The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-12-21
A WESTERN ADVENTURE.

WESTERN ADVENTURE.
A few years ago, before work actually
begun on the Northern Pacific Railroad
but at a time when it was being talked
about as an enterprise that would Ger.
tainly be carried through, determined
with two young friends, who, like my
self, were anxious to flud good place
for investment, to cross the continent
from the head waters of Lake Superior
to Puget's Sound on the Pacific.
Our intention was to follow as near
the line of the proposed road as possible
and to note carefully the agricultural
advantages of the country in connection
with its mineral resources.
We organized at Superior City, though
our outfit was not very extensive, as
the party was small. Two wagons fill
ed with supplies and articles for barter
with the Indians whom we expected to
meet, and horses for ourselves and cook
constituted our train. was familiar
enough with the necessities of the trip
to feel assured this was all that was nee
essary.
My friends were Julian Whitechurch
and Henry s. Brougham, both of New
York city, and as brave, earnest and
cultured gentlemen as l ever had for
companions in my life. They knew
nothing Of "wild liie," as they consider
ed existence on the plains or in the
mountains beyond, so that they were as
eager and anxious about the trip as boys.
They had fishing-rods and rifles and
knives and pistols for every kind OF
game, and they read every book they
could find that said anything about the
country, and wore out several maps
studying its geography, though all the
maps of that region at that time were as
purely works of Imagination as the re-
cords of"Gulliver's Travels.
l had never travelled across the conti-
nent on this parallel, but my experience
in the Far West made me certain of its
general characteristics.
Our cook was a very remarkable black
man. He had been the body-servant of
a prominent public official, and hence
was something of politician-indeed,
he considered himself very superior
and highly cultured specimen of the
American variety of that article.
He was perfect budget of trite max
inns, whose commonplace became bear
able by his genius for misquoting, and
his constant effort to improve upon them.
He was rich in the songs and hymns in
which his people delight, and he could
sing them very well, but he had knack
of mixing up the sacred and secular,
that was unintcntional, and therefore
very ludiorous.
Patsy, that was the misnomcr of our
black man, though Brougham vowed
that our cook spoke with an Irish &C.
cent; but be that as it may, he was 8
capital cook, and never saw him out
of humor but once, the reason for which
l shall presently explain.
We reached the Red River of the
North without adventure or mishap
and here we engaged guide to accom-.
pany us as far as the Columbia River
from which point anticipated no difn
Guilty in working my way to Olympia
in Washington Territory.
We struck the buffalo country In Au-
gust, and as the only game we had seer
so far were antelopos in the far distance
rabbits that ran out of range, and prai
rie-dogs that refused to be shot, White
church and Brougham were wild will
excitement, and went in to kill buffalo
pell-mell. This thing of riding into
herd ofbufialo, that dash across the plain.
with lowered heads, hanging tongue.
and flashing eyes, is no child's play.
The ground is so honeycombed will
prairie-dog and coyote burrows that ,
horse and rider, no matter how good, /
unaccustomed to it, are In constant dan
ger of going down, and a strange hors,
is always so alarmed at the sight of tn,
buffalo that it is next to impossible t.
get within pistol shot.
My New York friends were not, there
fore, successful In the first hunt, bu
Paul, our half-breed guide, shot a splen
did animal, and consoled my friends b,
assuring them that little practic,
wonld make them as fine bufIalo-hu
ters as could be found in the Northwes
and this compliment encouraged them
Indeed, subsequent event proved tha
Paul was a veritable prophet.
In September we reached the noun
tains, and here our work was to begil
In earnest.
The crows were at peace with til
whites, but we learned that it was dan
gerous for so small party as ours I
travel in that country at that time, a
bands of the young braves, not onl
from the Crows, but also from the Ne
Perces and Sioux, were out ostensibl
hunting, but in fact committing iepre
dations, and killing and scalping ever
white man they came across.
When we learned this news l held
council in our camp, for, while persol
ally l was in favor of pushing on,
wished to defer TO my New York friend
who knew nothing about Indian figh
lug, and for the matter of that, nothin
about lighting at all.
Paul, the guide, thought we could q
through safely by exercising proper viz
ilanco, and, as he was personally we
known TO the Indians, he felt sure Il
/. could prevent their attacking our part
! II we could only get up truce wit
them.
Whitchurch and Brougham were nc
I only willing, but anxious, to 20 aheat
: : and l felt relieved by their decision.
Patsy had listened to our conversi
ton during the council, and short tim
afterward l heard him saying to one
I the teamsters:
"We's gwine inter de den OBJ lion
. my feller-citizen, an da's no backil
! out. 'Tain't for myself now raises m
voice In dis meetingl No, Danish q,
Q observation 70
2 "Well, who are you raisln' of yo,
E voice tor, then, Pttsyl" asked II
amused teamsters.
"For de white men OBJ de marty, L
suffah, my countrymen, like de chile
:, In dc fab, what's In de prophets of ol,
!. but, Ike dem, my brethren, my hi
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