The Buffalo In Such Immense Droves Presented A
Tempting Opportunity For Making His First Essay.
He rode, in the
line of march, all prepared for action:
His powder-flask and
shot-pouch knowingly slung at the pommel of his saddle, to be at
hand; his rifle balanced on his shoulder. While in this plight, a
troop of Buffalo came trotting by in great alarm. In an instant,
Tom sprang from his horse and gave chase on foot. Finding they
were leaving him behind, he levelled his rifle and pulled [the]
trigger. His shot produced no other effect than to increase the
speed of the buffalo, and to frighten his own horse, who took to
his heels, and scampered off with all the ammunition. Tom
scampered after him, hallooing with might and main, and the wild
horse and wild Irishman soon disappeared among the ravines of the
prairie. Captain Bonneville, who was at the head of the line, and
had seen the transaction at a distance, detached a party in
pursuit of Tom. After a long interval they returned, leading the
frightened horse; but though they had scoured the country, and
looked out and shouted from every height, they had seen nothing
of his rider.
As Captain Bonneville knew Tom's utter awkwardness and
inexperience, and the dangers of a bewildered Irishman in the
midst of a prairie, he halted and encamped at an early hour, that
there might be a regular hunt for him in the morning.
At early dawn on the following day scouts were sent off in every
direction, while the main body, after breakfast, proceeded slowly
on its course. It was not until the middle of the afternoon that
the hunters returned, with honest Tom mounted behind one of them.
They had found him in a complete state of perplexity and
amazement. His appearance caused shouts of merriment in the
camp, - but Tom for once could not join in the mirth raised at his
expense: he was completely chapfallen, and apparently cured of
the hunting mania for the rest of his life.
5
Magnificent scenery Wind River Mountains Treasury of waters A
stray horse An Indian trail Trout streams The Great Green River
Valley An alarm A band of trappers Fontenelle, his
information Sufferings of thirst Encampment on the Seeds-ke-
dee Strategy of rival traders Fortification of the camp The
Blackfeet Banditti of the mountains Their character and habits
IT WAS ON THE 20TH of July that Captain Bonneville first came in
sight of the grand region of his hopes and anticipations, the
Rocky Mountains. He had been making a bend to the south, to avoid
some obstacles along the river, and had attained a high, rocky
ridge, when a magnificent prospect burst upon his sight. To the
west rose the Wind River Mountains, with their bleached and snowy
summits towering into the clouds. These stretched far to the
north-northwest, until they melted away into what appeared to be
faint clouds, but which the experienced eyes of the veteran
hunters of the party recognized for the rugged mountains of the
Yellowstone; at the feet of which extended the wild Crow country:
a perilous, though profitable region for the trapper.
To the southwest, the eye ranged over an immense extent of
wilderness, with what appeared to be a snowy vapor resting upon
its horizon. This, however, was pointed out as another branch of
the Great Chippewyan, or Rocky chain; being the Eutaw Mountains,
at whose basis the wandering tribe of hunters of the same name
pitch their tents. We can imagine the enthusiasm of the worthy
captain when he beheld the vast and mountainous scene of his
adventurous enterprise thus suddenly unveiled before him. We can
imagine with what feelings of awe and admiration he must have
contemplated the Wind River Sierra, or bed of mountains; that
great fountainhead from whose springs, and lakes, and melted
snows some of those mighty rivers take their rise, which wander
over hundreds of miles of varied country and clime, and find
their way to the opposite waves of the Atlantic and the Pacific.
The Wind River Mountains are, in fact, among the most remarkable
of the whole Rocky chain; and would appear to be among the
loftiest. They form, as it were, a great bed of mountains, about
eighty miles in length, and from twenty to thirty in breadth;
with rugged peaks, covered with eternal snows, and deep, narrow
valleys full of springs, and brooks, and rock-bound lakes. From
this great treasury of waters issue forth limpid streams, which,
augmenting as they descend, become main tributaries of the
Missouri on the one side, and the Columbia on the other; and give
rise to the Seeds-ke-dee Agie, or Green River, the great Colorado
of the West, that empties its current into the Gulf of
California.
The Wind River Mountains are notorious in hunters' and trappers'
stories: their rugged defiles, and the rough tracts about their
neighborhood, having been lurking places for the predatory hordes
of the mountains, and scenes of rough encounter with Crows and
Blackfeet. It was to the west of these mountains, in the valley
of the Seeds-ke-dee Agie, or Green River, that Captain Bonneville
intended to make a halt for the purpose of giving repose to his
people and his horses after their weary journeying; and of
collecting information as to his future course. This Green River
valley, and its immediate neighborhood, as we have already
observed, formed the main point of rendezvous, for the present
year, of the rival fur companies, and the motley populace,
civilized and savage, connected with them. Several days of rugged
travel, however, yet remained for the captain and his men before
they should encamp in this desired resting-place.
On the 21st of July, as they were pursuing their course through
one of the meadows of the Sweet Water, they beheld a horse
grazing at a little distance. He showed no alarm at their
approach, but suffered himself quietly to be taken, evincing a
perfect state of tameness.
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