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Bisonette's arrival, and if he should not come, to send
Deslauriers with the cart and baggage back to Fort Lar-
amie, while we ourselves followed The Whirlwind's village,
and attempted to overtake it as it passed the mountains.
Shaw, not having the same motive for hunting Indians that
I had, was averse to the plan; I therefore resolved to go
alone. This design I adopted very unwillingly, for I knew
that in the present state of my health the attempt would
be painful and hazardous. I hoped that Bisonette would
appear in the course of the following day, and bring us some
information by which to direct our course, thus enabling me
to accomplish my purpose by means less objectionable.

1

The rifle of Henry Chatillon was necessary for the sub-
sistence of the party in my absence; so I called Raymond,
and ordered him to prepare to set out with me. Raymond
rolled his eyes vacantly about, but at length, having suc-
ceeded in grappling with the idea, he withdrew to his bed
under the cart. He was a heavy-moulded fellow, with a
broad face expressing impenetrable stupidity and entire
self-confidence. As for his good qualities, he had a sort
of stubborn fidelity, an insensibility to danger, and a kind
of instinct or sagacity, which sometimes led him right
where better heads than his were at a loss. Besides this, he
knew very well how to handle a rifle and picket a horse.

2

Through the following day the sun glared down upon us
with a pitiless, penetrating heat. The distant blue prairie
seemed quivering under it. The lodge of our Indian asso-
ciates parched in the burning rays, and our rifles as they
leaned against the tree were too hot for the touch. There
was a dead silence through our camp, broken only by the
hum of gnats and mosquitoes. The men, resting their
foreheads on their arms, were sleeping under the cart.
The Indians kept close within their lodge, except the

-179-

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Publication Information: Book Title: The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life. Contributors: Francis Parkman - author, Frederic Remington - illustrator. Publisher: Little Brown. Place of Publication: Boston. Publication Year: 1892. Page Number: 179.
    
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