The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1884-03-27
OLD TIMES on THE aISS0lJRI.

-
Thirty years ago, the Missouri River,
from Omaha northward to its sources.
was true cradle of savage, violence and
lawlessness. Three o. four posts of the
Hudson Bay Company and the entire
white occupation of this vast extent of
territory, and on their trs ding tours, to
and from these posts, the Sioux, ASSN
;boines. Crees, Blackfet,t, Gros Ven
tres and other tribes, fought and
slaughtered each other at will.
What a rapid and almost incredible
change has come! All these fierce, old
time feuds and battles have passed
away like an ugly dream. Yet in the
interests Of national history, it is desir-
able that some record of them should
be preserved.
In my seaach after such rude vestiges
Of early history, I was repeatedly direct
ed to an old half-breed traEper, hunter,
and interpreter. Francois L4amoille, now
passing his last days on little place IF
his own, at medicine Hat" on the Ssls-
katchewan River.
recently paid this old man visit
and found him sitting ON meat-biock
in the midst of an enca Wpment of six
teen or seventeen tepees, where were
lodged nearly sixty half-i5reeds-me,l,
women and children-of Whom he is the
patriarch, in the truest t.:ibal sense,
being father, or grandfather, to ne arly
all of them.
Though seventy five years old, Fran
co.'s has still a great deal of why endur-
ance in him, and is swarthy and wrink-
led enough to realize ones ideal. of a
sheik of the Bedouins.
On making known my busina IS, the
old man responded with courtes:7 and
in English-shouting out at the time
in bugle-note tones, "Marche! Maj chez"
to number of ferocious wolf-dog that
came snuffing my legs, apparently with
hostile intentions; then, lighting his
pipe, and pressing down the live coal
with horny thumb, he began to tell
me of the old days.
From 1848 to 1881 will endeavor
to use his own words-"I was employed
almost constantly by the Hudson Bay
Company, at their posts on the Mi ssou-
ri, to interpret for the traders. The
first year I was at the post where Fort
| Union now stands.
ethan war rough times there then.
| The Injuns was all at war amongst
themselves, and were pretty sure to
murder every white they came npon
outside the trading-po
"The week arter came to the post,
an old chum of mine, named Pal:vote,
who traded with the Grows, lost his
life, while out hunting only few miles
from the stoclzade. On going out he
said to me that he should probably come
in before sunset but we didn't think it
strange that he didn't come, for hunters
was often away several days at time.
But he didn't come back the next night,
neither; an the third day, four of us
set out to hunt him up.
ave wasn't long in finding his traks
in the snow, en- follered 'em to where
we saw by the footprints that he had
been jined by five Injuns, an then we
made up our minds that he had been
captured. We naturally s'posed twas
all up with him; but keepin' on, we
come to place where the Injuns had
stopped ter have smoke with him, an
this made us feel little easier.
ave didn't feel so long, however, for
a few hundred yards from there we
found poor Parvote stretched out dead
in the snow. He was lynn on his face,
with his right hand, full err powder,
pressed close to his chest, an an arrer
stickin' in his back. He had been shot
in the right side too.
"The Injuns most likely asked him
for some powder an when he refused
'em, they'd walked along a bit with him.
side by side-he was too sharp ter let
'em get behind him if he could help it
an when they caught him off his guard,
they'd killed him.
"His havin' q handful err powder press
ed close to his heart, was most likely
intended ter mean that lie was stingy
with his powder, an that that was the
reason they'd killed him.
GAIL the Sioux and Blackfeet were
great horsethieves. The American Fur
Company had post right on tho Mis-
souri, at the fork ov the Yellerstone
"Our own bosses were kept in strong
stockade that was built round the fort.
: The agent had told us not ter let any OF
our bosses go outside of the stockade
but one day we let 'em out, all hobbled,
for awhile, ter feed on the fresh grass
Jest outside. They hadn't much more'n
got out, when party of Sioux come
along, on foot, lariated the best of EN-
in plain sight ov us, an drove the others
off," II remember that not long after
wards band of Assiniboines, bout q
hundred of 'em, come in from Wood
, Mountain ter trade. Two half breeds
started that mornin' for our big post on
f the Muddy, with express matter for the
!, American Company. They were cap.
tured by the Sioux before they had gone
= FAR. an sent back without any clothin
on 'em.
"The Siuox told 'em they mustn't &C
back the way they'd come; but they
t didn't mind what they said, an run on
: ter another party of the same tribe, an
was ch.sed by 'em right up ter the fort
where the Assiniboines was tradin'.
Lie ASSllllU('uCS IuSuCU ONU vi AOOl
an commenced fghtin' 'en, right off
The Siouxs-they's cunnin rascals, I tell
ye-drew 'em bout five miles away
from the fort, where they had big
: camp, an killed twelve ov 'em. The
rest got back ter the fort.
"The Crees an the Gros Ventre<
. were more peacefully disposed, not SC
$ much on the fight as the Sioux an
!, Blackfeet, woo used to slaughter EN-
| particularly the Gros Ventures, for fu1
or plumber, wherever they met 'em.
sa tm the we es set " dn for nes%
4 post at the Gros Ventres Fort on thu
Missouri, -where Bismarck now stands
Q with bout forty Injuns along
an Salteaux. There. was bout ten o
r MS half-breeds, an when we neared tn
q Fort q froa Vantra come ont on n swift