ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, ETC. 39 



part of the Platte river, (just a short distance beyond us here,) 

 I fell in with about a dozen Ottos. They wez'e known to be a 

 friendly tribe, and I therefore felt no fear of them. I dismounted 

 from my horse and sat with them upon the ground. It was in 

 the depth of winter ; the ground was covered with snow, and 

 the river was frozen solid. While I was thinking of nothino; but 

 my dinner, which I was then about preparing, four or five of the 

 cowards jumped on me, mastered my rifle, and held my arms fast, 

 while they took from me my knife and tomahawk, my flint and 

 steel, and all my ammunition. They then loosed me, and told 

 me to be off. I begged them, for the love of God, to give me my 

 rifle and a few loads of ammmunition, or I should starve before 

 I could reach the settlements. No — I should have nothing, and 

 if I did not start off immediately, they would throw me under the 

 ice of the river. And," continued the excited hunter, — while 

 he ground his teeth with bitter, and uncontrollable rage, — " that 

 man that sat opposite to you was the chief of them. He recog- 

 nised me, and knew very well the reason why I would not smoke 

 with him. I tell you, sir, if ever I meet that man in any other 

 situation than that in which I saw him this morning, I'll shoot him 

 with as little hesitation as I would shoot a deer. Several years 

 have passed since the perpetration of this outrage, but it is still 

 as fresh in my memory as ever, and I again declare, that if 

 ever an opportunity offers, I will kill that man." " But, Richard- 

 son, did they take your horse also ?" " To be sure they did, 

 and my blankets, and every thing I had, except my clothes." " But 

 how did you subsist until you reached the settlements ? You had 

 a long journey before you." " Why, set to trappin' prairie squir- 

 rels with little nooses made out of the hairs of my head." I 

 should remark that his hair was so long, that it fell in heavy 

 masses on his shoulders. " But squirrels in winter, Richardson, 

 I never heard of squirrels in winter." " Well but there was 

 plenty of them, though ; little white ones, that lived among the 



