Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-11-26

in search of "sign." His nerves must ever he
in Il state oitension, and his mind ever present
at his call. His eagle eye sweeps round the
country, and in an instant detects any foreign
appearance. A turned leaf, blade of grass
pressed down, the uneasness of the wild ami
mails, the flight of birds, are all paragraphs to
him written in natures legble hand and plain
est language. All the wits Of the subtle saw
age are called into play to gain IN advantage
over the willy woodsman but with the natural
instinct of primitive man, the white hunter has
the advantages of civilized mind and thus
provided, seldom fails to Outwit, under equal
advantages, the cunning savage.
| Yet sometimes the precautions of the white
hunter are vain. The Indian, observing where
he has set his traps, creeps towards them in
such way as to leave no trail and crouches
patiently in the bushes till his victim comes.
| Then lilies the arrow and nj so short dis
| lance il rarely flies in vain The whizi is hard
| ~ in the ear Of the victim when the point is in
his heart, and the exultng savage has white
scalp to carry home for the adornment of his
lodge But the balance of spoil of this kind
ii must be said, is greatly in favor of the trap
pers, whose camp-iircs, at the end of the hunt
exhibit twelve black scalps for every one their
comrades have lost.
AT Il certain time, when the hunt is over, or
they have loaded their pack-animals, the trap
pers proceed to the "rcndezvous," the locality
of which has been previously agreed upon I;
and here the traders and agents of the fur
companies await them, with such assortment
of goods as their hardy customers may require
including generally a fair supply of alcohol
The trappers drop in singly and in small bands,
bringing their packs of beaver to this noun
tain market, not unfrequently to the value of
a thousand dollars EACH the produce of one
inf Thn Is@@s,. q -.
however, soon turns the trappers pocket in
side out The goods brought by traders, al
though ofthe most inferior quality, are sold at
enormous prices Coffee, twenty and thirty
shillings apint-cup, which is the usual measurc;
tobacco fetches ten and fifteen shillings plug;
alcohol, from twenty to fifty shllings pint;
gunpowder, sixteen shillings pint-cup and
all other articles at proportionably exorbitant
prices.
The "heaver" is purchased Mt from two to
eight dollars per pound the Hudson's Bay
Company alone buying it by the pluic. or
''plew'-that is, the whole skin; giving a GER
tain price for skins, whether of old beaver or
'kittens.n
The rendezvous is one continued scene of
drunkenness, gambling and brawing, and
lighting, as long as the money and credit of the
trappcrs last. Seated Indian fashion, round
the fires, with blanket spread before them,
groups are seen with their ''decks" of cards
playing at "euker,n ''pokerr and "seven-up"
the regular mountain-games. The stakes are
'heavcr,' which here is current coin; and
when the fur is gone, their horses, mules rifles,
and shirts, hunting-paCks, and brooches, are
staked. Daring gamblers make the rounds of
the camp, challenging each other to play for
the trapper's highest stakc-his horse, his
squaw, (ifhe have one,) and, ms once happen
ed, his scalpl There go shos and bcaverl" is
the mountain expression when any great loss
is sustained; and sooner or later, "hos and
beaver invariably find their way into the in
satinblc pockets of the traders. trappcr
oftens squandcrs the produce of his hunt,
amounting to hundreds of dollars, in n couple
ofhours; and, supplied on credit with another
equipment, leaves the rendezvous for another
expedition, which has the same result time
after time although one tolerably successful
hunt would enable him to return to the settle
ments and civilized life, with an ample sum to
purchase and stock farm, and enjoy him
self in case and comfort the remainder of his
days.
An old trapper, French Canadian, assured
me that he had received fifteen thousand dol
lars orbcayer during soiourn of twenty years
in the mountains. Every year he resolved in
his mind to return to Canada, and with this
subject always converted his fur into cash
but II fortnight at the Rendezvous always
cleaned him out, and at the end of twenty
-, ~ u Nv, wen ''''' S"'i''ie"t 10 p"y
tr u"nt VI po"ue.,
'1 I, 'l'"viii'sa w oi'en tnc scehe
No ,,o, ""e's ioa WI ''eir cups anu curds
tainccrs. Rifles, Mt twenty PAGES, settle all
differences; and as may be imagined, the fall
of one or other of the combatants is certain or
Ia. e o'''''ies ""pP'"s' poth N'i 10 the WORD
"" " No. ,,
~ ~ 'li ,.m siNen so'.e specimens OF
I' s'it: ~ P"i"''iS ro,i' h"ture pl'
H. H. n.,' s.se, tnongn el'eh sketched'
.oi nse'i '.s"'tu Nun u rcer nnu nrner
~ 10 " S'e"e ''r iro'" ui'a''iiar 10 inc
u"Ppu
III, =. ~. sunset uesopnucu .ne noun
W 'iu anu vcing very 'ireu' aller
Ia, ui"usn. VI .ne co'u water
,a s,i, e. - y w w si!c VI ny W.
en-, ha1 oIronJ,. ~, VII" ,.t : ""ohg t'e
~" l CO.. 'i.,s s'', put "i'uouSu u"rhhess
,',',.;l 80 wy no"h'"iil' was
~ ~ seV plish' lisht h,ckerliiE against
10 :, s''i,!.' "sS"ueu hlc th''t Tue
sou'''", ~ "as oh nIS anu SURFING up saw
a. oi H., ny u""sel " ny posltioh' me not
WI. i''.' pgVh hleu nooe. ihiie MEOW the
pms, INV "u' =" s'.ort instance rom where
" uei'se cioud OF
,.,' NJ" ,,' "'nsnH WI ~ eorec' "nu pres
my " 'isnt "' sPIinH'hH up from 'hc east,
u mus VI n"n'e sio' up INTO t1e SKY ana roll
~ 10y w liiu s',e"H'i thc peit OF nGy |
utus1 ~ l'S nm'lNs e"'chlhg hre anu burning
my Inv 'll',ieI' ihe nountllh was aireauy lnVa-
us ca " 'ne ueNouring element anu TWO wings |
o. name spread out from the main stream, |
Mn"n' roa'ing ",ohg tnr no't0m WIN thc |