traces of the reported parties of white men. An encampment was soon discovered about fourmiles
farther up the river, in which Captain Bonneville to his great joy found two of Matthieu's men,from
whom he learned that the rest of his party would be there in the course of a few days. It was amatter
of great pride and selfgratulation to Captain Bonneville that he had thus accomplished his drearyand
doubtful enterprise; and he determined to pass some time in this encampment, both to await thereturn of Matthieu, and to give needful repose to men and horses.
It was, in fact, one of the most eligible and delightful wintering grounds in that whole rangeof
country. The Snake River here wound its devious way between low banks through the great plainof the Three Butes; and was bordered by wide and fertile meadows. It was studded with islandswhich, like the alluvial bottoms, were covered with groves of cotton-wood, thickets of willow,tracts
of good lowland grass, and abundance of green rushes. The adjacent plains were so vast in extentthat no single band of Indians could drive the buffalo out of them; nor was the snow of sufficientdepth to give any serious inconvenience. Indeed, during the sojourn of Captain Bonneville in thisneighborhood, which was in the heart of winter, he found the weather, with the exception of afew
cold and stormy days, generally mild and pleasant, freezing a little at night but invariablythawing
with the morning's sun-resembling the spring weather in the middle parts of the United States.
The lofty range of the Three Tetons, those great landmarks of the Rocky Mountains rising inthe east
and circling away to the north and west of the great plain of Snake River, and the mountains ofSalt
River and Portneuf toward the south, catch the earliest falls of snow. Their white robes lengthenas
the winter advances, and spread themselves far into the plain, driving the buffalo in herds to thebanks of the river in quest of food; where they are easily slain in great numbers.
Such were the palpable advantages of this winter encampment; added to which, it was securefrom
the prowlings and plunderings of any petty band of roving Blackfeet, the difficulties of retreatrendering it unwise for those crafty depredators to venture an attack unless with an overpoweringforce.
About ten miles below the encampment lay the Banneck Indians; numbering about onehundred and
twenty lodges. They are brave and cunning warriors and deadly foes of the Blackfeet, whom theyeasily overcome in battles where their forces are equal. They are not vengeful and enterprising inwarfare, however; seldom sending war parties to attack the Blackfeet towns, but contentingthemselves with defending their own territories and house. About one third of their warriors arearmed with fusees, the rest with bows and arrows.
As soon as the spring opens they move down the right bank of Snake River and encamp atthe heads
of the Boisee and Payette. Here their horses wax fat on good pasturage, while the tribe revels inplenty upon the flesh of deer, elk, bear, and beaver. They then descend a little further, and aremet
by the Lower Nez Perces, with whom they trade for horses; giving in exchange beaver, buffalo,and
buffalo robes. Hence they strike upon the tributary streams on the left bank of Snake River, andencamp at the rise of the Portneuf and Blackfoot streams, in the buffalo range. Their horses,although
of the Nez Perce breed, are inferior to the parent stock from being ridden at too early an age,being
often bought when but two years old and immediately put to hard work. They have fewer horses,also, than most of these migratory tribes.
At the time that Captain Bonneville came into the neighborhood of these Indians, they wereall in
mourning for their chief, surnamed The Horse. This chief was said to possess a charmed life, orrather, to be invulnerable to lead; no bullet having ever hit him, though he had been in repeatedbattles, and often shot at by the surest marksmen. He had shown great magnanimity in hisintercourse with the white men. One of the great men of his family had been slain in an attackupon
a band of trappers passing through the territories of his tribe. Vengeance had been sworn by theBannecks; but The Horse interfered, declaring himself the friend of white men and, having greatinfluence and authority among his people, he compelled them to forcgo all vindictive plans andto
conduct themselves amicably whenever they came in contact with the traders.
This chief had bravely fallen in resisting an attack made by the Blackfeet upon his tribe,while
encamped at the head of Godin River. His fall in nowise lessened the faith of his people in hischarmed life; for they declared that it was not a bullet which laid him low, but a bit of hornwhich
had been shot into him by some Blackfoot marksman aware, no doubt, of the inefficacy of lead.
Since his death there was no one with sufficient influence over the tribe to restrain the wild andpredatory propensities of the young men. The consequence was they had become troublesomeand
dangerous neighbors, openly friendly for the sake of traffic, but disposed to commit secretdepredations and to molest any small party that might fall within their reach. [Return to Contents].
