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No. * "UC^\A.}v'A^rU/\~ 'SSCC^ -'in^^-^ ] 4 Q f^ \rw K •IAN I '/ 1 o IISTORY OF THE EXPEDITION UNDER THE COMMAND OF LEWIS AND CLARK, Yo the Sources of the Missouri River, thence across the Rocky Mountains and I down the Columbia River to the Pacijic Ocean, performed during the Years /S04-J-6, by Order of the Government of the United States. A NEW EDITION, klTHPirtLV REPRmTKO PROM THE ONLV AUTHORIZED Eo.T.ON OF ,8.4, W.TH CoP.OlS Cr.T,CA. CoMMBNTARV. PrBP.Rbo „„o, Ex.M.NAT.O. op UNn;BLS„ED Oppicul Archives and Manv Other Sources op Inpormat.on Including a Diligent Study op thr ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT JOURNALS . AND flELD NOTEBOOKS OF THE EXPLORERS, together with » «cw »(ograpb(cal an^ «ib.(ograpb(cal 1.ntro^uct(on, -new «ap6 an6 otber f Uuetratlona, an6 a Complete Unftej, BY ELLIOTT COUES, Late Captain a„d Assistant Surgeon, United States A rmy Late Secretary and Naturalist, United States Geological Survev Member of the National A cademy of Sciences, etc IN FOUR VOLUMES. Vol. I. NEW YORK. FRANCIS P. HARPER. 1893. lr,l 189092 COPVRIOHT, 1893, BV FRANCIS P. HARPER, ^// ri^Ats reserved. HI. w 2)e6icatlon. \To the Teoplc of the Great IV est: Jefferson gave you the country. Lewi, and Clark showed you the ^ay The ret is your own course of empire. Honor Ue stateman who foresaw your West Honor the hrave men Uofirstsawyour West May tl,e me,nory of their gtoriou, Uehievementheyour precious heritage, Accept from my heart |/*« undying record of the beginning of all your greatness. B. C. t v.\^ »*'*li PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. I^TeffoTe p''''«'"'''^='P^'"«'""""" '"'Mississippi Li- • >., '-"cat west. ine History of this unrlpr tatang ,sthe personal narra:iveand official report of hefirs; Ltd SnT". "°"''' "■' """'"™' between .hBri&h and Spamsh possessions. When these pioneers passed ^he the coZ2 :^'^tT7hZ::r rt "'T-' : Montana, Idak^f t::h-;g^"l„?tl;r°"Th^^'^°"' water-ways on the Atlan'ir.wl ra 'Jiegon. The mam iMissouri and Yellows one on thf P ."""."'""^ ""' '"' J the Kooskooslcee, and he cllumb^'"' -de, Lewis' river, ■ ar ^ raTjr ivrrr ^--"~i' anofhertriousl al^v ^h ' "T "^' '"" ™^ """^ -'"'O"' .sometimes Teh" rffe^'n^a^'d otsl:','-""^' '^^''^'^'P' ■The discipline of the party was perfect ThT'""' ''"."• te rdird^atr -■'-"--^^^^^^^ &e'du"atirori"° ''"'"■°" """"<=" "y'hemselve |on,n,unication with the ^^^''wT L ei^^^i^" VI PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. of this adventure stands easily first and alone. This is our national epic of exploration, conceived by Thomas Jeffer- son, wrought out by Lewis and Clark, and given to the world by Nicholas Biddle. Perhaps no traveler's tale has ever been told with greater fidelity and minuteness, or has more nearly achieved abso- lute accuracy. Our heroes proved also model journalists. The imagination of Defoe, which evolved a fiction with startling verisimilitude, has been matched by those acute powers of actual observation which gave us what v/e may call the " Robinson Crusoe " of fact. It is singular that this History, which has held its own for nearly a century as a standard work of reference, has never before been republished in full, nor ever until now been sub- jected to searching and systematic criticism. The more closely it is scrutinized, in the light of our present knowl- edge, the more luminous it appears. The severest tests which contemporaneous criticism can apply serve mainly to develop its strength and worth. The printed narrative would carry easily twice as much commentary as is now put upon it; for it continually challenges and solicits the edi- torial pen, even without reference to those manuscript records which have proved a very mine of new wealth. The present edition is accurately described upon its title- page. The editorial notes are so copious and so various that there is little left to be said by way of preface. In undertaking the work, I expected to do little more than supervise a reprint of the original text. The acquisition of the manuscripts was not foreseen ; nor had I any idea of the embarrassing richness of resources about to become mine. The publisher, with not less sagacity than liberality, altered his previous plans accordingly, and left the whole matter in my hands. The question whether a new History of the Expedition should be written was promptly answered in the negative. The present edition gives the Biddle text with scrupulous fidelity, even to indicating the original pagina- tion— -a convenience which every scholar will appreciate as \-.\' PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. vii highly as he does the unbroken numbering of pages of the present v, „n,es. But I have not found it Lcessar. to thf %t "'V' "■" ''^'- ' have punctilioudy p ese^ed ccentricifv"'''^' r'" "''"''""' ^" *- vaXcell ."the texf ;r dt "^^'f ' ''-^ -"-Plified any statement hesitated to touch the text her^and the^ in a ml Tat":: of grammar or punctuation F^r fu . t , matter new titles and sUr^thf ^ptrln "Z SZ .he' C a^t^fr 'di^r; Z ^TT ' '"'"T'"' "" ''^^ several respect The n'.^^T"'"' Excepting in these orig.a,. cu':hrriri:t"ei: "'^"'^ *-- '° *^ ha^:iXfmC.r:Lr/r;^l^j-,f™^^^^ :c-°Lr^r,y-haf-"rori5^^^ simple supervision was turned into ti.' ? ''^^" wrsra:'e^^;rt£-^^^^^^^^ :^ei;chthi:s.^hT^o.rr:pSrd'"^'r -" *^ mental alertness »nd To ."P""™'' "le demand upon my than I shtld ca,eTleTa"|ai„'°T ^'°Z'r'' =""^ a fund of omniscience wHch fam sa ilS ? "^ '"" "P"" TK^^-, • vvi.ii.li 1 am satisned I never oossptjcpr! at eve^ error which I have not'detecTdTtte r iTal rfctedltothetL'hat"^^^^^ "!fo^ ^^^^^^^ ^"^ -^- tne end that Lewis and Clark," whose develop- ' Excepting Captain Clark's, which was wrongly " Clark. " fi, ^, IS now correctly respelled • and excent in ^ throughout, and Kansas for " Kanzas - Tn wh i T^ /"^ "' '"^^ °"^^' '^'^'^'' notably of inadvertently gTven ^ '^ ""'"" ^P^"'"^ of a familiar name Is viii PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. [ ■■ 111 If; ment ought to be brought abreast of that of the Great West, may approximate to that perfection which is said to belong to the gods. My commentary relates mainly to geography, ethnology, and natural history ; but it is too extensive and diversified to be concisely described, and if it cannot speak for itself, there is nothing to be said about it. I wish that the literal extracts from the codices were more copious than they are ; but all books, even such as this one, have necessary limits. The rest of the new matter in these volumes consists of a Supplement to Jefferson's Memoir of Lewis, Memoirs of Clark and of Gass, respectively, a bibliography, a much- needed index, this preface, and various illustrations. The modern map was selected as being on about the same scale as Captain Clark's original, thus facilitating comparison of his with our geography. But as it was not drawn for this work, I am responsible for nothing that appears upon it excepting the red marks I have made to indicate the route. These will be found as accurate as the map permits them to be ; but the result is to be taken simply as a diagram. Many friends, both known and unknown to me person- ally, have shown their interest in this work, and contributed to such excellence as the new matter it contains may be found to possess. My most sincere as well as most formal acknowledgments are due to the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, which did not hesitate to trust the precious manuscripts to my keeping, and whose Secretary, Mr. Henry Phillips, Jr., showed me every personal attention. Mr. Alfred J. Hill of St. Paul, Minn., helped me more than any other individual, with constant suggestion and criticism, and by the loan of several manuscript charts he had prepared for his own use with special reference to Lewis and Clark, as well as by calling my attention to various things which I might or should have otherwise overlooked. My citations of certain authorities, notably Perrin du Lac, are upon Mr. Hill's representations. Access to and use of the archives of the State and War Departments, by permission of the respect- PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION Mr. A. R s;„ffor:^t\t™L■ibt^orc""'^'^°'^"• J. W. Po>vel], Director of tL IT Q^r- , ''°"g"'==^; Major of the U. S. Boreau of Ftr, . S\^=°'°&i"> Survey and the same S rveT Prof G B ^^^V^^"^""^ Gannett, of U. S. National Museulpro^? ^°°''' J"'"''"" °' "■■= tendent of the U sZL , J' ^^ **™denhall, Superin. Brock, Secretaryof the V '"'. '^""'^"^ Survey; Mr. R. A. CharfesAIdrLh^of heltaTX't m""' "°"^'^' "°"- and Mr. M. S. Hin, Sec : a.^'^? '"':?^P^^'"'-' °f '-a ; Sciences, each rend;red"a,„7d "ffi ', ^''°™* ^"<'«'"y "f Judge Craig Biddle of PI l^ , u ""'' P"'°"^' '^vors. Furnessoffhe sale ctv .","■*'■•• "°'^^= "™"d Suprer.,eCourt„f Penn ' ^ai a.VT« '^^ '''"='"'" °' "■- Louis; Mr. Wm HanccTkn 1' '^;; ■''=«<='■»<>"«. Clark of St. wether Lewisc,ark:ri!::is::,t^"s:^^fi,;j°'-^«'- Louis, Mo.; and Mr R c; v^ u Vr/ " ■'"' "^'"O" of St. van-ous Ha'ta, b^: «°^^^ tory. my thanks are due to Prof Th ;, ^" n "'"^ ^'^- Smithsonian Institution MrEWp'' ^'" "^ '^^ Cope of the University of Pen' y^anij^r"!^ ot ^' ^^ of the Agricultural Department nnH ^^^'\^; ^- toward Knowlton, who made most of 1' K . ''^'f'""^ ^'■- ^- "" I have also to thank fn ""''"''^^ identifications. CommissionersVtVelraTrnd Offi^^ ^'^. "°"- ^^^ dian Bureau, respcctivelv 7h n '^ ^""^ °^ ^he In- Falls Dam • th?Mavor J P . ''''^'^ °^ '^' ^^^'^ E^gle Newton of'ctb'JS^rL';"^ W "p' ^^^^ ^^^'d New York Nation. 1 j ? ^- 'garrison of the ! Wash.; Prof r A M^" ^T": Wickersham of Tacoma, -al Hi o^^, N Y Mr , ' t""'"" **— "' ■y, «. y. Air. James E. Babb of Lewiston. 3C PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. Idaho; Mr. Peter Koch of Bozeman, Mont; Governor Buchanan of Tennessee ; Mr. James D. Park of Franklin, Tenn.; Mr. J. G. Jacob of Wcllsburg, W. Va.; Col. E. Polk Johnson of Frankfort, Ky.; Judge R. T. Durrett of Louisville, Ky.; Judge John M. Lea of Nashville, Tenn.; Dr. W. C. N. Randolph of Charlottesville, Va.; Mr. F. Firmstone of Easton, Pa.; Rev. Dr. Edward D. Neill of St. Paul, Minn.; Gen. John Gibbon, U. S. Army; Mrs. Mary B. Anderson of Washington, D. C, who prepared the index under my direction ; and Mr. Robert M. Trulan, of the Mershon Printing Company, whose faithful and skill- ful attentions were animated by an intelligent interest in the subject-matter, and who ver>' ably seconded my efforts to produce an accurate impression. Most of my corre- spondents are also named in the course of my notes, where each such recognition seemed not less a pleasure than a duty. Elliott Coues. Smithsonian Institution, Washin ton, D. C, June 20tk, 1893. .» i CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. Mac Preface by the Editor ' ' * • • Preface TO THE ORiomAi. Edition M«0,„ OE MEKIWETHE. Lew.S. Bv^UomIs JeIEeIsok! ^ ME,MO,E OE WaUAM C.ARK. Bv De.' CO^ES ' ' ' ^^ MEMOIR OE PATRICK GaSS, Bv Dr. COUES ' ' ' "'" BIBUOORAPHICAI, INTRODUCTION, . ' ' ' ' """ ■ • • . . cvii mSTOI^y OF THE EXPEDITION. CHAPTER I. Up the Missouri to the Platte r CHAPTER II. The Missouri from thf Pta-t.^ River, . ^^^ ^^^^^^ to the Vermilion • • . • S3 CHAPTER III ^" *'=''™ ™" ^«»""0N TO TETON RIV.R, . . ,, CHAPTER IV. The Missouri from Tr-^r^v- -o FROM .ETON RiVER TO THE MaNDANS, . ,.^ xi xu CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. rAOB Wintering with the Mandans. ig© CHAPTER VI. With the Mandans: Continued 218 CHAPTER VH. The Missouri from Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone, 248 CHAPTER VHI. The Missouri from the Yellowsione to the Mussel- shell, 287 CHAPTER IX, The Missouri from the Musselshell to Maria's River, 321 II PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION. which have preceded th7,li """ ""^ circumstances Uare in confpmnj them '^"°''""°"' ^"^ '"^"P'-" "s own hirsdr.hetdltj'f'htrnl^^'?'^'" ]-r'^ '° ■-- "-> toward Philadelphia foth? ' ""'' '"= ™' °" '"» «V frustrated the H en. ot "aT' "''" ""^ ^"''''^" '^-'^ avoidable delay the paner; . . t '^""^'''"''bk and u„. were deposited with ITZ T'' "'"^ ""= Expedition who, i„ order' ::tdr^\"iai:sel?rmi!:ttr.'^'^^''j' las possible, proceeded imm^H;Ti ? „ '"'^ injurious I Of the incidents of each day during the Fv,..^v Inute journal was kept by Caotain T ! ^^P^^'^'^n, a r .. land sometimes by both thfu T °' ^^P*^'" ^lark. Enlarged at thJ dLr t' ^h l":/ ,!f ^^^^^-^^^^^^^ ^"^ |on the route. These vvere caretllv - '7^''^ ^"'"'"'-^^ ^ith Captain Clark h.Wif \ ^ ^^'"'^'^ '" conjunction recollectfon onL^'^^o^n y ks^^llTs^r^m 'a'™'" ,'" °™ dence in Louisiana since his retT,™ Tj , constant resi- st explanations and muA L ■ f ^^'^ * S"''''" "^'^ Regard to part o^f the ro"e thich h '°k" '"f"™^"'™ with tlored. Besides thL. "' ''"" """■' ''"ently ex- k and Patrick Gass( 1 °^ '\^^'g^-"'ts [John OrS- ninute and va uabfe 1' aire °h t"" f^'^^''' ""= '«=' xui 'f XIV PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION. From these copious materials the narrative was sketched nearly in its present form, when other pursuits diverted the attention of the writer and compelled him to transfer his manuscript, in its unfinished state, with all the documents connected with it, to the present editor, to prepare them for the press and superintend the publication. That he may not seem to arrogate anything from the exertions of others, he should therefore state that, although the whole work was thus submitted to his entire discretion, he found but little to change, and that his labor has been principally confined to revising the manuscript, comparing it with the original papers, and inserting such additional matter as appears to have been intentionally deferred by the writer till the period of a more mature revisal. These circumstances, which would otherwise be indifferent to the public, are mentioned merely to account for imperfections, which are in some degree inseparable from any book of travels not written by the traveler. In a work of pure description indeed, like the present, where the incidents themselves are the sole objects of attraction, the part of an editor is necessarily subordinate, nor can his humble pretensions aspire beyond the merit of rigid adherence to facts as they are stated to him. This has been very diligently attempted, and for this, in its full extent, the editor deems himself responsible. The present volumes, it will be perceived, comprise only the narrative of the journey. Those parts of the work which relate to the various objects of natural history ob- served or collected during the journey, as well as the alpha- bets of the {p. v) Indian languages, are in the hands of Professor [Benjamin S.] Barton, and will, it is understood, shortly appear. [See note ", p. 4CX).] To give still further interest to the work the editor ad- dressed a letter to Mr. [Thomas] Jefferson, requesting some authentic memoirs of Captain Lewis. For the very curious and valuable information contained in his answer, the public, as well as the editor himself, owe great obligations to the j politeness and knowledge of that distinguished gentleman. Paul Allen. Philadelphia, ybwwary ist, 1814. ON. was sketched s diverted the transfer his le documents pare them for at he may not of others, he ole work was jnd but little Daily confined 1 the original IS appears to till the period ances, which re mentioned are in some ot written by deed, like the 2 sole objects ' subordinate, the merit of > him. This ;is, in its full T ^ I jmprise only of the work ,1 history ob- as the alpha- :he hands of understood, le editor ad- nesting some very curious r, the public, tions to the! I gentleman.] L Allen. J-> I } ? ^ 3 ^ In Q ^ \ %a 1^ ?\. • i « ? ■^^ 1 S. 4^ •i ^ ■I i i i 1 4 1 ) i k ■^ ^ ) ] ^ I':' '* -^^ 'f I )i'!t I ! \ MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. [Letter from Ex-President Thomas Jefferson.-] Sir • Tn . v MONTICELLO, August im, 1813. SIR In compliance with the request conveyed in your let er of May 2Sth ■ I have endeavored to obtain^ from T re a t«ons and fnends of the late.Governor Lewis, nformatLn o" such madents of his life as might be not inacceptaWe to those who may read the narrative of his Western discoveries Tf peace afe not ^^'^^^'r^^JP^-- - the Army, in a time ot peace are not deemed sufficiently interesting to occudv the pubhc attention ; but a general account of hi^ parentage (served, /he rest of the rllT^"[^ .S ''°"' '"' P"'"''^' "^^ "°^ P^ of the Expedition is co^pS e VchtT" Th::"""'; ^^'' ^'^ "^^"^^ iMenioirof Lewis, in Mr Tefferson's ^7 v ^'^^ "''^'"^^ manuscript of the letter-paper, now for.s Dols No" .'rand .' '"t ^ v °"" T 7^^^^ ^^^^^ °^ the Jefferson Papers. Doc No n8 Teff P . '^ °^ "'' '^' '"'" °f fron. Mr. Jefferson to Mr Allen" rln ^. f''' "^- ''■■■• ^'°^- 3' ^^ a letter would be required etc ot v ^ T-^. '° '' '"^"'"'"^^ ^^''^^ ^he Memoir forwards the^ J.^p. .f,;-^;, ^ ^ e.^r^^s": ^^"^-^ %"! ^^^ Itory, etc. Doc. No n6 ib'd k . 1 ,' f '^'"'' ^^^'^^ ^3 copies of the His- clated PhiladelphiarAug X tf'i X, T\ T^ ''" ^""^ '° -'^^- J^'^--"' in^pudence that deLorvet to tc l^h" tot^'^ 'Vlf 'e"' ^" ^''^^^"^^"' ^" (apprehensive that tl e fulness of vo„r R i, J ^ '°" '''y' = " I am not to its publication. . w that I have n TT^ ^"^ "^'"'^^ "'" ^^ ^" ^'^^'acle tinate the volum s. I wth very ^1:1 7''" f ^°°'^^""^ ^° P— (narrative by somethin^r mor/n , ? ' "'" ''^^ '^"^""^ °' ^^e [Biddle] taste.- etc..'..:t;:i" DocT ^;'3rs;';'-^"', "^r ^^- ^'^^ p-^^^^^^ jsame, dated Philadelphia. Dec 8th x8 f 'in f" 7 I " ^'°"^ "^^ '^""^ '° ''^« (and fame of Captain Le^v^s doe ./^' ''"?'''" ^"''^'- P^'™"'^^^ 'he name Jciark, and favors t ErP^d"; fth: U '> ',T '"^ ''"^^^^'^^ °^ ^^P'^" and opinions. I„ this matt 0^1 ^ th^^al ^nf T^'r ""''^ '''''''"''' I , i.ourse, tlie real understanding was between XVI MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. with such smaller incidents as marked his early character, are briefly noted ; and to these are added, as being peculiarly within my own knowledge, whatever related to the public mission of which an account is now to be published. The result of my inquiries and recollections shall now be offered, to be enlarged or abridged as you may think best ; or other- wise to be used with the materials you may have collected from other sources. Meriwether Lewis, late Gove nor of Louisiana, was born on the 1 8th of August, 1774, near the town of Charlottes- ville, in the County of Albemarle, in Virginia, of one of the distinguished families of that state. John Lewis, one (/. viii) of his father's uncles, was a member of the king's council before the Revolution. Another of them. Fielding Lewis, married a sister of General Washington. His father, William Lewis, was the youngest of five sons of Colonel Robert Lewis of Albemarle, the fourth of whom, Charles, was one of the early patriots who stepped forward in the commencement of the Revolution, and commanded one of the regiments first raised in Virginia and placed on con- Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Biddle ; the correspondence shows that Mr. Allen was a mere dummy. The Memoir of Lewis was actually transmitted and submitted by Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Biddle ; witness Doc. No. 52, Jeff. Papers, 2d. ser., Vol. 1 1 , as follows : Monticello, Aug. 20, 1813. Sir In a letter from mr Paul Allen of Philadelphia I was informed that other business had obliged you to turn over to him the publication of GoV. Lewis's journal of his Western expedition ; and he requested me to furnish him with any materials I could for writing a sketch of his life. I now enclose him such as I have been able to procure, to be used with any other information he may have receivea, or alone, if he has no other, or in any way you & he shall think proper. The part you have been so good as to take in digesting the work entitles you to decide on whatever may be proposed to go out under it's auspices, and on this ground I take the liberty of putting under cover to you, and for your perusal, my letter to mr Allen, which I will request you to seal & hand on to him. I am happy in this occasion of expressing my portion of the thanks all will owe you for the trouble you have taken with this interesting narrative, and the assurance of my sentiments of high esteem and respect. Th : Jefferson. Mr. Biddle. MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. xvii wrlnH""""*'"''"'- "■•'PP''>' ^■■""'"••l « home, with a wife and young family, and a fortune placing him kt ease he left all to aid in the liberation of his countrv flTJr ' ^urpati s, .„,„ „,,, „„^^^^,„^ thei;:.«:7e ^a °;:;r laments of Lr-?u°^"' '"'"^"^' »'''°' ==duced by the :s"ri td'rn^rd— ht"^' "■> "-= ^^"■- frontier, by murdering and sc2i„„ H, ?" ""^ '°""'"" children, according to fheir cruel and .''^f ™™™ """^ warfare. The chastisement tK .f ""''"5' P"""Pl« of history of their watand Repaid ttr?"^'' ^'"'^^ '"' hlements of civilization wm'?, ," ''"' "'"^■""g 'he P-ent governmen ' of' Th Uni" ° S at'^H "'^^ "^ '"^ hhem an industrious peaceable 1 h k ' ^"' "''"''"'^'^ lember of the familt ^f T ' ' . ""^PPy P"°P'«- This trh^earti:r'"' •'"''''>'• "-'^-^^ "he'um ^;\",^rfhrp'rira:e^d'r"'' ""'""-'■ "^ -- selected^Iways by both'^;™ es H?"'" f *■!= ~™'y- of Meriwether Lewir^f I "' "'"" ""^ guardian vhohad lostli^LTrLt-eXg? ""^ " ^^^^^^ ^-' |ng L«:;Ttt1 """'"r" '^^^^^'^^^ -■'-"•e foster. Pii«aers ff "^ffT^"' "' '"' '-=P«'able family of Ible IvenT^'iltr' °/ ""^ ='"« "™'y; and was remark- i When oZ e thf "r"P*'' '°'''"'=^'' -^ *--«on. Ihe de,d ' !. '','"' °' ^e= '^^ habitually went out in unttre'raccoTn a'f "' ""'■ '"^ dogs, into 'the fores' ^ he nigh^TaXr Jy^lT:^r 't r "^ '"^'' '°""' '" on or circumstance could obstruct hi '''""^^■,"<> ^^a- P"-ough the winter's snows and frozen t P"^P°==-P'""ging SHOWS and frozen streams m pureuit of his XVIU MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. object. At 1 3 he was put to the Latin school, and continued [under the tuition of Dr. Everett, Parson Maury, and Parson Wardell] at that until i8, when he returned to his mother and entered on the cares of his farm ; having, as well as a younger brother, been left by his father with a competency for all the correct and comfortable purposes of temperate life. His talent for observation, which had led him to an accurate knowledge of the plants and animals of his own country, would have distinguished him as a farmer ; but at the age of 20, yielding to the ardor of youth and a passion for more dazzling pursuits, he engaged as a volunteer in the body of militia which were called out by General Washing- ton, on occasion of the discontents produced by the excise taxes in the western parts of the United States;' and from that situation he was removed to the regular service as a lieutenant in the line. At 23 [in 1797] he was promoted to a captaincy ; and, always attracting the first attention where punctuality and fidelity were requisite, he was appointed paymaster to his regiment. About this time a circumstance occurred which, leading to the transaction which is the sub- ject of this book, will justify a recurrence to its original idea. While I resided in Paris, John Ledyard of Connecticut arrived there, well known in the United States for energy of body and mind. He had accompanied Captain Cook on his voyage to the Pacific ocean, and distinguished himself on that j voyage by his intrepidity. Being of a r-.aming disposition, he was now panting for some new enterprise. His imme- diate object at Paris was to engage a mercantile company inj the fur trade of the western coast of America, in (p. x)\ which, however, he failed. I then proposed to him to go by land to Kamtschatka, cross in some of the Russian vessels to j Nootka Sound, fall down into the latitude of the Missouri, j and penetrate to and through that to the United States,! He eagerly seized the idea, and only asked to be assured of « The " discontents " thus delicatt., suggested are better known to history as| the ' ' Whisky Insurrection " of 1 794. The malcontents were called ' ' insurgents." Young Lewis enlisted as a private under one T. Walker. MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. xix [the permission of the Russian government. I interested in .obtammg this, M. de Simoulin, Minister Plenipotentiary' of tlie Empress at Paris, but more especially the Baron de Grimm, Minister Plenipotentiary of Saxe-Gotha, her more special agent and correspondent there in matters not imme- diately diplomatic. Her permission was obtained, and an assura of protection while the course of the voyage should be through her territories. Ledyard set out from Pans and arrived at St. Petersburgh after the Empress had left that place to pass the winter, I think, at Moscow. His finances not permitting him to make unnecessary stay at St Petersburgh, he left it with a passport from one of the minisi ters ; and at 200 miles from Kamtchatka, was obliged to take up h,s winter-quarters. He was preparing, in the spring, to resume his journey, when he was arrested by an officer of the Empress, who by this time had changed her mind and Iforbidden his proceeding. He was put into a close carriage and conveyed day and night, without ever stopping, dli they reached Poland ; where he was set down and left to Ihimself. The fatigue of this journey broke down his con- stitution ; and when he returned to Paris his bodily strength was much impaired. His mind, however, remained firm ind he after this undertook the journey to Egypt I received a letter from him, full of sanguine hopes, dated at ICairo, the 15th of November, 1788, the day before he was ito set out for the head of the Nile ; on which day, how- ever, he ended his career and life. Thus failed the first attempt to explore the western part of our northern conti- lent. Ini;^2 I proposed to the American Philosophical Soci- ^ty that we should set on foot a subscription to engage some [p- xt) competent pers.n to explore that region in the oppo- ite d>rection-that is, by ascending the Missouri, crossing the Stony [Rocky] mountains, and descending the nearest htVn n'"'^'- ^'P'"'" ^"^^^ ^^^"g th^" stationed at .hariottesville on the recruiting service, warmly solicited ne to obtain for him the execution of that object. I told I imm i ; i ,f I XX MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. him it was proposed that the person engaged shc^.a be attended by a single companion only, to avoid exciting alarm among the Indians. This did not deter him ; but Mr. Andr4 Michaux, a professed botanist, author of " Flora Boreali-Aniericana " and of the " Histoire des Chesnes d'Amerique," offering his services, they were accepted. He received his instruction, and when he had reached Kentucky in the prosecution of his journey, he was overtaken by an order from the Minister of France, then at Philadelphia, to relinquish the Expedition," and to pursue elsewhere the botanical inquiries on which he was employed by that gov- ernment ; and thus failed the second attempt for exploring that region. In 1803, the act for establishing trading-houses with the Indian tribes being about to expire, some modifications of it were recommended to Congress by a confidential message* of * I believe that Michaux's case is here presented with the reserve of the true : diplomatist. It is a matter of common tradition, if not of verifiable history, that the already celebrated French liotanist, who had been selected by the Presi- 1 dent to accompany the Expedition in the capacity of a scientific specialist, was discovered or at any rate suspected to be a spy in the secret service of the French j Government ; and that his services were therefore declined by Mr. JefTerson j himself, who probably had no trouble in securing his recall by an " order" from the French Minister. But however this may have been, certainly the most seri. ous defect in the organization of the Expedition was the lack of some trained scientist, who should also have been a medical man, and thus united the pro- j fessional functions of physician, surgeon, and naturalist. * This is an occult document, not easy to find in print. It is not included in j The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, nor in ordinary collections of State Papers. It is contained in The Addresses and Messages of the Presidents of the United j States, Inaugural, Annual, and Special, from 1789 to 1846, etc., 2d ed., 2 vols., 8vo, New York, Edward Walker, 1846, Appendix, pp. xxv-xxvii, entitled] " Jefferson's Confidential Message, recommending a Western Exploring Expedi- tion," Jan. i8th, 1803. It is addressed " Gentlemen of the Senate and House off Representatives." Its astuteness and wariness may be judged by the words witli| which it concludes: "The interests of commerce place the principal object j within the constitutional powers and care of Congress, and that it should incident- 1 ally advance the geographical knowledge of our own continent, can but beani additional gratification. The nation claiming the territory, regarding this as aj literary pursuit, which it is in the hal)it of permitting witiiin its own dominions,! would not be disposed to view it with jealousy, even if the expiring state of its! interests there did not render it a matter of indifference. The appropriation oil '- i MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. ' xxi JanuaT, i8th, and an extension of its views to the Indians on tl,e M,ssoun. In order to prepare the way, the m"ssa"e proposed the sending an exploring party to i ace the J,X sour, to ..s source, to cross the Highlands, and follow te best water-communication which offered itself from thence to o ed :'sum° o?"- ^°T"' '^^""'^ '"^ proposition, and rl:^wrh:^Tht-rnl^::-^^^^ h^ rhf rs ^-r;:::?' rz' ^';t^^ - ;tses2r:7 '■'™ ^-f -- o^rr„xr;: possessmg a firmness and perseverance of purpose which nothmgbut .mpossibilities could divert from its drecTion careful as a father of those committed to his cha ge "et tr%^ TTr\°' "'"'^ '"' discip,ine7^:ft^I e (A «0 with the Indian character, customs, and principles ; two thousand five hundred dollar-; ' for ♦»,„ commerce of the United States 'wh'il/ ^ ^"?°'' °^ "'"^"^'"^ '^' ^''^""''l tive as giving the le^tte ancTion T""" '"' '^^"^''^"^^ ^^ '^e execu- and prevent ?he obstru tbnl whi f /° ,'°'''" '^' ""^^^^-^ing from notice, viously prepare in iwal'TOsJe""''' !"''^''"^^^ -'^'^^ <^'herwise pre! Lewis from PresidenrTeffersI 77"' ^"'''''" ^'"""'^ "^^ ^"'^'^ Secretary gress. with thereS o{ pLX 'r^''°"v"" ''^""'^^ ^'^'^'^ "P- ^y Con^ S.50O was Lewi, own^^ i:'::^::'^^^^ ^ 'C ^r '"^^^ ^' 51, bemg the following " Recapitulation of an Est'ii fe of The" ' '"- ''°' carry into effect the Miss'e ExneH.Vfr,. - • t T, ''^^ ^""^ necessary to Instruments. $217 ; A ms and 10°; '" handwriting : .' MathemaUcal page. $.55 Medi ine rpacking rr r ^T^^'"^^' ^'^ ' ^amp Ecqui- Ivanous articles into portable packs $ J F.Al ^^^^"f' ^°'- "^^^'^S up the jinterpreters, $3cx. ; In silver Sn t ^ V I ^^^ ""^ ^""'"^' g"'^««. ^nd JNashvilletothe last wh ^ett e^n 1 teVi ^ '^^ ''^ '^^"^ ^-- p7 ; Total, $2,500 " ■^"'^'^^"' °" *e Miss.soune, $100 ; Contingencies, |n highly om^pHment^^ --.'S W ^ teb^^' ^ Private Secretaryship, jame. m Lewis' handwriting, ....... Doc. No. 95 l in^an !: f^llot"'""^'^ ^^ ^ear Sir, Pittsburgh, March loth. i8oi the 23rd. Ult. m It you have thought proper so xxu MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. ^ [ habituated to the hunting life ; guarded, by exact observa- tion of the vegetables and animals of his own country, against losing time in the description of objects already pos- sessed ; honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound understand- ing, and a fidelity to truth so scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves — with all these qualifications, as if selected and implanted by nature in one body for this express purpose, I could have no hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him.' To fill up the measure desired, he wanted nothing but a greater famili- arity with the technical language of the natural sciences, and readiness in the astronomical observations necessary for the geography of his route. To acquire these he repaired im- mediately to Philadelphia, and placed himself under the tutorage of the distinguished professors of that place, who, with a zeal and emulation enkindled by an ardent devotion to science, communicated to him freely the information requisite for the purposes of the journey. While attending at Lancaster to the fabrication of the arms with which he chose that his men should be provided, he had the benefit of daily communication with Mr. Andrew Ellicot, whose experience in astronomical observation, and practice of it in the woods, enabled him to apprise Captain Lewis of the far to honour me with your confidence, as to express a wish that I should accept the place of your private Secretary ; I most cordially acquiesce, and with pleasure accept the office ; nor were further motives necessary to induce my com- plyance, than that you, Sir, should conceive that in the discharge of the duties of that office, I could be servicable to my country, or ucefuU to youreself : per- mit me here, Sir, to do further justice to my feelings, by expressing the lively sensibility with which I received this mark of your confidence and esteem. . . . Receive I pray you. Sir, the most undisembled assurance, of the attatch- ment and friendship of Your most obedient, & Very Humble Servt, Meriwether Lewis Thomas JeflFerson. President of the U, States. * The substance of the eulogy of this sentence forms the inscription on the east face of Lewis' monument, erected by the Legislature of Tennessee in 1848. See p. Ix, beyond. MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. ^^iji wants and diflficultipc li« ,„„ u tutes and resource offered h '""".f"' '""^ °' ">""'>»"- country. "' ^^ " woodland and uninhabited hi"oll^r;eTe'^:ce:ot:d• "^^^ ""-= ""-" ""- in the even, of acS'to h; JdrE,'™ """"•■ ^"'"P"-' Clark, brother of General ^I^ i' ^^ P''°P°=<='' William approved, and, wifh X v^^^eclv^d" ''"'' ^"^ *=■= Cap^afn'u' *ind ortS'.:.?!',?'™"!""^ "^ -" '" in the following form : ' •^""^' ^^^^ ^^""c signed ' Press-copy of the orip-inal n( tv. forms Doc. No. 369 of Vol. 9 o X'oHeff T' " •^^''"^"""^ ^-^-"''"S. novv State Dept. The writing is ver, small \h ^'"^' '" ^"'- °^ Ro"-nd Libr.. scarcely legible in all places. Signature Is ^tI'ZT" "n" "'' ''"'^^^' ^^^ j The doc. occupies 4 folios.-Doc. No ,oc vS ' "^f f.'^""' ^'•- ^S- of America" M. L., Wash". Nov. i6th. 1803. Xne Lnh • ' '' '^ ^'"^'" ^'•""^ T.' J. to expected transfer of Louisiana to the U S J^Do 'T"?""^' "'^'^ ^^'^'^^ ^^^ '^en dated Washn. Ja„. ,,d. :8o4. is let e^ of T T 1 M \ ''°' ^° °' J^*^" ^^P-^- jnst-ct.ons and suggestions for intercourse wi^h L' ''"'^ ^""P'^'^ ^"^ Mr. Evans as a Welshman "whose oririnll T . ^^"' = ''"">' '^^^^'ifies a search of the Welsh Indians said o "e "o .h ' m- ' ''"'^^ ''^ '^^«" ^« go in beyond ; item, incloses a trans] of the L '^ . ^'''°"" "'■ ''' "^^^ *'. P i59 St L^ouis up the Mo. R. ; .em. ll efaTe.: ImT °i ^ ^"^^"^ ^^PW Ph lada., conveying to M. L. diploma of memhr 1 '^'""■- P''''°*- Soc. of I, tM., is letter of T. T to M I W '^^'^^^''^'P '" that Society.-Doc No the Mo. R. to the Mandans ^^^safd 'to be ^''"' ''''' ''''' '-'-'"g ^-ap o^ Mr.E.ns.byorderoftheSpan::;fG:v^S:er"^^ [acquisition of the country through which /"'"""' """'^'"des as follows : " The h S--^"y -th a greaTdeal oHnl ett n voTr '° ^ '" '"^^'^^^ "^« -- perpetual as to your progress. The Feds ^7 k" T'"\ '''^^ ""^"'"« -« as a philosophism [.-. ,., as wf should not s v cranl"'^^ ^'°"^ ^^'» ^-^t it If ^^'.'"^^- Their bitterness i ^creases with tZ', '^^' ""^ "°"^'' '^J^i'^e at [despair of a resurrection. I hope you 3 , take r'";"" °' ^'^'^ ""-'^-'^ -^ >ng witness of their malice and folly lelt "' T''^''' ^"^ be the liv- ksure all your partythat we have our eyes turtr' ?'"'''""^ '° ^^'- Clarke. Nety & the success of their enterprise '^ '" "'''' '"'^'^'>' '"' ^''^'^ Nerved ,n press-copies in Jeff. Papers L. 2d ser Vo Ix ^' ''• "^^ ^'^ •''^-^^ P-' '^M vol. 51, as^^,^ j5^^_ ^^^^^^ xxiv MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. (/. xiii) " To Meriwether Lewis, Esquire, Captain of the First Regiment of Infantry of the United States of America : " Your situation as Secretary of the President of the United States has made you acquainted with the objecls of my confidential message of January i8th, 1803, to the legislature ; you have seen the act they passed, which, though expressed in general terms, was meant to sanction those objects, and you are appointed to carry them into execution. "Instruments for ascertaining, by celestial observations, the geography of the country through which you will pass, Apr. 27th, 1803 ; No. 112, Apr. 30th, 1803 ; No. 113, Mayi6th, 1803 ; No. 114, July nth, 1803 ; No. 115, July 15th, 1803 ; No. 116, Apr. 23d, 1803. These are Jefferson's side of the continued correspondence with Lewis during that year ami the beginning of 1804. The originals of Lewis' side of this correspondence arc also on file, bound in the same volume. These have never been published ; and as they enable us to trace all his movements in preparing for the Expedition, in 1803-4, I will abstract them, as follows : Doc. No. 97, five pages, Lancaster, Pa., Apr. 20th, 1803. M. L. arrives there Apr. loth, and puts himself under in- structions of Mr. Andrew Ellicot to learn to work astron. insts.; steps taken to engage recruits from posts of Southwest Point, Massac, Kaskaskais (sic) and Illinois ; one John Conner engaged as interpreter (engagement later canceled) ; rifles and tomahawks being made at Harper's Ferry, where Lewis was loni; detained about the building of his boat " Experiment " (see p. 406, beyond).— Doc. No. 98, Philada., Pa., May 14th, 1803; various matters, but chiefly Mr. Elli- cot'sand Mr. Patterson's views regarding astron. insts. — Doc. No. 99, Philada., May 29th ; preparations so far forward that he expects to leave for Washn. June 29th ; has submitted Jefferson's instructions to Drs. Rush, Barton, and Wistai, who approve them ; is informed by Major McRea,com'd'g at S. W. Point that out of 20 volunteers for the Exped. only 3 possessed the requisite qualifications ; lia^ taken sketches from Vancouver's work for composing a map Mr. Gallatin prom- ised to project and complete ; has been unable to procure " Danvill's," /. c, D'Anville's, map ; and " the maps attached to Vancouver's Voyage cannot be pm- cured seperately from that work, which is both too costly and too weighty for me either to purchase or carry." — Doc. No. 109, Philada., June 27th, 1803 ; wholly personal matters. Doc. No. 108, dated 12 o'clock Harper's Ferry, July 8th, 1803; leaves in an hour, "taking the rout of Charlestown, Frankfort, Uniontown and Redstone old fort to Pittsburgh."— Doc. No. 100, Pittsburgh, July 22d, 1803, delayed there by non-completion of a boat which had been promised for July 20th, was now promised for Aug. 5th (but in fact was not finished till Aug. 31st).— Doc. No. loi, Pittsburgh, July 26th, 1803, (It^Thisis the Lieut. Hook matter : .see in full in 1803, in p 31st. UltlT A. .M, on tl tained by 1 usual custc my time wi leave this p No. X03, di arrived thei "I find the river, altho' "ct. 3d, i8 " mammoth declined ; V / must quote i •,! and as from \'' pcctedlydeir '.', them in a go( X, 'his ingenuoii ;S proposes to r ^ on Captain C j Cerberus thir: St. Louis, Ma j mens.— Doc. I hut Captain I I Mr. Peter Ch I respondence, 1 I documents on [■Apr. 7th, 180; MrMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. xxv have been already provided. Light articles for barter and lor irom ten to twelve men, boats, tents, and other trlvol and rro. hin, also^ou :^^Z::t'Z^,TZ^' "As your movements, while within the limits of the 3ist. Ultmo. that my boat was 111 Id h "^ °" ''^ "°^"''"« "^ "- A. M. on the same day I left Pitts^fr?. 7"" '"'""'^^ ^°'»''"'- ^"'l »t lo tained by the ""pardoL J^l'^ i^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -te shameAdly dc usual custom he got drunk, ,tarreL Z2 UU I ' ' ' ''""^'''"^ *" '- my time with the workmen alternatelvnr '^ ' ^^'■''•"«"' • • I '^Pent most of leave this place tomorrow morZand'"' "' ''""'^"'"^ " ' • ^ ■^''■•>" No. X03. dated -On board m?bo;li! m "' '" «^'"« °"-" ' • -^>-- arrived there ; been obliged To use h '^^ "''""'" ^^P'" '^th. 1803 ; just " I find them the most eff „t s L'TtL" "'" '" '"^ ''^ '°^' «-' ^'-'^ = river, a.tho' they may be consJdl rr 'rZ; ■' '^ "' M^ "^^■■^^"■°" °^ ""= ct. 3d. ,803 ; chiefly devoted to discovery by Dr~v?"-r/ '°'*' '-■'""""^"■• ' n-mmoth " (mastodon), found at Big ZZl lL ite " ? "^ "' '°"" °^ dechned ; William Clark has accepted iteTr. ! 'r T' '"'^^P'^'*^'" Conner has ■nust ([uotc it : " As this Session of C.LT C '"^''"''''"8^ '" ''-^ "aVvete that I and as from a variety of indZLl Z"?" """'""' ^"^'>"='- ^'>'^" --'. pectedlydclayed.and'feeling as T o rrr "' P"^"" '^'^^ '^-" -"' them in a good humour on the sub ct of '7 T""' """"^^ ^ '^'^^ »" ^eep this ingenuous young diplomat. 2 v e t ly rd «:" '" T) ' ^"^ ^"«»^'='''" proposes to make a side-trip, perhaps up th eC „!" .L ? •^'''"^°" '" ^^'"• on Captam Clark to make a feint somewlle else a ^""t""' '"' ^"-^^^'^ Cerberus thirsting for information about " Teffer '' n T^ '° ^ congressional St. Louis, March 26th. 1804 desenbes O J 7 ' ^^'^^'<^^<^-"~r>oc. No. — . Uens.-Doc. No. 105 Sc Loun ^; ^' ^'""^ ^"'^ ^PP'"^. ^"^ incloses speci- ht Captain I., had n^t^oined 1' h f 'f^''' S"'^" ''^ '•^■'^^^- ''''^ ^'-'ed Mn Peter Chouteau. „jt i^ th^h'::: ^Tm T' rr''^ ^^'™ ^^ Irespondence, so far as I have ex-,min<. , ' ^'"' ^^'^^^s the cor- documents on file among the Jeff p" ' "^ !° ''^ ^'^'^ '-' g'-" ^ 'he next pPr. 7th. r805 : see beyond pxLvi'" '" "" "'^'"^ ^^°- ^^^ Randan, |1 f 1; B : h mm 'Ml XXVl MEMOIR OF MERIWKTIIER LEWIS. United States, will be better directed by occasional com- munications, adapted to circumstances as they arise, they will not be noticed here. What follows will respect your procceciings after your departure from the United States. "Your mission has been communicated to the Ministers here from France, Spain, and Great Britain, and through them to their governments ; and such assurances given them as to its objects, as we trust will satisfy them. The country of Louisiana having been ceded by Spain to France, the passport you have from the Minister of France, the rep- resentative of the present sovereign of the country, will be a protection with all its subjects ; and that from the Minister of England will entitle you to the friendly aid of any traders of that allegiance with whom you may happen to meet. (/. xiv) " The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal streams of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregan [st'c], Colorado, or any other river, may offer the most direct and practicable water-communication across the continent, for the purposes of commerce. " Beginning at the mouth of the Missouri, you will take observations of latitude and longitude, at all remarkable points on the river, and especially at the mouths of rivers, at rapids, at islands, and other places and objects distin- guished by such natural marks and characters, of a durable- kind, as that they may with certainty be recognized here- after. The courses of the river between these points of observation may be supplied by the compass, the log-line, and by time, corrected by the observations themselves. The variations of the needle, too, at different places, should be noticed. " The interesting points of the portage between the heads of the Missouri, and of the water offering the best commu- nication with the Pacific ocean, should also be fixed by MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER I.RWIS, xxvil Observation ; and the course of that water to the ocean in the same manner as that of the Missouri. " Your observations are to be taken with great pains and ITZT ' '° ^" T""'"^ ''■'''"'^"y ''^"^ intelligibly for others sarv !.>h r J' ;°.^°'^P'-*^J>^'"^ '-^1' the elements neces- sary vvuh the a.d of the usual tables, to fix the latitude and bng.tude of the places at which they were taken ; and hllnl h' '■'", ^^'^' '" '''' "^'^ ^^^^' '"^^ ^he purpose of having the calculat.ons made concurrently by proper per. ""e^'aroJ'^ """'f ^'''''' S--'^' -pies o^ tuZ fLT ^ ^°"'' °'''''* "°'"^' ^'^^"'^ be made at Insure times, and put mto the care of the most trustworthy of a'cddelT?:"'^ :° 'rf' '^ "^"'^'P'^'"^ ^hem againl. the accidental los,ses to which they will be exposed. A further membranes of the paper-birch [Bc/u/a papyrifera\ as Ics^; liable to mjury from damp than common papen' peopie'InhabTtin '^.r,"'' "^''^ '""^^ '^ "^^'^^ °" -'^h the ed^e o d!n 1^ r "' ^°" ^'" P"^^"^ ^^"d^'--^ - knowl- edge of those people important. You will therefore en d vor o make yourself acquainted, as far as a di gent" n^rr aix- ^r^er ^'"^'' ^^^'^ ^^^ "^"^" °^ ^'- ;; The extent and limits of their possessions ; The.r relations with other tribes or nations; ^^ Their language, traditions, and monuments; Iheir ordinary occupations in agriculture fishing- hunf .ng war, arts, and the implements for these ; ^' ""'" 1 heir food, clothing, and domestic accommodations • they use;""" '"^'^^"' ^"°"^ ''^^-' ^^ the remedies "Peculiarities in their laws, customs, and dispositions • I to wtt'erilr '' ^^'^"^^^^^ ^'^^ -^^ "-^ - ^-n^sh, knd "And, considering the interest which every nation has in XXVIU MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. m \i fi extending and strengthening the authority of reason and justice among the people around them, it will be useful to acquire what knowledge you can of the state of morality, religion, and information among them ; as it may better en- able those who may endeavor to civilize and instruct them, to adapt their measures to the existing notions and practices of those on whom they are to operate. " Other objects worthy of notice will be : " The soil and face of the country ; its growth and vege- table productions, especially those not of the United States ; " The animals of the country generally, and especially those not known in the United States ; " The remains and accounts of any which may be deemed rare or extinct ; " The mineral productions of every kind, but more particularly metals, limestone, pit-coal, saltpetre; salines (/. xvi) and mineral waters, noting the temperature of the last, and such circumstances as may indicate their character ; " Volcanic appearances ; " Climate, as characterized by the thermometer, by the proportion of rainy, cloudy, and clear days ; by lightning, hail, snow, ice ; by the access and recess of frost ; by the winds prevailing at different seasons; the dates at which particular plants put forth or lose their flower or leaf; times of appearance of particular birds, reptiles, "r insects. " Although your route will be along the channel of the Missouri, yet you will endeavor to inform yourself, by inquiry, of the character and extent of the country watered by its branches, and especially on its southern side. The North river, or Rio Bravo [Rio Grande del Norte], which runs into the Gulf of Mexico, and the North river, or Rio Colorado, which runs into the Gulf of California, are under- stood to be the principal streams heading opposite to the waters of the Missouii and running southwardly. Whether the dividing grounds between the Missouri and them are mountains or flat lands, what are their distance from the Missou .,, people I norther because ; and are and tiai most n position interest!: Canadiai consing and of tl " In a) the most conduct ^ your joui {/. xvit) peaceable of our wis and of 01 Ithem ; co; Imutual en Ichange foi |within pra i^isit with t 3ur officer; "^conveyed them shou [with us, am vill receive ^^hether of Borne secur latter of 1 ^^ou may be 30X, and in: lay be espt "As it is ason and useful to morality, better en- uct them, practices ifid vege- ; United especially e deemed but more : ; salines ure of the ;haracter ; er, by the lightning, t; by the at which • or leaf; r insects, nel of the urself, by y watered ;ide. The te], which 'er, or Rio are under- site to the Whether I them are from the MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. xxix Missouri, the character of the intermediate country and the people mhabaing it, are worthy of particular inqui;y The northern waters of the Missouri are less to be inquired after ZT.^Z''''' been ascertained to a consider^W l/gt ' and LS s" I 7r °' ^^^-^^---t by English tracers' ana tiavelers; but if you can learn anything certain of th. most northern source of the Missisfpi ".I "^ of U position relatvely to the J ^V^ r.f ^.^ ^JT "^ ana orU son rnrirt- :: ^^.z ""-' m all your intercourse with the native^; tr.of ^u your jouC™«;ty h'^'of r'" " '° '"^ °'^"' "' them : cnnferwUh thi a commercial intercourse with mutual emporilmt and ti,e"art' ,""'? "°'' ""^"'■^"' ^ change for'hem a 'd us. I atoflh""' «"'"'"= '■"'"■ (within practicable distance wishl, '"""'"""' '=''''''' {visit with them and furnil' T u "». arrange such a '-r omcerson their e„t the UnS sT^'lV" "" °" conveyed to this place ,f ,h" ^ "'"='' States, to have them Ihem should vW h toh/ ''", ' "^P'="='- " ^^ °f ^ith us, and talght :„ch LSTs "f '''"'' '^°"S''' "P '"l-eive,instr'Lcl:„t.ate\e:f^ht"tu'cra''''^"':"= v'hether of influential I rh;.f. r ""^^ ^ mission, fome security v^:^':^ ^:^°"s^°:^r'"' ''-' ^ox, and .nstruct an^en/ "' " P^""'"''-'' f™m the small. '-a^eespeciaTirdrXXr:"^^^^^^ As ,t ,s .mpossible for us to foresee in what manner you I! r. ' il i ■i,M r \ ! t XXX MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. l! < will be received by those people, whether with hospitality or hostility, so is it impossible to prescribe the exact degree of perseverance with which you are to pursue your journey. We value too much the lives of citizens to offer them to probable destruction. Your numbers will be sufificient to secure you against the unauthorized opposition of individ- uals, or of small parties ; but if a superior force, authorized or not authorized by a nation, should be arrayed against your further passage, and inflexibly determined to arrest it, you must decline its further pursuit and return. In the loss of yourselves we should lose also the information you will have acquired. By returning safely with that, you may enable us to renew the essay with better calculated means. To your own discretion, therefore, must be left the degree of danger you may risk, and the point at which you should decline ; ( />. xviii) only saying, we wish you to err on the side of your safety, and to bring back your party safe, even if it be with less information. " As far up the Missouri as the white settlements extend, an intercourse will probably be found to exist between them and the Spanish posts of St. Louis opposite Cahokia,' or St. Genevieve opposite Kaskaskia." From still further up the river the traders may furnish a conveyance for letters. Beyond that you may perhaps be able to engage Indians to 8 The Cahokia was a tribe of Indians of the Illinois confederation, who occupied a village about the mouth of Cahokia creek, St. Clair Co., 111., and are supposed to have become extinct about 1800. The name survived as that of a village on the E. bank of the Mississippi, four or five miles below St. Louis. ^ The river of this name runs S. W. in Illinois and falls into the E. side of the Mississippi at Chester, Randolph Co., 111. The old French town of St. Gene- vieve was on a creek called Gabaree, near the W. bank of the Mississippi, a little higher up ; it is now the principal town of the county of the same name in Mi- souri. The Kaskaskia was named from an Indian tribe, and was also called Ocoa. At its mouth was started the town of Portland before 1819, to rival the old town of Kaskaskia. There commences the celebrated valley along the Mis- sissippi which became known as the "American bottom," extending along the E. bank to the Piasa Hills, four miles above the mouth of the Missouri. Tliij tract contained the villages of Kaskaskia, Prairie des Roches, Cahokia, Prairie dii Pont, Harrisonville, and Fort Chartres. The latter, originally built too close lu the river, was undermined in 1808. It stood about 20 miles above Kaskaskia. ring le Ion pron pensatic yoursell Interval fvery ki betra} "Sho Ae circ those pa fcead of ifaters c Ifootka t (fade be United S tfon now " On y any pc of any na by sea, in of your n of your p dantrcrous Way cithci shall be a provisions, fruited Si iettcrs(/. u to dra its offic 1'° The const! I and Cajjtai I'l 98, in Jefl '" Following f any individ [from the h fiting ; this is pc. \o. 94, J hospitality :act degree xr journey. ;r them to ifficient to of individ- authorized ed against o arrest it, n. In the lation you t. you may .ted means, the degree /^ou should err on the ■ safe, even nts extend, tween them lahokia,^ or further up for letters. Indians to n, who occupied id are supposed ; of a village on s. le E. side of the ,vn of St. Geiie- ssissippi, a little le name in Mi- was also called 819, to rival the f along the Mis- nding along the Missouri. This lokia, Prairie du i Duilt too close to bove Kaskaskia, MEMOIK OI- MERIWETHER LEWIS. xxxi ftring letters for the government to Cahokia, or Kaskaskia on prom,s.ngthat they shall there receive such special com pcnsat,„n as you shall have stipulated with them Iva" LTZt. f"' T"^ '° """""--'e '0 -. at seasonaWe intervals a copy of your journal, notes, and observations of rzl;l'"'''"' "■'°^""'"" ^^'--- ™-.-td:°:;;' •• Should you reach the Pacific ocean, inform yourself of ttc crcumstances which may decide whether The fur" of those parts may not be collerted -,. ,j . , head of the Missouri (conveSnt » '^''°" '' " ""= waters of .he Colorado' a ,d Or la " "'PP°V=^'° '"e Nootka Sound, or any other po::^:"' that'cts"":L';a1 Hon now practiced """''^"'"y *=>" ^y the circumnaviga- :ny%r,x:u:;tXurrby;'eT " *t any nation, and to send Uvr. y "^"""^ ^^ "^^ ^ea vessels fay cither of Cape Horn or Zr T^"'" ^^ '^^' ^^^ '^^ fall be able. Is vou till K T ^^ ^°°^ "°P^' ^^ ^^^ ovisions, youtust Udi T ""' "°"^>^' ^'°^^-' - nited S ates to obtah. H . "'' '^'' ''''^^' ^^ '^^- ^^^r^(P.^^r:^^:^s^Z' ""'^'^ P-P-^ open _ - to draw on the Execu v of ^U "t T^' ""'^'"'^'"-^ ^ its officers, in any n'rt Jf H m"' "^ ^'"'"^' ""' ^''y ^ , n any part of the world, in which draughts '^"' The construction of the cinhpr fr,.- Y and Captain Lewis is dlXS '^7'"""''^'>''°" between President Jeffer- l 98. in Jeff. Papeil d Ter Vo^ "^7 ''""' '^'"^^" ^°"- ^os. 97 [■' Following is this open 'le er f ^rlc^t ''' H n" k'^'""""' "^^ ""t-'hokes' ' ;ny individual. It' has b en pX '/[^ ^^ ''""°^' '^"^^^^^^^^ [from the hand-press copy of the ori^ n' 7" "" ':°"""^- ' P"'^"^'^ f't.ng; thisisahalf.sheet oronefolin : ^°"™^"'' '" Jefferson's hand- h ^•o. 94. Jeff. Papers, ^t se Vo^o l' " °'";''"'' "' '^"'^^-■^"^P-' ''-"ff t ser.. Vol. 9, Bureau of Rolls and Library. State XXXll MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. can be disposed of, and to apply with our recommendations to the consuls, agents, merchants, or citizens of any nation with which we have intercourse, assuring them in our name that any aids they may furnish you shall be honorably repaid, and on demand. Our consuls, Thomas Hewes, at Batavia in Java, William Buchanan in the Isles of France and Bourbon, and John Elmslie at the Cape of Good Hope, will be able to supply your necessities by draughts on us. " Should you find it safe to return by the way you go, after sending two of your party round by sea, or with your whole party, if no conveyance by sea can be found, do so ; making such observations on your return as may serve to supply Dept. It is accompanied, ibid., by the first rough draft, in Jefferson's hand, full of interlineations and erasures. Captain Lewis received the following final text : Washington. US. of America. July 4. 1803. Dear Sir In the journey which you are about to undertake for the discovery of the course and source of the Missouri, and of the most convenient water v;ommunication from thence to the Pacific ocean, your party being small, it is to be expected that you will encounter considerable dangers from the Indian inhabitants, should you escape those dangers, and reach the Pacific ocean, you may find it imprudent to hazard a return the same way, and be forced to seek a passage round by sea, in such vessels as you may find on the Western coast, but you will be without money, without clothes, & other necessaries ; as a suflTuient supply cannot be carried with you from hence, your resource in that case can only be the credit of the US. for vi^hich purpose I hereby authorise you to draw on the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War & of the Navy of the US. according as you may find your draughts will be most negociable, for the purpose of obtaining money or necessaries for yourself & your men ; and I solemnly pledge the faith of the United States that these draughts shall be paid punctually at the date they are made payable. I also ask of the Consuls, agents, merchants & citizens of any nation with which we have intercourse or amity, to furnish you with those sup- plies which your necessities may call for, assuring them of honorable and prompt : retribution, and our Consuls in foieign parts where you may happen to be, are hereby instructed & required to be aiding and assisting to you in whatever may be necessary for procuring your return back to the United States. And to give more entire satisfaction & confidence to those who may be disposed to aid you, I Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States of America, have written this letter of genc-al credit for you with my own hand, and signed it with my name. Th : Jefferson , To Capt- Meriwether Lewis. MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. xxxiil p. e., supplement or complete], correct, or confirm those ■made on your outward journey. " On re-entering the United States and reaching a place lof safety, discharge any of your attendants who may desire land deserve it, nrocuring for them immediate payment of all larrears of pay and clothing which may have [been] incurred ismce their departure, and assure them that they shall be Irecommended to the liberality of the legislature for the grant ^f a soldier's portion of land each, as proposed in my mes- sage to Congress, and repair yourself, with your papers, to the seat of government. " To provide, on the accident of your death, against inarchy, dispersion, and the consequent danger to your Darty, and total failure of the enterprise, you are hereby luthonzed, by any instrument signed and written in your )wri hand, to name the person among them who shall suc- ceed to the command on your decease, and by like instru- ments to change the nomination, from time to time, as fur- ther experience of the characters accompanying you shall bo.nt out superior fitness ; and all the powers and authorities jiven to yourself are, in the event of your death, transferred [o and (A XX) vested in the successor so named, with fur- kher power to him and his successors, in like manner to hame each his successor, who, on the death of his predeces- sor, shall be invested with all the powers and authorities 'jiven to yourself. " ^!7" ""der my hand at the City of Washington, this fwentiethday of June, 1803. "Thomas Jefferson, " President of the United States of America:' While these things were going on here, the country of ^ouisiana, lately ceded by Spain to France, had been the vZ '' ^°"''''"'' " '^ ^ "^""^ ^^hose widely varying geographical and political im 1. .cat.o„. requ,re explanation here. At the timt this History open ' Lo" I LluXi^ A \ ' "" ^"""'""^ ''^^" ^^^ U-'-^ States west p M,ss,ss.pp,. A map of the period just before the cession would show : Hi m 1/ XXXIV MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. subject of negotiations at Paris between us and this last power ; and had actually been transferred to us by treaties executed at Paris, on the 30th of April, 1803. This infor- mation, received about the 1st day of July, increased infi- nitely the interest we felt in the Expedition, and lessened the apprehensions of interruption from other powers. Every- thing in this quarter being now prepared, Captain Lewis left Washington on the ';th day of Tuly, 1803, and proceeded to United States, east of i- -ssippi ; British Possessions, north of 49° and along the Great Lakes, etc. , opanish possessions, on the southwest, up to about 38" at point of fu-thest northward extension ; the rest being " Louisiana." A straight line from the Straits of Fuca on the Pacific coast to the mouth of the Mississippi river would run through " Louisiana ' from northwest to southeast. Such was the vast area acquired by the United States through Jefferson's mag. nificent stroke. It was often called "Jefferson's Purchase." The treaty ceding this country by France to the United States was executed at Paris, April 30th, 1803, by Robert R. Livingstone and James Monroe, Minis- ters Plenipotentiary, on the part of the President of the United States, and Barbe j Marbois, Minister of the Public Treasury, on the part of the First Consul of j France. This treaty was ratified July 31st, 1803. The lower part of Louisiana j was formally transferred by Laussat, Commissioner of France, to General James Wilkinson and Governor W^m. C. C. Claiborne, at New Orleans, Dec. 20th, 1803; (see Jefferson's Message of Jan. iGth, 1804) ; the upper part was likewise trans- ferred to Captain Amos Stoddard, at St. Louis, Mar. gth or loth, 1804. Captain f Lewis, while waiting for the advance of spring to enable him to go up the Mis- souri, was present at the latter transfer. His name is said to be affixed as that of one of the witnesses to the official document executed by the Spanish authorities and Captain Stoddard ; but I have not seen it. An Act of Congress of March 26th, 1804, divided the thus acquired territory of Louisiana along the parallel of 33' N. into a southern part, called the " District of New Orleans," and a northern part, the " District of Louisiana." The latter District was then temporarily attached to the already existing " Territory of j Indiana," of which William Henry Harrison was at the time Governor, and whol thus became also the first Governor of the new "District of Louisiana." His! governorship of the latter began at St. I-ouis, Oct. 1st, 1804. An Act of Con- gress of March 3d, 1S05, changed the name "District of Louisiana" to I " Louisiana Territory," to be governed by a Governor and three Judges. Thisj arrangement took effect July 4th, 1805, when General James Wilkinson entereiil upon his gubernatorial functions. These he held for two years, when Governorl Lewis was appointed to the office, Mar. 3d, 1807, and entered upon his f unctions j in July, 1R07, at St. Louis ; he held the position till his 'cath, Oct. nth, i8o().r and was succeeded by Governor Benjamin Howard, appointed April 17th, iSioj How " Missouri " grew out of " Louisiana " may also be here noted, as Cap-j MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. XXXV Pittsburg where other articles had been ordered to h. vided for h m. The mf>n f^^ . V oraered to be pro- military stations;' tl" So '''ZlV''''' '""^ ^^^ culties of navigation do^n the otral'T^'^"' ''''■ obstructions retarded his arrival .Vri '' ""^^^a^-d was so far advanced a to ^trtptdtT'" ''' "^^°" entering the Missouri before tt ice "mV^ ^^ succeeding spring. ^ '°"^^ ^'^^^ "P '"" the tain (afterward General) Clark became r^ " Missouri '■ was the naL of certl nlLln^'rd 1 ^.''^' ^^-'°^- Originally grass of June 4th, 18x2, taking effect he fi^. M f'"" "'''■ ^" A'^' ^^ Con- Missouri as a Territo^'of the'sLo'd gLd^ '^tT T^ ''^■'°'"' ''''' "-'^'^ Louisiana ' shall be hereafter called ' Missouri ' •' Ju"'""'^ heretofore called ♦net of Louisiana," asseparated from the 'ZZ'- . /I ''''' '^^ ^°™^^ " Dis- saving been in the first instance «' Louisiana^ A ^^ ''''''''' "-^°''' ^'^"e jamin Howard, of Oct. ist. 1812 divided ihl "^ P'"°''^'"^'i°" °f Governor Ben- counties-St. Charles, St. Louis St GenJ . ''°"" '^'^"'°'^ '"'« five Madrid-the same that had befor;b;n^hefi''-'' """"'""• ^"' ^^" Louisiana." The total of representaXn „ ^ r ""■"'' " °' '""^ " ^'^'"'^' of Territory of Missouri was X3. Gov rno H ''T'' ^"^"'^^y °' ^^^ "«- ernor Clark, rSra-xS^o. The first deTegaetoT "" ?""'^' ^^^ «-- Edward Hempstead, elected Nov x8i2 fn ^"^'''' ''°'" M'«^°"" was ney-General of the former District 'of Loukir''" '7 ^'"■' '' ^' ^^'^ ^'^'^ ^ttor- ernor Lewis, presented before t^e propeT^rrM"'"' ^"""'^^'°" ^-- ^^ov- creation of Missouri Territort C' .! "^^^ ^^th, ^^09. At the date of States, and Hen^^ Clay Speak^; {TfThe Ho ^^H "'^^^ °^ "^^ ^-^'ed was authorized to adopt a State Constitution K . ^^P'-^^^ntatives. Missouri President Monroe, March 6th. ,So The Le^T-f "^^ °' "^^"^"^^ ^PP--d by : St. Louis, Sept. x8th, 1820. and Alexander McN ' """' '^^ '^'' P"'"?"^^ -' I t e first Senator elected were ^^^71,^.^7^ TT'^' ^°^^^"°' = Representative was John Scott. But certain It "^ ^'"'°" = ^^^ ^^^^ which Missouri had adopted, caused Con 're M T" '° ''^^ ^'^'^ Constitution Indents thereto ; which being Seb/r' f "^'l ^^'' ''^'- ^^ require amend- St.Charles,J„ne 4th. X82X. 'he Presides, f!" "^''' '^""^^"^^ «' admitted Missouri as the tw^nty-fourth Stat :^^^^^^^ ""' ^"S" ^°'h, x82X. Thus it appears that Captain Lewis tm c' "" . tory " (which had been the " Districrof I T'"'"" °^ " ^°"'«'^"^ Terri- h809. succeeding Governor VVilknrn,"^^^^ ^^''- ^'^' ^«°7-0a. xith Genera. Clark bLme^ve J ' Itof " ro""'^'.'^ '"''"'''' "°-^^- ^n^i Territory " succeeding Governor' Zl, If ^ rirM r " '" °^ " ^^'^-- [Governor), July xst, 1813. and holding fh; ffi •?, '"'^"^e""'" of an acting ht of the political arena he waslefeat 5 bvfh" \ "'°' "'^^"' ^^'^""'"^ ^^^^ kenera. Clark was never Governor of M" so'^/L I'sTaTe" '' ^'""'" '^^^^'■^- XXXVl MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. From this time his journal, now published, will give the history of his journey to and from the Pacific ocean, until his return to St. Louis on the 23d of September, 1806.'* Never did a similar event excite more joy through the United States. The humblest of its citizens had taken a lively interest in the issue of this journey, and looked for- ward with impatience for the information it would furnish. Their anxieties too for the safety of the corps had been kept (/. xxi) in a state of excitement by lugubrious rumors, circulated from time to time on uncertain authorities, and uncontradicted by letters or other direct information, from the time they had left the Mandan towns, on their ascent up the river in April [Apr. 7th"] of the preceding year, 1805, until their actual return to St. Louis. " As stated in my note •", p. 283 of the History, we have the original draft of Lewis' letter of Sept. 23d, 1806, announcing to President Jefferson the return of the Expedition in safety to St. Louis. We also have the original draft of the Tresident's reply, now forming Doc. No. 117, Jeff. Papers L, 2d ser., Vol. 51, dated "Washington Oct. 20 1806." It begins abruptly: "I received, my dear Sir, with unspeakable joy your letter of Sep. 23 announcing the return of yourself, Capt Clarke & your party in good health to St. Louis, the unknown scenes in which you were engaged & the length of time without hearing of you had begun to be felt awfully," etc. The joy was felt nowhere more intensely and sincerely than in the heart of the mosf exalted citizen of ihe United States, '* Here the allusion to the last direct information Mr. Jefferson had of the Expedition implies the celebrated Mandan letter of Captain Lewis, which was one of the Accompanying Documents of Jefferson's Message to Congress of Feb. 19th, 1806, later taken up in various Apocrypha (see Bibliography, beyond). Besides having its date misprinted April " 17th," instead of 7th, this letter was judiciously pruned down for publication by Mr. Jefferson himself, and consequently has never been printed in full. The original occupies six pages or three folios of letter-paper size, in Lewis' usual fine and even hand. It is now Doc. No. 107 of the Jeff. Papers, 2d ser., Vol. 51, in tb.e archives of the State Dept., and it shows the pencilings of Mr. Jefferson for deletion of certain passages which he thought best not to pulilish at that time. Regarding other Mnndan matters of this date, if the reader will turn to note ^ p. 250 of the History, he will find mention of the complete invoice of articles which were sent by the barge to President Jefferson. The original oi this invoice is extant, as Doc. No. 105a, Jeff. Papers L, 2d. ser.. Vol. 51. This is in Captain Clark's hand ; it is headed : " Invoice of articles forwarded from Fort Mandan to the President of the United States through Capt"' [Amos] Stoddard at St. Louis and M""' H. B. Trist the Collector of the Port of New Orleans." MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. XXX vii It was the middle " of February, ,807, before Captain Lew,s, w,th h,s companion, Captain Clarlc, reached the Gtv of Washmgton, where Congre., wa. then in session. Tha^ body granted to the two chiefs and their followers the dona! .t occurs in print, to my knowledge. ' ^" 384-the only place where SiR.-This win be handed fn v , ^""^ ""^ Washington. Feb. n, 1807. n^ine. Mr. Flenung [;r;re rcS"Bafe' ^'fr ''"^' ^"'' -quaintance of and Receiver of Puilc M^^ys at])etroit "^ '' °' ''' ''"■''^^" ''""'°^>' i.c:^:ia:a:dR:c::^: jrtK"' ^^^ ^^-^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^-^^-^ °^ Claims in that Territory and is about f ^"!v*f"""' for adjusting the Land to take ,. him the discLrte oHhe ^ ' ''""'^ "' ^'- ^°"'^' '" ''"^'^ The situation of Mr B fes as ^nnH " T""''"^ '° those offices. ^> Which he is. in my o^ X^:^^^^:^ E ^ ^ ^ 'J-^'-'- States, and consequently renders anv f !! { E'^ecutive of the United talents or integrit unne'cei::^ ^ ^ ptt ^C ^ ^^^^ '" -^«'- to his me by making Mr. Bates act.uainted .1, ! "^ ' '°''^^'' "" ^^^^ifi^'ion on and its viciniT, or by e^de Z h 1 T '"'"'^"'^"'^ '"'^^'^''^"^ °f «'■ Louis to give him. ' ^ ^"" '"^ '"^''''' ^^"'^h it may be in your power asj:rrr^rt:;::srrrrrv"""°-^''^-----'^ definite answer will be given, oILa"!,?^^ ' "^"'^^^ t'^'''' -/ Louisiana, until after the pa si of ^1 V" '■'''"°" *° ''^^ ^'^"^ ^^^^'"^^ °f the consideration of Congre" " °" ''^'' ""^J^'=' ^^^ich is now under p";;te l/':2:- ^ z:y;;° t;-sixr ": rr^^ " '^^ -- ^^"- ^- ^^e a house by rent or otherwise!; 1'^ «-^"t. I should wish timely to procure 'i.at of Mr. Gratiot, pZLai::rz:Tr ^"' vt'-'' "^y^y^ - agreeable. I would prefer rentinnn '''"'-''' '"'''>' ^« '""'"a"/ enclosure of the gard^ m^st '^^ ,^^^^^^^^^^^ • - either case th^ piazza repaired by the ist of Octo^ T r ' "^ '''P' ^"^ """^ °f the ^=-iot to write m'e on thilb t tcHo .at Tt '"f ^°" " '''''''' '''■ payment, etc., in order that I LI ?" , ' '^'■"'^ distinctly, as to price, -neet these or not. or wL heTJ ^ m;::^:^^^ ^ -sources will enable r.e -ue other provision for my accommodafon '''' '"' ' should make Aly respectful compliments to your lady MadV P r. . ^-endsof St. I^ouis and its vicinityfand belt:::: ;::;^:rSJlr ''' MoN'R AuG'T Chouteau. ^^^"^'^ '"■"""'' Meriwether Lewis. XXXVUl MEMOIR OK MERIVVETHKK LKWIS. tion of lands which they had been encouraged to expect in reward of their toil and dangers," Captain Lewis was soon after [March 3d "] appointed Governor of Louisiana, and Cap<-n,in Clark [March 12th] a General of its militia and Agent of lie United States for Indian affairs in that department. A considerable time intervened before the Governor's arrival at St. Louis. He found the territory distracted by feuds and contentions among the ofificers of the government, and the people themselves divided by these into factions and parties. He determined at once to take no side with either, but to use every endeavor to conciliate and har- monize them. The even-handed justice he administered to all soon established a respect for his person and authority, and perseverance and time wore down animosities and re- united the citizens again into one family." " On this matter of the grant of lands by Act of Congress, see the note ', p. cxi, beyond, in the Bibliographical Introduction. " Meanwhile Captain Lewis had resigned from the Army, Mar. 2d, 1807. See his letter of resignation, in facsimile from a photograph of the original (now on file in the Record Division of the War Dept.), among the plates which illustrate the present work. It is extraordinary that the date of Governor Lewis' appointment is left out from every place where it might confidently be expected to appear in print, for it is of official record in the Bureau of Commissions of the State Department, being of almost equal date with his resignation from the Army. Captain Lewis was nominated as Governor of the Louisiana Territory, by President Jefferson, Feb. 28th, 1807, confirmed by the senate Mar. 2d, and commissioned Mar. 3d. '* To this just eulogium of Lewis as governor may be added a few details I have been able to glean, chiefly from Billon's Annals of St. Louis for 1804-21, pub. 1888. Governor Lewis' appointment is dated Mar. 3d, 1807. He entered upon his duties in July of that year, at St. Louis, to be performed until his death, Oct. nth, 1809 — a brief period of office in which to do all the good he undoubt- edly effected. One of his important acts was the proclamation establishing " Arkansas," which was formed of a part of the inconveniently large District of New Madrid. His successor, Benjamin Howard, was appointed April 17th, iSio. We find that on Nov. 1st, 1807, Silas Bent, Auguste Chouteau, Bernard Pratte, and Louis Labeauuie presented their commissions from M. Lewis, the new Governor, and took their seats in the Court of Common Pleas. Among the Acts of the Legislature of the District of Louisiana, consisting then of Meriwether Lewis, Governor, and two judges, may be noted one of June 18th, 1808, " concerning Towns," and one of June 20th, 1808, " to lay out a road from St. Louis to St. Genevieve, thence to Cap<" Girardeau, thence to New Madrid." In August, i8o8, Governor Lewis held at St. Louis a Council with the Sacs, MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. e the note ', y V VI V ing their consTitLn ^^'P''^^-'^'^^^ ^^ "^''nd ; but. know- wh^at Tad'cen n th"; ^°"-^' i, -^imated their course by seen in the family. During his Western Expedi- Foxes, and Towas ; a tract of »»,,.„ -i the autumn of that year was buH F I mI""^^' "^^ '"^''^ '° '^'^"^' -"^ i" lished by the United States in h! '""' ''' ^"'' fortification estab- Genernl Clark, then Indian A^enfo T^""' ""' ''' ^"""^ ''"^ '^'^ ^"-^^^e with the Osages. to which nation h """'' '""''"'''^ an important treaty under Captain M. Wherry On Ljt oT;^ "T^' '^ '' '""" °^ --"^^ Fort Osage, for which see notes onn 7o '"■ """" '^' "tablishment of The militia of Louisiana Terrftr^ who appointed Auguste ChoutearSertoT"'r"l '" 1'°' '^ ^°^^™°' ^ewis. meat. In October of this year he had '^'/'''°"'^'' "^ '^e St. Louis Regi. parade according to law. One of h.s 1 I'T ^?'''^ °"'''' '° "^ -''''- to in July. 1809. discharging n-,ilitiawhichl,Kr''''°"' ''"' that published Nov. .8th. X808. to hi again nron" as hf \"''' ""'" '"'^ '^^-^'''- of thanks for their promptness in vZlrL/ "' °"" ""'"^' "'''^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^::x:.::;:::^^:'-: - -- - --. s.te oept.. 220, in Vol. 12 of 1st ser.. T t oT T T"T' "^'^ '^^ ""^^'^ = ^00. No. relating to the militia, etc.-Doc No c,o"-. v .^°""""''' ^"S" ^th. 1807. 17th. 1808. chiefly concerning the geuin. of h' M ' i' '° ^'^ ^- ^^'^^'^"- J">y home safe. There was great troulSf,;^^:''^"'^" '^'"'^^^ ^'g White, back >t assumed a very grave aspect. This le t ' ' °" '""""' °^ ^''^ ^'°"''' ^"'l Mr. Astor of N. York "-low be it spoken at th" "'^°"T^"''^ ^° ^ov. Lewis " a No. 573. .■^/^.. T. J. to M. L., Mon .ce^o A '''""' ''^ •'-^°'=^- ^°- 57° and 'ng Indian Ailairs.-Doc. N^ /k Sc Teff'p"'' "" ""^^ '''''' '''"' -"«"•- the last letter ever received by Governor 7 r^'"'' ^'^ '''■ ' ^°^- '^' '« P^^^aps ever reached him. It is dated Mo "e ,0 A^^ 'Tu'''' J^'^--"-'^. -deed, it mending the bearer of it, Mr. 13ra b ' ihC". " ''°^- '' ^P*'"^ ^^ — " botanist. It includes th; foll.-.v ng reZ; neTo S h""' ''''l'^^^^^^'^ ^ng'-sh I am very often applied to to know wl ""'""^ °^ ''"^ Expedition : I I'ave so long promised copi o ly terarr: "''I '^^'" '° ^^p'" ' ^^' am almost bankrupt in their eves Is 1 TJ '^""^P'^^^'^^'^ '" France, that I - --on of your expectationst i^j: :^^::'zz;::i;^t-:z -e first post-o«ce at St. Louis was established early in .808. with Kufus xl MKMOIK OK MKKIVVKTMKR LEWIS. tion, the constant exertion wliich that required of all the faculties {/>. xxii) of body and mind suspended these dis- tressing affections ; but after his establishment at St. Louis in sedentary occupations, they returned to him with re- doubled vi!,a)r and began seriously to alarm his friends. He was in a paroxysm of one of these when his affairs rendered it necessary for him to go to Washington." He proceeded to the Chickasaw bluffs," where he arrived on the i6th of September, 1809, with a view of continuing his journey Easton as postmaster. Mails were then usually about six weeks from New York, Philadelphia, and Washington ; and the only mail routes west of Indiana and Kentucky were to Cahokia and thence to St. Louis and St. Charles. Dur- ing this year of ( lovernor Lewis' incumbency the first book ever printed in St. Louis was iniblished in December. It was a volume of 372 pages, being the Laws of the Territory of Louisiana, compiled by Frederick Hates and printivl by Joseph Charless. Already had the first newspaper ap'.eared, July I2th, i8o8. This was the Missouri Ga/ette, founded by Mr. Charless; the first issue was a sheet of foolscap 8x12 inches. The name was changed Nov. 30th, 1809, to Louisiana Gazette, and this was changed back to the original name July 181I1, 1812 (" Congress having changed the name of this Territory, the editor also changed his paper to its first appelLition " ). Mr. Charless conducted it throu^;h twelve volumes to Sept. 13th, iSio, when it had 1,000 subscribers, having started with 170; it was then transferred to another editor. There was no opposition paper till May, 1815, wlien appeared the Western Journal, which, in 1817, became the Western Emigrant, and, in 1819, the St. Louis Enquirer, \\ ith the subsequently famous Thomas II. Uenton as editor. '9 It appears from 15illon's sketch (Annals of St. Louis, 1888. p. 378) that before leaving St. Louis on his last journey. Governor Lewis had, on the i<)th day of August, 1809, appointed his " three most intimate friends, William Clark, Alex- ander Stuart, and William C. Carr, his lawful attorneys, with full authority to dispose of all or any part of his ])roperty, real an^ arpent piece, just above the then north end of the village. On a part of this is now the Belcher sugar refinery, and a part of it now forms Lewis street. •» On the Mississippi, at present site of the city of Memphis, Shelby Co., Teiin, MEMOIR OF MEKIWETMKK LEWIS. Xll w tr^h^cSLw";- f"'''' ""''"' "' "■" ^"'•'^O state, found ti^^Ztl^^T- ■■■":'"« ""•■■■'^ '»o day, after, »"mc symptom' oT.d ''""'■■'' '""^ ''^■'™>""« •■" "■">•■» the paper, Ik^JIJ^hh"''''''-'''""'™'' """ '"•■ ""b'" '°se voucLTsofi,. "":V''""e'"S on, among which were the mind and 1 ukthi, CO °rs;',r1 ";'" '"" '° ""'"'■"•'- country [Tenne ,e^.""^ al'rVe ""'"' '"f '^'"^''••''"* rcheved, Mr. Neelv k-in,!! , > Vpoared somewhat watch o;cr I im Untnl; T'Tr' '° ^"'""P""^ »"'' having passed the Te ne,s" fje" ' r"'"^'"""' """ lost two horses, which ^bwI-IrM Nedtt '/T/r'^' ','"^ recovery. The Cxovnt-n^ , '^ ^° ^^^'^ ^^^ their for hi^at th tuse ofXl :' T' " """"''^ "> -" road. He stopped ^thl l^Z^^ at'r" cttr""; T" '■'^ being at home, his wife nhrm.^ / . ^""''^'^' '''^'^ "ot rangcment she' discrjerL-d^™;' h m 'uV^irT™' °' ""=• retired to rest herself in „ ,t "P "" ''"'"«•' ="d NeeiyVservants Id^Lgi: „: 'r'AK'"'.?""™''^ -'■> the night [of Oct , ,th , Wl f , ', .'^''°"' ""'"'-' ° ^iock in his friend,! into Milt "^J tj^ '"= ^-^ -''-I" Plunged her most vak,ed citi. n w^ '^V '" """"'>' °' °"o of have been now tZ^^ l^ :f'" '"' 'i"'^-'"s-« "ould country, and in e..rnrb;rdTs^,- J™- ^ ^ In what is now I cwi.s Co T Newburgh. For circumstance;' of ^e' ''" '""'' 7'' °^ '^'' *=''""'y '°^" "^ ;m.rc.er. see the Supplement to this M li "Z;;"'^ '^ ^'"f '°" °^ ^"'^'"'^ ^ ' -"•. July 9th. X850. addressed to Mr. j ;':" ' P 'D ^ "" "'''"' ^'-'"^• one Joel P. Morrison of whom T i , ' "^ ^Varner, Ten.,., l,y '";' •■«■ »». w,s „„,cii' 1 c °;:;2i, in '"" '""- " ""■•'■"' of the same name. Hut sevenl nn.. ' ''''"-'''' '^''^■'' "'^''"- ^ "eek following statement ca.^ o L t WnT ir '" ';" '^""^'^ '"'^''^'''^"'^' ^^ ''- the house of One Robert !■: Gr or ^^ r ' " 7^>' '^V^"'"'' ^ " '^^"'^ ^'^P^'l ^^ Creel, in .hat is „ow lewi Q nty K /" ,"'"' "^ ''"°^^" '' ^"-- Marks of violence on his persor." d thl ""'' ' "''' '"""'' I^^»^' -''h -■ieide but there has always been suUn 77'. T' ""' "^■^' "'^ — ■"-' be known." ^ '" '"'P'"°" °^ ^°"J Play how this was will never I xlii MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. have honored her arms on the ocean. It lost, too, to the nation the benefit of receiving from his own hand the narra- tive {p. xxiii) now offered them of his sufferings and sue- cesses, in endeavoring to extend for them the boundaries of science and to present to their knowledge that vast and fer- tile country which their sons are destined to fill with arts, with science, with freedom and happiness. To this melancholy close of the life of one whom posterity will declare not to have lived in vain, I have only to add that all the facts I have stated are either known to myself or communicated by his family or others, for whose truth I have no hesitation to make myself responsible ; and I con- clude with tendering you the assurances of my respect and consideration. Th. Jefferson. Mr. Paul Allen, Philadelphia. V too, to the I the narra- Ts and suc- undaries of ast and fer- 1 with arts, Ti posterity mly to add to myself lose truth I and I con- espect and J-FERSON. SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON'S MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. BY DR. COUES. Ex President Jefferson's Memoir of Lewis is a noble *nd fittmg tribute, leaving iit.le to be desired as a contem poraneous biography. It has been aecepted as authortat've" and final and has furnished the basis of every memo' If ,|^ew.s I have seen. As will be observed, however Tlave - ound mueh h.storieal matter to incorporate with i „ the fo,™ o notes. What else I have to sa/eoncerns not Lewt' UK but the creumstanees of his death ; and certain sub« o^ul;=r;eITsJ;\^S' -r'TeX 'f ™ Jevent will" probabl^'e^' ^.^^'^' O^^^X ajfTerson wrote m the light of all the evidence tint had fc? , K '"^ • *"" ■' ••'PP'=-^ "'^' h- viewof case te eTa thf tt: \7:7 ^'^ 'r ■■- '^^^^^ |by his own hand, but > as luIlerrdT; roll d"' ""' "" fmon report at the time, as vouched Irht ' ™' """■ engraver of his birds Alexander T f ^^'"^ ""^ '^' Med ondnallv in T^i p!"^^^^^^ originally in The Portfolio, Vol. VII. xtii .No. I, pp. 34_ xliv SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON'S 47, of date January, 1812, under the caption " Particulars of the Death of Capt. Lewis." This was known and accessible to ex-President JeiTerson; in fact, a letter from Paul Allen to him, which I have seen, calls his attention to it. But it is not noted in his Memoir of Lewis, and in the course of time has been practically forgotten, though it is included in the Rev. Alexander B. Grosart's The Poems and Literary Prose of Alexander Wilson (2 vols., 8vo, Paisley, 1876). This im- portant letter is dated " Natchez, Missisippi Ten, May 28th, 1 81 1." It tells the story of Lewis' death as Wilson took it down from the lips of Mrs. Grinder, in her own house. I quote from The Portfolio those portions, pp. 36-38, which are pertinent to my purpose : "... Next morning (Sunday) I rode six miles to a man'is of the name of Grinder, where our poor friend Lewis per- ished. In the same room where he expired, 1 took down from Mrs. Grinder the particulars of that melancholy event, which affected me extremely. This house or cabin is 72 miles from Nashville, and is the last white man's as you enter the Indian country. Governor Lewis, she said, came there about sun-set, alone, and inquired if he could stay for the night; and, alighting, brought his saddle into the house. He was dressed in a loose gown, white, striped with blue. On being asked if he came alone, he replied that there were two servants behind, who would soon be up. He called for some spirits, and drank a very little. When the servants arrived, one of whom was a negro, he inquired for his pow- der, saying he was sure he had some powder in a canister. The servant gave no distinct reply, and Lewis, in the mean while, walked backwards and forwards before the door, talking to himself. Sometimes, she said, he would seem as if he were walking up to her; and would suddenly wheel round, and walk back as fast as he could. Supper being ready he sat down, but had eaten only a few mouthfuls when he started up, speaking to himself in a violent manner. At these times, she says, she observed his face to flush as if it had come on him in a fit. He lighted his pipe, and draw- MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. xlv ing a chair to the door sat down, saying to Mrs. Grinder, in a kmd tone of voice, • lUadam this is a very pleasant even. ng. He smoked for some time, but quitted his seat and . aversed the yard as before. He again sat down to his 3' r?,, ^^'"" '"""P°^ b"<:ket with -s denied he dying m'a„rr '"=" "^ """"S ^-»' before, the terror of tt T" "" "^^^ ^'"^"^ ^"^ "o' ' rem.,in for two hours in tr""" "f'"^ P^™'"''^ ^im to [sent two of 1™ hildren ^1"°, 'T'°""= "■'™''°"' ^^e at home, to bri'g heTer^Lts': and ' "'"'"''"' "°' '^'"^ l"m lying on the hid ^°'"i? '" ""^y f°™d |tl>=mwh?re thebuUetk^d "TT"' ''" "'^^ ^"^ '^""-d was blown off and ,,? TV " P'"'^ "< ""= f-"--'""'! bled ,nu h He bet H^^r' ""= *"■""==' ^^'">°"' '>-"'? I uch. He begged they would take his rifle and blo^ II xlvi SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON S out his brains, and he would give them all the money he had in his trunk. He often said ' I am no cowa* d ; but I am so strong, so hard to die.' He begg'd the servant not to be afraid of him, for that he would not hurt him. He expired in about two hours, or just as the sun rose above the trees. He lies buried close by the common path, with a few loose rails thrown over his grave. I gave Grinder money to put a post fence round it, to shelter it from the hogs, and from the wolves ; and he gave me his written promise he would do it. I left this place in a very melancholy mood, which was not much allayed by the prospect of the gloomy and savage wilderness which I was just entering alone. . . ." ' Such is the horrible story told to Wilson by an eye- and ear-witness. We must accept the substantial accuracy of Wilson's version, written almost immediately after he heard the narrative of Mrs. Grinder, and by one noted for habitual precision of statement. There is no more room to doubt Wilson's painstaking correctness than there is reason for doubting his veracity. But the narrative of Mrs. Grinder is very extraordinary. A woman who could do as she said she did, after hearing and seeing what she testifies, must be judged "fit for treason, stratagem, and spoils," and not to be believed under oath. The story is wildly improbable upon its face ; it docs not hang together ; there is every sign that it is a concoction on the part of an accomplice in crime, either before or after the event. On the theory that Mrs. Grinder was privy to a plot to murder Governor Lewis, and therefore had her own part to play in the tragedy, even if that part were a passive one — or on the theory that, becoming afterward cognizant of the murder, she told a story to shield ' The " melancholy poet-naturalist," as Wilson has often been styled, was moved to com[3ose an elegy on Lewis, which was published with the letter of which the above is an extract. The first and also the last of the nineteen verses is : " Far hence be each accusing thought ! With his my kindred tears shall flow ; Pale Pity consecrates the spot, Whp-e poor lost Lewis now lies low !" lie money wa* d ; but ervant not him. He above the with a few • money to hogs, and iromise he loly mood, he gloomy >ne. . . . .n eye- and ccuracy of :r he heard or habitual I to doubt reason for rs. Grinder as she said 5S, must be d not to be )able upon y sign that :; in crime, 7 that Mrs. Lewis, and dy, even if t, becoming ry to shield len styled, was : letter of which II verses is ; MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. ^Ivii tainly appeal "Lrre:?!^:". extraordinary. He cer- thing; but there warnothl to hi "' "T™" '"^'"" """'^■ have so alarmed Grinder's wffe?h r""""?' *'"^'' ^''""W iay iistening •• she thtoklfoT vt tZ":^'' 7* *'"' ""' t'oraan likely to be the «,if,. „f , ^""^ """"^ °' » [atchez Trace in ,8a, 7'„ fn ."P" "' " " '"™<' " °" 'he erves as that A^dT^erclr'^ ';''"'= "'" '"'^ «ak ■ul night ? Thens^,; h ' . ^""^" '"'"'=<=" ™ 'his fate- .n appeal for e p 'xhTs^™ P'^'°'-f<"^. => heavy fall, and :h4h the cracl ^ the rj^rt';'" 7^ ''" '° ^^P There she sees her m,lT , '" ""etaehed kitchen. .|bo„t in the yard" to sS ofTtl? slui' sif T "™""^ ■ *nd it is not till davbreit ,h lu"' , *''' ''°e^ "<" stir, wore fired, that the terrt' ^f th '"» ''™" " ""er the shots the alarm Thi she does hi 7""^" ^"'"''' ''" '<> g've ban, to bring th servan", who "", ", '"° '^'"^'"' " '° "-e *nd the whi pa:^ :• ^" ^fi:: f ■"" '"""■ "°"""*^ ^ |nough to enter G^rnor L^ ^ " ^r=:J"-;"» ""-Se f ;.ss, during which thcv irn h , • , ° ''""'■^ """"-e |"t hhn out of I's^Ie^^ b^^' ^^ ""T """'^ '° lovernor expires as tl.^Z' ^'^^ TZl' ''°"^' =""■ '"= w:r:;t;"';rarf-°'^'- :citing niM,T Th^r , ™ '™" ""f"^"'' '"emories of an iicide,anddoesraiseastJ '• "°' '"'"« '° P^ve las foully de.rrt w th by ""5 7"'"°" """ ''"^"""^ ^ewis osumably Grinder or iZ and " ""^"^ ""''"°'""~ ■■^- ^-nee is ^onheo^nrfh- iro7u':"l ^^ xlviii SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON'S h:^ should be given the full benefit of the doubt, that no stigma may rest on his illustrious name. History may never be able to disprove the alleged suicide ; neither has history thus far proven the allegation. This death remains a mystery; but mystery should not be paraded as history. Very recently the question has been reopened, with a view of setting aside the verdict of posterity, by Mr. James D. Park, a lawyer of Franklin, Tenn., who inclines strongly to the theory of murder and robbery, not suicide, Mr. Park's article, over the pseudonym "John Quill," was published in the Nashville (Tenn.) American of Sunday, September 6th, 1 891. It occupies 4% columns of the news- paper, and has two illustrations— one a portrait of Lewis, from the miniature profile in the possession of the State His- torical Society of Tennessee at Nashville ; " the other a pic- ture of the monument, from a sketch made by Mr. Park on the spot. Whatever view be taken of the tragedy, Mr. Park's article is a valuable historical document, bringing news to most persons. Some of it is biographical, citing the brief notice in Howe's Historical Collections of Virginia,' and the more extended sketch of Lewis' life in the Analectic Maga- zine and Naval Chronicle, VIL April, 1816, pp. 329-333 Mi frontisp. portrait)— both of which were in turn based oni Jefferson's Memoir; another portion is historical, giving the '^ On Nov. i6th, 1892, I delivered in Washington, before the American Onii. thologists' Union, an off-hand address nominally relating to the birds of Lewis and Clark, but mainly occupied with the question of Lewis' death. A reporter «ho was present took me down, with the result of a somewhat sensational, but in the main correct, article of two columns' length in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat of Nov. 19th, 1892. This has two portraits, of Lewis and of Clark respectively, | I allude to this article partly from my bibliographical instincts, but mainly to | say that the portrait of Lewis is there given as that of Clark, and vice versa; also, that the former is from a photograph of this same Nashville miniature. 'Historical Collections of Virginia: Containing a Collection of the moiii interesting Facts, Traditions. Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, etc., rehtinjj to its History, Antiquities, etc., to which is added a historical and descriptivtl sketch of the District of Columbia. By Henry Howe. Published by Williaai R. Babcock, Charleston, S. C, 1856, i vol. 8vo. (Biographical notice of Captauj Lewis, p. 171. Biographical notice of Captain Clark, p. 234. Both inaccuraitf in some particulars.) Vl MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. i"t' a copy of ,h^ "■'-'" "■" ">™um=„t, indud. mat.er?.L"'.t,e^:7S;";::K'°''=- ?= ™-' -'Sinai wWcl. inclined him to the vt^ „f "'"'T '' ?" ""^ ^P°'' Tl- picture of the iZlZTt 1 ".rtt" ""' "'""" tliough roughly ex-ccuteH =, , ' '''""' Pnntcd; Rives an cxc'el,rnt ,r of' ZTj") "^'P""" ""^' ■' correspondence with Mr p'rk ,hr '"??""" P"vate of Governor Buchanan ^i T ' "^^ ""= 6°°'' "^ces ■substance of his nerevidnl:™::::^'.™,". "'" ^^^"^ "■» As adequate to support thl , ^ '" "^ "°'■''^• llcid Mr. Jefferson's sLte' f u"'^ '"'"''" ''^^ ''o^" developed-' to dcTpe^rn" ;r\ oZ'"'^ hypochondria, about public money accounts MrT'fr" "°'"° '"*'= lightly upon the laner feature of the-'ct'I '°^h'";"^ spoken more pointedly. Thus in H . ;, ' """ers have tions, p. ,7,, vve read " rl "?!" "'^torical Collec- :i.ypoch'o„d^i; anrl„e u dlrthe" i^^ '° constHuUon.l attack, shot h.mself on the borders of T " '"'"= , the age of 35. This event w.slcr bid t^jr '" "°^' "' some bills which he drew on he n M ^"^ Protest of -■ fine: .„ Jacob's Life 7nd Tim s'of pLrTcrr"'" '''''"'■ " ., remarks upon the same score with ' ^P' ' '°' fer-'^- ;efferso„X;t ^0 ^t^ i-s^'ctrTzriarTettt r '^ -'- - j^isunderstaiding^::!';::.::: ra'd\hr"'"""">-^ h regard to the settlement of h; Z government fhe very soul of hono^and of P"'^''7^'^°""ts. He was he implied imputat on lelt tl'Te'" ''^''^ ^■"^^^"^^' -^ nd sen.sitive spirit. He ta ted 1 W "^ "P°" ^'^ P'-^"^ xplanation, but never rea^d '^"'^'°" ^ pn.-H another manTM^-^r:::^:^^;- 'W!'' 1 SUrrLEMENT TO JEFFERSON'S route followed by the boatmen at that day, through the Indian country, and having reached a small cabin occupied by a man named Grinders [Grinder] as a kind of tavern for travellers, just within the Chickasaw nation, near the Tennessee line, and between 25 and 30 [read 60 or 70] miles of Nashville, his man left him to go in search of a horse that had strayed. During his absence after the horse, Lewis shot himself twice with a pistol, r.nd this failing to effect his purpose, he killed himself by cutting his throat with a knife [!]. No one saw him commit the act, but some of the [Grinder] family afterwards reported that they had observed indications that his mind was affected, on the morning of [evening before] his death. His body was buried at the corner of the cabin, and for a long time after, the spot was remembered by the adventurous traders who passed that way [along the Natchez Trace], between New Orleans and the upper country. Thus was ushered into eternity a brave and chivalrous spirit, goaded to desperation by the chafing of wounded honor. . . It is enough for the historian to say that he died with the cloud on his memory ; and while he records his fate with a careful pen, he would ask of the world its most charitable judgment. The charges against him were hushed, communities and States vied to do him honor, and [in 1848] the Legislature of Tennessee, his adopted State, to manifest an appreciation of what was high and noble in his character and services, ordered a monument to be erected to his memory at the State's expense." Mr. Jacob's paragraph in Gass fairly reflects accredited history, excepting what he says of recourse to the knife. A similar view of the case is presented in J. B. KiUebrews Resources of Tennessee (Nashville, 1874), P- 79i. where Lewis county is described : " In the very centre of the pres- ent county, on the line of the old Natchez Trace, while on a journey from the Territory of Louisiana, of which he was Governor, Merriwether {sic] Lewis committed suicide, being at the time a little over 35 years of age. On this ven' spot he was buried, and the Legislature of Tennessee in MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. H 1848 had a suitable monument erected to his memory In t.,. midst of dense woods, several miles from any humln habitation, on the crest of a bold broad ridge, wfth dip gorges runnmg toward the northeast and west and near the commencement of the flat lands, this monument stands seldom v.s.ted, and almost forgotten by the present genera! t.on. Its ent.re height is about 25 [read 20^J feet and it |s surrounded by an iron fence in a state of great dilaprdl t.o„ many of the rods having been taken away ' ' The Analectic Magazine and Naval Chronicle,* Vol VII N0.40 Apr.l i8i6. gives a full-length portrait of Captan Lew. In Indian dress, as a frontispiece; and the s me num- ber of this magazine contains, pp. ,20-,,, . " N^f .V f Caotain M T ^wlo " t\,- ■ . ^ ^^ ^^^' ^ JNotlce of captain M. Lew... This is simply abridged from the Tef fellow traveler, governor Clart ,vK^ • . .^ "^ to nis i„„f 1-1 f ,^^^^ <-iark, who considers t an evcol lent likeness, and prizes it hi'o-ViNr tu , excel- given] who knt it'.o us eS hl'e^'Tl T'/r"' ""' was obliged to take it with W n ,„ V f "™'' ""'' owin, that our e„,.vi:;?o:;t :ott:;:renr " H a style as wr couid have wished Bu fhlT ^°°^ iiKeness ot Captain Lew s now extant Tu I'uw extant, ihe ornaments Inskeep. In saying that the portrarhruK. Expedition for Bradford & Lewis e.ta„t in \sk ^^^::T:^s:^i;:t:Ti ''' ^-^^ "^^-^^^ °^ executed after the death of their subject Th. '^\°'^^'' we possess were present in St. Louis, and may be lein 'd o?th ' T'- "'"'"" '"''^'^ '^ ^' Locust St. The one from whTch tJ ""^^ ''• J" ^- ^lark. 3121 was prepared is thX^r^^'VSs^^yoT^tr 'T. ~-' years hung in Independence Hall in pSiddnhr m '^ ^'' ^°'" "^"^y Captain Clark, also reproduced by my pubSr' Be'd \t'=°'"P^"-"-P'ece. profile miniature in the posses<:ion oTtf t ^ ^' "'"' '^^'^ '' '^f' '^e vine. Of the latter. wS T "v beatilT"?" "'^'°"'^^' '"^^'^^^ '" ^-h' ^"PPose .ay be procured at ^ ^ ^ t SS^ULlS:"'' "' ' t» f" HI SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON S worn by him when in the costume of an Indian warrior, (as represented ih the picture) are preserved in the Philadelphia [Peak's] Museum." We may now recur to Mr. Park's article above described. Jefferson's account (says Mr. Park in substance) was written in the light of such information as had reached him in 1813, at his home in Virginia. It would be interesting to know the exact sources of his information were this possible now, to judge for ourselves whether they were entirely free frt)m suspicion. Probably such accounts did not convey the idea of murder and robbery. It then required several weeks for the news to travel from the scene to Washington ; and whether the details of the death of Governor Lewis ever reached the national capital in official form cannot now be learned. During the first years of this century a great military road was cut through the then wilderness of Tennessee and Mis- sissippi, known as the " Natchez Trace." It was made by Lieutenant Edmund Pendleton Gaines, U. S. A., who rose to be a major general during the war of 1812-15. It led southwest from Nashville, Tenn., to Natchez on the Missis- sippi river, and was the only public road in that region, cut to facilitate the movement of troops and the transportation of supplies to and from the newly acquired " Spanish country." This old road has since been abandoned i:i many places, but in other parts of its length it is still (1891) used. Even where given up, and passing through open woods or inclosed in fields, its course can still be traced through Tennessee and Mississippi by its well-worn bed, lower than the adjoiniiis,' land. Governor Lewis struck across country directly oast- ward from the Chickasa\" Bluffs (the present site of Mem- phis, Tenn.), and probably made the Natchez Trace at orj about where this Trace crosses the Tennessee river, in whati is now Lauderdale Co., in northern Alabama, about 20 = miles below t'le town of Florence, and traveled it for about | a day's march vvest of Newburgh, Lewis Co., Tenn., the scene | of the tragedy. At this point in the journey, observes Mr. MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. Hji Park, "the conduct of Mr Ncolv fh^ t„^- tioned in Mr T..ff > ^' "'^'^" "^^cnt, as men- r?nl u /'?"'"'^°"« ^"^""t. seems to have been very strange. He had at the Chickasaw Bluffs volunteered t^^ accompany Governor Lewis from there thr<,ugh tl "india" country to the seat of governn.ent, in order toTook after and recapture of two horses tinf l,„l . , V ' ^^^ "'"^ deemed by Mr. Nc" y of 1 w '^''' ''"'" ""= ""? "'"^ and safety of his fr end ZZIT"""" "'™ ""= '''""' uith the servan wh He L " f™"""''' "> e° 'o'™^ loo. up the he! Tit 'ZTf V'""'" ^ '"'''•"' '» ever found the., or e. ..rt^X;' w.^h ^1^ I^tl^ .™r4.T„:rt iX'r^^^ ,"7 "°'f '-'"- Trace. On this road, at hue™ s o^ abouf ^.f "' •'^'^'^"" say some 30 miles, there were or m V ■ ^^ ' ^°"""^' 'ainment for man 'and bcal^cah d .'sTand!"^ ^°' ^"'"■ Lewis reached one of these LJT ». i' '^°*'""o"- site of " Grinder's stand I Vn"^ ^ '■* ^^'- ^""<'"- The miles in an ai . i ,e olwest IfT' ,°" r"°' ^'°"' ^'•'">' ruins of a stone chimney a moun/'f"' """""' ''^ ""-" of a .arden or smau'cLrri t Ir' 's.""lt7 ''-"T crest of a ridge, along whicnruns the T,;, V' "" "'" now used at this point Even It tL V, ,T '"'"■ "°' tion is a mile and a half „/, ''*' ""= "'^'"■>=^' '"^'a- site of the old house Id T """ ''*•'"*■ ^°">' "' "■'= east side of °he road is ^h "° '"'"■''^ '™"' "' ™ ">= monument e'e ted tLstaHT''''"'"' ^"^=' ^"^ '"^ I give the results of Mr Pa k's n^"'"""' '°, "'' '"™">'- = -t. ,889, in his own words "?th'" T '"r- ''°" firm belief of the people of hi ' , "'^y' ^"'" ""= was murdered and robbed Tl, ' n' ""' ''°'"''°' '"""^ remember the rumo currett aT helim"' "'T"?"" """^ and it seems that no thouX of T "' ° *' '^"'■''"' ing here. The writer recet; ,'7 " °'"""'' '°°'- recently had an interview with Mrs. nv SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON S Christina B. Anthony, who lives some two miles from the Lewis grave, and has lived all her life of 'J^ years in the neighborhood. She says that 'old man Grinder' kept a ' stand ' for travelers on the Natchez Trace. Polly Spencer, whom she knew well before her death about 40 years ago, was a hired girl at Grinder's when Governor Lewis was killed. Polly had often told the circumstances of the murder so far as she personally knew them. She was washing dishes in the kitchen after supper with some of the females in the family, when they heard a shot in the room where Captain Lewis was sleeping. All rushed into the room and f(nmd him dead in his bed. Captain Lewis, being fatigued from his journey, had retired immediately after supper. His only companion, she said, was a negro boy, who was attending the horses in the barn at the time. Old Grinder, who was of Indian blood, was at once sus- pected of the murder, ran away, was captured on Cane creek, brought back, and tried; but the proof not being positive, he was released. Only 25 cents was found on the person of Captain Lewis after he was shot. Old Grinder soon afterward removed to the western part of the State, and it was reported in his old neighborhood had bought a number of slaves and a farm, and seemed to have plenty of money. Before this he had always been quite poor. " Mrs. Anthony says the people always believed old Grinder killed Mr. Lewis and got his money. She had never heard of the theory of suicide until the writer men- tioned it to her. Mrs. Anthony was a young married woman, boarding with the father of Polly Spencer, when Polly told her of these circumstances. Mrs. Anthony thus heard an ear-witness, so to speak, relate the story of the murder, which is pretty direct evidence. She is a bright, active, intelligent old lady, and has for many years kept the little hotel at the hamlet of Newburgh, the county seat of Lewis County, which is just two miles east of the monu- ment. She refers to her brother, Jason Boshears, 80 years of age, li Mrs. Sal P'urnace, lived nea the circu of old ( writer to " Othc converse( that Grin He must distinctio ably had young m Louisiana nation, wl distinctioi tion, shoi denial of 1 in the disc spicuous a with too n the back v vented to and seems reached M This is 1 as could t charge of ; of the case Wilson evi markable, i be a statei Lewis had \ conclusive, urge. Tha report, acte MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. Iv of age, living near Mount Pleasant, 20 miles distant, and Mrs. Salhe Harham Sims, 82 years of age, living at yEtna I^urnace, Hickman C inty, who were born and formerly lived near by, and who, she thinks, could give more in detail the circumstances of the murder, as developed on the trial of old Grinder. It was, however, inconvenient for the writer to look up these two old persons. " Others living in Lewis and adjoining counties have been conversed with, who remember the general belief at the time hat Grinder killed his guest for the purpose of robbery, le must have observed that Captain Lewis was a person of distinction and wealth; that he was almost alone and prob- ably had money with him. It seems incredible that a young man of 35, the governor of the vast territory of Louisiana, then on his way from his capital to that of his nation, where he knew he would be received with all the distinction and consideration due to his office and reputa- tion. should take his own life. His whole character is a denial of this theory. He was too brave and conscientious in the discharge of every duty, public and private ; tod con- sp.cuous a person in the eyes of the country, and crowned with too many laurels, to cowardly sneak out of the world by the back way, a self-murderer. This idea was doubtless in- vented to cover up the double crime of robbery and murder and seems to have been the only version of his death that reached Mr. Jefferson and his other friends in Virginia " This IS literally a lawyer's brief, summing such evidence as could be procured to defend Governor Lewis from the charge of suicide. It is probably as strong a presentation of he case as is now possible. It also falls in well with the Wilson evidence already adduced-which is the more re- markable, in that Wilson took Mrs. Grinder's wild story to be a statement of fact, and evidently believed that poor Lewis had killed himself. That the new Park testimony is conclusive, however, Mr. Park himself would probably not urge. That the theory of murder was a matter of common report, acted upon at the time to the extent of the arrest Ivi SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON S and trial of Grinder, and that ;t has ever since been believed by the community, is estabHshed by direct testimony. But the evidence, mainly circumstantial, did not suffice to convict Grinder or anyone else of murder. The fragmentary evi- dence which has come down to us, moreover, does not hang together well. It is even opens up the doubt that we have the true date of death within 24 hours. Jefferson's account makes the hour "about three o'clock in the night," when Polly Spencer is not likely to have been washing dishes in the kitchen with others of the household. This means 3 a.m., of the historical date, October nth, 1809; but from what Mr. Park has adduced, it would appear that, irrespec- tive of mode of death, Governor Lewis lost his life shortly after the usual hour of an evening meal, on October loth. Had Polly and all the rest " rushed into the room " on hearing the shot, and " found him dead in his bed," it seems Hkely that more positive and detailed accounts of the scene would have at once come into existence and been perpetuated. But nothing appears of the whereabouts of the supposititious murderer at this moment ; and an intending murderer would hardly have chosen so early an hour, when all the family were up and about, and he knew he had the \.-hole night in which to execute his design at leisure. It is not unreason- able to translate Mrs. Anthony's report to Mr. Park— made about 80 years after the event, it must be remembered— in somewhat these words : Polly Spencer (had been) washing dishes (the evening before; and some hours afterward, when the family had been abed and asleep) they heard the shot, and rushed into the room, etc. This might easily have been past midnight of October loth, or about the hour alleged of October nth. But even were the date fixed to the hour, the question of murder or suicide would not, thereby, be left other than it was before. Mr. Prrk seems to me to present a strong case,— perhaps the stroiigcst that will ever be drawn up, — and deserves much credit for thus undertaking to clear so great a name from so grave an imputation. Prior to making his investigations he MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. Ivii had never heard of the Wilson testimony above given, and had read only Mr. JelTerson's account of the death In fact he had notWng but the common belief of the peop"e to fnV'nV ' "'" ^°''"'"" Lewis' established reputation ar est and tnal for murder; and he establishes the fact, and b^rl" T: " l"" "'"' ^ '"^"- °' "-™n -"egation and bel.ef, and has been from that day to this the traditio! of the community. These are strong p'^int B t the a La" tcstmony adduced at this time is from the memory of one person as to events of about eighty years ago It Ts a sec ond-hand md.rect, and circumstantial o,ly. this be 4" acc:';omeTti vt-gh"h,r:oTd:"' 'r^ ""' °' '"^ -°^"- been satisfied in h / ""'' ' """^ "'"> ">"»' have beyonrH^pI^s^:^^^^^^ o^ a case and served so well. Tl^Z^tioT ol U ""^^^^^ incident in the history of a Stat: """"'"' " " -o.o.Capt.Mer^;rT^-,r;^;t.^t^^ establish the County of w' Se'ct I'li > ' \ f''- ''"^'^ ^ " ^" ^^' "^ of the State of Tennessee Th.f . n .'""''''' ^^>' "^" ^'^"^'•^^ Assembly Hshed, to be composed 'fnctons J T'' i'' "" '" ^^"" '^ ''^-'^y -^^^- Wayne and Hickman, and o bTknt ,'; 11 f •^""^'" °' '^"'^^- L'^^^'-""' County, in honor of Captain Mtrewerierr 1 ?""•'''"' '^ "" "'^"'^ °^ ^ewi. «uishe.l services to his 'countr 7 Le "^ ^--s who has rendered distin- -i'hinitslimits.-etc.toSeciVtl, ''"""' '"^ '"'"^^ ^"^ "^B'^-^fed ing and maintaining^ a county 'rJ'fT"~^''''^ ""^ "^"^^ P™^i-°n« for form- of the House of Rtprese, ^thxi T M A T ''■ "^ '^^ """"S^^' '^1-'^'^- 1 ^s , J. M. Anderson, Speaker of the Senate. Iviii SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON'S tinguished services to his country, and whose remains He buried and neglected within its Hmits." The grave is in the exact center of this county, which was surveyed from this point and carved out of the then surrounding counties of Maury, Hickman, Wayne, and Lawrence. On the 4th of February, 1848,° the same legislature appro- priated $500 for the erection of a suitable monument, and appointed four distinguished citizens of Tennessee as a com- mittee to carry out this design and report to the next legis- lature. The gentlemen accepted the commission as a labor of love and duty. The " Report of the Lewis Monumental Committee," made to the legislature of 1849-50, as appears from the Appendix to the Journal of the House of Repre- sentatives, pp. 238-240, is as follows : "" " To the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee : " By the ninth section of an act passed at the last session of the General Assembly of this State, entitled an act to « Acts of the State of Tennessee passed at the First Session of the Twenty- seventh General Assembly for the years 1847-48, pub. 1848, i vol., 8vo, p. 217, Chap, cxxxv. An Act to amend an act, passed the 21st of Dec. 1843, entitled an " act to establish the County of Lewis." Sect. 9 is : " Be it further enacted, That the sum of five hundred dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, or so much thereof as may be necessary to preserve the place of interment, where the remains of the Gen. Meriwether Lewis were deposited, and that Robert A. Smith, of the county of Lewis, Hon. Edmund Dillahunty and Barclay Martin, of Maury county, and Dr. Samuel B. Moore, of Hickman county, be, and are hereby made the agents of the General Assembly to carry into execution the provisions of this act, and report to the next General Assembly." Passed Feb. 4th, 1848. F. Buchanan, Speaker of the House of Representatives ; J. M. Anderson, Speaker of the Senate. ' I have cited the foregoing Acts of the Tennessee Legislature from the origi- nals ; but the Journal of the House of Representatives I have not been able to lay hands on. The set of volumes in the Congressional Library happens to lack 1849-50, and this volume is not to be found in the library of the Supreme Court or in that of the State Department. My citation of the report of the committee is therefore at second hand, from Mr. Park's printed article ; but this gentleman informs me that he has taken great pains to correct what is cited above, by comparing a press-proof which I sent him with a copy of the original official report in the State Library at Nashville—" carefully verified, June loth, 1893," he says. ssion '>^i ct to MEMOIR MERIWETHER LEWIS. Jj [amend an act to] establish the County of Lewis the sum „f Of Le.s MERRit^-.^ LE^rr JX'^ r-r an^Ct^X-— ^-r--:;!^onsortheact. artisLnrpracLlL^^ "■'"'' "'* "^"^ "o^' ™in™t to be erected and a oT' h "'" " '° '"' '""'' °' "■°"™-"' Mr. Lemuel VVKirC of 'S '^v"* "P°" ""^ ^^P'^^^^ sum of five hundrS dollars "■"'"■ '° '"""'= " '^ '^e culties, successes ""^d tio, '\'T'"''^ '° '^P'^^^' *= *«:- was m'arked by'bod tpri e'^b"""" ,"' ' ''^ "'"^'^ devoted patriotism. Tl,e base of tl,^"^ ""'"'^ '""""^^ ""<> unhewn stone, eight feet h,Vh -..W !"™™™' '^ °f ™ugh i.risestothe;urface:f tl~d "'on V '""'" ^^"""^ of cut stone four feet saaaro In ■ ,? ' "■"'' ^ P"""' -ess rheight], on wL:^ rae"fntip"tio"nf ", •",''''^'- 8.ven beiow. On this piinth stan'dTTToLr cll^ eleven feet high, two and a half feet in diameter at !»e base, and a few inch, si eT anL'V'Thrt " IS broken to denote the vi^l„„* j P' '^ '"P b.feht and gloriou c reer The b, """"''^ '"' "' ' Lestonltr:, tr;s7e::rVrar«f 1 ^ ""I "rercrr:taTr.''"rr^-°^^-°- Nixon, Es,^ ITw S v"=yor ' :d"L"'° ^^"^' "^^^^^ quaintcd with its locilitv H ^ '^ ""^ =^''y «" "'-■^»^"^a„cedX'^sure"t;~rx^:--„rth': ix SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON'S tt m upper part of the skeleton examined, and such evidences found as to leave no doubt of the place of interment. Wit- nesses were called and their certificate, with that of the Sur- veyor, prove the fact beyond dispute. "The inscription upon the plinth was furnished by Prof. Nathaniel Cross, of the University of Nashville. It is beautiful and appropriate. It is placed on the different sides of the plinth, and is as follows : ' [west face.] MERRIWETHER LEWIS, Born near Charlottesville, Virginia, August i8, 1774, Died October 11, 1809, aged 35 years. [south face.] An officer of the Regular Army — Commander of the Expedition to the Oregon in 1803-1806 — Governor of the Territory of Louisiana — His melancholy death occurred where this monument now stands, and under which rest his mortal remains. [east face.] In the language of Mr. Jefferson : ' His courage was undaunted : His firm- ness and perseverance yielded to nothing but impossibilities : A rigid disciplinarian, yet tender as a father of those com- rnitted to his charge ; honest, disinterested, liberal, with a sound understanding and a scrupulous fidelity to truth.' [north face.] Immaturus obi : sed tu felicior annos Vive meos, Bona Respublica ! Vive tuos. Erected by the Legislature of Tennessee. A. D. 1848. ' In attempting to reproduce these inscriptions as copied by Mr. Park from the stone, certain errors which appear in the printed report are ignored. The worst of these is the wrong date of Oct. " 17 " instead of 11. Lewis' Christian name is misspelled both on stone and on paper. The Latin word Respublica is also misspelled " Republica " in the report. The alignment here presented is not exactly true to the stone, but gives the same general effect to the eye. ,f MEMOIR OF MERIWETHER LEWIS. Ixi no" J" t' ^^'^" ^'''''^' "'""^ °^ >'°"'' l^onorable body will no doubt recognize as the affecting epitaph on the tomb o a young vvife, m which, by a /..../.^.«-, ^sic-r.-.^ proso popoeia], after alluding to her immature death, she prays that her happxer husband may live out /... year and his own : " Imniatuta peri .• sed tu felicior annos Vwe meos, conjux optime ! Vive tuos. "Under the same figure the deceased is represented in the Latm d,st.ch as altered, after alluding to hi! early de'a'h a uttenng as a patriot a similar prayer that the ron-.M ot time. As the distich now stands, the figure mav he made to apply, either to the whole Union, or foTe'nessee thaU.as honored his memory by the erection o^^ a moTu! "The impression has long prevailed that under the influ ence of disease of body and mind ^f i t f report th.t r. t ^ ^^""^ ^^^ ^^^'^ ^eard of the money and horses 1L„T,M '^:="<^''"'»". '-ho stole his - ;..h the ereCon-oV: 13:^ h^ telra"-; '^=ir;hrztro're^'''-"'-'--- the p Iriettfl' ™"'' ^"SSest to the General Assembly , P™P"<='y of having an acre of ground, or some other * Misprint or other mistake for vr r ni . • eldest son of William Clark by 1 1 t^J^ttif^ ' '■"' ''"'"^''^'^^ ^"^^^'^ C'^''- 'f Ixii SUPPLEMENT TO JEFFERSON'S MEMOIR. reasonable quantity, around the grave, secured against the entry of private persons. This can be done either by reserving the title in the State, or by directing a grant to issue in the name of the governor and his successors in office. The first mode would probably be the best. " All of which is respectfully submitted. "Edmund Dillahunty, "Barclay Martin, " Robert A. Smith, " Samuel B. Moore." At the time of Mr. Park's visit to the grave, November 2 1 St, T889, the base of the monument was somewhat moss- grovvn, the inscriptions on the plinth were scarcely legible, and the iron fence was nearly all gone. It is said that the iron was taken away during the War of the Rebellion to make horseshoes, as the production of iron was then almost entirely suspended in the South. The acre reserved around the monument has since become " God's Acre " indeed, where rest the remains of one of his noblest works, albeit now indistinguishable from humbler dust in a common burying-ground. " Far out in the native forest, on the high- lands, with no human dwelling near, it is indeed a lonely spot, where the wild deer and the fox are still pursued by the hunter's hounds. The existence of such a grave and monu- ment is scarcely known outside of the State, and to but few anywhere of the present generation. Tennessee would be loath to give up the honored dust which has slept in her bosom for more than eighty years ; but would it not be 3. 3 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. BV DR. COUES. ning of the last cent "; torp":"'"', '"" ^'°"' ''' '^^^^^^ of the eighteenth century John Ch ^ '''" '^" '"'^^ P^^^ «urd resided in Kine and O n ''' ^"^ ^'^^ «'• Mrs. ••'"J were Winiam^'LdpariTr rr'- ^^ ^'"^ ---^> -^d, Benja.nin. and Elizabeth '"' ''"'^^^" "^^^ J^^" John Clark 2d, b. K and O r ,r d. Mulberry Hili; Ky Au.^ ^^ ^^^ ^^•' ^^^^ ^^^h, i;24, Ann Rogers, b. K. and Q (^' v^^^. "^^'^ 75 years ; and Mulberry Hill, Ky., Dec 2^th U «' '" '°'^' ^^^4, d. at married in K. and Q Co V. • ^^ ^^ years; were years, and were William's Lren'ts'" Vu^' ['^^'^ .^^g^^^her 49 Six sons and four daughters • ^ "^ ^^^ following '■•^Tfr-" ^- Albemarle Co V. A d. Mulberry Hill, Ky iniRr/u^^' ''^' '^So; Hite by whom he had fn "" "^^'"'''^^ Sarah 2- W^. L^,r, '^,^,': ^^^^ °- «ons and two daughters. ^752: d.iocust Grove Kyteb"""' ^' ^"^^ ^^^^' years, and was buried there" H^ '' ' ''''' ^^^^ ^^ was the most di«5fmrr. • u \ "^^^'* married. He William attained Geo^i^^R'"''"" ■■'^"°"" '° "^-h several positions of the same r^T.'"' *'"""' ''^'^ and hence have hel„\ I ^'^^'^ "' ""'■" 'iHe, "the brother" of Wiliar"'''''"" ""'''^<^<'- When ^' '« . b. Carohne Co Vn r i Owen Gwathmey, Oct."^;;,, I'^td'fi" ' •"""'' ^ ' V/ j , nad five sons and Ixiii I XIV MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. 8 five daughters; d. in 1822, aged 66 years, at Locust Grove, Ky. John 3d: b. Caroline Co., Va., Sept. 15th, 1757 ; d. Oct. 17th, 1783, aged 26; never married ; was " imprisoned by British during war five years on Long Island." (So family bible : but see next paragraph.) Richard: b. Caroline Co., Va., July 6th, 1760; never married; lost in Feb. or Mar., 1785, aged 25 years; "supposed to have been killed by Indians at Little Wabash." (So family bible ; some obscurity and con- fusion of record regarding Richard and John 3d. Another account, furnished to Mr. Jefferson K. Clark by his cousin, Mrs. Caroline O'Fallon Pope, states that Richard, a lieutenant in the Continental army, was captured at Germantcvvn, Pa., and died in a prison-ship at New York, in 1783; and that John, a captain in the army, was killed by Indians on the Wabash in 1785.) Edmund ist : b. Caroline Co., Va., Sept. 25th, 1762; d. Louisville, Ky., in 181 7, aged ^5 years; never mar- ried ; was an army officer with rank of captain, left out when the army was reduced. Lucy: b. Caroline Co., Va., Sept. 15th, 1765; married William Croghan ; had five sons and two daughters; d. at Locust Grove, near Louisville, Ky., Mar. 4th, 1837 or 1838. , Elizabeth: b. Caroline Co., Va., Feb. nth, 1768; married Colonel Richard Clough Anderson ; had one son and three daughters; died in 1795, aged 27 years. . William: b. Caroline Co., Va., Aug. ist, 1770; mar- ried (i) Julia Hancock, at Fincastle, Va., Jan. 5th, 1808; she died at Fotheringay, Va., June 27th, 1820, leaving four sons and one daughter ; he married (2) Harriet Kennedy (b. Fincastle, July 25th, 1788, widow of Dr. John Radford), at St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 28th, 1821 ; she died there Dec. 25th, 1831, leaving two sons and one daughter by Dr. Radford, and one son MEMOIR or WILLIAM CLARK fanr Lewis A; Sent ',,«?'"''"? °' ''■^ ^°"' Meriwether fro.ther.Sce':^co^tr/oT:r^^^^^^^^^ (^) Charles MThtus^J ft D ""'J"=' '''■■■ '^«* (>) two children Tol l,', j^ n ' ^"'^"^h ; had d-n, (3) one "chiL "d d' af sTt ^ '^ V°" '""■ eldest -n, John, acquired the tile of?, i- "," military service fmm , i V , ' '°'°"<=' '" "'e .8.3; L surged' Id! :%^.;=f^"t '." J^'^. St. Louis. '^ ' ^^^5, in business in ^<^t!^'^' «"'^ f-">'. we have the fol- .7f.nivi7r3iV7r3o"f;;,"Ti>' ^- *^- "<>. J-; Hth. ,;,7. marrild ; P r^';^ ^„'V "''k "; '''™^' ^• William, b. May ,oth 1720 r ' ^""^ "° ''eirs; ™rried Ma^, Jon:*'rmaf;%r', th'^'r,"" 1 ''''' sea; Joshua, b. Feb nth r^. , ^ ' 1727, lost at generation: Edward .dJoi'o'' Ge '' ^.J" '" '"^ "«' Mary Jones h.s wife b M™ f .'^r'^S.'^ "''""^k ,st and July iSth .s-k. A ^ ■ '754. d- at Fotheringay, Va '4; M'^'b No/ftTr;: • °^'- '^"'' '''«■ -^ '" "e Samuel Ke„;e;iy ^ ' ^'^' ""*'' ^ "r. Rayford,(.) b. Sept.?o'h Z;*, mirriedfnr"' ''l'"'"'^ S'™">" pepper Co., Va„ (2) p"tr c IT l^ ^''^' "*" °' ^'''■ "as b. Sept. ,6th ,763 ^^- ^=- .'""e ^d, ,830), who Jhe children of George .d and Peggy Strother his wife, ■ r Ixvi MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. I. Mary, b. Friday, Feb. 14th, 1783 ; married J. D. Griffin ; d. Apr. 26th, 1826, leaving three sons and one daughter. 2. Caroline, b. Saturday, Mar. 26th, 1785 ; married Wm. Preston ; d. at Louisville, Ky. 3. John Strother, b. Sunday, Mar. 25th, 1787; d. Aug. 2d, 1795. 4- Julia, also called Judith, b. Monday, Nov. 21st, 1791 ; married William Clark, Jan. 5th, 1808, at Fincastle, Va.; d. at Fotheringay, Va., June 27th, 1820, leaving four sons and one daughter. 5. George 3d, b. Good Friday, Apr. 6th, 1798 ; married (i) E. Croghan (dau. of Wm. Croghan and Lucy Clark, of Locust Grove), (2) Mary Davidson, of New Orleans, Miss. The children of William Clark and Julia Hancock his first wife, were : 1. Meriwether Leivis ist : b. St. Louis, Mo., Jan. lOth, 1809 ; married (i) Abby Churchill, Louisville, Ky., Jan. 9th, 1834; he died at Frankfort, Ky., Oct. 28th, 1881. His first wife was b. Louisville, Ky., Mar. 9th, 1817; d. St. Louis, Jan. 14th, 1852. Their children were: William Hancock, b. St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 25th, 1839, now living; Samuel Churchill, b. St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 12th, 1843, killed in battle of Elk Horn, at Pea Ridge, Ark., com'd'g the Clark battery, 10 a. m., Mar. 8th, 1862, buried at Fort Smith, Ark.; Mary Eliza, b. St. Louis, Mo., May 31st, 1845, d. Spring Grove. Ky., May, 1847 ; Meriwether Lewis 2d, b. Louisville, Ky., Jan. 27th, 1846, living John O'Fallon 2d, b. St. Louis, Mo., July 7th, 1848, d Frankfort, Ky., Feb., 1863, killed by accidental discharge of a pistol in hands of a schoolmate at Sayre Institute George Rogers 2d, b. St. Louis, Mo., Apr. 19th, 1850 d. of yellow fever at Greenville, Miss.; Charles Jeffer son, b. St. Louis, Mo., Jan. loth, 1852, living. Men wether Lewis 1st married (2) Julia Davidson, at Louis- ville, Ky., Dec. 30th, 1865 ; she was b. in New Orleans, La., July 8th, 1826, and is living ; they had no issue. 2. William Preston: b. St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 5th, 181 1; MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. Ixvii Tuesday, mZ. 30 h °84?"tT ^'T"T ^"" «'-g°-. or Seddie I.eonida, b. there 2 a ,r,' n ,' f, ' ^"''"' Dec. ,;th;.84;; iit G,a'4 : b"i te'T: ^ ^'"■• 22d, 1846. He dipH Q„ ^ V ^ P- "^•' Jan. of his half-brother ,e£;„'K n'\'' '"= ^^^'^^^ Louis Co., Mo in hi H;r ''*■ =" '"'■"°"'^. St. .358, in B'e,Te;o::ai„':t:™r.:.r"'' "" """" ''"■ ^"^ 5.y.W„/.,...b.St.Loui3,Jn,y6i,,,,8.8;d.thereSept. The children of William Clark ^nM i,- Harriet Kennedy Radford ^fdo'of'p'r' ^5'//'- -1.0 were married at St. Louis, Nol g^ „ , "' ''^^'°'-<')' ^eb. 2Qth iRoA-* r^ • t ,,, ^. "• or. ivouis, Mo.. of VVillfn; Glatow s;fth^" V""" Glas^o. (dau.' -e living there fowosri)"'"'^^ '*■ '««= ''o"' ..^^...^^,b. St. Louis, Sept. ,th, ,8.6, d. there. Au,. ' Harriet Kennerly (b. Fincastir V, r i second wife by her Hrst hiisband. " "• J- K. Clark, be.ng a son of William Ixviii MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. The foregoing data for five generations are derived in part from records in the family bible of George Rogers Hancock Clark, copied Oct. 1st, 1881, by Frederick L. Billon, of St. Louis, and lately secured from him ; in part from William Hancock Clark, who at my request obligingly prepared and furnished a tabular statement of the lineal issue of William Clark, living and dead at the present date of July, 1893. This genealogical chart, including two more generations, is published on a separate folding sheet v.-ith this work. William Clark's parents resided in Albemarle Co., Va., until their two eldest children had been born ; when, in 1754, they removed to the vicinity of Charlottesville, Caro- line Co., in the same State, where all their o*-her children first saw the light." In 1784, or about that year, when William was 14 years old, they moved again to what was then called the Falls of the Ohio, now Louisville, Ky. Their place of residence was know., as Mulbcry Hill. Louisville at that time consisted merely of a few cabins clustered about a fortification vvhich had been erected by his elder brother, George Rogers Clark. William received his first title or distinction of any sort while yet a mere lad, being made a member of the Society of the Cincinnati on March ist, 1787, before he had completed his seventeenth year. His original certificate of member- ship is extant ; it bears the signatures of George Washing- ton, President, and General Henry Knox, Secretary. His first military title was that of Ensign U. S. A., to which grade be was appointed in 1788. On the 8th of January, 1790, he received the following commission, which is curious enough to be presented in full. I copy from a careful copy of the orig'nal: »nr. W. C. N. Randolph, son of President Jefferson's executor, writes to me from Charlottesville, Va., under date of Jan. nth, 1893, that the house in which William was born was situated within a mile an, h, ■ y. 'o. n. .de„.uy. The son,e.i„,e associa ion of , is „r'r,' ,'' "" """^'P' n O' this Judge Clark with Georee Ixx MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. The year 1803 saw the beginning of Captain Clark's real career, to which previous events of his Hfe merely led up. His friend, Meriwether Lewis, at this time President Jeffer- son's private secretary, who as an ensign had at one time served under Captain Clark's orders, desired his association on equal terms in the conduct of the Expedition then about to be set on foot. Captain Clark assented, and the two young officers entered into those relations which linked their names forever.' It is commonly said that Captain Clark re-entered the regular army under these circum- stances in 1803. It is also said in Jefferson's Memoir of Lewis, anteci, that he was commissioned as a captain. These are mistakes. The commission he received was that of second lieutenant, Corps of Artillerists, and not the Rogers Clark (Isrother of our William), as trustees of a certain town, tended to promote this confusion. On looking up this case, I find the date to be when William was about 13 years old, and therefore not likely to have been the trustee of anything more than the contents of a boy's ii'>ckets. Item, I find among the MS. Clarkiana in my possession that on March 3d, 1801, WiiVam Clark, Henry Vanderburg, and John Griffin, judges appointed by Gov. W. H. Harrison, of the newly organized Indiana Territory, held their first term at Vincennes. Here again is no doubt the lost Judge William Clark. Item, one of our best biographical cyclo- pedias has a short notice of this jurist, in which I think some matters pertaining to General Clark are involved. • As a matter of curious history, perhaps known to no other person at the moment of my penning this note, I will cite the fact that in July, 1803, it looked as if " Lewis and Clark " was going to be " Lewis and Hook," or " Hooke." Captain Lewis had e?:tended his invitation to Captain Clark, and had received no answer. Mails were infrequent and irregular in those days ; no doubt Captain Clark took time to sleep over the proposition ; but delays seemed dangerous if not fatal, to Captain Lewis' ardent imagination, already at a white heat of most puissant purpose. He had actually sought a substitute, in anticipation of Captain Clark's declination, when he penned the letter, now forming Doc. No. loi, Jeff. Papers L, ad ser., Vol. 51, of which the following are some extracts : Pittsburgh July 26th. 1803. Dear Sir, I have recievcd as yet no answer from Mr. Clark ; in the event of Mr. Clark's declining to accompany me Lieut Hooke of this place has engaged to do so, if permitted ; and I think from his disposition and qualifications that I might safely calculate on being as ably assisted by him in ihe execution of the objects of my mission, .is I could wish, or would be, by any other officer in the Army. Lieut Hooke is about 26 years of age, [etc.] . . . Should I recieve no answer from Mr. Clark previous to my leaving this place, or he decline going with me, I would be much gratifyed with being authorized to take Lieut. Hooke with me, [etc.] ... If Lieut. Hooke sets out twenty days after me, by taking the rout of Limestone, Louisville and Vin- cennes, he will reach the mouth of the Missourie as en.rly as I shall. I am with the most sincere attachment Your Obt. Servt. „, „ . . Meriwether Lewis The President of the United States. M MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK j • from prior mili4Lvicebu7H"''^u'''"' "'"?'=-• which was to convert III oosJihf V^,"™^ """' Expedition, I>'^ acfal rank in , he 1™ u" '"'" '°'""^''"S brass, this point, once a ^atter^ ""' """ °' " ^"'^^"""- On ques^on of historlaTa currc/lT; f i"^^' ^ ^™P'^ ^ the biographer in the autnhf k """""'^ "'''= '° ^'"k Captain Ciark once had to ^aX'h ' k"^' "'" '''" ""^ In the extensive unp:^:^ cVrtwl'''""^"- ence, mainly relatincr to thf «■ ^'"'^-''''idle correspond- obligingly placed irn,y hands h'r. °' "''= Expedition, Philadelphia, son of nL1"s''b Jd/e^t ,^1 h"'"."^' °' lowing two letters ; "'uaie, lisq., I find the fol- ^'1:a ae b PWl''-July8.r8ri relat,ve situation in point of rank and ol " nd h". '"''°"- '' '■^ "'^ --» yourself I think you mentioned to 1 Zvo' "" "^'P'"" "^'^'^ '^"'^ tenant of Engineers [read of ArtillerTtsl 1,1 T'"",'""" "'" ^'^^' "^^ ^ieu- equahty with Captain Lewis who was rCa^ui " f ? T" '°" "'"'"^'^'^ °" ^" -er], and that in all other respects you were .J,':''^"'^^ "^^"'"^^ t'^e for- of being correct and I will get you to state t ^o>^">and. I am desirous you precisely, so as to avoid all errorl on hat '",""■■ ' ""''' ""^^-'ood Mrs. Clarke [.V] j remain yrs sincere^; ' "'^"'- '^'''^ ^^ ^ompts to Genl William Clarke [sic] N[icholasJ. B[iddle]. St Louis Upper Louisiana ^'"'■S''-- St Louis i5,h. August i8ir from you as to learn that you had got fhro' 7 , ' ""'" • '' "^" ^° ^^^^ press as soon as Mr. Conr'd pleased I L %? ' '"^ ^'^' '' ^^^^y for the Ixxii MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. H ■*' think myself very well treated as I did not get the appointment which was prom- ised me, as I was not disposed to make any noise about the business have never mentioned the particulars to anyone, and must request you not to mention my disapointment and the cause to anyone. — In March [Mar. 7th] 1791 I was appointed a Lieut, in Waynes army and was kept on command about 18 months before I joined the main army [Sept. 4th, 1792]. When I joined I was anexed to a Chosen Rifle Company, of which I had the command, and received a Staff appointment, both of which I retained untill after the Treaty at Greenville and at the time of takeing possession of the Western posts, I resigncJ [July 1st, 1796] and returned to a Farm in in Kentucky on which I lived several years in bad health (Capt. Lewis was appointed an Ensign and arranged to the company which I commanded a fiew months before I resigned) During the time I [was] liveing on my Farm in Kent.y. I had fre- quent occasions to visit the Eastern States & Washington where I became acquainted with the Tresidt. Mr. Jefferson. In [July] 1803 I was applied to by Captain Lewis by Letter, who was then Private Secty to the President, to accom- pany him on an Expedition to the Pacific, stating the gen'- plan and objects, and offered by the apprb" of the President to place me in a situation in every respect equal to himself, in rank pretentions &c &c. On those conditions I agreed to undertake the expedition made my arrangements and set out, and pro- ceeded on with Capt. Lewis to the mouth of the Missouri where we remained the winter 1803 made every necessary arrangement to set out early in spring 1804 every thing arranged I waited with some anxiety for the commission which I had reason to expect (Capt. of Indioneers [Engineers]) a fiew days before I set out I received a Commission of 2nd Lieutenant of Artillerist [dated Mar. 26th, 1804], my feelings on this occasion was as might be expected. I wished the expedition suckcess, and from the assurence of Capt. Lewis that in every respect my situation command &c &c. should be equal to his ; viewing the Com- mission as mearly calculated to autherise punishment to the soldiers if necessary, I proceeded. No difficuelty took place on our rout relative to this point — On my return to this town, I inclosed the Commission to the Secty of War and wrote to him that the Commission had answered the purpose purpose for which it was intended &c. I do not wish that anything relative to thisComs" or appointment should be inserted in my Book, or made known, for very perticular reasons, and I do assure you that 1 have never related as much on the subject to any person before. Be so good as to place me on equal footing with Capt. Lewis in every point of view without exposeing anything which might have taken place or even mentioning the Commission at all. I hope you will do me the honor to write to me often and without reserve- Accept the acknowledgements of Mrs. Clark and my self for the friendly senti- ments expressed in the latter part of your letter and accept of our wormest wishes for your [health] and hapiness. I remain your sincere Mr. Nich^ Biddle Friend Atty at Law Phila. Wm Clark MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. l^xii; his lieutenant Caotlrri; u"^ t*^""' P'-^^^ence ov.r was as fuHy" ibiect ,„\ , ' 7^°"" ""^ """•^ked, and who of the pa ty On the o L T ."'"^ '' ""^ '""^'^^ ">- in their'.ut'ual ^r. on: the .S 'V' ""l '"^ ^"'^'" '"^^ between the two capta ns and tj h ''°' """ ""'" "•^'^"'^ conduct of the ExTh V ^ f "= "'"' ™mmand and equal degree! '^"P^'""°" <''=™l-- ^-actions fro.n time orthe time being, or other supertr offi^^ ,t \"""^^ ^'^^'^ ^^ America for regulating and disciplining the Mimifn 71 accordmg to the laws cha^e and require all oLer.s'and soW „„ leTh" "'"'"^"^ ' "' ^^-^'^ h.s orders-This commission to ZjnZ 7 ^'^'^'''''^ ''^ ^^' -^^^^^^-t ^ Se.io„of the Senate of the ulrstraldX:^^ ^^ ^^ "^ -- MatrLl'yeaToftr Ltd'o':?;' ^T'^'^ ''' ^^^^^'^ ^'^^ of and in the thirty-fourS^^year of^l^^ T"""? ^''^'' """''^'^^' ^^ Seven. By the President of the Independence of said States. United States of America '^^^°^ Jefferson ijka]j „y Dearborn Ixxiv MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. synonymous with " thief," and the position was one of honor, not to bo sought or used for dishonest puri ses. 1 have examined much official correspondence (nr. file in the War Department) between General Clark and General Henry Dearborn, then Secretary of War. The officia' signature of the former is usually "Wm. Clark, I. A. L." — sometimes written in full, as " Indian Agent for Louisiana." Most of these letters bear dates of the first year of his agency, and their contents show that Agent Clark had his hands full at this time. I revert to some of his Indian affairs beyond. General Clark was reappointed Brigadier General of the Militia of Louisiana, Feb. 27th, 1811, by President James Madison, William Eu'^'is being Secretary of War. Meanwhile he married Miss Julia Huicock, Jan. 5th, 1808, at Fincastle, Va. In that year also, the Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons of Pennsylvania, having chartered St. Louis Lodge No. iii, William Clark was entered, passed, and raised therein, as witness his diploma of Sept. 1 8th, 1809, signed by Frederick Bates. On the i6th of Novem- bcr, 1 8 10, he was appointed Inspector General of the Militia of Missouri, by Governor Benjamin Howard. It will be convenient to continue with the list of official honors and dignities of which General Clark was the recipient. Governor Lewis had met his untimely fate in 1809. Governor Benjamin Howard, his successor, in 1810 (April 17th) was himself succeeded" by General Clark, July 1st, 1813, as Governor of Missouri Territory, by virtue of the foUo'^ing appointment (copied from a copy of the original): James Madison, President of the United States of America To all who shall see these presents, Greeting Know Ye, that reposing special Trust and Confidence in tie Integrity, Patri- otism and Ability of William Clark, of St. Louis — I do appoint him Governor in and near the Missouri Territory, and do authorize and empower him to •After a short interval, during which Frederick Bates acted as Governor. Governor Clark reached St. Lo\iis the last of June or first of July, 1813. The Missouri Gazette of July ^d, 1813, has an item noticing his arrival "on Thursday last." During the first session of the General Assembly, wliich convened at St. Louis on Monday, July 5th, 1813, both houses united in an address to the new Governor, whose reply, owing to his absence on public business, was not received till July 2' th. MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. Ixxv execute and fulfil the duties of that nffi to Hold the said office with dl the n^^ '^^ '" "-"^ ' ""'^ '^ ''^^^ »"'« -ne of n-ght appertaining un^H h '"?/ tl"" ^'" ""' ""'^'"'"'""^ '° '»'« the United State. a„-l nolnZ unl „ ■ " ""' '""''" "^ "^« ««"«'« of the time being shoul. be p eX'soln " ?"""' "' ''*' ^"''' ' States for In Testimony ^TZ^ h" "f ! ""' ''^'""""'^ "^'^ Co.nn,is...« ^Jndependence of the United btates the Thtny te.th "" If '"'L'' ^^ ''^^ '"'■esident : James Madison. James Monroe Sec. of State. f ^uch, by James Monroe, Presidem oM,"' f,"' '?'^ ' '""^ John Quincy / -^^ hein . J"'^"' "' ,"'= """cd States, >820. The L.er year d« ''^^ °' ^'""=' ■'='"• ^4th, 'ions; roron the C e e;;^™'o7t '"^ ^'""""/'o™' '""- of Missouri he was dekZjT a, S"™™""- 'o' the State thcless, he was soon ;te, in'oth ™'" ^'''''"- N"'- tions. In May ,822 I '", ' .""P"'""' °«"^" Po-'i- Superintendent':;, indi'an A^t" • ,'' oT". ^''°''"'' "™ commissioned by the sam. ,. q October, ,824, he was 'Durtng h.s «rly incumbency of thi, cnic, r Kennerly, who was married ,L ' h u ' <^"^""°f CI.-,rk's chief clerk w.. r 1 ne long famous po.st of Teffp«,^., r» 1 '5=«. In July of that year Co, t" cT .' "" "''^''"^'"'^ =>"'' "'-""ed about Chris, abandoned the old post of iellefnnf ^tf'"^ "'"' •"> ''^'.alion nf ,hc \Tv \, T "' H.nry Leavenworth, with the 3d U. S. InTan " !h "'""'' ''" ""^^ ""« i"-'^ bv Col •b^.hcn Governor of Mi„ouri Thr^wL 17 .T'' "^' "'''^ Camp Miller af^^^^^ -p.ct.onofwin.er.,uar.ers...eo.ce:s^;::v:''a\:r.h1£^^^^^ cmzens of St. Louis on January 8th, 1- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A^ 1/ A^v.. 1.0 I.I 1.25 Site ■— 12.0 11= \A III 1.6 6" (5>^ ^. y] ^a ^ /.^ i^^^^,^ >*>' V^ oS 7. C/;^l PhotDgrapMc Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STHEF.T VJEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 .^' = '"-de- fame arc c'once™ d 'l:. But " T"""^' """"' '"^ of some datum-points of Clark's ' T '" P°^^"''°" entirely unknown or Lccuratdv r'" ?''■' "" ""•" propriately placed on ecorf' !^ ^"7"' "■"== ""^y b'^ ap- standing that they shall be take ' "°"'' '''"' ""^ ""<'"- as a finished work I winVrtf "' '"^*'™'= ""'j"' ^''^ "°' the man of busTness neit ""■"""* '°'"' """' '""^hing the Indians thoughTof thisT T" """''-'-"^ of whaf particulars perZut to anv T". '-""'''' "'"' "'"""^ which im.ortaliedtwL names' "^ °' ""^ "P'*"-^'-" a .-e^ite^rhTdrLr X^^^^^^^ -"> fr:irt:i;rdt?ht^rc«----" of land in St. Louis Co Z f^^' ''4°° ^''Pents bounded on the north bv a trarf K.i ^^- "^ ^^*- Louis, Lewis. On Tan 7th rSrr VT ^"'°"^'"& ^o Meriwether for $1500, the north h/f l^^No' °' ^'^"'^^ '^^^-■^' MainSt.et,St. Louis, runn^^tr^------^^ Ixxviii MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. French house built of posts by Rene Kiersereau, and the three small stone stores of Alexis Marie. He lived here for a time, and had his Indian office in one of these stores, where is now the corner of Main and Pine streets. On Oct. 7th, 1814, he purchased from Jno. G. Comegys, for $1,000, 47 feet front on Main street, back east to the river, in block 'o, between Pine and Olive streets. Here he built, in 18 16, on the south, 21 feet front, a two-story brick house, when only about half a dozen structures of that material existed in St. Louis. The lower story was used as a store ; the upper was first occupied by the Missouri Masonic Lodge No. 12 for a couple of years ; from 1823 to 1827 it was occupied by Mr. Frederick L. Billon, the noted annalist of St. Louis (b. Apr. 23d, 1 801, and still living, 1893). The north 26 feet front was sold to James Kennedy, for $3,500, July 19th, 1821. On Dec. 13th, 181 5, Mr. Clark bought from Antoine Flandrin, for $1,300, the N.E. quarter of block 39, on the S.W. corner of Main and Almond streets, with the house built of posts by N. Beaugenou in 1765. The first marriage ever recorded in St. Louis, that of B.'s daughter, in April, 1766, took place in this house. Mr. Clark occupied it for two or three years, and after him Captain M. Wherry for several more. On April 2d, 1816, Mr. Clark purchased of Col. A. Chouteau, for $4,500, the north half of block 12, on the S.E. corner of Main and Vine streets, with the old stone house built by Louis Chancellicrin 1767. This structure was removed ; in 1818-19 Mr. Clark erected here his large brick mansion, and after- ward his brick row south of it for his Indian council-house and museum of Indian curiosities. But after these and other dealings in real estate, Mr. Clark died in the house which had been the year before bought from George Atchi- son by Meriwether Lewis Clark. Almost throughout the History of the Expedition we read of fur-bearing animals, and of the fur-trade. It does not surprise us to learn that Captain Clark became pecuniarily in- terested in this then remunerative and flourishing industry, in which many thousands of men were engaged and a vast MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. Ixxix of record at the date Marh^r.." 'T '" '''^ ''"^*'°" '^ for the purposes of aVr.H ' ' '^°9, when were associated, -in WilLs'orPierre C^^^^^^^^^^^^ °1 '^^ ^'--^'' Benja! Manuel Lisa pf I t ' '' ^^"^"''^^^o^teau, Jr nis Fitzhugh, of Fentuckv Th 7' .^^^'^'^n^^ and Den- 1st, I8I2, pints the folL. ' ^°"''''"" ^"^^"^ ^^ ^^b. Fur Company cap^^^^^^^^ advertisement: "Missouri vestre Labbad e Wm Clark h' ^° ''^"^ ^' ^''°°°- Syl- pany, hold s.^;^t'^:;i^t^:"'^^ Subscriptions desired fof the r'emaininVs^S 1^ '' "" ''^"^• We have every reason to behe /e that a f.'.?^ r accrued from most if not aH nAv m ' '^^'^ °^ P''^^* ventures. The same cannot bs^doTther 'r'"^^^ enterprise with which his name IT "'^^ ^'^^'^"y associated." The inside mT J '"''' °'' "*^^'- ^'" be inside history of Lewis and Clark's "A certain connection which may becalled lit • spondmg member of the U S N;,v Jt ! "'^ " "Presented in his election o. » - hand to help Mr. Jefferson secure specimens of ^""- I" P'-'^ontology, he lent I descr.bedbyCuvier. Thus in Jeff, plpe": st , ^'v T"' '^"^ '*'>''='' — -med a^d Mr. Jefterson to him. dated Washington. De;lh;; ?' ■^°'- ^°- 3*°' '^ » I«t«er from hemammoth, which Mr. Jefferson w\hed tlproc.^ .:'' 'T'\ '° "■» -"-""n "f bones o" 'M., Doc. No. 80,. another letter from the same t r '" "" '"^'ituteof France : item nof !f ,^' " P""''"8 f^""-> Clark to savL , J '"" Mr. Jefferson apologizes for no further cla.ms on yourself & Govr. LewU bursuch?'"'"''^ ' " ''''"= '^-''^ ''". »' right' your convenience or as they may make i your n er -, ■• " t'"''" '°'"""'"'>' '"'^" -"-^ from Lafayette .0 General Clark, dated Paris Feb "^^ ""' '''° '""'-'> ^ere a letter one clause of which I will cite : " The erisle/b 'f ' " "^^ "' *hich is before me and been the more admired on this sideThe A ntic aHt w " .:';'' """""''^ '° ""<1 «° -^ has d«ad, that has ever made its appearance in Fu„o. i ''"^ '''"'■""'' "' 'b« ^ind. livi;^ „' was then very gentle. But it was thought Sser „ o :?'"=""'='' '° """<« a Pe. of him. ."f he XS^is:a^--r£H^=F^ 5^::r;'^=r;:^-;r^-:iE^ ' "'"' P^ducng a partly double blossom. 'i'l ■ I , I Ixxx MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. immortal book is a yawning chasm between cash and glory. Lewis was dead ; Clark pushed the work to publication. His total receipts from this business were no dollars ane no cents ; but the assignees of his insolvent publishers, who had failed while the book was in press, generously gave him the copper-plates, as likewise permission to try it again, if he liked to be literary. These old coppers are serviceable at present writing as paper-weights on my dejk ; but Captain Clark never ventured to avail himself of the copyright thus made over to him. General and Governor Clark was known far and wide to the Indians as the " Red-head." It is significant of his repute among them that St. Louis was for them simply the Red-head's town— as we should say, " Clarksville." The pith of this whole matter is in the words of a Sac chief who had been called in council by Major Benjamin O'Fallon at St. Louis, April 3d, 1 821, on the subject of certain hostilities which were to be suppressed : " American chief ! We have opened our ears to your words and those of the Red-head. Brother! We receive you as the son of the Red-head ; inas- much as we love him, we will love you and do not wish to offend you." General Clark possessed in an eminent degree those personal qualities which commanded the respect of Indians as well as of all other persons whose privilege it was to know him ; they recognized in him a great chief, whether friend or foe. They saw he preferred to be the former;'* md they found this to be to their own advantage. They com- pared his fair and honorable dealings with the lying and cheat- ing which to them were no novel elements in the character of C. eUgans is more commonly seen in conservatories ; it is fully 2 feet high, with lance-ovate or oblong leaves on long branches and entire lilac-purple petals, broader than long. Clartia is one of a group of genera including (Etwthera, the evening primroses proper, and belongs to that order which contains the familiar fuchsias. '" A letter of General Clark to Mr. Jefferson, dated St. T.ouis, Dec. 15th, 1825, now filed in Jeff. Papers C, ad ser., Vol. 21, gives a sign of the amity that inspired his policy with the Indians : "In my present situation of Superintendent of Indian affairs, it would afford me pleasure to be enabled to meliorate the condition of those unfortunate people placed under my charge, know- ing as I do their retchedness, and their rapid dec!ine.-It is to be lamented that the deplcrable Itituation of the Indians do not receive more of the humain feelings of the nation." WW! MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. ,^^. unbounded confidence ranirr' ' "" ""^y -P°-d officer of .he govern"en. eve ™ de^r^ ' ''T^'"^ "° more widely and deeolv m7 i Personal influence be a sort of lawf„l /. ' ^" ^"P"inlendency grew to of an coneer : :'„r:[roT;"""^', " "" ""^ '"'""'^ tice; his word Came I'l^ ?""';'''= °' '=''="-''^"''=dJus- thc Pacific. ThoirdV: '„",::; lt "h '';^^'^^""" '^ acquaintance when he f„ i j """''' •"'« Personal years there col^ha^ ' ^ t^Th"! dd" ^ '"' '" '^'^^ signature as •■ medicine " nf ,^ ''"' ""' "g^'d his We sometimes hiar of '"°'" '""'"'^ ^°"- great insight int^ wh t is''c:n:r "Th"" tZ "'''""' "'"' Sranting that Indians have aM h h r "" *"»"er." and that some of t et L' Itutarf 1"^" ^"^'■'■=^' picturesque race of men :,a ^''"'T ° ""^ '•emarkably as mueh'human nature ta an T."°' °"°" '■'^' '""= '^ "°^ No professional secret ivt, t"^" '' '" ^"^ ""'='• P"^""' Indian ,s if he were a human h" "'"' "'"' '° '«^' ^" return the compliment Gen" r'.l'o V° '""""«^ ''™ '» the Indians only what he gave ^ . f th?""' '^'^'^ '^^ a,r dealing was establishfdrfor the ^Hh """""'^ '" his superiority in mental »„.) " /T. '^^f- 'ney recognized and feared hipoTJ H^d.T "'t' "^°""" ' "^^y '=" cere friend and well wisher ^71''"" "' '"='"■' 'heir sin- eliminated from Zean^'7^^'^'^'' """^' ^''^"'ent been them with the idea that ",~h °"'^ """"^^ '"">=""h Indians-he never could h! ""■ '° '"'' "'^" '° "ght which enabled him to eter. "T""^ "'^' ascendency long administra. n of In ;' rS^'K^""'^"'- °"""g hi^ his return from the Exnerti J hegmning soon after h'e, he was instrum:„S'^;'"ri::lbo"u?" °"'^ "'"■ "'^ treaties, not only between his 1°, ^ ""^"^ important h"t also between difftren IbloTrh' T" '"^ '"^'''"^' master of a situation whose Doss^hlv I '""• "= ^s evil, ,vere enormous- 7n hTs T ^ "' '"'"' '<"• g^^ and °"s, m his hands, possible evil turned t. Ixxxii MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. certain good. This man was a large factor in the civiliza- tion of tnat great West which Lewis and Clark discovered. It may be said of him with special pertinence, stat magni nominis umbra— ior the explorer stands in the shadow of his own great name as such, obscuring that of the soldier, statesman, diplomat, and patriot. The world is slow to concede the greatness of any man in more than one thing. We will now turn to the light another facet in the complex of this many-sided man, namely, his instrumentality in the publication of that History of the Expedition which was rewritten for the press by Nicholas Biddle from the manu- script journals and field notebooks of Lewis and Clark. Captain Lewis is believed, no doubt rightly, to have been on his way East to attend to this matter when he met his fate; whereupon, that duty devolved upon his comrade, and was almost immediately assumed by him. My informa- tion upon this score is not less accurate than extensive, and will be found almost entirely novel, as it is derived mainly from the never published Clark-Biddle correspondence, now in my hands. These letters speak autobiographically for themselves, and I will therefore select a few for presentation. The one of earliest date is as follows : Near Fincastle Virga. 20th. Feby 1810 Dear Sir I expected to have had the pleasure of hereing from you previous to my setting out from Philadelphia but as I did not receve a note from you at that time cal- culated on receeving a letter from you at this place on the Subject of writing my Western Tour &c. as I have been disappointed in hereing from you on this Sub- ject feel my self much at a loss to adress you— I shall not employ the gentleman in Richmond to write the Book whom I mentioned haveing in view, from his offer made previous to my seeing you. I have calculated on your writing for me, and if you will undertake this work ; cant you come to this place, where I have my books and memoiandoms and stay with me a week or two ; read over & make yourself thereby acquainted with everything which may not be explained in the Journals ? if you will come it may enable me to give you a more full view of those parts which may not be thereby explained and inable you to proceed without dericuilty. Such parts as may not be full, I can explain, and add such additional matter as I mav recollect — MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. Ixxxiii «o you if you wUl et ; ^" ^^ 'l^"^'''. ""'-' ""^ -" "^Hver the Book Conrad of Philadelphia foM """■""' ^'^^ ^ '"'="''""«''l '° Mr John short ti.e. I at p e nt :■:;' c'oT U ^""7" '"^ '^ ''"^^"^'^ ^^^ ^P^^ ^ retired and P'esently LuaTedT ac^J .AroH^V^''" ^^''^ ^''^ ''^ °" ^ you Come on to this place I luUii ".'"": ''^ ""= T""'" "f Fincastle-should <^ Staunton in the ^l whih pales hTs' ""' '^ "^«"^^°^" ^'-''«'- pi--„„ , •* "luta passes this place once a week Highr Cay:,:™' -''"' ■" •"" '«- y-^ ■"-"- -a .ccp, „, Your Obe Servt Mr. Nicholis Biddle Wm Clark Phila. This letter sit^.'5;;;^o,;::rr;r±''.r^- --> -p- [cents], and indorsed Clarke 20 Feby. 18 10", Fincastle Fab'y 25th 20 by Mr. Biddle, "From Gen' W. Sir, Philada. March 3. 18 10 r^'y:^:^:^Z^-:^:fjZ^- - -H re^y .hlch reached that it will be out of my power tlunr^.u' "°'' ^'^ h^ve apprized you offer, and the only objectTrhe pi"" tt to '''' '"" '^' '""^ politeness' to to decline complying iith yo^r wS Mvo""" "^ "«^^' ^' ''-"^ obliged to Phila. and I have neither heahh nor I. ' occupations necessarily confine me of your enterprize and ingenu ty-Y c Xtte ^"'"h '"' ^''''' '"^ '"^ ^'"'^^ a more fortunate selection, but if I can L "f . ^ ''"^'^''^ ^'"'°"""«'<'"g proposed publication it sh 11 b, ve^. 2' r.1,'1?:;"'^'^"^'' ^° ^^ ^ere in the proposed publication it sh^llbeve;^:^:;;^^ Being with high respect Yr obt s Genl Wm Clark. FinCastIc Virginia N. Biddle ,rris:s.sr:s.s---'' Sir, Philadelphia Saturday March 17, 1810. Ixxxiv MEMCIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. i If :l! your satisfaction. Having since then seen Mr. Conrad, & Dr Barton, what I learnt from them, joined with a prospect of better health & more time than I had originally expected induced me to consent provided you had not in the mean time, as I thought probable, made a better choice. Mr Crnrad mentioned to me to day that your last letter of the qth inst. represents you as under no engage- ments of that sort. I will therefore very readily agree to do all that is in my power for the advancement of the work ; and I think I can promise with some confidence that it shall be ready as soon is the publisher [Mr. John Conrad] is prepared to print it. Having made up my mind today, I am desirous that no delay should occur on my part. As therefore you express a wish that I should see you, I am arranging my business so as to leave this on Wednesday next, & take the route by Hagerstown Winchester &c. In this way I hope to make you a short visit very soon after the receipt of my letter. In the mean time I remain with high respect Yrs ^c N. Biddle Genl Wm Clark. Fincastle Virginia But before General Clark received the above he wrote . Fin Castle Vga March 25'h. 1810 Dear Sir I was extreamly sorry to find by your letter of the 3rd. inst. that your health was bad, and that you' Occupation would confine you to Philadelphia, and would not afford your leasure to Comply with my wishes of writing my Journals &c. The proffered assistance in the later part of your letter, creates much solicitude and my most sincere acknowledgements for the friendly sentiments it contains. I am much gratified by Mr Mr Conrads letter of the I3«h. inst : to learn, the state of your health ; and that you are willing to undertake the writing of my Journal, and to have it ready for publication in 12 months &c. Mf Conrad also informs me that you will comply with my request to see me at this place before I set out to the westward. The roads are now fine and I hope your health may have permitted you to have set out before this time. I must request you to Come on, as soon as possible, as my business call me to Loui- siana ; and nothing detains me, but the business I wish with you With the highest respect & esteem I am yr ob Sert. Mr. N. Biddle Wm Clark Mr. Biddle, having made his visit, returned home, and began to write the book. Mr. George Shannon, who was one of the members of the Expedition, next appears on the scene : MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. Ixjpcv Dear Sir Louisville, May 32nd. 1810 This will be handed to you bv Mr r.r., en. I spoke to you about, who was with me o-^.h M w ^'"'"°" "^^ ^^^^^ """> to go to Philadelphia and «i v" I L inLl''' "^ ^. "P'=^"'°" = ''«' has agreed in his power. This young .'entrmanio ''"' '° ''"'' '^"^"^ ^^ -^V be he is highly spoken o'f by ' ifhi aZa-ntanT " f '"'"^ ""' """'^«"'-' ''-«. he has been studeously employed in pers e o Un "edf '"" °' '°"'"« '"'^ ''«' acquire a profession by which he can mnl u ^''''"'^^"°" '° enable him to -he Wishes to study L, I'^lZ^tll Wer l;'^"". ''''-'^''^ '^-^ May r request of you to give him snrh V. Country. ble & convenient to ^ou toTnab " 1^0 tZ ^h' "'fr *" """' '^ ^^^^ •"Ml 10 prosue those studies whJI« ;., nu-i M.. N. Diddle '"''' ""' •"■«""' '^^P"' ^ ^-ndshlp "'^ '" '"""• Wm Clark m!'^- ";i:'zt,:e:.^r I'z "r-i^-" '^- --had, the Pacific and back. VVe h!ve ? ''?""' ™ ™"'= '» following extract of an cl^in.;:;: fi^r "^ ""^^"^ '" My Dear Sir, Thiladelphia July 7. 1810 diately forwarded to Mr. Hassler. and Dr Bartorr • * . " ,^ ""^^ ^*' ™'"^- consulting with Mr Conrad he ag eed whh' meTn on"" ."^^ '" ^^P"^" ^n ter tohave a large connected map of thT^hoTe rou e Tth" H- ' "" '""^'^ ^^'- to form an atlas of detached parts The mil r u *'*^^'""* •=°""^'7 than latitude as you think your InSian informatron wm "!L "" ""'"^ ^^^'^^^ «' o the Columbian Missouri we have Zr " " ^^e portages charts which -ay be put into the work oTposte t'th^e " ^^^^ '"^""""g descnpfonof them [which was done]. The Lv ofh ^'^'^ "'"^ *^°"'^'" « would be well to have on a larger sea e than • ^ •""'' ^''"'^'^ ^ 'hink it ;s the passage across the rH m nta s-thT -''"Tk " ''^ ^'"«'^' ^^P between the head of Jefferson's river nonhwa7d to h"' '^"'"''^ '^°'"P"-'' the Kooskooskee and extending eastward orefn:,';^'^'"' ^°" ^^"^^ square ,s so important a part of your route it 1 u t ^"'°""J ^s that In al, other respects your'present map. on a scale 1 ' ,'""" ^^"^ ^■^'"-''y- or increased as to degrees of latitude [ .7 takt. „^" '^"' '^"' ''''"'"'^'''^d and south of the route] as you may ju Ige'best w!l b ' °' '""'' '°""'^ "°^'h -p as published was on a scale mVch feductl' ^^Z':^^^' f«"* ^^^ Ixxxvi MEMOIR OF WII-MAM CLARK. 1! On my arrival I found that pro])()sal» were circulating here for a second edition of (Jass's journal [of which three riiiladelphia editions litJ appear — 1810, 181 1, 1813J, which I thought it best to stop l>y announcing immediately our work & therefore published tiie I'rospectuii. I see also by the English journals that •uinu iimii ill Kiiglutul has printed a sort of account of the Expedition, compiled from Gass chiefly, and from the documents which you and Captain Lewis sent to Congress." Tlie work seems to have met with a favorable reception in England, which is a good sign for our own. , . Today I have sent you and ten men up into a bottom to look for wood to make canoes after the unhappy failure of your iron boat ; so that you see how far I am [on July 7th, 1805 — above Great Falls of the Missouri : see p. 407]. . . I find that (Jass's journal in the original manuscript is also deposited in our library [of the Philosophical Society], and at my service. Ord way's, which is much better than Cass's, is really very useful : and as these two as well asyour's and Captain Lewis's and my own notes are all to be examined, in order to leave nothing omitted, the labor is by no means light. . , Shannon has not yet arrived. , . I must noiV begin my catechism of inquiries with which you remember I impor- tuned you not a little when I had the pleasure of seeing you \c/. p. 31J. . . In the mean time I remain with my best respects to M" Clarke, & my very warmest wishes for your fine little son [Meriwether Lewis Clark]. Your's very sincerely Gen William Clarke Nicholas Biddle S' Louis Upper Louisiana The next letter in point of date is a long one from Mr. F. R. Hassler, who was getting up the map, dated Schenec- tady, Aug. 1 2th, 1 8 10, full of astronomical calculations for longitude, etc. It is addressed to Mr. Biddle. The next on my file is from General Clark : St. Louis Deer. 20th. 18 10 Dear Sir I herewith Inclose to you a map which I have drawn for my Hook, it is much more correct than any which has been before published, it is made on the same scale of the one you have, containing more Country, I wish you to anex as much of it to the book as you think best, you will observe that I have not inclosed it in lines, — The Ohio is not correct, mearly shows the rivers as they mouth — 1 am sorry that I could not get the calculations from Mr. Hosier [Ilas- >' Mr. Biddle me.ins that miserable spurious "Lewis and Clark" published in London in iSoq — the main body of it stolen from Jonathan Carver and fathered on Lewis. See my account of the Apocrypha in the llibliographicat Introduction. The prospectus above men- tioned must he extant, ,is it was published ; but it has become so rare that I have never seen it. I should be much obliged to anyone who would favor me with a copy; or inform me where one could be procured. MEMOIR OF .-.LUAMCLAKK. I,,^,,,- Mr. Diddle Wm Clark The above-mentioned map is d.„..,..,, ^„at n e draughtsman's (Mr. Samuel Lew O copy graved and published with .k. ,..„_, '' ''"P^^ th engrave oubtless that one of which Lewi published with the work. was finally ^"^'^ »>«• St Louis Januy 24th.. iSii I hope you have received my several Utt, papers relative to such information as T coul7 " n'' T''; ""' '""'^^^ "'''" «on.e rouKh notes which I made at the Mandan->^ "' ' '""'' ^"" haps yo. may collect from this some thin! h T ' ^'" °^ ""y '°"^- Per- copy of these notes were sent o mT leZ . '°" "'" ""' '° ''""" -^ as I have sent several others pape^thro 2° S T !'"' ^^'"'""-^-I send this .0 here from you on the subject oJn y book ' °' '^"- ' ^'^°"''' ^'^ ''•'PX Accept the assurance of my highest'respett& esteem Your Friend Mr. Nicholis Diddle Wm Clark. Philadelphia include .he foHowing^antu' t™ „V hrt'fh"",' '""^' pleted It— for this letter nlc^ "^ ^'"^^ com- accidents .hat ^J.IUuXTi^Z.V'' '""' """'" °' ^"j[^\ ^hilajuly^. ,8,2 the p^^rs Z!7c::::r^7lZ^r:'7 '°" "- ''^^'^- ^- °^---S by expectation that it will find yourp.tttth """"^ °' ^""^ ^ ^"'^ ''^'^ '" -^rdltplt^r^oTa:::,;- «'^ - ^-^^ -^I wrote to you put U to the press whenever Mr. Conrad eho, J"''^*-"' '' "" ^'^ --'^ '" constantly endeavouring to commenc the oull ^ "" '''' ""^ ^ "^^ '-- Hi Ixxxviii MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. interfered very much with all m/ other occupations, besides that the work would lose some of its interest by so much delay. Last winter I was prevented from going to the legislature chiefly by a desire to stay & superintend the printing yet notwithstanding all my exertions the publication lic^ been prevented from time to time till at last Mr Conrad's difficulties have obliged him to surrender everything to his creditors; & give up business. This misfortune is very much to be regretted on his account, & I am sorry that we did not know sooner that he would not be able to publish. But since things have taken this turn, it is perhaps better that the printing was not begun than that we should be entangled with his assignees, since now we can place it in other handj. I have already spoken to Mr Bradford, one of the best booksellers here, & if we come to an arrangement he can soon print the work. I am in hopes that he will take it on the same terms as Mr. Conrad did, but [T. O.] but Mr Conrad has been so embarrassed & occupied that they have not yet been able to understand each other. In a few days however I expect that some agreement can be made & then we can proceed vigorously & soon get the volumes out. . . I am truly yrs N. B. So this publisher failed and assi ;ned just as the book was ready to go to press — and as we s.iall see another publisher failed just Lefore it came out. But those were wur times, and nothing was secure. General Clark replied promptly: Washington City Aug'. 6th. 1813 Dear Sir On my arrival at this place I reeved your letter of the 4'h of July, in which you inform me the falue [failure] of Mr. Conrad, and the State of our work. Mr. Conrad has disapointed us both I find ; he has disapointed mt in a way I had not the smallest suspicion of. I think we might have expected from him some intimition of his situation which would [have] prevented a de'ay of the work — I hope you have suckceeded in engageing Mr. Bradford to print the work an' in makeing such other arrangements as you may have thought best — I expec' to go on to Philadelphia in a week or ten days, where I hope to have the pleasure to meet you ; as I shall take Indian Chiefs with me, it will not be in my powtr to stay in your City as long as I could wish. I must therefore intrude on your goodness and assistance Mrs. Ckrk and my two sons came on with me as far as Hagers Town from thence they proceded to Col. Hancocks to remain unti'J our deficueltes are adjusted to the N W Accept of my wormest Solicitations Yours Truly Wm Clark Nicholas: Riddle Esq Phila, ^^% ^f-^^-*' ^■/\ MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. I^^^;^ kee. Here is LnTnf ! ^ '^°^^^ ^^ '^^ Kooskoos- , was greater in steering boats than books : Dear Sir Philadelphia September 5th 1812. t-e of my remaining in the placT ^J^/h has T "'^^ '"^ ''' ""''' '""'"^ ''^ busmess here was to see you, and make some ^ ''^'' ""^ ""^^ ^"'I'vdl. location of the work (Lew-'s and Qals Z T'^^"""'^ "^P^^''"^ the pub- Publick duties. I am compelled to rtrn torn ^ ^' ^T ''^ ^'^"^''°" ° '-X of my wishes-I have expected you fo 1^^^" "fu""' '"''''^^ '""^ °^i-t' than the Contract made with the man to C ^u ^"^ "^'^^ ^^'^>'^^ °"« J°"ger autherised-I am a publick offirand rrmo'"''^",'""'^^^ ^o ,ins,n^^ (Indians) wI,o are placed under my Char' ' ''"'' ' P'^'"' °^ P^^P^^ Cant . persuade vou to become /nferes/',J in T ■ . you W.1! Concent, and under that hope tak^ h yu'" '"^ ^^"'^^ ^°'-'''' ^ ^^^P^ of every profit arising from it. if .olZl tend L ' T' °' °'"'"^ ^°" '^« -^'^^ >t .s possible and necessary, prented nuh wl c ' ^^' " Completed as far as have and may be necessa^ &c H you If ^"^ ""'"''"« the advances which hope you will) please to write to me at P .^''1'° '?'' Proposition (which I ments which I can excutee there • and ll ? °'' L°"'^^'»«. '"^lose agree- &c. as are in the hands of Mr c;nrad Z T ''"'' '''''''' '"^ '^''^ ^P^^-^ens Should you not incline to bee:: 1^ el'd'ift"^" ^" ^'^''^ ^^^^• write to me at Pittsburgh, and give me vor, ' ''^^' ^^ ^° B°°d as to I have not seen Mr PradfoH ., 7 • P^"""" °" this subject, ested and Could make a mu h 't rt"^'' ""'T'' ^'''^ "°"'^ ^-°-e inter- noctr. Bartain [BartonJ sa ' he can , ?,:" ""?•"" ^'^" ' '^«"'^- you become interested you vi i^Co r ^'^ '" " '"^ ^"^"^^ '""«• ^^ould Doctr. should not please you ""P^^^ ^"""^ ^'^er persons if the estXVtVr Eslr ^^ ^°°" '' '''-'''' -^ --P^ ^He assurence of my high- Mr. Nichs. BiddJe Yr most Ob He Sert Wm Clark It began to look very much as if n^ ui- , found wilhng to undert-.L-rr • . P"bhsher could be Dear Sir ^ ^ ""'^''^''^'^" ^ewis and Clark. For example : ;o/S a^^s.^:u's;:;t^^ ■-'- -^ - ^f o.er ■dea or .he vah.e of the work and IbX r? ''"" '° '^^^^ ^" '"--«'^' -" ont,thatitw,nddi„myopintb?use /t^mr '^°'" "^^ P"^''-'- the smallest probability of their acceding t a f.l 'T ''" ''"' '''"' '^ ^^ 'ng to a fair and reasonable one.— Mr. 1 * xc MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. Dobson also appears to have little inclination to embark in the work and declines making proposals for it — I can now, I believe, do nothing more in the business for you or Genl Clarke, unless you will permit me to substitute advice for services. If I may do this, I will say very decidedly, agree to Mr. Bradfords offer. It i:i I am confident the best bargain you can make for Genl Clarke. — The copyright I presume will be in him (Genl C.) & I suppose he will derive the entire benefit of the sale of the M. S. in England — Yours sincerely John Conrad [To N. B.] Philada Nov 12. 1812. Phila Feby 23. 181 3 Dear Sir . . . The times have thrown some obstacles in the way of our work which have prevented its making as much progress as I could have wished. Soon after you left us I consulted Mr. Bradford, but finding his terms not such as I thought advantageous I made proposals to all the booksellers in town. The stagnation in that branch of business however was so great that no one was willing to embark in it, and after a great deal of fruitless negociation I was obliged to return and on the advice of M"". Conrad accept M'. Bradford's proposals. This I was desirous of deferring in hopes of obtaining better terms, but none could be had owing to the nature of the times. I now wait only for the engravers who will soon I hope finish their work and then we can strike off the printing im- immediately & in a little time the work will be published. The agreement with Mr. Bradford you will see when you arrive, but as I am not sure whether you are not already on this side of Washington I will add no more than that I am Very sincerely Genl William Clarke Yrs Washington N. B The spectacle of a Biddle begging all Philadelphia to pub- lish Lewis and Clark! Mr. Conrad's advice proved sound. Mr. Biddle was forced to Mr. Bradford's terms. These were doubtless as liberal as the latter could afford to make them — for the sequel showed that Bradford and Inskeep would fail even before they could publish the book. The next document I possess is a power of attorney — ominous of much litigation to come: I William Clar' of the Missouri territory do hereby constitute Nicholas Biddle of Philada my lawful Attorney in all things relative to my transactions with Bradford & Inskeep or any other persons concerned in the publication of Lewis & Clark's '^avels, and do hereby empower him for me to demand, recover & receive all \y claims and rights thereto or to the profits thereof — make such arrangeme.-is and commence such legal processes, consent to such compromises as he may judge proper & generally to do every thing relative to the said MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. xci his substitutes may lawfully do in T ? ^ '""^^'"^ ^^'^^'«^^^ ''^ ««■ my hand and seal herelo thfst,th t^'fT'X " "''""^ "'^^'•^^^ ^ '^-^ -^ reio tnib 29th day of March J813 at Philadelphia Wm Clark -{ Seal. }- Witness at signing Benjn O'Fallon one vear 1^'"°'"^°'"""' ^"^ P'-sswork occupied about .•roCandtade-ra:^^,:::;:!:. '1 r''-- ^^--^ discounts^ the Lde oft "'' *'^-°° '"" ^"' "'"• ^^"°"» Hftc ?8t ,^ o • ? ' !i»M98- 1 3— altogether a debit of *5.3oi-37, against a credit of ^c ce .- . j • ' to $,54..o. Whereupon one Pat -AM '"^ ""' P""'^ scene for the first time tn?r '^^"' •^"™ ^PP^^s on the a claim for alleged se^itfo'f llSf ^' °' "-'"■y, with he had not tak!„ ouHn trade ^2^ '° "^^u '''""' ^^ more than wiped out th"e n^ll' r d7ofX" o ^T^" d.smal story is not quite told vet The 'di bi^:s:L:t':;'^raruy tr ^"" " 'rcrih:,' plates, probabi/Lrd:,-: ; t:::;:if4°'^- '^-'^'-^ pa.d; thercwerc3Sotherwisedefec.i"c:^r3'jd'',"7 """ were missing, " supoosed f o h. ^» . V- . ' ^6 copies cr's hands.'- Deduct n^^S. 1 "^tf '.'"^ from an ostensible edition 'of' .Zl't . "'"^" "'^^■"^' than 1,417 perfect copies 0?^^;'/?^^? "' "° "°^" January ,.,h, .853. The ori,i..«, „1 o ' " "' ",'' '" "' ""'^ ^'"'^ Nation of much reduced by ordinary wear and, ear. mmih ion .ir """''" ''"' ""^^ °f '-«• - copy has of late years settled somewher^ TboMt $""' Z '"''T'""' "■^' ""= '"'"^'^ "' '^ P^^-' tempers of buyers and sellers. What it wi Iri e o fX in"?"' '''"'"''"' '" ""^ ^">'«"- '•'" '° '" '894 remains to be seen. XCll MKMOIR OK WILLIAM CLARK. Thus, by dint of luck, pluck, and perseverance on the part of the surviving author and his steadfast editor, the History that was to make so much history appeared, in February, 1814. If we take the day on which was made the first sale credited in the above account, as that of actual publication, the exact date was Feb. 20th, 18 14. Mr, Biddle soon afterward announced the fact of publication to Gov- err.or Clark, as follows: ,, , „. Phila. March 23, 1814. My dear vSir, I have at last the pleasure of informing you that the travels are published, that they have sold very well I understand, and have been well thought of by the readers. Henceforth you may sleep upon your fame, which must last as long as books can enciure. Mr. liradford has I presume sent you a cojiy of the work. The gentleman who received and prepared it for the press, Mr. Allen, is a very cajvible person [!], and as I did not put the finishing hand to the volumes I did not think it right to take from him tlie credit of his own exertion and care by announcing pei-sonally the part which I had in the compilation. I am content that my trouble in the business should l)e recognized only by the ple.isure which attended it and also by the satisfaction of making your acquaint- ance, which I shall always vahie. I could have wished that your time had per- mitted you to revise the whole of the work, as no doubt some errors and inad- vertencies have from the nature of the volumes and the circumstances attending the publication crept into them. I hope however that you will not find them very numerous or important. . . Let me hear from you often. Neither you nor I are great letter writers but I will always be happy to learn that you are well and your affairs prosperous, with my comp'ts to Mrs. Clark I am very truly, ^ ,,, ^, , N. Biddle. Gen. \\ m. Clark, St Louis. Mr. Biddle doubtless had reasons satisfactory to himself for surrendering to another the credit justly his own, as well as for his rosy vision of Mr. Paul Allen's ability ; but both these are beyond my comprehension. General Clark's private opinion in this matter is equally occult. We do not hear from him on the subject of the History, in corre- spondence with Mr. Biddle, until Sept. i6th, 1814, when, in the course of a long letter from St. Louis, on military and domestic topics, he simply says: MEMOIR OF WILLIAM CLARK. xciii ng m settlement of an insolvent estate/ Mr. Bidd e had full power of attorney from General Clark, as we have seen till rSiS r V"^ '^'^ ^'■^&S^^ 'ts slow length alontr il; t?tr t^f - •^'"° ^ -'- w."?Lf 2^^^^^^^^ "iit-r to take the rcmainintr stnrlr of K^^i . .he ari'th:: . e of irrfn:.:tr '■'^^?''^" °" "■= ^^™^^ estate of Bradford andTn^r Tf,'°' """^ "gainst the St.Louis.wasGe^er fctrW T =•'"=■■ ™<^'-""'"e disaster, in realize that noH,™rcan t 1° J"" '° '""^'^ I'"" ^"o" '<> still anxious to LTow how hKr'"'''* '"'S'^h-'s '-r brings „p XTr a^e^tZcTs^ f ^"^'^ °"= Dear Sir St. Louis March 31st i8r6 u^aieUer^L^ir a;'::,^j;:2^^^ '^ ^^^-^ -- me for a power of Atty. to re eive of thl m k"' u '" "^' "°°'^^' ^"'' -'<-^' «f to <'' '" November, i8l7, Mr moreh !''"', ''«P°^'"--d with the same Society three 7,i P.h.:?.-^LTrrMi;eirr:Lt-- "The three AJS. Vols, deposited by Mr lefTorcon K eaves The Writings of Thomas Jef . ,0! t H A 7vT°""'' '° ^"='' '"''' °" "" fly- ton, I-aylor and Maury, include : Vol VI '' « ^Vashin^ton, 8vo. ed. .854, Washing- p^c.6th,,8,3,alludini.,otheL.andC MSsT T' "" '° ^'"' """"boUt, dated ...S an account, not quite correct, of the L d C MSS ^ ''°''''- ^"^^ ''""' ""' «'- 93. Letter toM. Duponceau, dated Monticello Nov ^'.h T"" '° *""• ''°'- ^"- P^' 9- Jeath. I obtained, through the kind agency oM^Po'' T' '"''"^•' " ^^'^ "^'^ [LewiV] books '.. I and C. MSS.J.of whifh I knew the^e T/fV "" ""■ ""''°"' "'-'= "^ ">ose 'cast .8], having myself read them. These wle!n h m .''" "' '*''^'= f"'"'= ^"^ « brown on the whereabouts of the L. and C MSS in th' "t M •" '"""^ '"^"'" ''s"' - he History and the final deposit of the MSS wi^h"the Ph .' v ''"""" ""= P"'''-=»ion of letter from Mr. Jefferson to General Clark noT rf ^'"'°^°P'"<^--'' Society, by the following the State Department. As it is sp ia lyt.ersti" in' '" "= '^""" "' '^'^"^ ^"'^ library of what peremptory requisition upon Mr B iddirr^ connection with General Clark's some- simile, I will give it entire : '''"'• ^'^°''» mentioned as being reproduced in f^C ^"■^ Sir Monticello, Sep. 8. 1816 li">etimIt;o!7;1';hoST:Larfha7som;S„"' '°r"" ''^^'"^ l^-" P-^hshed some ..o"s. the biographical chart, the In^a Z7:i^^irJr]l ""' "' ='"'°"''""^=" o^— he journa published. With a view to have"h e"Iv'en to . f^" "°' comprehended in "tention I go, a friend to apf.ly for them L mr fifdcl e I" "J" """^''"^ '° "^^ -'g'"-' be. referring him for authority to the instnic^iZ T- "'^°"' ^'""^' ' understood them to the journal. He said he could no del v Th ^V^ w '''" °' ^°"- ^^'-^ P-^-^ you. It is to sollicit this order that I now ro'.b^ yo i a^d it" , °''"' ^^'"'°"' ^ ^''" f™- W..r office or of myself, if ,he latter, I should diver the . "" f^'" '" '''°' «'"'" "' ""= taryat VVar, .ho would employ someone to ma^e he 7' I , ™"'"'' °''^'=^^-"-"^ "> 'beSecre- map, and to have it published thus corrected'a d I s ,0 Mtl" '" T"'' ""^ '""«""''« "' ">» * th; vocabularies ,0 the Philos. Society at Phihdelnh . '''; ""= P^P'" °^ "^'^'^^ history a.u I should deposit with them also for fe epi ' he T 7' '"^^ '''='" P^P^'^ -J''«=d' to be recurred to on all interesting c.ies.ions ar^Tn /T^"' '''"'''' '''"""•'''^ as original receivethemonlyin,rustforthekroCtoX"f.he > , '''"'''^''"' ^""'"''- ' »^"'"d them. I have received from Dr. Ear.o .•, exr ' 'o,^ f T^' """'^''^ ""'■• ""'-'= -'^"in« "••'"■'' ■"■ """-e. He I'rciclcnt of th... United SH, , T """ '"'■'' """ward county had married a Mi„ Ltr th. f - ^'^ ° J" ^"^'^ Pivsidint. The Gaw hmn ""'''-■ "'''"'cr of a Wtl. the Speers,a°dT.a,ri™'u',e7.V°":r'^'',.''^ ■"""•^«= must have got his nuillti! f '°?ay that •• httle Jimmy" was more th'^rifty iM:^^:^^:^" "'°"-' ^ -'^ '-"er ^'^^!^:^::::^t^::^f "=--• ^-'■■•"«-. Whisky Insurrection of ,T '?l'!\'""'P'< '<> »"Ppress the l« •■ was too much of f natS^V . ' b'ographer remarks that I'c loved good o d Jr ■ • ''■■"" "■' ^■'^'-■'•"■"'■•"t, and the VVhisky itys ,f LT ' '^ '™ ~™" '° '""« ^6^'"^' Gass seems to have l't„ck t ^''-'''''''''r' "'^'""'•" till May, ,750 Zr, unl „ ' "■'* '^ "'= "^"^t Part Adamsf; waS oli a ;,,:r,i:;o"':h''r^'''^'"^r <" "- eLr of a rupture with th'c' C^h ^'r' "'• °" " "'^ '""^P^^' plane, he enlisted in the Mh\ ''' '''"'" '"'^ J^''- amlcr Hamilton I e v,s ^T''-""''"' ™dcr Gen. Alex. Ferry in June 8oo T ''''"" ^'"''''''''^ '° "arper's from the icrvi^e afi; le 'ZT ITT' "■^^""8='' " cut out for the armv ' ,' ' , "' ' "' ^""^ evidently years under m1 or Cass U^^'Z fV'-'""''"^ '"' "- His lntel,ige„ceind?.:::;me;'c:u:L, ,:;•"■"' ^-"''^ '^^'-• non-commissioned officer and h„ Promotion as a responsible duties hrec^^^fn 7- '""■"""'' "'■"' '"""= His career was abo:; to beglr'""' '" ""'^""S """'crs. up'ti,: xin'^sLrrvri: -nr-";"^" ■^•^'''"■•" Bisse,, company, with a bat ery of 1,1 "';'■'"" *" "°^ "'''^'^"'^ ■■" '-- There .Hey^:^::,tr;n7,ra:t::!^:^;-: Ctl MEMOIR OF PATRICK GASS. t < a call was made ^y the government for volunteers to accom- pany the Expedition of Lewis and Clark. Captain Lewis himself came to Kaskaskia in search of suitable material for his corps ; and here was the meeting of two soldiers who were to tempt fate together — Meriwether Lewis, American patrician, in command, and Patrick Gass, Irish plebeian, in the ranks — each in his own sphere on the very edge of fame. To one of Gass' adventurous and hardy nature, this was a golden opportunity. Of course he instantly volunteered — to tread where white man had never set foot before seemed glory mountain-high. But he did not very easily secure his captain's permission to transfer. He was a good carpenter as well as a good soldier, and was wanted in the garrison. So Captain Bissell objected. Whereupon the resolute Pat- rick persisted, and having found out Captain Lewis' wheie- abouts hunted the latter up and put the case plump. The result was his enlistment under Captain Lewis, his own commanding officer's objections notwithstanding. Here I send Sergeant Gass to the Pacific ocean and br^ck to St. Louis; for I shall use his Journal all through the following pages to check and corroborate the narrative of his commanding officers. Shoulder-straps and chevrons understand each other well, and the latter may be heard to advantage with the former. The following extract ' of a cer- tificate delivered by Captain Lewis to Sergeant Gass, dated St. Louis, October loth, 1806, att(^sts the high character and good conduct of this non-commissioned officer during the Expedition : " As a tribute justly due to the merits of the said Patrick Gass, I with cheerfulness declare, that the ample support, which he gave me, under every difficulty ; the manly firmness, which he evinced on every necessary occasion ; and the forti- tude with which he bore the fatirucs and painful sufferings incident to that long voyage, intitles him to my highest confidence and sincere thanks, while it eminently recom- ' Quoted from the publisher's (David M'Keehan's) Preface to the original edition of Gass' Journal, dated March 26th, 1807. s MEMOIR OF PATRICK GASS. ciii mends W. .„ ,he consideration and respec. of h.s reUo. liom-zcd.'- Vet' rc!:rno„\"^, '" """''"-■''"' ^"' "' ""- is immortal Ga2 h ™ ^ ""'•'• ""'' " '=""7"° '<='' 'hat contrary to the receved'^ ^ '""'"'"''"""^'y accurate, for, we havrn:.t;:::::rarrrrd::';-d''i7.,'™^''"^' "'-• or where was manifested so linl 7 imagmat.ve, prose with poetic tinsel Al ' '", ^""''=" P'"'" fact. . . Wesoe the nH . ""Pretending matter of with rare Ides y' , e atthoT'Itr^"^ "-^ *"= '■ '"' for saying he was one o "ti;; mttt^tcT " « '"'"""^ intelligent men of the partv i, l . / ''^"'"'^- """^ ground, or, if mentioned a. a'u is on "™'r'^ '"„"" ''^='^- nection with some soeri-,! „ , ? ^ mcdentally in con- Remaining z :x c : s 't '"• T ^ "'^■'"'^^•" Vincennes, Ind., and thencet Loutmr k' ""'^ """' "> a couple of comrades, he reioined r ' f" "'"'■'=■ "'"'• had with them a den ,hH r^ '"'" ™<' °ark. They called Big White who ' h" "'"'"• ''^'"''■'' ''J' > ^hie^ The part^ paid i^i "."p^s tTpr '"f ^ 1° Washington. ti.cir report to the proper^o^ffi:,,; d : te" ^"T"""''^ and runos,ties, and were disc|.ar<,cd r,? specimens i" gold, with the promise of uture . ". """"""^ ^"' P^^ home to his friends i, VV'el "b / H ""°"' ^'"^ '''"' arranged with the Iri«l, „, , ^' ^^'""' " "as that he thepu'blicatLn -r '„ ;:r':rr' "'•"■^ ^'^-han, for tl-s .seven year^- belor! L nd CiT""' '^'^^ '" "°^' published. This nromnf , . °"" "arrative was tion with Lew a,d clrd "°,* '^"'"=<' h's connee- America from the tide wtof"h? pT' '" '"'"' ^''""^'^ Columbia, and thus form ^t^nnf '° """ °' ""= the Atlantic with the 1^01^.7;, V '''"'" "'^' ''°™'' of the United S at es ""= "'■='' '""^ '" 'he history CIV MEMOIR OF PATRICK GASS. Gass never exchanged the pen for the sword, for he was one of those who are marked by nature for heroism in very humble hfe ; but he quickly threw down the pen and shouldered the musket again. In the spring of 1807 we find him a soldier still, and he served at the then frontier post of Kaskaskia for the next four years of his life. Embers of the Revolutionary War smoldered till 1812, when they burst into the second War of Independence. Formal declaration of war was made June i8th, i8i„, under the administration of President Madison. Shortly before this Gass was at Nashville, Tenn., where he was drafted into the regiment raised by General Jackson to fight the Creeks, during some Indian disturbances which had broken out. He had, however, the option of enlistment for five years in the regular army. This he promptly accepted, with a bounty of $100, and marched north under General Gaines. He was at Fort Massac in Illinois, in 1813 ; and the 1st of July, 1 8 14, found him at Pittsburgh, in a battalion under command of Colonel Nichols, with the Northern Army commanded by General Brown. He took part in the assault on P'ort Erie, and was conspicuous for his bravery in the famous battle of Lundy's Lane, where he was attached to the 2 1st Regiment under the gallant Colonel Miller. Gass is said to have distinctly recollected hearing Miller's memorable answer, when ordered by General Ripley to capture the British battery : " I will try, sir." Sergeant Gass shows up gallantly in a sortie made on the 17th of August, whore he was intrusted with the duty of spiking the enemy's guns. His selection for such duty, requiring cool courage, was a high compliment to the sergeant, and shows the estimation in which he was held. He was dis- charged from the service at Sackett's Harbor, in June, 1815, and returned to Wellsburg once more. The wai" closed, and with it Gass' career. He retired to an obscurity whence he never emerged. He was past forty, and had lived his life, though his years were not yet half counted. He had nothing to show for the past, and nothing MEMOIR OF PATRICK GASS. cv and IT"^ '? ^r °"- "'^ ^°°^ -- fi"--ally a failure and temporanly forgotten ; in fact, it has always been are and practically known only to the biblio^ranh.r Q u ' Hav 1 I r thT'"; T" "'P "'^ "'" °='^ ^- had sown. steel. ha. would neither break noTbend "'' "'"^ °' Wha. romance may have entered into .he young soldiers We we can only infer from his character and habits R,f love conquered the old soldier at cS »„^ I .83. to Miss Maria Hamilton n II ™' """'""^ '" which lasted for , , year Mi J^"",^ ■ '^"' "'""'='' "'<=' " lui 11, years, till her death in \RAf, Mre r presented her husband wi.h seven ch d en " Vf tomary," says his biographer "t" ioke th^' u 7.^ '"'" Lis rapid increase of familv \„ i ■ , °''' '"''''" ^ naturedly received and hr u '?'"'' *"" '''^^^ g°°d- .hat, .as'al, ^l:!' g' e ha" ^t ri:^'.:?'?"'/'™"' ri:fsdi;"?'He" "°^' --^"- ''^etrrs andfa.:^:Ldal-^.rr;:,iist-i;-^''-- Washington, January 8th ,8=^ A ' II TT""™ "'=''' '" the veterans of tl,. , „"' ^''" ''''"' <:manated from tiK veterans of the w-ar of I8r2, who had assembled in Phil adelph,a, January p.h. ,854, for surviv.ng solders to meet 1' .hc,r respect,ve neighborhoods and elect deleLe,"o I e Wash„,gto„ convention. Mr. Gass had the poTof ho n^r CVl MEMOIR OF PATRICK GASS. at Wellsburg, December 25th, 1854, and was one of a committee of three selected to go to Washington. During the convention they were received by President Pierce and his Cabinet. The veterans memorialized Congress, and returned to their homes — with the usual barren result. Writing in 1858, his biog'-apher does not hesitate to say: " There is probably not now living a single man who has done so much for the public as Mr. Gass, and received so little. Among the many unique features of his character, this is not the least singular. He has never been a beggar, neither has he ever had emolument thrust upon him by the country he so faithfully served ; hence he is both poor and humble. He is still living, December, 1858, a hale, hearty Virginia Democrat of the old school." I might have been excused if at this point I had concluded my sketch with the remark that no doubt Mr. Gass soon died. But I wished if possible to complete the record of this wonderful life. I sent to Wellsburg a letter of inquiry, which the postmaster was requested to deliver to "any friend, relative, or descendant of the late Patrick Gass." This was answered in a few days, and my respondent proved to be Mr. Jacob himself. From him I learned that Mr. Gass did not answer his last roll-call till the 3d of April, 1 870, when he was in his 99th year. A short time before his death he professed the Campbellite faith, and was baptized in the Ohio river in the presence of a large concourse. His remain^ were interred in the cemetery at Wellsburg. Thus ended a life in some respects unparalleled. Gass was one of the most extraordinary men America ever pro- duced. A'ten have turned their centenary — but how many have done so after such sieges of war, whisky, and women as Gass withstood for nearly a hundred years ? It may help us to appreciate the duration of his life, if we remember that he attained nearly the average period of human existence in the eighteenth century, and then rounded out <- the full the traditional three-score and ten years in the nineteenth. ;»-f: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. BY DR. COUES. i^UBLICATION of the re<5.ilfc ..f *i • was attended by the un,n I "'°''^''^" ""^"^^^^''"^ Lewis nor Clark became T "^^"'"^'^""^ that neither Pendin, the preUat^ f tir :;s1t T'^' ^"' ''^'' hands, two separate ,o„r. '^■^- '<"■ ""i Press at other specting their ExoedTHl '"^^P'^e information re. eagerly^seized bycerta^di i"™' """^"^ ^"^^^^ ""« atod the livelv aL generali!," /f"''"'' "''° ^PP^-" Plorers had awakenfd Th r^uU V'' '"'"P'" "-- several spurious books JhT, ""* appearance of or ano.lt, the " Narra t^" "T"?' '° '■^' '" ""^ ^^ " Lewis and Clark " thoulth ' "' " J™™<-y." "f be so considered res ed "ton " °' "°"= °' ">'=™ '° bibliography of the sub ect t^'not"'" '°'""'^"°"- ^'- would be expected was i„ '"°'''' '^>^'«nsive than ance of my L ogVrp r.^s'""" r'^'""''' '"= ^PP"- and Clark •• has too ote^h ? l-otation of " Lewis bogus books. I We been I"; ,™ ' "'"' ^=f''"™« '° "''= care, and with the re'ultT.r '■''■™"'' "^'' ™»«" »iH> the subject in a wh e ' , ," rhT"''"' '''"'" ^^'^ P'-= edition, whether authl, " "^''•'"""ed almost every give th;titJ of others no'se" ='P°J'>'P'"^'- -d a- able tT o' these books. as*d':rm m^spe nfb.^'l^ '"= 'r' "r°""' ■f '°"'a,„ed in Sabin's ffibLCphv If °a'™'' '' °' "''' the next in Field's Fss-,„ '"-'"P'^y °' Americana, and Phy, New York 8vo ,^.7 tTT "" '"'"••'" "'"'liogra- o< the foreign verlf 1„/'"-' 'f"' ••'""'°'- ""^'"d« "one '^ "^' ^"'' »•""= '^•■•veral others I have A" of the numerous editions and versions of " Lewis and evil CVIU BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. Clark" which I have seen or heard of may be traced to one or another of three sources, namely : I. The Jefferson Message and Accompanying Documents. I 05, g.v.ng a progress-report of the Expedition at that date ^cc')' " a ^?:::^-:i::^^f7 TT '-'^^^'^-^ ^'^ Territory of ^otifni and Lewis is the\i^./V ^°''''''"" ""^ ^^«'«'" Boundaries." by Captain ^lii;^; ;rzif .t;'::^^"^ ^—^ = ^^^^ ^^ - ^laLa^ set narfu-ni,. v. 7 , ' miscellaneous particulars. It is these last '' iti 17;^^^^^ ^"'^ P^'^'^^'^ together-that constit;:! t oidusiicai View printed m the various AoocrvnhT lr,\'ru^,\- ■ • ,- Sibley's " Historical Sketches of the SeveraTJd^n T h ' '"•'' •^''P^'- "* ^^'•• of the Arkansas River, and between irM-Sp^n^rtTe'irro^^^^^^ i Tpoc'ry; r T/r s::i ' 'Tl' '-'' -^^^ ^^''^^— ^ aid mu^Ulatr '. Red rTv"; "he^ for^n oaf !/"f "^^^'^'^'^^ ^^ ^'^"-^d by an account of \Va. %^t ''-'"^'" '° ^^"^'■al "enry Dearborn Secretarv nf .hence .ending ,h., R,.,, .He D.aet Rivel" nV.he V^U^'k,?. "^ from the Journals of VVilHam r r> i r. "Jsaita Kuer . . . omission oi„,„eLLX™itb°ra";h'';' T' ''f' '"■"'"" ^.h The President's Message, with the Accompanyi„ij Docu ments, was reprinted in New York as a pan,phlet, which I hat oil:"" ^•'T*' ""^ °' -hich, nearly ideniical^th hat of the ongmal, except as relates to the imprint, is kindly urmshed to me by Mr. F. B. Perkins, late of the Bosto^ Public Library, as follows: Boston '■'Stlf'""""'-^'''"'' ,"" I P'-"'''-' of the United t/^e Mr"'"''7TS ^"'■"""^ I "-* i" exploring the \Mtsso„rt, Red Rtvcr and Washita, | by I Captaim c \ ^f'f ">/"">'«' \of the \ Countries ado- cent. I _ ( Head m Congress, February 19, ,806. | — | m ex nini,i(i(;RAiMiiCAL introduction. New- York : I Printed by Hopkins and Seymour, \ and sold by G. F. Hopkins, No. Ii8, Pearl-street. \ — | 1806. One vol., %vo,pp. 178+1 folded I. not paged. Sabin j^ivcs another New York imprint of this, as G. F. Hopkins, 1806, pp. 178 and folder; also, an edition described as of Natchez, printed by Andrew Marshal, 8vo, pp. 174, reprinted in part in the Political Cabinet, an appendix to the Monthly Anthology, lioston, 1807, later collected under title of American State Tapers, Boston, 1808, pp. 39-92 ; of these I know nothing further. In London, the President's Message, witii the Accompanying Documents, was repub- lished in a faithful reprint under a modified title, as follows : [1807.] Travels \ in the \ Interior Parts of America ; \ com- municating I Discoveries \ made in lixploring \ the Mis- souri, Red River and Washita, \ by \ Captains Lewis and Clark, I Doctor Sibley, \ and \ Mr. Dunbar ; \ ivith \ a Statistical Account \ of the \ Countries adjacent. \ — \ As laid before the Senate, \ by the \ President of the United States. I /// February, 180C, | and never before published in Great Britain. \ — | London : \ Printed for Richard Phillips,G, Bridge Street, \ Blackfriars, \ By f.G. Barnard, 57, Snozi'-hill. I — I 1807. 2>vo., pp. 1-24, then a folding table, then pp. 17-11C. Forming a part, separately paged, of IW. / 7. of Phillips' Collection of Jlfodern and Contemporary Voyages, &c. The contents of this tract arc as follows : Title, hacked blank, pp. I, 2 ; Jefferson's Messa^^e, j.n. 3, 4 ; Kxtract of a Letter from Captain Lewis to Presi- dent Jefferson, being the Fort Mandan letter of Apr. " 17th," /. c, 7th, pp. 4-7; A Statistical View of the Indian Nations, etc., by Captain Lewis, pp. 7-24, table, and pp. 17-30 ; Historical Sketches of the several Indian Tribes, etc., by Doctor Sibley, pp. 40-74 (including; an account of the Red River, etc., in a letter to Ccn. Henry Dearborn, from Dr. Sibley); Observations made on a voyage commencing at St. Catharine's Landing, etc., by William Dunbar, Lsq., and Dr. Hunter, y[\ 74-113; Meteorological Observations, by the same, pji. 114-1 16. Thus, as will be seen by comparing the synopsis given of the original (1806) Message, etc., this tract is genuine, in the sense that it is exactly what it purports to be. 15ut the Lewis and Clark matter only occupies pp. 4-24, table. BIBLIOGRAnilCAI, INTRODUCTION. cxl out. the words'. Lew s an.l C Lke " ! " ''""' '''"'""'"" ' ^'^°"«'^ "^-"S^. of every sheet (ha.k LT n^l^l P'"""' " '"«-'"'•«— ""k^ «« the first itaf colophon ..En!, of l!Zi: J'S^,^^^:,:;^ f/' ^.'^^^■^' :-; P- "^ --^ as tionally wrong, beine merely a. ortf • \ ^ . " ""'' ^lo^ever. inten- nf!L™"l,'?''.°'""'"' ^'■'"''■'">":' the earliest available source to be "Lewis and rT"' "KT"' '" "' '^'^ ''^ '^ey pretend th. Z"'!^^^''": These books consist chiefly of accounts of version of ?u r~" "'"P'^ '•' """"^'^d ^-''d garbled version of Jonathan Carver, padded with an account of k „z^ ThT"''- """ ^'>'PP"-y^. '-- Alexand" Mac PrpuTatio". r^reS ^o ":,;' " ""'''•" °' "■= ^""'-" a credited to an anonymous " ingenious ion City :\A.^ C. Way. | . | 80V Z il ' « 'f ^'""""■■"' '«°^- ' " I '^"-/"V- . This is a rare tract, hard .0 find ' M^ A R Snoff "" ' ;; '""^ /"''''''• ■n the Library of Congress. The con entV'.f;^, ?,,"?: "''^ "^^ °"'^ "P" ' '''»^' "". Con,„.i.t« Koon,, January .,th. .80; to Use jj;^^^^^^^^ '"'!"' A.s.on. jun.. dated Lewfs and Clark's Expedition. .) Letter ocL^^r, "?"""« """'" information Department. J..„. „th. .807, transmit ing to the Comm^it ^'=^'^'^°^"' '" '«=P'y. dated War r.> of his party, together with a copy of Ms le t oThe S " ' ""' "' ^'"'P'^'" L=*'^' --'"- ( I t..s mnster-roll and letter of Captain Lew, ^e .^ol th'"f "' ^^' "'='"^' '° "><= --«• p. .67 and pp. ,5,.,5, of the present work) Gen ) K • ""' '""" "" °"«'"^' ^'^S.. on >e made to all the members of the Expedition isTn ,,"','" ' Proposition for grants of land to '..g. for the consideration of the commi e ' r "o "b^ ' "''' ''■= ''""'^ °' P^P- Pnvate.of 300 acres of I.-,nd ; to lieutenant 'ri. I r ""n-commissioned ofTicer and with the addition of double P y ,0 e h wh„e en 1 ''"""J ""' '" "^^P'^" ^ewis, of t.500. War adds, that Captain Lewis obiec"d to re ivinf '" "', "'"P"-'" The Secre.arJ o to Captain Clark. The folding sLet wMch fo J^ "" TZ '"'"^ "'="' ^''""''^ I'' C""»«d also ro.., printed very closely after the atlt^^p^MT '^tL 1 '^ T^^'^'^ Lewis' muster- acc„mpan,ed passed and became an Act of ConereLs. "•'" "^"''' documents f/ cxa BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. traveller," is stolen bodily and copied word for word from Jonathan Carver's "Travels," etc., of which the third edition appeared in 1781 ; being Chap. I. of that part of his book subtitled " Of the Origin, Manners, Customs, Religions, and Languages of the Indians," occupying pp. 1 15-139 of the Phila. ed. of 1796 — as anyone may see by making the comparison. Here the plagiarism is barefaced ; but else- where it is disguised, and some little patience is required to discover the full proportions of the scheme to make Carver's old work pass for Lewis and Clark's. It is really a notable literary forgery, in constructing which the operator even went so far as to cut out of Carver's narration names which would serve to identify tribes of which Carver treated, in order that what was said of them might be misapplied to other tribes met with by Lewis and Clark. This miserable trick, by which Carver was robbed and ethnology travestied, has misled every bibliographer. I myself was at a loss to account for much of the matter of the Apocrypha, when, in 1876, I prepared my original bibliography. Some of the Apocrypha are illustrated ; others are not. The titles and captions are well contrived to make them appear as the work of our authors. The Apocrypha were not wholly superseded by the appearance of the authentic History in 1 814, but continued to be published at least until 1840, though they are now scarce and seldom if ever quoted. Two editions of the Apocrypha appeared the same year in England and America. They are very similar, but not identical. I do not know which has actual priority, but suppose that the English was taken from the American. The title of the English 8vo, 1809, is as follows : [1809.] The I Travels \ of \ Capts. Lexvis& Clarke, \ from \ St. Louis, by way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, \ to the I Pacific Ocean; \ performed in the years 1804, 1805, (S- 1806, I by order of the \ Government of the United States. \ Containing \ delineations of the manners, customs, \ religion, &c. ! Of the Indians, \ compiled from I Various Authentic BinLIOGRA?!,rCAL INTRODUCTION. cxiii f/TV/?'.-^""' ^ocu,n-^ts,\and\A Summary /m ; ^^'""''''"-'".^ ^^'^^ of I tl^e Indian Nations, I from the Lo^nan, Hurst, Rees, and Orme. | PatJostcr Ro^\ ^P^.d7^t'""^n ""' '^^Py^^^''^^' Title.p. tacked Mouse of ReprLttativTof e U^ S'^t ["'""^^ '"^''^"'' '" ^'^ ■'^-^'-"'^ anonymous, pp. v-ix h) ■< T 11 , " '"'' '^'f '^^^ I'P- >». 'v. (2) " Introduction." to be by C>^Ln Lewi? Nlr tot t^ ^t "T' T '-"'' '^^'-'^^ Captain Lewis. So,ne of it is garWe fr ,n Ga" "'"" T'' '' '^ '' '"'" letters of Captain Clark to hi. 1 , "°'" ^^''^ ' '""^ authentic and genuine W. II. Harrison, re pecti ly are f ^7: ''"^"^ ^'''^'' ^"^ '" ^— r pp. ^5-x:7. the 'grea'; theft^Vor o'Stw 'f ""•''• ^^ = ''^" ^°"^-' garbled. i„ order th.t it might be palmed off n t ' '"Sen.ously mutilated and wehave(4).pp.„;-,56.an'acco:rof7 ;„^^^^^^^^^^ -'-• Next summarized from Alexander Mackenzie ^r, IT ..^ <-l'epewyan Indians, comes (5). pp. x57-,83. a " ^.1^^^^^'^^^::^''' !" '"" . '"'^" Lewis' paper of like title in the Jefferson Mess ee b^I , T "''T ''''''"" patched together; (6) then follows, pp 184 ,fo • , ^' 'r'Lr"'u'''''' ^"' Several Indian Tribes in Louisi^inn « 1 r , ' "'''°"'-"^' Sketches of the and between the Mi iss^praJrRiverCra^V R-^?'"^^^. ^^^"^^"^^^^ ^-"• Sil.ley. though not so stated' betg he t>^ d nie^ ''^ "•"''^' '^ ""' ^^• Message, with some mutilation ; '(7) thrcoTt^nl™'"''"" '^^ -ous essay, i. .., Jonathan Car;er-s on L "on 7\ "T"'^' '" """"y* ropulation"; (8) then concludes, pp. ^aS-aoc, the ftL" 1,1 ""*"'" '"''^" ing the Jefferson Message n. me v '•Oh ! ' papers accompany, -encing at St. CathariS's L ^ f„g oTtZT^Vf T t '"''''''' '="'"- proceeding downward to the mouuf'of Red rI: 'r' °' /'^ "^T"'''''' Journals of William C. Dunbar Fsn onVn ,r ' ' ^""''^'^f^d ^'-o"™ the patchwork which was parLr-ndeySdlvirr'- u"'' '^ ''" ''''"''''' Travels of Lewis and Clark anH ,n , , ,^ '"^''^ '' '*PP^^'" ^^ ^^^ the of this book by Rees ed' '; of .e " H "r'" ''""^ ''""^^^^- ^^ — '<^d i8.5)of the authenTc' II ^ '• A ^IraTrel ^"1'"- ''^t' ^"' ' ^°'^- «^°- --,and so.e p-jri^tr^;:^;^::^^- -t^^ CXIV BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. before and after his return. But, in other respects, it is of considerable value, the other documents inserted in it being curious and contained in no other Kng- lish publication." The corresponding American edition, in i2mo, 1809, of which I have severe! copies before me, is as follows : [1809.] The I Travels \ of\ Capts. Lewis & Clarke, \ by order of the I Government of the United States, \ performed in the years 1804, 1805,6' 1806, | being upwards of three thou- sand miles, from \ St. Louis, by way of the Missouri, and I Columbia Rivers, to the \ Pacific k Ocean : \ Containing an Account of the Indian Tribes, who inhabit \ the Western part of the Continent unexplored, \ and unknown before. \ With copious delineations of the manners, cus- \ toms, re- ligion, &c., of the Indians. \ Compiled \ From various au- thentic sources, and Documents. \ To %vhich is subjoined, \ A Summary of the Statistical View of .'he Indian \ Na- tions, from the Official Communication of\ — | Meriivether Lexvis. I — I Embellished zviih a Map of the Country inhabited by \ the Western Tribes of In Hans, and five Engravings \ of Indian Chiefs. \ — | Philadelphia : Pub- lished by Hubbard Lester. \ . . . . | 1809. | Price— I dollar 62% cts. I One vol, \2mo,pp. i-xii, 13-300,///. 5, viap,and tail-piece {scroll and pen). {Copyright dated April 1 7, 1 809.) The composition of this wretched meretricious compilation is very much the same as that of the foregoing, of which I suppose it to be really the parent, as it seems to have been published as early as April. The typography of the title- page is ingeniously so arranged as to make it appear, at first sight, that Meri- wether Lewis is the author of the book. The title-page is followed by Lester's copyright. Then comes the "recommendation" from President Jefferson, artfidly twisted into a recommendation of the book itself. A mutilated version of Jefferson's Message succeeds. Then comes the compiler's introduction, con- sisting of some meditations on the value of geographical knowledge, and a state- ment, from some person unknown, of the commerce of the Missouri. The running he.nds of the pages to p. 153 re.ad, " New Travels among the Indians." This part of the book is meant to pass for Lewis and Clark's Narrative ; the anonymous compiler audaciously opens with the now familiar " On the T4th of May, 1804, we embarked from St. Louis," etc.; but most of this matter is stolen from Jonathan Carver, as already sufficiently indicated. The other pieces are BrBLIOGRAPniCAL INTROI.UCTION. S'"e"t;';!;;;'i':t/'j', ■;''"'*■•' "r ■■'• "''"y- ■"■"i-". »»..,, .„„ on.„fwhki,i, fc>„„, „( ■■M,,„ ' „ ,,'"'.'.° °"' "'"' ■""= '""lolc, •■I>om„,i, M„|,,,„,./„,| „„, "■'' ^ "'''''• '"l""! '">■» William Uucl..,,'. IMns Iha. |„„„to. Y„ „ : ' T f " ""»' ""■"« tonncc.i™ wllh ,„.. ■l.«r..,ml «H.pri„c,,|„„,, ' 1 ',''"""""'l'~'yi'l'»l '■'"I's wl.ich. with Inciters of Lewis and Dark lC^,!^Z.otT '"""" they represented in Field's bibliocraohv I \ k ?°' "" r?or:"^"" -^'^ -'^ -3 ";;ea.;.';r.t:a";: ""^i"; .^Its ztrri ^^ 1 1 ^-- -- 'usioms—soil—climatf I passeU— \ manners ami ">incs-ani,nal aT^.TZTT T ''''' ""'' "''"' wM.cry enter. | taini'Jn^^jJZt "'"''f''^'" •Ireful ami \ plLi„^ Sa'iccaots, and a variety of ol/ier « I eomf/ete dietionary of ,/,/","„,' "n' " "''''"' Fisher, Bsn. I _ I bIhL ", ™'"" ""eue. Jly William One vol., ,.„„, ^portraits, tplv-^v, ,6-326. I-or note on this, see next edition 181-, q,K- • th.ng that seems to be like this • but wiJh • KT ""'"" ^'^f'"' ^- ''«'"«- f - pp. 300. with two woodcut oius'i::'/'^'''^''^''''-- j-^"^^-^ •^''--• ' " which was contained in the editions of i no "^^^V"^'^"^^" """-^^ -"^ phrases ably be called " extensive and inter stinV'o, K . "°''' ''''' ^''"''^ P^"^' closes with an appendix contain hit ^ ' / "'' P"^"^^'^" '^^^' ^°'"'"« the same as those' of the 8oo i 2 .IT T "'"' ^"^'^'^''^^'^- "°' ^''-'y replaced by a story abou a ' Gr L ^ ' ."°" = " ''"^^^ ^^^'^''^ " ^-''^ Roman General." The il lustra^Z ^''P'"'' ^'"^'^ ^^ ^^g"l"«. the seen elsewhere. '""^^'^^ons are most of them additional to any I have II.—THE GASS JOURNAL. it I'taSv' whTt ;: '"'"'^" ^"^'^"''^' ^^ ^^^ -"- that Expedition by a known person who accompanied Le vil o|.e..t person of ;e:;:^;;^^-ZL--^^ diary of his own, in which events nf fi, • ^ impressions upon the wn'tertr ^e^L^LVfZryX d\7 H.s general good character and the faithful and efficieni service he rendered are formally certified bv A.? t The G^s<; Tnnrnoi ; 1 • <-^"med by Captain Lewis, account U " '"";■ ^"-^'ghtfonvard, and connected o Lewis and rT''-"*'- " """' ""^ "" ■"™"^' o Lewis and Clark itself, in the minuti.-e of dates names places, etc. and on this .account may not inaptly be termed the Co„cor,f„„c. Gass had kept notes during'the entire Ex IM - cxvm BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. pedition, but they were not in shape for pubHcation ; and as his limited education prevented him from arranging them for the press, he secured the literary services of an Irish schoolmaster, David M'Keehan. The result was the Pitts- burgh book of 1807, cited below. M'Keehan presented his materials in the raw, stating in his preface that " neither he or Mr. Gass had attempted to give adequate representations of the scenes portrayed." Gass received as his share of the work the copyright and 100 copies of the book ; M'Keehan had the balance of the edition, which he sold at some profit. Gass' Journal was superseded by the publication of the Biddle History; I know of no edition later than 1 812, though Sabin cites one of 181 5. I have handled five editions of this Concordance, namely: Pittsburgh, i2mo, 1807; London, 8vo, 1808; Philadelphia, i2mo, 1810, 1811, and 1812 ; and French version, 8vo, 18 10. Excepting the French, they only differ from each other in details of typography, and are nothing more than reprints, though some of them are illus- trated, others not. All the American editions are in fact identical books. I have minutely compared, for instance, the Philadelphia edition of 18 11, with the Pittsburgh princeps of 1807, and find them not only page for page the same (i-viii, 9-262), but paragraph for paragraph, word for word, and almost point for point. I never saw books more exactly alike, when the type had been reset ; they only differ in the text in their respective errors of the press ; but the Philadel- phia book has six pictures that were not in the original, and a modified title page. The original edition is as follows : [1807.] -^ Journal \ of the \ Voyages and Travels \ of a Corps of Discovery, \ under the command of Capt. Lezvis and Capt. \ Clarke of the Army of the United States, \ from I the mouth of the River Missouri through the \ interior parts of North America \ to the Pacific Ocean, \ during the years 1 804, 1805, & 1806. | Containing \ An authentic relation of the most interesting transactions, during the expcdition,--A description of the country, — j yi BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. cxix And an account of its inhabitants, soil, climate, curiosities I and vegetable and animal productions. \-\By Patrick Oass I one of the persons employed in the expedition. I _ I mth geographical and explanatary notes \ by the pub- Usher \~\lCopy.right secured according to lawA \ M Keehan, Publisher and \ proprietor 1807 I One vol., i2mo,pp. i-viii, 9-262. {No illustrations.) In my bibliography of 1876 I said: "There appears to have been another Pittsburgh edition, in 8vo, probably of 1808 . the one from which a London edition was reprinted " Jf the'tftir r".'' ?"""^ ''"°" my misunderstanding of the title as given by Field. There never was a Pittsburgh octavo or any Pittsburgh edition after the princeps. Tl^s was followed by a London 8vo, 1808, and also by three su cess.ve Philadelphia i2mos, of 1810, 1811, 1812. [1808.] A \ Journal | of the \ Voyages and Travels I of\ and I Capta^n Clarke, of the Army of | //,. United States; \ from the mouth of the | River Missouri, | through the I Interior Parts of North America, | to the Pactfic Ocean; \ during the years 1804, 1805. <&- 806 I Contaimng | An Authentic Relation of the most interest- '^^f l^ansactions during | the Expedition : \ A Description C^^'T' ■'■ "'r ' ^"""'^ '^''^ Inhabitants Soil Climate, Curiosities, \ and Vegetable and Animal Produc- inlhjl^^'T' f^"' ' ^"^^f^^^^ Persons employed znthe Expedition | | P^^.sburgh : [ printed for David Z HUR ' /^ ; •■ ' ^^^^-^^^/- •/• Budd, Bookseller to^^His Royal Highness the Prince of \ Wales, Pall-Mall. \ One vol., %vo,pp. i-iv, 1-38 1, no map or any other illust njuch better than that of any A.eHcan e.litiot. .n^St' " Iret^^n'V C^' Marshall-Street. Golden.S,„are," verso of title and on ^p. 381. There i: a nei; cxx BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. I- J " Advertisement by the English Publisher," pp. iii, iv, dated London, April i8th, l8o8. The publisher also furnishes new chapter-heads, by dates of the Journal comprehended in each chapter, and summary of contents of each. (These date- heads are used by Lallemant in his French edition.) There is no new editorial text. This edition is the best one in the English language— for those who do not care for princeps editions. [1810.] Voyage I des Capitaines \ Lewis et Clarke, \ Depiiis V embouchure du Missouri, jusqti h V entree \ de la Colombia dansVOcdan Pacifique ; \fait dans les ann^es 1804, 1805 et 1806, \ par ordre du Gouvernement des £.tats-Unis : \ contenant \ Le Journal aiitlwntique des ^vhiements les plus remar- \ quables du Voyage, ainsi que la Description des \ Habitants, du Sol, du Cliinat, et des Productions \ animales et v^g^ tales des pays Situ^s h Votiest de \ VAmdrique Sep- tentrionale. \ Rddig^ en Anglais par Patrice Gass, Employ^ dans I P Expedition : \ Et traduit en Frangais par A.J.N. Lallemant, \ I'un des Secretaires de la Marine. \ Avec des Notes, deux Lettres du Capitaine Clarke, \ et une Carte gravde par J. B. Tardieu. \ — \A Paris, \ Chez Arthus- Bertrand, Libraire, rue Hautefcuillc, ti°. 23. ( — | 1810. One vol., 8vo,pp. i-xxiij, 1-443, and map. This is a faithful and complete French translation of Gass' Journal, doubtless made from the English ed. of 1808 : but whether Lallemant had this text or the original of 1807 before him is immaterial, as the two are substantially the same. The original editor's (M'Keehan's) notes are translated, and the French editor adds a few of his own. The vol. opens with a half-title, verso advts., pp. i, ii ; title, verso blank, pp. iii, iv ; Message du President des £tats-Unis, etc., pp. v-vij (not in the original) ; p. viij, blank ; pp. ix-xviij, abridged translation of the original editor's preface ; pp. 1-415, the Journal, entire • pp. 416-432, two Letters of Clark, genuine and authentic, translated in French (being the same that are given in the spurious London ed. of 1809 and in other Apocrypha) ; pp. 433-443, table of contents, by chapter-heads, not in the orig. ed. Vol. ends " de Timprimeriede M" Ve Jeunehomme, rue Hautefeuille, No. 20." The map measures 75^ x 9;^ inches ; it is legended | Carte | Pour servir au Voyage | des Capes. Lewis et Clarke, | i 1' Ocean Pacifique. | Grave par J. B. Tardieu. | It is copied from the familiar old London Longmans map of 1809, with French names lettered instead of English. I had never seen this book when my former Bibliography was prepared, in 1876, and could only give an abridged title at second hand. I was right in then supposing it to be a version of the Gass Journal. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. cxxi Phn?^ r^^ ''^'''°" ^'^' ''^'^"^ American) appeared in Philadelphia m 1 8 lo, as follows: Ppeareu m ^''col ff ^/'"'"""' ' -^ '^'' ' ^'^^^'^ ^^^ travels | ./ a frontut ' Z fr '''' "^'"^^ '^ '''' Unite/ States, \ from I the mouth of the River Missouri through the I inl r^yartsofNorthAmerica, | /../.. /'...^ ^^t, f^,^ expedttton,-.A descrtptton of \ the country,- And an account of tts inhabi- I tants soil rlin,nf. ■ 7>f I a-^tnhi. J ■ . ' "^'''^^^. curiosities, and ve. I ^etable and animal productions. \ - \ By Patrick Gass one of the persons employed in th} e.pldiLf\~\ ^'J geographical and explanatory noL \ - I [copv Right secured according to La^v^ I I PiJi ^ /i, ," One vol., i2ma. pp. i-,.iii, 9-262, u,it/. 6 full pa.e illus tratiom on separate inserts baekeel blank. •hi. edition. howeVe' ' „ ' fdj '/n^"""" "" P^' '"""'■■'' <>»='•»■■ To .h=ir .ia=s ,h„ ,„, ,„, .pp„.ch .i . We/: be.u,";;'""""'"' "«"'"">■ °' and the whl iTst t '^f he "boTh'"'' °' "" ''"^-"^8^ ['8lll. ... I I ;? r, . ., -^ ^ I — /yy Patrick Gass I r^w/- /,/• If I cxxu BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. graphical and Explanatory Notes. \ — | Tliird Edition- wit k six Engravings. \ — | {Copy-right seaired according to Law.] I — I Printed for Mathew Carey, \ No. 122 Market street, \ Philadelphia. \ — | 18 11. One vol. \21no, pp. i-viii, 9-262, ivith ^ full page illus- trations on separate inserts backed blank. This is exactly the same as the Phila. ed, of tH ■■. i ■* ^Ule-page is reset in a little different typography. The title-page is b:.>; - - copyright, certified by D. Caldwell, Clerk of the District of Pennsylvan. •. i, ii ; Preface by the publisher of the first edition (M'Keehan, Pittsburgh, 1807), dated March 26th, 1807, pp. iii-viii ; half title ( | Journal of the \ Voyages and Travels \ of \ a Corp of Discovery \ ), p. 9, l)acked blank ; Journal, pp. it-262. This edition is said to have been re-issued at Philadelphia in i2mo, 18 12. I have seen no copy bearing this date. The title, as quoted by Field, is substantially identical ; the illustrations are continued. This is spoken of as the " fourth " {i. e., the fourth American) edition ; but as the London 8vo reprint, 1808, of the Pittsburgh i2mo, 1807, is to be counted as one, and the French version as another, then the Philadelphia i2mo of 1812 is the sixth. Sabin gives a Phila. re-issue of 1815, and alludes to a possible Dutch translation; of neither of these do I know anything further. Very copious extracts, together amounting to an epitome of the Journal of Gass, have lately (1892) been published by Colonel John Doniphan, in a series of eight articles, running through as many numbers, weekly, of the Daily News of St. Joseph, Mo. These articles average nearly two columns apiece. They are of the following dates : I, May 7th; II, May 14th; III, May 21st; IV, May 28th ; V, June 4th ; VI, June i ith ; VII, June i8th ; VIII, June 25th, 1892. These articles collectively are a fuller and clearer reflection of the Journal than is contained in Jacob's Life and Times of Patrick Gass, 1859. The latter is our only biography of the famous sergeant, and incidentally a booklet of much curious information. Following is the full title: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. cxxiii war with Great Brtlatn./rom 1812 /„ ,815, and a ear ,?■ , ■^T""' "-^ "" ^^f"/'''"" condensed, | -andl « f '//"- f- -««'0', I «:V.//»«, LnMsceneei /«/<«•«<,;/«-/>,■,«,„, ITra^,,;.^, Kr | ,859 frontisp. portrait and autograph of Gass. and Clark. It i, „re.llv JnL. i L "' '° "" E-P'JI'io" of L™ls ■ite which I giv, i, „.,„,y p„p,„, 52",„.^ 1 h.^b.<,g„ph,c.I *«ch „, Gass- m.-THE AUTHENTIC IHSTORV OF THE EXPEDITION. '''l'nCaZ"""'^l °^^ "" '^"(■""'io" \ '"-dcr the eommand of\ Captams Lewis and Clark, | to \ the sources of the Missouri, I the,.e \ across the Rociy I^ountains 1 Lfd^, the I River Columbia to tlie Pacific Ocean. | PerforZid during the years ^io^^^^i. | By order of the | GoJrn fit ofj" United States. | Prepared for the pLs | iy Zl Alen, Esgmre. | /« two Volumes. I K,/. / r//! pl/fZ /^« .■ I /'^W^/.rf fy Bradford aid fnshelp; IfJ itt H.Inskeep Nenyork. | /. Ma.rn,ell. Print,. ^ ,84 ' " Two vols ivo. Vol. I., pp i^^^viii. ,-470 will, large '"tiSlmapr-" '-''■ ^'-^^-/A^--— 5-.W The Jefferson Mes»ge.„^ x 3fg inches, 1. p. type, very thick and heavy, almost like a full-face font, not pleasant to the eye, though the lines look as if leaded ; the paper very thin, though rough, bringing an average of about 500 pages into a moderately thick volume ; the binding was very strong, so that copies remain to-day in excellent state. The running head of all the left-hand pages is the words " Lewis and Clarke's Expedition," and of the right-hand pages " Up the Missouri "-which latter is misleading before the close of Vol. I, when the Expe- a.tion had long left the Missouri and was across the Rocky mountains. After p. 433 of Vol. II the running head is simply " Appendix " on both odd and even pages. The type-setting is bad-very bad ; misprints abound, to the number of several thousand ; in fine, the individual who is announced as having prepa/ed the work for the press, and is supposed to have read the proofs, capped the climax of all possible typographical terrorization. The punctuation is exasperat- t.ng, in more particulars than one ; besides the thousands of superfluous commas with which the text is peppered, as was the fashion in the close pointing of the period there runs through tlie book a peculiarly vir-ous use of colons, quite aside from their proper office. There is hardly a case of such colons that were not better replaced by a full stop and beginning of a new sentence, or even of a new paragraph. The Dublin edition reproduces the text pumtuatim, as a rule ; in the London editions the jiointing is somewhat improved. In the capitulation of the text the editor h.is shown good judgment. As nearly as seemed consistent with making chapters of approximately equal lengths, the ' TBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. cxxv b'iS-r t: % z::;^-;^^ r^- r -« i--^. ». .<„ ,e seen has a su.n.„ary heading of eacrZL ''!",!" u'" '"" """''"• '^''^ «"«'"''' of contents. ^ ''"*^''"' ^"'^ ^" '^ese are reproduced in the table For the reaj givL ^'T/Z • T a^ ^ir ^^ boo. n., ,,,„^, feature of the book was noUnserted i„ .n T' ' ^- *"' ^^" '"'Portant Besides this folder there should h." , °P'" "^ the original edition. -e. in Vol. I and 1 ree in Vo II T^ .^'Tr''' ^"° "''^^^ P'^'"' P^e« " fortification " on the mLIu i r Lr .t Bon H "' •• ^P J'^" "' ^'^^ ^"-"' Portage at the Great Falls of the Mit Luri ThaT '/ ? ^'^" "^ "^^ which is in the Dublin 1817 ed I hll . ^ """'^ °^ "'^ ^'^^^ ^^"5 three plates in Vol. II are x) The Great /l ?? " ^ ^^^^^ '^^ ^«^4.) The Shoot or Rapids of the Co Lbi^ (3^^;^: ^ll.'h ^'r'^' = ^'^ '^'^^^'-' copies are without any illustrations ^t all "' ''^^ '^°'""''^'^- ^ome sh::^r;^c;:s^;t::^^rr^^°'-'^'^^ ^^^ --^"''-^^^-^ book difficult and tedious wheZ e h ? consultation of the wonderful Rev. XXIV Feb fir? f ' ^^ "'""^'^^ = °"^ ^^X Gordon, in Edinb p. 10: ; Methodt'g r : kT '7 p^' ^J^ ' T' ^''''^ ^^^ ^^ ^"'•■ X815. But these are mere sample tod ' T' '''"' J"'^' ^"S- Sept.. " Le.-is and Clark " appears in t;rltur"L" """'^^ ^" '''' P''^"^ ^^-e -time, and result in ^^o^-^-tZ^::^-^:^^ - -« [1814.] Travels \ to the I 9/7?/r/-^ ^/- w n/r- /r»^ ^ , ' ^^«rr^ 0/ ///^ Missouri River I I ' • I i-rmiea /or Longmatiy CXXVl bihliographical introduction. Hurst, Rccs, Orme, and Brozun, Patcrnostcr-Row. \ — | 1814. One vol., 4to, pp. i-xxiv, 1-663, i folding and 2 {or 5 ?) full-page maps. "The present edition is printed nearly verbatim from the original; the sheets of which were forwarded to this country by the American proprietors : the only liberty that has been taken with the language, has been merely the correction of a few inadvertent grammatical or typographical errors. The American copy contained an Appendix drawn up by Captain Lewis on the State of the Indian Nations ; ... but as the subject is altogether of a local nature, and the observations possess little interest for the British reader, it has been omitted." Besides the whole Appendix, which occupies 89 pages of the origi- nal, Jefferson's Life of Lewis and the American editor's preface are also omitted ; the place of the latter being occupied by a new preface of the English editor. This preface consists chiefly of a sketch of other explorations in the West, especially Pike's (which Rees had edited in i8ii) ; it also includes Presi- dent Jefferson's Message of Feb. igth, 1806, and an extract of the Mandan letter, of Apr. " 17th", i. e., 7th, 1805, from Captain Lewis to the President, with bibliographical references to the Jefferson pamphlet of i8o6, to the English edition (1809) of the Apocrypha, and to Gass' Journal ; which latter is spoken of in more complimentary terms than those used by the American editor. Except- ing these points and those mentioned above in quotation marks, this English 410 edition is identical with the original American one. It was succeeded the next year by a 3-vol. 8vo reprint, as follows : [18 1 5.] Travels \ to the source of \ the Missouri River \ and across the \ American Continent \ to \ the Pacific Ocean. \ Performed by order of \ the Government of the United States, I in the years 1804, 1805, ^'^(i 1806. \ ~ \ By Cap- tains Lczuis and Clarke. \ — \ Published from the Official Report, I and illustrated by a map of the route, \ and other maps. I — \ A nezv edition, in three volumes. \ Vol. T. [//. ///.] I — I London : \ Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brozun, \ Paternoster- Rozv. \ 181 5. Three vols., 2,vo. Vol. I, pp. i-xxvi, i /, not paged, 1-41 1, 3 maps. Vol. II, pp. i-xii, 1-434, 3 waps. Vol. HI, pp. i-xii, 1-394. Except in form, and in some minor details of typography incident to resetting of the type, this is identical with the 4to edition of 18 14. Being convenient in RnnjOGRAPHicAL iNTRo...u;-io:.' cxxvii form and otherwise unexceptionable 't is a fnvnrif» u even in this country, than L ori«i,^, . .9 " " !' ^''""V «^7" -«' with. 18X7. apparently fron> the san.e pbt s houd.I ^- '^^-'l ""'•««• date of of Vol. I. a slight .Iccrepancy in tl ^.'t o th^ -;:'":r' "" "V"''' '"'' '"«^^ i8.7.asn.yea.ilyhaveLJtheaI 1,:^^^^^^^^ If re-.ssued suhse.ucnt to two English 3-vol. 8vo editions of i and 8 ' T "' T"'' ''''''" tinction. as the pagination i. the same ' ^"' '' ''"'"'' "'"^""' '''^- Meanwhile, in the year ,815. the work (?) was translated mo Gen.an and published in that language. The abridged title of something in German, not seen by me is thus c^iven by Kayser; I regret that I am unable to Lm^ll the ^2: 17. / 7fr , V '^^"■^^^'^^ ^« «• Jakren 1804-6. Ans d hngl. V. Wcyland. Mit. i Karte " ..r ./. W [/W., .^..^, ,,, ^^^,,,^j i9.r/|*| 7>'2>,i ^--^/, I B.J A. Bluss, 6r Zoon. | 1816 [1817 1818]. J nree vols., %vo. Vn/ / tQi^ y.^ • •• Fc./ // iSi7 L ,• i8i6,M,-.v.^.t-,,, 1-398. ;«.^. I 335 '"^^°* ''• ^^^' '^^^' ^^- ^■-'^^' aihi^JLiuii^of^;' ^K?'' r^r- '°"'"^^^ '"^'•^ ^^""^ '"^^ English iSi5(Kees preface being reproduced and the original preface i'l cxxvm FUiU.IOCRAPIirCAr, INTRODUCTION. and memoir of Lewis omitted). Ihe Dutch translator prefixes a preface of his. own (VoorheriKt van dcu Vertaler, pp. iii-xviii of Vol. I) and furnishes a number of new footnotes. Hut the appendices of the original edition arc omitted, and in their -stead arc yivcn as appendices Jefferson's Message of February lyth 1806 and Lewi.s Man.lan letter to the President, these two occupying pp. 337-335' The book ends with Aanteekcningen on p. 335. There arc no illustrations, 'iho map IS legended | Kaart | der Keizen van Lewis en Clarke | door hct Westclijk Gedcelte van | Noord Amerika | van den Mississippi tot deZuid Zee, | op last vail de Uitvocrende Magt der | Vereenig.lc Staten, | en 1804, 5 en 6 I In lower margin is " C, van llaarscl en Zoon, sculps." and " Te Dordrecht, bij A. Itliisse .V Zoon." This map was redrawn and re-engraved, and the execution isl,ctter than that of the original. The size is about the same-a trifle higher and a triHe shorter. The lettering is mostly in Dutch, but with most of the Indian and some of the English and French names unchanged. It is faithfully done though I observe several slips of the tlraughtsman or cngraver-which woul.l yield a little crop of synonyms of rivers, etc., as " Missourri," " Mil" for Milk K.. Meir " F usue " and " Riddle" for Lakes Fustis and Hi.ldlc, " Quamash Vlaktc " m one place and " Quamash Flats" in another, etc.. etc. While this Dutch translation was in progress, there ap- peared an Irish 2-vol. edition at Dubh'n, in 18 17, as follows: [18 1 7.] History \ of\ the Expedition | under the command of Captains Lexvis and Clarke, \ to \ the sources of the Missouri, I thence \ across the Rocky Mountains \ and doivn the \ River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. \ Per- formed during the years 1 804-5-6. | By order of the \ Gov- ernment of the United States. \ Prepared for the press I by Paul Allen, Esq. \ With the Life of Captain Lewis, \ by T. Jefferson, \ President of the United States of America I In tivo Volumes. \ Vol. T [//]. | Philadelphia : published by Bradford and Inskeep; and Abm.LL \ Inskeep, Newyork I Dublin : \ printed by J. Christie, \-]0, James s-street I 1817. I • ' Tivo vols., 8w. Vol. I, map as frontisp., title-leaf backed wtth Caldzuell's Pennsylvania copyright, 4 iinpaged leave<; of Contents, preface pp. iii~vi, Life of Capt. Lezvis pp. tv-xxviii. Narrative pp. 1-588, with ^ pll. opp. pp. 78, 326, 327. Vol. ir, title-leaf as before, contents pp. i-xii, 2 unpaged leaves of List of subscribers and directions for placing plates, pp. 3-643, tvith i pll. opy.pp.^o, 67, 90. I BinLIOGRAPIirCAI, INTRODUCTION. cxxix Of nil the reissucH this one i "contents" are identical J.h tlLV: Ihe^ H 1^ •r^Tn'-*"" ^'^'"^' unpnt'e,! leaves gives subscription list of the new ^i ' . . ' " " '""P'*' "^ the plates. The n.ain text s wor 7. wordL-- '' " """""'" '"^ P"'^'"^ crepancies incident to resetting ti?. v L n \ "'' -""« typographical dis- transposed in the narrative 7sJ \hT ' . ^^ ^"^' " "*'''''''• '"''^" '»^'»y. "' the larger and more op t ^Z' " ?:: ^l "^t^ "' P^^es resulting L. appendix .some slight nuxlihclt bns .re f "' '"*'''' ^''^'- ^" ^^« •'Appen.lix" (bei'g pp 'I T , "f "?^ ' " '''"^ '^^'^'^''* ^''^"^ says gives half-title | Obs rlat ot a ^r'e c^ 'r^"' '''^"'' ^P''' 5^^- 548) I of I Upper I Louisiana irrelir' ' "" "'' ' P-^^^^"' «"'! future state inhabiting th t cZ ""a, tZT '^^«'?^"""-"' °^ "^^ Indian | nations Captain Lewis. | ). headL g i ^o ," ;.■!' ""'^^'^°"- -''^ "- --• I "y Louisiana." running; to n ^cT, 1 , ■^' , , "''""'^ "" '''''^''^''^ "^ Upper hacked bhnk (pp '5 5 586) with t'he ^ '^ ^ ,''"^'- ''"'"" ^"'"^ ^ '^^ In.iians.. pp. 5 7-506 i'n slsHn M "' ' ^'"'"'^'^ ' °^ ' "^« ^^estern the ..JL u£' ct ^ xs "U'r'^r V" '" •"'" ^--• meteoroloLTical tables of ho ! ^ unbroken text ; then the tlmt, instead of preceding il,e Estimate of ,L (^" ! 1 , , "'°' ."'"'P"""". '» 1-. of the a,,pe„diei„ ,,L „d X,,: vl„Te " """""' " '""""'' "" Platct. beside r^p The ;'""''•'"'"''''" ^"''^ ' handled-had ./; tl.e Missouri T i^^ i^ow ot ,i " aT' T '^ ""^ ^"^""^^ °^ "^^ ^'^^ ^^^"^ "^ tend to account ^r T ^^ '"''"''"'" "'^'-'^^''^^^- ^^^^ -..,.,. if" ;;:;,. :™:-r:-- cxxx BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. book than the princeps itself, superior in every particular of its mechanical execution ; besides which, it is literally true to the original, and thus by far the best reprint. During the period from 1817 to 1842, there were no editions or imprints of Lewis and Clark that I know of. At the later date, the Messrs. Harper & Brothers, having procured a copyright, made the first issue of a new and modified edition, prepared for them by the Rev. Dr. M'Vickar. There have been a great many (see beyond) successive re-issues of this handy little abridgment, all of which, however, appear to have been printed from the same plates. They are in fact the same edition, though in some of the copies I have seen the maps are omitted. The follow- ing title is quoted from the issue of 1868 : [1842-91.] History \ of \ the Expedition \ under the com- mand of \ Captains Letup's and Clarke, \ to \ the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky \ Mountains, and doivn the River Columbia to the \ Pacific ocean : performed during the \ years 1804, 1805, 1806, | by order of the Gov- ernment of the United States. \ Prepared for the press \ by Paul Allen, Esq. \ Revised, and abridged by the omission of unimportant de- | tails, with an introduction and notes, \ by Archibald M'Vickar. \ In two volumes. \ Vol. I. [//.] Nezv York : \ Harper & Brothers, Publishers, \ Franklin Square. \ 1868. Tivo vols., \?,mo, some of the issues forming part of Harpers' scries, " The Family Library." \ Vol. I, pp. i-vi, {title and advt.) i*~v*, {contents), vii-li, 53-371, i folding and 3 other maps. Vol. //, pp. i-x, 1 1-395, 3 tnaps. By the obliging attentions of the publishers themselves, I have been put in possession of the following memoranda of the dates of the successive issues, most of which consisted of 250 copies : September, 1842 ; January, 1843 ; May, 1843; January, 1844; July, 1845 ; April, 1847; May, 1850; August,' 1851 '; June, 1855; April, 1S58 ; November, i860; February, 1868; March, 1871 (Vol. II); April, 1872 (Vol. I); February, 1874 (Vol. II); December,' 1875 (Vol. I); Febriuiry, 1881 ; March, 1882 ; July, 1883; April, 1886 ; February, 1886 ; June, 1891— inall 20 issues of the whole work, under 22 different dates. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. cxxxi I'eingnownearlyoutofnrintl 1 ^ J ? f'' '- "'^ ^''^'^'^ edition] forth an edition of h '^ ' 177" '° "^!, P"'^''^^-^ ^ -^'^ble time to pu details, withasketcl/of ti ZreL r" "' "-'"'^ ^^"'"'^ °' unimportant a summary account of aHirrmlT"'"" ''""^"^ °" '''^ ^^^"^'^ --'• -ch extracts and illustratirs from ^^ ^"'•'■''' """ ''^' "'''^^••"^^^' ^"^ objects of trade, the loveo since or!,"""'"" °' '^*^'- ^^^^^^-^- '^^ ^y taking would allow. [Tl dSwM v' I" "w* " ''' ''""'^ °' ''^^ ""'^^- Vol. I. consists of this nLter J TLl^,I;trthV"'"'r'^^^ "'■ ^"-"- «^ by inverted commas, and whe/e portio s of t embr!""" '"'™'' " '"'"^'^^ >ng particulars, have been omitteS. the eadin; (Tt T^ T""'' '"'^ "'""'^^^^'- the editor in his own words so thlt tL ? ^ ^^^ ^"'" ''"^"^ '^'^'^d by unbroken, and nothing of i.^; rta„ ' js ^^"7' ''' "^^"^''^^ '^ P— ^d chapter of the second\olume [of the Ame • ,"'''"• " ' '^^'^^ --"'l^ account of the quadrupeds, birSs and ^ZTT ', °" °^ '^^"^J' S'^'^g ^" tributaries, has. toavoid un.ec ssarv int ^ I "'^ °" the Columbia and its been transferred to the append"' ' '"'""'P''"" °^"'- -"'se of the narrative. J^:;:;::^l;:Cj:2S;::s^'•^^'-'•°^ ^'-^ --^^= ^^^^^^-ny being relegated to an appendix transl.M "'""' '"'°'^ '^'"P'^'"' ^^^'des portions, the botany coming fi'r't e ' " , "', '°''^"''^^^ '^"'^ ^°^'°Sical edition; it is. furthermore, ifke the stoHh"' '"/°°'°Sy in the present cretion, the omissions being indica ed by , tir ' ^1^' " ^'^ ^'''°^'^ "■■^- rnate of the Western Indians is given Tat ,' . " '^"^ ^PP^"dix the Esti- Indian Nations and their Places of f , n ^°''^^''' "Enumeration of the awkward form of tie origLl ^™\'^-dence." and is not printed in printed in different form from the' on>inar"'-;S Tr"""^ ''''''""^' '°"""-^' their accon>panying Remarks and ReflectLns. are 0.1^™°"'''"' ''^''"' "'"' tion : and by the relegation'of chap, i y^^'uTn ■'^"\" °' ''"^ ^^"■ d.x of the present edition, the numeration of M . "'■'^'""' '° ''*'' ^PI"-""- come out the same number in Vol ifnTmeV ■ '''" " "'""'' ''""^^ "^^^ I acc:di.s;r::;r :z s:ii::i:?::i ^ -- p^-. 3 in ea., voi. and others with this but no other £r tier rr"^'" "''""'''" ^°''^-- the small si.e of the book, and the a^ P k ihrlv i"t"' '",?'""' '° '''' factorily the route. particularly, is too small to trace satis- J'abin says that the M'Vickir ,.,! ,... • , '""^^ -mo. with modified titll, t^ t t h/S^S'T '\ 'r"'°"' ''''' ' '-'^■' "Oregon fever" in 1842 For title L^ V T"""^ "'"' ^''''' '^"' "f ">'= X- of his Pibl. Amer. ' '' ^"^'" '^ ^'^^ -^"■834. on p. 313 of Vol. cxxxu BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. Jjiiiiii !li4R!i;LV|ll!l R^sum^ of the several publications noticed in the foregoing pages. I. Jefferson's Message and Accompanying Documents, 8vo, Washington, A. & G. Way, 1806.— The same, Svo, New York, Hopkins & Seymour, 1806.— The same, Svo, Lon- don, R. Phillips, 1 807.— (The three preceding genuine.)— The same, mutilated, abridged, and " Carverized " with irrele- vant matter, 8vo, London, 1809.— The same, do., do., do., i2mo, Philadelphia, H. Lester, 1809.— The same, with slight modification, 1 2mo, Baltimore, W. Fisher, 181 2 and 1813.— The same, with slight further alteration, i6mo, Dayton, B. F. Ells, 1840.— 8 editions (all spurious except the first three). IL Gass' Journal, i2mo, Pittsburgh, D. M'Keehan, 1807. The same, 8vo, London, J. Budd, 1808. The same, i2mo, Philadelphia, M. Carey, 1810, 1811, and " 1812 " (latter not seen by me).— The same, 8vo, Paris, A. Bertrand, 18 10 (French translation).— 6 editions (all genuine). in. The Biddle History of the Expedition, 2 vols., Svo, Philadelphia, Bradford & Inskeep, 18 14.— The same, I vol., 4to, London, T. Rees, 18 14.— The same, 3 vols., Svo, London, T. Rees, 181 5 and 1817.— The same (?) "Svo, Weimar, 1815 " (German something, not seen by me). — The same, 3 vols., Svo, Dordrecht, A. Bluss6 & Zoon, 1S16-18 (Dutch translation).— The same, 2 vols., Svo, Dublin, J. Christie, 1817 (the best of all).— The same, much abridged, with notes, 2 vols., iSmo, New York, Harper & Bro., 1842- 91. — 27 editions. In all,' 40 or 41 different imprints of the three series of books, about 20 of which may be considered as actually different editions, prior to the appearance of the 4 vol. ed. of the History, New York, Francis P. Harper, 1893. » Exclusive of certain issues, unknown to me, but indicated in Sabin's Bibl. Amer., as duly noted in the foregoing pages. The basis of the foregoing Bibliographical Introduction is my article entitled : An Account of the various Publications relating to the Travels of Lewis and Clarke [«V], with a Commen- tary on the Zoological Reiultsof their Expedition, in Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr,, ad ser., No. 6, Feb. 8th, 1876, pp. 4>7-444. and separate, Svo, Washington, 1876-the same having been recast and improved (or the present occasion. LEWIS AND CLARK'S EXPEDITION. CHAPTER I. UP THE MISSOURI TO THE PLATTE. Preliminaries-The Expedition leaves Wood river PnM . LaCharbonniire-Townof St. CharleT-Rn„ H "'" ""^-Piper's landing- ern cave-Devil's R-e-groundfia cLr^e JX^.o's^^r. ''°'"''" "^"-^'- Gasconade river-Deer creek-Rush creek r?. a\' f^'P"'"''' '""^ Ash creeks- -Osage Indian .raditions-CuXL Mo7e!L^ r . ^'" \^^"''<^y rivers-Osage river Woman. Little Manitou, and Split Rock crek"' slf' '''«''""«^'=- L-<^. kittle Good Woman river-Mine river-Arrow rock "I,h~^' "ver-Big Manitou river-Good -The two Charitons-Des MoLs rtr CM;ot T'^-^''"''''"'' '"' ^«=" "-■'•^ gagement of Mr. Durion-Round Bend" re k "^ S^" "''"'-^'"'" ""''-En- bluffs and creek-Panther island-Ti.fer a„d .. I ^.sso^r.s-Grand river-Snake Clear-water creek-Fire-prairie creik Fn./ P • '^'""^'"'"'''■"'-L'E^" ««=»" or Charbonni.re.LaB.nitea'^.dBlue;; e7c k,-Th7Kar''"' '''"J'°" ^"^'^' ^'^ Shallow river-Diamond island-Biscuit creek ,, ^''""^ "^" ''"^ Indians-Little creek-Bear-medicine and Cow islands-Go linrl'' t" ^^'^''^-^"^ creek-Turkey andYellow-ochre creeks-Reeveyi and s 'mIh r" °""' °' J"'^' '"-^'P-dence' and Great Nadowa islands-Pike pond m^^/^" \P"'""-Ordway's creek-Little creek-Solomon's isIand-Tarkio cree^-NrmaVa ""''~';°"' °'" '^°''' "— P^Pe's batona river-Little Nemaha river-Fa' S^n and ^^m"?^ "'"'" river-Nishna- Oven islands-Terrien's oven_I 'Fau nui P '^f''^ ■^'•''nds-Bald-pated prairie- reaches the Platte river, and camps f ^I'lls^^nd its ZZh"^''''-^"' ^^^^^'^'^ ®^0thl7"'''!'r °' ''°"""'^"^' •" ^^^ y--"- ^803 [April 30th], the attention of the Government of the United s-e year an expe'dition"::rpt:eVtX"^;:e:L:n: tr: tt Mis^:^-^'^^ ^/ ^■•-verin/the:ou'r;:d were asso Ited in .h ^™^ ^^ '^^" ^"'^^^ States. receivi ; "e reau is t/ 'T"' °' ''" "^^^^P^''^ ^f^- ng the requisite instructions. Captain Lewis left the Ma 2 ORGANIZATION OF THE EXPEDITION. seat of government [July 5th, 1803], and being joined by Captain Clark at Louisville, in Kentucky, proceeded to St. Louis,' where they arrived in the month of December. Their original intention was to pass the winter at La Char- rette {p. 2), the highest settlement on the Missouri. But the Spanish commandant of the province, not having received an official account of its transfer to the United States, was obliged by the general policy of his government to prevent strangers from passing through the Spanish territory. They therefore camped at the mouth of Wood [Du Bois] river, on the eastern side of the Mississippi, out of his jurisdiction, where they passed the winter in disciplining the men, and making the necessary preparations for setting out early in the spring, before which the cession was ofifi- cially announced. The party consisted of [the two oflficers] ; nine young men from Kentucky ; 14 soldiers of the United States Army, who had volunteered their services ; two French watermen [Cru- zatte, Labiche] ; an interpreter and hunter [Drewyer] ; and a black servant [York] belonging to Captain Clark. All these, except the last, were enlisted to serve as privates during the expedition, and three sergeants [Floyd, Ordway, Pryor, were] appointed from among them by the captains. In addition ' Before it was named St. Louis, this place hjd been called Pain Court. It was founded by Pierre La Clede and his associates in 1764, or not until 84 years after the establishment of Fort Crevecreur on the Illinois river, and was long inhabited almost exclusively by the French. In Lewis and Clark's time it was a mere village. The inhabitants undertook to incorporate as a town July 23d, i3o3, under an act of the Territorial Legislature of June i8th. 1808. But an elec tion of trustees made on the former date proved illegal, and the mistake was not rectified till November gth, 1809, when the Court of Common Pleas was petitioned for incorporation. The Court approved, and the first valid election of trustees was ordered for December 4th, 1809. Probably the best pen-pictureof St. Louis during the next few years is in Irving's Astoria. Up to 1816 St. Louis was confined to its original three streets. The first official survey of the town was made in June. 1818, by Joseph C. Brown, Deputy United States Surveyor. In October, 1817, " Illinois Town " was laid out, opposite St. Louis. « For ratification of the treaty, and actual transfer of Louisiana to the United States, in which latter transaction Captain Lewis had a hand, see my notes near the end of Jefferson's memoir of Captain Lewis, - ^teh. STORES AND INDIAN PRESENTS. • wa emen, to accompany the expedition as far as the Man- da nat.on, ,n order to assist in carrying the stores, or in re. pemng an attack whicl, was most to be apprehended betwee^ Wood nver and that tribe,' Tl>e necessary stores were To tt;;tf eac,° T: '^'"' ^"^ °'"= ^-containing a s^U portion of each article in case of accident. Tliey consisted pl:i:;b:ir'"^°' ^'°;'""^' --^-'^ "'--'^' '-'-"i- ' we e ajV'j' '""^ '"'''?' °' ">' S^^'-' "-• To these trZtedin // ""' """ ^"'^ °' Indian presents, dis. and^ '^l f' ■°°'""S-gl='=^«. I.andl''^' ""^" ^'ready inchuiing Captai^llli^lL. C ^i^^IX't^l^T'""^ '"^" ^ ^'^^'"^^ Hion. i^apt. Lewis's party ».*„. . c»'-,,.,,„r:::c ai. r-.,:?2; -";™» x-'-^y, u ;.. «>: Capt. Clark. When leavin.r hJ. i ' """^ '^ "^S""" 'servant of hands, the party then numberinL'dq in all " Kn T ^ ^^ '" '^^ ^'^'•''' t- vii. where I discuss the oi^^^^ ^\..':^ ^T °" '''' ^""J'^^' ■" ^"^P" K'-ver„ment as belonging to Canta n 1 e i '°"' ''"'"^''"'"'^ ^^^^ na.nes on the origin.^ ^i:^:s^z^::jr:x::^T ^''' '''.'r'-' °^ archives of the War r)epartment at Washington. ' """""' *" "^^ il'l ill • m 5 i • pi i i i p < 4 DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION FROM WOOD RIVER. for the taste of the Indians. The party was to embark on board of three boats : the first was a keel-boat 55 feet long, drawing three feet of water, carrying one large square-sail and 22 oars. A deck of ten feet in the bow and stern formed a fore- (p. j) castle and cabin, while the middle was covered by lockers, which might be raised so as to form a breast- work in case of attack. This was accompanied by two perioques* or open boats, one of six and the other of seven oars. Two horses were at the same time to be led along the banks of the river for the purpose of bringing home game, or hunting in case of scarcity. Of the proceedings of this expedition, the following is a succinct and circumstantial narrative." All the preparations being completed, we left our camp on Monday, May 14th, 1804.' This spot is at the mouth of Wood [Du Bois] river, a small stream which empties into the Mississippi [on the east side], opposite the entrance of the Missouri. It is situated in latitude 38° 55' 19.6" north, and longitude from Greenwich 89° 57' 45" west. On both sides of the Mississippi the land for two or three miles is * .S"«V— misprint for " periogue, " the usual form of the word in Lewis and Clark, and also in Gass. The letter of Captain Lewis to President Jefferson, dated Fort Mandan. April 7th, 1805 (published with Jefferson's Message of Feb^ uary i6th, 1806), prints " peroque." Sometimes the word occurs as " perogue "; never once piro^^'ue, the accepted spelling, to which M'Vicker alters in his edition of 1842. I leave it as I find it— "periogue." Similar boats would now be named Mackinaws. They have been much used on the Missouri. I traveled in one neariy a thousand miles down the river, from the head of navigation to Bismarck, and found it safe and commodious. It was shaped like a Hat-iron, with pointed bow but square stern, flat-bottomed, roomy yet with little draft,' manned with four oars, and steered with a long pivoted sweep. It carried a crew of twelve men. besides myself and three companions, with a month's pro- visions, and could be fitted with a mast and sail (made of a tert-fly) to help along when the wind was abaft ; yet it was not too heavy to be shoved off a sand-bar when we ran aground, if we all jumped overboard— an incident that no day passed without. * The foregoing is an original editorial introduction ; the narrative of Lewis and Clark begins at this point. « Captain Clark in command ; Captain Lewis was detained a few days (till May 2ist.)— Gass, p. u. COLD-WATER CRliEK-I.A CHARBONNliRE. 5 rich and level, but gradually swells into a high pleasant ITlT^^lr ""',"°? '"'""'"" '"-' on thettrn eparate ""/"^"P ■"« °' cultivation. The point which J,Z \, ^° '""• """' on ">= north ext.-nds for 15 or 20 m les he greater part of which is an open level nla.n in gti'n 1 1'""'^ °'^'" -•^^''o^hood cultivate ihltlt't: P T we did"":- ^' ^""^ '"''^ 'o -' '-' before 4 onThe first f ,".""' """'= "'^" '°n^ ">""• ''nd ca„,ped mH k I T, ■ °''-''°" u. ' '""■" ""l^ ""«i Cold-water.- last n.ght ceased th,s morning. We then proceeded and after pass.ng two small islands about ten mi es further Stopped for the niVlit af Pin^r'e i j- lurtner, island Tho wl f ^ landing, opposite another amnt in W f ''^ I""' "'^'"^ '"''^P'^' ^"^ ^^e banks are falmg .n. We found that our boat was too heavily laden wdL'on tL bi' nr bitTpTer :'^°^ ^'^ ^^^^^^^ in^ending(,^,)bothth^^;Zir"^ Lber. "'"' ''^ ^"^^ ^"^"^^^'- °f concealed At'^h^rr' ""'■"/■"^, ^^'^ ^^^''J ^^ ^^t ^-'-l at five o'clock- coan^lt oTir ' 'r "'^^' ^^^ P^'^^^^ ^ ren^arkable hrge* coal mil on the north side-, called by the French La Chfr bonna^re." and arrived at the town of It. Charles at 2 p^" Here we remained a few days. ^ -■* ' ''Camped on the north bank six miles up the river " C... creek is just above Bellefontaine. where a milil v no 7 ~^^'':.^- '^' 'his era! lames Wilkinson in i8o. %™^ .^ ."'''^■^'y Post was estabh'shed by Gen- the river in 1819 The ^rk^ ,'J' Z'' "'' °' ''" '°" "^^ '" ^^^ ^^^ «f '8x0. See Lon',-s Exped Ro k MtT T^^:; VT. '''' ^^^^ '''^^ '" spot interests the naturahst as that of the ' ''' ^ " "^°" ''• ''''^ Say, in 1819. ' °^ """ •^''"°^^''y °^ ^''V^/^^ ^^«/«;./fl.«. by bolkl ofThat'd'a t~ ':2::ir' t' = ^'^^ °^^^" ^^^"^^ -^'^ «- « - name was , ven by the Fr ' hTnt "" T?"' ' '^°^'-P'' °^ ^°"->'- ^he ofcoalnear^hewaCatth base:^?^^^^^^^ early settlers, from the beds S-. of the place has't^n^: , o ed\o bT dre" o^':: /'^ ^"'^^"-- Pymes. Another place, further up^'the river re e.Ve th^e L' rmT"°" '' W" Bill ^''' wf* '. i WM !'■ 1 ' ' ^ 1 •'i* " i 6 THE TOWN OF ST. CHARLES. St. Charles' is a small town on the north bank of the Missouri, about 21 miles from its confluence with the Mis- sissippi. It is situated in a narrow plain, sufficiently high to protect it from the annual rising of the river in June, and at the foot of a range of small hills, which have occasioned its being called Petite C6te,'° a name by which it is more known to the French than by that of St. Charles. One principal street, about a mile in length and running parallel with the river, divides the town, which is composed of nearly lOO small wooden houses, besides a chapel. The inhabit- ants, about 450 in number, are chiefly descendants from the French of Canada. In their manners they unite all the careless gayety and amiable hospitality of the best times of France. Yet, like most of their countrymen in America, they are but ill qualified for the rude life of the frontier — not that they are without talent, for they possess much natural genius and vivacity; not that they are destitute of enterprise, for their hunting excursions are long, laborious, and hazardous; but their exertions are all desultory; their industry is without system and without perseverance. The surrounding country, therefore, though rich, is not generally well cultivated; the inhabitants chiefly subsist by hunting and trade with the Indians, and confine their culture to gardening, in which they excel. May 2\st. Being joined by Captain Lewis wlio had been detained by business at St. Louis, we set sail on Monday, May 21st, in the afternoon [4 p. m.], but were *Now at the same site and by same name, in St. Charles Co., Mo. The town declined somewhat after Lewis and Clark's visit, but had befjnn to revive when Major Long's party passed it on the "Western Engineer," June 26th, iSiQ. Pop. lately 5,000. '" Not accented in the original te.xt. This French name for a range of hills or the like acclivity, formerly very common in the West, is usually superseded now by its synonym in this sense, coteau ; as, Coteau de Missouri. The latter is often spoken as an English word in the West ; as, a prairie coteau. The most notable instance of the retention of the word is probably its applic.ntion to the very long, but low, dividing ridge which separates the Missouri watershed from that of Mouse river, a tributary of the Assiniboin. BON HOMME KIVER-KICKAPOO INDIANS. f an island, nearly IT^T ^^^ ^^ f °" ""= "^ P" P"''"' "f south sici; ^ '^P """ =• "'"'^ "''i''' '^'k in on the s.^l^s'on^LuiiLt:,"' " '""^'' "^^^'"^ ---' and a large creek o„ til ' .7"' " "™''" °' '^''""i^. Good M™- ;,Ver " AsZ ; k'' ''?'' "™ "°""'=' - United State have ttT ' "^"f '""e™"'^ f™"' "'^ which are V ry fer ,e We °" ^ '?'' °' ""'^ ""■<' and camped on the „or,rside ^ '"""^ '"■«"• '""0^' we met ,Wth a camp of Ki kit; ^'Zl ^™»" "?'■ ""= at St. Charles with a orlmS f '' "■''° '""' '"^f "^ visions by the .ime ^'0 ok r^'' t! " ^"r ''^°- present of four deer -.nd 1 . '"^ "'^''' "' ^ quarts of whisky Thistliir ^ "f """^ '" ''='"" '"o Aaskaskia and lUinoT r ve s onTl .? "'', "'^'^ °' "'= o- • • , ^""'ois rivers, on the other s de of thp Mi'c s,.ss,pp,, but occasionally hunt on the Missoun' '" May 2id. Two miles from our rimn of i «. • , reached a river emptying itseironth/ °^1''' "'^^^ ^^ x\7 r^ ^ ■' ^ itseit on the north side nllpri [I-emme Osage or] Osage Woman river." It Tabou o ya.ds w,de. and has a settlement of 30 or 40 familt f^om 'Eonum,"p. n. There is etiii o „! tl- "'"' ^"-y ^^^7)- Cass spells t The n.,„,., .citing ^oSI'LoH;''." S;" 'rn'" """ """"'"■ Fox wo J jrikanu siVnifvinrr '. """es, IS either (i) a corruption of the river; or (f) a ^ fwatfZ 'T ' "''°"^ "^''^ "^ obstruction." as a kakabu. to stand orTwH ' """'"^ """^ "'" ^^'^"^^ fi™'y." ^-m Algonkins. in a b'road se 'e heT ' Tf"^ " °""'^ ^^°^'-" '^^" '^- are in the United S^^Z^ZZ Z^ tflS' t' K • 1"°^ '''''^ are.pj.sed\:t:i:^.:r^:-rr;S^ -.desthese^heL On Lewis' Lp o iSoMpub x8 ,) ^h "" '" "°^ "°^''"^ " ^^""^ O^^^-" P 1000 (pub. 1887) the name stands "Ossage VVomans Cr." I 8 THE TAVERN— devil's RACE-GROUND— LA CHARRETTE. the United States. About a mi'o: and a half beyond this is a hujje cave on the soiitii side, at .he foot of cliffs nearly 300 feet high, overhanging the water, which becomes very swift at this place. The cave is 120 feet wide, 40 feet deep, and 20 high; it is known by the name of the Tavern" among the traders, who have written their names on the rock and painted some images which command the homage of the Indians and French. About a mile further we passed a small creek called Tavern creek, and camped on the south side of the river, having gone nine miles. May 2\th. Early this morning we ascended a very diffi- cult rapid, called the Devil's Race-ground, where the current sets for half a mile against some projecting rocks on the south side. We were less fortunate in attempting a second rapid of equal difficulty. Passing near the southern shore, the (/. 6) bank fell in so fast as to oblige us to cross the river instantly, between the northern side and a sand-bar which is constantly moving and banking with the violence of the current. The boat struck on it, and would have upset immediately if the men had not jumped into the water and held her till the sand washed from under her. We camped on the south side, having ascended ten miles. May2ijth. Passed on the south side the mouth of Wood " river, on the north two small creeks and several islands, and stopped for the night at the entrance of a creek on the north side, called by the French La Charrette,'° ten miles from our last camp, and a little above a small village of the same name. It consists of seven small houses, and as many poor families, who have fixed themselves here for the con- '^Gass calls it Tavern cove, p. 13. See Brackenridge's journal, 1814, p. 203. '^ Not to be confounded with another of the same name : see May 14th. '*Gass calls this St. Johns, p. 13. This village was founded by the original French colonists. It was about this time a residence of the famous Daniel Boone (b. Bucks Co., Pa., Feb. nth, 1735), t'-oe of American backwoodsman, who was met here by the overland party of '7 orians,"in January, i8ii,a very old man, but still erect in form, strong in limb, and unflinching in spirit. This Nestor died in La Charrette, Sept. 26th, 1S20, full of sylvan honor and renown. His latter years were spent with his son-in-law Flanders Callaway. (Compare BUFFALO AND OTTFR t^iaxtt^o ^ uiIbR ISLANDS—GASCONADE RIVER. 9 venience of trarlp tu^ t this morni,,,, tlmt Te X "/'"."fl,'*'' "'«'"• y^' "'^ '»""' "=" ""ks in mostfertileinthewhot iJe/ Vet °"' '"" °"= °' "'= sl>ore, three small cr,°.L :^ , "" " '■""' ""= "°«l>"n [ot.or.'j witiu,:'i,:d ;:;.;' "0^,"" "■? ^^-"^ —= ?™;n'."feP:::ernreP,''tt' "" ^^^^^^ the Grand Osage rive A, f* '7:^ ""J ""'' °"^"^ '^-^ we camped on a wil7o":i,lf^ i"^'/ „f f '^"" "' '5 ™"es nver." This river falls il.t.-eM: "fZ^^' """""^"^ "..ies fron, the Mississippi. ,ts leT;.h' tZZ Z'tn^, of Colonel Danid Eoo„=. clfi'i '!?' T" '" "" °' '^""'''-'^^ '»' «>' '«! « hta undar a gr.„, of Tai °8,h "V '■™ T"'^""''' l»'«l. claimed by Territory „, .Loud HZ', TL:^' t' 1"°""' °""<' Ti.le, tor ,he Approved by Ja„e, Madison, Preside,;'" S ' '"'"■""" '"'• '"» »""■ croek, and prairie. ,l,e a.Jr dese ili "^ ' '"""'''"°" "' '-<'"'- '"'"d. «'). A J,, Talbo, of K „*c '^e ,l"ed I T'" "'"^"'' " °' '"^ London When M,,i„, ,.o„,, Expedi i n p's ' ,'L ^ ' T, """ "" '"' " "«>• pf " 10 SEVKRAL TRIBUTARIES OF THE MISSOURI. « in a course j^cncrally northeast, throut^h a hilly country. On its l);mks arc a number of saltpetre caves, and it is believed some mines of lead are in the vicinity. Its width at the mouth is 157 yards, and its depth 19 feet. May 28//t. — Here we halted for the purpose of lumting, dryinj; our provisions, and making the necessary celestial observations. May 2()th, — We set sail at four o'clock [p. m.] " and at four miles distant camped on the south side, above a small creek, called Deer creek. May 30///. — Wo set out early, and at two miles distant reached a large cave, on the north, called Montbrun's ["Mombran's" in Gass] tavern, after a French trader of that name, just above a creek called after the same person. Beyond this is a large island. At the distance of four miles. Rush creek comes in from the south; at ii, Uig Muddy river on the north, about 50 yards wide; three miles further is Little Muddy river on the same side [in Callaway Co., Mo.], opposite to which we camped, at the mouth of Grindstone creek [Osage Co.]. The rain which began last night continued through the day, accompanied with high wind and some hail. The river has been rising fast for two days, and the country around appears full of water. Along the sides of the river we observe much timber, the Cottonwood, sycamore, hickory, white walnut, some grapevines, and rushes. The high west wind and rain compelled us to remain all the ne-Kt day, May 31st. In the afternoon a boat came down from the Grand Osage river, bringing a letter from a person sent to the Osage nation on the Arkansaw river, which mentioned that the a marked mass of rocks which were ornamented with Indian pictographs. It rises in hilly country near some of the sources of the Youngar or Vungar branch of the Grand Osage, and has a clear, rapid current, navigable for a few miles only. The name was often spelled "Gaskenade," as in Gass, p. 14. " The late start is accounted for by (^lass, who s.ays : " Tuesday 29///. — Seven men were sent out to hunt, six of whom returned. We waited here till 5 o'clock p. m. for the man who had not come in, and then proceeded," etc. p. 14. BKAR CKKKK—OSAGU UIVER. ,, letter announcing the cc«ion of Louisiana had been com £!tt-ii:-rci:::r-c,-y--:-- /'^/^/.y'./;.;j. u^ iS04.-\Ve set sail early this morning .5 yard, w.de; but the wind being ahead and the current -o,,o.,,da.Nor:,:-pur,^^^^^ The Osage empties itself into the Missouri at ,3, miles distant from the mouth of the latter. Its cencr' 1 co^ se ,s west and west.sou.h.est through a rich afd fe Uo , luie, .^ cru"" "^rr " """^ '^^ ^^^^ • • w. , ^^'i^e 397. Ihe low point of function ^ol K f '' ''" "^^^^^"-^"^ ^^ - ^^on S c" rem .t .s a h.gh commanding position, whence we enjoyed a delightful prospect of the country enjoyed The Osage river gives or owes its name to a nation in- s' ThB n. • . r, P ^"" ^"^ '"^n "vho had been lost miles jx:s:;,:t=t'''' irLr°7""5"' '"'""^ '" ■""»■' -^o attack and massacre d ring thela e wa bv S ^^^^^^^^ "'" "" "" - Gass makes it 197, and gives the Missouri as 875. as in our text. 12 THE OSAGE INDIANS. habiting its banks at a considerable distance from this place. Their present name, however, seems to have originated from the French traders, for both among themselves and their neighbors they are called the Wasbashas." They number between 1,200 and 1,300 warriors, and consist of three tribes: the Great Osages, of about 500 warriors, living in a village on the south bank of the river; the Little Osages, of nearly half that number, residing at the distance of six miles from them ; and the Arkansaw band," a colony of Osages, of 600 warriors, who left them some years ago, under the command of a chief called Big-foot, and settled on the Vermilion river, a branch of the Arkansaw. In per- son the Osages are among the largest and best-formed Indians, and are said to possess fine military capacities; but residing as they do in villages, and having made consider- able advance in agriculture, they seem less addicted to war than their northern neighbors, to whom the use of rifles gives a great superiority. Among the peculiarities of this people, there is nothing more re- (/. p) markable than the tradition relative to their origin. According to universal belief, the founder of the " Wabasha, whence our familiar word Wabash, is corrupted from Wazhazha, the Dakotan name of the Osage Indians. Other forms of the word are Wajaja and Wawsashe. The Osages call themselves Wacace, pronounced nearly " Wazhazhe." Osage is twice misspelled " Ossage " on Lewis' map of i8o5. ** This " Arkansaw band " of Osages must net be confounded with the Ar- kansaw or Arkensa Indians of early times, now known as the Quapaw (Kwapa) tribe of the great Siouan family. In 1805, according to Dr. Sibley, the latter lived along the Arkansaw river, in three villages on the south side, about twelve miles above the post or station. He believed that at that date they did not ex- ceed ICO men in number, and were diminishing. They were at war with the Osages, their own relations, but friendly with all other Indians, and with the whites. They were considered the proprietors of the country on the Arkansaw up to the forks, or to the country claimed by the Osages, and cultivated corn. The native name of thf Arkansaw band signifies " Dwellers in a Highland Grove." This band spoke the Osage language. The two Osage nations and the Arlansaw band constituted a principal tribe of the great Siouan fa.nily. They numbered, in 1S91, 1,509 at the Osage agenry. Indian Terr. ; besides which there were 65 at school in Lawrence, Kas. , and six at Carlisle, Pa. OSAGE TRADITIOXS-CUPBOARD CREEK. ,3 iour, and left l„m exposed on tl,e shore. The heat of the sun at length ripened hin, into a n,an ; but with the ch we of h,s nature he had not forgotten hi native at on the Osage toward which he immediately bent hi way He inpp V tirr '°:" °r=;'»'- ^r '-"gerand fatigue^vhen happily the Great Spir.t appeared, and giving him a bow :'i:s:r:'th';ri'; ;™ ttr "" -'^-^'^'^--L^cot: wiua cue skin. He then proceeded to his onVinal b?a'v::"ho"' " '" 7r''"'' "■= ''^"- <- -- - b; i beaver who inquired haughtily who he was, and by what authority he came to disturb his possession The o! ' ' answered that the river was his own, for he had o ce I ved on .ts borde-s. .s they stood disputing, the daughter 0I her father to th,s young stranger, it was proposed that the Osage should marry the young beaver, and share with h r family the enjoyment of the river. The Osar>e re.H 1 rented, and from this happy union there s^n'ame'h'ev™" t^ricfir'"";' '"=.^^'^^--^- - osages,";;; ;:t ever since preserved a pious reverence for their ances OS, abs aining from the chase of the beaver becane in Mhng that animal they killed a brother of the O a„ Of late years, however, since the trade with the wwfe kindred. ^ ' ''" "'""■ P"vileges of /""eja. On the afternoon we proceeded, and at three rock of that appearance near its entrance. Two miles of .!» Missouri, .„d „o„ JlMRLlng c,;r " "° "''" """' ■"™"' «i)H[l hi 1 ■ ;■ -, \ •<■ , ' ? '':^ 1 • h \ i |,a„^;„, i ,^' mBKUfBa^' i 1 ^BKBk ' ^' H^H^HH|i 14 MOREAU, NIGHTINGALE, CEDAR, AND MAST CREEKS. further we camped at Moreau"" creek, a stream 20 yards wide, on the southern side. /une 4t/i. This morning we passed, at an early hour, Cedar island on the north, so called (/. lo) from the abundance of the tree of that name. Near this is a small creek, which we named Nightingale" creek, from a bird of that species which sang for us during the night. Beyond Cedar island are some others of smaller extent, and at seven miles' distance is a creek 15 or 20 yards wide, enter- ing from the north, known by the name of Cedar creek.'" At y}i miles further, we passed on the south side another creek, which we called Mast"" creek, from the circum- stance of our mast being broken by running under a concealed tree. A little above is another creek on the left, one mile beyond which we camped on the southern shore under high projecting cliffs. The French had reported that lead ore was to be found in this place, but on examining the hills we could discern no appear- ance of that mineral.'"' Along the river on the south, is a '' Present name of that river which empties into the Missouri in Cole Co., a little below the capital of the state, Jefferson City (formerly Missouriopolis, as on Long's map, 1823). It is laid down, unlettered, by D'Anville, 1752; it is R. i Morou of Perrin du Lac, 1805; Marrow Cr. of Lewis, 1806 (laid down, un- lettered, by Clark, 1814) ; of Gass, 1807 ; of Brackenridge, 1816 ; Murrow in Lewis and Clark's text later on. The name is French, certainly personal (Moreau's Cr. of Long, 1823), but of uncertain sense in its application to the river, as it might mean either " nose bag " or " black-horse." '" No species of nightingale {Daulias Itiscinia), in any proper sense of the word, is found in North America. The so-called " Virginia nightingale" is the cardinal red-bird (Cardiiinlis virgiiiiaiius). '* Cedar island and creek (or river) are present names on ordinary maps ; at mouth of the stream is Cedar City, Calloway Co., opposite Jefferson City. Several other places called " Cedar " will occur in our text. ^' Marked, unlettered, on Lewis' map, 1806 ; not on Clark's, 1814, nor on any other maps examined. The name occurs in Long's text, 1823, but has long since lapsed, and the creek is probably not identifiable with certainty. It may be sought on the south side of the river, about 150 miles up, by Mo. R. Com- mission distances. ^^ This place is elsewhere called Lead-mine hill, as also by Brackenridge, 1S14, who locates it nine miles above Cedar creek. "'"■" "°™ "°"^^-' ' '"LE MAXrrO.. ETC., CKEEKS ,5 walnut ber O, T " Tf'" ''"'"' °*' -'>' ""^ situated. We™,°e /""^ "?■'"" '= *'' ="^ --" falling slowly' "^ ""'" ""^ day. The river is on the nonl,, Ino" ,'0 t le ZtlZt ^"""^ ^ r?'"^^' Good Woman cr^ pI, . j ^ ' "*■"' °f Little south, wert on . s ,eTm ''"" ^'^ """^ ""'=■ °" ">= eleve^ o'clo k we Lt a mri''r"1 ""'^ "'"""■"^■" ^' together, in which two F.chtlr '"^ """" J"'"^'' ftom 80 leagues untheK ""= descending, wintered andT 1 . "' "''"' "''"o they had orllyra;' it' iVhf' °' ^'"^ -'''- °" ^--'' - C-^-'- or any rock, about 'e'o : s up he ^ ^^T^ ''^ "^ -"^^ ^ugar-Icf name Bonne Femme is Wd down I "'"^' "'"^"^ ^^ '^^ French Mis^H between B.„n;.::iX:^..:"ircr^' ^"^^^-^ ^"^° ^'^ the south, and is down on any eood ' 1 h . '". "''" ^'''^ ^°""''^^ «" (whence //../.Aranitrn'o^rt;;..! "^f" ''"^r °' ''^'■"" '^^ ^^'=- ^S°5 of I'>rackenridge. 1814 P 2 o buf T '"rr' °' '"■'°"^^' '^'-^3; Manitoo •' painted rocI """"'h i b* "I animals and inscnpt ons. We Iinrl^H f^ gable for Z: stTJlZt "xhe''':' T'" '° ^= "^"•- Mt,.erto gi . „ ,„ :t2j^: ttr ^m-: th'::^ cre'lp- ofrt *' ,1''" ''""" '"'='" ""low-islands, and a ::le™^^:----rea.m^.dee.^ ^^ Which Gass naturally calls the river n( tu^ r>- t^ ., ply Mani-tou R. on Lewis' .ap b.u G l! i K'^Stk- ''^ '''''''' ''"'■ .thou of Perrin du Lac. 1805 I Manitoo of B ^c enrid.e 8r .' V'lf '''"■ Long. 1823; Grand Maniteau of Nicollet 81 '^ ^'^ '^^^"''^ °f creek, in Howard Co emotvinrr .. ,J r n "^ ' "^ commonly Moniteau Boone Co. The rock'noZ Th: tej" ^ T''"'' '' °^ ^^ i""-- of text docs not notice a rivulet iu 'above "'. """"" "' "^' "^^'•- "^''^^ Long (,823) called Little Sah- eler.nU whiT •' T '" ""^ ^'^^' ^'^■^'' Salt creek. Long also name a BirM;" o s V' "'/ Commission map as -.ppears on the map just -Mted iqo mi . 't. "'''*"'"'' ' '"^ " '"''^^^ '^''^"^ thou of Perrin du Uc. ' ^' ''^^ "^^'■- ^'"^ '^ ^^e L de Mani- ^•^In Howard Co. , emptying below the town of Franklin th.T^ n of Perrin du Lac. 1805, and still better kn. V r, ' '^^ ^°""^ ^""'"e English equivalent. No cll yinrterm an 7 ' • '% ^'"'' "^'"^ ^'^^" ^^ ^^e distinguish this river from ano 1 "f of " '' ' '",^' ''*"'' ^"'^ ^"'^^ °'- ""^^P t° above): but Gass inserts ■ Bg'Voe ^t ":?• t" '"^" ^'" "^^^ ^^- Siou.xhy D-Anville.i752 : but isneitllo ho, '\ "■""■ '"'^'"^ ^' ^"'^ ^« Apparently that r ver foum on ! . "°'' "°''" "' '^'^ ^ioux rivers. =» /e'ar the mouth o wl^X I one'.irorP^ '•,: ""^ °^ """^^'^ ^--^' Co.; across the Missouri is F^a^k 1^^ .^^^^^^^^^^^ '■- nveriscalledSaltFork. An early name^oMinJ^^lTa^l? 1 8 MINE RIVER— ARROW ROCK, PRAIRIE, AND CREEK. If:- if: {p. 12) which falls into the Missouri from the south, is said to be navigable for boats 80 or 90 miles, and is about 70 yards wide at its mouth. It forks about five or six leagues from the Missouri, and at the point of junction are some very rich salt springs ; the west branch, in particular, is so much impregnated, that for 20 miles the watfir is not palatable. Several branches of the Manitou and Good Woman are equally tinctured. The French report, also, that lead ore has been found on different parts of the river. We made several excursions near the river through the low rich country on its banks, and after dinner went on to the island of Mills, where we camped. We met with a party of three hunters from the Sioux river ; they had been out for twelve months, and collected about $900 worth of pel- tries and furs. We ascended this river twelve miles, June gth. We set out early, and reached a cliff called the Arrow Rock,*' iiear to which is a prairie called the Prairie of Arrows, and Anow creek, a small stream about eight yards wide, whose source is in the adjoining prairies on the south. At this cliff the Missouri is confined within a bed of 200 yards ; and about four miles to the southeast is a large lick and salt spring of great strength. About three miles further is Blackbird [now Richland] creek on the north side, opposite which is an island and a prairie inclosing a Ion of D'Anville, 1752 ; but it had been called R. i la Mine by Renaudiere, 1723. This name has varied to Lamine occasionally. In 1819, when Long passed, Booneville had eight houses. The earliest settlement in this vicinity was Roone's Lick, about four miles from Franklin, giving name to the surround- ing country. Clark's map of 1814 marks the site of " Boon's Salt Works." An establishment of this kind was in full blast at the time of Long's visit ; Brack- enridge, writing of i8ri, names one Braxton Cooper in charge of salt works then, and says that the settlement, though only a year old, consisted of 75 fami- lies. Dr. Baldwin, botanist of Long's expedition, died at Franklin, August 31st, iSig. ■"' Present name of the prominent landmark on the south side of the river, translating Pierre h lUche of the French (D'Anville, 1752). Arrow Rock is also the present name of a town on the same side of the river, in Saline Co. Across the river, and a little higher up, is the town of Lisbon, Howard Co. The rock was so called from being resorted to by Indians for stone arrow-heads. THE TWO CHARATOX RIVERS. ,9 small lake. Five miles beyond this we camped on the south s.de. after making, i„ tl^e course of the day, 13 miles 1 he land on the north is a high rich plain. On the south ^ '■' tr TJ; l\r^ ^"^'"^'' "^' '■'■^'"S ^^°- 50 to 200 feet. yu.. 10 A. We passed Deer^" creek ; and, at the distance o five m.les, the two rivers called by the French the two Charatons a corruption of Thieraton [reaci Charretin], the first of wh.ch :s 30, the second 70 yards wide. They enter the M.ssoun together ; both are navigable for boats The country through which they pass is broken, rich, and thickly covered w.th timber. The Ayauway" nation, (>./j) ^' DeeNick creek of Gass, p. 16 ; p-esent name, Hurricane creek. Just above tlus on the same s.de of the Missou-i (right hand, going up), a certa n Bear creek comes ,n on Owen's map, X84S ; and the same is'indiated on vadou otl,er maps. Fh.s seems to have escaped the attention of Lewis and Clark This word has never been satisfactorily explained ; certainly the exolana- t.on attempted in the te.xt is itself a misprint or other blunder.' It mS be e.ther Charleton or Charlatan; the former is given on p. 387 of t^e orie ed.; the latter would n.atch Gasconade, as applied to Tnother river The various forms m which we find it add to our perplexity. Thus, it is the Chcraton of Collot in 17,6 ; Charleton is Perrin du Lac s style. iS^s • LewL' map of Z806 has Char-iton ; Clark's. x8r4. prints the two Chiratons; Bracken, ndge, 1814. g.ves Chareton and Chariton, p. .„ and p. 265; Long 83 Caraton; Nicollet's map. x8.,3. Chariton; some of the'spurious Lewi and U rk books make U Chareturn ; Gass strikes out for himself with the two Char lottes, p. 16 ,^ P.ke 1810. is satisfied with two Charlatans ; Lapie. 182:. has but one rn-er, which he calls R. des deux Charlatans. I only discovc ed vh t ought to be on consulting L. and C.'s MSS. (See note under date of June -4tii. The name has now settled into the form Chariton for both rivers for the county, and for a town. The two rivers were formerly distinguished .n French as Grand and Petit Charletons (so Perrin du Lac); they have aUo b en ca ed Great and Lutle. and West and East. They are probably the pair of rivers called es rivieres aux Racines by D'Anville, 1752. though his map runs them separate y into the Missouri. These rivers reach the .Missouri through CharUon Co with Howard Co. adjoining at the confluence. The Chicago and Alton K. K. crosses the Missouri a little below this point, and both Charitons are crossed above by the Wabash, .St. Louis and Pacific R. R. The streams are straigh tish. north-south, parallel with many branches of the Grand river which c^es into the Missouri a little higher up. This is the main drainage in o he Mssouri of the rise to i,„oo feet to the west and north. Last of the (-lianlons the drainage is into the Mississippi. « This word, lacking any true consonants, is iluidic, and .aries much in 20 CHICOT OR STUMP ISLAND. consisting of 300 men, have a village near its head waters, on the river Do Moines." Further on we passed a hirge ishmd called Chicot" or Stump island, and camped on the south, after making ten miles. A head wind forced us to remain there all the next day, [June I itlij, during which we dried the meat we had killed, and examined the surrounding country, which consists of gdod land, well watered, and supplied with timber. The prairies also differ from those eastward of the Mississippi, inasmuch as the latter are generally without any covering except grass, whilst the former abound with hazel-nuts orthography. Lewis and Clark spell it several ways, as Ayaway, Ayoway, Ayahwa, Ayawai, etc. Other forms are Ayovai, Ayauvai, Aiaoaez (plura'; Another scries is Liwai, Liway, etc. In Lewis' Statistical View it is marked for accent ah'-e-o-war'. From the liquid state the wor ' has solidified into our familiar Io7va. These Indians on their separation were called Pa-ho-ja (gray snow) ; they are also among the many different Indians who have been styled Pierced-noses. The lowas were a tribe of the great Siouan family, descendants of the old Missouris. In Lewis and Cla-k's time they had one village. 40 leagues up the Des Moines river, with a population of Soo, of which 200 were warriors. Lewis represents them as turbulent savages, who were at war with many of their neighbors, even of their own kindred, and frequently abused their traders and committed depredations on persons navigating the Missouri, though they were at peace with the Ottoes and Missouris, some of the Sioux and Yankton tribes, and all nations east of the Mississippi. They traded in furs and peltries. (London ed., iSoy, p. 22.) The remnants of the lowas are 165 on the Great Nemaha Reservation in Kansas, 102 on the Sac and Fox Reservation in Okla- homa, five at sc'.ool at Lawrence, Kas., and one .it Carlisle, Pa. — 273. ■•^ The name of the river Des Moines is obviously French, but it does not mean "of the monks." It is an old word of Algonkin origin, used by Illinois Indians met by Marquette and Joliet. These Indians called their place Moin- gona, Moingonan, or Mouingouinas — a word found in some form on very old maps (and down to 1843 at least). Later the French clipped the word to Moin, calling the people les Moins, and their river la riviere des Moins. Finally, the name became associated with the Trappist mou (les moines de la Trappe) ; and the river of the Moins became la riviere des Moines, by a spurious etymol- ogy. Traces of this history of the name survive in its various spellings, as Des Moins, De Moin, De Moyen, Demoin, Demoir, even " Demon," etc. The Sioux name of the river is Inyanshasha-watpa, literally " stone-red-red-river," or as we should say Redstone river. Compare Nicollet's Report, 1843, p. 22 and map, where Moingonan is used. ••^ Plainly shown on the Mo. R. Commission map, at the 230th mile up the river. Chicot is French, meaning stump. Present name, Harrison island. PLUM CREEK— MR. DURION. 21 {Corylus amcricana\ grapes [probably Vitis cordifolia\ and aiiranlmca ?} of a superior size and quality. JZ'^-^nit '" "" T™"^ "= •'"''■•'' ""-""Sh difficult .de. At one o clock we met two rafts loaded, the one with furs the other with the tallow of buffalo; they were from the S.oux nat.on.and on their way to St, Louis ; but w^ were fortunate enough to engage one of the ran, a Mr Dunon, who had lived with that nation more than 2^ year and was h,gh ,n their confidence, to accompany us thUher We made nine miles. t-muer. /KM ip/t. We passed, at between four and five miles, a .«. c„,„ Ben. ,L. „„. c..;',;its-,L'^;;r:r"otT, 'r riiti Edmundson's creek on Owen's man nf tR.s • „ • ' ^"ese is marked nnr^ti,»r c 1. , ', ''''^"^ '"^P ^^ ^MS I One IS now called Bear creek • another. Sa t creek. Plum creek is probably the first of these. Got from them an old Frenchman, who could speak the lancua^res of fh. Ind.ans up the Missourf. and who agreed to go with us I an inte p e tr' Ga p. 17. Irvmg spells the name Dorion. and thus sketches the old fellow 'Old Doru,n was one of those French Creoles, descendants of the ancient Canadh^ stfg'es ir T",' °" ^'^ T^"" ^^°"'^^' ^"' ^"'^■^-^ - cohabit wi savages. He had sojourned among various tribes anH nprh.„c i u among them all : but his regular, orUitual .^::::'S:^^, ''^^ e had a hopefu brood of half-breed sons, of whom Pierre was one Ae domestic affairs of old Dorion were conducted on the true Indian plan Father and son would occasionally get drunk together, and then the cabin was the scene of ruffian brawl and fighting, in the course of which the old Frenchman was apt to get soundly belabored by his mongrel offspring. In a furio s ufSe of tins kind one of the sons got the old man upon the ground, and was on the aT ts ;:?^ H '"«'^' ->'-- --^ t,. o,d feUow, in imp^or n^ accents, you are too brave, too honorable to scalo vour father ' TKic , .o-e.l „„ F„.c„ sM, or ,„e ,„„.,„.,, „,„,, L'h. L« ';;, J„ ^S" wear his scalp unharmed." Astoria, ed. iS6i. p 141 Pierre appears to have been a sulky brute, who beat his wife and made him- Sh tir^ , f ' T^T '^ P°"'''^ '" ^^"^ ^^••'•y- "- -f« -- encumbe ^d ^^ th two children already, and had another en route. This squaw proved herself a eroine; the parallel between her and Sacajawea, of whom Lewis and Carl ell us much later on, is quite close. Her mongrel spouse was murd red by ^dians shortly after the overland expedition of Hunt and his party to Astoria' 22 ROUND BEND CREEKS. bend of the river, aiK^ two creeks on the north, called the Round 'Bend'" creeks. Between these two creeks is the prairie, in which once FtooH the ancient village of the Missouris.'" Of this village there remains no vestige, nor is there anything to recall thi-^ great and numerous nation, except a feeble remnant of about 30 families. They were driven from their original seats by the invasions of the Sauks [Sacs] and other Indians from the Mississippi, who destroyed at this village 200 of them in one contest, and « Marked by a mere scratch on Lewis' map, not lettered ; no trace on Clark's. Larger and later maps usually show these creeks, or one forked creek, at the head of the bend, in Chariton Co. One modern name is Palmer's creek. The Round Bend of the Missouri itself is now known as Bowling Green Bend. ■*« The Missouri or Missouria Indians (M-u'-i'a-tci) were one of the principal tribes of the great Siouan linguistic stock or family. In Powell's classification they are enumerated as the tenth of eit;hteen Sioux tribes. Lewis' Statistical View (1806) spells their native name iVew'-dar-cha. Some of the many forms of this name are Mcotacha and Neogehe. The word is said to mean " those who settle at the mouth of a river," i. e., the Missouri. They later moved up to where they V. r^re found by the French in about 1700. They lived in one village with the Otoes, mustering a total of 300 persons, with 80 warriors. They traded with the merchants of St. Louis, and their commerce was substantially the same as that of the Otoes. They were at peace with the Pawnees proper. Sacs, and Foxes, but warred with the Omahas, Poncas, Sioux, Osages, Kansas, and Pawnee Loups. At that date they v.".. e aheady the mere remnant of a numerous nation inhabiting the Missouri when first known to the French. Their ancient and principal village was 011 an extensive and fertile prairie on the north bank of the river, just below the mouth of Grand River. The smallpox, and war with the Sacs and Foxes, reduced them to mere dependence on the Otoes, with whom they resided and hunted in Lewi time ; thou^^h they were viewed by the Otoes as inferiors and sometimes maltreated ; but they were the real owners of the country for a considerable distance above their village, thence to the mouth of the Osage, and on to the Mississippi. In 1752 D'AnviUe called the Missouri the Pekitanoui, or Riviere ties Missouris. The Sacs and Foxes were in Lewis and Clark's time already so firmly con- solidated as to be regarded as one nation, and they have been usually since spoken of together. They are members of the great Algonquian family. The name of the former tribe is rendered by Lewis ( ' saukee. whence Saukee, Sauk, then Sac or Sacque. They had two villages on the west side of the Mississippi, "140 leagues " above Si. Louis, and counted 2,oou population, with 500 warriors. They warred with the Osages, Chippeways, and Sioux, but were .it peace with other tribes. The name of the Fox is rendered by Lewis Ot-tar-gar-me ; its French style was Reynard, clipped to Renard and other MISSOURI IN'DIAXS. 23 sought refuge near the Little Osage, on the other side of the river. The encroachment of the same enemies forced, about 30 years since, both these nations from the banks of tlie Missouri. A few retired with the Osage, and the remamder found an asylum on the Platte river, among the Uttoes,'» wh( are themselves declining. Oppo- {p. i^) site the plain there was an inland and a French fort, but there is now no appearance of either, the successive inundations having probably washed them away, as the willow-island, forms They numbered 1.200, with 300 warriors, and had one village near the Sacs. Of the two tribes together Lewis remarks in 1S05 • "They speak the same language. They formerly resided on the east side of the Mississippi, and still claim the land r,. that side of the river from the mouth of the Oisconsin [Wisconsin] to the Illinois river, and eastward to.vard Lake Michigan, but to what particular bound.-iry I am not informed ; they also claim, by conquest, the ^. >ole of the country belonging to the ancient Missouns, which forms one of the most valuable portions of Louisiana \i e of trans-Mississippian regions in the U. S. of 1S05], but what proportion of this territory they are willing to assign to the Ayouways [lowas]. who nlso claim a part of It. I d( not know, as they are at war with the .Sioux who live N and N. W. of them, except the Yankton-ahnah. Their boundaries in thai quarter are also undefined Their trade would become much more valuable If peace were established between them and the nations west of the Missouri with whoni they are at war. Their population has remained nearly the same for many years. They raise nn abundance of corn, beans and melons. They sometimes hunt in the country west of them, toward the Missouri, bu^ their principal hu: ing is 0.1 both sides of the Mississippi from the mouth of the Oisconsin to uie mouth of the Illinois river. These people are extremely friendly to the whites, and seldom injure their traders • but they are the most implacable enemies of the Indian nations with whom th^y are at war. To then, is justly attributed the almost entire destructi. ■ of the Missouns. the Illinois, Cahokias, Kaskaski.is, and Piorias." (Loi. 'on ed 1807, p. 23.) The Sacs and Foxes now number gSr ; there are 515 at their Agency in Indian Terr., 3S1 at their Agency in Iowa. 77 at the Pottawottomi and Grand Nemaha Agency in Kansas, and eight at the Lawrence, Carlisle and Hampton schools. ' '•"The Otos. Otoes, Ott .,r Ottoes. were Indians whose nnti e name Lewis reiiders;r.n/.«'<7/J.;-/,?//./,i>/n„aisStatist al Viewof 1S06, and Powell spells fFa-^"■ Present name : to be distinguished from Grand River in Dakota, greatly higher up the Missouri. It is the first river of any size above the Charitons, and by far the largest of any thence to the Kansas. At its confluence with the Missouri, where it separates Chariton from Carroll Co., is Brunswick, in the latter county. Its mouth is crossed by the W. St. L. and C. R. R., and a railroad follows it up pact Chillicothe, continuing nearly in a straight line to Council Bluffs and Omaha. Its name holds over from la riviere Grande of the old French writers, as Renaudiere, 1723 SNAKE IlLUFFS AND CKEEK. 25 the sand-bars on the south. These were moving continually and formed the worst passage we had seen, which we sur! mounted with much difficulty. We met a trading raft from the Pawnee nation on the Platte, and attempted unsuccess- fully to engage one of their party to return with us. At the distance of eight miles, we came to some high cliffs called Snake " bluffs, from the number of that animal in the neighborhood ; and immediately above these bluffs is Snake creek, about 1 8 yards wide, on which we camped. One of our hunters, a half-Indian, brought us an account of his having to-day passed a small lake, near which a number of deer were feeding, and in the pond he heard a snake mak- ing a guttural noise like a turkey. He fired his gun. but the noise became louder. He adds that he has heard the Indians mention this species of snake, and this story is confirmed by a Frenchman of our party." June it^th. The river being very high, the sand-bars were so rolling and numerous, and the current was so strong, that we were unable to stem it even with oars added to our sails. This obliged us to go nearer the banks, which were "This name may be traced to Perrin du Lac, 1805. who speaks of a bluff above la riviere Grande, and marks on his map " Wachanto ou endroit de serpens." Snake creek is lettered on Lewis' map, 1806, on the north side • it is traced but not named on Clark's, 1814. The present name of a creek on the south near here is Miami ; and a prominent point above, on the north is White Rock. The stretch of river to-day is between Saline and Carroll Cos. .'and from 258 to 268 miles up the Missouri. See next note below. "A snake story, told by an Indian and confirmed by a Frenchman, may be taken for what it is worth. Gass omits the story. However this may be cer- tamly some superstition or tradition concerning serpents has given nar^e to Snake creek-the considerable stream in Carroll Co. now known as Wakenda creek (the Wyaconda river of Nicollet, 1843, whose name is the same word as lerrm du Lac's Wachanto). The first element of this word is the Indian IVakon (spelled in a dozen ways or more), meaning " medicine--that is any thmg an Indian does not understand. Various maps consulted differ much in locatmg the mouth of the str.am, which has apparently changed its position by several miles, through a change in the bed of the river. Late maps bring it much nearer the mouth of Grand river than the older ones do. It may have once been above White Rock. The county town of Carrollton i. on a branch of this river. 26 VILLAGES OF LITTLE OSAGES AND MISSOURIS. falling in, so that we could not make, though the boat was occasionally towed, more than 14 miles. We passed several islands, and one creek on the south side, and camped on the north op- {p. ij) posite a beautiful plain, which extends as far back as the Osage river, and some miles up the Missouri. In front of our camp are the remains of an old village of the Little Osages, situated at some distance from the river, at the focit of a small hill. About three miles above thern, in view of our camp, is the situation of the old village of the Misscuris after they fied from the Sauks [Sacs]." The inroads of the same tribe compelled the Little Osages to retire from the Missouri a few years ago, and establish themselves near the Great Osages. The river, which is here about one mile wide, had risen in the morning, but fell toward evening. June i6th. Early this morning we joined the camp of our hunters, who had provided two deer and two bear, and then passing an island and a prairie on the north, covered with a species of timothy, made our way through bad sand-bars and a swift current, to a camp for the evening on the north side, at ten miles' distance. The timber which we examined to-day was not sufficiently strong for oars. The mosqui- toes ''" and ticks are exceedingly troublesome. Ju7ie ijth. We set out early, and having come to a con- venient place at one mile's distance, for procuring timber and making oars, we occupied ourselves in that way on this and the following day [June i8th]. The country on the north of the river is rich and covered with timber; among which we procured the ash for oars. At two miles it changes into extensive prairies, and at seven or eight miles' distance becomes higher and waving. The prairie and high "^The sites of both these Indian tribes (Little Osages and Missouris) are plainly marked on D'Anville's map of 1752, and also on Perrin du Lac's, 1805. The location is very near the present Malta Bend, in Saline Co., and a little above this place is the large island of Du Pratz, where was old Fort Orleans, to be reached tomorrow. '^ Spelled throughout the work either musquitoes or musquetoes. I alter to the usual orthography. INDIAN CROSSING-PLACE— TIGER CREEK. 27 lands on the south commence more immediately on the river ; the whole is well watered and provided with game such as deer, elk," and bear. The hunters brought in '' a fat hone which was probably lost by some war-party— this being die crossing-place" for the Sauks [Sacs], Ayau- \vs^-s [lowas], and Sioux, in their excursions against the Os. .;es. ///«r ig^/i. The oars being finished, we proceeded under a gentle breeze by two large and some smaller islands. The sand-bars are numerous and so bad that at one place we (p. 16) were forced to clear away the driftwood in order to pass ; the water too was so rapid that we were under the necessity of towing the boat for half a mile round a point of rocks on the south side. We passed two creeks ; one called Tiger '" creek, on the north, 25 yards wide, at the ex- tremity of a large island called Panther Island ; the other, Tabo creek, on the south, 15 yards wide. Along the shores " This animal, which will be repeatedly noticed th.oughout this work is the wapiti, Cervus canadensis. " Elk " is most properly the name of a European animal, Alces machlis, resembling the American moose ; but " elk " has been since Lewis and Clark, the almost universal name of the wapiti. '' A bear they had killed and '» Such a point on the river is marked on Nicollet's map of 1843 as the Grand Pass-but it seems to be a little lower down the river, and to have been passed by Lewis and Clark on the i6th. South of the northward loop of the river and west of Malta Bend, is a body of water still called Grand Pass lake on some maps. '» I am satisfied of an error here. The account cannot be squared with geography, and the fact that Gass gives a different itinerary for the 19th and 20th, shows a bad snag here. Gass says for the 19th : " Passed Tabo creek on the south side, and a small creek on the north "; and for the QO'h : " Passed Tiger creek, a large creek that flows in from the north." Now, according to General Land Office and Missouri River Commission maps, which agree well the stretch of " I7>< " miles made ci the 19th, which separates Carroll from Lafa- yette Co., shows : (i) A large island, where is now Waverly, Lafayette Co 300 miles up river; (2) Another large island, five miles further; (3) Little Tabo creek on the south, and close to it Pig Tabo creek on the same side, with Dover between their mouths, and some small islands in the river, all these points about 310 miles up ; (4) There is no creek on the north Irrge enough to be shown on either of the maps cited ; (5) The " Tiger " creek ol both Lewis' and Clark's maps is a sizable stream, but beyond any of the points noted for the 19th. There- m V - 28 PANTHER ISLAND— SAUK PRAIRIE. are gooseberries and raspberries in great abundance. At the distance of 171^ miles we camped on the south, near a lake about two miles from the river and several in circum- ference, much frequented by deer and all kinds of fowls. On the north the land is higher and better calculated for farms than that on the south, which ascends more gradu- ally, but is still rich and pleasant. The mosquitoes and other animals are so troublesome that mosquito biers [sic — bars] or nets were distributed to the party. The next morning [June 20th], we passed a large [t. e.. Panther] island, opposite which on the north is [Tiger creek and] "' a large and beautiful prairie, called Sauk prairie, the land being fine and well timbered on both sides the river. Pelicans {Pelecanus erythrorhynchus] were seen to-day. We made 6^ miles, and camped at the lower point of a small island, along the north side of which we proceeded the next fore we must agree with Gass that Tiger creek was not passed till the 20th, and carry Panther island to this date ; we must suppose Gass' " small creek on the north " to be little Tabo creek, on the south, not noted by Lewis and Clark. Then the 19th is all plain sailing, viz., first large island (Dover, 300 miles up); second large island, 305 miles up, between which two islands they had to tow the boat around a bluff, on the south (now known as Sheeps'-nose rock); mouths of both Tabo creeks, some small islands, and present town of Dover, 310 miles up; then lyi miles further to camp, on the south, "near a lake." This fetches out exactly ; for a lake, or lake bed, is shown, on the maps cited, at just the right spot. Next morning, the 2oth, they speedily reach their "Tiger " creek, now called Crooked creek, which has a large island still at or near Its mouth. Tabo or Tabbo (properly Tabeau, personal name of a certain Canadian who was hereabouts) is still the name of two creeks, distinguished as Big and Lit- tle, lying wholly within Lafayette Co. Neither is shown on Lewis' map ; an unlettered trace seems to indicate one of them on Clark's. For Tiger creek, see next note. " See last note. This is Tygers creek of Lewis' map, and Tyger creek of Clark's, now called Crooked creek or river, in Ray Co. L. and C.'s nair.e sur- vived for many years : thus, we find it on Nicollet's map of 1843, with Crooked creek as the name of a branch of this stream. Richmond, the county town of Ray, is on one of its small tributaries. But it had long before been named by D'Anvilie riviei» Vaseuse (Muddy river), and is so marked on his map of 1752. So is Sauk prairie older than L. and C, having been so named by Perrin Du Lac in French form in 1805. CLEAR-WATER CREEKS. 29 day,/;.;.. 21st, but not without danger, in consequence of the sands and the rapidity of the water, which rose three inches last n.ght. Behind another island come in from the south two creeks, called Eau-beau'^ or Clear-water creeks. On the north is a very remarkable bend, where the high ands approach the river, and form an acute angle at the head of a large island produced by a narrow channel through the point of the bend. We passed several other islands, and camped at 7/2 miles on the south. June 22d The river rose during the night four inches The water is very rapid and crowded with concealed timb i /r^ V ^^'"";"^ "'^^^ ' "'^'^ '°^^ ^^"^' -"d rising to the ^. /; distance of 70 or 80 feet of rolling clear country. The thermometer at 3 p. m. was at Z^ F. After coming "Called " Hubert's" island and creek in the Summary Statement at the end of the work, and m Gass given as " Du Beau or Du Bois '• In the text above makes it read hke three names of the two creaks. Worse is to come in thi<= comedy of errors. Lewis' map of 1806 inscribes Bau-beaux, which alToapp on the reduced copy first published November 4. 18S7. in 5./..^ CI I' inapof I X4 traces the creeks but prints no name. Pike's map of S.o^l.k.' Clark s MS. has Eue-bert. .or which IMdle substituted Hubert as above- Lew. MS. shows Eubert's and Euebaux's. Brackenridge print Ibar'A.i hese names refer to some person, represented as a Canadfan ..o- «. ./ L o hunter, named Au Barre. or Herbert, or Hubert, or in some similar sty e Thi bemg m. aken for a common noun, some maps print Chenal a^x Heber plural). Now chenal is French for slough, and Major Long (or his pri„ tnes toe.xpia,n the name thus : ■' The Great and Little ChenaiauBare a t-o cree s enter.ng the Missouri about,, mile and a half from each other ;fo;e,:;: oreat and Little Sniabar. or bnibar— a curious word which T tnl-^ t« k traction of Chenal au Barre. Snibar is engraved on h G nera Lan Office' njaps. and there is ..Iso a town of Snibar. inlafayette Co Go ty th lo.U of these creeks on the south of the Missouri are towns bearing the historLnam of ^^ ellmgton and Waterloo. These places are a (e.. miles up rive Tom le, .ng on, county seat of Lafayette, the future site of which the Expedidon pats"d on the 20th, just 320 miles up the Missouri. ^ ^ ^ Mf 30 FIRE-PRAIRIE RIVER— SITE OF FORT OSAGE. loj^ miles we camped on the south, opposite a large creek, called Fire-prairie " river. June 2ld. The wind was against us this morning, and became so violent that we made only y/^ miles, and were obliged to lie-to during the day at a small island. This is separated from the northern side by a narrow channel which cannot be passed by boats, being choked by trees and drifted wood. Directly opposite, on the south, is a high commanding position, more than 70 feet above high- water mark, and overlooking the river, which is here of but little width. This spot has many advantages for a fort and trading-house with the Indians.* The river fell eight inches last night. * The United States built, in September, 180S, a factory and a fort on this spot, which is very convenient for trading with the Osages, Ayauways, and Kansas." [Original note.] _ " Present name of a creek on the south side, in Jackson Co., emptying into the Missouri at or near the junction of Lafayette Co., or shortened usually to Fire creek. " So called from the circumstance of three or four Indians having been burned to death by the sudden conflagration of the dry grass in the meadows at its source," says Long (vol. i. p. 93 of the London ed,, 1823). But L. and C.'s creek of this name is on the north, as per text and Lewis' map, where the creek is laid down and lettered. Gass also makes camp " on the 3uuth side opposite a large creek, called the Fire-prairie, and which is 60 yard- wide." There is no stream of any such size on the north of the Missouri, though there is one now called Clear creek, or Fishing creek, four or five miles higher up the Missouri on the north, which might be stretched to answer to L. and C.'s Fire-prairie creek, especially as its mouth may have shifted since their time. But to do so would leave the modern Fire or Prairie creek nameless in Lewis and Clark. «^ This spot is called Fort Point in the Summary Statement at the end of this work. It is in what is now Jackson Co., Mo., about halfway between Lexing- ton and Independence. The fort of course is not named in the L. and C. ^TSS. , but it is marked " Fort Clark" on Clark's map, 1814, and is given as " Fort Clark (or Osage) " in Brackenridge's Journal, 1814. p. 265 (to be distinguished from another Fort Clark, at the Mandans, in N. Dak.). Fort Point a:so became known as Sibley, t' • name of the present town of Sibley, at or near the same place. In 1819 it was the extreme frontier settlement. Fort Osage was long a notable es.ablishment. In the summer of i8o3 Gen- eral Clark held a treaty with the Osage Indians, having been escorted to their nation by n troop of cavalry under Capt. M. Wherry from St. Charles, and the fort was built at once thereafter. It was commanded in 1809 by Capt. Eli B. Clemson, ist U. S. Infantry. CHARATON SCARTY. 31 June 24tk. We passed, at eight miles' distance, Hay cabin °* creek, coming in from the south, about 20 yards wide, and so called from camps of straw built on it. To the north are some rocks projecting into the river, and a little oeyond them is a creek on the same side, called Charaton Scarty'"— that is, Charaton like the Otter. We halted,"' after making 11% miles, the country on both sides being fine and interspersed with prairies, in which we now see numerous herds of deer, pasturing in the plains or feed- ing on the young willows of the river. «' "Passed a creek on the south side called Depie," Gass, p 19 This " Depie." elsewhere " Depre " and " Dispre." is meant for d'Esprits (of Spirits) No such word occurs here in the MS. of Clark, wlio writes " Hay Cabhin Creek " and the same is lettered on Lewis' map, 1806. It is now the Little Blue river in Jackson Co., Mo. ' "^ See note at date of June loth. Since that was penned, I have come into possession of all the original manuscripts of Lewis and Clark which Nicholas Biddle had when he wrote this book, and several other field note-books which were at that time in the hands of President Jefferson. These throw new li^ht on the puzzling word " Charaton." On June loth, Clark wrote : "passed th. two Rivers of Charletons which mouth together" ; on June 24th he wrote- " Sharreton Carta," as the name of the creek now in question. Lewis' MSS yield us "Charetton" in one place and " Shariton" in another. Now when Biddle struck these snags he upset, and wrote a letter to Clark (now before me) dated July 7th, 1810, asking : "What is the real name& spelling of the stream called Shairiton Carta, and also the Two Charletons ? Get :., ne of the French- men at St. Louis to put them down exactly as they should be printed." Clark's reply I never saw ; the upshot as above printed has hitherto defied coniecture But the meaning is now clear. For ' * Charaton Scarty " read Charn-ihtsc'carU's I. e., two creeks, each named Charretin. which are separated or divergent in their courses, though emptying together into the Missouri. There are a pair of creeks in Clay Co., Mo., which exactly answer this description, and are in just the right place. Then for the attempted explanation, " like the Otter," read simply "like the other, '• i. e., like the two other rivers called bv the same name, having one mouth, though they are separate.' (ccartes) in their courses. The word Char- retin (also Chartin) will be found in any good French dictionary. It is a deriva- tive of Charrette, which we have seen before as a place-name on the Missouri. Gas,s notes a halt at noon to-day, in order, as he says, to "jirk" some meat which a party had brought in, and he explains that " jirk " is meat cut in small pieces and dried in the sun. uk writes " jurk." The word as a verb is now geneially spelled ./>/•/■, ana jerl -vj meat is known as jerkv. It has noth- ing to do with the English verb of -.c same form {jerk), but is a corruption of a Chilian word, charqiu, meaning jun-dried meat. 32 LA BENITE AND BLUE-WATER CREEKS. r ^^ we were told, on the north, and tiiere was then no a|)pear.ince of the two small(;r islands. At 4'/j miles we reached tlic lower point of a cluster of isl.mds, two larj^c and two small, called Isles des Tares" or I'ield Islanils. r.K'caun [pecan, Cary, I>y' runninjj against a f,. ■ overhangintj the river cnce .0 proceeded and after..,ht stepped o.. the north SKlcab, o the island, ha vinf,^ come ,'< miles. Opposite our camp, a valley, in whi, u.ted an old 'village ic Kansas between two lugi. points of land, on the bank of tuc nver About a n.ilo in the rear of the village was a s.nall fort, bu.lt by " ■ French on an elevation. 'Acre are now no traces of th village, but the situation of the fort may be rccogni/.ed by some remains of chimneys, and the g.-M,eral outlme of the fortification, as well as by the fine sprmg wnch sup,.Iied it with water. The party who were sufoned here were probably ' off by the Indians, as tliere are no accounts of them. (A-'/) /////3'^. A gentle brcxve from the souf: -amcd ns 11 '< mdes this day, past two islands, one a small willow. Hiand. the other large, and called by the French Isle .Us Vaches, or Cow island. At the head of this island, on the '« SV.-one wonl with five hyphens. At first sight it Iool■ war cird '<^°" 'he south bank of ic ni V 1- T '''',r''"'' ^''« °^ ^'""^t Leavenworth, and in the immediate ^'cin t ,s k,ck-apo, L.ty, Kas. Its ,„vs,.„i „.,„. i. Kickap,,,. island ■ Isle de Vache, in the singular, in Clark's MS. Cow island is the present ::;r.::;r^'"" '" :"'" '•"'■"" ■■^'^■"^ --^ -^ -^^ sometimrsL' x .^nd notes tiK.t Captam Mart.n's detachment wintered here in ,818-19. Here Major Long held h.s council with the Kansas. Aug. 24th 1819 ' les rse 11 n- lon Ice led Ihe hes Ihe Ire lar ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) k A f/. &1 ^ 1.0 I.I 1^128 lUUu 2.5 L25 i U IIIIM 1.6 Z^i a 1 iiUlU^aUiJlLi Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN S1RFET VfEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 87^-4503 d ,\ iV \ :\ ^^ Independ- h^e o tt; 1? n'"'' ^^^^''^^^ ^^°°d the second vil- it: ble^f n^^:t:;:;:^riv ■- '': ^^"^^''-^ ^^ --^ bars, and a small ce'k to the Jo!. H^'f-'r^^ ''' ^"^'■ Jow-ochre" creek fron . h ^ . ' T ''^ '"' ""^^ ^^^- ibove it ThT ■ ^"'^ °^ ^^^^t mineral a little aoove ,t The river continues to fall. On the shore! are great quantities of summer and fall Ipes rri/ ivs/tva/ts and F corr/ifn/i^i u • , grapes [Kz/zj sa,-ff,ra]. Deer Ire no Ik '"j """^ ""'" """ C^"^" ;. J ijecr are not so abundant as usual but th^ r^ a.e numerous tracks of elk around us. We camned It ten miles' distance on the south side unde^a hth btnt :,Tsiv;rer"^^ ' '-' '-^ ~ With tltrt; ^:::;irr--i-->ts^r south Fo^'' T°: ''"'"'• ""' ^y => -nd.bar fl the south. Four miles beyond is another sand-bar te-minated by a small w.llow-island, and forming a very consMerabk bend m the river toward the.north. The sand of ,1.1 .ig t. intermixed with small pebbles an^s^m^pi . t 'r^l nver falls slowly; and, owing either to the muddines^ of .ts water, or the extreme heat of the weathr?.,, perspire profusely. We camped on the^Xha^ilg m^d^ V ellow-oaker " creek of TI-irL-V Arc u- l Doniphan Co' Kn, ™ "T ^1 ' I '"' "' ""'^ '"=">■ »"« ""P^ '•■> Nicollet's map. 'PP"""y "«' >>/ the creek marlced Vellow-ochre on o.'^'etn,';'"'" "'■ ■ =""'■"=• ""'"''■ ' — "» '■■'- "■ .-. co„ec, ,o™ 40 ST. MICHAELS PRAIRIE, 12 miles. The bird called whip-poor-will [Aiitrostomus vociferus] sat on the boat for some time." Jtily "Jth. The rapidity of the water obliged us to draw the boat along with ropes. At 6^ miles we came to a sand-bar, at a point opposite a fine rich prairie on the north, called St. Michael's. The prairies of this neighborhood have the appearance of distinct farms, divided by narrow strips of woodland, which follow the borders of the small runs leading to the river. Above this, about a mile, is a cliff of yellow clay on the north. At four o'clock we passed a narrow part of the channel, where the water is confined within a bed 200 yards wide, the current running directly against the southern bank, with {p. 2j) no sand on the north to confine it or break its force. We made 14 miles, and halted on the north, after which we had a violent gust about seven o'clock. One of the hunters saw in a pond to the north which we passed yesterday a number of young swans. We saw a large rat," and killed a wolf \^Canis lupus occidentalis]. Another of our men had a stroke of the sun ; he was bled, and took a preparation of niter, which relieved him considerably. July Ztli. We set out early, and soon passed a small creek "'Gass here names a " Whippenvill " creek from this circumstance, p. 20, apparently that now called Peter's creek, in Doniphan Co., Kas. The Expe- dition approaches St. Joseph, JNIo., to be passed to-morrow. *"" This is the wood-rat, Neotoma floridana, the same species as that men- tioned on p. II. No means of identifying the species is here given, but Gass furnishes the requisite information. He says at this date (p. 20) : " Killed a wolf and a large wood-rat on the bank. The principal difference between it and the commoner rat is, its having hair on the tail." A^. Jloridaua is now known to extend up the Missouri about as far as the mouth of the Niobrara. It was unknown to science when thus discovered by Lewis and Clark. It was rediscovered by Mr. Thomas Say, of Major Long's party, on the Mississippi, a little below St. Louis, at the mouth of the Merameg river, June 7th, i8ig. It had been named Mus floridanus by Mr. George Ord in 1818 (Bull. Soc. Philom. Phila., 1818, p. iSi). In 1825 Messrs. Say and Ord made this species the type of their new ^tnws Neotovia, founded in the Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., IV. pt. ii. p. 346 ; seep. 352, pi. x. figs. 1-4. See Long's Exped. R. Mts., I. 1823, p. 54 (p. 50 of the English 3-vol. ed.). Another species of the same genus, N. cinerea, of the Rocky mountains, was also discovered on this Expedition. iitrostomtts mall creek tance, p. 20, ORDWAY'S CREEK— NODAWA RIVER. 41 on the north, which we called Ordwa> 's " creek, from our sergeant of that name, who had been sent on shore with the horses, and went up it. On the same side are three small .3 ands, one of which is the Little Nodawa, and a large island called the Great Nowada [./.-read Nodawa], extend- ing more than %e miles, and containing 7,000 or 8.000 acres of high good la,, d, rarely overflowed ; this is one of the largest islands of the Missouri. It is separated from the northern shore by a small channel from 45 to 80 yards wide, up which we passed, and found near the western extremity of the island the mouth of the river Nodawa.- This river pursues nearly a southern course, is navigable for boats to some distance, and about 70 yards wide above the mouth though not so wide immediately there, as the mud from the Missouri contracts its channel. At 12% miles we camped on the north side, near the nead of Nodawa island, opposite a smaller one in the middle of the river. Five of the men were this day sick with violent headache., The river con tinues to fall. July 9th. V/e passed the island opposite which we last night camped, and saw near the head of it a creek falling in from a pond on the nor h, to which we gave the name of Pike pond, from the numbers of that animal which some of our party saw from the shore. The wind changed at eight o clock from N.E. to S.W., and brought rain. At SIX miles we passed the mouth of Monter's '^'' creek on the " Mentioned, but without name, in Clark's MS. of this date. There is a creek -Nadawam Clark's MS., accented Xa-da-wa ; Nodawa on his map Z,' ^odana on Lew,s' map, x 06 , Nodowa on Pikes, x8io ; Nodaway in Lon'g's text.' 1823 . ^adoway m N.collet's ; Perrin du Lac has Madavoay ; Lapie, 1821 mark Nodaoua on h,s map ; Bradbury spells Naduet. The word is Indian, and means some k.nd of snake; hence the river has sometimes been called SnakeTer Ihe name settled mto Nodaway of present geographers. There is alsoa Nodal Holt Co' nn t^ f, thesame name, in Andrew Co., Mo. The river separates Hoh Co. on the west from portions of Andrew and Nodaway Co. on the east • h.gher up ,t runs entirely in the latter, but quite near the border of AtchTsori Co. Its sources are still further north. ^tcnison *'So in Clark's MS., erased and Montain's interlined by Biddle, but Mon- I 42 WOLF RIVER— SOLOMON'S ISLAND— LITTLE TARKIO. south; and two miles above, a few cabins, where one of our party had camped {p. 24) with some Frenchmen about two years ago. Further on we passed an island on the north, opposite some cliffs on the south side, near which Loup ""or Wolf fiver falls into the Missouri. This river is about 60 yards wide, heads near the same sources as the Kansas,"' and is navigable for boats at some distance up. At 14 miles we camped on the south side. Jiily loth. We proceeded by a prairie on the upper side of Wolf river, and at four miles passed a creek 15 yards wide, on the south, called Papf.'s "" creek after a Spaniard of that name, who killed himself there. At six miles we dined on an island called by the French Isle de Salomon,"" or Solomon's island, opposite which on the south is a beautiful plain covered with grass, intermixed with wild rye and a kind of wild potato." After making ten miles we stopped for the night on the northern side, opposite a clifT of yellow clay. The river has neither risen nor fallen to-day. On the north the low land is very extensive, and covered with vines ; on the south, the hills approach nearer the river, and back of them commence the plains. There are a great many goslings along the banks. July wth. After three miles' sailingwe came to a willow- island on the north side, behind which enters a creek called by the Indians Tarkio." Above this creek on the north ter's restored in the text. The stream is now Charleston creek, Doniphan Co., Kas. ^0 It is the Riviere du Loup of early French maps, now called W^ - river, run- ning in northeastern Kansas, and reaching the Missouri through \. ..iphan Co. Its mouth is 520 miles up the Missouri. This day's camp was just beyond it. ^' Not nearly— for this is a comparatively short stream. «^ Clark wrote ' ' a creek called Pappie " ; now Cedar creek, Doniphan Co. . Kas. «» Clark's MS. has " Isld. called de Salamin." which Diddle altered as above. ^ The wild rye is probably Elymus striatus. The wild potato is questionably a species of Solanum ; were the locality further northwest, we might identify it as a leguminous plant, the pomme de terre of the French, Psoralea esculenta. Tarico" in Gass : now Little Tarkio ; a sloughy stream, whose waters have leaked into the Missouri in places at least 20 miles apart. The lowermost of these had some connection with the Pike pond of July gth, close to the Noda- way river. The uppermost, of July nth, is now at the 530th mile point. BIG NEMAHA RIVER, 43 the low ands are subject to overflow, and further back the undergrowth, of vines particularly, is so abundant that they can scarcely be passed. Three miles from the LL.ttlej Tarkio we camped on a large sand-island on the north, immediately opposite the [BigJ Nemahaw river. Julyx2th We remained here to-day for the purpose of refreshing the party, and making lunar observations. The [HigJ Nemahaw - empties into the Missouri from the south and .s 80 yards wide at the confluence, which is in lat. 39° 55 56 . Captain Clarke ascended it in the perioque \stc\ about two miles, to the mouth of a small creek on the lower side On going ashore he found on the level plain several artificial mounds or graves, and on the adjoining hills others of a larger size. This appearance indicates sufficiently the former population of this country, the mounds being car- tamly intended as tombs. The Indians of the Missouri still preserve the custom of interring the dead on high ground. From the top of the highest mound a delightful prospect presented itself; the level and expensive meadows watered by the Nemahaw, and enlivened by the few trees and shrubs skirting the borders of the river and its tributary streams; the low land of the Missouri covered with undu- lating grass, nearly five feet high, gradually rising to a second plain, where rich weeds and flowers are interspersed with copses of the Osage plum ; further back are seen small '« This is also spelled Nimehavv. Nimmeha, and with several vowel variations • on Clarks map, by mistake, engraved Gd. Hemawhaw ; on Pike's map Nemshaw ; on Long's, Nemawhaw ; some old French spellings are Nidmahaw and N.makas ; the present form of the word is Nemaha. There is a county of this name m Nebraska. At this point the Expedition has passed that section of the nver which separates the northeast corner of Kansas from Missouri, and is on that short section where the river separates the southeast corner of Nebraska from Mi=souri-with Holt and Atchison Cos.. Mo., on the right ascending the river, and Richardson and Nemaha Cos.. Neb., on the left hand going up rhe parallel of 40' N. marks off these two sectioas of the Missouri, and the I'.xpedition crossed this parallel July nth. Hence the latitude given above is several mmutes out of the way. the mouth of the Big Nemaha being north ot 40 , and almost 540 miles up the Missouri. 44 niG TARKIO RIVER — ST. JOSEPH'S ISLAND. groves of trees ; an abundance of grapes ; the wild cherry" of the Missouri, resembling our own, but larger, and grow- ing on a small bush ; and the choke-cherry, which we observed for the first time. Some of the grapes gathered to-day are nearly ripe. On the south of the [Big] Nema- haw, about a quarter of a mile from its mouth, is a cliff of freestone, on which are various inscriptions and marks made by the Indians. The sand-island where we are camped is covered with the two species of willow, broad- and nar- row-leaved. July ilth. We proceeded at sunrise with a fair wind from the south, and at two miles passed the mouth of a small river on the north, called Big Tarkio.'' A channel from the bed of the Missouri once ran into this river, and formed an island called St. Joseph's ; ''" but the channel is now filled up, and the island is added to the northern shore. Further on to the south is situated an extensive plain, covered with a grass resembling timothy in its general appearance, except the seed, which is like flaxseed, and also a number of grape- vines. At twelve miles we passed an island on the north, above which is a large sand-bar ""' covered with willows ; and at 20^ miles stopped on a large sand-bar in the middle of the river, opposite a high, handsome prairie which extends to the hills four or five miles distant, though near {p. 26) the bank the land is low and subject to be overflowed. " This is probably Prunus puviila. The choke-cherry next named is P. vir- giniana. The willows are two species of Salix, but uncertain ; that called the narrow-leaved may be S. longifolia. 9S Present name ; distinctively Big Tarkio river, to discriminate it from the Little Tarkio, which latter has entered the Missouri at points lower down, one of them near the mouth of the Nodaway. (See note '', date of July nth, and recall the creek mentioned on July Qth, as falling in from Pike pond.) Both the Tarkios run in Atchison and thence through Holt Co. , Mo. '' As by Perrin du Lac, in French form. Just below this, at the 540th mile up the Missouri, is now an island. This is marked Antelope island on Nicollet's map, 1843. ""' Now an island which shows on the Mo. R. Comm. map, next below the 560th mile point. An unnoticed stream passed to-day, on the south, is Win- nebago creek, Richardson Co. , Nub. A SUDDEN SQUALL-NISHNAHBATONA RIVER. 45 This day was exceedingly fine and pleasant, a storm of wind and ram from the N.N.E., last night, having cooled the air. July WU We had some hard showers of rain before seven o clock, when we set out. We had just reached the end of the sand-,sland, and seen the opposite banks falling m and so hned w.th timber that we could not approach ft mthou danger, when a sudden squall from the northeast struck he boat on the starboard quarter, and would have certamly dashed her to pieces on the sand-island, if the par y had not leaped mto the river, and with the aid of the anchor and cable kept her off. The waves dashed over her for the space of 40 minutes ; after which, the river became almost instantaneously calm and smooth. The nvo periogues were ahead, in a situation nearly similar, but fortunately no damage was done to the boats or the load- ing The wmd having shifted to the southeast, we came, at the distance of two miles, to an island on the north where we dined One mile above, on the same side of the nver IS a small factory, where a merchant'"' of St. Louis raded with the Ottoes and Pawnees two years ago. Near th.s ,s an extensive Rowland, part of which is overflowed occasionally ; the rest is rich and well timbered. The wind again changed to northwest by north. At 7% miles we reached the lower point of. a large island, on the north side A small distance above this point is a river called by the Maha [Omaha] Indians Nishnahbatona '- This is a considerable creek, nearly as large as Mine river, and runs parallel to the Missouri the greater part of its course being 50 yards wide at the mouth. In the prairies or '»■ Clark's MS. says " Mr. Bennet of St. Louis." There was a William R.n net who is mentioned in Billon's Annals, p. xo6. but is not "e t Hs 'hb person especially as there were several persons named Benoit W .^^T'^"" '" '^^ '^^' Neeshnabafona, as first in Clark's MS • in Gass LtenHd:r"N'h"H\.''''r^*^"^ °^ ''''' ^^P = Nishnabola : Brackenridge N.shnebottona of Long's map; Nishnabatona of Nicol'et Z ThelL ''^°"^' °^ ^^-^'^ '^ L- = Nichinanbatonais. of CouJl TsTJu^ . """"' f '°'"'"°"'y Nishnabotona or Nishnabotna. This .3 a notable s.de-stream of the Missouri, fallin,, in through Atchison Co 46 LITTLE NEMAHA RIVER. glades \vc saw wild timothy, lamb's-quarter, cucklebcrrics,"" and, oil the edges of tiie river, summer grapes, plums, and gooseberries. VVc also saw to-day, for the first time, some elk, at which some of the. party shot, but at too great u distance. We camped on the north side of the island, a little above the Nishnahbatona, having made nine miles. The river fell a little. (/>. .?/) Ju/f 15///. A thick fog prevented our leaving the camp before seven. At about four miles we reached the extremity of the large island,"" and crossing to the south, at the distance of 7 miles, arrived at the Little Nemaha [in Nemaha Co., Neb.J, a small river from the south, 40 yards wide a little above its mouth, but contracting, as do almost all the waters emptying into the Missouri, at its confluence. At 934 miles, we camped on a woody point, on the south. Along the southern bank is a rich lowland covered with pea-vine and rich weeds, and watered by small streams rising in the adjoining prairies. They are rich, and though with abundance of grass, have no timber except what grows near the water ; interspersed through both are grape-vines, plums of two kinds, two species of wild cherries, hazel-nuts, and gooseberries. On the south there is one unbroken plain ; on the north the river is skirted with some timber, behind which the plain extends four or five miles to the hills, which seem to have little wood. Mo. ; on it is the county town of Rockport. Across the Missouri river here is Nemaha Co., Neb., with Auburn as its county town. Atchison Co. is the extreme northwest corner of the State of Missouri ; over the State line is Fremont Co., la.; and through the southwest corner of Iowa is most of the extent of the Nishnabotona and its tributaries. ""This looks like a misprint for huckleberries ; but it is a mistake for cockle- burs, for I find " cuckle burs" in Clark's MS. of this passage. The common cockle-bur or clot-bur is Xant/iittm strumarium, a weedy composite plant with close spiny involucres. The lamb's-quarter is the familiar Chenopodium album, a succulent weed often used for greens. The timothy, frequently mentioned in our text, is uncertain. The true timothy is a grass, Phleum pratense. '"••An island answering to this appears at the 570th mile point of the Mo. K. Comm. map, and Gass names an Elk island at this date. This is the Isle Achoven of Perrin du Lac, and Morgan's island of Nicollet's map. FAIR SUN AN,) BALD ISLANDS-BALD-PATED PRAIRIE. 47 July im We continued our route between a large .sland oppos.to last night's camp and an extensive praiHe on the south About six miles, we came to anothe h ' .sland, called La.rsun - island, on the same side; above u ch .s a spot where about 20 acres of the hill have fallen in o the nver. Near this is a cliff of sandstone for two m es wh.ch .s much frequented by birds. At this place the rive; .bout a mde w.de, but not deep; as the timber, or sav" A ->; miles d'r" "'"'"' '"°" ''"' '^''^'^ °f '^^ bottom. At o miles distance, we saw on the south an island, called by the French L'ls e Chance [./. •»'], or liald island, opposite a large pra.ne, which we called Bald-pated prairie from a r.dge of naked hills which bound it, running parald ith he nver as far as we could see, at from three to six m le ' distance. To the south the hills touch the river We camped a quarter of a mile beyond this, in a point of woods on the north side. The river continues to fall (/. ^S) July ,7th. We remained here this day, in order to make observations and correct the chronometer, which ran down on Sunday. The latitude we found to be 40° 27' 5 ,V north. The observation of the time proved our chro nometer too slow by 6' 5, A". The highlands bear from our camp N. 25° W., up the river. Captain Lewis rode up the country, and saw the Nishnahbatona. ten or twelve miles from its mouth, at a place not more than 300 yards Fv'"'f •7TJ°"'i P'^P^'y ^''^' ''^""- "^ ^""^" by Clark, being from the ^t^:^:^' "°^ '"" '-'-'' ''-' ^^-^-y be.vee/.He ssSh "" A sawyer is a snag or timber so fixed in the water that it oscillates or bobs up and down under the varying stress of the current, and forms a special da ge to navigation. A firmly embedded snag is called a planter. ^ Misprint for F. chauv. (bald). Clark wrote a word now blind, having been cTX ^ur?. 7t "'°'''^"^^"'^'^'°^^ ^^'^'^ ^'^'^'•^ -ter'inedChauve std b; th T > " '''r " " "" P""'^'^- ^^^ ^°-- °f '"^^ "ver pur- sued by the Expedition at this point has altered greatly. It now nowhere 7:i::^oZ ""fr °r ^° ^'^^^'^ ^^ ^'^ ^-^ ^'j-^^ ^^^^ «^^^- " t" fs anTh T'^^'"' '°"''' °^ '^^ ^'^^°"" ^'°"S here, there is a large N.;" ctr •oTA^i.trcL^.t."' " ''- -^ -^ ^-'^ ^^^^-^^^ ^^ ^^ ^'« 48 BALD HILLS— OVEN ISLANDS. from the Missouri, and a little above our camp. It then passes near the foot of the Bald Hills, and is at least six feet below the level of the Missouri. On its banks are oak, walnut, and mulberry. The common current of the Mis- souri, taken with the log, is 50 fathoms in 40", at some places, and even 20". July \%th. The morning was fair, and a gentle wind, from S.E. by S., carried us along between the prairie on the north, and Bald island to tht south; opposite the middle of which the Nishnahbatona approaches the nearest to the Missouri. The current here ran 50 fathoms in 41". At I3>^ miles, we reached an island on the north, near to which the banks overflow ; while on the south, the hil's pro- ject over the river and form high cliffs. At one point a part of the cliff, nearly three-quarters of a mile in length, and about 200 feet in height, has fallen into the river. It is composed chiefly of sandstone intermixed with an iron ore of bad quality ; near the bottom is a soft slatestone with pebbles. We passed several bad sand-bars in the course of the day, made 18 miles, and camped""* on the south, opposite the lower point of the Oven islands. The country around is generally divided into prairies, with little timber, except on low points, islands, and near creeks, and that consisting of Cottonwood, mulberry, elm, and sycamore."" The river falls fast. An Indian dog came to the bank: he appeared to have been lost and was nearly starved ; we gave him some food, but he would not follow us. {p. 2<))Jiily igth. The Oven"" islands are small and two in '"8 In Otoe Co., Neb., a little below Nebraska City. This day's journey car- ries the Expedition past the boundary between Missouri and Iowa, where they enter upon that section of the river which separates Iowa on the east from Nebraska on the west. "" These trees, named in that order, are Populus monilifera, Morus rubra, Ulmus americana, and Platanus occidentalis. The last is the button-wood or American plane-tree. "" Between 600 and 610 miles up river were several islands, sometimes called Oven; for example, Nicollet's map shows two, some distance apart, called Upper and Lower. At the 6ioth mile point the Mo. R. Coram, map shows two abreast. TERRIEN'S OVEN An'ROACMING THE I'LATTE. 49 oTtt'river"' o" "■! """'■ ^''"=' "" "'her in the n,iddle of the river. Opposite to them is the prairie called Ter r,e„ s Oven, (rem a trader of that name. A, 4./ m^fes we" reached some IubI, cliffs of a yellow earth, on"tle south nea. wluch are two beautiful runs of water rising in ,1,; adjacent prairies, one of them with a deer lick abot ^ yards rom ,ts mouth. In this neighborhood we ob,v,^ some ,ron ore m the bank. At ^y. miles above the runs a large portion of the hill, for ne-,rlv ,\ ' ™:i„ I r II . "iii-i, lor nearly three-quarters of -1 mile, has fallen mto the river. We camn,.^ „ l^ariers 01 a ...tremity of an island,- i„ the ^ddTe'T h ' it TaW, :: made ,oj< miles.- The river falls a little. ThTsand barf which we passed to-day are more numerous, and the rolm,^ sands more requent and dangerous, than any we I ave f ^^ The Missouri here is wider al,,o than below, where Ihe timber on the banks resists the current ; while here the mintd. The hunters have broufiht for th^ In^f fo a quadruped but deer ; great qu.^'^,^:: 'o','; , "^.tf;: I ead :'rrhered": °' ''r """"' "^-S'/calamu:, "vh^h slllt,!^^""' """"^"^ °'" "■"?■ -0 - 'arge quantity of miles' distance a small willow-islai^^lr or a, d I ce" on the south, about 35 yards wide, called by 'the French = large .=pi«l F " lAJTorf "'"•'''''■ "V "" """"' !"»'"■ "" '" Called Island o, «lt ;"a;™V ^T" '"" " '"''""■ "•Probably by "ITJnu "im .°° l^'"^"'' """""""'''■ ■ '' V ' «. so 1,'EAU QUI PLEURE, OK WEEPING WATER. L'Eau (jiii Plcurc, or the Weeping Water,"* which empties just above .'• cliff of brown clay. Thence we made 2^2 miles to another island ; three miles further to a third, six miles beyond which is a fourtn island; "'- at the head of which we camped on the southern shore; in all 18 miles. The party who walked on the shore to-day found the plains to the south rich, but m.uch parched (/. _,'o) with frequent fires, and with no timber, except the scattering trees about the sources of the runs, which are numerous and fine. On the north is a similar prairie country. The river continues to fall. A large yellow wolf was this day killed. For a month past the party have been troubled with boils, and crrasionally with the dysentery. These were large tumors, which broke out under the arms, on the legs, and generally in the parts most exposed to action, which sometimes became too painful to pp'mit the men to work. After r.maining some days, they disappeared without any assistance, except a poultice of the bark of the elm, or of Indian meal. This disorder, which we ascribe to the mud- diness of the river-water, has not affected the general I.ealth of the party, which is quite as good as, if not better than, that of the same number of men in any other situation. July 2\st. We had a breeze from the southeast, by the aid of which we passed, at about ten miles, a willow-island "^ " Water-which-cries, or che Weeping stream," Gass, p. 2C ; " I'Eue que pleare, or the water which crj-'s," Clark. M.S., with " Weeping Water " 'at^.-rlined by Biddie, to wliora perhaps we owe the present alliterative name of that stream which makes into the Missouri at the junction of Otoe nnd Cass Cos. The French form occurs in Perrin du Lac. "'Some of ihe^e islands are called Trudeau's on Nicollet's map, and others, 5 Barrel islands. Here is also a certain Five Barrel creek on the north, ni,t noticed in our text, but so named on Nicollet's and on Owen's map. Son.e other points not noted by the Expedition in approacning the Platte, July 20th and 2ist, are ; a creek on the right hand (in Iowa) marked Kegg creek on Owen's map, and Keg creek on I.ieut. G. K. Warren's (about 1859); it retains the latter name. On the left are bluffs, as Calumet point and Rock bluff, near the camp of the 2otIi, and also a point calleil Iron Eye hill The latter name is traceable to the (F.i! de Fer of I'errin du Lac, an Indi.'\n's name (see text <.-f Aug. itjtli). " l''nc:unped some distance above a hill called I.'a-il effroi, from an Indian chiet who was scaffolded here some years ugo," Brackenbridge's Journal, 1814, p. 225. ^ - \ ^ THE PLATTE RIVER REACHED. 51 on the south, near highlands covered with timber at the bank, and formed of hmestone with cemented shells. On the opposite side is a bad sand-bar, and the land near it is I cut through at high water by small channels forming a number of islands. The wind lulled at seven o'clock, and wc reached, in the rain, the mouth of the great river Platte "" at <;hc distance of 14 miles. The highlands which had accompanied us on the south for the last eight or ten miles stopped at about three-quarters of a mile from the entrance of the Platte. Captains Lewis and Clark ascended the river in apenogue for about one mile ; they found the current very rapid, rolling over sand and divided into a number of chan- nels, none of which are deeper than f^ve or six feet One of our Frenchmen, who spent two winters on it, says that It spreads much more at some distance from the mouth • that Its depth is generally not more than five or six feet ' that there are many small islands scattered through it ; and ■'; Falling into the Missouri between Cass Co.. Neb., on its right (south) banK.^an.l Sarpy Co., Neb., on the other side. Across the Missouri is Mills Co., xa^ At the confluence, on the south bank, is the county town well named PlatcsmouthC Platte's mouth-'). The 1,000 foot contour line, which huRs the M,ssoun pretty evenly on both sides for some distance below, here recedes westward along the Platte to the mouth of Saline river; but soon hugs tiic M.ssour, again on both sides, and crosses the latter river at Council Bluffs am Omaha, a few miles higher up. The Platte is the great western tributary of I.e I ower Missouri, draining Most of Nebraska and portions of Wyoming and Colorado Its two main courses, the North and South Platte, unite in Nebraska near roi \V . long. The former rises in North Park, Col., vuns north intoWyo- mmg, then bends east and southeast to its junction. The latter drains the Rocky mountams from the .sources of the Arkansaw in Colorado northward into Wyo- ming. We commonly use the French form of the name, but the river has also o ten been called the Nebraska, and Flatwater. Its mouth is marked on the Mo R. Comm. map 640.8 miles up river-rather more than Lewis and Clark ^li«ught. 1 his pomt conventionally divides the " Lower " from the " Unner " Missouri^ We read in Perrin du Lac of the " Premier 1 _3te de la Compagnie du ^^aut Missouri.' established in 1792 near the mouth of the Platte '' The ver Platte is regarded by the navigators of the Missouri ns a point of as much importance as the equinoctial line amongst mariners. All those who had not passed ,t before were required to be shaved, unless they could compromise the matter by a treat. Much merriment w.is indulged on the occasion. From this we enter what is called the Upper Missouri." Brackenridge's Journal, 1814, p 226 *j 52 CAMP WHITE CATFISH, ABOVE THE PLATTE, I I that, from its rapidity and the quantity of its sand, it can- not be navigated by boats or periogues, though the In- (/. J/) dians pass it in small f!at canoes made of hides. That the Saline or Salt River, which in some seasons is too brackish to be drunk, falls into it from the south about 30 miles up, and a little above it [i. c, Salt river] Elk-horn river [falls into the Platte] from the north, running nearly parallel with the Missouri [for some little distance]. The river is, in fact, much more rapid than the Missouri, the bed of which it fills with moving sands, and drives the current on the northern shore, on which it is constantly encroaching. At its junction the Platte is about 600 yards wide, and the same number of miles from the Mississippi. With much difificulty we worked around the sand-bars near the mouth, and came-to above the point, having made 15 miles. A number of wolves were seen and heard around us in the evening. /u/j 22d. This morning we set sail, and having found, at the distance of ten miles from the Platte, a high and shaded situation on the north,'" we camped there, intending to make the requisite observations, and to send for the neighboring tribes, for the purpose of making known the recent change in the government, and the wish of the United States to cultivate their friendship. '" As the Missouri in this section of its course runs approximately south be- tween Iowa and Nebraska, camps on the left bank of the river (right hand going up) are on the cast side rather than the north — that is, independently of the minor bends of the river. Here I may remark, also, that L. and C.'s MSS. very seldom have expressions referring to points of the compass in noting sides of the river they are ascending. They say " Starboard Side " and " Larboard Side " almost invariably. These terms Biddle uniformly edits as "north" and " south," or otherwise as the case may approxim.itely be. Moreover, the MSS. usually abbreviate to " Stard. Sd." and " Lard. Sd.," or simply " S. S." and "L. S." here is a possible source of error, as " S. S." might be read "south side, "and capital " L. S." in manuscript looks very much like " S. S."if the lower loop of the L is not well formed. Probably here is the simple explanation of occr-sii lal wrong location of L. and C.'s creeks and camps. The camp of this day, ''., !y 22d, is on the east side of the Missouri, by estimate ten miles above the Platte; it is therefore on or close to the boundary between Mills and Pottawatamie Cos., la., and nearly or .ibout the s.ime distance below the present site of Coun- cil Bluffs and Omaha — past Cerro Gordo, la., and Bellevue, Neb. jtates to CHAPTER II. THE MISSOURI FROM THE PLATTE TO VERMILION RIVER. Council-bluff named-Soldierr ve^^Dc eJ ' T^^^ ."" /"' '''"""" '"'J--- -1 Stone river-Lac d'Esprit-Pra ^ .In rh '.^ '^'ands-A desertion-Little Sioux or Jacques-Blackbird, an olha chef '" .^^"."-^=" /—-P-ican island-Couple a village-Omaha creeklMany Vsh t"ken' -it^de"". °'' ^1°" ^""'"-Old Omaha Death of Sergeant Charles /loytC^i^/.^rbTuff?'^'?^'-^"'''^" ^°""^''- bluffs-Promotion of Patrick cL-nnLu ""^ bluffs-Great Sioux river-Mineral reaches Whitestone or VelilfonrWe,'^'"'''""'^^ '"'^^'° ''''"=''-T'>e Expedition 5"!^°"^,'^ "'"f ^;' TP ^^ '^ observation in latitude v^ 41 3 II . Immediately behind it is a plain about five etvat'd Tr^'''°''"' "^'^^ ^^'°°^' ^^^ °^1-^ dry and e evated. The low grounds on the south near the junction of the two rivers are rich, but subject to be overflowed. Further up he banks are higher, and opposite our camp he first hills approach the river, and are covered with timber, such as oak, walnut, and elm. The intermediate country is watered by Papillon'or Butterfly creek, about 18 yards wide, and three miles from the Platte; on the north are high open plains and prairies ; at nine miles from the Plat e are Mosquito" creek and two or three small willow-islands. We stayed here several days, during which we dried our provisions, made new cars, and prepared our dispatches and maps of the country we had passed, for the President the county seat The name ,s French for butterfly. Sarpy or Sarpie is a personal name, [n this case probably John B. M'V^^r'^^' y".^'\^"f'"^°f this insect musquitoe and musquetoe ; in the M V.ckar ed. 1842 U ,s a':ered to moscheto ; I make it throughout mosquito pi m::: p^^^""' ""^^ ^^ ''°' ™"^ " ^^-^-^^ ■' --k into Te m si' h below Butterfly creek ; on Clark's. ,814, it is laid down right. The stream rjett sir"-"^-'^ '" ^- '- --^-^ '" -^"^ -o. It; pteTt m 53 54 INDIAN EMIiASSY— ELK-HORN RIVER. of the United States, to whom we intend to send them by a peiiogiie from this place. The hunters have found game scarce in this neighborhood ; they have seen deer, turkeys, and grouse ; " we have also an abundance of ripe grapes ; and one of our men caught a white catfish,' the eyes of whicii were small, and its tail resembling that of a dolphin. The present season is that in which the Indians go out on the prairies to hunt the buffalo ; but as we discovered some hunters' tracks, and observed the plains on fire in the direction of their villages, we hoped that they might have returned to gather t!ie green Indian corn. We therefore dispatched two men " to{p. jj) the Ottoe or Pawnee villages with a present of tobacco, and an invitation to the chiefs to visit us. They returned after two days' absence. Their first course was through an open prairie to the south, on which they crossed Butterfly creek. They then reached a small beautiful river, called Come [stc — read Coriiej de Cerf, or Elk-horn" river, about lOO yards wide, with clear water and a gravi-lly channel. It empties a little below the Ottoe village into the Platte, which they crossed, and arrived at the town about 45 miles from our camp. They found no Indians there, though they saw some fresh tracks of a small party. The Ottoes were once a powerful nation and lived about 20 miles above the Platte, on the southern bank of the Missouri. Being reduced, they migrated to the neighbor- hood of the Pawnees, under whose protection they now ^ These are the pinnated grouse or prairie-hen, whose best-known technical name is Cu/'t'Jonia cupido, lately clianged by the rules of the American Orni- thologists' Union to Tympanuihus arrit-ricanits. * Ictalnyus pututntus. From this fish the present station of the Expedition was named Camp White Catfish. Clarlv enters in his journal of July 23d ; " I commence coppying a map of the river below to send to the P[resident]. U. S."; and 24th : " Capt. Lewis also much engaged in preparing papers to send back by a perogue." But nothing was dispatched to Jefferson till April 7th, 1S05. ^ George Drewyer and Peter Cruzatte. •The French form is in Perrin du Lac. Clark here wrote "Corne de Charf or Elk Horn river," and elsewhere " Hartshorn" river. e de Charf OTTO AND PAWNEE INDIANS. 55 live. Their village is on the soutli side of the Platte about 30 miles from its mouth ; and their number is 200 men, mcluding about 30 families of Missouri Indians, who arc mcorporated with them. Five leagues above them, on the same side of the river resides the nation of Pawnees.' This people were amonj the most numerous of the Missouri Indians, but have gradually been dispersed and broken, and even since the year 1797 have undergone some sensible changes They now consist of four hands ; the f^rst is [the Grand Pawnee 1 the one just mentioned, of about 500 men, to whom of late first d..tingu,s., hem from any tr.bes of the great Siouan family. a,u' next r cog„,ze he.r relat.onsh.p with the Caddoes, as members of the sam linguist stock. Though the Pawnees and Caddoes were long supposed, as by Gav2 and m..ny later wr.ters. to be primitively distinct, they Live now bL de r nnned to be branches of one family, for which the term Caddoan is selected y owell as des,gnat,ve. In his clear classification the Caddoans consist . Of a u.,r^/^rn group, consisting of the Ankara or Ree tribe alone (see beyond), a. Of a ..,,A- group, comprising the four nations of Pawnees. 3 Of a sou^/.m group mcluding the Caddoes and other tribes which were in 1 e.xas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and fhe Indian Territory According to D. Dunbar (1S06 ; English ed. ,807. 2d English ed. ,809. oil? n' T"" hunting-ground of the Pawnees extended from the river now called N.obrara, m Nebraska, south to the Arkansas river, though no definite boundary can be fixed. In later times they have resided on the Platte rive west of what .s now Columbus. Neb. The Pawnee tribes were removed to the nd.an Ferr.tory m 1876. According to the Indian Report for iBScj they were offically enumerated as 824 in number, representing a little over one third of the entire remaining Caddoan stock (2 259) Though Lewis and Clark here spell the name Pawnee, this was not the usual fonn of the word in their day. when we more frequently find Pani. IrsI n""p Tr y^' """' ''»'"^^' '" ^'^^ ^'^^^^^^^ VievJ o 806. The lawnees of Gallatin (Trans, and Coll. Amer. Antiq., ser. ii S36, pp. 128 306) included all the Pawnees of the Middle Croup and also the Kicaras or Hlack Pawnees. The Pawnees or Panias of Lathim (Nat. His. A an 1S50. p. 344) included the Loups and Republicans. The Pawnees of Hay.len (Cont. Ethnol. an.l Philol. Missouri Indians, 1862, pp. 232. 345) .nchu led the Pawnees and Arikaras, being thus the same as Gailatin's. ctl- a.m (/. ..) r nders the word Pawnies. Anc.her form is Pahnies (Perghaus. <^45)- <'atschet renders Panis in I S84. wore'" '"'X'V^:^'-*' r'^^^?f "-• '"■'-"- '" ■ - -ecognized by Powell in i8or w.re .1. Ihe Grand, or Pawnee proper, as ..ere given by Lewis and Clark. ■ '»ll*^ 56 TRIBES OF THE PAWNEES. years have been added the second band, who are called Republican Pawnees, from their having lived on the Republican branch of the Kansas river, whence they emi- grated to join the principal band of Pawnees; the Repub- lican Pawnees amount to nearly 250 men. The third are the Pawnee Loups, or Wolf Pawnees, who reside on the Wolf fork of the Platte, about 90 miles from the principal Pawnees, and number 280 men. The fourth band origi- nally resided on the Kansas and Arkansas, but in their wars with the Osages were so often defeated that they at last retired to their present position on the Red river, where 2. The Pawnee Republican, as given by Lewis and Clark. 3. The Tapage, who did not wander far from their habitat on the Platte. 4. The Skidi, who are the Pawnee Loups of Lewis and Clark, otherwise called the Pani-mahas. The Panias proper of Lewis' Statistical View, i8o6, also there called Pa-nee, are represented as speaking their own language, and living in one village up the Platte, 30 leagues from its mouth, on the south side, and as con- sisting of 1,600, with 400 warriors. They were at war with the Pania-pique, both Osages, Kanzas, Ricaras, Sioux, and some other Indians, but at peace with the Pawnee Loups, Mahas, Poncas, Ottoes, Missour and Ayauways. They traded with St. Louis merchants. " With respect to cheir idea of the possession of the soil, it is similar to that of the Ottoes ; they hunt on the south side of the river Platte higher up and on the head of the Kansas. . . They have resided in the country which they now [1805] inhabit, since they were known to the whites. . . The periods of their residence at their vil- lage and hunting, are similar to the Kansas and Osages. Their population is increasing. They are friendly and hospitable to all white persons ; pay great respect and deference to their traders, with whom they are punctual in the pay- ment of their debts. They are, in all respects, a friendly, well disposed people. They cultivate corn, beans, melons, &c." (Lewis' Statist. View, London ed. 1807, p. 14.) The Republicans are also called by Lewis, in his Statistical View, Ar-rah-pa- hoo' — that is, Arapahoes. He says they lived in 1805 in the same village with the Panias proper, having a population of 1,400, with 300 warriors. "About ten jears since [t. e., in 1795 or 1796] they withdrew themselves from the mother nation, and established a village on a large northwardly branch of the Kanzas, to which they have given name ; they afterward subdivided and lived in differ- ent parts of the country on the waters of Kanzas river ; but being harassed by their turbulent neighbors, the Kanzas [of Siouan stock], they rejoined the Panias proper last spring [1804]." (Stat. View, Eng. ed. l8o-/, p. 15.) The third band, Loups or Wolves, Lewis calls in his View sikec -c-ree, i. e., the Skidi of modern nomenclature; they are otherv, Ise known as Pani-mahas. In 1805 they numbered 1,000, with 280 warriors, as given in the text. In trade, KANINAVIESCH INDIANS. 5- [p. 34) they form a tribe of 400 men. All these tribes live tuie rove m the plams m quest of buffalo Beyond them on the river, and westward of the Black mountams, are the Kaninaviesch/ consisting of abouf 4^ men. They are supposed to have emigrated orig7nar from the Pawnee nation ; but they have degenerated Trom the improvements of the oarent trfK. °J^^"^^^*^^ f'^om •II , parent tribe, and no lontrer live in villages, but rove through the plains Still further to the westward are several tribes who wander and hunt on the sources of the Platte rive'r Ind thence to Rock mountain [. ., the Rocky Lrtain^J ra^^:::;^'^;' ^^z^r:" °"^^ '--- '-- " ->- nation many years sin efiSoTlanT'^r^./'P''''''^ ^''^'"^^'^^^ ^^^"^ 'hat the river Pi'atte, to vh ch the ^al i ^hemselves on a north branch of w«e no idea of an exclusive rLtTo "" ^"'"- ^'^^^^ P^°P'^ ^ave like- the Wolf river above Jirvlate 7 ^"T" "' '""^ '°""^^y- "^'^^^ ^unt on that river [Wolf] Th s ou" fv i " °" ''m "'" ^'^''^ '""'^^ "'^ '"^"'h ^i though the^e is I elteL^v: b roTTertl'teU l^^ f ? 'T '''''' ' Wolf river below their village and^he rL r Corn 'de c'rf ? Elkh'^""- ^'^ T hey cultivate corn bean"d-ated as Tribes, III. 1853^ 40' See a so P '.?"'''" '" Schoolcraft's Indian V. :S.. p ,o."an^d oTLth!: tt^Hi^L ^'X^' p"" "" "^"^^"' Siouan stock would beTu" ifieZ X .. V'"^ "''"' '"^'^^ ^^P^^"-^''*^" ^^om occasioned their relegat on ^ cT^o" ''l^^J^^^^J-g"-'''^ grounds which have adopted. ^ '^^°^" ''°''' '" ^he scientific classification now 58 STAITAN, WETAPAHATO, AND KIAWA INDIANS. These tribes, of which little more is known than the names and the population, are first, the Staitan" or Kite Indians, a small tribe of loo men. They have acquired the name of Kites from their flying — that is, their being always on horseback, and the smallness of their numbers is to be attributed to their extreme ferocity ; they are the most warlike of all the western Indians ; they never yield in battle ; they never spare their enemies ; and the retaliation of this barbarity has almost extinguished the nation. Then come the Wetapahato'" and Kiawa" tribes, associated to- " The Staitan or Kite Indians, Lewis names in his Statistical View Staetan, Sta'-e-tan, with Kite as a nicitname. He assigns them 40 lodges, loo warriors, total population 400, and locates them "on the head of the Chyenne, and fre- quently with the Kanenavish." They are probably Crows (Slouan family). '"The Statistical View of Lewis accents this name We-tepa-ha-to. His census for 1805 is 70 lodges, 200 warriors, and 700 total— this estimate includ- ing all the Kiowas. Habitat, Paduca (North) fork of the Platte. He says they maintain a defensive war with the Sioux, but are at war with no other tribes to his knowledge. Of them and the Kiowas together he adds : " They are a wandering nation, inhabit an open country, and raise a great number of horses, which they barter to the Ricaras, Mandans, &c. for articles of European manufactory. They are a well disposed people, and might be readily induced to visit the trading establishments on the Missouri. From the animals their country produces, their trade would, no doubt, become valuable. These people again barter a considerable proportion of the articles they obtain from the Mene- tares, Ahwahhaways, Mandans, and Ricaras, to the Dotames and Castapanas [sic]." These Indians were allied with the Kiowas, and are now supposed to have formed a part of the Comanches. " Kiawa is a name variously spelled Kiaway, Kioway, Kyaway, etc., now pre- ferably Kiowa, plural Kiowas. Gatschet spells Kayowa(Am. Antiq., Oct., 1882, p. 2S0, where the phonetics are given). The name is from the Kiowa word, Koi, plural Ko-iqu, meaning Kayowa man; and the Comanche word Kayowa means rat. The Kiowas represent a distinct linguistic stock now known as the Kiowan family. Kiaways are named by Gallatin in Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, HI. 1S53, p. 402. as residing on the upper waters of the Arkansas. The Kiow.iy of Turner (Pac. R. R. Rep. III. pt. iii. 1856, pp. 55, 80) is based only on the Kiowa orCaigua tribe. The conjecture of Lewis and Clark that this tribe and some others they name are but remnants of the great Paduc.i nation is borne out by Latham (Elem. Comp. Philol., 1862, p. 444), who uses the expression " more Paduca than aught else." Turner is said to have first formally separated the Kiowan family from all others. "Turner, upon the strength of a vocabulary furnished by Lieut. Whipple, dissents from the opinion expressed by Pike and others to the effect that the language is of tlie same stock as the Comanche, and while adm-'ttinj; CASTAHANA. CATAKA, AND DOTAMI INDIANS. 59 gether and amounting to 200 men ; the Castahana " of ,00 men ; to which are to be added tlie Catak-a ''nflr ^ . theDotami." These wande^nn u' ^^^5 "^len, and nese wandering tribes are conjectured to be it isentircly distinct from anv othl T '"'"T'"""''^'''°" "'"^ "P'"'°" that and other authorities ' (Rep V S f"^"'^'.';' '"" ""^°"^'^ ^^ ^^^'^'""-'^ p. S4). Gallatin menti n^The^Hbe w th tS '' ""''r!.- '"' ''''-''' P"^' ^^Qi. Kaskaias languages were har h ' uttTrll T"""' "'' "" '°'^ '""^ Kiowasand A ciifficulty of disengaeine the K ■ T ""''"'"^ '^'^'^""•" close associaLnuithThf Co In^h™/"",!'^^'^ -'s'^'^-^ has been that which has tended to obsruretractuailtxL'r' '^°'='' ''^^ ''^hoshonean, difficult to determine their origLl^t ^"''"f ,^'^"-'-"- Similarly, it is the Kiowas on the Paduca fork of h Platte "', T''''' ''''" ^''''^ '°-'« with the VVetepahatoes, with whom nded^e '^^' ^^^y were frequently .iving for both a total of ;oo. wa^i^L t' lodVe:To""B! Ij^'d '" 'T'' treaty of 1867, the Kiowas anri r^^ u ,. ^ ^ '^e Medicme Creek territory when they werrremoved to the " "'^""''' ^" "^^'^ "^^'^ ^° °'her Powell adds : " The terms of t,- ^ ''•'""' "" '" '"'"'" '■""'°''^- ownership of territt Tut ^i^m:^^'!;! tt tL K^^" " '"'^""^ ^ ^■^^■"■ 'lie Comanche territory on the nnrr. r / '"'^^" ^"'■'^°''y "^joined Pt. iii. 1855. p. 16 de";'^^^^^^^^^^^ Arkansas and of its tribut ^he Pu ' torvT^ A ''' '^"'^ ""' ''' "^^^^ substantial accord with the statementVof^r^ ^ ""'""'^ "^■''■- '^'"^ *^ '" Schermerhorn (1812) n aces thr? r"""' °^ ''°"' ^'^^ ^^">^ P^'od. Platte Earlier stilfthta^P a onT h" h'^ '"'^ °' ^'^^ ^^'^•^-- -^ the position assigned them o„ the man a. "'''" °' ^'^ '''^"^•" ^^'^ - Lewis states in L Sutisra^^^wTx rZ^fhe^r Kio^^^^ ^^^^ sources of the Paduca (North^ork^ the St;ea?dX vT' '"^"^" "'^ states that what he says of the Dotami ,s ecfu ly appli able tr"c ' . t"^'^ ^^outh^nth:;^rr;"S^^^^^^^ Indians (of the Shoshonean or Snake farnHvl 't f "■' "'" Comanche Aiatan, Hietan, letan. Tetan etc '^' "' '''^'"''^' '^^"^'^ ^^"'^t'^". ^s'LS:';r^;S^::;^a::^-V:-:-- - -statistical view as of south forks of the Cheyenne I .^c"' V ' ^'''""" ^^ "°"h and those he makes on t e^K ::as T is' X iJ^^H nf'^ ^'^ ""^^ ^"^^^-^ - as Kwada. a band of the ComanchL '"''"' ''^^ ^''^""'^^ ^"°-" '^ The Dotami. as here, or Dotame, marked Do-ta'-me. in the Statistical View, 6o PADOUCA INDIANS. the remnants of the great Padouca nation, who occupied the country between the upper parts of the Platte and the Kansas. They wore visited by Bourgemont in 1724, and then lived on the Kansas river. The seats [sites] which he describes as their residence are now occupied by the Kan- sas nation ; and of the Padoucas there does not now exist even the name." July 27th. Having completed the object of our stay, we set sail [at noon], with a pleasant breeze from the N. W. The two horses swam over to the southern shore, alonjj which we went, passing by an island, at 3>^ miles, formed by a pond fed by springs. Three miles further is a large (p.jS) sand-island, in the middle of the river; the land on the south being high, and covered with timber; that on are located on the heads of the Cheyenne river, with a total of only 120 persons, including 30 warriors and 10 lodges. Lewis here remarks : " The information I possess, with respect to this nation, is derived from Indian information : they are said to be a wandering nation, inhabiting an open country, and who raise a great number of horses and mules. They are a friendly, well disposed people, and might, from the position of their country, be easily induced to visit an establishment on the Missouri, about the mouth of Chyenne river. They have not, as yet, visited the Missouri." They are supposed to be a band of the Comanche tribe, like all the other Indians here noted, excepting the Kiowas themselves, who are now regarded as forming a distinct linguistic stock or family. See note above. '^ Meaning, of course, that the Padoucas exist only in name. The name cer- tainly exists, for there it is on the page. It is now, also, the name of a town in Kentucky. The orthography varies as much as is usual with Indian names. In his Statistical View, Lewis spells it Padacus (in the plural) and gives Paddo as a French form. "This once powerful nation has, apparently," he says, "en- tirely disappeared ; every inquiry I have made after them has proved ineffectual. In the year 1724 they resided in several villages on the heads of the Kansas river, and could, at that time, bring upwards of 2,000 men into the field (see Du Pratz, Hist. Louisiana, p. 71, and map). The information that I have re- cei'.ed is, that being oppressed by the nations residing on the Missouri, tl;ey removed to the upper part of the river Platte, where they afterwards had but little intercourse with the whites. They seem to have given name to the northern branch of that river, which is still called the Paducas fork. The most probable conjecture is, that being still further reduced, they have divided into small wandering bands, which assumed the names of the subdivisions of the Paduca nation, and are known to us at present under the appellation of Wete- pahatoes, Kiawas, Kanenavish, Katteka, Dotame, &c. who still inhabit the country to. which the Paducas are said to have removed. The majority of mv OLD INDIAN SITES-INDIAN KNOB CREEK. 6l the north, a high prairie. At .0^ miles from our camn we saw and examined a curious collection of graves T; mounds, on he south side of the river. Not far from a low p,ece of land and a pond, is a tract of about .00 acTes I" " '""> "«Ke, which is covered with mounds of dTfferent eai tl, and sand , the largest being nearest the , iver These mounds .nd,cate the position of the ancient vilL^e oT the Ottoes, before they retired to the protection of the Pavl nees After making ,5 miles, we camped on °L south" on the bank of a high handsome prairie with lo'ty cot » wood in groves near the river. ^ cotton- J',t ^^'t ^! ""' ""'^ "»= mon'ing we reached a bluff " on the north, bemg the first highlands which approaci the r ver on tha s.de since we left the Nadawa [river^ Above s s an .sland, and a creek about 15 yard.s wide, wh.ch as t has no name, we called Indian Knob - [Round Knob on the h^hlands to the north. A little below the bluff on ived. They were a branch of the Ottoes, and emigrated from th,s place to the river Des Moines. At ,05^ r^ies *e middle of "th"'- """"i'- '^' "'«' "PP^''^ - '^l "^ " .Xt s' J;:td-rred-w^.i"-; jrr ojr rit I . ^Jj 1 i °^ '"^ Kiowas see above note. arising in Shelby Co running Z u\, ^ ^ ^ ""^P = '^'^'" ^""^'^^ <='•««'< ; point. To-day's camn is hnflf^M "-'^''""^.^"y' ^''•> ^ ''«le above the 68oth mile aay camp ,s but little above this stream, and on the lowan (east) side. 62 A MISSOURI INDIAN— BOYER'S RIVER. brought to us in the evening a Missouri Indian whom he had found, with two others, dressing an elk ; they were perfectly friendly, gave him some of the meat, and one of them agreed to accompany him to the boat. He is one of the few remaining Missouris, who live with the Ottoes; he belongs to a small party, whose camp is four miles from the river ; and he says that the body of the nation is now hunt- ing buffalo in the plains. He appeared quite sprightly, and his language resembled that {p.j6) of the Osages, particu- larly in his calling a chief " inca." We sent him back with one of our own party next morning, Jii/y 2gth, with an invitation to the Indians to meet us above on the river, and then proceeded. We soon came to a northern bend in the river, which runs within 20 yards of Indian Knob creek, the water of which is five feet higher than that of the Missouri. In less than two miles, we passed Boyer's " [or Bowyer's] creek on the north, of 25 yards' width. We stopped to dine under a shade, near the high land on the south, and caught several large catfish, one of them nearly white and all very fat. Above this high land we observed the traces of a great hurricane, which passed the river obliquely from N.W. to S.E. and tore up large trees, some of which, perfectly sound and four feet in diameter, were snapped off near the ground. We made ten miles to a wood on the north, where we camped. The Missouri is much more crooked since we passed the "Present name; so also Clark's MS., but Bowyer's on both Lewis' and Clark's maps; misprinted Bayer's and Kowyer's on some maps. It is the Riviere k Boyer of Perrin du Lfic. It traverses several counties of western Iowa; at its main forks is Cedar Rapids, Crawford Co., la. It was explored by Thomas Say, in 1S20, duHng Major Long's Expedition. Thf.ie nlles above its mouth, across the Missouri, in what is now Washington Co., Neb. W, jor Long established himself, Sept. 17th, 1819, and named the pla •? iln .^intiC- an. tonment, the latitude of which he determined to be 41° 25' 03.9". This spot was half a mile below a trading-post called Fort Lisa (which had been located by the noted Manuel Lisa of the Missouri Fur Company, with whom Clark was at one time in partnership), and five miles below the Council-bluf! of Lewis and Clark '^h.s is also the original locality of several of Mr. Say's new species of mamni ,1- -xv. \ birds When Brackenridge passed here, May 13th, 1811, he saw the h .u ^i ' . tb :ader McClelland, who had wintered at this place. AWAITING THE INDIANS. 63 FUtte, though generally speaking not .0 rapid ■ there is more of pra.r.e wi,„ ,e„ t,„,ber, and cottonwoo J i„ ,he XrC/'w "'•''"' -In.t, hickory, andet '' ca;^'^dr;he*:tr" nTd'j" '''^- r/"^? ^^ -"-• "" I ju ^uui, in order to wait for the Ottoes Th^ .0 eight reet high, iXird^i:^ c";' l: oTla^gl^.l: ::tvr:;;e';;::rh;:i;tki"nt"^'-. '"'^^^^^ , f 1 u """cybucKie , one grovvine to a klnri o slu ub. common about Harrodsburgh (Kentucky^ e other IS not so high ; the flowers grow in cluster 'J , . and of a light pink color; the iLeVtnn Z' '''°''^' perfoliate], and do not surrou d th sta ;,7; t'T ^"°J the common honeysuckle of the Unite 'staef Ba^ I IS p am IS a woody ridge about 70 feet above it at the end of which we formed our camn ThJc ■ , the lower from a higher prairie of ? ^' '"P"""'"' » uigiicr praine, of a good oua ifv vn>J, beyond which is one continued pla.n N "^ ^ '"' enioy .0 .He biu.s a .o:f ht^ifufviroY r":;;:: f^lotenlZldTrhei^rj'^'^""' "'^'"^ '^ - parallel ranges of 'higr^^rar/rpirgit'rh'e' M. sour,, wh,ch enriches the low grounds between them In ts wndmg course it nourishes the willow.island the scaT us With ^deer,turke;s,^ eefe,"at,-bel r're":frett was caught alive, and in a very short time waf pe'fec^^ further note of August 3d. i^Jssoun. On this matter see il^^T' i' 64 ARRIVAL OF TIIE^. INDIANS. tamed. C.tfish are very abundant in the river, and we have also seen a buffalo-fish. One of our men brought in yesterday an animal called by the Pawnees chocartoosh, and by the French blaireau," or badger {Taxidca ameri- caiia]. The evening is cool, yet the mosquitoes are still very troublesome." August ist and 2d. We waited with much anxiety the re- turn of our messenger to the Ottoes. The men whom we dispatched to our last camp returned without having seen any appearance of its having been visited. Our horses too had strayed ; but we were so fortunate as to recover them at the distance of twelve miles. Our apprehensions were at length relieved by the arrival of a party of about 14 Ottoe and Missouri Indians, who came at sunset, on the 2d of August, accompanied by a Frenchman'' who resided among them and interpreted for us. Captains Lewis and Clark went out to meet them, and told them that we would hold a council in the morning. In the mean time we sent them some roasted meat, pork, flour, and meal ; in leturn for which they made us a present of watermelons. We learned that our man Libcrtc had set out from their camp a day before them. We were in hopes that he h?.d fatigued his horse, or lost himself in the woods, and would soon return ; but we never saw him again. {p.j8) August id. This morning the Indians, with their six chiefs, were all assembled under an awning formed with '^' This word happens to be here spelled correctly ; nearly always, in tliis work, it is corrupted to braro, or brairo, or brarow, once braroca, once praro, and in Gass prarow These forms indicate the Canadian voyageurs' pronuncia- tion, caught by ear by our travelers. Pike has brelau and brelaw. •'- ' ' Tuesday 2isf. One of our men went to visit some traps he had set, and in one found a young beaver, but little hurt, and b. ought it in alive. In a shct time he went out again and killed a large buck. Two other hunters came in about twelve, who had killed two dt .■ ; but lost the horses. One of them with two other persons were sent to hunt, who returned at dark without finding them ; and supposed they had been stolen by the Indians," Gass, p. 26. The lost horses were not recovered till Aug. 2d ; and a lost man (Libertc) was never found. Whether this was death or desertion, or both, was never known. '^^ Named as " Mr. Fairfong '' in Clark's MS. COUNCIL WITH THE INDIANS. 65 the mainsail, in n»-espnrp r^f -.n ', p.esence ol all our party, paraded for th<- occasion. A soecch wpc fK«„ . i^^'-ucu loi rne .J, J, ^Pe(.cn was then made anncuuting to them the change m the government, our promise of protect on and advice as to their future conduct. All the six chiefs rep led to our soeerh ,-.,-1, :., i ■ . cmcis l- ur spcecli, each in his turn, according to rank rhey expressed their joy at tile change in the Eovernm^rt . ...r hopes tlu.t we would recommend them tftlie g" ,' I-athcr (the President), that they might obtain trade and necessaries ; they wanted arms as weU for hunt! ,g as it Jefcnse, and asked our mediation between them !„d the lalias, with whom they are now at war. W pr"mi cd to do so, and wished some of them to accompany uo .hit nation, winch they declined, for fear of beine killed hv t ein. We then proceeded to distribute Z p sentf The grand chief of the nation not being of the pirtv le sen. iim a flag a medal, and some orna.mens or c thing To the SIX chiefs who were present, we gave a medal oth. second grade to one Oetoe chief, and one Missou i 1" f ! ^edal of the third grade to two inferior chiefs of ea h na! .on-,he customary mode of recognizing a chief be ng to place a medal round his neck, which is Considered mo, ^ - tnbe as a proof of his consideration abroad Eidrol these medals was accompanied by a present of painj gai ters, and cloth ornament, of dress; and to this we added a caiinister of powder, a bottle of whisky, and a few presents to r e a^r.gun too was fired, and astonished them greatly «.ltl in pf i''\ T"' "" ■''" °"°= "'"^'^ Weahrusl,l,,ah "Inch in English degenerates into Little Thief. The tuo principal chieftains present were Shongotongo or 131. l' orse and VVethea or Hospitality; also Ihosgu.scan „r W ' Horse, an Ottoe ; the first an Ottoc, the second a Missou ■• The incident just related induced us to give to this pllce n-ri: w'hVoJo," :""'',?•, "T,"'''^ <"'"• Shoneuscan, White ^ THE COUNCIL-BLUFF. 1 the name of the Council-bluff;" the situation of it {p. 39) is exceedingly favorable for a fort and trading-factory, as the soil is well calculated for bricks, there is an abundance of wood in the neighborhood, and the air is pure and healthy. It is also central to the chief resorts of the Indians ; one day's journey to the Ottoes ; i}4 to the great Pawnees ; two days' from the Mahas ; 2}{ from the Pawnees Loups village; convenient to the hunting-grounds of the Sioux ; and 25 days' journey to Santa Fee [Fe]. The ceremonies of the council being concluded, we set sail in the afternoon, and camped at the distance of five miles, on the south [Nebraskan] side, where we found the mosquitoes very troublesome. August Afth. A violent wind, accompanied by rain, puri- fied and cooled the atmosphere last night. We proceeded " That is, Council Bluffs, the name of the now flourishing city in Pottawat- tamie Co., la., opposite the still greater city of Omaha, Douglas Co., Neb. Here is the origin of the name, though the city is much below the exact spot where these historical incidents took place, and on the other side of the river. In the text, as above, the name usually stands Council-bluff, in one hyphen- ated word. The spot is not marked on Lewis' map of 1806 ; on Clark's of 1814 the words "Council Bluff " are lettered, but on the lowan side of the river, with no mark on the Nebraskan side to indicate the exact spot. Hence some confusion arose, and another element of vagueness was introduced by the fact ihat some maps extended the name "Council Bluffs " to the whole range of hills along the river on either side. The spot is marked on Nicollet's map, as determined by him in 1839. It was later the site of Fort Calhoun, in the pres- ent Washington Co., Neb. We must also remember, in attempting to fix this spot, how much the Missouri has altered its course since 1S04, This shiftiness of the Missouri is remarked upon by Nicollet (Report, 1843, p. 33), in leaving Council Bluffs: " Thus we could not recognize many of the bends described by Lewis and Clark ; and, most probably, those determined by us in 1839, and laid down upon my map, will ere long have disappeared ; such is the unsettled course of the river. Already have I been informed, in fact, that the great bend opposite Council Bluffs has disappeared since our visit ; and that the Missouri, which then flowed at the foot of the bluff, is now further removed, by several miles, to the east of it. It is. in this respect, curious to compare our journal of travelling distances with that of Lewis and Clark. They are found always to differ, and sometimes considerably. Yet, on arriving at any prominent station, as the confluence of a large river, the amount of the partial distances computed agree as nearly as could be expected, from the methods employed to estimate them." TRADINU-IIOtlSE AND CREEKS PASSED. 67 early and reached a very narrow part of the river, ,vhere the channel .s confined within a space of 200 yards bya sand.po,nt on the north and a bend on the south f the banks n, .1 ne.ghborhood are washing away, the tree falling in and the channel is filled with buried logs. Above thi I a' tra .,,g.house on the south, where one'of our party Cru za.te] passed two years, trading with the Mahas. At n a Iv four mrles ,s a creek on the south, emptying opposke Ilar^e .sland of sand ; between this creek and ourlas' nigh 's. amp l.e over has changed its bed and encroached on he southern shore. About two miles further is another creek on the south, which, like the former, is the outlet of hret ponds, cornmun.cating with each other and formin.. a small lake, wh.ch ,s fed by streams from the high lands " 1 1 , , m.les we camped on the south. The hills on both sides ol enverare nearly u or ,5 miles from each other those of te north conta.n.ng some timber, while the hills of tl e v" d irth! -'y — ""g. except some scatter ng he hi Is rich "T' ' '.'"""'"^ "^^ ""^'"^^ P=- 'n'° the hills , rich plains and prairies occupy the interme diate space and are partially covered, 'far the , ^e ' with cotton- (/. ^o) wood. There has been a grea deal' of pumice-stone on the shore to-day" A,v«stia We set out early, and by means of our oars ,1 K •?"'"'."> ^'de^ the prairies extend along the river ■ tl e banks being covered with great quantities of grapes o -Inch three different species are now ripe, one fargea„d resembling the purple grape. We had some rain this morn • Neither of the creeks mentioned is now identiS.ible »ith certaintv To ..ween ^:^:^i-.^ s.,"s^.i i^.is^z:^^^^ ™::urercrr:„t:r„rj:,ro'fTn;';r';i'"°"^T"^^ wear in the ,e«, but was M. 1!. Reed ^' ' "" "™' ^°" "'" 68 siiiiriNc; OF THE MISSOURI— soldier's river. ing, attended by high wind ; but, generally speaking, have remarked that thunder-storms arc less frequent than in the Atlantic St ites, at this season. Snakes too are less fre- quent, though we killed one to-day of the shape and size of the rattlesnake, but of a lighter color. Wc fixed our camp on the north side [Harrison Co., la. J. In the evening Captain Clark, in pursuing some game in an eastern direction, found himself at the distance of 370 yards from the camp, at a point of the river whence we had come twelve miles. When the water is high, this peninsula is overflowed ; and, judging from the customary and notorious changes in the river, a few years will be suflRcient to force the main current of the river across and leave the great bend dry. The whole lowland between the parallel ranges of hills seems formed of mud or ooze of the river, at some former period mixed with sand and clay. The sand of the neighboring banks accumulates with the aid of that brought down the stream, and forms sand-bars projecting into the river ; these drive the channel to the opposite bank, the loose texture of which it undermines, and at length deserts its ancient bed for a new and shorter passage. It is thus that the banks of the Missouri are constantly falling, and the river is changing its bed. August 6th. In the morning, after a violent storm of wind and rain from the N.W., we passed a large island to the north. In the channel separating it from the shoic, a creek called Soldier's'- river enters; the island kept it from our view, but one of our men who had seen it, represents it as about (/>. 7/) 40 yards wide at its mouth. At five miles, we came to a bend of the river toward the north. A sand-bar, running in from the south, had turned its course r.o as to leave the old channel quite- dry. We again saw the same appearance at our camp, 20)4 miles distant, on the north side. Here the channel of the river had encroached south, and ^he old bed was "* Also variously Soldier, Soldiers, and Soldiers' ; R. des Soldats of Perrin i\n Lac ; running in Ida, Crawford, Monona, and Harrison Cos., la. DETACHMENT ISLANDS— A DESERTION. 69 Tame in an of Perrin liu without water, except a few ponds. The sand-bars are still very numerous. .i//^«./ ytk. We liad another storm from the N.W in the course of the last evening. I„ the morning we pro- ceeded having the wind from the north, and camped on the northern .hore, having rowed 17 miles. The river is here encumbcKj with sand-bars, but there are no islands except two small ones, called Detachment islands, formed on the south side by a small stream. We dispatched four men back to the Ottoe village in quest of our man Liberty, and to apprehend one of the soldiers, who left us on the 4th under pretense of recover- ing a kn.fc which he had dropped a short distance behind and who we fear has deserted.- We also sent small pres^ ents to the Ottoes and Missouris, and requested that they would join us at the Maha village, where a peace might be concluded between them. August Wi. At two miles' distance, this morning we came to a part of the river where there was concealed timber difficult to pass. The wind was from the N W and we proceeded in safety. At six miles, a river empties on the north side, called by the Sioux Indians Eaneah- uadepon,"" or Stone river ; and by the French, Petite " •• l'-o"r of our people were dispatched to the Oto nation of Indians after he man [M. B. Reed] .ho had not returned on the 4th, with orders to take Iv.mdead or alive, .f they could see him," (Jass. p. 27. -At i o'clock dis patched George Drewyer, R. Fields. Wm. IVatton & Wn,. Labieche back Ltth, ' ClarT^MS ""' '''^^ '' '"" '" "°' ^"'' "" ^''"''''''''' '" P"' ^'"^ ^« "■ Dnkotan Indian name, from /;,j,z„, "stone." and r,.;-/-/,, •■river •' / ,■ Stone r,ver, as in the text. This is the largest of several streams draining western pans of Iowa into the Missour arising near the sources of the D.s c lorrv'l , ■ v-'"""°';''' '". ' 'y^''-' "f P-i- lakes, the largest of which. lose by the Des A.omes r.ver, ,s about 7 miles long and broad, and commonly known as^Sp.nt lake, from the Sioux name Mini-wakon. " spirit " or " medicine " ZT ^u' f "' ^u'^f '"^"''''''^ ^""^ '^' '"'^'='" "^-"-^ Otcheyedan, derived from a h.vvhere the Indians went to mourn their dead rehatives, the word moanmg cry.ng-pl.ace." This is marked Ocheyedan hillock or Mourning ground on N.collefs map. Clark's map (1814) draws a straight line, in par, •■'long the L.ttle Sioux river, from the Missouri to the Des Moines, callin- it the 70 EANEAHWADEPON OR LITTLE SIOUX RIVER. Rivi6re dcs Sioux, or Little Sioux river. At its confluence it is 80 yards wide. Our interpreter, Mr. Durion, who has been to the sources of it and knows the adjoining country, says that it rises within about nine miles of the river Dcs Moines; that within 15 leagues of that river it passes through a large lake nearly 60 miles in circumference, divided into two parts by rocks which approach each other very {p. ^p) closely ; its width is various ; it contains many islands, and is known by the name of the Lac d'Esprit ; it is near the Dog plains [Prairie du Chien], and within four days' march of the Mahas, The country watered by it is open and undulating, and may be visited in boats up the river for some distance. The Dps Moines, he adds, is about 80 yards wide where the Little Sioux river approaches it ; it is shoaly, and one of its principal branches is called Cat river. Two miles beyond this [Little Sioux] river is a long island which we called Pelican island," from the numbers of that bird which were feeding on it ; one of these being killed, we poured into his bag five gallons of water. An elk was shot, and we had again to remark that snakes are rare in this part of the Missouri. A meridian altitude near the Little Sioux river made the latitude 41° 42' 34", We camped on the north [in Monona Co., la.], having come 16 miles. Atigiist gth. A thick fog detained us until past seven o'clock, after which we proceeded with a gentle breeze Old Route ; and indicates two portages from as many lakes over to the Des Moines. The Little Sioux flows in a general S.W. and S. course, and empties into the Missouri in Harrison Co., la. It is the Inyan Yankey of Nicollet's map. Clark's MS. has Eaneahwaudepon and Petite river de Cuouex, and again Little Cuouex, said to pass through a lake called Despree, i.e., d'Esprits. Clark never settled on any spelling of the word Sioux, and his MS. shows great origi- nality and fertility of resource in arranging the letters. I find, for instance, besides Cuouex, Scouex, Suouex. Souex, Souix, Soux, Soues, Sieouex, Sceouex, Sicouex, Seaux, Seauex, Sues, etc., with some remarkable endings for imaginary plurals in -xs and -xes. Some of these permutations persist in his MS. of later years. The uniformity of Sioux in the text is due to Biddle. ■" Such an island appears on the Mo. R. Comm. map, its head at the 730th mile point. i COUPEE A JACQUES. 7, from the southeast. After passing two sand-bars we reached at 7>^ miles, a point of high land on the left, near winch the river has forced itself a channel across a penin- sula, leaving on the right a circuit of 12 or 18 miles, which .3 now recognized by the ponds and islands it contains At X7% miles we reached a point on the north, where we camped The hills are at a great distance from the river for the last several days; the land on both sides is low, and covered with cottonwood and abundance of grape-vines An elk was seen to-day, a turkey was shot, and near our camp IS a beaver-den ; the mosquitoes have been more troublesome than ever for the two last days August wth. At 2% miles, we came to' a place called Coupee i Jacques, where the river has found a new bed and abridged a circuit of several miles ; at I2>^ miles, to a chff of yellow stone on the left. This is the first high land near the river above the Council-bluff. After passing a number of sandbars we reached a willow-island at the dis tance of 22>^ miles, which we {p. ^j) were enabled to do w.th our oars and a wind from the S.W.. and camped on the north side.^' August wth. After a violent wind from the N W at tended with rain, we sailed along the right of the island At nearly five miles, we halted on the south side for the purpose of examining a spot where one of the great chiefs of the Mahas [Omahas], named Blackbird, who died about ^^ Neither the courses nor distances of Aug. gth and loth can now be recog- n.ed wuh any certamty. as the bed of the river has changed greatlv. with col respond,ng alteration of the boundary line between wha^ are now Iowa and Nebraska. Several maps consulted show different courses, cut-offs ard hkes vanously named and hardly identifiable. How these may be formed is in 1 : ated m the followmg : - Passed /. coupe ,} //0,W/.. This name originated in e crcumstance of a trader having made a narrow escape, being in the river at e very moment that this cut-off was forming. It was a bend of fifteen miles round, and perhaps not more than a few hundred yards across, the neck, which was uddenly cut through l,y the river and became the main channel.- Brack- cnndge. Journal, 1814, p. 229. On the whole the river seems to have straight- ened, as the distances now computed are decidedly less than those estimated by Lewis and Clark. Camp of Aug. loth is in Monona Co. ^3 ^ > ' 7^- BLACKBIRD, AN OMAHA CHIEF. four [in 1800J years ago of the smallpox, was buried. A hill of yellow soft sandstone rises from the river in bluffs of various heights, till it ends in a knoll about 300 feet above the water ; on the top of this a mound, of twelve feet diameter at the base and six feet high, is raised over the body of the deceased king; a pole of about eight feet high is fixed in the center, on which we placed a white flag, bordered with red, blue, and white. Blackbird seems to have been a personage of great consideration ; for ever since his death he has been supplied with provisions, from time to time, by the superstitious regard of the Mahas." We descended to the river and passed a small creek on the south, called by the Mahas Waucandipeeche " (Great Spirit "The following notice of Blacicbird, who seems to have been a pretty blacic sheep of the Omaha flock, is taken from Brackenridge's Journal (orig. ed Pittsburgh, 1814), p. 229: " Saturday i8M. A fine breeze S.W. At seven arrived at the Black-bird hill. . . It takes its name from a celebrated chief of the Maha-, who caused him- self to be interred on the top ; a mound has been erected on the pinnacle with a branch stuck in it ; a flag was formerly attached to it. He wac buried sitting erect on horseback ; the reason why he chose this spot was to enable him to see the traders as they ascended. This chief was as famous in his life- time amongst all the nations in this part of the world, as Tamerlane or Baja^et were in the plains of Asia ; a superstitious awe is still paid to his grave Vet the secret of his greatness was nothing more than a quantity of arsenic which he procured from some trader. He denounced death against anyone who dis- pleased him or opposed his wishes ; it is, therefore, not surprising that he who held at his disposal the lives of other.s. should possess unlimited power and excite universal terror. The proud savage, whenever this terrible being ap- peared rendered the homage of a slave." This immense brute's Indian name was Wash-ing-guh-sah-ba ; he was a great scoundrel and a great soldier His own baud was called Monekagoha, or the Earth-makers, from their habit of rub b.ng the body with clay when mourning. During his youth the Omahas were above the mouth of Floyd's river. He sought to poison Little Bow. an inferior chief who opposed him ; but he failed, and Little Bow maintained a separate village on the Missouri till Blackbird's death. The successor of Blackbird was Mushinga or the Big Rabbit, who was shortly succeeded by Tasone. the White Cow, and he by Ongpatonga, the Big Elk. (See Long's Exp. R. Mt I Eng ed pp. 204-207). Tradition h.is magnified Blackbird's exploits, anu the hill where he was buried still bears his name. His best biography is Irving's (Astoria, ed. 1S61, pp. 161-166). " f 1 s ■■^' Elsewhere called " Warcarde or Bad Spirit " creek. The name is spelled WAUCANDIPEECHt; CREEK. buried. A 'er in bluffs Jt 300 feet I, of twelve raised over t eight feet ed a white bird seems 1 ; for ever sions, from le Mahas.'' eek on the ireat Spirit a pretty black nal (orig. ed., the Black-bird ho caused hitn- pinnacle, with buried sittinjj to enable him xs in his life- ine or Bajazet is grave. Vet senic which he ■one who dis- f that he, who !d power and jle being ap- > Indian name soldier. His r habit of rub Omahas were \y, an inferior led a separate Blackbird was le. the White Mt: I.,Eng. , anu the hill ly is Irving's ime is spelled 73 .naladx wl.U dest eyed «,ai-b ,7 "rr '^f ":""'"' made the latitude 4." , nl,/ w"' " f ''"'''^ •I . 1- .. ^ ■Jill nortli. VVe camned at t-t nj.fe d,s.a„ce on the nortl, M.,l„ a bend of tVriver" Dunng our day's course it has been crooked ; „e obs" rved a number of places i„ it where the old channel ,s fiUed un or gradually becoming covered with willow and otton' wood. Great numbers of herrons rheron. u , ""°"- are^observed .o.day, and n^os^itt ^ml^t™ ?; rh"^ Av„s, :m. A gentle breeze from the south carried us ati ri rndtn't":'::' ""™ "= ^'""o^" '° '»^= ^^^ aiiuuue, and sent a man across to our nlnr^ nl „k vesterHnv u^ ... . pjace ol observation yesterday. He stepped 974 yards, and the distance we had ome round was ,8^ miles. The river is wider and shal lower than usual. Four miles beyond this bend a binff begn,s, and (A ,,) continues several miles; on the south i" nsesfrom the water at different heights from 20 to .n feet, and higher as it recedes on the'riv r Tconsists o" yellow and brown clay, with soft sandstone imbedded , it :nrr:rd r""h ';■"","• -'r^ -"'"^" -^^y ^^ °^-- ' ■subject to mundat.on. but contain willows, cottonwoods .0 tat:',, ' '^'i::, :iz r-'T T^-'-'^'y We camped on a srndl-s;;'nd"in":"hetr t.!: n'::.:^; havnig made 20,^ miles. °"''' ^"i-/ .3M. Set out at daylight with a breeze from the 7pp.™„, i.s. o^, ;?,L ?nv: zrc?t "T"°°' , , "»rl«Jo„ somt maps Crooked hk. K,„T..- ' "" " '"'" ri'T .,« the le,i describes .„!t ,h '• " "°" "° ™''' '»»'' i" <1«^ u. me 775tti mile point of present charts. 74 FORT CHARLES— OMAHA VILLAGE. southeast, and passed several sand-bars. Between lo and II miles, we came to a spot on the south where a Mr. Mackay" had a trading-establishment in the years 1795 and 1796, which he called Fort Charles. At 14 miles we reached a creek on the south, on which the Mahas" reside, and at 17;^ miles, formed a camp on a sand-bar, to the south side of the river, opposite the lower point of a large island. From this place Sergeant OiJway and four men were detached to the Maha village with a flag and a pres- " Lewis' map of 1806 traces " Mr. J. Mackay's Route" from this point along the Loup fork of the Platte, and back by way of the Niobrara to the Missouri. This detail is omitted on Clark's map of 1814, where the Maha village is marked very plainly on a forked creek. This creek had the same name, but its position with respect to the Missouri changed much in the course of years. This day's camp is made very nearly opposite the present site of Omadi, in Dakota Co., Neb., and not far from a creek of the same name. ^^ These Indians are so called throughout, except once or twice when the name is printed Mahar. In the Statistical View Lewis gives Maha and O'ma-ha. The French nickname he prints " La Mar." The name was often written Omaw haw (so Long, 1823, chaps, x. et seq., where Say gives their history). The proper phonetic rendering is U-ma"-han, with scarcely nasalized it's, and the accent on the second syllable— not on the first, as we now always place it in speaking the name of the great city opposite Council Bluffs. The locality is in Dakota Co., Neb. , a little south of Dakota City, north of the present Omaha Indian Reservation. The Omahas are a tribe of the great Siouan family. They are now at the Omaha and Winnebago Agency in Nebraska, to the reported number of 1,158 ; to which are to be added 19 at school in Carlisle, Pa., 10 at the Hampton school in Virginia, and 10 at the Lawrence school in Kansas ; total 1,197. In 1805, when Lewis' Statistical View was prepared (pub. 1806 and again 1807), the census was 600, including 150 warriors and 60 lodges. The indication of their family affinities is given by Lewis, who says that they speak "Osage, with different accent ; some words peculiar to themselves." He adds : "About ten years since, they boasted 700 warriors. They have lived in a village on the west bank of the Missouri, 236 miles above the mouth of the river Platte, where thoy cultivated corn, beans, and melons; they were wariike, and the terror of their neighbours. In the summer and autumn of 1 802, they were visited by the small- pox, which reduced their numbers to something less than 300 ; they burnt their village, and have become a wandering nation, deserted by the traders, and the conse(juent deficiency of arms and ammunition has invited frequent aggressions from their neigbours [sic], which have tended to reduce them still further. They rove principally on the waters of the river Quicurre [Qui court, the Niobrara], or Rapid River. . . The Tetons Bois brulc [sic] killed and took about 60 of them last summer [1804]." (London ed. 1807, p. id.) OMAHA INDIANS. rs ent, ,n order to mduce the Mahas to come and hold a councjl wth us They returned at twelve o'clock the next day, Au^us .MA. After crossing a prairie covered iU h,gl. grass hey reached the Maha creek, along which t y proceeded to , s three forks, which join near the village cy crossed the north branch and went along the soufh •' ■e walk was very fatiguing, as they were forced to b eak i.c,r way through grass, sunflowers, and thistles, all above en feet h,gh and rnterspersed with wild pea. Five mul-s z°viL?e'"':-ttd' "'•"'"" '"= p°='"°" °f "- -'^- Alalia village, it had once consisted of ^cx) cihinc K„f b„r„t about four years ago, soon after'^t Iptx S destroyed 400 men and a proportion of women and child en 0.1 a hdl, n, the rear of the village are the graves (/. J-)oi .0 natron, to the south of which runs tL fork 'of 1^ Mala creek, h,s they crossed where it was about ten yards w,de, and o owed its course to the Missouri, passh'g g a ndgc of h.ll for .^ miles, and a long pond betwe^^ that and the Missouri ; they then recrossed the Maha creek and arrived at the camp, having seen no tracks of Indian nor any sign of recent cultivation A,,,^.s,,stA. In the morning some men were sent to examine the cause of a large smoke from the northeast ninchseenied to indicate that some Indians were near, but ticy found that a small party, who had lately passed tha ay, had left some trees burning, and that the wind from that quarter blew the smoke directly toward us. Our camp .« about hree miles northeast from the old Maha vi lie d IS ,„ latitude 4.- ,3' 4.". The accounts we have hid of the effects o. the smallpox on that nation are most dis- aled to them, hough probably by som. war.party. Thev nrrior!" ' ""','"'' ""^ ''"'"'"' P^°P'= ^ ^'" -'-" *»=- iv burner .r' ""■'•• "'^'^ '"^"^y -- -'--=^ t. y burnt the.r village, and many of them put to death tlK-ir wives and children, to save them from so cruel an 7« AWAITING THR INDIANS. |i ■3 afniction, and that all might go together to some bettor country. Anjrust i6f/i. Wo still waited for the Indians. A party had gone out yesterday to the Maha creek, which was dammed •" up by the beaver between the camp and the vil- lage. A second went to-day. They made a kind of drag with small willows and bark, and swept the creek. The first company brought 318 fish, the second upward of 800," consisting of pike, bass, fish resembling salmon-trout, red- horse, buffalo-fish, rock-fish, one flat-back, perch, catfish, .1 small species of perch called on the Ohio silver-fish, a shrimp*' of the same size, shape, and flavor of those about New Orleans and the lower part of the Mississippi. We also found very fat mussels f and in the river as well as (A 46) the creek, are different kinds of ducks and plovers. The wind, which in the morning had been from the nortli- west, shifted round in the evening to the southeast, and as usual we had a breeze which cooled the air and relieved us from the mosquitoes, which generally give us great trouble. August \yth. The wind continued from the southeast, and the morning was fair. We observe about us a r^ass resembling wheat, except that the grain is like rye; also, some similar to both rye and barley, and a kind of timothy, the seed of which branches from the main stock, and is more like a flaxseed than a timothy. In the evening one '» As to the ope.ations of the beaver, Clark wrote that the creek was darned by them, and the Middle text makes it damned by them ; I alter as above. ■"> It appears by comparing Gass at Aug. istli that the veracity of our authors almost extends to reporting fish caught. We here have 318 -f 800=. i,ii8 ; Gass says 3S7 -|- 709 = 1,096. Clark's MS. names the camp of Aug. isth-igth Fishing Camp. I desired to identify to-day's catch, as doubtless among these fishes were species which were then new to science. But after dragging the codices patiently I got only a water-haul, and any identifications I could make on the strength of the bare names would he ex post facto, so to speak, or merely based on our present knowledge of Missouri ichthyology. *' Not shrimp properly so-called, which are marine crustaceans, but a kind of crawfish common in the Missouri, of the genus Camharus. ** Some species of fresh-water bivalve mollusks of the family Unionida. Clark wrote mustles ; Biddle printed muscles, and I alter as above. lomc better but a kind of onidiz, Clark DFSEKTEK APrREIILNDED-AKRIVAL OF INDIANS. ^^ of the party sent to the Ottocs returned w.th the informa- tion that the rest were coming on with the deserter; they had also caught Libert,:-, but by a trick he had made his escape; they were bringing three of the chiefs in order to engage our assistance in making peace with the Mahas. Tins nation havmg left tiicir village, that desirable purpose cannot be effected ; but in order to bring in any neigh- bormg tnbes, we set the surrounding prairies on f^re. This .s the customary signal made by traders to apprise the Indians of the.r arrival; it is also used between different nations as an indication of any event which they have pre- viously agreed to announce in that way. and as soon as it is seen collects the neighboring tribes, unless they apprehend that It IS made by their enemies. Mgust im. In the afternoon the party arrived with the Indians, consisting of Little Thief and Big Horse, whom we had seen on the 3d, together with six other chiefs and a French interpreter." We met them under a shade, and after they had finished a repast with which we supplied them, we inquired into the origin of the war between them and the Mahas, which they related with great frankness It seems that two of the Missouris went to the Mahas to steal horses, but were detected and killed; the Ottoes and Missouris thought themselves bound to avenge their com- panions, and the whole nations were at last obli- (/ 47) ged to share in the dispute. They are also in fear of a war from the Pawnees, whose village they entered this summer while the inhabitants were hunting, and stole their corn. « Under this date Gass prints, p. 29 : " The party who had been sent in pur- u, of the man who had been absent since the 4th. returned with him and eUt Ind>ans and a Frenchman, but left our Frenchman [I.iberte] behind, who had Jjone to hunt the horses." Clark's journal of the 23th finishes the st;ry of the t^"' , , Tf"t '" "^' *'''■'' °' ''"^' ""' '^°"^"^'=d 'hat he ' Deserted & Stokl a pubhc R.ne shot-pouch Powder & Ball • and requested we would be as favour.-|ble w,th h.m as we could consistantly with our Oath^.-which we wer» and only sentenced him to run the gantlet four times through the Party & thit each man with 9 s.dtchies should punish him and for him not to be considered in future as one of the Party~" '-unsiaerea I 78 COUNCIL WITH INDIANS. This ingenuous confession did not make us the less desirous of negotiating a peace for them; but no Indians have as yet been attracted by our fire. Tlie evening was closed by a dance; and the next day, August igth, the chiefs and warriors being assembled at ten o'clock, we explained the speech we had already scit from the Council-bluffs, and renewed our advice. They all replied in turn, and the presents were then distributed ; we exchan ;ed the small medal we had formerly given to \Yv^ Horse for one of the same size with that of Little Thief; we also gave a small medal to a third chief, and a kind of certificate or letter of acknowledgment to five of the war. riors, expressive of our favor and their good intentions. One of them, dissatisfied, returned us the certificate; but the chief, fearful of our being offended, begged that it might be restored to him ; this we declined, and rebuked them severely for having in view mere traffic instead of peace with their neighbors. This displeased them at first ; but they at length all petitioned that it should be given to the warrior, who then came forward and made an apology to us : we then delivered it to the chief to be given to the most worthy, and he bestowed it on the same warrior, whose name was Great Blue Eyes. After a more substan- tial present of small articles and tobacco, the council was ended with a dram to the Indians. In the evening we exhibited different objects of curiosity, and particularly the air-gun, which gave them great surprise. These people are almost naked, having no covering except a sort of breech-cloth round the middle, with a loose blanket or buffalo robe painted, thrown over them. The names of these warriors, besides those already mentioned, were Karkapaha or Crow's Head, and Ncnasawa or Black Cat. Missouris ; Sananona or Iron Eyes, Neswaunja or Big Ox, Stageaunja or Big Blue Eyes, and \Va- (/>. 76") sashaco or Brave Man, all Ottoes. These two tribes speak very nearly the same language; they all begged us to give them whisky. SERGEANT FLOVD'S DEATH-FLOVD's RIVER. 79 Augus, 20tk The Indians mounted their horses and left S hav ng reecved a canister of whisky at parting. We ch'^n:: ;,:'::' "He"::::::::;:" '"'='°- °'°- -'^-'-. colic -i.ul .11 ytsteitlay seized with a bilious couc, and all our mn^ -nwi ..♦.^ ^- |lKd „.,th a composure which justified the high opinion we -I ';>™ed of h,s firmness and good condtct. He „"! b..r,edon the top of the bluff with the honors due .Ja br ve soid.er ; the place of his interment was marked b^ a ccJa, post „„ winch his name and the day of his death verc „,scnbcd. About a n,ile beyond this Jlace, to whi «e gave Ins name, is a small river about 30 yards wde o" the north, which we called Floyd V rLr^vhere we "U,d. nna™,d a. hi, si. ,a,i„„, a„ ancnln ; ,i'„,^': " tZ^TrTovd"' T weaker aiK no better oc k i i. ■ ' ' '^'^'^S'^ant 1' loyd much a .ncent on hi tl^ch or c^vl ^ Died Z ''''' '^"^ ""^'""^ ^"' ^''^^ I'ofore his death he said to leT ' " .^'^'^ ^^'"^ a great deel of composure. letter'— uVbu ied iZl , ^7'' '"'^ ' "'''"' ^^^ ^° -"'« -« ^ ".vhich we .ave his Z T u" '"^ "^ "''-" '^'"^^ ^ "^''e below asmall river to a soe;,:;^:;;';;,: r^Nr w V'r: "t? °^ ^^- --' '—'' -as fixed at the head of hisTr.ve tJ ' t "'" '°'' °^ ^"^ust 1804 'nmness and Determined sol ioTi:." """ '' '".'"" ^'''^^ "^ P^^°'^ "^ '^'^ "'■"-if aftes paying all l^:^T^ S::::^:^^'''' ^"' '"""^ " .outh of ^.,.. i.er about 30 yards wide, a bSl evel ''' ''''''' '" ''' I^'ackbird-s. -t'trnt \rrraLrr ^rsh^^' 7^°^ "'^- '''' -ap of XS43. and this authJr.'wri i g of : ; say ■ • We s " 7." r"^"'-'^'^ at the foot of the bluff on which is vZ]v. ^ ' ^^^'^ ^^^°'^ "'S'^' blown down by the winds w t ^ . ^'■''' ' '"■' '"'" ''^^P'^'^^'^ ^he signal, t^y umds, ^^hlch marks the spot and hallows the memory of the 8o TIIK {;i. ./<;) duced a sort of law of nations, by which the banks of tiic creek are sacred ; even tribes at war meet without hostility at these quarries, which possess a right of asylum. Thus we find even among savages certain principles deemed sacred, by which the rigors of their merciless system of warfare are mitigated. A sense of common ilanger, where stronger ties are wanting, gives all the binding force of more solemn obligations. The importance of preserving the known and settled rules of warfare among civilized na- tions, in all their integrity, becomes strikingly evident ; since even savages, with their few precarious wants, cannot exist in a state of peace or war where this faith is once violated." l)ravo sergeant who died here iliiriiiK Lewis ami Clark's expedition" (Report, p. 34V Another point of the same tihilT. a little lower down, is now calU\l Ser^;eant's l>liilT. The river with its trilMitarios drains several nortluvesti'rn counties of Iowa, and falls into the Missouri a little below Sioux City, I:it. apjiroximately 42'' 30' N., and a little above the Sooth mile point. On the much reduced map of the M'Vickar edition (1842), the name is printed " Castus " — a word I have not found elsewhere, ^^ Now IVrry creek. The range of bluffs about to be mentioned is now called rrosjiect hill. Mere is the site of Sioux City, la. ■" The Uig Sioux river is to-day not less geographically notable than was it formerly of ethnographic consequence. At its mouth is the southeast corner of South Dakota, meeting here both Nebraska and Iowa, Here the Missouri t, and made led is now called ^ MINKRAI. ni.Ul-KS-ROLOG,.: CKKKK. gl Tl.e wind became southerly, and blew with such violence at we took a reef in our sail ; it also blew the sand from t e ba s ,n such quantities that we could not see th^ --twelve miles. to^..,.:tlteX Mr r;!^^ vili.iw, no ouL'er cxistitur u/ • ^" ^ ...-.arsandam^ll^^He^^tilf;;:?-:! ™;r^:^:;;t:::i^^^^^ near the river, succeedld bv , , V; '"~'''''^' ^^^ ^""^""^'^ ber near the water^ c, ^ " •^"'-•"L' prairies, with tim- ucr near tne waters. Some wo ves were seen fn ^lo„ ^ *i saiul-bcaches to the south • w. .i to-Jay on the f •. , ,. soutn , we also procured an exceljpnf f..ut. rcemb ,„g a .ed currant, growing on a shrub !'k the ' f "?"' ■ ":['■'"'" ""•■ ''^■'«'" °' " -W plum. "-.•e„ Iowa and So.uh ii::: ^ rp t :':'; ^^'^ "^: ^^-^-^ C..I1.C1 Tchankasndata river (so on Nioll t m'ap' ,8 3)'' hfn ""• ^'^° mean that the river is continuously wooded ui ' '"' " '""^ '° -;:'K'^1 as the VVatpa.ipak-shan Ir To riv ^ 7,:'^;,; ^r ''V'''" riviL-re Croche, or, as we shonlH <=->„ n . , "^^'^' ''"" ''X 'he Prench as la rive,-, at the he.I ;f 1,700,: rLr.7' ""• '°'"' """" °^ "^"^ ^ioux of the Minnesota or St Pete" river' ' '" "' "°" ''^" ^ '"''^ ^'•'^- ">-« Tl.e rocks co.posinR t Is^ rTes of b u'^" ' I '''" '^'""" '''''°"' ^ '^^^'"• "n.ler the name oiB^onTl^^^^^^ ascending order- A li^llf '^' ^''^ ^' establishes three divisions in ferruginous clay " ^ThXlrouTi: t'h^r" ' A ""^^"""'^ ""^^^ ^ ^' ^ ^''g"''/ Missouri, •• ^ "P " "^'^ ^^''' Of 'l^e cretaceous formations of the ^' No clew to this name. Ciark's MS. has : « This creek I call Roloje [very 82 SICKNESS IN THE PARTY. . % Seven miles above is another cliff, on the (/>. 50) same side, of alum rock of a dark brown color, containing in its crev- ices great quantities of cobalt, cemented shells, and red earth.'" From this the river bends eastward, and ap- proaches the [Great] Sioux river within three or four miles. We sailed the greater part of the day, and made 19 miles to our camp on the north side [near Elk Point, Union Co., S. D.]. The sand-bars are as usual numerous ; there are also con- siderable traces of elk, but none are yet seen. Captain Lewis, in proving the quality of some of the substances in the first cliff, was considerably injured by the fumes and taste of the cobalt, and took some strong medicine to relieve him from its effects. The appearance of these mineral sub- stances enabled us to account for disorders of the stomach with which the paity had been affected since they left the river Sioux. We had been in the habit of dipping up the water of the river inadvertently and making use of it till, on examination, the sickness was thought to proceed from a scum covering the surface of the water along the southern shore, but which, as we now discovered, proceeded from these plainly written] a name I learned last night is "—then the copy is blind, with something like an m, a blank space, and then a plain s. There was a person of the American Fur Company named Rolette (so Lone), or Rollet (so Pike). This stream is Ayoway creek of Nicollet's map, and now Iowa creek (misprinted Norway creek on the G. L. O. map, 1876), in Dixon Co., Neb., just above the 830th mile point of the Missouri. ■"' The appearances indicate the v.ry great and remarkable change in the geo- logical formation of the country upon which the expedition has now entered. Hitherto it has been paliBozoic, and for the most part Silurian and permo-car- boniferous, especially the latter, which occupies northern and western Missouri, southern Iowa, eastern Kansas, and a small southeastern corner of Nebraska above and below the mouth of the Platte river. Where the permo-carbonifer- ous ends on the Missouri, above Council BlufTs, Iowa is quaternary to the river, and Nebraska is cretaceous. At the mouth of Great Sioux river, at the extreme southeast corner of South Dakota, the Expedition has entered upon that vast extent of the cretaceous formation which the Missouri traverses in South and North Dakota and Montana, without a break to the head of navigation of the river. Almost all of both Dakotas, and the greater part of Montana, are in fact cretaceous. SERGEANT GASS-BUFFALO PRAIRIE. gj bluffs. The men had been ordered, before we reached the bluffs, to agitate the water so i^, tn a; , ^"^^^ ^"^ take the water, not at the s;.rfn. K . ^"''' '^'' ''""^' ""^ consequence was h.t he "' :"' '' '"'"^' ^^l^^^^' The wluch'had affl ct;d tt men " " T'' ' ^^"' '^'^^ ^- Sioux river '''''-^ "°' ^^^^^^"^^^ beyond the ":r'^;s^::;^r^^--^--- vuicb, was made a sergeant ^«.„k,™ sio,„-T.n „ii.„ or ,1,. LS » nT ' "';J"'-<:i"-"-"i-ti^> oi ih. '. ""1 Wl,l„.,,„i,„ C,„k.-L'Eai mi C,; „ T '■"'■'"'■-■■-I'U.m. Wl,i,=- ti..,-Co,.„, „„k_|,as„/, ,hif™ oS, H 'T" °" "'""'" °' ™'1-1»'.-Whi,„ ..al.-I.,..pcc, .*nJ-lt\K„; S :";trEZ '~ ■"i"""'""- ""■' -"- ""'• Hi.h„„ „.k-o„d.k.,„„d i...--Tr,t„tit::.r Tir- sr" -"- ^UGUST 25tl,. Captains Lewis and Clark, with ten "•he.et,,e,.,eft.he ^ '^d T";;' S n'c: o^^t Ja';';; ascended a rising ground, from whicl, a plain extended as ;;o^.^s-.„ tiiatUt^:^;/- I'Bii^t^r:,';':, -f "^:;: P."lleiog.a., ,He .ongest"!:' bei g" b: t'^3:oT': T b ead/r, , ^"^ ,°" "" '"P •■' '^^^'' Pl^i" °f '^ feet in breadth and 90 „, length. The north and south extremi t.es are connected by two oval borders which sirve as X" 85 86 SPIRIT MOUND, AND INDIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 11 bases, and divide the whole side into three steep but regular gradations from the plain. The only thing char- acteristic in this hill is its extreme symmetry, and this, together with its being totally detached from (A 5j) the other hills which are at the distance of eight or nine miles, would induce a belief that it was artificial ; but as the earth and the loose pebbles which compose it are arranged ex- actly like the steep grounds on the borders of the creek, we concluded from this similarity of texture that it might be natural. The Indians have made it a great article of their superstition ; it is called the mountain of Little People, or Little Spirits," and they believe that it is the abode of little devils in the human form, about i8 inches high and with remarkably large heads, armed with sharp arrows, with which they are very skillful, and always on the watch to kill those who should have the hardihood to approach their residence. The tradition is that many have suffered from these little evil spirits; among others, three Maha Indians fell a sacrifice to them a few years since. This has inspired all the neighboring nations, Sioux, Mahas, and Ottoes, with such terror that no consideration could tempt them to visit the hill. We saw none of these wicked little spirits ; nor any place for them, except some small holes scattered over the top; we were happy enough to escape their vengeance, though we remained some time on the 'Marked on Lewis' map of 1806 as the Hill of Little Devils ; on Clark's map of 1S14 charted, but unnamed. The tradition has outlived the superstition to which it owes its origin, and survives in the name Spirit mound, still applied by settlers, and appearing on modern maps. This elevation is situated in Clay Co., S. D., in section 14, town 93, range 52 ; it extends nearly north and south, being about 1000 feet long, 350 feet wide at the base, and 95 to 115 feet high, though of anything but symmetrical figure. The highest point is marked by an iron tube, indicating a station of the Missouri River Survey. The body of the hill is chalkstone of the cretaceous group, to within 30 feet or less of the top, covered with yellow clay, and this with gravelly loam. A few miles to the N.W. is a bluff, some 30 to 50 feet higher than this hillock, prob- ably at one time continuous with the latter, the intervening space being due to erosion, (T. H. Lewis' paper on pseudo-antiquities of the Missouri, in the Amer. Antiq. and Orient. Journ., xiii. No. 5, Sept. 1S91, p. 289.) TOFFALOES, BIRDS, AND PLANTS. J/ a great distance a,d LTe oTh T^ "" ''■'^- '""^ ^' enlivened by laree I erd "f k t , ^■'^- ="" '^"''" "I. The soil of tfese pti^ if ° 'T-"'"^ =' " '''■^'^"-• however, no ti,nt ex ept'/rt;."^''^ '"' ■■ "'"= -• of the Whitestone rfver ,.o h T' "" "'= '™<"' thickly ,00 acres Til ,,1 ^"^ "'"'"™' '° "^" this ™'ou„d hrc'ont^'bnte'^ It^a'mti' :"'• " 1""°"""' tation; the wind driving ftm eve vdi,/ ^"^ ''''"■ level ground obliges the insects to 7 , , '°" °''" ""= ward side, or to be drive, '''""■■'' °" "= '«■ s,na„ bird;, w.L'^ooT l;'^:,? es:rt'of'c= ~"'"'- ''"' ..umbers inquest of subsisted,'"' .,d .be, h"" '"r^' -srs-b~r^^"-^.^^^ within a fe,v feet o tl f„ ZT "°'/^ "'"" »' 8ot a.nong the numerous bi',"ds T^^l^^ n^T^Hn the wren or nrairie-birrf »n,l , ■ ^ , Waclvbird, -c of a partridge, w, 'a itrt :^r'"T> '"' "''°"' '"^ a..C thirst forced us fro™ tlt htlt abl^ o^:. irc'.'t :?.i^::d tr;tt:e?tiir.:v--' °" - first rearhpH ,> • ., ' ^° ^'^^ ^P^^ where we dcLio" pU„;V"r o^ "'"'fS "=" '^= S"'--^ -™= arrived at raoH, of 'h ""' "'™"'^' ^"'I '^"">™'d ,p;.^cethec:rfi°'t;;r-rndtV"ni,e:°H'''': geant Pryor had proceeded in the afternoon M * • 88 PKTIT ARC OR LITTLE BOW CREEK. one mile, to a bluff of blue clay on the south, and^er passing a sand-bar and two sand-islands [his men] fixtd their camp at the '"stance of s'x miles on the south. In the evening some rain fell. We had killed a duck and sev- eral birds ; in the boat they had caught some large catfish.' August 26ih. We rejoined the boat at nine o'clock before she set out ; and, then passing by an island and under a cliff on the south, nearly two miles in extent and composed of white and blue earth, camped at nine miles' distance, on a sand-bar toward the north. Opposite to this, on the south, is a small creek called Petit Arc' or Little Bow ; and a short distance above it, an old village of the same name. This vil- lage, of which nothing remains but the mound of earth about four feet high surrounding it, was built by a Maha chief named Little Bow, who being displeased with Blackbird, the late king, seceded with 200 followers and settled at this spot ; it is now abandoned, as the two (/>. 55) villages have reunited since the death of Blackbird. We have great quan- tities of grapes, and plums of three kinds ; two of a yellow color, distinguished by one of the species being longer than » Gass says " nine that would together weigh 300 pounds." The species is doubtless Amiurus ponJerostis. *Gass makes it Pettit Ark. It has also been known by its Indian name, Hopa-wazhupi. This is the present Bow creek, Cedar Co., Neb. See beyond, under date of Sept. 2d, what is said of some supposed fortifications or other artificial works, stated to have been seen on the upper side of Petit Arc creek, not far from its mouth. Mr. T. H. Lewis, in his paper on the pseudo-antiqui- ties of the Mis<-ouri already cited says (p. 290) of the Little Bow Enclosure, that there arc; " no traces of any village or artificial works of any description to be found in this neighborhood above the mouth of the Bow, the land being l2;,A. The „,„r„i„g ,t,, '.^ than usual. A gentle breeze from the southeast carr Xs .^ '^''^y o*^ '-»'ill<. under whch is much stone, hke l,me, incrusted with a clear s. bs.ance s^ , poled to be cobalt, and some dark ore. Above this b uff Tset ho pratne on fire to invite the Sioux. After ,.>< ,n ^s we had passed several other sand-bars, and reached t'he ,o„Th ho':::,:: tbe v"r ^t" ^"^'"'" "™«)' - ^'■"^" -' D°kof, rlv U I """'"' '"' '''"'" [='"" "°>v also Uikota nver]. It ,s about 90 yards wide at the confluence ■ the country wh-ch it uir,..-c .-^ ■ 1 ■ . "'u'-iiec, fimh^r. If I, "■"'," """•" 's rich pranie, with little timber, ,t becomes deeper and wider above its mouth and may be nav.gated a great distance, as its sources .ise neat those of St^ Peter's [the Minnesota, a branch]" h M.s -s,pp,, and [those of] the Red river of lake Winnipeg • i . 3S0. where the d fleet on ^HheM^ ' • ^°"'°"' ''''' '^ ^P" '''' '''' -'^ western headwaters of th^M °"" ^'""^ ''"' "'^^' '' "°^'«d. The f.on, thos of the Red vei oTtT' N^' I' 'l ''"': "'""'^'^ '>' ^"^ -^"^^^^^ ble to ^n in I u !) , ' °''"'' "'^^ '^ ^^^ been found actually possi- sources o Jamef ^ver f 'r^ ' '"' ^ ^^f '^ -'-" '^-''-'b' -Parates the coteau separates he M- T^ °^ '^^^ ^'"^ '''''' ""'^ ^ ^'"' ^'r°"ger of the TsSon S3 T" T-'"' ''"""' °' ^"^^ '^^'^"^^ "->■• ^ ^"butary lection of so^e person? T1 ^7' "''' ^'^ '''^ ^ " '' '^ ^^'''''" '^^ --1- f- Lake Cve ro 'thTst S 'VhuVT?' ^'^ ''^^^ °"^^ ''^^'^'^ no tne St. 1 etcr. 1 hus, therefore, this spot ofifers us one 90 VANKTOV INDIANS— CALUMET DLUI'F. As we came to the mouth of the river, an Indian swam to the boat ; on our landin<; we were met by two others, who informed us that a hirge body of Sioux (YanktonsJ were camped near us. They acconn)anied tliree of our men, witli an invitation to meet us at a spot above tiie river. The third Indian remained with us; he is a Maha boy, and says that his nation liave {jone to the Pawnees to make peace with them. At 14 miles we camped on a sand-bar to the north [near Yankton, S. D.]. The air was cool, the evening pleasant, the wind from the southeast and light. The river has fallen gradually and is now low. Aiii^nst 2'ith. We passed, with a stiff breeze from the south, several sand-bars. On the south is a prairie which rises gradually from the water to the height of a bluff, which is at four miles' distance, of a whitish color, and (/>. j6) about 70 or 80 feet high. P\irthcr on is another bluft, of a brownish color, on the north side; and at the distance of 8|j miles is the beginning of Calumet bluff on the south, under which we formed our camp" in a beautiful plain, to await the arrival of the Sioux. At the first bluff the youiit; Indian left us and joined their camp. Before reaching Calumet bluff one of the periogues ran upon a log in the river and was rendered unfit for service, so that all our loading was put into the second perioguc. On both sides of the river are fine prairies, with Cottonwood; near the bluff there is more timber in the points and valleys than we Ikwc been accustomed to see. of those interesting phenomena, which we have already alluded to, but which are nowhere perhaps so apparent as they are in this place. Here we behold the waters of two mighty streams, one of which empties itself into Hudson's Bay at the 57th parallel of north latitude, and the other into the Gulf of Mexico in latitude 29°, rising in the same valley within three miles of each other, and even in some cases affording a direct natural navigation from one into the other." '■• In Knox Co., Neb., about the gooth river-mile point, and opposite the lower one of two islands to be found on later maps by the name of Buffalo. Ry the bluff on the south, first above named, flows Beaver creek, not noted in thete.xt. The Calumet bluf! of the text begins at a point where a range of hills appro.aches the river closely ; but various authors extend the name to this range for several miles up river. WORD FROM Till. VANKTON SIOUX. 91 clock n> the .-.ftcrnoon Serjeant Pryor and his party arnvcd on the opposite sid., attended by five ch ieffa U about ;o men and boys. We sent a bo!at for „ . ^d .Urprctcr who liappened to be trading with the Sioux -.t .I.H ..me. He returned with Sergeant Pryor to t ie ,"L" .'.tl. a present of tobacco, corn, and a few kettles ■ and t J l.c,n that we would speak to their chiefs i„ tl e Irn ' borgcant Pryor reported that on reaching their vu'e' ■: a ;;;';: rbtr "'?"' '"" °"--""- »- - ^-y .party with a buffalo-robe, on whicii they desired to carry l.c,r v,s, ors-an honor which they declin'^d, inf rm.ng the Ind.ans that they were not the commanders of the boafs As a g,eat mark of respect, they were then pre ent -d :th a f.t dog, already cooked, of which they partook heart v b.oux are of a corneal form, covered with buffalo-robes t r.™ 7' V^™- «Sures and colors, with an aperture „ c top for the smoke to pass through. The lodges con. ta.n from ,o to ,5 persons; the inferior arrangement "s onjpact and handsome, each lodge having a pTce fo cooking detached from it.' ^ not see the Indian camp on the opposite side b„r t cleared off about eight o'clock. We prepar d a peech and le presents and then sent for the chiefs and warriors l.om we received, at twelve o'clock, under a lar^e Tk ree noar winch the flag of the United States was flying Cap iod..s, ,„„. i„ TIL „'ibr," ,': •',' T" '"'"'»•'' "" "»• "»'■' S»I.»[J,,™„esl,iv„ Thr , , " ' '"■" "■= ""«■'•"■ •" '!>= t: 92 COUNCIL HELD WITH THE YANK'IONS. tain Lewis delivered a speech, with the usual advice and counsel for their future conduct. We acknowledged their chiefs, by giving to the grand chief a flag, a medal, a cer- tificate, and a string of wampum ; to which we added a chief's coat — that is, a richly laced uniform of the United States artillery corps, with a cocked hat and red feather. One second chief and three inferior ones were made or recognized by medals, a suitable present of tobacco, and articles of clothing. We smoked the pipe of peace, and the chiefs retired to a bower formed of bushes by their young men, where they divided among one another the presents, smoked, eat, and held a council on the answer which they were to make us to-morrow. The young people exercised their bows and arrows in shooting at marks for beads, which we distributed to the best marksmen. In the evening the whole party danced until a late hour, and in the course of their amusement we threw among them some knives, tobacco, bells, tape, and binding, with which they were much pleased. Their musical instruments were the drum, and a sort of little bag made of buffalo-hide dressed white, with small shot or pebbles in it and a bunch of hair tied to it. This produces a sort of rattling music, with which the party was annoyed by four musicians during the council this morning. August 3ij-/. In the morning, after breakfast, the chiefs met and sat down in a row, with pipes of peace highly orna- mented ; all pointed toward the seats intended for Captains Lewis and Clark. When they arrived and were seated, the grand chief, whose Indian name Weucha is in English Shake Hand, and in French is called Le 'L\-{p.^S) bcra- teur(the Deliverer), rose and spoke at some length, approv- ing what we had said, and promising to follow our advice. " I see before me," said he, " my Great Father's two sons. You see me and the rest of our chiefs and warriors. We are very poor ; we have neither powder, nor ball, nor knives ; and our women and children at the village have no clothes. I wish that as my brothers have given me a flag YANKTON ELOCUTION, and a medal, thev vvoulH n-;.r« people, or let , hem stop atHrH""""'""^ *° "•<''= Poor comes up the riv^r JwH h ,""," ""' ^"' ''°""'"ch Mahas together, a ,d mrke o."^ 1 '' "' '"' ''™""= ='"<' better that I shiud dot than r""" '"=■" ' ""' " '^ .Ley win listen to 1 ^or 'radT/T ' -n ^''■"\=°"=' '- chiefs to your countrv in ,11 ^' , "'" *''° '^''^ ^"'"'^ I cannot feave hom^ we„.T„""^ •', '"' "''"'' '"^' '™- they gave me a mTdal anlsome Tm'' '° ",'= ''"^"^"' ^"'^ the Spanish they gave me a meda^'^T' "'.'" ' "■="' '° from my skin ; b„? „o. you g ve me a m d .'^ *; f '" '* But still we are poor : and I vf Lh TJu ""^ ''°"'"- us something for our squaws " "' ^™ """'^ ^'^^ When he sat down, Mahtoree or White Crane arose I have listened," said he, " to what our fa"her's word, were yesterday ; and I am to-day Had to J. h , dressed our old chief lam,, ^°^ y"" '"^''^ to take much • mrfather, ^"""'^ """■ ^""^ ^'' "°' '"'^^ much sense b=fo":bu'::'rtiri„rM "^ ^ ^"'^'^ ' '-" What the old chief has deCa d I 'T "T "'" '=^=^- whatever he and you p ease bu, I , "°"^""' """^ '*'' pity on us, for we are very poor " ^°'' ^""'^ '"'^ ^ram'a'vo"'' ""'" P^^-'neahpahbe, then said : well Z/IZ! uZ'ZT!""": •"" ""'^ ' ' ""-' ^P"'' chief and wiM T ! "''^' ''°" '"a™ 'old the old cnicl, and will do whatever you agree." J he same sentiments were repeated by Aweawecha.h. someC;* rn\Ui^ yy^e i^awnee, and was occasioned by Clr;ff't "^at^e't' ile^^'Th^' ''T^' '" "-' e»ty of U,e chij- 1 "' '- ''^''"' '^'"^'^'"^ '" ""<= ""'''■ 3a/":r.t:av:^-ra,^n::vs;:----™- a***!! iiif \ 94 THE COUNCIL CONCLUDED. . .V ' i 'i! declared he would support them. They promised to make peace with the Ottoes and Missouris, the only nations with whom they were at war. All these harangues concluded by describing the distress of the nation ; they begged us to have pity on them ; to send them traders ; they wanted powder and ball, and seemed anxious that we should sup- ply them with some of their Great Father's milk, the name by which they distinguish ardent spirits. We gave some tobacco to each of the chiefs, and a certificate to two of the warriors who attended the chief. We prevailed on Mr. Durion to remain here, and accompany as many of the Sioux chiefs as he could collect, down to the seat of govern- ment. We also gave his son a flag, some clothes and pro- visions, with directions to bring about a peace between the surrounding tribes, and to convey some of their chiefs to see the President. In the evening they left us and camped on the opposite bank, accompanied by the two Durions. During the evening and night we had much rain, and observed that the river rises a little. Tiie Indians who have just left us are the Yanktons, a tribe of the great nation of Sioux." These Yanktons are * For the position of the Yanktons and Yanktonnais as members of the great Siouan linguistic stock, and as tribes of the Sioux proper or Dakota Indians, see the classification on p. ico, and note there. I. These Yanktons, with whom the travelers are holding a council, are enumerated on p. g7 as the First tribe. In Lewis' Statistical View they are those there called Yank'-ton-ah-nah' ; they are credited with 80 lodges, 200 warriors, and 700 total population, and located on the Jacques or James river, the Big and Little Sioux rivers, Floyd's river, and the Des Moines. " These," says Lewis, " are the best disposed Sioux who rove on the banks of the Missouri, and these even will not suffer any trader to ascend the river, if they can possibly avoid it ; they have heretofore, invariably, arrested the progress of all those they have met with, and generally compelled them to trade at the prices, nearly, which they themselves think proper to fix on their merchandise. They seldom commit any further acts of violence on the whites. They sometimes visit the river Demoin [Des Moines], where a partial trade has been carried on with them, for a few years past, by a Mr. Crawford. Their trade, if well regulated, might be rendered extremely valuable. Their country is a very fertile one ; it consists of a mixture of woodlands and prairies. The land bordering on the Missouri is principally plains with but little timber." (London ed., 1S07, p. 18,) •■ ! MANNERS AND DRESS OF THE YANKTONS. 95 about 200 men in number, and inhabif the Jacques, Des Mo„,e .and S.oux rivers. In person they are stout, .^H proport.oned, and have a certain air of dignity .nd bo d- blTdsoa eTt "" f'"^ '''"" -'Wnglom the other bands of the nat.on whom we saw and will describe after, ward; they are fond of decorations, and use paint no cu P.ne qu.lls and feathers. Some of them wofe a L-fnd o" necklace of wl„te bear's daws three inches long, closely strung (/do) together round their necks. They Lve on ly a few fowl,„g.p,eces, being generally armed with bows and arrows, ,n us.ng] which, however, they do not appear s expert as the more northern Indians. What struct us most was an mst.tution peculiar to them, and to the Kite ««z:,:2r.if„::u«:„f '■T'he'f'V\'''''' """''""'""•■ "■''°^" ■■ '""""y Ti,» T A- ^ ^"" phonetic rendering Is I-hank'-ton wi" These Indians now number nearly 3.000. of which the Ljoritr(i 72s are or were recent y on the Yankton Reservation. S. D., and x x^ a 'the Fon Peck Reservation in Montana ; a few (1.3) at Devil's Lake Agen y ^ "^^^ and a very few more on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Reserva^on ' S D 2. TheYanktonnaisorYanktoannans(I.hank'.ton-wa" naUver. 3=t .. bissatones, still appropriate a considerable proportion of what thev dn ni, as..i„rmanner with that mentioned of tL Sissatone ^h 7 .t s'lu i eTtheT" •'"" ""^^'^"^ '"^ '''''^' ^^^ ^^^°- inde eid'n of t trade of the Missouri, in a great measure, and has furnished them with tZ aTo'orold^'^' '?"^^'"^ ^"' plundering the traders of the L S:1h^e:^Ttl~taf^^^^^^ ttT' ''T' '' "^ '''-'^ mountain. Thecountrythe^j::;::;:^^^^^^^^ Th t: tonnair"" ' '"'1 = '" ^°''' '"''''' ^"'^ ^-"^"-^ -" -'e " Y,n tonnJ. fV "°" "^ '"'^ ^'^''''^'^ '' ^°'"°^^-^= W Upper lanktonnais, of whom most are on Standing Rock Reservation Nn though a few (of the Cuthead band or Pabaksa subtribe) are on De;il^r ft" Lnfr t •' °"^^'-^«t Standing Rock, and others at Fort Peck Mont Lates returns give Upper Yanktonnais on Standing Rock Re sL.tl 1./S6; Lower \anktonnais. Crow Creek Reservation i 0.8 • .fS Rock Agency, 1,739 : total of both, 4,583. ' ^ ' '' ^''"'^'"- "'"'"" I'lii!'! 96 THE "NANl'ASHENE" SOCIETY. [Staitan : see p. 58] Indians further to the westward, from whom it is said to have been copied. It is an association of the most active and brave young men, who are bound to each other by attachment, secured by a vow, never to re- treat before any danger, or give way to their enemies. In war they go forward without sheltering themselves behind trees, or aiding their natural valor by any artifice. Their punctilious determination not to be turned from their course, became heroic, or ridiculous, a short time since, when the Yanktons were crossing the Missouri on the ice! A hole lay immediately in their course, which might easily have been avoided by going around. This the foremost of the band disdained to do, but went straight forward and was lost. The others would have followed his example, but were forcibly prevented by the rest of the tribe. These young men sit, camp, and dance together, distinct from the rest of the nation ; they are generally about 30 or 35 years old, and such is the deference paid to courage that their seats in council are superior to those of the chiefs and their persons more respected. But, as may be supposed, such indiscreet bravery will soon diminish the numbers of those who practice it ; so that the band is now re- duced to four warriors, who were among our visitors. These were the remains of 22 who composed the society not long ago; but, in a battle with the Kite [Crow] Indians of the Black Mountains, 18 of them were killed, and these ^our were dragged from the field by their com- panions. [Cf. Long's Exp. St. Peter's, I. 1825, pp. 436-439.] Whilst these Indians remained with us we made very minute inquiries relative to their situation, numbers, trade, and manners. This we did very satisfactorily, by means of two different interpreters ; and from their accounts, joined to our interviews with other bands of the same nation, and much intelligence acquired since, we were enabled to under- stand with some accuracy the condition of the Sioux, hitherto so little known. The Sioux or Dacorta [Dakota] Indians, originally TRIBES OF THE SIOUX. 97 settled on the Mississippi, and called by Carver Madowe- sians, are now subdivided into tribes, as follows •» l;.rst. Yanktons. This tribe inhabits the Sioux, Des Moines, and Jacques rivers, and numbers about 200 warriors. 'I will give a general account of this great family of Indians, who are amone ;- M. _r. on thir:^^,/::^-: :: ^Sni^ir:^:;?::::; of the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology fur 1885-86, pub. 1891 ^ 1 he name Sioux is not proper to these Indian.: if L » .• , . Al.on.n word .V«...J4, r.....:^T:.J:u:: Z^Z^ Z enem.es bemg thus a term of reproach (so Trumbull). But it has been adoo ed or the S.ouan family, after Gallatin (Trans, and Coll. Ame r. InUq Soc 'l ^5, pp. X2r. 306). back of whom Powell does not go for names of'any";'f s Tm vTlr 'T' ""^ ''""""• ^^"^''" >^ ^°"°-^d by Pritchard (Phy Is . Mank,nd. V. 1847. p. 408). and retains the sense he originally attached o he name mater works (Trans. Amer. Ethn. Soc. 1848, and Schoolcraft's nchanTnbes. III. 1853. p. 402). Siou.. is inform a French plural, but serves in Ln,hsh both as s.ngu ar and plural ; for the singular, it is pronounced " Soo ' d 7rit:: ' Th^ •■ '""T ■ ^""' " ''''"''^ " °^ " ^'°"^^' " '^ ----- ver; b dly written The singular ,s occasionally written "Sue" or "Soo." with a puraP Sues or"Soos." Clark's MS. alone furnishes more than a Zen rtuLTlyli ou:^'' '°^^-^^'"P'^-^ -'^'^'^ -'^ -'e 30, p. 70. The adjective is now Gallatin divides his Sioux into four principal groups, i. Winnebegoes. 2 Soux proper and Assm.boins. 3. The Minnetare sjroup. 4. The OsaL and k.ndred southern tribes. He improperly included his' Shyennes aZ^ The "Owing to the fact that ' Sioux ' is a word of reproach and means ' snake ' en.my the term has been discarded by many later writers as a family s s^ead. n e two words are. however, by no means properly synonymous. The Tv H „ r ""' ""^ ^'"*'^''" '" ' comprehensive or family sense, and wal apphed to a 1 the tribes collectively known to him to speak kindred dialects oTa tha the erm ,s here employed. The term ' Dahcota ' was correctly applied b^ G llatm .0 the Dakota tribes proper as distinguished from the other members of he lmgu,st,c family who are not Dakotas in a tribal sense. The use of the term with this signification should be perpetuated." (Powell / c) J'"Tf °^'"''' '.'''' ^"^"'^ '"'^ ^^''^'' "^^ °f '^^ '^'^ "' Sioux ■• is in its ct tribal sense, not m the above broad linguistic sense. All the tribes they e t Z "th" 'n°'n ," ''''''°'"' °' "'"'^ ^'">' P""""^^ ^° distinguish ten tnbes. They spell Dakota variously in different places, as " Darcota " 98 TRIBES OF THE SIOUX. Second, Tetons of the Burnt Woods [Bois Bruits]. This tribe numbers about 300 men, who rove on both sides of the Missouri, White, and Teton rivers. " Darcotar," " Dacorta," " Dacotah," etc., which forms I leave as I find them. Observe that the name ■' Madowesian," misprinted from Carver in the text, is the Algonkin Nadowessiwag, above explained. Carver (ed. 1796 consulted) prints Naudowessies, pi,; other forms are Naudouessies, Nadowasis, etc., earlier in Hennepin (1683) Nadiousioux (whence Carver's corruption), the ending of which form is exactly our Sioux, and first Naduesiu, from Nicolet, 1634-35. The pristine terricory of the Sioux, in the broad linguistic sense of the name, was mainly in one body, the only exceptions being the isolated habitats of the Biloxi, Tutelo, Catawba, and Woccon. The general trend of Siouan migration has been westward. Probably most Siouans were east of the Mississippi in comparatively late prehistoric times. The main Siouan territory extended from about 53° N. , in the Hudson's Bay Company's country, to about 33' N. , including a considerable part of the Missouri watershed and that of the upper Mississippi. It was bounded on the N.W., N., N.E., and some distance E., by Algon- quian territory. South of 45' N. the line ran eastward to Lake Michigan. It extended westward from Lake Michigan through Illinois, crossing the Missis- sippi at Prairie du Chien, where began Algonquian country. The Siouan tribes claimed all the present States of Iowa and Missouri, excepting parts occu- pied by Algonkins. The Mississippi divided these two families for a short distance below St. Louis. The line then ran west of Dunklin, New Madrid, and Pemiscot counties. Mo., and Mississippi Co., and those parts of Craig- head and Poinsett Cos'., Ark., which lie east of the St. Francis river. Once more the Mississippi became the eastern boundary, but in this case separating the Siouan from the Muskhogean family. The Quapaw or Akansa were the most southerly tribe in the main Siouan territory. Southwest of the Siouan family was the Southern Caddoan group, the boundary extending from the west side of the Mississippi river in Louisiana, nearly opposite Vicksburg, and running northwestwardly to the bend of the Red river between Arkansas and Louisiana ; thence northwest along the divide between the Arkansas and Red rivers. In the northwest corner of Indian Territory the Osages (Siouan) came in contact with the Comanche (Shoshonean family), and near the western boundary of Kansas the Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Arapaho barred the westward march of the Kansa or Kaw (Siouan). The Pawnees (Caddoan stock) in western Nebraska and northwestern Kansas separated the Ponka and Dakota on the north from the Kansa on the south, and the Omaha and other Siouan tribes on the east from the Kiowa and other tribes on the west. The Omaha and cognate peoples occupied in Nebraska the lower part of the Platte river, most of the Elk-horn valley, and the Ponka claimed the region watered by the Niobrara in northern Nebraska. There seems reason for assigning to the Crows the N.W. corner of Nebraska and the S.W. part of S. Dakota, as well as the northern part of Wyoming and the southern part of Montana. The above is the solid body of Siouan territory. The outlying habitats TRIBES OF THE SIOUX. 99 Third Tetons Okandandas [Ogallalas], a tribe consisting of about 150 men, who inhabit both sides of the Missouri below the Cheyenne river. werein Mississippi for the Biloxi ; in Virginia and subsequently in Pennsyl- The whole Siouan stock is divided into 18 principal branches, i. Dakota or S.OUX proper (see above). 2. Assinaboin. 3. Omaha. 4. Ponca 5 Kaw or Kansa. 6. Osages. y. Quapaw. 8. Iowa. 9. Oto. ' o. M sou H. x U.nnebago. i Mandan^ 13. Gros Ventre or Minnetaree or Ilidatsa. 14 Crow. 15. Tutelo. 10. Biloxi. 17. Catawba. 18. Woccon. The censu of the whole IS now about 43,000. of whom only 2,000 are in British America as against 41,000 in the United States. America, We turn now to the first of these 18 branches, the Sioux proper or Dakotas, of whom Lewis and Clark give 10 tribes in the above text, which may be com^ pared with the following tribes and subtribes in Powell's classification • DAKOTA or SIOUX PROPER. assincation . A. SANTEE. These include the Eighth " Mindawarcarton " (Mde'wa-kan- ton-wau). ,nd the Ninth " Wahpatoota" (Wa-qpe'-ku-te) tribesof L^lland Clark. According to U. S. Commissioner's Report for 1889. and the U S Census Bulletin for 1890. there were 869 of them together on the Santee Reservation in Nebraska ; .-c at Flandreau, Dakota, and 54 at Devil's Lake Agency. Lewis Statistical View gave for the Eighth of these 120 lodges 300 warriors, and 1,200 total population ; for the Ninth, 60 lodges iso warriors, 400 in all. Of the Eighth the View remarks : " 'Tis the' only band of S.OUX th : cultivates corn, beans, &c., and even these cannot properly be termed a stationary people. They live in tents of dressed eather which they transport by means of horses and dogs, and ramble from place to place during the greater'part of the year. They are friendly to their own traders; but the inveterate enemies of such as supply their enemies the Cheppeways, with merchandise. They also claim the country in which they hunt, commencing at the entrance of the river St Peters and extending upwards, on both sides of the Mississippi, to the mouth of the Crow-wing river." Of the Ninth tribe the View remarks : "They rove in the country south and west of the river St. Peters, from a place called the Hardwood to the mouth of the Yellow Medicine river ; never stationary but when their traders are with them, and that does not happen at any regular or fixed point. At present they treat their traders tolerably well Their trade cannot be expected to increase much. A great proportion of their country is open plains, lies level, and is tolerably fertile. They maintain a partial traffic with the Yanktons and Tetons to the west of them ; to these they barter the articles which they obtain from the traders on the river St. Peters, and receive in return horses, some robes and leather lodges " B. SissETON. These are the Tenth tribe of Lewis and Clark's enumeration above, there misprinted " Sistasoone," elsewhere variously spelled " Sissa- lOO TRIBES OF THE SIOUX. f; Fourth, Tetons Minnakcnozzo [Minneconjou], a nation inhabiting,' both sides of tiie Missouri above the Cheyenne river, and containing about 250 men. ton,""Sisiton," "Sisiton," " Sisitoan," "Cissilon," etc.; in the Statistical View, " Sissatone." The full phonetic form of the word is Si-si'-ton-wan. Wl.nt is left of them now is divided between the Sisseton Reservation in S. Dakota, where with the Wahpeton they number together 1,522, and Devil's Lake Reservation in N. Dakota, where the Sissetons, VVahpcions, and Yank- tonnais together number 857. The Statistical View of 1806 says : " They claim the country in which they rove, embracing the upper portion of tiie Red river, of Lake Winnipie, and St. Peters ; it is a level country, inter- sected with many small lakes ; the land is fertile and free of stone ; the majority of it open plains. This country abounds more in the valuable fur animals, the beaver, otter and martin, than any portion of Louisiana yet known. This circumstance furnishes the Sissatones with the means of purchasing more merchandise, in proportion to their number, than any nation in this quarter. A great proportion of this merchandise is reserved by them for their trade with the Tetons, whom they annually meet at some point previously agreed on, upon the waters of the James river, in the month of May. This Indian fair is frequently attended by the Yank- tons of the North, and Ahnahs." The View gives the Sissetons 80 lodges, 200 warriors, and 800 total population. (London ed. 1B07, p. 17.) C. WAiirKioN. These are Lewis and Clark's Seventh tribe, above spelled " Wahpatone." The full phonetic rendering is Wa-qpe'-ton-wa>i or Wa- hpe-ton-wah. They are now with the Sissetons at the two Agencies above noted. In 1806 Lewis gives them 80 lodges, 200 warriors, and total 700 population. The Statistical View says of them: "Claim the country in which they rove on the N.W. side of the river St. Peters, from their village to the mouth of the Chippeway river, and thence northeastwardly towards the head of the Mississippi, including the Crow-wing river. Their lands are fertile, and generally well timbered. They are only station.iry while the traders are with them, which is from the beginning of October to the last of March. Their trade is supposed to be [now, 1805] at its greatest extent. They treat their traders with respect and seldom attempt to rob them. This, as well as the other Sioux bands, act, in all respects, as independently of each other as if they were a distinct nation." D. Yankton. These, the First of Lewis and Clark's ten tribes, have been noticed in full in the note on p. 94. E. Yanktonnai. These, the Sixth of Lewis and Clark's ten tribes, are noticed with the Yanktons, p. 95, note. ^ F. Teton. These include the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth of Lewis and Clark's ten tribes ; but there are also others which our authors do not discriminate. The accepted classification of Tetons at present is : (a) Brule's: Lewis and Clark's Second tribe, (b) Sans Arcs: Lewis and ibes, have been ten tribes, are TRIBES OF THE SIOUX. jqi Fifth, Tetons Saonc.'» These inhabit both sides of the Missouri btlow t.' Warrernnn^ „•„ i • , 300 men. vvarreconne river, and consist of about Sixth, Yanktons of the [North or] Plains, or Big Devils who rove on the heads of the Sioux. Jacques, fnd Red to Uncpapas. These wmlre^LSllti T'' T";!' ^"^""^'^'-^• co,„e up for special .nention by the authors ' ' "'"' "" ^^'°"^ '" ll»e " letons Saone," or Lewis and Cl-irlf'<5 T.iftK vu ^ much conjecture and discussion. F^om^ i o^l on ' ^T] '""" "" '° tl>e U. S. lU.reau of Ethnology, based on T oZT """T ' ^"'''''''"^ ^'"^ A. L. Ki,,s says '■ Sanoni tLsa is a >p led ; o^ irLlr^^^'l',^ '''""^'"^ ' of nickname." T. L. Riegs (in the Wnr,i r °."'^' ^'*'^°''' ^"bes as a sort W Va»k.o„„ai u„U„W,-„„..o.„ (or Ye„„„ Sp „ '! "e k,'" "T ," W illiarason (m the Word Carrier Tune Tnlv ,8r„ . ■« " i:-ik;. j.i. uton -sah o-nc. No ethnographer who wishes to get at the real fact, nf L. and C's nd.an na.es should fail to examine ^he original m nLcrt " the ossess,on of the American Philosophical Society, and at present in my ha„ s 1 e yaruan. from the Biddle text as printed is very great and nowh'e great an m ethnolog,cal points. For example : That portion of Clark's m7^S have arranged as Codex B. gives at pp. 56. 57 : ' ' The Names of the DeFe nt 1 nbes or bands of the Sceoux or Darcotar Nation-ist, C/.r/.r AW Yankln o b s I uley); .nd. //.•«,/....,. (Poles); 3d. .V...o,>,Mm.ke fence on he r"e" t ^""'''■^" (I^-P'e of the rrarie); 5th. IFa^acootar (Leaf Beds) 6th rc/ar^on (or village of I'rarie); 7th. yWr.<...-„./,„ (big water TownV fiT /^ i^z'iniT^} ^t ^^"^--'(whiteMin^rS;^.;^::; d ' n her oTJhe^" ^'' ' '""''"""" ^ ' ^^ '^""^" "•'-- "^ '^e other 1. as nether of the Souex s mterpters could inform me." Here are twelve bands mstead of ten, and not one of their names is spelled as in the primed text r02 TKinES OF THE SIOUX— WHITE BEAR CLIFFS. rivers; the most numerous of all the tribes, numbering about 500 men. Seventh, W.ihpatone [Waqpetonvvan or Wahkpatoan], a nation residing on the St. Peter's, just above the mouth of tiiat river, numbering 200 men. Eiglith, Mindawarcarton [Mdevvakantonwan], proper Dacorta [Dakota] or Sioux Indians [Gens du Lac of the French]. These possess the original seat of the Sioux, and are properly so denominated. They rove on both sides of the Mississippi about the falls of St. Anthony, and consist of 300 men. Ninth, The Wahpatoota [Waqpekute or Wahkpakotoan], or Leaf Beds [Leaf Shooters]. This nation inhabits both sides of the river St. Peter's, below Yellow- (/. 62) wood river, amounting to about 150 men. Tenth, Sistasoone [Sisseton]. This nation numbers 200 men, who reside at the head of the St. Peter's. Of these several tribes more particular notice will be taken here- after. Saturday, September ist, 1804. We proceeded this morn- ing under a light southern breeze, and passed Calumet bluffs. These are composed of a yellowish-red and brownish clay as hard as chalk, which it much resembles, and are 170 or 180 feet high. At this place the hills on each side conie to the verge of the river, those on the south being higher than [those] on the north. Opposite the bluffs is a large island covered with timber, above which the highlands form a cliff over the river on the north side, called White Bear cliff, an animal of that kind having been killed in one of the holes in it, which are numerous and appa»'''ntly deep. At six miles we came to a large sand-island covered with cotton- wood ; the wind was high, the weather rainy and cloudy during the day. We made 15 miles to a place on the north side, at the lower point of r large island called Bon Homme or Good Man island." The country on both sides has the " Between Bon Homme Co., S. D., and Knox Co., Neb., beginning about the 915th river-mile. The island retains its French name, which is also that of BON HOMME ISLAND. 103 same Character of prairies with no timber, but with occa- sional low lands covered with Cottonwood, elm. and oak. Our hunters had k.lled an elk and a beaver; catfish are in great abundance. September 2d It rained last night, and this morning we had a h.gh wmd from the N.W. We went three milts to the lower part of an ancient fortification on the south side, and passed the head of Bon Homme island, which is large a,ul wel timbered After this the wind became so viole.ft, attended by a cold ram. that we were compelled to land a four m.les on the north side, under a high bluff of yellow clay about no feet i^. height. Our hunters supplied us with four elk; we had grapes and plums on the banks; we also sa^v the bear-grass [rush, /;.,;«,. angustifolia-\ and rue \Tha. bctrum,^ ?] on the side of the bluffs. At this place there are high lands on both sides {p. 63) of the river, which become more level at some distance back, and contain but few streams of water. On the southern bank, during this day, the grounds have not been so elevated. Captain Clark crossed the river to examine the remains of the fortification we had just passed. This interesting object" is on the scaith side of the Mis- the couaty town The other island mentioned marks the 910th mile point. Both olufTs named ars in continuation of those already noticed - See plate. The original sketch occupies pp. 81. 82 of Clark, Codex N; only alf of u was engraved for the Biddle ed., as now reproduced. The orM loSZ "' '" ?^'' ''''''^ ' '■*• '5- ^"^ ^ «3-«5. But this "antient fortification ,s simply a natural formation-driftings of sand. This was lonjr ngodetermined, as by Warren and Hayden in 1855. I examined the place in .873 and found nothing to support a contrary opinion. It was visited by Mr T if Lewis, of St. Paul, in 1890, and made the subject of an interesting paper entitled Lewis and Clark and the Antiquities of the Upper Missouri River " (Amer Amiq and Orient. Jour., Sept., 1891, pp. 2S8-293). I cite from pp. 291, 292- The earth-works so glowingly described by Captain Clark as existing on js point are only sand ridges formed by the river, the land being low and ubj e.t to overflow. Above the point the river deflects from the Nebraska shore and the strong current strikes the high bank on the Dakota side, and is gradually cut ing It .away, while at the same time the point is being extended to the north by .he accretions from the river. In this way the point has been gradually built, and each successive flood also adds to its general elevation. The sand ridges- I04 SUPPOSED ANCIENT FORTIFICATION. souri, opposite the upper extremity of Bon Homme island, in a low level plain, the hills being three miles from the river. It begins by a wall composed of earth, rising imme- diately from the bank of the river and running in a direct course S. 76° VV. 96 yards ; the base of this wall or mound is 75 feet, its height about 8. It then diverges in a course S. 84° W. and continues at the same height and depth to the distance of 53 yards, the angle being formed by a sloping descent; at the junction of these tw^ is an appearance of a hornwork of the same height with the first angle ; the same wall then pursues a course N. 69° W. for 300 yards ; near its western extremity is an opening or gateway at right angles to the wall and projecting inward ; this gateway is defended by two nearly semicircular walls placed before it, lower than the large walls ; from the gate- way there seems to have been a covered way communicat- ing with the interval between these two walls; westward of of which there are a number extending across the point— mostly conform to the general direction of the current when the river is at a high stage, for at sucli times it does not follow the main river bed or channel, but takes a straijjhter course down the valley between the high banks and bluffs. " Bonhomme Island is east of and just below the point, but is now connected with it by a bed of sand, the old channel having been filled up within recent years. The general formation and character of the island are similar to tliat of the point. "The circular redoubt represented on Lewis and Clark's maps as located on the west side of the island is one of those curious natural sand formations vhicii are occasionally met with along the Missouri Valley. The bank or wall is some- what irregular in outline and lacks considerable of being a circle. Some enter- prising seUler has utilized one side of it by building a claim shanty upon it. " This island is covered with sand-blows, dunes and ridges, and it is rather strange that the elaborate description of the point was not extended so as to include all of the island; but perhaps the greater portion of them have been formed since the time of the expedition, or that the island— then as now— was covered with heavy timber and a dense undergrowth, which hid them from view. " It may be added that along the Missouri, from the mouth of Knife river to Siou\ City, there were many low points and bottoms and some islands, on which there are similar ridges and dunes. Probably the most elaborate of these ' earth-works' are located on the west side, opposite Springfield, South Dakota, and on the west side, opposite to and above Washburn North Dakota." SUPPOSED ANCIENT FORTIFICATION. 105 the gate, the wall becomes much larger, being about 10^ feet at its base, and 12 feet high; at the end of this high ground the wall extends for 56 yards on a course N 32° VV • it then turns N. 23° W., for 71 yards ; these two walls seem' to have had a double or covered way; they arc from 10 to 15 feet 8 mches in height, and from 75 to 105 feet in width at the base; the descent inward being steep, whilst out- ward It forms a sort of glacis. At the distance of 71 yards tho wall ends abruptly at a large hollow place much lower than the general level of the plain, and from which is some indication of a covered way to the water. The space (/. 64) between them is occupied by several mounds scattered pro- miscuously through the gorge, in the center of which is a deep round hole. From the extremity of the last wall, in a course N. 32° VV., is a distance of 96 yards over the low ground, where the wall recommences and crosses the plain in a course N. 81° W. for 1,830 yards to the bank of the Mis- souri. In this course its height is about 8 feet, till it enters, at the distance of 533 yards, a deep circular pond of 73 yards diameter ; after which it is gradually lower, toward the river; it touches the river at a muddy bar which bears every mark of being an encroachment of the water for a considerable distance; a little above the junction is a small circular redoubt. Along the. bank of the river, at 1,100 yards' distance in a straight line from this wall, is a second, about 6 feet high and of considerable width; it rises abruptly from the bank the Missouri at a point where the river bends, and goes straight forward, forming an acute angle with the last wall, till it enters the river again, not far from the mounds just described, toward which it is oh- viously tending. At the bend the Missouri is 500 yards wide ; the ground on the opposite side is highlands, or low hills on the bank; where the river passes between this fort and Bon Homme island, all the distance from the bend, it is constantly washing the banks into the stream, a large sand- bank being already taken from the shore near the wall. During the whole course of this wall, or glacis, it is covered io6 PSEUDO-ANTIQUITIES. with trees, among which are many large cottonwoods, two or three feet in diameter. Immediately opposite the cita- del, or the part most strongly fortified, on Bon Homme island, is a small work in a circular form, with a wall sur- rounding it about six feet in height. The young willows along the water, joined to the general appearance of the two shores, induce a belief that the bank of the island is encroaching, and [that] the Missouri indemnifies itself by washing away the base of the fortification. The (/. 6j) citadel contains about 20 acres, but the parts between the long walls must embrace nearly 500 acres. These are the first remains of the kind which we have had an opportunity of examining; but our French interpre- ters" assure us that there are great numbers of them on the Platte, the Kansas, the Jacques, etc.; some of our party say that they observed two of those fortresses on the upper side of Petit Arc creek, not far from its mouth, and that the wall was about six feet high and the sides of the angles 100 yards in length. September id. The morning was cold, and the wind from the northwest. We passed at sunrise three large sand-bars, and at the distance of ten miles reached a small creek about twelve yards wide, coming in from the north, above a '^ See note ■», Aug. 26th. Old Durion and his hopeful Pierre were not the best ethnological experts in the world, but perhaps the highest authorities that the Expedition had on hand. I suspect much of the French nomenclature was simply Durion 's ; some of it certainly was. Clark's Codex B 69 (I have now arranged all the MSS. in codices, and paginated them for reference) has these words : " Two of our party saw two of those antient fortresses on the Pettiet Arc Creek on the upper side near the mouth, each angle of which were 100 yards and about 8 feet high." Mr. T. H. Lewis' paper already cited says; " There are no traces of any village or artificial works of any description to be found in this neighborhood above the mouth of the Pow, the land being low and subject to overflow. There are, however, several natural ridges, similar to those on Bonhomme Point. On adjacent hills and plateaus there are isolated ruins of old dirt lodges similar io those constructed by the Mandans. There is also an ancient fort on the cast or lower side of Bow Creek, about two miles from its mouth, and another still further south, near Ilartington, but these two forts were unknown to the Lewis and Clark expedition." THE NIOBRARA RIVER. 107 white bluff. This creek has obtained the name of Plum'^ creek from the number of that fruit which are in the neighborhood and of a delightful quality. Five miles further we camped on the south near the edge of a plain. The nver.s wide and covered with sand-bars to-day the banks are high and of a whitish color ; the timber is scarce but there ,s an abundance of grapes. Beaver-houses have been observed m great numbers on the river, but none of the animals themselves. September ^th. We set out early, with a very cold wind called Wh.te-hme creek, on the south side. Just above ",' u T"?"^ ^''^ "^"'' '''''' ^"d at three miles'^' a creek called White-paint creek, about 30 yards wide • on the same sic'., and at 4^ miles' distance from Whitei pamt creek, is the [Niobrara, or] Rapid river, or, as it is called by the French, la Rivere qui Court.'" This river empties mto the Missouri in a course S.W by W and is 152 yards wide and four feet deep at the confluence It rises m the Black mountains " and passes through a hilly 'Mn Bow Homme Co.. S. D.; Wananri river of Nicollet's and Warren's maps : Emanuel creek of G. L. O. map. X879. It empties at the 930th ml pent. Clark s B 70 has Plumb creek . . . '.abounds with blumbs oT a D hcous flavour. The fruit is that of Prunus avuricana olT^T^r'^l''"\ For" three miles" read "three miles /... ...^,. C ark SB ,i has A small creek in a bend to the L. S. [larboard sidel called Wh,te pamt. II.s exact cour.ses and distances are : " S. s" W. i^ mis to the mo: of a creek on the L. S. below a Ceeder Clift. S. 35' W i % Zl' 1 J' mo: of White Paint River on the L.S." Here i J^ + i ./ - Vm ^ f 't is not easy to turn tabular data like these imo rll',!;, er hoTrro^f error or amb.guity. Both creeks named are in Kno.x Co., Neb. Wh te pai,u .s 1 Kau qu. Monte of P. du Lac ; Wasiska of Nicollet ; n;w called by 1 Ze variously spelled Dazille. Bazile, Bozzie. etc. ^ '" AV-rear,e-dog. and gives the same story of trying to drown them out • his ubhshed date be ng 1807. The earliest notice I have seen of the prairie'-dog '1: . Z.^ M^' S's Wir'sfo"' C. T~' -^^ '''-'' ''' '''-'-''- °^ them "H^ f ' ^^""'^ mentions several animals, among ted in ^ ^'"r'^ ^"^° '""°"^ '" '^^ ground).' Pike is usually ated m this connection before Lewis and Clark ; but he must yield to Clark and hi M ' '■; ^TI'^'- . ^^'' "°''" "PP'"'' "' P- '56' ''' '^^'^ °f Aug. 24th, 1806 (of h^ MSS.). It begins : - The Wishtonwish of the Indians, prairie-dogs of some traveler., or squirrels as I should be inclined to denominate them " etc Here IS theongmal application to these rodents of the Indian name which J. Fenimore Cooper applies to the whip-poor-will in his novels. Pike's passage (a footnote 112 PAWNEE HOUSE — BOAT ISLAND. I'm September 2>th. The wind still continued from the south- east, but moderately. At seven miles we reached a house on the north side, called the Pawnee house, where a trader nairedTrudeau" wintered in the years 1796-97; behind this, hills much larger than usual appear on the north, about eight miles off. Before reaching this house, we came by three small islands "" on the north side, and a small creek on the south ; " after leaving it, we reached another island at the end of 17 miles, on which we camped, and called it Boat island." We here saw herds of buffalo, and some elk, deer, turkeys, beaver, a squirrel" and a prairie-dog. The party on the north represent the country through which they passed as poor, rugged, and hilly, with the appearan; e of having been lately burnt by the Indians ; the broken hills, indeed, approach the river on both sides, though each is bordered by a strip of woodland near the water. {p. 6g) September gth. We coasted along the island on which we had camped, and then passed three sand- and willow-islands and a number of smaller sand-bars. The river is shallow, joined by two small creeks from the north and one '° from the south. In the plains to the south are nearly a page long) is the fountain-head of the standard fables regarding con- sociation of prairie-dogs, owls, and snakes ; but that is not his fault, for all that he actually says is true enough. " " The house of Mr. Troodo," Clark B 82. '■'^ The Three Sister islands of Nicollet, Warren, etc. But now there is one large island a little above Fort Randall, at the gSolh mile point. "The present site of Fort Randall, where I wintered in 1872-73. On the north side, in Mix Co., is the Yankton Reservation ; but the military reservation includes a section on both sides of the river. Across the river from Fort Randall is a place called Swan, consisting in those years chiefly of a stage station. A creek or coulee leads thence to a lake at a little distance, in Mix Co., which I find named Lake Andes on some maps. It is a sort of a slough, and useti to be our resort for duck-shooting. About 1859 Fort Randall was the extreme point on the Missouri where troops were permanently established. •* Now called Chicot island ; perhaps the J. de Cedre of Perrin du Lac. '■" The western fox-squirrel, Sciurus ludovicianus , common at Fort Randall. '" Wicha-paha creek of Nicollet ; now Scalp creek, with a large island at its mouth, about the 990th i.iile point. now there is one CEDAR AND MUD ISLANDS. ,,, great numbers of buffalo, in herds of nearly 500- all the copses of t,mber appear to contain elk or deer We calped 0,, a^sand-bar on the southern shore, at the distance^f.'x Sepumker lot A. This day we made 20 miles. The morn I'iftTa^ri d^ ^ "^ '"'• ""'^"S"' ^'-- f- 'he souT cast carried us past two small islands on the south and o„, on the north, ti» at the distance of ,0,^ m 1 twe Reached an ,.,land extending for two miles in the middle of the r,vcr, covered w,th red cedar, from which it derives s totne south, is the backbone of a fish" At fppf i^„„ ♦- ing toward the tail and in a perfect stt e o 'petr^alT ragments of which were collected and sent to WasWnJon' On both sides of the river are high dark-cored W ff ' About iji miles rom the island, on the southern shore the party on that side discovered a large and very stron^; nnpregnated spring of water; and another, not so stronrfv nnpregnated, half a mile up the hill. Thr'ee miles beyo'nd Cedar island are a large island to the north and a number f s.andbars. After which is another, about a mile i„ eng h, ying in the middle of the river and separated by a ™ai channel, at its extremity, from another above it on "Inch we camped. These two islands are called Mud nere Ledar, or Bad creek, in Charles Co. Next on the nnrth \^ .u county is Fish creek, of Nicollet's or of Warre" s n ^p and J e of thel^'t:: i ifc nceof he I ""V"'' '""^ ^"'^^'"^^^ °^ 'he islands, and the ^^C^^Z^r^ ^S'r.'" ■'^-^■'■'"'-- - difHcult between Fort Ran- and -thou on thlh , k ' ' '"^^ '' "'"''" "^ *^ '^' ^'"^^'^ mile point. ^'c r nlvno . r"^ "k '""? ^-^--"y -^' ^odd Cos. (on the south side) Urtainlyno fish, but one of the huge reptiles of the cretaceous period 4i trnimff" 114 RECOVERY OF GEORGE SHANNON. islands. The river is shallow during this day's course, and is falling a little. The elk and buffalo are in great ahund- ancc, but the deer have become scarce. September wth. At 6^ miles \vc passed the upper extremity of an island on the south ; four miles beyond whicii is another on the same side of the river; and about a quarter of a mile distant we visited a i^p-jd) large village of the barking-squirrel." It was situated on a gentle de- clivity, and covered a space of 970 yards long, and 800 yards wide ; we killed four of them. We resumed our course, during 51^ miles passed two islands on the north, and then camped "'at the distance of 16 miles on the south side of the river, just above a small run. The morning har^ been clouded, but in the afternoon it began raining, with a high northwest wind, which continued during the greater part of the night. The country seen to-day consists of narrow strips of lowland, rising into uneven grounds, which are succeeded, at the distance of three miles, by rich level plains, without any timber. The river itself is wide, and crowded with sand-bars. Elk, deer, squirrels, a pelican, and a very large porcupine, were our game this day ; some foxes were seen, but not caught." In the morning we observed a man riding on horseback down toward the boat, and we were much pleased to find that it" .vas George Shannon, one of our party, for whose safety we had been very uneasy. Our two horses having strayed from us on the 28th of August, he was sent to search for them. After he had found them he attempted to rejoin us ; but seeing some other tracks, which must have been those of Indians, and which he mistook for our own, he concluded that we weic ahead, and had been for 16 days following the bank of the river above us. During the first four days he exhausted his bullets, and was then "The prairie-dog, Cynomys ludoviciantis. See note '^, p. iii. '*In Gregory Co., just above the 1,030th mile point. '■* This porcupine is the yellow-haired species, Erethizon epixaiithtis. The " foxes " were probably coyotes. DIFFICULT NAVIGATION. "5 ')ixaiithtis. The nearly starved, being obliged to subsist for twelve days on a cw grapes, and a rabbit, which he killed by making use of a hard p.ece of stick for a ball. One of his horses gave out and was left behind ; the other he kept as a last resource or food. Despairing of overtaking us, he was returning down the r.vcr, in hopes of meeting some other boat ; and was on the point of killing his horse, when he was so fortu- nate as to join us. (/. 7/) September 12th. The day was dark and cloudy ; the wind from the northwest. At a short distance we reacheu an island in the middle of the river, which is cov- ered with timber, a rare object now. We with great diffi- culty were enabled to struggle through the sand-bars, the uater being very rapid and shallow, so that we were several hours in making a mile. Several times the boat wheeled on a bar, when the men were obliged to jump out and pre- vent her from upsetting ; at others, after making a way up one channel, the shoalness of the water forced us back to seek the deep channel. We advanced only four miles in the whole day and camped on the south.^" Along both sides of the river are high grounds; on the southern side par- ticularly they form dark bluffs, in which may be observed slate and coal intermixed. We saw also several villages of barking-squirrels, great numbers of growse," and three foxes. September iith. We made twelve miles to-day through a number of sand-bars, which make it difificult to f^nd the proper channel. The hills - on each side are high and sepa- '" The difficulty of navigating is perhaps the reason why the explorers do not name a creek from the south to-day. It is enough of a stream to be laid down on Clark s map of 1814. where it is lettered Shannon's Cr.. though I cannot find h.s name ,n Uark B. It is also Shannon or Dry R. of Maximilian, 1S33. Mm looks as if it were named for George Shannon (see Sept. nth) ; and per- aps ,t u-as, by an after-thought of Clark's. But another name of this creek is \vashinanpi (so \\arren) and the two words are suspiciously similar. Here is now a place called Rosebud Landing, in Gregory Co. !] The sharp-tailed grouse. Pedia'cetes phasiauellus columbianus. or Pion' Tn' '°"'P''^"°"^ °f 'h««' °" 'he north, in Brule Co., are called Bijou or L.jous hills, after a trader of that name who had a post here, and was killed : [ '1 'W'c ''H'^ n6 NO VOLCANOES TO BE FOUND. rated from the river by a narrow plain on its borders. On the north these lowlands are covered in part with timber, and great quantities ot grapes, which arc now ripe ; on the south we found ulenty of plums, but they are not yet ripe ; and near the d.irk bluffs, a run tainted with alum and cop- peras, the southern side being more strongly impregnated with minerals than the northern. Last night four beavers were caught in the traps ; a porcupine was shot as it was upon a Cottonwood, feeding on il:, leaves and brant hes. We camped on the north side, opposite a small willow- island. At night the mosquitoes were very troublesome, though the weather was cold and rainy, and the wind from the northwest. September \^th. At two miles we reached a round island "" on the northern side ; at about five, a run on the south ; 2^/^ miles further, a small ereek ;'" and at nine miles camped near the mouth of a creek on the same {p. 72) side. The sand-bars are very numerous, and render the river wide and shallow ; this obliged the crew to get into the water and drag the boat over the bars several times. During the whole day we searched along the southern shore, and at some distance into the intf^rlc, to find an ancient vol- cano which we heard at St. Charles was somewhere in this neighborhood ; but wo could not discern the slightest appearance of anything volcanic.*' In the course of their search the party shot a buck-goat " and a hare. The hills, particularly on the south, continue high, but the timber is confined to the islands and banks of the river. by the Sioux. So Catlin, 1832, and others. The hills are marked on most large maps, as Nicollet's, Warren's, etc. ^'■' Sailor island of Xicollet and of Warren. ^" Ball Cr. of some maps, Water-hole Cr.of others, in Lyman Co., a little .ibove the present site of Brule City, which is on the north, in county of same name. ^' There is no trace of anything volcanic in the course of the Missouri till past Milk river, where, in the country on the north, betwec; Maria's and Milk rivers, the evidence of volcanic action first appears. ■*■' That is, a male antelope, Antilocapra ame^ •cnna. The hare is the northern jackass-rabbit, Lf/ns campestris, of which Clark B 98 gives a good description ; and Lewis Q 37-40 gives over three pages of another account. WHITE RIVER. 117 1 ^. hill h r T '° °^''^^^ '^'' --^P'^ undermining of the his by the Missouri. The fir.t attacks seem to be on the h.lls wh.ch overhang the river; as soon as the vio. cnce of the current destroys the grass at the foot of tl>em, the whole texture appears loosened, and the ground dis! solves and nixes w.th the water; the muddy mixture is then forced over the low grounds, which it c'lvers som ! times to the depth of three inches, and gradually destroys the herbage; after which it can offer no resistance to the water, and becomes at last covered with sand Sr/>Um&er istA. We passed, at an early hour, the creek near last night s camp ; and at two miles' distance reached the mouth of White " river, .oming in from the l" h We ascended a short distance, and sent a sergeant [Gass] and another man to ex. mine it higher up. This river Ls a bed of about 300 yards, though the water is confined to 150; in the mouth are a sand-island and several sand-bars The current ,s regular and swift, with sand-bars projecting ^om the points. It differs very much from the Platte and Qu.curreMm throwing out comparatively little sand, buc Its general character is like that of the Missouri. This resemb ance was confirmed by the sergeant, who ascended about twe ve miles ; at which distance it was about the same w.dth as near -he mouth, and the course, which was generally west, hau been (p.yj) interrupted by islands and sand-bars. The timber consisted chiefly of elms • he saw pine-burrs [./.-pine-cones], and sticks of bi- h were seen floating down the river; he also met witi goats such as we have heretofore seen, great quantuifs of buffalo, near which were wolves, some deer, and villages ot barking-squirrels. ^ ' At the confluenc. of White river with the Missouri is an J' °r\t'. ""'■''' """■ ^'° ^' '^''' ""'^'^^'^ ^■•°">0"'- of that name much lower n" o LrrivhT' -^ ''"• '^ '■' '': ''-'''' ' '''---'- ''^^^ '■- ^0 nte i^^D 1^"' r'"'''" °'''' '''""' ^°^'' of Cheyenne river, "ve: ::r;mr coX:.:: B^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ''- ^^^-"- ^^^--^ *-<> ^^^^ lis COKVUS OK CROW CRKEK. 1 itmiwxir. excellent position for a town, the land rising by three grad- ual ascents, and the neighborhood furnishing more timber than is usual in this country.*' After passing high dark bluffs on both sides, we reached the lower point of an island toward the south, at the dis- tance of six miles. This island bears an abundance of grapes, and is covered with red cedar ; it also contains a number of rabbits {^Leptis artviiii.\ia\. At the end of this island, which is small, a narrow channel separates it from a large saml-island, which we passed, and camped, eight miles on the north, under a high point of land oi)posite a large creek to the south," on which we observed an unusual quan- tity of timber. The wind was from the iicirthwest this afternoon, and high ; the weather was cold, and its dreari- ness increased by the bowlings of a number of wolves'" around us. September \6t/i. Early this morning, having reached a convenient spot on the south side at \% miles' distance, we camped just above a small creek, which we called Corvus, having killed an animal [a magpie*'] of that genus near it. Finding that we could not proceed over the sand-bars as fast as we desired, while the boat was so heavily loaded, we concluded not to send back, as we originally intended, ■•^ Bruit: City is a little lower down and across the Missouri. ■" This blind sentence means, as I learn from Clark 1? loo, that having made eight miles in all to-day, they camped on the right hand side (going up river), opposite a creek which fell in on the other side. This stream is about to be named Corvus creek, which the G. L. O. map (iSyy) charts on the wrong side, in IJrule Co.. and by name of American creek. ■"' The common gray wolf of the West, Canis lupus occidtntalis, which always hung about the herds of buffalo. This is quite different from the small barking- wolf or coyote, C. lalrans. *' " Killed a bird of the C<>/7'«.t genus and order of the /jVu, about the size of a jack-daw with a remarkable lon^' tale," Lewis Q 40-44, where are over 4 pp. of a " tale " about it ; a page is also in Clark B 106. This is the solitary instance of our authors venturing a technical Latin name in zoology. The American magpie is now called Pica pica /luiisonica, Corvus creek naturally became Crow creek of later maps ; someone also named it American river, whence a combina- tion of the two names, as American Crow creek (so Warren's map). The sometime important Crow Creek Indian Agency has made the name familiar. CROW CREEK CAMP. 119 our third perio{,n.e, but to detain the soldiers until spring and in the mean time to li^rl.tcn the boat by loading the pcnoyue; this operation, added to that of drying all our wot articles, detained us during the day. Our camp is in a beautiful plain, with timber thinly scattered for three- quarters of a mile, and consisting chiefly of elm, cotton- wood, some ash of indifferent quality, and a considerable (li.antityofasmaIlspeciesofwhiteoak[(2mm.j;,«,/;,/^/^var 'cng/i/L I This tree seldom rises higher (/. 7^) than 30 feet and branches very much ; the bark is rough, thick, aiid of a light color ; the leaves are small, deeply indented, and of a pale green ; the cup which contains the acorn is fringed on Mie edges, and embraces it about one-half ; the acorn itself which grows in great profusion, is of an excellent flavor, and has none of the roughness which most other acorns pos'sess. These acorns are now falling, and have probably attracted the number of deer which we saw on this place, as all the animals we have seen are fond of that food. The ground, having been recently burnt by the India is, is cov- ered with young green grass; in the neighborhood are great quantities of fine plums. We killed a few deer for the sake of their skins, which we wanted to cover the peri- ogues, the meat being too poor for food. The cold season coming on, a flannel shirt was given to each man, and fresh powder to those who had exhausted their supply.'" September 17th. Whilst some of the party were engaged in the same way as yesterday, others were employed in examining the surrounding country. About a quarter of a mile behind camp, at an elevation of 20 feet above it, a plain extends nearly three miles parallel to the river and about a ** Gass has a separate entry for Sept. i6th, \vhen he was with one man explor- ing White river. " We set out for the boat across the hills, on the tops of which are level plains with a great number of go.its and buffaloe on them Came to the head-waters of a creek and kept down it a S.E. course, and on our way killed three deer. We proceeded on to its mouth, which I computed to be 14 miles from that of the White river. Having found the boat h.ad passed, we pro- ceeded up the river [Missouri], and came to a liandsome bottom, where our people had encamped to dry the provisions and stores." I20 THE COUNTRY ABOUT CROW CREEK. mile back to the hills, toward which it gradually ascends. Here we saw a grove of plum trees loaded with fruit, now ripe, aud differing in nothing from those of the Atlantic States, except that the tree is smaller and more thickly set. The ground of the plain is occupied by the burrows of mul- titudes of barking-squirrels, who entice hither the wolves of a small kind [Cam's latrans\ hawks, and polecats," all of which animals we saw, and presumed that they fed on the squirrels. This plain is intersected nearly in its whole extent by deep ravines and steep irregular grounds rising from 100 to 200 feet. On ascending the range of hills which border the plain, we saw a second high level plain stretching to the south as far as the eye could reach. To the westward, a high range of hills about 20 miles distant runs nearly north and south, but not to any great ex- (/. 75) tent, as their rise and termination is embraced by one view, and they seemed covered with a verdure similar to that of plains. The same view extended over the irregular hills which border the northern side of the Missouri. All around the country had been recently burnt, and a young green grass about four inches high covered the ground, wiiich was enlivened by herds of antelope and buffalo ; the last of which were in such multitudes that we cannot exaggerate in saying that at a single glance we saw 3,000 of them before us. Of all the animals we had seen the antelope seems to possess the most wonderful fleetness ; shy and timorous, they generally repose only on the ridges which command a view of all the approaches of an enemy ; the acuteness of their sight distinguishes the most distant danger, the deli- cate sensibility of their smell defeats the precautions of concealment, and when alarmed their rapid career seems more like the flight of birds than the movement of an earthly being. After many unsuccessful attempts, Captain Lewis at last, by winding around the ridges, approached a party of seven which were on an eminence toward which " "Polecat " is here meant for skunk, Mephitis mephitica. AN ANTELOPE HUNT, ,3, the wind was unfortunately blowing. The only male of the party frequently encircled the summit of" 'e^,ni as i to announce any danger to the females, which formed a group at the top. Although they did not see "21^ Lcw,s, the smell alarmed them, and^hey fled whence' vfs ' ■= d'^'ance of .00 yards, he immediately ran to he ., .t -'.ere they had been ; a ravine concealed them from Inn,, but the next moment they appeared on a se ond ndge at the d.s.ance of three miles. He doubted whether .. could be the same band, but their number and the extreme rap,d.tyw,th which they continued their cou e convmced him that they must have gone with a sneed equal to that of the most distinguished rfce-hcrse " "^ Among our acquisitions to-day were a mule-deer " a and buffalo. Captam Lewis also saw u hare, and killed a rattes,«lce near the burrows of the barking-squirrels. (A 76) Septcmhr iWl. Havmg everything in readiness ve proceeded with the boat much lightened, but the wind teu,g from the N.W. we made but little way At one mile -ve reached an island in the middle of the river nearh a a ...nail creek comes m from the north," We then met l.ass also does his share of natural history ,o-d,v , '■ Captain Lewi, .nH common f . ^ ^""^ ''"'■'^ &°^^ '" ^^'^ country differ from the ~rrer;rei:7r " '''^' ^^^' ^"'^•°^^- ^^^ ^'-^ almostwithou ha except reZ" T T ''' <^°'"-- ^"^ ^^^ ^-'^ '-a., horn d'ing^^: \ZT^ T'" ^T '" ^^•^ "'^y- -^h ^^^-^o.,lCaH^^:^,^:::^jl?''^^'=^ - ■^"■^'^-3 eighteen and killed a oririe wolf fr "'"'/ ""'"''"'^"'i- One of our men caughta beaver, son,etinnlZer hln ^ [^-- /''/'•-«]. These are a small species of wolves, ^^ 11..,, .arger than a fo.x, with long tails and shor. ears." " MuXr 7'T"' "° ""''^ ^'■"'" ''' '^•■^^^ '^^'^ ^"d slim tail. Much early history attaches to this vicinity, a little short of the 1.070th 122 PROSPECT ISLAND— THE THREE SIOUX RIVERS. some small sand-bars, and the wind being very high and ahead, we camped on the south, having made only seven miles. In addition to the common deer, which were in great abundance, we saw goats, elk, buffalo, and black-tailed deer ; ' the large wolves too are very numerous ; they have long hair with coarse fur, and are of a light color. A small species of wolf," about the size of a gray fox, was also killed, and proved to be the animal which we had hitherto mistaken for a fox. There are also many porcupines, rabbits, and barking-squirrels in the neighborhood. September igth. We this day enjoyed a cool clear morn- ing and a wind from the southeast. We reached at three miles a bluff on the south, and four miles further the lower point of Prospect'" island, about 2^^ miles in length; oppo- site this are high bluffs, about 8o feet above the water, beyond which are beautiful plains gradually rising as they recede from the river. These are watered by three streams, virhich empty near each other. The first is about 35 yards wide, the ground on its sides high and rich, with some timber; the second, about twelve yards wide, but with less timber ; the third is nearly of the same size and contains more water, but it scatters its waters over the large tim- bered plain and empties itself into the river at three places. These rivers are called by the French Les Trois Rivieres des Sioux, the Three Sioux rivers ; and as the Sioux generally mile point, and well within Sioux country. The island noticed but not named in the text is one of several now called Cedar (Second Cedar island of Nicollet's and Warren's maps); the creek from the " north " (rather east) is Nicollet's Rantesha river and Warren's Cedar Island river. On the island was the old site of Fort Recovery ; on the west bank of the river was situated Fort Cedar, or au.\ Cedres, a post of the Missouri Fur Company. '^ Cai'iacus mturotis, also called mule-deer. The tail is mostly white, but tipped with black. This species is to be distinguished from one west of the Rocky mountains, C coluinlnonus, which our authors hereafter also call black tailed. '■* The noyote, Cants latrans. " Pre^nt, or a recent name ; alpo called Laurel island, from the P'rench Isle des Lauriers. A little below, on the west bank, about the I,o8oth mile point, was built Fort Lookout. THE GREAT BEND OF THE MISSOURI. 123 cross the Missouri at this place, it is called the Sioux Pass the 1 hree R.vers.- These streams have the same right of asylum as the Pipestone creek already mentioned, though in a less degree. ' fo ' (A 77) Two miles from the island we pass a creek ,5 yards wide; e.ght miles further, another 20 yards wide three m.Ies beyond which is a third, of 18 yards' width ; al on the south s.de. The second, which passes through a h.gh plam we called Elm creek; to the third we gave the name of N.ght creek, having reached it late at night " Abou a m.le beyond this is a small island on the north s.dc of the nver, called Lower island, as it is situated at the commencement of what is known by the name of Grand Detour, or Great Bend, of the Missouri. Opposite is a creek on the south about ten yards wide, which waters a plam where there are great numbers of the prickly pear." " Making into the Missouri from the east, in Buffalo Co., north of Brule Co ■ pposue .s Lyman Co., across the river, extending into the bight of he Bi^ «end of the M.ssour. Various maps consulted chart from two to five r vers senomencature .s much mixed. It may be well to cite Clark b7 : ! h ,-, 1 ^ " ^^'""^ '^^'^ ^^^'"Plt^ ^ Pt- of wood on the ^ « starboard s,de] opposit is a bluff on L. S. [larboard sL]. North 4 m le" .-o ^^ Low. p. of Prospect Island opsd. [opposite] the 3 r/vers on theTs N .0 N . 2K rnUes to the upper pt. of the Island psd. [passed] the 3 rivers ' So e tljree ruers empt.ed within the length of Prospect island. I am informed by lendrjordrTc ^'^ \^- '^^°'°^''^"^' '"^-^- ^^^^ P^-- "-- - n' rchnrK fi ■• """^ ' '• '''°'^ "''^ • 3- Campbell creek. Nicollet's sht t rer 7T ^ '' '' ''.r"^'"^ • '■ ^^'^"'^^ - 5- Chanpepenan. War! rens has three . i. Crow ; 2. .Shompapi ; 3. Campbell's. Most maps chart sev era r,vers but name only the first and largest, Ts Crow creek-To be ca" f, Iv t,ngu,shed rom Corvus or Crow creek, lower down and on the otLr : ol cre^k'^'thrsto^nTElm'^^ ' ''"' S'^ 'j """ """ "^"^ '^ ''^ "^^ ^^ ^"-- rerhVnssomp°o f "u "" '"^'""'^ '^ "ow called Camel creek (Campbell ? " ^> h .. n ""'P "'""'' '^' '"'■^"' ''^■••"«=h of Crow creek. Elm creek This ~ ;k l^'^'"'^ ?^ 1 o V W B ? ] ' "'"^ '''" ^•''""" ^"^"'■^'^ ^^i-^i-^. - Grand. Long, (,reat, B,g, etc. An Indian epithet is Karmichigah. ■ 1 he common species of Opu>>t,a, of the Mis^wri region. 124 THE CIRCUIT OK THE GREAT BEND. which name we gave to the creek."' We camped on the south, opposite the upper extremity of the island, havin;:^ made an excellent day's sail of 26'^ miles. Our game thi.-, day consisted chiefly of deer, of which four were black-tails, one a buck with two main prongs of the horns on each side and forked equally. Large herds of buffalo, elk, and goats were also seen. September 20tk. Finding we had reached the Big T jnd, we dispatched two men with our only horse across the neck, to hunt there and await our arrival at the first creek beyond it. We then set out with fair weather and the wind from the S.E., to make the circuit of the bend. Near the lower island the sand-bars are numerous, and the river is shallow. At 191^ miles is a sand-island, on thr southern side. About ten miles beyond it is a small island on the south, opposite a small creek [Wassag] on the north. This island, whicn is near the N.W. extremity of the bend, is called Solitary [now Cul-de-sac] island. At about 11 miles further, wc camped on a sand-bar, having made 27J/2 miles. Captain Clark, who early this morning had crossed the neck of the bend, joined us in the evening. At the narrowest part the gorge is composed of high and irregular hills of about 180 or {/>. jS) igo feet in elevation ; from this descends an un- broken plain over the whole of the bend, and the country is separated from it by this ridge. Great numbers of buffalo, elk, and goats are wandering over these plains, accompanied by [sharp-tailed] grouse and larks. Captain Clark saw a hare [Lepus campestris] also, on the Great Bend. Of the goats killed to-day, one is a female differing from the male in being smaller in size; its horns too are smaller ami straighter, having one sharp prong, and there is no black about the neck. None of these goats have any beard, but are delicately formed and very beautiful. September 2\st. Between one and two o'clock the sergeant on guard alarmed us, by crying that the sand-bar on which '"Gasb does not notice this, and gives a creek which our authors do not name, between Elm ;ind Night creeks. He calls it Wash creek. A NIGHT ALARM— TYLER'S RIVER. 125 u-e lay was sinking. We jumped up, and found that both above and below our camp the sand was undermined and fa] .,g m very fast We had scarcely got into the boats .nd p shed off, when the bank under which they had been ^png fell ,n, and would certainly have sunk the two peri- ogues ,f they had remained there. By the time we reached he opposite shore the ground of our camp sunk also We formed a second camp for the rest of the night, and at day- light proceeded on to the gorge or throat of the Great Bend, where we breakfasted. A man. whom we had dis- patched to step oft the distance across the bend, made it .oooyards:thecu-cuitis30miles. During the whole course the land of the bend is low, with occasional bluffs; that on he opposite side, high prairie ground and long ridges of dark bluffs. After breakfast, we passed through a high pra,r,e on the north side, and a rich cedar lowland and cedar bluff on the south, till we reached a willow-island below the mouth of a small creek. This creek, called Tylers [or Tylors^] river, is about 35 yards wide, comes in on hesoutl^and is at the distance of six miles from the neck of the Great Bend. Here we found a deer and the skin of a white [gray] u;.^f, left us by our hunters ahead. Lar^r quantities of d.tferent kinds of plover and brant are in this neighbor- hood collecting and moving toward (/. yp) the south. The catfish are small, and not in such plenty as we had found them below this place. We passed several sand-bars, which make the river very shallow and about a mile in width and camped on the south, at the distance of ii>^ miles. On'each side the shore is lined with hard, rough gully-stones, rolled from the hills and small brooks. The most common timber ■s cedar though, on the prairies, there are great quantities of pnckly pear. From this place we passed several sand- - Running chiefly in Presho Co., .ut emptying about the bou tion, .S. D. ; some .at Standing Rock, X. D. 3. BlackfeH (Si-ha-sa'-pa) ; as (2) ; those at .Standing Rock are 545 in number. 4. Mi»,uamjous{m-r{vVQ.o\xx) ; mostly on the Cheyenne Reservation ■ with some of the Two Kettles band, they number 2,823 : others are at Rosebud and some at .Standing Rc"k. 5. Two Kettles (O-o -he-no"-pa, Two Boilings) ; some with (4), on the Cheyenne Reservation ; 315 on the Rosebud. 6. Ogallalas or Oglah.s (the Okandandas of Lewis and Clark) ; mostl on Pine Ridge Reservation, S. I)., to the number of 4,452 ; some on Standing Rock. Subdivision of the Ogallala tribe gives : (a) Wazaza, Wajaja or Wazhazha, on the Rosebud, 1,825 I and (b) \Vaglu.xe, In-breeders or Loafers on the Rosebud, 1,353. 7. Uncpapas or Umapapas (Huf\k'-pa-pa); on Standing Rock Reservation, now numbering only 571. ^^Katota Tokah or Cabri river. Nicollet ; Cabri creek, Reynolds ; Antelope or Cabn river Warren; Antelope .reek or river of present maps, in Frcsho Co., S. D. Nearly opposite this, on the north, in Hughes Co.. is the mouth th (4), on the :k Reservation, OOOO-HOMOKK,. ■SLAM.-rKTON K,V.K. ,3, on the 'th, which vvl caU^ri r . , .3;- -I-, we anchored a !^ard « H '" ^^\ "' '■' ""■ "- the s„u,h Sid „h "'"""' "' both u.e periogues, and ' ? ""^ i--d by 1 irty remained on board .1 <>vo-th,rds of elio 0.. .Lore wi the guard on shorl Ir , °"°""'' "'^' ^"'' '''•'Pt clnW, welnotrw h ta a':drH°"l°' "'™' ""^ " tobacco. This river is XonT t , '"' ^ ^"'"-■"' °' considerable current A .h '""f' ,"'^^' *"<' ''^ =« inl'abit it are called TV, ' "' "'' S'""" '"'"rf" Teton-river (^ ]"' ^"""''' ''" S"« " "-■ ™c of of a considerable stream which the Pvni«, I'.v the Indians to notice. This s th! •' P ? "''.'" ""'''"''' '"^ ""^'^ '^°"bled of Nicollet ; Pawnees Deserted J Varre , 'h"' T." ' ' ''^""'^ ^'^^"''■•" '^- " "••-'1>- It is notable, because here on ' , "' """''"^' ''" '^^y"°'^^' the site of „/-- to the turbulent "' Two islands, some dis^ancl anLt ^ ^'"'" ■"'"'•^^ ^ ''' "°te beyond. 'Reynolds ; one, just abot Antelope c.^ w"'^' ,'' '"''''''''• ^^--"' ^^ isthe one noted, but not named arabou.Vr ?""' ''^™ '^'^"''- ^his Good-humored island, is just below Teto/'? """' V" ''"^ ''''■ ''"^^ °'her. H-ry Gannett that it is now called Fral Tn' '"'^ ' '"" '"f°'"'"«'^ "^y ^Ir. " The Sioux name-ChThr /u T"^ (Raspberry) island. 'nve. prefixed-ra:s?adtver%t'\T''''n'r'^ ^'^^^^ ^ ''^'^^ stR-ani. between and parallel with' the "/h . T T '"*'''' ""'^ ^ P^^'"^ It heads from the dirLion o7 te I ,al ' t! '"' ^''^ Cheyenne above. fe .South Fork of the Cheyenne rT ' " '"' °" ^'■°'" '^ese by souri between Stanley and P at" Cos "" ""''''''' ^"^ ^'^"^ -'"^^ '^e Mis' ^bove its mouth, on ' he rilt L,t 'banTrl ""^'" ^''^- '^''^^ -"^^ old Fort Pierre. 7 .,e full ta n of i ' . k • f '''■"°""- ^"^ "^« -'e of '-.after P. Chouieau. r. (b Ja, ' xr';^'""' /'^ ^°" ^■'^^ ^'-"■ John) Pierre Chouteau, sr and rme!;^''/^ ^f '' ''^5). second son of •annals of St. Louis. The fort was n n ' ' ''"^''>' ^° '''"^ ^^"^^^s in the ^-•^r Co., at one time in busbess " d ';i' ' '. ^^^^'"^'P-t of the American f''" "-eappearsonmapso fes han fif;; 'V''^'^ °^ T" ^'°"''^^" ^^ ^"^^ ^^^ ropped. but the ChristL name survi eVJs ,::T:; JJ^ ^"— - ^-^-lly ^outh Dakota, at the mouth of the river "''■"• "°^ ^'^^ '^^P''^' ^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) % 1.0 I.I 1.25 Ui|2S |2.5 lUUU 14 III 1.6 ^ V] ^ /i / C/;f^» # FhotograpJiic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 97^-4503 % 1^ CHAPTER IV. THE MISSOURI FROM TETON RIVER TO THE MANDANS. Council with the Tetons — Trouble with these Indians — Bad-humored island — The Council renewed — Characteristics of the Indians — Smoking, feasting, and dancing — Indian pris- oners—Appearance and dress of the Indian men and women — Their lodges — Their police system — Their attempt to detain the party— No-timber creek— Followed by the Tetons— The Cheyenne rivei — Sentinel and Lookout creeks — Mr. Valle— Lookout bend — Caution island — Many Indians about — Good Hope island— Old Ricara village — White Brant creek- Other Ricara villages — " Pork " (Ow!) river— Grouse island — Wetarhoo river — Mr. Grave- lines — Visit of the Ricaras — Councils with these Indians — Their three villages — Their characteristics — Civility of their women— Ricara lodges, agriculture, and tradt: — Stone-idol creek — Ricara legend — Hay creek — Sentence of court martial — More Ricara lodges- Cheyenne creek — Hunting antelope — Cannon-ball river — Fish river — Old Manrlan vil- lages — Indian superstition — Teton w.-ir-party — Many old Indian villages — Pacific meeting of Mandan and Ricara chiefs^-More Mandan and Ricara villages — The Expedition has reached and will winter with the Mandans, SEPTEMBER 25th. The morning was fine, and the wind continued from the southeast. We raised a flag- staff and an awning, under which we assembled at twelve o'clock, with all the party parading under arms. The chiefs and warriors from the camp two miles up the river met us, about 50 or 60 in number, and after smoking we delivered them a speech ; but as our Sioux interpreter, Mr. Durion, had been left with the Yanktons, we were obliged to make use of a Frenchman who could not speak fluently, and therefore we curtailed our harangue. After this we went through the ceremony of acknowledging the chiefs, by giving to the grand chief a medal, a flag of the United States, a laced uniform coat, a cocked hat and feather ; to the other two chiefs, a medal and some small presents ; and to two warriors of consideration, certificates. The name of the great chief is Untongasabaw or Black Buffalo ; the second Tortohonga or the Partisan ; the third Tartongawaka or Buffalo Medicine ; the name of one of the warriors was Wawzinggo ; that of the second Matoco- quepa or Second Bear. 13a THE FATE OF THE EXPEDITION 133 ; MANDANS. We invited the chiefs on board and showed them the boat, the air-gun, and such curiosities as we thought might amuse them. In this we succeeded too well; for after giving them a quarter of a glass of whisky, which they seemed to hke very much, and sucked the bottle, it was with much difficulty that we could get rid of them. They at last accompanied Captain Clark on shore in a periogue with five men ; but it seems they had formed a design (/. Sj) to stop us ; for no sooner had the party landed than three of the Indians seized the cable of the periogue, and one of the soldiers of the chief put his arms round the mast The second chief, who affected intoxication, then said that we should not go on, that they had not received presents enough fron. us. Captain Clark told them that we would not be prevented from going on ; that we were not squaws, but warriors ; that we were sent by our great father, who could in a moment exterminate them. The chief replied that he too had v/arriors, and was proceeding to offer per- sonal violence to Captain Clark, who immediately drew his sword, and made a signal to the boat to prepare for action. The Indians who surrounded him drew their arrows from their quivers and were bending their bows, when the swivel in the boat was instantly pointed toward them, and twelve of our most determined men jumped into the periogue to j..in Captain Clark. This movement made an impression on them, for the grand chief ordered the young men away from the periogue ; they withdrew and held a short council with the warriors. Being unwilling to irritate them, Cap- tain Clark went forward and offered his hand to the first and second chiefs, who refused to take it. He turned from them and got into the periogue, but had not gone more than ten paces when both the chiefs and two of the war- riors waded in after him, and he brought them on board. We then proceeded for a mile and anchored off a willow- island, which from the circumstances which had just occurred we called Bad-humored island. ' ' Gass relates the incident thus : "Five of them came on board and remained t'l HANGS IN A TRKMHLING BALANCE. Scptonbcr 26th. Our conduct yesterday seemed to have inspired the Indians with fear of us, and as we were desirous of cultivating their acquaintance, we complied with their wish that we should give them an opportunity of treating us well, and also suffer their squaws and children to see us and our boat, which would be perfectly new to them. Accord- about three hours. Captain Clark and some of our men in a periogue went ashore with them ; but the Indians did not seem disposed to permit their return. They said they were poor and wishea to keep the periogue with them. Captain Clark insisted on coming to the boat ; but they refused to let him, and said they had soldiers as well as he had. He told them his soldiers were good, and that he had more medicine aboard his boat than would kill twenty such nations in one day. After this they did not threaten any more, and said they only wanted us to stop at their lodge, that the women and children might see the boat. Four of them came aboard, when we proceeded on a mile, and cast anchor at the point of an island in the middle of the rivei. The Indians remi^ined with us all night " (p. 44). The situation was critical indeed — much more so than one unfamiliar with Sioux might gather from either of the printed texts. Siou.x string bows as cowboys draw their six-shooters — that is, for instant use. Lewis was mettlesome ; Clark had red hair, and had been insulted ; both officers were dauntless, and their men were well disciplined. Several lives, possibly the further progress of the Expedition, hung as it were upon the first twang of a bowstring. Clark 13 137-139 is therefore worth publishing: " Envited the Chiefs on board to show them our boat and such curiossities as was strange to to them, we gave them % a glass of whiskey which they appeared to be verry fond of, sucked the bottle after it was out & soon began to be troublesom, one the 2d chief assumeing Drunkness, as a Cloaki for his rascally intentions. I went with those chiefs (which left the boat with great reluci'.ance) to shore with a viviw of reconseleing those men to us, as soon as I landed the Perogue three of their young men seased the cable of the Perogue, the chiefs soldr. Huged [chief's soldier hugged] the mast, and the 2d chief was verry insolent both in words & justures declareing I should not go on, stateing he had not received presents sufficient from us, his justures were of such a personal nature I felt myself Compeled to Draw my sword, at this motion Capt. Lewis ordered all under arms in the boat, those with me also showed a disposition to Defend themselves and me, the grand chief then took hold of the roap & ordered the young warrers away, I felt myself warn [warm] & spoke in very positive terms. We proceeded about i mile i^v: anchored out off a willow Island placed a guard on shore to protect the Cooks & a guard in the boat, fastened the Perogues to the Boat, I call this Island Bad humered Island as we were in a bad humer." Then in a foot-note : " Most of the warrers appeared to have their Bows strung and took out their arrows from the quiver, as I was not permited to return, I sent all the men except 2 Inft. to the boat, the perogue soon returned with about 12 of our determined men, ready for any event." RECONCILIATION OF THE OKANDANDAS. 135 ingly, after passing at i^ miles a small willow-island and several sand-bars, (/>. 84) we came-to on the south side where a crowd of men, women, and children were waiting to receive us. Captain Lewis went on shore and remained several hours ; and observing that their disposition was friendly, we resolved to remain during the night for a dance which they were preparing for us. Captains Lewis and Clark, who went on shore one after the other, were met on landing by ten well-dressed young men, who took them up in a robe highly decorated and earned them to a large council-house, where they were placed on a dressed buffalo-skin by the side of the grand chief. The hall or council-room was in the shape of tliree- quarters of a circle, covered at the top and sides with skins well dressed and sewed together. Under this shelter sat about 70 men, forming a circle round the chief before whom were placed a Spanish flag and the one we had given them yesterday. This left a vacant circle o" about six feet diameter, in which the pipe of peace was raised on two forked sticks, about six or eight inches from the ground and under it the down of the swan was scattered. A large fire, ,n which they were coo'.ing provisions, stood near, and in the center about 400 pounds of buffalo meat as a present lor us. As soon as we were seated, an old man got up, and after approving what we had done, begged us take pity on their unfortunate situation. To this we replied with assur- ances of protection. After he had ceased, the great chief rose and delivered a harangue to the same effect ; then with great solemnity he took some of the most delicate parts of the dog which was cooked for the festival, and held it to the flag by way of sacrifice : this done, he held up the pipe of peace, and first pointed it toward the heavens, then to the four quarters of the globe, then to the earth, made a short speech, lighted the pipe, and presented it to us. We smoked, and he again harangued his people, after which the repast was served up to us. It consisted of the dog which they had just been cooking, this being a great dish among the J .■-: '■.' -\ I'PIP 136 FEASTINC;, SMOKING, AND DANCING. (/>. cS;^) Sioux, used on all festivals; to which were added peinitigon [j/t— read pemmican], a dish made of buffalo- meat, dried or jerked and then pounded and mi\ed raw with grease; and a kind of ground potato, dressed like the prep, aration of Indian corn called hominy, to which it is little in- ferior. Of all these luxuries, which were placed before us in platters, with horn spoons, we took the pemitigon and the potato, which we found good, but we could as yet par- take but sparingly of the dog. We eat and smoked for an hour, when it became dark. Everything was then cleared away for the dance, a large nre being made in the center of the house, giving at once light and warmth tc the ballroom. The orchestra was composed of about ten men, who played on a sort of tambourine formed of skin stretched across a hoop, and made a jingling noise with a long stick to which the hoofs of deer and goats were hung; the tliird instrument was a small skin bag with pebbles in it. These, with nve or six young men for the vocal part, made up the band. The women then came forward highly decorated ; some with poles in their hands, on which were hung tlie .scalps of their enemies ; others with guns, spears, or different trophies, taken in war by their husbands, brothers, or con- nections. Having arranged themselves in two columns, one on each side of the fire, as soon as the music began they danced toward each other till they met in the center, when the rattles were shaken and they all shouted and returned back to their places. They have no step, but :^hufFle along the ground ; nor does the music appear to anything more than a confusion of noises, distinguished only by hard or gentle blows upon the buffalo-skin ; the song is perfectly extemporaneous. In the pauses of the dance, any man of the company comes forward and recites, in a sort of a low guttural tone, some little story or incident, which is either martial or ludicrous ; or, as was the case this evening, voluptuous and indecent ; this is taken up by the orchestra and the dancers, who repeat it in a higher strain and dance to it. (/. S6) Sometimes they alternate ; the orchestra INHARMONIOUS MUSICIANS— OMAHA PRISONERS. 1 37 first performing, and wlien it ceases, the women raising then voices and making a music more agreeable— that is less intolerable than that of the musicians. The dances of the men, which are always separate from those of the women, are conducted very nearly in the same way, except that the men jump up and down instead of shuffling ; and in the war-dances the recitations are all of a military cast The harmony of the entertainment had nearly been dis- turbed by one of the musicians who, thinking he had not received a due share of the tobacco we had distributed dur- ing the evening, put himself into a passion, broke one of the chums, threw two of them into the fire, and left the band They were taken out of the fire ; a buffalo-robe held in one hand and beaten with the other, by several of the company supplied the place of the lost drum or tambourine, and no notice was taken of the offensive conduct of the man. We stayed till twelve o'clock at night, when we informed the chiefs that they must be fatigued with all these attempts to amuse us, and retired, accompanied by four chiefs, two of whom spent the night with us on board. While on shore we saw 25 squaws and about the same nnmber of children, who had been taken prisoners two weeks ago in a battle with their countrymen, the Mahas. In this engagement the Sioux destroyed 40 lodges, killed 75 men, of whom we saw many of the scalps, and took these prisoners. Their appearance is wretched and dejected ; the women too seem low in stature, coarse, and ugly— thoujrh their present condition may diminish their beauty. We gave them a variety of small articles, such as awls and needles, and interceded for them with the chiefs, to whom we recommended to follow the advice of their great father, to restore the prisoners and live in peace with the Mahas,' which they promised to do. The tribe which we this day saw are a part of the great Sioux nation, and are known by the name of the Teton Okan-(/. 87) dandas. They are about 200 men in number, and their chief residence is on both sides of the Missouri' m I •I ill : 1 1 III*' m 1 k 138 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OKANDANDAS. between the Chayenne and Teton rivers. In their per- sons they are rather ugly and ill-made, their legs and arms being too small, their cheek-bones high, and their eyes projecting. The females, with the same character of form, are more handsome, and both sexes appear cheerful and sprightly ; but in our intercourse with them we discovered that they were cunning and vicious. The men shave the hair off their heads, except a small tuft on the top, which they suffer to grow and wear in plaits over the shoulders ; to this they seem much attached, as the loss of it is the usual sacrifice at the death of near relations. In full dress, the men of consideration wear a hawk's feather or calumet" feather, worked with porcupine- quills, and fastened to the top of the head, from which it falls back. The face and body are generally painted with a mixture of grease and coal. Over the shoulders is a loose robe or mantle of buffalo-skin dressed white, adorned with porcupine-quills loosely fixed so as to make a jingling noise when in motion, and painted with various uncouth figures unintelligible to us, but to them emblematic of military exploits or some other incident. The hair of the robe is worn next the skin in fair weather, but when it rains the hair is put outside, and the robe is either thrown over the arm or wrapped round the body, all of which it may cover. Under this in the winter season they wear a kind of a shirt resembling ours, made either of skin or cloth, and covering the arms and body. Round the middle is fixed a girdle of cloth or dressed elk-skin, about an inch in width, closely tied to the body ; to this is attached a piece of cloth or blanket or skin, about a foot wide, which passes between the legs and is tucked under the girdle both before and behind ; from the hip to the ankle he is covered by leggings of dressed antelope-skins, with seams at the sides two inches in width, ornamented by little tufts of hair, the prod- uce of the scalps {/>. 88) taken in war, which are scattered ' The feathers most prized as calumets are the tail-feathers of the golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, which are about a foot long and white, tipped with black. OKANDANDA DRESS— KINIKINIK. 139 down the leg. The winter moccasins are of dressed buffalo- skin, the hair being worn inward, and soled with thick elk- skin parchment ; those for summer are of deer or elk-skin dressed without the hair, and with soles of elk-skin. On great occasions, or whenever they are in full dress, the young men drag after them the entire skin of a polecat fixed to the heel of the moccasin. Another skin of the same animal, either tucked into the girdle or carried in the hand, serves as a pouch for their tobacco, or what the French traders call bois roule.' This is the inner bark of a species of red willow, which, being dried in the sun or over the f^re is rubbed between the hands and broken into small pieces,' and used alone or mixed with tobacco. The pipe is gen' erally of red earth, the stem made of ash, about three or four feet long, and highly decorated with feathers, hair, and porcupine-quills. The hair of the women is suffered to grow long and is parted from the forehead across the head, at the back of which it is either collected into a kind of a bag, or hangs down over the shoulders. Their moccasins are like those of the men, as are also the leggings, which do not, however, » Read bois roule. rolled wood ; " bau roly " of Clark B 141 ; best known to us by the name of kinikinik, as it may be most phonetically spelled. This renders an Algonquian word meaning "a mixture," or "that which is mixed." It vanes in orthography to a dozen or more forms, with doubling of one or both « s, substitution of single or double / for each «. and use of c for or before a k, etc. A form before me is kinnecanick ; but the vowels are in this word more stable than the consonants, contrary to the rule. Kinikinik is what the Indians smoke as we do tobacco, whatever that may be. It is usually poor tobacco mixed with scrapings or shavings of various other plants. These are, somewhat in the order of their comparative frequency of use : i. The smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, whose crumbled leaves are used. 2. The silky cornel or dopvood, or so-called red-willow, Cornus sericea, and related species of Contus, ■.iC. stolonifera, or red-osier dogwood, of which the scraped inner bark is used. 3. 1 he bear-berry, Arclostaphylos uva-tirsi, a trailing ericaceous shrub, herein- after called sacacommis ; the scraped bark used. 4. Species of arrow-wood or ' ihiouum. The various ingredients, properly taken from the respective plants and dried, are rubbed up in the hands as we would treat natural leaf tobacco. and then put in the pipe. The Omaha name of the mixture is ninnegahe, sometimes found as an English word. 140 OKANDANDA LODGES, ETC. ill reach beyond the knee, where they are met by a long loose shift of skin which reaches nearly to the ankles ; tills is fastened over the shoulders by a st'ing and has no sleeves, but a few pieces of the skin hany; a short distance ilown tlic arms. Sometimes a girdle fastens this skin arouiul the waist, and over ill is thrown a robe like that worn by the men. They seem fond of dress. Their lodges are very neatly constructed, in the same form as those of the Yanktons ; they consist of about lOO cabins, made of white buffalo-hide dressed, with a larger one in the center for holding councils and dances. They are built round, with poles about 15 or 20 feet high, covered with white skins. These lodges may be taken to pieces, packed up, and carried wit)\ the nation wherever they go, by dogs, which bear great burdens.* The women arc chiefly employed in dressing buffalo-skins; they seem perfectly well disposed, but are addicted to stealing any- thing which they can take without being observed. Tills nation, although it makes so many ravages among its neigh- bors, is badly supplied with guns. The water which they carry with them is contained chiefly in the paunches of deer and other animals, and they make use of wooden bowls. Some had their heads shaved, which we found was a species of mourning for relations. Another usage, on these occasions, is to run arrows through the flesh both above and below the elbow. While on shore to-day we witnessed a quarrel between two squaws, which appeared to be growing every moment more boisterous, when a man came forward, at whose approach everyone seemed terrified and ran. He took the squaws and without any ceremony whipped them severely. On inquiring into the nature of such summary justice, we ■» Gass adds, under date of Sept. aSth : " While I was at the Indian camp yes- terday they yoked a dog to a kind of car, which they have to liaul their baggage from one camp to another ; the nation having no settled place or village, but are always moving about. The dogs are not large, much resemble a wolf, and will haul about 70 pounds each." OKANDANDA POLICE SYSTEM. 141 Icaiiicd that this man was an officer well known to this and many other tribes. His duty is to keep the peace, and the whole interior police of the villa^^c is confided to two or three of these officers, who arc named by the chief and remain in power some days, at least till the chief appoints a successor. They seem to be a sort of constable or senti- iicl, since they arc always on the watch to keep tranquillity during the day and guard the camp in the night. The short Juration of the office is compensated by its authority. His power is supreme, and in the suppression of any riot or disturbance no resistance to him is suffered ; his person is sacred, and if in the execution of his duty he strikes even a chief of the second class, he cannot be punished for this salutary insolence. In general he accompanies the person of the chief, and when ordered to any duty, however dan- gerous, it is a point of honor rather to die than to refuse obedience. Thus, when they attempted to stop us yes- terday, the chief ordered one of these men to take pos- session of the boat ; he immediately put his arms around the (/. go) mast, and, as we understood, no force except the command of the chief would have induced him to release his hold. Like the other men his body is blackened, but his distinguishing mark is a collection of two or three raven- skins fixed to the girdle behind the. back in such a way that the tails stick out horizontally from the body. On his head too is a raven-skin split into two parts, and tied so as to let the beak project from the forehead. September 27th. Wc rose early, and the two chiefs took off, as a matter of course and according to their custom, the blanket on which they had slept. To this we added a peck of corn as a present to each. Captain Lewis and the chiefs went on shore to see a part of the nation that was expected, but did not come. He returned at two o'clock, with four of the chiefs, and a warrior of distinction called Wadrapa, or On His Guard ; they examined the boat and admired whatever was strange, during half an hour, when they left it with great reluctance. Captain Clark accompanied them 143 ANOTHER COLLISION THREATENED. m to the lodge of the grand chief, who invited them to a dance, where, being joined by Captain Lewis, they remained till a late hour. The dance was very similar to that of yesterday. About twelve we left them, taking the second chief and one principal warrior on board. As we came near the boat the man who steered the periogue, by mistake, brought her broadside against the boat's cable and broke it. We called up all hands to their oars; our noise alarmed the two Indians; they called out to their companions, and imme- diately the whole camp crowded to tlic shore ; but after half an hour they returned, leaving about sixty men near us, The alarm given by the chiefs was said to be that the Malias had attacked us, and that they were desirous of assisting us to repel the assault ; but we suspected that they were afraid we meant to set sail and intended to prevent nsfrom doing so ; for in the night the Maha prisoners had told one of our men, who understood their language, that we were to be stopped. We therefore, {p. 91) without giv.ng any indications' of our suspicion, prepared everything for an attack, as the loss of our anchor obliged us to come-to near a falling bank, very unfavorable for defense. We were not mistaken in these opinions; for when in the morning, Friday, September 2%th, after dragging unsuccessfully for the anchor, we wished to set sail, it was with great difificulty that we could make the chiefs leave the boat. At length we got rid of all except the great chief; when, just as we were setting out, several of the chiefs soldiers sat on the rope which held the boat to the shore. Irritated at this, we got everything ready to fire on them if they persisted; but the great chief said that these were his soldiers and only wanted some tobacco. We had already refused a flag and some tobacco to the second chief, who had demanded them with great importunity; but, willing to leave them without going to extremities.we threw him a carrot of tobacco, sayin? to him, "You told us that you are a great man and have influence ; now show your influence, by taking the rope from those men, and we will then go without any further trouj ii AN UI.TIMATUM-NO.TIMI,ER CREEK. ,43 bic.' This appeal to ,„s pride had the desired effeet ■ lie . 1 aa.B...has..theRi;.Ch;e„(oXKive4^ n.ans Good Hve. ., antithesis ^^rt:^^.:^^^^^^:^ th,s work. Lews' ™ap. 1806. letters Sharha or Chyenne ; Clark' 18 4 eiv s Chayenne; on ne.ther of these is the course well charted. The u^per teach re far out of the way on the earlier of these n.aps, where they werela d down of course from hearsay, and the main course is south instead of no th of east' BiTsh ST' Z''''' °' "'^^^ ^=^" ■' ^^'--" -d Reynolds both have 'L"c^;rn;:tr;:icts:e;;r) 'ThS;r "^ -'^-'^ °^ ^- --^ ^^^ --uti^uai forks, the z^^:;! ^zz z^^::;:^:;:;: and dram these outliers of the Rockies.by unnumbered tributaries The united waters flow about E.N. E. to join those of the Missouri in Stan ey Co "v" re ere ,s the notable flexure of the latter river, known as the Little {or L;okout Bend whose b.ght faces in the opposite direction from that of the Great Bend 1 e Cheyennes are Indians of a different linguistic stock from any we have thus far met in this work, excepting only the Arnpahoes. These two a^ eTTrrt 7^7 T f ''' ^'^°"^"'^" ^^-'^ They became sip! rated from their kmdred by forcing their way through hostile tribes and no V the Back H.lls country of South Dakota, and parts of Wvoming and Sht onln r-;"'"'f '"" ''^""'^'" '^'"-^^^ ^'°"- '^"^- behind them and bho honean tribes m front, and having on the one hand the Kiowan tribes and on the other the Middle Caddoans (Pawnees). ' In this place mry be offered some general remarks, based on Powell's n onograph. concerning the Algonquian family. Tl,e name is contract dfom Lawren e. The present total of all the Algonquian tribes is about 95,600, of 148 CHEYENNE RIVER AND INDIANS. Although the river does not seem to throw out much sand, yet near and above its mouth we find a great many sand-bars difficult to pass. On both sides of the Missouri, near the Chayenne, are rich, thinly-timbered lowlands, behind which are bare hills. As we proceeded, we found that the sand-bars made the river so shallow, and the wind was so high, that we could scarcely find the channel ; at one place were forced to drag the boat over a (/. pj) sand-bar, the Missouri being very wide and falling a little. At yy^ miles we came-to at a point and remained three hours, dur- ing which time the wind abated ; we then passed within whom 60,000 are in Canada and the rest in the United States. The tribes and subtribes are e.-rtremely numerous. The principal of these are, in alpha- betical order: Abnaki, Algonkin proper, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Conoy, Cree, Delaware, Fox, Illinois, Kickapoo, Mahican, Massachuset, Menomineu, Miami, Micmac, Mohegan, Montagnais, Montauk, Munsee, Nantikoke, Narra- ganset, Nauset, Nipmuc, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Pamlico, Pennacook, Pequot, Piankishaw, Pottawottomi, Powhatan, Sac, Shawnee, Siksika, Wampanoag, Wappinger. Among these names are some of our most familiar Indian words, and many place-names not less familiar are derived from the same linguistic stock. The area occupied by the Algonquian family was more extensive than that of any other linguistic stock in North America, extending from Labrador to the Rocky mountains, and from Churchill river of Hudson's bay to North Carolina. In the eastern part of this vast area was a region occupied by Iroquoian tribes, almost surrounded by their Algonquian neighbors. On the south the Algonquians were bounded by tribes of Iroquoian stock, and one of Siouan stock (Catawba) ; on the southwest and west by Muskhogean and Siouan tribes ; northwest by the Kitunahan and great Athapascan families ; elsewhere they came in contact with the Eskimo. In N^iwfoundland the Algonquian stock met the single tribe of Beothukan stock. A portion of the Shawnees had early separated from the main body in central Tennessee, and pushed on down the Savannah river in South Carolina, where they became known as Savannahs, and warred with surrounding tribes till about 1700, when they were driven off and joined the Delaware Indians. The rest of the Shawnee tribe was expelled by the Cherokee and Chickasaw soon afterward. Turning now to Lewis' Statistical View, we find he gives Chyennes, with a form Shar'-ha as primitive, and the French nickname "la chien " (/. e., le chien, fern, la chienne, pi. les chiensor les chiennes, dogs, bitches). He notes their language by an asterisk, signifying "primitive" in his schedule. He enumerates no lodges, 300 warriors, total 1,200, and locates the tribe .-.bout the sources of the Cheyenne, now in the Black hills. He puts them at peace with all their neighbors except the Sioux, with whom they were wagiiisj defensive warfare, and adds : " They are the remnant of a nation once respect- SENTINEL AND LOOKOUT CREEKS. ,49 Tlllf par r „e It ^'k"; ,°",'" ^°°'''"" " "-k" are not so i>ig as we hav' vm '"' "■""""• "'= '""^ ber of sand-ba s L7.1L''° ""' '"" ""^ """- i„ breadth. We continued rb";" x """''^ "'='" =" ""' sand-bar i„ ,he midd H th '*^, """ '■""""■ '" ^ f'n, o„r progr::ft-4";,x"'r :.vc:l= shore we saw a hon^if- -.m^,,^ 4-1 •,, opposite "•= caned and ^:^::^ ^^Tu^ ;^::^zt': nere pursuing h,s commerce with the Sioux. able in point of number : formerlv re'' °° Clark's. -»™.o.„:,„„ r;j:;;L:::^i -.r:i.'r;::; J;™ « Xickere., [AHka™] " t " , x:"- M '")'„ VT '1 "="'"'""""■- Clark II 175. ''•■• ""^ ■^'i- /■"< '»"i' informs us," etc.. 150 REPORTS FROM THE BLACK HILLS. October 2d. ThTe had been a violent wind from the S.E. during the night, which having moderated we set sail with Mr. Valle, who visited us this morning and accom- panied us for two miles. He is one of the three French traders who have halted here, expecting the Sioux who are coming down from the Ricaras, where they now are, for the purposes of traffic. Mr. Valle tells us that he has passed the last winter 300 leagues up the Chayenne under the Black mountains. That river he represents as very rapid, liable to sudden swells, the bed and shores formed of coarse gravel, and difficult of ascent even for canoes ; 100 leagues from its mouth it divides into two branches, one coming from the south ; the other at 40 leagues from the junction enters the Black mountains. The land which it waters, from the Missouri to the Black mountains, resem- bles the country on the Missouri, except that the former has even less timber, and of that the greater proportion is cedar. The Chayennes leside chiefly on the heads of the river, and steal horses from the Spanish settlement, a plundering excursion which they pen rni in a month's {p. p6) time. The Black mountains, he observes, are very high, covered with great quantities of pine, and in some parts the snow remains during the summer. There are also great quantities of goats, white bear, prairie-cocks, and a species of animal which, from his description, must resemble a small elk with large circular horns." " Obviously the Rocky Mountain sheep or bighorn, Ovis montana, here first alluded to by our authors. ' ' Saw a spoon made of a horn of an anemele of the sheep kind," Clark B 149, Sept. 26th, where is an interlineation " mountain ram or argalia." A codex describes a head and horns which weighed 27 lbs. This woolless sheep exercised the party a good deal, especially after they discovered the woolly goat, Haplocertis monianus. The codices mostly call it " the big- horned animal " ; sometimes by its Indian name, arsarta or ahsahta— a word I did not discover in English print till too late to put it in the Century Dictionary ; sometimes argali or argalia, and again ibex. They give both these last names to certain creeks higher up the Missouri. Gass says, " Captain Clarke calls them the Ibex," p. 89, and Gass" editor. David M'Keehan, discusses this identification with long quotes from Goldsmith's AnirTiited Nature. The white bear above mentioned is the grizzly, Ursus horribilis. The prairie-cock LOOKOUT BEND-CAUTION ISLAND. 151 At 2^ miles we had passed a willow-island on the south ; on the north side of the river were dark bluffs, and on the south low nch prairies. We took a meridian altitude on our arrival at the upper end of the isthmus of the bend, which we cal ed the Lookout Bend, and found the latitude to be 44«' 19' 36"." This bend is nearly 20 miles around, and not more than two miles across. In the afternoon we heard a shot fired, and not long after observed some Indians on a hill. One of them came to t^ie shore and wished us to land, as there were 20 lodges of Yanktons or Boisbrule [stc] there." We declined doing so telhng h.m that we had already seen his chiefs, and that theJ might learn from Mr. Durion the nature of the talk we had delivered to them. At nine miles we came to the lower point a long island on the north, the banks of the south side of the river being high, those of the north forming a low rich prairie. We coasted along this island, which we called Caution island, and after passing a small creek on the south camped on a sand-bar in the middle of the river, hav- ing made twelve miles. The wind changed to the northwest and became very high and cold. The current of the river IS less rapid, and the water, though of the same color, con- tains less sediment than below the Chayenne, but its width continues the same. We were not able to hunt to-day, for is the sage-grouse, Ont.,c,rcus urophasianus , and the basis of a certain myt , cal -whue booted turkey," Clark B X77 and Lewis Q 44. stated b^Mr Valle to be found in the Black hills. u2l^w^ ^. '^^' ^T '°° ^^' '°"'^ = 44» 49' would be nearer the true lati- tude of th,s pomt on Lookout Bend, which is that already noted, p. 147 as the I-' le Bend. At the upper end of the bend is Devil's island Gass has "the Jonkta or Babarole band," p 49 on' R?vnoid J'"" ."T' °' '""r""'' ^"' P"""* ""^P^ = ^^"^^d- "«-^'«s. .sand by Stevens. "Observe great caution this day, expecting the Seaux .ntent,ons son^ewhat hostile," Clark C 2, overlapping Codex B in dL. pose th ' .'"h t 7 """ '"" ''^^ ""-" '''' " ^°"^h." we might sup- nul i' ? . "■"' "'^''' '"^^" '"'^"''^ °" H-P'^ --P. n"t above piail •■ ; r..', r?"" "^'^■'""' ^"^ ^°'"^ "P- ^"' Clark B 180 has Pia'niy L. S., larboard or left-hand side, with which the text agrees. 1^2 THE MAIN CHANNEL HARD TO FIND. there were so many Indians in the neighborhood we were in constant expectation of being attacked, and were there- fore forced to keep the party together and be on our guard. October 3^/." The wind continued so high from the north- west that wc could not set out tilT after seven. We then proceeded till twelve o'clock, and landed on (/. p/) a bar toward the south, where we examined the periogues and the forecastle of the boat, and found that the mice had cut several bags of corn and spoiled some of our clothes. About one o'clock an Indian came running to the shore with a turkey on his back ; several others soon joined him, but we had no intercourse with them. We then went on for three miles, but the ascent soon became so obstructed by sand-bars and shoal water that, after attempting in vain several channels, we determined to rest for the night under some high blufTs on the south [now Artichoke butte], and send out to examine the best channel. We had made eight miles along high bluffs on each side.'" The birds we saw were white gulls and brant \Bernicla brenta\, which were flying to the southward in large flocks. October /\tk. On examination we found that there was no outlet practicable for us in this channel, and that we must retrace our steps. We therefore returned three miles and attempted another channel, in which we were more fortunate. The Indians were in small numbers on the shore, and seemed willing, had they been more numerous, to molest us. They called to desire that we would land, '* Clark B ends with this date ; it begins Aug. 15th, to which date Clark A extends. Up to this point in the History of the Expedition, the Biddle narrative is based almost solely on these two codices — the chief exceptions I have noticed being the account of the antelope, Sept. 17th, which is from the fragmentary Lewis Ba, and of the supposed ancient fortification, the sketch and main descrip- tion of which are in Clark N 81-85. Biddle now passes to Codex C, which is mainly a Clark, but with some entries in Lewis' hand. This we may call " the Mand.nn Codex," as it extends to April "th, 1805, and is chiefly the Lewis and Clark journal of their wintering at Fort Mandan, though it includes a good deal of other and miscellaneous matter. In this respect, as in style of binding and some other particulars, it stands quite alone in the series of codices. " And had overlooked Inyan Tonka of Warren, on the right, .low Artichoke creek. GOOD HOPE ISLAND-LAHOOCAT VILLAGE. 153 and one of them gave three yells and fired a ball ahead of the boat; we however, took no notice of it, but landed on the south to breakfast. One of these Indians swam across and begged for some powder; we gave him a piece of to bacco only. At %% miles we had passed an island in the nuddle of the nver which we called Goodhope'" island At y. m.Ies we reached a creek on the south side abou twelve yards wide, to which we gave the name of Teal creek. A httle above this is an island on the north side of the current [. ., channel], about r^ miles in length and t rce-quarters of a mile in breadth. In the center of this island .s an old v.llage of the Ricaras. called Lahoocat; it was surrounded by a circular wall, containing 17 lodges. The R.caras are known to have lived there in 1707, tnd the v.llage seems to have been deserted about five years since; ,t does not contain much timber. We camped on a sand- {p pS) bar making out from the upper end of this island, our journey to-day being twelve miles. Oc-foder 5th. The weather was very cold ; yesterday evening and this morning there was a white frost. We sailed along the highlands on the north side, passing a small creek on the south, between three and four miles. At seven o clock we heard some yells and saw three Indians of the Teton band, who asked us to come on shore and begged for some tobacco; to all which we gave the same _ ■■'" Pascal's island of Warren's but not of ordinary maps, ,vhich locate Pascal's island on the parallel of 450 N. This fixed point is fortunate, for the text of t. 4th and 5th ,s peculiarly difficult to follow. Clark C 5 has : " Passed a s and m the middle of the river about 3 miles in length, we call Good-hope Island, (2) at 4 miles [further] passed a creek [Teal] on the L. S. about 12 yards JVKie . . crossed over to an (3) Island [Lahoocat] situated on the S. S " rhus at the 8K mdes of the text Good Hope (Pascal's of Warren) had been left four m.les below Teal creek, instead of only i^ miles, as the text reads, and Klent,ficat,on of Lahoocat with the island Warren and Heap both called Bull- s ■ T 1 " r""' " ''"^i " ""' '-^ "°^ ^" '^ ^°""^ - ^'^^ Clark^codex ; but ,t IS Teel ,n Gass. p. so.^whence I imagine Biddle took it ; he also had the Gass manuscript in his hands at one time, besides Gass' printed volume- I 154 LITTLE CHEYENNE RIVER— WHITE BRANT CREEK. answer as hitherto. At eight miles we reached a small" creek on the north. At 14 we passed an island on the south, covered with wild rye ; at the head of it a large creek comes in from the south, which we named Whitebrant creek, from seeing several white brants among flocks of dark-colored ones."' At the distance of 20 miles we camc- to on a sand-bar toward the north side of the river, with a willow-island opposite ; the hills, or bluffs, come to tlie banks of the river on both sides, but are not so high as they are below; the river itself, however, continues of the same width, and the sand-bars are quite as numerous. The soil of the banks is dark-colored, and many of the bluffs have the appearance of being on fire. Our game this day was a deer, a prairie-wolf, and some goats [antelope] out of a flock that was swimming across the river. October 6th. The morning was still cold, the wind being from the north. At eight miles we came to a willow-island on the north, opposite a point of timber, where there are many large stones near the middle of the river, which seem " The word " small " does not occur here in Clark C 6-8, Oct. 5th, and the distance from the island of Lahoocat makes this creek, nameless both in the text and in the codex, no other than the Little Cheyenne river, a considerable stream from the " north," i. e., east, in Potter (formerly Ashmore) Co. This is Cut Head R. of Heap, and Hidden creek of Gass, p. 50, who says: "We passed a creek on the north side, called Hidden creek, and high black bluffs on the south side." The Little Cheyenne is well " hidden " in the text. Cut it is conspicuously traced in Clark's map, 1814, unlettered : see there the stream on the right, next above the parallel of 45", and next below Otter creek on the same side. There is now a place called Medicine Rock at its mouth. White ISrant creek, from the " south," i. e., west, is called White Goat creek in Gass, p. 50, by a slip for White Goose. It is one of two or more streams in Dewey Co., south of Moreau or Owl river, and just below Patched Skin buttes. For future identi- fications it may be well to give Clark's courses and distances for the 5th. avoiding the peculiarities of his phraseology : N. 63° E. i^ ms. under high land S. S. E. 3 ms. passing a creek L. S. N. 8o°E. !>< ms. in a bend S. S. N. 30° W. 2 ms. to a point of high land L. S., passing a creek, S. S. (Riddle's "small creek on the north "). N. 50'' W. 3 ms. to a point S. S. N. 17° W. 3 ms. to a tree on the S. S., passing a small island, " covered with wild rye," above which a creek (White Brant) comes in L. S. N. 16° E. 6 ms., etc. ; total, 20 miles. *' The white brant, here first mentioned, is the snow-goose, C/ien hyperbo- reus. The dark-colored brant is the ordinary species, Bernicla brenta. ANT CREEK. OLD ARIKARA VILLAGE-OTTER CREEK. 155 to have been washed from the hills and high plains on both 1 ' " IT T r '''^"^" ^°^^" '^' ^ '^--'"- At twelve m.les we halted for dinner at a village which we suppose to have belonged to the Ricaras. It is situated in a low plain on the nver, and consists of about 80 lodges of an octagon form, neatly covered with earth, placed\s close to ach other as poss.ble, and picketed around. The skin canoes. mats buckets, and articles of furniture found in the (p.99) lodges, induce us to suppose that it had been left .n the spnng We found three different sorts of squashe grow.ng m the viMage ; we also killed an elk near it. and saw two wolves. On leaving the village the river be ame shallow, ar.d after searching a long time for the main chaT nel. which was concealed among sand-bars, we at last dragged the boat over one of them, rather than go back t ree miles for the deepest channel. At 14^.' miles we s opped for the night on a sand-bar, opposite a creek on the north [in Walworth Co.], called Otter" creek, 22 yards m w.dth and containing more water than is common for creeks of that size. The sides of the river during the day were variegated with high bluffs and low timbered grounds on the banks; the river is very much obstructed by sand- bars. We saw geese, swan," brant, and ducks of different k.nds on the sand-bars, and on the shore numbers of the pra.ne-hen; the magpie, too, is very common, b-.t the gulls and plover, which we saw in such numbers below are now quite rare. ' Oao3er 7th. There was frost again last evening, and •" " Beaver or Otter creek," Clark C ro, where Biddle selects the latter n-ime • Wp creek o Stevens ; Swan Lake creek of Heap ; now Swa^cr ek n Wa.-' w tl Co emptymgr a httle below the mouth of Owl or Moreau river It's r f f ''""'' '°'' °" ^^^'^' -^ - Clark's maps, but tSere is no S rvev r;, ' '?• '"'^ °" ^'^ '''"' contour-map of the Geologica eter cZl '^^'"^"^'^'^''■"g -van, Cy^nus calumiiauus; but the trump- eter, C lucct»ator, ,s also found in the Missouri region. The prairie-hen is the sharp-tailed grouse, Pediautes pkasi.uuilus coluJianus. i. I ,; 1 1 ... i 1 156 MOREAU OK OWL RIVER— GROUSE ISLAND. this morning was cloudy and attended with rain. At two miles we came to the mouth of a river, called by the Ricaras Sawawkawna," or Pork [sic] river; the party who examined it for about three miles up, say that its current is gentle, and that it does not seem to throw out much sand. Its sources are in the first range of the Black mountains; though it has now only water of 20 yards' width, yet when full it occupies 90. Just below the mouth is another village or wintcring-camp of the Ricaras, composed of about 60 lodges, built in the same form as those passed yesterday, with willow and straw mats, baskets, and buffalo-skin canoes remaining entire in the camp. We proceeded under a gentle breeze from the southwest. At ten o'clock we saw two Indians on the north side, who told us they were a part of the lodge of Tartongawaka, or Buffalo Medicine, the Teton chief whom we had seen on [September] the 25th ; that they were on the way to the Ricaras, and begged us for some- (/>. 100) thing to eat, which of course we gave them. At 7% miles is a willow-island on the north, and another on the same side five miles beyond it, in the middle of the river between highlands on both sides. At 18^ miles is an island called Grouse island," on which are the walls of an " Elsewhere Sarwarkarna and Sarwarcarna ; in Gass Cer-wer-cer-na; in Brack- enridge, 18x4, Ser-war-cerna, p. 244 and p. 267; on Lewis' map Sar-war-'car-na-ho; " the Ricares call this river Sur-war-kar-na, or Park," Clark C 11. which accounts for the " Pork" in the text, salted since 1814. The codices yield some other forms, which need not be transcribed. Warren and Reynolds both inscribe on their maps Hecha or Heecha Wakpa, besides Moreau. The name on most maps is Owl river ; on the G. L. O. map, 1879, and U. S. Geol. Surv. contour-map, Moreau or Owl river. This comes from the 3,000 to 3,500 foot elevation in Harding and Uutte counties, courses east parallel with the Cheyenne below and the Grand above, through Choteau, Rinehart, Schnasse, and Dewey counties, falling into the Missouri in the latter opposite WaK^ tli Co. I* drains from outlying spurs or buttes of the Rlack hills, and through sornt Bj/ Lands, It was named for one Moreau, stabbed by a Cheyenne St|vavv. •«" Shaved island," Clark C 12, 13, twice, erased and Grous or Grouse sub- stituted. This island is described as "nearly i}{ ms. squar," and on it was killed a " shee Brarow," being the female blaireau of the text. Late maps show two large islands in this day's voyage, but both apparently short of Grouse island, and seeming to correspond to the other two islands, unnamed in the text. WETAKIIOO OR GRAND RIVER. ,,, Old villnge. The island hns no timber, b.t is covered with K-rass am w, d rye, and owes its name to the ,u,rober of s arpta.ledj grouse that frequent it. We then went on .111 ou journey for the d., was « miles. The eountry presented the same appearanee as usual. In the low tunbered ground near the mouth of the Sawawkawna we a'u, i le'? f large white [grizzly] bear, and on Grouse .Ik lied a female blaireau [badger], and a deer of the blaci .Mde.l spce.es, the largest [doe] we have ever seen. 0,,l:.rm We proceeded early will, a cool northwest w.n. and at 2'A miles above Grouse island reached the '","."'' "' .V"f °" ""= ^™"' • '1'=" a ='»all willow-island t't'^Z T '""T '""""^^ ^"^ ^' t>^ "■■•'" ""-^ to .1 nvcr on the southern side, where we halted. This nvcr, winch our meridian altitude fixes at 45° 39' 5" north lat.tude, .s called by the Ricaras Wctawhoo" [or Wetarhool It nscs m the Black mountains, and its bed, which How^ t he mouth over a low soft slate-s.one, is ,20 yards wide ■ b... the water ,s now confined within 30 yards and is no V. y rapul, discharging mud with a sm.^1 proportion of sand. Here as ,„ every bend of the river, we again ob- serve the red berries- resembling currants, which we men- bkils P,«e„ rJ. r u "" ""' "■"' iMniW Hawthorne's nnt !ou"r ?frT-'T' ''"" ''^ ^•''"" ^° ^'^'^ f-' ^'-^^'- contours: • r d s east Th"^ l '''"°""' "'"' '"'""^ "°^''^' -'^"^ ^^e Grand C n r I . T^ '''^^"■' ™" P^''^"<=' ^"f> those of the Owl below and n.nfr into the Missouri in the latter county on the edge of Dewey • across h^ ";r:d •: he'L-"T" '^^f :" -^-^ ^^^---'^ -ntles^^theirth ' ^''^/»erifia arp-enUa : see note ^3 r. Ri •< Tt,- j ^ see note , p. 84. The mandans call a red berry 158 MAROPA RIVER, OR RAMPART CREEK. :b I i tioned before. Two miles above the Wetawhoo, and on tb same side, is a small river called Maropa'" [or Marapa or Maripa] by the Indians ; it is 20 yards in width, but so dammed up by mud that the stream creeps through a channel of not more than an inch in diameter and dis- charges no sand. One mile further we reached an island close to the southern shore, from which it is separated by a deep channel of 60 yards. About halfway a number of Ricara Indians came out to see us. We stopped and took a Frenchman on board (/. loi), who accompanied us past the island to our camp on the north side of the river, which is at the distance of twelve miles from that of yesterday. Captain Lewis then returned with four of the party to see the village ; it is situated in the center of the island, near the southern shore, under th-; foot of some high, bald, uneven hills, and contains about 60 lodges. The island itself is three miles long, and covered with fields in which the Indians raise corn, beans, and potatoes. Several Frenchmen living among these Indians a„ interpreters or traders came back with Captain Lewis, particularly a Mr. Gravelines, a man who has acquired the language. On setting out we had a low prairie covered with timber on the north, and on the south highlands ; but at the mouth of the Wetawhoo the southern country changes, and a low timbered plain extends along the south, while the north has a ridge of barren hills during the rest of the day's course. October gth. The wind was so cold and high last niglit and during all the day that we could not assemble the common to the upper part of the Missouri ciss-dy. The engages call the same berry Grease de Buff [graisse de ba-uf]," Clark C i. " The red berry is called by the Rees Xar-iiis," Clark C, inside front cover of the book. "First, Clark C 14, Rearnar or Beaver Dam R., erased and Maropa inter- lined ; so Lewis' map ; Maripa, Clark's map ; Marapa in Gass, p. 51 ; now Rampart creek, as Warren and others. This stream is perfectly well known, but will not be found on ordinary maps ; there is no trace of it even on the G. L. O. map of 1879. It is also called Oak creek. VISIT OF ARIKARA CHIEFS. 159 Indians in council : but some of the party went to the villaiic. We received the visits of the three principal cliiefs with man)- others, to whom we ga-.-c .ome tobacco, and told them that we would speaic io them to-morrow. Ihe names of these chiefs were: f^rst, Kakawissassa or Lighting Crow; second chief, Pocasse or Hay ; third chief I'iaheto or Eagle's Feather. Notwithstanding the high waves, two or three squaws rowed to us in little canoes made ot a single buffalo-skin, stretched over a frame of boughs interwoven like a basket, and with the most perfect composure. The object which appeared to astonish the Indians most was Captain Clark's servant York a remark ably stout, strong negro. They had never seen a being of that color, and therefore flocked round him to examine the extraordinary monster. By way of amusement he told them that he had once been a wild animal, and caught and tamed by his master ; and to convince them showed them feats of strength (p. .W3) which, added to his looks, made him more terrible than we wished him to be.'' Opposite ''^ All these are as Clark C 18. The Mr. Gravelines is Gravcllin and Gravolin, r \/^'x I' ^r^^"""' ^'^'•'^ C 39, etc. The Mr. Tabeau below named .s here Mr. Tabo. elsewhere Taboe, Tabat, Tebaux. etc. See note ", p. 28. \ork was evidently a wag. When he had returned to St. Louis, and been freed, he used to get drunk and tell funny stories, quite in keeping with the above, which revived and rehabilitated the famous old hoax of a nation of bearded blue-eyed, and red-haired Indians on the Upper Missouri. Accounts ofsuch White or "Welsh "Indians, as they wer. called, are traceable back at least to 1764. when a French trader prepared a list of aborigines in which figure certam " Blancs Barbus. or White Indians with Beard." said to muster 1,500 war- riors. Whatever the origin of this relation, it took a new lease of life from the residence of Lewis and Clark's party at the Mandans, in 1804-5, lost nothing at Urks ghb tongue afterw.ird. and was seriously discussed as an ethnological fact by various eminent authors. Mr. A. J. Hill of St. Paul, my valued corre- spondent in Lewis and Clark matters, calis my attention to an article in the New ^ork Medical Repository. III. p. 113, xSo6, entitled " Bearded and fair People in liabiting the Country high up the Missouri," as an example of the rumors then nte \ ork s stories grew up with every glass that went down, till Mr. Biddle m.ffht have wondered what his History of the Expedition had to do with that nniltitudinous host who conquered the land, under the leadership of a black liium-mnjor about ten feet tall. i«»l § 1 60 ARIKARA PROHIBITION PARTY. our camp is a small creek on the south, which we distin- guished by the name of the chief Kakavvissassa. October lO/'/i." The weather was this day fine, and as we were desirous of assembling the whole nation at once, we dispatched Mr. Gravelines — who, with Mr. Tabeau, another French trader, had breakfasted with us — to invite the chiefs of the two upper villages to a conference. They all assembled at one o'clock, and after the usual ceremo- nies we addressed them in the same way in which we had already spoken to the Ottoes and Sic x. We then made or acknowledged three chiefs, one for each of the three villages ; giving to each a flag, a medal, a red coat, a cocked hat and feather, also some goods, paint and tobacco, which they divided among themselves. After this the air-gun was exhibited, very much to their astonishment, nor were they less surprised at the color and manner of York. On our side we were equally gratified at discovering that these Ricaras made use of no spirituous liquors of any kind, the example of the traders who bring it to them, so far from tempting, having in fact disgusted them. Supposing that it was as agreeable to them as to the other Indians, we had at first offered them whisky ; but they refused it with this sensible remark, that they were surprised that their father should present to them a liquor which would make them fools. On another occasion they observed to Mr. Tabeau that no man could be their friend who tried to lead them into such follies. The council being over they retired to consult on their answer, and the next morning, October I \th, at eleven o'clock, we again met in council at our camp. The grand chief made a short speech of thanks for the advice we had given, and promised to follow it; add- ing that the door was now open and no one dare shut it, and that we might depart whenever we pleased — alluding to the treatment we had received from the Sioux. They " Gass says he went this day to the lodges, about sixty in number, wliich he thus describes, p. 52 : " In a circle of a size suited to the dimensions of the intended lodge, they set ' in number, which he ;ended lodge, they set ARIKARA VILLAGES VISITED. i6i also (A 103) brought us some corn, beans, and dried squashes and m return we gave them a steel mill, with which they were much pleased At one o'clock we left our camp with the grand chie and his nephew on board, and at about two miles anchored below a creek on the south, separating the second and third vdlage of the Ricaras, which are about ha f a mile d.stant from each other. We visited both the villages, and sat conversing with the chiefs for some time dumig which they presented us with a bread made of corn and beans, also corn and beans boiled, and a large rich bean which they take from the mice of the prairie, which discover and collect it. These two villages are placed near each other m a high, smooth prairie-a fine situation, except that hav- ing no wood the inhabitants are obliged to go for it across the nver to a timbered lowland opposite them. We told them that we would speak to them in the morning at their villages separately, October ,2th Accordingly, after breakfast, we [Lewis. Clark, and Gass] went on shore to the house of the chief of the second village, named Lassel, where we found his chiefs and warriors. They made us a present of about seven bushels of corn, a pair of leggings, a twist of their tobacco, and seeds of two different species of tobacco. The chief then delivered a speech expressive of his grati- tude for the presents and good counsels which we had given him ; his intention of visiting his great father, but up r6 forked posts five or six feet high, and lay poles from one fork to another. A,a,„.t these poles they lean other poles, slanting from the ground, and extend- ing about 4 mches above the cross poles ; these are to receive th ends of he pper poles that support the roof. They next set up 4 large forks, 15 ,eet behveen these The roof poles are then laid on extending from the lowe- poles across the beams which rest on the middle forks, of such a leng h a o eave a hole at the top for a chimney. The whole is then covered with willow branches, except the chimney and a hole below to pass through. On the "•.llow-branchcs they lay grass and lastly clay. At the hole below they build a pen about 4 feet wide and projecting 10 feet from the hut, and hang a buffaloe sk,n at the entrance of the hut for a door. This labor like every other kind IS chieny performed by the squaws." Ill I ' IS' 162 ARIKARA HISTORY. for fear of the Sioux ; and requested us to take one of the Ricara chiefs up to the Mandans and negotiate a peace between the two nations. To this we replied in a suitable way, and then repaired to the third village. Here we were addressed by the chief in nearly the same terms as before, and entertained with a present of ten bushels of corn, some beans, dried pumpkins, and squashes. After we had answered and explained the magnitude and power of the United States, the three chiefs came with us to the boat. We gave them some sugar, a little salt, and a sun-glass. Two of them then left us, and the chief of the third [vil- age], by name (/. 104) Ahketahnasha or Chief of the Town, accompanied us to the Mandans. At two o'clock we left the Indians, who crowded to the shore to take leave of us, and after making 71^ miles landed on the north side, and had a clear, cool, pleasant evening."' The three villages which we have just left are the resi- dence of a nation called the Ricaras [see note ', p. 143]. They were originally colonies of Pawnees, who estab- lished themselves on the Missouri below the Chayenne, where the traders still remember that twenty years ago they occupied a number of villages. From that situation a part of the Ricaras emigrated to the neighborhood of the Mandans, with whom they were then in alliance. The rest of the nation continued near the Chayenne till the year 1797, in the course of which, distressed by t'^eir wars with the Sioux, they joined their countrymen near the Mandans. Soon after, a new war arose between the Ricaras and the Mandans, in consequence of which the former came down the river to their present position. In this migration, those who had first gone to the Mandans ""A curious curstom with the Souex as well as the Reckeres is to give handsom squars to those whome they wish to show some acknowledgements to— The Seauex we got clear of without taking their squars, they followed us with squars two days— The Reckores we pu ->ff dureing the time we were at the Towns but 2 handsom young squars were sent by a man to follow us, they came up this evening and pursecuted in their civilities," Clark C 27. ARIKARA DRESS. MANNERS, AND MORALS. 163 kept together, and now live in the two lower villages ; they may hence be considered as the Ricaras proper. The third v.! age was composed of such remnants of the villages as hacl survived the wars; and as these were nine in number, a difference of pronunciation and some difference of langua^^e may be observed between them and the Ricaras proper, who do not -nderstand all the words of these wanderers The villages are within the distance of four miles of each other, the two lower ones consisting of between 150 and 200 men each, the third of 300. Tlie Ricaras are tall and well proportioned, the women handsome and lively, and as among other savages to them falls all the drudgery of the field and the labors of procur- mg subsistence, except that of hunting. Both sexes are poor but kind and generous, and although they receive with thankfulness what is given to them, do not beg as the S.oux did ; though this praise should be qualified (/. /oc) by mentioning that an ax was stolen last night from our cooks. The dress of the men is a simple pair of moccasins, egguigs, and a cloth round the middle, over which a buf- falo-robe IS occasionally thrown ; their hair, arms, and ears are decorated with different ornaments. The women wear moccasins, leggings, and a long shirt made of goafs skins generally white and fringed, ^yhich is tied round the waist ' to these they add, like the men, a buffalo-robe without the hair, in summer. These women are handsomer than the Sioux; both of hem are, however, disposed to be amorous, and our men found no difficulty in procuring companions for the night by means of the interpreters. These interviews were chiefly clandestine, and were of course to be kept a secret from the husband or relations. The point of honor indeed IS completely reversed among the Ricaras; that the wife or he sister should submit to a stranger's embraces without the consent of her husband or brother is a cause of great disgrace and offense, especially as for manv purposes of civility or gratitude the husband and broth'er will them- ill 164 ARIKARA ETIQUETTE, LODGES, AND PRODUCE. selves present to a stranger these females, and be gratified by attentions to them. The Sioux had offered us squaws, but we having declined while we remained there, they followed us with offers of females for two days. The Ricaras had been equally accommodating; we had equally withstood their temptation ; but such was their desire to oblige us that two very handsome young squaws were sent on board this evening, and persecuted us with civilities. The black man York participated largely in these favors; for, instead of inspiring any prejudice, his color seemed to procure him additional advantages from the Indians, who desired to preserve among them some memorial of this wonderful stranger. Among other instances of attention, a Ricara invited him into his house and, presenting his wife to him, retired to the outside of the door; while there one of York's comrades who was looking for him came to the door, but the gallant hus- (/>. 106) band would permit no interruption until a reasonable time had elapsed. The Ricara lodges are in a circular or octagonal form, and generally about 30 or 40 feet in diameter. They are made by placing forked posts about six feet high round the circumference of the circle ; these are joined by poles from one fork to another, which are supported also by other forked poles slanting from the ground ; in the center of the lodge are placed four higher forks, about 15 feet in length, connected together by beams ; from these to the lower poles the rafters of the roof are extended so as to leave a vacancy in the middle for the smoke; the frame of the building is then covered with willow branches, with which is interwoven grass, and over this [is placed] mud or clay; the aperture for the door is about four feet wide, and before it is a sort of entry about ten feet from the lodge. They are very warm and compact. They cultivate maize or Indian corn, beans, pumpkins, watermelons, squashes, and a species of tobacco peculiar to themselves. Their commerce is chiefly with the traders, who supply them with goods in return for peltries, which RODUCE. ARIKARA TRADE AND WAR-STONE IDOL CREEK. ,65 they procure not only by their own hunting, but in ex- change or corn from their less civilized neighbors. Tlfe object chiefly .n demand seemed to be red paint, but they would g.ve anything they liad to spare for the m;st trifling article. One of the men to-day gave an Indian a hook made out of a pin, and received in return a pai o moccasins. ^ ^* They express a disposition to keep at peace with all nat.ons; but they are well armed with fusUs. and being much under the influence of the Sioux, who exchange hf goods which they get from the British for Ricara corn their m.nds are sometimes poisoned and they cannot be always ttMllns. ^-^^^—--n-l'eyareatwarwifh We are informed by Mr. Graveiines. who had passed through that country, that the Yankton or Jacques U jo?) r,ver rises about 40 miles to the east or northeast of this place, the Chayenne branch of the Red river about 20 miles further, passing the Sioux and the St Pete-'«. about 80. • a » October i^th In the morning our visitors left us, except he brother of the chief who accompanied us, and one of the squaws We passed at an early hour a camp of Sioux on the north bank, who merely looked at us without sayinir a word, and from the character of the tribe we did not so- licit a conversation. At io>^ miles we reached the mouth of a creek on the north, which takes its rise from some ponds a short distance to the northeast. To this stream we gave the name of Stoneidol creek ^ for, after passing a w.llow. and sand-island just above its mouth, we discovered that a few miles back from the Missouri there are two stones resembling human figures, and a third like a dog all which are objects of great veneration among the Ricaras. - Better Stone Idol Creek, as Clark C 29. where it is said to be 13 yards ^ude: see h>s map; ,t is Stone creek of Lewis' map. Cass. p. 54 ca Us it Pond nver. 50 yards w.ie. It is called Bourbeuse river on Warren's rnaV Bordnche creek, of Heap ; now Spring river, in Camnbell To ^ ' 1 66 ARIKARA TRADITION— HAY CREEK. i i^!> 3 \ Their history would adorn the Metamorphoses of Ovid. A young man was deeply enamored with a girl whose parents refused their consent to the marriage. The youth went out into the fields to mourn his misfortunes ; a sym- pathy of feeling led the lady to the same spot, and the faithful dog would not cease to follow his master. After wandering together and having nothing but grapes to sub- sist on, they were at last converted into stone, which, begin- ning at the feet, gradually invaded the nobler parts, leaving nothing unchanged but a bunch of grapes which the female holds in her hand to this day. Whenever the Ricaras pass these sacred stones, they stop to make some offering of dress to propitiate these deities. Such is the account given by the Ricara chief, which we had no mode of exam- ining, except that we found one part of the story very agreeably confirmed ; for on the river near where the event is said to have occurred we found a greater abundance of fine grapes than we had yet seen. Above this is a small creek, 4}4 miles from Stoneidol creek, which is 1 5 yards wide, comes in from the south, and {p. 108) received from us the name of Pocasse or Hay [now Hunkpapa] creek, in honor of the chief of the second village. Above the Ricara island the Missouri becomes narrow and deeper, the sand-bars being generally confined to the points; the current, too, is much more gentle; the timber on the low lands is also in much greater quantities, though the high grounds are still naked. We proceeded on under a fine breeze from the southeast, and after making 18 miles camped '' on the north near a timbered low plain, after which we had some rain, and the evening was cold. The hunters killed one deer only. October 14th. We set out in the rain, which continued during the day. At five miles we came to a creek on the south, about 15 yards wide, and named by us Piaheto or Eagle's Feather, in honor of the third chief 01 the Ricaras. '» Last camp in South Dakota. To-morrow, before crossing the parallel of 46° N. lat., the Expedition will have passed from South into North Dakota. THE CASE OF JOHN NEWMAN. 167 After dnmer we stopped on a sand-bar, and executed the sentence of a court martial, which inflicted corporeal punish! ment on one of the soldiers." This operation affecL the Ind.an ch.ef very sensibly, for he cried aloud during . e pun.shment. We explained the offense and the reasons of " Private John Newman, U. S Infnntrv m case a hard one. Clark 6 2S-,roTluU ZTl "".?r' "'"' ^"' ""'' mon confined for mutinous expre.i^n t ' We' Tried Vh ?"' "'"i" ''^"■ last night by 9 of his Peers they did 'cent^nce L , f u IT".' ^'^'"°" the party.' . . halted on a Sand bar & Z Dler t 7 t H''"''"'^'^ the Court Martial so far a Fasl ^ivin<.7h. r , ''"'^'^ '^^ '^^"'^"^^ °f on a few miles." Lewis' aS.fl ^^terX^^^^^^^ archives, is accompanied by a letter in his hand ml Department the roil (on which, of course Newmn^s nlr..'^ "''''" '°'"'"'"''"'' °" banded from the party); and i finTthe foil " "'''"''' '' ""' ''"' ^''^ ^'^'■ Newman was a pLaL^inTlnfrtZl^^^^^^^^^ a volunteer and entered into an inlistml ^^ '"^° J°'"''^ '"^ ^' was held and Mustered as one oh. '°'"'"°" '''"" '''''"'" ""^ ^^'"'' """ expedition, or s.or^'zr::'j:^r:zt^!2; v^j^ r- '' '': himself by using certain mutinous expressils which carH'^ .' '°'"'"'"''^ and to have him t^^ed by a Court Marl form do his peers • ThelVd""^ "" guilty sentenced him to receive seventy.five lashes a^dTbe' dtcLr;e7fro: the permanent party, this sentence was enforced bv me JZ T"^^'^^^^ ^'°"' took place, the conduct of this man previous othispri'odh J h '"' ',r' correct, and the zeal he afterwards di^played^rtt C tt^'^:efvire w ^ — t. he .erted Himse^Lry^t^si;: .^^^1^-^^^^ ^^^ .on .nduced h.m to expose himself too much to the intense cold of tha c imat " S..C. n,y r«ur„ I have b„„ f„(„,„d ,ha. h, was .x.„„ely seSb,. .Ta fl,n„„i,f ' . ""yj>trengtn. u under these circumstances t should be ought proper to give Newman the remaining third which will be deducted t a ft p'anof'th"' ' ''ru''' ^'"^ ^^ "^''^ ''■''' °-"P>'^^ 1^- ^^^tion „ s d d Sv o Wa7T 1""" '"' ™^'"'' ""'^'^ ^^^^■^>-<^-" This letter Henrv n?l ^^"''""Ston. January 15th, 1807. and addressed to General Henry Dearborn. Secretary at War. vjcucrai 3 * 1 68 ARIKARA CAMPS— OLD CHEYENNE VILLAGE. it. He acknowledged that examples were necessary, and that he himself had given them by punishing with death; but iiis nation never whipped even children from their birth. After this we continued with the wind from the northeast, and at the distance of twelve miles we camped " in a cove of the southern bank. Immediately opposite our camp, on the north side, are the ruins of an ancient fortification, the greater part of which is washed into the river ; nor could we distinguish more than that the walls were eight or ten feet high. The evening is wet and disagreeable, and the river, which is somewhat wider than yesterday, continues to have an unusual quantity of timber. The country was level on both sides in the morning, but afterward we passed some black blufTs on the south. October \^th. We stopped at three miles on the north; a little above a camp of Ricaras who are hunting, where (/. log) we were visited by about 30 Indians. They came over in their skin canoes, bringing us meat, for which we returned them beads and fishhooks. About a mile higher we found another camp of Ricaras on the south, consisting of eight lodges; here we again ate and exchanged a few presents. As we went we discerned numbers of other Indians on both sides of the river. At about nine miles we came to a creek on the south, where we saw many high hills resembling a house with a slanting roof; and a little below the creek, an old village of the Sharha or Chayenne Indians. The morning had been cloudy, but the evening became pleasant, the wind from the northeast. At sunset we halted, after coming ten miles over several sand-bars and points, above a camp of ten Ricara lodges, on the north side. We visited their camp, and smoked and ate with several of them ; they all appeared kind and pleased with our attentions, and the fair sex received our men with more than hospitality. York was here again an object of "North Dakota, close to 46°, at a creek now called Thunder-hawk. Pialieto (now Black foot) creek meanders the boundary of South Dakota, but empties in North Dakota. -.-. mt^ 1 CHEYENNE, SOxiAWCH, AND CIIAPAWT CKEEKS. 169 astonishment ; the children would follow him constantly, and If he chanced to turn toward them, run with great ter- ror The country of to-day is generally low and covered w,th .mber on both sides, though in the morning we passed some barren hills on the south October x6tk- At this camp the squaw who accompanied the duef left us; two others were very anxious to go on with us. Just above our camp wc passed a circular work or ort where the Sharha or Chayennes formerly lived ; and a short distance beyond, a creek " which we called Chay. enne creek. At two miles is a willow-island with a large sand-bar on both sides above it, and a creek, both on the south, which we called Sohawch, the Ricara name for girl • and two miles above is a second creek, to which we gave the name of Chapawt, which means woman in the same language Three miles further is an island situated in a bend to the north, about i^ miles long, and covered with Cottonwood. At the lower end of this island (/. 7/0) comes in a small creek from the north, called Keetoosh- ,6^?th!'"^,'T "'T '" ''''' ^T^'^^"" ''' "^'^'-'y »" ^' '^"'^'^ -i'h Clark C 36, 37. th,s date. The name of the chief who was aboard the boat is here r„" ," ; r'f ■■• J''' "^ °' " '•^^^^^ °^ chayennes.- one singular and t e other plural. ,s from the expression "Sharha or Chien or Dog fndians " of the codex. The first creek is "Chien." interlined Chayenne or S Irha T esecond creek .s "Soharch." The" third is "Charpart." The fourth's Keetooch Sarkarnar." The fifth is as printed. The' island is said to be named Carp "by Ivens." elsewhere called " Evins." and discredited "Dissociate this in mind from any other stream called Chevenne. Chayenne Chyenne. It >s one of the very few located for right or left hand neither in e codex nor m the prmted text. Lewis' map shows three unlettered traces! om the west^ Clark s has nothing whatever on this side, from his Marina Kampar ) to the Cannon-ball. Warren names two creeks on the left, the lo" er lv.d.sap, W[akpa]. or Battle creek, the upper Pointer creek. The flct ar w.th modern names: Oct. ,5th. Expedition passed. .. Thunder-haw creek ; CatH "f ; 3-.l*-t Vates; 4. Standing Rock Agency-all these left: 5 C«.tal creek (Sarbaone of Stevens), right; 6, Porcupine or Pointer creek k.ch.sap, or Battle creek of Warren): and camped bv an old Cheyenne fort on t^nght hand. Now. Oct. r6th. come .. Cheyenne'creek. right rHi^wch: e'iLtfiTd F '7°" °^'o " '^'"^ ^""'^^ °^ ^^'^--- but not other. ^vlse Identified. For the rest of Oct. i6th, see next two notes. I70 KEirrOOSHSAHAWNA AND WARRECONNE CREEKS. sahawiia *" or IMace of Beaver. At the upper extremity of tlic island a river empties from the north ; it is called Warrcconnc," or Elk Shed their Horns, and is about 35 yards wide. The island itself was named Carp island by Evans, a former traveler. As wc proceeded there were great numbers of goats [antelopes] on the banks of the river, and we soon after saw large flocks cf them in the water. They had been gradually driven into the river by the Indians, who now lined tlie shore so as to prevent their escape, and were firing on thciii, while sometimes boys went into the river and killed them with sticks ; they seemed to be very successful, for we counted 58 which they had killed. We ourselves killed some, and then passing the lodges to which these Indians belonged, camped at the distance of half a mile on the south, having made 141^ miles. We were soon visited by numbers of these Ricaras, who crossed the river haliooinj^ and -singing. Two of them then returned for some goat's flesh and buffalo meat, dried and fresh, with which they made a feast that lasted till late at night, and caused much music and merriment. October \jth. The weather was pleasant. We oassed a low ground covered with small timber on the south, and barren hills on the north which came close to the river; the wind from the n 'rthwest then became so strong that we could not move a.'terten o'clock until late in the afternoon, when we were forced to use the towline ; we therefore made *" Sar-har-nar, Lewis' map ; Sar-har-ne, Clark's, on the right hand, next below the Warreconne ; not to be discovered on ordinary maps; Little Beaver creek of some. The word is Dakotan, and here Lewis and Clark locate their questiona- ble " Teton Saone " Indians, of " 300 men" and " 1,500 souls " (see note '", p. loi), ■" So Clark C 37, and map, plainly ; Warreconhe of Lewis' map ; elsewiiere Warrecunne and Warrecanne ; in Le Raye. Warriuna ; in Maximilian, Waran- nano ; in Brackenridge, Warecore, p. 268. This is the Beaver river of Warren's map, and Beaver creek of Reynolds' and the G. L. O. map ; now Big Beaver or Sand creek. It is the largest stream in Emmons Co. It rises by two main affluents in Logan and Mcintosh counties respectively, heading in some little lakes, and traverses Emmons Co. westerly to its confluence with the Missouri. The town of Emmonsburg is at its mouth. CANNON-HAM, RIVER. 171 only SIX miles. We all went out hunting and examining the country. The goats, of which we see large flocks com- ing to the north bank of the river, spend the summer, says Mr.Gravchnes, in the plains east of the Missouri, and at the present season are returning to the Black mountains, where they subsist on leaves and shrubbery during th^ winter, and rc.iime their migrations in the spring.^^ VVe also saw buffalo, elk, and deer, and a number of snakes; a beaver- house too was seen, and we caught a whippoorwill of a small and uncommon (/. ///) kind." The leaves are fast falling • the river is wider than usual and full of sand-bars ; on the sides of the hills are large stones, and some rock of a brown- ish color is in the southern bend below us. Our latitude by observation is 46° 23' 57". October \Wi. After three miles we reached the mouth of Lc Roulet or Cannonball river. This stream rises in the Black mountains^' and falls Into the Missouri on the south (from the west] ; its channel is about 140 yards wide, though the water is now confined within 40; its name is derived from the numbers of perfectly round large stones on the shore and in the bluffs just above. We here met « " This chief." who was aboard, "tells me of a number of their tredttions about Turtles, Snakes. &c., and the power of a perticuler rock or cove on the next river which informs of everything none of those I vfaink worth while men- tioning." Clark C 40. The hunting party to-day kille six deer, which were "scafTeled up," /. e., scaffolded, out of reach of the wo;/es. "This is the bird long afterward first described and n: .ned by Audubon (Orn. Biog., V, 1839, p. 335) as Caprimtilgus nuttalli or Nuttall's whippoorwill, now known to science as riuilanoptihts nuttalli. ^^ Our authors use the term " Black mountains " in a looser sense than we now say ' ISlack liills,"for any of the elevated country to the west of the Missouri in Northern Nebraska and both Dakotas. The codices commonly name them as the Cout or Court noi or nue or nou, /. e. , Cote Noir. The Cannon-ball rises by two main branches, north and south, and many tributary streams, somewhat north of the lilack hills proper, and east of the Little Missouri river ; flows in a general east course, traversing Hettinger and Morton counties, and falls into the Missouri in Morton Co., on tiie boundary of foreman, and opposite Emmons, eight miles below the site of Fort Rice. Its DaLotan name was Inyan Wakarap (so Warren) or Wakahap (so Reynold-). It is also called simply Ball river. 172 CHEWAH OR FISH RIVER. with two Frenchmen in the employ of Mr. Gravelines who had been robbed by the Maiidans of their traps, furs, and other articles, and were descending the river in a periogue ; but they turned back with us in expectation of obtainiii- redress through our means. At eight miles is a creek on the north [in Emmons Co.], about 28 yards wide, rising in the northeast, and called Chewah" or Fish river; one mile above this is another creek on the south [near Fort- RiceJ. We camped on a sand-bar to the south, at the distance of 13 miles, all of which we have made with oars and poles. Great numbers of goats are crossing the river and directing their course to the westward ; we also saw a herd of buffalo and of elk ; a pelican too was killed, and six fallow-deer, we having found, as the Ricaras informed us, that there are none of the black-tailed species as high up as this place." The country is in general level and fine, with broken short high grounds, low timbered mounds on the river, and a rugged range of hills at a distance. October ic^th. We set sail with a fine morning and a southeast wind, and at 2j^ miles passed a creek on the north side; at ii>^ miles we came to a lake or large pond on the same side, in which were some swans. On both banks of the Missouri are low grounds which have much more timber than lower down the river. The hills are at one or two miles' distance from the banks, the streams which rise in them are brackish, and the mineral salts appear on (/>. 112) the sides of the hills and edges of the runs. Ii walking along the shore we counted 52 herds of buffalo, and three of elk, at a single view. Besides these, we also « So Clark C 43 ; " She-wish or Fish Cr.," Clark C 230 ; Shewash of Maxi- milian ; Fish creek on both Lewis' and Clark's maps ; Apple creek of Stevens; Long Lake creek of later and of present maps, emptying from the east five miles below Fort Rice. A little north of the Chewah was an old trading-house, on the east bank of the Missouri. ■*" The fallow-deer {Dania pLityceros) is a European species, net founil in North America, the animal meant being the Western variety of the X'irginia deer. The black-tailed deer has no such restricted range as the paragraph implies, but very likely had been killed off in this particular locality. OLD MANDAN VILLAGE— VARIOUS CREEKS. 173 observed elk, deer pelicans, and wolves. After ly^A miles we camped on the north, opposite the uppermost of a number of round hills, forming a cone at the top, one being about 90, another 60 feet in height, and some of less elevation Our chief tells us that the calumet-bird - lives HI the holes formed by the filtration of the water from the top of these hills through the sides. Near one of these moles, on a point of a hill 90 feet above the plain, are the remains of an old village which is high, strong, and has been fortified; this our chief tells us is the remains of one ot the Mandan villages, and these are the first ruins which we have seen of that nation in ascending thf Missouri Opposite our camp is a deep bend to the south, at the extremity of which is a pond. [Camp is in Bismarck Co.] October 20th. We proceeded early with a southeast wind which continued high all day, and came to a creek" on the north [in Bismarck Co.] at two miles' distance, 20 yards wide At eight miles we reached the lower point of an island" in the middle of the river, though there is no current on the south. This island is covered with willows and extends about two miles, a small crcek^" coming in from the south at Its lower extremity. After making twelve miles we camped on the south, at the upper part of a bluff containing stone- ^^ The crevasses and ledges of water-worn or weather-beaten bluffs are favorite nestmg-places for eagles and other large birds of prey in the upper Missouri country. I have there examined some nests of enormous size, resorted to year after year, probably by the same pairs of birds. They are often inaccessible or only to be reached by means of a rope, with much difHculty and danger • but sometimes they are built simply on the edge of a bluff, to which one may walk on smooth ground. The " callemet bird." Clark C 45. has alreadv been men- tioned as the golden eagle, Aquila cJuysactos. ^' Nameless in the codices, and so in the text, but plainly " Shepherds Cr " of Lew,s map.and " Shepherd R." of Clark's, with the first (old) Mandan village marked at its mouth. Apple creek or Budeigh creek of various late maps. from the east, m Bismarck Co. « Nameless in the codices, and shown on neither map ; Burnt Boat island of \arrens: Sibley's island of the G. L. O. map, 1879 ; very large, in the river between Bismarck and Morton Cos. ^"Nameless, and uncharted. Little Heart or Sturgis river of various maps. in .Morton to. Little Heart and Sugar-loaf buttes just south of it. ^ II '74 OLD MANUAN VIIXAGK— HKAUT UIVKR. coal of an inferior tiuality ; immediately below thisbluff and on the declivity of a hill arc the remains of a village cov- criiij; six or eight acres, formerly occupied by the Mandans, who, says our Ricara chief, once lived in a number of villages on each side of the river, till the Sioux forced them 40 miles higher ; whence, after a few years' residence, they moved to their present position. The country through which wo passed has wider bottoms and more timber than those we have been accustomed to see, the hills rising at a distance and by gradual ascents. We have seen great numbers of elk, deer {p. iij), goats, and buffalo, and the usual attendants of these last, the wolves, which follow their movements and feed upon those which die by accident ,,. which are too poor to keep pace with the herd. We also wounded a white bear, and saw some fresh tracks of those animals, which are twice as large as the track of a man. October 2\st. Last night the weather was cold, the wind high from the northeast, and the rain which fell froze on the ground. At daylight it began to snow and continued till the afternoon, when it remained cloudy and the ground was covered with snow However, we set out early, and just above our camp came to a creek on the south, called Chisshetaw,"' about 30 yards wide and with a considerable quantity of water. Our Ricara chief tells us that at some distance up this river is situated a large rock, which is held in great venera- " Elsewhere printed Chesshetah .ind Chesschetar ; in Gass Ciiischeet ; in Le Kaye Chuss-chu ; in the codices variant ; " Ches-che-tar or Heart R.'of both maps ; Ta Chanta Wakpa of Warren's and of Reynolds' ; Big Heart river of maps which call Sturgis river I,ittle Heart (see note'*, above). Lewis ami Clark's name is imeasy, and lapsed ; but it might have survived in the Englisli form of "Chester." This is Heart river, heading mainly in Stark Co., and coursing with a considerable southward loop through Morton Co. , to fall into the Missouri ojiposite IJismarck, now the capital of North Dakota. At this date the Expedition comes past the point where the Northern Pacific R.R. crosses the Missouri, with Bismarck on the left bank (right as yon ascend) and Fort Abraham I,incoln on the right. Here began the series of Mandan villages which extended many m.iles up river, and here is the present Mandan, county town of Morton, on Heart river, near its mouth. HOLY KOCKS AND TRKKS-MANDAN VILLAGES. ,75 tion, and Visited by parties who go to consult it as to their own or the.r nation's destinies, all of which they discern .n son.c^sort of fi-n.rcs or paintings with which ft is cov- ered. About two miles off f,on, the mouth of the river the party on shore saw another of the objects of Ricara superstition ; .t .s a large oak tree, standing alone in the open pra.r.e, and as it alone has withstood the f^re which has consumed everything around, the Indians naturally ascribe to ,t extraordinary powers. One of their cere- monies IS to make a hole in the skin of their necks, through wh.ch a string IS passed and the other end tied to the body of the ree ; after remaining in this way for some time they think they become braver. At two miles from our camp we came to the ruins of a second Mandan village, which was in existence at the same fmc with that just mentioned. It is situated on the north, a the foot of a hill in a beautiful and extensive plain, which IS now covered with herds of bufTalo ; nearly oppo- site are remains of a third village, on the south of the Missouri ; and there is another also about two miles further on the north, a little off the river. At the distance of seven miles we campearty sent out— Indian method of cach- ing antelopes — Northern Lights— Floating ice— Assinihoins and Knisteneaux with ilit Mandans— Very cold weather— Ulack Cat's visit— Result of Indian deliberations— Occupa- tion of Kort Mandan— Five villages of Indian nations in the vicinity— History of these Indians— Intended atrocity prevented — Visits of Minnetaree and Ahnahaway cliitfs- Horned Weasel declines overtures— Snow— Injunction of Mr. Larochc, a Uritish trader- Collision of Mandans and Sioux — Intervention of Captain Clark— Indian gratitude— Mr, Henderson, a trader — Peace to be kept between the Indians — The Mandan religion- Tradition of their origin — Indian buffalo-hunt — Thermometer below zero — Frost-bites- Arrival of Mr. Haney — International courtesies— Indian game — Rocky Mountain sheep- Christmas festivities— Particular account of the Sioux, etc. SATURDAY, October 27th, 1804. At an early hour we proceeded and anchored off the village. Captahi Clark went on shore, and after smoking a pipe with the chiefs, was desired to remain and eat with them. He declined on ac count of being unwell ; but his refusal gave great offense to the Indians, who considered it disrespectful not to eat when invited, till the cause was explained to their .satisfac- tion. We sent them some tobacco, and then proceeded to the second village on the north, passing by a bank contain- ing coal, and the second village,' and camped at four miles on the north, opposite a village of Ahnahaways. We here met with a Frenchman named Jesseaume, who lives among the Indians with his wife and children, and whom 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 ' " Passed the 2d Village and camped opsd. the Village of the Wetersoon or Ahwahharways," Clark C 65. The Frenchman's name is variable in the codices. Here it is spelled Jessamme or Jessomme. His Christian name was Kent;. 180 PRELIMINARY AMENITIES. I8l for the chiefs :>{ the three upper villages, inviting them to come down in the morning to a council with us. Accord- ingly the next day, Sii/uhf, October 2Zih, 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 (/. iig) villages could not come up, and the council was deferred till to-morrow. Meanwhile, we entertained our visitors by showing them what was new to them in the boat ; all which, as well as our black servant, they called "great medicine," the meaning of which we afterward learned. We also consulted the grand chief of the Man- dans, Black Cat, and Mr. Jesscaume, as to the names, characters, etc., 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 [Drewyer] brought us two beaver. In the afternoon wc 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 ji^ miles to-day, with the view of finding a convenient spot for a fort ; but the timber was too scarce and small for our purposes. October 2gth. 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 Shosho- nees. At ten o'clock the chiefs were all assembled under '"I prosent a jah to the chiefs wife who vewed it with much pleasure," Clark C G8, with " crnhern jar glazed " interlined in red ink. ^" After Brackfust we were visited by the old Cheaf of the /?/V Lc-llies . this man was old and had transfired his power to his Sun," Clark C 69— which IS the most credible solar myth ever penned by mortal hand. I82 OFFICIAI. KKCOGNITION OF CHIEFS. ail awning of our sails, stretched so as to exclude the wind, which had become high. That the impression mi<'ht be the more forcible, the men were all paraded, and the council was o-- ned by a discharge from the swivel of the boat. We twcn 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 hostil- ities of the Shoshonees. He was instantly rebuked with great dignity by one of the chiefs for this violation of deco- rum at such a moment, and remain- (/. 120) ed quiet during the rest cf the council. Toward the end of our speech we introduced the subject of our Ricara chief, with whom we recommended a firm peace. To this they seemed well dis- posed, 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 re- stored. This being over, we proceeded to distribute the presents with great ceremony. One chief of each town 'vas 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 repie- scnting 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 distrib- uted, 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 sec- ond chief, of the lower village of the Mandans called Ma- tootonha.'" The other chiefs, of an inferior quality, who were recommended were: i. Ohheenaw or Big Man, a Chaycnne taken prisoner by the Mandans, who adopted him ; he now ■•"She-he-ke is a fat man, not much distinguished as a warrior, and extremely talkative," Brackenridgc". Journal, 1814, p. 7'\, ^ Ma-too-ton'-ka in the Statistical View, 1807. iiti ROSTER OK CHIEFS RECOGNIZED. 183 enjoys great consideration among the tri'>e 2. hotahaw- rora or Coal, of the second Mandan village, which is called Rooptahcc." VVc made I'oscopsahe or Black Cat, the first chief of the village and the grand chief of the wliole Man- dan nation. His second chief is Kagonomokshe or Raven- Man Chief ; inferior chiefs of this village are Tawnuheo tiul Hollahsara, of which names we did not learn the trans- lation. In the third village, which is called Mahawha [or Ma- haha or Maharhar], and where the Arwacanwas ' reside, we made one first chief, Tetuckopinrcha or White I?uffalo- Robe Unfolded, and recognized two of an inferior order : Minnissi'rraree or Neighing Horse, and Locongotiha or Old Woman at a Distance. {p. 121) Of the fourth village, where the Minnetarees' m ". IS a warrior, aiui •Roop-tar'-har in the Statistical View, 1807. ' .V/V— misprint for Ahnahiaways or Aliwahhaways, as before. Thiese are the Indians known to the French as Gens ties Souliers ; they are of Sio-ian stock, closely related to the Hidatsas, Minnetarees or Grosventres, and are offshoots of the Crov-s. The Statistical View gives thtm a population of 200, with 50 warriors, and notes their defensive warfare with the Sioux and offensive wars with the Snakes and the Flatheads. "They differ but very little, in any particular, from the Mandans, their neighbours, except in the unjust war which they, as well as the Minetares, prosecute against the defenceless Snake [Shoshonean] Indians, from which, I believe, it will be difficult to induce them to desist. They claim to have once been a p.irt of the Crow Indians, whom they still acknowl- edge as relations. They h.-ive resided on the Missouri as Ion;; as their traditions will enable them to inform." (London ed. Statistical View, 1807, p. 20.) They kept up a separate tribal organization for about thirty years after Lewis and Clark found them, and then merged into the Hidatsas. Their proper name is Amahami. ■ The name fluctuates in spelling, much as usual, with one ;/ or two, and variable vowels. The above is good form, and is current : compare Minne- naha, Minne-apolis, etc. It is the Mandan name of these Indians, not their own, and means to cross water. The best form is Minitari, or Midi-tadi (water to cross ; consonants d, n, /, r imerchangeable). Other forms are Minatari, Manitari, Minetare, etc. There is less trouble with the word than with the .ipplications of the name in a narrower or broader sense. It is coextensive with F. Grosventres, itself ctjually misleading. The proper name of the Minnetarees or Grosventres here in mention by Lewis and Clark, is Hidatsa, given as E-hat'-sar by Lewis in the Statistical View, 1807. The village. J 84 ROSTER OF TMK CHIEFS: CONTINUED. ^^^^'' live, and which is called Mctaharta, \vc made a first chief, Umpseharu or HIack Moccasin ; a second chief, Ohhaw or Little Fox. Other distinguished chiefs of this village were Mahnotah or Hig Thief, a man whom we did not see, as he was out fighting and was killed soon after; and Mahserassa or Tail of the Calumet-lJird. In the fifth vil- lage we made a first chief, Eapanopa or Red Shield ; a second chief, VVankerassa or Two-Tailed Calumet-15ird— both young chiefs. Other persons of distinction arc: Shahakohopinnee or Little Wolf's Medicine; Ahrattana- mockshe or Wolf Man 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 Minne- tarees, who was not at the council, were sent to him by the Metaharta is there rendered Me-te-har-tar. Those who wish to lear.i Hidatsan should consult the valuable vocabulary of Dr. Washington Matthews, U. S. A. I had the manuscript of my esteemed friend officially in hand for some time before I could bring it out, as the Government Printing Office had no sorts for the many orthocpic marks which the ingenious author used. I caused a special font of type to be cast, and undertook to read the proofs. I have understood that the result was satisfactory. Besides being a dictionary and grammar, this book is replete with ethnograjihic matter of entire reliability, which furnishes the key to all that Lewis and Clark tell us of the tribes so long and so singu- larly consociated in these villages. (U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Misc. Pub. No. 7, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1877. 8vo, pp. vi, 239.) The census in the View is 2,500, with 600 warriors. " They claim no particu- lar country, nor do they .issign themselves any limits : their tradition relates that they have always resided at their present villages. In their customs, manners, and dispositions, they are similar to the Mandans and Ahwahhaways, The scarcity of fuel induces them to reside, during the cold season, in large bands, in camps, on different parts of the Missouri, as high up that river as the mouth of the river Yellow Stone, and west of their vilkiges, about the Turtle mountain. . . These people have also suffered considerably by the small- pox ; but have successfully resisted the attacks of the Sioux. The N.W. company intend to form an establishment in the course of next summer, and autumn, on the Missouri, near these people, which, if effected, v. ill most prob- ably prevent their removal to any point which our government may hereafter wish them to reside at." (London ed. I007, p. 21.) According to latest returns, there are 522 Hidatsa Indians on the Fort Berthold Reservation, N. D., where Dr. Matthews studied them in 1871-72, and I visited them in 1874. The Mandans number only 251. I'KAIKIi; MUK, AND A TOUCHING KKLATION. 185 oalcliief Caltahcota; and we ddivcrcd to a young cliiof tliosc intended for the chief of tiie lower villa^^e. The council was concluded by a shot from our swivel ; and after our firinjr the air-gun 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 01- design, and burned witli 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 lialf- uhite breed escaped unhurt in the midst of the Hames ; 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 buffalo, 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. (p. ijj) October 30///. We were this morning visited by two persons from the lower village, one Big White, the chief of the village, the other. the Chayenne called' 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 a rnedal around the neck of the chief. Captain Clark'" took a peri- os^uc and went up the river in search of a good wintering Who perhaps h.id more fore Si'ijht for the pertection of her Son and iss [less] for herself than those who escaped the llame," Clark C 72. This rela- tion has been prolific of Western legends of the Leather-stocking type. In one version it is an old trapper who emerges from under the green hide, and answers a remark to the effect that he must have perished in the flames, with " Xot by a durned sight ! " '"Gass, p. 60, wrongly says Lewis. " I took 8 men in a small perogue and went up the river as fur as the 1st. Island about 7 mibs," Clark C 76. ,ftt 186 DISCOURSE OF THE MANDAN CHIEF. place ; he 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 them- selves, to the great amusement of the Indians. October i\st. 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 Clark walked down to his village ; he was first seated with great ceremony on a robe by the side of the other 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, the women might work in the fields without looking every moment for the enemy, ana 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 chiefi will go with some warriors back to the Ricaras with their chief now here, and smoke with that (/. I2j) nation. When we heard of your coming, all nations around returned from their hunting to see you, in hopes of receiving large pres- ents ; 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 Presi- dent. Two of the steel traps stolen from the Frenchmen were then laid before Captain Clark, and the wom.cn brought about twelve bushels of corn. After the chief DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE, 187 had finished, Captain Clark made an answer to the speech, "flJT'^u'^ '° '^' ^°"^' ^^''^ ^^ f°"nd the chief of the third V. lage and Kagohami (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. ** "^ T/mrsdaj^, November ist. Mr. [Hugh] 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 150 miles from this place. He took a letter" from' "Here is this letter, which I happened to find in searching old magazines and newspaper files for the purpose. The cHginal passed into the poSesionof Roder,c McKenz.e of Assiniboin, who furnished a copy to Jason Samb^Iain cf the Un>vers ty of Vermont. Burlington, who wrote Feb x t h i8xT a S "^ to the ed,tor of the " Portfolio." a magazine published in Phi delph 'in ho years, .nclosmg U for publication. It is printed on pp. 448, 449 of Vol VlT No. 5. of th,s periodical. May, l8iz-certainly not in the xact word ol th^ ong,nal. but no doubt with substantial accuracy. It is very inters in^ as l:^^"^ ''' ''-' -^'^'-^ -' - ^ ^P--n of ^what they !o2 T ^ ^ ^PP^''^^'i»'ian'! Village, Oct. -M i8od To Charles Chaboiller, Esq. of the N \\ Co M^'h ^l M^r'^'r' '' '^'" ^''"'''"' ^''"^S^- '^' ^6'h instant, we met with Mr. Hugh ^^Crachen. who informed us that he was in some measure employed by you m behalf of the North West Company. ,0 traffic with the nativeTo thTs Istriv tU?" /''^'"^"•'° ^°" ^^"^ ^'^''^ us the means of lint ou tot.; t ^ communication ; the contents of which we would thank a to make known as early as possible, to those engaged, and traders imme- .ateiy under >^ur d.rection. as also, if convenient, to the principal repress. r:^di;:^i°^^ -r ^ " ^'^ ^^'^--^^ ^^--'^ -^-^ -o m^y reS. JVe have been commissioned and sent by the government of the United States for the purpose of exploring the river Missouri, and the western parts of the onnnent of North America, with a view to the promotion of genera sdence Mnjestys charge d affaires to the United States, will evidence. ourseL'r T^" -^"''"^ "°'' "'"''y "'■""^'^' ^"^ '^^^^ determined to fortify Ztlr • 7""/'" '"'"'"^ "'"'"• '" '''' neighbourhood of this place Uurmg our resulence l^rc, or future progress on our voyage, we calculate that i88 PROSPECT OF PEACE WITH THE ARIKARAS. Captain[s] Lewis [and Clark] to [Charles Chaboillez of] the Northwest Company, inclosing a copy of the passport granted by [Edward Thornton] 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 ; [they said] 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 Clark proceeded to a point of wood on the north side. November 2d. He [Captain Lewis with Sergeant Gass and some of the men] therefore went up to the village, where 1 1 bushels of corn were presented to him. In the the injunctions contained in the passport before mentioned will, with respect to ourselves, govern the conduct of such of his Britannic Majesty's subjects as may be within communicative reach of us. As individuals, we feel every disposition to cultivate the friendship of all well-disposed persons ; and all that we have at this moment to ask of them, is a mutual exchange of good offices. We shall, at all times, extend our protection as well to British subjects as American citizens, who may visit the Indians of our neighbourhood, provided they are well-dis- posed ; this we are disposed to do, as well from the pleasure we feel in becom- ing serviceable to good men, as from a conviction that it is consonant with the liberal policy of our government, not only to admit within her territory the free egress and regress of all citizens and subjects of foreign powers with which she is in amity, but also to extend to them her protection, while within the limits of her jurisdiction. If, sir, in the course of the winter, you have it in your power to furnish us with any hints in relation to the geography of the country, its productions, either mineral, animal, or vegetable, or any other information which you mi-^ht conceive of utility to mankind, or which might be serviceable to us in the pros- ecution of our voyage, we should feel ourselves extremely obliged by your fur- nishing us with it. We are, with much respect. Your ob't. serv'ts. [Signed] Mkriwetiiek Lkwis, Capt. ist U. S. R[egt.l. Inf. William Clark, Capt. [2d. I,t. U. S. Artillerists.] :IKARAS. BUILDING OF FORT MANDAN BEGUN. 189 meantime Captain Clark went down with the boats three mile., and having found a good position where there (A /_v) was plenty of timber, camped and began to fell trees to bmld our huts. Our Ricara chief set out with one Mandan ch.ef and several Minnetaree and Mandan war- riors. The wind was from the southeast, and the weather being fine a crowd of Indians came down to visit us Mn..nl>cr 3^ We now began the building of our cabins,- a.u the Frenchmen who are to return to St. Louis are bu.ldmg a periogue for the purpose. We sent six men in a penogue to hunt [30 or 40 miles] down the river. We were also fortunate enough to engage in our service a Cana- dian I^renchman [Lepage], who had been with the Chayenne Indians on the Black mountains, and last summer descended thence by the Little Missouri. Mr. Jessaume, our inter- preter, also came down with his squaw and children to live at our camp. In the evening we received a visit from kagoham. or Little Raven, whose wife accompanied him, bnngmg about 60 [pounds'] weight of dried meat, a robe, and a pot of meal. We gave him in return a piece of tobacco to his wife an ax and a few small articles, and both of them spent the night at our camp. Two beavers were caught in traps this morning. Novemder 4?/^" We continued our labors. The timber as fdlolf ^rf T''" P'.''"'"'' '^°'"' '^''' ^"^ ''^^ '^"^"^^^ 'he structure 1! f """■' '" '^° '°''''' ^°"'ai"in& four rooms each , and joined •a ' o? Tf" ^"^ '"'' '"' '''''''' "'"^ ^'-^^^ ^"'^ ^'^y ■' ^^^'^ -ade a heTf !• ^'?'"PP'='' P"--' P^°J^^'^d ^ foot over and the roofs were made tt S'^^r''"^ "" '^'"■""'^^ ''''^'' ^"^ "^^"^-'"^ 'he outer wall about .8 nil lu" P'" "°' '""'"'"'^ ^y 'he huts we intend to picket. In the nsle formed by the two rows of huts we built two rooms, for holding our pro! intiieong. ed. Pittsburg, 1807.) ^Clark C 86 this date, has the first mention I have found of the individual «ho«,ll figure to the end of the narrative as Chaboneau. " A Mr Chaubonie ..erpreter for the Gross Ventre," interlined "Chaboneau " in red inkf;;" lei;! '" "l,'"^."y '-^''-ases as perhaps any other person, place, or tribe in the «l>ole history. He .s usually Chabono or Shabono. Lewis' autograph muster- igo ANTELOPE HUNT— AURORA BOREALIS. 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 passed our camp on their hunting excursions. The day was clear and pleasant, but last night was very cold, and there was a white frost. November i^th. The Indians are all out on their hunting parties, A camp of Mandans caught within two days loo 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 toward this pen, in which they imperceptibly find them- selves 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 {p. 125) guard to see the beautiful phenomenon called the Northern Light. Along the northern sky was a large space occupied by a light of a pale but brilliant white color which, rising from the horizon, extended itself to nearly 20° above it. After glittering for some time its colors would be overcast and almost obscured, but roll, Washington, Jan. 15th, 1807, returns him officially as Touisant [Toussaint] Charbono, with the remark : "A man of no peculiar merit, was usefull as an interpreter only, in which capacity he discharged his duties with good faith from the moment of our departure from the mandans on the 7th of April 1805 until our return to that place in August last and received as a compensation 25 dollars pr. month while in service." He seems to have been good-natured, and r.ieant well, no doubt ; but in the light of the narrative he appears to have been a poor specimen, consisting, chiefly, of a tongue to wag in a mouth to fill ; and had he possessed the comprehensive saintliness of his baptismal name, he would have been a minus function still in comparison with his wife Sacajawea, the wonderful " Bird-woman," who contributed a full man's share to the success of the Expedition, besides taking care of her baby. " We had on board [181 1] a Frenchman named Charbonet, with his wife, an Indian woman of the Snake nation, both of whom had accompanied Lewis and Clark to the Pacific, and were of great service. The woman, a good creature, of a mild and gentle disposition, greatly attached to the whites, whose manners and dress she tries to imitate ; but she had become sickly, and longed to revisit her native country ; her husband also, who had spent many years amongst the Indians, was become weary of a civilized life." Brackenridge's Journal, 1814, p. 202. MR. GRAVELINES-DAKOTAN ERMINE. 191 again it would burst out with renewed beauty; the uni- form color was pale hght, but its shapes were various and tantastic. At times the sky was lined with light-colored streaks rising perpendicularly from the horizon and gradu- ally 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, ^' November 6th, the clouds to the north were darkening • the wind rose high from the northwest at eight o'clock' and continued cold during the day. Mr. [Joseph] Grave- hnes.and four others [Paul Premor.? one Laguness? and two French youths] 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 gov- ernment in the spring. November 7th. The day was temperate, but cloudy and foggy, and we were enabled to go on with our work with much expedition. November Zth. 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 armful 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 '^ This is the Puiorim longUauda, a species of stcit or ermine, common in the Missouri region, in winter of the color said, in summer brown and yellow- ish. I have seen specimens taken near this very locality, and have collected others in North Dakota and Montana. It was new to science in 1S04, and probably not noticed again till 1829, as by Sir John Richardson, whose remark in In. B.-Am., I. p. 47. caused Prince C. L. Bonaparte to name a Musiehi longuauJa. The late Prof. S. F. Baird was the first to certainly recognize the 192 BIG WIIITK, AND HLACK CAT. \Bernicla canadensis] are passing to the south, but their night is too high for us to procure any of them." {p. 126) November \otli. Wc had again a raw day with 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 buffalo, in return for which we gave him some small presents and a few articles for his wife and son. He then crossed the river in a buffalo-skin canoe ; his wife took the beat 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 toward the south. November wth. The weather is cold. We received the visit of two squaws [Sacajawea and another], prisoners from the Rock [Rocky] mountains, purchased by Chaboneau. The Mandans at this time are out hunting the buffalo. November \2tJ1. The last night has been cold, and this morning we had a very hard frost ; the wind is changeable during the day, and some ice appears on the edges of the rivers ; swans arc passing to the south. Big White came down to us, having packed on the back of his squaw about 100 pounds of very fine meat, for which we gave him as well as the squaw some presents, particularly an ax to the woman, with which she was very much pleased. November \%tli. 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 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 of three bands species. See his Mamm. N. A., 1857, p. 169, and my Fur-Bearing Animals, 1877, pp. 137-142. " Clark C qo is a page for Nov. Qth — needless to cite, however, as Bidillehas worked the substance of it into his text of other dates. '^"Che Chank," plainly, Clark C 95, with 1, agree (Legree) noted as a French name of him. He turns up later as Shishankor Shishonk. Clark tagged him neatly by giving him ' ' a gold cord, with a view to know him again," //';'/ lowever, as Biddle has lim again," il'iil ASSINIBOINS AND KNISTENEAUX. 193 of Assinibofns who wander over the plains between the Missouri and Assiniboin [river] during the summer, 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 800 men. We gave him a twist of tobacco to smoke with his people, and a gold cord for himself. The Sioux also asked for whisky, which we refused to give them. It snowed all day and the air was very cold. (/. 127) November i^th. The river rose last night half an inch, and is now filled with floating ice. This morning was cloudy with some snow. About 70 lodges of Assini- boins " and some Knistenaux [or Crees] are at the Mandan village; and this being the day of adoption, and exchange of property between them all, it is accompanied by a danc'i, which prevents our seeing more than two Indians to-day.' These Knistenaux '^ are a band of Chippeways, whose lan- " The Assiniboins are a number of tribes of Indians of Siouan stock, to be carefully distinguished from the Crees or other members of the Algonquian family with which they were associated. They have sometimes been called Stone Sioux, as a translation of the Chippeway name Assinniboan. The Dakotan name is Hohe. The band spoken of in the text were probably of the tribe on the Moust or Souris river, the main southern branch of the Assiniboin since they came with the Knisteneaux. The three bands or tribes of Assini- boins mentioned in the preceding paragraph are noted by Lewis in the Statistical View as : i. Ma-ne-to'-pa, or Gens de Canoe, with 100 lodges, 200 warriors, and 'total of 750 people, living on the Mouse river. (These give name to the province of Manitoba.) 2. O-see-gah or Gens de Tee (mis. print for Feuilles. See text, p. 217, near end of this chapter), 100 lodges, 250 warriors, 850 total, from about the mouth of the Little Missouri over to the Assiniboin. 3. Mah'-to.-pS-nd-to or Gens du Grand Diable, 200 lodges, 450 warriors, 1,600 total, on the .Missouri about White-earth river and over to the Assiniboin. Nacota is given as an alternative name with Assiniboin ; the three bands are said to speak the Sioux language, with some few peculiar words, and to act entirely independently of one another, though they recognize their national aftinity and never war with one another. The greater number of Assiniboins are now in British America. Those ofriCKilly rated as such in the United States are, according to the latest returns 952 at Fort Belknap Reservation, Mont., 719 at Fort Peck Reservation, Mont ' and 2 at Devil's Lake Agency, N. D. ' Few names of Lidians have been used with more latitude or lack of precision 194 WINTER AT HAND— THE MEN HOUSED. guage they speak ; they live on the Assinlboin and Sas- kashawan '" rivers, and are about 240 men. We sent a rnan [Drevvyer] 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 French- men who had been below returned with 20 beaver which they had caught in traps. November \^th. The morning again cloudy, and the ice running thicker than yesterday; the wind variable. The man came back with the information that our hunters were about 30 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 peri- ogue, and a tow-rope. The ceremony of yesterday seemed to continue still, for we were not visited by a single Indian. The swan are still passing to the south. November \6th. We had a very hard white frost this morning ; the trees are all covered with ice ; the weather is 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 diffi- culty is now apprehended. An Indian came down with four buffalo-robes and some corn, which he offered for a pistol, but was refused, than Knisteneaux or " Cree," and " Chippeway." The latter is the same word as Ojibwa, and is spelled in many other ways. The Crees proper are British American Indians, supposed to now number about 17,000. It is impossible to say exactly what band of Indians is mentioned in the text, further than that they were "Crees." But they were probably not the " Chippeways " or " Ojibaways" of Lewis' Statistical View, London ed. 1807, p. 28, nor yet the Algonquins ("Chippeways "), ibid. p. 31 ; but the Indians there given, p. 33, as " Christenoes or Knistenaus," with " Crees," as the French nickname. These are said there to speak the language of the " Chippeways, with a different accent. and many words peculiar to themselves." They are described as a wandering nation, though located on the Assiniboin and thence toward the Saskashawan, which agrees with the text above. They are credited with 150 lodges, 300 warriors, and a total population of 1,000. " Twenty or more spellings of this could easily be adduced. Clark C 97 has Assaskasshawan. One of our commonest renderings is Saskatchewan. INTERTRIBAL RELATIONS. 195 November 17th. Last night was very cold, and the ice m the nver to-dn, ,s thicker than hitherto. We are totally occup.ed with o^r huts, but received visits from several Indians. {p. 128) November 18M. To-day we had a cold, windy morning. 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 afifairs. It seems that not long ago a party of Sioux fell in with some horses belong- ins to the Minnetarees, and carried them ofT ; 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 smaler differences also 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 de ceivcd 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 thcRicaras; by their vicinity to the British they get all the supplies, which they withhold or give at pleasure to the rf noter Indians. The consequence is that, however badly treated, the Mandans and Ricaras are very slow to retaliate, lest they should lose their trade altogeth' Novc7nber igtk. The ice continues to float ^'n the river t^ie wind is high from the northwest, and the weather cold! Uur hunters arrived from their excursion below, bringing a very fine supply of 32 deer, 11 elk, and 5 bufTalo.^" all of which was hung in a smokehouse. "• Mistake : " 32 Deer. 12 Elk & a Buffalow," Clark C roo. I90 FORT iNJANDAN COMPLETED. ^mm i* November 20th. Wc this day moved into our huts, which are now comple^'^d. This place, which we call hurt Mandan, is situated in \ point of low ground, on the north side of the Missouri, covered with tall and heavy cotton- wood. The {p. I2g) works consist of two rows of huts or sheds, forming an angle where they join each other ; (.acli row containing four rooms, of 14 feet square and 7 feet liigh, with plank ceiling, and the roof slanting so as to form a loft above the rooms, the highest part of which is 18 feet from the ground; the backs of the huts form a wall of that height, and opposite the angle the place of the wall is supplied by picketing ; in the area are two rooms for stores and provisions. The latitude by observation is 47*^ 21' 47", and the computed distance from the mouth of the Missouri is 1,600 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 assur- ances that we would protect them from all their ene.nies. 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 [see note, p. 183]. and the Minnetarees [see note, p. 183]. The history of the Man- dans, as we received It from our interpreters and from the chiefs themselves, and a'^ it is attested by existing monu- ments, illustrates more t..an tiiat of any otlier nation the unsteady movements and the tottering fortunes of the n HISTORY OF THE MANDANS. 197 American Indians. Within the recollection of living wit- nesses, the Mandans were settled 40 years ago in nine vil- lages, the ruins of which we passed about 80 miles (/. /jo) below, seven on the west and two on the east side of "the Missouri. These two, finding themselves wasting away before the smallpox and the Sioux, united into one village, and moved up the river opposite 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 posi- tion. The two who had emigra^ ,-d together 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 [rm^ David Thompson, Dec. 29th, 1797-Jan. loth, 1798J; since which the two villages have united, into one. They are now two villages, one on the southeast of the Missouri, the other on the opposite side, at the distance of three miles across. The first, in an open plain, contains about 40 or 50 lodges, built in the same way as those of the Ricaras; the second, the same number; and both may raise [/'. i\, can muster] about 350 men. On the same side of the river, and at a distance of four miles from the lower Mandan village, is another called Ma- hah.i [see note on p. 183]. It is situated on 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 30 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 asylum near the Minne- tarees. They are called by the French Soulier Noir or I M' i 19S MINNKTAkliE AND CROW INDIANS. |Hlack) Shoe Indians;" by the Mandans, VVattasoons ;" and their whole force is about 50 men. (/. ij/) On the soutli side of the same Knife river, half a mile above the Mahaha | village] and in the same open plain with it, is a village of Minnetarees surnamed Metaharta, who are about 150 men in number. On the opposite side of Knife river, ami one and a half miles above this village, is a second of Minnetarees, who may be considered as the proper Minnetaree nation. It is situated in a beautiful K)w plain, and contains 450 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 tlicy were very numerous, and fixed themselves in one village on the southern side of the Missouri. A quarrel about a buffalo divided the nation, of which two bands went into the plains and were known by the name of Crow "and '^' The French name is given as " Gensde Soulier" in the Statistical View. Seetiote ■", p. 183. •'■'"Ill the Arickaree language, the Ilidatsa are called Witetsaan," Mat- thews, p. 36. In the Clark Codex this word wavers in spelling, as usual. Its translation is disputed. The Crow name of the Ilidatsa is Aniasi, which means the dirt lodges in which they lived. The Sioux name for them is Hewaktokto, of questionable meaning. ■^■'Tlie Crows are one of the principal tribes of the Siouan family, related nearest to the Minnetarees or Ilidatsans (Grosventres). Their English name is rendered from the French Gens des Corbeaux. According to the latest returns there were 2,287 of them on the Crow Reservation in Northern Montana. In his Statistical View Lewis calls the Crows Kee'-kiit-sa. Their primitive name is now variously rendered Absaroke, Aubsaroke, Absaruque, etc. Lewis made their total 3,500, with 900 warriors and 350 lodges, and located them on the Yellowstone, about the mouth of the Bighorn. He makes their language Minnetaree. " These people," he continues, " are divided into four bands, called by themselves Ahah'-ar-ro'-pir-no-pah, Noo'-ta-, I'a-rees-car, and E-hart'-sar. They annually visit the Mandans, Minnetarees, and Ahwahhaways, to whom they barter horses, mules, leather lodges, and many articles of Indian apparel, for which they receive in return guns, ammunition, axes, kettles, awls, and other European manufactures. When they return to their country they are in turn visited by the Paunch and Snake Indians, to whom they barter most of the articles they have obtained from the nations on the Missouri, for horses MINNETAREE AND FALL INDIANS. 199 he Statistical View. Paunch" Indians, and the rest moved to their present establishment. The Minnctarees proper assert, on the con- trary, that they grew where they now h've and will never emijjrate from tlie spot, the Great Spirit having dechired that if they moved they woul.l all die. They also say that the Minnetarecs Metaharta— that is, Minnetarces of the Willows, whose language with very little variation is their own, came many years ago from the plains and settled near them. Perhaps the two traditions may ho reconciled by the natural presumption that these Minnetarecs were the tribes known to the Mandans below, and that they ascended the river for the purpose of rejoining the Minne- tarecs proper. These Minnetarecs are part of the great nation called Fall" Indians, who occupy the intermediate and mules, of which those nations [«. i:, Paunch and .Snaice] have a greater abundance than themselves. They also obtain of the Snake Indians, bridle- bits and blankets, and some other articles which those Indians purchase from the .Spaniards. The bridie-bits and blankets I have seen in the possession of the Mandans and Minnetarecs." (London ed. 1807, p. 25.) "Lewis in his Statistical View treats these "Paunch" Indians entirely apart from the Grosventres. He gives their native name as Al-la-ka'-we-ah, with French nickname "Gens de P.inse," and locites them along the Yellow- stone on both sides, near the Rocky mountains and heads of the Bighorn river, with a population of 2,300, including 800 warriors .ind 300 lodges. He says they act on the defensive against the Sioux and Ricaras, and have the same alliances as the Wetepahatoes, excepting their wars with the Ricara;:. "They are said to be a peaceable, well disposed nation. Their country is a variegated one, consisting of mountains, valleys, pKains, and wood-lands, irregularly interspersed. They might be induced to visit the Missouri, at the mouth of the Yellow Stone river ; and from the great abundance of valuable furred animals which their country, as well as that of the Crow Indians produces, their trade must become extremely valuable. They are a roving people, and have no idea of exclusive riK'ht to the soil." (London ed. 1807, p. 15.) '^'This is a vague term, due or at least traceable to the trader Edward Umfre- ville, who was on the Saskatchewan in 1784-87, and who mentions these Indians as living about the falls of the south branch of that river. He says (p. 10") that the French " call them Grosventres or l!ig-Bellies ; and without any reason, as they are as comely and as well made as any tribe whatever, and are very far from being remarkable for their corpulency." On which Matthews, from whom I borrow this quote, remarks (p. 33). "The tribe to which he refers is doubtless that which is now known as the Atsinas or Grosventres of the Prairie. The similarity of the Canadian misnomers led Captain Lewis in 200 MINNKTAREES, AUNAHAWAYS, AND MANDANS. country between the Missouri and the Saskaskawan, and who are known by the name of Minnctarees of the Mis- souri, and Minnctarees of Fort de Prairie— that is, residing near or rather frequenting the establishment in the prairie on the Saskaskawan [Saskatchewan]. These Minnctarees indeed told us that they had relations on the Saskaskawan, whom they had never known till they met them in war, (/>. ij2) and having engaged in the night were astonished at discovering that they were fighting with men who spoke their own language. The French name of Grosvcntres, or Bigbellies, is given to these Minnctarees, as well as to all the Fall Indians. The inhabitants of these five villages, all of which arc within the distance of six miles, live in harmony with one another. The Ahnahaways understand in part the laii- duafre of the Minnctarees. The dialect of the Mandans dif- fers 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 22d. The morning was fine, and the day warm. We purchased from the Mandans" a quantity of i804, to speak of the Minnetarees on the Missouri ' as part of the great nation called Fall Indians.' Comparing our ilidatsa words with their synonymcs in Umfreville's Fall Vocabulary, or Dr. Ilayden's later Atsina Vocabulary, we can discover no affinity between the Fall and Hidatsa tongues." It is necessary for the reader to bear always in tnind, that when L. and C. speak of Minnctarees "of the Prairie "and "of the Missouri," they actually designate two entirely different tribes of Indians, the former being Atsinas or the "Fall" Indians, and the latter being the Ilidatsas, with whom they are now wintering. Their loose use of " drosventres" is exactly paralle'. For example, see beyond. Jan. ;st, 1805, and note there. These "Fall" Indians are separately treated by Lewis in the Statistical View He adopts t lis name there, and gives the native name A-liins.'ir as synonymous. He estimates their total number at 'J, 500, with 660 warriors and 260 lodges, and locates them "on the head of the south fork of the Saskshawan \sic\ river, and some streams supposed to be branches of the Missouri " (perhaps of Milk river : see what is said of the Minnctarees, note ^ p. 183). "'* " Dispatched a perogue and 5 men under the Derection of Sergeant I'ryor lNDANS. A DOMESTIC DIFFJCULTY. 20I corn of a mixed color, which they dug up i„ ears from oesmade near the front of their lodges, in which it " buried during the winter. This morning the sentinel informed us that an Indian was about to kill h.s wife near the fort. We went down to the house of our interpreter, where we found the parties an after forb.ddn.g any violence, inquired into the cause .s .ntend.ng to commit such an atrocity. It appeared tha some days ago a quarrel had taken place between him -K I..S wife, in consequence of which she had taken refuge m the house where the two .squaws of our interpreter lived ^y nmmng away she forfeited her life, which might have con lawfully taken by the husband. About two day. ago she had retur: ,ed to the village, but the same evening came back o he fort much beaten, and stabbed in three places and the husband now came for the purpose of completing Ins revenge. He observed that he had lent her to one of our sergeants 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 ot much apparent love. if. fjj) November zyi. Again we had a fair and warm da)-, with the wind from the southeast. The river is now at a stand, having risen four inches in the whole November 24th. The wind continued from the same to the 2d Village for 100 bushels of Corn in ears which Mr. Jessomme let us have-did not get more than 90 bushels," Clark C 102 putv^!*-.!"' '''^'' "°* °" ''^"■*''''"' '^'■^^^>'' " ^''^ ^"^^^^'^ "'-^ "° n^^n of this !. n . ""^ "'"' °"" °^ °"'' •'^'^^J'^'''"'^ ^'-^Pf ^^'ith his wife & if he ell "" ' ""' '" '° '^'■"' ' '''"'''' ^"^ ^-'^-"t Odway to giv a i e i W A u) T T^l ""P' ''' °"' ^' ''^'^ ^'^^" '^"^ "^« °f her for ri r^l7T,\ • .u «'"- time the grand chief of the nation armed 6: lecturd him and they both went off dis[satisf,ed]," Clark C 103 202 VISITS EXCHANGED — INCIVILITY OF HORNED WEASEL. 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 2%th. The weather is still fine, warm, and pleasant, and the river falls one inch and a half. Cap. tain Lewis went on an excursion to the village, accom- panied 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 soff'e presents, with which he was much pleased. We now completed our huts, and fortunately too ; for the next day, November 26tk, 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. November 2'jtJi. The weather was cloudy, the wind con- tinued from the northwest, and the river was crowded with floating ice. Captain Lewis returned with two chiefs ; Mahnotah, an Ahnahaway, and Minnessurraree, a Minne- taree ; 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 cir- cumstance of our interpreters having both removed there with their families. These reports we did not fail to dis- prove to their entire satisfaction, and we amused them by every attention, particularly by the dancing of the men, which diverted them highly. All the Indians whom Cap- tain 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 {p.']^ Horned Weasel, who''" made use of the civilized indecorum of refusing to be seen, as when Captain Lewis called he was •* " Who did not chuse to be seen by the Capt. and left word that he was not at home &c." Clark C 107. RNED WEASEL. A WARNING AND AN INJUNCTION. 203 3rd that he was not told the chief was not at home. In the course of the day- seven of the Northwest Company's traders arrived from theAssiniboin river; and one of their interpreters having undertaken to circulate among the Indians unfavorable reports, it became necessary to warn them of the conse- quences if they did not desist from such proceedings.'" The river fell two inches to-day, and the weather became very cold. November 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 Brit- ish 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. November 2gth. The wind is again from the northwest, the weather cold, and the snow which fell yesterday and last night is 13 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 prin cipal 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 upon "Clark C 108 names this interpreter Lafrance ; and " the principal Mr. Le Rock, & Mr. Mc.Kinsey [Laroche and M'Kenzie of the following text] was informed of the Conduct of their interpeter and the Consiquincies if they did not put a Stop to unfavourable and ill founded assursions." ■■" Variant in text and codices. Clark C 109 has Poss-cop-so-he, as the name of the Mandan Black Cat. 204 STIRRING NEWS — A COUNCIL OF WAR. any subject but that of his traffic with them. An unfortu- nate accident occurred to Sergeant Pryor, who in taking down the boat's {p. ijj) mast dislocated his shoulder, nor was it till after four trials that we replaced it. November loth. About eight o'clock an Indian came to the opposite bank of the river, calling out that he had something important to communicate. 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 Clark therefore instantly crossed the river with 23 men strongly armed, and circling the town approached it i'iom behind. His unexpected appearance surprised and alarmed the chiefs, who came out to meet him and con- ducted 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 " "4 of the Wetersoon nation was missing," etc., Clark C in. '* " We thought it well to shew a a Desposition to ade and assist them against their enimies, perticularly those who came in oppersition to our Councils ; and I deturmined to go to the town with Some men, and if the Suoux were comeing to attack the nation to collect the worriers from each village and meet them, those Ideas were also those of Capt. Lewis," Clark C 112. And those war- riors would have been " worriers," with a William Clark to lead them. OHEENAW'S VIEW OF THE SITUATION. 205 parties, and some have been killed by the Sioux and Ricaras. But I knew that the Ricaras were liars, and I told the 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 buffalo, 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 [Lewis and Clark] {p. ij6) desired it, yet we did not be- lieve that they would be faithful 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 16 days have been absent 24, 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 varriors and follow you." Captain Clark replied that we were always willing and able to defend them ; that he was sorry that the snow pre- vented 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 sup- 206 CAPTAIN CLARK'S COUNSEL— THE PIPE OF PEACE. plied with military stores and sometimes led 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 Knistc- naux, and that while they were thus dependent, both the Ricaras and Mandans ought to keep on terms with their powerful neighbors, whom they may afterward set at defiance, when we shall supply them with arms and take them under our protection. (/• ^37) After two hours' conversation Captain Clark 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 wo;lJ 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 vose to its former height. Saturday, December \st, 1 804. 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 Sharha or Chay- enne 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 connection with the suf- ferer 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 [^.J Henderson, ARIKARAS AND SIOUX MUST KEEP THE PEACE. lOJ who came from the Hudson's Bay Company to trade with the Mmnetarecs. He liad been about eight days on his route m a direction nearly south, and brought with him tobacco, beads, and other merchandise to trade for furs and a few guns which are to be exchanged for horses December 2d. 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 (A ijS) the lower village brought down four of the Sharhas. We explained to them our intentions and advised them to remain at peace with each other ; we also gave them a fla- some tobacco, and a speech for their nation. These we^c 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. December id. 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 [pemmican], 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. December 4th. The wind continued from the northwest tlie weather cloudy and raw, and the river rose one inch.' Oscapsahe'* and two young chiefs passed 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 " " A letter to Messrs. Tabbo & Gravoline. at the Ricares Village, to inter- seed in proventing; Hostilities," Clark C 121. ^Sic-mnMy Poscopsahe in text ; codex here has only "Black Cat" • see note 3», Nov. 28th, p. 203. I , ..-,«.,.« ^ . , '" , "'^ tHermo,iietcr at sunrise was x-" bolo,v zero. The Indians had invited us yesterdav to i^In ti,o,r c ase to-day, but the seven .en'w t^'^Ve e^ returned ■„ consequence of the cold, which was so severe las. n,gh hat we were obliged to l,ave tl,e sentinel re ^c^" I every half hour. The Northwest traders,- however le t us or, tlicr return home. "'vevcr, lelt us Dccembcj 19//,. The weather moderated and the river rose a httle, so that we were enabled to cont hue tTe p,cke.,ng of the fort. Notwithstanding the ext erne cold :: :t'^: 'r";"^ " "■= ^"'■'^^ -.-age;.-,™: : ar at a ga,ne wh.ch resembled billia,ds ,n„re than any. I.1..B we had seen, and which we inclined to suspect may ave been acqu,red by ancient intercourse v^i.h th'e Pre" h of Canada From the fi,st to the second chiefs lodge a d,s.a,,cc of about fifty yards, was covced with timber moothed and ,o,ned so as to be as level as the rtoor o^one our houses, w.th a battery at the end to stop the rings These rings were of elay.slone and flat like the checker^ or draughts, and the sticks were about four feet long t th tuo short p.eces at one end in the form of a mace so 6xed tte the whole will slide along the board. Two me fi' themselves at one end, each provided with a stick, aTd one ■/«" was suspended by the war of iSr, ,L r. V ^ ''"^'"^ ^i-ved. (Irving-s Ltoril ^i/:')"' ^"' ''''' '''' '''' ''^ ---''- -- ■' InulT "'"'^ u"'^ ^' ^^'"^''" ^'-'"■'^ C 133. which continues at this date • ^eSn;r::::raho^sfof';;r;°^ the^^.nda„sto.nowthe cau's^othis fo.mtl„.Lhro'rer si" .0 on '°r' "' '^ '^"^ interpeter. which we ^vho told this Ch ef thTrh\ fr" ' ''''^" ^'■°™ ">^ ^- ^V. company u'u tnis t,tiiet that Chabonat owd. him a horse." 214 THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. of them with a ring ; they then run along the board, and about halfway slide the sticks after the ring. December 20tk. The wind was from the NAV., tlie weather moderate, the thermometer 24" above zero at sun- rise. We availed ourselves of this change to picket the fort near the river. December 2\st. The day was fine and warm, the wind N.W. by W. The Indian who had been prevented a feu- days ago from killing his wife came with both his wives to the fort, and was very desirous of reconciling our interpreter, a jeal- (/>. /^^) ousy against whom, on account of his wife's taking refuge in his house, had been the cause of his ani- mosity. 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 \\ of course very cheerfully. December 22c/. A number of squaws and men dressed like squaws brought corn to trade for small articles 'vith tlie men. Among other things we procured two horns of the animal called by the French [belier des Montacjnes Rocheuses, or] the Rock [y] mountain sheep \Ovis inoniivia], and known to the Mandans by the name of ahsahta.'" The animal itself is about the size of a small elk or lartrc deer; the horns winding like those of a ram, which they resemble also in texture, though larger and thicker. December 2id. 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 Kagohami or Little Raven, brought his wife and son loaded with corn, and she then entertained us with a favorite Mandan dish, a mixture of pumpkins,"" beans, corn, and choke-cherries with the stones, '" " Ar-sar-ta," Clark C 135 ; elsewhere as in the text. See note '■'', p. 150. ^''" A kittle of boiled Simnins, beens," etc., Clark C 136, using the name common in the Southern States for summer squashes, and so working a Tin with the S that it is impossible to say which initial letter was meant to stnncl. This is a word the proper spelling of which lexicographers dispute almost ai the board, and CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. 215 all boiled tonfether in t boffu jr. t,cLucr in a kettle, and forming a comnosition by no means unpalatable. composition AW... 24//.. The day continued warm and pleasant and the number of visitors became troublesome Ts a presen to three of the chiefs, we divided a f^lleT of sheep! s.n, which we brought for sponging, into three p eceseac^. two inches m width ; they were delighted ^t the 7ut WH.C they deemed of equal value with a : h r 'we .,s day^completed our fort, and the next mornin^bel^g . M .1 T J Pldtoons from the party. We had told the Indians not to visit us -m ii- wn. >^ ^^^ ^^ad ,. . , "-^ ^'^"- "S, as It was one of our preaf- „,e.i,c,,,e days; so that the men remained at hc^^e and .™»»ed hemselves in various ,vays, particularly i.h da" ms, ra wh.cl, they take great pleasure. The American fla. «- l.o.sted (^. .,^) ,0, n,e first time in the ft" he best rov,s,o„s we had were brought out, and this, with a little br™,ty, enabled them to pass the day in great festivity" ^T , '''• ^'"= "<="">" '» "g'-'i" temperate but ..» W,ans have come to see us. One of the Northwe ncie.s, who came down to request the aid of our Minne t .ee n,terpreters, informed us that a party of Minnetar es had gone m pursuit of (he Assiniboins who lately :: "'•-" K>,ses had just returned. As is their custom thev ™.e back in small detachmer.ts, the last of wh c b"; 'ht ".c cght horses which they had captured or stolen from ■m Assinibom camp on Mouse river Ihea.rwas colder than yesterday, with a high northwest «»i"B . '..ion of ,„„ i tl» l.,„„|,.,r „,„„, ,„ „,„|^,„j ^^„jj,^ ,,^^, ^.^^^^^^^ _^^^^^^^^ It .' miS, li' iiii 2l6 THE SIOUX TRIBES REVIEWED. 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 astonish. ment at the bellows, which they considered as 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 Minovvakanton, 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 300. Above them, on the St. Peter's river, (/. 1^6) is the Wahpatone, a smaller band of nearly 200 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 100 men ; while the sources of the St. Peter's are occupied by the Sisatoones, a band consisting of about 200 warriors. These bands rarely, if ever, approach the Missouri, which is occupied by their kinsmen, the Yanktons and the Tetons. « What follows is but a slight sketch, which may be passed without comment, and might have been omitted without loss, as it adds scarcely anything to what has been already said : see p. 99 sf^., p. 128 se^., and notes there. The frag- ment indicates, perhaps, a more extended notice which the explorers had intended to give, before they discovered that they had already exhausted their information. But we have a few additional words concerning the Assiniboins. The Yankton; SIOUX AND ASSINIBOINS. of two 217 rather of the North, a wandering race of about 500 men wl>o roam over the plains at the heads of the Jacques tie S.oux.and the Red rive ; and those of theiouth who possess the country between the Jacques and Sioux rivrs and the Desmome. But the bands of Sioux most known on the M,ssouri are the Tetons. The first who are met on Terns':? tt r"°"^I.'^ ,''' ^''^ ^^"^^ ^^ '^^ ^^^^ ^h^ letonsof the Bo.se Brule or Burntwood, who reside on both s:des of the Missouri, about White a^d Tetn rivers and number 200 warriors. Above them on the Missouri are the Teton Okandandas, a band of Z50 men l^i^^ the Chayenne nver. between which and the Wetarhoo riveT .s a th.rd band, called Teton Minnakenozzo. of neady 250 men; below the Warreconne is the fourth Ind last tribe of Tetons of about 300 men, called Teton Saone. North- ward of these, between the Assiniboin and the Missouri Z ^"tfi ^^^-•^-•-^' -- on Mouse river, o a"' oomen called Assmiboin Menatopa, the other, reside : , , both sides of White river, called by the French Gcn^des Feu.lles, amounting to 250 men. Beyond these . v ,d of Ass.n.boms, of 450 men, called [by the French Gens des Gran s D.ables, or] the Big Devils, wander on the head of M.Ik, Porcup.ne, and Martha's rivers; while still further in "T..""' r'" '"' '^'"^^ "^ '^' '^^' "-tion, one ,00 and the other of 200, roving on the Saskaskawan. 1 lose (A /.;;) Ass.niboins are recognized, by a similarity f omTT ' ,^^ ''■'^'''°"' '' ^^^^-ndants or seceders f.om the S.oux ; though often at war they are still acknowl- edged as relat.ons. The Sioux themselves, though scat- ered, meet annually on the Jacques those of the Missouri trad.ng with those of the Mississippi CHAPTER VI. WITH THE MANDANS: CONTINUED. Intense cold— Ne\i Year's Day celebrated— Abduction and recovery of an Indian girl— Indian Buffalo-dance— Us lewd features, described in Latin— Indian medicine dance— Mercury 4ij° below zero— Indian endurance of cold— Hunting parties out— Return of Chaboneau frost- bitten-Unfriendly attitude of Hudson'j Bay Company's a),'ent— Visits of Minnetaree and Alandan chiefs— Advised to keep the peace— Visit of Laroche and iMcKcnzie— Weather records and various occupations— The Mandans short of provisions— Curious obstetrics- Return of horses loaded with meat— Indian treatmentof horses— Account of Captain Clark's hunting-trip— Hostile treatment of a hunting-party by supposed Sioux— Captain Lewis sets out to punish them- Death of an aged Mane' —Consultation of the famous Medicine-slone —Return of Captain Lewis unsuccessful from pursuit of the Indians— Getting the lioats out of the ice— New boats to be built— Root for cure of bites of mad dogs and rattlesnakes —Arrival of Mr. Gravelines and others with letters, and various information about the Indians— Prairies burned by Minnetarees, ar.d why— Visit of Le Borgne, grand chief of the Minnetarees— Summary Indian justice— Caprice of Indians in murdering or sparing unfaithful wives— Secret process of manufacturing Mandan beads— Chaboneau's case- Completion of the boats. •^ECEMBER 28th. The wind continued high last night, ^^ the frost severe, and the snow drifting in great quan- tities through the plains. December 2gth. There was a frost last night nearly one- quarter of an inch in depth, which continued to fall till the sun had gained some height; the mercury at sunrise stood at 9° below zero ; there were a number of Indians at the fort in the course of the day, December TfOtk. The weather was cold, and the ther- mometer 20° below zero. We killed one deer,and yesterday one of the men shot a wolf. The Indians brought corn, beans, and squashes, which tliey readily gave for gettini^ their axes and kettles mended. In their general conduct du.-ing these visits they are honest, but will occasionally pilfer some smr.ll article. December 315/. During the night there was a high wind which covered the ice with hillocks of mixed .sand and snow. The day was however fine, and the Indians came in ■ NEW YEARS DAY CELEBRATED. 219 h last nifilit purpose of having their utensils ins came in great numbers for the repaired. ., t:tofr "r i:; t^, i': --^ ^r -- -'--a The weather was cloudv bu/^ V ' ""'"^ °^ small-arms. =. sunrise was a s"t '',?; """"""^ ' '"'^ "-cury, which abovezero; toward e^L^ it h°""\°' "" '^^ "^^ '° 34° ties of corn. We were desho^. f ^f'^'^'-'''^'' ^"^ q^^n- to the village becluse t ^ , '^""''^^'S this attention ti>at we had L^rn 4t\'l^^^^^^^^^^^ ^" '"T--^- the- had in rnnc.. ^ ^^ ^^^^"^' ^"^^ because uit,^ nau in consequence rirmlafo^i ;., -j between us and t„2 nortl radt ' t,XL°T"™" tli^T declared to Cantiin n'rC , ' ''"'''«"• course of the r„ ' ''■''° """='' 'h™ '■" ">e airwa abo,r :::!;;",: t ■'" ^'"'^ ^^ <==•?*"■■" r«>u,,edfro,namssion?o e 0^' T °' """ ^""'^ uubsiontothe Grosventres or wandering" h.n,ls. ,„ad downward, ,ha, he 1„ i, g„ |"„ ,'" "" '^""""°''" "'"«'' »" "- "m it is also wdl to remarl, «,„,.? , " '"''' '" '"'"'>'•" «»• i«..^.dt,„„..,::rt':,*re"T,i:.::a'L\'"^ '•vere sedentary on the Mksonn , -^'""etarees or Grosventres " who '-ndC. will later repeat X '"^^^^^^^ ' '"'""' '"'""^ "'^"'^ "y -me equivalen e p' ' t ,' ^^'"-,;-'-- «f ^o^ cie prairie." or call '- "ere 1 may cite M^uh ws p t^ "• t' """ r^^'" ^°^ '^^^^'---^ = '^PP'-' to a tribe, totally di.H:ct'f^„:'f;.se H mT"' [t^rosventres] was also ^^■I'ich lives so,ne hundrr.l u '•'= « ["■datsans] m language and origin, are now distingui hed Vom - '. T " 'f ^'"'"'' ' ^"^ ^''"^ '-'^ -^'°- Grosventresof t" Prarie 'in r f ^%?^°--^'-- ^^ '--^^ Missouri and '^^ywere.ereiyU::rdiv; •::::;:::;^.^^ ^'^^-^^^^ '° -^p°-'- mf} 220 ABDUCTION AND RECOVERY OF A GIRL. ii|i| '»il:SH'B''"* Minnetarees. These people were camped about ten miles above, and while there one of the Ahnahaways had stolen a Minnetaree girl. The whole nation immediately espoused the quarrel, and 150 of their warriors were marching down to revenge the insult on the Ahnahaways. The chief of that nation took the girl from the ravisher, and givin^^- her to the Mandans requested their intercession. The messengers went out to meet the warriors, delivered the young damsel into the hands of her countrymen, smoked the pipe of peace with them, and were fortunate enough to avert their indignation and induce them to return. In the evening some of the men came to the fort and the rest slept in the village. Pocapsahe also visited us and brought some meat on his wife's back. January 2d. It snowed last night. During this day the same scene of gayety was renewed at the second village, and all the men returned in the evening.' January yi. Last night it became very cold, and this morning we had some snow. Our hunters were sent out for buffalo, but the game had been frightened from the river by the Indians, so that they obtained only one. They how- ever {fi. ijo) killed a hare and a wolf. Among the Indians who visited us was a Minnetaree who came to seek his wife. She had been much abused and came here for protection, but returned with him, as we had no authority to separate those whom even the Mandan rites had united. January Ath. The morning was cloudy and warm, the mercury being 28° above zero ; but toward evening the wind changed to northwest, and the weather became cold. We sent some hunters down the river, but they killed only one buffalo and a wolf. We received the visit of Kago- hami, who is very friendly, and to whom we gave a handker- chief and two files. ' " This day I discovered how the Indians keep their horses duringf 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 on cot- ton wood branches : and in this way are kept in tolerable c.ise," Gass, p. 6S. 3F A GIRL. SATURNALIA BISONTINA. January ;,/,.• We l.ad l.igl, a„j boisterous wind, last "'«'■' "'". ' '"^ ™°™'-'>B- The Indians continue trpurcl ase which has put them tII inf^ ^ • mice nignts, put uiem all into commotion, and the descriotinn which we rece ved from those nf H,« . a^scription u 11 um uiose ot the party who v s terl f-h^ the benefif of tt'"T;' "' ''"''""'°" ""^'--'''y -'-led for I l\,l " "" '"""• •■'■"' practiced at their suceestion U'lien bulla o become scarry tl„„ . i suggestion. Ts irL'r t -'' z' -''- anf :r The.ti : ross-legged on skins, round a fire in the middle of the un a platter of provisions, a pipe of tobacco, and their wives whose dress on this occasion is only a robe or mant' e oosely thrown round the body. On tl.eir arL^each youth selects the old man whom he means to distingui h by his favor, and spreads before him the provisions afer which he presents the pipe and smokes with him Mox senex vir simulacruiii parvs puells ostensit. Tunc bens, senih ardore veneris complexit. Hoc est signum plexus vui solo recubante. Maritus appropinquans senex n-atio,! :Tlr7:Z ^r'"' \'°"""'°" °^ ''' ^""^^^ ^^^ ^"^^^ '"^or- fromTnHi;n ? T ' /' ' "'^'""^ ^ "^^P °" ^^'^ich should be represented ^ :r;::^;;:^ t^:^r^;p^- --^--d ^-^ ^^^ ow„ob^rv^:;: the President Apr 7th So. , • " "'' '""^ "'''*P ^"^'''^'^ ^^^^ ^^"* '« message of F;b loth 806 '" T" "" ''' '' ■^'''""" ^° ^™^^^^^ '" '''^ m,n„ h r ? ' ^°^' ''"'^^'''^P'"^«="'«i in the archives of the War Deoart ..nt but neverpublished till Nov. 4th. 1887. when a much reduced cpCppead r:: eteV?r^^ trom the full-sized photographic facsimile, now first published. 222 MANDAN MEDICINE-DANCE. vi'r dejecto vultu, et honorem et dignitatem ejus conservare amplexu uxoris ilium oravit. Forsitan imprimis ille refellit ; dehinc, maritus multis precibus, multis lacrymis, et multis donis vehementer intercessit. Tunc senex amator perculsus misericordia, tot precibus, tot lacrymis, et tot donis, conju- gali amplexu submisit. Multum ille jactatus est, sed debilis et effcEtus senectute, frustra jactatus est. Maritus interdum, stans juxta, gaudet multum honore, et ejus dignitate sic conservata. Unus nostrum sodalium, multum alacrior et potentior juventute, hac nocte honorem quatuor maritorum custodivit. [Anglic^, Clericus C 144, 145.] January 6th. A clear, cold morning with high wind. We caught in a trap a large gray wolf, and last night obtained in the same way a fox which had for some time infested the neighborhood of the fort. Only a few Indians visited us to-day. January "jth. The weather was again clear and cold, with a high northwest wind, and the thermometer at sunrise 22° below zero ; the river fell an inch. Shahaka, the Big White chief, dined with us, and gave a connected sketch of the country as far as the mountains.' January %th. The wind was still from the northwest, the day cold, and we received few Indians at the fort. Besides the buffalo-dance we have just described there is another called the medicine-dance, an entertainment given by any person desirous of doing honor to hi., medicine or genius. He announces that on such a day he will sacrifi'-e his horses or other property, and invites the young females of the village to assist in rendering homage to his medicine; all the inhabitants may join in the solemnity, which is per- formed in the open plain and by daylight, but the dance is reserved for the virgins, or at least the unmarried females, who disdain the incumbrance or the ornament of dress. ^" As far as the high [Rocky] mountains on the south side of the River Rejone [Roche jaune, Yellowstone] ... I continue to Draw a connected plott from the information of Traders, Indians & my own observations and ideas," Clark C 146. INDIAN ENDURANCE OF COLD. 223 TI.e feast (A rj,) is opened by Jevoting the gcods of the master of the feast to his medicine, which is represented by a head of the ammal itself, or oy a n. dicine-bag if the dcty be an ,nv.s,ble being. The young women then begin the dance, m the intervals of which each will prostrate her. sel before he assembly to ch. llenge or reward the boldness the youth, who are often tempted by feeling, or the hope of distmction, to achieve the .idventure January g^^ The weathe • is cold, the thermometer at sunr.se 21° below zero. Kagohami breakfasted with us and Captain Clark with three or four men accompanied him' and a party of Indians tc hunt, in which they were so for- tunate as to kill a number of ou.ialo. But they were incom- moded by snow, by high and squally winds, and by extre.ne cold. Several of the Indians came to the fort nearly frozen ; others are missing, and we are uneasy for one of our men, who was separated from the rest during the chase and has not returned. /anuarj. lotk. This morning, however, he came back, just as we were sending ^ut five men in search of him. The n.ght had been excessively cold ; this morning at sunrise the mercury stood at 40° below zero, or 72° below the freezing- pont He had, however, made a fire and kept himself tolerably warm. A young Indian, about 13 years of a^e also came in soon after. His father, who came last night to inquire after him very anxiously, had sent him in the afternoon to the fort ; he was overtaken by the night, and was obliged CO sleep on the snow with no covering except a pair of antelope-skin moccasins and leggings, and a buffalo- robe. His feet being frozen, we put them into cold water and gave him every attention in our power. About the same time an Indian who had also been missing returned to the ort. Although his dress was very thin, and he had slept on the snow without a fire, he had not suffered the slightest inconvenience. We have indeed observed that these nd.ans support the rigors of the season in a way which we had hitherto thought (/. ijj) impossible. A more pleasing I /J lit 224 MANDAN HUNTING CUSTOMS. reflection orcurred at seeing the warm interest which ihe situation of thcso two persons had excited in i.j villa^^e. The boy had been a prisoner and adopted from charity, yet the distress of the father proved that he felt for him tlic tenderest affection. The man was a person of uu distinc- tion, yet the whole village was full of anxiety for his safety, and when they came to us, borrowed a sleij^h to bring them home with ease, if they survived, or to carry their bodies, if they had perislied. January wth. We dispatched three hunters to join the same number whom we had sent below about seven miU.'s to hunt elk. Like that of yesterday, the weather to-day was cold and clear, the thermomel r standing at 38^ below zero. Poscopsahe and Shotahawrora visited u , and passed the night at the fort. January \2th. The weather continues very cold, the mercury at sunrise being 20° below zero. Three of the hunters returned, having killed three elk. January \ith. We have a continuation of clear weather and the cold has increased, the mercury having sunk to 34° below zero. Nearly one-half of the Mandan nation passed down the river to hunt for several days. In these excursions, men, women, and children, with their dogs, all leave the village together, and after discovering a spot convenient for the game, fix their tents ; all the family bear their part in the labor, and the game is equally divided among the families of the tribe. When a single hunter returns from the chase with more than is necessary for his own immediate consumption, the neighbors are entitled by custom to a share of it ; they do not. however, ask for it, but send a squaw, who, \\ thout sav- ing anything, sits down by the door of the lodge till the master understands the hint and gives her gratuitously a part for her family. Chaboneau, who with one man had gone to some lodges of Minnetarees near Turtle mountain [on the Little Mo. R.], returned with their faces much frost-bitten. They had (/>. 154) been about 90 miles distant, and procured from the inhabitants some meat and grease, with which they loaded UNFRIENDLY' REPOHTS. AND THEIR REFUTATION. 225 I''- ' ■ He informs us that the agents of the I ludson's -upany at tliat place had been endeavoring to make u. .v.,rable nnpressionsu.W regard to us on the mind of he ,reat chief, and that the Northu-est Company intended buumg a fort there 1> ... ,Uief had in coLequence spoken sl.ghtmgly of ,,. ricaus, but said that if we would gue h.m our great flag he would come and see us Aru.arj. 14//,. The Mandans continued to pass down the nvcr on their 1 .ting-party, and were joined by six of our ,ncn [Sergeant i'ryor and five privates]. One of those sent on Thursday returned with information that one of his companions fWhitehouse] had his feet so badly frost-bitten that he could not walk home. In their excursion they had led a buffalo, a wolf, Uv^ .^cupincs, and a white hare." I he weather was more moderate to-day. the mercury being at 16 below zero, and the wind from the S.l We had however, some snow, after which it remain d cloudy /anmrj^iSf/L The morning is much warmer than yester- day, and the snow begins to melt, tl, ,ugh the wind, after bemg for some time from the S.K., suddenly shifted to the N.U. Between 12 and 3 .>'clock a. m. there was a total cchpsc of the moon, from which we obtained a part of the observation ' necessary for ascertaining the longitude \Ve were visited by four of- the most distinguished men of the Mmnetarees, to whom we showed marked attentions as we knew that they had been tarryht to entertain strong preju- d.ces against us ; these we succedeed so wdl in removing, that when in the morning, /anuarj' x6th, about 50' Mandans, among whom six were ch.efs came to see us, the Minnetarees reproached them ^uth then- falsehoods, declaring that they were bad men and ou^dit to hide themselves. They had told the Minnetarees that we would kill them if they came to the fort ; yet on ^-.ifftheTr- "' "''"' 'V'" '''''"'' ^""""^ "''''<= '" ^^•'"'-' 1"^^ ^- "--■■ <-a)ius, the American varying hare. 'Total obscuration at 12" 57m 54s. end of do., i'' 44- end of ecliose 2'' 39'" las', Clarke 152. eclipse. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 4 // (./ i< %' ^\^^ Q. i/.A A 1.0 ^«^ I.I 11.25 45 30 ]|2 2.5 2.2 m iL 11.6 6" rnoiograpnic Sciences Corporation ^■^" ^^.^ ^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (7I6)87i2-4S03 <^ (/. ^ z. ..ich the ice became .ht e't "hicl"' '"J™'"' ""^- obliged to desist. ''''' "° ""at we were ?:::reX::^i;ttr/-r """-^^^^^^^^ *u • ,-^'^"^- -^"^ thermometer was at oco K^i the wmd from the N.W and th^ / f • ^ ^^^""^ ^^''°' were employed in prenarinf. . J ^^''' '° '^^^ ^'^^ "^^n of the ice. A bLd of A T'"'^ ^ '""'"^ '^' ^""''^ °"^ called by the Frtch " Fi s^'l^TeHt' v'^^'^./'^'"^ ^^^"^^^ or] Son of the Little Calf, have ardv d It'h"; i^' ^ ^^^^ /--. 36M. A fine warm da/^nul^f ^Indians and'.:::: r i^ir;, r^r: '^^. ^^^^ --^ - ^^.n^iy a buflfaloe head, sayin. 'eat that " Thct"un .""^ '''" ""^'^"'^'^ ^ b°^'^"J ^o they believe by using the head^ellThr^ ^""kT' "''^"'"^ '^ ^ ^'■"t that will get a supply of meat." Gass p 70 ""^ '"^''°*^ ""' •^'"^"^^ «"^ ^'^^t they ^™:^sr:;^^::^s^^ - ^.h ..;usso.e. took place between the two inturpetts on 1 ' f '' " ^ "'^understanding squars of Shabowner being icrroZH °^ '"''■•■ ^^"^^^' °- ^^ the -a and tee at dift. tin^s 1^^:^^ ^I^ZJlSZ^T^ -^ P'"-I"flplp>»p 228 ATTEMPTS TO FREE THE BOATS FROM THE ICE. dine with U.S, and one of our men is attacked with a violent pleurisy. January lyih. Another warm and pleasant day We agam attempted to get the boat out of the ice. The man who has the pleurisy was blooded and sweated, and we were forced to take off the toes of the young Indian who was frost-bitten some time since. Our interpreter [" Shabonoe " I returned from the villages, bringing with him three of Mr Laroche's horses, which he had sent in order to keep them out of the way of the Assiniboins. who are very much dis- posed to steal, and who have just returned to their camp (A 157) January 28///. The weather to-day is clear and cold. We were obliged to abandon the plan of cutting the boat through the ice, and therefore made another attempt the next day, ^ January 2gth, by heating a quantity of stones so as to warm the water in the boat and thaw the surroundin- ice But m this too we were disappointed, as all the stones, on being put into the fire, cracked into pieces. The weather IS warm and pleasant; the man with the pleurisy is recov- ering January loth. The morning was fair, but after.vard became cloudy. Mr. Laroche, the trader from the North- west Company, paid us a visit, in hopes of being able to accompany us on our journey westward ; but this proposal we thought it best to decline. January list. It snowed last night and the mornin- is cold and disagreeable, with a high wind from the no'rMi- west. We sent five hunters down the river. Another man [Drev/yer] is taken with the pleurisy. Friday, February ist. A cold, windy day. Our hunters returned, having killed only one deer. One of the Min- netaree war-chiefs, a young man named Maubuksheaho- keah or Seeing Snake, came to sec us and procure a war- hatchet. He also requested that we would suffer him fo go to war against the Sioux and Ricaras, who had killed a Mandan some time ago; this we refused, for reasons which CAPTAIN CLARK GOES ON A HUNT. 22^ we explained to him u^. i right, and P-^ised t^^p^u .^laT o o'^' '"^ T ^^^^ February 2d. The day is fine Wl T"""^'' Mr. Laroche, who ha. h Another deer was killed. left the fort^ota^'and o^r/Ve'^^^"^ '"^ F ''''' "^' taree interpreter is taken HI '^"'''' °^ '^' ^^""^- po^S^!n^?;^urlffL;:rt^ ^Lr^: f ^^^"^- ^^-p- ourselves in making iron pik so a.^ "' "' "'^"^'^^ means of long poles ^° P""" ^^^"^ "P ^7 in Novefnbefand Decunot b"' "'"' "^ '^' ^^^^'-^ it became necessarVto " n "^ "°'' "'"''^^^ exhausted, therefore took 8 ^' ""T ^^^ '"P^^^" ^^P^^'" ^^^^ horses descended the H;eff:7th'"^^ '''''' ^"' ^^^^^^ as the buffalo have disIpoL ed ^"'P''' °^ ^^""^^"- and the Indians thetelveTt 3 "' ^''^^^^-^-d, meat. Two deer were k-'led rh Q. mT^ ^^^ ^^'""' °^ ^vcre very lean '^^^ ^'^^'^^^^ ^^-d^^' ^ut they --B.cksmith,whj^;::-j:----^ ;; Sixteen of the somLTTuII F e 13 uSl C^.'r' °" °^ ''^ '^^• Gass was on this trip, which he thus sum" Hzet J 7^ •■',,. A « . C Ptam Clark and 18 men went down the river to h,L w '* '^"' '^''^■ miles and could see no jrame tth w , ' ^^^ Proceeded on 20 and there we killedThrTe deer The 7tT''' °" '" ^""^ ^"'''■- «-P^ camps and killed some deer On the, th ' "' "'"' "" '° "^°- I"^-" side of the Missouri and next dav turned ' T T"'' '" ' '°""" °" '^^ -"'^ cieer and remained there a U nSht n ^I 1""' ''" '''''' '° ^''^ ^^ ^» same from the wolves Thiol .r. ''"'• ^' '""' ^ P^" '« '^'^^^^ our f-t- down and en;alp ■ Vh"' """"" '"" = ^"' '" ''' ^'-'"^ -nt towards the fort ; and kSed some elk^'^H T""'"" "' "' °"' °" ^^ -'"- arrived at the for and fbund It "f ' °" °"' "^y- ^^ '"^^ "'h. we "- in our absence' mairadJ^Ho.:: lH^ ^^^'"^ ^^'^^ t^^--^ 230 PECULIAR MANDAN BATTLE-AXES. become one of our greatest resources for procuring grain. They seem particularly attached to a battl^ax, of a very inconvenient figure. It is made wholly of iron, the blade extremely thin and from seven to nine inches long ; it is sharp at the point and five or six inches on each side, whence the edges converge toward the eye, which is circular and about an inch in diameter, the blade itself being not more than an inch wide ; the handle is straight, and 12 or 15 inches long; the whole weighs about a pound. By way of ornament, the blade is perforated with several circular holes. The length of the blade, compared with the shortness of the handle, renders it a weapon of very little strength, particularly as it is always used on horseback. There 's still, however, another form which is even worse, the same sort of handle being fixed to a blade resembling an espontoon." February 6th. The morning was fair and pleasant, the wind N.W. A number of Indian chiefs visited us, but withdrew after we had smoked with them, contrary to their custom ; for, after being once introduced into our apart- ment, they are fond of lounging about during the remainder of the day. One of the men killed three antelopes. Our blacksmith has his time completely occupied, so great is the demand for utensils of different kinds. The Indians are particularly fond of sheet-iron, out of which they form points for arrows and instruments for scraping hides ; and when {p. i^gi) the blacksmith cut up an o)«" ambouse '^ of " Espontoon or esponlon is a rare and practically obsolete form of spontoon, a word itself now little used. The implement meant is the half-pike, a sort of halberd formerly used by certain officers of the British army. Lewis C 165 gives a neat figure of the Mandan implement, which is fortunate, as the text is not clear. The blade is 12 or 15 inches long, set at right angles in a handle of the same length ; the shape of the blade, viewed flat, is a narrow lozenge (like the diamond at cards), sharp at the point, the other end eyed to receive the handle ; it is pierced with four holes set in the same diamond figure, and the slant of the two sides of the diamond next to the eyed end results in part from nicking off from each edge a strip of the metal and curling this strip bacl:\vard. ''■' " Sheet iron callaboos," interlined " camboose, stove," Lewis C 166. Cam- boose and cambouse are rare forms of caboose, and this from the Dutch name of fixed to a blade THE BLACK CAT'S GOOD CHARACTER. ,3, metal, we obtained, for every oierp of f„ • u seven or eighf eallons of Z ? , "' '""''" ='3'"a''e, delighted a' thfe" cha-t " """' "' '"'"■^"^' "'■'' ""<= zero, and the wtnTfrt t JTr' A '"t '' "° ^""^^ continue to visit us ■ Tut iL , """'''" °' '"'"^'"^ ^,-.3 had been^c":.ttli"Z^,.^l'^iJ-X'tr night, we ordered a locic out on ,-, , , ^ "'' si.ouId remain in the fort a , „"!; n ' "° ''"''"" admitted during the hour^wt'en" t g^I irLTed" that IS, from sunset to sunrise closed— that /r^n.^r;, 8//.. A fair, pleasant morning, with S E winds Pocopsahe came down to the fort wifh t k ^ gized for not having finished a sil^l^c ^aC^Ts "d %e„ce a^d .'ntegrit^tX^rdroTr ~ '".'^ civilize the nation. He mentioned that the Mandans arp very much ,n want of meat, and that he himserhad not tasted any for several days. To this distress they are of"en tu^on ''^ °™ i-P^vidence, or by thei^^ Th p^ tuation. Thar principal article of food is bulTalo-meat T: i°ZT' "' °"-" ^"'" '""^ '""^'^^ '- — .' amck f om T Z" "^"T ''■'"' ""y "'■■^'^""y dread, an attack from the Sioux, who drive off the mm, /„j c ti.cm to their villages. The same feir ToTreTe ,ts™, e'lj ™t! r tL tt b";r" """^^ '° ^^"^^^ "^'^ °"-■^" a ship's galley, or cock's room aboard a vessel • but it U nn^ , , . ^ ioose, which latter wnrH Jc j . ' ^ "°^ related to ca/a- sheet .Ln coLi^; ovethith'Z b '^ '^'""^ ^ """" ^^'^^ ^"^P'>' ^ <^'^ " " I cr... . • ^^" ^"'"^ ""' '" ascending the Missouri 232 BIRTH OF SACAJAWEA'S INFANT. February <^th.'' The morning was fair and pleasant, the wind from the S.E. Mr. M'Kenzie, from the Northwest Company's establishment, visited us. Sunday, February \oth. A slight snow fell in the course of the night, the morning was cloudy, and the northwest wind blew so (/>. j6o) high that although the thermometer was 1 8'' above zero, the day was cooler than yesterday, when it was only lo'' above the same point. Mr. M'Kenzie left us, and Chaboneau returned with the information that our horses loaded with meat were below, but could not cross the ice, not being shod. February nth. We sent down a party with sleds, to relieve the horses from their loads ; the weather fair and cold, with a N.W. wind. About five o'clock one of the wives of Chaboneau was deUvered of a boy ; " this being her first child she was suffering considerably, xv^hen Mr. Jessaume told Captain Lewis that he had frequently administered to persons in her situation a small dose of the rattle of the rattlesnake, which had never failed to hasten the delivery. Having some of the rattle, Captain Lewis gave it to P,Ir. Jessaume, who crumbled two of the rings of it between his fingers, and mix- ing it with a small quantity of water gave it to her. What effect it may really have had it might be difficult to deter- mine, but Captain Lewis was informed that she had not taken it more than ten minutes before the delivery took place. February \2th. The morning is fair though cold, the mercury being 14^ below zero, the wind from the S.E. About four o'clock the horses were brought in much fatigued ; on giving them meal bran moistened w^th water they would " " This evening a man by the name of [Thomas P. ] Howard whom I had (^iven permission to go [to] the Mandane village returned after the gate was shut and reather than call to the guard to have it opened scaled the works . . . Howard I had comitted to the care of the guard with a determineation to have iiim tryed by a Courtmartial for this offence. This man is an old soldier which still hightens this offince," Lewis C 16S. '=* " A fine boy," Lewis C 170 says of Sacajawea's baby. This little volunteer recruit joined the Expedition, and was brought back safe from the Pacific coast by one of the best of mothers. MANDAN PONIES-TME HUNTERS RETURN. 233 winter. The Imr", , fl, v '-''\''""^'''"' '°'"' """"8 ""> tliL-Siouv R,V-,rn tl»-- Mundaps arc so often stolen by «t ."p the hor ""^^'"'''O'"'' 'hat the invariable rule the fami;' I \V t:;:7 """'!: ""-' "'"•^ '""^c with vicinity o^ the camp a,™ f'.'' T""'"-' °" ""^ P'"'"^ '" ""-■ w^thfr the ,na jr r„ rhetttr.'^'trr- .ht^ at night and placed tar IJ^SlZT """'' severely treated ; for whole days thev are „ ""J buffalo, or burdened with the fru ,s oT T T"""? ""^ which f« /rf/^ th„„ , "'° '^'■asc, during «mcn (/. /6/) they scarcely ever taste food, and at nirtt return to a scanty allowance of wood ; yet Jhe soi " „ tins valuable animal sustains him through altheldif^ eter at ? h., , """'"'"^ '"' '^'°"''>'' "'= thermom- eter at 2 below zero, the wind from the southeast Can am Clark returned last evening with all his hunti/g party Dunng he.r excursion they had killed 40 deer ? buffalo and ,6 elk; but most of thegame was too lean for u e a„d the wolves, who regard whatever lies out ar„igh he,r own, had appropriated a large part of it. Wltn . lef the fort on the 4« instant, he descended on the ice . m,les to New Mandan island, near some of the old viiiages, and camped, having killed nothing, and beh g therefore without food for the night ^ Early on the 5//., the hunters went out and killed two b .tfalo and a deer, but the last only eould be used the others being too lean. After breakfast they pro erfed down ,„ an Indian lodge, and hunted during the day The next mornmg, the m. they camped 44 miles from the fort on a sand-pomt near the mouth of a creek on the south- m tne text, and then resumes the regular order of the code:;. ■ppp'wwnmvip 234 DIARY OF THE HUNT — ATTACKED BY SIOUX. west side, which they call Hunting creek, and during this and the following day hunted ti rough all the adjoining' plains with much success, having killed a number of deer and elk. On the Sth, the best of the meat was sent by the horses to the fort ; such parts of the remainder as were fit for use were brought to a point of the river three miles below, and after the bones were taken out, were secured in pens built of logs, so as to keep off the wolves, ravens, and magpies, which are very numerous, and constantly disap. point the hunter of his prey; they then went to the low grounds near the Chisshetaw [HeartJ river, where they camped, but saw nothing except some wolves on the hills, and a number of buffalo too poor to be worth hunting. The next morning, the 9///, as there was no game and it would have been inconvenient to send back Co miles to the fort, they returned up the river; {p. 162) for three days they hunted along the banks and plains, and reached the fort in the evening of the \2th, much fatigued, having walked 30 miles that day on the ice, and through the snow in many places knee-deep, their moccasins too being nearly worn out. The only game which they saw, besides what is mentioned, was some grouse on the sand-bars in the river. February i^th. Last night the snow fell three inches deep; the day was, however, fine. Four men were dispatched with sleds and three horses to bring up the meat which Iiacl been collected by the hunters. They returned, however, with the intelligence that about 21 miles below the fort a party of upward of lOO men, whom they supposed to be Sioux, rushed on taem, cut the traces of the sleds, and carried off two of the horses, the third being given up by intercession of an Indian " who seemed to possess some authority over them ; they also took away two of the men's " " Probably more thro' fear of himself or some of the Indians beinjj killed by our men who were not disposed to be Robed of all they had tamely," Clark C 178. This party was led by George Drewyer, the best hunter and shot of all the men. But four men had no show whatever against " 105 " Indians, and were lucky to get off alive. Y SIOUX. CAPTAIN LEWIS GOES IN PURSUIT OF THE SIOUX. 235 knives and a tomahawk, which last, however, they returned. V\c sent up to the Man.hxns to inform them of it, and to know whether any of them would join a party which .ntended o pursue the robbers in the morning. About twelve o clock two of their chiefs came down and said that all the young ,ncn were out hunting, and that there were feu- guns m the village. Several Indians, however, armed. some with bows and arrows, some with spears and battle- axes, and two with fusils." accompanied Captain Lewis, who set out, February xyh, at sunrise, with 24 men. The morning was fine and cool, the thermometer being at 16° belovv zero. In the course of the day one of the M*andan chiefs returned from Captain Lewis' party, his eyesight having become so bad that he could not proceed. At this season of the year the reflection from the ice and snow IS so intense as to .occasion almost total blindness. This complamt is very common ; the general remedy is to sweat the part affected by holding the face over a hot stone and rcccivmg the fumes from snow thrown on it. A large red fox \Vulpcs mncriirus\ was killed to-day. {p. 163) February i6th. The morning'vvas warm, the mer- cury at 32<' above zero, the weather cloudy. Several of the Indians who went with Captain Lewis returned, as did also one of our men [Howard], whose feet had been frost-bitten february xjt/i. The weather continued as yesterday though in the afternoon it became fair. Shotawhorora and his son came to sec us. with about 30 pounds of dried buffalo meat and some tallow. February 1 8///. The morning was cloudy with some snow, but in the latter part of the day it cleared up. Mr. M'Ken- zic, who had spent yesterday at the fort, now left us. Our stock of meat is exhausted, so that wc must confine ourselves to vegetable diet, at least till the return of the party. For this, however, we are at no loss, since both on this and the following day, ""' Fuzees," Clark C 179 ; old-fashioned flint-lock muskets. •I' lf-:i PI ■ "■ ,. iwmni^MMB^pa M 236 DEATH OF AN AGED MANDAN— MEDICINE-STONES. February \()tfi, our blacksmith got large quantities of corn from the Indians, who came in groat numbers to see us. Tlic weather was fair and warm, the wind from the south. February 2Ct/t. The day was delightfully fine ; the mer- cury being at sunrise 2", and in the course of the day 22°, above- zero, the wind southerly. Kagohami came down to see us early. His village is afflicted by the death of one of their eldest men, who from his account to us mu.st have seen 120 winters. Just as he was dying, he requested his grandchil- dren to dress him in his best robe when he was dead, and then carry him on a hill and seat hiai on a stone, with his face down the river toward their old villages, that he might go straight to his brother, who had passed before him to the ancient village underground. We have seen a number A Mandans who have lived to a great age ; chiefly, however, the men, whose robust exercises fortify the body, while the labori- ous occupations of the women shorten their existence. February 2ist. We had a continuation of the same pleas- ant weather. Oheenaw and Shahaka came down to see us, and mentioned that several of their countrymen had (/». 16^) gone to consult their medicine-stone as to the prospects for the following year. This medicine-stone is the great oracle of the Mandans, and whatever it announces is believed with implicit confidence. Every spring, and on some occasions during the summer, a deputation visits the .sacred spot, where there is a thick porous stone 20 feet in circumference, with a smooth surface. Having reached the place, the cere- mony of smoking to it is performed by the deputies, who alternately take a whiff themselves and then present the pipe to the stone ; after this they retire to an adjoining wood for the night, during which it may be safely presumed that all the embassy do not sleep ; and in the morning they read the destinies of the nation in the white marks on the stone, which those who made them are at no loss to decipher. The Minnetarees have a stone of a similar kind, which has the same influence over the nation." "Onthe subject of the Meraahopa, or Minnetaree holystone, see Say in CINE-STONES. Rc quantities of holy-stone, see Say in UNSUCCE3SFU- -URSUIT OF TItE SIOUX. 33; Captain I,c,vis returned from his excursion in pursuit of .0 Indians, On reaclun,- the pbce wi.erc tl,e LJhal stolen our Lorses they (ound only „„e sled, and several pa'r. moccasuH wh.ch were recognised to be those of the Sioux The par y hen followed the Indian tracks till they re^cl.ed «. o d bdges .here they slept, and the next morning pur- sued the course of the river till they reached some Indbn camps^ vW,ere Captam Clark passed the night some time ago andwh,ch the b.oux had now set on fire, leaving a little corn near the p ace m order to induce a belief that they were R,caras. hrom th.s point the Sioux tracks left the river abruptly and crossed into the plains; but perceiving that l,e,e was no chanceof overtaking them. Captain Lewif wen d,nn o he pen where Captain Clark had left some meat wlKch e found untouched by the Indians. He th™ hun d ...the low grounds on the river, ti.l he returned with about 3,000 pounds of meat, some drawn on a sled by 15 of the men, and the rest on horseback; having killed 36 deer, ,4 elk, and one wolf. ^ ^•» '4 (A 165) Fel^ruary 22d. The morning was cloudy and a .ttle snow fell, but m the afternoon- the weathe. became fair. We we^e visited by a number of Indians, among whom was Shotawhorora. a chief of much consideration among the Mandans, although by birth a Ricara February 23d. The day is warm and pleasant. Having worked industriously yesterday and all this morning, we were enabled to disengage one of the periogues and haul t on shore and also nearly to cut out the second. The father of the boy whose foot had been so badly frozen, and whom we had now cured, came to-day and carried him home in a sleigh. Fehruary 24M. The weather is again fine. We sue ceeded in loosening the second periogue and barge,* Se7,'' ^T'l- '^'^' ^°"^°" "^■' PP- =52. 253. .. ere L. and C are cited See also Matthews, p. 50. where he renders Hidatsan Mihopash. and Main seconHT"" '*'" ^'''"?'' °^ ^'■''' P"'" ^^ '°"^<="^d her, and turned the second perogue up on the ice. ready to draw out. on lousening the boat from 238 RELEASr OF THE BOATS— RATTLESNAKE-ROOTS. though we found a leak in the latter. The whole of Hic next day, February 25///, we were occupied in drawing up the boats on the bank. The smallest one we carried there with no difficulty, but the barge was too heavy for our elk- skin ropes, which constantly broke. We were visited by Orupsehara or Black Moccasin, and several other chiefs, who brought us presents of meat on the backs of their squaws, and one of the Minnetarees requested and obtained permission for himself and his two wives to remain all night in the foi., The day was exceedingly pleasant. February 26th. The weather is again fine. By great labor during the day we got all the boats on the bank by sunset— an operation which attracted a great number of Indians to the fort. February 2'jth. The weather continues fine. All of us were employed in preparing tools to build l^ats for our voyage, as we find that small periogues will be much more convenient than the barge in ascending the Missouri. February 2%th. The day is clear and pleasant. Sixteen men were sent out to examine the country for tree? suitable for boats, and were successful in finding them. Two of the Northwest Company's traders arrived with letters. They had (/>. 166) likewise a root" which is used for the cure of persons bitten by mad dogs, snakes, and othc venomous animals. It is found on high grounds and the sides of hills ; the mode of using it is to scarify the wound and apply to it an inch or more of the chewed or pounded root, which is to be renewed twice a day : the patient must not, however chew or swallow any of the root, as an inward application might be rather injurious than beneficial. the ire some of the corking [calking] drew out which caused her to Leake for a few minits untill we Descovered the Leake & stoped it," Clark C 185. " ' Uoot anil top of a plant, presented by Mr. Haney, for the Cure of Mail Dogs. Snakes .Vc," Clark C 187. But what was the specific for these afflicted creatures? The relation is universal tradition in the west; I have heardit around the camp-fire from the British to the Mexican boundary ; and everybody knows the plant, except the botanists. On primitive Faracelsian principles it should be the rattle-box, or rattle-wort, a species of Crotalariii, whose ripe NEWS TO MANDAN BY MAIL. 239 Jjed^frZ^'T "p''^ '"° Frenchmen and two Indians, A 1 ?^ ^'"''^ ""''°"' ^'th letters from Mr Anthony Tabeau This last gentleman informs us that fhe Ricaras express their determination to follow our advi e to tTr'are T" "^''/'^ """'^^"^ '''' Minnetarees. whom ley are desirous of visiting; they also wish to know whetner these nat.ons would permit the Ricaras to settil n.es the S oux. On mentioning this to the Mandans they greed to it observing that they always desired to cultivate h^.endsh.p with the Ricaras, and that the Ahnahaways and Mmnetarees have the same friendly views Mr. Gravelines states that the band of Tetons whom we iiad seen was well-d.sposed toward us, owing to the influ ence of their chief, Black Buffalo ; but that th'e three upper bands of Tetons, with the Sisatoons and the Yanktons of the North, mean soon to attack the Indians in this quarter w.th a resolution to put to death every white man they' encounter. Moreover, that Mr. Cameron of St Peter's has armed the Sioux against the Chippeways, who have lately put to death three of his men. The men who had stolen our horses we found to be all Sioux, who after com.. seeds rattle in hollow pods, and should therefore be good for rattlesnake-bites • or one o the grape-ferns. Bo^o'c^nu„. ruji,nanu.n, whose fruit resembles somewha the rattles o those reptiles. There are certain orchids, as Go^j.-l ^^/-■;s called rattlesnake-plantain. The fleabane. baneberry. or black cohosh Qma/u^. racemosa, ,s a rattlesnake-herb. Some rattlesnake-masters are eupatonaceous composite plants of the genus Liatris, as Z. scariosa, L sonar- r.'sa, and others, called button-snakeroot. Other composites, related to chicory and lettuce, are rattlesnake-roots, as Prnu,n^/,es serpentaria in hieh popular repute for snake-bites, and cancers too. Vet another rattlesnlke-weJd of the order C.;«/.«/^ ^^ Hieracium vencosran, oi reputed medicinal virtues. In the West, however, ,f you should require your old scout or trapper to pro- duce you a genuine "rattlesnake-master," it would probably prove to be a egummous pknt of the genus Astragalus, or a related genus, and he would be likely to call it by the Spanish name golondrina. There is no natural reason why the vegetable kingdom should not afford an antidote to certain animal poisons, nor any reason why only one plant should possess such properties ■ and doubt that the belief would have become so universal without some basis of 240 BOAT-BUILDING AND OTHER OCCUPATIONS. mitting the outrage went to the Ricara village, where they said that they had hesitated about killing our men who were with the horses, but that in future they would put to death any of us they could, as we were "bad medicines" and deserved to be killed. The Ricaras were displeased at their conduct, and (/. i6y) refused to give them any- thing to eat, which is deemed the greatest act of hostility, short of actual violence. Friday, March 1st, 1805. The day is fine and the whole party is engaged, some in making ropes and periogues, others in burning coal and making battle-axes to sell for corn." March 2d. Mr. Laroche," one of the Northwest Com- pany's traders, has just arrived with merchandise from the British establishments on the Assiniboin. The day is fine, and the river begins to break up in some places, the mercury being between 28° and 36° above zero, and the wind from the N.E. We were visited by several Indians. March '^d. The weather pleasant, the wind from the E., with clouds ; in the afternoon the clouds disappeared and the wind came from the N.W. The men are all employed in preparing the boats ; we are visited by Poscapsahe and '•" The main occupation of the month of March seems to have been malting canoes to resume the voyage. Gass says, p. 73, that the party of i6 who went on Feb. 28th, about six miles up the river, camped out there till six canoes were made. " On the 20th. and 21st. we carried them to the river about a mile and a 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 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 woul ' 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." »»"Mr. La Rocque, a Clerk of the NW Company," Clark C iSq, who informed them that the Northwest and " X. Y." companies had lately joined, and that Mr. M'Tavish, of Montreal, the head of the former company, was dead. " X. Y." was the cipher name of a certain rival company. SPRING STILL LAPPED IN WINTER. 241 A flock of ducks passed several other Indians with corn, up the river to-day. March 4th A cloudy morning with N.W. wind the lat er part of the day clear. We had again some Ind an ThoTfr datr-^" ^^".^"^ °^ -^^- The rsLboins who a few days smce visited the Mandans returned anH attempted to take horses from the Minne a;ees X fi^^^ on them; a circumstance which may occasion sime ds turbance between the two nations March sth About four o'clock in the morning there pleasant, with the mercury 40° above zero. We sent down an Indian and a Frenchman to the Ricara villL.T .^ letter to Mr. Tabeau [Tabbou. Clark Ci"i '"'""' "^^' ^ March 6th The day was cloudy, and ;moky in con- sequence of the burning of the plains by the Minne tar;es hey have set al the neighboring country on fire in ord ; to obtain an early crop of grass which may answer for the the buTJr H .r'^ '°""' ^"' ^'^° ^^ ^" inducement for he buffalo and other game to visit it. The horses stolen T^rtTM^" / '^" Assiniboins have been returned to the {p.i6S) M.nnetarees. Ohhaw," second chief of the lower Mmnetaree village, came to see us. The river rose a l.ttle^^and overran the ice, so as to render the crossing March 7th. The day was somewhat cloudy and colder than usual ; the wind from the southeast. Shotawhorora visited us with a sick child, to whom=' some medicine was '^ " Oh-harh or the Little fox," Clark C iqi • where ChrU .AA. ,v . r^ ^...nnon cut his foot " with the ads." ' ^^^ '''"' ^^'''^'' '' " To whome I gave some of rushes pills," Clark C igi. Dr Rush's nills- werc ,n vogue m those days ; they were a favorite remedy with CapHin CI k tered Stott s p.lls. The codex of th.s date uses a word which needs exnlann .on. Among pre^.-nts enumerated as received by - .Shabounar " a'l^hn . from Mr. Chaboil.ez. of the Northwest Company, re 3 bTc of Clo h " a P-oniuroy^^n, .vests. .Brace Z cLh, : .r:::^^:;;:. with 3bars. etc. W hat does ' brace " mean here ? It is apparently not " a pair," as 242 HENRY VIII., WITH ONE EYE. administered. There were also other Indians who brought corn and dried buffalo meat, in exchange for blacksmith's work. March Zth. The day cold and fair, with a high easterly wind. We were visited by two Indians who gave us an account of the country and people near the Rocky moun- tains"" where they had been. March gth. The morning cloudy and cool, the wind from the north. The grand chief of the Minnetarees, who is called by the French Le Borgne," from his having but we have " a par of overalls," and the sense of "pair" does not suit in the cases of the other articles. It was probably a trade-word, of whose meaning, however, I am ignorant. '" Here first so called— before " Rock mountain." "Visited by the Greesey- head and a Ricara today, those men gave some account of the Indians near the rockey mountains," Clark C igi. " Brackenridge's Journal is cited for this portrait of Le Borgne : "On the fourth of July we had something like a celebration of this glorious anniversary. The two principal chiefs happened to be with us : the Oneey'd and the Blackshoe. The former is a giant in stature, and if his one eye had been placed in tlie middle of his forehead, he might have passed for a Cyclops. His huge limbs and gigantic frame, his bushy hair shading his coarse visage and savage features, with his one eye flashing fire, constituted him a fearful demon. He sways, with unlimited control, all these villages, and is feared by all the neighbouring nations. I remarked that on one or two occasions he treated She-he-ke [Big White] with great contempt. Lisa having referred to something said by that chief, ' What,' said the monster, ' what ! Does that bag of lies pretend to have any authority here ? ' He is sometimes a cruel and abominable tyrant. A story was related to me of his cruelty, which has in it something of a more refined tragic nature than we usually meet with amongst these people. Having fallen in love (for even Polyphemus felt the influence of the god who spares neither giants nor common men) with the wife of a younj; warrior, he went to his lodge during his absence, and carried her ofl' by force. The warrior on his return repaired to the One-ey'd demon and demanded his wife ; but instead of receiving redress, was put to death, while the wretched object of the dispute was retained in the embraces of her ravisher. The mother of the young warrior, whose only child he was, became frantic, lost her senses from excess of grief, and now does nothing but go about reviling him [Le Borgne], and loading him with her curses ; yet such is the superstitious veneration (by the by it deserves a belter name on this occasion) for unhappy objects of this kind [insane persons] that this chief, great as he is, dare not lay his hand on her, even should she haunt him like one of the Eumenides." That sounds like Brackenridge. I took it long ago from the Analectic Magazine, IS who brought 3r blacksmith's RECEPTION OF THE PURBLIND POTENTATE. 243 one eye, came down for the first time to the fort. He was received with much attention, two guns being fired in honor of his arrival ; the curiosities were exhibited to him and as he said that he had not received the presents which' we had sent to him on his arrival, we again gave him a flag, a medal, shirt, arm-braces, and the presents usual on such occasions, with all which he was much pleased. In the course of the conversation, the chief observed that some foolish young men of his nation had told him there was a person among us who was quite black, and he wished to know if it could be true. We assured him that it was true and sent for York. Le Borgne was very much surprised at his appearance, examined him closely, and spit on his finger and rubbed the skin in order to wash off the paint ; nor was it until the negro uncovered his head and showed his short hair, that Le Borgne could be persuaded that he was not a painted white man. March loth. A cold, windy day. Tetuckopinreha, chief of the Ahnahaways, and the Minnetaree chief Ompschara, passed the day with us, the former remaining during the night. We had occasion to see an instance of the summary (A /^p) justice of the Indians. A young Minnetaree had carried of=f the daughter of Cogonomokshe or Raven Man, second chief of the upper village of the Mandans ; the fathe.- went to the village and found his daughter, whom he brought home, and took with him a horse belonging to the offender. This reprisal satisfied the vengeance of the father and of the nation, as the young man would not dare to reclaim his horse, which from that time became the property of the injured party. The stealing of young women is one of the most com- mon offenses against the police of the village, and the VII., Feb., 1 8 16, p. 145. On turning to Brackenridge, 18 14, I find on p. 261 something like it. But unless the Analectic's reviewer embellished the pass- age, which he places in quotation marks, he took it from p. 185 of some other edition or work of Brackenridge's, which I 'lave not seen. However, the pass- age is too good to cut, and I leave it with ,.ui explanation. B ^^^' 244 IRKAKS 01- TIMS A1K)M1NAIII,K CYCLOPS. punishmnit of it is always inoasurod by the power or tlu- passions of tin- kindred of llic frinalc. A voluntary olopc. mcnt is of courst: luori" ri^^orousiy chastised. One of the wives of Le Morgue deserted liim in favor of a man who had l)een her lover before the marriage and vvlio after some tinu; left her, and she was obli^;ed to return to her father's house. As soon as he heard it Le Horgne walked there and found her sitting near the fire. Without noticing his wife, lu: began to stnoke with the father; when they were joined by the old men of the village, who, knowing his temper, had followed in hopes of appeasing him. I K- eontimied to smoke (piii'tly with them till, rising to return, hi- t(M)k his wife by the hair, led her as far as the door, and with a single stroke of his tomahawk put her to death before her father's e)es. Then turning fiercely upon the spectators, he said that if .my of her relations wished to avenge her, they could always find him at his lodgi" ; but the fate of the woman had not suiTicic-nt interest to i-xoiti' the vengeance of the fannly. The caprice or tln" generosity of the \^^r chief gave a very tlilTereiit rtsidt to a similar incident which occurred some time afti'rward. Another of his wives eloped with a youn^' man, who not being able to support her as she wished, they both returned to the village, aiul she presented herself before the luisbanil, supplicating his pardon for her conduct, be Horgne sent for the lover. At the moment when the youth expected that he woidd be put to death, the chief {/>. //o) mildl\' asked them if they still preserved their affection for each other ; and on their declaring that want, and not a ch.inge of atTection, had induced tlu;m to return, he gave up his wife to her lover, with the liberal present of tlirte lu>rses, ami resl(.>reil them both to his favor. Jftur// 11///. The weather was cloudy in the morninj;, and a little snow fell ; the wind then shifted from southeast to northwest, and the day becami- fair. It snowed again in the exening, but the next day, Mon/i \2t/!r was fair, with the \vin'.! iroir^ the northwest. '*" Clark C" 194, this d.ntc, h.is ; " Sliabonat deUirmins on not piuici' iii}; MODI.; ()|. MAKING MANDAN [JEAHS. 245 Marck ,3//.. Wc.. l.ad a fine .V.y and a southwest wind. Mr. M Kcnzu.- came to sec us, as did also many Indians, wi.o are so anx.ous for battle-axes that our smiths have not a moment s leisure, and procure us an abundance of corn. I he^nver rcse a little to-day, and so continued. March .4/// The wind bein^ from the west and the •lay fine, the whole party were employed in building boats and in shellint^ corn. March iSf/t. The day is clear, pleasant, and warm. Wc take advantage <.f the fine weather to hang all our Indian l.rc-sents and other articles out to dry before our departure. March xm Th.. weather is cloudy, the wind from the southeast. A Mr, Garrow,- a Frenchman who has resided a long tune among the Ricaras and Mandan.s, explained to us the mode m which they make their large beads, an art which they are said to have derived from some prisoners (.f the .Snake Indian nation, and the knowledge of which is a secret even now confined to a few among the Mandans and Kicaras. The process is as follows : - glass of different colors is first IM.wncled fine and washed, till each kind, which is kept separate, ceases to stain the water thrown over it. Some well-seasoned clay, mixed with a sufificient quantity of sand to prevent its becoming very hard when exposed to heat. ami reduced by water to the consistency of dough, is then rolled on the palm of the hand, till it becomes of the thick- ness wanted for the hole in the bead. These sticks of (/. /;/) clay are placed upright, each on a little pedestal or with us as an interpeter under the terms mentioned yesterday he will not agree to work let our situation be what it may nor stand a guard, aud if miffed wi-h ;my.„.u. he wishes to return when he pleases, also have the disposeal of as much provisions as he chuses." Chaboncau was cooler than the weather at I'ort Mandan, and it is a wonder he w.as not frozen out of the garrison. " I suppose thisto be one Pierre Garcau or Garreau, a noted interpreter whose name appears in various books. His Midatsan name was Mish. or Meesh (also llccsh). fron, their word for rock, translating Pier,e, and making a pun-like thetranslaiors of Matt. xvi. 18, to whom the R. C. church should be much obliged. 1 his description is in Clark C i99-2(..2, but in Lewis' hand, of this date, inter- polated between March 21st and 22d. 246 A DISAFFECTED INTERPRETER. ball of the same material, about an ounce in weight, and distributed over a small earthen platter, which is laid on the fire for a few minutes, when they are taken off to cool. With a little paddle or shovel, three or four inches long ami sharpened at the end of the handle, the wet pounded glass is placed in the palm of the hand. The beads are made of an oblong form, wrapped in a cylindrical form around the stick of clay, which is laid crosswise over it and gently rolled backward and forward till it becomes perfectly smooth. If it be desired to introduce any other color, the surface of the bead is perforated with the pointed end of the paddle, and the cavity filled with pounded glass of that color. The sticks with the strings of beads are then replaced on their pedestals, and the platter deposited on burning coals or hot embers. Over the platter an earthen pot containing about three gallons, with a mouth large enough to cover the platter, is reversed, being completely closed except a small aperture at the top, through which are watched the beads. A quan- tity of old dried wood, formed into a sort of dough or paste, is placed round the pot so as to almost cover it, and after- ward set on fire. The manufacturer then looks through the small hole in the pot, till he sees the beads assume a deep red color, to which succeeds a paler or whitish red, or they become pointed at the upper extremity ; on which the fire is removed and the pot suffered to cool gradually. At length it is removed, the beads are taken out, the clay in the hollow of them is picked out with an awl or needle, and they are then fit for use. The beads thus formed are in great demand among the Indians, being used as pendants to their ears and hair, and sometimes worn round the neck. March iph. A windy but clear and pleasant day, the river rising a little and open in several places. Our Minnc- taree interpreter Chaboneau, whom we intended taking with us to the Pacific, had some days ago been worked (/. //.?) upon by the British traders, and appeared unwilling to accom- pany us, except on certain terms — such as his not being subject to our orders, and his doing duty or returning when- s his not being CHABONEAU DISCIPLINED— CANOKS COMPLETED. 247 ever he chose. As we saw clearly the source of nis hesitation, and I. ryd) rain fc^ aboi\t half an hour. We availed ourselves of this interval to get all the boats into the water. At 4 p. m. it began to rain a second time, and continued till midnight. With the exception of a few drops at two or three different times, this is the first rain we have had since the 15th of October last. April 2d. The wind was high last night and this morninj^ from the N.W.; the weather continued cloudy. The Man- dans killed yesterday 21 elk, about 15 miles below, but they were so poor as to be scarcely fit for use.^ April T)d. The weather is pleasant, though there was a white frost and some ice on the edge of the water. We were all engaged in packing up our baggage and merchandise. April 4th. The day is clear and pleasant, though the wind is high from the N.W. We now packed up in different boxes a variety of articles for the President, which we shall send in the barge.^ They consisted of a stuffed male and female antelope with their skeletons, a weasel, three squirrels from the Rocky mountains, the skeleton of the prairie-wolf, those of the white and gray hare, a male and female blairca*i or burrowing-dog of the prairie [ Taxidca aincricana], with a skeleton of the female, two burrowing-squirrcls, a white weasel, the skin of the louservia {sic], the horns of the '' " The 2d. Chief of the 2d. Mandan village took a uiilT at our not attending to him perticularly after being hereobout ten days and moved back to his village," Clark C 206 — but no word of speeding the parting guest ! ^ Clark C 208-211 has the whole invoice, listed by boxes and parcels. The articles reached Mr. Jefferson, and some of tliem were long on view .nt Monti (•<''c Others passed to Peak's museum in I'hiladelphia. I have reason to t>". l'»ve that ome of the specimens of natural history are still e.\tant. Several flocks ORIGIN OF TFIE ART OF PAINTING. 251 ni..untain ram or bighorn, a pair of large elk horns, the horns and ta.l of the black-tailed deer, and a variety of skins, such as those of the red fox. whifc hare, marten | .l/;../r/^ a;,/.W. ama\ and a yellow bear obtained from the Sioux ; also a number of articles of Indian dress, among which was a buffalo, robe, representing a battle fought about eight years since between the hioux and Ricaras against the Mandans and Mmnetarees. m which the combatants are represented on horsL'back. Il has of late years excited much discussion to ascertain t . period when the art of painting was first discovered. \Unv i.opeless all researches of this kind are is evident from the foregomg fact. It is {p. lyy) indebted for its origin to one of the strongest passions of the human heart-a wish to preserve the features of a departed friend, or the memory of some glorious exploit. This inhabits equally the bosoms of all men, either civilized or savage. Such sketches, rude and imperfect as they are. delineate the predominant character of the savage nations. If they are peaceable and inoffensive the drawings usually consist of local scenery and their favor- ite diversions. If the band arc rude and ferocious we observe tomahawks, scalping-knives, bows, arrows, and all the engines of destruction. [Among the articles sent were also] a Mandan bow and quiver of arrows ; also, some Ricara tobacco-seed and an ear of Mandan corn ; to which were added a box of plants ■uiother of insects, and three cases containing a burrowing- squirrel. a prairie-hen, and four magpies, all alive. April t,t/i. Fair and pleasant, but the wind is high from the northwest. We were visited by a number of Mandans, and are occupied in loading our boats, in order to proceed on our journey.'' ^•\t this date, p. 74, Gassdoesa remarkable thin^ for him-hc indulges certain reflections : " If this brief Journal." he says, 'should happen to be preserved •uid be ever thought worthy of appearing in print ; some readers will expect that, after ou long friendly intercourse with these Indians, among whom we have spent the wmter ; our acquaintance with those nations lower down the nver ; and the information we received relative to several other nations • we •I 252 ARFKARA (MUFFS 'IT) VISIT WASIIIN(]TON. .'pri/Gt/i. Another fine day, with a f^cntlc breeze from thi- soiitli. The Maiitlans coiitiinicl to come to the fort ami in tlie course of tlie tlay informed us of tlie arrival of a party of Ricaras on the other side of the river. We sent our interpreter to inquire into their reason for comir,^ ; and in the moniiuj^, SinKiaj', April yt/i, he returned, with a Ricara chief and threi; of his nation. This chief, whose name" is Kai;<)li\vct() or Urave Raven, brought a letter from Mr. Tabeau, uicii- tioniiiLy the wish of the .i fe.its i,r love .AS well as of arms. Thoujjh we could furnish a sulVicient luipihc of onterlainiii)j stories .md ple.isant anecdotes, we do not think it jirudciit 10 swell our Journal with them ; a-- our views arc directed to more useful infoi: .1 tion. Hesiiies, as we are yet i^;norant of the dangers which may await us, and the difllciilty of escape, should certain prohahle incidents occur, it may not be inconsistent with j^ood policy to keep the journal of as small and portable ,isi/e as circumstances will make pr.icticabic. It may be observed generallv iIku chastity is not very hij;hly esteemed bv these people, and that the sevcicaiid loathsome effects of certain French principles are not uncommon amonj; them. The fact is, that the women are generally considered an article of tratlic and iiulul gences are solil at a very moderate price. As a proof of this I will just nieiitioa that for an old tobacco-box, ,ne of our men was granted the honor of passing ,1 night with the daughter of the head chief of the Mandan nation. An old bawd with her punks m.iy also be found in some of the villages on the Missouri, as well as in th.e large cities of polisheil nations." ■'' " The name of {.\\\s (,'liief of War is Kah-kali, We-to — Raven brave," L'LiiL C 21.5. FORT MANDAN EVACUATP:D. — l\;ivcii liravi.'," L'l.uk ;u!vicc and live in peace with all nations, and requested that ;vc would speak m. their favor to th. ^.ssiniboin Indians, ins wevv.Ini.^iy promised to do, and assured them that her ^n-eat father would protect them and no longer suffer the S.oux to have good guns, or to injure his dutiful chil- dren We then gave him a small medal, a certificate of his ,o.K conduct, a carrot of tobacco, and some wampum, with w .c Ihe departed for the Mandan village, well saisf^ed with his reception. Having made all our arrangements, we left the fort about five o clock in the afternoon.' ThcMxxrty now consisted of 32 persons." Besides ourselves ucre bcM-geants John Ordway, Nathaniel Pryor, and Patrick Gass. The privates were William Bratton, John Colter, John h. Mandan (o.lcx ends licc. at ,,. 2.4, in ,hc n.idst of tl.e Hiddle text of TJX: ::. " ?''\ ^"'"^' '^ '^""^^^'■^"- ■••'- -' ^^^ "- ->- V ......4, .s a .neteon,l,.K,caI re«,ster, and an elaborate invoice of the .stores and i.v.;n.s n,ent,oncd „, the beginning of Twiddle's History, p. 3 of this edit on 1 h. conMK,s,t,on of the party at this „.on,ent of its divisL into tw -o„e '" ^' ;■ ""•,"""■'■ '" r ''-'^-- P-'-sely ascertained. Rc-fer nou- to note ^ uncre It isseen that le nr.i-ur>i.^ !,.ft ^. i . ..• ,, . , , . . ' !'■ > . . " ■■ i-.-^..,^,j ".-.^ciuuueu. Kc-ier now to note =< , where ■ .s seen that 45 persons left St. Louis, all told-29 of the permaneni P y of he party to return fro. Mandan. (Several persons, engaged afte M:» .4.h. 804, and d.scharged before April 7th, 1805, do not affect tht present -u ,) O the or,gn,al 2,, Kloyd was dead, and Liberte lost, leaving 27. .. lu-se 27 were adde.l 3-I.epage (vice Newman disbanded), Chaboneau ...M >:u.ajawe.., n.ak.ng 30 (without affecting the lO of th. return party) ^Z'. .";->nd Keed were transferred to the return party, making the lalteriS. Two ■i .crs o the return party were transferred to the permanent party (vice Reed ; ;:t i 7"''"^"^'':^'^- IT""^ '" "^"^" ''^^'>- '6-t-ngth'he sameo. -•1-Ma„ but composa.on d.fferent-and making the pennanent party 32 in -1-, all ,..e.ent and accounted for in the text byname. This it is seen ^^ yf .iH' aggregate of the two parties. 45, 2 had been lost, leaving 43 •-' . l>ad been gamed, making 46 to be accounted for. Of these 46 32^0 "I' nver to-day, and 14 are left. For th^se 14 see note « ■* 'i'S' ■1. is deemed desirable, for historical purpo.es,, ogive here a more formal ^^ u ,, the i.ersonnel of th.s party of 32. with such biographical data as I have ^un l,le ,0 d,scover. Kxcept.ng Lewis. Clark. CJass. and Shannon, we know next " • lung nu.re than the nan.es of the n,en and woman who accomplished an iiiiiiiiirtal purpose. COMMISSIONED OFFICERS (2). ^ M.:.mvKTHKK I.Kw.s, Captain ist. Regt. U. S. Infantry. Com'dg. (See Memoirs, ,inU,}.) fe v ^<- 254 ROSTER OF THE PERMANENT PARTY. Collins, Peter Cruzatte, Reuben Fields, Joseph Fields, Rob- ert Frazier, George Gibson, Silas Goodrich, Hugh Hull, Thomas P. Howard, Francis Labiche, Baptiste Lapage, Hugh 2. William Clark, Second Lieutenant U. S. Artillerists. (Late Captain Clarksville Militia. See Memoir, antecl.) SERGEANTS (4). 3. John Oruway, Odway. No more known of him. 4. Nathaniel Pryoi;, Pryer, Prior. Afterward Ep"ign, U. S. A. ? 5. f Charles Floyd, "deceased the 20th. of August 1804 — a young man of much merit — his father, who now resides in Kentucky, is a man much rispected, tho' possessed of but moderate wealth, as the son lost his life while in this service I considered his father entitled to some gra- tuity in consideration of his loss, and also, that the deceased being noticed in this way will be a tribute but justly due his merit," Lewis' Roll, Jan. 15th, 1807. (See p. 79, and note there.) 6. Patrick (iASS. " Promoted to Sergeant 20th of August 1804, in the place of Charles Floyd, deceased, in which capacity he continued until dis- charged at St. Louis Novr. loth, 1S06," Lewis' Roll. (See Memoir, attte^.) PRIVATES (23). 7. William Bratton, Bratten, Brattin. No more known of him. 8. John Collins, Collin, Colins. No more known of him. 9. John Colter, Coulter. Discharged at his own request, at the Mandans, Aug. 14th, 1806, and returned to the life of a trapper. See "Colter's Route in 1S07," as traced on Clark's map of 18x4. This is the man who had the horrible experience with the Indians on Missouri waters, \\ lien his comrade Potts was killed. The story has been repeatedly told : see for example Bradbury's Travels, p. 17, anil Irving's Astoria, p. 146 of the l86i edition. It may have been embellished ; but Colter's sufferings would be hard to exaggerate. Colter was found near La Charrettc, on the Lower Missouri, by the overland Astorian party under Hunt, Jan. l8th, 181 1 ; there he had come from the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone country in a canoe, and brought accounts of the hatred and fury excited among the Indians by Captain Lewis' unfortunate affair on Maria's river, July 27th, 1S06, when Lewis killed one Indian, and R. Fields another. Colter would have joined the .\storians, in spite of his dreadful adven- ture ; but the charms of a new young wife prevented. No more known of this discoverer of sources of the Yellowstone. 10. Peter Crtzattk of Biddle ; Pier Cruzatte of Lewis' Roll ; Crugatte of print, once ; Cruzat, Crouzat, Crusatte, Crusatt, Crusat, Crousatte, Cni- zate, etc., of the codices ; real name probably Pierre Croisette or Croix- ette ; Canadian French ; one of the " two French w.atcrmen " of p. 2: chief waterman of the I'".xpedition ; accidentally shot Captain Lewis, Aui;. nth, 1806. No more known of him. 13- 14. 15. If). 17. ROSTER OF THE PERMANENT PARTY. 255 M'Neal, John Potts, John Shields, George Shannon, John B. Thompson, Wilham Werner, Joseph Whitehouse, Alex- ander VVillard, Richard Windsor, Peter Wiser; and Captain 11. JusKi'H FiKi.ns, and 12. Kevuks ViKi.m. Brothers; two of the "nine young men from Ken- tucky. " Two of the most active and enterprising young men who accompanie e 1 , the Tnchan sule of hun made him the best hunter and woodsman the brothers Helds seem to have been „n the whole the most serviceable of .he part) exclusive of the sergeants. Lewis' Roll praise™ highly A man of much merit ; he has been peculiarly useful fn^n h s^illt a'Vu t ' '^"T""" ,'"^^"'^^'^^ "' gesticulation, ancl his uncommon skillasa hun er and woodsman: those several duties he performed in good fauh and w.th an ardor which deserves the highest commenltt twashs ortuneto have encountered on various occasions with eithe Capt. Clark or myself all the most dangerous and trying scenes of le voyage ,n wh.ch he uniformily acquitted himself with honor, he Is served the complete tern, of the whole tour and received only 25. Dollars pr. month and one ration pr. day, while I am informed that it is not unusual for mdivi.luals in similar employment to receive 30 dollars pr. Month.- Drewyer alone is the " interpreter and hunter " of p 2 roussAiNT C.,AnoN,.:..M. of the texi, Touisant Charbono of Levvis' Roll wuh twelve or more names in the codices. For this individual, greater m names than \n any fact, see note '», p. 189, WOMAN (i). 32. Sacajawka otherwise liird-woman, with her infant, born Feb. nth /So:; See note ", p. 189. ' •'' SERVANT (i). 33. VoRK, a negro slave, belonging to Captain Clark. See note ^i, p. 159. Deducting Iron, this list of 33 persons one, Sergeant Floyd, who was of the permanent party at the date of his decease, and was returned by Lewis on his KoU we have accurately the 32 persons (adults) who proceeds from Fort landan.and were accompanied fo. .short -listance by an uncounted Mandan iiKl'^.n, not belongnig to the party. The Muster-roll in the archives of the War Department, above quoted, has ■remarks against any of the names, except those which I have transcribed in ;.l. ItisentUed: "A Roll of the men who accompanied Captains Lewis & Clark on their ate tour to the Pacific Ocean through the interior of the Con- tinent of North America, showing their rank with some remarks on their respeci.ye ments and services.-" It is one large .louble sheet, forme.l of two Mieets o, foolscap pasted top to bottom, formally ruled off for the numbered list 31. 258 STRKNGTir AND COMPOSITION OF RKTUKN I'ARTV. with the biiytjago was stowed in six small caiiocs and two lar^c periojjucs. Wc left the fort with fair, pleasant weather, thouj^h the northwest wind was high, and after making about four miles camped on the north side of the Missouri, nearly (/>. /7y) opposite the first Mandan village. At the same time that we took our departure, our barge,' of names, rank, remarks, etc. It is in ^jood iiruscrvation and perfectly legible, excepting a few words along the crease of the pasted place. It ends as follows ; ' ' General Remarks. " Willi rispect to all those persons whose names are entered on this roll, I fuel a iieculiar pleasure in declaring, that the amiilc supiiorl which they gave us under every difliculty, the manly (irniness which they evinced on every necessary occasion, antl tlie patience and fortitude, witli which they submitted to and Imic the fatigues and painful sufferings incident to my late tour to the I'acilic Oixaii entitles them to my warmest approbation and thanks, nor will I suppress tiic expression of a hope that the recollection of services thus faithfully perfonnLMi will meet a just reward in an ample remuneration on the part of our governnuMit.— [Signed] " MiiRiWKTiiER Lkwis Capt. " City of W.ishington " ist. U'S. Regt. Infty. " January 15th, 1807." • The strength and for the most part the composition of this return parly are certain. The text here indicates ten persons, The text above (ji. 252) indiialcs that there might he 15 persons (including Mr. Tabeau and his four men), (ia^ says, p. 7(), this date : " Tliirty-one men and a woman went \\\^ river and tliirti'iii returned down it in the boat." Lewis D 3,i\ soldiers [besides Corporal Richard Warfington, in charge, being Privates M. H. Reed and John Newman, disbandetl, see note ■*■' p. 77, note ■"' p. 167, nolo" |'. 253, and four others], and two I'Venchmen ; two Frenchmen and a Ricara Imliaii also take their passage in her as far as ilie Ricara \"ilages, at which place wc eN|K'ct .Mr. Tielieau [Anthony Tabeau] to embark with his peltry who in lli.U case will make an addition of two, perhaps four men to the crew of the liiU;;c, We gave Richard Warlnigton, a discharged Corpl. the charge of the liari^e .iml crew, and conlided to his care likeuise our dispatches to the government, Icllur^ to our [irivate friends, and a nund)er of articles to the President of the United States. One of the Frenchmen by the Name of [Josei)h, red-inked in by Clark] (iravline an honest discrete man and an excellent boat-man is inqjloyed to con- irtiirc, our b.irLjc/ CORI'ORAI. RICIIAKI, WARFINGTON's RECORD. 259 manned with seven soldiers, two Frenchmen, and M.-. Joseph] .ruvehnes as pilot, sailed for tl>e United States, loaded with our presents and dispatches. ■liM.UKL. I he ruturr .,f certain n,cml,cis ..f this party to St I o„,\ 1. f ;.;;;■•.' |.i*.r,™.. .„.,, ,„„„„, ., ,„„„ ...'J^-f, ' •; ™- « ::.",;:,;; :"^ 'tzt"" *" -' '-"-■ -"'='■ '"-- " ' '■""««.». 1*7. rhi. Ic =r „ ,„ e„„,| ,„,„„.»«„„ ; 1„„ „„|„,ki| „„„^. „,,^.^ "^ '''''• ;:."!.,;;:V:;: :r£;';x' Tr.;,!""- r "'"'•,"' •"" >-' taiiiy it-gioiL. Vet tlicse can be ri-storcd in r>..rf,.,.i ;:;;:■;;;; r ;• :^ -"-^ --^--^ = - — -p- hai-^t:^ • :^:^ " Kichar l.arty of sokl.ers whose tern.s of service had not expired ; tha it was of some ..npor ance that t!,e government should receive in salety the , have two, the upper and larger .'f these being the Miry or " M.rey." Lewis I) 12 has: " N. 20 W. to the month of Miry creek star.l. side, pr.ssing a small run .ind a hill called Snjikc den." Ikrc IS the lirst of these creeks ; also, the obvious origin of the modern name Snake for the second of them. There are in fact four, of which Snake or Miry is the second, and the fourth is called Douglass ; between the third and fourth is l'"ort Stevenson. See next two notes. '^ The Mouse or Souris river is the largest tributary of the Red river of tlie North in the United States, joining the Assiniboin in Manitoba, the 262 MmNETAREK IIUNTlNC-PARTV— HIGH HI.UFFS. S(njrisl river, passes througli beautiful level fertile plains without timber, in a ilirectiou nearly southwest, the banks I ruj^i^ed on both sides of b near its entrance lieni^ sleep ami the Missouri. Three miles abovt- this creek we came to a huntin^f-party of Minnetarees, who had prepared a park or inclosure, and were waiting the return of the antelope. These animals, which in the ,i itumn retire for food ami .shelter to the IMack mountains during; the winter, recross the river at this season of the year, and spread themselves throuijhthe plains on the north of the Missouri. We halted, (/>. I So) smoked a short time with the Minnetarees, and then proceeded on through handsome plains on each side of the river, and camped at the distance of 23}^ miles on the north siile." The day was clear and pleasant, the wind hii;li from the south ; but it afterward changed to a western steady breeze. The bluffs which we passed to-day are upward of 100 feet high, composed of a mixture of yellow clay and sand, witii many horizontal strata of carbonated wood resembling pit- coal, from one to five feet in depth, scattered through the sinj;;lc river tluis formed emptying into tiie Red river at a point where tiic latter is crossed by the Canadian I'acific R. R. 'I'he course of Mouse river is interesting. It heads wholly in the British possessions (north of 49° ), west of 105* \V. long., runs toward the 4()th parallel (northern border of the United St.ites), which it crosses near 103° 30'. runs in the United States nearly to 103^ long., recrosses 49° lat., then courses north of and nearly parallel with 49" X. lat. to about 102" W. long., when it again crosses 49' lat., re-entering tlie United States, strikes south and seems about to seek the Missouri. It is "bluffed olT " however, by the Coteau du Missouri, representing a general elevation of 2,000 feet, and separating the Missouri watershed from that of tlie Red river. Thus the Mouse river makes a long loop into North Dakota, and returns upon itself, once more recrossing the panillel of 49° N. lat., at about loi" \V. long., west of Turtle mountain, and so on to its junction with the Assiniboin, at a town called Milford, in Manitoba. The southernmost point in the bight of this loop is in McIIenry Co., about N.E. of Fort Stevenson on the Missouri, the future site of which the F-xpedition is now approaching. " Here the :;.\pedition is past the present site of Fort Stevenson, on the north (left^ bank of the Missouri, in Stevens Co. (See last two notes.) This fort was flourishing in 1S73, in the .lutumn of which year I came down from the 4')tli parallel along Mouse river, by an easy wagon road to Stevenson, and thence along the north side of the Missouri to Hismarck. I lU.UFFS. cl fertile plains iwcst, the b.mks »i\ both sides of :ck vvc Ciunc to [)rcp;ired a park of the antelope, re for food and L" winter, recross )read theinselves uri. We halteil, ^innetarees, and s on each side of 5^ miles on the lit, the wind hi^di a western steady- ward of 100 feet ; and sand, with .1 reseniblinj,^ pit- red through tlic It a point where the urse of Mouse river is (iiortli of 49° ), west of border of tlie United J States nearly to 103^ y parallel with 49° N- 1' lat., re-enteriiij; tlie the Missouri. It is epresenting a general Tshed from that of tiie o North Dakota, and 49° N. lat., at about its junction with the he southernmost point .E. of Fort Stevenson is now apiiroachiiij;. itevenson, on the north notes.) This fort was e down from the 4')''' Stevenson, and thence SNOW-f.CKSE— I'OCKKT-fiOI'IIKRS. 263 bluff at different elevations, some as high as 80 feet above the water. The hills along th.. river are broken, and present every appearance of having been burned at some fonner period ; great (|uantities of pumice-.stone and lava -or rather earth, which .seems to h.ive been boiled and then hardened by exposure- being .seen in many parts of the.se hills, where they are broken and washed down into gullies by the rain A\\<\ melting snow.. A great number of brants pass up the river ; some of them are perfectly white,'" except the large feathers of the first jomt of the wing, which are black, though in every other characteristic they resemble conunon gray brant. We al.so saw but could not procure an animal that burrows in the ground, and is similar in every respect to the burrowing- s(iuirrel, except that it is only one-third of its size." This may be | is| the animal whose works we have often .seen in the plains and prairies; they resemble the labors of the .salamander I 6V.;/;/j^ tuza\ in the sand-hills ofSouth Carolina a.ul Georgia, and like him the animals rarely come above ground ; they consist of a little hillock of ten or twelve pounds of loose ground, which would .seem to have been reversed Irom a pot, though no aperture is seen through which It could have been thrown. On removing gently the earth, you di.scover that the .soil has been broken in a circle of about an inch and a half diameter, where the ground is Inoser, though still no opening is perceptible. When we stopped for dinner the .s(,uaw went out, and after penetrating with {p. iSi) a sharp .stick the holes of the mice | gophers] near some drift-wood, brought to us a quantity of wild "' These are the snow-goose, Chen hyperboreus. " The animal here indic.ited by the description of its hurrows is a com- mon speces of pouched rat or pockct-gopher, i.her Gcomys Imrsarius ^ closely rcl.ue.l to the "salamander" {G. Una) mentioned in the .same paragraph, or U.no,ny. talpo,J.s, a species of the next nearest genus ; both are common in these parts and the.r habits entirely similar. They work extensive underground galleries, throw up loose soil in heaps at intervals, and feed mainly on bulbous roots See Coues and Allen. Monogr. N. A. Ro.Untia, 410, Washington, 1877 pp. 612-614, 623-625. 2^4 JKKUSAMCM AKTICH()Ki;S — nUKNINr; ULUrKS. artichokes, wliich llu- iniii- colli-it and hoard in lar^c miinhcrs. Thi; root is whiti-, of an ovate form, from one to tliree iiudu-s lon^;. and {generally of the size of a man's fin^^er, and two. four, anil sometimes six roots are attached to a sinj^Ie stalk. its flavor as well as the stalk which issues from it resemble those of the Jerusalem artichoke,'" exce|)t that the latter is much lar^^er."' A larj^er heaver was caujdit in a trap last niMht.and the mos(|uitoes begin to trouble us. April \otli. We again set off early with clear, pleasant weather, and halted about ten o'clock for bri-akfast, above a santl-bank which was failing in, and near a small willow-island. On both sides of the Missouri, after ascending the hills near the water, one fertile unbroken plain extends as far as the eye can reach, without a solitary tree or shrub, except in moist situations or in the steep declivities of hills, wlurc- they are sheltered from the ravages of fire. At the distaiici- of twelve miles we reached the lower point of a bluff on the south, which is in some parts on fire and throws out (piaii- titics of snioke, which has as trong sulphurous smell, tlie coal and other appearances in the bluffs being like those described yesterday. At one o'clock we overtook three l''renchinan, who left the fort a few days before us, in order to make the first atteiiij)t on this ri\er of hunting beaver, which they do by means of traps. Their efforts promise to be successful ; for they have already caught twelve, which are finer than anj- we \va\\' e\'er seen. They mean to accom[)any us as far as the Yellowstone river, in order to obtain our protection against th_ Assiniboins, who might attack them. ^^ Hdianthiis tulu-rosus, sinjjiil.irly misnamed "Jerusalem artichoke," as it is not liotaiiically related to the artiehoke, and has nothing to do with the city of Zioii. Tiie plant belonjjs to the onlor (\>m/si/,i-, and to the same genus as the sunllower. The wonl " Jerusalein " is here a corruption of the Italian a''>''j"''''. of which the French tourne-sol and the English suiijlower (supposed to turn towanl the sun) are equivalent in signification. Compare Clreek I'/^ioTju'irziu; , of same st'nse. but a different word, which we apply to a different llowcf (heliotrope). '• A curiously constructed sentence. It means that the plant named tastes like the Jerusalem artichoke, and has a similar but smaller stalk and root, Lewis I) lo. TIIK LITTM.; HASIN-FOKT lUCkTIK,!,],. 265 In the cvcnin^r we camped „„ a wiIIow-i,.,int to the south,"" <.|.IK>.s.te a bluff, al,uvc ul.ieh a small creek falls in. and juit .. .'>vc a ren, ukal.le Ik,,.! in th. river to the southuest. u Inch we called the Little Hasin. The low grounds which we passed to-day possess ,n<,re timber than is usual, and are w..lcr: the current is n-odcs [p. r8.) rate, at least n<,t greater -tluto theOhioin high tides; the banks fall in but Ijitle; so that navigation, comparatively with that lower .loun tl.c M.ssouri. is safe and easy. We were enabled to nuke >.S>^ nules. We saw the track of a large white bear ; llure were also a herd of antelopes in the plains; the treese ami swan were now feeding in C(Misiderable c,uantities on tl.c young grass in the low prairies; we shot a prairie-hen ■"-'I .1 bald ^■As^\^\IMiacl„sla,coccphal„siu{ which latter tlirre were many nests in the tall Cottonwood trees; but cmild procure neither of two elk which were in the plain. Oin- old C(>mpani(,ns the moscpiitoes have renewed their visits, and give us much uneasiness. AMI ^U/L We set .K.t at daylight, and after passing bare and barren hills on the south, and a plain covered with timber on the north, breakfasted at five miles' distance Here we were regaled with a deer brought in by the hunters which was very acceptable, as we had been for several days -Mi>tal-'48\ nearly, at the southeast an«le of the lierthold Indian Reservation' I lie three knife U.ver villai,'es uere permanent fro.n 17c/. at least till after >^i7. when the survivors of the ej^idemie constituted or,e viliajje on Knife river I !!>• Ii>, atsas moved up river in 1845 to their present station, al.out 60 miles l.y ";<■!■ •■iiHl 30 l.y land, where they were joine.l l,y the Arikar.is in ,Sf,2. This is -.1 ierthold, where the American KurCo. in 1845 Innl. a stockade named for a t-H.nderof th.scomp.any, the Tyrolese, liarthoh.mew lierlhohl (h. ,780, <1. Apr 2olh, 1831), of .St. Louis. An opposition tradini;-post was l)uilt in the village in J^5.J, named I-'ort Atkinson. This was frozen out by 1S6? when the Ameiican Hir Company obtained possession, an.l the nan.e of .^rtnold was transferred to • iMiison. 1 he ohler stock.ide was burne.l by the Sioux, Dec. 24th 1862 and ' ;•■ "cw one w.as mostly .lestroyed by (Ire, Oct. 12th, 1874. The " Ij'ttle Babin " "> ilic text shows on any good map, between Garlield and .Mercer Cos 266 THE COUNTRY ABOUT BERTHOLD— ALKALI. without fresh meat ; the country between this and Fort Mandan being so frequently disturbed by hunters that tli. game has become scarce. We then proceeded with a gentle breeze from the south, which carried the periogues on very well ; the day was, however, so warm that several of the men worked with no clothes except around the waist, which is the less inconvenient, as we are obliged to wade ii: some places, owing to the shallowness of the river. At seven miles we reached a large sand-bar making out from the north. We again stopped for dinner, after which we went on to a small plain on the north [in Garfield Co.], covered with Cottonwood, where we camped, having made 19 miles." The country around is much the same as that we passed yesterday ; on the sides of the hills, and even on the banks of the rivers, as well as on the sand-bars, is a white substance, which appears in considerable quantities on the surface of the earth, and tastes like a mixture of common salt with Glauber's salts. Many of the streams which come from the foot of the hills are so strongly impregnated with this sub- {p. iSj) stance that the water has an unpleasant taste and a purgative effect." A beaver wa'. caught last night by one " And having passed to-day a stream from the south, in Mercer Co., whidi has been called Dancing Bear creek— a name which some maps attacli to that one from the south near yesterday's camp, in the bight of the Little Basin. Among the best maps to go by, from Herthold and Stevenson to the tireat Fall-, are the sectional charts of the Report of the U.S. Northern Boundary Sur\rv, 4to, Washington, 1878, prepared under the direction of the late M.ijor William J. Twining, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., and Chief Astronomer of theSurvuv. The topography was done by Lieut. Francis V. C.reene, U. S. T. E. The scale is one inch to eight miles. The Missouri was charted for these nwps mainly from observ.itions during our trip in .Mackinac boats from Benton to Bismarck, in the fall of 1S74. We came over I, it)0 traditional Missouri river-miles: the actual distance was 805 miles. Miles made for the carrying-tr.ide of ihe river are natur.ally stretched to tlie utmost ; Lewis and Clark's are much more relialile. For instance, we made the distance from Knife river to Stevenson ^.i'; mile-; thence to Berthold, 2.*^ ; thence to the little Missouri, 23 ; total, 71 miles, lewis and Clark's estimates are wonderfully close to this. '^ This is the famous " alkali " of many parts of the West, often renderine; the water undrinkable, and whitening great areas like snow. It consists largely or mainly of the salt named (sulphate of soda). WHOOPING CRANES-THE LITTLE MISSOURI. 2G7 Of the^^Frenchmen; we killed two geese, and saw some cranes, he largest b.rd of that kind common to the Mis- sour, and Mississippi, perfectly white except the large Under a bluff opposite our camp we discovered some Indians with horses, whom we supposed were Minnetarees, but the width of the river prevented our speaking to them Aprtl ^2tJu We set off early and passed a high range of hills on the south side, our periogues being obliged to go over o he south, in order to avoid a sand-bank which was rapidly falling in. At six miles we came-to at the lower side of the entrance of the Little Missouri, where we remained during the day for the purpose of making celestial obser- tions. [J-ewis D 17 gives these.] This river empties on the south side of the Missouri, i 69. miles from its confluence with the Mississippi. It rises to the west of the l^Iack mountains, across the northern extrem- .ty of which It finds a narrow rapid passage along high per- pendicular banks, then seeks the Missouri in a northeastern direction, through a broken country with highlands bare of timber, and the low grounds particularly supplied with cot tonuocd, elm, small ash, box, alder,-' and an undergrowth of willow, redwood (sometimes called red or swamp willow) red-berry and choke-cherry. In its course it passes near the northwest side of Turtle mountain, which is said to be only 12 or 15 miles from its mouth in a straight line a htte to the south of west; so that both the Little Missouri and knife river have been laid down too far southwest." It '^The great white or whooping crane, Grus ammnuia ■'The expression "box, alder," does not mean two ditTerent plants, but is a ..stake for box-eider, the common .ame of the ash-leaved maple. N^!^! "'cro./.s, a sapmdaceous tree with pinnate leaves, widely distributed and very c—n on the upper Missouri. The "redwood " presently named is probably C,:nus sto/om/era. one of the ingredients of kirikinik. See note ^ p no • The source of the Little Missouri is stated with sunicient accu'racy. but its ;.'eneral course ,s more nearly north than nortlieast. to near the Missouri, when it ■oops about east to the latter river. Note that the Turtle mountain, here saul to be 12 or 15 miles from its mouth, is not the same as. but very far from 268 THE LITTLE MLSSOUKI— DWARF CEDAR. enters the Missouri with ;i Ijokl cm rent, and is 134 yards wide, but its greatest depth is two feet and a half; which, joined to its rapidity and its sand-bars, makes the navi^Mtion difficult except for canoes, which may asceiul it for a consid- erable distance. At the mouth, and as far as we could (/. /S^) discern from the hills between the two rivers al)i)iit three miles from their junction, the country is much broken, the soil consistinir of a ileep rich dark-colored loam, inter- mixed with a small portion of fine sand, and covered generally with a short grass resembling blue-grass. In its color, the nature of its bed, and its general appearance, it reseipl^Ijs so much the Missouri as to induce a belief that the countries they water are similar in point of soil. iMom the Mand.m villages to this place the country is hilly and irregular, willi the same appearance of Glauber's salts and carbonated wood ; the low grounds are smooth, sandy, and partially covered with Cottonwood and small ash ; at some distance back there arc extensive plains of a good soil, but without tind^er or water. We found great quantities of small onions \Alliiiiii s]).?| which grow single, the bulb of an oval form, white, about the size of a bullet, with a leaf resembling that of the shive [chive]. On the side of a neighboring hill there is a species of dwarf cedar \Junipcrus sahiiia var. procuinbens \ ; it spreads its limbs along the surface of the earth, which it almost con- ceals by its closeness and thickness, and is sometimes covered by it ; having always a number of roots on the under side, while on the upper are a quantity of shoots which, with their leaves, seldom rise higher than six or eight inches ; it is an evergreen, and its leaf is more delicate than that of the com- mon cedar, though the taste and smell are the same. The country around has been so recently hunted that the that Turtle mountain which bestrides the 49th parallel cast of Mouse rivi-r, on the northern border of N. Dakota. The general course of the Little Missmni is approximately parallel with that of Powder river, a branch of the ^■^.■llo^vst()IK■; and if it went due north, instead of bearing eastward, it would suii/ialus\,\\cvc all that we could procure. The weather h.ul been clear, warm, and pleasant in the morninfr, but alx.ut Ihrc-e we had a s(piall of hi^di wind and rain, with some tiniiider, which lasted till after sunset, when it cleared off. April 13///. We set out at sunrise, and at nine o'clock, liavmt,^ the wind in our favor, went on rapidly past a timbered low .(round on the south, and a creek on the north at the (lislance of nine miles, which we called [Wild] Onion '^^ creek, from (/>. /.?f) the quantity of that plant which grows in tlu;i)lains near it. This creek is about 16 yards wide at a mile and a half above its mouth; it discharges more water than is usual for creeks of that size in this country, but the whole plain which it waters is totally destitute of timber. The Missouri itself widens \cvy remarkably just above the junction with the Little Missouri. Immediately at the entrance of the latter it is not more than 200 yards wide, and s.) shallow that it may be passed in canoes with setting- poles, while a few miles above it is upward of a mire in width. Ten miles beyond Onion creek we came to anolluT. discharging itself on the north in the center of a ilcq) bend. On ascending it for about a mile and a half, we fonnd it to be the discharge of a pond or small lake, which seemed to have been once the bed of the Missouri. Near this lake were the remains of 43 temporary lodges which sccmeil to belong to the Assiniboins, who are now on the river of the same name. A great number of swan and geese were also in it ; from this circumstance we named the creek Goose" creek, and ■'S„ I.cuis I) 23, and Clark's m.ip, 1814 ; O^iii.m R., I.apic's map, 1821 ; iVau .|ui Monte, Heap; Kisini; iicck, Stevens; '|-i,le creek, V.'n.ren ; Pride 'l«•l^, rid ■^I'nn- lake, Reynolds ; Sparrow creek, Stevens ; now Shell creek, in Carfield Co. lliere have been !,n-eat vicissitndes of the Missouri about its mouth. The birds i ■a .■(1 270 GOOSE LAKE— GEESE AND OTHER CAME. the lake by the same name. These geese we observe do not build their nests on the <;round or in the sand-bars, but in the tops of the lofty cottonvvood trees. We saw some elk and buffalo to-day, but at too tjft-eat a distance to obtain any of them, though a number of the carcasses of the latter animal are strewed along the shore, having fallen through die ice and been swept along when the river broke up. More bald eagles are seen on this part of the Missouri than we have previously met with ; the small sparrow-hawk [luiho sparvcrii(s\ common in most parts of the United States, is also found here. Great quantities of geese are feeding on the prairies, and one flock of white brant, or geese with black [-tipped] wings, and some gray brant with them, pass up the river ; from their flight they seem to proceed much further to the northwest. We killed two antelopes, which were very lean, and caught last night two beavers. The French hunters, who had procured seven, thinking the neigh- borhood of the Little Missouri a {p. 1S6) convenient hunt- ing ground for that animal, rem.ained behind there. In the evening we camped on a beautiful plain on the north, 30 feet above the river, having made 22 >4 miles.'" April 14///. We set off early with pleasant and fair weather. A dog joined us, which we supposed had strayed from the Assiniboin camp on the lake. At 21^ miles we passed timbered low grounds and a small creek. In these low were the common wild or Canada goose, Rfrnicla canadensis. I confirmed the statement of their breeding in trees w'.icn I passed this point on the river in 1S74. C;eese are wise birds, whicli know enough to get out of the way of wnhes, foxes, and badgers. Lewis and Clark's statement of their arboreal nidification used to be much criticised, and discrediteil. See my Hinis N.W., 1874, p. 5??- '8 But not without imminent danger. " A sudden stpiall of wind struck us ami turned the perogue so much on the side as to allarm Sharbono who was steering at the time, in this state oi alarm he threw the perogue with her side to the wind, when the spritsail gibing was as near oversuting the perogue as it w.is possiide t.> have missed. . . I ordered Drewyer to the helm," etc., Lewis D 22. Tlii boat had on board the papers, instruments, medicines, and the most valuable part of the merchandise ; to say nothing of both the captains, three men who could not swim, Sacajawea, and the baby— the helmsman being the only part of the lad- ing that might have been lost without inconvenience. R CAME. LOCAL Ol'TIOX AMONG ASSINIHOINS. 271 ^^riounds arc several uninhabited lodges built with the boughs of the elm, and the remains of two recent camps, which, from the hoops (;f small kegs found in them, we judged could belong to Assiniboins only, as they are the only Mis- souri Indians who use spirituous liquors. Of these they are so passionately fond that it forms their chief inducement to visit the Jkitish on the Assiniboin, to whom they barter for keg;; of rum their dried and pounded meat, their grease, and the skins of large and small wolves and small foxes." The dangerous exchange is transported to their camps with their friends and relations, and soon exhausted in brutal intoxica- tion. So far from considering drunkenness as disgraceful, the women and children are permitted and invited to share in these excesses with their husbands and fathers, who boast how often their skill and industry as hunters have supplied them with the means of intoxication. In this, as in their other habits and customs, they resemble the Sioux, from whom they are descended. The trade with the Assiniboins and Knistenaux is encouraged by the British, because it procures provision for their engages on their return from Rainy lake to the English river and the Athabasky [Atha- basca or Athapasca] country, where they winter, these men being obliged during that voyage to pass rapidly through a country scantily supplied with game. We halted for dinner near a large village of burrowing- squirrels,'" which we observed generally selected a south- easterly exposure, though they are sometimes found on the plains. At lo^ii: miles we came to the lower point of an " The great gray wolf, Caiiis lupus occidentalis ; the coyote or prairie-wolf, Cviis latrans; and the kit or swift fox, Vulpes velox. ■"'This name is applied to any of the spermophiles met with along the river (seldom, however, to the prairie-dog, which the authors call "barking-squirrel "). The most abundant spermophiles on the upper Missouri, and thence through the Milk river region, are Spermophilus richardsoni, a tawny, whole-colored species not distantly resembling a prairie-dog, but lighter colored and smaller, with a very short tail ; and S. tndeconlineatus pallidus, a pale variety of the thirteen-Iined, leopard, or federation spermophile. (See note at date of July 8th, beyond.) All such animals are "gophers " in the local vernacular. ■ii 272 SUNDAY ISLAND— CHABONEAU'S CREEK. {p. iSf) island, which, from the day of our arrival there, we called Sunday island. Here the river washes the bases of the hills on both sides and above the island, which, with its sand-bar, extends i''^ miles. Two small creeks fall in from the south ; the uppermost of these, which is the largest, we called Chaboneau's creek," after our interpreter, who once camped on it several weeks with a party of Indians. JJcyond this no white man had evf. ^ • n except two Frenchmen, one of whom (Lapage) is with " \^ :• who, having lost their way, straggled a few miles furthe. , .i.ough to what point we could not ascertain. About lyz miles beyond this island wc camped on a point of woodland on the north, having made in all 14 miles. The Assiniboins have so recently left the river that game is scarce and shy. One of the hunters shot at an otter last evening ; a buffalo was killed, and an elk, both so poor as to be almost unfit for use ; two white bears were also seen, and a muskrat [^Fibcr zibctJiicus\ swimming across the river. The river continues wide and of about the same rapidity as the ordinary current of the Ohio. The low grounds are wide, the moister .parts containing timber ; the upland is extremely broken, without wood, and in some places seems as if it had slipped down in masses of several acres in surface. The min- eral appearance of salts, coal, and sulphur, with the burnt hill and pumice-stone, continue, and a bituminous water about the color of strong lye, with the taste of Glauber's salts and a slight tincture of alum. Many geese were feeding in the prairies, and a number of magpies, which build their nests much like those of the blackbird, in trees, and composed of small sticks, leaves, and grass, open at the top ; the egg is of a bluish-brown color, freckled with reddish-brown spots. We also killed a large hooting-owl resembling that of the United States {Bubo virginianus\ except that it was more booted and clad with feathers. On the hills are many aromatic herbs," ^' Called "Sharbons" creek, in C.ass, j). 78 ; Sharbono's, Lewis i ,1, 32, his. It looks like a large river on Clark's map of 1814, but I can find nothing on present charts with whxh to identify it. " Lewis D 29 has: "resembling in taste, smel and appearance, the sage, SAGE-BRUSH— A LARGE ISLAND. 273 appearance, the sage, rcscmblmg m taste, smell, and appearance the sage, hyssop, wormwood, southernwood, juniper, and dwarf cedar ; a plant also about two or (^ iSS) three feet high, similar to the cam- phor m smell and taste ; and another plant of the same size, w.th a long, narrow, smooth, soft leaf, of an agreeable smell and flavor, which is a favorite food of the antelope, whose necks are often perfumed by rubbing against it. ^l^n/ 15///. We proceeded under a fine breeze from the south, and with clear, pleasant weather. At seven mile^ we reached the lower point of an island,^^ in a bend to the south which IS two miles in length. Captain Clark, who went about nine miles northward from the river, reached the high grounds which, like those we have seen, are level plains without tim' ber. Here he observed a number of drains, which, descending from the hills, pursue a northeast course, and probably empty into Mouse river, a branch of the Assiniboin, which from Indian accounts approaches very near to the Missouri at this place. Like all the rivulets of this neighborhood these drains are so strongly impregnated with mineral salts that they are not fit to drink. He saw also the remains of several camps of Assiniboins. The low grounds on both sides of the river are extensive, rich, and level. In a little pond on the hysop, wormwood southernwood, and two other herbs," where the punctuatioa the anlex, as of the text, makes ambiguity. I do not read here four different plan s, but one plant whieli resembles these. The commonest sage-brush in the \\..UsAri.„ns>a tridentata, which we may suppose here meant. A. abrotanuvt .sa S. European sage or wormwood, often cultivated in our gardens under the name of southernwood. The juniper is perhaps >,„>..«. ccnmunis ; the (Iwar cedar .s/. sabvna van procumbens, above described and determine.l ■ the camphor-hke plant, and the other aromatic one, remain to be identified. There .s a very large island-large enough to be indicated on the U. S Geol Surv contour-map, and conspicuous on Twining's-six or eight miles below the mouth of the L.tt'e knife river, and thus in about the place of this one The Mouse river does in fact approach the Missouri, where it first strikes the paralle of 49° N. lat.. though the approach is far from beingso near as that which the loop of the Mouse river makes toward the Missouri about Fort Steven- son The approximation is certainly not such as the text indicates, and noth- mg like what is legended on Clark's map (" one mile "). We must remember that this consummate geographernever laid eyes on Mouse river, and could only make conjectures as to its true course. See note '■«, p. 261. 274 SlIARl'-TAILHI) OUOUSE— GOAT-riiN CKEl^K. north wo hoard for tho first time this season the creaking; of fro^s, which exactly resembles that of the small fro^h in the United States. There are also in these plains great (luaiiti- ties of geese, and many of the | sharp-tailed | grouse, or prairic- hen^as they are calletl by tho Northwest Company's traders; tho note of the male, as far as words can represent it, is cook, cook, cook, coo, coo, coo, the first part of which l)oth male ami female use when flying ; the male too drums with his wings when he flies in the same way, though not so loud, as the pheasant ; '"' they appear to be mating. Some deer, elk, and goats wore in the low grounds, and buffalo on the sand- beaches, but they were uncommonly shy ; we also saw a bhick bear and two white ones. At 1 5 miles we passed on the north side a small creek 20 yards wide, which we called Goat-pen creek,"" from a park or inclosuro for tho purpose of catching that animal which those who went up the creek found (/>. /i^V)> '^^^ which we presume to have been lett by the Assiniboins. Its water is impregnated with min- eral salts, and the country through which it flows consists of wide and very fertile plains, but without any t ecs. We camped at the distance of 23 miles, on a sand-point to the south. We passed in the evening a rock in the middle of the river, the channel of which, a little above our camp, is confined within 80 yards. April \6th. The morning was clear, the wind light from the S.E. The country presents the same appearance of low plains and meadows on the river, bounded a few miles back by broken hills, which end in high level fertile lands; the quantity of timber is however increasing. The appear- ances of minerals continue as usual, and to-day we found several stones which seem to have been wood, first car- bonated, and then petrined by the water of the Missouri, *' The ruflfed grouse, Bonasa umbellus, always called pheasant in Captain Lewis' Virginian home. " So on Clark's map, 1814 ; but the name does not occur in Lewis D 33-3(1 of this date. The Little Knife or Upper Knife river falls into the Missouri from the north, in Mountraille Co., 55 miles above the mouth of the Little Missouri, and thus corresponds to Goat-pen creek. crei:k. the croaking of nail fro^h in the lis great (luaiiti- ;r()use, or praiiic- npany's traders ; resent it, is cook, I'hich l)()th male drums with his 1 not so loud, as Some deer, elk, "alo on the saiul- also saw a black e passed on the which we called for the purpose ent up the creek have been lett lated with niiii- it flows consists :hout any t ccs. a sand-point to ;k in the middle ibove our camp, wind light from 2 appearance of ided a few miles irel fertile lands; ig. The appear- to-day we found wood, first car- of the Missouri, pheasant in Captain r in Lewis D 33-36 of ) the Missouri from the f the Little Missouri, hall's strand and other creeks. 2;5 winch has the same effect on many vegetable substances. 1 here is indeed reason to believe that the strata of coal in the hills cause the fire, and appearances which they exliibit of being burned. Whenever these marks present them- selves in the bluffs on the river, the coal is seldom seen ; and when found in the neighborhood of the strata of burnt earth, the coal, with the sand and sulphurous matter usually accompanying it, is precisely at the same height and nearly of the same thickness with those strata. We passed three small creeks" or rather runs, which rise in the hills to the north. Numbers of geese and a few ducks, chiefly the mallard [Afias l>oscas] and blue-winged teal [Qiicr. igd) greater part of the course. At 10^ miles we passed a creek ten yards wide on the south ; at 18 miles a little run on the north, and at night camped in a woody point on the south.'" We had traveled 26 miles through a country similar to that of yesterday, except that there were greater appearances of burnt hills, furnishing large quantities of lava and pumice-stone, of the last of which we observe "All nameless in the codex of this date. One of them is called "Hall Strand " on Clark's map (next above (ioat-pen creek), and also on Lapie's, 1821 ; It is "Hall's stnand, lake and creek " of the Summary St.itement ; named for nu;,di Hall, a member of the Exjiedition. One of these streams is the White- earth river of some maps, i8>^ miles by river above tlie mouth of the Little Knife ; but it is not the Whiteearth river of Lewis and Clark, for which see April 2 1st, beyond. At the moutii of one of them is the town of Grinnel. •■'* In Wallace Co. ; across the river is Flannery Co. No names in Lewis D for to-ilay ; nothing on Clark's map from the north, between Hall's strand and the Wliite-earth river of our text (now Muddy river) ; only a trace, unlettered, for one creek from the south. (Examine Dry Fork and Reed IJottom of Stevens.) I 276 THE MISSOURI CROOKED— TEDIOUS PROGRESS. some pieces floating down the river, as we had previously done as low as the Little Missouri. In all the copses of wood are re* lins of the Assiniboin camps; around us arc great quantities of game, such as herds of buffalo, elk, antelopes, some deer and wolves, and the tracks of bears ; a curiae [curlew, Numcnius longirostris] was also seen, and we obtained three beavers, the flesh of which is more relished by the men than any other food which we have Just before we camped we saw some tracks of Indians, who had passed 24 hours before and left four rafts, and whom we supposed to be a band of Assiniboins on their return from war against the Indians of the Rocky mountains. April \%th. We had again a pleasant day, and pro- ceeded with a westerly wind, which, however, changed to the N.W. and blew so hard that we were obliged to stop at one o'clock and remain four hours, when it abated and we then continued our course. We camped about dark on a woody bank, having made 13 miles.'" The country presented the usual variety of highlands interspersed with rich plains. In one of these we observed a species of pea bearing a yellow flower, which is now in blossom, the leaf and stalk resembling the com- mon pea. It seldom rises higher than six inches, and the root is perennial. On the rose-bushes we also saw a quantity of the hair of the buffalo, which had become perfectly white by exposure and resembled the wool of the sheep, except that it was much finer and more soft and silky. A buffalo which we killed yesterday had shed his long hair, and that which remained was about two inches long, thick, (/>. igi) fine, and would have furnished five pounds of wool, of which we have no doubt au excellent cloth may be made. Our game to-day was a beaver, a deer, an elk, and some geese. The river has been crooked all day and bearing toward the south. =' The crookedness of the Missouri along here ma«;es many miles of naviga- tion for comparatively little advance. The Expedition has not yet reached the mouth of Muddy river (Whiteearth river of our text). WIND-BOUND— LITTLE A^'■.^NC'^ MADK. 277 On the hills we observed considerable quantities of dwarf jumper, which seldom ^'rows higher than three feet. We killed m the course of the duy an elk, three geese, and a beaver. The beaver on this part of the Missouri are in greater quantities, large- and fatter, and their fur is more abundant and of a darker color, than any we have hitherto seen. Their favorite food seems to be the bark of the Cottonwood and willow, as we have seen no other species of tree that has been touched by them, and these they gnaw to the ground through a diameter of 20 inches. The next day, Friday, April xgth, the wind was so high from the northwest that we could not proceed f but being less violent on April 20th, we set off about seven o'clock, and nearly lost one of the canoes as we left the shore, by the falling in of a large part of the bank. The wind became again so strong that we could scarcely make one mile an hour, and the sudden squalls so dangerous to the small boats that we stopped for the night among some willows on the north,^' not being able to advance more than 6>^ miles. In walking through the neighboring plains we found a fine fertile soil covered with Cottonwood, some box-elder, ash iFraxinus viridis ?l red elm, and an undergrowth of willow, rose- bushes, honeysuckle, red willow [Cornus stolonifcra], goose- berry, currant, and service-berries [Amclanchii-r alnifolia'\ and along the foot of the hills great quantities of hyssop [Artemisia sp.]. Our hunters procured elk and deer, which are now lean, and six beaver, which are faiter and more palatable. Along the plain there were also some Indian camps ; near one of these was a scaffold about seven feet high, on which were two sleds with their harness, and under it the body of a female, carefully wrapped in several (/. 1(^2) dressed buf- •" " While we lay here, I went out to the hills, which I found very high, much washed by the rain, and without grass. I saw part of a log quite petrified and of which good whetstones or hones could be made," Gass, p. 79, Apr. 19th. ^'At this point the E.xpedition has hardly passed Flannery and Wallace Cos., but next camps on the north are in Buford Co., with Allred Co. across the river' Ill '9w 278 A NAMELESS SCAFFOLD— WHITE-EARTH RIVER. falo-skins; near it lay a bag made of buffalo-skin, containinjf a pair of moccasins, some red and blue paint, beavers' nails, scrapers for dressing hides, some dried roots, several plaits »)f sweet grass, and a small ciuantity of Mandan tobacco. These things, as well as the body itself, had probably fallen down by accident, as the custom is to place them on the scaffold. At a little distance was the body of a dog not yet decayed, who had met this reward for having dragged thus far in the sled the corpse of his mistress, to whom according to the Indian usage he had been sacrificed. April 2\st. Last night there was a hard white frost, and this morning the weather was cold, but clear and pleasant ; in the course of the day, however, it became cloudy and the wind rose. The country is of the same descriptio'i as within the few last days. We saw immense quantities of buffalo, elk, deer, antelopes, geese, and some swans and ducks, out of which we procured three deer and four buffalo calves, which last are equal in flavor to the most delicious veal ; also two beaver and an otter. We passed one large and two small creeks on the south side, and reached at 16 [J^] miles the mouth of Whiteearth'' [White Clay in Gass] river, coming in from the north. This river, before it reaches the low grounds near the Missouri, is a fine bold stream, 60 yards wide, and is deep and navigable ; but it is so much choked up at the entrance by the mud of the Missouri that its mouth is not more than ten yards wide. Its course, as far as we could discern from the neighboring hills, is nearly due north," passing through ^* Not that so called on present maps, but the river now named Little Muddy, or simply Muddy ; the last considerable stream before the Yellowstone is reached, in Buford Co.; Williston at its mouth, on Gr. Northern Ry. ■*^ From the Missouri, i. e., flowing due south to the Missouri. (See b.ick Apr. I6th, 17th, i8th, and notes there.) White-earth or White Earth river is a prairie stream, heading in the Coteau ^ miles long ; as White Earth river was passed at the first Yt, mile of this course, Cut bluff is a jwint on the south side, two miles alxnc this river, in Allred Co., opposite fhifoid Co. *" Read Mouse river, which the head of the river here described approaches. The Saskatchewan is very much further north and west. 28o FUTURE SITE OF TRENTON PASSED. worn smooth by the agitation of the water. These rocks and stones consist of white and gray granite, a brittle black rock, flint, limestone, freestone, some small specimens of an excellent pebble, and occasionally broken strata of a black- colored stone like petrified wood, which makes good whet- stones. The usual appearances of coal, or carbonated wood, and of pumice-stone, still continue, the coal being of a better quality, and when burnt affording a hot and lasting fire, emit- ting very little smoke or flame. There are large herds of deer, elk, buffalo, and antelopes in view of us ; the buffalo are not so shy as the rest, for they suffer us to approach within ICO yards before they run, and then stop and resume their pasture at a very short distance. The wolves to-day pursued a herd of them, and at length caught a calf that was unable to keep up with the rest ; the mothers on these {p. ig4) occasions defend their young as long as they can retreat as fast as the herd, but seldom return any dis- tance to seek for them. April 2id. A clear and pleasant morning ; but at nine o'clock the wind became so high that the boats were in dan- ger of upsetting. We therefore were forced to stop at a place of safety till about five in the afternoon, when the wind being lower we proceeded, and camped on the north at the distance of ly/i miles [thus past Painted Wood creek]. The party on shore brought us a buffalo calf and three black-tailed deer. The sand on the river has the same appearances as usual, except that the quantity of wood increases. April 24th. The wind blew so high during the whole day that we were unable to move ; such indeed was its violence that, though we'' were sheltered by high timber, the waves wet many articles in the boats. The hunters went out and returned with four deer, two elk, and some young wolves of the small kind. The party are very much afflicted with sore eyes, which \vc presume to be occasioned by the vast quantities of sand which are driven from the sand-bars in such clouds as often to hide from us the view of the opposite bank. The particles DISCOVERY OF THE YELLOWSTONE. 281 of this sand are so fine and light that it floats for miles in the air, like a column of thick smoke ; it is so penetrating that nothing can be kept free from it, and we are compelled to eat, drink, and breathe it very copiously. To the same cause we attribute the disorder of one of our watches," although its cases are double and tight ; since, without any defect in its works that we can discover, it will not run for more than a few minutes without stopping. April 2i)th. The wind moderated this morning, but was still high ; we therefore set out early, the weather being so cold that the water froze on the oars as we rowed ; but about ten o'clock the wind increased so much that we were obliged to stop. This detention from the wind, and the reports from our hunters of the crookedness of the river, in- {p. /p5) duced us to believe that we were at no great dis- tance from the Yellowstone. In order, therefore, to prevent delay as much as possible. Captain Lewis determined to go on by land in search of that river, and make the necessar>' observations, so as to be enabled to proceed immediately after the boats should join him. He therefore landed about eleven o'clock on the south side, accompanied by four men ; the boats were prevented from going until five in the afternoon, when they went on a few miles further, and we camped for the night at a distance of 141^ miles. April 26th. We continued our voyage in the morning, and by twelve o'clock camped at eight miles' distance, at the junction of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, where wc were soon joined by Captain Le-.i-is. On leaving us yesterday he pursued his route along the foot of the hills, which he descended to the distance of eight miles ; from these the wide plains watered by the Missouri and the Yellowstone spread themselves before the eye, occa- sionally varied with the wood of the banks, enlivened by the ^'' " Attribute it to the sand, with which she seems perfectly charged, notwith- staiiiliiiy her cases are double and tight," Lewis D 52. The codices generally make their watches, chronometers, sextants, octants, guns, and rifles, of the feminine gender, as well as their boats. 282 CONFLUENCE OF THE YELLOWSTONE. irregular windings of the two rivers, and animated by vast herds of buffalo, deer, elk, and antelope. The confluence of the two rivers was concealed by the wood, but the Yellow- stone itself was only two miles distant, to the south. He therefore descended the hills and camped on the bank of the river, having killed, as he crossed the plain, four buffaloes ; the deer alone are shy and retire to the woods, but the elk, antelope, and buffalo suffered him to approach them without alarm, and often followed him quietly for some distance. This morning he sent a man up the river to examine it, while he proceeded down to the junction. The ground on the lower side of the Yellowstone near its mouth is flat, and for about a mile seems to be subject to inundation ; wliilc that at the point of junction, as well as on the opposite side of the Missouri, is at the usual height of lO to i8 feet above the water, and therefore not overflowed. There is more timber in the neighborhood of this {p. 196) place, and on the Missouri as far below as Whiteearth [Little Muddy] river, than on any other part of the Missouri on this side of the Chayenne. The timber consists principally of Cottonwood, with some small elm, ash, and box-alder [box-elder, iV.;^»;/r/tf accroidcsl On the sand-bars and along the margin of the river grows the small-leaved willow \Salix longifolia] ; in the low grounds adjoining are scattered rose-bushes, three or four feet high, the red-berry {Shcphcrdia argentea\ service- berry [AjHclanchier alnifolia\ Tind redwood iCormis stohmi fcra\ The higher plains arc either immediately on the river —in which case they are generally timbered and have an undergrowth like that of the low grounds, with the addition of the broad-leaved willow, gooseberry, choke-cherry \Prunm deviissa], purple currant [Rihcs sp.J, and honeysuckle [Loiii- cera involucrata\—ox they are between the low grounds and the hills, and for the most part without wood, or anytiiint; except large quantities of wild hyssoi) [sage-brush, Artemisia sp.]. This plant rises about two feet high, and, like the willow of the sand-bars, is a favorite food of the buffalo, elk, deer, grouse, porcupine, hare, and rabbit. THE YELLOWSTONE. 283 This river, which had been known to the French as the Roche jaune, or as wc have called it the Yellowstone," rises according to Indian information in the Rocky mountains [in the Yellowstone National Park] ; its sources are near those of the Missouri and [not so near those of] the Platte ; it may be navigated in canoes almost to its head. It runs first through a mountainous country, in many parts fertile and well-timbered ; it then waters a rich, delightful land, broken into valleys and meadows, and well supplied with wood and water, till it reaches near the Missouri open meadows and low grounds, sufficiently timbered on its borders. In the upper country its course is represented as very rapid ; but during the two last and largest portions, its current is much more gentle than that of the Missouri, which it resembles also in being turbid, though with less sediment. •" In the codices commonly the Yellow Stone river— perhaps a reminiscence of the time when the Missouri was la Riviere Jaune of the French, or the Yellow river; in Gass, "the river jaune or Yellow Stone." The text reads as if the translation of the French was first made by Lewis and Clark, and in this passage. They are doubtless the real authors of the now famous word ; but it certaiidy did not first appear in print in the present connection, though it may have licen first penned in a Lewis or Clark MS. I hjive before me an extremely interesting letter, which in my arrangement makes part of Codex S. This is no other than the first rough draft of Lewis' letter to Jefferson, penned at St. Louis, Sept. 23d, 1806— the day the Expedition returned— announcing the happy arrival of the party. It occupies pp. i-ii of the codex, is signed by Lewis Willi itis official title, and addressed " The President of the United States." The (licumcnt is full of interlineations and erasures, showing how Lewis studied and MO doubt liit his pen in wording so important an announcement, a clean copy of which was to go to the President. This letter is followed by another, now fragmentary, beginning venn of the sheet on which the former letter end., breaking off in the midst of a sentence, and thus making pp. 12-16 of Codex S, It is dated St. Louis, Sfpt. 21st, by a slip of the pen, probably for 23d or 24th, as Lewis was not there till about noon of the 23d. Here we read : "at the distance of 1888 miles we reached the entrance of the Yellow Rock river on the 27th [slip for 2f)th] of Apl.;" and presently: "we examined the coiiiiiry minutely in the vicinity of the entrance of the River Roghejone "—the ,!,' overwritten for a <-, but its tail left .as long as that of they. In the codices, /iim/w, the word ranges from Rejone, through Rejhone, Rochejone, Rochejohn, Kochejhone, etc., to its proper form. At this point the Expedition is 305 river-miles above P)ismarck, and 500 below IViUon ; lat. 48° N., nearly ; long. 104° W., nearly ; .altitude about 2,000 feet. 1 n 284 JOSEPH FIELDS ASCENDED THE YELLOWSTONE. The aian *" who was scMit up the river reported in the eve., in^ tliat he had gone about ei^ht miles ; that duriii{:j tliat distance the river winils on both sides of a [)lain four or (ivc miles wide; that the current was gentle and much obstructed by sand-bars ; that at five miles he had met with a large tim- bered island, three miles beyond which a {p. Kjy) creek *" falls in on the S.E., above a high bluff, in which are several strata of coal. The country, as far as he could discern, resembled that of the Missouri, and in the plain he met several of the bighorn animals yOvis montaita\, but they were too shy to be obtained. The bed of the Yellowstone, as we observed it near the mouth, is comi)osed of sand and mud, without a stone of any kind. Just above the confluence we measured the two rivers, and found the bed of the Missouri 520 yard.s wide, the water occupying only 330, and the channel deep ; while the Yellowstone, including its sand-bar, occupied 858 yards. They are very nearly m the center of a 30-milc square, which extends for 15 miles north and south, and the same east and west, of the intersection of 48" X. with 104'' \V., anil constitutes the Military Reservation of Fort IJufonl. Tliis became a larj;e and imiiortant post, i)uilt a couple of miles below the mouth of tlie Yellowstone, on the north bank of the Missouri. Huford succeeded to the honors of a historic post, Fort Union, long since disestablished. Old I''ort Union was built by the American Fur Company in 1S30, on the left bank of the Missouri, about 2^ miles (more by water) above the mouth of the Yellowstone. It was stockaded with hewn timber about 16 feet high, occupied probably 250 foot su>'.:ire, and was furnished with two bastions. This fort was for many years in charge of Mr. Alexander Culbertson, who also exercised supervision over Forts Pierre and Henton. Captain Clark's party, of the present Expedition, first explored the Yellow- stone, on the return journey, in 1806, when Ca])tain Lewis and his men wtre over on Maria's river. The honor of discovering the (some) sources of the Yellowstone belongs, I think, to Private John Colter, of the Lewis a. id Clark party. See his route of 1807, as traced on Clark's ma]). The next step of the Expe^ '" miles we passed a small creek in a deep bend on the south, with a sand-island opposite it ; then, passing along an extensive plain, which gradually rises from the north side of the river, we camped at the distance of 18 miles," in a point of woodland on the north. The river is this day wider than usual and crowded with sand-bars on all sides; the country is level, fertile, and beautiful ; the low grounds are extensive, and contain a much greater portion of timber than is common. Indeed, all the forepart of the day the river was bordered with timber on both sides, a circum- stance very rare on the Missouri, and the first that has occurred since we left the Mandans. There are, as usual, vast quant'aes of game, extremely gentle, the male buf- falo particularly will scarcely give way to us, and as we approach will merely look at us for a moment, as some- thing new, and then quietly resume their feeding. In the course of the day we passed some old Indian hunting-camps, one of which consisted of two large lodges, fortified with a circular fence 20 or 30 feet in diameter, made of timber laid horizontally, the beams overlying each other to the height of five feet, and covered with the trunks and limbs of trees that have drifted down the river. The lodges themselves are formed by three or more strong sticks about the size of a man's leg or arm and twelve feet long, (/. 206) which are attached at the top by a whith [withe] of small willows, and spread out so as to form at the base a circle of 10 to 14 feet in diameter. Against these are placed pieces of driftwood and fallen timber, usually in three ranges, one on the other; the interstices are covered with leaves, baik, "' 'S'/f— hut 9|^ by the codex ; tliree courses to this creek, of 3, 5, and i;^ miles, respectively, Lewis D81. This is the creek charted on Clark's map, next above his 2.ixx)-mile creek, with the Indian F(jrt marked at its mouth. Such a stream also appears on Twining's map, with a large island at its mouth. " This takes the party past Tooly, Tooley, Tule, or Tulle, also Frog, creek, on the north, only ten miles by the lUiford trail from the Poplar river ; but noth- ing appears in text or code:: about it. Present site of Chelsea, on G. N. Ry., also passed. 296 SliVERAL SrECIES OF GEESE DESCRIBED. and straw, so as to form a conical figure about ten feet high, witli a small aperture in one side for the door. It is, how- ever, at best a very imperfect shelter against the inclemencies of the seasons. May ^th. Wc had a fine morning, and the wind being from the cast we used our sails. At the distance of five miles we came to a small island, and twelve miles further camped on the north, at the distance of 17 miles.'" The country, like that of yesterday, is beautiful in the extreme. Among the vast quantities of game around us, we distin- guish a small species of goose [Bcniicla hntchinsi^ differing considerably from the common Canadian goose \B. cana- densis] ; its neck, head, and beak being much thicker, larger, and shorter in proportion to its size, which is nearly a third smaller ; the noise too resembling more that of the brant or of a young goose that has not yet fully acquired its note ; in other respects— in color, habits, and the number of feathers in the tail— the two species correspond ; this species also asso- ciates in flocks with the large geese, but we have not seen it pair with them. The white brant [^Chcn hypcrboreiis'] is about the size of the common brown brant \Bcrnicla brenta\ or two-thirds of the common goose, than which it is also six inches shorter from the extremity of the wings, though the beak, head, and neck are larger and stronger ; the body and wings are of a beautiful pure white, except the black feathers of the first joint of the wings ; the beak and legs are of a reddish or flesh-colored white; the eye is of moderate size; the pupil is of a deep sea-green, encircled with a ring of yellowish-brown ; the tail consists of 16 feathers equally long; the flesh is dark ; and [in this respect], as well as in its note, [this brant] differs but little from the common brant, which in form and habits it resembles, and with which it {p. 20J) sometimes unites in a common flock. The white brants also " " Soon after seling out the rudder irons of tlie white perogue were 1)riikcn by her runiiii; fowl on a sawyer, she was however refitted in a few minutes with some tui;s of r:iw hide and nalcs," Lewis 1.) 82. Several small streams or runs are passed unnoticed since Tooley, or Frog creek ; site of Macon also passed. SMALL AND LARGE WOLVES DESCRIBED. 297 associate by themselves in large flocks ; but as they do not seem to be mated or paired off, it is doubtful whether they reside here during the summer for the purpose of rearing their young. [They go much further north to breed.] The wolves are also very abundant, and'are of two spe- cies. First, the small wolf or burrowing-dog of the prai- ries [coyote, Cams /airans], which is found in almost all the open plains. It is of an intermediate size between the fox and dog, very delicately formed, fleet and active. The ears are large, erect, and pointed ; the head is long and pointed, like that of the fox; the tail long and bushy; the hair and fur are of a pale reddish-brown color, though much coarser than that of the fox ; the eye is of a deep sea- green color, small and piercing ; the talons are rather longer than those of the wolf of the Atlantic States, which ani- mal, as far as we can perceive, is not to be found on this side of the Platte." These wolves usually associate in bands of ten or twelve, and are rarely if ever seen alone, not being able singly to attack a deer or antelope. They live and rear their young in burrows, which they fix near some pass or spot much frequented by game, and sally out in a body against any aninal which they think they can overpower ; but on the slightest alarm retreat to their burrows, making a noise exactly like that of a small dog. The second species [Cam's lupus occidentalis~\ is lower, shorter in the legs, and thicker than the Atlantic wolf ; the color, which is not affected by the seasons, is of every variety of shade, from a gray or blackish-brown to a cream- colored white. They do not burrow, nor do they bark, but howl ; they frequent the woods and plains, and skulk along the skirts of the buffalo herds, in order to attack the weary or wounded. Captain Clark and one of the hunters [Drewyer] met this evening the largest brown bear [grizzly bear, UrsusJiorribilis\ '' A mistake. The common wolf, in some of its varieties, was found in most parts of North America, though it is now exterminated from settled regions. It is this wolf which is described in the next paragraph. 298 URSUS HORRIBILIS CHARACTERIZED. we have seen. As they fired he did not attempt to attack, but fled with a most trcmen- (/. 20S) dous roar ; and such was his extraordinary tenacity of life that, although five balls passed through his lungs and he had five other wounds, he swam more than half eicross the river to a sand-bar, and survived 20 minutes. He weighed between 500 and 600 pounds at least, and measured 8 feet 7>^ inches from the nose to the extremity of the hind feet, 5 feet io>^ inches round the breast, 3 feet 11 inches round the neck, i foot 1 1 inches round the middle of the foreleg, and his talons, five on each foot, were 4^ inches in length. This differs from the common black bear \_Ursus americamis] in having its talons much longer and more blunt; its tail shorter; its hair of a reddish or bay brown, longer, finer, and more abundant ; his liver, lungs, and heart much larger, even in proportion to his size, the heart being equal to that of a l..rge ox ; his maw ten times larger ; his testicles pendant from the belly and in separate pouches four inches apart. Besides fish and flesh, he feeds on roots and every kind of wild fruit. The antelope are now lean and with young, so that they may readily be caught at this season, as they cross the river from S.W. to N.E. May 6th. The morning being fair and the wind favora- ble, we set sail and proceeded on very well the greater part of the day. The country continues level, rich, and beauti- ful ; the low grounds are wide and, comparatively with the other parts of the Missouri, well supplied with wood. The appearances of coal, pumice-stone, and burnt earth have ceased, though the salts of tartar or vegetable s:'lts continue on the banks and sand-bars, and sometimes in the little ravines at the base of the low hills. We passed three streams on the south ; the first, at the distance of lyi miles from our camp, was about 25 yards wide ; but although it contained some water in standing pools, it discharged none; this we called Littledry creek, about eight miles beyond which is Bigdry creek, 50 yards wide, without any water; LITTLE AND UIG DRY CREEKS AND RIVERS. 299 the (/. 20Q) third is six miles further, and has the bed of a large river 200 yards wide, yet without a drop of water. Like the other two, this stream, which we called Bigdry'* liver, continues its width undiminished as far as we can dis- corn. The banks are low ; the channel is formed of fine brown sand, intermixed with a small proportion of little pebbles of various colors; the country around is flat and without trees. These rivers had recently discharged their waters ; from their appearance and the nature of the country through which they pass, we concluded that they rise in the Black mountains, or in the level low plains which are probably between this place and the mountains ; that the country being nearly of the same kind and of the same latitude, the rains of spring, melting the snows about the same time, conspire to throw at once vast quantities of water down these channels, which are then left dry during the summer, autumn, and winter, when there is very little rain. We had to-day a slight sprinkling, but it lasted a very short time. The game is in such plenty that it has become a mere amusement to supply the party with provisions. '^ " Big Dry river " (printed " Bigdry " river) is a mistake for Little Dry river, as appears from orig. ed. p. 212, from the Summary Statement at tlie end of the book, and from the codex : "The first of these we call little dry creek . . . the 2d. 50 yards wide ... we called it Big dry Creek, the 3d. . . . which we called little dry river," Lewis D 87, The real liig Dry river is beyond the mouth of Milk river. The st-quen ■ of these "dry" creeks and rivers, or coulees is : i, Little Dry creek; 2, Big Dry creek ; 3, Little Dry river; and 4 (beyond Milk river), Big Dry river. All four of these coulees make into the Missouri from the south. The statement that the three former of these "rise in the Black mountains," etc., is very far out. The authors seem to have been misled by the diameters of these coulees, and to have forgotten tor the moiTiCnt that they had passed the mouth of the Yellowstone, the whole watershed of which great river necessarily lay between these coulees and any part of the Black hills — or else, and more likely, they mean by " Black moun- tains " anything mountainous east of the Rockies. Clark charts all four of these coulees: No. i, nameless (elsewhere Lackwater creek); Ncs 2, 3, 4, by names, as in this note. Old Fort Charles was near one of them, on the north bank of the Missouri. No. 2 is now Elk Prairie creek. Clark also charts, from the north, a stream he calls " Argalia " — a name not in Lewis D, nor in the Sum- mary Statement. This is Wolf creek of Twining's and other maps ; Wolf Point (town) here now. 300 THE GULF IN THE ISLAND BEND. We made 25 miles to a clump of trees on the north, where we passed the night. May yth. The morning was pleasant, and we proceeded at an early hour. There is much driftwood floating; and, what is contrary to our expectation, although the river is rising the water is somewhat clearer than usual. At eleven o'clock the wind became so high that one of the boats was nearly sunk, and we were obliged to stop till one o'clock, when we proceeded, and camped on the south, above a large sand-bar projecting from the north, having made 15 miles." On the north side of the river are the most beauti- ful plains \^e have yet seen ; they rise gradually from the low grounds on the water to the height of 50 or 60 feet, and then extend in an unbroken level as far as the eye can reach. The hills on the south are more broken and higher, though at some distance back the country becomes level and fertile, {p. 210) There are no more appearances of burnt earth, coal, or pumice-stone, though that of salt still continues, and the vegetation seems to have advanced but little since the 28th of last month. Game is as abun- dant as usual. The bald eagles, of which we see great numbers, probably feed on the carcasses of dead animals; for on the whole Missouri we have seen neither the blue- crested fisher [kingfisher, Ccryle alcyon\ nor the fishing- hawk \Pandion carolinensis], to supply them with their fav- orite food; and the water of the river is so turbid that no bird which feeds exclusively on fish can procure a subsistence. May Sf/i. A light breeze from the east carried us 16 miles, till we halted for dinner at the entrance of a river on the north. Captain Clark, who had walked on the south, on ascending a high point opposite its entrance discovered " A place is named in the vSummary Statement, "Gulf in the Island I'end," and located 13 miles below Milk river. 15ut no such name appears in the text here or in Lewis D of this date. This is between Hark creek (south, Indian fight there, 1S76) and a certain stream or coulee imm the north, now called Little Porcupire creek, whose mouth our survey .iiade 15 miles below Milk river ; town of Lenox there now. THE RIVER WHICH SCOLDS AT ALL OTHERS. 301 a level and beautiful country which it watered ; that its course for 12 or 15 miles was N.W., when it divided into two nearly equal branches, one pursuing a direction nearly N., the other to the W. of N.W. Its width at the entrance is 1 50 yards ; on going three miles up, Captain Lewis found it to be of the same breadth and sometimes more ; it is deep, gentle, and has a large quantity of water ; its bed is principally of mud ; the banks are abrupt, about twelve feet ill height, and formed of a dark, rich loam and blue clay ; the low grounds near it are wide and fertile, and possess a con- siderable proportion of cottonwood and willow. It seems to be navigable for boats and canoes ; by this circumstance, joined to its course and quantity of water, which indicates that it passes through a large extent of country, we are led to presume that it may approach the Saskaskawan and afford a communication with that river. The water has a peculiar whiteness, such as might be produced by a table- spoonful of milk in a dish of tea, and this circumstance induced us to call it Milk river.'" " By far the greatest of all the northern tributaries of the upper Missouri. The surmise of its appioach to the Saskatchewan is correct. Some southern sources of the latter head with Millc river in the main divide of the Rocky mountains a little south of 49', or the northern border of Montana. Milk river skirts this parallel of latitude, a little north of it for some distance, crosses the parallel about iio° 30' W. long., then runs in Montana appro.ximately east- ward, but with general southerly inclination, to the Missouri near 106" 18' W. loiin;. In its course the Milk river receives many tributaries, from both sides, tiius draining the whole country south of the Saskatchewan watershed. These tributaries have mostly a general north and south course, and a number of them cross 49° N. lat., in each of these directions. The largest flow south into Milk river after the latter has entered Montana, as Cottonwood, Frenchman's, Little Rocky, and Big Porcupine rivers. The latter is very large — about like Poplar and Martha's rivers— and is the north " fork " of Milk river which Captain Clark discovered. At the crossing of 49'' was a station called Milk River Post ; Fort Assiniboin is now lower down. On Frenchman's river is (or was in 1S74, when I was there) Fort M. J. Turnay — a very disagreeable place. The Bear's Paw mountains and the Little Rocky mountains separate the Milk river watershed from that of the Missouri. At the mouth of Milk river the G. N. Ry. leaves the Missouri, along the norlli bank of which it runs up to here from the Muikly, below the mouth of the Yellowstone, and ascends Milk river, crossing at Glasgow. For the headline of this page, see Lewis' map, 1S06. 1 302 MILK RIVER PASSED — BIG DRY RIVER. In the evening we had made 27 miles, anc' camped on the south [six miles above Milk river, Lewis D 97]. Tiie country on that side consists in general of high bro- {p. 211) ken hills, with much gray, black, and brown granite scat- tered over the surface of the ground. At a little distance from the river there is no timber on either side, the wood being confined to the margin of the river; so that unless the contrary is particularly mentioned, it is always to be understood that the upland is perfectly naked, and that we consider the low grounds well timbered if even a fifth be covered with wood. The wild licorice [Glycyr- rliiza Icpidoia] is fo.ind in great abundance on these hills, as is also the white-apple [pomme blanche of the French, Psoralen csculcnta]. As usu \\, we arc surrounded by buffalo, elk, common and black-tailed deer, beaver, antelopes, and wolves. We observed a place where an Indian had recently taken the hair off an antelope's skin, and some of the party thought they distinguished imperfectly some smoke and Indian lodges, up Milk river — marks which we are by no means desirous of realizing, as the Indians are probably Assiniboins, and might be very troublesome. May gih. We again had a favorable wind, and sailed along very well. Between four and five miles we passed a large island in a deep bend to the north, with a large sand- bar at the upper point. At ijj^ miles we l■'^ached the bed of a most extraordinary [Big Dry] river, which presents itself on the south." Though as wide as the Missouri itself, — that is, about half a mile, — it does not discharge a drop of water, and contains nothing but a few standing pools. On ascending it three miles ,/e found an eminence from which we saw the direction of the channel, first south for ten or " Had our travelers been as familiar with the Upper Missouri country as they were with the great river itself, they would have thought less of this great dry course. Many of the smaller rivers run dry, and their courses are often road- beds for long distances. This Dig Dry river retains its name. (P'or other such coulees, of similar names, see note '^ May 6th, p. 299.) It is in the bight of a small, sharp bend of the Missouri, on rounding which the Expedition will reach the site of the long celebrated Fort Peck Indian Agency. BIG DRY RIVER— WERN'ER'S RUN OR CREEK. 303 twelve miles, then turning to the E.S.E. as far as we could see. It passes through a wide valley without timber ; the surrounding country consists of waving low hills, inter- sperscd with some handsome level plains; the banks are abrupt, and consist of a black or yellow clay, or of a rich s;indy loam; though they do not rise more than six or eight feet above the bed, they exhibit no appearance of being overflowed ; the bed is entirely composed of a light brown sand, the particles of which, like (/. 212) those of the Missouri, are extremely fine. Like the dry rivers we passed before, this seemed to have discharged its waters recently, but the watermark indicated that its greatest depth had not been more than two feet. This stream, if it deserve the name, we called Bigdry [Big Dry] river. About a mile below is a large creek on the same side, which is also perfectly dry. Mineral salts and quartz are in large quantities near this neighborhood. The sand of the Missouri from its mouth to this place has been mixed with a substance which we had presumed to be a granulated talk [talc], but which is most probably this quartz. The game is now in great quantities, particularly the elk and buffalo, which last is so gentle that the men are obliged to drive them out of the way with sticks and stones. The ravages of the beaver are very apparent ; in one place the timber was entirely prostrated for a space cf three acres in front on the river and one in depth, and great part of it removed, though the trees were in large quantities, and some of them as thick as the body of a man. At the distance of 24 miles we camped, after making 251^ miles, at the entrance of a small creek in a bend on the north, to which we gave the name of Werner's creek, after one of our men.'* '* William Werner, or Warner ; latter in Class ; Werner's run of the Summary Statement, there located nine miles above mouth of Big Dry river ; charted as Warner's Run on Clark's map ; the first stream from the north above Fort Peck, the site of which has been passed to-day. The double statements of distances in text, " 24" and " 1^%, " miles, I suppose to be a slip ; neither agrees exactly with Lewis 1) 112, where the distances for May Qth foot up 241-^ miles in all. At this date Lewis D rn gives a page of description of a remarkable " plover," 304 llfeCE DE RliSISTANCE, AU NATUREI-. For several days past the river has been as wide as it generally is near its mouth ; but as it is much shallower, crowded with s.ind-bars, and the color of the water has become much clearer, we do not yet despair of reaching tlie Rock [RocUy] mountains, for which we are very anxious. May lot/i. We had not proceeded more than 4% miles when the violence of the wind forced us to halt T r the day, under some timber in .; bcnti on the south side. The wind continued high, the clouds thick and black, and we had a of which he shot four ; the ^nme is in Lewis Q 52, 53. This bird is tlie semi- pahnated tattler or willct, Symphemia semipalmat(%, now a well-known s|iccics. Also at this ihite Ixwis 1) loy j.;ives an anuisin^; nlalion, which [ . annot for- bear to quote, of Chaljoneau's cookery, the result of which must have hccn a nasty mess, sut:;t:;esting a (.tdss between a sausaj^e and a suet-innldins,'. Here is the recipe: " From the cow I killed we saved the necessary materials fdrmakiii^' what our; writ^hthand cook Charbono calls the IniuJin hhinc [intei lined " pou- dingue " by Clark in red ink] , . . About 6 feet of the lower exircmity of the large gut of the liuffaloe is the first mosel that the cook makes love to ; this he holds fast at one end with the right hand, while with the forefinger and tliuinb of the left he gently compresses it, and discharges what he sny , is not good to eat, but of which in the sipiel [sequel] we get a moderate portion ; the mustle lying underneath the shoulder blade .lext to the back and fillets are iiexts.ui};ht, these arc neeiled [kneaded] Ui- ,-ery fine with a good portion of the kidney suit [suet] ; to this composition is then added a just i)roportion of pepper and salt and a small cpiantity of flour ; thus far advanced our skillfull opporater C 1 seizes his recepticle [». e., the gut], which has never once touched the water, for that would intirely dislroy the regular order of the whole procedure ; you will not forget that the [out] side you now see is ihat covered with a good coat of fat, pi >- vided the anamal be in good order ; the operator seizes the recepticle I say, ww tying it fast at one end turns it inwards and begins now with repeated evditioiis of the hand and arm, and brisk motions of the finger and thumb to put in wiuU he says is bon pour imuij^er ; thus by stuffing and compressing he soon distends the recepticU to the utmost limmits of it's power of expansion, and in the course of it's longitudinal progress it drives from the other end of the recepticle a much larger portion of the than was previously discharged by the finger iina thumb in a former part of the op. ration ; thus when the sides of the recepticle are skilfully exchanged the outer for the inner and all is compkatly filled with something good to eat it is tyed at the other end, l.ut not any cut oft, for llmi would make the pattern too scant ; it is then baptised in the missouri with uvo dips and a flirt, and bobbed into the k( tie ; from whence, after it be w< 11 hoile' it is taken and fryed with bears oil until it becomes brown, when it is ri;aerns virginianiis], but the leaf is finer and more delicate. The tops of the hills where these plants grow have a soil quite different from that just described ; the basis of it is usually yellow or white clay, and the general appearance light-colored, sandy, and barren, some scattering tufts of sedge being almost its only herbage. About five in the afternoon one of our men [Bratton], who had been afflicted with boils and suffered to walk on shore, came running to the boats with loud cries, and every symptom of terror and distress. For some time after we had taken him on board he was so much out of breath as to be unable to describe the cause of his anxiety; but he at length told us that about a mile and a half below he had shot a brown bear, which immediately turned and was in close pursuit of him ; but the bear being badly wounded could not overtake him. Captain Lewis, with seven men immediately went in search of him; having found his track they followed him by the blood for a mile, found him con- cealed in some thick brushwood, and shot him with two balls through the skull. Though somewhat smaller than that killed a few days ago, he was a monstrous animal, and a most terrible enemy. Our man had shot him through the center of the lungs ; yet he had pursued him furiously for half a mile, then returned more than twice that dis- rilK HKAR. TlIK OKIZZLY'S tenacity OK LIFE — HNE CREEK. 307 tancc, and with his talons prepared himself a bed in tiic cartli two feet deep and five feet lonjj ; he was perfectly alive when they found him, which was at least two hours after he had received the wound. The wonderful power of life which these animals possess renders them dreadful ; their very track in the mud or sai\d, which we have sometimes found 1 1 inches long and 71^ wide, exclusive of the talons, is alarm- ing; and we had rather encounter two Indians than meet a single brown bear. There is no chance of killing them by a single shot unless the ball goes through the brain, and this is very difficult (/>. 21^) on account of two large muscles which cover the side of the forehead and the sharp projection of the center of the frontal bone, which is also thick. Our camp was on the south, at the distance of 16 miles from that of last night. The fleece and skin of the bear"' were a heavy burden for two men, and the oil amounted to eight gallons. May \2th. The weather bfeing clear and calm, we set out early. Within a mile we came to a small creek, "'^ about 20 yards wide, emptying on the south. At 11^ miles we reached a point of woodland on the .south, opposite which is a creek of the same width as the last, but with little water, which we called Pine creek." At 18^ miles we came- to on the south opposite the lower point of a willow-island, situated in a deep bend of the river to the southeast. Mere we remained during the day, the wind having risen at twelve so high that we could not proceed ; it continued to '■" The grizzly bears have by this time won the respect of the i)arty. Cajitaiu Lewis records at this date a very iirudent and reasonable resolve : " I most s^'cnerally went alone, armed with my rifle and espontoon ; thus equiped I feel myself more than a match for a brown bear, jtrovided I get him in open woods or near the water ; Init feel myself a little diffident with respect to an attack in the open plains. I have therefore come to a resolution to act on the defencive only, should I meet these gentlemen in the open country." (D 121.) " Nameless in the codex, as in thi text ; charted, unlettered, on Clark's map, where it appears .as the first creek on the south above ISig Dry river. Now called Crabb's, Crab's or Crab creek. '" So Lewis D 123, and so the Summary Statement ; also charted on Clark's map by this name, on the north, between "Warner's Run " and " Gibson's Cr." ^o8 VARIOUS PLANTS AND CREEKS. blow violently all night, with occasional sprinklings of rain from sunset till midnight. On both sides of the river the country is rough and bro- ken, the low grounds becoming narrower ; the tops of the hills on the north exhibit some scattered pine and cedar; on the south the pine has not yet commenced, though there is some cedar on the sides of the hills and in the little ravines. The choke-cherry, the wild hyssop, sage, fleshy- leaved thorn, and particularly the aromatic herb on which the antelope and hare feed, are to be found on the plains and hills. The soil of the hills has now altered its texture considerably. Their bases, like that of the river plains, is as usual a rich, black loam, while from the middle to the summits they are composed of a light bvown colored earth, poor and sterile, intermixed with a coarse white sand. M(X}> llth. The wind was so high that we could not pro- ceed till about one o'clock, when we had to encounter a cur- rent rather stronger than usual. In the course of i>4 miles we passed two small creeks'' on the south, (/•. 216) one of 18 and the other of 30 yards' width, neither of them containing any water, and camped on the south at a point of woodland, having made only seven miles. The country is much the same as yesterday, with little timber in the low grounds, and a small quantity of pine and cedar on the northern hills. The river, however, continues to grow clearer, and this, as well as the increased rapidity [of the current], induces us to hope for some change of country. The game is as usual so abundant that we can get without difiliculty all that is necessary. May i\th. There was some fog on the river this morn- ino", which is a very rare occurrence. At the distance of I '4 miles we reached an island in a bend on the north, which continued for about half a mile, when at the head of it a large creek comes in on the north, to which we gave '•^^ No names for these dry runs to be discovered. One of them seems to be indicated cm Clark's map by a nameless trace, next before the creek there letter-jd "Stick lodge Cr." dings of rain GIBSON'S, STICK LODGE, AND BEAR CREEKS. 309 tlie name of Gibson's" creek. At 7^ miles is a point of rocks on the south, above a creek on the same side, which ve called Sticklodge" creek ; five miles further is a large creek" on the south, which, like the two others, has no run- ning water ; and at i6>^ miles is a timbered point on the north, where we camped for the night. The country is like that of yesterday, except that the low grounds are wider; there are also many high black bluffs along the banks ; the game too is in great abundance. Toward evening the men in the hindmost canoes dis- covered a large brown bear lying in the open grounds, about 300 paces from the river. Six of them, all good hunters, immediately went to attack him, and concealing themselves by a small eminence came unperceived within 40 paces of him. Four of the hunters now fired, and each lodged a ball in his body, two of therr directly through the lungs. The furious animal sprang up and ran open-mouthed upon them ; ■'' " Gibson had wounded a very large brown bear, but it was toe late to pur- sue him," Lewis D 124, May 13th, whence the name of this creek, no doubt. It appears in the Summary Statement by the same name, and is so charted on Clark's map. '"'' "A creek on Lard, called Stick Lodge C," Lewis D 128 ; "Stick lodge Cr." on Clark's map, where, however, we must observe that it is not brought into the Missouri according to the text, nor agreeably with the courses and dis- tances of the codex of May 14th, for its mouth is charted below instead of above Gibson's creek ; and another little creek, nameless on the map, and not noticed in the text, is charted in about the place assigned to Stick Lodge creek in the text. I find no hint in the codex to explain the curious name ; May 14th is full of the bear-hunt and the mishap to the perogue But it refers in some way to the leather tent or lodge of the explorers (compare Burnt Lodge creek of May 17th), or else to an Indian lodge (wickiup) of brushwood. " This creek is nauiod in the Summary Statement " Brown-bear-defeated creek," from the incident about to be narrated. It comes in the Statement between Gibscm's and Hratton's creeks, and no Stick Lodge creek is there given. Lewis D I2() has " a large dry creek Lard, the Brown bear Defeat " — which is as doubtful in statement as the bear-hunt itself was for awhile, before the hunters finally defeated the animal by the aid of a re-enforcement from the shore. This creek is charted on Clark's map by the name of " White Beard Cr." This is certainly the same creek ; I suppose " Beard " is here a slip of the graver, and we know these Icars were variously called "white " or " brown." Clark runs it into the Missouri ri^ht for the distances given above Gibson's and below liratton's creek. no A BEAR-HUNT— A NARROW ESCAPE. as he came near, the two hunters who had reserved their fire gave him two wounds, one of which, breaking his shoulder, retarded his motion for a moment ; but before they could reload he was so near that they were obliged to run to the (/». 21^) river, and before they reached it he had almost overtaken tliem. Two jumped into the canoe ; the other four separated, and concealing themselves in the wil- lows, fired as fast as each could reload. They struck him several times, but instead of weakening the monster, each shot seemed only to direct him toward the hunter ; till at last he pursued two of them so closely that they threw aside their guns and pouches, and jumped down a perpendicular bank of 20 feet into the river. The bear sprang after them and was within a few feet of the hindmost, when one of ilic liunters on shore shot him in the head and finally killed liim. They dragged him to the shore, and found that eight balls had passed through him in different directions. The bear was old and the meat tough, so that they took the skin only, and rejoined us at camp, where we had been as much terri- fied by an accident of a different kind." This was the narrow escape of one of our canoes, con- taining all our papers, instruments, medicine, and almost every article indispensable for the success of our enterprise. The canoe being under sail, a sudden squall of v/ind struck '' " Whicli. . . I cannot recollect but with the utmost trepidation and horror, ... it happened unfortunately for us this evening that Charbono was at the helm of tliis Perogue, instead of Drewyer. . . Cliarbono cannot swim and is per- haps the most timid waterman in the world. . . the per()y;ue then wriy;hte(l but hatl filled within an inch of the gunwals ; Charbono still cryiny; to his god for mercy, had not yet recollected the rudder, nor could the repeated orders of tlif Dowsman, Cruzat, bring him to his recollection untill lie tlireatened to shoot him instantly if he did not take hold of the rudder and do his duty, . . . the forti- tude, resolution and good conduct of Cruzat saved her," Lewis 1) 126, 127. ') lie codex continues with the record of Lewis' wild impulse, for a moment, to jump into the river and swim for the boat, 300 yards away ; but adds that he would lip.ie paid the forfeit of his life fi)r this madness, which is quite true. Wlien things had (piieted down, "we thought it a proper occasion to console our- selves and cheer the s|)erits of our men and .accordingly took a drink." We m.ay hojie, for the credit of Sacajawca's feminine instincts, that she viewed the survival of her lord and legal owner with emotions not unmixed. THE HERO AND HEROINE OF THE OCCASION. 311 her obliquely and turned her considerably. The man at the helm, who was unluckily the worst steersman of the party, became alarmed, and instead of putting her before the wind luffed her up into it. The wind was so high that it forced the brace of the square-sail out of the hand of the man who was attending to it, and instantly upset the canoe, which would have been turned bottom upward but for the resist- ance made by the awning. Such was the confusion on board, and the waves ran so high, that it was half a minute before she righted, and then was nearly full of water ; but by bailing out she was kept from sinking until they rowed ashore. Besides the loss of the lives of three men, who not being able to swim would probably have perished, we should have been deprived of nearly everything necessary for our purposes, at a distance of between 2,000 and 3,000 miles from any place where we could supply the deficiency. ip. 218) May \$fh. As soon as a slight shower of rain had passed, we spread out the articles to dry; bu* ' e weather was so damp and cloudy that they derive.^ .le benefit from exposure. Our hunters procured ii .eer, buffalo, and beaver. ATay i6th. The morning was fair, and we were enabled to dry and repack our stores. The loss we sustained is chiefly in the medicines, many articles of which are com- pletely spoiled, and others considerably injured." A': four o'clock we embarked, and after making seven miles camped on the north near some woods. The country on both sides is broken ; tlie low grounds arc narrower and with less tim- ber, though there are some scattered pine and cedar on the steep declivities of the hills, which arc now higher than usual. A white bear tore the coat of [Labiche] one of the men, which had been left on shore ; and two of the party " Sacajawca's conduct on this occasion is to he admired in itself, as well as by cimtrast with that of her craven l-'rcnch ajiology for a mal'^ " i'he Indian woman, to whom I ascribe equal fortitude and resolution with any person on board at the time of the accident, caui;ht and preserved most of the light articles which Were washed overboard," Lewis I) 1)9. ■ 312 uratton's and rattlesnake creeks. wouiulcd a large panther [cougar, Fclis concolor\ which was feasting on a deer. We caught some lean antelopes as they were swimming the river, and killed two buffaloes. May \Tth, We set out early and proceeded on very well ; the banks being firm and the shore bold, we were enabled to use the towline, which, whenever the banks will permit it, is the safest and most expeditious mode (-'ascend- ing the river, except under sail with a steady breeze. At the distance of io>^ miles we came to the mouth of a small creek on the south, below which the hills approach the river, and continue near it during the day. Three miles further is a large creek [13ratton's°"] on the north ; and again, 6.34: miles beyond this, is another 'arge creek," to the south; both containing a small quantity of running water, of a brackish taste. The last we called Rattlesnake [o.- Burnt Lodge] creek, from our seeing that animal \Crotalns con- fluctitns] near it. Although no timber can be observed on it from the Missouri, it throws out large quantities of drift- wood, among which were some pieces of coal brought down ^ONamcil for William Hratton, a private of Wm- narty ; so called in the Suiii- marv Statement, tlioui;h no uameaiipears ni Lewis I), this date, and conse(|iKnlly Riddle sives none ; charted by Clark mider this name. It is a considerahk^ stream, now known as Timber creek of lleap. The above mentione.l " small creek on the south," before Bratton's is reached, T liml no name for anywhere, and cannot identify now. There is a nameless creek charted by Clark, n.M before linrnt Lodge creek, but it docs not come into the Missouri in theri;;lit place to answer for the one here in (luestion, as it is up-river from Rratton's. 31 Rattlesnake creek does not reaiipear in the Summary Statement. Tin iv wc have, instead, three creeks between I'.rown Hear Defeated and the mouth nf \\w Musselshell, namely : 1. T.ratton's creek, N.; 2. Burnt Lodge creek, S. ; 3, Wiscr's creek, N. Hut Rattlesnake and lUirnt Lodge are (me creek— the former is Lewis' name of it, the latter is Clark's. "Capt. Clark narrowly escai>ed bein.; bitten bv a rattlesnake in the course of his walk ; . . . we called this stream ratt .'snake creek," Lewis D 102. 103. Then Cla.k put it in his Sunnuary Statement as lUirntlodge creek, from the other accident which hai>pene.! this d.ay, >.lien their leather tent was near being destroyed by lire ; " notwiilislim.l- ing'the lodg.' was fifty imes distant from the fire it sustained eonsider.ihlc inSury from. "the burning coals which were thrown on it" by the high wind, Lewis D 103. Clark's map charts, " lUirnt Lodge Cr." plainly— on the S., next to WiMis, X. This stream is cr.Urd (Quarrel creek on Heap's map (but it is not t,?uarrel R. of Stevens', now Killed Woman's creek, on the north). CHARACTER OF Til!:: COUNTRY — ALARM OF FIRE 313 by the stream. Wo continued for l}( miles, end camped on the south after makin^^ (/>. -?/y) 20l4 miles. The country in general is rugged ; the liills are higli, vith their summits and sides partially covered with pine and cedar, and their bases on both sides washed by the river. Like those already mentioned, the lower part of these hills is a dark rich loam, while the upner region for 150 feet consists of a whitish-brown sand, so hard in many places as to resemble sto^c, though in fact very little stone or rock of any kind is to be seen on the hills. The bed of the Missouri is mucli narrower than usual, being not more than between 200 and 300 yards in width, with an uncommonly large proportion of gravel ; but the sand-bars, and low points covered with willows, liavc almost entirely disap[)ear(;d. The timber on the river consists of scarcely anything more than a few scattered cottonvvood trees. The saline incrustations, along the banks and the foot of the liills, arc more abundant than usual. The game is in great quantities, but the buffalo are not so numerous as they v/ere some days .igo ; two rattle- snakes [^Crotaliis confiucntus] were seen to-day, and one of them was killed. It resembles those of the middle Atlantic States \C. horri(fiis\, being about 30 :/ches long, of a yel- lowish brown on the back and sides, variegated with a row of oval dark brown spots Ij'ing transversely on the back from tlie neck to the tail, and two other rows of circular spots of the same color on the sides along the edge of the scuta ; there are 176 scuta on the belly, and 17 on the tail. Captain Clark saw in his excursions a fortified Indian camp which appeared to have been recently occupied, and v/as, we presumed, made by a party of Minnetarees who vetit to war last March. Late at night wc were roused by the sergeant of the guard, in consequetice of a fire which had communicated to a tree overhanging <"^ur camp. The wind vas so high that wc had not remo-- -d the camp more than a few minutes when a large part of the tree fell precisely on the spot we 314 WISER'S creek — MOUNTAINS IN PROSPECT. had occupied, and would have crushed us if we had not been alarmed in time. {p.jjo) May iSi/i. The wind continued high from the west, but by means of the towline"'^ we were able to make 19 miles, the sand-bars being now few in number, the river narrow, and the current gentle ; the willow has in a great measure disappeared, and even the cottonwood, almost the only timber remaining, is growing scarce. At 12^ miles we came to a creek [Wiser's"] on the north, which was perfectly dry. We camped on the south, opposite the lower point of an island. May igt/i. Last night was disagreeably cold ; in the morning there was a very heavy fog, which obscured the river so much as to prevent our seeing the way. This is the first fog of any degree of thickness which we have expe- rienced. There was also last evening a fall of dew, the second which we have seen since entering this extensive open country. About eight o'clock the fog dispersed, and we proceeded with the aid of the towline. The island near which we camped was three-quarters of a mile in length. The country resembles that of yesterday, high hills ^* closely "'Singular to say, Lewis and Clark never speak of " cordelling," which is the usual expression for the act of pulling a boat up stream by a rope from the shore. ^^This is Wiser's creek, so called from Peter Wiser, one of the privates of ihe party. It is nameless in the text, and Lewis I) 105, 106, this d.nte, has simply a creek "Stard." I?ut it is Wiser's in the Summary Statement, and charted liy this name plainly on Clark's map, where it appears as the last creek on the ri;^'ht hand or starboard, north side, before coming to the Musselshell river. This is now called Fourchette creek — on some maps Pouchette, Ponchetle or I'onchft, by mistake. It is a considerable stream — when it is full ; when dry, quite a m:uk( d coulee. '■• Lewis D 107, this date, notes that Capt. Clark, on ascending a height, first sighted the Musselshell, to be presently reached. He also had in prospect from tiiis eminence a raui^e of mountains, <\\sXa.n\. .\o or 50 miles. These were the Little Rocky mountains, of which the narrative will s[)eak in due course by the name of the North mountain. Since the Expedition passed Fort Peck, I have each day expected to find in the codices mention of some other prominent landmarl;>; ; but none ajijiear to have been recorded. One of these is Tiger or Panther biilte, 20 miles N.N.W. of Fort Peck. A seco.id is Round butte, south, near the Mi'<- souri, about halfway between Big Dry river and the Musselshell ; anil a thinl. ULOWING-FLY CRKEK — A LARGE RIVER REACHED. 315 bordering the river. In the afternoon the river became crooked, and contained more sawyers or floating timber than we have seen in the same space since leaving the Platte. Our game consisted of deer, beaver, and elk. We also killed a brown bear, which, though shot through the heart, ran at his usual pace nearly a quarter of a mile before he fell. At 21 miles is a willow-island half a mile in length, on the north side, a quarter of a mile beyond which is a slioal of rapid water under a bluff; the water continued very strong for some distance beyond it ; at half a mile we came to a sand-bar on the north, from which to our camp was another half mile, making in all 22 1^ miles. The saline substances which wc have mentioned continue to appear ; the men are much afflicted with sore eyes and imposthumes. May 20th. As usual, we set out early, and the banks being convenient for that purpose, we used the towline. [p. 221) The river is narrow and crooked, the water rapid, and the country much like that of yesterday. At the dis- tance of 2% miles we passed a large creek [from the south], with but little water, to which we gave the name of Blowing- fly" creek, from the quantity of those insects'" found in its neighborhood. They are extremely troublesome, infesting our meat while we are cooking, and at our meals. After making seven miles we reached by eleven o'clock the mouth of a large river on the south, and camped for the day at the upper point of its junction with the Missouri, This stream, which we suppose to be that called by the Minnetarees [Mahtush-ahzhah "] the Muscleshell [Mussel- near the last, is Church butte. The last two probably were not seen simply because the party were immediately under the high bluffs bordering the river. ^' Xot in the Summary Statement ; not charted on Clark's map ; the last creek from the south in approaching the Musselshell. Lewis D 132 sujjplies the required data, not in the text: "large creek on Lard. 25 yds. wide, called Wowing Fly Cr." This is now Squaw creek. ^^ Blowflies, Musca vomitoria or a related species. " So Clark C 249, in a list of Indian names ; the element ' ' ahzhah " is simply river. Lewis D 129, this date, leaves a blank space, not tilled in with any Indian name ; hence none appears in the text. For the English name, the 3i6 THE MUSSELSHELL RIVER. shell] river, empties into the Missouri 2,270 miles above the mouth of the latter river, in latitude 47° o' 241V' north. It is no yards wide, and contains more water than streams of that size usually do in this country; its current is by no means rapid, and there is every appearance of its being susceptible of navigation by canoes for a considerable dis- tance. Its bed is chiefly formed of coarse sand and gravel, with an occasional mixture of black mud ; the banks are abrupt and nearly twelve feet high, so that they are secure from being overflowed ; the water is of a greenish- yellow cast, and much more transparent than that of the Missouri, which itself, though clearer than below, still retains its whitish hue and a portion of its sedinuMit. Opposite the point of junction the current of the Mis- souri is gentle, and 222 yards in width ; the bed is princi- pally of mud, the little sand remaining being wholly con- fined to the points, and [the water is] still too deep to use the setting-pole. If this be, as we suppose, the Muscleshell, our Indian information is that it rises in the first chain of the Rocky mountains not far [see note] from the sources of the Yel- lowstone, whence in its course to this place it waters a high broken country, well timbered, particularly on its borders, and interspersed with hand-ome fertile plains and codices usually have Muscleshell, as one or two words ; sometimes " Mustle- shell ; " once " Cockkleshell ; " occasionally " Shell " river. I prefer to write Musselshell, but do not alter the text. The river is properly identified, but the latitude assigned (Lewis D 132) is not far enough north, as the mouth of the river is nearly up to 47° 30'. It heads in the Little Belt mountains, not far from a place called White Sulphur Springs, in Meagher Co., east of the Big Belt mountains, runs easterly between the Big Snowy mountains and liull moun- tains, in a course approximately parallel with that of the Yellowstone, to about 107° 30' W. long., and then turns northward to the Missouri. Its sources are thus a good deal north of those of the Yellowstone, though approximately on the same meridian. The Musselshell is geologically interesting as indicat- ing the first changes in the hitherto unbroken cretaceous formation which the Missouri has so long traversed. Just north of the mouth of the Musselshell begin the evidences of volcanic action, and some of its tributaries, as well as the river itself, arise in paleozoic rocks (permo-carboniferous). The course of the river is, however, mainly through the cretaceous. SACAJAWEA'S branch of the MUSSELSHELL. 317 meadows. Wc have reason, however, to believe, from their giving a similar account of the timber (/>. 223) where wc now are, that the timber of which they speak is similar to that which we have seen for a few days past, which consists of nothing more than a few straggling small pines and dwarf cudars on the summits of the hills, nine-tenths of the ground being totally destitute of wood, and covered with short grass, aromatic herbs, and an immense quantity of prickly- pear \Opuntia fragilis\ ; though the party who explored it for eight miles represented the low grounds on the river to be well supplied with cottonwood of a tolerable size, and of an excellent soil. They also report that the country is broken and irregular, like that near our camp; and that about five miles up, a handsome river, about fifty yards wide, which we named after Chaboneau's wife, Sahcajahweah's,°* or the Birdwoman's river, discharges into the Muscleshell on the north or upper side. Another party [?.f., John Shields] found at the foot of the southern hills, about four miles from the Missouri, a fine bold spring, which in this country is so rare that since we left the Mandans we have found only one of a similar kind. That was under the bluffs on the south side of the Missouri, at some distance from it, and about five miles below the Yellowstone. With this exception, all the small fountains, of Twhich we have met a number, are impregnated with the salts which are so abundant here, and ^vith which the Missouri is itself most probably tainted, though to us, who have been so much accustomed to it, the taste is not perceptible. Among the game to-day we observed two large owls \Bubo virginianus], with remarkably long feathers resem- ^* Her name is usually spelled Sacajawea. "About five miles abe [above] the mouth of [the Mussel] Shell river a handsome river of about fifty yards in width discharged itself into the Shell river on the Stard. or upper side ; this stream we called Sah-ca-gee-meah or bird woman's River, after our interpret'^r the Snake woman," Lewis D 131, with " Sahcagahwea " interlined in red ink by Clark in- stead of the other form of the name, which he deletes. This river is on recent maps as Crooked creek. ' it" 318 MTTSSELSIIELL BEND OF THE MISSOURI. bling ears on the sides of the head, which we presume are the liooting-owls, though they are larger and their colors are brighter than those common in the United St 'tes. May 2\st. The morning being very fine, we were able to employ the rope,'' and made 20 miles to our camp on the north. The shores of the river are abrupt, bold, and com- posed of a black and yellow clay, the bars being formed of black mud and a small proportion of fine sand; the current is strong. In its course the Missouri makes a sudden (/. 22j) and extensive bend toward the south, to receive the waters of the MusclcslicU The neck of land thus formed, though itself high, is lower than the surroundin- country, and makes a waving valley, extendin- for a great distance to the northward, with a fertile soil which, though without wood, produces a fine turf of low grass, some herbs, and vast quantities of prickly pear. The country on the south is high, broken, and crowned with some pine and dwarf cedar ; the leaf of this pine is longer than that of the common pitch or red pine of Virginia [Pinus r/>/V/rt] ; the cone is longer and narrower, the imbrications are wider and thicker, and the whole is frequently covered with rosin. During the whole day the bends of the river are short and sudden ; the points are covered with some cottonwood, large or broad-leaved willow, and a small quantity of red- wood ; the undergrowth consisting of wild roses and the bushes of the small honeysuckle. The mineral appearances on the river are as usual. Wc do not find the grouse or prairie-hen so abund; tit as below, and think it probable that they retire from the river to the plains during this season. The wind had been moderate during the forepart of the day, but continued to rise toward evening ; about dark it veered to the northwest, and blew a storm all night. We had camped on a bar on the north, opposite the lower point of an island, which from this circumstance we called 39 " Imployed the chord principally," Lewis D 133 ; l>"t Uiis useful article of boat-gear is mostly known to the codices as the " toe line." WINDY I ' AND— GROUSE OR UKAUCIIAMT'S CREEK. 319 Windy island ;*" but we were so annoyed by clouds of dust and :. and that we could ncit! er eat nor sleep, and were forced to remove our camp at ight o'clock to the foot of an aiijoinm^ hill, which slii Ided ; in some degree from he wind. We procured a;;d buffalo. Ma/ 22d. The wind blew so violently that it was deemed prudent to wait till it had abated, so that we did not leave camp ! ten o'clock, when we proceeded, prin- cipally by the touline. We passed Windy island, which is about three-quarters cf a mile in length. Five and a half miles above it is a large island" in a bend to the north ; [p. 224) three miles beyond this we came to the entrance of a creek 20 yards wide, tl di with little water, which we called Grouse creek," fioiu observing near its mouth a quantity of prairie-hens with pointed tails ^^liarp-tailed (jrouse, Pcdicccctcs columbiaiins], the first we have seen in such numbers for several days. The low grounds are somewhat wider than usual, and apparently fertile, though the short and scanty grass on the hills does not indicate much richness of soil. The country around is not so broken as that of yesterday, but is still waving, the southern hills possessing more pine than usual, and some appearing on the northern hills, which are accompanied by the usual salt and mineral appearances. rm all nicht. We ^" An island answering to this appears on Twining's map, though the distance is tonsiderably less than Lewis and Clark make it from the mouth of the Mus- sfl.hell. ^' I!y Twining's map, and Greene's Missouri distances (less than those of L. and C.), this is ISoyd's island, which is 19 or 20 miles up-river from the mouth of the Musselshell. This was named for one George Boyd, our pilot on the boat-voyage from Benton to Bismarck, who was, and may still be, a noted char- acter in tho> jiarts— a good hunter and a good scout, thoroughly acquainted with the country and the Indians. He had the unusual ]iersonal peculiarities of being web-fingered in both iiands, and having both feet sadly clubbed ; but he was very quick on the trigger, and could run a footrace with the best of us. " " Passed the entrance of grows [Grouse] creek, ... on the Stard. side, in a deep bend to the Stard.," Lewis I) 135, 136. This is exactly right for Beau- cluiinp's creek, as it is now called, from the north. It is not charted on Clark's miip. The Expedition approaclies the site of Fort liawley (or Wilder). •^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) k A ,||k AY 23d, 1805. Last night the frost was severe ; this "^ ■'•^ morning the ice appeared along the edges of the river, and the water froze on our oars. At the distance of a mile we passed the entrance of a creek on the north, which we named Teapot ' creek ; it is 1 5 yards wide, and though it has running water at a small distance from its mouth, yet it discharges none into the Missouri ; thus resembling, we believe, most of the creeks in this hilly country, the waters of which are absorbed by the thirsty soil near the river. They indeed afford but little water in any part, and even that is so strongly tainted with salts that it is unfit for [our] use, though all the wild animals are very fond of it. On experiment it was found to be moderately purgative, but painful to the intestines in its operation. This creek seems to come from a range of low hills," which run from east to '"Tea Pot Cr." of Clark's map, the only one charted, either N. or S., between the Musselshell river and North Mountain creek. In fact there are several, exact identification of which is not easy. Teapot is now Yellow creek. * " Low mountains," I,ewis D 137, rightly— low hills are not to be seen from a river-bank for 70 miles. Lewis has here in view certain mountains, which to liis line of vision seem continuous, bui are not. Had he gone out of the site of Carroll, up a sharp ridge S.W., about 900 feet, he would have seen an exten- 321 '■ f 'ill' 322 TEAPOT OR YELLOW CREEK— HAZEN'S RIVER. west for 70 miles, and have their eastern extremity 30 miles to the north of Teapot creek. Just above its entrance is a large assemblage of the burrowing-squirrels on the north side of the river. At nine miles we reached the upper point of an island in a bend on the south, and opposite the center of the island, a small dry creek on the north. Half a mile further a small creek falls in on the same side.' At 6}^ miles beyond this is another, on the south.' At4>^ miles (/. 236) we passed a sn.all island in a deep bend to the north, and on the same side, in a deep northeastern bend of the river, another small island. None of these creeks, however, possessed any water, and at the entrances of the islands the two first are covered with tall cottonwoods, and the last with willows only. The river has become more rapid ; the country is much the same as yesterday, except that there is rather more rock on the face of the hills, and some small spruce appears among the pitch-pines. The wild roses are very abundant and now in bloom ; they differ from those of the United States only in having the leaves and the bush itself of a somewhat smaller size. We find the mosquitoes troublesome, notwithstanding the coolness of the morning. sive priirie N., 30 miles of bad lands S., and these mountains: the Little Rockies, N. 30 miles ; Bear's Paw, N. W. 70 miles ; Judith's, S. W. 40 miles ; Big and Little Moccasins, west of and near Judith's ; beyond which latter are the Snowies, S., and the Little Belts, S. W., the latter separated from each other by Judith's Gap, through which a head of Judith's river seeks the Missouri. This gap is due south of the mouth of Judith's river, about 75 miles as the crow flies. The " low hills " of the text are at least 5,000 feet high. 3 Immediate vicinity of the present town of Carroll, by Twining's distances 17'X miles above Beauchamp's creek— practically the identical distance that Lewis and Clark make it from their Grouse creek. This point is 640 miles above Bismarck, and 165 miles below Benton. It came into existence when the road was opened from Helena to this point, and in 1875 consisted of 20 or 25 log cabins. ■» Nameless in text and codices ; uncharted by Clark. It shows well on Twining's map, lettered Hazen river, 6}i miles above Carroll. This map charts the identical islands next mentioned in the text ; and a mile or so above the jpper one of these two islands comes in Little Rocky Mountain cretk (Lewis and Clark's North Mountain creek). It is wonderful how closely these pioneer explorers' distances agree with the results of the best modern surveys. NORTH OR LITTLE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CREEK. 323 The buffalo is scarce to-day, but the elk, deer, and antelope are very numerous. The geese begin to lose the feathers of the wings, and are unable to {{y. We saw five bears, one of which we wounded, but in swimming from us across the rive, he became entangled in some driftwood, and sunk. We formed our camp on ihe north, opposite a hill and a point of wood in a bend to the south, having made 27 miles.' Maj/ 24tk. The water in the kettles froze onc-eighth of an inch during the night ; ice appears along the margin of the river, and the Cottonwood trees, which have lost nearly al' their leaves by the frost, are putting forth other buds. We proceeded, with the towline principally, till about nine o'clock, when ? fine breeze sprung up from the S.E., and enabled us to sail very well, notwithstanding the rapidity of the current. At one mile and a half is a large [North Mountain] creek, 30 yards .'^de, containing some water, which it empties on the north side, over a gravelly bed intermixed with some stone. A man who was sent up to explore the country returned in the evening, after having gone ten miles directly toward the ridge of [the Little Rocky] mountains to the north, which is the source of this, as well as of Teapot creek. The air of these highlands is so pure that objects appear much nearer than (/, 227) they really are, so that, although our man went ten miles without thinking himself by any means halfway to the mountains, they do not from the river appear more than 15 miles distant. This stream we called Northmountain' creek. At 2 ' Lewis D ends here, so far as the journal is concerned, though the codex includes 5^ leaves more of a meteorological register (now torn out making a separate codex). The Biddle narrative continues directly with Codex E, which is a Lewis, and will take us to July i6th, at the Gates of the Rocky Mountains. " The North mountain of L. and C. is the Little Rocky mountains of present geographers, rising to height of 5,000 feet or more, running nearly E. and W. on the paralhl of 48° N., and across long. ioS° 30' W.,thus separating the Milk river watershed along here from that of the Missouri itself. From their E. end, westward along the parallel of 48" N. nearly to long. 109" W., and up to Milk 324 SOUTH MOUNTAIN CREEK. miles higher is a creek on the soutn, which is 15 yards wide, but without any water, and to which we gave the name of Littledog creek, from a village of burrowing-squirrels opposite its entrance, that being the name given by the French watermen to those animals. Three miles from this a small [now Warm Springs] creek enters on the north ; five beyond which is an island,' a quarter of a mile in length ; and two miles further, a small river. This falls in on the south, is 40 yards wide, and discharges a handsome stream of water ; its bed is rorky with gravel and sand, and the banks are high. We called it Southmountain' creek, as from its direction it seemed to rise in a range of mountains about 50 or 60 miles to the S.W. of its entrance. river, is the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. The St. Paul, Minn. & Man. R. R., or Great Nortliern Ry., runs along the N. 'ank of Milk river liere. North Mountain creek is the largest northern aifluent of the Missouri, above tiie mouth of the Musselshell and below Judith's river, though not so large as South Mountain river, beyond. It is now called Little Rocky Mountain river or creek — a name often shortened to Little Rocky, or Little Rock. ' Named points in the Missouri, above North Mountain creek, are ; i, Bird shoals or rapids, unnoticed in the text, probably on account of the season and consequent state of the river ; 2, Emil island, a little above these shoals ; and 3, Two Calf islands, a pair close to the mouth of South Mountain creek, doubtless corresponding to the single island of the text. * This is the first stream of any size which falls into the Missouri from the south, above the mouth of the Musselshell. The South mountain of L. and C. , in which it heads, is the Judith mountains, with elevations from 5,000 to 6,000 feet. These mountains, and the Snowy mov ains south of them, are drained by western and northern tributaries of the iy. oselshell (especially by the main north fork of this river), by the eastern heads of Judith's river, and by the South Mountain river of our text. The latter is now attempted to be called after some person whose name no geographers seem to know ; for he is Arnel, Annel, Amiel, Armel, or Emile, on various maps, and with one / or two. In any case, I do not see the sense or justice of thus changing Lewis and Clark's names, when, as in the instances of " North Mountain," and " South Mountain," tliey are absolutely identifiable, and were properly published. Hundreds of names, which have been superseded by modern inventions, should be restored, not only in equity, but on the plainest principles of the law of priority, which geographers pretend to obey. They must sit at the feet of the zoologists and botanists, before they can hope for any stability of their own nomenclature. "Annell's creek," forsooth ! Why not Tom's, Dick's, or Harry's ? If this river is any- body's, it is Lewis and Clark's, THE BLACK HTLLS, IN A BROAD SENSE. 32$ The low grounds are narrow and without timber; the country is high and broken ; a large portion of black rock and brown sandy rock appears in the face of the hills, the tops of which are covered with scattered pine, spruce, and dwarf cedar; the soil is generally poor, sandy near the tops of the hills, and nowhere producing much grass, the low grounds being covered with little else than the hyssop, or southernwood, and the pulpy-leaved thorn iSarcobaUis vermiculatus ']. Game is more scarce, particularly beaver, of which we have seen but few for several days, and the abundance or scarcity of which seems to depend on the greater or less quantity of timber. At 241^ miles we reached a point of woodland on the south, where we observed that the trees had no leaves, and camped for the night. The high country through which we have passed for some days, and where we now are, we suppose to be a con- tinuation of what the French traders called the Cote [Cote] Noire or Black hills. The country thus denominated consists of high, broken, irregular hills, and short chains of mountains, sometimes {p. 228) 120 miles in width, sometimes narrower, but always much higher than the country on either side. They commence about the head of the Kansas, where they diverge ; the first ridge going westward, along the northern shore of the Arkansaw. The r-econd approaches the Rock mountains obliquely in a course a little to the W. of N.W., and after passing the Platte above its forks and intersecting the Yellowstone near the Bigbend, crosses the Missouri at this place, and probably swell the country as far as the Saskaskawan, though, as they are represented much smaller here than to the south, they may not reach that river. May 25///. Two canoes which were left behind yesterday, to bring on the game, did not join us till eight o'clock this morning, when we set out with the towline, the use of which the banks permitted. The wind was, however, ahead. An anomalous apetalous chenopodiaceous plant, well known in the West a& greasewood. See Nuttall, Jour. Phila. Acad., I., p. 184. 326 TEAPOT AND OTHER ISLANDS. the current strong, particularly round the points against which it happened to set, and the gullies from the hills having brought down quantities of stone, these projected into the river, forming baniers for 40 or 50 feet around, which it was very difificult to pass. At the distance of 2^ miles we passed a small island in a deep bend on the south, and on the same side a creek 20 yards wide, but with no running water. About a mile further is an island between two and three miles in length, separated from the northern shore by a narrow channel, in which is a sand-island, at the distance of half a mile from its lower extremity. To this large island we gave the name of Teapot'" island; two miles above which is an island a mile long, situated on the south. At y/i miles is another small island, and one mile beyond it a second, three-quarters of a mile in length, on the north side. In the middle of the river, two miles above this, is an island with no timber, and of the same extent as this last. The country on each side is high, broken, and rocky; the rock being either a soft brown sandstone, covered with a thin stratum of limestone, or else a hard black rug- {p.22g) ged granite, both usually in horizontal strata, and the sand-rock overlaying the other. Salts and quartz, as well as some coal and pumice-stone, still appear. The bars of the river are composed principally of gravel; the river low grounds are narrow, and afford scarcely any timber; nor is there much pine on the hills. The buffalo have now become scarce ; we saw a polecat [skunk] this evening, which was the first for several days; in the course of the day we also saw several herds of the big-horned animals [Ovis tnotitand] among the steep cliffs on the north, and killed seveial of them." At the distance of 18 miles we camped on the south. "> This name does not appear in the Summary Statement, instead of which are named two islands, Ibex and Goodrich's, before we reach Windsor's (now Cow) creek. It is " Tea" island in Lewis E 7. No si.ch great island as this now exists ; but there are four or more strung along the river for several miles, and at one of them is the shoal now called Picoll's or Picott's rapids (below Cow island and Cow creek). •'• Lewis E 4-6 gives a long and minute description of the animals, and Gass, animals, and Gass, WINDSOR'S AND TURTLE CREEKS. 327 Sunday, May 26th. We proceeded at an early hour by means of the towline, using our oars merely in crossing the river, to take advantage of the best banks. There are now scarcely any low grounds on the river, the hills being high, and in many places pressing on both sides to the verge of the water. The black rock has given place to a very soft sandstone, which seems to be washed away fast by the river.and being thrown into the river renders its navigation more difficult than it was yesterday. Above this sandstone, and toward the summits of the hills, a hard freestone of a yellowish-brown color shows itself in several strata of unequal thickness, frequently overlaid or incrusted by a thin stratum of limestone, which seems to be formed of concreted shells. At 8X miles we came to the mouth of a creek on the north, 30 yards wide, with some running water and a rocky bed ; we called it Windsor's " creek, after one of the party. At 4^ miles beyond this we came to another [Turtle"] creek in a bend to the north, which is 20 yards wide, with a handsome little stream of water ; there is, how- p. 88, makes much of these bighorns, apparently the first the party actually killed. "Some of the party killed three of what the French and natives call mountain sheep ; but they very little resemble sheep, except in the head, horns and feet. They are of a dun colour except on the belly and round the rump where they are white. The horns of the male are very large ; those of the female small. Captain Clarke calls them the Ibex, and says they resemble that animal more than any other. They are in size somewhat larger than a deer." May 25th. This account is perfectly diagnostic, and first appeared in 1807 Gass' editor and publisher, David M'Keehan. having a copy of Goldsmith's Animated Nature at hand, quotes that miraculous zoologist's description of the ibex, and rejects it as inapplicable to the bighorn ; then he proceeds to cite Goldsmith's description of the moufflon or musimon, and comes to the conclu- sion, fortified by Gass' verbal accounts, that this is the animal which our bighorn is like, if not " exactly the same." In which conclusion he is quite right. " Now Cow creek, near the mouth of which is Cow island, above Picoll's rapids and belov/ Burdell's. A branch o^ Cow creek is Bull creek, and another is called Suction creek, perhaps referring to the calf. But where is Windsor's creek, meanwhile? " Nameless in text and codex, but charted by Clark as Turtle creek, from find- ing here the turtles which are presently mentioned. This is about the situation of some rapids now known af, Budel'a, Berdel's, Burdell's or Burdette's, not specified in the text, owing to the state of the Missouri. 328 THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS IN VIEW. ever, no timber on eit'rer side of the river, except a few pines on the hills. Here we saw, for the first time since we left the Mandans, several soft-shelled turtles [7'rwnjx {Aspidonectes) spinifcr\y though this may be owing rather to the season of the year than to any scarcity of the animal. It was here (/. 2jo) that, after ascending the highest summit of the hills on the north side of the river. Captain Lewis first caught a distant view of the Ruck mountains— the object of all our hopes, and the reward of all our ambition." On both sides of the river, and at no great dis- tance from it, the mountains followed its course. Above these, at the distance of 50 miles from us, an irregular range of mountains spread from west to northwest from his position. To the north of these, a few elevated points, the most remarkable of which bore N. 65° W., appeared above the horizon ; and as the sun shone on the snows of their summits, he obtained a clear and satisfactory view of those mountains which close on the Missouri the passage to the Pacific. At AtYi miles beyond this [Turtle] creek, we came to the upper point of a small sand-island." At the distance of five "About a year and a half before the day when the Rockies were first sighted in Colorado by Zebulon M. Pike, on the 15th of November, i8o6. " This day I first caught sight of the Rocky Mountains the ' Great Divide ' between the Eastern and Western Oceans," is attributed to Pike by a flourishing periodical now published in Denver, which takes this expression as a motto for a stand- ing head. Very likely Pike said something to that effect, somewhere ; what he says in his Journal, orig. ed., Philadelphia, i8io, p. 163, is : " Gave three <-/w;.f to the Mexican mountains. . . Those were a spur of the grand western chain of mountains, which divide the waters of the Pacific from those of the Atlantic oceans," etc., at date of Saturday, Nov. 15th, 1806. Lewis E 7 is delightful here ; " While I viewed these mountains I felt a secret pleasure in thus finding myself so near the head of the hitherto conceived boundless Missouri ; but when I reflected on the difficulties which this snowey barrier would most probably throw in my way to the Pacific, and the suiTerings and hardships of myself and party in them, it in some measure counterballanced the joy I had felt in the first moments in which I gazed on them ; but as I have always held it a crime to anticipate evils I will believe it a good comfortable road untill I am compelled to believe differently." 15 About the position of that now called Sturgeon island ; so named, not from ELK RAPIDS, 329 so named, not from miles, between high bluffs, we passed a very difficult rapid, reaching quite across the river, where the water is deep,' tlie channel narrow, and gravel obstructs it on each side! We had great difficulty in ascending it, though we used both the rope and the pole, and doubled the crews. This is the most considerable rapid [we have thus far found] on the Missouri, and in fact the only place where there is a sudden descent. As we were laboring over the rapids, a female elk with her fawn swam down through the waves, which ran very high, and obtained for the place the name of Elk Rapids." Just above them is a small low ground of Cottonwood trees, where, at 22^ miles, we fixed our camp, and were joined by Captain Lewis, who had been on the hills during the afternoon. The country has now become desert and barren. The appearances of coal, burnt earth, pumice-stone, salts, and quartz continue as yesterday; but there is no timber except the thinly scattered pine and spruce on the summits of the hills, or along their sides. The only animals we have observed are the elk, the bighorn, and the hare common in this country. In the plain where we lie are two Indian (A ^j/) cabins [wickiups] made of sticks, and during the last few days we have passed several others in the points of timber on the river. Maj 27t/i. The wind was so high that we did not start till ten o'clock, and even then were obliged to use the towline during the greater part of the day. The river has become very rapid, with a very perceptible descent. Its any ordinary sturgeon, for none such is found in the Missouri, but from the curious shovel-headed or shovel-nosed sturgeon, Scaphirhynchops platyrhynchus, a fish I have taken from this very locality. " " A very considerable ripple which we call the Elk rappids," Lewis E 11 • so charted by Clark, between his Turtle creek and Thompson's (now Birch) creek Some identify these rapids with Burdell's, near Windsor's (Cow) creek ; others with the Dauphin rapids, which are near Thompson's (Birch) creek. But Elk rapids is neither of these, being certain shoals much below Thompson's or Birch creek, at the distance above Sturgeon island which the text indicates, and now known as the Lone Pine rapids. ■ m^ 330 DAUrillN RAPIDS. general width is about 200 yards ; the shoals are more fre. qucnt, and the rocky points at the mouths of tlie gullies more troublesome to pass. Great quantities of stone lie in the river and on its bank, and seem to have fallen down as the rain washed away the clay and sand in which they were imbedded. The water is bordered by high rugged bluffs, composed of irregular but horizontal strata of yellow and brown or black clay, brown and ycllowish-whitc sand, soft yellowish-white sandstone, and hard dark brown freestone ; also, large round kidney-formed irregular separate masses of a hard black ironstone, imbedded in the clay and sand; some coal or carbonated wood also makes its appearance in the cliffs, as do its usual attendants, the pumi'^'^-stone and burnt earth. The salts and quartz are less abundant, and, generally speaking, the country is, if possible, more rug- ged and barren than that we passed yesterday ; the only growth of the hills being a few pine, spruce, and dwarf cedar, interspersed with an occasional contrast, once in the course of some miles, of several acres of level ground, which supply a scanty subsistence for a few little cottonwoods. Soon after setting out we passed a small untimbered island on the south ; at about seven miles we reached a considerable bend which the river makes toward the south- (■ast, and in the evening, cfter making I2)4 miles, camped on the south near two dead cottonwoods, the only timber for fuel which we could discover in the neighborhood. Aftrj' 2%th. The weather was dark and cloudy ; the air smoky, and there fell a few drops of rain. At ten o'clock (/>. 3jj3) we had again a slight sprinkling of rain, attended with distant thunder, which is the first we have heard since leaving the Mandans. We employed the towline generally, with the addition of the pole at the ripples and rocky points, which we find more numerous and troublesome than those we passed yesterday. The water is very rapid round these points," and we are sometimes obliged to steer " One of these points is that now called Dauphin rapids, about 14 miles above Lone Pine rapids. RUNNLv., rilE RAPIDS— THOMPSON'S CREEK. 33 1 the canoes through the points of sharp rocks rising a few inches above the surface of the water, and so near to each other that if our ropes give way the force of the current would drive the side of the canoe against the rocks, and must inevitably upset the canoe or dash it to pieces. These cords are very slender, being almost all made of elk-skin, now much worn and rotted by exposure to the weather. Several times they gave way, but fortunately always in places where there was room for the canoe to turn without striking the rocks ; yet with all our precau. tions it was with infinite risk and labor that we passed these points. An Indian pole for building floated down the river; it was worn at one end as if dragged along the ground in traveling ; several other articles were also brought down by the current, which indicates that the Indians are probably at no great distance above us ; judg- ing from a football, which resembles those used by the Minnetarees near the Mandans, we conjecture that they must be a band of the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie. The appearance of the river and the surrounding country continued as usual, till toward evening, at about 15 miles, we reached a large creek on the north, 35 yards wide, dis- charging some water, and named after one of our men Thompson's '" creek. Here the country assumed a totally different aspect ; the hills retired on both sides from the river, which now spreads to more than three times its former size, and is filled with a number of small, handsome islands, covered with cottonwood. The low grounds on the river are again wide, fertile, and enriched with trees ; those on the north are particularly wide, the hills being comparatively low, and {p. 2jj) opening into three large valleys, which extend for a considerable distance toward the north. These appearances of vegeta- " Birch creek of various modern n. ^s, as the (}. L. O. map of 1879, but not of Twining's, which names a Birch creek aliove Judith's river, and opposite Arrow river, nor of Ludlow's, which locates Birch creek below Judith's river, alinut opposite Dog or Bull creek. Clark charts this stream as " Thomson's Cr." ; but the soldier's name was John B. Thompson, " with a/." 3j2 bull creek— a BUFFALO CHARGES THE CAMP. tion are delightful after the dreary hills over which we have passed, and we have now to congratulate ourselves at having escaped from the last ridges of the Black moun- tains. On leaving Thompson's creek we passed two small islands, and at 23 miles' [total] distance camped among some timber on the north, opposite a small creek, which we named Bull '" creek. The bighorn is in great quanti- ties, and must bring forth their young at a very early season, as they are now haK-grown. One of the party saw a large bear also, but being at a distance from tiie river, and having no timber to conceal himself, he would not ventu-e to fire. Majf 29///. Last night we were alarmed by a new sort of enemy. A bur'alo swam over from the opposite side to the spot wher'^ lay one of our canoes, over which he clambered to the shore ; then taking fright he ran full speed up the bank toward our fires, and passed within 18 inches of the heads of some of the men, before the sentinel could make him change his course. Still more alarmed, he ran down between four fires and within a few inches of the heads of the second row of the men, and would have broken into our lodge if the barking of the dog had not stopped him. He suddenly turned to the right, and was out of sight in a moment, leaving us all in confusion, every- one seizing his rifle and inquiring c'ae cause of the alarm. On learning what had happened, we had to rejoice at suffering no more injury than the damage to some guns which were in the ranoe which the buffalo crossed. In the morning early we left our camp, and proceeded as usual by the cord. We passed an island and two sand-bars, and at the distance of 2^ miles came to a handsome river which discharges on the south, and which we ascended to '' From the incident narrated May 29th ; charted, nameless, by Clar' ; last creek S. below Judith's river; now called Dog cree!:, perhaps from so iie mis- taking of L. and C.'s " Littledog " creek of May 24th, now left far bcliind. This stream is only two or three miles below the mouth of tlie Juditli, and tlKrc- foru cannot be that Dog river which Twining charts ten or twelve miles lower down. Some cartographer might win fame liy inscribing " Bulldog" creek. THE CAMP, MISS JULIA HANCOCK'S RIVER. 333 the distance of a mile and a half. We called it Judith's'" river. It rises in the Rock mountains {p. 2J4), in about the same place with the Muscleshcll, and near the Yellowstone. Its entrance is 100 yards wide from one bank to the other, the water occupying about 75 yards, and in greater quan- tity than that of the MuscleshcU river; though more rapid, it IS equally navigable, there being no stones or rocks in the bed, which is composed entirely of gravel and mud, with some sand. The water is clearer than any which we have yet seen ; and the low grounds, as far as we could dis- corn, are wider and more woody than those of the Missouri. Along its banks we observed some box-elder intermixed with Cottonwood and willow ; the undergrowth consisting of rosebushes, honeysuckles, and a little red-willow. There was a great abu.idance of the argali or big-horned animal '■"> "Cap. C. who ascended this R. much higher than I did has called it Judieth's River," Lewis E 17. The lady thus complimented was Miss Julia Hancock, of Fincastle, Va., familiarly called Judie or Judy by her family and intimate friends. Among the latter was Captain Clark, who perhaps had never heard her called Julia, and naturally supposed her name to be Judith. Miss Julia Hancock was the fourth child and third daughter of George Hancock and Peggy .Sfrother, born M-^nday, Nov. 2ist, 1791 ; married Captain Clark, at Fin- castle, Jan. 5th, 1808 ; died at Fotheringay, June 27th, 1820. They had five chil- dren, the eldest of whom was Meriwether Lewis Clark, b. St. Louis, Jan. loth, 1809. All are dead ; for the only surviving son of General and Governor Wil- liam Clark is issue of a second marriage. This is Jefferson K. Clark, now resid- ing at 31 21 Locust St., St. Louis, Mo. This river was actually first called " Bighorn " by Lewis, from the abundance of these animals (see May 28th). The sentence I have cited above is partly in Lewis' hand, partly in Clark's, interlined and over a careful erasure ; and so near was Miss Julia to losing her fine river that its name still stands " Bighorn," bis, in the codex, not deleted, though with "Judith " interlined in Clark's hand. It does not rise so far west as the sources of the Musselshell, and far north of those of the Yellowstone. The Judith heads in the Little Belt and Big Snowy mountains (which are separated by Judith Gap), and runs on an average course due north to the Missouri, jmssing west of the Judith and both Moccasin mountains. It is by far the largest southern tributary of the iNIissouri since the Musselshell. Less than a mile above its mouth was old Camp Cook, or Cooke, on the south side of the Missouri, where some of the adobe walls were visible when I passed in 1874. Close by was also built Fort Claggett, a small Indian tiading-post, of two log- houses ; and this locality is now the site of the River Crow Agency. 334 RECENT INDIAN CAMl'-EIRES — ASH RAPIDS. in the high country through which it [Judith's river] passes, and a great number of beaver in its waters. Just above the entrance of it we saw the fires of 126 lodges, which appeared to have been deserted about 12 or 15 days ; and on the other side of the Missouri, a large camp, apparently made by the same nation. On examin- ing some moccasins which we found here, our Indian woman said that they did not belong to her own nation, the Snake Indians, but she thought that they indicated a tribe on this side of the Rocky mountains, and to tlie north of the Missouri ; indeed it is probable that these are the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie. At the distance of 6yi miles the hills again approach the brink of the river, and the stones and rocks washed down from them form a very bad rapid, with rocks and ripples more numerous and difficult than those we passed on the 27th and 28th. Here the same scene was renewed, and we had again to struggle and labor to preserve our small craft from being lost. Near this spot are a few trees of the ash, the first we have seen for a great distance, and from which we named the place Ash Rapids." On these hills there is but little timber, but the salts, coal, and other mineral appearances continue. On the north we {p. 2jj) passed a precipice about 120 feet high, under which lay scattered the fragments of at least 100 carcasses of buffaloes, although the water which had washed away the lower part of the hill must have car- ried off many of the dead. These buffaloes had been chased down the precipice in a way very common on tl.c Missouri, by which vast herds are destroyed in a moment. The mode of hunting is to select one of the most active and fleet young men, who is disguised by a buffalo-skin round his body ; the skin of the head with the ears and horns " This is a bad place at any state of the river. It is now known as Drowned Man's rapids, from an accident which the name expresses. It is marked on Clark's map, just above a nameless creek, from the north, noticed neither in ihe text nor the codex. This creek has since been called Norris. INDIAN BAVTUE OF BUFFALO— SLAUGHTER RIVER. 335 being fastened on his own liead in such a way as to deceive the buifalo. Thus dressed, he fixes himself at a convenient distance between a herd of buffalo and any of the river precipices, which sometimes extend for some miles. His companions in the meantime get in the rear and side of the herd, and at a given signal show themselves and advance toward the buffaloes. These instantly take the alarm, and finding the hunters beside them, they run toward the disguised Indian or decoy, who leads them on at full speed toward the river; when, suddenly securing himself in some crevice of the cliff which he had previously fixed on, the herd is left on the brink of the precipice. It is then in vain for the foremost buffaloes to retreat or even to stop ; they are pressed on by the hindmost rank, which, seeing no danger but from the hunters, goad on those before them till the whole are precipitated, and the shore is strewn with their dead bodies. Sometimes, in this perilous seduction, the Indian is himself either trodden under foot by the rapid movements of the buffaloes, or missing his footing in the cliff is urged down the precipice by the falling herd. The Indians then select as much meat as they wish ; the rest is abandoned to the wolves, and creates a most dreadful stench. The wolves which had been feasting on these carcasses were very fat, and so gen- tle that one of them was killed with an espontoon. Above this place we came-to for dinner at the distance of 17 miles [from camp], opposite a bold running river, 20 yards wide, {p. 236) falling in on the south. From the objects we had just passed, we called this river Slaughter river." Its low grounds are narrow, and contain scarcely any " Now Arrow creek or river of ordinary maps, and the first stream from the south of any size above Judith's river. But there may be a snag here, invali- 338 THE NATURAL STONE WALLS. pery (/». 2j8) in some places, and the mud is so adhesive, that they are unable to wear their moccasins; one-fourth of the time they are obliged to be up to their armpits in the cold water, and sometimes they walk for several yards over the sharp fragments of rocks which have fallen from the hills. All this, added to the burden of dragging the heavy canoes, is very painful; yet the men bear it with great patience and good humor. Once the rope of one of the periogues, the only one we had made of hemp, broke short, and the peri- ogue swung and just touched a point of rock, which almost overset her. At nine miles we came to a high wall" of black rock rising from the water's edge on the south, above the cliffs of the river; this continued about a quarter of a mile, and was succeeded by a high open plain, till three miles further a second wall, 200 feet high, rose on the same side. Three miles further a wall of the s ^me kind, about 200 feet high and twelve in thickness, appeared to the north. These hills and river-cliffs exhibit a most extraordinary and romantic appearance. They rise in most places nearly perpendicular from the water, to the height of between 200 and 300 feet, and are formed of very white sandstone, so soft as to yield readily to the impression of water, in the upper part of which lie imbedded two or three thin hori- zontal strata of white freestone, insensible to the rain ; on the top is a dark rich loam, which forms a gradually ascend- ing plain, from a mile to a mile and a half in extent, when the hills again rise abruptly to the height of about 300 feet '* The caRon formation about to be described is called in the Summary State- ment the Natural Walls, and is charted by Clark as the Stone Walls. I cannot understand the position assigned to Slaughter river on his map, where it is brought in opposite the upper end of the Stone Walls. I suspect that Slaughter river of the map is not the Slaughter river of the text, and that the latter is the Big llc-n river of the map. Several special configurntions of this caiion have received late names, as Hole in the Wall, Cathedral Rock, and Citadel Rock. Clark's map charts a certain "Crevice Cr," from the south or west, between Slaughter and Stone Wall river ; but the text does not notice any such stream. See last and next notes. ARCHITECTURAL EFFECTS OF THIS CANON. 339 more. In trickling down the cliffs, the water has worn the soft sandstone into a thousand grotesque figures, among which, with a little fancy, may be discerned elegant ranges of freestone buildings, with columns variously sculptured, and supporting long and elegant galleries, while the para- pets are adorned with statuary. On a nearer approach they represent every form of elegant ruins— columns, some with pedestals and capitals entire, others mutilated and pros- trate, and some rising pyramidally over each (/>. ^jp) other till they terminate in a sharp point. These are varied by niches, alcoves, and the customary appearances of desolated magnificence. The illusion is increased by the number of martins [Petroc/ielidon hmifrons, the cliff-swallow], which have built their globular nests in the niches, and hover over these columns, as in our country they are accustomed to frequent large stone structures. As we advance there seems no end to the visionary enchantment which surrounds us. In the midst of this fantastic scenery are vast ranges of walls, which seem the productions of art, so regular is the workmanship. They rise perpendicularly from the river, sometimes to the height of ICX) feet, varying in thickness from one to twelve feet, being as broad at the top as below. The stones of which they are formed are black, thick, durable, and composed of a large portion of earth, inter- mixed and cemented with a small quantity of sand, and a considerable proportion of talk [talc] or quartz. These stones are almost in\'ariably regular parallelepipeds of unequal sizes in the wall, but equally deep and laid regu- larly in ranges over each other like bricks, each breaking and covering the interstice of the two on which it rests ; but though the perpendicular interstice be destroyed, the horizontal one extends entirely through the whole work. The stones are proportioned to the thickness of the wall in which they are employed, being largest in the thickest walls. The thinner walls are composed of a single depth of the parallelepiped, while the thicker ones consist of two or more depths. These walls pass the river at several places, 340 END OF THE CANON FORMATION. rising from the water's edge much above the sandstone bluffs, which they seem to penetrate ; thence they cross, •n a straight line on either side of the river, the plains over which they tower to the height of from lo to 70 feet, until they lose themselves in the second range of hills. Sometimes they run parallel in several ranges near each other, sometimes intersect each other at right angles, and have the appearance of walls of ancient houses or gardens. (/. 24.0) The face of some of these river-hills is composed of very excellent freestone, of a light yellowish-brown color. Among the cliffs we found a species of pine which we had not yet seen, differing from the Virginia pitch pine in having a shorter leaf, and a longer and more pointed cone. The coal appears only in small quantities, as do the burnt earth and pumice-stone ; the mineral salts have abated. Among the animals are a great number of big- horn, a few buffalo and elk, and some mule-deer, but none of the common deer nor any antelopes. We saw, but could not procure, a beautiful [cross-] fox, of a color varied with orange, yellow, white, and black, rather smaller than the common fox of this country, and about the same size as the red fox of the United States. The river to-day has been from about 150 to 250 yards wide, with but little timber. At the distance of 2J^ miles from the last stone wall is a stream "' on the north side, 28 yards in width, and with some running water. We camped just above its mouth, having made 18 miles. Saturday, June 1st, 1805. The weather was cloudy with a few drops of rain. As we proceeded, by the aid of our cord, we found the river-cliffs and bluffs not so high as yesterday, and the country more level. The timber is in greater abundance on the river, though there is no wood " Not named in the text or codex ; but in the Summary Statement given as " Stonewall creek, above the Natural Walls," 26 miles from Slaughter creek, and charted by Clark as "Stone Wall Cr." See next date. This stream will be found as Key or Key's creek on some maps, and as Eagle creek on better ones. bear's paw mountains in view. 341 on the high ground ; coal appears in the bluffs. The river IS from 200 to 250 feet wide, the current more gentle, the water still clearer, and rocky points and shoals fewer than we met yesterday, though those which we did encounter were equally difificult to pass. Game is by no means in such plenty as below ; all that we obtained were one big- horn and a mule-deer, though we saw in the plains a quantity of buffalo, particularly near a small lake about eight miles from the river, to the south. Notwithstanding the wind was ahead all day, we dragged the canoes along the distance of 23 miles. At 14^4 {p. 241) miles, we came to a small island, opposite a bend of the river to the north ; at 2% miles, to the upper point of a small island on the north ; at five miles, to another island, on the south side and opposite a bluff. In the next two miles we passed an island on the south, a second beyond it on the north, and reached near a high bluff on the north a third, on which we camped." In the plains near the river are the choke-cherry, yellow and red currant bushes, as well as the wild rose and prickly pear, both of which are now in bloom. From the tops of the river-hills, which are lower than usual, we enjoyed a delightful view of the rich, fertile plains on both sides, in many places extending from the river-cliffs to a great distance back. In these plains we meet, occasionally, large banks of pure sand, which were driven apparently by the south- west winds and there deposited. The plains are more fertile some distance from the river than near its banks, where the surface of the earth is very generally strewed with small pebbles, which appear to be smoothed and worn by the agitation of the waters with which they were, no doubt, once covered. A mountain [Bear's Paw], or part of the North [Little Rocky] mountain, approaches the river within " Neither text, codex, nor map has any stream between Stonewall creek and Maria's river. There are several, however, the most notable being the Little Sandy, N., 8>^ miles above Citadel Rock, and 23 below Maria's river. This is passed to-day, five miles below camp. 342 HIGIIWOOD MOUNTAINS IN VIKW. eight or ten miles, bearing north from our camp of last even- ing ; and this morning a range of high mountains [High- woodj bearing S.VV. from us, and apparently running to the westward, is seen at a great distance, covered with snow. In the evening we had a little more rain. June 2d. The wind blew violently last night and a slight shower of rain fell, but this morning was fair. We set out at an early hour, and although the wind was ahead, by means of the cord went on much better than for the last two days, as the banks were well calculated for towing. The current of the river is strong, but regular ; its timber increases in quantity, the low grounds become more level and extensive, and the bluffs on the river are lower than usual. In the course of the day we had a small shower of rain, which lasted {p. 2^2) a few minutes only. As game is very abundant, wc think it necessary to begin a collection of hides, for the purpose of making a leathern boat, which wc intend constructing shortly. The hunters, who were out the greater part of the day, brought in six elk, two buffalo, two mule-deer, and a bear. This last animal nearly cost us the lives of two of our hunters, who were together when he attacked them ; one of them narrowly escaped being caught ; the other, after running a consider- able distance, concealed himself in some thick bushes, and while the bear was in quick pursuit of his hiding-place, his companion came up, and fortunately shot the animal through the head. At 6^ miles we reached an island on the northern side ; \%. miles thence is a timbered low ground on the south ; in the next 2^ miles we passed three small islands, and came to a dark bluff on the south ; within the following mile are two small islands on the same side. At ^yi miles we reached the lower part of a much larger island near a northern point ; as we coasted along its side, within two miles we passed a smaller island, and half a mile above reached the head of another. All these islands are small, and most of them con- tain some timber. Three-quarters of a mile beyond the last. A PROBLEM IN GEOGRAI'lIY. 343 and at the distance of i8 miles from our camp, we camc-to for the ni^rht in a handsome, low cottonwood plain on the south, where we remained for the purpose of making some celestial observations during the night, and of examining in the morning a large [Maria's] river which comes in opposite to us. Accordingly, at an early hour, Monday, Jtme id, we crossed and fixed our camp at the point formed by the junction of this river with the Missouri. It now became an interesting question, which of these two streams is what the Minnetarees call Ahmateahza, or Mis- souri, which they describe as approaching very near to the Columbia. On our right decision much of the fate of the expedition depends ; since if, after ascending to the Rocky (/. 24f) mountains or beyond them, we should find that the river we were following did not come near the Columbia, and be obliged to return, we should not only lose the traveling season, two months of which have already elapsed, but prob- ably dishearten the men so much as to induce them either to abandon the enterprise, or yield us a cold obedience, instead of the warm and zealous support which they have hitherto afforded us. We determined, therefore, to examine well before we decided on our future course. For this pur- pose we dispatched two canoes with three men up each of the streams, with orders to ascertain the width, depth, and rapidity of the current, so as to judge of their comparative bodies of water. At the same time parties were sent out by land to penetrate the country,'" and discover from the " " The commanding officers could not determine which of these rivers or branches, it was proper to take; and therefore concluded to send a small party up each of them. Myself and two men went up the South branch, and a Ser- jeant and two more up the North. The parties went up the two branches about 15 miles. We found the South branch rapid with a great many islands and the general course South West. The other party reported the North branch as less rapid and not so deep as the other. The North branch is 186 yards wide and the South 372 yards. The water of the South branch is clear, and that of the North muddy. About a mile and a half up the point from the confluence, a handsome little river falls into the North branch, called Rose [or Tansy] river." Gass, p. 94, June 3d. So it seems that Gass and his two men were the first to ascend the Missouri above the mouth of Maria's river. 344 MOUNTAIN RANGES IN I'UOSI'KCT. risinjT grounds, if possible, the distant bearings of the two rivers; and all were directed to return toward eveninjj. VViiile they were gone we ascended together the high grounds in the fork of these two rivers, whence we liad a very extensive prospect of the surrounding country. On every side it was spread into one vast plain, covered with verdure, in which innumerable herds of buffalo were roaming, attended by their enemies the wolves ; some flocks of elk also were seen, and the solitary antelopes were scattered with their young over the face of the plain. To the south was a range of lofty [up to about 6,000 feet ; Ilighwood] mountains, which we supposed to be a continuation of the South [ /. i:, Judith] mountain, stretching from S.E. to N.W., and termi- nating abruptly about S.W. from us. These were partially covered with snow ; but at a great distance behind them was a more lofty ridge [Little Belt mountains], completely covered with snow, which seemed to follow the same direction as the first, reaching from W. to N. of N.W., where their snowy tops were blended with the horizon. The direction of the rivers could not, however, be long distinguished, as they were soon lost in the extent of the plain. On our return we continued our examination ; the width of the north branch [i.e., Maria's river] is (/. 2^^) 200 yards, that of the south is 372. The north, although narrower and with a gentler current, is deeper than the south branch; its waters are of the same whitish- brown color, thickness, and turbidness, and run in the same boiling and rolling manner which has uniformly character- ized the Missouri ; its bed is composed of some gravel, but principally mud. The south fork T'. r., the Missouri itself] is deeper, but its waters are perfectly lr.).n.->parent ; its current is rapid, but the surface smooth .''k1 nnr'i'.led; and its bed is composed of round and flat smooth stones, like those oi rivers issuing from a mountainous country. The air and character of the north fork so much resemble those of the Missouri that almost all the party believe that to be the true course to be pursued. We, however, though \ve have given no decided opinion, are inclined to think TIIK QUICSTION Ol. THF': TWO FORKS. 345 otherwise; because. although this branch does give the color and character to the Missouri, yet these very circumstances induce an opinion that it rises in and runs throu^^h an open plain country, since if it came from the m-nintains it would be clearer— unless, which from the position of the country is improbable, it passed through a vast extent of low ground after leaving them. We thought it probable that it did not even penetrate the Rocky mountains, but drew its sources from the open country toward the lower and middle parts of the Saskaskawan, in a direction north of this place." What embarrasses us most is that the Indians, who appeared to be well acquainted with the geography of the country, have not mentioned this northern river ; for " the river which scolds at all others," as it is termed,'" must be, according to their account, one of the rivers which we have passed ; and if this north fork be the Missouri, why have they not designated the south branch, which they must also have passed in order to reach the great falls which they mention on the Missouri? In the evening our parties returned, after ascending the rivers in canoes for some distance and then continuing on foot, just leaving themselves time to return hy{p.24j) night. The north fork was less rapid, and therefore afforded the easiest navigation ; the shallowest water of the north was five feet deep, that of the south six feet. At 2i^ miles up the north fork is a small river [Teton] coming in on the left or western side, 60 feet wide, with a bold current three feet " But Maria's river does head in the main divide of the Rocky mountains ; some of its sources are due west of its mouth ; and all the sources of .Milk river intervene between any heads of Maria's and the Saskatchewan rivers. We must remember that the explorers were necessarily it,'norant of the very threat extent of the Milk river region. Maria's rises in the Rocky mountains about 48* 30', and runs in a very winding course, though with a general direction little S. of E., its mouth being but little below 480. The (Jreat Northern Railway now follows it up Id Maria's Pass. •'" Trrfnslation of an Indian name, given as " Ah-mah-tah-ru-spush-sher," Clark C 249, and supposed to be Milk river, not Maria's. Lewis' map of 1S06 (made by t:!ark) lays down a course, lettered "The Indians call this the River which scolds at all other Rivers," which is not far out for Milk river ; and nuthinj^- apjicars there to answer to Maria's. 346 ROTII FORKS MUST BE EXPLORKD. in depth. The party by huvi had gone up the south fork in a straight hne somewhat north of west for seven miles, where they discovered that this Httle river [Teton] came within lOO yards'" of the south fork; and on returning down it, found it a handsome stream, with as much timber as either of the larger rivers, consisting of the narrow and wide-lcavcd Cottonwood, some birch and box-elder, with an undergrowth of willows, rosebushes, and currants. They also saw on this river a great number of elk, and some beaver. All these accounts were, however, very far from deciding the important question of our future route. Wo therefore determined, each of us, to ascend one of the rivers during a day and a half's march, or further, if necessary for our sat- isfaction. Our hunters killed two buffalo, six elk, and four deer to-day. Along the plains near the junction are to be found the prickly pear in great quantities; the choke- cherry is also very abundant in the river low grounds, as well as in the ravines along the river-bluffs ; the yellow and red currants are not yet ripe; the gooseberry is begin- ning to ripen, and the wild rose, which now covers all the low grounds near the rivers, is in full bloom. The fatigues of the last few days have occasioned some falling off in the appearance of the men ; who, not having been able to wear moccasins, have had their feet much bruised and mangled in passing over the stones and rough ground. They are, how- ever, perfectly cheerful, and have an undiminished ardor lor the Expedition. /uue 4i/i. At the same hour this morning. Captain Lewis and Captain Clark set out to explore the two rivers. Captain Lewis, with six men [Sergeant Pryor, Privates Drewyer, Shields, Wmdsor, Cruzatte, Lepage], crossed the north fork ( ^. ^^6) near the camp, below a small island, from which he took a course N. 30^ W. for 41^ miles, to a com- manding eminence. Here he observed that the North moun- °' Cracon tlu Nez is what this narrow isthmus used to be called. It is {jiveii by Governor Stevens as being in 1855 of the same width that is stated in the text (P. R. R. Rep. XII. pt. ii., p. 222, i86o). THE NORTH FORK— BARN MOUNTAIN. 347 tain, changing its direction parallel to the Missouri, turned toward the north, and terminatr,cl abruptly at the distance of about 30 miles, the point of termination [north end of Bear's Paw mountains'"] bearing N. 48° E. The South mountain diverges to the south, and terminates abruptly, its extremity bearing S. 8" W., distant about 20 miles ; to the right of and retreating from this extremity is a separate mountain, at the distance of 35 miles, in a direction S. 38° W., which, from its resemblance to the roof of a barn, he called Barn moun- tain. The north fork, which is now on the [his] left, makes a considerable bend to the N.W., and on its western border a range of hills [3ec d'Outard], about ten miles long, bearing from this spot N. 60° W., runs parallel with it. North of this range of hills is an elevated point of the river- bluff on its south side, bearing N. 72° W., about twelve miles from us. Toward this he directed his course across a high, level, dry, open plain, which in fact embraces the whole country to the foot of the mountains. The soil is dark, rich, and tertile ; yet the grass is by no means so luxuriant as might have been expected, for it is short and scarcely more than sufficient to cover the ground. There are vast quantities of prickly-pears, and myriads of grasshoppers {Caloptenus spretiis], which afford food for a species of curlew [Nume- nius longirostris\ which is in great numbers in the plain. He then proceeded up the river to the point of observation they had fixed on ; from which he went two miles N. 15° W., to a bluff point on the north side of the river ; thence his course was N. 30° W. for two miles, to the entrance of a large creek" on the south. The part of the river along which '» Bearing in mind Captain Lewis' present point of view, we see that Bear's Paw and the Little Rockies, with the two Medicine Buttes between them (these being collectively his " North " mountain), are in line, so that they seem to end as said. Similarly, his " South" mountain, otherwise Judith's, is, with the two Moccasin Buttes, in line of vision with Highwood mountains ; so that the last named are now his " South" mountain, " S. 8° W. about 20 miles," ending on the west (his right hand, as he looks south) in the somewhat isolated elevation ha calls Barn mountain, now known as West or Belt Butte of the Ilighwoods. " Antelope creek has been the first large southern tributary of Maria's river since the Teton broke through the Cracon du Nez into the Missouri. 348 EXPLORATION OF THE NORTH FORK. he passed is from 40 to 60 yards wide, the current strong, the water deep and turbid, the banks falHng in ; the salts, coal, and mineral appearances are as usual, and in every respect, except as to size, this river resembles the Missouri. The low grounds are narrow, but well supplied with wood ; the bluffs are prin- (/>. 2^y) cipally of dark brown yellow and some white clay, with freestone in some places. From this point the river bears N. 20° E. to a bluff on the south, at the distance of twelve miles; toward this he directed his course, ascending the hills, which are about 2CX) feet high, and passing through plains for three miles, till he found the dry ravines" so steep and numerous that he resolved to return to the river and follow its banks. He reached it about four miles from the beginning of his course, and camped on the north in a bend among some bushes, which sheltered the party from the wind. The air was very cold, the northwest wind high ; the rain wet them to the skin. Besides the game just mentioned, he observed buffalo, elk, wolves, and foxes ; he got a blaireau and a weasel," and [Drewyer] wounded a large brown bear, which it was too late to pursue. Along the river are immense quantities of roses, which are now in full bloom, and make the low grounds a perfect garden. June '■fth. The rain fell during the greater part of last night, and in the morning the weather was cloudy and cold, with a high northwest wind. At sunrise Captain Lewis pro- ceeded up the river eight miles, to the bluff on the left side, toward which he had been directing his course yesterday. Here he found the bed of a creek 25 yards wide at the entrance, with some timber, but no water, notwithstanding the rain. It is, indeed, astonishing to observe the vast quan- tities of water absorbed by the soil of the plains, which, being opened in large crevices, presents a fine rich loam. At the *' One of these is now known as the Black coulee (above Maguire's.) The road from Benton to the Sweet-grass hills strikes it higher up. I came down this road with Major Twining in Sept., 1874. Our trail is marked on his map. " Read beaver. " I killed a braro and a beaver. . , . also a very fine Mule deer," Lewis E 42. LARK CREEK — TOWER MOUNTAIN. 349 mouth of this stream, which he called Lark creek, the bluffs are very steep, and approach the liver so that he ascended them and, crossing the plains, reached the river, which from the last point bore N. 50"^ W. four miles from this place ; it extended north two miles." Here he discovered a lofty mountain, standing alone at the distance of more than 80 miles, in the direction N. 30^ W.," and which from its conical figure he called Tower mountain. {p. 248) He then proceeded on these two hills, and after- ward ir. different courses six miles, when he again changed for a western course, across a deep bend along the south side. In making this passage over the plains, he found them like those of yesterday, level and beautiful, with great quantities of buffalo, and some wolves, foxes, and antelopes, and inter- sected near the river by deep ravines. Here at the distance of from one to nine miles from the river, he met the largest village of barking-squirrels " which he had yet seen ; for he " An obscure sentence. Lewis E 43 has : " From the entrance of this Creek (which I called Lark C.) the river boar [bore] N. 50^ W. 4 m. At the entrance of this creek the bluffs were very steep and approached the river so near on the Stard. side that we ascended the hills and passed through the plains ; at the extremity of this course we returned to the river, which there boar North 2 mis." The creek was called Lark from the abundance of a small bird which Lewis carefully describes, E 40. This is the black-breasted lark-bunting or longspur, Centrophanes {Rhynchophanes) maccowni, which abounds in Montana in the breeding season, together with the chestnut-collared lark-bunting, C. ontatus. See my articles on these birds, in Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. IV. No. 3, July, 1878, PP- 579-585- Lewis' Lark creek is the Black coulee. " An unfortunate discrepancy here. Lewis E 43 has : " I discovered a lofty single mountain which appeared to be at a great distance, perhaps 80 or more miles, it boar N. 52" W. from it's conic figure I called it tower Mountain." Here is a difference of 22' from the text. But the text has been corrected from proper data ; so that Tower mountain is no other than the main peak of the somewhat famous Three Buttesor Sweet-grass hills, which are cut by the parallel of 49° N. across their northern foot-hills, and which from Lewis' point of view would appear as one mountain. «« Lewis E 43 has " burrowing or barking squirrels," and no description ; but I judge from my knowledge of the locality and of the animal, that the species was not the prairie-dog, but the tawny gopher or spermophile, Spermophilus richardsoni, which abounds in the region of the Milk and Mr.-.ia's rivers. See Allen, Monogr. N. A. Kodattia, 1877, pp. 848-860, and Coues, m 3SO THE THREE BUTTES OR SWEET-GRASS HILLS. passed a skirt of their territory for seven miles. He also saw near the hills a flock of the mountain-cock, or a large species of the heath-hen, with a long pointed tail, which the Indians below had informed us were common among the Rocky mountains. Having finished his course of ten miles west across a bend, he continued two miles N. 80° W., and from that point discovered some lofty mountains" to the N.W. of Tower mountain, bearing N. 6$" W., at 80 or loo miles' dis- tance. Here he camped on the north side in a handsome low ground, on which were several old stick-lodges. He had seen but little timber on the river in the forepart of the day, but here there is a greater quantity than usual. The river itself is about 80 yards wide, from six to ten feet deep, and has a strong, steady current. The party killed five elk and a mule-deer; and by way of experiment roasted some burrow- ing-squirrels, which they found to be well-flavored and tender. /ufie 6M. Captain Lewis was now [rightly ''] convinced that this river pursued a direction too far north for our route to the Pacific, and therefore resolved to return ; but waited till noon to take a meridian altitude. The clouds, however, which had gathered during the latter part of the night, continued and prevented the observation. Part of the men vi^ere sent forward to a commanding eminence, six miles S. 70° W., from which they saw, at the distance of about 15 miles S. 80'' W., a point of the south blu.i of the river, which Amer. Nat. IX. 1875, p. 148 seg. It was unknown to science till 1822. The bird Lewis here mentions is the sage-grouse, Ctntrocercus urophasianus . »' These are the other two of the Three Buttes or Sweet-grass hills, now separable by the eye from that one (Tower mountain) which had before intercepted the view of them. See text of July 19th, 1806. ^ That is to say, if the Expedition was to explore the Missouri to its source. To have followed up Maria's river and crossed the Continental Divide at Maria's Pass, would have been to discover the present route of the Great Northern Railway, north of Flathead and Pend d'Oreille lakes, over to Clark's fork of the Columbia. But the glory of the '>eat Falls— of Smith's, Dearborn's, Gallatin's Madison's, Jefferson's rivers — of nearly the whole Missouri above steamboat navigation — would not then have been Lewis and Clark's. This was worth striv- ing for, even though it finally brought them to the worst possible point whence to reach the Columbia. SS HILLS. CAPTAIN LEWIS' NARROV/ ESCAPE. 351 thence bore northwardly. In their absence two rafts had {p. 249 ) been prepared, and when they returned, about noon, the party embarked. But they soon found that the rafts were so small and slender that the baggage was wet ; there- fore it was necessary to abandon them and go by land. Tiioy therefore crossed the plains, and at the distance of twelve miles came to the river, through a cold storm from the northeast, accompanied by showers of rain. The abrupt- ness of the cliffs compelled them, after going a few miles, to leave the river and meet the storm in the plains Here they directed their course too far northward, in consequence of which they did not strike the river till late at night, after having traveled 23 miles since noon, and halted at a little below the entrance of Lark creek. They had the good fortune to kill two buffalo, which supplied them with supper ; but spent a very uncomfortable night without any shelter from the rain, which continued till morning, Friday, June jth, when at an early hour they continued down the river. The route was extremely unpleasant, as the wind was high from the N.E., accompanied with rain, which made the ground so slippery that they were unable to walk over the bluffs which they had passed on ascend- ing the river. The land is the most thirsty we have ever seen ; notwithstanding all the rain which has fallen, the earth is not wet for more than two inches deep, and resembles thawed ground ; but if it requires more water to saturate it than the common soils, on the other hand, it yields its moisture with equal difficulty. In passing along the side of one of these bluffs, at a narrow pass 30 y irds in length. Captain Lewis slipped, and but for a fortunate recovery by means of his espontoon, would have been precipitated into the river over a precipice of about 90 feet. He had just reached a spot where by the assistance of his espontoon he could stand with tolerable safety, when he heard a voice behind him cry out, "Good God! Captain, what shall I do?" He turned instantly and found it was Windsor, who had lost his foothold about 352 PRIVATE WINDSOR'S IMMANENT PERIL. the middle {p. 250) of the narrow pass, and had slipped down to the very verge of the precipice, where he lay on his belly, \ ith his right arm and leg over the precipice, while with the other leg and arm he was with difficulty holding on, to keep himself from being dashed to pieces below. His dreadful situation was instantly perceived by Captain Lewis, who, stifling his alarm, calmly told him that he was in no danger ; that he should take his knife out of his belt with his right hand, and dig a hole in the side of the bluff to receive his right foot. With great presence of mind he did this, and then raised himself on his knees. Captain Lewis then told him to take off his moccasins and come forward on his hands and knees, holding the knife in one hand and his rifle in the other. He immediately crawled in this way till he came to a secure spot. The men who had not attempted this passage were ordered to return and wade the river at the foot of the bluff, where they found the water breast-high. This adventure taught them the danger of crossing the slippery heights of the river ; but as the plains were intersected by deep ravines, dmost as difficult to pass, they continued down the river, sometimes in the mud of the low grounds, sometimes up to their arms in the water; and when it became too deep to wade, they cut footholds with their knives in the sides of the banks. In this way they traveled through the rain, mud, and water, and having made only 18 miles during the whole day, camped in an old Indian lodge of sticks, which afforded them a dry shelter. Here they cooked part of six deer they had killed in the course of their walk, and having eaten the only morsel they had tasted during the whole day, slept comfortably on some willow-boughs. END OF VOL. I. ERIL. d had slipped ere he lay on the precipice, with difficulty shed to pieces ' perceived by ' told him that s knife out of lie in the side great presence on his knees. Tioccasins and ling the knife e immediately re spot. The ;re ordered to e bluff, where 'enture taught leights of the deep ravines, )wn the river, sometimes up t became too knives in the reled through only i8 miles Indian lodge . Here they the course of rsel they had ably on some