 | CHAPTER XIV. Travels in the interior of North America. |  |
CHAPTER XIV.
VOYAGE FROM FORT CLARKE TO FORT UNION, NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE YELLOW STONE RIVER,
FROM THE 19TH TO THE 24TH JUNE.
Ruhptare, the second Village of the Mandans—The Villages of the Manitaries on Knife River—Interview with the
Manitaries—Winter Villages of that Nation—Remarkable Hills—Mountain L'Ours qui Danse—Little Missouri River
—Territory of the Assiniboins—Kiasax and Matsokui, two Blackfeet Indians—The Grizzly Bear—Interview with
the Assiniboins—The Bighorn—Muddy River, Lewis and Clarke's White Earth River—Yellow Stone River—
Fort Union.
On the 19th June, the Assiniboin left Fort Clarke, with a high, cold wind, and clouded sky;
the thermometer, at nine in the morning, being at 60½°. The chiefs, and other Indians, had
come on board, and also Kiasax, a Blackfoot Indian, who wished to return to his own people.
The country, on the south bank, appeared to us to have some resemblance with many parts on
the banks of the Rhine; but, on the right bank, there soon appeared those singular hills resembling
fortifications. At ten o'clock, we came to Ruhptare, the second Mandan village, on
the south bank, which is situated in a plain a little higher than the river. All the inhabitants,
in their buffalo dresses, were collected on the bank, and some had taken their station on the
tops of their huts to have a better view: the whole prairie was covered with people, Indians on
horseback, and horses grazing. In the low willow thickets on the bank, the brown, naked children
were running about; all the men had fans of eagles' feathers in their hands. The village
was surrounded with a fence of palisades; and, with its spherical clay huts, looked like a New
Zealand Hippah. Here, too, there were high poles near the village, on which skins and other
things were hung, as offerings to the lord of life, or the sun, and numerous stages for the
dead were scattered about the prairie. As we proceeded, the whole population accompanied us
along the steep bank on foot and on horseback, followed by many of their large wolf dogs. The
distance on the southern bank, the red mass of the clay huts of the lower village of the Manitaries,
which we reached in half an hour. The Missouri is joined by the Knife River, on which the
three villages of the Manitaries are built. The largest, which is the furthest from the Missouri,
is called Eláh-Sá (the village of the great willows); the middle one, Awatichay (the little village),
where Charbonneau, the interpreter, lives; and the third, Awacháwi (le village des souliers),
which is the smallest, consisting of only eighteen huts, situated at the mouth of Knife River.
While we were examining this interesting country, and receiving from Charbonneau many particulars
respecting these villages, in which he had lived for more than thirty years, our Indian
companions were sitting or lying about the fire, smoking their pipes. Among them was Dipauch
(the broken arm), a tall, stout man, with whom I frequently came in contact in the following
winter. His long, thick hair was bound together in a large queue, and on his breast he wore a
silver gorget, which he had received as a present from the Whites. The expression of his countenance
was agreeable, whereas that of Berock Itainú (bull's neck), a similar colossus, the inseparable
companion of the former, was gloomy and less pleasing. Both were six feet high, and
Berock Itainú wore his hair tied together in a knot upon his head. Mato-Topé (the four bears),
the eminent Mandan chief, whom I have before mentioned, and Cháratá-Numákshi (the chief of
the wolves), were also present; and I purchased from the former his painted buffalo dress, which
had hitherto been his medicine (i. e. charm), which he highly valued as a souvenir of his brother,
who had been shot by the enemy. Our cookery pleased them much; they were fond of coffee,
and sugar was considered a great delicacy; but they cannot make maple sugar like the Indians in
the woody country, because the trees are neither numerous nor strong enough to produce this
article.
When we turned our eyes from the dark brown inhabitants to the surrounding scenery, we
saw, on the banks, grey hills, with level prairies and willow thickets next the river, and the country,
in general, was rather flat than mountainous. The hills were partly depressed at the top—a
feature which is almost peculiar to these hills. At noon the sun burst forth, and the thermometer
was at 76°, with a high wind. The south bank of the river was now animated by a crowd of
Indians, both on foot and on horseback; they were the Manitaries, who had flocked from their
three villages to see the steamer and to welcome us. The appearance of this vessel of the
Company, which comes up, once in two years, to the Yellow Stone River, is an event of the
greatest importance to the Indians; they then come from considerable distances to see this
hissing machine, which they look upon as one of the most wonderful medicines (charms) of the
white men. The sight of the red-brown crowd collected on the river side, for even their buffalo
skins were mostly of this colour, was, in the highest degree, striking. We already saw above a
hundred of them, with many dogs, some of which drew sledges, and others, wooden boards
with leather straps. The Indians hastened through the willow thicket, and, altogether, stood
opposite to us on the steep, low, sandy bank, where they were so crowded that we, every moment,
expected to see the sand give way.
The most attractive sight which we had yet met with upon this voyage, now presented itself
to our view. The steam-boat lay to close to the willow thicket, and we saw, immediately before
us, the numerous, motley, gaily painted, and variously ornamented crowd of the most elegant
Indians on the whole course of the Missouri. The handsomest and most robust persons, of both
sexes and all ages, in highly original, graceful, and characteristic costumes, appeared, thronged
together, to our astonished eye; and there was, all at once, so much to see and to observe, that
we anxiously profited by every moment to catch only the main features of this unique picture.
The Manitaries are, in fact, the tallest and best formed Indians on the Missouri, and, in this respect,
as well as in the elegance of their costume, the Crows alone approach them, whom they, perhaps,
even surpass in the latter particular. Their faces were, in general, painted red, in which the
North Americans agree with the Brazilians, and many other South Americans; their long hair
hung in broad flat braids down their backs; on the side of each eye, they had hanging, from the
forehead, a string of white and blue beads, alternating with tooth shells, and their heads were
adorned with feathers, stuck in the hair.
The expression of their remarkable countenances, as they gazed at us, was very various;
in some, it was cold and disdainful; in others, intense curiosity; in others, again, good-nature
and simplicity. The upper parts of their bodies were, in general, naked, and the fine brown skin of
their arms adorned with broad, bright bracelets of a white metal. In their hands they carried
their musket, bow and battle-axe; their quivers, of otter skin, elegantly decorated, were slung
over their backs; their leggins were trimmed with tufts of the hair of the enemies whom they
had killed, with dyed horse-hair of different colours, and with a profusion of leather fringe, and
beautifully embroidered with stripes of dyed porcupine quills, or glass beads, of the most brilliant
colours. These handsome, robust men, showing their remarkably fine white teeth as they
smiled, gave free expression to their feelings; and the unnatural and ugly fashions, as well as the
different costumes of the white people, probably afforded ample matter for satirical observations,
for which these children of nature have a peculiar turn. All these Indians were dressed in their
very finest clothes, and they completely attained their object; for they made, at least upon us
strangers, a very lively impression. Many of them were distinguished by wearing leather shirts,
of exquisite workmanship, which they obtain by barter from the Crows. Several tall, athletic
men were on horseback, and managed their horses, which were frightened by the noise of the
steam-boats, with an ease which afforded us pleasure. Urging them with their short whips in the
manner of the Cossacks, with the bridle fastened to the lower jaw, they, at length, pushed the
horsemen, resembling the Circassians, with their red-painted countenances, were regarded with
great admiration. Many of them wore the large valuable necklace, made of long bears' claws,
and their handsomely-painted buffalo robe was fastened round the waist by a girdle. In general
they had no stirrups, but sat very firmly on the naked backs of the horses, and several rode on a
saddle resembling the Hungarian saddle. Among the young women we observed some who
were very pretty, the white of whose sparkling hazel eyes formed a striking contrast with the
vermilion faces. I regret that it is impossible, by any description, to give the reader a distinct
idea of such a scene, and there was not sufficient time for Mr. Bodmer to make a drawing of it.
The following winter, however, afforded us an opportunity, in some measure, to supply this
deficiency.
The chiefs of the Manitaries came on board for a short time; among them were old Addi-Hiddisch
(the road maker), Péhriska-Rúhpa (the two ravens), Lachpizí-Sihrish (the yellow bear),
and several others, and with them the Blackfoot Kiasax, in his best dress, who was to make the
voyage along with us. He was accompanied by his Manitari wife, who carried a little child,
wrapped in a piece of leather, fastened with straps. She wept much at parting from her husband,
and the farewell scene was very interesting. While this was going on, an Indian, on the shore,
was employed in keeping off the crowd with a long willow rod, which he laid about the women
and children with a right hearty good will, when, by their curiosity, they hindered our engagés
and crew in loosening the vessel from the shore. The vessel, however, was ready to start; Mr.
Kipp, Charbonneau, the interpreter, and the Manitari chiefs, took leave, and hastened to land,
on which the Assiniboin proceeded rapidly up the Missouri. The Indians followed us, for a time,
along the bank; about thirty of them formed an interesting group on horseback, two sometimes
sitting on the same beast. As the willow thickets on the banks ceased, we had a good
view of the prairie, where many Indian horsemen were galloping about; herds of horses fled from
the noise of the vessel. The friends and relations of Kiasax and Matsokui—for we had taken
another Blackfoot on board—followed the vessel longer than any of the others; they frequently
called to them, and nodded farewell, to which Kiasax answered with a long wooden pipe, upon
which he played a wretched piece of music.
half to three feet long, rather wider at the lower end, and has a hole on the upper side, which is
alternately opened and shut with the finger. By way of ornament, an eagle's feather is fastened
owner. Kiasax set a high value on his pipe, which he held constantly in his hand, and would not
sell on any terms. A violent storm, accompanied by heavy rain, compelled us to lay to, for ten
minutes, on the left bank, where the river is bounded by steep high hills. At this spot Major
Pilcher had formerly established a trading post for the Crows and Assiniboins. There were, at
that time, no such posts further up the Missouri, but it has since been abandoned, and no trace
of it is now to be seen. Before us was a fine extensive view of romantic gradations of the tongues
of land, singular mountain tops and cones; and, on the grey chain of hills, we again saw the
black horizontal parallel strata of the bituminous coal, which accompany, without interruption,
the course of the Missouri. This black fossil has often been examined, with the hope that it
might be employed as fuel, but it is unserviceable, has a very bad smell, and is of no use even for
blacksmiths' work. These black strata have evidently undergone, in former times, the action of
fire; and we everywhere observed, on the ridges of the hills, clay or clay-slate formations, either
in the shape of cones, or angular, like fortifications. Many of these pyramids are perfectly regular,
and stand on a broad basis, furrowed by the water; some are square, and others regularly
flattened. The strata of bituminous coal extend along the base of most of them; all these singularly-formed
rocks have, doubtless, been elevated by the action of subterraneous fire. The
evening sun illumined the grotesque pyramidal hills, and their shadows gave us a clear idea of
their forms. The northern declivity of the mountains was partly covered with bushes; the
southern, almost always naked and bare. Towards nightfall we passed the winter village of the
Manitaries, situated in a forest, which, at this time, was without inhabitants, and then came to a
tongue of land on the right hand, with a high, steep, rocky bank, on which Mr. Sandford once
found, in the month of April, great numbers of serpents, which he estimated at several thousands.
They appear to have consisted of two species only, which, by their description, were, doubtless, the
Col. sirtalis and flaviventris of Say. All the holes and pits in the sides of the rock, and between the
blocks of stone on the bank, are said to have been full of them. In one small ravine they lay coiled
up in balls; several hundreds of them were killed, the Americans, in general, having an antipathy
to these animals. Bradbury, too, mentions large heaps of serpents, under stones, along the Missouri,
but at another season of the year. That serpents must abound in these parts, seems to be
proved by the name of a small stream, which is called Snake Creek. Half a mile from this place,
the Miry Creek flows, from a flat meadow; on the hills beyond we saw some antelopes.
On the following morning, the 20th of June, we perceived, in a forest on the bank, fifteen
Indians, and soon afterwards four large elks, which would have been a welcome prey to the
hunters, had they been aware of their being so near. One of the strata of black coal on the
generally flat hills of this part of the country had lately been on fire; we did not, however,
perceive any smoke.
After ten o'clock, having taken in fuel, we came to singular hills, flattened at the top, which
are called L'Ours qui Danse, because it is said the Indians here celebrate the bear dance, a medicine
feast, in order to obtain success in the chase. At noon there was a high cold wind while the
thermometer was at 70°. The country was rather flat, and the river was bordered by green
forests; on the right bank, in particular, the wood was beautiful, lofty, and dark. Here we
observed many traces of beavers, such as gnawed trees and paths leading to the water's edge.
Our hunters gradually returned to the bank; they had shot two Virginian deer, an antelope, and
a prairie hen. Mr. Bodmer, who returned to the vessel much fatigued and heated, brought with
him a stone[1]
of the shape of a battle-axe, which had been found in the prairie. See the annexed
woodcut.
Continuing our voyage, we saw the buffaloes hasten away, and moored our vessel at twilight
to some trees on the north bank. All over the plain there were deeply trodden paths of the
buffaloes. On the following morning, the 21st, the river had risen considerably, and brought
down trunks of trees, branches, &c., which covered the surface, and gave our vessel some violent
shocks: strips of wood, and desolate hills, without any vegetation, appeared. On the southern
bank we came to a green spot at the mouth of the Little Missouri, which is reckoned to be 1670
miles from the mouth of the Great Missouri. The chain of blue hills, with the same singular
forms as we had seen before, appeared on the other side of this river. In the forests roses in full
blossom formed a thick underwood, which was traversed by the path of the buffaloes. Before
noon we reached the territory of the Assiniboins, and were, at this time, at Wild Onion Creek.
Kiasax (l'ours gauche—left-handed or awkward bear) had permitted Mr. Bodmer to take his
portrait, without making any objection, whereas Matsokui (beautiful hair) was not to be persuaded
to do so, affirming that he must then infallibly die. It turned out in the sequel that he
was to die, and Kiasax to return, unhurt by the enemy. The latter had adopted the costume of
the Manitaries, but at the same time wrapped himself in a Spanish blanket, striped blue, white
and black, which, as well as a metal cross, which he wore suspended round his neck, was a proof
of the intercourse between the Blackfoot Indians and the Spaniards near the Rocky Mountains.
These two Indians appeared to be very quiet, obliging men. Thus, for instance, they never
true, only common grass, because they had observed that we always brought plants home
with us.
We lay to about three miles below Goose Egg Lake. A white wolf accompanied the steamboat
as it proceeded. We came to the canal which joins Goose Egg Lake to the Missouri,
which I was unable to examine, as the steamer did not stop. Here the river makes a great
bend, which, as well as that near Fort Lookout, is called by some Canadians Le Grand Détour.
Early on the following morning, the 22nd, we saw wild animals of various kinds, such as buffaloes,
elks, and Virginian deer. The wild geese with their young suffered us to approach pretty
closely, because, at this season, they moult their long wing feathers. About ten o'clock we had
an alarm of fire on board: the upper deck had been set on fire by the iron pipe of the chimney
of the great cabin. We immediately lay to, and, by breaking up the deck, the danger was soon
over, which, however, was not inconsiderable, as we had many barrels of powder on board. We
had scarcely got over this trouble, when another arose; the current of the swollen river was so
strong, that we long contended against it to no purpose, in order to turn a certain point of land,
while, at the same time, the high west wind was against us, and both together threw the vessel
back three times on the south coast. The first shock was so violent, that the lower deck gallery
was broken to pieces. Our second attempt succeeded no better; part of the paddle-box was
broken, and carried away by the current. We were now obliged to land forty men to tow the
vessel, for which purpose all on board voluntarily offered their services, even the two Blackfeet
overcame their natural laziness. Beyond this dangerous place, we took on board the hunters
whom we had sent out. They were covered from head to foot with blood, and hung about with
game, having killed two elks. The effect of the current and the wind upon our vessel continued
for a long time. It was often thrown against the alluvial bank, so that the deck was covered with
earth, and the track of our vessel clearly marked along the clayey sand bank. After four o'clock
we stopped at a narrow verdant prairie in front of the hills, to fell wood: several pretty plants,
among which was a juniper with the berries still green, were found here. The cat bird, the wren
and blackbird animated the thickets, and we observed also the great curlew (Numenius longirostris).
A very large elk horn of twelve antlers had been found; a number of them lie about in all the
forests and prairies, of which no use is made. In the afternoon we saw in the prairie of the
north bank a large grizzly bear, and immediately sent Ortubize and another hunter in pursuit of
him, but to no purpose. Soon after we saw two other bears, one of a whitish, the other of a
dark colour, and our hunters, when they returned, affirmed that they had wounded the largest.
Harvey had shot an elk, and brought the best part of it from a great distance, and with considerable
exertion, to the river. From this place upwards, the grey bear became more and more
common; further down the river it is still rare. Brackenridge says, it is not found below the
mouth of White Earth River, called by Lewis and Clarke, Goat-pen River. Here we crossed
the Missouri, and lay to for the night on the south coast, where some of our people landed to set
traps for the beavers. Harvey had the good fortune to catch, during the night, a young beaver,
which he brought on board alive, on the following morning, the 23rd. The iron trap had
broken one of the legs of the little beaver, and with all our care we could not keep it alive. The
surrounding country on the banks of the Missouri, which is here very broad, again showed the
singularly formed angular hills flattened at the top like tables: several pretty prairies, in which
the white artemisia and other beautiful plants grew, extended at the foot of the eminences, on
the declivity of which the buffalo berry and the creeping juniper were common; henceforward
the clay cones were partly burnt as red as bricks, which was a clear proof of their origin. Many
of them had parallel horizontal stripes, projecting a little, of harder sand-stone strata, which had
resisted the influence of the elements more than the intermediate strata of clay and sand.
The vessel laying to, about eleven o'clock, near a wood on the south bank, we suddenly
perceived on the north bank some Indians, who immediately called to us. They were the first
Assiniboins that we had met with; they sat upon the bank waiting for the boat which Mr.
Mc Kenzie sent to them. After a short pause they came on board the steamer, and proved to
be Stassága (le brecheux), who was well known to Mr. Mc Kenzie, with seven of his people of the
branch called by the French, Gens des Filles. The chief, a robust, thick-set man, rather above
the middle size, wore his hair tied behind in a thick queue, and cut short in front; he had bound
across the crown a slip of whitish skin; in his ears he had strings of blue and white glass beads;
round his neck a collar of bears' claws; the upper part of his body was wrapped in a red
woollen shirt; his legs were quite bare, but he had a pair of handsomely embroidered leggins
which he put on when his people left the vessel. He was wrapped in a buffalo robe, and had
in his hand a musket, and an eagle's wing for a fan. Another robust man had smeared his
face, about the eyes, with white clay. The rest of these Indians were neither well formed nor
well dressed, but dirty and slovenly. Their hair hung in disorder about their heads; some
of them had made it up into three plaits; their legs were mostly bare; only a couple of them had
leggins. One of them, with a Jewish physiognomy, wore a white wolf skin cap. Some of
them were marked with two parallel tattooed black stripes from the neck down the breast;
the upper parts of their bodies were naked, but they were wrapped in buffalo robes. Most of
them had guns, and all, without distinction, bows and arrows, the latter in a quiver or bag
made of skin, to which also the case for the bow is attached, as shown in the woodcut,
page 150.
As the Assiniboins are a branch of the Sioux, Ortubize was able to act as interpreter.
They were made to sit down round the great cabin, and the pipe circulated; they likewise
came to these parts in the spring, they had suffered much from want of food, buffaloes being
scarce. They intended shortly to leave this part of the country, but the chief wished to go with
us to Fort Union, which we allowed him to do. After they had been shown about the vessel,
the steam-engine of which greatly excited their attention, though they suppressed any mark
of surprise, they were landed in a lofty poplar grove on the north bank.
After dinner, we proceeded along the side of a prairie, where we heard the note of the great
curlew. The valley of the river was bounded on both sides by very remarkable whitish-grey,
obliquely stratified ridges, with singular spots of red clay, and bushes in the ravines; at their feet
was the prairie, covered with pale green artemisia; and on the tongues of land, at the windings
of the Missouri, there were fine poplar groves, with an undergrowth of roses in full bloom,
buffalo-berry bushes, and many species of plants. On the mountains we again saw naked
rounded cones of earth, as if they had been thrown up by moles, and, on the tops of some of
them, a little turret, or cone, while their sides were rounded by the rain water, or marked with
parallel perpendicular furrows.
On our further progress up the river, we saw, for the first time, the animal known by the
name of the bighorn, or the Rocky Mountain sheep, the Ovis montana of the zoologists. A ram
and two sheep of this species stood on the summit of the highest hill, and, after looking at our
steamer, slowly retired. These animals are not frequent hereabouts, but we afterwards met with
them in great numbers. We here took on board some cord wood, which the different trading
posts had employed their engagés to get ready for the steam-boat.
On the 24th, in the morning, we found the banks wooded, and beyond the thickets were
the chain of hills, in the middle of which were strata of the colour of red bricks. Cones of that
colour, and sometimes detached grey figures, with a red base, crowned the heights. Many
varied colours showed that these eminences must have undergone the action of fire. About eight
o'clock we came to the mouth of Muddy River (the White Earth River of Lewis and Clarke),
which issues from a thicket on the north bank. In this part we saw smoke on the bank, and,
soon afterwards, some Assiniboins, one of whom fired three shots to attract our attention: others
soon came up, and we took them on board. They were robust men, with high cheek-bones, well
dressed, all in leather shirts, their legs mostly bare, and their hair hanging smooth about their
heads; one of them took off the leather case of his bow, and wrapped it round his head like a
turban, so that a little tuft of feathers, at one end of it, stood upright. Following the numerous
windings of the Missouri, from one chain of hills to another, we reached, at seven o'clock in the
evening, the mouth of the Yellow Stone, a fine river, hardly inferior in breadth to the Missouri at
this part. It issues below the high grey chain of hills, and its mouth is bordered with a fine
wood of tall poplars, with willow thickets. The two rivers unite in an obtuse angle; and there
flows between prairies thirty or more miles in extent. Herds of buffaloes are often seen here; at
this time they had left these parts: we saw, however, many antelopes. At the next turn of the
river, towards the right hand, we had a fine prospect. Gentle eminences, with various rounded
or flat tops, covered with bright verdure, formed the back-ground; before them, tall poplar
groves, and willow thickets on the bank of the river, whose dark blue waters, splendidly illumined
by the setting sun, flowed, with many windings, through the prairie. A little further on lay
Fort Union, on a verdant plain, with the handsome American flag, gilded by the last rays of
evening, floating in the azure sky, while a herd of horses grazing animated the peaceful scene.
As the steamer approached, the cannon of Fort Union fired a salute, with a running fire of
musketry, to bid us welcome, which was answered in a similar manner by our vessel. When we
reached the fort, we were received by Mr. Hamilton, an Englishman, who, during the absence of
Mr. Mc Kenzie, had performed the functions of director, as well as by several clerks of the Company,
and a number of their servants (engagés or voyageurs), of many different nations, Americans,
Englishmen, Germans, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards, and Italians, about 100 in number, with
many Indians, and half-breed women and children. It was the seventy-fifth day since our departure
from St. Louis, when the Assiniboin cast anchor at Fort Union.
The Yellow Stone, being one of the principal affluents of the Missouri, receives several considerable
streams, of which the following are the chief:—
1. The Bighorn River (La Grosse Corne).
2. The Little Bighorn River (La Petite Grosse Corne).
3. The Tongue River (La Rivière à la Langue).
4. The Powder River (La Rivière à la Poudre).
The Yellow Stone is called, by the Canadians, La Roche Jaune. Warden calls it Keheetsa,
but I do not know where he got this name. Lewis and Clarke say it has no name. The names
given it by most of the Indian nations signify Elk River.
| CHAPTER XIV. Travels in the interior of North America. | |