Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 11.djvu/270

 248 T. C. Elliott. a letter from the Governor appointing me charge this place for the winter. Mr. Ogden takes my place as chief of Snake Expedition. Sat. nth Dec. Finished equipping" the Snake hunters. Monday 20th. Statement of men under Mr. Ogden to go to the Snake Country. 25 lodges, 2 gentlemen, 2 inter- preters, 71 men and lads, 80 guns, 364 beaver traps 372 horses. This is the most formidable party that ever set out for the Snakes, and Snake Expedition took its departure. Each beaver trap last year in the Snake Country averaged 26 beav- ers. Was expected this hunt will be 14100 beaver. Mr. Dears goes as far as Prairie de Chevroux." Their course was through the valley of the Bitter Root river, passing by the mouth of Hell Gate canyon, the present site of Missoula. The next word we have of him is when John Work in- scribes in his Journal at Okanogan on July 26th, 1825 : "A little past noon an Indian arrived from Spokane with a note from Mr. Birnie and a packet which had recently reached that place from Mr. Ogden dated East Branch of the Missouri 10th July. * * * A series of misfortunes have attended the party from shortly after their departure and on the 24th of May they fell in with a party of Americans when twenty- three of the former deserted. Two of this party were killed, one by the Indians and one by accident, and the remainder of the party are now coming out by the Flat Heads." This fixes for the first time, as far as known to the writer, the date of an unprofessional proceeding on the part of a band of trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, then controlled by Gen. Wm. H. Ashley, of St. Louis. By distributing liquor among Ogden's men a general desertion was brought about, but this was apologized for a year or so later, as other jour- nals show. The H. B. Co. did not then allow liquor and cards to be carried by their men or used in their camps ; the only drinking allowed was at times of festivity or "regale". But the Americans were much more free and easy. Mr. Ogden did not come out by way of the Flathead Post after all but by way of the Snake River route, already estab-