Page 21

Although there is no mention of the death of her young daughter in the following extended excerpt from her journals, Susan Hunter continues recounting her life commuting between Livingston and Hunters Hot Springs in the spring of 1874, and tells of her encounters with the indigenous Crow Indian population:

"Sometimes there are as many as 4 or 5 hundred tepees at the Springs at one time the Indians bringing their sick and old to bathe and drink of the waters of the Hot Springs. We had made a large dam across the Hot Creek just where a cold stream came into the hot stream for there were cold springs here as well as hot. This made a large pool of water where the Indians bathed. I have seen several hundred in at one time bathing. They called us 'MASTASHETA MINNATOMA' which means white man at hot water. The Indians always brought some of their finest robes and trinkets to the house as a pledge that they would not destroy anything of belonging to us while they were camped there. But it was like a prison to us for we had to keep the doors all locked all the time to keep them out. I or the children dare not go out with out the men being with us for they had no idea of virtue and we were insulted on every turn we made by the bucks.

"They ate their meats mostly raw. I have seen the old squaws take the entrails as the animal was dressed and eat pieces six or eight inches long and push the stuff out and stick the end in their mouth and eat as if they enjoyed it and sit around in the sun and hunt each others head for lice and eat all they found and some time it would be quite a meal for they were all lousy with gray back and head lice. The children were never corrected just like animals they done as they liked, like the pups among the dogs. If they fought each other no one interfered just fought it out if they fell asleep out of the tepee on the ground they lay their till they woke up. The small babies were allways [sic] tied on a board about three feet long and foot and half wide with a strap to hand up so they were leant against the tepee or hung on a tree if any were close to their camps. The squaws and bucks all dressed alike. Leggings, mochasins and blankets on babes and nothing on their heads. The squaws let their hair hand all over their face wile the bucks had theirs braided while furs and paint held it out of their faces. They do most of their talking by signs and each sign means many diferent things.

"One time about 80 tepees were pitched close to the house. I was there alone with the children, the men had gone for wood and before they came back some of the Indians peeping through the windows saw a gallon earthen jug that I had vinegar in and thought it was whisky and I had a good deal of trouble to keep them out or from breaking in the door. They called it 'MIMMA KEVERE' as they termed it fire water but there was a corner of glass broken in one of the window panes so I took the jug and a spoon and gave them through the opening to taste if it was whiskey. They let each one sadisfy their selves as they would taste and go away. Soon all went to their tepees and let me alone but I was rejoiced when the men got home and they was as suprised to see so many Indians as I was rejoiced to see them back. This spring we did not go to Bozeman but stayed at the Mission. Major Pease was agent and he let us put a tent in the stockade and stay till fall. That spring we planted potatoes and corn and other vegetables and sold to the agency."

PREVIOUS PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NEXT PAGE
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Back to MAIN PAGE