TRAILS THROUGH
WESTERN WOODS
WESTERN WOODS
Helen Fitzgerald Sanders
by the Author
THE ALICE HARRIMAN COMPANY
1910
THE ALICE HARRIMAN COMPANY
Published, July 1, 1910
NEW YORK
DEDICATION
To the West that is passing; to the days
that are no more and to the brave,
free life of the Wilderness that
lives only in the memory of
those who mourn its loss
PREFACE
The writing of this book has been primarilya labour of love, undertaken in thehope that through the harmonious minglingof Indian tradition and descriptionsof the region—too little known—wherethe lessening tribes still dwell, there maybe a fuller understanding both of the Indiansand of the poetical West.
A wealth of folk-lore will pass withthe passing of the Flathead Reservation,therefore it is well to stop and listen beforethe light is quite vanished from thehill-tops, while still the streams sing thesongs of old and the trees murmur regretfullyof things lost forever and a timethat will come no more. We of theworkaday world are too prone to believethat our own country is lacking in mythand tradition, in hero-tale and romance;yet here in our midst is a legended regionwhere every landmark is a symbol in theviiigreat, natural record book of a folkwhose day is done and whose song is butan echo.
It would not be fitting to close thesefew introductory words without gratefulacknowledgment to those who have aidedme toward the accomplishment of mypurpose. Indeed, every page brings apleasant recollection of a friendly spiritand a helping hand. Mr. Duncan McDonald,son of Angus, and Mr. HenriMatt, my Indian friends, have told meby word of mouth, many of the myths andchronicles set forth in the followingchapters. Mr. Edward Morgan, thefaithful and just agent at the FlatheadReservation, has given me priceless informationwhich I could never have obtainedsave through his kindly interest.He secured for me the legend of theFlint, the last tale told by Charlot andrendered into English by Michel Rivais,the blind interpreter who has served inthat capacity for thirty years. ChiefixCharlot died after this book was finishedand he lies in the land of his exile, out ofthe home of his fathers where he hadhoped to rest. From Mr. Morgan alsoI received the account of Charlot's meetingwith Joseph at the LoLo Pass, thefacts of which were given him by the littlewhite boy since grown to manhood,Mr. David Whaley, who rode with Charlotand his band to the hostile camp.
The late Charles Aubrey, pioneer andplainsman, furnished me valuable dataconcerning the buffalo.
Madame Leonie De Mers and herhospitable relatives, the De Mers of Arlee,were instrumental in winning for methe confidence of the Selish people.
Mrs. L. Mabel Hight, the art