On the 23d of December, 1811, the rag tag Hunt party left
present-day Farewell Bend State Park (Oregon) and began their climb into the
snow-covered Blue Mountains. The mountains were barren, and what food could be
found was covered by snow, and not easily seen. From the journal entries I
read, I gather that the snow was roughly knee deep, not nearly as heavy as it
could have been. By the time they crossed the summit, and were on present-day
McKay (pronounced as McKee) Creek, they were out of the snow.
However, they were still in the snow, probably somewhere
around present-day North Powder, Oregon, on the 30th when they came to a small
village or camp of Shoshone. They were friendly, but not welcoming. At this
time, Marie, the boys, and Pierre stayed behind as the rest of the men
continued on without them. Marie must have looked longingly at the tipis,
wanting not just their warmth, but also the women to help as she gave birth to
her third child.
As soon as it was light enough to see, Pierre bundled his
family onto the horse and led them to the camp Hunt's men made. The men were
surprised to see them, especially Marie with the baby in her left arm, and Paul
in his sling in her right. There was no mention as to where Jean Baptiste was,
but I imagine he sat behind her. Pierre led the horse. There is quite a bit of
conjecture as to where this camp was, but it must have been between North
Powder and present-day La Grande, as there were trees, and the men had a
roaring fire going.
The next morning, New Year's Day, the men refused to travel.
New Year's Day is an almost sacred holiday to the voyageurs, and they built up
the fire, and sang and danced and partied the whole time. This day gave the
weaker ones a chance to rest, including Marie, so it was not a day of
contention.
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| The plain at the bottom of the Blue Mountains. Marie, of course, would not have seen the barbed wire fence nor the yellow blossoms. |
On the 7th of January, 1813, they had crossed the summit of
the pass, and were not just on the downward trek, they were out of the snow and
somewhere between the headwaters of McKay Creek and present-day Emigrant
Springs. They could look out and see the plains where Pendleton, Oregon would
later be located. And the baby died. Pierre dug a hole, wrapped the baby in a
piece of cloth (from his shirt? By now, I doubt he had much in the way of trade
goods), and buried it. The baby was never identified as being male or female,
nor was a name recorded anywhere. When Pierre finished, he repeated a prayer he
remembered from childhood, a part of the Hail Mary, "Pray for us now and
at the moment of our death. Amen."
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| Sage when it's blooming, not at mid-winter. Horses could eat the sage, people could not. |
Pierre was a grumbly sort of man. Many have called him a
wife beater, but the only accounts I could find of him actually beating, or
trying to beat, Marie are told about in the book. Part of that was cultural, it
was expected of the man to keep his wife in line. If he couldn't control his
wife, no telling what kind of mischief she'd get into. There was obviously love
between them, as he defended her against Hunt, especially when Hunt demanded
her horse. I've often wondered if he blamed Hunt for the death of his child. Would
the child have lived, had Hunt not wasted so much time backtracking, etc.? If
the men had not wanted to rest and celebrate New Years Day, the child would
have lived until they reached the Cayuse village at the bottom of McKay Creek.
Could a wet nurse have saved the baby? It is known many of the men had little,
if any, respect for Hunt. In Hunt's defense, it must be said he was a
businessman, not a mountain man, and he was, truly, a fish out of water.
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| Marie probably saw lots of birds and wildlife. This was taken on the Columbia River |
On the 8th January, Marie and her little family were out of
the Blue Mountains and into the Cayuse village, welcomed, and in a warm tipi
with hot food and women to help Marie.
