Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 printed from the original manuscripts in the library of the American Philosophical Society and by direction of its committee on historical documents |
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II. |
III. |
IV. |
V. |
VI. |
VII. |
VIII. |
Chapter V Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 | ||
21st. Nov. Wednesday—
a fine Day despatched a perogue and
collected stone for
our Chimneys, Some wind from the S.W. arrange our
different articles. Maney Indians visit us to day, G D hurd
his hand
verry bad all the party in high Spirits. The river
Clear of ice, &
riseing a little.[25]
At this point Biddle describes (i, pp. 129-132) the location,
history, and mutual
relations of the tribes about Fort Mandan. There are
five villages, "the residence
of three distinct nations: the Mandans, the
Ahnahaways, and the Minnetarees."
The Mandan may number about 350
warriors. The Ahnahaway ("the people whose
village is on a hill") live at
the mouth of Knife River, in a village called Mahaha;
"they are called by
the French, Soulier Noir or Shoe Indians, by the Mandans
Wattasoons; and
their whole force is about fifty men." Half a mile above Mahaha
on the
Knife River is a village of the Minitaree surnamed Metaharta ("of the
willows"), numbering 150 warriors; and farther up that stream is another,
of the
Minitaree proper, who have 450 men. "These Minnetarees are part of
the great
nation called Fall Indians, who occupy the intermediate country
between the Missouri
and the Saskaskawan. The
name of Grosventres, or Bigbellies, is given to
these Minnetarees, as well
as to all the Fall Indians." Mooney says (U. S. Bur.
Ethnol. Rep., 1892-93, p. 955) that Grosventres signifies
"belly-people" (i. e.,
grasping and selfish, "spongers"); that the Arapaho
division of that name are the
"Gros Ventres of the Prairie"; while the
Hidatsa or Minitaree with whom Lewis
and Clark wintered, are sometimes
called "Gros Ventres of the Missouri." See
McGee's interpretation of the
term Grosventres (ut supra, 1893-94, p. 197).
Valuable information regarding all these tribes is given by Washington
Matthews, in
his Ethnography and Philology of the
Hidatsa Indians.—Ed.
Chapter V Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 | ||