In company with this wandering band our travellers proceeded all day.
In the evening they encamped near to each other in a defile of the
mountains, on the borders of a stream running north, and falling into
Bighorn River. In the vicinity of the camp, they found gooseberries,
strawberries, and currants in great abundance. The defile bore traces of
having been a thoroughfare for countless herds of buffaloes, though not
one was to be seen. The hunters succeeded in killing an elk and several
black-tailed deer.
They were now in the bosom of the second Bighorn ridge, with another
lofty and snow-crowned mountain full in view to the west. Fifteen miles
of western course brought them, on the following day, down into an
intervening plain, well stocked with buffalo. Here the Snakes and
Flatheads joined with the white hunters in a successful hunt, that soon
filled the camp with provisions.
On the morning of the 9th of September, the travellers parted company
with their Indian friends, and continued on their course to the west.
A march of thirty miles brought them, in the evening, to the banks of a
rapid and beautifully clear stream about a hundred yards wide. It is the
north fork or branch of the Bighorn River, but bears its peculiar
name of the Wind River, from being subject in the winter season to a
continued blast which sweeps its banks and prevents the snow from lying
on them.
Pages:
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349