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from the original manuscripts in the library of the American Philosophical Society and by direction of its committee on historical documents |
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| VIII. |
 | Chapter VII Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 |  |
[Clark:]
23 (22 mistake) of March Friday 1805
A CLOUDY Day visited by Mrs. La[ro]ck, Mc..Kinsey[1]
& the 2d. Chief of the
Big bellies, the white wolf and
many other Minataries, we Gave a Medal
Some
Clothes and wampom to the 2[nd] Chief and Delivered a
Speach,
which they all appeared well pleased with in the evening
the men Danced Mr.
Jessomme displeased.
Mr. La Rocque and I . . . became intimate with the gentlemen
of the American
expedition, who on all occasions seemed happy to see us,
and always treated us with
civility and kindness. It is true, Captain
Lewis could not make himself agreeable to
us. He could speak fluently and
learnedly on all subjects, but his inveterate disposition
against the British stained, at
least in our eyes, all his eloquence. Captain
Clarke was equally well
informed, but his conversation was always pleasant, for he
seemed to
dislike giving offence unnecessarily.—Mackenzie
(Masson's Bourg.
N.-O., i, p.
336.)
24th. (23) of March Satturday 1805—
after Brackfast Mr. La Rocke and Mr. McKinsey and the
Cheifs & men
of the Minetarras leave us. Soon after we were
Visited by a Brother of the
Burnia (of the Borgne, or one eyed
chief of the
Menitarees) who gave us a Vocabulary of his
Language.[2]
the Coal &
many other Mandans also visit us to
day a find Day in the fore part in the
evening a little rain
& the first this winter.
As the Indians could not
well comprehend the intention of recording their words,
they concluded
that the Americans had a wicked design upon their country.—
Mackenzie (ut supra, p.
337).
25th. (24th..) of March Sunday 1805. —
a Cloudy morning wind from the NE the after part of the
Day fair, Several Indians visit us to day, prepareing to Set
out on
our journey, Saw Swans & Wild Gees flying N.E.
this
evening.
26th.. (25th) of March Monday 1805—
a fine Day wind
S.W. but fiew Inds. Visit us to day the Ice
haveing
broken up in Several places, The ice began to brake
away this evening and
was near destroying our Canoes as they
were dec[e]nding to the fort, river
rose only 9 Inches to day
prepareing to Depart.
27th. (26) of March Tuesday 1805—
The river choked up with ice opposit to us
and broke away
in the evening raised only 1/2 Inch all employed prepareing
to Set out.
28th. (27) of March Friday (Wednesday) 1805—
a windey
Blustering Day Wind S W ice running the [ice]
Blocked up in view for the
Space of 4 hours and gave way
leaveing great quantity of ice on the Shallow Sand bars. had
all the Canoes corked
[calked] pitched & tined in and on the
cracks and windshake which is
universially in the Cotton wood.
29th. (28) of March Satturday (Thursday) 1805—
The ice has stoped running owing to Som obstickle above,
repare
the Boat & Perogues, and prepareing to Set out but
few Indians visit
us to day they are now attending on the
river bank to Catch the floating
Buffalow
30th. (29) of March Sunday (Friday) 1805—
The obstickle broke away
above & the ice came down in
great quantities the river rose 13 inches
the last 24 hours I
observed extrodanary dexterity of the Indians in
jumping from
one cake of ice to another, for the purpose of Catching the
they pass over are not two feet square. The Plains are on fire
in View of the fort on both Sides of the River, it is Said to be
common for the Indians to burn the Plains near their Villages
every Spring for the benefit of their hors[e]s, (Qu) and to
induce the Buffalow to come near to them.
Biddle describes the
manner in which the Indians capture baffaloes which, trying
to cross the river, have become isolated on
ice-floes. Mackenzie (ut supra, p. 337)
states that
the Indians on the Missouri also search eagerly for the carcasses of buffaloes
and other drowned animals that float down the river in the spring season;
these,
although rotten and of intolerable stench, "are preferred by the
Natives to any other
kind of food. . . . So fond are the Mandanes of
putrid meat that they bury animals
whole in the winter for the consumption
of the spring."—Ed.
31st. (30th) Saturday. of March Monday (Saturday) (Sunday) 1805—
(Ser. Ordway
now here) Cloudy Day Sever[al] Gangs of
Gees and Ducks pass up the
river. but a Small portion of
ice floating down to
day, but fiew Inds. Visit us to day all
the party in
high Sperits they pass but fiew nights without
amuseing themselves
danceing possessing perfect harmony and
good understanding towards each
other, Generally helthy
except Venerials Complaints which is verry Common
amongst
the natives (Qu.) and the men Catch it from
them
April the 1st. Tuesday (Monday) 1805 —
The fore part of to day haile rain with Thunder & lightning,
the rain continued by intimitions all
day, it is worthey
of remark that this is the 1st.
rain which has fallen Sence we
have been here or Sence the 15 of October
last, except a fiew
drops at two or three defferent times. had the Boat
Perogues
& Canoes all put into the Water.
April the 2nd.. Friday (Tuesday) 1805—
a cloudy
day, rained all the last night we are prepareing to
Set out all thing
nearly ready. The 2d. Chief of the 2d.
Mandan
Village took a miff at our not attending to him perticularly
after being here about ten days and moved back to his village.
The
Mandans Killed twenty one elk yesterday 15 miles
below this, they were So
Meager that they [were] Scercely
fit for use.
April the 3rd.. Thursday (Wednesday) 1805—
a white
frost this morning, Some ice on the edge of the
water, a fine day Pack up
and prepare to load
observed equal altitudes of the ☉ with Sextant and artificial horizen
| A. M. | 7 H. - 51 m - 15.s. | P.M. | 5 h. - 1 m. - 22 s. |
| " | " - 52 - 52.5 | 5 - 3 - 3 | |
| " - 54 - 30 | " - 5 - 41 |
altitude
produc'd from this observation is 36° - 31″ - 15″. Chronomiter
too fast 32 minits
observed Time
and Distance of ☉s. & ☽s.
nearest limbs with the
Sextant and Chronomiter—Sun
west.
| Time | Distance | |
| PM. | 5H. - 15M. - 50S. | 43°. - 27′ - 15″ |
| " - 18 - 24 | " - 30 - 0 | |
| " - 20 - 5 | " - 30 - 30 | |
| " - 31 - 29 | " - 34 - 0 | |
| " - 36 - 47 | " - 36 - 30 | |
| " - 39 - 7 | " - 37 - 15 | |
| " - 40 - 55 | " - 37 - 30 |
Mrs. La Rocke & McKinsey Clerk to the N W. Compy. Visit
us. Mr. McKinzey wishes to Get pay
for his horse lost in
our Service this Winter and one of which our men
were robed
this winter by the Tetons, we Shall pay this man for his
horse. we are all day engaged packing up Sundery articles
to be sent
to the President of the U.S.[4]
Box No. 1, contains the following articles i. e.
In package No. 3 & 4 Male & female antelope, with their Skelitons.
No. 7 & 9 the horns of two
mule or Black tailed deer. a Mandan bow
an[d] quiver of arrows—
with some Recara's tobacco seed.
No. 11 a Martin
Skin, Containing the tail of a Mule Deer, a weasel
and three Squirels from
the Rockey mountains.
No. 12, The bones &
Skeleton of a Small burrowing wolf of the
Praries the Skin being lost by
accedent.
No. 99. The Skeliton of the white and Grey hare.
Box No. 2, Contains 4 Buffalow Robes, and a ear of Mandan Corn.
The
large Trunk Contains a male & female Braro or
burrowing dog
of the Praire and the female's Skeliton.
a carrote of Ricaras Tobacco
a red fox Skin Containing a Magpie
No. 14 Minitarras Buffalow
robe Containing Some articles of Indian
dress.
No. 15 a mandan robe containing two
burrowing Squirels, a white
weasel and the Skin of
a Loucirvia. also
13 red fox Skins.
1 white Hare Skin &c.
4 horns of the mountain ram
1 Robe representing a battle
between the Sioux & Ricaras against
the Minetares and
Mandans.
In Box No. 3.
Nos. 1 & 2 the Skins of the Male & female Antelope with
their Skeletons.
& the Skin of a Yellow
Bear which I obtained from the Sieoux
No. 4. Box. Specimens of plants numbered from 1. to 67.
Specimens of Plants numbered from 1 to 60.
1 Earthen pot Such as the Mandans manufacture and use for culinary
purposes.[5]
1 Tin box containing insects mice &c.
a Specimine of the fur of the antilope.
a Specimon of a
plant, and a parcel of its roots higly prized by the natives
as an efficatious remidy in cases of the
bite of the rattle Snake or
Mad Dog.
In a large Trunk[6]
Skins of a
male and female Braro, or burrowing Dog of the Prarie,
with the Skeleton
of the female.
1 Skin of the red fox Containing a Magpie
2 Cased Skins of the white hare.
1 Minitarra Buffalow robe Containing Some
articles of Indian
Dress.
1 Mandan Buffalow robe Containing a
dressed Lousirva Skin, and
2 cased Skins of the Burrowing Squirel of the
Praries.
13 red fox Skins
4 Horns of the Mountain Ram, or big horn.
1 Buffalow robe painted by a mandan man
representing a battle
fought 8 years Since by the Sioux & Recaras
against the mandans,
me ni tarras & Ah wah har ways. (Mandans &c.
on horseback
Cage No. 6.
Contains a liveing burrowing Squirel of the praries
Cage No. 7.
Contains 4 liveing Magpies
Cage No. 9.
Containing a liveing hen of the Prairie
a large par of Elks horns containing [contained, i. e., held together—
Ed.] by the frontal bone.
Some of the articles were
long on exhibition at Monticello. Others passed to
Peale's museum in
Philadelphia, and there some of the specimens are still to be found.
See
note by Witmer Stone, on "Zoology of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," in
"Scientific Data: Zoology," Vol. vi of the present work.—Ed.
Catlin says (N. Amer. Inds., pp. 260,
261) that specimens of the pottery taken
from the burial mounds in Ohio
"were to be seen in great numbers in the use of the
Mandans; and scarcely
a day in the summer, when the visitor to their village would
not see the
women at work with their hands and fingers, moulding them from black
clay,
into vases, cups, pitchers, and pots, and baking them in their little kilns in
the
sides of the hill, or under the bank of the river."—Ed.
April the 4th. 1805 Wednesday (Thursday)—
a blustering windey
Day the Clerks of the N W Co. leave
us, we are arrangeing all things to
Set out. &c.
April the 5th. 1805 Thursday (Friday) —
we have our 2 perogues & Six Canoes loaded with our
Stores
& provisions, principally provisions, the wind verry high from
the N W. a number of Mandans Visit us to day[7]
April the 6th. Friday (Satturday) 1805—
a fine day visited by a number of Mandans, we are informed
of the arrival of the whole of the recarra nation on the
other Side of the river near
their old village, we Sent an
interpreter to see with orders to return
imediately and let us
know if their Chiefs ment to go down to See their
great father.
| Chapter VII Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 | |