The dance continued till ten o'clock."
By the thirtieth of April the expedition was equipped with twenty-three
horses, most of which were young and excellent animals; but many of them
were afflicted with sore backs. All Indians are cruel masters and
hard riders, and their saddles are so rudely made that it is almost
impossible for an Indian's horse to be free from scars; yet they
continue to ride after the animal's back is scarified in the most
horrible manner.
The expedition was now in what we know as Walla Walla County,
Washington, and they were travelling along the river Walla Walla,
leaving the Columbia, which has here a general direction of northerly.
The course of the party was northeast, their objective point being that
where Waitesburg is now built, near the junction of Coppie Creek and
the Touchet River. They were in a region of wood in plenty, and for the
first time since leaving the Long Narrows, or Dalles, they had as much
fuel as they needed. On the Touchet, accordingly, they camped for the
sake of having a comfortable night; the nights were cold, and a good
fire by which to sleep was an attraction not easily resisted. The
journal, April 30, has this entry:--
"We were soon supplied by Drewyer with a beaver and an otter, of which
we took only a part of the beaver, and gave the rest to the Indians.
The otter is a favorite food, though much inferior, at least in our
estimation, to the dog, which they will not eat. The horse is seldom
eaten, and never except when absolute necessity compels them, as the
only alternative to dying of hunger.
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