Kind; and five miles further we
halted for the night near another house, built like the rest,
of sticks, mats, and dried hay, and containing six families.
It was now so difficult to procure anything to eat that our
chief dependence was on the horse which we received yesterday
for medicine; but to our great disappointment he broke the rope
by which be was confined, made his escape, and left us supperless
in the rain."
Next day they met an Indian who brought them two canisters of powder,
which they at once knew to be some of that which they had buried last autumn.
The Indian said that his dog had dug it up in the meadow by the river,
and he had restored it to its rightful owners. As a reward for his honesty,
the captains gave him a flint and steel for striking fire; and they regretted
that their own poverty prevented them from being more liberal to the man.
They observed that the Rocky Mountains, now in full sight,
were still covered with snow, and the prospect of crossing them
was not very rosy. Their Chopunnish guide told them that it would
be impossible to cross the mountains before the next full moon,
which would be about the first of June.
