Frequently In Their Route They Encountered Small Parties Of The
Nez Perces, With Whom They Invariably Stopped To Shake Hands;
And
who, generally, evinced great curiosity concerning them and their
adventures; a curiosity which never failed to be thoroughly
satisfied
By the replies of the worthy Yo-mus-ro-y-e-cut, who
kindly took upon himself to be spokesman of the party.
The incessant smoking of pipes incident to the long talks of this
excellent, but somewhat garrulous old chief, at length exhausted
all his stock of tobacco, so that he had no longer a whiff with
which to regale his white companions. In this emergency, he cut
up the stem of his pipe into fine shavings, which he mixed with
certain herbs, and thus manufactured a temporary succedaneum to
enable him to accompany his long colloquies and harangues with
the customary fragrant cloud.
If the scenery of the Way-lee-way had charmed the travellers with
its mingled amenity and grandeur, that which broke upon them on
once more reaching Snake River, filled them with admiration and
astonishment. At times, the river was overhung by dark and
stupendous rocks, rising like gigantic walls and battlements;
these would be rent by wide and yawning chasms, that seemed to
speak of past convulsions of nature. Sometimes the river was of a
glassy smoothness and placidity; at other times it roared along
in impetuous rapids and foaming cascades. Here, the rocks were
piled in the most fantastic crags and precipices; and in another
place, they were succeeded by delightful valleys carpeted with
green-award. The whole of this wild and varied scenery was
dominated by immense mountains rearing their distant peaks into
the clouds. "The grandeur and originality of the views, presented
on every side," says Captain Bonneville, "beggar both the pencil
and the pen. Nothing we had ever gazed upon in any other region
could for a moment compare in wild majesty and impressive
sternness, with the series of scenes which here at every turn
astonished our senses, and filled us with awe and delight."
Indeed, from all that we can gather from the journal before us,
and the accounts of other travellers, who passed through these
regions in the memorable enterprise of Astoria, we are inclined
to think that Snake River must be one of the most remarkable for
varied and striking scenery of all the rivers of this continent.
From its head waters in the Rocky Mountains, to its junction with
the Columbia, its windings are upward of six hundred miles
through every variety of landscape. Rising in a volcanic region,
amid extinguished craters, and mountains awful with the traces of
ancient fires, it makes its way through great plains of lava and
sandy deserts, penetrates vast sierras or mountainous chains,
broken into romantic and often frightful precipices, and crowned
with eternal snows; and at other times, careers through green and
smiling meadows, and wide landscapes of Italian grace and beauty.
Wildness and sublimity, however, appear to be its prevailing
characteristics.
Captain Bonneville and his companions had pursued their journey a
considerable distance down the course of Snake River, when the
old chief halted on the bank, and dismounting, recommended that
they should turn their horses loose to graze, while he summoned a
cousin of his from a group of lodges on the opposite side of the
stream. His summons was quickly answered. An Indian, of an active
elastic form, leaped into a light canoe of cotton-wood, and
vigorously plying the paddle, soon shot across the river.
Bounding on shore, he advanced with a buoyant air and frank
demeanor, and gave his right hand to each of the party in turn.
The old chief, whose hard name we forbear to repeat, now
presented Captain Bonneville, in form, to his cousin, whose name,
we regret to say, was no less hard being nothing less than
Hay-she-in-cow-cow. The latter evinced the usual curiosity to
know all about the strangers, whence they came whither they were
going, the object of their journey, and the adventures they had
experienced. All these, of course, were ample and eloquently set
forth by the communicative old chief. To all his grandiloquent
account of the bald-headed chief and his countrymen, the Big
Hearts of the East, his cousin listened with great attention, and
replied in the customary style of Indian welcome. He then desired
the party to await his return, and, springing into his canoe,
darted across the river. In a little while he returned, bringing
a most welcome supply of tobacco, and a small stock of provisions
for the road, declaring his intention of accompanying the party.
Having no horse, he mounted behind one of the men, observing that
he should procure a steed for himself on the following day.
They all now jogged on very sociably and cheerily together. Not
many miles beyond, they met others of the tribe, among whom was
one, whom Captain Bonneville and his comrades had known during
their residence among the Upper Nez Perces, and who welcomed them
with open arms. In this neighborhood was the home of their guide,
who took leave of them with a profusion of good wishes for their
safety and happiness. That night they put up in the hut of a Nez
Perce, where they were visited by several warriors from the other
side of the river, friends of the old chief and his cousin, who
came to have a talk and a smoke with the white men. The heart of
the good old chief was overflowing with good will at thus being
surrounded by his new and old friends, and he talked with more
spirit and vivacity than ever. The evening passed away in perfect
harmony and good-humor, and it was not until a late hour that the
visitors took their leave and recrossed the river.
After this constant picture of worth and virtue on the part of
the Nez Perce tribe, we grieve to have to record a circumstance
calculated to throw a temporary shade upon the name.
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