From this point the party
crossed over into the present State of Washington. Of their experience
at their camp here the journal says:--
"Our arrival soon attracted the attention of the Indians, who flocked in
all directions to see us. In the evening the Indian from the falls, whom
we had seen at Rugged rapid, joined us with his son in a small canoe,
and insisted on accompanying us to the falls. Being again reduced to
fish and roots, we made an experiment to vary our food by purchasing
a few dogs, and after having been accustomed to horse-flesh, felt no
disrelish for this new dish. The Chopunnish have great numbers of dogs,
which they employ for domestic purposes, but never eat; and our using
the flesh of that animal soon brought us into ridicule as dog-eaters."
When Fremont and his men crossed the continent to California, in 1842,
they ate the flesh of that species of marmot which we know as the
prairie-dog. Long afterwards, when Fremont was a candidate for the
office of President of the United States, this fact was recalled to the
minds of men, and the famous explorer was denounced as "a dog-eater."
The journal of the explorers gives this interesting account of the
Indians among whom they now found themselves:--
"The Chopunnish or Pierced-nose nation, who reside on the Kooskooskee
and Lewis' (Snake) rivers, are in person stout, portly, well-looking
men; the women are small, with good features and generally handsome,
though the complexion of both sexes is darker than that of the
Tushepaws.
Pages:
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208