272 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April 8, 1^05. 
positions adds a charm to their union. Even the 
stranger is received as a friend; every tent is open to 
him, and that which he prefers is considered the most 
honored. In the Rocky Mountains they know not the 
use of locks or bolts." 
It was in September, while the Father, with an 
escort of Flatheads, and his only white companion, a 
Fleming, named John Baptist De Velder, one of 
Napoleon's grenadiers, whom he had taken upon the 
prairie, were journeying toward the Crows when this 
picture is drawn of travel on the prairie in those early 
days: "On the 5th of September we crossed a- defile, 
which had been passed shortly before by a numerous 
troop of horsemen. Whether they were allies or 
enemies, we had no means to discover. I will here 
observe, that in these immense solitudes, although the 
howling of wolves, the hissing of venomous serpents, 
the roaring of the tiger and the bear be calculated to 
affright, yet this terror is nothing in comparison with, 
the dread excited in the traveler's soul upon seeing the 
fresh tracks of men and horses, or columns of smoke 
rising in the neighborhood. At such a sight, the escort 
at once assembles and deliberates; each one examines 
his firearms, sharpens his knife and the point of his 
arrow, and makes, in a word, every preparation for a 
resistance, even to death; for, to surrender in such 
circumstances, would be to expose one's self to perish 
in the most frightful torments." 
From the fort, Father De Smet set out alone, save 
for his white companion, to travel down the Yellow- 
stone River to Fort Union. The country through 
which he passed abounded in game; vast herds of 
buffalo, groups of majestic elk, clouds of antelope, ap- 
peared before them. The big-horn, or mountam sheep, 
"alone appeared not to be disturbed at our presence; 
we saw them in groups, reposing on the edges of 
the precipices, or sporting on the pomts of the steep 
rocks." Deer, bears, panthers and smaller animals, with 
birds of many sorts, were everywhere visible. 
The Arikaras, the Gros Ventres of the village, and 
the Mandans were passed, and much was said of their 
ways of Hfe. An example of the conjuring practices 
of the Arikaras may be given. The Indian sorcerer 
"had his hands, arms, legs and feet tied with well- 
knotted cords; he was then inclosed m a net, and 
again in a buffalo's skin. The person who tied him had 
promised him a horse if he extricated himself from 
his bonds. In a minute after, the savage, to the amaze- 
ment of the spectators, stood before him perfectly free. 
The commandant of the neighboring fort offered him 
another horse if he would reveal to him his secret 
The sorcerer consented, saying. Have thyself tied, i 
have at my command ten invisible spirits; i will de- 
tach three of them and put them at thy service; fear 
them not, they will accompany thee everywhere, and 
be thy tutelary genii.' The commandant was discon- 
certed^ or unwilling to make the^ trial, and thus the 
matter terminated." The Father's travels contmued 
down the Missouri, to Council Bluffs, thence to West- 
port and St. Louis. 
The next year he set out again from Westporb toward 
the farther West, with two other Jesuit priests and three 
lay brothers. They passed through the village oi the 
Kansas Indians, whom they found living m dirt houses 
thatched with grass. They had recently gamed a signal 
victory over the Pawnees, whose women and children 
they had attacked and slain, to the number. Father De 
Smet says, of ninety. He gives some account of the 
Pawnees and their ways, and mentions a/eligious rite 
practiced by that tribe-really only by the Skid -the 
sacrifice of the captive to the Morning Star^ as follows 
"On the most solemn occasions, the Pawnees add 
a bloody sacrifice to the oblation of the calmut; and 
according to what they pretend to have learned from 
the bird^nd the Star, the sacrifice most agreeable o 
the Great Spirit is that of an enemy imniolated m the 
most cruel manner. It is impossible to listen without 
horror to the recital of the circumstances that attended 
the sacrifice of a young female of the Scioux tribe m 
the course of the year 1837. .It was about seed time 
and they thus sought to obtain a plentiful harvest, i 
Sail he^re give thi substance of the detailed account 
which I have given of it in a former letter, ihis 
voung girl was only aged fifteen; after having been 
^Tf rented and fJ for six months, under Pi-etence 
that a feast would be prepared for her at the opening 
ofthe suSmTr season^ .fihe] ^elt rejoiced when she 
saw the last days of winter roll by. The day hxea 
up^n for the fealt having dawned, she passed through 
all the oreparatory ceremonies, and was then arrayed 
fn Sir ZTt attirl after which she was placed m a 
circle of warriors,, who seerned to f ^o'^^^f ,'-f\hei5 
.^nrnnsp of show ug her deference. Besides tneir 
Sed\rms, each oL of these warriors had two pieces 
of wood, which he had received at the hands ot the 
maiden The latter had, on the preceding day, carried 
hree posts which she had helped to fell m the neigh- 
forest but supposing that she was walkmg to a 
f rhimfh and her mind beini filled with the most ple^s- 
Tn^^&s tL ylZ-i advanced toward the place of her 
afrifice with those mingled feelings of oy and timidity 
which, under similar circumstances, are naturally ex 
cited in the bosom of a girl of her age. 
"During their march, which was. rather long, the 
sile?ce wis interrupted only by -^g-- -"/^^.^^^r aT 
iEHe Sul;Si &r^SiS;\nd;i^ 
mLTo'hSven'-^^^^^^^ 
LTr^Scutioners to have pity -.^^e^^^^^^^^^^^ 
nor'^tL'promtse'; of who happened to 
i '^rJ^Zf softened the hearts of these monsters. She 
be present, sotteneu luc branches of two 
With her .own hands distributed to the warriors. When 
he sufferings lasted long enough to weary the fanatical 
fury of her ferocious tormentors, the great chief shot 
an arrow into her heart; and in an instant this arrow 
was followed by a thousand others, which, after having 
been violently turned and twisted in the wounds, were 
torn from them in such a manner that her whole body 
presented but one shapeless mass of mangled flesh, 
from which the blood streamed from all sides. When 
the blood had ceased to flow, the greater sacrificator 
approached the expiring victim, and to crown so many 
atrocious acts, tore out her heart with his own hands, 
and after uttering the most frightful imprecations 
against the Scioux nation, devoured the bleeding flesh, 
amid the acclamations of his whole tribe. The mangled 
remains were then left to be preyed upon by wild beasts, 
and when the blood had been sprinkled on the seed, 
to render it fertile, all retired to their cabins, cheered 
with the hope of obtaining a copious harvest." 
The letters of the good Father are largely devoted 
to religious matters, the influence which his preaching 
seemed to have on the Indians, and his hopes for the 
evangelization, and the ultimate salvation, of the tribes 
with which he came in contact. In almost all of them 
he finds much good, yet in writing of those of whom 
he had only heard he gives such reports as came to 
him. For example, in one place he says: "The Black- 
feet, are the only Indians of whose salvation we would 
have reason to despair, if the ways of God were the 
same as those of man, for they are murderers, thieves, 
traitors, and all that is wicked." Such was, in fact, the 
reputation that the Blackfeet had among other tribes, 
and among the American fur traders of those days, 
though we know now, and Father De Smet learned a 
little later, that the Blackfeet are as simple and kindly 
natured as are most other Indians. 
Although no naturalist, the Father yet has somewhat 
■ to say of the animals that lived upon the prairie, and 
some of the curious natural history found in his re- 
port is worth quoting: 
"The beaver seems to have chosen this country for 
' his own. • Every one knows how they work, and what 
use they make of their teeth and tail. What we were 
told by the trappers is probably unknown to many. 
When they are about constructing a dam, they ex- 
amine all the trees on the bank, and choose the one 
that is most bent over the water on the side where 
they want to erect their fort. If they find no tree of 
this kind they repair to another place, or patiently 
wait till a violent wind gives the requisite inclination 
to some of the trees. Some of the Indian tribes be- 
lieve that the beavers are a degraded race of human 
beings, whose vices and crimes have induced the Great 
Spirit to punish them by changing them into their 
present form; and they think, after the lapse of a num- 
ber of years, their punishment will cease, and they will 
be restored to their original shape. They even believe 
that these animals use a kind of language to communi- 
cate their tl^ught to each other, to consult, deliberate, 
pass sentence on delinquents, etc. The Trappers as- 
sured us that such beavers as are unwilling to work, 
are unanimously proscribed, and exiled from the Re- 
public, and that they are obliged to seek some 
abandoned hole, at a distance from the rest, where 
they spend the winter in a state of starvation. These 
are easily caught, but their skin is far inferior to that 
of the more industrious neighbors, whose foresight and 
perseverance have procured them abundant provisions, 
and a shelter against the severity of the winter season. 
The flesh of the beaver is fat and savory. The feet 
are deemed the most dainty parts. The tail affords a 
substitute for butter. The skin is sold for nine or 
ten dollars' worth of provisions or merchandise, the 
value of which does not amount to a single silver 
dollar." 
Father De Smet describes the stillhunt of the buffalo 
— the. approach — declaring that the hunter must be 
skillful and cautious, "He must approach them against 
the wind, for fear of starting the game, for so acute 
is the scent of the buffalo that he smells his enemy at 
a very considerable distance. Next, he must approach 
them as much as possible without being seen or sus- 
pected. If he cannot avoid being seen, he draws a 
skin over his head, or a kind of hood, surmounted by 
a pair of horns, and thus deceives the herd. When 
within gunshot he must hide himself behind a bank 
or any other object. There he waits till he can take 
sure aim. The report of the gvm, and the noise made 
by the fall of the wounded buffalo, astound, but do not 
drive away, the rest. In the meantime, the hunter re- 
loads his gun, and shoots again, repeating the ma- 
neuver, till five or six, and sometimes more buffalqs 
have fallen, before he finds it necessary to abandon his 
place of concealment. 
"The Indians say that the buffalos live together as 
the bees, under the direction of a queen, and that when 
the queen is wounded, all the others surround and de- 
plore her." 
He gives not a few accounts of Indian conflicts, and 
this is one in which Blackfeet and Flatheads took 
part: "A Blackfoot warrior was taken and wounded 
while in the act of stealing a horse. The night was 
dark, and the wound had rendered him furious. He 
held his loaded gun, and threatened death to any one 
that should approach him. Peter, one of. the chiefs 
already mentioned, though diminutive m size, and far- 
advanced in years, felt his courage revived; he runs 
up to the enemy, and with one blow fells him to the 
ground. This done he throws himself on his knees, 
and raising his eyes toward heaven, he is reported to 
have said: 'Great Spirit! thou knowest that I did not 
kill this Blackfoot from a desire of revenge, but be- 
cause I was forced to it; be merciful to him m the 
other world. I forgive him from the bottom of my 
heart all the evils which he has wished to inflict upon 
us and to prove the sincerity of my words I will 
co'ver him with my garment' " 'Much of Father De 
Smet's time was spent among the Flatheads, and he 
writes with the utmost enthusiasm and affection of 
these brave and simple people. Of their courage and 
skill he gives an example, instancing a certain buffalo 
chase, made in the year 1841, concerning which^^a 
certain Flathead told the Father "of three remarkable 
hits which had distinguished him in that chase. He , 
pursued a cow, armed merely with a stone, and killedf 
her by striking her, while running, between the horns 
He afterward killed a second with his knife, and' 
finished his exploits by spearing and strangling a large; 
ox. The young warriors frequently exercised them- 
selves in this manner, to show their agility, dexterityi 
and strength. He who spoke looked like a Hercules.".! 
To one who understands the strength and speed of a; 
buffalo, these feats seem incredible, yet we know men, 
still living, who have done these very things. 
As Father De Smet's journeys took him over al 
the Northwest, he met almost all the more important; 
persons mentioned in the books relating to the early,' 
history of the region. During the many years when 'lief 
traveled back and forth over the prairies ever faith- 
ful to his duty, always doing good, he won the abso- 
lute confidence of the Indians with whom he came in 
contact, and was equally respected and loved by the 
white man. His work has long been over, but in the 
country where he labored he has not been forgotten,; 
and among the older men, whether Indians, half-breeds 
or whites, the mention of Father De Smet still calls:, 
forth the words of warmest affection, admiration and[ 
respect. 
The present work is of great value to the historian! 
and to the ethnologist. It might be wished that the,; 
notes were a little fuller, especially in reference to thej 
travels of others and matters zoological and ethno- 
logical. There are a few typographical errors, the most', 
noticeable of which is on the title page, where what: 
should be Athabasca is spelled Altrabasca. 
Though not numerous, the illustrations of the volume; 
are interesting. They are chiefly portraits of Fathers^ 
De Smet and reproductions of his letters. The whole 
work is a notable contribution to the history of thcj 
West, and editors and publishers alike deserve high 
praise for their labor on it. (Price, $15.00.) 
Gtizzly Adams. 
We are permitted to publish the following extract from 
a private letter received by one of the editors — a letter 
which, like the article that called it forth, will touch a^ 
responsive chord in the heart of more than one of our oldi! 
readers. It is dated Philadelphia, March 23: 
"You have given me a restless yet a happy day. When: 
I opened my Forest and Stream this morning and lit -ort 
the pictures of old Grizzly Adams and Lady Washington, 
with my friend Samson opposite, I simply lost the whole' 
world since the early sixties, when all the hours I could 
steal from Anthon's school I used to spend down at 
Barnum's, lost in the fascination of mighty Samson. 
"I might have learned more about Hannibal and Julius 
Caesar and such like, if they had not been so small beside 
Grizzly Adam.s — greatest of men. The old man — as a 
matter of fact he was younger then in actual years than 
you and I now — used to tell me stories about bears,- and 
I seriously believe that he had more influence in the 
direction oi my tastes and thoughts than any other indi- 
vidual whose trail I ever crossed. I have not the least 
doubt that with some of us — those of the brotherhood- 
the "continuous" part of our germ-plasm has come 
straight down from the days when our Stone Age ances- 
tors slept in the same bed with the cave bear. Did it 
ever occur to you that we of the savage streak may bej 
the product of in-breeding on cold nights? Queer things 
may have happened during the ice age. 
"Anyhow, it was Grizzly Adams and old Samson who 
brought that streak on top in me, and there it has always 
stayed, for I don't believe there has ever been a time 
when I could get my mind wholly off the Rockies.' I had 
old Adams' book, too — long since lost — and I don't be- 
lieve I have seen those pictures in forty years, but Lady 
Washington's head comes back as if it were last week. 
"I owe you a debt of gratitude, and I pay it in all goOd 
wishes. Yours always sincerely, 
"Arthur Erwin Brown." 
The Hubbafd Diary* 
The diary of Leonidas Hubbard, which has just been 
published, is remarkable in more ways than one. When 
it is considered the circumstances under which it was 
written, it is really wonderful that it should possess such 
qualities of style. It is terse, graphic, vivid. No .dull 
or unnecessary descriptions — no moralizing (or very little 
of it, and that always tO' thC; purpose) — no posing for 
effect. It is at once sincere and simple. Nothing, in 
short, could be better as a presentation of a story of 
rugged adventure., As we read our interest, becomes 
almost painfully acute, and toward the close we are awed 
with the shadow of the impending tragedy. , In regard to 
the latter, it may be said that the venture of Hubbard 
was certainly rash, or at least ill-planned, but it has not 
been in vain. Once again it has been demonstrated that 
what brings out men's finest qualities is trial — suffering. 
And never were they brought out, more glowingly than in 
the case of poor Hubbard. Courage, fortitude, persever- 
ance, cheerfulness, gentleness, unselfishness, and lastly, 
uncomplaining resignation under - a terrible load of mis- 
fortune, and affliction, these he showed like a true hero 
Nor should we forget his gallant and devoted companion's, 
when adjudging praise. It were well for all leaders of 
adventure if they had such men as Wallace and Eleson 
attached to them. 
In conclusion, one is forced somehow to draw a com 
parison between this story of the wild and the hundred 
stories of our civilized center which we read daily— the' 
nobility and self-sacrifice of the one, the meanness and 
selfishness of the other. And one is tempted, then, to ask;" 
which is the better influence, the city or the .wild? 
New Yosk, March 4. FrANCIS MoONAN, 
The Starlings. 
Early in springtime, on raw and windy mornings. 
Beneath the freezing house eaves I heard the starlings sing; 
"Ah, dreary March month, is this, then, a time for building;- 
wearily? 
Sad, sad, to think that the year is but begun." 
Late in the autumn, on still and cloudless evenings, - 
Arriong the golden reed beds I heard the starlings sing: 
"Ah, that sweet March month, when we and our mates- were 
courting merrily. 
Sad, sad, to think that the year is all but done." 
EVERSLEY, 1848. ChAELES KiNGSBEy. 
