persuaded Captain Bonneville that there must be a considerablevillage of Nez Perces in the neighborhood; but as his worthycompanion, the old chief, said nothing on the subject, and as itappeared to be in some way connected with his secret operations,he asked no questions, but patiently awaited the development ofhis mystery.
As they journeyed on, they came to where two or three Indianswere bathing in a small stream. The good old chief immediatelycame to a halt, and had a long conversation with them, in thecourse of which he repeated to them the whole history whichCaptain Bonneville had related to him. In fact, he seems to havebeen a very sociable, communicative old man; by no meansafflicted with that taciturnity generally charged upon theIndians. On the contrary, he was fond of long talks and longsmokings, and evidently was proud of his new friend, the bald-headed chief, and took a pleasurein sounding his praises, and
setting forth the power and glory of the Big Hearts of the East.
Having disburdened himself of everything he had to relate to hisbathing friends, he left them to their aquatic disports, andproceeded onward with the captain and his companions. As theyapproached the Way-lee-way, however, the communicative old chiefmet with another and a very different occasion to exert hiscolloquial powers. On the banks of the river stood an isolatedmound covered with grass. He pointed to it with some emotion.
"The big heart and the strong arm," said he, "lie buried beneaththat sod."
It was, in fact, the grave of one of his friends; a chosenwarrior of the tribe; who had been slain on this spot when inpursuit of a war party of Shoshokoes, who had stolen the horsesof the village. The enemy bore off his scalp as a trophy; but hisfriends found his body in this lonely place, and committed it tothe earth with ceremonials characteristic of their pious andreverential feelings. They gathered round the grave and mourned;the warriors were silent in their grief; but the women andchildren bewailed their loss with loud lamentations. "For threedays," said the old man, "we performed the solemn dances for thedead, and prayed the Great Spirit that our brother might be happyin the land of brave warriors and hunters. Then we killed at hisgrave fifteen of our best and strongest horses, to serve him whenhe should arrive at the happy hunting grounds; and having doneall this, we returned sorrowfully to our homes."While the chief was still talking, an Indian scout came gallopingup, and, presenting him with a powder-horn, wheeled round, andwas speedily out of sight. The eyes of the old chief nowbrightened; and all his self-importance returned. His pettymystery was about to explode. Turning to Captain Bonneville, hepointed to a hill hard by, and informed him, that behind it was avillage governed by a little chief, whom he had notified of theapproach of the bald-headed chief, and a party of the Big Heartsof the East, and that he was prepared to receive them in becomingstyle. As, among other ceremonials, he intended to salute themwith a discharge of firearms, he had sent the horn of gunpowderthat they might return the salute in a manner correspondent tohis dignity.
They now proceeded on until they doubled the point of the hill,when the whole population of the village broke upon their view,drawn out in the most imposing style, and arrayed in all theirfinery. The effect of the whole was wild and fantastic, yetsingularly striking. In the front rank were the chiefs andprincipal warriors, glaringly painted and decorated; behind themwere arranged the rest of the people, men, women, and children.
Captain Bonneville and his party advanced slowly, exchangingsalutes of firearms. When arrived within a respectful distance,they dismounted. The chiefs then came forward successively,according to their respective characters and consequence, tooffer the hand of good fellowship; each filing off when he hadshaken hands, to make way for his successor. Those in the nextrank followed in the same order, and so on, until all had giventhe pledge of friendship. During all this time, the chief,according to custom, took his stand beside the guests. If any ofhis people advanced whom he judged unworthy of the friendship orconfidence of the white men, he motioned them off by a wave ofthe hand, and they would submissively walk away. When CaptainBonneville turned upon him an inquiring look, he would observe,"he was a bad man," or something quite as concise, and there wasan end of the matter.
Mats, poles, and other materials were now brought, and acomfortable lodge was soon erected for the strangers, where theywere kept constantly supplied with wood and water, and othernecessaries; and all their effects were placed in safe keeping.
Their horses, too, were unsaddled, and turned loose to graze, anda guard set to keep watch upon them.
