I
WITH THE NORTHWEST FUR COMPANY

After the downfall of the Pacific Fur Company, the occupation of Astoria by the Northwesters, and the change of its name to Fort George, Ross took service with the Northwest Company. It is life as a fur trader with the Northwest Company that he describes in his book The Fur Hunters of the Far West. In point of time, these volumes precede most of the books on the far western fur trade, and they give faithful and interesting accounts of the conditions met with at the time. Ross’s books, in fact, are foundation stones for any history of the settlement of the Northwest. Although the books were not written until long after the period of which they treat—for the preface of this work is dated June 1, 1854, while the book was published the next year—Ross must have kept full diaries of his goings and comings, for in most of his dates he is exact, and his narrative is full of details that would almost certainly have slipped from an unaided memory.

In his new service Ross discovered that matters were42 now in charge of men who knew very little about the Indians of the Pacific coast, and who lightly regarded those persons who had been in the service of Mr. Astor, whom they called Yankees. The new-comers had much to learn.

One of the first acts of the Northwest Company was to despatch an expedition of twenty men, in charge of Messrs. Keith and Alexander Stuart, to report to Fort William, on Lake Superior, the news of the acquisition of Astoria by the Northwest Company. On reaching the Cascades of the Columbia they were attacked by a large number of Indians, and Mr. Stuart was wounded. Two Indians were killed, and the expedition returned to Fort George. The attack caused great indignation there, and an extraordinary expedition was fitted out to punish the Indians. Eighty-five picked men and two Chinook interpreters constituted the force; and besides the ordinary arms carried in the West they had “two great guns, six swivels, cutlasses, hand grenades, and hand knives.”

As the expedition passed along up the river, it struck terror to the hearts of the Indians, while it is said that “the two Chinook interpreters could neither sleep nor eat, so grieved were they at the thoughts of the bloody scenes that were to be enacted.”

The people who were to be punished, however—the Cath-le-yach-é-yach, a Chinookan tribe living below the Cascades—were not all frightened, and when they were required to deliver up the property taken43 from Keith and Stuart, they declared themselves ready to do so, but not until after the whites had delivered to them those who had killed two of their people. They sent off their women and children into the forest and prepared to fight. There were multitudinous parleys lasting for three or four days, at the end of which time the whites, regarding discretion as the better part of valor, “without recovering the property, firing a gun, or securing a single prisoner, sounded a retreat and returned home on the ninth day, having made matters ten times worse than they were before.”

The expedition was much derided by the Indians, and the white people who took part in it were extremely mortified about it. The situation was really one of war, and when a short time afterward the Northwest brigade departed for the interior, the Indians at the Cascades did not come near to the camp nor in any degree interrupt their progress.

Consulted by McDonald, who was in charge of the Columbia trade, Ross had urged on him the importance of taking the “usual precautions” in travelling up the river. Nevertheless, no guard was set at night, and an alarm taking place, people jumped up and began to fire their guns at random and one of the men was shot dead. There seems no reason to suppose that there were actually any Indians in the camp.

At Fort Okanagan the expedition passed on, leaving Ross behind in charge of the post. He was now in a prairie country where horses were absolutely essential44 to travel, and no horses were to be had nearer than Eyakema valley, two hundred miles away, where the horse Indians, Cayuses, Nez Percés, and other warlike tribes encamped each spring, to collect the roots of the camas. Here horses were plenty, but, as it was a great camp occupied by many different tribes, to visit it was to incur some danger. However, Ross took a few trade goods and set out with three men, young McKay and two French Canadians, these last taking with them their Indian wives, to assist in the care of the horses.

It was an anxious time, and the perplexities of the journey were not lessened when, on the fourth night after leaving Okanagan, the chief of the Pisscows tribe, who had learned where Ross was going, sent two men to urge him to turn back, declaring that if they did not do so they were all dead men. However, Ross determined to go on; as he puts it, “I had risked my life there for the Americans, I could now do no less for the North-West Company; so with deep regret the friendly couriers left us and returned, and with no less reluctance we proceeded.”

On the sixth day after leaving the fort they reached the valley, where they found a great camp, of which they could see the beginning, but not the end. It must have contained not less than 3,000 men, exclusive of women and children, and three times that number of horses. Everywhere was seen the active life of these primitive people. Councils were being held, women45 were gathering roots, men were hunting. Horse racing, games, singing, dancing, drumming, yelling, and a thousand other things were going on. The noise and confusion are hardly to be described; but the interest and the beauty of the scene could not have been appreciated by these men, who were carrying their lives in their hands and marching into danger.

“Our reception was cool, the chiefs were hostile and sullen, they saluted us in no very flattering accents. ‘These are the men,’ said they, ‘who kill our relations, the people who have caused us to mourn.’ And here, for the first time, I regretted we had not taken advice in time, and returned with the couriers, for the general aspect of things was against us. It was evident we stood on slippery ground; we felt our weakness. In all sudden and unexpected rencontres with hostile Indians, the first impulse is generally a tremor or sensation of fear, but that soon wears off; it was so with myself at this moment, for after a short interval I nerved myself to encounter the worst.

“The moment we dismounted, we were surrounded, and the savages, giving two or three war-whoops and yells, drove the animals we had ridden out of our sight; this of itself was a hostile movement. We had to judge from appearances, and be guided by circumstances. My first care was to try and direct their attention to something new, and to get rid of the temptation there was to dispose of my goods; so without a moment’s delay, I commenced a trade in horses;46 but every horse I bought during that and the following day, as well as those we had brought with us, were instantly driven out of sight, in the midst of yelling and jeering: nevertheless, I continued to trade while an article remained, putting the best face on things I could, and taking no notice of their conduct, as no insult or violence had as yet been offered to ourselves personally. Two days and nights had now elapsed since our arrival, without food or sleep; the Indians refused us the former, our own anxiety deprived us of the latter.

“During the third day I discovered that the two women were to have been either killed or taken from us and made slaves. So surrounded were we for miles on every side, that we could not stir unobserved; yet we had to devise some means for their escape, and to get them clear of the camp was a task of no ordinary difficulty and danger. In this critical conjuncture, however, something had to be done, and that without delay. One of them had a child at the breast, which increased the difficulty. To attempt sending them back by the road they came, would have been sacrificing them. To attempt an unknown path through the rugged mountains, however doubtful the issue, appeared the only prospect that held out a glimpse of hope; therefore, to this mode of escape I directed their attention. As soon as it was dark, they set out on their forlorn adventure without food, guide, or protection, to make their way home, under a kind Providence!

47 “‘You are to proceed,’ said I to them, ‘due north, cross the mountains, and keep in that direction till you fall on the Pisscows River; take the first canoe you find, and proceed with all diligence down to the mouth of it and there await our arrival. But if we are not there on the fourth day, you may proceed to Oakanagan, and tell your story.’ With these instructions we parted; and with but little hopes of our ever meeting again. I had no sooner set about getting the women off, than the husbands expressed a wish to accompany them; the desire was natural, yet I had to oppose it. This state of things distracted my attention: my eyes had now to be on my own people as well as on the Indians, as I was apprehensive they would desert. ‘There is no hope for the women by going alone,’ said the husbands, ‘no hope for us by remaining here: we might as well be killed in the attempt to escape, as remain to be killed here,’ ‘No,’ said I, ‘by remaining here we do our duty; by going we should be deserting our duty.’ To this remonstrance they made no reply. The Indians soon perceived that they had been outwitted. They turned over our baggage, and searched in every hole and corner. Disappointment creates ill humor: it was so with the Indians. They took the men’s guns out of their hands, fired them off at their feet, and then, with savage laughter, laid them down again; took their hats off their heads, and after strutting about with these for some time, jeeringly gave them back to their owners: all this time, they never48 interfered with me, but I felt that every insult offered to my men was an indirect insult offered to myself.

“The day after the women went off, I ordered one of the men to try and cook something for us; for hitherto we had eaten nothing since our arrival, except a few raw roots which we managed to get unobserved. But the kettle was no sooner on the fire than five or six spears bore off, in savage triumph, the contents: they even emptied out the water, and threw the kettle on one side; and this was no sooner done than thirty or forty ill-favored wretches fired a volley in the embers before us, which caused a cloud of smoke and ashes to ascend, darkening the air around us: a strong hint not to put the kettle any more on the fire, and we took it.

“At this time the man who had put the kettle on the fire took the knife with which he had cut the venison to lay it by, when one of the Indians, called Eyacktana, a bold and turbulent chief, snatched it out of his hand; the man, in an angry tone, demanded his knife, saying to me, ‘I’ll have my knife from the villain, life or death.’ ‘No,’ said I. The chief, seeing the man angry, threw down his robe, and grasping the knife in his fist, with the point downwards, raised his arm, making a motion in advance as if he intended using it. The crisis had now arrived! At this moment there was a dead silence. The Indians were flocking in from all quarters: a dense crowd surrounded us. Not a moment was to be lost; delay would be fatal, and nothing49 now seemed to remain for us but to sell our lives as dearly as possible. With this impression, grasping a pistol, I advanced a step towards the villain who held the knife, with the full determination of putting an end to his career before any of us should fall; but while in the act of lifting my foot and moving my arm, a second idea floated across my mind, admonishing me to soothe, and not provoke, the Indians, that Providence might yet make a way for us to escape: this thought saved the Indian’s life, and ours too. Instead of drawing the pistol, as I intended, I took a knife from my belt, such as travellers generally use in this country, and presented it to him, saying, ‘Here, my friend, is a chief’s knife, I give it to you; that is not a chief’s knife, give it back to the man.’ Fortunately, he took mine in his hand; but, still sullen and savage, he said nothing. The moment was a critical one; our fate hung as by a thread: I shall never forget it! All the bystanders had their eyes now fixed on the chief, thoughtful and silent as he stood; we also stood motionless, not knowing what a moment might bring forth. At last the savage handed the man his knife, and turning mine round and round for some time in his hand, turned to his people, holding up the knife in his hand, exclaimed, ‘She-augh Me-yokat Waltz’—Look, my friends, at the chief’s knife: these words he repeated over and over again. He was delighted. The Indians flocked round him: all admired the toy, and in the excess of his joy he harangued the multitude in our favour. Fickle, indeed,50 are savages! They were now no longer enemies, but friends! Several others, following Eyacktana’s example, harangued in turn, all in favour of the whites. This done, the great men squatted themselves down, the pipe of peace was called for, and while it was going round and round the smoking circle, I gave each of the six principal chiefs a small paper-cased looking-glass and a little vermilion, as a present; and in return, they presented me with two horses and twelve beavers, while the women soon brought us a variety of eatables.

“This sudden change regulated my movements. Indeed, I might say the battle was won. I now made a speech to them in turn, and, as many of them understood the language I spoke, I asked them what I should say to the great white chief when I got home, when he asks me where are all the horses I bought from you. What shall I say to him? At this question it was easy to see that their pride was touched. ‘Tell him,’ said Eyacktana, ‘that we have but one mouth, and one word; all the horses you have bought from us are yours, they shall be delivered up.’ This was just what I wanted. After a little counselling among themselves, Eyacktana was the first to speak, and he undertook to see them collected.

“By this time it was sun-down. The chief then mounted his horse, and desired me to mount mine and accompany him, telling one of his sons to take my men and property under his charge till our return. Being acquainted with Indian habits, I knew there would be51 repeated calls upon my purse, so I put some trinkets into my pocket, and we started on our nocturnal adventure; which I considered hazardous but not hopeless.

“Such a night we had! The chief harangued, travelled and harangued, the whole night, the people replied. We visited every street, alley, hole and corner of the camp, which we traversed lengthwise, crossway, east, west, south, and north, going from group to group, and the call was ‘Deliver up the horses.’ Here was gambling, there scalp-dancing; laughter in one place, mourning in another. Crowds were passing to and fro, whooping, yelling, dancing, drumming, singing. Men, women, and children were huddled together; flags flying, horses neighing, dogs howling, chained bears, tied wolves, grunting and growling, all pell-mell among the tents; and, to complete the confusion, the night was dark. At the end of each harangue the chief would approach me, and whisper in my ear, ‘She-augh tamtay enim’—I have spoken well in your favour—a hint for me to reward his zeal by giving him something. This was repeated constantly, and I gave him each time a string of beads, or two buttons, or two rings. I often thought he repeated his harangues more frequently than necessary; but it answered his purpose, and I had no choice but to obey and pay.

“At daylight we got back; my people and property were safe; and in two hours after my eighty-five horses were delivered up, and in our possession. I was now52 convinced of the chief’s influence, and had got so well into his good graces with my beads, buttons, and rings, that I hoped we were out of all our troubles. Our business being done, I ordered my men to tie up and prepare for home, which was glad tidings to them. With all this favourable change, we were much embarrassed and annoyed in our preparations to start. The savages interrupted us every moment. They jeered the men, frightened the horses, and kept handling, snapping, and firing off our guns; asking for this, that, and the other thing. The men’s hats, pipes, belts, and knives were constantly in their hands. They wished to see everything, and everything they saw they wished to get, even to the buttons on their clothes. Their teasing curiosity had no bounds; and every delay increased our difficulties. Our patience was put to the test a thousand times; but at last we got ready, and my men started. To amuse the Indians, however, till they could get fairly off, I invited the chiefs to a parley, which I put a stop to as soon as I thought the men and horses had got clear of the camp. I then prepared to follow them, when a new difficulty arose. In the hurry and bustle of starting, my people had left a restive, awkward brute of a horse for me, wild as a deer, and as full of latent tricks as he was wild. I mounted and dismounted at least a dozen times; in vain I tried to make him advance. He reared, jumped and plunged; but refused to walk, trot, or gallop. Every trial to make him go was a failure. A young conceited53 fop of an Indian, thinking he could make more of him than I could, jumped on his back; the horse reared and plunged as before, when, instead of slackening the bridle as he reared, he reined it tighter and tighter, till the horse fell right over on his back, and almost killed the fellow. Here Eyacktana, with a frown, called out, ‘Kap-sheesh she-eam’—the bad horse—and gave me another; and for the generous act I gave him my belt, the only article I had to spare. But although the difficulties I had with the horse were galling enough to me, they proved a source of great amusement to the Indians, who enjoyed it with roars of laughter.”

When Ross got out of the camp he rode hard and took a short cut in the effort to overtake his people, but could not find them. Presently, however, from the top of a ridge, he saw three horsemen coming toward him at full tilt. He made preparation for defence, and hiding behind a rock awaited the onslaught, but before they got close to him he discovered that these were the friendly Pisscows, who before had warned him to turn back, and with them he went on. At last they saw Ross’s people, who were driving their horses as fast as they could, but when they saw Ross and his companions behind them they thought them enemies, and stopped to fight. All were glad enough to get together, and at last, after various adventures, they reached the fort at Okanagan.

54
II
WORK OF A FUR TRADER

A little later Ross went north to his own post at the She-Whaps, where he made a good trade. From here he decided to go west to the Pacific coast on foot, believing that the distance was not more than two hundred miles, but before he reached the coast a destructive hurricane passed so close to his party that his guide, altogether discouraged by fatigue and failure, deserted during the night, and Ross was obliged to return.

One winter, much alarm was caused among the Indians by the depredations of strange wolves, reported to be hundreds in number, and as big as buffalo, which were coming into the country, and on their march were killing all the horses. The Indians declared that all the horses would be killed, for men could not go near these wolves, nor would arrows or balls kill them. Shortly after the head chief of the Okanagan Indians had told this story to Ross, wolves killed five of the traders’ horses. Ross took up those left alive, and then put out a dozen traps about the carcass of one that had been killed. The next morning four of the traps were sprung. “One of them held a large white wolf by the fore leg, a foot equally large was gnawed off and left in another, the third held a fox, and the fourth trap had disappeared altogether.” Unable to get away, the captured wolf was quite ready to fight. It55 had gnawed the trap until its teeth were broken and its head was covered with blood. When killed it was found to weigh one hundred and twenty-seven pounds, an enormous animal. The one that had carried off the trap was at last discovered making the best of its way over the country, and pursuit resulted in its capture. The animal had dragged a trap and chain weighing eight and one-half pounds a distance of twenty-five miles, without appearing at all fatigued. Ross wanted the skin, but had left his knife behind him. However, it was not for nothing that he had been for years associated with Indians, and he took the flint out of his gun, skinned the animal, and went home with skin and trap.

The killing of these two wolves and the crippling of the third put an end to the destruction, and not another horse was killed in that part of the country during the season.

Ross comments interestingly on the methods used by wolves in decoying horses.

“If there is no snow, or but little, on the ground, two wolves approach in the most playful and caressing manner, lying, rolling, and frisking about, until the too credulous and unsuspecting victim is completely put off his guard by curiosity and familiarity. During this time the gang, squatted on their hind-quarters, look on at a distance. After some time spent in this way, the two assailants separate, when one approaches the horse’s head, the other his tail, with a slyness and56 cunning peculiar to themselves. At this stage of the attack, their frolicsome approaches become very interesting—it is in right good earnest; the former is a mere decoy, the latter is the real assailant, and keeps his eyes steadily fixed on the ham-strings or flank of the horse. The critical moment is then watched, and the attack is simultaneous; both wolves spring at their victim the same instant, one to the throat, the other to the flank, and if successful, which they generally are, the hind one never lets go his hold till the horse is completely disabled. Instead of springing forward or kicking to disengage himself, the horse turns round and round without attempting a defence. The wolf before, then springs behind, to assist the other. The sinews are cut, and in half the time I have been describing it, the horse is on his side; his struggles are fruitless: the victory is won. At this signal, the lookers-on close in at a gallop, but the small fry of followers keep at a respectful distance, until their superiors are gorged, then they take their turn unmolested. The wolves, however, do not always kill to eat; like wasteful hunters, they often kill for the pleasure of killing, and leave the carcases untouched. The helplessness of the horse when attacked by wolves is not more singular than its timidity and want of action when in danger by fire. When assailed by fire, in the plains or elsewhere, their strength, swiftness, and sagacity, are of no avail; they never attempt to fly, but become bewildered in the smoke, turn round and round, stand and tremble,57 until they are burnt to death: which often happens in this country, in a conflagration of the plains.”

It must be remembered, however, that Ross is speaking of wolves of the western mountains, animals which were not familiar with the buffalo, and which now, since horses had been brought into the country, had been supplied with a new food animal. Ross says also, and he is almost the only writer who speaks of anything of this kind, that wolves sometimes attacked men, and instances two men forced to take shelter for several hours in a tree by a band of seventeen wolves.

It was about this time that a change of heart began to take place among the authorities of the Northwest Company. Since Astoria had become Fort George few or no steps had been taken to make the most of the possibilities of the country, but those who were on the ground dwelt constantly on the poverty of the country, the hostility of the Indians, and the impracticability of trade. The people who came over the mountains to take the place of the Astorians brought with them their habits of the fur country of the east, and seemed unable to change them. The traders from the east preferred the birch-bark canoe, and spent much time in searching for bark. It was even provided—lest that of good quality should not be found on the waters of the Pacific slope—that a stock of bark should be shipped from Montreal to London, and thence around Cape Horn to Fort George, in order that canoes might be made.

58 In 1816 the Columbia River district was divided by the authorities at Fort William into two separate departments, each one with a bourgeois at the head. Mr. Keith was chosen to preside at Fort George, while Mr. McKenzie was given charge of the department of the interior. There was much grumbling at this last appointment. Ross was appointed as second in command to Mr. Keith. Shortly after this there were various troubles at Fort George, one of the most important being the desertion of the blacksmith Jacob, who fled to a hostile tribe, from which he was taken by Ross, who went after him with thirty men. The enterprise was one which required that courage and endurance which Ross so often displayed in times of difficulty. The west coast trade was further complicated by the jealousy which Mr. Keith felt for Mr. McKenzie. These difficulties were overcome, and McKenzie again set out for his interior command, accompanied by a force of Iroquois, Abenakis, and Sandwich Islanders. Mr. Keith remained in command at Fort George.

Many of the hunters and trappers at Fort George lacked experience in dealing with the natives, and before long there was trouble with the Indians. These tried to exact tribute from the fur traders for trapping on the tribal land, and the fur traders, far from showing patience, were quite ready to quarrel. One or more of the hunters were wounded on the Willamette and some Indians were killed. Ross was sent out to try to59 effect a reconciliation, but, as so often is the case where Indians have been killed, the people in the camps declined to smoke and to consider any other course than war. It was only by the exercise of great patience and forbearance, and finally by the gift of a flag to a chief, that the trouble was at last smoothed over, and the opposing parties smoked and made long speeches and then concluded a treaty—the whites having paid for the dead—which greatly pleased Mr. Keith.

McKenzie on his way up the Columbia did not get beyond the Cascades, for here he found the river frozen; so he camped and spent the winter among the Indians, showing, in his dealings with them, remarkable tact and judgment.

Ross describes with some humor the happenings at a feast, such as frequently took place in the camp where McKenzie now was:

“On the score of cheer, we will here gratify the curiosity of our readers with a brief description of one of their entertainments, called an Indian feast. The first thing that attracts the attention of a stranger, on being invited to a feast in these parts, is, to see seven or eight bustling squaws running to and fro with pieces of greasy bark, skins of animals, and old mats, to furnish the banqueting lodge, as receptacles for the delicate viands: at the door of the lodge is placed, on such occasions, a sturdy savage with a club in his hand, to keep the dogs at bay, while the preparations are going on.

60 “The banqueting hall is always of a size suitable to the occasion, large and roomy. A fire occupies the centre, round which, in circular order, are laid the eatables. The guests form a close ring round the whole. Every one approaches with a grave and solemn step. The party being all assembled, the reader may picture to himself our friend seated among the nobles of the place, his bark platter between his legs, filled top-heavy with the most delicious mélange of bear’s grease, dog’s flesh, wappatoes, obellies, amutes, and a profusion of other viands, roots and berries. Round the festive board, placed on terra firma, all the nabobs of the place are squatted down in a circle, each helping himself out of his platter with his fingers, observing every now and then to sleek down the hair by way of wiping the hands. Only one knife is used, and that is handed round from one to another in quick motion. Behind the banqueting circle sit, in anxious expectation, groups of the canine tribe, yawning, howling, and growling; these can only be kept in the rear by a stout cudgel, which each of the guests keeps by him, for the purpose of self-defence; yet it not unfrequently happens that some one of the more daring curs gets out of patience, breaks through the front rank, and carries off his booty; but when a trespass of this kind is committed, the unfortunate offender is well belaboured in his retreat, for the cudgels come down upon him with a terrible vengeance. The poor dog, however, has his revenge in turn, for the squabble and61 brawl that ensues disturbs all the dormant fleas of the domicile. This troop of black assailants jump about in all directions, so that a guest, by helping himself to the good things before him, keeping the dogs at bay behind him, and defending himself from the black squadrons that surround him, pays, perhaps, dearer for his entertainment at the Columbian Cascades than a foreign ambassador does in a London hotel!”

On leaving this place in the spring, the traders broke one of their boats while towing it up the Cascades, and there was no room in the other boats to load the cargo of the one that had been broken. There were sixty packages, of ninety pounds each, and this large and valuable cargo McKenzie turned over to a chief, to be kept for him until his return. When the brigade returned six months later the whole cargo was handed over safe and untouched to McKenzie. Such care for the property of their guests was often given by the old-time Indians.

The next summer when the inland brigade left Fort George for the interior, Ross accompanied it, for he was starting for his own post at She-Whaps. As usual, there were many annoyances—men deserted, others fell sick, some of the Iroquois were about to fire on the native Indians—and altogether the leaders of the party had their hands full in trying to keep peace.

Ross had with him a little dog which an Indian one morning got hold of and carried away. The dog, anxious to get back to his master, in its struggles to62 escape happened to scratch one of the children of his captor, and presently Ross saw the dog running to him, followed by two men with guns in their hands. The dog lay down by its master’s feet, and one of the Indians cocked his gun to shoot the animal. Ross jumped up and took the gun from the Indian, who seemed very angry and demanded it again. After a time Ross handed it back to him, at the same time picking up his own gun and telling the Indian that if he attempted to kill the dog he himself would die. The man did not shoot the dog, but telling his trouble to the other Indians, they gathered about Ross and there was every prospect of a pretty quarrel. However, Ross and McKenzie, strong in their knowledge of Indian character, smoothed things over, made a little gift to the child that had been scratched, gave the chief some tobacco, and presently went on their way with the apparent good-will of the whole camp.

A day or two later another example was seen of the way in which Ross handled the Indians. The chiefs and the traders were smoking and talking.

“While thus engaged, and the crowd thronging around us, a fellow more like a baboon than a man, with a head full of feathers and a countenance of brass, having a fine gun in his hand, called out, ‘How long are the whites to pass here, troubling our waters and scaring our fish, without paying us? Look at all these bales of goods going to our enemies,’ said he; ‘and look at our wives and children naked.’ The fellow then63 made a pause, as if waiting an answer; but, as good fortune would have it, the rest of the Indians paid but little attention to him. No answer was made; nor was it a time to discuss the merits or demerits of such a question. Happening, however, to be near the fellow when he spoke, I turned briskly round, ‘So long,’ said I, ‘as the Indians smoke our tobacco; just so long, and no longer, will the whites pass here.’ Then I put some questions to him in turn. ‘Who gave you that fine gun on your hand?’ ‘The whites,’ answered he. ‘And who gives you tobacco to smoke?’ ‘The whites,’ he replied. Continuing the subject, ‘Are you fond of your gun?’ ‘Yes,’ ‘And are you fond of tobacco to smoke?’ To this question also the reply was ‘Yes,’ ‘Then,’ said I, ‘you ought to be fond of the whites who supply all your wants.’ ‘Oh, yes!’ rejoined he. The nature of the questions and answers set the bystanders laughing; and taking no further notice of the rascal, he sneaked off among the crowd, and we saw him no more. The question put by the feathered baboon amounted to nothing in itself; but it proved that the subject of tribute had been discussed among the Indians.”

There was constant demand for readiness and quick-wittedness, for the whites were very few in number and the Indians numerous; moreover, these primitive people were altogether disposed to see how far the whites would permit them to go, and it was thus exceedingly easy to begin a quarrel about some trifling matter in which blood might be shed.

64 From his post in the She-Whaps Ross soon went east toward the Rocky Mountains, having been ordered to explore this country and see what it contained. He set out on foot with two of his best hands and two Indians. Each carried as baggage one-half dozen pairs of moccasins, a blanket, some ammunition, needles, thread, and tobacco, besides a small axe, a knife, a fire steel, and an awl. All they had besides was a kettle and a pint pot. For subsistence they depended on their guns, and for a further supply of shoes and clothing on the animals that they might kill by the way.

The country was extraordinarily rough. Fur-bearing animals were not plenty, but game was abundant, elk and deer being seen in great numbers, and so tame as to make it appear that they had never been disturbed.

In six days’ travel down a stream, which Ross calls the Grisly-bear, they shot four elks, twenty-two deer, two otters, two beavers, and three black bears, without stepping out of the trail. A little later they saw moose, and still later is given a curious account of a battle between two large birds, both of which were captured. One of these was a white-headed eagle which weighed eight and three-quarter pounds, and the other “a wild-turkey cock, or what we call the Columbia grouse,” which could only have been a sage grouse. This is said to have weighed eleven and one-quarter pounds!

During this same summer McKenzie had trouble with the Iroquois—seemingly most untrustworthy servants—who65 tried to kill McKenzie, perhaps with the idea of taking all the property of the expedition. However, McKenzie’s quickness and readiness enabled him to put the Iroquois to flight.

Soon after his return from his Eastern exploration Ross was invited by the Indians to accompany them on a bear-hunt, which he describes:

“The party were all mounted on horseback, to the number of seventy-three, and exhibited a fine display of horsemanship. After some ten miles’ travel, we commenced operations. Having reached the hunting-ground, the party separated into several divisions. We then perambulated the woods, crossed rivers, surrounded thickets, and scampered over hill and dale, with yell and song, for the greater part of two days; during which time we killed seven bears, nine wolves, and eleven small deer: one of the former I had the good luck to shoot myself. In the evening of the third day, however, our sport was checked by an accident. One of the great men, the chief Pacha of the hunting party, named Tu-tack-it, Is-tso-augh-an, or Short Legs, got severely wounded by a female bear.

“The only danger to be apprehended in these savage excursions is by following the wounded animal into a thicket, or hiding-place; but with the Indians the more danger the more honour, and some of them are foolhardy enough to run every hazard in order to strike the last fatal blow, (in which the honour lies,) sometimes with a lance, tomahawk, or knife, at the risk of their66 lives. No sooner is a bear wounded than it immediately flies for refuge to some hiding-place, unless too closely pursued; in which case, it turns round in savage fury on its pursuers, and woe awaits whoever is in the way.

“The bear in question had been wounded and took shelter in a small coppice. The bush was instantly surrounded by the horsemen, when the more bold and daring entered it on foot, armed with gun, knife, and tomahawk. Among the bushrangers on the present occasion was the chief, Short Legs, who, while scrambling over some fallen timber, happened to stumble near to where the wounded and enraged bear was concealed, but too close to be able to defend himself before the vicious animal got hold of him. At that moment I was not more than five or six paces from the chief, but could not get a chance of shooting, so I immediately called out for help, when several mustered round the spot. Availing ourselves of the doubtful alternative of killing her—even at the risk of killing the chief—we fired, and as good luck would have it, shot the animal and saved the man; then carrying the bear and wounded chief out of the bush, we laid both on the open ground. The sight of the chief was appalling: the scalp was torn from the crown of his head, down over the eyebrows! he was insensible, and for some time we all thought him dead; but after a short interval his pulse began to beat, and he gradually showed signs of returning animation.

“It was a curious and somewhat interesting scene to67 see the party approach the spot where the accident happened. Not being able to get a chance of shooting, they threw their guns from them, and could scarcely be restrained from rushing on the fierce animal with their knives only. The bear all the time kept looking first at one, then at another, and casting her fierce and flaming eyes around the whole of us, as if ready to make a spring at each; yet she never let go her hold of the chief; but stood over him. Seeing herself surrounded by so many enemies, she moved her head from one position to another, and these movements gave us ultimately an opportunity of killing her.

“The misfortune produced a loud and clamorous scene of mourning among the chief’s relations; we hastened home, carrying our dead bears along with us, and arrived at the camp early in the morning of the fourth day. The chief remained for three days speechless. In cutting off the scalp and dressing the wound, we found the skull, according to our imperfect knowledge of anatomy, fractured in two or three places; and at the end of eight days, I extracted a bone measuring two inches long, of an oblong form, and another of about an inch square, with several smaller pieces, all from the crown of the head! The wound, however, gradually closed up and healed, except a small spot about the size of an English shilling. In fifteen days, by the aid of Indian medicine, he was able to walk about, and at the end of six weeks from the time he got wounded, he was on horseback again at the chace.”

68 More or less wolf-hunting was done through the winter, and Ross describes certain methods of catching and killing these animals.

The killing of wolves, foxes, and other wild animals by the whites was really only a recreation, and the traders preferred shooting them to any other mode of destruction. The wolves were usually afoot and searching for food at all hours of the day and night. They liked to get up on nearby hills or knolls, to sit and look about. It was the practice of the traders to scatter food about the places frequented by the wolves, and—when there were no wolves there—to practise shooting at a mark, watching where the balls hit and learning the elevation of the gun required to reach the spot, until finally many of them became very expert at this long-distance shooting.

“A band of Indians happening to come to the fort one day, and observing a wolf on one of the favourite places of resort, several of them prepared to take a circuitous turn to have a shot at the animal. Seeing them prepare—‘Try,’ said I, ‘and kill it from where you are,’ The Indians smiled at my ignorance. ‘Can the whites,’ said the chief, ‘kill it at that distance?’ ‘The whites,’ said I, ‘do not live by hunting or shooting as do the Indians, or they might.’ ‘There is no gun,’ continued the chief, ‘that could kill at that distance,’ By this time the wolf had laid hold of a bone, or piece of flesh, and was scampering off with it, at full speed, to the opposite woods. Taking hold of my gun—‘If69 we cannot kill it,’ said I, ‘we shall make it let go its prey.’ ‘My horse against your shot,’ called out the chief, ‘that you do not hit the wolf.’ ‘Done,’ said I; but I certainly thought within myself that the chief ran no great risk of losing his horse, nor the wolf of losing his life. Taking an elevation of some fifteen or sixteen feet over it, by chance I shot the animal in his flight, to the astonishment of the chief, as well as all present, who, clapping their hands to their mouths in amazement, measured the distance by five arrow-shots: nothing but their wonder could exceed their admiration of this effect of fire-arms.

“When the ball struck the wolf, it was in the act of leaping; and we may judge of its speed at the time, from the fact that the distance from whence it took the last leap to where it was lying stretched, measured twenty-four feet! The ball struck the wolf in the left thigh, and passing through the body, neck and head, it lodged in the lower jaw; I cut it out with my pen-knife. The chief, on delivering up his horse, which he did cheerfully, asked me for the ball, and that ball was the favourite ornament of his neck for years afterwards. The horse I returned to its owner. The Indians then asked me for the skin of the dead wolf; and to each of the guns belonging to the party was appended a piece: the Indians fancying that the skin would enable them, in future, to kill animals at a great distance.”

The following summer, McKenzie with Ross and70 ninety-five men went up the river and encamped at the site determined on for the new establishment of Fort Nez Percés, about one-half mile from the mouth of the Walla Walla. This country was occupied by Indians of the Shahaptian stock—fierce, good warriors, and impulsive—easily moved in one direction or the other. They seemed by no means favorable to the coming whites; did not shake hands with them, and in fact appeared disposed to boycott the new arrivals.

The situation was a difficult one, because the construction of a fort required a dividing of the party into many small bands, and also because more Indians were constantly coming in, and their actions caused much uneasiness. They insisted on receiving pay for the timber to be used in building the fort; they forbade hunting and fishing; they set the price on all articles of trade, and it was difficult to know what the outcome of this might be.

The difficulties threatening the traders caused an almost complete suspension of work. They stood on their guard, ready for an attack at any time, while for five days there was no intercourse between whites and Indians; food was short, and one night the party went to bed supperless. The Indians continued to gather, and the traders thought that they were plotting and planning—no one knew what.

A slight enclosure had been put up, behind which the traders awaited whatever might happen. After a time, the chiefs opened negotiations with the whites and71 insisted that liberal presents should be made to all the Indians roundabout, in order to gain their favor. This was obviously impracticable, since all the property of the traders would not have sufficed to make a present to each Indian, and the demand was refused, with the result that the firmness of the white men caused the Indians to reduce their requests and finally to submit to the proposals of the whites, and as soon as this was agreed on a brisk trade went on.

The position chosen for the fort was noteworthy among the natives because it was the ground on which, some years before, Lewis and Clark had ratified a general peace between themselves and the tribes of the surrounding country. The situation was commanding. To the west was a spacious view of the great river, to the north and east were the wide expanses of the yellow plains, while to the south lay wild, rough hills on either side of the river, overlooked by two singular towering rocks on the east side of the stream, called by the natives “The Twins.” In the distance lay the Blue Mountains.

Presently a large war-party returned to the camp with scalps and captives—a great triumph. Now came a demand from the Indians that the white traders should not give guns or balls to the enemies of these Indians, but after much negotiation and many speeches, the Indians agreed that peace should be made between themselves and the Snakes.

It was not long after this that a considerable party72 was sent off to penetrate the country inhabited by the Snakes and other tribes to the south. The traders had secured two hundred and eighty horses, enough for riding and packing, and the most of these were to go off with the Snake expedition, which consisted of fifty-five men, nearly two hundred horses, three hundred beaver-traps, and a considerable stock of trade goods. Mr. McKenzie led the expedition, which left Fort Nez Percés at the end of September. Ross, with the remaining party, stayed at the Fort.

The neighboring Indians, of whom Ross speaks in most cordial terms, treated the traders well and were respectful and good-natured, but presently came rumors of difficulties between the trading party to the Snakes and that tribe, and one of these rumors was confirmed by the arrival of a member of that expedition, an Iroquois, who had evidently had a hard time. According to his account, the Iroquois after a time separated from McKenzie to trap a small river which was well stocked with beaver. The Iroquois, according to the story, began to exchange their horses, guns, and traps with a small party of Snakes, and presently had little or nothing left. The returned Iroquois man got lost, and finally, with great difficulty, without food, blanket, or arms, got back to Fort Nez Percés. Other Iroquois returned and told various stories, and finally, going back to Fort George, persuaded Mr. Keith to send out a party to punish the Indians, who they said had injured them. Such a party was sent out to the Cowlitz73 River, and the Iroquois getting away from Mr. Ogden killed twelve men, women, and children, and scalped three of them. This seemed fatal to further friendly relations; nevertheless, at last peace was concluded between the traders and the Cowlitz Indians, and was sealed by the marriage of the chief’s daughter to one of the fur traders.

There was more sporadic fighting and killing of Indians and the murder of five people belonging to Fort George, so that things got into a very bad condition, which it took a long time to smooth over.

Late in the season Mr. McKenzie with six men on snow-shoes returned from the interior and gave an interesting account of the new country through which he had passed—a country to him not wholly new, because he had been through it in 1811. He reported that the Iroquois, instead of trapping and hunting, had separated and were scattered all over the country by twos and threes, living with the Indians, without horses, without traps, without furs, and without clothing. He left them as he found them.

Of the region traversed, Mr McKenzie reported:

“On our outward journey, the surface was mountainous and rugged, and still more so on our way back. Woods and valleys, rocks and plains, rivers and ravines, alternately met us; but altogether it is a delightful country. There animals of every class rove about undisturbed; wherever there was a little plain, the red deer were seen grazing in herds about the rivers; round74 every other point were clusters of poplar and elder, and where there was a sapling, the ingenious and industrious beaver was at work. Otters sported in the eddies; the wolf and the fox were seen sauntering in quest of prey; now and then a few cypresses or stunted pines were met with on the rocky parts, and in their spreading tops the raccoon sat secure. In the woods, the martin and black fox were numerous; the badger sat quietly looking from his mound; and in the numberless ravines, among bushes laden with fruits, the black, the brown, and the grisly bear were seen. The mountain sheep, and goat white as snow, browsed on the rocks, and ridges; and the big horn species ran among the lofty cliffs. Eagles and vultures, of uncommon size, flew about the rivers. When we approached, most of these animals stood motionless; they would then move off a little distance, but soon came anew to satisfy a curiosity that often proved fatal to them.

“The report of a gun did not alarm them: they would give a frisk at each shot, and stand again; but when the flag was unfurled, being of a reddish hue, it was with apparent reluctance they would retire beyond the pleasing sight. Hordes of wild horses were likewise seen on this occasion; and of all the animals seen on our journey they were the wildest, for none of them could be approached; their scent is exceedingly keen, their hearing also; and in their curiosity they were never known to come at any time within gun-shot. One75 band of these contained more than two hundred. Some of them were browsing on the face of the hills; others were running like deer up and down the steeps; and some were galloping backwards and forwards on the brows of the sloping mountains, with their flowing manes and bushy tails streaming in the wind.”

Mr. McKenzie’s successful trip commanded the admiration of all of the council of the head men at Fort George. Those who had formerly been opposed to him were now loud in his praises, and the establishment of Fort Nez Percés and the gaining of a foothold in the Snake country were warmly approved. He remained at Fort Nez Percés only seven days and then started back again. His report of the prospects in the Snake country was gratifying, but his people were giving great trouble.
III
INDIANS AND THEIR BATTLES

Fort Nez Percés was stockaded with an enclosure of pickets of sawn timber some twelve or fifteen feet high with four towers or bastions. The pickets were two and one-half feet broad by six inches thick. Near the top of the stockade was a balustrade four feet high, and a gallery five feet broad extended all around it, while the walls were loopholed. At each angle of the fort was a large reservoir holding two hundred gallons of water, and within the stockade were all the76 buildings, warehouses, stores, and dwelling-houses. These buildings were all loopholed and had sliding doors, and the trading-room was arranged with a small door in the wall, eighteen inches square, through which the Indians passed their furs, receiving from the traders on the inside the goods to which they were entitled. The outer gate was arranged to open and shut by a pulley, and besides this there were two double doors. Except on special occasions, the Indians were never invited into the fort. Nevertheless, at the gate there was a house for the accommodation of the Indians, with fire, tobacco, and a man to look after them at all times. The Indians, however, did not like this arrangement, because it seemed to show suspicion on the part of the white men; they themselves were suspicious of some plots. They asked whether the traders were afraid of them or afraid that they would steal, and while the traders denied that they were afraid of anything, they persisted in their plan, and at length the Indians accepted the situation. The traders were supplied with cannons, swivels, muskets, and bayonets, boarding-pikes and hand-grenades, while above the gate stood a small mortar. The position was a strong one, and Ross calls it the “Gibraltar of Columbia” and speaks of it as “a triumph of British energy and enterprise, of civilization over barbarism.”

McKenzie, on his return to the interior, had promised to be at the river Skam-naugh about the 5th of June and had asked that an outfit with supplies for77 his party be sent to meet him there. For this reason Ross returned from his annual trip to Fort George nearly a month earlier than usual—by the 15th of May. A party of fifteen men under a clerk named Kittson was sent out to take McKenzie his supplies and reinforce him. Kittson was a new man in the service, and was full of confidence that he could handle and defeat all the Indians on the continent. He had good luck until the party got into the debatable land in the Snake territory, and here, first, a dozen of his horses were stolen, and then, a little later, all of them.

Meantime McKenzie had had the usual difficulties with his Iroquois trappers, who could not be trusted with goods to trade with the Snakes. When the people whom he expected to meet at the river were not there, he sent out ten men to look for them. Two days after starting, as they were passing through a canyon, they met, face to face, the Indians who had just taken all of Kittson’s horses, and, recognizing the animals, charged the three horse-thieves. One was killed, another wounded and escaped, and a third was taken captive, and the traders turned the herd about and drove the horses back to Kittson’s camp.

Kittson now had thirty-six men and joined McKenzie, on the way capturing two more Indian horse-thieves, caught at night while cutting loose the horses. Kittson handed over his supplies, received McKenzie’s furs, and set out again for Fort Nez Percés.

78 When McKenzie and Kittson separated, the former had only three men left with him, for his Iroquois did not arrive, as expected. While waiting for them, a threatening party of mountain Snakes appeared at his camp, who were very importunate, so much so that at last McKenzie took from his pile of goods a keg of gunpowder and, lighting a match, threatened, if the Indians continued to advance, to blow up the whole party. Taken by surprise, they hesitated, and then suddenly, without a word, took to flight, not from fear of the threats of McKenzie, but because of the sudden appearance of a large war-party of Shahaptians on the other side of the river. Fortunately, these people could not cross the high and rushing stream, but a little later they made an attack on Kittson’s party and killed two of his men. As soon as the war-party had gone McKenzie and his men, with their property, crossed the channel of the river to an island, where they remained twenty-two days, until the return of Kittson. McKenzie and Kittson were now in a situation not at all agreeable. On one side were the Nez Percés, on the other the Blackfeet, and all about were the Snakes. All these tribes were hostile to one another, and all of them more or less ill-disposed toward the whites, so the summer was an anxious one, but McKenzie purposed to winter in the upper country as well as he might. Here Ross interjects an interesting sketch of trappers’ methods.

“A safe and secure spot, near wood and water, is first79 selected for the camp. Here the chief of the party resides with the property. It is often exposed to danger, or sudden attack, in the absence of the trappers, and requires a vigilant eye to guard against the lurking savages. The camp is called head quarters. From hence all the trappers, some on foot, some on horseback, according to the distance they have to go, start every morning, in small parties, in all directions, ranging the distance of some twenty miles around. Six traps is the allowance for each hunter; but to guard against wear and tear, the complement is more frequently ten. These he sets every night, and visits again in the morning; sometimes oftener, according to distance, or other circumstances. The beaver taken in the traps are always conveyed to the camp, skinned, stretched, dried, folded up with the hair in the inside, laid by, and the flesh used for food. No sooner, therefore, has a hunter visited his traps, set them again, and looked out for some other place, than he returns to the camp, to feast, and enjoy the pleasures of an idle day.

“There is, however, much anxiety and danger in going through the ordinary routine of a trapper’s duty. For as the enemy is generally lurking about among the rocks and hiding-places, watching an opportunity, the hunter has to keep a constant lookout; and the gun is often in one hand, while the trap is in the other. But when several are together, which is often the case in suspicious places, one-half set the traps, and the other half keep guard over them. Yet notwithstanding80 all their precautions, some of them fall victims to Indian treachery.

“The camp remains stationary while two-thirds of the trappers find beaver in the vicinity; but whenever the beaver becomes scarce, the camp is removed to some more favourable spot. In this manner, the party keeps moving from place to place, during the whole season of hunting. Whenever serious danger is apprehended, all the trappers make for the camp. Were we, however, to calculate according to numbers, the prospects from such an expedition would be truly dazzling: say, seventy-five men, with each six traps, to be successfully employed during five months; that is, two in the spring, and three in the fall, equal to 131 working days, the result would be 58,950 beaver! Practically, however, the case is very different. The apprehension of danger, at all times, is so great, that three-fourths of their time is lost in the necessary steps taken for their own safety. There is also another serious drawback unavoidably accompanying every large party. The beaver is a timid animal; the least noise, therefore, made about its haunt will keep it from coming out for nights together; and noise is unavoidable when the party is large. But when the party is small, the hunter has a chance of being more or less successful. Indeed, were the nature of the ground such as to admit of the trappers moving about in safety, at all times, and alone, six men, with six traps each, would, in the same space of time, and at the same rate, kill81 as many beavers—say 4,716—as the whole seventy-five could be expected to do! And yet the evil is without a remedy; for no small party can exist in these parts. Hence the reason why beavers are so numerous.”

Ross points out also some of the troubles that the traders must meet with, which troubles were largely due, of course, to the absolute inability of the Indians to comprehend the conditions of this new life. The Indians asked for everything that they saw and berated the traders because their requests were not complied with. They were constantly playing jokes—or what they considered jokes—on the white men, which were irritating enough; and looked with contempt on the whites who were engaged in ordinary labor, which they, of course, did not in the least understand. The Indians, with all their freedom, were far from happy, because they were in a state of constant anxiety and alarm. People who felt themselves injured were likely to make war excursions and kill some one belonging to another tribe, which, of course, extended the field of the trouble.

When fighting took place, and people supposedly friendly to the whites were injured, the traders were blamed, because they sold guns, powder, and balls to any one who might wish to trade with them. The life of the trader was thus one of anxiety, and to handle the Indians successfully called for extraordinary self-control.

Not long before this time some Shahaptians had killed two of Kittson’s men and several Snakes. The82 Snakes followed them, but before overtaking them came upon some Indians belonging to the Walla Walla, camped not three miles from Fort Nez Percés, where they killed a man, four women, and two children, and captured two young women and a man. The ne............