. oe 5c 
TheIndians M{ountains and beyond them, in Oregon, live the 
Crows, the Blackfeet, the Eutaws, the Snakes, the 
Nez Percés, the Flatheads, the Pannacks, etc. Of 
these tribes some are friendly to the whites; with 
others the friendship is dubious; while still others are 
at open enmity with them. The last is especially true 
of the Blackfeet, the terror of trappers and travelers. 
The Blackfeet rove about the headwaters of the Mis- 
souri on either side of the Rocky Mountains, and are 
the sworn foes not only of the whites, but also of all 
other Indians. They consider themselves the lords 
of creation, and wage war with all who will not sub- 
mit to them. Their boldness and audacity causes them 
to be feared far and near. Most of the whites who 
perish in the Rocky Mountains are brained by their 
tomahawks. Small parties of trappers are pursued 
by them relentlessly ; but they also often attack larger 
groups, and engage them in skirmishes. When on 
their expeditions they unexpectedly encounter a party 
they either attack or take to flight, for all whom they 
meet are sure to be enemies. Through this unrelent- 
ing hate toward all who are not of their tribe, which 
they put in practice to its utmost consequences, the 
Blackfeet have become a word of terror among the 
mountaineers; not unlike that which the grizzly bear 
in the animal kingdom has won for himself. How- 
ever, through ceaseless warfare, and still more 
through disease, especially small-pox, which ran its 
course among them some years ago, the tribe has been 
much reduced, and has become less formidable. 
