Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/114



set in. And soon Reed's men returned reporting it imiDossible to descend tlie river by land or water. Tlien altering tlieir plans it was agreed that Hunt, with eighteen men, Dorion and his family, should follow down the right bank of the river and Crooks and the remainder of the party should follow down the left bank of the river, and in that way possibly get some food from Indians on either side. The pack of each man to carry was now reduced to twenty pounds, with not more than seven and a half pounds of food to the man, while yet a thousand miles lay between them and Astoria.

The record of the trials and sufferings of these men slowly toiling along through sage brush, over rocks, sand and a trackless desert without chart or guide is one that can scarcely be considered possible. Often they suffered for water, although the water in the boiling river lay below them behind perpendic- ular walls of rock. Occasionally they could get a few dried fish from half starved Indians, or a dog or skeleton horse. Anything and everything to sustain life was food to them as they toiled along with torn moccasins and bleeding feet making sometimes thirty miles and again only three miles a day — sleeping with- out shelter on the bare ground under rocks or trees, anywhere — and to all this was added the distress of the cold rains and snows of bleak December days. One morning about a month after Crooks and Hunt had separated, Hunt heard feeble cries across the river and looking up beheld the emaciated form of Crooks on the other side of the river begging for food. Crooks and his men had been reduced to the verge of cannibalism. They had lived on the carcass of one beaver for days. On the carcass of a dog for other days. Had eaten all the wild berries to be found and finally eaten their moccasins. A boat was hastily improvised out of a horse hide stretched over willow sprouts and food was sent across the river to the starving men. One of the men desired to return with the boat and was taken in ; but as he neared the shore the sight of cooking food upset his mind and with a gibberish laugh and shouf he toppled out of the boat and was drowned. Crooks had gone down the Snake river canyon as far as it was possible for men to go and had been compelled to retrace his steps when he was thus discovered by Hunt. On hearing this report from Crooks, Hunt resolved to turn back. This he did. Crooks still keeping on the west side of the river. Both parties then returned up the river to a point afterwards known as "Olds Perry," a picture of which is given on another page, and where many thousands of immigrants in after years crossed over to Oregon, Here they found an In-' dian camp and set to work to get their aid to help or show the way to the Colum- bia river. An Indian was found that could act as a guide, but he was loth to make the venture. Every argument and inducement that could be thought of was offered him for his services, but nothing seemed to move him. They would furnish horses to carry the party over^ the first ridge of mountains, but no guide would go. Finally Hunt offered a blanket full of trinkets, three knives, two horses for the guide, a gun and a pistol. The guide was the poorest man in his tribe. To accept this offer he would be at once the richest man in the tribe. Filthy lucre was too great a temptation, and the barbarian yielded and became the guide, led the famishing party of explorers through the valleys of what is now Baker county,' through the beautiful Grande Ronde valley, over the Blue mountains, and reaching the grassy slopes of sunshine of the Umatillas on the 8th of January, 1812 — and the Hunt party was saved — saved by the red man.