History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the river Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Performed during the years 1804-5-6. By order of the government of the United States. |
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. | CHAPTER V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
 | CHAPTER V. History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the river Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. |  |
CHAPTER V.
Council held with the Mandans—A prairie on fire, and a singular instance of
preservation—Peace established between the Mandans and Ricaras—The party
encamp for the winter—Indian mode of catching goats—Beautiful appearance
of northern lights—Friendly character of the Indians—Some account of
the Mandans—The Ahnahaways and the Minnetarees—The party acquire
the confidence of the Mandans by taking part in their controversy with the
Sioux—Religion of the Mandans, and their singular conception of the term
medicine—Their tradition—The sufferings of the party from the severity
of the season—Indian game of billiards described—Character of the Missouri,
of the surrounding country, and of the rivers, creeks, islands, &c.
Saturday, October 27. At an early hour we proceeded
and anchored off the village. Captain Clarke went on shore,
and after smoking a pipe with the chiefs, was desired to remain
and eat with them. He declined on account of his
being unwell; but his refusal gave great offence to the Indians,
who considered it disrespectful not to eat when invited,
till the cause was explained to their satisfaction. We sent
them some tobacco, and then proceeded to the second village
on the north, passing by a bank containing coal, and a
second village, and encamped at four miles on the north,
opposite to a village of Ahnahaways. We here met with a
Frenchman, named Jesseaume, who lives among the Indians
with his wife and children, and who we take as an interpreter.
The Indians had flocked to the bank to see us as we passed,
and they visited in great numbers the camp, where some of
them remained all night. We sent in the evening three
young Indians with a present of tobacco for the chiefs of the
three upper villages, inviting them to come down in the
morning to a council with us. Accordingly the next day,
Sunday, October 28, we were joined by many of the
Minnetarees and Ahnahaways from above, but the wind was
so violent from the southwest that the chiefs of the lower
till to-morrow. In the mean while we entertained our visitors
by showing them what was new to them in the boat; all
which, as well our black servant, they called Great Medicine,
the meaning of which we afterwards learnt. We also
consulted the grand chief of the Mandans, Black Cat, and
Mr. Jesseaume, as to the names, characters, &c. of the
chiefs with whom we are to hold the council. In the course
of the day we received several presents from the women,
consisting of corn, boiled hominy, and garden stuffs: in our
turn we gratified the wife of the great chief with a gift of
a glazed earthen jar. Our hunter brought us two beaver.
In the afternoon we sent the Minnetaree chiefs to smoke
for us with the great chief of the Mandans, and told them
we would speak in the morning.
Finding that we shall be obliged to pass the winter at
this place, we went up the river about one and a half miles
to-day, with a view of finding a convenient spot for a fort,
but the timber was too scarce and small for our purposes.
Monday, October 29. The morning was fine and we prepared
our presents and speech for the council. After breakfast
we were visited by an old chief of the Ahnahaways, who
finding himself growing old and weak had transferred his
power to his son, who is now at war against the Shoshonees.
At ten o'clock the chiefs were all assembled under an
awning of our sails, stretched so as to exclude the wind
which had become high; that the impression might be the
more forcible, the men were all paraded, and the council
opened by a discharge from the swivel of the boat. We then
delivered a speech, which like those we had already made
intermingled advice with assurances of friendship and trade:
while we were speaking the old Ahnahaway chief grew very
restless, and observed that he could not wait long as his
camp was exposed to the hostilities of the Shoshonees; he
was instantly rebuked with great dignity by one of the chiefs
for this violation of decorum at such a moment, and remained
of our speech we introduced the subject of our Ricara chief,
with whom we recommended a firm peace: to this they seemed
well disposed, and all smoked with him very amicably.
We all mentioned the goods which had been taken from the
Frenchmen, and expressed a wish that they should be restored.
This being over, we proceeded to distribute the
presents with great ceremony: one chief of each town was
acknowledged by a gift of a flag, a medal with the likeness
of the president of the United States, a uniform coat, hat
and feather: to the second chiefs we gave a medal representing
some domestic animals, and a loom for weaving; to the
third chiefs medals with the impressions of a farmer sowing
grain. A variety of other presents were distributed, but
none seemed to give them more satisfaction than an iron corn
mill which we gave to the Mandans.
The chiefs who were made to-day are: Shahaka or Big
White, a first chief, and Kagohami or Little Raven, a second
chief of the lower village of the Mandans, called Matootonha:
the other chiefs of an inferior quality who were
recommended were, 1. Ohheenaw, or Big Man, a Chayenne
taken prisoner by the Mandans who adopted him,
and he now enjoys great consideration among the tribe.
2. Shotahawrora, or Coal, of the second Mandan village
which is called Rooptahee. We made Poscopsahe, or Black
Cat, the first chief of the village, and the grand chief of the
whole Mandan nation: his second chief is Kagonomokshe,
or Raven man Chief; inferior chiefs of this village were,
Tawnuheo, and Bellahsara, of which we did not learn the
translation.
In the third village which is called Mahawha, and where
the Arwacahwas re side, we made one first chief, Tetuckopinreha,
or White Buffaloe robe unfolded, and recognized two
of an inferior order: Minnissurraree, or Neighing Horse,
and Locongotiha, or Old woman at a distance.
Of the fourth village where the Minnetarees live, and
which is called Metaharta, we made a first chief, Ompsehara,
or Black Moccasin: a second chief, Ohhaw, or Little
Fox. Other distinguished chiefs of this village were, Mahnotah,
or Big Thief, a man whom we did not see as he is out
fighting, and was killed soon after; and Mahserassa, or Tail
of the Calumet Bird. In the fifth village we made a first
chief Eapanopa, or Red Shield; a second chief Wankerassa,
or Two Tailed Calumet Bird, both young chiefs; other
persons of distinction are, Shahakohopinnee, or Little Wolf's
Medicine; Ahrattanamockshe, or Wolfman chief, who is now
at war, and is the son of the old chief we have mentioned, whose
name is Caltahcota, or Cherry on a Bush.
The presents intended for the grand chief of the Minnetarees,
who was not at the council, were sent to him by
the old chief Caltahcota; and we delivered to a young chief
those intended for the chief of the lower village. The council
was concluded by a shot from our swivel, and after firing
the airgun for their amusement, they retired to deliberate
on the answer which they are to give to-morrow.
In the evening the prairie took fire, either by accident
or design, and burned with great fury, the whole plain being
enveloped in flames: so rapid was its progress that a man
and a woman were burnt to death before they could reach a
place of safety; another man with his wife and child were
much burnt, and several other persons narrowly escaped
destruction. Among the rest a boy of the half white breed
escaped unhurt in the midst of the flames; his safety was
ascribed to the great medicine spirit, who had preserved him
on account of his being white. But a much more natural
cause was the presence of mind of his mother, who seeing no
hopes of carrying off her son, threw him on the ground, and
covering him with the fresh hide of a buffaloe, escaped herself
from the flames; as soon as the fire had passed, she returned
and found him untouched, the skin having prevented the
flame from reaching the grass on which he lay.
Tuesday 30. We were this morning visited by two persons
from the lower village, one the Big White the chief of
the village, the other the Chayenne called the Big Man;
they had been hunting, and did not return yesterday early
enough to attend the council. At their request we repeated
part of our speech of yesterday, and put the medal round
the neck of the chief. Captain Clarke took a periogue and
went up the river in search of a good wintering place, and
returned after going seven miles to the lower point of an
island on the north side, about one mile in length; he found
the banks on the north side high, with coal occasionally, and
the country fine on all sides; but the want of wood and the
scarcity of game up the river, induced us to decide on fixing
ourselves lower down during the winter. In the evening
our men danced among themselves to the great amusement
of the Indians.
Wednesday 31. A second chief arrived this morning with
an invitation from the grand chief of the Mandans, to come
to his village where he wished to present some corn to us
and to speak with us. Captain Clarke walked down to his
village; he was first seated with great ceremony on a robe
by the side of the chief, who then threw over his shoulders
another robe handsomely ornamented. The pipe was then
smoked with several of the old men who were seated around
the chief; after some time he began his discourse, by observing
that he believed what we had told him, and that they should
soon enjoy peace, which would gratify him as well as his
people, because they could then hunt without fear of being
attacked, and the women might work in the fields without
looking every moment for the enemy, and at night put off
their moccasins, a phrase by which is conveyed the idea of
security when the women could undress at night without
fear of attack. As to the Ricaras, he continued, in order to
show you that we wish peace with all men, that chief, pointing
to his second chief, will go with some warriors back to
the Ricaras with their chief now here and smoke with that
around returned from their hunting to see you, in hopes of
receiving large presents; all are disappointed and some discontented;
for his part he was not much so, though his village
was. He added that he would go and see his great father
the president. Two of the steel traps stolen from the
Frenchmen were then laid before captain Clarke, and the
women brought about twelve bushels of corn. After the chief
had finished, captain Clarke made an answer to the speech
and then returned to the boat, where he found the chief of
the third village and Kagohami (the Little Raven) who
smoked and talked about an hour. After they left the boat
the grand chief of the Mandans came dressed in the clothes
we had given him, with his two children, and begged to see
the men dance, in which they willingly gratified him.
Thursday, November 1st. Mr. M'Cracken, the trader
whom we found here, set out to-day on his return to the
British fort and factory on the Assiniboin river, about one
hundred and fifty miles from this place. He took a letter
from captain Lewis to the northwest company, inclosing a
copy of the passport granted by the British minister in the
United States. At ten o'clock the chiefs of the lower village
arrived; they requested that we would call at their village
for some corn, that they were willing to make peace
with the Ricaras, that they had never provoked the war between
them, but as the Ricaras had killed some of their
chiefs they had retaliated on them; that they had killed
them like birds, till they were tired of killing them, so that
they would send a chief and some warriors to smoke with
them. In the evening we dropped down to the lower village
where captain Lewis went on shore, and captain Clarke
proceeded to a point of wood on the north side.
Friday, November 2. He therefore went up to the village
where eleven bushels of corn were presented to him.
In the meantime captain Clarke went down with the boats
three miles, and having found a good position where there
build our huts. Our Ricara chief set out with one Mandan
chief and several Minnetaree and Mandan warriors; the wind
was from the southeast, and the weather being fine a crowd
of Indians came down to visit us.
Saturday 3. We now began the building of our cabins,
and the Frenchmen who are to return to St. Louis are building
a periogue for the purpose. We sent six men in a periogue
to hunt down the river. We were also fortunate enough to
engage in our service a Canadian Frenchmen, who had been
with the Chayenne Indians on the Black mountains, and
last summer descended thence by the Little Missouri. Mr.
Jessaume our interpreter also came down with his squaw and
children to live at our camp. In the evening we received a
visit from Kagohami or Little Raven, whose wife accompanied
him, bringing about sixty weight of dried meat, a robe
and a pot of meal. We gave him in return a piece of tobacco,
to his wife an axe and a few small articles, and both of
them spent the night at our camp. Two beavers were caught
in traps this morning.
Sunday 4. We continued our labours: the timber which
we employ is large and heavy, and chiefly consists of cottonwood
and elm with some ash of an inferior size. Great numbers
of the Indians pass our camp on their hunting excursions:
the day was clear and pleasant, but last night was very
cold and there was a white frost.
Monday 5. The Indians are all out on their hunting parties:
a camp of Mandans caught within two days one hundred
goats a short distance below us: their mode of hunting
them is to form a large strong pen or fold, from which a
fence made of bushes gradually widens on each side: the animals
are surrounded by the hunters and gently driven towards
this pen, in which they imperceptibly find themselves
inclosed and are then at the mercy of the hunters. The
weather is cloudy and the wind moderate from the northwest.
Late at night we were awaked by the sergeant on
light: along the northern sky was a large space occupied
by a light of a pale but brilliant white colour: which rising
from the horizon extended itself to nearly twenty degrees
above it. After glittering for some time its colours
would be overcast, and almost obscured, but again it would
burst out with renewed beauty; the uniform colour was pale
light, but its shapes were various and fantastic: at times
the sky was lined with light coloured streaks rising perpendicularly
from the horizon, and gradually expanding into a
body of light in which we could trace the floating columns
sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating and shaping
into infinite forms, the space in which they moved. It all
faded away before the morning. At daylight,
Tuesday 6, the clouds to the north were darkening and
the wind rose high from the northwest at eight o'clock, and
continued cold during the day. Mr. Gravelines and four
others who came with us returned to the Ricaras in a small
periogue, we gave him directions to accompany some of the
Ricara chiefs to the seat of government in the spring.
Wednesday 7. The day was temperate but cloudy and
foggy, and we were enabled to go on with our work with
much expedition.
Thursday 8. The morning again cloudy; our huts advance
very well, and we are visited by numbers of Indians
who come to let their horses graze near us: in the day the
horses are let loose in quest of grass, in the night they are
collected and receive an armfull of small boughs of the
cottonwood, which being very juicy, soft and brittle, form
nutritious and agreeable food: the frost this morning was
very severe, the weather during the day cloudy and the wind
from the northwest. We procured from an Indian a weasel
perfectly white except the extremity of the tail which was
black: great numbers of wild geese are passing to the south,
but their flight is too high for us to procure any of them.
November 10. We had again a raw day, a northwest
wind, but rose early in hopes of finishing our works before
the extreme cold begins. A chief who is a half Pawnee
came to us and brought a present of half a buffaloe, in return
for which we gave him some small presents and a few
articles to his wife and son: he then crossed the river in
a buffaloe skin canoe; his wife took the boat on her back and
carried it to the village three miles off. Large flocks of geese
and brant, and also a few ducks are passing towards the south.
Sunday 11. The weather is cold. We received the visit
of two squaws, prisoners from the Rock mountains, and purchased
by Chaboneau. The Mandans at this time are out
hunting the buffaloe.
Monday 12. The last night had been cold and this morning
we had a very hard frost: the wind changeable during
the day, and some ice appears on the edges of the rivers;
swans too are passing to the south. The Big White came down
to us, having packed on the back of his squaw about one
hundred pounds of very fine meat: for which we gave him
as well as the squaw some presents, particularly an axe to
the woman with which she was very much pleased.
Tuesday 13. We this morning unloaded the boat and
stowed away the contents in a storehouse which we have
built. At half past ten ice began to float down the river for
the first time: in the course of the morning we were visited
by the Black Cat, Poscapsahe, who brought an Assiniboin
chief and seven warriors to see us. This man, whose name
is Chechawk, is a chief of one out of three bands of Assiniboins
who wander over the plains between the Missouri and
Assiniboin during the summer, and in the winter carry the
spoils of their hunting to the traders on the Assiniboin
river, and occasionally come to this place: the whole three
bands consist of about eight hundred men. We gave him a
twist of tobacco to smoke with his people, and a gold cord
for himself: the Sioux also asked for whiskey which we refused
to give them. It snowed all day and the air was very cold.
Wednesday 14. The river rose last night half an inch,
and is now filled with floating ice. This morning was cloudy
with some snow: about seventy lodges of Assiniboins and
some Knistenaux are at the Mandan village, and this being
the day of adoption and exchange of property between them
all, it is accompanied by a dance, which prevents our seeing
more than two Indians to-day: these Knistenaux are a band
of Chippeways whose language they speak; they live on the
Assiniboin and Saskashawan rivers, and are about two hundred
and forty men. We sent a man down on horseback to
see what had become of our hunters, and as we apprehend
a failure of provisions we have recourse to our pork this
evening. Two Frenchmen who had been below returned with
twenty beaver which they had caught in traps.
Thursday 15. The morning again cloudy, and the ice
running thicker than yesterday, the wind variable. The
man came back with information that our hunters were
about thirty miles below, and we immediately sent an order
to them to make their way through the floating ice, to assist
them in which we sent some tin for the bow of the pe-periogue
and a towrope. The ceremony of yesterday
seem to continue still, for we were not visited by a single
Indian. The swan are still passing to the south.
Friday 16. We had a very hard white frost this morning,
the trees are all covered with ice, and the weather cloudy.
The men this day moved into the huts, although they
are not finished. In the evening some horses were sent down
to the woods near us in order to prevent their being stolen by
the Assiniboins, with whom some difficulty is now apprehended.
An Indian came down with four buffaloe robes
and some corn, which he offered for a pistol, but was refused.
Saturday, November 17. Last night was very cold, and
the ice in the river to-day is thicker than hitherto. We are
totally occupied with our huts, but received visits from several
Indians.
Sunday, November 18. To-day we had a cold windy morning;
the Black Cat came to see us, and occupied us for a long
time with questions on the usages of our country. He mentioned
that a council had been held yesterday to deliberate on the
state of their affairs. It seems that not long ago, a party of
Sioux fell in with some horses belonging to the Minnetarees,
and carried them off; but in their flight they were met by
some Assiniboins, who killed the Sioux and kept the horses:
a Frenchman too who had lived many years among the
Mandans, was lately killed on his route to the British factory
on the Assiniboin; some smaller differences existed between
the two nations, all of which being discussed, the council decided
that they would not resent the recent insults from the
Assiniboins and Knistenaux, until they had seen whether
we had deceived them or not in our promises of furnishing
them with arms and ammunition. They had been disappointed
in their hopes of receiving them from Mr. Evans and were
afraid that we too, like him, might tell them what was not
true. We advised them to continue at peace, that supplies
of every kind would no doubt arrive for them, but that time
was necessary to organize the trade. The fact is that the
Assiniboins treat the Mandans as the Sioux do the Ricaras;
by their vicinity to the British they get all the supplies,
which they withhold or give at pleasure to the remoter
Indians: the consequence is, that however badly treated,
the Mandans and Ricaras are very slow to retaliate lest they
shold lose their trade altogether.
Monday 19. The ice continues to float in the river, the
wind high from the northwest, and the weather cold. Our
hunters arrived from their excursion below, and bring a very
fine supply of thirty-two deer, eleven elk, and five buffaloe,
all of which was hung in a smokehouse.
Tuesday 20. We this day moved into our huts which are
now completed. This place which we call Fort Mandan, is
situated in a point of low ground, on the north side of the
Missouri, covered with tall and heavy cottonwood. The
angle where they joined each other; each row containing
four rooms, of fourteen feet square and seven feet high,
with plank cieling, and the roof slanting so as to form a loft
above the rooms, the highest part of which is eighteen feet
from the ground: the backs of the huts formed a wall of
that height, and opposite the angle the place of the wall was
supplied by picketing: in the area were two rooms for
stores and provisions. The latidude by observation is 47°
21′ 47″, and the computed distance from the mouth of the
Missouri sixteen hundred miles.
In the course of the day several Indians came down to
partake of our fresh meat; among the rest, three chiefs of
the second Mandan village. They inform us that the Sioux
on the Missouri above the Chayenne river, threaten to attack
them this winter; that these Sioux are much irritated
at the Ricaras for having made peace through our means
with the Mandans, and have lately ill treated three Ricaras
who carried the pipe of peace to them, by beating them
and taking away their horses. We gave them assurances
that we would protect them from all their enemies.
November 21st. The weather was this day fine: the
river clear of ice and rising a little: we are now settled in
our new winter habitation, and shall wait with much anxiety
the first return of spring to continue our journey.
The villages near which we are established are five in
number, and are the residence of three distinct nations: the
Mandans, the Ahnahaways, and the Minnetarees. The history
of the Mandans, as we received it from our interpreters
and from the chiefs themselves, and as it is attested by
existing monuments, illustrates more than that of any other
nation the unsteady movements and the tottering fortunes
of the American nations. Within the recollection of living
witnesses, the Mandans were settled forty years ago in nine
villages, the ruins of which we passed about eighty miles
east side of the Missouri. The two finding themselves
wasting away before the small-pox and the Sioux, united
into one village, and moved up the river opposite to the Ricaras.
The same causes reduced the remaining seven to
five villages, till at length they emigrated in a body to the
Ricara nation, where they formed themselves into two villages,
and joined those of their countrymen who had gone
before them. In their new residence they were still insecure,
and at length the three villages ascended the Missouri to
their present position. The two who had emigrated together
still settled in the two villages on the northwest side of the
Missouri, while the single village took a position on the
southeast side. In this situation they were found by those
who visited them in 1796; since which the two villages have
united into one. They are now in two villages, one on the
southeast of the Missouri, the other on the opposite side,
and at the distance of three miles across. The first, in
an open plain, contains about forty or fifty lodges, built in
the same way as those of the Ricaras: the second, the same
number, and both may raise about three hundred and fifty
men.
On the same side of the river, and at the distance of four
miles from the lower Mandan village, is another called Mahaha.
It is situated in a high plain at the mouth of Knife
river, and is the residence of the Ahnahaways. This nation,
whose name indicates that they were "people whose
village is on a hill," formerly resided on the Missouri, about
thirty miles below where they now live. The Assiniboins
and Sioux forced them to a spot five miles higher, where
the greatest part of them were put to death, and the rest
emigrated to their present situation, in order to obtain an
assylum near the Minnetarees. They are called by the
French, Soulier Noir or Shoe Indians; by the Mandans,
Wattasoons, and their whole force is about fifty men.
On the south side of the same Knife river, half a mile
above the Mahaha and in the same open plain with it, is a
village of Minnetarees surnamed Metaharta, who are about
one hundred and fifty men in number. On the opposite side
of Knife river, and one and a half mile above this village
is a second of Minnetarees, who may be considered as the
proper Minnetaree nation. It is situated in a beautiful low
plain, and contains four hundred and fifty warriors. The
accounts which we received of the Minnetarees were contradictory.
The Mandans say that this people came out of the
water to the east, and settled near them in their former
establishment in nine villages; that they were very numerous,
and fixed themselves in one village on the southern
side of the Missouri. A quarrel about a buffaloe divided the
nation, of which two bands went into the plains, and were
known by the name of Crow and Paunch Indians, and the
rest moved to their present establishment. The Minnetarees
proper assert, on the contrary, that they grew where
they now live, and will never emigrate from the spot; the
great spirit having declared that if they moved they would
all die. They also say that the Minnetarees Metaharta,
that is Minnetarees of the Willows, whose language with
very little variation is their own, came many years ago from
the plains and settled near them, and perhaps the two traditions
may be reconciled by the natural presumption that
these Minnetarees were the tribe known to the Mandans
below, and that they ascended the river for the purpose of
rejoining the Minnetarees proper. These Minnetarees are
part of the great nation called Fall Indians, who occupy
the intermediate country between the Missouri and the
Saskaskawan, and who are known by the name of Minnetarees
of the Missouri, and Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie;
that is, residing near or rather frequenting the establishment
in the prairie on the Saskaskawan. These Minnetarees
indeed, told us that they had relations on the Saskaskawan,
whom they had never known till they met them in war,
that they were fighting with men who spoke their
own language. The name of Grosventres, or Bigbellies
is given to these Minnetarees, as well as to all the Fall Indians.
The inhabitants of these five villages, all of which
are within the distance of six miles, live in harmony with
each other. The Ahnahaways understand in part the language
of the Minnetarees: the dialect of the Mandans differs
widely from both; but their long residence together has
insensibly blended their manners, and occasioned some approximation
in language, particularly as to objects of daily
occurrence and obvious to the senses.
November 22. The morning was fine, and the day warm.
We purchased from the Mandans a quantity of corn of a
mixed colour, which they dug up in ears from holes made
near the front of their lodges, in which it is buried during the
winter: this morning the sentinel informed us that an Indian
was about to kill his wife near the fort; we went down to the
house of our interpreter where we found the parties, and
after forbidding any violence, inquired into the cause of his
intending to commit such an atrocity. It appeared that
some days ago a quarrel had taken place between him and
his wife, in consequence of which she had taken refuge in
the house where the two squaws of our interpreter lived:
by running away she forfeited her life, which might have
been lawfully taken by the husband. About two days ago she
had returned to the village, but the same evening came back
to the fort much beaten and stabbed in three places, and the
husband now came for the purpose of completing his revenge.
He observed that he had lent her to one of our serjeants for
a night, and that if he wanted her he would give her to him
altogether: we gave him a few presents and tried to persuade
him to take his wife home; the grand chief too happened to
arrive at the same moment, and reproached him with his
violence, till at length they went off together, but by no
means in a state of much apparent love.
November 23. Again we had a fair and warm day, with
the wind from the southeast: the river is now at a stand having
risen four inches in the whole.
November 24. The wind continued from the same quarter
and the weather was warm: we were occupied in finishing
our huts and making a large rope of elk-skin to draw our
boat on the bank.
Sunday, November 25. The weather is still fine, warm
and pleasant, and the river falls one inch and a half. Captain
Lewis went on an excursion to the villages accompanied
by eight men. A Minnetaree chief, the first who has visited
us, came down to the fort: his name was Waukerassa, but
as both the interpreters had gone with captain Lewis we
were obliged to confine our civilities to some presents with
which he was much pleased: we now completed our huts,
and fortunately too, for the next day,
Monday, November 26, before daylight the wind shifted
to the northwest, and blew very hard, with cloudy weather
and a keen cold air, which confined us much and prevented
us from working: the night continued very cold, and,
Tuesday 27, the weather cloudy, the wind continuing
from the northwest and the river crowded with floating ice.
Captain Lewis returned with two chiefs Mahnotah, an Ahnahaway,
and Minnessurraree a Minnetaree, and a third warrior:
they explained to us that the reason of their not having
come to see us, was that the Mandans had told them that
we meant to combine with the Sioux and cut them off in the
course of the winter: a suspicion increased by the strength
of the fort, and the circumstance of our interpreters having
both removed there with their families: these reports we
did not fail to disprove to their entire satisfaction, and amused
them by every attention, particularly by the dancing of
the men which diverted them highly. All the Indians whom
captain Lewis had visited were very well disposed, and received
him with great kindness, except a principal chief of
one of the upper villages, named Mahpahpaparapassatoo or
refusing to be seen, and when captain Lewis called he was
told the chief was not at home. In the course of the day
seven of the northwest company's traders arrived from the
Assiniboin river, and one of their interpreters having undertaken
to circulate among the Indians unfavourable reports,
it become necessary to warn them of the consequences
if they did not desist from such proceedings. The river fell
two inches to-day and the weather became very cold.
Wednesday 28. About eight o'clock last evening it began
to snow and continued till daybreak, after which it ceased
till seven o'clock, but then resumed and continued during
the day, the weather being cold and the river full of floating
ice: about eight o'clock Poscopsahe came down to visit
us, with some warriors; we gave them presents and entertained
them with all that might amuse their curiosity, and
at parting we told them that we had heard of the British
trader, Mr. Laroche, having attempted to distribute medals
and flags among them, but that those emblems could not
be received from any other than the American nation without
incurring the displeasure of their great father the president.
They left us much pleased with their treatment. The
river fell one inch to-day.
Thursday 29. The wind is again from the northwest, the
weather cold, and the snow which fell yesterday and last
night is thirteen inches in depth. The river closed during
the night at the village above, and fell two feet; but this afternoon
it began to rise a little. Mr. Laroche, the principal
of the seven traders, came with one of his men to see us; we
told him that we should not permit him to give medals and
flags to the Indians; he declared that he had no such intention,
and we then suffered him to make use of one of our interpreters,
on his stipulating not to touch any subject but
that of his traffic with them. An unfortunate accident occurred
to sergeant Pryor, who in taking down the boat's
that we replaced it.
Friday 30. About eight o'clock an Indian came to the opposite
bank of the river, calling out that he had something
important to communicate, and on sending for him, he told
us that five Mandans had been met about eight leagues to the
southwest by a party of Sioux, who had killed one of them,
wounded two, and taken nine horses; that four of the Wattasoons
were missing, and that the Mandans expected an attack.
We thought this an excellent opportunity to discountenance
the injurious reports against us, and to fix the wavering
confidence of the nation. Captain Clarke therefore
instantly crossed the river with twenty-three men strongly
armed, and circling the town approached it from behind.
His unexpected appearance surprised and alarmed the chiefs,
who came out to meet him, and conducted him to the village.
He then told them that having heard of the outrage just
committed, he had come to assist his dutiful children; that
if they would assemble their warriors and those of the nation,
he would lead them against the Sioux and avenge the
blood of their countrymen. After some minutes conversation,
Oheenaw the Chayenne arose; "We now see," said he,
"that what you have told us is true, since as soon as our enemies
threaten to attack us you come to protect us and are ready
to chastise those who have spilt our blood. We did indeed
listen to your good talk, for when you told us that the other
nations were inclined to peace with us, we went out carelessly
in small parties, and some have been killed by the Sioux
and Ricaras. But I knew that the Ricaras were liars, and
I told their chief who accompanied you, that his whole nation
were liars and bad men; that we had several times made
a peace with them which they were the first to break; that
whenever we pleased we might shoot them like buffaloe, but
that we had no wish to kill them; that we would not suffer
them to kill us, nor steal our horses; and that although we
agreed to make peace with them, because our two fathers
long. Such, father, was my language to them in your
presence, and you see that instead of listening to your good
counsels they have spilt our blood. A few days ago two
Ricaras came here and told us that two of their villages were
making moccasins, that the Sioux were stirring them up
against us, and that we ought to take care of our horses;
yet these very Ricaras we sent home as soon as the news
reached us to-day, lest our people should kill them in the
first moment of grief for their murdered relatives. Four
of the Wattasoons whom we expected back in sixteen days
have been absent twenty-four, and we fear have fallen. But
father the snow is now deep, the weather cold, and our horses
cannot travel through the plains: the murderers have
gone off: if you will conduct us in the spring, when the snow
has disappeared, we will assemble all the surrounding warriors
and follow you."
Captain Clarke replied that we were always willing and
able to defend them; that he was sorry that the snow prevented
their marching to meet the Sioux, since he wished to
show them that the warriors of their great father would
chastise the enemies of his obedient children who opened
their ears to his advice; that if some Ricaras had joined the
Sioux, they should remember that there were bad men in
every nation, and that they should not be offended at the
Ricaras till they saw whether these ill-disposed men were
countenanced by the whole tribe; that the Sioux possessed
great influence over the Ricaras, whom they supplied with
military stores, and sometimes led them astray, because they
were afraid to oppose them: but that this should be the less offensive
since the Mandans themselves were under the same apprehensions
from the Assiniboins and Knistenaux, and that
while they were thus dependant, both the Ricaras and Mandans
ought to keep on terms with their powerful neighbours,
whom they may afterwards set at defiance, when we shall supply
them with arms, and take them under our protection.
After two hours conversation captain Clarke left the
village. The chief repeatedly thanked him for the fatherly
protection he had given them, observing that the whole
village had been weeping all night and day for the brave
young man who had been slain, but now they would wipe
their eyes and weep no more as they saw that their father
would protect them. He then crossed the river on the ice
and returned on the north side to the fort. The day as well
as the evening was cold, and the river rose to its former
height.
Saturday, December 1. The wind was from the northwest,
and the whole party engaged in picketing the fort.
About ten o'clock the half-brother of the man who had been
killed, came to inform us that six Sharhas or Chayenne
Indians had arrived, bringing a pipe of peace, and that their
nation was three days march behind them. Three Pawnees
had accompanied the Sharhas, and the Mandans being
afraid of the Sharhas on account of their being at peace
with the Sioux, wished to put both them and the three
Pawnees to death; but the chiefs had forbidden it as it
would be contrary to our wishes. We gave him a present
of tobacco, and although from his connexion with the sufferer,
he was more embittered against the Pawnees than
any other Mandan, yet he seemed perfectly satisfied with
our pacific counsels and advice. The Mandans, we observe,
call all the Ricaras by the name of Pawnees; the name of
Ricaras being that by which the nation distinguishes itself.
In the evening we were visited by a Mr. Henderson, who
came from the Hudson bay company to trade with the Minnetarees.
He had been about eight days on his route in
a direction nearly south, and brought with him tobacco,
beeds, and other merchandize to trade for furs, and a few
guns which are to be exchanged for horses.
Sunday, December 2. The latter part of the evening
was warm, and a thaw continued till the morning, when the
wind shifted to the north. At eleven o'clock the chiefs of
explained to them our intentions, and advised them to remain
at peace with each other: we also gave them a flag,
some tobacco, and a speech for their nation. These were
accompanied by a letter to messrs. Tabeau and Gravelines
at the Ricara village, requesting them to preserve peace if
possible, and to declare the part which we should be forced
to take if the Ricaras and Sioux made war on those whom
we had adopted. After distributing a few presents to the
Sharhas and Mandans, and showing them our curiosities
we dismissed them, apparently well pleased at their reception.
Monday, December 3. The morning was fine, but in
the afternoon the weather became cold with the wind from
the northwest. The father of the Mandan who was killed
brought us a present of dried pumpkins and some pemitigon,
for which we gave him some small articles. Our offer
of assistance to avenge the death of his son seemed to have
produced a grateful respect from him, as well as from the
brother of the deceased, which pleased us much.
Tuesday 4th. The wind continues from the northwest,
the weather cloudy and raw, and the river rose one inch.
Oscapsahe and two young chiefs pass the day with us. The
whole religion of the Mandans consists in the belief of one
great spirit presiding over their destinies. This being must
be in the nature of a good genius since it is associated with
the healing art, and the great spirit is synonymous with
great medicine, a name also applied to every thing which
they do not comprehend. Each individual selects for himself
the particular object of his devotion, which is termed
his medicine, and is either some invisible being or more
commonly some animal, which thenceforward becomes his
protector or his intercessor with the great spirit; to propitiate
whom every attention is lavished, and every personal
consideration is sacrificed. "I was lately owner of
seventeen horses," said a Mandan to us one day, "but I
He had in reality taken all his wealth, his horses, into the
plain, and turning them loose committed them to the care
of his medicine and abandoned them forever. The horses
less religious took care of themselves, and the pious votary
travelled home on foot. Their belief in a future state is
connected with this tradition of their origin: the whole
nation resided in one large village under ground near a subterraneous
lake: a grape-vine extended its roots down to
their habitation and gave them a view of the light: some of
the most adventurous climed up the vine and were delighted
with the sight of the earth, which they found covered with
buffaloe and rich with every kind of fruits: returning with
the grapes they had gathered, their countrymen were so
pleased with the taste of them that the whole nation resolved
to leave their dull residence for the charms of the
upper region; men, women, and children ascended by means
of the vine; but when about half the nation had reached the
surface of the earth, a corpulent woman who was clambering
up the vine broke it with her weight, and closed upon
herself and the rest of the nation the light of the sun.
Those who were left on earth made a village below where
we saw the nine villages; and when the Mandans die they
expect to return to the original seats of their forefathers;
the good reaching the ancient village by means of the lake,
which the burden of the sins of the wicked will not enable
them to cross.
Wednesday 5. The morning was cold and disagreeable,
the wind from the southeast accompanied with snow: in the
evening there was snow again and the wind shifted to the
northeast: we were visited by several Indians with a present
of pumpkins, and by two of the traders of the northwest
company.
Thursday 6. The wind was violent from the north northwest
with some snow, the air keen and cold. At eight
o'clock A. M. the thermometer stood at ten degrees above
day.
Friday, December 7. The wind still continued from the
northwest and the day is very cold: Shahaka the chief of
the lower village came to apprise us that the buffaloe were
near, and that his people were waiting for us to join them
in the chase: captain Clark with fifteen men went out and
found the Indians engaged in killing the buffaloe, the hunters
mounted on horseback and armed with bows and arrows
encircle the herd, and gradually drive them into a
plain or an open place fit for the movements of horse; they
then ride in among them, and singling out a buffaloe, a female
being preferred, go as close as possible and wound her
with arrows till they think they have given the mortal
stroke; when they pursue another till the quiver is exhausted:
if, which rarely happens, the wounded buffaloe attacks
the hunter, he evades his blow by the agility of his horse
which is trained for the combat with great dexterity. When
they have killed the requisite number they collect their
game, and the squaws and attendants come up from the
rear and skin and dress the animals. Captain Clarke killed
ten buffaloe, of which five only were brought to the fort,
the rest which could not be conveyed home being seized
by the Indians, among whom the custom is that whenever
a buffaloe is found dead without an arrow or any particular
mark, he is the property of the finder; so that often a hunter
secures scarcely any of the game he kills if the arrow
happens to fall off: whatever is left out at night falls
to the share of the wolves, who are the constant and numerous
attendants of the buffaloe. The river closed opposite
the fort last night, an inch and a half in thickness.
In the morning the thermometer stood at one degree below
0. Three men were badly frostbitten in consequence
of their exposure.
Saturday 8. The thermometer stood at twelve degrees
below 0, that is at forty-two degrees below the freezing
fifteen men went out to hunt the buffaloe; great numbers of
which darkened the prairies for a considerable distance:
they did not return till after dark, having killed eight buffaloe
and one dear. The hunt was, however, very fatiguing, as
they were obliged to make a circuit at the distance of more
than seven miles: the cold too, was so excessive that the
air was filled with icy particles resembling a fog, and the
snow generally six or eight inches deep and sometimes
eighteen, in consequence of which two of the party were
hurt by falls, and several had their feet frostbitten.
Sunday 9. The wind was this day from the east, the
thermometer at seven degrees above 0, and the sun shone
clear: two chiefs visited us, one in a sleigh drawn by a dog
and loaded with meat.
Monday 10. Captain Clarke who had gone out yesterday
with eighteen men to bring in the meat we had killed the
day before, and to continue the hunt, came in at twelve
o'clock. After killing nine buffaloe and preparing that already
dead, he had spent a cold disagreeble night on the
snow, with no covering but a small blanket, sheltered by the
hides of the buffaloe they had killed. We observe large herds
of buffaloe crossing the river on the ice, the men who were
frostbitten are recovering, but the weather is still exceedingly
cold, the wind being from the north, and the thermometer
at ten and eleven degrees below 0: the rise of the
river is one inch and a half.
Tuesday 11. The weather became so intensely cold that
we sent for all the hunters who had remained out with captain
Clarke's party, and they returned in the evening several
of them frostbitten. The wind was from the north and the
thermometer at sunrise stood at twenty-one below 0, the ice
in the atmosphere being so thick as to render the weather
hazy and give the appearance of two suns reflecting each
other. The river continues at a stand. Pocapsahe made us
a visit to-day.
Wednesday, December 12. The wind is still from the
north, the thermometer being at sunrise thirty-eight degrees
below 0. One of the Ahnahaways brought us down the
half of an antelope killed near the fort; we had been informed
that all these animals return to the Black mountains,
but there are great numbers of them about us at this season
which we might easily kill, but are unwilling to venture
out before our constitutions are hardened gradually to
the climate. We measured the river on the ice, and find it
five hundred yards wide immediately opposite the fort.
Thursday 13. Last night was clear and a very heavy
frost covered the old snow, the thermometer at sun rise being
twenty degrees below 0, and followed by a fine day. The
river falls.
Friday 14. The morning was fine, and the weather having
moderated so far, that the mercury stood at 0, captain
Lewis went down with a party to hunt; they proceeded about
eighteen miles, but the buffaloe having left the banks of the
river they saw only two, which were so poor as not to be
worth killing, and shot two deer. Notwithstanding the snow
we were visited by a large number of the Mandans.
Saturday 15. Captain Lewis finding no game returned to
the fort hunting on both sides of the river, but with no success.
The wind being from the north, the mercury at sunrise
eight degrees below 0, and the snow of last night an
inch and a half in depth. The Indian chiefs continue to visit
us to-day with presents of meat.
Sunday 16. The morning is clear and cold, the mercury
at sunrise 22° below 0. A Mr. Haney with two other persons
from the British establishment on the Assiniboin, arrived
in six days with a letter from Mr. Charles Chabouilles,
one of the company, who with much politeness offered to
render us any service in his power.
Monday 17. The weather to-day was colder than any we
had yet experienced, the thermometer at sunrise being 45°
below 0, and about eight o'clock it fell to 74° below the freezing
man, we obtained much geographical information
with regard to the country between the Missouri and Mississippi,
and the various tribes of Sioux who inhabit it.
Tuesday 18. The thermometer at sunrise was 32° below
0. The Indians had invited us yesterday to join their chace
to-day, but the seven men whom we sent returned in consequence
of the cold, which was so severe last night that we
were obliged to have the sentinel relieved every half hour.
The northwest traders however left us on their return home.
Wednesday 19. The weather moderated, and the river
rose a little, so that we were enabled to continue the picketing
of the fort. Notwithstanding the extreme cold, we observe
the Indians at the village engaged out in the open air
at a game which resembled billiards more than any thing
we had seen, and which we inclined to suspect may have
been acquired by ancient intercourse with the French of
Canada. From the first to the second chief's lodge, a distance
of about fifty yards, was covered with timber smoothed
and joined so as to be as level as the floor of one of our
houses, with a battery at the end to stop the rings: these
rings were of clay-stone and flat like the chequers for drafts,
and the sticks were about four feet long, with two short pieces
at one end in the form of a mace, so fixed that the whole
will slide along the board. Two men fix themselves at one
end, each provided with a stick, and one of them with a ring;
they then run along the board, and about half way slide the
sticks after the ring.
Thursday 20. The wind was from the N. W. the weather
moderate, the thermometer 24° above 0 at sunrise. We
availed ourselves of this change to picket the fort near the
river.
Friday 21. The day was fine and warm, the wind N. W.
by W. The Indian who had been prevented a few days ago
from killing his wife, came with both his wives to the fort,
and was very desirous of reconciling our interpreter, a jealousy
in his house, had been the cause of his animosity. A woman
brought her child with an abscess in the lower part of the
back, and offered as much corn as she could carry for some
medicine; we administered to it of course very cheerfully.
Saturday, 22d. A number of squaws and men dressed
like squaws brought corn to trade for small articles with
the men. Among other things we procured two horns of
the animal called by the French the Rock mountain sheep,
and known to the Mandans by the name of ahsahta. The
animal itself is about the size of a small elk or large deer:
the horns winding like those of a ram which they resemble
also in texture, though larger and thicker.
Sunday, 23d. The weather was fine and warm like that
of yesterday: we were again visited by crowds of Indians of
all descriptions, who came either to trade or from mere curiosity.
Among the rest Kogahami, the Little Raven, brought
his wife and son loaded with corn, and she then entertained
us with a favourite Mandan dish, a mixture of pumpkins,
beans, corn, and chokecherries with the stones, all boiled
together in a kettle, and forming a composition by no means
unpalatable.
Monday, 24th. The day continued warm and pleasant,
and the number of visitors became troublesome. As a
present to three of the chiefs, we divided a fillet of sheepskin
which we brought for spunging into three pieces each
of two inches in width; they were delighted at the gift,
which they deemed of equal value with a fine horse. We
this day completed our fort, and the next morning being
Christmas,
Tuesday, 25th, we were awaked before day by a discharge
of three platoons from the party. We had told the
Indians not to visit us as it was one of our great medicine
days; so that the men remained at home and amused themselves
in various ways, particularly with dancing in which
they take great pleasure. The American flag was hoisted
were brought out, and this, with a little brandy, enabled
them to pass the day in great festivity.
Wednesday, 26th. The weather is again temperate, but
no Indians have come to see us. One of the northwest traders
who came down to request the aid of our Minnetaree
interpreter, informs us that a party of Minnetarees who had
gone in pursuit of the Assiniboins who lately stole their
horses had just returned. As is their custom, they came
back in small detachments, the last of which brought home
eight horses which they had captured or stolen from an Assiniboin
camp on Mouse river.
Thursday, 27th. A little fine snow fell this morning and
the air was colder than yesterday, with a high northwest
wind. We were fortunate enough to have among our men
a good blacksmith, whom we set to work to make a variety
of articles: his operations seemed to surprise the Indians
who came to see us, but nothing could equal their astonishment
at the bellows, which they considered as a very great
medicine. Having heretofore promised a more particular
account of the Sioux, the following may serve as a general
outline of their history:
Almost the whole of that vast tract of country comprised
between the Mississippi, the Red river of Lake Winnepeg,
the Saskaskawan, and the Missouri, is loosely occupied
by a great nation whose primitive name is Darcota,
but who are called Sioux by the French, Sues by
the English. Their original seats were on the Mississippi,
but they have gradually spread themselves abroad
and become subdivided into numerous tribes. Of these,
what may be considered as the Darcotas are the Mindawarcarton,
or Minowakanton, known to the French by the
name of the Gens du Lac, or People of the Lake. Their
residence is on both sides of the Mississippi near the falls
of St. Anthony, and the probable number of their warriors
about three hundred. Above them, on the river St. Peter's,
men; and still further up the same river below Yellow-wood
river are the Wahpatootas or Gens de Feuilles, an
inferior band of not more than one hundred men; while the
sources of the St. Peter's are occupied by the Sisatoones, a
band consisting of about two hundred warriors.
These bands rarely if ever approach the Missouri, which
is occupied by their kinsmen the Yanktons and the Tetons.
The Yanktons are of two tribes, those of the plains,
or rather of the north, a wandering race of about five hundred
men, who roam over the plains at the heads of the Jacques,
the Sioux, and the Red river; and those of the south,
who possess the country between the Jacques and Sioux
rivers and the Desmoine. But the bands of Sioux most
known on the Missouri are the Tetons. The first who are
met on ascending the Missouri is the tribe called by the
French the Tetons of the Boise Brule or Burntwood, who
reside on both sides of the Missouri, about White and Teton
rivers, and number two hundred warriors. Above them
on the Missouri are the Teton Okandandas, a band of one
hundred and fifty men living below the Chayenne river,
between which and the Wetarhoo river is a third band,
called Teton Minnakenozzo, of nearly two hundred and
fifty men; and below the Warreconne is the fourth and last
tribe of Tetons of about three hundred men, and called Teton
Saone. Northward of these, between the Assiniboin
and the Missouri, are two bands of Assiniboins, one on
Mouse river of about two hundred men, and called Assiniboin
Menatopa; the other, residing on both sides of White
river, called by the French Gens de Feuilles, and amounting
to two hundred and fifty men. Beyond these a band of
Assiniboins of four hundred and fifty men, and called the
Big Devils, wander on the heads of Milk, Porcupine, and
Martha's rivers; while still farther to the north are seen
two bands of the same nation, one of five hundred and the
other of two hundred, roving on the Saskaskawan. Those
by tradition as descendents or seceders from the Sioux;
though often at war are still acknowledged as relations. The
Sioux themselves, though scattered, meet annually on the
Jacques, those on the Missouri trading with those on the
Mississippi.
| CHAPTER V. History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the river Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. | |