The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1904-04-21

q 81 started out to take
4 consignment Of goods to
Ho~ the Black Hills country,
where most Of the blanket
Indians were supposed to be gathered.
II set out about the middle Of Au-
gust with a string Of packhorses and
two men--Bat Lamoure, my driver,
and Little Chief, to act as guide and
interpreter to the Cheyennes and Gros
Ventres. I could then speak Sioux
very we'll, but Little Chief could talk
in seven wholly different Indian
tongues; without him such an expedi-
ton could hardly have been under
taken.
1--WE jogged across to the Little Mis-
souri,. and followed that stream nearly
to its head without meeting Indians.
Then we crossed over to the Belle
Fourche, and followed that past the
pine hills. There were no buffaloes e1-
cept stragglers, stray punches of old
bulls that had been left behind in the
march of south going herds.
when we had reached creek called
Medicine Dance, Little Chief an
nounced that the Ogallalas and their
allies had all gone south after the buf-
falo. He said the Ogallalas, or good
part of them, had wintered on this
creek the year before, and had raised
a crop of vegetables at their village
during the summer. They had gone,
and if they had intended to return
would not have mo sed their village and
taken all their horses out Of the coun-
try.
1T was too late in the season to turn
north to the Blackfoot country, so
there was rothing we could do but
craze our stock and hunt and rest for
time.
Then one morning party of In
dians appeared. There were fifteen or
twenty of them, a wild lot of fellows
mounted on swift horses. who circled
about our camp, riding like the wind.
and then shook treir blankets at US
in token that they wanted to talk.
Little Chief made signs to them to
come on, and they approached eau
tiously. They proved to be mountain
Crows-and half of them had never
seen a white man before.
"They had nothing to trade. They
were all armed with bows and arrows,
and the only sign of civilized life in
their outfittings was a few old woolen
blankets.
"My interpreter was acquainted with
the river Crows of the Yellowstone,
and after their curiosity was little
satisfied, he talked with these fellows
in their tongue. He could get but
little out of them, but they promised
to return to their buffalo camp and
bring in some peltries in day or two.
when we had seen the last Of them.
was quite ready to pack up and pull
out for the Missouri, for I knew that
our visitors belonged to the widest
tribe then in all the Northwest, and
that the Sioux regarded them as the
most expert and inveterate thieves In
existence.
However, when proposed that we
get out of the country, Little Chief
counseled delay. He said that we
might be sure these wild Crows were
watching US keenly, and that II we
should display any signs Of fear or
uneasiness they would the sooner at
tack us. So I listened to his Indian
wisdom, whether for the best or not
I've never been able to guess.
For two or three days we kept an
eye out for the Crows and closely
herded our stock at night. Then, see
ing no further sign Of our visitors, we
concluded that they had returned to
their villages. which must have been
two or three hundred miles distant.
eve had packed all our wares and
new SKINS" with the intention to pull
out at sunrise in the morning. Just
before daybreak the Crows came. Bat
was supposed to be night-herding, but
he was probably asleep on the prairie
when the drums and yells sounded.
THE rascals slipped up on us quietly,
having shod their ponies with buffalo
moccasins. fur side out. and they were
right on top Of lis when they drummed
MS out of blankets. We jumped to our
feet and worked our Spencer repeaters
with all possible speed. while yell.
ing mob rode over and round us.
"Owirg to the darkness. we came of
without scratch: but when the STAN
pea had rolled out Of harms way we
stood there. three men on foot. with q
stock of traders goods on hand, five