Their
business was to sell to the Indians various things they needed, chiefly
guns and ammunition, and to take in return the current Indian coin,
which consisted of furs.
With the supplies bought by the money I had earned on the trip with
Simpson, mother and my sisters were fairly comfortable. I felt that I
should be able to embark in the fur business on my own account--not as
a trader but as a trapper.
With my friend Dave Harrington as a companion I set out. Harrington was
older than I, and had trapped before in the Rockies. I was sure that
with my knowledge of the Plains and his of the ways of the fur-bearing
animals, we should form an excellent partnership, as in truth we did.
We bought a yoke of oxen, a wagon-sheet, wagon, traps of all sorts, and
strychnine with which to poison wolves. Also we laid in a supply of
grub--no luxuries, but coffee, flour, bacon and everything that we
actually needed to sustain life.
We headed west, and about two hundred miles from home we struck Prairie
Creek, where we found abundant signs of beaver, mink, otter and other
fur-bearing animals. No Indians had troubled us, and we felt safe in
establishing headquarters here and beginning work. The first task was
to build a dugout in a hillside, which we roofed with brush, long
grass, and finally dirt, making everything snug and cozy. A little
fireplace in the wall served as both furnace and kitchen.
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