University of Virginia Library

26th. of September Wednesday 1804—

Set out early proceeded on and Came to by the Wish of
the Chiefs for to let their Squars [squaws] & boys see the
Boat and Suffer them to treat us well great numbers of men
womin & children on the banks viewing us, these people
Shew great anxiety, they appear Spritely, Generally ill looking
& not well made their legs [& arms] Small generally, [high
cheek bones, prominent eyes] they Grese & Black [paint]
themselves [with coal] when they dress [the distingd. men]
make use of a hawks feathers [Calumet feather adorned with
porcupine quills & fastened to the top of the head & falls backwards]
about their heads. the men [wear] a robe & each a
polecats Skin, for to hold ther Bawe roley [Bois roule] for
Smoking,[2] fond of Dress & Show badly armed with fusees,
&c. The Squaws are Chearfull fine look'g womin not handsom,
High Cheeks Dressed in Skins a Peticoat and roab
which foldes back over ther Sholder, with long wool, do all
their laborious work & I may Say perfect Slaves to the Men,
as all Squars of Nations much at War, or where the Womin
are more noumerous than the men[3] after Comeing too Capt.
Lewis & 5 men went on Shore with the Cheifs, who appeared
disposed to make up & be friendly, after Captain Lewis had
been on Shore about 3 hours I became uneasy for fear of
Deception & Sent a Serjeant to See him and know his treatment
which he reported was friendly, & they were prepareing
for a Dance this evening The[y] made frequent Selicitiations
for us to remain one night only and let them Show their good

disposition towards us, we deturmined to remain, after the
return of Capt. Lewis, I went on Shore on landing I was
receved on a elegent painted B.[uffalo] Robe & taken to the
Village by 6 Men & was not permited to touch the ground
untill I was put down in the grand Concill house on a White
dressed Robe. I saw Several Maha Prissners and Spoke to
the Chiefs [telling them that—Ed.] it was necessary to give
those prisoners up & become good friends with the Mahas if
they wished to follow the advice of their great father I was
in Several Lodges neetly formed as before mentioned as to
the Baureily (Bois brulé—Yankton) Tribe. I was met (on
landing from the boat) by about 10 Well Dressd. young Men
who took me up in a roabe Highly adecreated and Set me
Down by the Side of their Chief on a Dressed Robe in a large
Council House, this house formed a 3/4 Circle of Skins Well
Dressed and Sown together under this Shelter about 70 Men
Set forming a Circle in front of the Cheifs a plac of 6 feet
Diameter was Clear and the pipe of peace raised on (forked)
Sticks (about 6 or 8 inches from the ground) under which there
was swans down scattered, on each Side of this Circle two
Pipes, the (two) flags of Spain 2 & the Flag we gave them
in front of the Grand Chief a large fire was near in which
provisions were Cooking, in the Center about 400lbs. of excellent
Buffalo Beef as a present for us. Soon after they Set me
Down, the Men went for Capt. Lewis brought him in the
same way and placed him also by the Chief in a fiew minits
an old man rose & Spoke aproveing what we had done &
informing us of their situation requesting us to take pity on
them & which was answered. The great Chief then rose with
great State [speaking—Ed.] to the Same purpote as far as
we Could learn & then with Great Solemnity took up the pipe
of Peace & after pointing it to the heavins the 4 quarters of
the Globe & the earth, he made Some disertation, (then made a
Speech) lit it and presented the Stem to us to Smoke, when
the Principal Chief Spoke with the Pipe of Peace he took in
one hand some of the most Delicate parts of the Dog which
was prepared for the fiest & made a Sacrefise to the flag. [this
sentence misplaced in MS., but properly placed by us.—Ed.]
after A Smoke had taken place, & a Short Harange to his
people, we were requested to take the Meal (& then put before
us the dog which they had been cooking, & Pemitigon[4] & ground
potatoe in Several platters Pemn. is Buffa meat dried or jerked
pounded & mixed with grease raw. Dog Sioux think great dish
used on festivals eat little of dog—pemn. & pote good.) We
Smoked for an hour (till) Dark & all was Cleared away a
large fire made in the Center, about 10 Musitions playing on
tambereens (made of hoops & Skin stretched), long Sticks with
Deer & Goats Hoofs tied so as to make a gingling noise, and
many others of a Similer Kind, those Men began to Sing, &
Beet on the Tamboren, the Women Came foward highly
Deckerated in their Way, with the Scalps and Tropies of War
of their fathers Husbands Brothers or near Connections &
proceeded to Dance the War Dance (Women only dance jump
up & down—five or six young men selected accompanied with
songs the tamborin making the song extempore words & music
every now & then one of the com' come out & repeat some exploit
in a sort of song—this taken up by the young men and the women
dance to it) which they done with great Chearfullness untill
about 12 oClock when we informed the Cheifs that they were
[must be] fatigued [amusing us] &c. they then retired & we
Accompd. by 4 Cheifs returned to our boat, they Stayed with
us all night. Those people have Some brave men which they
make use of as Soldiers those men attend to the police of the
Village Correct all errors I saw one of them to day whip
2 Squars, who appeared to have fallen out, when he approachd.
all about appeared to flee with great turrow [terror].
at night they keep two 3,4 5 men at different Distances walking
around Camp Singing the accurrunces of the night

All the Men on board 100 paces from Shore Wind from
the S. E. moderate one man verry sick on board with a
Dangerass Abscess on his Hip. All in Spirits this evening.

In this Tribe I saw 25 Squars and Boys taken 13 days ago
in a battle with the Mahars in this battle they Destroyd 40
Lodges, Killed 75 Men, & som boys & Children, & took 48

Prisoners Womin & boys which they promis both Capt. Lewis
and my self Shall be Delivered up to Mr. Durion at the Bous
rulie (Bois brulé) Tribe,[5] those are a retched and Dejected
looking people the Squars appear low & Corse but this is an
unfavourable time to judge of them

We gave our Mahar inteptr. some fiew articles to give those
Squars in his name Such as Alls, needles &c. &c.

I saw & eat Pemitigon the Dog, Groud. potatoe made into a
Kind of homney, which I thought but little inferior. I also
Saw a Spoon Made of a horn of an Animell of the Sheep
Kind (the mountain ram of Argalia[6] ) the Spoon will hold 2
quarts.