 
 
 Having conckided our winters hunt and 
 trading with these Indians, who have left us, 
 our men are now occupied in digging holes 
 for the secretion of our peltries and merchan- 
 dize, until we return from our spring's hunt, 
 and when we would be joined by Capt. 
 Bonneville and his company, who was to 
 meet us at the mouth of Popoasia creek in 
 June next. On the 8th I was sent by the 
 Captain to measure the size of the holes that 
 the men were digging and whilst in one of 
 them, taking the dimensions, with three 
 other men, the bank caved in, covering two 
 men entirely, another up to the shoulders, 
 and dislocating my foot. Of the four, I was 
 the only one that was able to get out without 
 assistance — the others being all seated at the 
 time the accident happened. Help was im- 
 mediately obtained, and the men extricated 
 as soon as possible, who appeared entirely 
 lifeless, but after rubbing and bleeding them 
 effectually, they recovered, when the men 
 proceeded to extricate the one whom we 
 thought was the least injured, but whom we 
 found to be in the most dangerous situation, 
 as his legs and lower part of his body was 
 completely crushed. This man, (Mr. Laront, 
 of St. Louis, where he left a wife and four 
 
 258
 
 3[bbenture£( of Henas; ICeonarb 
 
 children) suffered most severely during the 
 remainder of the day and all night, and died 
 the next morning about sun rise. 
 
 The manner of digging these holes is upon 
 a high dry bank, where they sink a round 
 hole like a well, five or six feet, and then dig 
 a chamber under ground, where the mer- 
 chandize is deposited — after which the well 
 part of it is filled up, and the top covered 
 with the natural sod, and all the surpluss 
 earth is carefully scraped up & thrown into 
 the river, or creek, so that nothing may be 
 left on the premises to lead to the discovery 
 of the hidden treasure. 
 
 March loth. To-day we deposited in the 
 cold earth the remains of our lamented com- 
 panion, Mr. Laront, in the most respectable 
 manner our means would allow, after which 
 we resumed our business of secreting our 
 stores. Our provisions were again growing 
 scarce for which purpose each one is anxious 
 to be on the move. When we first came to 
 this place, we could stand in our encamp- 
 ment almost any morning and shoot down 
 some lazy buffalo that would be lurking in 
 the neighborhood — but now our hunters 
 might scour the valley a whole day and not 
 kill as much as a rabbit. 
 
 Having every thing in readiness for re- 
 moving on the morning of the 12th, Capt. 
 
 259
 
 Sibbentures; of Henas^ ICeonarb 
 
 Walker went to the palsied Indian and told 
 him that we were about going and were not 
 able to take him with us. The poor Indian 
 then, not being able to speak, made implor- 
 ing signs to us to leave him as much provi- 
 sion as we could spare. This we done with 
 cheerfulness, but it only consisted of the car- 
 case of a wolf, which we placed within reach 
 of him, when he requested that we would 
 fasten the cabin door so as to prevent the 
 entrance of wild beasts. 
 
 The wounded, consisting of one with a 
 broken leg, another's back sprained, and 
 myself my foot dislocated, were placed on a 
 litter made of a buffalo skin, with a pole tied 
 to each side of it and fastened between two 
 horses. This was the most painful travelling 
 to me, as well as to the others, that I had 
 ever experienced, — particularly whilst pass- 
 ing over a rough piece of ground. 
 
 Our course led in a northern direction 
 after reaching the Bighorn river, which we 
 followed a few days and then crossed over to 
 Tongue river, which stream empties into the 
 Missouri below the mouth of the Yellow- 
 stone.'*^ Here we decided on hunting and 
 
 ^^ Tongue River empties into the Yellowstone at 
 Miles City, Montana. Apparently Leonard's party had 
 descended the Big Horn as far as the present-day Crow 
 Indian reservation in southern Montana, where, having 
 
 260
 
 ^bbentures? of HenasJ ICeonarb 
 
 trapping, as beaver signs were quite numer- 
 ous. The ice had not entirely melted from 
 this stream yet, but there was none left to 
 prevent us from following our favourable 
 pursuit. In this neighborhood, we spent the 
 months of April, May, and part of June, 
 passing from one water course to another, 
 finding plenty of beaver at each place, and 
 some other game. During the whole time we 
 were permitted to follow our business with- 
 out any disturbance. All the wounded had 
 completely recovered, and were enabled to 
 make a profitable hunt — having visited, in 
 our toilsome occupation, the head waters of 
 the following rivers all of which are the tribu- 
 taries of the Missouri: — Tongue, Powder, 
 Yellowstone, Little and Big Porcupine, Mis- 
 scleskell. Priors, Smith's, Gallatin's, Otter, 
 Rose-bud, Clark's and Stinking rivers. 
 
 About the loth of June we suspended our 
 trapping and returned to Wind river, where 
 we found Capt. Bonneville and his men 
 waiting for us according to appointment, at 
 the mouth of Popoasia creek. 
 
 Here we encamped for a few days, until 
 we could collect our peltries together and 
 make a divide — having sent some of our men 
 
 passed the northern end of the Big Horn Range, they 
 crossed over to the Tongue somewhere in the vicinity 
 of Sheridan, Wyo. 
 
 261
 
 glbbentures; of Henas; Heonarb 
 
 to bring our merchandize, &c., from the 
 place where we had deposited it, who suc- 
 ceeded without any difficulty, and stated 
 that no traces of the palsied Indian we had 
 left there could be discovered. — We now set 
 about packing and sorting our furs, &c., and 
 making arrangements for the ensuing year — 
 such as paying off hands, hiring them for 
 another term, and apportioning the different 
 companies. Captain Walker, with 59 men, 
 was to continue trapping in this country for 
 one year from this time, and Capt. Bonne- 
 ville, with the remainder, taking all the pel- 
 tries we had collected, and which was packed 
 upon horses and mules, was to go to the 
 States and return in the summer of 1836, 
 with as strong a force as he could collect, and 
 a large supply of merchandize, and meet 
 Capt. Walker in this neighborhood.^^ 
 
 ^° This program was never carried out, Bonneville 
 reached Independence on August 22, 1835, there to 
 learn that he had been dropped from the army on May 
 31, 1834, for exceeding his leave of absence. He went to 
 New York to report to John Jacob Astor, one of his 
 financial sponsors, and from there to Washington to 
 plead for reinstatement in the army. On April 22, 1836, 
 President Jackson restored him to his rank of captain. 
 His fur-trade era was ended. The activities of Captain 
 Walker during the ensuing years are more or less 
 obscure, through the lack of a biographer. In 1843 ^^ 
 led a second party of Americans — supposed to have been 
 
 262
 
 Sbbentures; of Henas; ICeonarb 
 
 On parting this time, many of the men 
 were at a loss to know what to do. Many 
 were anxious to return to the States, but 
 feared to do so, lest the offended law might 
 hold them responsible for misdemeanors 
 committed previous to their embarking in 
 the trapping business, and others could not 
 be persuaded to do so for any price — declar- 
 ing that a civilized life had no charms for 
 them. Although I intended to return to the 
 mountains again, I was particularly anxious 
 to first visit the States lest I should also for- 
 get the blessings of civilized society, and was 
 very thankful when I found myself in Capt. 
 Bonneville's company, on the march towards 
 the rising sun. As we travelled along we 
 killed all the game we could, this being neces- 
 sary, as provision is very scarce on the course 
 we intended to pursue between the village of 
 the Pawnee Indians and the white settle- 
 ments. x'\bout the 25th of July we arrived on 
 the Platte river, which we followed down 
 until we arrived at the Pawnee village, situ- 
 ated about 150 miles from where the Platte 
 river empties into the Missouri. After trad- 
 ing with these Indians for some corn, we left 
 
 the first wagon-party — to California, traveling by way 
 of the Humboldt River, Walker Lake, and Walker 
 Pass. Walker became a permanent resident of Califor- 
 nia, where he died in 1876. 
 
 263
 
 ^bbenturesi of Henasi Xeonarb 
 
 them and travelled rapidly every day until 
 we arrived in Independence, (Mo.,) which is 
 the extreme western white settlement, on the 
 29th of August, 1835 — ^^^^^ being absent 
 four years, four months, and five days. 
 
 FINIS 
 
 264
 
 Index
 
 Snbex 
 
 Acorns, of Yosemite region, 130-31; of California, 
 
 136-40; as food for Indians, 130-31, 143-44, 198; 
 
 for bears, 140. 
 American Fur Company, owns Fort Laramie, 12. 
 Arapaho (Arpahoe) Indians, trappers visit, 86. 
 Ankara (Rickaree) Indians, trappers encounter, 87- 
 
 loi; hostility to Crow, 90; to whites, 93, 108. 
 Arkansas River, trappers visit, 86. 
 Assiniboine Indians, chief visits Washington, 93. 
 Astor, John Jacob, sponsor of Captain Bonneville, 1G1. 
 Baggshaw, Captain , relations with Walker 
 
 party, 151-55, 164-65, 175-76. 
 Bannock Indians, described, 78-79; trappers encounter, 
 
 105-106. 
 Barren River, see Humboldt River. 
 Battle Lakes, see Humboldt Lake. 
 Bears, see grizzly bears. 
 Bear River, trappers visit, 80-81, 217, 221. 
 Beaver, trappers hunt, 11, 14-17, no, 123, 225-26, 
 
 260, etc.; build dams, 23, 82. 
 
 Bergen, , trapper, uses oil for rheumatism, 225. 
 
 Bidwell, Gen. John, narrative cited, xi, 10, 136, 153; 
 
 as discoverer of giant redwoods, 136. 
 Big Horn Mountains, trappers pass, 261. 
 Big Horn River, trappers descend, 83, 260; objective of 
 
 trappers, 221. 
 Big Porcupine River, trappers visit, 261. 
 Blackfeet Indians, warfare with trappers, 51, 68-76; 
 
 hostility to Flatheads, 52; to other tribes, 80; to 
 
 Crow, 237-54; trade with trappers, 219. 
 Black Hills, trappers visit, 94. 
 
 267
 
 Snbex 
 
 Blackwell, Captain , leads trading expedition, 3; 
 
 movements of, 13, 85-86; insolvency reported, 46. 
 Boats, made of buffalo skins, 9, 82. 
 Bodega, Russian-American Fur Company settlement, 
 
 Bonneville, Capt. B. L. E., fur-trade activities, xiii- 
 xvii; career, 102; movements, 103-104, 221, 261; 
 Walker party rejoins, 217; returns to Missouri, 
 262-64. 
 
 Bowville, B. L. E., see B. L. E. Bonneville. 
 
 British flag, Blackfeet Indians capture, 69, 77. 
 
 Buffalo, trappers hunt, 4, 6-9, 21, 3c, etc.; skins used 
 for boats, 9, 82; for Indian lodges, 230-31; trails 
 followed, 23-24, 40; western limit of, 78, 106, 134, 
 137-38, 216; as food supply, 105-106; stampede 
 described, 224-25; Crow method of hunting, 235-36, 
 252-53; of dressing hides, 253; trappers buy skins, 
 256. 
 
 Bulls, baited by grizzlies, 179-83. 
 
 Bunnell, Dr. L. H., historian of Yosemlte Valley, 
 129. 
 
 Burials, of Indians, 74-75, 247-50; of trappers, 222-23, 
 
 Bush River, see San Joaquin River. 
 
 Caches, trappers construct, 12, 258-59. 
 
 California, Capt. Joseph R. Walker expeditions to, 
 xii-xvii, 104-217, 262-63; international race for 
 possession, 154-55; trade with Santa Fe, 170; prev- 
 alence of stealing in, 184; population, 192; scarcity 
 of mechanics, 195. See also Indians, Missions, 
 Spaniards. 
 
 California Mountain, see Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
 
 Camels, in Southwest, 120-21. 
 
 Campbell, Robert, owns Fort Laramie, 11-12. 
 
 Capetaine, Indian chief, 198. 
 
 Carson Lake, trappers visit, 119-20. 
 
 Carter, , despairs of life, 28. 
 
 268
 
 Snbex 
 
 Cattle, in California, described, 157; hunted, 157, 
 
 163-64, 178-79; baited, 179-83; moccasins made 
 
 for, 192. 
 Catholic religion, Spaniards profess, 192. 
 Cerre, Gabriel, career, 103-104. 
 Cerre, Michael Sylvestre, career, 103-104; fur-trade 
 
 activities, 219-21. 
 Chimney Rock, described, 10. 
 Clark, George Rogers, conquest of Illinois, 103. 
 Clark, William, names Multnomah River, 78; negro 
 
 servant accompanies, 84. 
 Clark's River, trappers visit, 261. 
 Clearfield (Pa.), home of Zenas Leonard, xii, xvii, 
 
 xxi. 
 Clearfield Republican, publishes Leonard's narrative, 
 
 xii, xxiii-xxiv, 42. 
 Colorado (Red) River, trappers visit, 82; as boundary, 
 
 212. 
 Columbia River, confused with Snake, 47, 50, 67, 212, 
 
 215, 221; Hudson's Bay Company establishment 
 
 on, 218-19. 
 Concoa Indians, described, 200-201. 
 Cottonwood trees, horses eat bark, 19-20, 40-41. 
 Cox, Ross, career, 53; describes Flathead Indians, 
 
 53-54- 
 
 Crow Indians, rob trappers, 82-85; hostility to Arikara, 
 90-91; trappers trade with, 226-58; social organiza- 
 tion, 227-36; religious ideas, 229-30; police, 231-32; 
 tribal promotions, 232-34; method of taking buffalo, 
 235-36; hostihties with Blackfeet, 237-54; cruelty 
 to vanquished, 245-46; funeral ceremonies, 247-50; 
 victory dances, 250-51, 255; abandon sick chief, 
 257-58, 260, 262. 
 
 Crow Indian Reservation, trappers visit locality, 260. 
 
 Dale, Harrison C, edits Ashley-Smith journals, 109. 
 
 Dana, Richard H., narrative cited, 171. 
 
 Dance, of victory, among Crow, 250-51, 255. 
 
 269
 
 Snbex 
 
 Desert, of Great Basin, traversed, 108-109, 203-12. 
 De Smet, Father Peter J., narrative cited, 10. 
 Digger (Shucker) Indians, described, 80. 
 Dogs, Captain Walker procures, 192, 196; sufferings, in 
 
 desert, 207, 209, 211. 
 Duncan, Elizabeth, wife of Zenas Leonard Jr., xxviii. 
 Elk, alarm trappers, 38. 
 Elk Peak, see Chimney Rock. 
 Fish, Indians catch, 1 17-18, 149. 
 Fitzpatrick, Thomas, trappers encounter, 12-13; join, 
 
 46; adventure with a grizzly, 58-60; with Indians, 
 
 60-64; leader in battle of Pierre's Hole, 70; 
 
 horse recovered, 75, dispute with Captain Stephens, 
 
 75-76. 
 
 Flathead Indians, hostility to Blackfeet, 52; described, 
 53-56; friendship with Nez Perces, 67; in battle of 
 Pierre's Hole, 70-75. 
 
 Flies, as food supply, 1 18-19, 123. 
 
 Fort Laramie, history, 11-12. 
 
 Fort Leavenworth, established, 4. 
 
 Fort Osage, traders depart from, xvi, 4, 102; history, 4. 
 
 Fort Ross, Russian-American Fur Company settle- 
 ment, 153. ^ 
 
 Fort Vancouver, Hudson's Bay Company establish- 
 ment, 218-19. 
 
 Fourth of July, trappers celebrate, 216-17. 
 
 Fremont, John C, explorations of, xviii. 
 
 Fully, , on trapping expedition, 42-44; mistreat- 
 ed by associates, 45. 
 
 Gallatin River, trappers visit, 261. 
 
 Gambling, in California, described, 178-84. 
 
 Gant, Captain , as fur-trade leader, 3, u, 46, 
 
 85-86; reunion of followers, 67-68; dispute over 
 furs of, 75-76. 
 
 Gillam, , trapper, slain, 97. 
 
 Gilroy, John, career, 158-59. 
 
 Goats, trappers kill, 48. 
 
 270
 
 Snbex 
 
 Great Salt Lake, Captain Bonneville's interest in, xiv- 
 xvii; described, 81-82; trappers meet, 104; separate, 
 217; route via, 106; western limit of buffalo, 138; 
 objective of trappers, 205, 213. 
 
 Gregg, Josiah, narrative cited, 170. 
 
 Green River, objective of Captain Bonneville, 102; 
 Walker party leaves, 105. 
 
 Grizzly bears, trappers encounter, 15-16, 44-45, 48-49, 
 59-60, 177-78, 187-89, 222; abundance, in Califor- 
 nia, 144; eat Indians, 144-45; Spaniards hunt, 
 179-80; bait, 181-83. 
 
 Grizzly Bear, Crow chief, 228, 236. 
 
 Harrelson, Isabel, wife of Zenas Leonard, xviii. 
 
 Highbacked Wolf, Arikara chief, 92. 
 
 Hockday, , assumes leadership of trappers, 
 
 28-30; fights Indians, 35-36. 
 
 Horses, eat cottonwood bark, 19-20, 40-4I; stolen by 
 Indians, 57, 60-61, 82-85, 189-91, 201, 253-54, 
 256; eaten by trappers, 126-27, 130-31, 134; by 
 Indians, 143-44, 191 ; abundance of, in California, 
 140-41, 144; practice of stealing, 184-86; Spaniards 
 catch, 192-94; instinct for water, 211. 
 
 Hudson's Bay Company, traders encountered, 76-77; 
 establishment at Fort Vancouver described, 218-19. 
 
 Humboldt (Battle) Lake, Walker party visits, 1 12-19, 
 214-15. 
 
 Humboldt (Barren, Ogden, Owyhee, Mary's) River, 
 route via, xvii, 263; Walker party traverses, 78-79, 
 110-19, 214-15. 
 
 Hunger, trappers suffer, 6-7, 24-30. 
 
 Independence (Mo.), objective of Captain Bonneville, 
 262-64. 
 
 Indians, Kansas, described, 4-5; Shoshone, 78-79; 
 Snake, 80; Shoshocoes, no, 1 17-19; California 
 Indians, 141-44, 148-49, 156, 198-201; Crow, 
 227-51; Otoe encountered, 5; warfare with trappers, 
 33-37, 42, 5i> 60-64, 68-70, 82-85, 87-101, 1 10-17, 
 
 271
 
 Snbex 
 
 122, 214-15; between Blackfeet and Flatheads, 52; 
 Blackfeet and Crow, 90, 237-52; steal horses, 57, 
 60-61, 83-85, 189-91, 201, 253-54, 256; chiefs visit 
 Washington, 93; give geographical information, 107, 
 142; fishing methods, 1 17-18, 149; eat acorns, 130- 
 31, 143-44, 198; relations with Spaniards, 161-62, 
 165, 189-91, 199-200; guide Walker party, 201-202; 
 social organization among Crow, 227-36; police, 
 232-33; method of taking buffalo, 235-36; burial 
 methods, 74-75, 247-50; victory dance, 250-51, 
 255; abandon sick chief, 257-58, 260, 262. 
 
 Irving, Washington, historian of Captain Bonneville, 
 xiii-xvi, 102. 
 
 Isaac Toddy visits Pacific coast, 158. 
 
 Jackson, Andrew, restores army rank of Captain 
 Bonneville, xviii, 262; victory of New Orleans 
 celebrated, 21. 
 
 Jackson, David E., founder of Fort Laramie, 11. 
 
 Kansas Indians, described, 405. 
 
 Kansas River, traders ascend, 4-7. 
 
 Kaskaskia, home of Gabriel Cerre, 103-104. 
 
 Kean, , in battle of Pierre's Hole, 71-72. 
 
 Lagoda, Boston ship, relations with Walker party, 
 150-55; 175-76,217. 
 
 Lake Bonneville, see Great Salt Lake. 
 
 Laramie River, activities of trappers on, 11-46, 85-92. 
 
 Laront, , killed by cave-in, 258-59. 
 
 Larpenteur, Charles, narrative cited, xi, xiii, 11-12, 64, 
 93, 102, 109; visits camp of Captain Bonneville, 102. 
 
 Lasso, use of, by Spaniards, 163-64, 168, 178-80, 194, 
 197; described, 180. 
 
 Leonard, William D., grandson of Zenas Leonard, xx. 
 
 Leonard, Zenas, western expedition, xii, xxi-xxii; 
 narrative characterized, xii-xvii, xxiii-xxiv; later 
 career, xvii-xviii;joins Captain Stephens's party, 13; 
 leads trappers, 28-30; fights Indians, 35-36, 40, 
 71-74, 95-99; on trapping expedition, 42-44; mis- 
 
 272
 
 Snbex 
 
 treated, 45; encounter with grizzly, 44-45; joins 
 trapping party, 77; Walker expedition, 105; wound- 
 ed, 96-99, 258, 260; companion of Captain Walker, 
 122; sea-sick, 152; tours Spanish settlements, 165- 
 77; attends bear-baiting, 182-83; horse-catching ex- 
 pedition, 192-94; winters among Crow, 226-56; 
 returns to Missouri, 263-64. 
 
 Leonard, Zenas, Jr., career, xviii. 
 
 Lewis, Meriwether, names Multnomah River, 78; negro 
 follower, 84. 
 
 Lewis River, see Snake River. 
 
 Little Porcupine River, trappers visit, 261. 
 
 Long Haired Chief, Sioux chief, 228-30, 233. 
 
 McKenzie, Kenneth, brings negro to West, 84; rela- 
 tions with Arikara tribe, 93; followers encountered, 
 102. 
 
 Mackinney, , see Kenneth McKenzie. 
 
 McLoughlin, Dr. John, founds Fort Vancouver, 218. 
 
 Mandan Indians, chief visits Washington, 93. 
 
 Mary's River, see Humboldt River. 
 
 Medicine Bow Mountains, trappers visit, 23. 
 
 Merced River, trappers descend, 138-39. 
 
 Meteors, shower witnessed, 146-47. 
 
 Missions, Spanish, Walker's party visits, 159-62, 
 172-73; Indians rob, 189-91, 200-201. 
 
 Moccasins, made for cattle, 209. 
 
 Monterey, location, 153; Captain Walker visits, 155, 
 158-60, 164-65, 173-77, 188, 192; described, 173. 
 
 Monterey Bay, described, 173-74. 
 
 Mourning, among Crow Indians, 247-50. 
 
 Mules, in Santa Fe trade, 170. 
 
 Multnomah River, confusion over identity, 78-79. 
 
 Musselshell River, trappers visit, 261. 
 
 Negro, with Lewis and Clark, 84; resident of Crow 
 tribe, 84, 228, 241-43. 
 
 Newberry Library, acknowledgments to, xix. 
 
 New Orleans, Battle of, 21, 113.
 
 Snbex 
 
 New Year, celebration of, 21. 
 
 Nez Perce Indians, described, 67; in battle of Pierre's 
 
 Hole, 70-75. 
 
 Nidever, , slays Indians, 122. 
 
 North West Company, unites with Hudson's Bay 
 
 Company, 76. 
 No-wood River, Indians encamp on, 252, 
 Ogdew, Mary, river named for, iii. 
 Ogden, Peter Skene, river named for, in. 
 Ogden River, see Humboldt River, 
 Oil, spring, discovered, 225. 
 Otoe Indians, traders meet, 5. 
 Otter River, trappers visit, 261. 
 Owyhee River, see Humboldt River. 
 Pacific Ocean, objective of Captain Walker, 104; sur- 
 mises concerning nearness, 132, 142; noise of, heard, 
 
 145-46; Walker party reaches, 148. 
 Pagan Indians, described, 198-99. 
 Pakenham, Gen. Edward, defeat, 21. 
 Palsy, Crow chief afflicted, 257-58, 260, 262. 
 Parkman, Francis, at Fort Laramie, 12. 
 Pattie, James Ohio, narrative cited, xi, 181. 
 Pawnee Indians, trappers visit, 263. 
 Petrified wood, trappers find, 223. 
 
 Philips, , encounter with bear, 177-78. 
 
 Pierre's Hole, as fur- trade rendezvous, 64, 67; described, 
 
 68-69; battle of, 64, 68-75. ^^s ^ls° Pierre's River. 
 Pierre's (Teton) River, Thomas Fitzpatrick's adventure 
 
 on, 57, 63-66; described, 68-69. ^^^ ^^^o Pierre's 
 
 Hole. 
 Pittsburgh, Zenas Leonard employed at, xxi. 
 Plains, of Great Basin, described, 106-107, 109-12, 121, 
 
 124, 203-204, 212; attempt to cross, 203-12; of 
 
 California, described, 132, 136-38, 140-41, 187. 
 Platte River, trappers ascend, 7-1 1; activities of, on, 
 
 42-44, 85, 94, 100; buffalo resort to, 256; Captain 
 
 Bonneville descends, 263.
 
 HJnbex 
 
 Popo Agie (Popoasia) River, identified, 221; trappers 
 
 reach, 225; encamp on, 261-62. 
 Powder River, trappers visit, 261. 
 Prairies, described, 5, 41. 
 Prior's River, trappers visit, 261. 
 Red- Wood trees. Walker party discovers, 135-36. 
 Republican River, traders ascend, 5-7. 
 Rheumatism, remedy for, 225. 
 Richmond (Va.), Ankara chief dies in, 93. 
 Rickaree Indians, see Arikara. 
 Rocky Mountains, loneliness of, 37; scenery of, 38; 
 
 trappers cross, 223. 
 Rose, Edward, negro renegade, 84. See also Negro. 
 Rosebud River, trappers visit, 261. 
 Russian-American Fur Company, settlements of, 153. 
 Salt, at Great Salt Lake, 81; in Great Basin, 108. 
 St. Joseph, see San Jose. 
 St. Louis, fur-traders leave, xi-xii, 3; fur-trade center, 
 
 217, 219-20; home of Cerre family, 104. 
 Sandwich Islands, commerce of Monterey with, 175. 
 San Francisco, identified, 152. 
 San Francisco Bay, trappers reach, 147; described, 152; 
 
 Indians described, 148-49. 
 San Joaquin (Two Laries, Bush) River, Walker party 
 
 descends, 147. 
 San Jose (St. Hose, St. Joseph), location, 172; confused 
 
 with Monterey, 174-75, 177. 
 San Juan (St. Juan, St. John), Walker party reaches, 
 
 159; described, 161-62; horses of Mission stolen, 
 
 189-91. 
 Santa Barbara (St. Barbara), Mission Indians rebel, 
 
 200. 
 Santa Fe, trappers seek, 22-40; visit, 86; trade with, 
 
 104, 170. 
 Saunders, , leads trappers 68; joins party, 77, 
 
 letter for, 86. 
 Sheridan (Wyo.), trappers visit vicinity, 261.
 
 Snbex 
 
 Shoshocoe Indians, Walker party encounters, 1 13-17; 
 described, 117-19. 
 
 Shoshone (Snake) Indians, described, 78-80; Crow 
 attack, 82-83. 
 
 Shucker Indians, see Digger Indians. 
 
 Sibley (Mo.), home of Zenas Leonard, xvii-xviii. 
 
 Sierra Nevada (California) Mountains, Walker party 
 crosses, 120-36, 197-202; described, 154, 212-13; 
 as boundary, 212. 
 
 Smith, Jedediah S., founder of Fort Laramie, ii; 
 explorations, 109. 
 
 Smith, , on trapping expedition, 42-44; mis- 
 treated, 45; role in battle of Pierre's Hole, 71-72. 
 
 Smith's River, trappers encamp, 221, visit, 261. 
 
 Snake (Shoshone) Indians, described, 80; Crow attack, 
 82-83. 
 
 Snake (Lewis) River, confused with Columbia, 47, 50, 
 67, 212, 215, 221; trapping activities on, 47, 216, 
 221, 223; as boundary, 212. 
 
 Spaniards, imprison Jedediah S. Smith, 109; informa- 
 tion concerning, 142; relations with Walker party, 
 148-49, 158-60, 164-65, 176-77, 184-86; missions 
 described, 161-62; cattle-catching described, 163- 
 64; horsemanship, 164; life described, 166-72; trade 
 with Santa Fe, 170; trade in cattle hides, 171-72; 
 gambling customs, 178-84; steal horses, 184-86, 
 192; massacre Indians, 190-91; religion, 192; horse- 
 catching described, 192-94; join Walker party, 197. 
 
 Springs, boiling, described, 203-204; oil, found, 225. 
 
 Stealing, of horses, by Indians, 57, 60-61, 82-85, 189- 
 91, 201, 253-54, 256; by Spaniards, 184-86. 
 
 Stephens, Capt. A. K., activities on Laramie River, 
 11-22; physical weakness, 28-29; fights Indians, 36, 
 42; bargains with trappers, 42-45; sells furs, 46; 
 dispute with Thomas Fitzpatrick, 75-76; slain, 76, 
 joins Fitzpatrick, 86. 
 Stephens, Mollie E., wife of Zenas Leonard Jr., xviii. 
 
 276
 
 Snbex 
 
 Stinking River, trappers encounter Indians at, 83-85; 
 visit, 261. 
 
 Sublette, \Vm. L., founder of Fort Laramie, 11. 
 
 Sulphur, springs, described, 203-204. 
 
 Sulphur River, Walker party camps on, 186-95; ^^~ 
 cends, 196. 
 
 Sutter, Capt. John A., buys Russian-American Fur 
 Company property, 153. 
 
 Sweetwater River, trapping activities on, 11. 
 
 Teton River, see Pierre's River. 
 
 Timber River, trapping activities on, 11. 
 
 Tongue River, trappers visit, 260-61. 
 
 Two Laries River, see San Joaquin River. 
 
 Wagner, Dr. W. F., edits Leonard narrative, xv, 
 xix-xx; opinions cited, 78, 84. 
 
 Wagons, Captain Walker leads first party to Cali- 
 fornia, 262-63. 
 
 Walker, Capt. Joseph Reddeford, leader of California 
 expedition, xiv-xvii, 104-217; career, 104, 262-63; 
 characterized, 104-105; relations with Indians, 
 III, 1 14-17, 191, 260; with Captain Baggshaw, 
 151-55, 164-65, 175-76; with Spaniards, 148-49, 
 158-60, 164-65, 176-77, 184-86; discovers Yosemite 
 Valley, 129; geographical knowledge, 132; explains 
 natural phenomena, 146-47; movements of, 155, 
 158-60, 164-77, 262; attends bear-baiting, 182-83; 
 chooses route for party, 202, 206, 208; ascends Bear 
 River, 221; visits W^ind River, 226; rendezvous 
 with, 253-55. 
 
 W^alker Lake, route via, 263. 
 
 Walker Pass, route via, 263. 
 
 Walla W^alla River, tributary of Columbia, 67. 
 
 Washburn, Captain , fur- trade activities, 11, 
 
 85-86. 
 
 Weber's (W'eaber's) River, trappers descend, 81, 
 
 Whales, trappers find, 150, 153, 155; object of com- 
 merce, 175.
 
 Snbex 
 
 Whetstones, trappers make, 223. 
 
 White, , encounter with grizzly, 48-49. 
 
 White Ploom, Kansas chief, 5. 
 
 Willamette River, identified, 78; Fort Vancouver near, 
 218. 
 
 Wind River, trappers visit, 224, 261; Crow Indians 
 ascend, 253-55; Valley described, 255, 
 
 Wolves, attack Thomas Fitzpatrick, 65. 
 
 Yellowstone Park, source of Snake River, 47. 
 
 Yellowstone River, trappers visit, 223-24, 261; ob- 
 jective of Crow, 256-57. 
 
 York, servant of William Clark, 84. See also Negro. 
 
 Yosemite Valley, Walker party discovers, 129. 
 
 278
 
 NUMBER TITLE YEAR 
 
 1. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 1903 
 
 2. Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the 
 
 United States from Washington to Lincoln. 1904 
 
 3. Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the 
 
 United States from Johnson to Roosevelt.. . 1905 
 
 4. Fruits of Solitude by William Penn 1906 
 
 5. Memorable American Speeches 
 
 I. The Colonial Period 1907 
 
 6. Memorable American Speeches 
 
 II. Democracy and Nationality 1908 
 
 7. Memorable American Speeches 
 
 III. Slavery 1909 
 
 8. Memorable American Speeches 
 
 IV. Secession, War, Reconstruction 1910 
 
 9. The Autobiography of Gurdon Saltonstall Hub- 
 
 bard 1911 
 
 10. Reminiscences of Early Chicago 1912 
 
 11. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Forties 
 
 and Fifties 1913 
 
 12. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Civil War 1914 
 
 13. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Great Fire 1915 
 
 14. Life of Black Hawk 1916 
 
 15. The Indian Captivity of O. M. Spencer 1917 
 
 16. Pictures of Illinois One Hundred Years Ago.. . 1918 
 
 17. A Woman's Story of Pioneer Illinois by Chris- 
 
 tiana Holmes Tillson 1919 
 
 18. The Conquest of the Illinois by George Rogers 
 
 Clark 1920 
 
 19. Alexander Henry's Travels and Adventures in 
 
 the Years 1760-1776 1921 
 
 20. John Long's Voyages and Travels in the Years 
 
 1768-1788 1922 
 
 21. Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon 
 
 or Columbia River by Alexander Ross 1923 
 
 22. The Fur Hunters of the Far West by Alexander 
 
 Ross 1924 
 
 23. The Southwestern Expedition of Zebulon M. 
 
 Pike 1925 
 
 24. Commerce of the Prairies by Josiah Gregg. . . . 1926 
 
 25. Death Valley in '49 by William L. Manly 1927 
 
 26. Bidwell's Echoes of the Past — Steele's in Camp 
 
 and Cabin 1928 
 
 27. Kendall's Texan Santa Fe Expedition 1929 
 
 28. Pattie's Personal Narrative 1930 
 
 29. Alexander Mackenzie's Voyage to the Pacific 
 
 Ocean in 1793 1931 
 
 30. Wau-Bun, The "Early Day" in the North-West 
 
 by Mrs. McKenzie 1932 
 
 31. Forty Years A Fur Trader by Charles 
 
 Larpenteur 1933
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 917 8L553N1934 C002 
 
 NARRATIVE OF THE ADVENTURES OF ZENAS LEO 
 
 30112 
 
 025343853