Letter V.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRÉCIS HISTORIQUES, BRUSSELS.
UNIVERSITY OF ST. LOUIS, Jan. 24, 1852.
M*****:
After remaining six days at Fort Alexander, allowing our animals time to repose, and also awaiting the arrival of a barge belonging to the American Fur Company, which was freighted with some of our effects, we passed over the Yellowstone on the 17th of August, at about two o'clock. We passed over a high and very level plain: for a distance of five miles the soil is light, sandy, and entirely covered with green toads, as the voyageurs call different kinds of cactus-plants that are noted for the splendor of their flowers, and fob their grotesque and varied shapes. The round and the oval, about the size of a hen's egg, abound in this plain, and are set with long thorns, hard, and as fine and sharp as needles. When trampled by the horses' feet, these thorns spring up and adhere to the legs and belly of the animals, and thus render them furious and unmanageable. We soon arrived in Rosebud Valley, and Continuing our route until Sunset, we encamped on the borders of a little river bearing the same name, and quite neat, a beautiful pond, over which a new darn had been constructed by the beavers.
This section of the country offered us frequent occasions of admiring the labors and ingenious industry of these intelligent animals. They are more numerous here than in any other district 1 have visited, and I am told that their preservation is chiefly attributable to the continual excursions of war-parties, either Sioux, Assiniboins, or Black-Feet, all implacable enemies of the Crows, and these prevent the huntsman and the savages from hazarding a chase in these parts. At present, the fur of the beaver is of so little value that their. search is almost abandoned. * In ancient tunes the Crows held the beaver in the highest veneration, because this nation imagined that they became beavers after death. This article of their creed entailed the loss of his scalp to many a bold huntsman among the whites, for every Crow Indian considered himself bound to protect, defend, and avenge, even with death, the spirits of his near relations, in their second state of existence. Daring late years this dogma of faith has been erased from their religious code, to the great detriment certainly of the poor beavers. Such superstitions will never wholly disappear until the Catholic faith enlightens these wilds, over which the darkness of paganism still hangs.
For four days we continued ascending the valley of the Rosebud, about one hundred miles, as high as the sources of the river. There again we found the soil light and sandy; it was covered with wild rose-bushes, cactus, and artemisia of several varieties, and intersected with ravines which were exceedingly difficult to be crossed with baggage-wagons. The shores of this river relieve the eye with an occasional group of cotton-.wood, intermingled with plum, cherry, and service trees, which thrive here in undisturbed plenty.
The Little Wolf Mountains, whose rivulets give rise to the Rosebud River, have in general a charming appearance iii their hills and acclivities-and in their combined aspect ,as a whole chain. The absence of water, especially of springwater, is a painful privation to travellers in this season of the year. We found, indeed, some holes of stagnant water, in the dry beds of the rivers, but the taste is almost insupportable. The buffalo-herds are less numerous here than in the lands lying further north, owing no doubt to bands of warriors that roam. over the space. Yet we perceived at every moment large troops of stags, and a great many deer and mountain-sheep. We remarked recent traces of enemies such as the slain carcasses of very dangerous wild animals, the impress of human feet in the sand, concealed encampments, and half-quenched fires. Consequently we redoubled our vigilance, in order to avoid a perilous surprise. A beautiful chief's-coat., of scarlet cloth, and trimmed with gold lace, suspended from the branch of a tree, was perceived waving in the air like a floating banner. There was a race to win the prize; an Assiniboin having carried it off, it was most carefully scrutinized. The conclusion was, that it had been offered only the day before by some Black-Foot chief. These Indians, when on the war-path, frequently make such offerings either to the sun or to the moon, hoping thus to render them propitious, so that through their intervention they may obtain many scalps and horses. The most precious objects which they possess and which they esteem most, are often thus sacrificed. The Mandans, the Arickaras, and their neighbors, go still further: they cut off fingers, and make deep incisions in the fleshy parts of the body before starting for war, in order to obtain the same favors of their false gods. On my last visit to these Riccaries, Minataries, and Mandans, I could not discern a single man at all advanced in years whose body was not mutilated, or who possessed his full number of fingers. How profound their ignorance How fearful the idolatry in which these unhappy tribes are plunged ! To this sombre picture we may add a passionate love of gaining, which consumes the hours which should be devoted to necessary repose; a sloth which nothing but hunger can arouse ; an innate inclination to dissimulation, gluttony, and to whatever can flatter sensuality. And still, amid this ocean of miseries, they feel an indescribable need of invoking a power superior to man : they listen attentively" to any instruction which reveals to them the means of procuring his favor, and give them information of his attributes. They love the missionary, and ever listen to him with delight; and in his quality of priest receive him. with friendship and respect. To judge by the respect4and friendship shown me as a priest, on all occasions and circumstances, by the Indians on the Upper Missouri, I am. satisfied that if a few zealous priests were stationed here, they would soon become generous Christians, full of zeal and ardor for the glory of our God and his holy law. "They would know their Father who is in heaven, and Him whom he has sent on earth;" they would become faithful disciples of the Redeemer, who so ardently desires the salvation of all, and who did not disdain to shed his blood for them on the cross.
On the 22d of August we quitted the valley of the Rosebud, and crossed the mountainous train which separates it from Tongue River. The crest of this chain presents a continuation of sandstone cliffs, under a multitude of varied and fantastical shapes. The sides are almost perpendicular, and consequently very difficult to ascend or descend with our wagons. The aid of every arm was necessary to sustain the teams. For several days we had to camp by a pond filled with disgusting water. How agreeable the contrast to find ourselves on the borders of this beautiful river, the waters of which are pure as crystal! How eagerly did we allay our burning thirst! The horses and mules appeared to rejoice, neighing and rearing with impatience; as soon as their bridles were loosened, they plunged into the waves and indulged iu long draughts. When the whole caravan had assuaged their thirst, we continued our route. We traversed an undulating plain ; and perceiving in the distance a prominent point of land which appeared sparkling with crystals, we named it Diamond Hill. It was covered with enormous masses of mica. For the first time since we left Fort Alexander we breakfasted beside beautiful springs of fresh water, the most remarkable in the country. After advancing about twenty-three miles that day, we camped on the banks of Tongue River. There we had a new occasion to recall and arrange our recollections of the land we had seen. Coal also appears as abundant south of the Yellowstone as above it; we met it everywhere. The slopes of the hills are well wooded with larch and pines of every variety up to the very summit, throughout the whole extent of the Little Wolf chain. This we left for that of the Great Wolf, which we reach before arriving at the' Black Hills. These mountains form spurs of the Rocky Mountains; the principal summits are over 13,000 feet high. On the 23d we left Tongue River. For ten hours we marched over mountain and valley, following the course of one of its tributaries, making, however, only about twenty-five miles. On the day following we crossed a chain of lofty mountains to attain the Lower Piny Fork, nearly twenty miles distant. We arrived quite unexpectedly on the borders of a lovely little lake about six miles long, and my travelling companions gave it any name. There our hunters killed several wild ducks. On quitting the lake, we discovered another elevated portion of land on which red mounds and scoriae, volcanic remains, are scattered in all directions, as far as the Upper Piny Fork; -and there petrified trees are met with - at every step. Towards evening we encamped at the base of a mountain, after advancing about twenty-five miles, and thought ourselves favored in finding a pool of water. The next twenty-four miles were taken in the direction of Sandy Fiver, through undulating plains and mountainous hills.
On the 27th of August we reached Powder River, one of the principal tributaries of the Yellowstone. Our wagoners will not soon forget the difficulty of conducting their teams through this last route, for it was a very miserable, elevated, sterile plain, covered with wormwood and intersected with countless ravines,. and they vowel they would never be caught driving a wagon there again.
The valley of the Powder River, in the neighborhood of the Buttes aux Callebasses, which are in sight, is three or four miles wide. Although the soil was light, the verdure was fine and the grazing abundant. The part where I crossed the valley is well wooded, and they told me that wood, especially cotton-wood and fruit trees, is abundant all along the river. This valley forms a beautiful contrast with the high plains of these parts, which are the very picture of aridity and desolation, with naught but weeds, rocks, and deep ravines.
Here we happened to meet with three young Indians of the Crow tribe. They had been on the lookout for a Sioux camp, intending to steal horses, but had not succeeded. These young men advised us to pursue the vale of a little river which they pointed out to us, assuring us that by taking that direction we should soon arrive at Fort Laramie. I was surprised at this counsel, for the course of the valley was southwest ; however, we followed the route indicated by the Crows. This proved the most rugged and difficult part of our journey, hence we styled it "the valley of a thousand miseries." A name could not have been better chosen. Imagine, a river with perpendicular banks, winding in a serpentine course through a narrow valley, so that in a distance of three miles we were obliged to cross it ten or twelve times, with carts and wagons, at the imminent risk of killing our horses and mules and destroying; our vehicles. The soil, too, was sterile, and as we journeyed on water became scarce-on the fifth day it failed completely, and it did again on the last. The night that ensued was a hard trial, for after so long a march we had not a drop of water to quench our burning thirst.
On the Ist of September, having traversed three chains of hills, we gradually attained the summit of the Black Hills. We bad one cart less, and one heavy wagon so broken that it had to be tied together with strips of, raw buffalo-hide. From the summit we were so happy as to perceive a distant lake. We eagerly hastened in that direction, for we were consumed with thirst, and had serious fears for our beasts of burden, which were slackening their weary pace. To our astonishment, we directly perceived that we were still at a great distance from Fort Laramie. Instead of being near that fort, in accordance with the assurances of the three Crows, we discovered ourselves in sight of the Red Buttes, twenty-five miles off. This is a well-known spot on the "Great Oregon Route," and is one hundred and sixty milts from Fort Laramie. On the top of the Black. Hills I left a little souvenir of my passage,-on a very high rock of a
remarkable form, I carved a large and handsome cross. Ali 1 may the Indian tribes scattered throughout the wild solitude soon learn the great truths which this holy emblem announces! May they soon leave the bondage in which error has chained them during innumerable ages!
The whole region. over which we passed, south of the Yellowstone, offers only feeble hopes to civilization. The soil is light, wood scarce, and water wanting during a largo portion of the year. It is a country favorable solely to hunters and wandering tribes. All the animals common in the wilderness abound, and during long years to come they will rest undisturbed in their possessions. When all the fertile tracts, yet vacant in the immense Indian territory, will be occupied, then only will the lands below the Yellowstone attract attention; then alone will necessitous and persevering industry, succeed in drawing any considerable portion of this region from its present barrenness.
In the neighborhood and along the base of the Black Hills there lies a very extensive tract of fertile and tillable land. The verdure is rich and abounds in all the valleys, and these valleys penetrate the mountains like so many veins, where millions of domestic animals might be raised ; for the springs and rivulets so seldom occurring in the central section between the Yellowstone and the Black Hills, are very numerous in the interior and at the base of these mountains. There are also a great many sites favorable to the erection of mills. The climate is reputed delightful, and the noble forests of cedar and pine would abundantly supply the necessities of a population. Mines of lead and iron are very numerous.
The 2d day of September we found ourselves on the "Great Route to Oregon," over which, like successive ocean surges, the caravans, composed of thousands of emigrants from every country and clime, have passed during these latter years to reach the rich gold mines of California, or to take possession of the new lands in the fertile plains and valleys of Utah and Oregon. These intrepid pioneers of civilization have formed the broadest, longest, and most beautiful road in the whole world-from the United States to the Pacific Ocean. On the skirts of this magnificent way there is an abundance of grass for supplying the cattle and animals appertaining to the caravans which are incessantly travelling on it, from early spring to autumn, every succeeding year.
Our Indian companions who had never seen but the narrow hunting-paths, by which they transport themselves and their lodges, were filled with admiration on seeing this noble highway, which is as smooth as a barn-floor swept by the winds, and not a blade of grass can shoot on it on account of the continual passing. They conceived a high idea of the countless White Nation, as they express it. They fancied that all had gone over that road, and that an immense void must exist in the land of the rising sun. Their countenances testified evident incredulity when I told them that their exit was in nowise perceived in the lands of the whites.
They styled the route the Great Medicine Road of the Whites. The term medicine is applied by them to whatever they find grand, religious, mysterious, or incomprehensible. They visited and examined in detail all the forsaken camping-grounds on the way; they brought a great variety of objects to me to have their use and signification explained ; they filled their pouches with knives, forks, spoons, basins, coffee-pots, and other cooking articles, axes, hammers, etc. With the bits of earthen ware which bore any figure or inscription, they fabricated some ornament for their necks and ears. How wonderful will be the accounts given of the Great Medicine Road by our unsophisticated Indians when they go back to their villages, and sit in the midst of an admiring circle of relatives.
But these relics collected by our savage friends were not the sole vestiges of the great multitude of emigrants who, in search of gold, had crossed this vast plain with a rare courage and unheard-of fatigues and difficulties. The bleached bones of domestic animals disseminated profusely along the route; the rising mound hastily made over the grave of a parent or a friend deceased during the long journey, and the tribute offered to memory in a coarse and rudely-carved inscription on a narrow strip of board or on a stone, with other graves which offered no such testimonial of affection, furnish ample and melancholy proofs that death had considerably thinned their ranks. By such disasters thousands of emigrants have found themselves suddenly arrested, and been mocked in the flattering hope of wealth and pleasure.
The countless fragments of conveyances, the heaps of provisions, tools of every kind, and other objects with which the emigrants must have provided themselves at great
expense, but which the most impatient, eager to outstrip others in the Western Eldorado, had forsaken and cast aside, testify to that bold recklessness with which they hazard every thing in this enterprise which has proved fatal to thousands. The picture traced by Thornton in his Journal of 1848, is the most shocking that can be contemplated. Arrived in the arid lands of California, the famine had at first reduced them to eating their horses and mules; soon they had recourse to dead bodies ; then the dying were not spared, and at last they actually devoured each other ! What a salutary proof of the uncertainty that accompanie-c the grandest perspectives in the life of man, and of the deceptions that unveil to him his native weakness!
We followed the great road south of the Platte to the foot of the Great Black Hills. On this road we found ourselves relieved from those obstacles which had so often
endangered our vehicles and our animals. After eight days' journey- along the Platte, we arrived at Fort Laramie without the least trouble or accident. The commander of the fort informed us that the Great Council was to take place at the mouth of Horse River, in a vast plain situated nearly thirtyfive miles lower down on the Platte. The next day I accepted the polite invitation of the respected Col. Campbell, and took a seat in his carriage. We arrived at the plain of the intended council about sunset. There the superintendent, Col. M. Mitchell, received me with warm friendship and cordiality, and insisting that I should become his guest during the whole time of the council. All the others showed me great respect.
In this immense plain above-mentioned, we found about a thousand lodges, that is to say, ten thousand Indians, representing Sioux, Sheyennes, and Rapahos, with several deputations from the Crows, Snakes, or Soshonies, Arickaras, Assiniboins, and Minataries. I purpose entertaining you in my next with the object of the council, and of my interviews with the Indians.
Accept, etc.,
P.J. DE SMET, S.J.
P. S.-I subjoin a list of the animals killed by our hunters from the 1st of August till the 9th of September, 1851: 2 deer, 11 antelopes, 37 bison cows, 22 bulls, 3 bears, 2 stags, 7 Rocky-Mountain sheep, 2 badgers, 2 polecats, 1 porcupine, 1 wolf, 17 hares and rabbits, 13 ducks, 18 heathcock, 16 pheasants.