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 the bark and small branches, after gathering them, by
their fires. This bark wa