set apart by elder hyde for our special mission—blessing conferred on the writer—discontent in camp—unity again prevails—start on our journey—warned at green river to go no farther—not deterred from performing our mission—proceed on our journey—futile chase after buffalo—scarcity of water—a welcome snow storm—reach the camp of washakie, the shoshone chief—received with caution—tell the chief the object of our visit—give him bread and sugar—boiled buffalo for an epicure—indian powwow called—proceedings at the council—objection to one of our propositions, which we were not annoyed at—recital of how government agents sought to supplant washakie as chief—washakie a great orator.
another meeting was held on the 10th of may, and elder hyde preached again. then he called on those who had been selected for the mission, told us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, to be cautious and do all the good that we could to the red men, and said that god would bless us. he also said, "i do not know which to appoint for the leader, brother brown or brother bullock. they are both good men, but as brother bullock is the eldest, he may have more experience." he then blessed us, and promised me in my blessing that angels should go before me, the visions of the lord should be open to my view, and no weapon that was raised against me should prosper, but that i should go forth in the power and demonstration of the lord god, and be mighty in gathering israel. then he further instructed the party, and turned again to me, pronouncing more blessings in line with those he had given. elder hyde then started on his return trip home, and we prepared ourselves as speedily as consistent for our expedition into a country mostly unknown to us.
april 11th and 12th were blustery, and there was snow. a reaction of spirit took place among the brethren of the camp, or probably it would be more proper to say that another spirit came upon the camp—a spirit of great discontent. for a time it seemed as if it would break up the mission, but finally it was overcome, and all went well again.
on the 13th of april we set out on our journey, and went to green river the first day, through rain and sleet part of the time. at green river we found about thirty of the roughest kind of mountain men, engaged in drinking, gambling and carousing. some frenchmen, mexicans or "greasers," indians, half-breeds, and some americans of a low class, associated there, and insisted on us dining with them, and were very hospitable. they warned us not to venture any farther in the direction that we were going, saying that if we did so we would not return alive—that there would not be a "grease spot" left of us. this statement corresponded with what we had heard before, yet it did not deter us. there were in the crowd, joshua terry, also four spaniards from the west, bound for taos, new mexico. they joined us, and we crossed the river, which was so deep that it was all that we possibly could do to ford it. the venture was harder than we expected it to be, but we succeeded, and struck out for the head of bitter creek, via pilot butte, making all the distance consistent with the condition of our animals. when we reached bitter creek, we followed up to the head, then bore to the southeast, crossing a high, dry country, for two days without water, then came in sight of a small herd of buffalo.
the mexicans, with ward and davis, gave chase to the herd, while bullock and i kept on our course with the pack animals, guided across the plains by mountain peaks and openings in the range of mountains. the hunters did not rejoin us until the latter part of the next day. they succeeded in killing one poor buffalo bull, and were so thirsty that they opened the tripe and drank the liquid it contained, to save their lives, for they were so far gone as not to be able to bring any portion of the carcass to camp. that day we came across a shallow pool of water, where we rested a short time.
we had been told that by crossing the country in the direction we were going we would be sure to strike the indian trail leading in toward the headwaters of the platte river; consequently we continued on till we came to the main divide between the waters of the east and the west. there joshua terry and the spaniards parted with us, and we kept along on the divide, or summit of the rocky mountains, between the platte and the rio grande, while they passed over. that night we camped on the divide, and had a snowstorm on us, in which we were fortunate, as by that means we obtained water for ourselves and animals. the next day we struck the trail of a few indians, and by following it up five or six miles reached another trail which it ran into. this we continued to follow until 3 p.m., when we came to the camp of washakie, the shoshone indian chief.
the first indian we met would not speak when we accosted him. he shook his head, and pointed to the chief's lodge. that spirit of "mum" seemed to pervade the entire camp, and when we rode up in front of the chief's lodge, that indian dignitary came out, bowed, and shook hands with each one of us, but without uttering a word. by gestures he invited us to dismount, come in, sit down, and tell the truth regarding our errand to his camp, but no lies. then he had some clean, nice robes spread for us. at the same time his women folks came out, taking our horses by the bits. we dismounted, and took seats as invited. the chief and ourselves were all "mum" until the horses had been unsaddled, and everything belonging to us had been put under the bottom of the lodge, just to the rear of where we sat.
these proceedings being over, the chief said: "who are you, from where do you come, and what is your errand to my country?" then, by gestures, he said, "tell me the truth; do not tell me any lies, nor talk any crooked talk." here he paused, and, by motions, invited us to reply.
we told him we were mormons, from the salt lake country, sent by the big mormon captain, to make the acquaintance of him and his people, that we might talk and be friendly with them, as we wished them to be friendly with us and with all good people, as also with all the indian tribes, for we all had one peap (father), and it was not pleasing to him to see his children nabitink (fight). we said the great father had told our chief many things about all the indian tribes, and one part of our business was to learn better the indian dialects, manners and customs, so that we could tell the indians what the great spirit had told our big captain about them. another part was to warn them that it would not be many snows before the game of their country would be killed off or disappear, and we wished to tell them, and to show them how to till the earth, and raise stock, and build houses, like the white man did, so that when the game was all gone their wives and children would not starve to death. we said that some of us might want to come out into his country and marry some of their good daughters and rear families by them. we would educate them, so they could read some good books that we had, and from them they could learn more about the great father, or spirit.
washakie sat and listened very attentively until we were through, when he said, "wait a while. my little children are very hungry for some of the white man's food, and they want some sugar."
at that we gave him all the bread and sugar we had. he passed it to his wife, who in turn distributed it to the hungry little ones. then, without another word, the chief walked out, but soon returned. his wife then set a camp kettle partly filled with buffalo beef that had been partially dried.
if i should tell the stranger to indian customs how it was seasoned, i doubt not he would say. "i could not eat of such food. i know i should starve to death first." but stop, my friend, do not be too positive about that. these indians have a custom among them that when they kill a buffalo they skin it, leaving the carcass on the hide; then they slice the flesh in long strips, remove the bones, turn the contents of the tripe over the meat, thoroughly knead or mix it all through the beef, and, with a slight shake, hang the meat on a horse rope or lay it on some sticks for a few hours; then they put it into a camp kettle and boil it, when it is ready for their guests. such was part of the life on the great western plains in 1854.
supper over, the council of the camp began to file in; the pipe was lit, and a rude figure of some of the planets drawn in the ashes of the fire that occupied the center of the lodge. then the old man sitting on the left of the chief held the pipe, we having been seated on the right of the chief. the latter commenced, and told the story of our visit, from the time we came into the lodge up to that moment. it was told without interruption, and then the pipe was started on its way, following the course of the sun. every man except the one holding the pipe put his hand over his mouth, and sat perfectly silent and still. the one with the pipe took from one to three long draws, allowing the smoke from the last one to escape gradually through his nostrils, at the same time passing the pipe with his right hand to the next person; then, if he had anything to say, he did it in as few words as possible, and put his hand over his mouth, thus signifying that he had no more to say. occasionally some old man, when he took the pipe, made some signs above and in front of him, struck himself on the breast and offered a few words of prayer. thus the pipe was whiffed by all the indians of the council, and was then passed into the hands of the white men, who, in turn, took a whiff as a vow of peace and friendship. then the pipe went to the chief, who glanced around the circle, and, as every man's hand was over his mouth, the chief summed up the subject in a few words, but always to the point. there being no appeal from this decision, it is usual at the conclusion of councils for some one present to walk through the camp and cry aloud that portion intended for the public, or if it is an order for the whole camp, they get it in the same way. this crier was called the high ranger of the camp.
in our case, the only objection that was raised to our proposition was when we suggested that some of us might want to take some of the young indian women for wives. one old and wise counselor said, "no, for we have not got daughters enough for our own men, and we cannot afford to give our daughters to the white man, but we are willing to give him an indian girl for a white girl. i cannot see why a white man wants an indian girl. they are dirty, ugly, stubborn and cross, and it is a strange idea for white men to want such wives. but i can see why an indian wants a white woman." then the old man drew a graphic picture of the contrast he was making, and we gave up that point without pursuing our suit farther. chief washakie, however, said the white men might look around, and if any one of us found a girl that would go with him, it would be all right, but the indians must have the same privilege among the white men. with this the council ended.
at that time washakie told us that only a few snows before then he was chief of all the shoshones, and the indians acknowledged him as such, but he was called to fort laramie, to have a talk with the agents of the big father at washington, and to receive blankets and many other things. there the agents called a quiet, unobtrusive man, who never had been a chief, nor was in the line of chiefs, and designated him as head of the shoshones, telling the indians they must have him as chief, and respect him as such, and that they, the agents, would recognize him in that position, and through him they would do all government business. then the agents passed out a great quantity of blankets and other indian goods, through their appointed chief. in this act, the indians saw that the agents had chosen a favorite of their own, so the red men called him "tavendu-wets" (the white man's child), but never recognized him as chief.
that act of the government agents was the opening wedge to divide the shoshone tribe into discontented factions, and thereby weaken it. possibly that was the purpose in view, for before that the tribe was very powerful, with a chief at their head unexcelled for bravery, skill and farsightedness. chief washakie was a bold, noble, hospitable, and honorable man. as an orator, i think he surpassed any man i ever met.
