starting occasionally when the feet of my horse would slip on a stone, and one side of him would slide rapidly toward the edge of the precipice; but I always recovered myself by a desperate effort, and it was fortunate for me that I did so."

The party continued its march for several days through this rugged and inhospitable region, coming into occasional contact with parties of the Snake Indians, and subsisting on the kamas, a kind of root resembling the potato, which is found in the prairie; on cherries, berries, and small fruit, which they found growing on bushes; and an occasional chance prize of animal food. "At about daylight on the morning of the 20th, having charge of the last guard of the night, I observed a beautiful, sleek little colt, of about four months old, trot into the camp, whinnying with great apparent pleasure, and dancing and curveting gayly among our sober and sedate band. I had no doubt that he had strayed from Indians, who were probably in the neighborhood; but as here every animal that comes near us is fair game, and as we were hungry, not having eaten any thing of consequence since yesterday morning, I thought the little stranger would make a good breakfast for

us.

Concluding, however, that it would be best. for us to act advisedly in the matter, I put my head into Captain Wyeth's tent, and telling him

the news, made the proposition which had occurred to me. The Captain's reply was encouraging enough-'Down with him, if you please, Mr. Townsend, and let us have him for breakfast.' Accordingly, in five minutes afterward, a bullet sealed the fate of the unfortunate visitor, and my men were set to work, making fires and rummaging out the long-neglected stew-pans, while I engaged myself at once and with very considerable vigor in flaying the little animal, and cutting up his body in readiness for the pots.

"When the camp was aroused, about an hour after, the savory steam of the cookery was rising and saluting the nostrils of our hungry people with its fragrance, who, rubbing their hands with delight, sat themselves down upon the ground, waiting with what patience they might for the unexpected repast which was preparing for them. It was to me almost equal to a good breakfast to witness the pleasure and satisfaction which I had been the means of diffusing through the camp. The repast was ready at length, and we did full justice to it; every man ate till he was filled, and all pronounced it one of the most delicious meals they had ever assisted in demolishing. When our breakfast was concluded, but little of the colt remained; that little was, however, carefully packed up and de

posited on one of the horses, to furnish at least a portion of another meal.

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"In the afternoon of the same day, after a long march, we procured three small salmon from some Indians who were fishing on the Mallade river; and these, cooked along with a grouse, a beaver, and the remains of the pony, made a very savory mess. While we were eating, we were visited by a Snake chief, a large and powerful man, of a peculiarly-dignified aspect and manner. He was naked, with the exception of a small blanket, which covered his shoulders, and descended to the middle of the back, being fastened around the neck with a silver skewer. As it was pudding time with us, our visitor was of course invited to sit down and eat; and he, nothing loth, deposited himself at once upon the ground, and made a remarkablyvigorous assault upon the mixed contents of the dish. He had not eaten long, however, before we perceived a sudden and inexplicable change in his countenance, which was instantly followed by a violent ejectment of a huge mouthful of our luxurious fare. The man rose slowly and with great dignity to his feet, and pronouncing the single word shekum-horse-in a tone of mingled anger and disgust, stalked rapidly out of the camp, not even wishing us a good evening. It struck me as a singular instance of ac

curacy and discrimination in the organs of taste. We had been eating of the multifarious compound without being able to recognize by the taste a single ingredient which it contained; a stranger came among us, who did not know, when he commenced eating, that the dish was formed of more than one item, and yet in less than five minutes he discovered one of the very least of its component parts."

The neighborhood of these Snake Indians was not very agreeable, for many reasons. Mr. Townsend paid a visit to their camp, and the description he gives of it does not lead one to conceive a high idea of savage life. "Early in the morning," he says, "I strolled into the Snake camp. It consists of about thirty lodges or wigwams, formed generally of branches of trees tied together in conic summit, and covered with buffalo, deer, or elk skins. Men and little children were lolling about the ground all around the wigwams, together with a heterogeneous assemblage of dogs, cats, some tamed prairie wolves, and other varmints. The dogs growled and snapped when I approached, the wolves cowered and looked cross, and the cats ran away and hid themselves in dark corners. They had not been accustomed to the face of a white man, and all the quadrupeds seemed to regard me as some monstrous production, more to be feared

than loved or courted. This dislike, however, did not appear to extend to the bipeds, for many of every age and sex gathered around me, and seemed to be examining me critically in all directions. The men looked complacently at me, the women, the dear creatures, smiled upon me, and the little naked, pot-bellied children crawled around my feet, examining the fashion of my hard shoes, and playing with the long fringes of my leathern inexpressibles. But I scarcely know how to commence a description of the camp, or to frame a sentence which will give an adequate idea of the extreme filth and horrific nastiness of the whole vicinity.

"Immediately as I entered the village, my olfactories were assailed by the most vile and mephitic odors, which I found to proceed chiefly from great piles of salmon entrails and garbage, which were lying festering and rotting in the sun around the very doors of the habitations. Fish, recent and half-dried, were scattered all over the ground under the feet of the dogs, wolves, and children; and others which had been split, were hanging on rude platforms, erected within the precincts of the camp. Some of the women were making their breakfast of the great red salmon eggs, as large as peas, and using a wooden spoon to convey them to their mouths. Occasionally, also, by way of varying