He Had Lurked For
Several Days Among The Mountains, Until Almost Starved; At Length
He Escaped The Vigilance Of His Enemies In The Night, And Was So
Fortunate As To Meet The Two Iroquois Hunters, Who, Being On
Horseback, Conveyed Him Without Further Difficulty To The
Rendezvous.
He arrived there so emaciated that he could scarcely
be recognized.
The valley called Pierre's Hole is about thirty miles in length
and fifteen in width, bounded to the west and south by low and
broken ridges, and overlooked to the east by three lofty
mountains, called the three Tetons, which domineer as landmarks
over a vast extent of country.
A fine stream, fed by rivulets and mountain springs, pours
through the valley toward the north, dividing it into nearly
equal parts. The meadows on its borders are broad and extensive,
covered with willow and cotton-wood trees, so closely interlocked
and matted together as to be nearly impassable.
In this valley was congregated the motley populace connected with
the fur trade. Here the two rival companies had their
encampments, with their retainers of all kinds: traders,
trappers, hunters, and half-breeds, assembled from all quarters,
awaiting their yearly supplies, and their orders to start off in
new directions. Here, also, the savage tribes connected with the
trade, the Nez Perces or Chopunnish Indians, and Flatheads, had
pitched their lodges beside the streams, and with their squaws,
awaited the distribution of goods and finery. There was,
moreover, a band of fifteen free trappers, commanded by a gallant
leader from Arkansas, named Sinclair, who held their encampment a
little apart from the rest.
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