The snow lay in a thin crust along the banks of the river, so that their
travelling was much more easy than it had been hitherto. There were
foot tracks, also, made by the natives, which greatly facilitated their
progress. Occasionally, they met the inhabitants of this wild region;
a timid race, and but scantily provided with the necessaries of life.
Their dress consisted of a mantle about four feet square, formed
of strips of rabbit skins sewed together; this they hung over their
shoulders, in the ordinary Indian mode of wearing the blanket. Their
weapons were bows and arrows; the latter tipped with obsidian, which
abounds in the neighborhood. Their huts were shaped like haystacks, and
constructed of branches of willow covered with long grass, so as to
be warm and comfortable. Occasionally, they were surrounded by small
inclosures of wormwood, about three feet high, which gave them
a cottage-like appearance. Three or four of these tenements were
occasionally grouped together in some wild and striking situation, and
had a picturesque effect. Sometimes they were in sufficient number
to form a small hamlet. From these people, Captain Bonneville's party
frequently purchased salmon, dried in an admirable manner, as were
likewise the roes. This seemed to be their prime article of food; but
they were extremely anxious to get buffalo meat in exchange.
The high walls and rocks, within which the travellers had been so long
inclosed, now occasionally presented openings, through which they were
enabled to ascend to the plain, and to cut off considerable bends of the
river.
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