August 3rd. Friday 1804—
Mad up
a Small preasent for those people in perpotion to
their Consiquence, also
a package with a Meadle to accompany
a Speech for the Grand Chief after
Brackfast we collected
those Indians under an owning of our Main Sail, in
presence
of our Party paraded & Delivered a long Speech to them expressive
of our journey the wishes of our
Government, Some
advice to them and Directions how they were to conduct
themselves.
The principal Chief for the
Nation being absent, we
Sent him the Speech flag Meadel & Some
Cloathes. after
hering what they had to say Delivered a Medal of Second
Grade to one for the Ottos & one for the Missourie and present
4 medals of a third Grade to the inferior
chiefs two for
each tribe.[9]
(Those two parts of nations Ottos & Missouries
now residing together is about 250 men the Ottoes composeing
2/3d. and
Missouris 1/3 part)
The names of the
Chiefs made [we acknowledged] this day
are as
follows viz:[10]
|
Indian name |
|
English signfts. |
1st |
We ár ruge
nor |
Ottoe call'd |
Little
Thief |
2 |
Shōn gŏ
tōn gŏ |
" " |
Big
Horse |
|
We—the—
à |
Miss:
" |
Hospatality |
3 |
Shon Guss
à |
Ottoe |
White
horse |
|
Wau pe
ùh |
M. |
|
|
Āh
hŏ ning
gă. |
M. |
|
|
Baza cou
jà. |
Ottoe |
|
|
Āh
hŏ nē
gă. |
M. |
|
Those Chiefs
all Delivered a Speech, acknowledgeing their
approbation to the Speech and
promissing two prosue the
advice & Derections given them that they wer
happy to
find that they had fathers which might be depended on
&c.
We gave them a Cannister of Powder and a Bottle of Whiskey
and delivered a few presents to the whole,
after giveing a
Br. Cth. [Breech Cloth] some Paint guartering & a
Meadell
to those we made Chiefs, after Capt. Lewis's Shooting the air
gun a fiew Shots (which
astonished those nativs) we Set out
and proceeded on five miles on a
Direct line passed a point
on the S. S. & around a large Sand bar on
the L. S. & Camped
on the upper point, the Misquitors excessively
troublesom
this evening. Great appearance of wind and rain to the N. W.
we prepare to rec've it, The man Liberty whome we
Sent for
the Ottoes has not Come up he left the Ottoes Town one
Day
before the Indians. This man has either tired his horse or,
lost himself
in the Plains Some Indians are to hunt for him.
The Situation of our last
Camp Councile Bluff[11]
or Handsom
Prarie, (25 Days from this to Santafee) appears to
be a verry
proper place for a
Tradeing establishment & fortification The
Soil of the Bluff well
adapted for Brick, Great deel of timber
above in the two Points—
many other advantages of a small
nature. and I am told Senteral to Several
nations viz. one
Days march from the Ottoe Town, one Day & a half from
the
great Pania village, 2 days from the Mahar Towns, two 1/4 Days
from the
Loups village, & convenient to the
Countrey thro:
which Bands of the Soux [
rove &]
hunt. perhaps no other
Situation is as well Calculated for a Tradeing
establishment.
The air is pure and helthy so far as we can
judge.
Course of Augt. 3rd
N. 5°. E 5 Ms.
to a pt. on L. S. psd. a pt. on the S. S. & a Sand bar L. S.