The Country About The Head-Waters Of The Grand Rond Spreads Out
Into Broad And Level Prairies, Extremely Fertile, And Watered By
Mountain Springs And Rivulets.
These prairies are resorted to by
small bands of the Skynses, to pasture their horses, as well as
to banquets upon the salmon which abound in the neighboring
waters.
They take these fish in great quantities and without the
least difficulty; simply taking them out of the water with their
hands, as they flounder and struggle in the numerous long shoals
of the principal streams. At the time the travellers passed over
these prairies, some of the narrow, deep streams by which they
were intersected were completely choked with salmon, which they
took in great numbers. The wolves and bears frequent these
streams at this season, to avail themselves of these great
fisheries.
The travellers continued, for many days, to experience great
difficulties and discomforts from this wide conflagration, which
seemed to embrace the whole wilderness. The sun was for a great
part of the time obscured by the smoke, and the loftiest
mountains were hidden from view. Blundering along in this region
of mist and uncertainty, they were frequently obliged to make
long circuits, to avoid obstacles which they could not perceive
until close upon them. The Indian trails were their safest
guides, for though they sometimes appeared to lead them out of
their direct course, they always conducted them to the passes.
On the 26th of August, they reached the head of the Way-lee-way
River. Here, in a valley of the mountains through which this
head-water makes its way, they found a band of the Skynses, who
were extremely sociable, and appeared to be well disposed, and as
they spoke the Nez Perce language, an intercourse was easily kept
up with them.
In the pastures on the bank of this stream, Captain Bonneville
encamped for a time, for the purpose of recruiting the strength
of his horses. Scouts were now sent out to explore the
surrounding country, and search for a convenient pass through the
mountains toward the Wallamut or Multnomah. After an absence of
twenty days they returned weary and discouraged. They had been
harassed and perplexed in rugged mountain defiles, where their
progress was continually impeded by rocks and precipices. Often
they had been obliged to travel along the edges of frightful
ravines, where a false step would have been fatal. In one of
these passes, a horse fell from the brink of a precipice, and
would have been dashed to pieces had he not lodged among the
branches of a tree, from which he was extricated with great
difficulty. These, however, were not the worst of their
difficulties and perils. The great conflagration of the country,
which had harassed the main party in its march, was still more
awful the further this exploring party proceeded. The flames
which swept rapidly over the light vegetation of the prairies
assumed a fiercer character and took a stronger hold amid the
wooded glens and ravines of the mountains. Some of the deep
gorges and defiles sent up sheets of flame, and clouds of lurid
smoke, and sparks and cinders that in the night made them
resemble the craters of volcanoes. The groves and forests, too,
which crowned the cliffs, shot up their towering columns of fire,
and added to the furnace glow of the mountains. With these
stupendous sights were combined the rushing blasts caused by the
rarefied air, which roared and howled through the narrow glens,
and whirled forth the smoke and flames in impetuous wreaths. Ever
and anon, too, was heard the crash of falling trees, sometimes
tumbling from crags and precipices, with tremendous sounds.
In the daytime, the mountains were wrapped in smoke so dense and
blinding, that the explorers, if by chance they separated, could
only find each other by shouting. Often, too, they had to grope
their way through the yet burning forests, in constant peril from
the limbs and trunks of trees, which frequently fell across their
path. At length they gave up the attempt to find a pass as
hopeless, under actual circumstances, and made their way back to
the camp to report their failure.
45.
The Skynses Their traffic Hunting Food Horses A horse-
race Devotional feeling of the Skynses, Nez Perces and
Flatheads Prayers Exhortations A preacher on horseback
Effect of religion on the manners of the tribes A new light.
DURING the absence of this detachment, a sociable intercourse had
been kept up between the main party and the Skynses, who had
removed into the neighborhood of the camp. These people dwell
about the waters of the Way-lee-way and the adjacent country, and
trade regularly with the Hudson's Bay Company; generally giving
horses in exchange for the articles of which they stand in need.
They bring beaver skins, also, to the trading posts; not procured
by trapping, but by a course of internal traffic with the shy and
ignorant Shoshokoes and Too-el-icans, who keep in distant and
unfrequented parts of the country, and will not venture near the
trading houses. The Skynses hunt the deer and elk occasionally;
and depend, for a part of the year, on fishing. Their main
subsistence, however, is upon roots, especially the kamash. This
bulbous root is said to be of a delicious flavor, and highly
nutritious. The women dig it up in great quantities, steam it,
and deposit it in caches for winter provisions. It grows
spontaneously, and absolutely covers the plains.
This tribe was comfortably clad and equipped. They had a few
rifles among them, and were extremely desirous of bartering for
those of Captain Bonneville's men; offering a couple of good
running horses for a light rifle. Their first-rate horses,
however, were not to be procured from them on any terms. They
almost invariably use ponies; but of a breed infinitely superior
to any in the United States. They are fond of trying their speed
and bottom, and of betting upon them.
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