On the banks of this river Captain Bonneville was so fortunate as to
come upon a buffalo trail. Following it up, he entered the defile, where
he remained encamped for two days to allow the hunters time to kill and
dry a supply of buffalo beef. In this sheltered defile the weather was
moderate and grass was already sprouting more than an inch in height.
There was abundance, too, of the salt weed which grows most plentiful
in clayey and gravelly barrens. It resembles pennyroyal, and derives its
name from a partial saltness. It is a nourishing food for the horses
in the winter, but they reject it the moment the young grass affords
sufficient pasturage.
On the 6th of March, having cured sufficient meat, the party resumed
their march, and moved on with comparative ease, excepting where they
had to make their way through snow-drifts which had been piled up by the
wind.
On the 11th, a small cloud of smoke was observed rising in a deep part
of the defile. An encampment was instantly formed and scouts were
sent out to reconnoitre. They returned with intelligence that it was a
hunting party of Flatheads, returning from the buffalo range laden with
meat. Captain Bonneville joined them the next day, and persuaded them
to proceed with his party a few miles below to the caches, whither he
proposed also to invite the Nez Perces, whom he hoped to find somewhere
in this neighborhood. In fact, on the 13th, he was rejoined by that
friendly tribe who, since he separated from them on Salmon River, had
likewise been out to hunt the buffalo, but had continued to be haunted
and harassed by their old enemies the Blackfeet, who, as usual, had
contrived to carry off many of their horses.
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