Chapter 22

22.

The Crow country A Crow paradise Habits of the Crows Anecdotes of

Rose, the renegade white man His fights with the Blackfeet His

elevation His death Arapooish, the Crow chief His eagle

Adventure of Robert Campbell Honor among Crows

BEFORE WE ACCOMPANY Captain Bonneville into the Crow country, we

will impart a few facts about this wild region, and the wild

people who inhabit it. We are not aware of the precise

boundaries, if there are any, of the country claimed by the

Crows; it appears to extend from the Black Hills to the Rocky

Mountains, including a part of their lofty ranges, and embracing

many of the plains and valleys watered by the Wind River, the

Yellowstone, the Powder River, the Little Missouri, and the

Nebraska. The country varies in soil and climate; there are vast

plains of sand and clay, studded with large red sand-hills; other

parts are mountainous and picturesque; it possesses warm springs,

and coal mines, and abounds with game.

But let us give the account of the country as rendered by

Arapooish, a Crow chief, to Mr. Robert Campbell, of the Rocky

Mountain Fur Company.

"The Crow country," said he, "is a good country. The Great Spirit

has put it exactly in the right place; while you-are in it you

fare well; whenever you go out of it, whichever way you travel,

you fare worse.

"If you go to the south, you have to wander over great barren

plains; the water is warm and bad, and you meet the fever and

ague.

"To the north it is cold; the winters are long and bitter, with

no grass; you cannot keep horses there, but must travel with

dogs. What is a country without horses?

"On the Columbia they are poor and dirty, paddle about in canoes,

and eat fish. Their teeth are worn out; they are always taking

fish-bones out of their mouths. Fish is poor food.

"To the east, they dwell in villages; they live well; but they

drink the muddy water of the Missouri--that is bad. A Crow's dog

would not drink such water.

"About the forks of the Missouri is a fine country; good water;

good grass; plenty of buffalo. In summer, it is almost as good as

the Crow country; but in winter it is cold; the grass is gone;

and there is no salt weed for the horses.

"The Crow country is exactly in the right place. It has snowy

mountains and sunny plains; all kinds of climates and good things

for every season. When the summer heats scorch the prairies, you

can draw up under the mountains, where the air is sweet and cool,

the grass fresh, and the bright streams come tumbling out of the