altogether, on condition of joining the mutiny and sharing the
profits. The black cook, however (who in all respects was a perfect
demon, and who seemed to exert as much influence, if not more, than
the mate himself), would listen to no proposition of the kind, and
rose repeatedly for the purpose of resuming his work at the gangway.
Fortunately he was so far overcome by intoxication as to be easily
restrained by the less bloodthirsty of the party, among whom was a
line-manager, who went by the name of Dirk Peters. This man was the
son of an Indian squaw of the tribe of Upsarokas, who live among the
fastnesses of the Black Hills, near the source of the Missouri. His
father was a fur-trader, I believe, or at least connected in some
manner with the Indian trading-posts on Lewis river. Peter himself
was one of the most ferocious-looking men I ever beheld. He was short
in stature, not more than four feet eight inches high, but his limbs
were of Herculean mould. His hands, especially, were so enormously
thick and broad as hardly to retain a human shape. His arms, as well
as legs, were bowed in the most singular manner, and appeared to
possess no flexibility whatever. His head was equally deformed, being
of immense size, with an indentation on the crown (like that on the
head of most negroes), and entirely bald. To conceal this latter
deficiency, which did not proceed from old age, he usually wore a wig
formed of any hair-like material which presented itself- occasionally
the skin of a Spanish dog or American grizzly bear. At the time
spoken of, he had on a portion of one of these bearskins; and it
added no little to the natural ferocity of his countenance, which
betook of the Upsaroka character. The mouth extended nearly from ear
to ear, the lips were thin, and seemed, like some other portions of
his frame, to be devoid of natural pliancy, so that the ruling
expression never varied under the influence of any emotion whatever.
This ruling expression may be conceived when it is considered that