University of Virginia Library

Saturday 30th. of August 1806.

Capt. Lewis is mending Slowly. we set out at the usial hour
and proceeded on very well a fiew miles Jo Field who was
on the shore being behind I derected one of the Small Canoes
with R. Fields & Shannon to continue on the point of a Sand
bar untill he coms up. I took 3 hunters and walked on the
N. E. Shore with a view to kill some fat meet. we had not
proceeded far before Saw a large plumb orchd. of the most delicious
plumbs, out of this orchard 2 large Buck Elks ran
the hunters killed them. I stoped the canoes and brought
in the flesh which was fat and fine, here the party collected
as many plumbs as they could eate and Several pecks of which
they put by &c. after a delay of nearly 2 hours we again proceeded
on downwards passed 3 small Islands and as we were
about to land at the place appointed to wait for the 2 fields
and Shannon, I saw Several men on horseback which with
the help of a spie glass I found to be Indians on the high hills
to the N. E. we landed on the S. W. side and I sent out two
men to a village of Barking Squirels to kill some of those
animals imedeatily after landing about 20 Indians was discovered
on an eminance a little above us on the opposite Side.
one of those men I took to be a french man from his [having]
a blanket capo[t]e & a handkerchief around his head, imediately
after 80 or 90 Indian men all armed with fusees & Bows
& arrows came out of a wood on the opposite bank about 1/4
of a mile below us. they fired. of[f] their guns as a Salute

we returned the Salute with 2 rounds. We were at a loss to
deturmin of what nation those indians were. from their hostile
appearance we were apprehensive they were Tetons, but
from the country through which they roved we were willing
to believe them either the Yanktons, Pon[c]ars or Mahars
either of which nations are well disposed towards the white
people. I deturmined to find out who they were without
running any risque of the party and indians, and therefore
took three french men who could Speak the Mahar Pania
and some Seeoux and in a Small canoe I went over to a Sand
bar which extended Sufficiently near the opposite shore to
converse. imedeately after I set out 3 young men set out
from the opposite Side and swam next me on the Sand bar.
I derected the men to Speak to them in the Pania and Mahar
Languages first neither of Which they could understand I
then derected the man who could speak a fiew words of Seioux
to inquire what nation or tribe they belong to they informed
me that they were Tetons and their chief was Tar-tack-kah-sab-bar
or the black buffalow this chief I knew very well to
be the one we had seen with his band at Teton river which
band had attempted to detain us in the fall of 1804 as we assended
this river and with whome we wer near comeing to
blows. I told those Indians that they had been deef to our
councils and ill treated us as we assended this river two years
past, that they had abused all the whites who had visited them
since. I believed them to be bad people & should not suffer
them to cross to the Side on which the party lay, and directed
them to return with their band to their camp, that if any
of them come near our camp we Should kill them certainly. I lef[t] them on the bear [bar] and returned to th[e] party and
examined the arms &c those indians seeing some corn in the
canoe requested some of it which I refused being deturmined
to have nothing to do with those people. Several others
swam across one of which understood pania, and as our pania
interpreter was a very good one we had it in our power to inform
what we wished. I told this man to inform his nation
that we had not forgot their treatment to us as we passed up
this river &c. that they had treated all the white people who
had visited them very badly; robed them of their goods, and
had wounded one man whom I had Seen, we viewed them
as bad people and no more traders would be Suffered to come
to them, and whenever the white people wished to visit the
nations above they would come sufficiently Strong to whip any
vilenous party who dare to oppose them and words to the
same purpote. I also told them that I was informed that a
part of all their bands were going to war against the Mandans
&c, and that they would be well whiped as the Mandans &
Minitarres &[c] had a plenty of Guns Powder and ball, and
we had given them a cannon to defend themselves. and derected
them to return from the Sand bar and inform their
chiefs what we had said to them, and to keep away from the
river or we Should kill every one of them &c. &c. those
fellows requested to be allowed to come across and make cumerads
which we positively refused and I directed them to return
imediately which they did and after they had informed the
Chiefs &c. as I suppose what we had said to them, they all set
out on their return to their camps back of a high hill. 7 of
them halted on the top of the hill and blackguarded us, told
us to come across and they would kill us all &c of which we
took no notice. we all this time were extreamly anxious for
the arival of the 2 fields & Shannon whome we had left behind,
and were some what consd. as to their Safty. to our
great joy those men hove in Sight at 6 P. M. Jo. Fields had
killed 3 black tail or mule deer. we then Set out, as I wished
to see what those Indians on the hill would act, we steared
across near the opposit Shore, this notion put them [in]
some agitation as to our intentions, some set out on the
direction towards their Camps others walked about on the top
of the hill and one man walked down the hill to meet us and
invited us to land to which invitation I paid no kind of attention.
this man I knew to be the one who had in the fall 1804
accompanied us 2 days and is said to be the friend to the
white people. after we passd him he returned on the top of
the hill and gave 3 strokes with the gun (on the earth—this is
swearing by the earth) he had in his hand this I am informed
is a great oath among the indians. we proceeded on down
about 6 miles and encamped on a large Sand bar in the middle
of the river about 2 miles above our encampment on Mud
Island on the 10th. Septr. 1804 haveing made 22 miles only to
Day. Saw Several indians on the hills at a distance this evening
viewing us. our encampment of this evening was a very
disagreeable one, bleak exposed to the winds, and the sand
wet. I pitched on this Situation to prevent being disturbed
by those Scioux in the course of the night as well as to avoid
the musquetors. Killed 9 whistleing squirels.