Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-02-28
ALEXANDER HENRY
WAS A CHAMPION
RED-MAN Halter
AND INDIANS HAD SMALL REASON
TO DO ANYTHING BUT
RECIPROCATE

was Alexander Henry, who kept
diary from 1893 to 1914, of journey
10 the Missouri river, and from LAX
Superior to the Pacific ocean. Thi
Alexander Henry is likely to be con
fused with that Alexander Henry, whs
! is mentioned by Parkman and others
and who was the first white man tx
20 into the Saskatchewan river coun.
try.
Henry, the younger, as he Is called
is said to have been a relative Of that
other Henry, who was an American
and wrote the story of his travels and
| adventures.
/ This second Henry had the diary
habit a habit more common in his
day than in ours Elliott Coues, who
| edited the Henry journal, said when
/ this work was begun, Henry wintered
! at a post on the Red River of the
North, where he engaged in the hum
bic routine of traffic with the Indians.
whom he cheated and debauched as
a matter of course, with assiduity and
success. upon strict business principles.
and after the most approved methods.
And at his leisure-that is, when he
was not serving his coppery customers
Will AA4AbSA aANOAAOA- hEOJ q
nal"
The language of that day-1sOl-
was stilted in writing, however it was
in conversation. When men began
letters to their wives with "TIonored
Madame: it is not surprising that
Henry proceeded" instead of went;
perceived" rather than saw, and as
Coues says. was likely to write, Z
now once more found myself again
under the necessity of being obliged
to commence preparing for my intend
ed departure Immediately rather
than Il had to get ready to go some
where"
Described Daily Life
Henry's journal is mainly interesting
to Montanans, not because Of his ex-
plorations within the present state
boundary, for it Is not recorded that
he ever was within 1t, but on account
Of his accurate description of the fur
traders life from day to day.
He was apparently a man Of I'M
pleasant disposition, who hated with |
equal intensity Indians, and rival
traders Of the Hudson's Bay Co. He
established a trading post on Park |
liver in North Dakota, and visited the
Mandans and Gros Ventures in their
villages on the Missouri. Later, he
lourneyed to the mouth of the Co
umbia and was drowned in attempt
ng, together with three or four other
men, to reach in a canoe, a ship at
Inchor In that river
While with the Mandans, he had many
adventures, all of which were carefully
loted. He confirms the statement Of
ther fur traders that the French Ca
adian voyaguers were timerous lot
+ men, not to be depended upon in
ny time when an attack was threat
ned. Once as his party was near the
TiSsouri his employees were thrown into
panic, by seeing what they took to
e the leaders Of an Indian war force,
Ounding bluff not far distant, and
lying their whips vigorously on their
orses. Henry examined these objects
trough his Spying glass" and seeing
hey were couple of buffalo bulls
ried to allay the fears of his follow
rs. But this, he found, could not be
one until they individually had proved
ne truth of his assertion, by looking
trough the glass, when they learned
ne arms they had imagined in ac-
on, were the tails of the buffalo
lshing the mosquitoes.
OF the interpreter employed by ,
evils and Clark-Jussaume-Henry
lid: HE retains the outward appear
nee of a Christian, but his principles
! far as I could observe, are much
orse than those of the Mandans."
his he attributes to his intercourse
With the set of scoundrels who visit
lese parts-some to trade and others 3
screen them from Justice" And it l
as from such as these, the Indian
lined his first knowledge of the white
ans civilization; his teachers being :
Their exploiters or criminals probably s
most instances both.
as No Scientist q
Henry was no scientist, and from
s journal little can be cleaned con- :
rning the plants or animals Of the =
gion through which he travelled. he :
eaks of the wolves, and their bold 4
IS when they sometimes entered the !
PEGS. He said these wolves seemed :
ssessed with a desire to bite, rather 2
an to satisfy their hunger. The In
ans called them mad; and they act e.
like dogs with the rabies. .
The Mandan journey took him n
rough a dangerous country to II
averse, not alone on account Of the
izxIies and other wild animals en- Z
untered, but because Of the traps for 4
lives and foxes the Indians had
ade. These we're about 10 feet deep, d
ten with an interior circumference Fl
80 feet and an entrance the width r,
the path, and five feet long. These 81
IDS, covered with dried grass, were IL
II concealed, and as likely to be v
falls for men as for the animals Il
ey were designed to catch. a
Henry suffered greatly from the al
nal plague Of mosquitoes when near 81
E Missouri. In one place mentioned,
crossing the river, he left the mos
itoes behind him. He could not &C in
mt for their absence; but attributed -
to the character of the land, which
s broken and higher than on the "a
posite side. Nothing was said OF %
! winds direction. Before leaving Is
- Aol IN rs1saOV~fTgF1ffxJ IA