Part 26 (1/2)
Autumn was at hand Soon it would be winter--winter on the plains It was late in October, more than five months out from St Louis, when Mr Jefferson's ”Volunteers for the Discovery of the West” arrived in the Mandan country
Long ago war and disease wiped out the gentle Mandan people Today two cities stand where their green fields once showed the first broken soil north of the Platte River But a century ago that region, although little known to our governton, was not unknown to others The Mandan villages lay at a great wilderness crossroads, or rather at the apex of a triangle, beyond which none had gone
Hereabout the Sieur de la Verendrye had crossed on his own journey of exploration two generations earlier More lately the eh privately warring with one another, had pushed west over the assiniboine Traders had been a the Mandans now for a decade Thus far came the Western trail from Canada, and halted
The path of the Missouri also led thus far, but here, at the intersection, ended all the trails of trading or traveling white men
Therefore, Lewis and Clark found white men located here before them--McCracken, an Irishlishman; La Roque, another Frenchman--all over from the assiniboine country; and all, it hardly need be said, excited and anxious over this wholly unexpected arrival of white strangers in their own trading-li White, chief of the Mandans, welcorasp the advantage the whitetribes, and also quick to understand the virtue of competition
”Brothers,” said he, ”you have come for our beaver and our robes As for us, ant powder and ball and more iron hatchets and knives We have traded with the assiniboines, who are foolish people, and have taken all their goods away fro them The Sioux will not trouble us if we have plenty of powder and ball We know that you have coe fires with the Mandans
Stay here until the grass co White has said,” replied Lewis--speaking through Jussaume, the Frenchman, who soon was added as interpreter to the party ”We are the children of a Great Father in the East, who gives you this medal with his picture on it He sends you this coat, this hat of a chief He gives you this hatchet, this case of tobacco
There are other hatchets and more tobacco for your people”
”What Great Father is that?” de White ”It seems there are ers, who co White When the geese fly up the river and the grass is green, our great boat here is going back down the river The Great Father is curious to know his children, the Mandans
If you, Big White, wish to go to see hireen, you shall sit yonder in that boat and go all the ith some of my men
You shall shake his hand When you come back, you can tell the story to your own people Then all the tribes will cease to ar Your woht when they sleep”
”It is good,” said the Mandan ”_Ahaie!_ Coreen, and I will es to you, and will not har women will carry you corn which they have saved for the winter Our squaill feed your horses Go no farther, for the snow and ice are corow so lean that they will not be good to eat This is as far as the white reen Beyond this, no reen,” said Lewis, ”I shall leadsun We shall make new trails”
Jussaume, McCracken, and all the others held their own council with the leaders of the expedition
”What are you doing here?” they deed to the British traders”
The face of Meriwether Lewis flushed with anger
”We are about the business of our government,” he said ”It is our purpose to discover the West beyond here, all of it It is our own country that we are discovering We have bought it and paid for it, and will hold it We carry the news of the great purchase to the natives”
”Purchase? What purchase?” dehtened, for he knew that they had outrun all the news of the world!
”The Louisiana Purchase--the purchase of all this Western country from the Mississippi to the Pacific, across the Stony Mountains We bought it froe to split the British from the South--the Missouri is our own pathway into our own country That is our business here!”
”You o back!” said the hot-headed Irishman ”I shall tell my factor, Chaboillez, at Fort assiniboine We want no more traders here
This is our country!”
”We do not coame I know that the men of the Northwest Company have found the Arctic Ocean--you are welcome to it until ant it--we do not want it now I know you have found the Pacific somewhere above the Coluht or found for ourselves, and you are welcome to that But when you ask us to turn back on our own trail, it is a different matter We are on our own soil now, and ill not turn for any order in the world but that of the President of the United States!”