They all now jogged on very sociably and cheerily together. Not many miles beyond,they met others of the tribe, among whom was one, whom Captain Bonneville and hiscomrades had known during their residence among the Upper Nez Perces, and whowelcomed them with open arms. In this neighborhood was the home of their guide, whotook leave of them with a profusion of good wishes for their safety and happiness. Thatnight they put up in the hut of a Nez Perce, where they were visited by several warriorsfrom the other side of the river, friends of the old chief and his cousin, who came tohave a talk and a smoke with the white men. The heart of the good old chief wasoverflowing with good will at thus being surrounded by his new and old friends, and hetalked with more spirit and vivacity than ever. The evening passed away in perfectharmony and good-humor, and it was not until a late hour that the visitors took theirleave and recrossed the river.
After this constant picture of worth and virtue on the part of the Nez Perce tribe, wegrieve to have to record a circumstance calculated to throw a temporary shade uponthe name. In the course of the social and harmonious evening just mentioned, one ofthe captain's men, who happened to be something of a virtuoso in his way, and fond ofcollecting curiosities, produced a small skin, a great rarity in the eyes of menconversant in peltries. It attracted much attention among the visitors from beyond theriver, who passed it from one to the other, examined it with looks of lively admiration,and pronounced it a great medicine.
In the morning, when the captain and his party were about to set off, the precious skinwas missing. Search was made for it in the hut, but it was nowhere to be found; and itwas strongly suspected that it had been purloined by some of the connoisseurs fromthe other side of the river.
The old chief and his cousin were indignant at the supposed delinquency of their friendsacross the water, and called out for them to come over and answer for their shamefulconduct. The others answered to the call with all the promptitude of perfect innocence,and spurned at the idea of their being capable of such outrage upon any of the Big-hearted nation.
All were at a loss on whom to fix the crime of abstracting the invaluableskin, when by chance the eyes of the worthies from beyond the water fell upon anunhappy cur, belonging to the owner of the hut. He was a gallows-looking dog, but notmore so than most Indian dogs, who, take them in the mass, are little better than ageneration of vipers. Be that as it may, he was instantly accused of having devouredthe skin in question. A dog accused is generally a dog condemned; and a dogcondemned is generally a dog executed. So was it in the present instance. Theunfortunate cur was arraigned; his thievish looks substantiated his guilt, and he wascondemned by his judges from across the river to be hanged. In vain the Indians of thehut, with whom he was a great favorite, interceded in his behalf. In vain CaptainBonneville and his comrades petitioned that his life might be spared. His judges wereinexorable. He was doubly guilty: first, in having robbed their good friends, the BigHearts of the East; secondly, in having brought a doubt on the honor of the Nez Percetribe. He was, accordingly, swung aloft, and pelted with stones to make his death morecertain. The sentence of the judges being thoroughly executed, a post mortemexamination of the body of the dog was held, to establish his delinquency beyond alldoubt, and to leave the Nez Perces without a shadow of suspicion. Great interest, ofcourse, was manifested by all present, during this operation. The body of the dog wasopened, the intestines rigorously scrutinized, but, to the horror of all concerned, not aparticle of the skin was to be found--the dog had been unjustly executed!
A great clamor now ensued, but the most clamorous was the party from across theriver, whose jealousy of their good name now prompted them to the most vociferousvindications of their innocence. It was with the utmost difficulty that the captain and hiscomrades could calm their lively sensibilities, by accounting for the disappearance ofthe skin in a dozen different ways, until all idea of its having been stolen was entirelyout of the question.
The meeting now broke up. The warriors returned across the river, the captain and hiscomrades proceeded on their journey; but the spirits of the communicative old chief,Yo-mus-ro-y-e-cut, were for a time completely dampened, and he evinced greatmortification at what had just occurred. He rode on in silence, except, that now and thenhe would give way to a burst of indignation, and exclaim, with a shake of the head anda toss of the hand toward the opposite shore--"bad men, very bad men across theriver"; to each of which brief exclamations, his worthy cousin, Hay-she-in-cow-cow,would respond by a guttural sound of acquiescence, equivalent to an amen.
