Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/375

 DOCUMENTS 367 Five of my men were in camp. Some soon arrived & we put ourselves in a state of defence and made pens for our horses. The men scanned the hills in vain for the enemy. Three Cayuse Indians with us found poor L'Etang and the slave mur- dered, stripped and the latter scalped. Baptiste was still alive. They brought him to camp through the dark. He is wounded but not dangerously and gives the following account of the melancholy occurrence. The four were ascending a steep hill afoot leading their horses and not paying attention to the sides of the road when Indians started up from the long grass and fired then rushed and seized him but not before he discharged his gun and killed one. He called on the slave to fire when the Indians rushed upon the latter and killed him. In the interim Baptiste ran to cover in a tuft of willows where he hid till the Cayuse found him, gun powder horn and shot pouch were torn from him. L'Etang made no defence. The slave killed one when he fired and it was his struggle enabled B to escape. ^Thomas was not wounded. His pursuers were near taking him but heard Kanota's rifle fired at a deer. The Indians made off without taking time to mangle the bodies as they are wont to do scalping only the slave. The enemy consisted of 20 men their motive to get horses and arms. Another man, F. Cham- paign had a narrow escape. They stole 3 of his traps. These men risked (?) themselves but the Snakes being ahead, it was thought the Blackft would hang on the rear. Payette and 12 men interred our unfortunate companions. 4 men arrived from Reid's River with 27 beaver ; 42 beaver this day from our own river. Sold L'Etang's property by auction. Tuesday 28. Encamped on Sickly River where it received the Camas Plain River." Country rugged and barren. Black- feet tracks are observed prowling about camp. Saturday, 2 Oct. Marched N by E to Muskeg Swamp where the N. fork of Sickly River has its source. 12 A party of Snakes 1 1 years ago took 300 beaver in 2 encampments here. Few beaver are here now driven by fire & destroyed by some 11 At the hot springs about eight miles west of Stanton in Elaine County, Idaho; present site of Magic Reservoir of U. S. Reclamation Service. 12 The North Fork of the Malade would be the Little Wood River of today.