102 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 4, 1886. 



TO TEE WALLED-IN LAKES. 

 xm, — "plenty horses stolen." 

 HHHERE were sigDS that the party's bad luck would cause 

 its disruption. All the morning Yellow fish, Achilles- 

 like, sulked in his tent, and a little after noon he saddled his 

 horse, forded the river, and disappeared over the bluffs on 

 his way to the agency. 



We spent the morning on the water fishing for lake trout, 

 of which we caught fifty or sixty pounds' weight. In the 

 afternoon we rode out north across Swift Current to get a 

 nearer view of Chief Mountain. It is a grand needle of rock, 

 standing far out upon the prairie, away from its fellows. 

 Its connection with the range is by a narrow, knife-edge 

 mountain, which runs back from it to the main chain; but 

 the crest of this ridge is so far below the mountain itself 

 that, at a distance, it seems but little above the prairie. I 

 made a rough sketch of its profile as seen from.the southeast 

 at a distance of about ten miles. The mountain at this dis- 

 tance is dwarfed by the extent of country seen to the east 

 and west of it. No picture of Chief Mountain that I have 

 seen shows this view of it, which is far more impressive 

 than one from the north. This rough outline is seen below. 



left, and by closely looking in the same direction, I made 

 out two indistinct dark shapes, close under the shadow of 

 the willows. As I rode toward them, a low whinny told me 

 that I had found the missing horses, and after liding close 

 enough to them to recognize them I left them quietly feed- 

 ing and went on to camp. I had been gone just twenty 

 minutes. 



The aext day we said farewell to the Walled-in-Lakes, and 

 leaving Dick King, the sole white inhabitant of the beautiful 

 valley, set out across the river and up the steep bluffs. 

 Lia:ht though the wagon was, the pull up the long steep hill 

 was a hard one, and it was afternoon before the last rise had 

 been surmounted, and the team trotted on over the level 

 prairie which forms the divide between the waters flowing 

 into the Arctic Ocean and those which empty into the Gulf 

 of Mexico. Soon after crossing the river, we met three half- 

 breeds driving a pack pony, one of whom stopped to talk 

 with me. He said that he and his comrades were hunting 

 for some horses thought to have been stolen by the Piegans, 

 and inquired the way to the agency. He said they had 

 avoided the wagon road from St. McLeod, because they were 

 afraid that the police at the boundary might make them 



PROFILE SKETCH OF CHIEF MOUNTAIN. 



SEEN PROM THE SOUTHEAST ABOUT TEN MILES DISTANT 



1. Level of the prairie. 2. Crest of knife-edge mountain running back to the Range. 



For an hour or two we sat on the hills admiring the 

 majesty of this Western Matterhorn. Its sides seem verti- 

 cal — sometimes even overhanging — and utterly impracticable 

 from the south and east. If there be a way to its summit, 

 as the Kootenays say there is, it must be on the northwest. 

 At all events, to give the mountain a trial would require no 

 little time and labor. 



On returning to the camp we turned out the horses, and 

 after dinner I did some fishing in the river for trout. I 

 caught a few, and some very good ones, but nothing above 

 two pounds and a half, although they are said to run up to 

 five pounds and over. In dressing these fish later we found 

 that their food consists very largely of meadow mice 

 (Arvicola). From one fish we took five of these, and from a 

 trout weighing three and one-half pounds, which became en- 

 tangled in the whiteflsh net, we took no less than eight of 

 these mice. The discovery of this diet greatly disgusted 

 Appekunny, who foreswore trout from that time, and spoke 

 of them thereafter in most indignant and contemptuous 

 terms. 



This wa9 to be our last night on the lakes, and it was 

 marked by an incident which, for a short time, caused us 

 some little uneasiness. I had been ferried across the river 

 and left there to fish, and before I had been at it very long, 

 some one called across that two of the horses had disap- 

 peared and could not be found. I shouted back that they 

 were no doubt feeding somewhere in the brush, and went 

 on with my fishing without giving the matter much thought. 

 As the sun set I went back to a point opposite camp and 

 asked if the horses had been found. Appekunny replied that 

 he and King had hunted everywhere but could not find them, 

 and that they had probably been stolen. Here was a pretty 

 mess. Jerry was in sight, and the missing animals were 

 those of the men who had been looking for them. I called 

 to Appekunny to set me across the river, and when he had 

 done so, I j amped on Jerry and set out to look for the miss- 

 ing beasts myself. By this time it was quite dark, but the 

 great full moon which had just climbed up over the eastern 

 hills, cast over the plains a flood of white light which, while 

 it made objects near at hand distinctly visible, threw over those 

 more distant a curious veil of magic, which made them seem 

 strange, unfamiliar and different from what they were. I 

 first made a circuit of the open plain, where, however, I did 

 not expect to find the animals, as, if they had been there, 

 they would have been discovered by those who had looked 

 for them before it had become dark. Several times, think- 

 ing I had found them, I rode up to little clumps of brush, 

 which, in the mysterious moonlight, took strange shapes, 

 and sometimes seemed even to move. Next 1 passed through 

 the brush on the edge of the hills, and then turning back to 

 camp made a systematic search among the willows where I 

 knew the horses were accustomed to feed. It gives one a 

 curious feeling to ride through the woods or the brush in the 

 moonlight. In the open spots it is so bright, and in the thick 

 places so utterly dark. The straggling moonbeams which 

 penetrate the foliage and lie on the ground before you pro 

 duce many curious effects, and you imagine that you see 

 bogs and ditches and little streams of water, and all sorts of 

 impediments to your further progress. In riding about, I 

 depended much more on my horse's than on my own senses, 

 and beyond keeping him in the general direction I wished to 

 follow, interfered with him very little. I knew, too, that if 

 we passed near the horses, he would discover them long be- 

 fore I could, and so I watched him for a sign that he saw 

 something. I had got within a couple of hundred yards of 

 camp when I saw Jerry's ears prick and his head turn to the 



trouble. 1 did not understand at the time what he mean t, 

 but when we reached the agency it was explained to me. It 

 appears that these men were refugees from the half-breed 

 rebellion, and as they did not know how the feeling was on 

 this side of the line, they were traveling quietly and striving 

 to avoid observation. 



We jogged along briskly until nearly dark, I riding ahead 

 to select a road and Appekunny following with the team. 

 Twice we stopped, once to collect some wood for the camp- 

 fire— it will be remembered that there is no wood on Milk 

 River — and again to pull the wagon out of a ditch in which 

 it had become fast, and just before dark made camp on a 

 bluff on the river, about five miles above the red cliff under 

 which we had camped on our outward journey. Late in 

 the afternoon 1 had killed one of two sharp-tailed grouse that 

 had shown themselves above the grass, and at dusk, while 

 we were unharnessing, three mallards alighted in the pool 

 at our feet, and Appekunny very cleverly brought one of 

 them to bag, so our supper and breakfast were provided. 



How the wind blew that night! It was a difficult matter 

 to put the tent up in the face of the gale, and after it was 

 up, I changed the position of one of the corner pins, so that 

 the strain on the ropes might be more evenly distributed. 

 Then came the work of cooking supper and the feeding of 

 the horses. The team horses and Appekunny's riding ani- 

 mal were hobbled and turned loose, but I thought it better 

 to picket Jerry out, for it is often a convenient thing to have 

 at least one horse where you know you can put your hand 

 on him if you want him in a hurry. We were on the road 

 home, and it was quite possible that the animals might take 

 it into their heads during the night to strike out for Cut 

 Bank, or to wander back to the Lakes, or, if they did neither 

 of these things, to stray off into the hills, or up or down 

 the creek, and should any one of these things happen, we 

 would want a horse to ride when looking for them. So, 

 using the end of an old lodge pole for a picket pin, Jerry 

 was staked out not far from the wagon, where the grass was 

 thick and good, and then we went into the tent for supper. 



During the night the wind blew furiously, and some time 

 before day a loud crash aroused us from our slumbers. The 

 tent had blown down, and the noise was made by the stove 

 pipe rattling against the stove. Luckily the fire bad gone 

 out, and the stove was cold, so we did not bother to raise 

 the tent, but slept under it until gray dawn. 



When we turned out, the only horse in sight was old Jerry, 

 who was gazing anxiously down the valley, as if looking 

 after his companions which had gone that way. My heart 

 misgave me a little, for I thought it quite possible that the 

 stock had gone into Cut Bank, and if they had, this meant a 

 long, solitary ride for me to get them and bring them back. 

 Appekunny hinted at horse thieves, but I gave it as my 

 opinion that no well regulated horse thieves would have 

 driven off three horses and left the fourth. While my com- 

 panion started his preparations for breakfast, I saddled Jerry 

 and rode off to look for the horses. A ride of a mile or two 

 down the valley revealed no fresh tracks, and I rode up to 

 the top of a high hill, from which I could see ten miles down 

 the stream. Nothing was to be seen. Then turning north, 

 I rode through the hills back of camp, and at length, from 

 the top of a bluff far higher than any of its fellows, I espied 

 the truants in a little coulee less than a mile back of the 

 tent. Going down to them I freed them from their hobbles 

 and drove the horses to camp, where they were soon caught 

 and tied up. We started about 7:30, and had a long, quiet, 

 uneventful day. A few miles before reaching Cut Bank we 

 came 



great many ducks. Here Appekunny left his team in my 

 charge, and had some very pretty shooting, killing in a short 

 time a dozen or fifteen teal, shovellers and mallards. On the 

 divide between this stream and Cut Bank I saw three ante- 

 lope, almost, if not quite, the first that I had observed during 

 the trip. They were very wild, and at once loped off out of 

 sight. 



When we reached Cut Bank, we found it for the time 

 quite a busy place. Mr. Kipp, Major Allen, the Doctor, 

 Mr. McGonigle, and two or three others had come out from 

 the agency to have a day's fishing, and were just going back. 

 The latest news from the States was given us, and pretty 

 soon the teams drove off, while we made ourselves comfort- 

 able in John's cabin. 



The next morning, after fruitlessly fishing for an hour or 

 two, we started for the agency. While still some distance 

 north of Two Medicine Lodge Creek, we noticed several 

 single Indians, riding about over the prairie as if looking for 

 a trail. At length one of them (Many Tail Feathers) rode 

 near enough to us so that Appekunny made to him the sign 

 of interrogation, what is it? or what is the matter? To this 

 the Indian replied by partly extending his arms with the hands 

 opened and the fingers spread and partly curved, then mov- 

 ing his hands and arms down bringing them near together 

 at the end of the motion, and then suddenly raising them 

 nearly to his breast, as if making the motion of scooping up 

 a great deal of something in his hands. This signified 

 "plenty" or "many." Then he held his left hand in front of him , 

 the thumb upward, the outstretched but closed fingers point- 

 ing away from him, and placed the first and second finger 

 of his right hand astride the forefinger of the left. This 

 is the sign for "horse" or "horseman." Then he brought both 

 closed hands together in front and a little to the left of his 

 breast, and suddenly drew them apart with a quick motion, 

 moving the left hand but little, but seeming to pull violently 

 with the right. This sign meant "stolen. " His reply therefore 

 was "Many horses stolen." 



Presently the Indian came up so that we could converse 

 with him, and told us that during the night some Indians 

 had run off 150 to 200 head of horses from the camp. Lone 

 Person, who was a great friend of Appekunny's, and the 

 richest Indian in the tribe, had lost 100 head. All the Pie- 

 gans who had any horses left were now out looking for the 

 trail, so as to pursue the thieves. He asked for a piece of 

 tobacco which I gave him, and then rode off. A little 

 later as we were descending the bluffs into the bottom of 

 Two Medicine, we saw about twenty-five Indians, riding in 

 a body on the crest of the ridge on the other side of the 

 valley, and inferred that they had found the trail. Just 

 after crossing Two Medicine, we met Lone Man, who looked 

 very unhappy, and much as if he wanted to cry, as indeed 

 there is no reason to doubt he did, poor fellow. He tried to 

 borrow a rifle for one of his party, but we had none that we 

 could lend him, and he rode off again on his foaming horse. 



On reaching the agency, we learned that the thieves had 

 been very bold, coming up to the very gate of the stockade, 

 and taking two horses tied there. Opinions were divided as 

 to the tribe to which the robbers belonged. Some thought 

 they were Assinaboines, and other Gros Ventres, but the 

 majority believed that they were Crows. The opinion was 

 freely expressed that they would not be overtaken. They 

 had twelve hours start and had all the best horses in the 

 camp and a never ending series of remounts. Besides, if the 

 Piegans should catch them, it was thought very doubtful 

 that they could recapture their property, for the Crows are 

 well armed, while the Blackfeet are not, many of the latter 

 still being without guns. It was thought that the chase 

 would be fruitless, and that if the Piegans got their horses 

 back at all, it would be by starting off quietly on foot, and 

 stealing them again. 



That night we spread our blanket's in the trader's store and 

 enjoyed the kind hospitality of Mr. Joseph Kipp, while with 

 Mr. McGonigle — a friend of many years' standing— I talked 

 over the days and the men of early times. Yo. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



SILVER FIELDS. 



AFTER many downfalls of snow by night and day, some 

 fluttering down and silently alighting like immense 

 flocks of fairy birds; others as silently, like the continuous 

 falling of a gray veil, shutting one in from all the world 

 lying further away than his nearest outbuildings, and yet 

 others blown by howling winds in long slants to the earth 

 and whirled and tossed along thefields, blurring their surface 

 in a frozen crust; everything of lesser height and sheer 

 uprightness than buildings and trees is buried in the univer- 

 sal whiteness. 



Then comes a day when the wind quits buffeting the snow 

 from this side and that and stands still, debating which way 

 it shall blow next, while the sun burns into the cold blue 

 sky's eastern rim, runs its abort course over the dazzling 

 northern fields, and burns its way out behind the glorified 

 western mountains. When the sun is highest the air bites 

 cheeks and noses and fingers with a sharp chill, and one feels 

 its teeth gnawing his toes through his boots if he does not 

 bestir them. At nightfall the smoke of the chimneys leans 

 toward the North Star and by the next morning the wind 

 comes roaring up from the south, armed with swords and 

 spears of cold that no armor of wool or fur can ward off, and 

 from every vantage ground of ridge and drift stream the 

 white banners of snow. Then clouds come drifting across 

 - the sky, first a few, then so many that they get into a jam 

 to a little creek, already mentioned, in which were a. against some star or mountain somewhere to the northward, 



