Page:The Prairie Flower; Or, Adventures In the Far West.djvu/36

 pouches under

our left arms. In the latter we can-led flint and stee, and small etceteras of va rious kinds, that had been mentioned as being useful where we procured our tit-out. Among other things, we had taken care to secure plenty of ammunition, tobacco and

Sipes, together with an extra supply of ap- urel for the cold regions toward which we were journeying, all of which were .igly stowed away in our. large buffalo skin wallets called by the trappers " pos sibles," or " possible sacks " which were either attached to or thrown across our saddles.

In the description just given, I have been speaking of our party alone namely, Huntly, Teddy and myself without re gard to the trappers, who were costumed and equipped much like ourselves, with the exception that instead of horses their ani mals were mules; and in place of one apiece, they had three. They, however, were bound on a regular trapping expedi tion, and carried their traps with them, and took along their mules for furs; while we, going merely on adventure and not speculation, had only taken the animals upon which we rode. Our horses and appendages, what we had, were ail of the finest description; and our long, silver-mounted rifles drew many a wistful look from our newly made companions. In joining them, our chief object was to learn their habits and customs in the wilderness, before we ventured forth upon our own resources; and by being somewhat liberal in supplying them with tobacco and many small things of great value to the trapper, we secured their friendship and favor at once.

The trapper of the Rocky Mountains is a singular being. Like the boatman of the river, the sailor of the ocean, or the scout of the forest, he has peculiar characteris tics, both as regards manners and dialect. Constantly exposed to danger and hardship, he becomes reckless of the one and indiffer ent to the other. His whole life, from be ginning to end. is a constaat succession of perilous adventures; *^. f l sc. infatuated does lie become with the exciU*nent attendant upon these, that, confine {-..-::: in a settle ment, and he would literd-j' pine to death for his free mountain air md liberty to roam as he lists.

There is no polish, no sickly, sentimen tal refinement in his manners and conver sation but, on the contrary, all is rude, rough, blunt, and to the point. When he says a thing, he means it; and, in general, has but little deceit. With death he be comes so familiar, that all fear of the dread king of mortality is lost. True, he oling to life with great tenacity but then there is no whimpering and whining at his fate. When he finds his time has come to go, he stands up like a man, and takes the result with the stoicism of a martyr. He is fre quently a great boaster, and, like the sail or, delights in narrating strange tales of his wonderful advenUires and hairbreadth escapes. In his outward behavior, he is often sullen and morose; but, as a general thing, his heart is in the right place. He will kill and scalp an Indian foe, with the same indifference and delight that he would shoot a bear or deer and yet you may trust your life and money in his hands with perfect safety. In fact, I may say, that his whole composition is a strange compound of odds and ends of inexplicable incon. gruities of good and evil.

Until within the last few days, I had never seen a trapper; and of course he was to me and my companions as great an object of curiosity, as would have been the aborigine himself. The four which we had joined, were genuine, bona fide speci mens of the mountaineers. Each had seen much service, had been more or less upon trapping expeditions, and one had actually grown gray in the hardy life of the wilder ness. Each had trapped on his own account and for others, and had scoured the coun try from the upper regions of Oregon to the Mexican latitude from the States to the Pacific ocean. They were acquainted with the land in every direction knew all the regularly organized fur companies all the trading forts and stations and conse quently wore just the men to initiate us into ali the peculiarities of the wilderness, all the mysteries of the trapper's life, and excite our marvellous propensities by their startling and wonderful tales. They glo ried in the soubriquets of Black George, Rash Will, Fiery Ned, and Daring Tom appellations which had been bestowed on them for some peculiar look in their pri sons, or trait in their char