362 The Winning of the West 



Clark taking command of one division, and a ser- 

 geant of the other ; they built their own canoes, some 

 of them made out of hollowed trees, while the others 

 were bull boats, made of buffalo hides stretched on 

 a frame. As before they reveled in the abundance 

 of the game. They marveled at the incredible num- 

 bers of the buffalo, whose incessant bellowing at this 

 season filled the air with one continuous roar, which 

 terrified their horses; they were astonished at the 

 abundance and tameness of the elk ; they fought their 

 old enemies the grisly bears, and they saw and noted 

 many strange and wonderful beasts and birds. 



To Lewis there befell other adventures. Once, 

 while he was out with three men, a party of eight 

 Blackfeet warriors joined them and suddenly made 

 a treacherous attack upon them and strove to carry 

 off their guns and horses. But the wilderness vet- 

 erans sprang to arms with a readiness that had be- 

 come second nature. One of them killed an Indian 







with a knife thrust ; Lewis himself shot another In- 

 dian, and the remaining six fled, carrying with them 

 one of Lewis' horses, but losing four of their own, 

 which the whites captured. This was the begin- 

 ning of the long series of bloody skirmishes between 

 the Blackfeet and the Rocky Mountain explorers 

 and trappers. Clark at about the same time suffered 

 at the hands of the Crows, who stole a number 

 of his horses. 



None of the party was hurt by the Indians, but 

 some time after the skirmish with the Blackfeet 

 Lewis was accidentally shot by one of the French- 



