-a quartz crushing implement-were found in the same region, at a point about fifty miles southwest of Fort Phil Kearney. Ruins of stone houses and fortifications were also discovered by Colonel Mills' expedition in the Big Horn country as late as the fall of 1874. Montana miners who were driven by the Indians from the Rosebud Mountains, east of Fort C. F. Smith, where they were prospecting in 1866, reported that there was evidence that mining had been extensively carried on, on some of the bars there, a long time previous to their visit. They found traces of iron tools which had been devoured by rust, the line of a former ditch to convey water upon the bars and some other indications which lead to the conclusion that the Spanish adventurers alluded to had not only obtained a footing in the region, but had perished there while in the realization of their wildest dreams.

It is stated as a fact, capable of verification, that there is now a map in the archives of Paris, prepared by Jesuits as early as 1792, which contains a correct topographical sketch of the Black Hills and Big Horn Mountains, and that both are marked as auriferous regions; but from whence the information was derived is more than can be definitely ascertained. Certain it is, however, that missionaries and gold seekers visited portions of the present States of Wyoming and Montana, in search of souls and the royal metals, during the last century."

In commenting on Mr. Strayhorn's last paragraph, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in Volume XXV of his history, says that there is nothing true in this statement; that the Spaniards had all they could do to hold their own in New Mexico, during the seventeenth century, without venturing 800 miles into the wilderness among the Indians. There were no such expeditions as represented, although in order to secure grants of land or patents of nobility Spanish adventurers related such stories to the king. Further on, he says: "Some coloring has been given to the story by the discovery, 1865, of what appeared to be the stone foundations of houses, and what might pass for an ancient arastra on the

head waters of Powder River and about Smet Lake. But if we explore the past critically we shall find that at some period anterior to the history of the country, and perhaps contemporaneous with the Cliff-dwellers of Colorado, a people to whom the present tribes of redmen were as little known as the Caucasian was at a later period to these, had their habitations here. Of their presence the traces are distinct, their relics being found chiefly in the country about the head of the Yellowstone, and in the Big Horn and Wind River valleys. They consist of steatite vessels, bowl-shaped, and neatly finished, stone lance heads, knives and scrapers, and sinkers for fishing lines made of volcanic sandstone, or of green-veined marble. The workmanship of these articles is different from any found on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts, and unlike any in use among the present native tribes inhabiting Montana and Wyoming. Other remains point to a scarcity of timber in the past in that part of the mountains where timber is now plentiful, the driveways for game being constructed of stone instead of wood, and the occurrence of small, circular enclosures of stone seeming to indicate that, if not the foundations of houses, they were used for covers from which to shoot game. Heaps of bones, tools, ornaments, weapons, burial cairns, and mining shafts are among the proofs of their presence. At what period they disappeared and recent tribes took their place is among the silent secrets which the past refuses to disclose. The debris of ages covers the silent witnesses of their existence, which patient research is only now bringing to light, and to them I should refer the stone ruins accredited to Spanish occupation."

It will be noticed that Bancroft does not explain the traces of iron tools which had been devoured by rust. Many people in Wyoming even at this day have seen such ancient relics and no one can claim that a race contemporaneous with the Cliff-dwellers possessed iron implements. These belonged to white men and their presence must be accounted for, as they are too numerous to be brushed aside. The whole Wind River, Big Horn and Yellowstone districts

are full of these relics, and a close examination of them will convince any ordinary man that they have been in the ground two or three hundred years. White men brought them into the country, without a doubt, but unfortunately for those who hold to former Spanish occupation there is no proof that these people were the owners of these iron implements. The most that can be said on this subject, from the evidence before us, is that the country of which we have spoken was inhabited by white men a long time ago; prob. ably in the seventeenth century. They mined, they tilled the soil, and it necessarily follows that they built domiciles, which undoubtedly were of stone or had stone foundations.

I regret that I am obliged to leave this subject in an unsettled condition, but some future historian will undoubtedly solve the vexed question. I trust that enough has been shown in this chapter to induce further research. I must of necessity leave my readers to draw their own conclusions from the evidence which has been presented.

CHAPTER III.

FRENCH CANADIAN EXPLORATIONS.

THE DE LA VERENDRYES LEAD AN EXPEDITION FROM CANADA TO THE HEADWATERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI ACROSS TO THE MISSOURI INTO THE YELLOWSTONE AND WIND RIVER COUNTRIES-TURNED BACK BY THE SHOSHONES WHO PERSUADE THE EXPLORERS THAT THEY WILL BE KILLED BY THE SIOUX AT SOUTH PASS-ELEVEN YEARS SPENT IN THE WILDERness-ReturN TO MONTREAL-SECOND EXPEDITION IS PREVENTED BY THE DEATH OF DE LA VERENDRYE-UNPRINCIPLED POLITICIANS ROB THE DE LA VERENDRYE FAMILY AND GET THEIR HANDS IN THE COFFERS OF THE KING-FUR Trade Under ENGLISH OWNERSHIP OF CANADA-AMERICAN REVOLUTION LEADS TO GREAT CHANGES IN THE FUR TRADE.

The French Canadians discovered and developed the fur trade of North America. They trapped along the great rivers of Canada almost from the first occupation of the country by the French. They taught the Indians the commercial value of the skins of all fur-bearing animals, and they also instructed them as to the seasons when these animals were to be caught to insure the quality of the furs in the markets. These French Canadians were an easygoing, jovial set of fellows; were more inclined to trapping and trading than they were to other occupations. They made friends of the Indians, treating the children of the forest with great fairness and kindness, and the result was the French were allowed free navigation of the rivers as far to the north as they chose to go. The business of trapping and trading grew to be extensive and highly profitable, and thus encouraged a peculiar civilization spread itself along the great water-ways of the wilderness, around the Great Lakes, Erie, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, and as far north as the Great Slave Lake. Expeditions were sent out with canoes loaded with merchandise designed for the Indian trade. These on their return were laden with peltries which found a ready market in Montreal. After a time

large capital was employed in the business, which was managed by men of ability. These sent out expeditions and gave employment to an army of voyageurs, trappers, hunters and men-of-all-work. Establishments were founded in the interior, where Indians were invited to come and trade. The men who managed these trading posts were, we are told, "hail fellows well met" on all occasions,and the profits of the business enabled them to pursue a liberal policy and befriend the Indians. These establishments not only employed trappers on contract for a term of years, but bought furs of independent trappers as well as the Indians. The founding of these trading posts in the far-off wilderness weaned the trappers of the desire to return to their homes and many of them became permanent residents and founded families by marrying the daughters of Indian tribes.

Following the traders who organized the great expeditions about the Lakes and beyond, and established posts, was the Catholic missionary, who labored among the Indians. These religious enthusiasts endeavored to persuade the trappers to legally marry their Indian wives, but the good fathers were not always successful in inducing the reckless hunters to consider marriage a sacrament. They preferred to have the bonds of matrimony as little binding as possible, so they might, if occasion required, throw off the matrimonial yoke and marry into another tribe. The Canadian voyageurs, as well as most of the trappers, were devout Catholics and were willing to confess themselves to the priest at stated intervals, but they gave the good fathers to understand that they did not consider marriage with a squaw a legal or binding obligation. The Indians were much more interested in religious matters than were the white men. An Indian believes in what he calls the Great Spirit, and a hereafter, which he designates as the Happy Hunting Grounds. The good fathers thought they saw an opportunity to greatly benefit the redmen and for a time made some headway, but the introduction of spiritous liquors among the natives, to a large extent destroyed