The Ride for Help

M AJOR HENRY and his men did not expect to reach Three Forks without a fight. They knew that somewhere along the way they would be attacked by the Blackfeet Indians. They were confident, however, that they would defeat the Indians and then push on to the Forks.

The trappers were partly right. The Blackfeet did attack them. But the outcome of the bitter fight was not at all what the trappers had expected. They were not only badly defeated, but they lost all their fur packs and most of their horses as well. They were forced to return to their fort on the Yellowstone.

The stinging defeat, however, did not discourage the men. They planned to return to the Forks as soon as General Ashley and his new party of trappers joined them.

Although the trapping season was over the men were busy. The nearby friendly Indians again came to the fort bringing with them many packs of beaver. Major Henry was pleased to trade with them for their fine furs. What he really needed, however, was more horses to replace the ones taken by the Blackfeet. But the Indians did not want to trade their horses, even though they were offered more goods than ever before. Since he could not get horses from the Indians, Henry sent two men to meet General Ashley, who was coming up the river. They were to tell him to buy the badly needed horses on his way.

On a June day, late in the afternoon, Jim was on guard. He stood in the high watch tower of the fort which gave him a good view of the surrounding country. Suddenly his hold on his rifle tightened. Far away he sighted the approach of two mounted men.

"Are they Indians?" he asked himself, "or white men?"

He glanced quickly about. All the trappers had gathered, as they did every night, in the open square of the fort. Some were cooking supper,

Jim turned and watched the oncoming riders.

"Hello, there! Hello!" they shouted.

Jim waved his rifle in answer.

"White men coming," he called over his shoulder. Then in a loud voice he called to the riders, "Who are you?"

"Ashley's men."

"Ashley's men," Jim reported.

In an instant Major Henry was on his feet. "Open the gate," he ordered.

The gate was swung open. Two foam-covered horses dashed into the square. The riders dismounted. The older man stumbled forward and would have fallen if a trapper had not caught him. The younger rider, a slim, black-haired man, stood for a minute leaning against his horse.

"I'm Jed Smith," he said gasping for breath. "I have a message for Major Henry."

"I'm Henry. What is the message, Smith?"

"General Ashley—surrounded by Indians. The Rees."

Next to the bloody Blackfeet, the trappers feared the terrible "Rees" as they called the Arikara Indians. At the mention of trouble with the Rees the trappers crowded closer around Henry and the two riders.

"Where is Ashley?" asked the major.

"Down the river," Jed replied between deep breaths. "About three hundred miles from here. Just below the first Ree village on the Missouri."

"Is that where Ashley's party was attacked?"

Jed nodded.

"When did the attack take place?" asked Henry.

"On the second of June." answered Jed. "Over a week ago. We tried to get here as quickly as we could, but Indians were all around us. We had to travel most of the time at night. It was a difficult trip."

"Difficult! It was a bad trip," broke in the second rider. He was a Frenchman, well known to the older trappers. "It was a very bad trip, Major Henry. If I had not trap for you before, I no make trip. But you my friend, so I come."

"I know you are both worn out," said Major Henry. "Come over to the campfire."

The riders followed the major to the campfire and sat down beside him. The trappers, eager to hear every word, formed a silent ring around them.

"Did the two men I sent reach General Ashley before the attack?" asked Henry.

"Yes, they did," replied Jed, "and I think that is one reason why we were attacked."

"I don't understand."

"General Ashley intended to pass the villages without stopping to trade with the Rees. But when your men told him you needed horses he changed his mind. Our party stopped at the first village. After two days of trading we had some fifty horses. We made ready to continue our trip. The general gave orders for an early start the next morning."

Jed shook his head. "But we didn't get started. Before sunrise we were attacked."

Quietly, slowly Jed told of the attack. He had been with the land party of forty men that morning and had been in the thick of the fight. He told how the rifles of hundreds of well-hidden Indians had without warning blazed down upon the men. He praised the brave trappers who had faced the deadly fire and the men who had died. He told how he and the men had finally escaped by swimming out to the keelboats which were anchored in the middle of the river.

"Why didn't your party come on after the attack?"

"The Indians were watching our every move."

"That's not the reason, Smith. You are hiding something from me. What is it?"

"We had only thirty men left."

"Only thirty men!" exclaimed Henry.

"I tell you what happened." The Frenchman did not pay any attention to Jed's signal. "Jed won't say bad things not even about cowards. But I tell you. We leave St. Louis in March. We go up Missouri River. We have everything we need. Two fine keelboats, plenty horses, and more than hundred men. Mostly greenhorns, yes. But the general and I think they be smart very soon. They talk big. Want big Indian fight. Oh, yes, they want big Indian fight to show how brave they are.

"They get it, too. One big Indian fight," the Frenchman continued, "and what do they do? They cry and shake. The general, he try to make them fight. They cry more and shake all over. But not my friend here," he nodded toward Jed. "He so good he could be Frenchman. He fight like me. Good, you know. I tell you how brave he is."

"Just a minute," said Jed holding up his hand.

"Let him go on," said Henry.

"The general, he so mad at greenhorns." The Frenchman roared with laughter. "I never see anyone so mad. He send the cry babies back to St. Louis. That make only thirty men left. The general, he ask for volunteers to come to you. Not one old-timer say a word. But one greenhorn say he go. You guess right. Jed Smith say he go and he only one who say anything. I get shamed. I say to myself, 'You let young fellow, who never see Indian country in West before, be more brave than you?' Oh, I very shamed. I say I go, too, and so here we are."

As the Frenchman talked Jim leaned over the railing of the tower and listened. He watched Jed Smith. His clothes were torn and covered with dust. The deep lines of weariness made him look far older than his twenty-four years. But Jim did not miss the strength and courage of the young man. He knew that in time Jed Smith would take his place as one of the best of the mountain men.

"Yes, and so here we are," said Jed turning to Henry. "General Ashley needs your help."

"And he'll get it," promised the major. "We will be on our way at sunrise."

Leaving Bastian in charge of just enough men to guard the fort, Henry and eighty men rushed to Ashley's assistance. As they had only a few horses most of the men traveled down the river in canoes.

Jim and Tom rode with the mounted men. Jed Smith was also with them. From the beginning the three men were good friends.

At first Jed had not been popular with the other trappers. They paid little attention to him. He didn't seem to fit into their lives. He was quiet, soft spoken, and deeply religious. He had none of the easy manners of the rough-and-ready mountain men. No man, however, who could ride, shoot, and fight like Jed Smith could be overlooked. Long before the party reached Ashley's camp there wasn't a man who didn't respect him for his courage. And he won their real affection because he was honest, loyal, and a true friend.

After a hard trip of almost two weeks, Henry and his men neared Ashley's camp. They slipped by the Indians late one night and reached camp without being seen.

With his increased force General Ashley attacked. The Indians were finally defeated, but the cost of victory was high. Some of the trappers were killed and many were so badly wounded they had to be taken down the river to the nearest fort.

These were staggering blows to General Ashley and Major Henry. They had already spent thousands of dollars to equip two trapping parties. So far their venture in the fur business was a failure. Bad luck had dogged their footsteps for a year and a half. Should they return to St. Louis and put an end to their unlucky fur company? Or should they try again? If they were to try again, time would be needed to hire more men and to buy horses and supplies.

While the two leaders talked over their plans the men remained in camp. They were troubled and anxious. They sat around the campfires in quiet groups or moved restlessly about.

At one campfire Jim and Tom were seated with a group of men. Bill Sublette, who had returned with General Ashley, was with them. The trappers were glad to see Bill again. Bill's younger brother, Milton, was with them, too. Milton had proved himself a good Indian fighter in his first fight.

The Sublette boys, Bill and Milton, were much alike—tall, good-looking, and popular. They were devoted to each other, and they were both eager to become mountain men. Beneath their happy-go-lucky manners there was the courage needed to meet the tests of the wilderness.

"I don't see why you men should be so upset," said Wolf Andrews as he joined them. "What difference does it make if Ashley and Henry call it quits?"

The men made no reply.

"We can always trap for some other company," Wolf continued. "As for me, I'll trap for anyone who pays me the most money."

"You would," flared Tom.

"Well, what's wrong about that?" questioned Wolf. "Aren't you out here to make money, too? Or are you like Jed Smith—out here to explore, make maps, and read the Bible?"

"Leave Jed out of this," said Jim as he rose to his feet.

"Jim, I can take care of myself." Jed's soft voice came from another campfire. "What is it, Wolf?" he asked, coming forward.

Without answering Wolf walked away.

"He will try to make trouble for you," said Tom.

Jed smiled his quiet smile. "No, I think not," he said. "But thanks, boys, just the same."

"Sit here with us," said Tom moving over.

Jed sat down in the circle of men. They were silent again as they stared into the dancing flames of the campfire.

"You know we are lucky men," said Jed at last. "We have a chance to do a lot more than just trap out here in the West. We can really do something for our country. Have you ever thought of that?"

"No," the men shook their heads.

"Well, we can," replied Jed. ,"You see, fur trappers are always anxious to find rrcher beaver streams. In order to find them we must keep pushing on into the wilderness. In our search we can study and explore the country. Think of the good we can do when the settlers come."

"When the settlers come?" interrupted a man. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"People won't come out here to settle," spoke up another. "This will always be our trapping land."

"Once the fur trappers in the East said that about their trapping lands," Jed reminded the men. "But the settlers came. They cleared the land for farms. They built cities and towns. The same thing will happen in the West."

"But it's different out here, Jed."

"Why?"

"Well, the Indians will fight to keep their lands."

"The Indians in the East fought to keep their lands," said Jed. "They lost."

"Well then—" the man hesitated. "Oh, hang it all, Jed, it just can't happen to us."

"We can't stop it," said Jed. "It may be many years before the settlers come. But they will come. They will turn to us and we must help them. By that time the wilderness will be as familiar to us as it is to the Indians. We will know all of it, the rivers, mountains, and valleys. We will have

blazed our trails through the wilderness. And over our trails we will lead the settlers to their new lands."

"I don't believe it will ever happen."

"What do you think, Tom?" asked Jed.

"I think you're right," answered Tom. "And when the time comes I'll help the settlers."

"So will I," spoke up Jim.

The men from the other campfires came over and joined the group. Some of them agreed with Jed, but most of them believed that the wilderness would always be their trapping grounds. They were still arguing when General Ashley and Major Henry joined them.

"Are we going on?" the men asked as they crowded around the two leaders.

"Yes," Henry nodded. "We're going on." Like magic the gloom of the camp disappeared. The men cheered.

"What were you men arguing about when we joined you?" asked the major.

"Well, Jed Smith says that some day the settlers from the East are going to take over our trapping grounds," answered one of the men. "And he thinks we ought to help them do it. He talks about doing something for our country and exploring the wilderness and blazing trails."

General Ashley watched Jed standing before the campfire. He walked over to him and placed a hand on Jed's shoulder. "So we are the trail blazers?" he asked smiling down into Jed's blue eyes.

"Yes, sir, we are," was Jed's quick answer.

Still smiling Ashley turned and said, "Men, I don't believe you quite under* stand what Jed meant. Maybe I can make it clear to you.

"The early history of the fur trade in America is the story of the English and French fur traders and trappers. The men explored and claimed the land for their countries. England and France fought four wars to gain control of the fur trade. England won, but France will always be remembered as the great pioneer of the American fur trade.

"The settling of our country is closely related to the fur trade. The first settlers remained along the Atlantic coast. They did not need to go farther west because they had enough land, and game was plentiful near their little settlements.

"As time went on more and more people came to the thirteen colonies. They, too, wanted land, but the best land was already settled. They began to think of the wilderness, the Indian country beyond the mountains.

"Only a few white men knew the wilderness. They were the men, who, like Daniel Boone, had lived there, trapping, hunting, exploring, and trading with the Indians. The settlers turned to them for help. And over the familiar hunting and trapping trails these men led the settlers to the new lands.

"The Revolutionary War stopped the westward movement for a while. But after we won our independence from England more people continued to move into the wilderness. And again it was the fur trappers who led the way.

"There is still enough land for the settlers on the east side of the Mississippi River. But some day there will not be and then the people will look westward again. And they will move on and settle the West.

"We will lose our trapping grounds and the Indians will lose their lands. That will be all right, I think, because neither the Indians nor we, the trappers, are builders. The settlers—they are the builders of our nation.

"But the settlers will need our help. And we must help them.

"We shall explore the wilderness ahead until it holds no secrets from us. We shall discover unknown rivers, lakes, mountains, and valleys. We shall find secret mountain passes.

"That is our place in our country's history. We are the men who blaze the trails. We are the pathfinders."

1. How did Jim and Tom know when they were near a beaver dam?

2. Tell how to set a beaver trap.

3. How did the beavers make their dams and lodges?

4. How was the settling of our country related to the fur trade?