University of Virginia Library

CHAP. VI.

Tuesday 1st Jan. 1805. Two shot were fired
from the swivel, followed by a round of small arms,
to welcome the New Year. Captain Lewis then gave
each a glass of good old whiskey; and a short time
after another was given by Captain Clarke.

About 11 o'clock one of the interpreters and half
of our people, went up, at the request of the natives,
to the village, to begin the dance; and were followed
some time after by Captain Clarke, and three more
men. The day was warm and pleasant. Captain
Lewis in the afternoon issued another glass of whiskey;
and at night Captain Clarke and part of the
men returned from the village, the rest remained all
night.

Wednesday 2nd. Some snow fell this morning.
The men, who remained at the village last night, returned.
Captain Lewis, myself and some others
went up to the second village and amused ourselves
with dancing &c. the greater part of the day. In the
evening we in general returned and a great number
of the natives, men, women and children, came to
see us, and appeared highly pleased.

This day I discovered how the Indians keep their
horses during the winter. In the day time they are
permitted to run out and gather what they can; and
at night are brought into the lodges, with the natives
themselves, and fed upon cotton wood branches: and
in this way are kept in tolerable case.

Thursday 3rd. From this to the 13th, the weather
was generally very cold; but our hunters were
frequently out. One of them killed a beautiful
white hare. These animals are said to be plenty.
We killed a small buffaloe, 3 elk, 4 deer and two or

three wolves. Three of the hunters going to a distance
down the river, killed nothing for two days,
but a wolf, which they were obliged to eat; and said
they relished it pretty well, but found it rather tough.
A number of the natives being out hunting in a very
cold day, one of them gave out on his return in the
evening; and was left in the plain or praire covered
with a buffaloe robe. After some time he began to
recover and removed to the woods, where he broke a
number of branches to lie on, and to keep his body
off the snow. In the morning he came to the fort,
with his feet badly frozen, and the officers undertook
his cure.

Sunday 13th. A clear cold day. A number of the
natives went down the river to hunt with our men.
In the evening one of our interpreters and another
Frenchman who had gone with him to the Assiniboins
for fur returned. They had their faces so badly frost
bitten that the skin came off; and their guide was so
badly froze that they were obliged to leave him with
the Assiniboins. This nation lives near the Rocky
Mountains, and about 90 miles from fort Mandan.[1]

Monday 14th. Some snow fell this morning. Six
more hunters went out to join those with the natives.
In the evening one of the hunters that first went out,
returned. They had killed a buffaloe, a wolf and
two porcupine; and one of the men had got his feet
so badly frozen that he was unable to come to the
fort.

During the 15th and 16th the weather was warm,

and the snow melted fast. Horses were sent for the
lame man, and he was brought to the fort his feet
were not so bad as we had expected.

On the 17th it became cold; the wind blew hard
from the north, and it began to freeze.

Friday 18th. Clear cold weather. Two of our hunters
returned, and had killed four deer, four wolves
and a prarow. Two men belonging to the N. W.
company, who stay at the Grossventers village, came
to the fort. They say this animal which the French
call a prarow, or brarow, is a species of the badger.

Saturday 19th. Two men were sent with horses
for meat, to the hunters' Camp, which is thirty miles
down the river.

Sunday 20th. I went up with one of the men to
the villages. They treated us friendly and gave us
victuals. After we were done eating they presented
a bowlful to a buffaloe head, saying "eat that." Their
superstitious credulity is so great, that they believe
by using the head well the living buffaloe will come
and that they will get a supply of meat.

Monay 21st. A clear cold day. Our hunters returned
to the fort, and brought with then three horse
load of venison and elk meat.

The weather on the 22nd and 23rd was warm,
and we commenced cutting the ice from about our
craft, in order to get them out of the river. The
snow fell about three inches deep.

Thursday 24th. A cold day. Some of our hunters
went out, but killed nothing.

Friday 25th. All hands were employed in cutting
away the ice, which we find a tedious business.

Saturday 26th. A pleasant day and all hands employed
in cutting wood, to make charcoal. We have
a blacksmith with us, and a small set of blacksmith
tools. The blacksmith makes war-axes, and other
axes to cut wood; which are exchanged with the
natives for corn, which is of great service to us as we
could not bring much with us.

On the 27th and 28th the weather became much
more settled, warm and pleasant than it had been for
some time.

Tuesday 29th. We attemped another plan for getting
our water craft disengaged from the ice: which
was to heat water in the boats, with hot stones; but
in this project we failed, as the stones we found
would not stand the fire, but broke to pieces.

Wednesday 30th. I went up the river and found
another kind of stones, which broke in the same manner
: so our batteaux and periogues remained fast in
the ice.

Thursday 31st. Some snow fell last night. Five
hunters went out with two horses. In the morning
the wind blew and was cold, towards the middle of
the day the weather became more moderate, and the
afternoon was pleasant.

Friday 1st Feb. 1805. A cold day. About 11 our
hunters came home, but had killed nothing. One of
the men at the fort went out a short distance, and
killed a small deer. On the next day he went out
and killed another deer. This and the third were cold.

Monday 4th. A fine day. Captain Clarke and 18
more went down the river to hunt. We proceeded
on 20 miles and could see no game.

Tuesday 5th. We proceeded on to some Indian
camps and there we killed three deer. The next day
we went on to more Indian camps and killed some
deer. On the 7th we encamped in a bottom on the
south side of the Missouri, and the next day turned
out to hunt. We killed 10 elk and 18 deer, and remained
there all night. On the 9th we built a pen
to secure our meat from the wolves, which are very
numerous here; and in the evening went further
down and encamped. The next morning we set out
on our return towards the fort; and killed some elk
and deer in our way. On the 12th we arrived at the
fort; and found that one of our interpreter's wives

had in our absence made an ADDITION to our number.
On the 13th we had three horses shod to bring home
our meat.

Thursday 14th. Four men set out early with the
horses and sleds to bring home our meat; and had
gone down about 25 miles when a party of Indians
(they did not know of what nation) came upon them
and robbed them of their horses one of which they
gave back, and went off without doing the men any
further injury. The same night the men came back
and gave information of what had happened. At
midnight Captain Lewis called for twenty volunteers
who immediately turned out. Having made our arrangements,
we set out early accompanied by some
Indians; and having marched thirty miles encamped
in some Indian huts.

Saturday 16th. We renewed our pursuit early,
and had a cold morning. Having proceeded twelve
miles we discovered fresh smoke arising at some old
camps, where we had hid some meat before when
Captain Clarke was down; and therefore advanced
with caution. Having arrived at the place we found
the savages were gone; had destroyed our meat,
burnt the huts and fled into the plains. This morning
the Indians, who had come down with us and
one of our men whose feet had been a little frozen,
returned home. We hunted the 17th and 18th and
got a good deal of meat which we brought to a place
where some more had been secured. The 19th
we loaded our sleds very heavy, and fifteen men
drew one and the horse the other, which was a
small one. On the next day we arrived at the fort
much fatigued.

Thursday 21st. Some rain fell to day, the first
that has fallen since November. In the evening the
weather became clear and pleasant.

Friday 22nd. Was a fine day and we again began
to cut away the ice, and succeeded in getting out one
of the petiogues.

'Saturday 23rd. We had fine pleasant weather, and
all hands were engaged in cutting away the ice from
the boat and the other periogue. At 4 o'clock in the
afternoon we had the good fortune to get both free
from the ice; and in the three following days succeeded
in getting them all safe upon the bank. On
the 27th we made preparations for making periogues
to pursue our voyage in.

Thursday 28th. Sixteen of us went up the river
about six miles, where we found and cut down trees
for four canoes. While we were absent an express
arrived from the Rickarees village with news that
the Sioux had declared war against us, and also
against the Mandans and Grossventers. They had
boasted of the robbery of the 14th at the Rickarees
village in their way home, and that they intended
to massacre the whole of us in the spring. By this
express we therefore found out that it was the Sioux
who had taken the horses from our men.

Friday 1st March, 1805. The same party encamped
out to make the canoes, and continued until
six were made.

On the 20th and 21st we carried them to the river
about a mile and an half distant: There I remained
with two men to finish them, and to take care of
them, until the 26th, when some men came up
from the fort, and we put the canoes into the
water. As the river had risen there was some
water between the ice and the shore. We got three
of them safe to the fort; but the ice breaking before
the other three were got down, so filled the channel,
that we were obliged to carry them the rest of the
way by land. On the 27th we put one of the canoes
into the water to ascertain what weight they would
carry. We found they would not carry as much as
was expected, and Captain Lewis agreed to take a
large periogue along. The remainder of the month

we were employed in preparing our craft for a renewal
of our voyage.

Monday 1st April 1805. As our large boat was to
return immediately to St. Louis, the whole of our
craft was put into the water. A considerable quantity
of rain fell this day; the first of any consequence
that had fallen here for six months. The 2nd, was a
fair day but windy. On the 3rd the weather was
fine and pleasant. Some boxes were made, in which
it was intended to have packed skins of different animals,
which had been procured in the country, to
be sent down in the batteaux.

Thursday 4th. A fine clear day. We packed the
boxes full of skins, buffaloe robes, and horns of the
Mountain ram, of a great size for the president; and
began to load the boat.

Friday 5th. This was a clear day and the wind
blew hard and cold from the N. W. We took all
our goods, stores and baggage out, divided and put
them aboard our craft, that we might be ready to
continue our voyage.

If this brief Journal should happen to be preserved,
and be ever thought worthy of appearing in
print: some readers will perhaps expect, that, after
our long friendly intercourse with these Indians, among
whom we have spent the winter; our acquaintance
with those nations lower down the river
and the information we received relative to several
other nations, we ought to be prepared now, when
we are about to renew our voyage, to give some account
of the fair sex of the Missouri: and entertain
them with narratives of feats of love as well as of
arms. Though we could furnish a sufficient number
of entertaining stories and pleasant anecdotes, we
do not think it prudent to swell our Journal with
them; as our views are directed to more useful information.
Besides, as we are yet ignorant of the
dangers, which may await us, and the difficulty of

escape, should certain probable incidents occur, it
may not be inconsistent with good policy to keep
the Journal of as small and portable a size as circumstances
will make practicable. It may be observed
generally that chastity is not very highly esteemed
by these people, and that the severe and loathsome
effects of certain French principles are not uncommon
among them. The fact is, that the women
are generally considered an article of traffic and indulgencies
are sold at a very moderate price. As a
proof of this I will just mention, that for an old tobacco
box, one of our men was granted the honour
of passing a night with the daughter of the head-chief
of the Mandan nation. An old bawd with her
punks, may also be found in some of the villages on
the Missouri, as well as in the large cities of polished
nations.