AB-SA-RA-KA

THE LAND OF MASSACRE

KAM-NE-llUT-SI!:.

(Blackfoot. )

[.li7ontispiece. J

E CHE- H AS -KO.

(Long H orse. )

CROW CHIEFS.

TE-SHUN-NZS.

( White Calf. )

{See page 130. J

.)(MAP N?l

CARRINGTONS OUTLINE OF I-NO'IAN OPERATI-ONSON THE

PLAINS.

( MAP N<?l1.) CARRI

N -(TTONS OUTLINE OF INDIAN OPERA

TIO

, ;,.

NS ON THE PLAINS.

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A B - S A - R A - K A

LAND OF MASSACRE:B E I N G T H E

EXPERIENCE OF AN OFFICER’S WIFE

ON

T H E P L A I N S .

W I T H A N

OUTLINE OF INDIAN OPERATIONS AND CONFERENCES

FROM 1865 TO 1878 .

B Y

COL. HENRY B. CARRINGTON, U. S. A.,AUTHOR OF “BATTLES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.”

( F I F T H E D I T I O N O F M R S . C A R R I N G T O N ’ S N A R R A T I V E . )

REVISED, ENLARGED, AND ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS,CUTS, INDIAN PORTRAITS, ETC.

P H I L A D E L P H I A :

J . B . L I P P I N C O T T & C O .LONDON: 16 SOUTHAMPTON STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

1 8 7 9 .

Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by

J . B . L I P P I N C O T T & C O . ,

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States in andfor the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Copyright, 1878, by CO L. HENRY B. CARRINGTON , U. S. A.

AB-SA-RA-KALAND OF MASSACRE

By Margaret Carrington

As Published in 1868

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DEDICATION.

WITH acknowledgments to LIEUTENANT -GENERAL SHER-M A N, whose suggestions at Fort Kearney, in the spring of1866, were adopted, in preserving a daily record of theevents of a peculiarly eventful journey, and whose vigorouspolicy is as promising of the final settlement of Indiantroubles and the quick completion of the Union PacificRailroad as his “March to the Sea” was signal in crushingthe last hope of armed rebellion, this narrative is respect-fully dedicated.

MARGARET IRVIN CARRINGTON.

( i i i )

PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION.

ABSARAKA has become, indeed, the Land of Mas-sacre. The disaster which in 1876 robbed the armyof twelve officers and two hundred and forty-sevenbrave men, was but the sequel to that series of en-counters which first reached the world through thetragedy of 1866. It is now of even more importanceto know the country which depends so much uponarmed force for its settlement and the solution ofthe Indian controversy.

During January, 1876, General Custer said to thewriter, “It will take another Phil Kearney massa-cre to bring Congress up to a generous support ofthe army.” Within six months, his memory, likethat of Fetterman, became monumental through asimilar catastrophe. With larger experience on thefrontier,—for Fetterman had none,—but with equalfaith in the ability of white troops to handle alargely superior force of Indians, fearless, brave, anda matchless rider, Custer had also the conviction thatthe army was expected to fight the hostile savageunder all circumstances and at every opportunity.

A brief outline of events, embodying operationsin that country up to the present time, will havevalue to all who watch our dealings with the Indiansof the Northwest.

1* ( v )

vi P R E F A C E T O T H E T H I R D E D I T I O N .

The introductory map was deemed sufficientlydefinite by Generals Custer and Brisbin to take withthem for reference, and its present form includes theadditional forts and agencies, as furnished by thefavor of General Humphreys, Chief of United StatesEngineers.

The itinerary of Chapter XXX. has permanentvalue. The first military occupation of that countryis also accurately presented in the original text.There never was a more ill-considered impulse ofthe American people than that which forced the armyinto the Powder River and Big Horn countries in1866, to serve the behests of irresponsible speculativeemigration, regardless of the rights of tribes right-fully in possession. There never was a wilder grabfor gold than the succeeding dash into the BlackHills in the face of solemn treaties.

The compensations of time bring to the surfacethe fruits of unsound policy, and the treaties of1866, at Laramie—a mere sham so far as they con-cerned the tribes beyond—have ripened. The fruithas been gathered. Honored dead bear witness. Istated distinctly, at the time of the massacre, that ifthat line should be broken up it would require fourtimes the force to reopen it; and since then morethousands of troops have been wrestling with theissue than hundreds were then employed for its pro-tection. Of the struggle for the Big Horn countryan impression was embodied in one earnest para-graph: “While there has been partial success inimpromptu dashes, the Indian, now desperate andbitter, looks upon the rash white man as a sure

P R E F A C E T O T H E T H I R D E D I T I O N .

victim no less than he does a coward, and theUnited States must come to the deliberate resolveto send an army equal to a fight with the Indiansof the Northwest. Better to have the expense atonce, than to have a lingering, provoking war, foryears. It must be met, and the time is just now.”But the force was not available for that purpose, anda lingering, provoking war, for years, has followed.

There is no glory in Indian war. If too little bedone, the West complains; if too much be done, theEast denounces the slaughter of the red man. Justicelies between the extremes, and herein lies the meritof that Indian policy which was inaugurated duringthe official term of President Grant. So much offalsehood mingled with fact, and so keen was thepopular scent for some scapegoat at the first publicannouncement of a war which had been constant forsix months, that even now the public mind retainsbut a vague impression of the lessons of that mas-sacre. It has indeed required another fearful tragedyto invoke an examination into the relations of theAmerican people toward these Indian tribes, and tosolve the problem whether a Christian nation willexercise patience, restrain wrong, and yet do whatis right by both races.

To place a new edition of Absaraka before thepublic is no hasty offering for transient effect, but togive the world historical facts, many of them other-wise unnoticed, and thus aid them to appreciate thevicissitudes of frontier army life.

The writer has little change to suggest in the Nar-rative text, although nearly ten years have elapsed

vii

viii P R E F A C E T O T H E T H I R D E D I T I O N .

since it was first written. The accompanying newmatter, and notes, will enable the reader to followother operations in the valleys of Powder, Tongue,Big Horn, and Yellowstone rivers, while the addi-tional map includes territory as far north as theBritish Possessions, and the future battle-field region,if Indians invade from Canada.

The portraits illustrate styles of Indian dress,while introducing the leading chiefs who figure inthe Narrative, and are known, by name, to the entirepeople of the United States.

It is no weak incentive to the enlargement of thisrecord that the sacrifice of Fetterman, Brown, Custer,Bradley, and their associates, is kept in memory, whiletribute is ever paid to her whose life so soon passedaway after the trials of that unexpected and extremeexposure.

HENRY B. CARRINGTON

W A B A S H C O L L E G E, CR A W F O R D S V I L L E , IN D.May, 1878.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I .PAGE

Absaraka, Home of the Crows 13

CHAPTER I I .

Absaraka described 20

CHAPTER I I I .

The Natural History and Climate of Absaraka 29

CHAPTER IV.

Organization of the Expedition to Absaraka 36

CHAPTER V.

From Fort Kearney to crossing of Union Pacific Rail-road—Incidents of the Platte River Travel—Reunionof the Officers of the 18th Infantry—Crossing the Ridi-culous Platte 45

CHAPTER VI .

Reminiscences of Ranching, and old times on the routefrom Leavenworth to Sedgwick 55

CHAPTER VII .

Union Pacific Railroad to Laramie—Court-house Rock—Chimney Rock—Fortification Rock—Scott’s Bluffs—Wonderful Fishing—Visit of Standing Elk 64

( i x )

x CONTENTS .

C H A P T E R V I I I .PAGE

Fort Laramie Council of 1866 — Its results foreshadowed— The Aborigines in the marts of trade — How the In-dians did and did not 73

CHAPTER IX.

Laramie to Reno — Camp Phisterer Cañon — Laramie Peak— Wild Flora — Pumpkin Buttes 82

CHAPTER X.

Fort Reno — Indian Raid — Fort Laramie Treaty tested —Fourth of July in Absaraka — Organization of Mount-ain District — Onward Movement — More Rattlesnakes —Mercury 113° above zero — what it did 93

C H A P T E R X I .

Reconnoissances — Indian messengers — Warnings — Loca-tion of Fort Philip Kearney — Conduct of the troops,and its cause 102

CHAPTER XII .

Arrival of Indians — The Cheyennes in council — BlackHorse, The Rabbit that Jumps, Red Sleeve, Dull Knife,and others have much talk and “heap of smoke” 110

C H A P T E R X I I I .

Massacre of Louis Gazzou’s party — Indian raid and greatloss of mules — The Cheyennes again — Forty hostile de-monstrations of the “peaceable tribes” — The LaramieTreaty incidentally tested — Massacre of LieutenantDaniels — A fighting parson 119

CHAPTER XIV.

Conduct of the Crow Indians — What Bridger and Beck-with say 130

CONTENTS. xi

CHAPTER XV.PAGE

Visit of Inspector-General Hazen — Reinforcements onthe way — Mounted Infantry compared with Sioux LightCavalry — United States mails — Corral system — Timberand lumber supplied to order 134

C H A P T E R X V I .

Fort Philip Kearney and surroundings — A picnic-As-cent of the mountains — Lake Smedt — Fine scenery —Plan of the fort 141

C H A P T E R X V I I .

Two holidays — October inspection and review — First gar-rison flag hoisted in Absaraka—Incidents of the day—Indian response to a national salute—Looking-glassesin abundance—Evening levee 150

C H A P T E R X V I I I .

A day of incidents — Hostile Sioux and friendly Chey-ennes — Narrow escape of the latter — Our picket mim-icked — More massacres — Croquet introduced into Ab-saraka 157

CHAPTER XIX.

Night scenes — Celestial and terrestrial visitors — Aurora —Lunar rainbow — Meteorites — Indians all in their war-paint 164

CHAPTER XX.

Domestic, social, and religious life, with the episodestherein occurring 173

CHAPTER XXI .

Indian warfare — Things a woman can learn when she hasseen them tried 180

xii CONTENTS.

C H A P T E R X X I I .PAGE

Indian arms, habits, and customs — The arrow beats therevolver 187

C H A P T E R X X I I I .

Massacre of Lieutenant Bingham — Accounts given byofficers — Extracts from journal 194

C H A P T E R X X I V .

Fetterman’s massacre — Its lessons 200

C H A P T E R X X V .

The funeral — Burial of fourscore and one victims of themassacre — Cold and sad holidays — Expeditions aban-doned — Reinforcements of August yet behind 211

C H A P T E R X X V I .

Comedy of errors — Enterprise of the press — Transactionsin Absaraka mysteriously known to the public beforethey had information of the same 218

C H A P T E R X X V I I .

New Year’s changes — 1867 — March to Fort Reno — Mer-cury 40° below zero — How it felt and what it did 226

C H A P T E R X X V I I I .

Fort Reno to Fort Caspar — Thence to the United States— Courtesies of the route — Visits of dignitaries, mili-tary, civil, and Indian, at McPherson — More changes 237

C H A P T E R X X I X .In memoriam 244

C H A P T E R X X X .

Omaha to Virginia City, Montana 250

CONTENTS . xiii

C H A P T E R X X X I .PAGE

Indian affairs on the Plains — Incidents of 1865–7 —Treaty Conflicts — Laramie treaty a substantial failure— The Phil Kearney massacre enlarged the theatre ofwar — Volunteers discharged — Pawnees enlisted — Af-fairs on the Platte — Visit from Spotted Tail and others— Incidents of the visit — Indian Commissioners 259

C H A P T E R X X X I I .

Indian affairs on the Plains — Incidents of 1867 — “TheWhis t l e r , ” “Pawnee Ki l l e r , ” “Li t t l e Bul l , ” andother chiefs in council at Fort McPherson — Visit ofLieutenant-Colonel Custer — General Sherman’s viewsof the demands of ranchemen — Visit of Mr. WilliamBlackmore, of London

C H A P T E R X X X I I I .

Indian affairs on the Plains — Incidents, 1867–73 — Re-newed raids in Big Horn region — Red Cloud’s Ultima-tum in 1867 — Action of Congress — General Augur asto the posts — Army trials — New treaties — New com-missioners — General Sheridan as to the animus of theArmy — The whole frontier attacked — War with Arra-pahoes, Cheyennes, and Kiowas — Fights of Custer, For-sythe, and others — First conferences — Sitting Bullrejects the overtures of Red Cloud — Quiet in 1872 —The treaties of 1868 prove beneficial — Custer’s fight onthe Yellowstone, in 1873 — His report considered—OldFort Kearney abandoned — Special reminiscences of itscareer

C H A P T E R X X X I V .

— Indians can keep faith — Hostilities of 1874 — Colonel2

271

289

Indian affairs on the Plains — Incidents from 1874 to 1877

xiv CONTENTS

PAGE

Miles on Red River—Bishop Whipple as to captivessent to Florida—White men at fault—Chief “WhiteHead” on profane swearing—Custer’s expedition to theBlack Hills—General Terry suppresses citizen emigra-tion—Professor Marsh, of Yale College, at Red CloudAgency—Raids in 1875—Lieutenant-Colonel DodgeSurveys the Black Hills—Lieutenant-Colonel Forsytheascends the Yellowstone—Official reports of the year—Campaign of 1876 opened—Colonel Reynolds destroyscamp of Crazy Horse—Fearful exposure of the troops—Official reports—Suggestions to critics—Complimen-tary order of department commander—General Crook’sfight on Rosebud Creek—General Sherman’s report—River distances on the Yellowstone given—GeneralTerry takes the field—Custer’s massacre-General Sher-idan concentrates the army—Colonel Miles pursuesSitting Bull—General Crook drives Crazy Horse to theBlack Hills—Crows vent their hatred on the Sioux—Army officers put in charge of the Indian Agencies 308

C H A P T E R X X X V .

Indian affairs on the Plains—Incidents of 1877—Policyof the General of the Army—Opinion of Senator Laneand others—Effect of Custer’s massacre—New forts inthe Big Horn region—Military object of those firstbuilt—Colonel Miles routs Crazy Horse—Fight onMuddy Creek fork of the Rosebud—Crazy Horse sur-renders—Agencies re-located—Conference with SittingBull—Commissioner Shanks as to Chief Joseph—TheNez Perces campaign, in detail—Operations of Howard,Gibbon, Sturgis, Miles, and others—Capture of Joseph,in battle—His character—His intercourse with GeneralShanks—Colonel Sturgis’s report noticed 336

C H A P T E R X X X V I .

Honor to whom honor—Wrongs done the Indian—Theconduct of the army—Report of Colonel Manypenny,

CONTENTS. xv

PAGE

Commissioner — His tribute to Generals Sherman, Har-ney, and others — The “Ten Commandments and theSword” in the hands of civilization—Survivors of theoperations of 1866 — The 7th Cavalry at the end of1877—The Crow Indians of AB-SA-RA-KA remembered. 355

A P P E N D I X I.—Special Senate documents on Phil Kear-ney massacre 361

APPENDIX II.—Officers killed on the Plains, 1865-78 372

APPENDIX III.—Troops on the Plains, and disposition oft h e A r m y , M a y , 1 8 7 8 376

ILLUSTRATIONS.

M A P No. I. SO U T H O F 4 6 ° NO R T H L A T I T U D E.

M A P No. I I . NO R T H O F 4 6 ° NO R T H L A T I T U D E.

C R O W C H I E F S FrontispiecePAGE

C O U R T- HO U S E R O C K 67

C H I M N E Y R O C K 68

H E -H A-K A-A -N A-Z I N, ST A N D I N G E L K ( DA C O T A H S I O U X) 72

C A M P P H I S T E R E R C A N O N 84

E A S T V I E W O F T H E N O R T H P L A T T E 86

L A R A M I E P E A K, F R O M T H E N O R T H 89

B A T T L E D E C O R A T I O N O F B U F F A L O R O B E 129

P L A N O F F O R T P H I L K E A R N E Y 147

T E P E E, O R T E P A H ( IN D I A N L O D G E) 193

S U R R O U N D I N G S O F F O R T P H I L K E A R N E Y 204

L A -H I C-T A-P A-L A-S H A, PI P E C H I E F ( PA W N E E) 264

P E -T A - L A - S H A - R A , P A W N E E C H I E F ( CH O W E E B A N D) 265

C I N-T E-G I-L E-S K A, SP O T T E D T A I L A N D H I S S Q U A W

( BRULÈ S I O U X) 269

R E D C L O U D A N D M R . BL A C K M O R E , O F L O N D O N 288

2* (xvii)

PROLOGUE TO FIRST EDITION.

THE importunity of friends, who have been interestedin the journal of a summer’s trip and a winter’s experi-ence on the Plains, and which, as a matter of taste,now assumes the more easy flow of Narrative, has over-ruled the first refusal to permit its use in more availableform for their leisurely reading. Gathering many ofits details from officers of the posts, from Major JamesBridger, and others, and so gathering as each day’sexperience unfolded events of interest, there is no as-sumption of anything further than to express the factsso recorded just as they were impressed upon the judg-ment or fancy.

If, on the one hand, the recital of military prepara-tions or movements be so inartificial as to excite thesmile of the critic, or if the natural tendency to adoptthe idioms and style which, every way and forever,surround the wife of an officer, shall seem so con-strained as to repel the lady reader, it can only be saidthat we wrote, when we wrote, just as the surround-ings inspired or compelled us.

In this change from the form of a journal we haveadhered to its record, and preserved the integrity of theoriginal, so as to reproduce our life as it was lived andgive incidents as they transpired

( x i x )

xx PROLOGUE.

While nearly one-half of the Indian demonstrationswere under our own eye, the authentic reports of otherswere of equal value to history; and the narrative differslittle from what would be the written experience ofothers, except that we availed ourselves more fully ofclasses of facts and sources of knowledge equally opento all, and so cherished their record, as in earlier lifewe garnered up details of a first visit to Mammoth Caveor the Falls of Niagara.

If our statistics and statements as to Indian coun-cils, usages, or raids, or the record of labor, casualties,and incidents, savor much of routine, yet through in-cidental form we have gathered historical facts, andthus do we present our life and the exact history ofthe first year of the military occupation of Absaraka.

And again; if there be a savor of whining becausethe soldiers were so few and support was unfurnished,it will not be taken as criticism to offend anybody, sinceeverybody knows how small was the army, and howincapable of immediate expansion to meet the issues ofthe Northwestern frontier at the close of the war.

So, then, our friends will accept this response to theirwishes, and at least gather instruction for their guid-ance when they undertake their first visit to Absaraka,Home of the Crows.

AB-SA-RA-KA.

C H A P T E R I .

A B S A R A K A , H O M E O F T H E C R O W S .

A B S A R A K A, in the language of the Crow In-dians, translated, Home of the Crows, was oncethe field of their proudest successes.

The ferti le basins of the Yellowstone, BigHorn, and Tongue Rivers were enlivened bythe presence of their many villages; and in theearly days of Bridger and Beckwith, the CrowIndians accumulated considerable wealth by aprolific trade in pelts and dressed furs, whichthose veteran trappers and frontiersmen deliveredfor them at St. Louis and other border depotsfor Indian commerce.

Partially girt in by the Big Horn and PantherMounta ins , ye t roaming a t wi l l , they weremasters of a region of country which has nopeer in its exhaustless game resources, and israrely surpassed in its production of wild fruits,

2 ( 1 3 )

14 A B S A R A K A .

grasses, and cereals; while its natural scenery,made up of snowy crests, pine-clad slopes andsummits, crystal waters, and luxuriant vales,certainly has no rival in our great sisterhood ofStates.

The Snake Indians, who roamed farther northand wes t , and who had even c rossed l anceswith the Pagans and Bloods, on the confines ofBritish America, were unable, man for man, tomatch their more numerous and more adven-turous rivals, the Crows, and at last, in 1856,joined friendly hands with them, or at least ob-served a fair neutrality in the later conflicts ofthe Crows with their hereditary and deadly ene-mies, the Sioux and Northern Cheyennes.

When the Cheyennes of the Black Hills ofEastern Dakota divided their bands, and oneportion went to the Red River country, whileanother portion left the old home, with nearlyhalf of the remaining families, for Powder Riverand Tongue River valleys, the Ogillalla Sioux atl a s t found a l l i e s to suppor t the i r opera t ionsa g a i n s t t h e C r o w s . W i t h a p o r t i o n o f t h eArrapahoes, Blackfeet, and Gros Ventres of thePrairie, popularly known as the Big Bellies,they prosecuted the war with vigor and unre-lenting hatred. Breaking into the long-covetedregion about which they had been testing theirvalor for years in fruitless forays and uncertainadventures, the Sioux, aided by their new friends,

HOME OF THE CROWS. 15

succeeded in occupying the choice valleys of thelower Big Horn and Tongue Rivers, and sti l lheld them in comparative independence whenthe expedition of 1866, sent to open the newroute to Virginia City, forced them to accept thechallenge of the white man for the future posses-sion of their stolen dwelling-place.

The Crows fe l l back of the Yel lowstone ,though sti l l operating eastward as far as thewest bank of Big Horn River; and a few at-tempted something like local improvement, imi-t a t i n g t h e F l a t H e a d s , w h o , t h o u g h f e w o fnumbers, were not the less energetic, and seemedto be really desirous of gaining some affinity withthe ideas and civilization of the whites.

With all these changes and the continued ag-gression of the Sioux, the Crows maintainedtheir passion for their old and their favoriteh o m e . I t h a d i t s p e c u l i a r v i r t u e s . A t o n c egrand and beautiful, prolific in game beyond allprecedent, susceptible of culture and the de-velopment of vast mineral wealth, while offeringa new avenue for travel to Montana nearly fivehundred miles shorter than that by Salt LakeCity, how can it be deemed strange that theylooked upon that redundancy of game, that ex-ceeding fertil i ty, and that natural forage, aswonderfully adapted for their perpetual homeand abiding-place!

The white man had given it no distinctive

16 A B S A R A K A .

name, and had scarcely trespassed upon its soil.Farther west, he had occupied the Madison andJefferson branches and the head waters of theMissour i . F lour i sh ing towns and c i t i e s hadbeen located, and the Indians, who had so longbeen driven westward, were now crowded b a c kupon the Yellowstone and Big Horn; so that theCrows must soon renew their active antagonismwith their old plunderers, or seek other fields ormethods of life.

This great huntin sphere, though nameless,ghad a natural independence both of Montanaand Dakota , whi le a t t ached in pa r t to each .All that l ies east of Black Foot and Clarke’sPasses had its special relation to the territoryextending as far as Powder River. Somebodyh a d i n d e e d v e n t u r e d t o s t y l e t h i s c o u n t r yWyoming, a name which might do very well fora county of Pennsylvania , bu t had the leas tclaim for application to the stolen land of theCrows.

These same Crow Indians, in addition to theirnatural title to the land, maintain, to this day,the proud claim never to have killed a white manbut in self-defense. All their intercourse in 1866,and their relations in 1867, combine to show theintegrity of their friendship and the truth oftheir protestations.

Their very enemies concede to them the right-ful title to the territory so long struggled for.

HOME OF THE CROWS. 17

At a formal council held at Fort Philip Kearneyin July, 1866, between Colonel Carrington andcertain Cheyenne chiefs, who were then in closerelations with Red Cloud and other Ogi l la l laS I O U X, but desirous of breaking loose from thetie, that they might receive protection from thewhites, the following question was addressed toB LACK HO R S E:

“Why do the Sioux and Cheyennes claim the landwhich belongs to the Crows?”

B L A C K H O R S E, TH E W O L F T H A T LIES D O W N,R ED A R M, and DULL KNIFE promptly answered:

“The Sioux helped us. We stole the hunting-grounds of the Crows because they were the best. Thewhite man is along the great waters, and we wantedmore room. We fight the Crows, because they will nottake half and give us peace with the other half.”

A B S A R A K A is therefore in fact, as the Crowshave fondly named that whole region (absurdlystyled Wyoming by some), the “Home of theCrows.”

Bound to it by sacred legends; endeared as itis by years of occupation and wasting conflictsfor its repossession; pressed by the whites fromthe west, and now approached from the east,yet restricted to the use of the Upper Yellow-stone and west bank of the Big Horn Rivers,the Crows still maintain their rightful title, andask of the white man that he acknowledge it.

No less firmly do they maintain inviolate their2*

18 A B S A R A K A .

solemn faith once pledged to the white man, andthey look to his advent, in sufficient numbers, asthe signal of their own deliverance and the de-struction of their old enemies the Sioux.

Ready to co-operate with the whites—kindly dis-posed toward the new road—beginning to appre-ciate the fate of the red man who shall opposethe progress of civilization and frontier settle-ment , they regard wi th someth ing l ike hopethe strong arm of that progress, and stand readyto perpetuate their own life by a just conformityto its reasonable demands.

There is another fact which appeals stronglyto other sentiments than those that favor simplejustice.

Among all the tribes of the Northwest, theCrow Indian stands first in manliness and phys-ical perfection.

While they alone have the title to negotiatethe right of way for the New Virginia City road,independently of its occupation by the Sioux andtheir all ies, they also have pride of race andnation. They can be trusted as friends within itsboundaries whenever they are treated with theconsideration they deserve. Would white mendo more?

The Crows lost possession by robbery. Theirenemies have become the white man’s enemy.Their enemies have ignored treaty obligations,have despised all terms of compromise or honor-

HOME OF THE CROWS. 19

able warfare, and defy the Crows and white manalike.

To the Crow, therefore, should be tenderedsupport and friendship. Whatever the result asto the possession of the soil, it is as wicked togive it to the Sioux, for fear of his enmity, as itis to rob the Crows, if they wish to retain orjointly enjoy it.

Above all, the land should bear its true name,and thus give to posterity some index to its pasthistory and the issues and struggles which havepreceded its use by the white man. Let i t beknown, whether as Territory, State, or IndianReservation, as AB S A R A K A, Home of the Crows.

Herein, honor is rendered to noble red men,for such these are! Herein, justice is done to theCrow nation, which has hardly been less honor-able and true to their friendship than the Nara-gansetts, the Delawares, and the Pawnees. Herein,shall be established a memorial name that willconnect with the last supremacy of the red mana tribute to those who were truly worthy; andpast injustice shall be partially atoned for, ingiving to the Crow Indians this perpetual re-cognition in the land of AB S A R A K A, the Homeof the Crows.

20 A B S A R A K A .

C H A P T E R I I .

ABSARAKA DESCRIBED.

T H I S land of the largest l iberty for the redman and the chase is as varied in surface andgeneral features as it is attractive to the varioustribes that have contended for its possession.

Nearly all maps, and even the experience ofMajor James Bridger, the chief guide of the ex-pedition of 1866, and that of Mr. Brannan, anassistant guide, who was with General Connorin 1865, so far as he advanced in the valleyof Tongue River, fail to furnish such data as toafford an adequate judgment of this region andits capacity for future development.

All guides and scouts very naturally fix theirattention upon points where water and grazingcan be found by emigrants in transitu; but theydo not as often generalize the result of thesevaried adventures, and fix the relations of diversesoils and geographical features to the purposes ofadvancing civilization and general settlement.

And yet, as the army and people have beenreleased from the engrossing interests of a greatdomestic war, and the failure of the Laramietreaty of 1866, with its immediate succession of

A B S A R A K A D E S C R I B E D . 21

hostilities to every foot of progress over the routeclaimed to have been guaranteed by that treaty,have turned the attention of the national Con-gress and the national army to this new field offight, it will be found that no portion of the pub-lic domain, heretofore almost terra-incognita, willchallenge a greater public favor when its ele-ments of value are known.

Not that it will prove a paradise for mere ad-venturers who aspire after good and suddenriches at the expense of the substantial develop-ment of the lands they traverse and prospect;but this idea is founded upon the basis of actualsettlement, and the ultimate adoption of Absa-raka into the great family of American States.

And yet, it is true that even the adventurerwill find a field of promise. Every creek, fromClear Fork to the Upper Yellowstone, gives goldcolor, and there is no doubt that patient, well-directed labor will realize fair returns. Certainit is, that but for the Indian hostilities—engen-dered partly by bad faith exercised toward someof their bands; partly by excessive intimacy, de-grading to both the white and red man, and re-sulting in the ultimate vengeance of the latterwhen he learns the drift of such intimacy; partlyby failure to support the Indians who deservesupport; and especially by failure to punish thosewho were incorrigibly wicked and ugly—the newroute, so short, and in the main so fruitful in sup-

22 A B S A R A K A .

plies for the emigrant, would become a favoritewith all travelers to Eastern and Lower Montana.

Of course i t has i ts supposed rivals. SA L T

L A K E C I T Y, so beautiful in location, with itsshaded avenues, its ever-flowing fountains, andlavish soil, cannot cheerfully spare from its mar-kets the long trains which have made the circuitby its route; and everybody who owns a light-draught steamer will willingly transport from St.Louis, Nebraska City, or Omaha, as many pas-sengers as the capacity of his cabin or the stageof river moisture will permit; but the mathe-matical difficulty of making the hypothenuse ofan acute angled triangle greater than the sum ofthe sides is a never-fail ing embarrassment toeither party, and the question of distance re-mains as nature established it.

The honest stranger who seeks a home inLower Montana, and a short reliable route toBozeman City, the Gallatin Valley, and Jeffer-son City, and the agricultural or mineral districtsof that region, desires more definite informationof the land to which his thoughts turn; and notonly the people of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota,Illinois, and Indiana, but those of more easternStates, are pushing their trains across the plains,looking in vain, as they have long looked, forsome definite details of the route they are totraverse.

It is not always convenient, each day, for the

A B S A R A K A D E S C R I B E D . 23

emigrant to depend upon some transient ran-chero or squatter for information as to the nextgrass, timber, or water along the route; and itis therefore of practical value for the traveler tohave a definite outline of the country before fur-nishing such details as specify the route, with itshistory, resources, and supplies.

The geographical outline of Absaraka is specialand full of interest.

The general course of the Big Horn Mountainsis from southeast to northwest, until it reachesthe Big Horn River, when the direction changeswestward; but the Big Horn Mountains properdie out before reaching the Upper YellowstoneRiver and Clark’s and Blackfoot Passes, yet onlya short distance from the former.

At the lower or southeastern terminus, therange doubles back upon itself to the southwest,in form not unlike a BIG H O R N or cornucopia,and gives significance to its name, although the“Big Horn” of the mountain sheep is creditedas source of the title.

Of course it is presumed that the reader hasgained some knowledge of the course of thePlatte, and entertains at least general ideas ofthe routes to Salt Lake City by way of Denver,Fort Bridger, or Forts Laramie and Caspar.

While this narrative will embrace directionsfor the traveler, even from the South Platte, andespecially after the journey leaves the line of the

24 A B S A R A K A

Union Pacific Railroad, with all the definitenessneeded for daily practical use, it does not re-quire, in this general description of Absaraka,that those elements should be noticed at present.

Omitting, therefore, all branches of the BigCheyenne, and all tributaries of either Fork ofthe Platte, the general survey begins with Pow-der River.

Powder River, which is a muddy stream, comesfrom the southern side of the Big Horn Mount-ains and a southwestern source, and therefore isnot a part of the great aggregate of bright chan-nels that combine to feed the Missouri Riverf rom the Big Horn range p roper . True i t i s ,that it may be held responsible for their subse-quent discoloration, and it does help the Missourito no little portion of that final burden of depositand gravity which so unfavorably appeals to thefirst taste of the traveler from the East; but thisis its mission, and simply vindicates its own char-acter, as do similar currents in the aggregate ofthe great flow of human life.

The Big Horn range of the Rocky Mountainspossesses two d i s t inc t and marked fea tu res .There is , f irst , a central or backbone range,which culminates in perpetual snow, where CloudPeak grandly rises as the chief of all its proudsummits, falling off slowly and patiently towardthe southern valleys that are soon confronted bysimilar ranges of the Wind River Mountainsbeyond.

ABSARAKA DESCRIBED. 25

The second range is north of the first , andafter clearly leaving the loftier sweep, it presentsnearly a perpendicular face to the north, exceptwhere the earnest torrents have cut deep gorges,and thus forced their way to the main tributariesof the Missouri.

Between these ranges, and varying in breadthfrom twelve to twenty-five miles, are fine hunt-ing-grounds, abounding in noble orchards, wildfruits and grasses, as well as the choicest gamefor the huntsman. This special tract is hardly atrue plateau, as are the more uniform offsets ofthe Tierre Calients of the Mexican ranges; butwith all its vicinity to perpetual snow, there aregentle slopes which possess peculiar lovelinessand many elements of future value. With thisgeneral outl ine in mind, let the traveler startfrom Fort Reno on Powder River.

He is in the midst of a sterile country, a sagedesert. Before him rise the snow-clad mountains,but he has weary miles to travel before he getsthe real value of their benignant expenditure ofclear cold water upon the vales below.

A march of twenty-six miles brings him toCrazy Woman’s Fork. This river, ever flowing,is also ever muddy, having received its largestcontingent of supply from the same yellow sourceas Powder River. Six miles northwest, and fol-lowing the sweep of the Big Horn northern range,and some six to eight miles outside its general

3

26 A B S A R A K A .

base, a new country opens. Sage brush and cac-tus, which for nearly two hundred miles have solargely monopolized the soil, rapidly disappear.The change is beautiful as i t is sudden. Onenarrow divide only is crossed, and the transitionis like the quick turn of the kaleidoscope, whichretains indeed the outline, but supplies new com-binations and new tints for every object the lightilluminates.

Twenty-three miles from Crazy Woman’s Fork,the bright, noisy, and transparent waters, and therich valley of Clear Fork are reached:—so swiftthat mules and horses have difficulty in crossing;so clear that every fish and pebble is well defined;and so cool that ice in midsummer is no objectof desire, this same Clear Fork introduces theseries of natural charms that have endeared thecountry to the savage, and will in the futurehave equal beauty for those who seek homes ina new and hitherto undeveloped land.

Clear Fork is a genuine flow from the BigHorn Mountains, and is a type of many othersno less constant, pure, and valuable. It is partlysnow derived, and partly the sum of innumerablesprings.

Rock Creek comes next, with far less preten-sion, but similar in character.

After passing Lake Smedt,—the great nurs-ing haunt for ducks, wild geese, and brant, andwhich bears the name of Father De Smedt, who,

A B S A R A K A D E S C R I B E D . 27

as a Catholic priest, has ministered to the spirit-ual and social wants of the northwestern tribesfor many years,—and only fourteen miles fromClear Fork, the traveler comes suddenly uponthe two Piney Forks of Clear Fork of PowderRiver.

Here exhaustless supplies of pine and all affili-ated trees gather about the mountain sides andcrawl down even to the islands of the largerFork, where access is easy and convenient; whilethe abundant game, the local supremacy of thesituation and its relations to the predominatinglodge trails of the country, have made this imme-diate region the theater of active Indian hostili-ties from the time of its first occupation.

Peno Creek , Goose Creek , Tongue River ,Rotten Grass Creek, Little Big Horn, and BigHorn Rivers succeed, each with bright tributa-ries; and so, stream succeeds stream as far as thegreat mountain gates through which the travelerenters the rich Gallatin Valley and finds himselfin Montana proper.

Nearly parallel , but distant from twelve totwenty-five miles northward from the Big Hornrange, are Mauvais Terres, or “Bad Lands,” whoseconical hills and irregular outlines present all thedesolate features of old volcanic debris; and whenseen from some commanding point, appear to behopelessly barren of good, either to man orbeast.

28 A B S A R A K A .

And yet, all the rivers above named, and manyothers, boldly cut their way through these ob-structions, and gather upon their borders richfringes of vegetation and many elements of fu-ture development and profit.

The valleys of these streams greatly vary inwidth and scope; that of the Big Horn rangingfrom fifteen to twenty miles, and that of TongueRiver covering nearly twice that area after it re-ceives the contributions of Goose Creek and itsother mountain feeders.

The region of country embraced within thisoutline, including the Upper Yellowstone and alleast of Black Foot and Clark Passes, graspsmore area of land than most of the large Statesor Territories; and with all its natural connec-tions with Montana and Dakota, possesses anindividual status that must eventually give it in-dependence of each.

N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y A N D C L I M A T E . 29

C H A P T E R I I I .

T H E N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y A N D C L I M A T E O F A B S A R A K A .

T H E agricultural features of Absaraka havehad incidental notice, but not sufficiently to ad-vise a stranger of their real merit.

Wild wheat and oats abound in all the mainvalleys: both are grateful to stock, and sustainthem well. The grasses are very heavy, so thatin the summer of 1866 they were almost too re-sistant for easy use of machinery, and so thickthat a horse could not be trotted rapidly in thebottom lands of Goose Creek and Tongue River.

Grasshoppers now and then made a visit, com-ing in clouds, like the drifting smoke of a prairiefire; but they failed to destroy the great grassregion. Still they are no insignificant enemy,and a literal statement of their dense masses, putin the most guarded manner, would seem likethe tale of a Munchausen or Gulliver. Theycover a blade of grass until it bends to the earth.They cover horse and rider, ruthlessly dashingat, every exposed part of the face or breast. Theypass over with a rush, like the night roar of thecascades of the Pineys; and they shield the eyeso that you can look the sun in the face as though

3*

30 A B S A R A K A .

a light flirt of snow had crossed its disk. Andyet they are so subject to the mastery of themountain winds, whose currents are as constantas they are fickle, that they quickly change theirplace of labor and again renew it in other fieldsof freshness and beauty.

The soil of the valleys is, in the main, a rich,deep loam, well adapted for vegetables, and inthat climate for cereals; but alternate late andearly frosts seem combined to refuse to corn afair chance with other grain, while on the otherhand barley, so grateful to mules, could seek nobetter region for its best development.

While rain, other than the dripping skirts ofsome mountain shower, is rare as diamonds, thenumberless dashing streams, tributary to thegreat flows, present such ready means of irriga-tion that small labor and expense would applythem to all desired uses. Besides this, the deepsnows of the winter season long leave the effectsof their fertilizing agency, and when the autumnhas turned all general vegetation from green tobrown, the side hills will still be spotted withverdant places, where the l ingering snow hadlast struggled, as if to contend with the sum-mer’s sun, for mastery of the grass it had giftedwith such precocious life and protracted vigor.

Of wild fruit there is great variety. Raspber-r ies , s trawberries, gooseberries, red currants ,p lums , che r r i e s , and rock g rapes a re among

N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y A N D C L I M A T E . 31

the number . The co t tonwood- t rees a re o f tenfestooned with the vine of the hop, which heregives forth i ts product in such profusion andperfection, as will find no rival in the cultivatedacres of Eastern New York.

The pine and hemlock, the spruce and balsam,the cottonwood and ash, and willow are some ofthe trees which are ready of access and ample insupply for the demands of generations.

The climate is invigorating and healthful.There is no dew; and sickness is so rare, that fordays in succession, during the constant labor andexposure of 1866, no soldiers attended the stateddaily sick call, and the hospital itself was mo-nopolized by cases of surgery only.

The summer temperature rarely exceeds ninety,and the nights are always cool and refreshing.Few take cold; and from July 15th, 1866, toJanuary 15th, 1867, the barometer changed fromfair, or very dry, only at the advent of windssweeping from the snow mountains, and at onestorm of mixed rain and snow, near the date ofthe autumnal equinox.

The field of natural history is rich beyond allp recedent . The v ic in i ty of P iney Forks andTongue River is in the very heart of the gamecountry. It is, as between several tribes, a semi-neu t ra l and genera l hun t ing-ground . I t i s agreat thoroughfare for migration to and fromthe Arkansas, and the hills in front and rear of

32 A B S A R A K A .

Fort Philip Kearney are seamed and scarred bycountless trails, where the Indian poneys havedragged lodge poles in their periodical or otherchanges of habitation and hunting.

The antipathy of the Indian to its occupationby the white man is very intense and bitter.The ra t t l e o f the mower , the whis t le o f thesteam saw-mill, the felling of timber, the quickrise of stockade and substantial warehouses andquarters, are such sure signs of permanent pos-session, that they lose no opportunity to steal orkill when they can do so with comparative im-punity. Yet the game still clings to its favoritehaunts, and the Indian must press upon the stepsof the white man or lose all hope of future inde-pendence. Herds of elk proudly stand with erectantlers, as if charmed by the morning music ofgarrison guard parade, or as if curious to under-stand this strange inroad upon their long se-cluded parks of pleasure. The mountain sheeplook down from the beetling crags that skirt theperpendicular northern face of the Big HornMountains, and yield to no rival their claims toexcellence for food. The black and white taildeer and the antelope are ever present; whilethe hare and the rabbit, the sage hen and prairiechicken, are nearly trodden down before theyyield to the intrusion of the stranger. Brant,wild geese and ducks multiply and people thewaters of Lake Smedt, and are found in nearly

N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y A N D C L I M A T E . 33

the same profusion all along the streams underthe Big Horn Mountains; while the grizzly andcinnamon bear, not unseldom, give up their livesand their rich material for the table, when, inthe pursuit of wild plums and other fruit, theyare crossed by the hunter and are dropped byhis rifle. Last, and largest, and numberless, thebuffalo, with tens of thousands in a herd, sweepback and forth, filling the valleys as far as theeye can reach , and adding the i r weigh t andnumbers to the other substantial claims of thered man to entitle this same Absaraka, “TH E I R

LAST AND BEST HUNTING-GROUNDS.”

The Big Horn River and its branches, as wellas the streams beyond, are plentifully suppliedwith trout, the mountain pike, and other valua-ble fish, and thus complete the complement ofsupplies with which the country is so generouslyprovided.

Innumerable wolves do indeed pierce the nightair with their howls; but like the beaver, whosedams incumber all the smaller streams, and theotter, they are forced to yield their winter cover-ing for those nice coats and caps, those mits andblankets and leggings, which make men gladwhen zero is often reached, or the mercury calmlycongeals in the bulb.

And yet, with the intervals of extreme coldand protracted snow, there is comparatively littlesuffering, unless from scurvy, when antiscor-

34 A B S A R A K A .

butics are scarce, or men are careless, and rheu-matism attends peculiar exposure. The drysnows,when in real earnest, penetrate every crevice,and drift about every obstruction. Valleys andgulches are filled, and travel is tedious or inabeyance; but the winter has i ts pleasures noless than the summer, and but for the hostilityof the red man, the upper garrisons of that linewould hardly exchange their posts for any otheron the frontier.

The mineral field imparts some of its peculiarcontributions to the stores of Absaraka. Goldcolor is given in nearly all the streams, as alreadyonce indicated. Whether the sources of thosestreams will ever equal Montana precedents, mustremain for the hard labor or good chance of theadventurer, or the skill and patience of someenterprising savant , to determine. The BlackHills, east of Fort Reno, have indications thatpromise rich returns of labor, and the LowerPowder River has been l e f t unoccup ied byminers only because of the hostility of BuffaloTongue and other Indians who infest its valley.The few excursions of a geological and scientificcharacter, made in 1866, were almost alwaysrestricted in range and results by the exposureinvolved, and the absolute impossibility of pro-curing escort from small and hard worked com-mands. Small samples of lead and silver werefound, but these and gold will have to be worked

N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y A N D C L I M A T E . 35

for. Nei ther will o f t e n be s tumbled upon bytreasure seekers; neither will they roll theirofferings to the feet of idlers to solicit the ap-propriation of their pounds and ounces.

Coal is exhaustless. It can be found all alongthe route from Powder River to the Upper Yel-lows tone , and the red bu t tes which do t thecountry for miles northward are grand reposi-tories of the same article. Lignite and the lowergrades of wood coal are the prevailing type; buta vein was opened close to Fort Philip Kearney,soon after its establishment, in 1866, which wasadvantageously used in welding of iron, and willprove no less valuable for winter fires.

Limestone is attainable from the mountain,although somewhat difficult of transportation atpresent. Clay is abundant, and of such qualityas to make a firm plaster coating upon simpleexposure to the sun.

While the discoloration of the red buttes hasbeen traced to the presence of iron, and it is alsofound in many of the sands, no ores have yetbeen exposed, nor have indications been made ofits presence in any available supply. All otherbuilding materials are plentiful , and the tallp ines fu rn i sh c lea r lumber o f any requ i redlength or breadth, without a knot or blemishto mar their uniformity or beauty. Where someIndian fire has spread and struck a forest, so asto benumb its growth, the house builder finds his

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