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Show 462 ACCOUNT OF THE MURDER OF GLASS, THE BEAVER HUNTER. and it proceeded very slowly. He was on his return from hunting beavers on the Upper Yellow Stone, and had two men with him. We lay-to, and, while the people were transferring the cargo of Gardner's boat to ours, we made an excursion into the interesting country. The chain of hills was clothed with young verdure, and covered and surrounded with tall trees and forests ; beautiful thickets, mixed with cedars, grew on the banks; all appeared in the fresh loveliness of spring. In the hollow upper boughs of the lofty, colossal trees, numbers of the purple swallow (Hirundo purpured) had built their nests; flocks of blackbirds were among the high grass, between the trunks of the trees, where the little wren {Troglodytes aedon) poured forth its cheerful song; the sparrow-hawk was sitting at the end of a'high branch; and on the ground, among the roots of the trees, we descried what we thought was a mouse running along, which, however, proved to be a little bird; it was too near to be fired at, and we could not make it rise on its wing. At length, however, we killed it, and found it to be the pretty little finch called, by Wilson, Fringilla candacuta. The ash-grey finch {Fringilla Jiy emails), the snow-bird of Wilson, who represents this bird larger than it is in nature, built its nest here. Towards one o'clock in the afternoon we reached Le Roi's plantation, and lay to at the sand bank opposite to it, the wind being very high. We dispersed in order to try our fortune with our fowling-pieces, but found on the bank an intricate thicket full of burs, so that we could scarcely penetrate it. Numbers of birds animated this thicket, the cormorant (Carbo) sat on the tall trees on the bank, the whip-poor-will uttered its plaintive note, and bats hovered over the river. We passed the evening sitting round our fire, when Gardner told us anecdotes of his many adventures and combats with the Indians. He gave me a particular account of the death of Glass, the old beaver-hunter whom I have already mentioned, and which particularly interested me, because I possessed the scalp of one of the two Arikkara Indians who were killed by Gardner on account of that murder. The following were the circumstances of that event. Old Glass, with two companions, had gone from Fort Cass to hunt beavers on the Yellow Stone, and, as they were crossing the river on the ice further down, they were all three shot, scalped, and plundered by a war party of thirty Arikkaras who were concealed on the opposite bank. These Indians, who are most dangerous enemies to the Whites, went then to the sources of Powder River, and it happened that Gardner, with about twenty men, and thirty horses, was in the neighbourhood. As it was dark when they were seated about several fires, the Indians suddenly appeared, addressed them in the Manitari language, surrounded the fire, and dried their shoes. Gardner, being well acquainted with the character of the Indians, immediately took some precautions, which was the more necessary, as a Manitari woman, who was with his party, told him that the strangers were Arikkaras. He gradually collected his people round one of their fires, with their arms in readiness to act. He was also afraid for his horses, which were scattered in the prairie, and some of which were actually missing, and he had already sent some of his men to |
