Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 26.djvu/140

 chief of the Bows, who then repeated it to the entire assemblage, that the great chief of the French desired that all his children should live peacefully and had ordered us to carry peace to all nations, wishing to see the whole world calm and peaceful; that, knowing their anger to be aroused with good cause, I bowed my head in submission and we would accompany them, since they desired it so urgently, to aid them merely with advice, in case they required it. They thanked us effusively and went through long ceremonies with the calumet.

We continued to march on until January 8th. On the 9th we left the village. I left my brother to guard our baggage, which was in the lodge of the Bow chief. The larger part of the men were on horseback, advancing in good order. At last, on the twelfth day, we reached the mountains. They are for the most part thickly-wooded with all kinds of wood and appear very high.

After approaching the main part of the village of the Snake tribe, the scouts returned to inform us that they (the Snakes) had all fled in great haste and had abandoned their huts and a large part of their belongings. This report brought terror to everyone, for it was feared that the enemy, having discovered them, had gone to fall upon their villages and would reach them before they, themselves, could arrive to defend them. The chief of the Bows did what he could to persuade them to the contrary and to prevail upon them to continue. No one would listen to him. "It is very annoying," he told me, "to have brought you to this point and not'be able to go further."

I was exceedingly vexed not to be able to ascend the mountains, as I had hoped to do. We determined therefore to return. We had come so far in good order, but the return was very differenet, each one going his own way. Our horses, although good, were very tired and had few opportunities to feed. I went in company with the chief of the Bows, while my two Frenchmen followed