THE COMMANDANT. 19 



less settled portions of Oregon and California. The mountaineer is his own 

 manufacturer, tailor, shoemaker, and butcher; and, fully accoutred and sup- 

 plied with ammunition in a good game country, he can always feed and clothe 

 himself, and enjoy all the comforts his situation affords. No wonder, then, 

 his proud spirit, expanding with the intuitive knowledge of noble inde- 

 pendence, becomes devotedly attached to those regions and habits that per- 

 mit him to stalk forth, a sovereign amid nature's lovliest works. 



Our company, however, were not all mountaineers ; some were only 

 " entered apprentices," and others mere ■' greenhorns " — taking every thing 

 into consideration, perhaps, it was quite as agreeably composed as circum- 

 stances would well admit of. In glancing over the crowd, I remarked 

 several countenances sinister and malign, but consented to suspend judg- 

 ment till the character of each should be proven by his conduct. Hence, 

 in the succeeding pages, I shall only speak of characters as I have occa- 

 sion to speak of men. As a whole, the party before me presented a choice 

 collection of local varieties, — here was the native of France, of Canada, of 

 England, of Hudson Bay, of Connec icut, of Pennsylvania, of New York, 

 of Kentucky, of Illinois, of Missouri, and of the Rocky Mountains, all 

 congregated to act in unison for a specitied purpose. It m'ght well require 

 the pencil of Hogarth to picture such a motley group. 



Our company had not as yet attained its full numercial strength ; a smaJl 

 division of it was some distance in advance, another behind, and at least 

 two days would be necessary to complete the arrangenlents prior to leaving. 

 The idea of spending two days in camp, notwithstanding the beauty of its 

 location, was by no means agreeable ; but as the case was beyond remedy, 

 I quietly submitted, and managed to while away the tedious interval as best 

 I could. 



A brief acquaintance with our commandant, found him a man of small 

 stature and gentlemanly deportment, though savoring somewhat of arro- 

 gance and self-sufficiency, — faults, by the way, not uncommon in little 

 men. He had been engaged in the Indian trade for several years past, and 

 had seen many " ups and downs " in former life. Graduating from 

 West Point in his younger days, he soon after received the commission of 

 Lieutenant of Dragoons, in the U. S. Army, and served in that capacity for 

 some six or eight years, on the frontier and at Forts Gibson and Leaven- 

 worth. Possessed of the confidence of his men, his subsequent resignation 

 was the occasion of much regret with those he had been accustomed to 

 command. The private soldier loved him for his generous frankness and 

 readiness to overlook minor offences, even upon the first show of peni- 

 tence. 



Such unbounded popularity at length excited the jealousy of his brother 

 officers, and gave birth to a combination against him. which nothing could 

 appease short of his removal from the army. Aware of his ardent tem- 

 perament and strong party notions as a politician, and equally violent upon 

 the opposite side, they managed to inveigle him into a discussion of the 

 measures and plans of the then administration of national affairs. Argu- 

 ing in the excitement of feeling, lie made use of an unguarded expression, 

 denouncing the Chief Magistrate. This was immediately noted down, 

 and charges were promptly preferred against him, for " abuse nf a superior 

 officer I^^ The v\hole affair was tiien referred to a Court Martial, composed 



