Accordingly, On The 6th Of March, He And His Three Companions,
Accompanied By Their Nez Perce Guides, Set Out On Their Return.
In The Early Part Of Their Course, They Touched Again At Several
Of The Nez Perce Villages, Where They Had Experienced Such Kind
Treatment On Their Way Down.
They were always welcomed with
cordiality; and everything was done to cheer them on their
journey.
On leaving the Way-lee-way village, they were joined by a Nez
Perce, whose society was welcomed on account of the general
gratitude and good will they felt for his tribe. He soon proved a
heavy clog upon the little party, being doltish and taciturn,
lazy in the extreme, and a huge feeder. His only proof of
intellect was in shrewdly avoiding all labor, and availing
himself of the toil of others. When on the march, he always
lagged behind the rest, leaving to them the task of breaking a
way through all difficulties and impediments, and leisurely and
lazily jogging along the track, which they had beaten through the
snow. At the evening encampment, when others were busy gathering
fuel, providing for the horses, and cooking the evening repast,
this worthy Sancho of the wilderness would take his seat quietly
and cosily by the fire, puffing away at his pipe, and eyeing in
silence, but with wistful intensity of gaze, the savory morsels
roasting for supper.
When meal-time arrived, however, then came his season of
activity. He no longer hung back, and waited for others to take
the lead, but distinguished himself by a brilliancy of onset, and
a sustained vigor and duration of attack, that completely shamed
the efforts of his competitors - albeit, experienced trenchermen
of no mean prowess. Never had they witnessed such power of
mastication, and such marvellous capacity of stomach, as in this
native and uncultivated gastronome. Having, by repeated and
prolonged assaults, at length completely gorged himself, he would
wrap himself up and lie with the torpor of an anaconda; slowly
digesting his way on to the next repast.
The gormandizing powers of this worthy were, at first, matters of
surprise and merriment to the travellers; but they soon became
too serious for a joke, threatening devastation to the fleshpots;
and he was regarded askance, at his meals, as a regular
kill-crop, destined to waste the substance of the party. Nothing
but a sense of the obligations they were under to his nation
induced them to bear with such a guest; but he proceeded,
speedily, to relieve them from the weight of these obligations,
by eating a receipt in full.
35.
The uninvited guest Free and easy manners Salutary jokes A
prodigal son Exit of the glutton A sudden change in
fortune Danger of a visit to poor relations Plucking of a
prosperous man A vagabond toilet A substitute for the very fine
horse Hard travelling The uninvited guest and the patriarchal
colt A beggar on horseback A catastrophe Exit of the merry
vagabond
As CAPTAIN BONNEVILLE and his men were encamped one evening among
the hills near Snake River, seated before their fire, enjoying a
hearty supper, they were suddenly surprised by the visit of an
uninvited guest. He was a ragged, half-naked Indian hunter, armed
with bow and arrows, and had the carcass of a fine buck thrown
across his shoulder. Advancing with an alert step, and free and
easy air, he threw the buck on the ground, and, without waiting
for an invitation, seated himself at their mess, helped himself
without ceremony, and chatted to the right and left in the
liveliest and most unembarrassed manner. No adroit and veteran
dinner hunter of a metropolis could have acquitted himself more
knowingly. The travellers were at first completely taken by
surprise, and could not but admire the facility with which this
ragged cosmopolite made himself at home among them. While they
stared he went on, making the most of the good cheer upon which
he had so fortunately alighted; and was soon elbow deep in "pot
luck," and greased from the tip of his nose to the back of his
ears.
As the company recovered from their surprise, they began to feel
annoyed at this intrusion. Their uninvited guest, unlike the
generality of his tribe, was somewhat dirty as well as ragged and
they had no relish for such a messmate. Heaping up, therefore, an
abundant portion of the "provant" upon a piece of bark, which
served for a dish, they invited him to confine himself thereto,
instead of foraging in the general mess.
He complied with the most accommodating spirit imaginable; and
went on eating and chatting, and laughing and smearing himself,
until his whole countenance shone with grease and good-humor. In
the course of his repast, his attention was caught by the figure
of the gastronome, who, as usual, was gorging himself in dogged
silence. A droll cut of the eye showed either that he knew him of
old, or perceived at once his characteristics. He immediately
made him the butt of his pleasantries; and cracked off two or
three good hits, that caused the sluggish dolt to prick up his
ears, and delighted all the company. From this time, the
uninvited guest was taken into favor; his jokes began to be
relished; his careless, free and easy air, to be considered
singularly amusing; and in the end, he was pronounced by the
travellers one of the merriest companions and most entertaining
vagabonds they had met with in the wilderness.
Supper being over, the redoubtable Shee-wee-she-ouaiter, for such
was the simple name by which he announced himself, declared his
intention of keeping company with the party for a day or two, if
they had no objection; and by way of backing his self-invitation,
presented the carcass of the buck as an earnest of his hunting
abilities. By this time, he had so completely effaced the
unfavorable impression made by his first appearance, that he was
made welcome to the camp, and the Nez Perce guide undertook to
give him lodging for the night.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 82 of 117
Words from 82588 to 83605
of 118673
