They continued under way the greater part of the night, until far
beyond all danger from this band, when they pulled to shore, and
encamped.
The following day was windy, and they came near upsetting their
boat in carrying sail. Toward evening, the wind subsided and a
beautiful calm night succeeded. They floated along with the
current throughout the night, taking turns to watch and steer.
The deep stillness of the night was occasionally interrupted by
the neighing of the elk, the hoarse lowing of the buffalo, the
hooting of large owls, and the screeching of the small ones, now
and then the splash of a beaver, or the gonglike sound of the
swan.
Part of their voyage was extremely tempestuous; with high winds,
tremendous thunder, and soaking rain; and they were repeatedly in
extreme danger from drift-wood and sunken trees. On one occasion,
having continued to float at night, after the moon was down, they
ran under a great snag, or sunken tree, with dry branches above
the water. These caught the mast, while the boat swung round,
broadside to the stream, and began to fill with water. Nothing
saved her from total wreck, but cutting away the mast. She then
drove down the stream, but left one of the unlucky half-breeds
clinging to the snag, like a monkey to a pole. It was necessary
to run in shore, toil up, laboriously, along the eddies and to
attain some distance above the snag, when they launched forth
again into the stream and floated down with it to his rescue.
We forbear to detail all the circumstances and adventures of
upward of a months voyage, down the windings and doublings of
this vast river; in the course of which they stopped occasionally
at a post of one of the rival fur companies, or at a government
agency for an Indian tribe. Neither shall we dwell upon the
changes of climate and productions, as the voyagers swept down
from north to south, across several degrees of latitude; arriving
at the regions of oaks and sycamores; of mulberry and basswood
trees; of paroquets and wild turkeys. This is one of the
characteristics of the middle and lower part of the Missouri; but
still more so of the Mississippi, whose rapid current traverses a
succession of latitudes so as in a few days to float the voyager
almost from the frozen regions to the tropics.
The voyage of Wyeth shows the regular and unobstructed flow of
the rivers, on the east side of the Rocky Mountains, in contrast
to those of the western side; where rocks and rapids continually
menace and obstruct the voyager. We find him in a frail bark of
skins, launching himself in a stream at the foot of the Rocky
Mountains, and floating down from river to river, as they empty
themselves into each other; and so he might have kept on upward
of two thousand miles, until his little bark should drift into
the ocean. At present we shall stop with him at Cantonment
Leavenworth, the frontier post of the United States; where he
arrived on the 27th of September.
Here his first care was to have his Nez Perce Indian, and his
half-breed boy, Baptiste, vaccinated. As they approached the
fort, they were hailed by the sentinel. The sight of a soldier in
full array, with what appeared to be a long knife glittering on
the end of a musket, struck Baptiste with such affright that he
took to his heels, bawling for mercy at the top of his voice. The
Nez Perce would have followed him, had not Wyeth assured him of
his safety. When they underwent the operation of the lancet, the
doctor's wife and another lady were present; both beautiful
women. They were the first white women that they had seen, and
they could not keep their eyes off of them. On returning to the
boat, they recounted to their companions all that they had
observed at the fort; but were especially eloquent about the
white squaws, who, they said, were white as snow, and more
beautiful than any human being they had ever beheld.
We shall not accompany the captain any further in his Voyage; but
will simply state that he made his way to Boston, where he
succeeded in organizing an association under the name of "The
Columbia River Fishing and Trading Company," for his original
objects of a salmon fishery and a trade in furs. A brig, the May
Dacres, had been dispatched for the Columbia with supplies; and
he was now on his way to the same point, at the head of sixty
men, whom he had enlisted at St. Louis; some of whom were
experienced hunters, and all more habituated to the life of the
wilderness than his first band of "down-easters."
We will now return to Captain Bonneville and his party, whom we
left, making up their packs and saddling their horses, in Bear
River Valley.
42.
Departure of Captain Bonneville for the Columbia Advance of
Wyeth Efforts to keep the lead Hudson's Bay party A
junketing A delectable beverage Honey and alcohol High
carousing The Canadian "bon vivant" A cache A rapid move
Wyeth and his plans His travelling companions Buffalo hunting
More conviviality An interruption.
IT was the 3d of July that Captain Bonneville set out on his
second visit to the banks of the Columbia, at the head of
twenty-three men. He travelled leisurely, to keep his horses
fresh, until on the 10th of July a scout brought word that Wyeth,
with his band, was but fifty miles in the rear, and pushing
forward with all speed. This caused some bustle in the camp; for
it was important to get first to the buffalo ground to secure
provisions for the journey.
