Captain Lewis, Almost At His Wits' End, Appealed To
Their Courage.
He said that if they were afraid of being led into a trap,
he was sure that some among them were not afraid.
"To doubt the courage of an Indian is to touch the tenderest string of
his mind, and the surest way to rouse him to any dangerous achievement.
Cameahwait instantly replied that he was not afraid to die,
and mounting his horse, for the third time harangued the warriors.
He told them that he was resolved to go if he went alone,
or if he were sure of perishing; that he hoped there were
among those who heard him some who were not afraid to die,
and who would prove it by mounting their horses and following him.
This harangue produced an effect on six or eight only of the warriors,
who now joined their chief. With these Captain Lewis smoked a pipe;
and then, fearful of some change in their capricious temper,
set out immediately."
The party now retraced the steps so lately taken by Captain Lewis
and his men. On the second day out, one of the spies sent forward by
the Indians came madly galloping back, much to the alarm of the white men.
It proved, however, that the spy had returned to tell his comrades
that one of the white hunters [Drewyer] had killed a deer. An Indian
riding behind Captain Lewis, fearful that he should not get his share
of the spoil, jumped off the horse and ran for a mile at full speed.
The journal says:
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