At The Time Of Captain Bonneville's Arrival, The
Whole Garrison Mustered But Six Or Eight Men; And The Post Was
Under The Superintendence Of Mr. Pambrune, An Agent Of The
Hudson's Bay Company.
The great post and fort of the company, forming the emporium of
its trade on the Pacific, is Fort Vancouver; situated on the
right bank of the Columbia, about sixty miles from the sea, and
just above the mouth of the Wallamut.
To this point, the company
removed its establishment from Astoria, in 1821, after its
coalition with the Northwest Company.
Captain Bonneville and his comrades experienced a polite
reception from Mr. Pambrune, the superintendent: for, however
hostile the members of the British Company may be to the
enterprises of American traders, they have always manifested
great courtesy and hospitality to the traders themselves.
Fort Wallah-Wallah is surrounded by the tribe of the same name,
as well as by the Skynses and the Nez Perces; who bring to it the
furs and peltries collected in their hunting expeditions. The
Wallah-Wallahs are a degenerate, worn-out tribe. The Nez Perces
are the most numerous and tractable of the three tribes just
mentioned. Mr. Pambrune informed Captain Bonneville that he had
been at some pains to introduce the Christian religion, in the
Roman Catholic form, among them, where it had evidently taken
root; but had become altered and modified, to suit their peculiar
habits of thought, and motives of action; retaining, however, the
principal points of faith, and its entire precepts of morality.
The same gentleman had given them a code of laws, to which they
conformed with scrupulous fidelity. Polygamy, which once
prevailed among them to a great extent, was now rarely indulged.
All the crimes denounced by the Christian faith met with severe
punishment among them. Even theft, so venial a crime among the
Indians, had recently been punished with hanging, by sentence of
a chief.
There certainly appears to be a peculiar susceptibility of moral
and religious improvement among this tribe, and they would seem
to be one of the very, very few that have benefited in morals and
manners by an intercourse with white men. The parties which
visited them about twenty years previously, in the expedition
fitted out by Mr. Astor, complained of their selfishness, their
extortion, and their thievish propensities. The very reverse of
those qualities prevailed among them during the prolonged
sojourns of Captain Bonneville.
The Lower Nez Perces range upon the Way-lee-way, Immahah,
Yenghies, and other of the streams west of the mountains. They
hunt the beaver, elk, deer, white bear, and mountain sheep.
Besides the flesh of these animals, they use a number of roots
for food; some of which would be well worth transplanting and
cultivating in the Atlantic States. Among these is the camash, a
sweet root, about the form and size of an onion, and said to be
really delicious. The cowish, also, or biscuit root, about the
size of a walnut, which they reduce to a very palatable flour;
together with the jackap, aisish, quako, and others; which they
cook by steaming them in the ground.
In August and September, these Indians keep along the rivers,
where they catch and dry great quantities of salmon; which, while
they last, are their principal food. In the winter, they
congregate in villages formed of comfortable huts, or lodges,
covered with mats. They are generally clad in deer skins, or
woollens, and extremely well armed. Above all, they are
celebrated for owning great numbers of horses; which they mark,
and then suffer to range in droves in their most fertile plains.
These horses are principally of the pony breed; but remarkably
stout and long-winded. They are brought in great numbers to the
establishments of the Hudson's Bay Company, and sold for a mere
trifle.
Such is the account given by Captain Bonneville of the Nez
Perces; who, if not viewed by him with too partial an eye, are
certainly among the gentlest, and least barbarous people of these
remote wildernesses. They invariably signified to him their
earnest wish that an American post might be established among
them; and repeatedly declared that they would trade with
Americans, in preference to any other people.
Captain Bonneville had intended to remain some time in this
neighborhood, to form an acquaintance with the natives, and to
collect information, and establish connections that might be
advantageous in the way of trade. The delays, however, which he
had experienced on his journey, obliged him to shorten his
sojourn, and to set off as soon as possible, so as to reach the
rendezvous at the Portneuf at the appointed time. He had seen
enough to convince him that an American trade might be carried on
with advantage in this quarter; and he determined soon to return
with a stronger party, more completely fitted for the purpose.
As he stood in need of some supplies for his journey, he applied
to purchase them of Mr. Pambrune; but soon found the difference
between being treated as a guest, or as a rival trader. The
worthy superintendent, who had extended to him all the genial
rites of hospitality, now suddenly assumed a withered-up aspect
and demeanor, and observed that, however he might feel disposed
to serve him, personally, he felt bound by his duty to the
Hudson's Bay Company, to do nothing which should facilitate or
encourage the visits of other traders among the Indians in that
part of the country. He endeavored to dissuade Captain Bonneville
from returning through the Blue Mountains; assuring him it would
be extremely difficult and dangerous, if not impracticable, at
this season of the year; and advised him to accompany Mr.
Payette, a leader of the Hudson's Bay Company, who was about to
depart with a number of men, by a more circuitous, but safe
route, to carry supplies to the company's agent, resident among
the Upper Nez Perces. Captain Bonneville, however, piqued at his
having refused to furnish him with supplies, and doubting the
sincerity of his advice, determined to return by the more direct
route through the mountains; though varying his course, in some
respects, from that by which he had come, in consequence of
information gathered among the neighboring Indians.
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