why
he should join one that was still more numerous. The reason he did
so was because they were going into the very heart of the Blackfoot
country. They had suffered so much from these daring marauders that
they knew there would be no safety unless they went in strong force.
Furthermore, the whites had so many old scores to settle with those
redskins that they meant to invite attack from them. If the Blackfeet
would only offer the opportunity for battle, the trappers meant to give
them their fill.

The formidable company arranged matters according to a system. Dividing
into two equal parties, the duty of one was made to trap beaver, while
the other furnished food and guarded the property. By this means,
they would always be in shape to meet their sworn foes, while the real
business which brought them into the country would not be neglected.

The hunters were confident they would not be left alone very long. The
Blackfeet would resent the invasion of their hunting grounds, and to say
the least, would take measures to prevent the time hanging heavily on
the hands of the pale faces.

But, to the astonishment of the trappers, the days passed without
bringing a glimpse of the savages. No hostile shot awoke the impressive
stillness of the wilderness. Could it be the Blackfeet were seeking to
throw the whites off their guard? Did they expect to induce a degree of
carelessness that would enable the Blackfeet to gather their warriors
and overwhelm them before they could reply?

It was not reasonable to suppose that the sagacious tribe held any such
belief, for they could not have failed to know that any such hope was
idle.

But the explanation came one day by a party of friendly Crow Indians,
who stated that the small pox was raging with such awful virulence among
the Blackfeet that they were dying by hundreds and thousands. Indeed,
the havoc was so dreadful that there was reason to believe the whole
tribe would be swept away.

It would not be the first time that such an annihilation has taken place
among the American Indians. The treatment required by that frightful
disease is precisely the opposite of that which the red man in his
ignorance pursues. When small pox breaks out among them, therefore, the
mortality becomes appalling.

The Crow Indians affiliated with the trappers and guided them to a
secluded valley, where they established themselves for the winter. The
lodges were made strong and substantial, and it was