The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1844-01-26
From the New Orleans Picayunc.


The wild and sterile regions immedi
ately East of the mountains are distin |
guished by one feature that must live for
ever in the travellers remembrance. Lee
gions Of leagues (the expression is by no
means too strong) are covered with wild
growth Of sage, that seems designed by
Nature for nothing else than to feed GER
tain variety of the iea,hercd family known
as "sage cocks" For days and weeks
we travelled through this solitary species
of vegetation, till il became weariSome to
the sight even as the everlasting green OF
Thousand miles Of prairie was before.
The night before reaching Rock lndepen
dence we were compelled to make our
encampment by the side Of shallow,
muddy streamlet winding among these
sage bushes, and so thick was their growth
that hachets and axes, were brought into
employment before we could pitch tents
or find space TO lodge upon.
it was with infinite pleasure that we
left this dcsolate place the next morning;
and the camp beginning to run out OF
meat, our two regular hunters started
first, "irom the picket" taking different
directions. and bent upon finding buffalo.
The Footprints cf the game we sought
were thick and fresh all around us. N.Y.
riads had evidently travelled over the
ground but day or two prevous.-StlIl
nj 10
near midday without the slightest sign of
of success. Antoine was OF in one drcc-
ton, while two Of us rode with Joe Pour
ier in another.
Hello ! wat hell IL coming ~ sudden
Iy exclaimed Joe, and his eye was fixed
. upon distant section Of the horizon with
y all intense and in some drgree lroublous
expression. 1t has been mentioned be-
fore that Joe was Of French descent, and
:. spoke always very funnily in broken En-
y glish.
n "Wat hell IL ?" said Joe, pcering in
r tently at some distant object.
: We looked in the same direction, but
: could see nothing
c What is it, Joe 2" was the immediate
r enquiry from one of us, put in tone OF
c anxious soiicitude.
: "Wat iz! Wy, you no see by dam,
!. somebody comes dere !"
If In few minutes more our vision, less
d AGATE than Joe's, became cognizant OF
ID some four or five small spots in motion
i far away to our left.
'r care they Indians, Joe ~
e "Sacre, by dam, and re bill to pay
n no know said Joe, applying pointed
u remarks at the same time to his mule ant
'e hurryng forward, with his eyes bent up
on the far off objects.
. They no IL wild horse: no, by dam, y
- said Joe; "nlher IL them buffalo, no
. by dam, let US keep some look on
much !"
!, That Joe was little alarmed we coul,
-, perceive in an instant, and the natura
consequence was that we, too, (two) be
- came full sharers in his interesting unccr
" tainty. On we rode, and in few mo-
rs mcnts more Joe exclaimed
tn Hello well, wat Antoine wan! com,
n zis way You see derc ~
i'd We were just arriving at the base o
h. a long range of rocks, and right before "
ks was great black cleft or chasm, whicl
lis Joe pointed out to us as the Devil
Ell Gate" Not buffalo was in sight
h. few deer honored US with momentary no
"a ticc, and a great number of antelope boun
er ded across our path, but not quadrupe,
a of the bovine genus appeared during TIT
I'D morning. The objects that had so ear
oil nesiy engaged Jcc's attention, and which
a we half imagined 70 be Indians, we nov
M clearly distinguished to be the hunter An
he tome and those of the camp who went on
&C IN his company.
nc Joe now explained to us that it wa
!" clear Antoine had found 10 buffalo, am
i" was changing his course in search of bet
ter success. We were passing Rock In
=, dependence, and beautiful sheet Of IN
-, rippled water, CHASING back the blue sky
lay near the base Of the isolated noun
tain. Passing this, and then fOrding tn
4, Swoetwa,er, we entered romalc pass
N. iust asAuioine and his companions appear
W. ed more prominently in view making f.
,w the Devils Gate" from different poin
IN. Joe spurred his mule to run immediately
he and race commenced between the rivi
NV hunters. The objec, was TO pass til
bic Devils Gate" and secure whaieyc
mp struggling buffalo nigh, be found bsyon
,ill for We expected to see no more after tn
nd day. we were yet to travel some hun