The Running Of The Horses That Have Broken Loose;
The Snorting, Stamping, And Rearing Of Those Which Remain Fast;
The
Howling of dogs; the yelling of Indians; the scampering of
white men, and red men, with their guns; the overturning
Of
lodges, and trampling of fires by the horses; the flashes of the
fires, lighting up forms of men and steeds dashing through the
gloom, altogether make up one of the wildest scenes of confusion
imaginable. In this way, sometimes, all the horses of a camp
amounting to several hundred will be frightened off in a single
night.
The night passed off without any disturbance; but there was no
likelihood that a war party of Blackfeet, once on the track of a
camp where there was a chance for spoils, would fail to hover
round it. The captain, therefore, continued to maintain the most
vigilant precautions; throwing out scouts in the advance, and on
every rising ground.
In the course of the day he arrived at the plain of white clay,
already mentioned, surrounded by the mineral springs, called Beer
Springs, by the trappers. Here the men all halted to have a
regale. In a few moments every spring had its jovial knot of
hard drinkers, with tin cup in hand, indulging in a mock carouse;
quaffing, pledging, toasting, bandying jokes, singing drinking
songs, and uttering peals of laughter, until it seemed as if
their imaginations had given potency to the beverage, and cheated
them into a fit of intoxication.
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