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Show 1.18 Lewis and Clcu·ke's EXJ.Jedition a J•unning fire of two rounds, to the great satisfaction of the Indians. " re then proceeded to the encampment whei·e we arrived about six o'clock, and were conducted to the leathern lodge in the ccntl'e of thirty-two others made ofbrush. The baggage was arranged near this tent, which captain Lewis occupied, and sut·rotmdcd by those of the men so as to secure it from pillage. This camp was in a beautiful smooth meadow ncar the river. and about three miJes above tbeircamp when we fia·st visited the Indians. 'Ve hc1·e found Colter, who had been sent by captain Vlarkc with a note apprising us that there were no hopes of a passage by water, and that the most practicable route seemed to be that mentioned by his guide, towards the no1•th. Whatever road we meant to take, it was now necessary to pt·ovide ourselves with horses; we therefore infornrcd Camcahwait of our intention of going to the great river beyond the mountains, and that we would wish to purchase twenty more horses: he said the ~1innetai ·ces had stolen a great numberoftheit· horses this spring, but he still hoped they could spare us that number. In order not to loose the present favourable moment, and to keep the Indians as cheerful as possible, the violins we1·c b1·ouooht out El and our men danced to the great diversion of the Indians. 'l'his mirth was the more welcome because our situation was not precisely that which would most dispose us for gayety, for 've have only a little pat·checl COI'n to eat, and out· means of subsistence or of success, depend on the wavering temper of' the natives, who may change their minds to-morrow. r.rhc Shoshonees are a small tribe of tbe nation called Snake Indians, a vague denomination, which embraces at once the inhabitants of the southern parts of the Rocky mountains and of the plains on each side. The Shosbonoes with whom we now are, amount to about one hundred warriors, and three times that number· of women and children. Within their own recollection they former·Jy lived in the plains, but they have been driven into the mountains by the Pa.wkecs, or the roving Indians of the Sascatchawain, and Up the Missom·i. ·119 arc now obliged to visit occasionally, ami by stealth, tlat' country of their ancestors. rrheir lives are indeed migt·atory. From the middle of May to the beginning of Sep* tember, they reside on the waters of the Columbia, where they considct• themselves perfectly sccul'c from the Pawkees who have never yet found their way to that retreat. During this time they subsist chiefly on salmon, and as that · fish disappear's on the approach of autumn, they arc obliged to seck subsistence elsewhere. 'rhcy then cross the ridge to the waters of the Missouri, clown which they Ill'Oceed slowly and cautiously, till they al'e joined ncar the three forks by otlu~r bands, either of thci1· own nation or of the Flatheads, with whom they associate against the common enemy. Being now strong in numbers, they venture to hunt buffaloe in the Illains eastward of the mountains, ncar which they spend the winter, till the return of the salmon invites them to the Columbia. But such is their tct•t·or of the Pawkees, that as long as they can obtain the scantiest subsistence, they do not !eave the interior of the mountains; an1l as soon as they collect a large stock of th·ied meat, tlacy again l'ctreat, and thus altcl'uatcly obtaining their food at the hazard of thcit·livcs, and hiding themselves to consume It. In this loose and wandering existence they suffer the extremes or want; for two thirds of the yeal' they are l'orccd to live in the mountains, passing whole weeks without meat, and with nothing to eat but a icw fish and r·oots. Nor can any thing be imagined more wretched than thcil· condition at the llrcsent time, when the salmon is fast retil'ing, when roots are becoming scarce, and they have not yet acquired strength to hazard an encounter wilh theh· enemies. So insensible are they however to these calamities, that the Shoshonees are not 011ly chcer·ful but even gay; and their character, which is more interesting than that of any Indians we have seen, has in it much of the dignity of misfortune. In their intercourse with strangers they are frank and communicative, in their dealings perfectly fail·, ~Qr have we had |