fying
an account, he succeeded in extricating himself from the Wind River
Mountains, and regaining the plain to the eastward, made a great bend
to the south, so as to go round the bases of the mountains, and arrived
without further incident of importance, at the old place of rendezvous
in Green River valley, on the 17th of September.

He found the caches, in which he had deposited his superfluous goods
and equipments, all safe, and having opened and taken from them the
necessary supplies, he closed them again; taking care to obliterate all
traces that might betray them to the keen eyes of Indian marauders.

27.

Route toward--Wind River--Dangerous neighborhood--Alarms and
precautions--A sham encampment--Apparition of an Indian spy--
Midnight move--A mountain defile--The Wind River valley--
Tracking a party--Deserted camps--Symptoms of Crows--Meeting
of comrades--A trapper entrapped--Crow pleasantry--Crow
spies--A decampment--Return to Green River valley--Meeting
with Fitzpatrick's party--Their adventures among the Crows--
Orthodox Crows

ON THE 18TH of September, Captain Bonneville and his three companions
set out, bright and early, to rejoin the main party, from which they had
parted on Wind River. Their route lay up the Green River valley, with
that stream on their right hand, and beyond it, the range of Wind River
Mountains. At the head of the valley, they were to pass through a defile
which would bring them out beyond the northern end of these mountains,
to the head of Wind River; where they expected to meet the main party,
according to arrangement.

We have already adverted to the dangerous nature of this neighborhood,
infested by roving bands of Crows and Blackfeet; to whom the numerous
defiles and passes of the country afford capital places for ambush and
surprise. The travellers, therefore, kept a vigilant eye upon everything
that might give intimation of lurking danger.

About two hours after mid-day, as they reached the summit of a hill,
they discovered buffalo on the plain below, running in every direction.
One of the men, too, fancied he heard the report of a gun. It was
concluded, therefore, that there was some party of Indians below,
hunting the buffalo.

The horses were immediately concealed in a narrow ravine; and the
captain, mounting an eminence, but concealing himself from view,
reconnoitred the whole neighborhood with a telescope. Not an Indian w