THE MOUNTAINEERS 97 



Vanderburgh and Drips knew that Fitzpatrick and 

 Bridger had led a picked body of horsemen northward 

 from Pierre s Hole. 



If the mountaineers had gone east of the lofty 

 Tetons, their hunting-ground would be somewhere be 

 tween the Yellowstone and the Bighorn. If they had 

 gone south, one could guess they would round up some 

 where about Salt Lake where the Hudson s Bay * had 

 been so often &quot; relieved &quot; of their furs by the mountain 

 eers. If they had gone west, their destination must be 

 on the Columbia or the Snake. If they went north, 

 they would trap on the Three Forks of the Upper Mis 

 souri. 



Therefore Vanderburgh and Drips cached all im 

 pedimenta that might hamper swift marching, smiled 

 to themselves, and headed their horses for the Three 

 Forks of the Missouri. 



There were Blackfeet, to be sure, in that region; 

 and Blackfeet hated Vanderburgh with deadly venom 

 because he had once defeated them and slain a great 

 warrior. Also, the Blackfeet were smarting from the 

 fearful losses of Pierre s Hole. 



But if the Rocky Mountain men could go rmscathed 

 among the Blackfeet, why, so could the American Fur 

 Company ! 



And Vanderburgh and Drips went ! 



Eival traders might not commit murder. That led 

 to the fearful ruin of the lawsuits that overtook Nor 



* By law the Hudson s Bay had no right in this region from 

 the passing of the act forbidding British traders in the United 

 States. But, then, no man had a right to steal half a million of 

 another s furs, which was the record of the Rocky Mountain 

 men. 



a 



