About ten days previously, he had met with three other white men, in very miserable plight, having one horse each, and but one rifle among them.

They also had been plundered and maltreated by the Crows, those universal freebooters.

The Snake endeavored to pronounce the names of these three men, and as far as his imperfect sounds could be understood, they were supposed to be three of the party of four hunters, namely, Carson, St.Michael, Detaye, and Delaunay, who were detached from Mr.Hunt's party on the 28th of September, to trap beaver on the head waters of the Columbia.
In the course of conversation, the Indian informed them that the route by which Mr.Hunt had crossed the Rocky Mountains was very bad and circuitous, and that he knew one much shorter and easier.

Mr.Stuart urged him to accompany them as guide, promising to reward him with a pistol with powder and ball, a knife, an awl, some blue beads, a blanket, and a looking-glass.

Such a catalogue of riches was too tempting to be resisted; besides the poor Snake languished after the prairies; he was tired, he said, of salmon, and longed for buffalo meat, and to have a grand buffalo hunt beyond the mountains.