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Show 22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF concluded, the mines were then first opened for civil-ized enterprise. . During the settlement of the prelirninaries of the treaty, there was great difficulty with the Indians, and it was necessary for each man of our party to be on his guard against any hostile attempts of the former, who were all armed to the teeth. On the distribution of presents, vvhich followed the conclusion of the treaty, consisting of casks of whisky, guns, gunpowder, knives, blankets, &c., there was a general tin1e of rejoicing. Pow-wows, drinking, and dancing diversified the ti1ne, and a few fights were indulged in as a sequel to the entertainment. The Indians soon became very friendly to me, and I was indebted to them for showing me their choicest hunting-grounds. There was abundance of game, including deer, bears, wild turkey, raccoons, and numerous other wild anin1als. Frequent} y they would accolnpany me on my excursions (which always proved eminently successful), thus affording me an opportunity of increasing my personal know ledge of the Indian character. I have lived among Indians in the Eastern and Western States, on the Rocky Mountains, and in California; I find their habits of living, and their religious belief, substantially uniform through all the unmingled races. All believe in the same Great Spirit; all have their prophets, their medicine men, and their soothsayers, and are alike influenced by the appear~ nce o_f 01nens ; thus leading to the belief that the origInal tr1bes throughout the entire continent, from Florida to the most northern coast, have sprung from one s~ock, an~ st~ll retain in some degree of purity the soCial constitution of their primitive founders. I remained in that region for a space of eighteen JAMES l>. BEUK\YOlj.H.TH. 23 n1onths, occupying my leisure time by· working in the 1nines. During this time I accumulated seven hundred dollars in cash, and, feeling myself to be quite a wealthy personage, I determined upon a return home. My visit paid, I felt a disposition to roam farther, and took passage in the steam-boat Calhoun, Captain Glover, about to descend the river to New Orleans. My stay in New Orleans lasted ten days, during which time I vvas sick with the yellow fever, which I contracted on the way fron1 Natchez to New Orleans. It vvas midsummer, and I sought to return ho1ne, heartily regretting I had ever visited this unwholesome place. As my sickness abated, I lost no time in making my way back, and remained under my father's roof until I had in so1ne measure recruited my forces. Being possessed with a strong desire to see the celebrated Rocky Mountains, and the great Western wilderness so much talked about, I engaged in General Ashley's Rocky Mountain Fur Company. The con1- pany consisted of twenty-nine men, who were employ- ~ ed by the Fur Company as hunters and trappers. We started on the 11th of October with horses and pack-mules. Nothing of interest occurred until we approached the Kansas village, situate on the Kansas River, when we came to a halt and encamped. Here it was found that the company was in need of horses, and General Ashley wished for two men to volunteer to proceed to the Republican Pawnees, distant three hundred miles, where he declared vve could obtain a supply. There was in our party an old and experienced mountaineer, named Moses Harris, in whom the general reposed the strictest confidence for his knowledge of the country and his familiarity with Indian life. This Harris was reputed to be a man of |
