Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1941 A Recently-Published Diary Sheds New Light on Romantic Story of Fur Trade In the Rocky Mountains a Century Ago The Grand Parade of the Assembled Indians at the Fur Traders’ Rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains in 1837. From the painting by Alfred J. Miller of Baltimore, who accompanied Sir William Drummond Stuart (of Stewart) of Murthly Castle, Scotland, to the Far West in 1837. This picture hung in Murthly Castle until abou* 1926 when it, and other paintings by Miller, were sold and sent to New York. It was purchased there by E. W. Marland, then governor of Oklahoma, and presented to the Oklahoma Historical society in 1936. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) T HE romantic era of the Rocky mountain fur trade of a cen tury ago came to life again the other day and once more such frontier notables as Old Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Na thaniel J. Wyeth, Jim feeckworth, Captain Bonneville, Lucien Fontenelle and the Robidoux brothers strode across the stage of history. They appeared in a new book—“Life in the Rocky Mountains—-A Diary of Wanderings on the Sources of the Rivers Missouri, Columbia, and Colorado, from February, 1830, to No vember, 1835, by W. A. Ferris, then in the Employ of the Amer ican Fur Company,” edited by Paul C. Phillips and published by Fred A. Rosenstock—the Old West Publishing company of Den ver, Colo. “Life in the Rocky Moun tains” is referred to in the n foregoing as a “new book. Perhaps “rediscovered nar rative” would be a more ac curate description. For after Ferris* “wanderings on the sources of the rivers etc.** were over, the diary which he had carefully kept was rewrit ten as a continuous narrative and published serially in an early American magazine, the Western Literary Messenger of Buffalo, N. Y., in 1843-44. In this form it was known to a few scholars of the fur trade era but there were many gaps in the narrative because the Mes senger ceased publication early in its career and many numbers had apparently been lost. Then Mr. Rosenstock, who had been collecting copies of this magazine, traced down the missing numbers and made them available to Mr. Phillips, who had already started work on a biography of Ferris. Later research unearthed other important material—family pa pers, articles written by Ferris in his later years for the Dallas (Texas) Herald and, most impor tant of all, a map of the Northwest Fur Country, drawn by Ferris about 1836. All of this material has gone into the making of this “new book” which is rated by historians as constituting one of the great “finds” in recent re search in the history of the West. in time to take part in the famous Battle of Pierre’s Hole in July, 1832. That fall he was in another famous frontier fight in which his leader, William H. Vandenburgh, lost his life. Ferris tells a dramatic story of this incident—how the party of seven ttappers came upon traces of an Indian hunting party and how they cautiously approached a little grove of trees “watching each wavering twig and rustling bough, to catch a glimpse of some skulking savage.” Then: Suddenly the lightning and thunder of at least twenty fusils burst upon our astonished senses from the gully, and awoke us to a startling consciousness of imminent danger, magnified beyond con ception, by the almost magical appear and, at the time he perished, under thirty years of age. Bold, daring and fearless, yet cautious, deliberate and prudent; uniting the apparent opposite qualities, of courage and coolness, a soldier and a scholar, he died universally beloved and regretted by all who knew him. Ferris had many other narrow escapes from death during the re mainder of his service with the American Fur company. Con cerning his’career in the Rockies, Phillips writes: “The five and a half years which Warren Ferris passed in the mountains had done much to broaden his experience and de velop his powers. He had served under such great masters of the fur trade as Andrew Drips, Lucien Fontenelle, Joseph Robi doux, and William Henry Vanden burgh; and his acquaintance with them in the small trading and trapping parties must have been intimate. He also met Jim Bridg er, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Robert Campbell, Henry Fraeb, William and Milton Sublette, and other leaders of the opposition and learned of their ways and abili ties. He knew Bonneville, Na thaniel P. Wyeth, Captain John Ghant and other independent traders. Another man whom he met, and evidently greatly ad mired but does not mention in his narrative, was Sir William Drummond Stuart, the famous English explorer and hunter. THE DEATH OF VANDENBURGH From the painting by Irvin Shope, now in the Montana State Uni versity Library. A reproduction of this picture forms the frontispiece in Ferris was born in Glens Falls, N. Y., December 26, 1810, and grew up in Buffalo, to which his family had moved when he was very young. He was trained to be a surveyor but at the age of 18/he ran away from home because other disapproved of his smoking a pipe and scolded him severely for doing it on the street one day. Feeling the urge to “go West/’ he finally arrived in St. Louis in June, 1829, and entered the employ of Pierre Chouteau Jr., head of the Western de partment of John Jacob Astor’s American Fur company. At that time three great com panies were competing for the control of the fur business in the West. Into this struggle the young New Yorker was plunged when he left St. Louis with an A. F. C company in February, 1830, and went up the Platte river, through South Pass into the Green river country. That fall they trapped the west ern tributaries of the Green and later moved over to the neigh borhood of Great Salt Lake. In 1831 Ferris was with a trap ping party on the upper Snake river and there had difficulty with a band of rival Hudson’s Bay trappers. That summer he crossed the Continental Divide into the valley of the Jefferson then continued north into the val ley of Clark’s Fork of the Colum bia. The next spring Ferris returned to the Snake river country, was made a clerk and sent among the Flathead Indians with orders to bring them to the annual trap pers’ rendezvous at Pierre’s Hole. He returned with the Flatheads “Life in the Rocky Mountains.” ance of more than one hundred war riors, erect in uncompromising enmity— both before and on either side of us, at the terrifying distance (since meas ured) of thirty steps. Imagination can not paint the horrid sublimity of the scene. A thousand brilliances reflected from their guns as they were quickly thrown into various positions, either to load or Ore, succeeded the first volley, which was followed by a rapid suc cession of shots, and the leaden mes sengers of death, whistled in our ears as they passed in unwelcome proximity. At that instant I saw three of our comrades flying, like arrows, from the place of murder. The horse of our parti san (Vandenburgh) was shot dead under him, but with unexampled firmness, he stepped calmly from the lifeless ani mal, presented his gun at the advancing foe, and exclaimed "Boys, don’t run”; at the same moment the wounded horse of a Frenchman threw his rider, and broke away towards camp. The yells of these infernal flends filled the air, and death appeared inevitable, when I was aroused to energy by observing about twenty Indians advancing, to close the already narrow passage, between the two lines of warriors. Dashing my spurs rowel deep into the flank of my noble steed, at a single bound he cleared the ditch, but before he reached the ground, I was struck in the left shoulder by a ball, which nearly threw me off; by a desperate effort, however, I regained my upright position, and fled. A friend, Mr. R. C. Nelson, crossed the gully with me, but a moment after he was called to-vetum. Without considering the utter impossibility of rendering assistance to our devoted partisan, he wheeled, but at the same instant his horse was severely wounded by two balls through the neck, which compelled him to fly; yet he kept his eye for some moments on our friend, who seeing himself surrounded, without the possibility of escape, leveled his gun and shot down the foremost of his foes. The Indians Immediately fired a volley upon him—he fell—they uttered a loud and shrill yell of exultation, and the noble spirit of a good and a brave man had passed away, forever. Thus fell Wm. Henry Vandenburgh, a gentleman born in Indiana, educated at West Point in the Military Academy. Seated with such men by the campfire, or traveling the trail with them, must have given the young man a larger view of the world as well as a better knowh edge of the problems of how to deal with Indians . . . The care with which he made his observa tions, and the honest and vivid* ness with which he portrayed them, make his narrative one ol absorbing interest. It is the only source of information regarding many important events in the sav age struggle for control of the fur trade.” But aside from Ferris’ impor tance as a first-hand chronicler of this important era in American history, he has other claims tc fame. He left the mountains in the winter of 1835 and returned to his home in Buffalo to straight en out a family tangle One of his brothers had gone to Texas and the next year Warren Ferris joined him there. He became a surveyor in the service of the new Republic of Texas and it was he who made the surveys for the town which became the great city of Dallas. Next he settled down as a farm er but took no part in the Civil war both because he was over age for service and because of his crippled shoulder received in the fight with the Indians in which Vandenburgh was killed. His later years were devoted to lit erary work and he died on Fel> ruary 8, 1873. improved UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL S UNDAY I chool Lesson By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST, D. D. Dean of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. , (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) Lesson for January 5 Lesson subjects and Scripture texts se lected and copyrighted by International Council of Religious Education; used by permission. JESUS AND HUMAN AFFLICTIONS LESSON TEXT—Luke 13:1-5, 10-17. GOLDEN TEXT—We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling nf our infirmities.—Hebrews 4:15. A sense of guilt for sin seems to be in gvery human heart. Some deny it> or seek to suppress it, but it has a way of revealing itself, especially when trouble or sorrow comes. How often one hears even persons who are spiritually indiffer ent and careless say that some catastrophe is a punishment for sia. The assumption is that the one who suffers much is a great sinner, but our study of Job taught us that such is not necessarily the case. In our lesson for today we learn from Jesus Himself regarding human af fliction. His attitude toward it should guide us in #ir attitude- First of all He makes clear that we are all I. Perishing Sinners (w. 1-5). Someone, apparently a Judean, told Jesus, possibly with a sense of real pious satisfaction, that certain Galileans (whom the Judeans did not like) had been slain while they were at worship. Evidently the im plication was, “What terrible sin ners they must have been!” How like that are the expressions of peo ple today! Jesus met the question by giving another similar incident right in Judea, thus rebuking false racial pride; then went on to point out that what they (and we) need to remem ber is that all men are sinners and will perish eternally unless they re pent. “A man can perish though Pilate never slay him. He can per ish though no tower crush him. He may die in his bed, with his friends all about him; and even have music when he dies, but he will be damned unless he repent” (G. Campbell Morgan). The important thing Is not the relative sinfulness of men, but the fact that God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). We are all sinners, either saved by grace or eternally lost. Sinner, turn to the H. Powerful Saviour (w. 10-13). Here was a woman, spiritually “alert, but physically afflicted. She was in the synagogue (w. 10, 11), and she was a daughter of Abra ham, indicating that she was a wom an of faith. But for some reason, which is not revealed, an evil spirit of Satan (v. 16) had brought about in her body an illness which bent her double. We cannot “explain this. There may be many other such cases in the world. There are things we have not fathomed yet concerning the mystery of suffering and the power of evil” (Morgan). We see the facts, but, thank God, we see more, for we find her meet ing the all-powerful Saviour, who is able and willing to deliver. Jesus saw her. He called her to Him. He spoke to her. He touched her, and He healed her. What a blessed experience. Have you been to Jesus with your need? If not, why not come right now? Observe that He had power and authority to set the woman free from Satan who had held her bound for 18 long years. One would suppose that all would have rejoiced at this glorious deliv erance, but we find that the ruler of the synagogue was angry. He viewed what he regarded as the breaking of the Sabbath day with alarm and III. Perverted Solicitude (w. 14- 17). It is a splendid thing to be con cerned about good order, proper procedure and decorum, especially in the house of God. But when there is a human need and the Son of God meets that need by the work ing of His power, it is both folly and hypocrisy to obstruct or become angry because one’s own interpreta tion of the proper order of things has been set aside. This man, who as a religious leader should have realized that the need of humanity came above his consideration for the beast of the field (w. 15, 16), and who should have rejoiced that the Son of God had dune this miracle in the syna gogue, rightly deserved the swift and stinging rebuke of Jesus. His objection was not really to the vio lation of the Sabbath, but to the working of God. Such men need rebuke. , One marvels that the church can read this passage again and again and never learn the lesson. One of the blights on the church today is the unwillingness of many of its leaders to permit the power of God to work. They don’t want it. It upsets their plans and programs. If such a man (or woman) reads these lines, it is suggested that he read the eighth and ninth words of verse 15, then verse 5. May God help us to fairly meet such an important issue honestly, and for the benefit of our eternal souls. *T'HIS design was so extremely popular, when it first appeared, that it is repeated now, for those who might have missed it the first time. Of course you can easily Bee why everybody likes it. De sign No. 8824 slips on over the head and ties in a jiffy—no but tons, no troublesome cross-straps. It’s nice and slim at the waistline, is guaranteed to stay put on the shoulders, and covers your frock thoroughly, above and below! Send for it right away, because your home work will seem much .Ask Me -Another 0 A General Quiz -- k -‘ The Questions 1. What was the first bird sent by Noah from the ark? 2. To what American measure is 1,609.3 meters equivalent? 3. When was the Monroe Doc trine proclaimed? 4. What is the hiemal season? 5. Which of the United States has the Farallon islands just off its coast? 6. What does the name Stalin mean? Molotoff? 7. Where is the deepest hole in the world? 8. Cambria is the Latin and poetic name for what country? 9. How long ago was printing from movable type invented? 10. What is the correct pronun ciation of Vichy? The Answers 1. “He sent forth a raven.” (Gen. 8:7). 2. 5,280 feet, or one mile. 3. The Monroe Doctrine was pro claimed in 1823. 4. Winter. 5. California. 6. The name Stalin means steel. Molotoff, hammer. 7. The deepest hole is said to be an oil well of the Continental Oil company in the San Joaquin valley near Wasco, Calif., nearly three miles deep. 8. Wales. 9. Printing from movable type was invented by Johannes Guten berg at Strasburg and Mainz in 1440. 10. Correct pronunciation of Vichy is Vee-shee, with the accent on the second syllable. It does not rhyme with “fishy” or “itchy.” lighter and pleasanter when you’ve half a dozen such aprons. Choose cheery percale prints, gay gingham checks, or colorful polka dot calico, and trim the edges with ric-rac braid. It’s so easy—you can finish it in a few hours. * • • Pattern No. 8824 Is designed for size* 14. 16, 18, 20; 40, 42 and 44. Size 16 re quires 2% yards of 35-inch material with out nap; 7‘/a yards of braid. Send or der to: SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT. Room 1324 211 W. Wacker Dr. Chicago Enclose 15 cents in coins for Pattern No Size Name Address HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONS - Fruit cake makes a delicious pudding if served with a sauce. * * * A weekly bath in hot soap suds will not only make a broom sweep cleaner, but will make the broom last longer. * • • More food value is preserved when a vegetable is baked in its skin than- when it is steamed or boiled. * • • Two or three minutes after you have started your gas or electric oven, open the door for a second or two, to let out the damp air. The oven will then heat in a much shorter time. * • • To keep cheese fresh for some time, cover it over with a thin coating of paraffin. When ready to serve remove the paraffin. • • • In all but baked dishes, flavoring extracts should be added when the food is cool, otherwise much of the flavoring will vanish in steam. Forgive Most Those who have withstood the severest temptation, who have practiced the most arduous duties, who have confided in God under the heaviest trials, who have been most wronged, have forgiven most. DONT BE BOSSED BY YOUR LAXATIVE-RELIEVE CONSTIPATION THIS MODERN WAY • When you feel gassy, headachy, logy due to clogged-up bowels, do as millions do—take Feen-A-Mint at bedtime. Next morning — thorough, comfortable relief, helping you start the day full of your normal energy and pep, feeling like a million! Feen-A-Mint doesn’t disturb your night’s rest or interfere with work the next day. TYy Feen-A-Mint, the chewing gum laxative, yourself. It tastes good, it’e handy and economical... a family supply FEEN-A-MINT To* Nature Reflects O nature! glorious mirrq* of di vinity; what constant students were we of thy myriad forms and mysteries all through the years of our childhood.—Bulwer. Relief At Last ForYourCough Creomulsion relieves promptly be cause it goes right to the seat of the trouble to help loosen and expel rm laden phlegm, and aid nature soothe and heal raw, tender, in flamed bronchial mucous mem branes. Tell your druggist to sell you a bottle of Creomulsion with the un derstanding you must like the way it quickly allays the cough or you are to have your money back. _ . CREOMULSION for Coughs, Chest Colds, Bronchitis HIGH PRICES Do Not Go WITH ADVERTISING Advertising and high prices do not go together at ail. They are extremely Incompatible to each other. It is only the product which is unadvertised, which has no established market, that costs more than you can afford to pay. Whenever you go into a store and buy an item of ad vertised merchandise, it doesn’t make any difference what, you are getting more for your money—more In quality and service—than you would get if you spent the same amount for something which was not advertised.