The Great Lone Land: A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North-West of AmericaButler, William Francis, Sir
History
The Great Lone Land: A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North-West of America
Butler, William Francis, Sir
Northwest, Canadian -- Description and travel
upon the Belly River, sixty miles within the British bounndary-line. They
have asserted that two American traders, well-known on the Missouri,
named Culverston and Healy, have established themselves at this post for
the purpose of trading alcohol, whiskey, and arms and ammunition of the
most improved description, with the Blackfeet Indians; and that an active
trade is being carried on in all these articles, which, it is said, are
constantly smuggled across the boundary-line by people from Fort Benton.
This story is apparently confirmed by the absence of the Blackfeet from
the Rocky Mountain House this season, and also from the fact of the arms
in question (repeating rifles) being found in possession of these
Indians. The town of Benton on the Missouri River has long been noted for
supplying the Indians with arms and ammunition; to such an extent has
this trade been carried on, that miners in Montana, who have suffered
from Indian attack, have threatened on some occasions to burn the stores
belonging to the traders, if the practice was continued. I have already
spoken of the great extent of the Blackfeet country; some idea of the
roamings of these Indians may be gathered from a circumstance connected
wit the trade of the Rocky Mountain House. During the spring and summer
raids which the Blackfeet make upon the Crees of the Middle Saskatchewan,
a number of horses belonging to the Hudson Bay Company and to settlers
are yearly carried away. It is a general practice for persons whose
horses have been stolen to send during the fall to the Rocky Mountain
House for the missing animals, although that station is 300 to 600 miles
distant from the places where the thefts have been committed. If the
horse has not perished from the ill treatment to which he has been
subjected by his captors, he is usually found at the above-named station,
to which he has been brought for barter in a terribly worn out condition.
In the Appendix marked B will be found information regarding the
localities occupied by-the Indian tribes, the names of the principal
chiefs, estimate of numbers in each tribe, and other information
connected with the aboriginal inhabitants, which for sake of clearness I
have arranged in a tabular form.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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