. . .
"After Smoking A Few Pipes, Some Trifling Presents Were
Distributed Among Them, With Which They Seemed Very Much Pleased,
Particularly
With the blue beads and the vermilion.
Captain Lewis then stated to the chief that the object
of his visit
Was friendly, and should be explained as soon
as he reached their camp; and that, as the sun was oppressive,
and no water near, he wished to go there as soon as possible.
They now put on their moccasins, and their chief, whose name
was Cameahwait, made a short speech to the warriors.
Captain Lewis then gave him the flag, which he informed him
was among white men the emblem of peace; and, now that he had
received it, was to be in future the bond of union between them.
The chief then moved on; our party followed him; and the rest
of the warriors, in a squadron, brought up the rear."
Arriving at the village, the ceremony of smoking the pipe of peace
was solemnly observed; and the women and children of the tribe were
permitted to gaze with wonder on the first white men they had ever seen.
The Indians were not much better provided with food than were their
half-famished visitors. But some cakes made of service-berries and
choke-berries dried in the sun were presented to the white men "on which,"
says Captain Lewis, "we made a hearty meal." Later in the day, however,
an Indian invited Captain Lewis into his wigwam and treated him to a
small morsel of boiled antelope and a piece of fresh salmon roasted.
This was the first salmon he had seen, and the captain was now assured
that he was on the headwaters of the Columbia. This stream was what is now
known as the Lemhi River. The water was clear and limpid, flowing down
a bed of gravel; its general direction was a little north of west.
The journal says: -
"The chief informed him that this stream discharged, at the distance
of half a day's march, into another [Salmon River] of twice its size,
coming from the southwest; but added, on further inquiry, that there
was scarcely more timber below the junction of those rivers than in
this neighborhood, and that the river was rocky, rapid, and so closely
confined between high mountains that it was impossible to pass down it
either by land or water to the great lake [Pacific Ocean], where,
as he had understood, the white men lived.
"This information was far from being satisfactory, for there was
no timber here that would answer the purpose of building canoes, -
indeed not more than just sufficient for fuel; and even that consisted
of the narrow-leaved cottonwood, the red and the narrow-leaved willow,
chokecherry, service-berry, and a few currant bushes, such as are common
on the Missouri. The prospect of going on by land is more pleasant,
for there are great numbers of horses feeding in every direction round
the camp, which will enable us to transport our stores, if necessary,
over the mountains."
While Captain Lewis was thus engaged, his companions in the canoes were
slowly and laboriously ascending the river on the other side of the divide.
The character of the stream was much as it had been for several days,
and the men were in the water three-fourths of the time, dragging the boats
over the shoals. They had but little success in killing game, but caught,
as they had done for some days before, numbers of fine trout.
"August 14. In order to give time for the boats to reach
the forks of Jefferson River," proceeds the narrative,
"Captain Lewis determined to remain where he was, and obtain
all the information he could collect in regard to the country.
Having nothing to eat but a little flour and parched meal,
with the berries of the Indians, he sent out Drewyer and Shields,
who borrowed horses from the natives, to hunt for a few hours.
About the same time the young warriors set out for the same purpose.
There are but few elk or black tailed deer in this neighborhood;
and as the common red deer secrete themselves in the bushes
when alarmed, they are soon safe from the arrows, which are but feeble
weapons against any animals which the huntsmen cannot previously
run down with their horses. The chief game of the Shoshonees,
therefore, is the antelope, which, when pursued, retreats to
the open plains, where the horses have full room for the chase.
But such is its extraordinary fleetness and wind, that a single
horse has no possible chance of outrunning it or tiring it down,
and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort to stratagem.
"About twenty Indians, mounted on fine horses, and armed with bows and arrows,
left the camp. In a short time they descried a herd of ten antelope:
they immediately separated into little squads of two or three, and formed
a scattered circle round the herd for five or six miles, keeping at a
wary distance, so as not to alarm them till they were perfectly enclosed,
and selecting, as far as possible, some commanding eminence as a stand.
Having gained their positions, a small party rode towards the animals,
and with wonderful dexterity the huntsmen preserved their seats,
and the horses their footing, as they ran at full speed over the hills,
down the steep ravines, and along the borders of the precipices.
They were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, on gaining the other
extremity of the circle, were driven back and pursued by the fresh hunters.
They turned and flew, rather than ran, in another direction; but there, too,
they found new enemies. In this way they were alternately pursued backward
and forward, till at length, notwithstanding the skill of the hunters,
they all escaped and the party, after running for two hours, returned without
having caught anything, and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase,
the greater part of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene;
but to the hunters it is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive,
even when they are able to worry the animal down and shoot him, that forty
or fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for half a day without obtaining
more than two or three antelope.
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