The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1825-08-08
From Tie .fati0nm journal !
TRAPPING EXPEDITION

TRAPPING EXPEDITION.
! Ihe f"lowi9g narrative of Cant R,d,
heiI, who has lately retuned TO Mssnn,;
/ from trapping expedition 10 the Unno,
/ frosinoe oi Ne" Mexico, fm nishes an int..
restia x description fthe pfiNations and COZ. .
/ lerngs endured hy the hardy aud eni4rnri.
sing frsppcr IN the wilds al the west /,
also gives some additional iDCor,oatin, =,
/ mat pprtion OF the country, ard of rh,.
/ tiade that IS carried an between onr We.
tern states and Santa ife:
On the 5th of November last l.f
Santa Cruz, with part, Of uine mrn. en-.
ployed IN my service, With view of tram
ping on the Green River, several hundred
miles from Santa Fe.
! In the course Of my route, towards fhe
point Of destination, passed through fine
gap ct a mountain SO marrow as greatly 10
| resemble gateway. This moiin,an.
winch had the appear roe of an afti6ci.,
mound. was about three hnndrpd feet high
I aud not more than ten feet in hIeatilh If the
base. The coantry here is poor, and only
tmberrd with pine and cedar. | met in
this vicinity, several parties OF Indians, who
were poor and inotirnsive. Il was, howe.
Yer, reported that some of the Indians who
spent some time with ns, afterwards COM
united narcers upon the persons Of some
ct the engages Of Mr.. Provost, of ST. Loo
il, and robbed the remainder. We suffrr-
ed every misery Incident 10 such an enter
prise in the winter Season, such as hunger
and cold hat we're exempted from rob.
berry. The flesh Of Il very lean horse,
witch we were constrained 10 break our
last "ith, was at this time pronounced ex-
eeisent. But when his hnnrs urre after
wards served uP, as matter Of Necessity,
they were not as well relishesl, but had
nearly proved fatal 10 the whole patty
We found, to or cost, that our stonachs,
although tolerabiy colnmudionsly dis
posed, were not equal to the task of
digestnS bones. You can readily inn
aElne, that we were in that depnra,
BILE condition where il would he jus'i-
fable to adopt the philosophy Of the AM
Gent Romans, and give odds to dir. But
such Is not the practice of Missoufiano.-
Although We were forty days from setts
nlrnts, the Snow three or four feet deep
and our small stock of horses, our princiI
pal reliance for Pflecting a retreat, coasl1
Gered sacred, SO that ia have eaten thrui
would have been like dining upon our own
feet, we -till contrved 10 supply onr ta4
bles, il not With the daintirs of Iifp. WITH
Hood of the most substan al kind. For il
stance, we snbsistel two DAYS on soup
made Of raw hide we had reserved fur
sosiiag our mocCasins ; 90 the following
mdraiag the remains were dished np INTO a
bash. The Young men employed by me
had seen better day s. aud had never befl-e
be- s1pperles3 10 bed, nor missed whole
ann and substantial meal AT the regul5r
idHfIY h"nrexccept ONE, who was With NE
whea ] opened the road 10 Santa Fe.-
W hrh afterwards we were enabla d TO pro-
tsflltrent bear meat, We dev0ured It
10 that style Of eagerness, which, on 4 re-.
'iew ot our operations Al this time, very
fprclhly reminds Us ofihe table urbanity Vi
prairie wolf.
While AT on wioter camp we hunted
when we could, and the remainder of the
Tune attempted 10 sleep, SO as 10 dream Of
The abundance of our own tables AT home.
and the dark rich tenants oil our smoke
houses.
In the vicinity of our encampment, |
discovered old diggings and the remains OF
furnaces There are also in this ps''''--
borhood the remains of many ,, s .1.i ",e,9
h"nses, some Of which ha,es % ~, ~ e',",s
Meath the surface of f'sss,,.ar e N;chol,s.
likewise an abundance of broken Poae'
here, wen baked and neatly painted, Tbs
was probably the site of a town where lie
ancient Mexican Indians resided, as the
SPaoiards, who seldom visit this patt OF
The country, can give no account OF II.
On our way back to the settlements, we
halted al the encampment nfa band OF In
dams, who shocked Our feelings not il't!e
by the disposition they were about to make
of an infrm land no Longer usrfni) squaT.:
W hen the principal part OF the band ha
left their camp, two of those remaining
proceeded to lay the sick woman upon nee
face by the side of some cf her Effects
They then covered her With a funeral PIE
of pine wood, 10 which they set fire, ara
thus made Hnd0o sacrifice of the paleH'
old ma,ron.
AS the depth Of the snow, and the intense
cold ofthe season, rendered trapping aim"t
inpractieahie we succeeded, on third az
tempt in making good our retreat from t'h'
wilderness. and ieaehfd
Spanish village on the 5th OF April, alter an
absence of iivt months.
Ii was reported in the Spanish se1ti"..
ment-, by a man who had been empi"yto
by George Armstrong, of Franklin, VINO
me to Santa Fe, that hf ,iaa
been murdered by the Indians, but nave
coed reason to believe, and most sincere
y hope t9is may be only an idle fabrication