Monte,
I've never read the account of John Colter in "A life
wild and perilous"--you say "by Hafen (?)." I believe
that book was written by Robert Utley. Perhaps your
copy was edited by LeRoy Hafen, who was a pre-eminent
mountain man scholar?
The book called "Three years among the Indians and
Mexicans" by Gen. Thomas James does give a "first
hand" account of John Colter's adventure, but doesn't
say much of his famous treck of 1807-08. James was in
the country in 1809 and 1810 and he met Colter.
However, James' account was not written until 1846
when he was an older man. I think only a handful of
his original editions survived (like less than 5), and
less than 400 of a 1916 edition, and so his account
was not widely circulated until much later.
Besides what Lews and Clark wrote of John Colter, I
believe the earliest account of his adventure was
printed in the Missouri Gazette about as soon as the
news reached St. Louis.
I believe that the earliest account published in book
form--which I'm pretty sure was paraphrased from and
partly quoted the Missouri Gazette--appears in John
Bradbury's TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF AMERICA, IN THE
YEARS 1809, 1810, AND 1811.
Bradbury went up the Missouri with Wilson Price Hunt
in 1811 and met Colter near Colter's home where they
visited briefly... see Bradbury (p. 26):
[Jan. 18, 1810. Colter] "arrived, and accompanied us
for some miles, but could not give me the information
I wished for. He seemed to have a great inclination to
accompany the expedition; but having been lately
married, he reluctantly took leave of us."
Bradbury's account of John Colter's earlier adventure
(which, as I mention above, seems to be paraphrased
and quoted from an earlier Missouri Gazette article)
is under found under endnote (3)--which may only
appear in the second (1819) edition--but again, it
does not saying anything of the trek of 1807-08:
"This man [John Colter] came to St. Louis in May,
1810, in a small canoe, from the head waters of the
Missouri, a distance of three thousand miles, which he
traversed in thirty days. I saw him on his arrival,
and received from him an account of his adventures
after he had separated from Lewis and Clarke's party:
one of these, from its singularity, I shall relate. On
the arrival of the party on the head waters of the
Missouri, Colter, observing an appearance of abundance
of beaver being there,. he got permission to remain
and hunt for some time, which he did in company with a
man of the name of Dixon, who had traversed the
immense tract of country from St. Louis to the head
waters of the Missouri alone. Soon after he separated
from Dixon, and trapped in company with a hunter named
Potts; and aware of the hostility of the Blackfeet
Indians, one of whom had been killed by Lewis, they
set their traps at night, and took them up early in
the morning, remaining concealed during the day. They
were examining their traps early one morning, in a
creek about six miles from that branch of the Missouri
called Jefferson's Fork, and were ascending in a
canoe, when they suddenly heard a great noise,
resembling the trampling of animals; but they could
not ascertain the fact, as the high perpendicular
banks on each side of the river impeded their view.
Colter immediately pronounced it to be occasioned by
Indians, and advised an instant retreat; but was
accused of cowardice by Potts, who insisted that the
noise was caused by buffaloes, and they proceeded on.
In a few minutes afterwards their doubts were removed,
by a party of Indians making their appearance on both
sides of the creek, to the amount of five or six
hundred, who beckoned them to come ashore. As retreat
was now impossible, Colter turned the head of the
canoe to the shore; and at the moment of its touching,
an Indian seized the rifle belonging to Potts; but
Colter, who is a remarkably strong man, immediately
retook it, and handed it to Potts, who remained in the
canoe, and on receiving it pushed off into the river.
He had scarcely quitted the shore when an arrow was
shot at him, and he cried out, "Colter, I am wounded."
Colter remonstrated with him on the folly of
attempting to escape, and urged him to come ashore.
Instead of complying, he instantly levelled his, rifle
at an Indian, and shot him dead on the spot. This
conduct, situated as he was, may appear to have been
an act of madness; but it was doubtless the effect of
sudden, but sound reasoning; for if taken alive, he
must have expected to be tortured to death, according
to their custom. He was instantly pierced with arrows
so numerous, that, to use the language of Colter, "he
was made a riddle of." They now seized Colter,
stripped him entirely naked, and began to consult on
the manner in which he should be put to death. They
were first inclined to set him up as a mark to shoot
at; but the chief interfered, and seizing him by the
shoulder, asked him if he could run fast? Colter, who
had been some time amongst the Kee-kat-sa, or Crow
Indians, had in a considerable degree acquired the
Blackfoot language, and was also well acquainted with
Indian customs. He knew that he had now to run for his
life, with the dreadful odds of five or six hundred
against him, and those armed Indians; therefore
cunningly replied that he was a very bad runner,
although he was considered by the hunters as
remarkably swift. The chief now commanded the party to
remain stationary, and led Colter out on the prairie
three or four hundred yards, and released him, bidding
him to save himself if he could. At that instant the
horrid war whoop sounded in the ears of poor Colter,
who, urged with the hope of preserving life, ran with
a speed at which he was himself surprised. He
proceeded towards the Jefferson Fork, having to
traverse a plain six miles in breadth, abounding with
the prickly pear, on which he was every instant
treading with his naked feet. He ran nearly half way
across the plain before he ventured to look over his
shoulder, when he perceived that the Indians were very
much scattered, and that he had gained ground to a
considerable distance from the main body; but one
Indian, who carried a spear, was much before all the
rest, and not more than a hundred yards from him. A
faint gleam of hope now cheered the heart of Colter:
he derived confidence from the belief that escape was
within the bounds of possibility; but that confidence
was nearly being fatal to him, for he exerted himself
to such a degree, that the blood gushed from his
nostrils, and soon almost covered the fore part of his
body. He had now arrived within a mile of the river,
when he distinctly heard the appalling sound of
footsteps behind him, and every instant expected to
feel the spear of his pursuer. Again he turned his
head, and saw the savage not twenty yards from him.
Determined if possible to avoid the expected blow, he
suddenly stopped, turned round, and spread out his
arms. The Indian, surprised by the suddenness of the
action, and perhaps at the bloody appearance of
Colter, also attempted to stop; but exhausted with
running, he fell whilst end eavouring to throw his
spear, which stuck in the ground, and broke in his
hand. Colter instantly snatched up the pointed part,
with which he pinned him to the earth, and then
continued his flight. The foremost of the Indians, on
arriving at the place, stopped till others came up to
join them, when they set up a hideous yell. Every
moment of this time was improved by Colter, who,
although fainting and exhausted, succeeded in gaining
the skirting of the cotton wood trees, on the borders
of the fork, through which he ran, and plunged into
the river. Fortunately for him, a little below this
place there was an island, against the upper point of
which a raft of drift timber had lodged. He dived
under the raft, and after several efforts, got his
head above water amongst the trunks of trees, covered
over with smaller wood to the depth of several feet.
Scarcely had he secured himself, when the Indians
arrived on the river, screeching and yelling, as
Colter expressed it, "like so many devils." They were
frequently on the raft during the day, and were seen
through the chinks by Colter, who was congratulating
himself on his escape, until the idea arose that they
might set the raft on fire. In horrible suspense he
remained until night, when hearing no more of the
Indians, he dived from under the raft, and swam
silently down the river to a considerable distance,
when he landed, and travelled all night. Although
happy in having escaped from the Indians, his
situation was still dreadful: he was completely naked,
under a burning sun; the soles of his feet were
entirely filled with the thorns of the prickly pear;
he was hungry, and had no means of killing game,
although he saw abundance around him, and was at least
seven days journey from Lisa's Fort, on the Bighorn
branch of the Roche Jaune River. These were
circumstances under which almost any man but an
American hunter would have despaired. He arrived at
the fort in seven days, having subsisted on a root
much esteemed by the Indians of the Missouri, now
known by naturalists as psoralea esculenta.-
BRADBURY."
***
Of course, this account does not mention the long
route he was to take to inform the indians of the
trading post at the Yellowstone in 1807-08.
--Nick Sheedy
--- Monte Holder <montholder@???> wrote:
> I was reading over the weekend in "A life wild and
> perilous" by Hafen(?) I believe, and he talked
> about John Coulter taking a trip with "only his
> rifle and a 30 lb pack", of course there was no
> reference and I realize this isn't a "primary
> source", but wondered if anybody on this list knew
> of where this might have originated.
>
> Like what kind of pack, and what made up the 30
> pounds? Also, I didn't notice any discussion of
> that pack being on a horse, just that he may have
> had the assistance of some of the local tribes to
> get him through the winter.
>
> Haven't posted in some time, but have enjoyed
> reading whatever comes over the list list.
>
> Monte Holder
> Saline County MO
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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