A negotiation now took place between the plundered white men and the triumphant Crows; what eloquence and management Fitzpatrick made use of, we do not know, but he succeeded in prevailing upon the Crow chieftain to return him his horses and many of his traps; together with his rifles and a few rounds of ammunition for each man.  He then set out with all speed to abandon the Crow country, before he should meet with any fresh disasters.

After his departure, the consciences of some of the most orthodox Crows pricked them sorely for having suffered such a cavalcade to escape out of their hands.  Anxious to wipe off so foul a stigma on the reputation of the Crow nation, they followed on his trial, nor quit hovering about him on his march until they had stolen a number of his best horses and mules.  It was, doubtless, this same band which came upon the lonely trapper on the Popo Agie, and generously gave him an old buffalo robe in exchange for his rifle, his traps, and all his accoutrements.  With these anecdotes, we shall, for present, take our leave of the Crow country and its vagabond chivalry.

28.

A region of natural curiosities—­The plain of white clay—­ Hot springs—­The Beer Spring—­Departure to seek the free trappers—­Plain of Portneuf—­Lava—­Chasms and gullies—­ Bannack Indians—­Their hunt of the buffalo—­Hunter’s feast—­ Trencher heroes—­Bullying of an absent foe—­The damp comrade—­The Indian spy—­Meeting with Hodgkiss—­His adventures—­Poordevil Indians—­Triumph of the Bannacks—­ Blackfeet policy in war

Crossing an elevated ridge, Captain Bonneville now came upon Bear River, which, from its source to its entrance into the Great Salt Lake, describes the figure of a horse-shoe.  One of the principal head waters of this river, although supposed to abound with beaver, has never been visited by the trapper; rising among rugged mountains, and being barricadoed [sic] by fallen pine trees and tremendous precipices.

Proceeding down this river, the party encamped, on the 6th of November, at the outlet of a lake about thirty miles long, and from two to three miles in width, completely imbedded in low ranges of mountains, and connected with Bear River by an impassable swamp.  It is called the Little Lake, to distinguish it from the great one of salt water.

On the 10th of November, Captain Bonneville visited a place in the neighborhood which is quite a region of natural curiosities.  An area of about half a mile square presents a level surface of white clay or fuller’s earth, perfectly spotless, resembling a great slab of Parian marble, or a sheet of dazzling snow.  The effect is strikingly beautiful at all times:  in summer, when it is surrounded with verdure, or in autumn, when it contrasts its bright immaculate surface with the withered herbage.  Seen from a distant eminence, it then shines like a mirror, set in the brown landscape.  Around this plain