Hunting at High Altitudes 



In the meantime, a military force of seven or 

 eight hundred men, cavalry and mounted infantry, 

 had been concentrated and was following these 

 Indians, at this time about two days' march be- 

 hind them. The next heard of Joseph's band was 

 at the Lower Geyser Basin, near which they sur- 

 prised and captured a party of tourists; Mr. Car- 

 penter, his wife and sister-in-law and four or five 

 men from about Helena, Montana, among them 

 Albert Oldham, whom I knew. Chief Joseph 

 rescued the two women and a younger brother and 

 protected them. The young bucks commenced a 

 iusilade on the men, apparently killing Carpenter 

 and wounding several more among them Albert 

 Oldham as they took to the brush. 



As it turned out, Carpenter was merely stunned 

 by a scalp wound, and afterward revived, and he 

 and Oldham were taken care of by Howard's men 

 as they came up. On reaching the vicinity of the 

 Yellowstone, Joseph's scouts surprised another 

 party of four white men camped just above Great 

 Falls and killed one man, the others escaping to 

 the brush. Before fording the Yellowstone, Chief 

 Joseph gave the two white women a pony each and 

 started them down the trail on the west side of that 

 stream. At the pass over the Mount Washburn 

 range, they met a scouting party of cavalry under 



56 



