Finding A
Scanty Supply Of Grass, They Camped Under Most Depressing Circumstances;
Their Outlook Now Was The Passing Of Four
Or five days in the midst of snows
from ten to fifteen feet deep, with no guide, no road, and
No forage.
In this emergency, two men were sent back to the Chopunnish country
to hurry up the Indians who had promised to accompany them over
the mountains; and, to insure a guide, these men were authorized
to offer a rifle as a reward for any one who would undertake the task.
For the present, it was thought best to return to Quamash flats.
Chapter XXIII
Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains
Disasters many kept pace with the unhappy explorers on their
way back to Quamash flats after their rebuff at the base
of the Bitter Root Mountains. One of the horses fell
down a rough and rocky place, carrying his rider with him;
but fortunately neither horse nor man was killed. Next, a man,
sent ahead to cut down the brush that blocked the path,
cut himself badly on the inside of his thigh and bled copiously.
The hunters sent out for game returned empty-handed. The fishermen
caught no fish, but broke the two Indian gigs, or contrivances
for catching fish, with which they had been provided.
The stock of salt had given out, the bulk of their supply having
been left on the mountain. Several large mushrooms were brought
in by Cruzatte, but these were eaten without pepper, salt, or any kind
of grease, - "a very tasteless, insipid food," as the journal says.
To crown all, the mosquitoes were pestilential in their
numbers and venom.
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