28 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
tjAN. 14, igoS. 
Trails of the Pathfinders,— XXVL 
Townshend Across the Continent. 
(Concluded from page 6.) 
The progress of the author's narrative is constantly 
and pleasantly interrupted by natural history observa- 
tions. He and Mr. Nuttall were continually finding 
new species of bird and plant, concerning which they 
manifested the enthusiasm to be expected from ardent 
naturalists. 
Their journey continued up the Platte to Chimney 
Rock, or Scott's Bluffs; and here there was brought 
into camp a young antelope, which in a few days be- 
came perfectly tame, and learned to drink from a tin 
cup the milk which the missionaries, who had some 
cattle along, spared from their own meals. The little 
animal was carried daily in a panier on one of the pack 
mules, and became a great pet with all in camp. 
It seems odd enough at the present day, after the 
country through which these naturalists were traveling 
has been run over time after time by specialists, who 
have gathered its rich treasures, to read the enthus- 
iastic words of Townshend, written nearly seventy years 
ago, when he says, "What valuable and highly inter- 
esting accessions to science might be made by a party, 
composed exclusively of naturalists, on a journey 
through this rich and unexplored region! The botanist, 
the geologist, the mammalogist, the ornithologist, and 
the entomologist, would find a rich and almost inexhaust- 
ible field for the prosecution of their inquiries, and the 
result of such an expedition would be to add most 
materially to our knowledge of the wealth and resources 
of our country, to furnish us with new and important 
facts relative to its structure, organization and natural 
productions, and to complete the fine native collections 
in our already extensive museums." 
On they went, up the Platte, passing Laramie's Fork, 
to the Sweetwater, and Independence Rock, and a 
little further along they saw their first wild sheep, which 
"darted from us and hid themselves among the inac- 
cessible clifts, so that none but a chamois hunter might 
pretend to reach them." The same afternoon one of 
the men had an adventure with a grizzly bear. "He 
saw the animal crouching his huge frame in some wil- 
lows which skirted the river, and approaching on horse- 
back to within twenty yards, fired upon him. The bear 
was only slightly wounded by the shot, and with a 
fierce growl of angry malignity, rushed from his cover 
and gave chase. The horse happened to be a slow one, 
and for the distance of half a mile the race was hard 
contested; the bear frequently approaching so near 
the terrified animal as to snap at his heels, while the 
equally terrified rider — who had lost his hat at the start 
— used whip and spur with the most frantic diligence, 
frequently looking behind, from an influence which he 
could not resist, at his rugged and determined foe, and 
shrieking in an agony of fear, 'shoot him, shoot him!' 
The man, who was one of the greenhorns, happened to 
be about a mile behind the main body, either from the 
indolence of his horse, or his own carelessness; but as 
he approached the party in his desperate flight, and his 
lugubrious cries reached the ears of the men in front, 
about a dozen of them rode to his assistance, and soon 
succeeded in diverting the attention of his pertinacious 
foe. After he had received the contents of all the guns, 
he fell, and was soon dispatched. The man rode in 
among his fellows, pale and haggard from overwrought 
feelings, and was probably effectually cured of a pro- 
pensity for meddling with grizzly bears." 
On June 19 the party arrived at the Siskadee, Green 
River, or Colorado of the West. Siskadee appears to 
be a Crow nome, meaning Prairie Chicken River, re- 
ferring to the sage grouse. The name has apparently 
quite passed out of use, and is now to be found only 
in the older books, or in references to them. Here 
Townshend, in crossing the river, had the misfortune 
to lose his note book, which contained not only his 
diary, but also descriptions of new species of birds, and 
notes as to their habits. Here he became quite ill, and 
for a week was confined to his bed. W. Sublette, and 
Captain Serre, Fitzpatrick and other leaders of fur 
traders and trappers, with their companies, were 
camped not far away, and with them were various 
Indians, Nez Perce, Banneck and Shoshone; and all — 
white men, half breeds and Indians — were more or less 
drunk; so that the camps were very noisy and dis- 
agreeable. This Fitzpatrick was Thomas, the well- 
known leader of trappers of the early days, sometimes 
known as Fitzpatrick the B.roken Hand. He worked 
at time for Robert Campbell, and is mentioned by 
Irving in his "Bonneville," and by other early travelers 
on the plains. 
The party proceeded up Ham's Fork, and then passed 
over to Bear River, on one of the branches of which 
the Fourth of July was passed and celebrated by an 
undue amount of drunkenness. 
Townshend remarks, as has many a man since, on the 
superb fishing in Bear River and its tributaries. Near 
their camp, on the 8th of July, at what were called 
"White-clay Pits," still on Bear River, he notes that, 
"in the small streams near the bases of the hills, the 
common canvasback duck, shoveller and black duck 
{Anas obscura) were feeding their young." 
Continuing westward through this arid country, they 
came before long upon a camp, which proved to be 
Captain Bonneville's. Soon after this, just as they were 
about to make camp on the Blackfoot River, "near a 
small grove of willows, on the margin of the river, a 
tremendous grizzly bear rushed out upon us. Our 
horses ran wildly in every direction, snorting with 
terror, and became nearly unmanageable. Several balls 
were instantly fired into him, but they only seemed to 
increase his fury. After spending a moment in rending 
each wound, their invariable practice, he selected the 
person who happened to be nearest, and darted after 
him, but before he proceeded far, he was sure to be 
stopped again by a ball from another quarter. In this 
way he was driven about among us for perhaps fifteen 
minutes, at times so near some of the horses that he 
received several severe kicks from them. One of the pack 
horses was fairly fastened upon by the terrific claws of 
the brute, and in the terrified animal's efforts to escape 
the dreaded grip, the pack and saddle were broken to 
pieces and disengaged. One of our mules also lent 
him a kick in the head while pursuing it up an adjacent 
hill, which sent him rolling to the bottom. Here he 
was finally brought to a stand. 
"The poor animal was so completely surrounded by 
enemies, that he became bewildered. He raised himself 
upon his hind feet, standing almost erect, his mouth 
partly open, and from his protruding tongue, the blood 
fell fast in drops. While in this position, he received 
about six more balls, each of which made him reel. At 
last, as in complete desperation, he dashed into the 
water and swam several yards with astonishing strength 
and agility, the guns cracking at him constantly; but 
he was not to proceed far. Just then, Richardson, who 
had been absent, rode up, and fixing his deadly aim upon 
him, fired a ball into the back of his head, which killed 
him instantly. The strength of four men was required 
to drag the ferocious brute from the water, and after 
examining his body, he was found completely riddled; 
there did not appear to be four inches of his shaggy 
person, from the hips upward, that had not received a 
ball. _ There must have been at least thirty shots made 
at him, and probably few missed him; yet such was 
his tenacity of life, that I have no doubt he would have 
succeeded in crossing the river, but for the last shot 
in the brain. He would probably weigh, at the least, 
six Tiundred pounds, and was about the height of an 
ordinary steer. The spread of the foot, laterally, was 
ten inches,_ and the claws measured seven inches in 
length. This animal was remarkably lean; when in good 
condition, he would, doubtless, much exceed in weight 
the estimate I have given. Richardson, and two other 
hunters, in company, killed two in the course of the 
afternoon and saw several others." Evidently a good 
bear country. 
It'viras this day that the little pet antelope met with 
an accident, which made it necessary to kill it. The 
mule on which it was riding, fell and broke one of 
the antelope's legs and injured it in other ways. And 
now, as they were traveling toward Snake River, signs 
were observed, which led them to suspect the near 
presence of the dreaded Blackfeet. One or two were 
even seen, but made good their escape. 
Arrived at the Portneuf River, it was determined to 
build a fort there, and as the party was short of pro- 
visions, a hunting party of twelve, each man leading a 
pack horse, started out to kill and dry meat for camp. It 
was not very long before they reached a country where 
buffalo were plenty, and where, as Townshend says, 
they soon were "feasting upon the best food in the 
world." They at once began to cure meat, hanging it 
on scaffolds, and building fires under it to hasten its 
drying. 
An experiment here performed on a bull is worth 
quoting. Our author says: "The unwieldy brute was 
quietly and unsuspiciously cropping the herbage, and I 
had arrived to within ten feet of him, when a sudden 
flashing of the eye, and an impatient motion, told me 
that I was observed. He raised his enormous head, 
and looked around him, and so truly terrible and grand 
did he appear, that I must confess (in your ear) I felt 
awed, almost frightened, at the task I had undertaken. 
But I had gone too far to retreat; so, raising my gun, 
I took deliberate aim at the bushy center of the fore- 
head and fired. The monster shook his head, pawed up 
the earth with his hoofs and, making a sudden spring, 
accompanied by a terrific roar, turned to make his 
escape. 
"At this instant the ball from the second barrel pene- 
trated his vitals, and he measured his huge length upon 
the ground. In a few seconds he was dead. Upon ex- 
amining the head, and cutting away the enormous mass 
of matted hair and skin which enveloped the skull, 
my large bullet of twenty to the pound was found com- 
pletely flattened against the bone, having carried with 
it, through the interposing integument, a considerable 
portion of the coarse hair, but without producing the 
smallest fracture. I was satisfied; and taking the tongue, 
the hunter's perquisite, I returned to my companions. 
"This evening, the roaring of the bulls in the gang 
near us is terrific, and these sounds are mingled with 
the howling of large packs of wolves, which regularly 
attend upon them, and the hoarse screaming of hundreds 
of ravens flying over head." 
Here is a story told by the hunter Richardson,;;of an 
encounter he once had with three Blackfoot Indians: 
"He had been out alone hunting buffalo, and toward the 
end of the day was returning to the camp with his 
meat, when he heard the clattering of hoofs in the 
rear, and, upon looking back, observed three Indians 
in hot pursuit of him. 
"He immediately discharged his cargo of meat to 
lighten his horse, and then urged the animal to his 
utmost speed, in an attempt to distance his pursuers. 
He soon discovered, however, that the enemy was 
rapidly gaining upon him, and that in- a few minutes 
more he would be completely at their mercy, when he 
hit upon an expedient, as singular as it was bold and 
courageous. Drawing his long scalping knife from the 
sheath at his side, he plunged the keen weapon through 
his horse's neck, and severed the spine. The animal 
dropped instantly dead, and the determined hunter, 
throwing himself behind the fallen carcass, waited 
calmly the approach of his sanguinary pursuers. In a 
few moments, one Indian was within range of the 
fatal rifle, and at its report, his horse galloped riderless 
over the plain. The remaining two then thought to 
take him at advantage by approaching simultaneously 
on both sides of his rampart; but one of them, happen- 
ing to venture too near in order to be sure of his aim, 
was shot to the heart by the long pistol of the white 
man, at the very instant that the ball from the Indian's 
gun whistled harmlessly by. The third savage, being 
wearied of the dangerous game, applied the whip vigor- 
ously to the flanks of his horse, and was soon out of 
sight, while Richardson set about collecting the trophies 
of his singular victory. 
"He caught the two Indians' horses; mounted one, 
and loaded the other with the meat which he had dis- 
carded, and returned to his camp with two spare rifles 
and a good stock of ammunition." 
Just after this, a curious accident happened to one of 
the men, who, while reloading his gun, while runniag 
buffalo, had his horn burst in his face, the powder 
having been ignited by a burning wad which remained 
in the barrel. 
Early in August the much reduced company, to which 
Mr Townshend and Mr. Nuttall still clung, left Fort 
Hall for the Columbia River. They suffered more or 
less from hunger and thirst as they passed along, and 
had some trouble in finding the way across the moun- 
tains. At last, however, they reached the "Mallade" 
River, and as they passed along down it met frequent 
camps of Snake Indians, and were here introduced to 
Kamas, on which, a little later, they were glad to sup- 
port themselves. When they reached the Boisee, or 
Big Wood River, they found it literally crowded with 
salmon, which were continually springing from the 
water. They were eager to capture some, but were 
wholly without the means to do so. 
Not long after this, a little colt— perhaps from some 
Indian camp— joined their horse herd, and as it was fat 
and strong, Townshend shot it, and the whole camp 
ate it. 
And now they began to be constantly among Indians, 
who had gathered along the river to take their sum- 
mer supply of fish. Often from these camps they could 
purchase dried salmon, but game was singularly scarce 
along their route, and when fish were not to be had, 
the party starved. On one occasion, an owl which 
Townshend had shot, and expected to skin and pre- 
serve, was eaten by Mr. Nuttall and a companion. On 
another, Townshend, no other food being available, 
went for a walk out from camp, and made a hearty meal 
on rose berries. On one or two occasions they were able 
to purchase Indian acorn meal from which they made 
mush, mixing with it a considerable quantity of horse tal- 
low and salt. This unwonted vegetable compound was 
hugely enjoyed by the half-starving men. They passed 
Walla- Walla, met some Chinook Indians; and on the 
loth of September reached the Dalles of the Columbia, 
and from here proceeded down that stream by canoes. 
The voyage was uncomfortable, if not dangerous, for 
they constantly met head winds, which checked their 
progress and tossed up a frightful sea. 
Ill-nourished, constantly wet to the skin, losing a 
boat or two, and extremely uncertain as to the char- 
acter of the Indians, they kept on their way to the 
coast; and at last reached Fort Vancouver, where some 
of the luxuries of a permanent station were to be had. 
Here they learned that about twenty miles down the 
river, at the mouth of the Willamet, was a brig from 
Boston, sent out by the company to which Captain 
Wyeth was attached. They set out to journey down 
to it. On the way they passed many tribes of Indians, 
concerning which, Townshend has much to say that is 
interesting; but this was the close of their journey 
across the continent, and from here Townshend took 
passage for the Sandwich Islands, and later to Chili, on 
his way to his home in Philadelphia. 
Just what became of Mr. Nuttall was not known for 
some years. That he collected a large number of plants 
in California, many of which are the types of well-known 
species, was known; but how he reached CaHfornia, or 
just where he separated from Townshend was long 
uncertain. Prof. Brewer, a botanist, whose familiarity 
with early Cahfornia history, and with the botany of 
California, are well-known,, believed that Nuttall's col- 
lections were made in California, in the year 1835. This 
was doubted by Mr. Coville, whose investigations led 
him to believe that the statement was based on 
Durand's biographical notice of Mr. Nuttall, which ap- 
pears to be incorrect, for on July 11, 1835, Townshend 
says, "Mr. Nuttall, who has just returned from the 
Dalles, where he has been spending some weeks, brings 
distressing intelligence from above.'" And again, in 
October, he speaks of Mr. Nuttall's having sailed from 
the mouth of the Columbia River to the Hawaiian 
Islands. 
The botanist's subsequent route has been discovered 
by Mr.^ Coville, in the classic, "Two Years Before The 
Mast," by R. H. Dana, where a very full account of 
Mr. Nuttall's meeting with the author, and many sub- 
sequent less important mentions are made of him. Mr. 
Nuttall returned to Boston on the vessel "Alert." which 
left San Diego, May 8, 1836, and she had as a foremast 
hand Mr. Richard H. Dana. 
Monarch is a Prpttd Father* 
New York, Jan. 5. — Editor Forest and Stream: Is this 
the Allen Kelly-Thompson-Seton "Monarch?" The con- 
troversy and symposium on the alleged plagiarism proved 
very interesting. Allen S. Williams. 
From the San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 31. 
Out to the Park one night (quite .late) 
Rode sly old Santa Claus; 
But not to find the Golden Gate; 
He drove out there because ' , 
He had a gift for Monarch's mate— 
'Twas something live 1 A pound in weight, 
With four small, wobbly paws. 
Now, when you're living in the Park 
Behind some iron bars, 
It's mighty lonesome in the dark 
A-blinking at the stars 
Like Mrs. Monarch; for the storks, 
You know, don't venture round - ' 
Where bears are (Wasn't Santa kind?), 
And grizzlies, strange to say, don't mind 
When babes weigh but a pound. 
A tiny addition has been made to the livestock on ex- 
hibition in Golden Gate Park. The cage of "Monarch," 
the great grizzly presented to the park by The Examiner 
some years ago, is enlivened by the advent of a baby— to 
record the event by the customary phrasing. 
The cub is not the only one presented to "Monarch" 
and his mate. Last year an infant grizzly drew its first 
breath in the park cage, and the ursine infant was taken 
to the park hospital, where it was believed that with care- 
ful treatment it might survive. But it sickened and died 
after a few days. The keeper intends to leave the tiny 
new offspring with its mother in the hope that it may 
get a healthier hold on life. 
