What Was
Singular, The Men, Though Suffering Such Pinching Hunger,
Interfered In Favor Of The Horse.
They represented that it was better to keep on as long as pos-
sible without resorting to this last resource.
Possibly the
Indians, of whom they were in quest, might have shifted their
encampment, in which case it would be time enough to kill the
horse to escape starvation. Mr. Hunt, therefore, was prevailed
upon to grant Pierre Dorion's horse a reprieve.
Fortunately, they had not proceeded much further, when, towards
evening, they came in sight of a lodge of Shoshonies, with a
number of horses grazing around it. The sight was as unexpected
as it was joyous. Having seen no Indians in this neighborhood as
they passed down the river, they must have subsequently come out
from among the mountains. Mr. Hunt, who first descried them,
checked the eagerness of his companions, knowing the
unwillingness of these Indians to part with their horses, and
their aptness to hurry them off and conceal them, in case of an
alarm. This was no time to risk such a disappointment.
Approaching, therefore, stealthily and silently, they came upon
the savages by surprise, who fled in terror. Five of their horses
were eagerly seized, and one was despatched upon the spot. The
carcass was immediately cut up, and a part of it hastily cooked
and ravenously devoured. A man was now sent on horseback with a
supply of the flesh to Mr. Crooks and his companions. He reached
them in the night; they were so famished that the supply sent
them seemed but to aggravate their hunger, and they were almost
tempted to kill and eat the horse that had brought the messenger.
Availing themselves of the assistance of the animal, they reached
the camp early in the morning.
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