4J0 Expedition to the 



and the nearest relatives, observe to each other when they 

 met- 1 after a long separation. Several of his fellow townsmen, 

 who were about our encampment, hardly noticed him when 

 he first appeared, and it was only after the lapse of a consi- 

 derable interval that one of them spoke to him, but without 

 any visible ceremony of greeting. 



On the morning of the 14th, we left our encampment, op- 

 posite the village of the Pawnee Loups, and proceeded on 

 our journey, taking the most direct course towards the 

 Platte. Our party had here received an addition of two 

 men, one named Bijeau, engaged as guide and interpreter, 

 the other, Ledoux, to serve as hunter, farrier, &c. Roth 

 were Frenchmen residing permanently among the Pawnees, 

 and had been repeatedly on the head waters of the Platte 

 and Arkansa, for the purpose of hunting and trapping bea- 

 ver. Bijeau was partially acquainted with several Indian 

 languages; in particular, that of the Crow nation, which is 

 extensively understood by the western tribes, and, by fre- 

 quent intercourse with the savages he had gained a complete 

 knowledge of the language of signs, universally current 

 among them. The gr<rat number, and the wide dissimilarity 

 of the dialects of the aborigines render this method of com- 

 munication necessary to them, and it is not surprising it 

 should have arrived at considerable perfection among tribes 

 who, from their situation and manner of life, must often 

 find occasion to make use of it. 



Besides these two men a young Spaniard, a refugee from 

 some of the settlements of New Mexico, joined our party, 

 intending to accompany us as far as his fear of his own 

 countrymen would permit. He had probably been guilty of 

 some misdemeanor, which made it necessary to avoid his 

 former acquaintances, and, on this account, he could not be 

 induced to accompany us into the neighbourhood of the Spa- 

 nish settlements. The Frenchmen brought with them three 

 horses and a mule, so that our party, which was now suppos- 



