stepped out to the balcony to take a more leisurely survey of the long
looked-for haven at which we had arrived at last. Beneath us was the
square area surrounded by little rooms, or rather cells, which opened
upon it. These were devoted to various purposes, but served chiefly for
the accommodation of the men employed at the fort, or of the equally
numerous squaws, whom they were allowed to maintain in it. Opposite to
us rose the blockhouse above the gateway; it was adorned with a figure
which even now haunts my memory; a horse at full speed, daubed upon
the boards with red paint, and exhibiting a degree of skill which might
rival that displayed by the Indians in executing similar designs upon
their robes and lodges. A busy scene was enacting in the area. The
wagons of Vaskiss, an old trader, were about to set out for a remote
post in the mountains, and the Canadians were going through their
preparations with all possible bustle, while here and there an Indian
stood looking on with imperturbable gravity.

Fort Laramie is one of the posts established by the American Fur
Company, who well-nigh monopolize the Indian trade of this whole region.
Here their officials rule with an absolute sway; the arm of the United
States has little force; for when we were there, the extreme outposts
of her troops were about seven hundred miles to the eastward. The little
fort is built of bricks dried in the sun, and externally is of an oblong
form, with bastions of clay, in the form of ordinary blockhouses, at two
of the corners. The walls are about fifteen feet high, and surmounted by
a slender palisade. The roofs of the apartments within, which are built
close against the walls, serve the purpose of a banquette. Within,
the fort is divided by a partition; on one side is the square area
surrounded by the storerooms, offices, and apartments of the inmates;
on the other is the corral, a narrow place, encompassed by the high clay
walls, where at night, or in presence of dangerous Indians, the horses