inhabitants of the mountainous regions.  The Blackfeet have ever been their sworn and implacable foes.  Their burials of the hatchet have been few and far between, and never in deep soil.  It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that the Blackfeet reputation should extend to the Crows; but, although circumstances exist which condemn the latter, they are few in number compared with the sins laid by the traders and trappers at the tent-doors of the former.

After the lapse of one month McCoy made his appearance and, most opportunely, brought an extra supply of animals.  The camp was soon struck and the whole band started for the rendezvous, which had been appointed to convene at the mouth of Horse Creek on the Green River.  They reached this place after several days of hard travel.  As usual, trading operations did not commence until all the regular bands of trappers had arrived and reported.  They were then commenced and continued through a period of twenty days.  Here Kit Carson left the company under McCoy and joined a company under the management of a Mr. Fontenelle which numbered one hundred men.  This party went to and trapped on the Yellow Stone River.  On commencing operations the party was divided into fifty trappers and fifty keepers.  The duties of the former were to take the beaver and provide game for food.  The latter to guard their property and cook.  The trappers were now in the midst of their sworn foes, the Blackfeet Indians.  They felt themselves sufficiently strong and were desirous to pay off old scores.  They therefore trapped where they pleased, being determined to dispute the right of possession to the country if attacked.  They were not, however, molested.  A good reason appeared for this, soon after, brought by some friendly Indians belonging to the Crow Tribe.  They informed the whites that the small pox was making terrible havoc with the Blackfeet Indians.  Thousands were dying and fears were entertained that the whole tribe would be cut off.  In order to attend to their sick they had secluded themselves.  The trapping season being nearly over, as the streams began to freeze, the party commenced looking out for a camping site.

In conjunction with the main body of the Crow nation they proceeded to a well protected valley and erected their lodges, making themselves as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.  As the season advanced, the cold became more severe, until at last, it was more intense than ever before experienced by the trappers or Indians.  Fuel, however, was abundant, and, excepting the inconvenience of keeping unusually large fires, they suffered but little.  Not so with their animals.  It was with the greatest difficulty that they preserved them from starvation.  By the most unwearied exertions, however, they succeeded in obtaining food enough barely to keep them alive until the weather became more mild and auspicious.  At one time the crisis was so imminent, that the trappers were compelled to resort to cottonwood trees, thawing