My sixty years on the plains: trapping, trading, and Indian fighting

The western mountaineer / Hilma S. Sieber, Park City, Montana, August, 1905

The vote that made me an Indian fighter ; St. Louis ; I join Bill Williams's party ; The boy catches on ; A parley with Kiowas ; Friendly Cheyennes ; A trader's trick ; My first sign-talk ; A good trade ; Swift Runner, my friend ; Athletics and longevity

Buffalo hunt with Cheyennes ; A stirring picture ; My first buffalo ; Perils of the chase ; We are feasted on our return ; Character of the Cheyennes ; Pemmican and depuyer [depouille], a substitute for bread ; We leave the Cheyennes

Sioux village on the South Platte ; A Pawnee horse raid ; We give chase ; Wonderful endurance of the Indian pony ; The stock recaptured ; My first shot at an Indian ; Return with Pawnee scalps ; Coup-sticks ; Counting coups

Fur-trade rivalries ; "Free traders" and the companies ; Wealth of the Sioux ; War-parties and singing ; Indian revenge ; We sell our furs for good prices ; Bill Williams a diplomat ; Visited by Arapahoes ; We trade, feast, and smoke ; A threatening party of Crows ; "Business diplomacy"

In a dangerous country ; We find a moccasin and prepare for trouble ; Attacked in the night by Blackfeet ; The enemy repulsed ; Scalps taken ; Pursuit ; Williams a reckless Indian fighter ; I lift my first scalp ; We wipe out the entire party ; Beaver trapping an art

Little Wind River ; A wonderful hot springs ; Shoshone scouts ; Chief Washakie ; We trade our Blackfoot plunder ; Shoshone horse for Blackfoot scalp ; A night of council, scalp dance, and war song ; The fate of two trappers ; "Good for evil" not the trappers' creed ; Shakespeare in a trapper's pack ; Mountain men great readers ; A white beaver

The scouts report Indian war-parties ; We resolve to clear the country of them ; Scouting for hostiles ; A want of strategy ; Some actual warfare ; A wild scene ; We have a close encounter ; We rush the knoll ; A night of mingled mourning and rejoicing

A brush with Piegans ; We part from the Shoshones ; I mystify Washakie ; Indian horsemanship ; The Shoshones ; Beaver trapping ; My first bear [black bears] ; A lesson in bear shooting ; Fascination of the mountain life

The Blackfoot fort in Utah ; A good days for bears ; Fort Bridger ; Mountain men's law ; We trade our furs ; Infatuated with the life ; Exploration of the Yellowstone in 1839 ; Afterwards I visit that country ; Trappers' tales ; My skill in sign-language ; We go with Washakie's band

Horse-racing ; Shooting from horseback ; Whites outshoot Indians ; Williams leaves us ; Navajo blankets ; A lost manuscript

An expedition to explore Utah ; The "boy" becomes "Bill" ; Old Bear orders us off ; "Big chief never smokes with white dogs" ; Trapper life in a hostile Indian country ; Fortified in Camp Weber ; The American trapper a fine type ; We hear wolf howls and prepare for attack ; The enemy repulsed with heavy losses ; A "big talk" and peace ; "It costs too much blood to fight trappers"

Bear River ; The Bannocks ; A swim with the mercury 38° below zero ; The Pah Utes [Paiutes] a low race ; Poisoned arrows ; Brown's Hole and its gay winter life ; I am made trader ; A terrible storm ; Our horses stolen by Blackfeet ; A hard ride ; We recapture the stock

Williams returns ; Tygee the Bannock ; A lucky 13 ; Indians of the Blackfoot country ; Life at a trappers' rendezvous ; Hostile Bannocks ; Howlack in a rage ; We prepare for trouble ; Prowling wolves when shot prove to be Indians ; Spies who did not return ; Three hundred warriors charge the camp ; A desperate fight ; The enemy routed

The Bannocks taught a lesson ; Indians as fighters ; Excited Umatillas ; The Walla Walla Valley ; Its fish and game ; The Walla Wallas ; Tygh Valley ; Indians salmon spearing ; My first sight of the Columbia ; Latitude 49° ; Vicissitudes of the trapper's life

A rich beaver country ; A hunter's paradise ; Great Klamath Lake ; In winter quarters ; A horse pack worth $7200 ; "Boston men" and "King George's" ; In the Modoc country ; We dig rifle-pits ; Trappers' coats of mail ; Prepared for attack

The Modocs threaten to rub us out ; The camp rushed ; Hand-to-hand fighting ; A furious charge ; We lose three men ; Modoc slaughter ; An incident of the Modoc War of 1856 ; The California Rangers ; The massacre of Bloody Point

Honey Lake Valley ; Thieving Indians ; We turn south ; The Truckee River ; Degraded Red men ; In a mountain storm ; Fortune favors the brave ; A dismal camp ; Snow-bound ; Glimpse of the Great American Desert ; Camp on Carson River ; A Pah Ute's [Paiute's] square meal ; Gratified squaws and skinned beavers ; A big catch of fur ; Humboldt Lake ; Hostile Utes ; One of our men ambushed and killed ; A sharp fight and a decisive victory ; We capture forty-three horses ; Our revenge

We move camp ; Crestfallen trappers ; Blackfoot victims ; Fur company traders ; Hot springs ; Our company breaks up ; Expedition to the Big Horn Mountains ; We stand off the Blackfeet ; An arrogant leader [Overstall] and a coward ; The "Tartar Outfit" [Docket, Nobel, Evans, Russell, Hamilton]

Washakie again ; The joy of youth ; A buffalo hunt ; Stinking Water [Thermopolis, Wyoming?] ; Crow and Shoshone horse-racing ; A peaceful camp ; Sign-language ; The Mexican War ; I visit St. Louis ; Home is changed ; "Westward Ho!" ; I pilot an Oregon emigrant train ; Attacked by Pawnees ; Out of deference to the ladies, we do not scalp ; Mormon emigrants ; Fort Hall ; The fur companies and their employees

Fort Bridger ; "Doby men" [fort hangers-on, worthless] ; California gold ; We decide to go to the mines ; Fate of Bill Williams ; Hunting and trapping in the Big Horn ; Humpy, a war-party leader ; We give the easterners a lesson in Indian fighting ; Washakie identifies the scalps as Pend Oreilles

Bound for California ; Furs and gold ; On the old camp ground ; An undisturbed grave ; The Indians hold aloof ; Crossing the range ; Sacramento ; We trappers turn miners and stake our claims ; Barbarous murder

Miners killed by Indians ; A gloomy outlook ; The "mountaineer miners" ; Rifle barrels for crowbars ; Our circus entry into Nevada City ; A council of war ; Perkins advises vigorous action ; We take the trail ; More Indian outrages ; We overtake the hostiles ; An attack and a stubborn defence ; A brave chief ; Good work of the Sharps rifle ; "Silver Tip" has his ear split and Russell gets a bullet through his hat ; The Indians utterly routed and many killed ; White men's scalps to teach a lesson ; A big lot of plunder ; The trappers are made to blush ; We have a triumphal ovation and are hailed as avengers ; Our fame spreads

Our services in request at Hangtown (Placerville) ; We meet the Indians at Biglow's Lake ; A desperate charge ; Mexican War veterans save the day ; To kill a chief is to win the battle ; Our trained horses ; Fastidious trappers annoyed by blood spots on their buckskin suits ; The owner gets his mules ; The Trinity Massacre ; "Tarhead" chastised ; The trappers in the Rogue River and Modoc Wars ; The Pitt River Massacre ; Our band breaks up ; Through the Modoc country again ; Fort Walla Walla ; I go as scout

Death of Russell ; A brave man and a true comrade ; I am left alone ; My horse Hickory ; A business trip to trade and spy ; In the enemies' camp ; My part nearly chokes me ; An extraordinary trade ; We get what we came for ; The Spokane River campaign ; I establish a trading-post at Missoula ; Fort Benton ; The Expedition of 1874 with General Crook ; American Horse ; Later years.

Illustrations: W. T. Hamilton

"I broke the [buffalo] cow's back" / Charles M. Russell, 1905

"His arrow lodged in the fleshy part of my horse's shoulder" / Russell

Washakie, Chief of the Snakes [Shoshone]

"Next morning, some Utah Indians called on us" / Russell

Free traders / Russell

Pawnee horse thieves / Russell

"The trappers passed through them with their Colt's revolvers" / Russell.

Introduction / Donald J. Berthrong

The western mountaineer / Hilma S. Sieber, Park City, Montana, August, 1905

The vote that made me an Indian fighter ; St. Louis ; I join Bill Williams's party ; The boy catches on ; A parley with Kiowas ; Friendly Cheyennes ; A trader's trick ; My first sign-talk ; A good trade ; Swift Runner, my friend ; Athletics and longevity

Buffalo hunt with Cheyennes ; A stirring picture ; My first buffalo ; Perils of the chase ; We are feasted on our return ; Character of the Cheyennes ; Pemmican and depuyer [depouille], a substitute for bread ; We leave the Cheyennes

Sioux village on the South Platte ; A Pawnee horse raid ; We give chase ; Wonderful endurance of the Indian pony ; The stock recaptured ; My first shot at an Indian ; Return with Pawnee scalps ; Coup-sticks ; Counting coups

Fur-trade rivalries ; "Free traders" and the companies ; Wealth of the Sioux ; War-parties and singing ; Indian revenge ; We sell our furs for good prices ; Bill Williams a diplomat ; Visited by Arapahoes ; We trade, feast, and smoke ; A threatening party of Crows ; "Business diplomacy"

In a dangerous country ; We find a moccasin and prepare for trouble ; Attacked in the night by Blackfeet ; The enemy repulsed ; Scalps taken ; Pursuit ; Williams a reckless Indian fighter ; I lift my first scalp ; We wipe out the entire party ; Beaver trapping an art

Little Wind River ; A wonderful hot springs ; Shoshone scouts ; Chief Washakie ; We trade our Blackfoot plunder ; Shoshone horse for Blackfoot scalp ; A night of council, scalp dance, and war song ; The fate of two trappers ; "Good for evil" not the trappers' creed ; Shakespeare in a trapper's pack ; Mountain men great readers ; A white beaver

The scouts report Indian war-parties ; We resolve to clear the country of them ; Scouting for hostiles ; A want of strategy ; Some actual warfare ; A wild scene ; We have a close encounter ; We rush the knoll ; A night of mingled mourning and rejoicing

A brush with Piegans ; We part from the Shoshones ; I mystify Washakie ; Indian horsemanship ; The Shoshones ; Beaver trapping ; My first bear [black bears] ; A lesson in bear shooting ; Fascination of the mountain life

The Blackfoot fort in Utah ; A good days for bears ; Fort Bridger ; Mountain men's law ; We trade our furs ; Infatuated with the life ; Exploration of the Yellowstone in 1839 ; Afterwards I visit that country ; Trappers' tales ; My skill in sign-language ; We go with Washakie's band

Horse-racing ; Shooting from horseback ; Whites outshoot Indians ; Williams leaves us ; Navajo blankets ; A lost manuscript

An expedition to explore Utah ; The "boy" becomes "Bill" ; Old Bear orders us off ; "Big chief never smokes with white dogs" ; Trapper life in a hostile Indian country ; Fortified in Camp Weber ; The American trapper a fine type ; We hear wolf howls and prepare for attack ; The enemy repulsed with heavy losses ; A "big talk" and peace ; "It costs too much blood to fight trappers"

Bear River ; The Bannocks ; A swim with the mercury 38° below zero ; The Pah Utes [Paiutes] a low race ; Poisoned arrows ; Brown's Hole and its gay winter life ; I am made trader ; A terrible storm ; Our horses stolen by Blackfeet ; A hard ride ; We recapture the stock

Williams returns ; Tygee the Bannock ; A lucky 13 ; Indians of the Blackfoot country ; Life at a trappers' rendezvous ; Hostile Bannocks ; Howlack in a rage ; We prepare for trouble ; Prowling wolves when shot prove to be Indians ; Spies who did not return ; Three hundred warriors charge the camp ; A desperate fight ; The enemy routed

The Bannocks taught a lesson ; Indians as fighters ; Excited Umatillas ; The Walla Walla Valley ; Its fish and game ; The Walla Wallas ; Tygh Valley ; Indians salmon spearing ; My first sight of the Columbia ; Latitude 49° ; Vicissitudes of the trapper's life

A rich beaver country ; A hunter's paradise ; Great Klamath Lake ; In winter quarters ; A horse pack worth $7200 ; "Boston men" and "King George's" ; In the Modoc country ; We dig rifle-pits ; Trappers' coats of mail ; Prepared for attack

The Modocs threaten to rub us out ; The camp rushed ; Hand-to-hand fighting ; A furious charge ; We lose three men ; Modoc slaughter ; An incident of the Modoc War of 1856 ; The California Rangers ; The massacre of Bloody Point

Honey Lake Valley ; Thieving Indians ; We turn south ; The Truckee River ; Degraded Red men ; In a mountain storm ; Fortune favors the brave ; A dismal camp ; Snow-bound ; Glimpse of the Great American Desert ; Camp on Carson River ; A Pah Ute's [Paiute's] square meal ; Gratified squaws and skinned beavers ; A big catch of fur ; Humboldt Lake ; Hostile Utes ; One of our men ambushed and killed ; A sharp fight and a decisive victory ; We capture forty-three horses ; Our revenge

We move camp ; Crestfallen trappers ; Blackfoot victims ; Fur company traders ; Hot springs ; Our company breaks up ; Expedition to the Big Horn Mountains ; We stand off the Blackfeet ; An arrogant leader [Overstall] and a coward ; The "Tartar Outfit" [Docket, Nobel, Evans, Russell, Hamilton]

Washakie again ; The joy of youth ; A buffalo hunt ; Stinking Water [Thermopolis, Wyoming?] ; Crow and Shoshone horse-racing ; A peaceful camp ; Sign-language ; The Mexican War ; I visit St. Louis ; Home is changed ; "Westward Ho!" ; I pilot an Oregon emigrant train ; Attacked by Pawnees ; Out of deference to the ladies, we do not scalp ; Mormon emigrants ; Fort Hall ; The fur companies and their employees

Fort Bridger ; "Doby men" [fort hangers-on, worthless] ; California gold ; We decide to go to the mines ; Fate of Bill Williams ; Hunting and trapping in the Big Horn ; Humpy, a war-party leader ; We give the easterners a lesson in Indian fighting ; Washakie identifies the scalps as Pend Oreilles

Bound for California ; Furs and gold ; On the old camp ground ; An undisturbed grave ; The Indians hold aloof ; Crossing the range ; Sacramento ; We trappers turn miners and stake our claims ; Barbarous murder

Miners killed by Indians ; A gloomy outlook ; The "mountaineer miners" ; Rifle barrels for crowbars ; Our circus entry into Nevada City ; A council of war ; Perkins advises vigorous action ; We take the trail ; More Indian outrages ; We overtake the hostiles ; An attack and a stubborn defence ; A brave chief ; Good work of the Sharps rifle ; "Silver Tip" has his ear split and Russell gets a bullet through his hat ; The Indians utterly routed and many killed ; White men's scalps to teach a lesson ; A big lot of plunder ; The trappers are made to blush ; We have a triumphal ovation and are hailed as avengers ; Our fame spreads

Our services in request at Hangtown (Placerville) ; We meet the Indians at Biglow's Lake ; A desperate charge ; Mexican War veterans save the day ; To kill a chief is to win the battle ; Our trained horses ; Fastidious trappers annoyed by blood spots on their buckskin suits ; The owner gets his mules ; The Trinity Massacre ; "Tarhead" chastised ; The trappers in the Rogue River and Modoc Wars ; The Pitt River Massacre ; Our band breaks up ; Through the Modoc country again ; Fort Walla Walla ; I go as scout

Death of Russell ; A brave man and a true comrade ; I am left alone ; My horse Hickory ; A business trip to trade and spy ; In the enemies' camp ; My part nearly chokes me ; An extraordinary trade ; We get what we came for ; The Spokane River campaign ; I establish a trading-post at Missoula ; Fort Benton ; The Expedition of 1874 with General Crook ; American Horse ; Later years.

Illustrations: W. T. Hamilton

"I broke the [buffalo] cow's back" / Charles M. Russell, 1905

"His arrow lodged in the fleshy part of my horse's shoulder" / Russell

Next morning, some Utah Indians called on us" / Russell

Free traders / Russell

Pawnee horse thieves / Russell

"The trappers passed through them with their Colt's revolvers" / Russell.

Preface for new edition, [including The Hamilton chronology] / J. Cecil Alter, Lomita, California, March, 1951

The western mountaineer / Hilma S. Sieber, Park City, Montana, August, 1905

The vote that made me an Indian fighter ; St. Louis ; I join Bill Williams's party ; The boy catches on ; A parley with Kiowas ; Friendly Cheyennes ; A trader's trick ; My first sign-talk ; A good trade ; Swift Runner, my friend ; Athletics and longevity

Buffalo hunt with Cheyennes ; A stirring picture ; My first buffalo ; Perils of the chase ; We are feasted on our return ; Character of the Cheyennes ; Pemmican and depuyer [depouille], a substitute for bread ; We leave the Cheyennes

Sioux village on the South Platte ; A Pawnee horse raid ; We give chase ; Wonderful endurance of the Indian pony ; The stock recaptured ; My first shot at an Indian ; Return with Pawnee scalps ; Coup-sticks ; Counting coups

Fur-trade rivalries ; "Free traders" and the companies ; Wealth of the Sioux ; War-parties and singing ; Indian revenge ; We sell our furs for good prices ; Bill Williams a diplomat ; Visited by Arapahoes ; We trade, feast, and smoke ; A threatening party of Crows ; "Business diplomacy"

In a dangerous country ; We find a moccasin and prepare for trouble ; Attacked in the night by Blackfeet ; The enemy repulsed ; Scalps taken ; Pursuit ; Williams a reckless Indian fighter ; I lift my first scalp ; We wipe out the entire party ; Beaver trapping an art

Little Wind River ; A wonderful hot springs ; Shoshone scouts ; Chief Washakie ; We trade our Blackfoot plunder ; Shoshone horse for Blackfoot scalp ; A night of council, scalp dance, and war song ; The fate of two trappers ; "Good for evil" not the trappers' creed ; Shakespeare in a trapper's pack ; Mountain men great readers ; A white beaver

The scouts report Indian war-parties ; We resolve to clear the country of them ; Scouting for hostiles ; A want of strategy ; Some actual warfare ; A wild scene ; We have a close encounter ; We rush the knoll ; A night of mingled mourning and rejoicing

A brush with Piegans ; We part from the Shoshones ; I mystify Washakie ; Indian horsemanship ; The Shoshones ; Beaver trapping ; My first bear [black bears] ; A lesson in bear shooting ; Fascination of the mountain life

The Blackfoot fort in Utah ; A good days for bears ; Fort Bridger ; Mountain men's law ; We trade our furs ; Infatuated with the life ; Exploration of the Yellowstone in 1839 ; Afterwards I visit that country ; Trappers' tales ; My skill in sign-language ; We go with Washakie's band

Horse-racing ; Shooting from horseback ; Whites outshoot Indians ; Williams leaves us ; Navajo blankets ; A lost manuscript

An expedition to explore Utah ; The "boy" becomes "Bill" ; Old Bear orders us off ; "Big chief never smokes with white dogs" ; Trapper life in a hostile Indian country ; Fortified in Camp Weber ; The American trapper a fine type ; We hear wolf howls and prepare for attack ; The enemy repulsed with heavy losses ; A "big talk" and peace ; "It costs too much blood to fight trappers"

Bear River ; The Bannocks ; A swim with the mercury 38A below zero ; The Pah Utes [Paiutes] a low race ; Poisoned arrows ; Brown's Hole and its gay winter life ; I am made trader ; A terrible storm ; Our horses stolen by Blackfeet ; A hard ride ; We recapture the stock

Williams returns ; Tygee the Bannock ; A lucky 13 ; Indians of the Blackfoot country ; Life at a trappers' rendezvous ; Hostile Bannocks ; Howlack in a rage ; We prepare for trouble ; Prowling wolves when shot prove to be Indians ; Spies who did not return ; Three hundred warriors charge the camp ; A desperate fight ; The enemy routed

The Bannocks taught a lesson ; Indians as fighters ; Excited Umatillas ; The Walla Walla Valley ; Its fish and game ; The Walla Wallas ; Tygh Valley ; Indians salmon spearing ; My first sight of the Columbia ; Latitude 49A ; Vicissitudes of the trapper's life

A rich beaver country ; A hunter's paradise ; Great Klamath Lake ; In winter quarters ; A horse pack worth $7200 ; "Boston men" and "King George's" ; In the Modoc country ; We dig rifle-pits ; Trappers' coats of mail ; Prepared for attack

The Modocs threaten to rub us out ; The camp rushed ; Hand-to-hand fighting ; A furious charge ; We lose three men ; Modoc slaughter ; An incident of the Modoc War of 1856 ; The California Rangers ; The massacre of Bloody Point

Honey Lake Valley ; Thieving Indians ; We turn south ; The Truckee River ; Degraded Red men ; In a mountain storm ; Fortune favors the brave ; A dismal camp ; Snow-bound ; Glimpse of the Great American Desert ; Camp on Carson River ; A Pah Ute's [Paiute's] square meal ; Gratified squaws and skinned beavers ; A big catch of fur ; Humboldt Lake ; Hostile Utes ; One of our men ambushed and killed ; A sharp fight and a decisive victory ; We capture forty-three horses ; Our revenge

We move camp ; Crestfallen trappers ; Blackfoot victims ; Fur company traders ; Hot springs ; Our company breaks up ; Expedition to the Big Horn Mountains ; We stand off the Blackfeet ; An arrogant leader [Overstall] and a coward ; The "Tartar Outfit" [Docket, Nobel, Evans, Russell, Hamilton]

Washakie again ; The joy of youth ; A buffalo hunt ; Stinking Water [Thermopolis, Wyoming?] ; Crow and Shoshone horse-racing ; A peaceful camp ; Sign-language ; The Mexican War ; I visit St. Louis ; Home is changed ; "Westward Ho!" ; I pilot an Oregon emigrant train ; Attacked by Pawnees ; Out of deference to the ladies, we do not scalp ; Mormon emigrants ; Fort Hall ; The fur companies and their employees

Fort Bridger ; "Doby men" [fort hangers-on, worthless] ; California gold ; We decide to go to the mines ; Fate of Bill Williams ; Hunting and trapping in the Big Horn ; Humpy, a war-party leader ; We give the easterners a lesson in Indian fighting ; Washakie identifies the scalps as Pend Oreilles

Bound for California ; Furs and gold ; On the old camp ground ; An undisturbed grave ; The Indians hold aloof ; Crossing the range ; Sacramento ; We trappers turn miners and stake our claims ; Barbarous murder

Miners killed by Indians ; A gloomy outlook ; The "mountaineer miners" ; Rifle barrels for crowbars ; Our circus entry into Nevada City ; A council of war ; Perkins advises vigorous action ; We take the trail ; More Indian outrages ; We overtake the hostiles ; An attack and a stubborn defence ; A brave chief ; Good work of the Sharps rifle ; "Silver Tip" has his ear split and Russell gets a bullet through his hat ; The Indians utterly routed and many killed ; White men's scalps to teach a lesson ; A big lot of plunder ; The trappers are made to blush ; We have a triumphal ovation and are hailed as avengers ; Our fame spreads

Our services in request at Hangtown (Placerville) ; We meet the Indians at Biglow's Lake ; A desperate charge ; Mexican War veterans save the day ; To kill a chief is to win the battle ; Our trained horses ; Fastidious trappers annoyed by blood spots on their buckskin suits ; The owner gets his mules ; The Trinity Massacre ; "Tarhead" chastised ; The trappers in the Rogue River and Modoc Wars ; The Pitt River Massacre ; Our band breaks up ; Through the Modoc country again ; Fort Walla Walla ; I go as scout

Death of Russell ; A brave man and a true comrade ; I am left alone ; My horse Hickory ; A business trip to trade and spy ; In the enemies' camp ; My part nearly chokes me ; An extraordinary trade ; We get what we came for ; The Spokane River campaign ; I establish a trading-post at Missoula ; Fort Benton ; The Expedition of 1874 with General Crook ; American Horse ; Later years.