erness
which Mr. Hunt was about to traverse; and which at that time was far
less known than at present; though it still remains in a great measure
an unknown land. We cannot be surprised, therefore, that some of the
resolute of his party should feel dismay at the thoughts of adventuring
into this perilous wilderness under the uncertain guidance of three
hunters, who had merely passed once through the country and might have
forgotten the landmarks. Their apprehensions were aggravated by some
of Lisa's followers, who, not being engaged in the expedition, took a
mischievous pleasure in exaggerating its dangers. They painted in strong
colors, to the poor Canadian voyageurs, the risk they would run of
perishing with hunger and thirst; of being cut off by war-parties of
the Sioux who scoured the plains; of having their horses stolen by the
Upsarokas or Crows, who infested the skirts of the Rocky Mountains; or
of being butchered by the Blackfeet, who lurked among the defiles. In
a word, there was little chance of their getting alive across the
mountains; and even if they did, those three guides knew nothing of the
howling wilderness that lay beyond.

The apprehensions thus awakened in the minds of some of the men came
well-nigh proving detrimental to the expedition. Some of them determined
to desert, and to make their way back to St. Louis. They accordingly
purloined several weapons and a barrel of gunpowder, as ammunition for
their enterprise, and buried them in the river bank, intending to seize
one of the boats, and make off in the night. Fortunately their plot was
overheard by John Day, the Kentuckian, and communicated to the partners,
who took quiet and effectual means to frustrate it.

The dangers to be apprehended from the Crow Indians had not been
overrated by the camp gossips. These savages, through whose mountain
haunts the party would have to pass, were noted for daring and excursive
habits, and great dexterity in horse stealing. Mr. Hunt, therefore,
considered himself fortunate in having met with a man who might be of
great use to him in any intercourse he might have with the tribe. This
was a wandering individual named Edward Rose, whom he had picked up
somewhere on the Missouri--one of those anomalous beings found on the
frontier, who seem to have neither kin nor country. He had lived some
time among the Crows, so as to become acquainted with their language
and customs; and was, withal, a dogged, sullen, silent