The Life of Kit Carson: Hunter, Trapper, Guide, Indian Agent and Colonel U.S.A.
Page 13
CHAPTER XIII.
On the Yellowstone--Repeated Disappointments--Carson Enters the Employ of a Hudson Bay Trader--Poor Success--A Trying Journey--Arrival at Fort Hall--The American Buffalo or Bison.
With the approach of cool weather, preparations were made for the fallhunt. When all was ready, the trappers headed for the Yellowstone, whichwas reached without mishap, and they immediately set their traps. Thecountry as a rule, was a good one for those valuable animals, but thevisitors were disappointed to learn they were unusually scarce.
When it became evident that it was useless to work on the Yellowstone,they gathered up their traps and made their way to the Big Horn, but,failing again, tried their fortunes on other rivers in that vicinitywith no better results.
It was while engaged in this discouraging work that they met a traderbelonging to the Hudson Bay Company. He had been pushing operations inevery direction, but the stories he told were of the same general tenoras those of the larger party. He had been as unsuccessful in the way oftrade as they had been in catching the fur bearing animals.
The Hudson Bay trader, however, was confident he could succeed wherethey had failed, and he made such liberal offers to Carson that he andseveral of his companions accepted them on the spot.
The first point which they visited was the Humboldt River, from whichhad come reports of the abundance of beavers. They began near the headwaters of the stream, and carefully trapped down to the Great Basin.Meeting with only moderate success, they made their way to Big SnakeRiver. After remaining there a considerable time, the party divided,the Hudson Bay trader and his friends going northward toward Fort WallaWalla, while Carson and the larger number set out for Fort Hall.
The journey thither was one of the most distressing which Kit Carsonever undertook. The country through which most of the march led is oneof the most dismal wastes on the American continent. Except in extent, ajourney across it is similar to that of the parched caravans across theflaming sands of Sahara. Carson and his companions were accustomed toall manner of privations, but more than once their endurance was triedto the utmost point.
The trappers had gathered some nutritious roots upon which they managedto subsist for a time, but these soon gave out, and their situation grewdesperate. When almost famishing they bled their mules and drank thewarm current. They would have killed one of the animals, but for thefact that they could not spare it, and, as there was no calculating howlong the others would last, they were afraid to take the step, which waslikely to cripple them fatally.
This strange source of nourishment served them for the time, but arepetition would endanger the lives of their animals, who were also insore straits, inasmuch as the grass was not only poor but very scanty.Matters rapidly grew worse, and soon became so desperate that Carsonsaid they would have to kill one of their animals or else lie down andperish themselves.
At this trying crisis, they discovered a band of Indians approaching.Perhaps the hapless situation in which all were placed left no room forenmity, for the red men showed a friendly disposition. The high hopes ofCarson and his friends were chilled when it was found that the Indianswere in about as bad a plight as themselves. They had barely a mouthfulof food among them, and, when besought to barter with the whites, theyshook their heads. They had nothing to trade, and, while they felt nohostility toward the suffering trappers, they gave them to understandthey could not afford any help at all.
But Carson had fixed his eyes on a plump old horse, and never did ashrewd New Englander apply himself more persistently to secure a prizethan did he. Kit's companions put forth all their powers of persuasion,but in vain, and they advised Carson that he was throwing away hisefforts in attempting the impossible.
But Carson succeeded, and when the equine was slaughtered and broiled,the trappers enjoyed one of the most delicious feasts of their lives.They filled themselves to repletion and felt that the enjoyment itbrought was almost worth the suffering they had undergone to obtain it.
When their strength was recruited, they resumed their journey and a fewdays later reached Fort Hall. There they found abundance of food andreceived a cordial welcome. In a brief while they were as strong as everand eager for any new enterprise.
Hundreds of bisons were in the neighborhood of the fort and Carsonand his friends slew them by the score. Indeed they kept the post wellsupplied with fresh meet as long as they remained there.
The animal almost universally known as the "buffalo" is miscalled, hiscorrect name being the "bison," of which there are droves numbering, itis said, as high as a hundred thousand. The flesh is held in highrepute by hunters, and not only is nourishing but possesses the valuablequality of not cloying the appetite. The most delicate portion of theanimal is the hump which gives the peculiar appearance to his back. Thatand the tongue and marrow bones are frequently the only portions madeuse of by the hunter.
The hide answers many useful purposes. All know how much a "buffalorobe" is appreciated in wintry weather by those exposed to cold. Itserves to form the Indian's tents, his bed, parts of his dress and issometimes made into a shield which will turn aside a rifle ball thatdoes not strike it fairly.
Hundreds of thousands of bisons are killed annually--myriads of themin pure wantonness--and yet enormous droves may be encountered today inmany portions of the west, where it is hard for the experienced huntersto detect any decrease in their numbers.
Some of the methods employed to slay bisons are cruel in the extreme.Many a time a large herd has been stampeded in the direction of someprecipice. When the leaders found themselves on the edge, they haveendeavored to recoil; but there was no stemming the tide behind them.The terrified animals literally pushed the leaders over the rocks andthen tumbled upon them. In a little while the gully or stream would bechoked with the furiously struggling creatures and hundreds would bekilled within a few minutes.
The bison is as fond as the hog of wallowing in mud. When he comes upona marshy spot he lies down and rolls about until he has worn out a largeand shallow excavation into which the water oozes through the damp soil.Lying down again he rolls and turns until he is plastered from headto tail with mud. Though it cannot be said that it adds to hisattractiveness, yet the coating no doubt serves well as a protectionagainst the swarms of insects, which are sometimes terrible enough tosting animals to death.
Those who have viewed the scraggy specimens in the menageries andzoological gardens would scarcely suspect the activity and power ofrunning possessed by them. The body is covered with such an abundanceof hair that it looks larger than it really is, while the legs appearsmaller. But the bison not only can run swiftly, but possesses greatendurance. They will often dash at full speed over ground so rough thatthe more graceful horse will stumble.
When wounded by the hunters, a bull will sometimes turn in desperationon his persecutor. Then, unless the horse is well trained, seriousconsequences are likely to follow. The plunging thrust of his stumpyhorns perhaps rips open the steed, sending the rider flying over theback of the furious bison, who may turn upon him and slay him before hecan escape.
This rarely happens, however, the bison being a huge, cowardly creaturewhich prefers to run rather than fight, and a hunt of the game in thesedays often takes the character of wholesale butchery in which no truesportsman would engage.