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Show ,, ( 40 ) buried under it, if it should continue to fall as iL now d•id. W~ therefore all felt happy in finding a place fit for our purpotlc, on the bank of the. outh Fork, at lhe end of a pl:.lin, which WllS protected by palisades. \Ve ~ot rid of all our sno v, within the enclosure, by throwing it over the rock bank into the ri\·cr-which served us, at the same time, a~ a natural defence on that side; the other o.ne bein~ <lcfcmlccl by the pal i ·ad e.·. I a cortlCJ' or OUI' enclosure we builL a siabl ·,covered with twi ~s and skins, for out· animal:;. A fore t which I irtcd the river, as f. r as we could ·ee, furnished us ti mb rand fuel enoup;h to build our furt and to make o rrf-! L! lves omfortable durin~ tile ~·inter. As a matter of ncct:S~i ily, we hast ned to co1nplete our fortifications, which were mad.e of wood and otone or siwd, j11st as it was fit. The palisades were loop-holed, <~nd the entra11Ce was tv be shut by a strong wooden door, duri:l~ the ni¥;ht a:1d an eve1~tua l attack. The river gave us ple.nty of ~ooJ wt.~tcr, and our provi~ions were not only j udiciously divided, but we also provided ou rsvlve with adJition al food, by hu ntin<r in the neighhourhuod. The wet;k bel ween Chri~t mas ~nd new~ yeLlr we spent in bui.lding our forL, which we properly called "Phala,nx Fort," '~ hcr~m we celel~t·ate d new ye~1r's day, l S50, wi 1 h all the m i r'lh po:l. tb le rn sueh a \ovdder·r,css. We af?;recd upon firin~.r only one gu n in celebration of the new year's commoucctllent, in ~rJer not to waste much powder. . An i1nportant di::~covery was made on new year'f' day, by Duwntng . . 1 e fO \IiH.l that th~ .Fu.rl river c?nlaioed a re· l qtlanllty of small wat~r-rlanls, ~rowin~ 111 and floating on the wa er. A , they proved to be good for· our animals, as feed, mixed with the re:na.-ill tnu; oats we had bruugh t alon_g . we dtd not apprcher d getting sl1ort of the l.1l.ler article for some weeks. ~II the m?mbers.of our Ph;_danx viet! with ench ot.ht r to perform thctr respectlv~ du~1cs. They were divided every day in· four pari ics -~ne, for staying. In.lhc f r~t, a.s its ganiso n, and preparinv supper, whi~h IVas our.' prmcip::d. dally meal; the s eond, for rolkctinf! :llld cutting wood 111 the netgh-bou rin<r forest· the third for collcctin•r wa t c~·-p 1a nt.s .~ n tI 1e .riv er., and feedin g our' nnitn id:; 'U w fl)Urlh, fonr hun tin~, wtthm some mdc."l around our fort. However, nil wt· re bound to return before dar!{ every ni rht, and in case of any unl' 's d.:lllger, he was to fire two successive shots) with his doubl ~-b~rre llcd rtll~-a constant companion of every one. The ringi n~ of the alarn1 bell ·was to call the members, all and every one, to the furl, iu auy cal'e of common danger or great ur~J;e ncy. In order to make our common ~cn:.nce .as complete as possibl e, our fo11r squaws were abo cxer·cisod rn fig;hlrng and shooting, so that aftert a short time they had become real Amazons. • Yonka, in particular, distin~?,uished her~elf' by skill ancl swiftnPss. She loaded and fired her doubh•-barrellctJ rt·fl .. si·x t1· . 1 ·1 II • - 1 ", rn ~ ::-,w1tc ec-tor, who was the. best r~fll~rnan of our company, and had been a rifle-make. r by trade, tn P~ns, fo~· many years, could do so with his owa five limes onl~; and, m fenctng, she was inferior to none but Bcrl ic, who, as a fencmg-master, surpassed every other mau of ow· Phalanx. ( 41 ) Although we got every day an addition to the stock of feed for our animals, it became necessary, in consequence of their large con~ 1-.u mi n12; nu 111 ber, to increase that stock by a more exlensi ve gatherin~ of the water-plants in the river, and thus to prevent an eventual Jdicieucy of forage, on which our common fate greatly-if not enJ. irely-depended. We th erefore resolved upon going and continuing every day to forage in a mas~, until we should have a store or fodder for one month in advance, at least, before we would s top forag in~. The weather seemed to favour us in this most necessary enterprise. The frost had subsided, and the snow was melting fast away during the sec.ond week of January, when the forag ing expedition was re~ solved upon by the Phalanx. The three married couples and Ned were to remain in the Fort, with eighteen mules and the Indian ponies, except the two of Yonh:a, as she would absolutely go along with the party ,-Waanataa, of course, beinj!; one of the latter. In order not to lose a great deal of time by re lurning, every evcnin< r to, and starling anew every morning from, the Fort, the furJgers w~re to make ricks of the water-plants near the banks of the river, <lnd to camp every night together,-twenty-two men and Yonka, with their forty-four mules, her two ponies, and three of the dogs taken along for hunting purpo~es. They took provisions for one week, during which their animals should live on water-plant.~, rnixed with some oats. After the lapse of one week, the party ~houlcl either return, or end a messenger to the Fort, taking the way al ng the river. Not later than one day after that time those remaining in the Fort should. despatch Ned to look out for. the party or the messenger along the rtver. Whe,n all thes~· precaution~ were aoTecd upon the foragin<r' party left the Fort early In the morn- ~ ' ~ . ing, on . . Monday, the 15th of January. At the end of the same Jay, the company proceeded eleven miles upwards, along the right hand bank of the river, .coq1plctinQ ftfteen ricks of foraae, On the next day they made eighteen miles and fourteen ricks 0 ann so they went on till Thursd~y noon, when they IJad proccede(l fifty-seven mile~, and completed l'orty-11ine ricks. Waanataa and Yonka h~d )eft the party early in the morning, he on his mule, and she on h0r pony, in opposite directions, to h11n1 in the neighbouring forest, where they had expected to find and shoot some game for our dinner: and, indeed, before noon Wa<• nat.aa returned with a fwe deer carried by his second mule, and reported that he hacl discovered ;orne fresh traces of Indians, but of neither Pawnees, nor any other tribe of his kno.wledge, whi~h comprised Arapahoes, Kioways and Camanches, bes~tles those wilh whu r~ "~c h:.~d already met. He therefore supposed tl~rse trace lo .be of Gro~Ventres, whose acquaintance we did not WI~h to make, If we could not do so as friends. We felt uneasy on account of Yonka, who had not return d ab?ut t.hre o'elock in the afternoon, ami we all n·soh·ed upon searching for her. Bt~fore we started, we tried the expedient. to fire two rifleshots, in quick succession, repeating them at an interval. of one minute) four times, w-hereupon we had the pleasure of heanng the |