|
|
|
EDITED BY John C. Parish
Associate Editor of the State Historical Society of Iowa
Copyright 1921 by the State Historical Society of Iowa
(Transcribed by Gayle Harper)
BIG GAME HUNTING in
IOWA
|
I found that two or three of the officers were planning a
hunting expedition towards the head waters of Turkey River
(which runs from north-west to south-east and falls into the
Mississippi some miles below Prairie du Chien), where we were
told that pheasants, deer, elk, and other game were in the
greatest abundance. I requested permission to join the party,
as my object was to see the country; and I could get no
steam-boat, or other opportunity of visiting St. Peter's and
the Falls of St. Anthony.
We accordingly set out in a
large boat, containing about twenty men, a light cart, a pony,
plenty of provisions, and a due supply of ammunition. Being
obliged to ascend the Mississippi about ten miles, our
progress was extremely slow; for the stream was strong, the
head wind blowing pretty fresh (accompanied by an icy chilling
sleet); and the boat could only be propelled by being pushed
up with long poles along the shores of the various islands,
where the current was the least formidable. However, as it was
a "party of pleasure, " the men were in the highest spirits,
forgot the wet and the cold, and the boat echoed with jokes
and laughter. A cap was blown overboard, and a fellow plunged
head over heels into the stream after it; he went some feet
under water, rose, swam in pursuit, recovered the cap, bore it
in triumph to land, and running up along the bank, was taken
again on board.
In spite of wind and sleet, we were
soon obliged to resume our slow ascent of the river, and in
due course of time arrived at Painted Rock, the place of our
debarkation. We pitched our tent in a low marshy hollow, which
would be an admirable situation for a temple to the goddess of
fever and ague. On the following morning we commenced our
march into the interior: the whole party (consisting of three
officers, four soldiers, myself, and servant) was on foot, and
a stout pony drew our baggage in a sort of springless vehicle,
resembling a small English tax-cart. After a tedious march
over a high, barren, and uninteresting prairie, for three
days, at the rate of twenty or twenty-five miles a day, we
arrived at the point on Turkey River at which our grand hunt
was to commence.
On the third day, in the forenoon, an
Indian came galloping down with a loose rein towards us. On a
nearer approach he proved to be a Winnebago, who had left his
band (which was distant two or three miles) to reconnoiter our
party. We soon came up with their main body, which was
encamped by the side of a wooded hill, and presented a wild
and picturesque appearance. They had just struck their lodges,
and were loading the horses to recommence their march, when we
came up with them. Two or three of the chiefs, and the
principal men, were sitting, as usual, and smoking, while the
women gathered the bundles and packs, and the boys ran or
galloped about, catching the more wild and refractory beasts
of burden. The officer of our party knew the chief, who had
been down frequently to Fort Crawford, and we accordingly sat
down and smoked the pipe of peace and recognition.
The
conversation between white men and Winnebagoes is almost
always carried on in Saukie, Menomenee, or some other dialect
of the Chippewa, as their own language can scarcely be
acquired or pronounced by any but their own tribe: it is
dreadfully harsh and guttural; the lips, tongue, and palate,
seem to have resigned their office to the uvula in the throat,
or to some yet more remote ministers of sound. In all the
Upper Mississippi I only heard of one white man who could
speak and understand it tolerably; but their best interpreter
is a half-breed named Pokette, who is equally popular with his
white and red brethren; the latter of whom have granted him
several fine tracts of land in the Wisconsin territory, where
he resides. I am told that he keeps thirty or forty horses,
and has made a fortune of above one hundred thousand dollars.
I fell in with him at Galena, and had half an hour's
conversation with him, only for the pleasure of looking at him
and scanning his magnificent and Herculean frame. I think he
is the finest (though by no means the largest) mold of a man
that ever I saw: he is about six feet four inches in height,
and as perfectly proportioned as painter or statuary could
desire. Perhaps his arms and legs are too muscular for perfect
beauty of form; still, that is a defect easily pardoned. His
countenance is open, manly, and intelligent; and his ruddy
brown complexion, attesting-the mingled blood of two distinct
races, seems to bid defiance to cold, heat, or disease. He is
proverbially good-natured, and is universally considered the
strongest man in the Upper Mississippi.
He is said never to
have struck any person in anger except one fellow, a very
powerful and well-known boxer from one of the towns on the
river, who had heard of Pokette's strength, and went to see
him with the determination of thrashing (or, in American
phrase, whipping) him. Accordingly he took an opportunity of
giving a wanton and cruel blow to a favorite dog belonging to
Pokette; and, on the latter remonstrating with him on his
conduct, he attempted to treat the master as he had treated
the dog. On offering this insolent outrage, he received a blow
from the hand of Pokette which broke the bridge of his nose,
closed up both his eyes, and broke or bruised some of the
bones of the forehead so severely as to leave his recovery
doubtful for several weeks.
To return to the Winnebago
encampment. As the Indians were also upon a hunting expedition
on Turkey River, we all started together, and went a few miles
in the same direction; but we soon divided, and they proceeded
to the south-west, while our party kept a north-west course;
consequently, on reaching the river, they were camped about
six or eight miles below us. I little thought that these
rascals would so perniciously and successfully endeavor to
spoil our sport; but I suppose they considered us intruders,
and determined to punish us accordingly. We had, in the mean
time, killed nothing but a few pheasants and grouse; but our
object in coming to Turkey River was to find deer, elks, and
bears, all of which we had been taught to expect in abundance.
We pitched our camp in a well wooded valley (called here "a
bottom") formed by the river; our wigwam was constructed,
after the Menomenee fashion, of mats made from a kind of reed,
and bound firmly in a semicircular form to a frame-work of
willow, or other elastic wood, fastened by strings formed from
the bark of the elm. The soldiers cut an abundance of
firewood, and we were well provided with flour, biscuit,
coffee, and pork; so that we had little to fear from cold or
hunger.
The day after our arrival we all set off in
different directions in search of game. Some of the party
contented themselves with shooting ducks and pheasants; I and
two or three others went in pursuit of the quadruped game. I
confess I expected to kill one or two elk, perhaps a bear, and
common deer ad libitum; however, after a walk of six or eight
hours, during which I forded the river twice, and went over
many miles of ground, I returned without having seen a single
deer. This surprised me the more, as 1 saw numberless beds and
paths made by them, but no track of either elk or bear. My
brother sportsmen were equally unfortunate, and no venison
graced our board. I had, however, heard a great many shots,
some of which were fired before daylight, and we soon
perceived that our Indian neighbors had laid a plan to drive
all the deer from the vicinity of our encampment.
We
continued to while away some hours very agreeably in
bee-hunting, at which sport two or three of the soldiers were
very expert. Of the bee-trees which we cut down, one was very
rich in honey; the flavor was delicious, and I ate it in
quantities which would have nauseated me had it been made from
garden plants, instead of being from the sweet wild flowers of
the prairie. Our life was most luxurious in respect of bed and
board, for we had plenty of provisions, besides the pheasants,
grouse, &c. that we shot; and at night the soldiers made such
a bonfire of heavy logs as to defy the annoyances of wet and
cold.
The second day's sport was as fruitless as the
first; but the same firing continued all around us, for which
we vented many maledictions on our Indian tormentors. On the
third day I contented myself with sauntering along the banks
of the river and shooting a few pheasants: evening was closing
in, the weather was oppressively warm, and I lay down at the
foot of a great tree to rest and cool myself by the breath of
a gentle breeze, which crept with a low whisper through its
leaves, when I distinctly heard a plashing noise in the water
at the distance of a hundred yards. I rolled myself, silently
and stealthily as a snake, towards the spot—the plashing still
continued, and I thought it must be an Indian, either
performing his ablutions, or walking up the bed of the stream,
in order to conceal his footprints. At length I reached the
unwieldy stump of a fallen tree, from which I could command a
view of the water; and raising my head cautiously, saw a
magnificent stag bathing and refreshing himself, unconscious
of the glittering tube which was pointed straight at his
heart.
I never saw a more noble or graceful animal; he
tossed his great antlers in the air, then dipped his nose in
the water and snorted aloud; then he stamped with his feet,
and splashed till the spray fell over his sleek and dappled
sides. Here a sportsman would interrupt me, saying, "A true to
your description,—did you shoot him through the brain or
through the heart?" And a fair querist might ask, "Had you the
heart to shoot so beautiful a creature?" Alas! alas! my answer
would satisfy neither! I had left my rifle at home, and had
only my fowling-piece, loaded with partridge shot; I was sixty
yards from the stag, and could not possibly creep,
undiscovered, a step nearer, and I had not the heart to wound
the poor animal, when there was little or no chance of killing
him. I therefore saw him conclude his bath; and then clearing,
at one bound, the willow bushes which fringed the opposite
bank, he disappeared in a thicket. I marked well the place;
and resolving to take an early opportunity of renewing my
visit under more favorable circumstances, returned home.
On the following day, I sallied forth with my trusty
double-rifle, carefully loaded, each barrel carrying a ball
weighing an ounce. I chose the middle of the day; because the
deer, after feeding all the morning, generally go down to the
streams to drink previously to their lying down during the
warm hours of noon-tide. I crept noiselessly to my stump,
gathered a few scattered branches to complete the shelter of
my hiding-place, and lay down with that mingled feeling (so
well known to every hunter) which unites the impatience of a
lover with the patience of a Job! I suppose I had been there
nearly two hours, when I thought I heard a rustling on the
opposite side; it was only a squirrel hopping from bough to
bough. Again I was startled by a saucy pheasant, who seemed
conscious of the security which he now gained from his
insignificance, and strutted, and scraped, and crowed within a
few paces of the muzzle of my rifle. At length, I distinctly
heard a noise among the willows, on which my anxious look was
riveted; it grew louder and louder, and then I heard a step in
the water, but could not yet see my victim, as the bank made a
small bend, and he was concealed by the projecting bushes.
I held my breath, examined the copper caps; and as I saw the
willows waving in the very same place in which he had crossed
the day before, I cocked and pointed my rifle at the spot
where he must emerge: the willows on the very edge of the bank
move,—my finger is on the trigger, when, NOT my noble stag,
but an Indian carrying on his shoulder a hind-quarter of
venison, jumps down upon the smooth sand of the beach! I was
so mad with anger and disappointment, that I could scarcely
take the sight of the ride from the fellow's breast! I
remained motionless, but watching all his movements. He put
down his rifle and his venison; and shading his eyes with his
hands, made a long and deliberate examination of the bank on
which I was concealed; but my faithful stump was too much even
for his practiced eyes, and I remained unobserved. He then
examined, carefully, every deer track and foot-print on the
sand whereon he stood; after which, resuming his rifle and
meat, he tried the river at several places in order to find
the shallowest ford.
As it happened, he chose the point
exactly opposite to me; so that when he came up the bank, he
was within a few feet of me. He passed close by my stump
without noticing me, and I then gave a sudden and loud Pawnee
yell. He certainly did jump at this unexpected apparition of a
man armed with a rifle; but I hastened to dispel any feelings
of uneasiness by friendly signs, because I do not conceive
such a trial to be any fair test of a man's courage, and I
have no doubt that if he had given me a similar surprise, I
should have been more startled than he was. He smiled when I
showed him my hiding-place, and explained to him my object in
selecting it. I took him home to our wigwam; and as my
companions had met with no success, we bought his meat for
some bread and a drink of whisky.
On the following day I
determined to get a deer, and accordingly started with two
soldiers to a large grove or bottom, where they had seen
several the evening before. The weather was dry; and as our
footsteps on the dead leaves were thus audible at a great
distance, the difficulty of approaching so watchful an enemy
was much increased. As the Indians had driven off the greater
part of the game from our immediate neighborhood, we walked
ten or eleven miles up the river before we began to hunt; we
then followed its winding descent, and saw three or four does,
but could not get near enough to shoot; at length one started
near me, and galloped off through the thick brushwood. I fired
and wounded it very severely; it staggered, and turned round
two or three times; still it got off through the thicket
before I could get another sight of it. At the same time, I
heard another shot fired by a soldier, a quarter of a mile on
our right. I looked in vain for blood, by which to track my
wounded deer, and gave it up in despair when, just as I was
making towards the river, to rejoin my companion, I came upon
some fresh blood-tracks: after following them a hundred yards,
I found a doe quite dead, but still warm; I thought it was the
one which I had just shot, and hallooed to the soldier, who
returned to assist me in skinning and hanging it up out of
reach of the wolves. On examining the wound, the doe proved to
be the one which he had shot, as the ball had entered on the
right side, and I had fired from the left; he thought he had
missed her.
We found no more game this day, and returned to
the camp. The other sportsmen had met with no success. The
Indians now set fire to the prairies and woods all around us,
and the chance of good sport daily diminished.
These
malicious neighbors were determined to drive us from the
district; they evidently watched our every motion; and
whenever we entered a wood or grove to hunt, they were sure to
set the dry grass on fire. Half a mile to the windward they
pursued this plan so effectual, as not only to spoil our
hunting, but on two occasions to oblige me to provide hastily
for my personal safety: on the first of these, they set fire
to a wood where I was passing, and compelled me to cross a
creek for fear of being overtaken by the flames; on the
second, having watched me as I crossed a large dry prairie,
beyond which was some timber that I wished to try for deer,
they set fire to the grass in two or three places to the
windward; and as it was blowing fresh at the time, I saw that
I should not have time to escape by flight; so I resorted to
the simple expedient, in which lies the only chance of safety
on such occasions: I set the prairie on fire where I myself
was walking, and then placed myself in the middle of the black
barren space which I thus created, and which covered many
acres before the advancing flames reached its border; when
they did so they naturally expired for want of fuel, but they
continued their leaping, smoking, and crackling way on each
side of me to the right and to the left. It was altogether a
disagreeable sensation, and I was half choked with hot dust
and smoke.
On the following afternoon, I went out again
in a direction that we had not tried, where the prairie was
not yet burnt. I could find no deer, and the shades of night
began to close round me, when, on the opposite hills to those
on which I stood, I observed two or three slender pillars of
curling smoke arising out of the wood, which was evidently now
fired on purpose by the Indians. I sat down to watch the
effect; for, although I had seen many prairie fires, I had
never enjoyed so good an opportunity as the present; for the
ground rose in a kind of amphitheater, of which I had a full
and commanding view. Now the flames crept slowly along the
ground, then, as the wind rose, they burst forth with
increasing might, fed by the dry and decayed elders of the
forest, which crackled, tottered, and fell beneath their
burning power; they now rose aloft in a thousand fantastic and
picturesque forms, lighting up the whole landscape to a lurid
hue; while the dense clouds of smoke which rolled gloomily
over the hills, mixed with the crash of the falling timber,
gave a dreadful splendor to the scene. I sat for some time
enjoying it; and when I rose to pursue my course towards home,
I had much difficulty in finding it. The night relapsed into
its natural darkness; the prairie at my feet was black, burnt,
and trackless, and I could see neither stream nor outline of
hill by which to direct my steps.
I sat down again for
a few minutes to rest myself, and to recollect, as well as I
might be able, any or all the circumstances which should guide
me in the direction which I ought to take. While I remained in
this position a band of prairie wolves, on an opposite hill,
began their wild and shrill concert; and I was somewhat
startled at hearing it answered by the long loud howl of a
single wolf, of the large black species, that stood and
grinned at me, only a few yards from the spot where I was
seated. I did not approve of so close a neighborhood to this
animal, and I called to him to be off, thinking that the sound
of my voice would scare him away; but as he still remained I
thought it better to prepare my rifle, in case he should come
still nearer, but determined not to fire until the muzzle
touched his body, as it was too dark to make a sure shot at
any distance beyond a few feet. However, he soon slunk away,
and left me alone.
Fortunately I remembered the
relative bearings of our camp, and of the point whence the
wind came; and after scrambling through a few thickets, and
breaking my shins over more than one log of fallen wood, I
reached home without accident or adventure. The whole country
around us was now so completely burnt up and devastated, that
nothing remained for us but to resume our march towards the
fort. |
|
