Meeting with Hodgkiss—Misfortunes of the Nez Perces—Schemes of Kosato, the renegado—His foray into the Horse Prairie—Invasion of Black feet—Blue John and his forlorn hope—Their generous enterprise—Their fate—Consternation and despair of the village—Solemn obsequies—Attempt at Indian trade—Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly—Arrangements for autumn—Breaking up of an encampment.
HAVING now a pretty strong party, well armed and equipped, Captain
Bonneville no longer felt the necessity of fortifying himself in the
secret places and fastnesses of the mountains; but sallied forth boldly
into the Snake River plain, in search of his clerk, Hodgkiss, who had
remained with the Nez Perces. He found him on the 24th of June, and
learned from him another chapter of misfortunes which had recently
befallen that ill-fated race.
After the departure of Captain Bonneville in March, Kosato, the renegade
Blackfoot, had recovered from the wound received in battle; and with his
strength revived all his deadly hostility to his native tribe. He now
resumed his efforts to stir up the Nez Perces to reprisals upon
their old enemies; reminding them incessantly of all the outrages and
robberies they had recently experienced, and assuring them that such
would continue to be their lot until they proved themselves men by some
signal retaliation.
The impassioned eloquence of the desperado at length produced an effect;
and a band of braves enlisted under his guidance, to penetrate into the
Blackfoot country, harass their Villages, carry off their horses, and
commit all kinds of depredations.
Kosato pushed forward on his foray as far as the Horse Prairie, where he
came upon a strong party of Blackfeet. Without waiting to estimate
their force, he attacked them with characteristic fury, and was bravely
seconded by his followers. The contest, for a time, was hot and bloody;
at length, as is customary with these two tribes, they paused, and held
a long parley, or rather a war of words.
"What need," said the Blackfoot chief, tauntingly, "have the Nez Perces
to leave their homes, and sally forth on war parties, when they have
danger enough at their own doors? If you want fighting, return to your
villages; you will have plenty of it there. The Blackfeet warriors have
hitherto made war upon you as children. They are now coming as men. A
great force is at hand; they are on their way to your towns, and
are determined to rub out the very name of the Nez Perces from the
mountains. Return, I say, to your towns, and fight there, if you wish to
live any longer as a people."
Kosato took him at his word; for he knew the character of his native
tribe. Hastening back with his band to the Nez Perces village, he told
all that he had seen and heard, and urged the most prompt and strenuous
measures for defence. The Nez Perces, however, heard him with their
accustomed phlegm; the threat of the Blackfeet had been often made, and
as often had proved a mere bravado; such they pronounced it to be at
present, and, of course, took no precautions.
They were soon convinced that it was no empty menace. In a few days a
band of three hundred Blackfeet warriors appeared upon the hills. All
now was consternation in the village. The force of the Nez Perces was
too small to cope with the enemy in open fight; many of the young men
having gone to their relatives on the Columbia to procure horses. The
sages met in hurried council. What was to be done to ward off a blow
which threatened annihilation? In this moment of imminent peril, a
Pierced-nose chief, named Blue John by the whites, offered to approach
secretly with a small, but chosen band, through a defile which led to
the encampment of the enemy, and, by a sudden onset, to drive off the
horses. Should this blow be successful, the spirit and strength of the
invaders would be broken, and the Nez Perces, having horses, would be
more than a match for them. Should it fail, the village would not be
worse off than at present, when destruction appeared inevitable.
Twenty-nine of the choicest warriors instantly volunteered to follow
Blue John in this hazardous enterprise. They prepared for it with the
solemnity and devotion peculiar to the tribe. Blue John consulted his
medicine, or talismanic charm, such as every chief keeps in his lodge
as a supernatural protection. The oracle assured him that his enterprise
would be completely successful, provided no rain should fall before he
had passed through the defile; but should it rain, his band would be
utterly cut off.
The day was clear and bright; and Blue John anticipated that the skies
would be propitious. He departed in high spirits with his forlorn hope;
and never did band of braves make a more gallant display-horsemen and
horses being decorated and equipped in the fiercest and most glaring
style-glittering with arms and ornaments, and fluttering with feathers.
The weather continued serene until they reached the defile; but just as
they were entering it a black cloud rose over the mountain crest, and
there was a sudden shower. The warriors turned to their leader, as if to
read his opinion of this unlucky omen; but the countenance of Blue John
remained unchanged, and they continued to press forward. It was
their hope to make their way undiscovered to the very vicinity of the
Blackfoot camp; but they had not proceeded far in the defile, when they
met a scouting party of the enemy. They attacked and drove them among
the hills, and were pursuing them with great eagerness when they heard
shouts and yells behind them, and beheld the main body of the Blackfeet
advancing.
The second chief wavered a little at the sight and proposed an instant
retreat. "We came to fight!" replied Blue John, sternly. Then giving his
war-whoop, he sprang forward to the conflict. His braves followed
him. They made a headlong charge upon the enemy; not with the hope of
victory, but the determination to sell their lives dearly. A frightful
carnage, rather than a regular battle, succeeded. The forlorn band laid
heaps of their enemies dead at their feet, but were overwhelmed with
numbers and pressed into a gorge of the mountain; where they continued
to fight until they were cut to pieces. One only, of the thirty,
survived. He sprang on the horse of a Blackfoot warrior whom he had
slain, and escaping at full speed, brought home the baleful tidings to
his village.
Who can paint the horror and desolation of the inhabitants? The flower
of their warriors laid low, and a ferocious enemy at their doors. The
air was rent by the shrieks and lamentations of the women, who, casting
off their ornaments and tearing their hair, wandered about, frantically
bewailing the dead and predicting destruction to the living. The
remaining warriors armed themselves for obstinate defence; but showed
by their gloomy looks and sullen silence that they considered defence
hopeless. To their surprise the Blackfeet refrained from pursuing
their advantage; perhaps satisfied with the blood already shed, or
disheartened by the loss they had themselves sustained. At any rate,
they disappeared from the hills, and it was soon ascertained that they
had returned to the Horse Prairie.
The unfortunate Nez Perces now began once more to breathe. A few of
their warriors, taking pack-horses, repaired to the defile to bring away
the bodies of their slaughtered brethren. They found them mere headless
trunks; and the wounds with which they were covered showed how bravely
they had fought. Their hearts, too, had been torn out and carried off;
a proof of their signal valor; for in devouring the heart of a foe
renowned for bravery, or who has distinguished himself in battle, the
Indian victor thinks he appropriates to himself the courage of the
deceased.
Gathering the mangled bodies of the slain, and strapping them across
their pack-horses, the warriors returned, in dismal procession, to the
village. The tribe came forth to meet them; the women with piercing
cries and wailings; the men with downcast countenances, in which gloom
and sorrow seemed fixed as if in marble. The mutilated and almost
undistinguishable bodies were placed in rows upon the ground, in the
midst of the assemblage; and the scene of heart-rending anguish and
lamentation that ensued would have confounded those who insist on Indian
stoicism.
Such was the disastrous event that had overwhelmed the Nez Perces tribe
during the absence of Captain Bonneville; and he was informed that
Kosato, the renegade, who, being stationed in the village, had been
prevented from going on the forlorn hope, was again striving to rouse
the vindictive feelings of his adopted brethren, and to prompt them to
revenge the slaughter of their devoted braves.
During his sojourn on the Snake River plain, Captain Bonneville made one
of his first essays at the strategy of the fur trade. There was at
this time an assemblage of Nez Perces, Flatheads, and Cottonois Indians
encamped together upon the plain; well provided with beaver, which they
had collected during the spring. These they were waiting to traffic with
a resident trader of the Hudson's Bay Company, who was stationed among
them, and with whom they were accustomed to deal. As it happened, the
trader was almost entirely destitute of Indian goods; his spring supply
not having yet reached him. Captain Bonneville had secret intelligence
that the supplies were on their way, and would soon arrive; he hoped,
how-ever, by a prompt move, to anticipate their arrival, and secure the
market to himself. Throwing himself, therefore, among the Indians, he
opened his packs of merchandise and displayed the most tempting wares:
bright cloths, and scarlet blankets, and glittering ornaments, and
everything gay and glorious in the eyes of warrior or squaw; all,
however, was in vain. The Hudson's Bay trader was a perfect master of
his business, thoroughly acquainted with the Indians he had to deal
with, and held such control over them that none dared to act openly in
opposition to his wishes; nay, more—he came nigh turning the tables
upon the captain, and shaking the allegiance of some of his free
trappers, by distributing liquors among them. The latter, therefore, was
glad to give up a competition, where the war was likely to be carried
into his own camp.
In fact, the traders of the Hudson's Bay Company have advantages over
all competitors in the trade beyond the Rocky Mountains. That huge
monopoly centers within itself not merely its own hereditary and
long-established power and influence; but also those of its ancient
rival, but now integral part, the famous Northwest Company. It has thus
its races of traders, trappers, hunters, and voyageurs, born and brought
up in its service, and inheriting from preceding generations a knowledge
and aptitude in everything connected with Indian life, and Indian
traffic. In the process of years, this company has been enabled to
spread its ramifications in every direction; its system of intercourse
is founded upon a long and intimate knowledge of the character and
necessities of the various tribes; and of all the fastnesses, defiles,
and favorable hunting grounds of the country. Their capital, also, and
the manner in which their supplies are distributed at various posts,
or forwarded by regular caravans, keep their traders well supplied, and
enable them to furnish their goods to the Indians at a cheap rate. Their
men, too, being chiefly drawn from the Canadas, where they enjoy great
influence and control, are engaged at the most trifling wages, and
supported at little cost; the provisions which they take with them being
little more than Indian corn and grease. They are brought also into the
most perfect discipline and subordination, especially when their
leaders have once got them to their scene of action in the heart of the
wilderness.
These circumstances combine to give the leaders of the Hudson's Bay
Company a decided advantage over all the American companies that come
within their range, so that any close competition with them is almost
hopeless.
Shortly after Captain Bonneville's ineffectual attempt to participate
in the trade of the associated camp, the supplies of the Hudson's Bay
Company arrived; and the resident trader was enabled to monopolize the
market.
It was now the beginning of July; in the latter part of which month
Captain Bonneville had appointed a rendezvous at Horse Creek in Green
River Valley, with some of the parties which he had detached in the
preceding year. He now turned his thoughts in that direction, and
prepared for the journey.
The Cottonois were anxious for him to proceed at once to their country;
which, they assured him, abounded in beaver. The lands of this tribe lie
immediately north of those of the Flatheads and are open to the inroads
of the Blackfeet. It is true, the latter professed to be their allies;
but they had been guilty of so many acts of perfidy, that the Cottonois
had, latterly, renounced their hollow friendship and attached themselves
to the Flatheads and Nez Perces. These they had accompanied in their
migrations rather than remain alone at home, exposed to the outrages
of the Blackfeet. They were now apprehensive that these marauders would
range their country during their absence and destroy the beaver; this
was their reason for urging Captain Bonneville to make it his autumnal
hunting ground. The latter, however, was not to be tempted; his
engagements required his presence at the rendezvous in Green River
Valley; and he had already formed his ulterior plans.
An unexpected difficulty now arose. The free trappers suddenly made a
stand, and declined to accompany him. It was a long and weary journey;
the route lay through Pierre's Hole, and other mountain passes infested
by the Blackfeet, and recently the scenes of sanguinary conflicts. They
were not disposed to undertake such unnecessary toils and dangers,
when they had good and secure trapping grounds nearer at hand, on the
head-waters of Salmon River.
As these were free and independent fellows, whose will and whim were apt
to be law—who had the whole wilderness before them, "where to choose,"
and the trader of a rival company at hand, ready to pay for their
services—it was necessary to bend to their wishes. Captain Bonneville
fitted them out, therefore, for the hunting ground in question;
appointing Mr. Hodgkiss to act as their partisan, or leader, and fixing
a rendezvous where he should meet them in the course of the ensuing
winter. The brigade consisted of twenty-one free trappers and four or
five hired men as camp-keepers. This was not the exact arrangement of
a trapping party; which when accurately organized is composed of two
thirds trappers whose duty leads them continually abroad in pursuit of
game; and one third camp-keepers who cook, pack, and unpack; set up the
tents, take care of the horses and do all other duties usually assigned
by the Indians to their women. This part of the service is apt to
be fulfilled by French creoles from Canada and the valley of the
Mississippi.
In the meantime the associated Indians having completed their trade
and received their supplies, were all ready to disperse in various
directions. As there was a formidable band of Blackfeet just over a
mountain to the northeast, by which Hodgkiss and his free trappers would
have to pass; and as it was known that those sharp-sighted marauders had
their scouts out watching every movement of the encampments, so as to
cut off stragglers or weak detachments, Captain Bonneville prevailed
upon the Nez Perces to accompany Hodgkiss and his party until they
should be beyond the range of the enemy.
The Cottonois and the Pends Oreilles determined to move together at
the same time, and to pass close under the mountain infested by the
Blackfeet; while Captain Bonneville, with his party, was to strike in
an opposite direction to the southeast, bending his course for Pierre's
Hole, on his way to Green River.
Accordingly, on the 6th of July, all the camps were raised at the same
moment; each party taking its separate route. The scene was wild and
picturesque; the long line of traders, trappers, and Indians, with their
rugged and fantastic dresses and accoutrements; their varied weapons,
their innumerable horses, some under the saddle, some burdened with
packages, others following in droves; all stretching in lengthening
cavalcades across the vast landscape, making for different points of the
plains and mountains.
