George Bird Grinnell

“ He was a handsome fellow, with a glossy black back, relieved by white shoulder knots and wearing a satiny cap of red. He was also an energetic worker, but liked frequent intervals of rest.
He hammered away on the wood as if his life depended on it, making the chips fly this way and that, but when he secured the grub that his keen ear told him was concealed there and had swallowed it, he would sit still for some moments as if considering its excellent flavor. ”

“ I should have laughed myself to death if I hadn’t been so scared,” said Jack.
“Yes,” said Joe, “he must be powerful strong. I should have thought that that man could have eaten White Bull up in a minute. He must be powerful strong; I should hate to have him get angry with me.”
“That’s the wonderful thing about Hugh,” Jack went on, “that he makes people do whatever he wants ’em to. Of course, we do what he tells us to, because we know that he knows what’s right, but he makes other people do what he tells them. ”

“ Over the slide rock fallen from their cliffs the wild sheep had beaten out paths and trails zigzagging from the valley below to the heights above. On the lower wooded slopes the elk browsed in spring and fall, climbing high above the timber at the season when the flies were bad, and again when snows fell at the approach of winter, working their way down toward the lower lands and the foothills of the prairie. ”

“ There is a wonderful fascination in penetrating a new country, in placing one’s foot where perhaps the foot of civilized man never trod before.
A century ago there were many such places in the United States, fifty years ago there were still not a few, twenty-five years ago there were hardly any, and it is no wonder that Hugh and Jack wished to explore these valleys and the mountains that walled them in. ”

“ A drift of snow which had blown in from an opening at its upper end, lay in the bottom of the ravine. The roof seemed not very thick and admitted the light freely. It was a beautiful sky blue and reminded Jack vaguely of some blue grotto in Italy of which he had read and had often heard his mother talk.
The sun was getting lower and lower as the three hurried along the mountain. In most places it was easy going, and in the snow banks, which they were constantly crossing, fresh tracks of goats were seen, but the travelers paid no attention to these and kept on their way as fast as possible. ”

“ Hugh and Jack waited until he had come up, and then Hugh, shaking his head, said to him, “That wasn’t very smart, Joe. You’d better not try any more experiments of that kind; it’s dangerous. A man may slip any time on one of these smooth icy slopes, and if he does he never can tell where he’ll stop. You might have slid down there and brought up against the rocks, and broken some bones or killed yourself, and then we’d have had a hard time packing you down this hill and taking you into the agency. ”

“ When Jack reached Hugh’s side, Hugh pointed to the ground a few feet from him, and there, standing close together, were three beautiful Franklin grouse, while on a little spruce tree, two or three feet above the others, sat a fourth bird.
“Now, son,” said Hugh, “I reckon you’ve heard me talk about the way these fool hens are gentle, and how you can kill them with a rock or sometimes with a club, or can even slip a noose over the head of one, as he sits on a branch in front of you. Do you want to try and catch one?” ”

“ Let White Bull live, keep him when he is traveling, protect him from all dangers, from perils from animals, and from all dangers on the trail. Let his relations live and have abundance, and White Warrior, let him live, care for him and keep him safe from dangers, wherever he may be. All people let live. O Creator, have pity on the people so that they may live well, free from danger!”
Then he turned his face and appeared to address the bundle hung on the lodge poles behind him containing the pipe: “Oh, tell them to have pity on us. Let the young people grow, increase their flesh. ”

“ The valley of Swift Current is narrow and flanked on either side by high hills which, though at first rounded and grass-covered, grow steeper and nourish a growth of pines and aspens as one ascends the stream. The trail climbs steeply and, before long, splendid snow-capped mountain peaks cut off the view to the southwest. From time to time the stream enlarges into a series of lakes, in and about which Hugh detected much beaver sign. ”

“ A little later Hugh rose to his feet and stepped out of the tent, saying as he did so, “Boys, I believe we’re going to have a nice day to-morrow. It’s stopped snowing, all the stars are out and the moon is just rising. It feels mighty warm, too. Likely enough to-morrow the sun will come out hot and take off the heft of this snow. Then we can get round a bit and can dry this meat.”
“Well,” said Jack, “I’d like to be able to dry our meat. Of course, there’s no trouble killing meat here, but one doesn’t want to kill a big animal for a single meal.” ”

“ Close at hand they could see the beauty of the white, quivering falls rushing down the cliff, often by vertical plunges of a hundred feet or more, or down steep inclines, and in one place they had worn a deep fissure in the slate and shot down with a hissing sound thirty or forty feet back from one who looked in on them from the narrow opening of the crevice. ”

“ A FAT BIGHORN IN a sheltered spot at the foot of a great morainal ridge the three climbers sat down and ate their lunch. The air was warm and the sun bright, but every now and then a drift of breeze came down to them which felt cool, for they had been working hard and their garments were damp with perspiration. Hugh smoked his pipe, and then presently they rose and started to clamber further up the glacier. Presently they came upon the tracks of some large animals, either sheep or goats, which had passed over the moraine not long before. ”

“ If a man is pretending to tell about anything, and comes to a place where he doesn’t know any more, he ought to stop writing there, and then go on and write about something that he does know about.”
“Well, now,” said Hugh, “ain’t you a little mite hard on these fellows that write books? I expect that they don’t like to say that they don’t know. Of course, a man that don’t know oughtn’t to be telling people about the things he don’t know about.”
“No,” said Jack, “you bet he oughtn’t to, and that’s what I’m kicking about.” ”

“ In the same way if a bear sees something that he don’t understand, why, he gets up on his hind legs and looks as hard as he can. Of course, all these animals would rather smell than look; their noses tell them the truth and they don’t have to smell a second time to find out whether it’s an enemy or not, but often they have to look half a dozen times. Animals are mighty inquisitive creatures. If they see something they don’t understand they want to find out about it.”
“Why, Hugh,” said Jack, “it isn’t animals alone. Birds do the same thing. ”

“ A man that thought a great deal of him came up that valley and found the lake and named it after the old man, and the creek and the valley take their name from the lake, I reckon.”
“That’s interesting, Hugh,” remarked Jack, “I’m glad somebody has given Indian names to these mountains. I think that is the way that mountains, lakes and rivers ought to be named. The first thing we know there won’t be any Indians left, and unless we name the main features of the land after them, the Indians will all be forgotten.” ”

“ In the thick swamps and morasses of the river bottom the moose dwelt, sometimes clambering up toward the heights, but more often escaping the summer flies by burying their huge bodies beneath the waters of the lakes, or perhaps by wallowing in some great bog, from which they emerged covered with black mud which, drying, formed a coating that protected them. ”

“ A man could live pretty well here, too, for there’s lots of sheep and elk, and some deer and moose, to say nothing of the birds and a heap of fish in the lakes and streams.”
“I’m afraid I’ll never get a chance to winter in this country, Hugh,” said Jack. “It seems that I must spend my winters back East.”
“Well,” said Hugh, “that’s right enough, too. The day of the hunter and the trapper has gone by in this country, and now we can only do for sport what we used to do for a living.” ”

“ The three travelers dismounted and, sitting down beneath a pine tree, looked over the lake and scanned the rocks above it.
Presently Hugh said, “Boys, do you want to see some goats?”
“Yes,” replied Jack, “I’ve been looking for them, but I don’t see any.”
“Well,” said Hugh, “I’ll tell you why. You’re looking too high up in the air. Look down here in the valley, just below the edge of the snow, and see what you can see.”
The boys looked, and there, to their astonishment, saw several herds of goats feeding on the young grass that grew on the slopes of the mountains.
“Plenty of goats,” said Joe. ”

“ Every now and then a man would come in from the east, reporting success or failure in the search for the trail of the robbers.
At last one man came who had followed the trail so far that the direction which the thieves would take was pretty well known, and presently a large body of horsemen, armed with rifles, bows and arrows, and lances, started off down the creek, riding with a certain air of dignity until they had gone some distance from the stockade, and then breaking into a faster run.
“Well, Joe,” asked Hugh, “are our horses all right?” ”

“ There are three or four railroads now running across through the country that used to belong all to the Indians, and now that the buffalo are about gone they’ve got to come on to their reservations and learn to work to earn a living, and just as soon as they do that you’ll see all the old customs go, and when they once go they’ll very soon be forgotten.”
“But what a pity it is, Hugh,” said Jack, “that they’ve got to change! Why can’t they be left out here to live their life in the old way?” ”

“ Occasionally a white man or half-breed, more frequently a little band of Kootenay or Stoney Indians, true mountaineers, followed up these rivers for a short distance, hunting the game and trapping the beaver; but in those days game was so plentiful that these occasional excursions made no impression on it. The Indians had few guns and hunted noiselessly, chiefly with bows and arrows. For the most part, it was easier to kill the buffalo of the plains by the swift chase than to go into the rough mountains and hunt the game that lived higher up. ”

“ Just before reaching the snow, Hugh pointed out little brooklets running through the drift and gravel, whose milk-white waters showed that they came from under a glacier.
“You remember, I reckon, son,” he said to Jack, “what Fannin told us about the way the masses of ice and the loose rocks under it ground up the soil and rock over which the ice passed, and made the water milky with this powdered rock. This must be what we see here, and we can be sure, I reckon, that this is a glacier.” ”

“ A moment later and the peak was gained, and the three threw themselves down in a sheltered place among the great rocks that formed the mountain crest, where the view was entrancing in its extent and grandeur.
In all directions, as far as they could see, mountains lay beyond mountains. ”

“ Presently the buck seemed to have satisfied himself that there was possible danger in this great object approaching him, and turning, he bounded lightly along the hillside, gradually working up until at last he passed out of sight.
“Wasn’t it fine, Hugh,” said Jack, “to see him use his nose. That is what a deer depends on, isn’t it? He doesn’t trust his eyes very much, nor his ears, but his nose never lies to him.”
“Well,” replied Hugh, “that’s so. And it isn’t so only about deer, but about all sorts of game animals. I’ve had deer walk right straight up to me. ”

“ The morning after their arrival while Jack was dressing preparatory to starting off to the railroad, Joe burst into the room, calling to him to hurry up and get out, for many horses had been stolen during the night.
The flat in front of the Agency was the scene of great excitement and confusion. Old men were haranguing in loud tones and women were singing strong-heart songs to encourage their relatives about to start off in pursuit of the enemy. Men were galloping to and fro, trying to borrow swift horses or arms, with which to make the chase. ”

“ A sheep can run pretty fast and can climb well, but on the level a good fast dog can overtake it after a fairly short chase. When I first came into the country, the Indians used to say that of all the animals, except the buffalo, the sheep were the gentlest and easiest to kill.”
“Well, they’ve changed since then, haven’t they, Hugh?” said Jack.
“Yes,” replied Hugh, “they’re pretty sharp now. We saw to-day one of the worst enemies that a sheep has, and one that along the mountains here probably kills more than all the men that are hunting them do.” ”

“ As they passed an open door, from which shone a bright light, Jack looked in and saw people sitting at tables playing cards, while toward the back of the room was a long narrow table surrounded by men who seemed greatly interested in what was going on.
“What are they doing in there, Hugh?” said Jack.
“Why, I reckon that’s a gambling house,” was the reply. “You know there’s no law against gambling in most of these Montana towns, the way I hear there is in towns back East. Everybody is free to go in and play if he wants to.”
“I’ve never been in a gambling house, Hugh. Can’t we go in and look on? ”

“ It’s too large for the three of us to carry down in one trip.”
Jack and Joe went back in the direction that Hugh had suggested, and keeping well up the hill, soon found themselves close to a little saddle, where one of the side arms of the glacier started. It was an easy matter to climb up here and presently they stood on the crest of the Continental Divide, looking over a broad valley in which nothing was to be seen except rocks and stunted pine trees, and dimly through the thick, hazy atmosphere a distant lake and some high, snow-covered mountain crests. ”