About midnight, feeling satisfied that they had gained a secure distance, they postedone of their number to keep watch, in case the enemy should follow on their trail, andthen, turning abruptly into a dense and matted thicket of willows, halted for the night atthe foot of the mountain, instead of making for the summit, as they had originallyintended.
A trapper in the wilderness, like a sailor on the ocean, snatches morsels of enjoymentin the midst of trouble, and sleeps soundly when surrounded by danger. The little partynow made their arrangements for sleep with perfect calmness; they did not venture tomake a fire and cook, it is true, though generally done by hunters whenever they cometo a halt, and have provisions. They comforted themselves, however, by smoking atranquil pipe; and then calling in the watch, and turning loose the horses, stretchedthemselves on their pallets, agreed that whoever should first awake, should rouse therest, and in a little while were all as sound asleep as though in the midst of a fortress.
A little before day, they were all on the alert; it was the hour for Indian maraud. Asentinel was immediately detached, to post himself at a little distance on their trail, andgive the alarm, should he see or hear an enemy.
With the first blink of dawn, the rest sought the horses; brought them to the camp, andtied them up, until an hour after sunrise; when, the sentinel having reported that all waswell, they sprang once more into their saddles, and pursued the most covert and secretpaths up the mountain, avoiding the direct route.
At noon, they halted and made a hasty repast; and then bent their course so as toregain the route from which they had diverged. They were now made sensible of thedanger from which they had just escaped. There were tracks of Indians, who hadevidently been in pursuit of them; but had recently returned, baffled in their search.
Trusting that they had now got a fair start, and could not be overtaken before night,even in case the Indians should renew the chase, they pushed briskly forward, and didnot encamp until late; when they cautiously concealed themselves in a secure nook ofthe mountains.
Without any further alarm, they made their way to the head waters of Wind River, andreached the neighborhood in which they had appointed the rendezvous with theircompanions. It was within the precincts of the Crow country; the Wind River valleybeing one of the favorite haunts of that restless tribe. After much searching, CaptainBonneville came upon a trail which had evidently been made by his main party. It wasso old, however, that he feared his people might have left the neighborhood; driven off,perhaps by some of those war parties which were on the prowl. He continued hissearch with great anxiety, and no little fatigue; for his horses were jaded, and almostcrippled, by their forced marches and scramblings through rocky defiles.
On the following day, about noon, Captain Bonneville came upon a deserted camp ofhis people, from which they had, evidently, turned back; but he could find no signs toindicate why they had done so; whether they had met with misfortune, or molestation,or in what direction they had gone. He was now, more than ever, perplexed.
On the following day, he resumed his march with increasing anxiety. The feet of hishorses had by this time become so worn and wounded by the rocks, that he had tomake moccasons for them of buffalo hide. About noon, he came to another desertedcamp of his men; but soon after lost their trail. After great search, he once more foundit, turning in a southerly direction along the eastern bases of the Wind River Mountains,which towered to the right. He now pushed forward with all possible speed, in hopes ofovertaking the party. At night, he slept at another of their camps, from which they hadbut recently departed. When the day dawned sufficiently to distinguish objects, heperceived the danger that must be dogging the heels of his main party. All about thecamp were traces of Indians who must have been prowling about it at the time hispeople had passed the night there; and who must still be hovering about them.
Convinced, now, that the main party could not be at any great distance, he mounted ascout on the best horse, and sent him forward to overtake them, to warn them of theirdanger, and to order them to halt, until he should rejoin them.
In the afternoon, to his great joy, he met the scout returning, with six comrades from themain party, leading fresh horses for his accommodation; and on the following day(September 25th), all hands were once more reunited, after a separation of nearly threeweeks. Their meeting was hearty and joyous; for they had both experienced dangersand perplexities.
The main party, in pursuing their course up the Wind River valley, had been doggedthe whole way by a war party of Crows. In one place, they had been fired upon, butwithout injury; in another place, one of their horses had been cut loose, and carried off.
At length, they were so closely beset, that they were obliged to make a retrogade move,lest they should be surprised and overcome. This was the movement which had causedsuch perplexity to Captain Bonneville.
