He Fell On His Knees And
Right Elbow; But, Raising Himself A Little, Fired, And Then Crawled
Behind A Rock.
The shot had nearly proved fatal; for Captain Lewis,
who was bareheaded, felt the wind of the ball very
Distinctly.
Not having his shot-pouch, be could not reload his rifle; and, having only
a single charge also for his pistol, he thought it most prudent
not to attack them farther, and retired slowly to the camp.
He was met by Drewyer, who, hearing the report of the guns,
had come to his assistance, leaving the Fields to follow the
other Indians. Captain Lewis ordered him to call out to them to desist
from the pursuit, as we could take the horses of the Indians in place
of our own; but they were at too great a distance to hear him.
He therefore returned to the camp, and while he was saddling the horses
the Fields returned with four of our own, having followed the Indians
until two of them swam the river and two others ascended the hills,
so that the horses became dispersed."
The white men were gainers by this sad affair, for they had now in their
possession four of the Indians' horses, and had lost one of their own.
Besides these, they found in the camp of the Indians four shields,
two bows and their quivers, and one of their two guns.
The captain took some buffalo meat which be found in the camp,
and then the rest of their baggage was burned on the spot.
The flag given to one of the so-called chiefs was retaken;
but the medal given to the dead man was left around his neck.
The consequences of this unfortunate quarrel were far-reaching.
The tribe whose member was killed by the white men never forgave
the injury, and for years after there was no safety for white men
in their vicinity except when the wayfarers were in great numbers
or strongly guarded.
A forced march was now necessary for the explorers, and they set out as
speedily as possible, well knowing that the Indians would be on their trail.
By three o'clock in the afternoon of that day they had reached
Tansy River, now known as the Teton, having travelled sixty-three miles.
They rested for an hour and a half to refresh their horses,
and then pushed on for seventeen miles further before camping again.
Having killed a buffalo, they had supper and stopped two hours.
Then, travelling through vast herds of buffalo until two o'clock
in the morning, they halted again, almost dead with fatigue;
they rested until daylight. On awaking, they found themselves
so stiff and sore with much riding that they could scarcely stand.
But the lives of their friends now at or near the mouth of Maria's River
were at stake, as well as their own. Indeed, it was not certain
but that the Indians had, by hard riding and a circuitous route,
already attacked the river party left at the falls.
So Captain Lewis told his men that they must go on, and, if attacked,
they must tie their horses together by the head and stand together,
selling their lives as dearly as possible, or routing their enemies.
The journal now says:
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