Part 20 (1/2)

[292] See p 323, for illustration of this Teton--ED

CHAPTER XIII

VOYAGE FROM FORT PIERRE, ON THE TETON RIVER, TO FORT CLARKE, NEAR THE VILLAGES OF THE MANDANS, FROM JUNE 5TH TO JUNE 19TH

Singular conformation of the Country--Traces of Fire--Chayenne Island and River--Former abode of the Arikkaras--The Woodcutters alarmed by the Indians--Cabris or Antelopes--Wolves and other Animals--Little Chayenne River--Abundance of Ga-up of the Ice--Moreau's River--Grand or Wetarko River--Raes of the Arikkaris--La butte au Gres--La butte de Chayenne--Murder of Whites by the Arikkaras--Cannon-ball River, with its Sand-stone balls--Heart River--La butte Carree--Intervieith the Yanktonans--Fort Clarke, near the Mandan Villages--The Mandans--The Crows

Our departure was delayed till ten o'clock on the 5th of June, when three guns were fired, and we left the fort The assiniboin was perfectly equipped for the voyage up the river, and had sixty men on board Mr Mc Kenzie had remained behind in the fort, but overtook us at noon with Mr Laidloas desirous to accompany us a little way We had stopped at an island called, by the Canadians, Isle au Village de Terre, because, on the other side of the channel which divides it froe of the Sioux This island was covered with an almost impenetrable thicket of narrow-leaved hich was so dense and entangled, that one of our large dogs caught an elk calf alive; we heard itsthe theroods, and to lighten our vessel, and our hunters brought uswhich was the grey butcher-bird (_Lanius excubitoroides_), of which Richardson gives a representation, and which we had not h antelopes and a white wolf had approached very closely to thee animals The addition to our Flora was very considerable The hills all consisted of clareasy, sterile clay, which was burnt on the surface, and covered with pieces of stone; and in many places we observed on the 164] melted and formed by fire We stayed here till noon on the 7th of June, e again proceeded with an agreeable teround several tioods, which we had deposited on the left bank This delay gave us time to make an excursion In company with Mr Bod the river, the singular shapes of which often appeared to form perfect craters The earth and stones everywhere indicated that they had undergone change by fire

The earth was hard, friable, withlike scoriae This clay, et, is exceedingly clah The conical summits, most of which were perfectly round and pyraularly forular, parallel, horizontal rings; the lower parts of the pyramid had perpendicular furrows, or clefts, as the annexed woodcut shows[293] These conical hills have been evidently elevated by fire, so that many crater-like hollows are seen between and near theular hills, reen stripes on the bare black clay These lines, intersecting each other, divide the surface into regular beds The lower part of these erasses, while the upper is bare, or merely crossed with the transverse stripes of verdure, and often they are entirely bare The clih, slippery ascents in the heat of the day was rather fatiguing When we caround, in general, slimy, and so adhesive that ere almost compelled to leave our shoes behind In such places, soroups of the bird cherry, ashes, roses, &c, were nourished by the moisture Near the hills, and in the plain, a cactus, with roundish, flat joints, grew in abundance It was not yet in blossom, and I cannot say whether it is the plant taken, by Nuttall, for _Cactus opuntia_; probably it is _Cactus ferox_ We found many traces of antelopes and of herds of buffaloes The latter had everywhere trodden broad paths on their way to the river to drink No beast of the chase presented itself as an object for our rifles, and, as the sun was going doe set out on our return On the e [pg 165] found the horns of an elk, with twelve antlers, and it was late before we reached the assiniboin On the 8th of June, in the , we received a farewell visit fro of sixtyover the hills They rode in our sight through the strealo-Americans, Breechcloth Creek, and, by the Sioux, Tscheh-ke-na-ka-oah-ta-pah[294] This stream, as well aseven the Little Sioux River, have, in general, a brackish taste when the water is low

Frequently taking soundings, we proceeded but slowly in the shallow Missouri, and, early in the afternoon, reached the place where the ti Fort Pierre had been felled From this place it is fifteensome cords of wood ready piled up, we took theh wind arose, so that we could not reach the mouth of the Chayenne till about seven o'clock on the followingChayenne Island

The country about the mouth of this river is open, the chain of hills low, and the banks covered with forests At its mouth, and for some way up on both sides of the Missouri, the Arikkaras formerly dwelt, till they were driven further up by the Sioux, and, at length, wholly retired from the banks of the Missouri[295] If we follow the course of the Chayenne for a couple of hundred s of the Chayenne Indians, who are hostile to most of the tribes of the Missouri They are said to be tall, slender e from all the other tribes in the country They formerly lived at the mouth of Chayenne River They affirm that they came to the Missouri from the north-east[296] Dr Morse states their number at 3,250 souls

[Illustration: Hill of baked clay]

We ress to-day; and at two o'clock, after our boats had taken soundings in all directions, we reround, and had burnt all our fuel, so that we had to send wood-cutters into the forests on the left bank In about half an hour the boats suddenly returned, bringing word that hostile Indians had been seen in the forest, and the wood-cutters had, therefore, refused to begin their work To give the their work, all hands on board, that could be spared, armed themselves with rifles and muskets, and, to the number of twenty-six persons, immediately went on shore They formed a line of outposts behind the trees, under whose protection the wood-cutters pursued their work But they were not disturbed, for the Indians had retired, or it had been a false alar wind had risen, with a pretty high te, the 10th of June Early on that day we reached an island, which appears to be that called, by Lewis and Clarke, Caution Island, where a couple of white wolves gazed at us without appearing to be at all afraid In the afternoon, we came to the mouth of Little Chayenne River, on the east bank[297] Elks are very nua herd of, at least, thirty of these large aniether, h bank, boreup of the ice, the bark of the trees being peeled off eight or ten feet above ground At noon, Mr Bodeon board; other hunters, who had gone out early to the east bank, a with four large elks In the thick forest, on the left bank, were many traces of beavers, which are more numerous hereabouts than in most of the other parts on the Missouri, because the trappers (beaver catchers) did not venture to place their traps in the territory of the hostile Arikkara Indians

Opposite to the mouth of Otter Creek,[298] in the woods and thickets of the west bank, behind which rose the green hills of the prairie, there were htened by the noise of the steahouse, 180 steps from which runs a pretty river, called Moreau's River, froht here with a Chayenne Indian woman, who had been taken by the Arikkaras and escaped[299] She stabbed him while he slept, and fled on his horse to her own nation This river is called the southern boundary of the territory of the Arikkaras, though they often make excursions far beyond it We stopped at the above-house to cut wood, but it was foundand take it away On theof the 12th, our cannon, muskets and rifles were loaded with ball, because ere approaching the villages of the hostile Arikkaras We came to Grand River, called in Lewis and Clarke's map Wetarko River

As we here touched the bottom, we crossed to the east bank, and in half an hour reached Rampart River,[300] which issues from a narrow chain of hills, called Les Ramparts; and soon afterwards an island covered s, which, on the large special e, of which there are now no traces[301] From the hills we had a fine prospect over the bend of the river, on which the villages of the Arikkaras are situated, and which we reached after a short run of only two es of this tribe are on the west bank, very near each other, but separated by a sreat number of clay huts, round at the top, with a square entrance in front, and the whole surrounded with a fence of stakes, which were much decayed, and in many places thron It is not quite a year since these villages had been wholly abandoned, because their inhabitants, ere extremely hostile to the Whites, killed so many Americans, that they themselves foresaw that they would be severely chastised by the United States, and therefore preferred to erate To this cause was added, a dry, unproductive season, when the crops entirely failed; as well as the absence of the herds of buffaloes, which hastened their removal It is said that these Indians now roam about on the road from St Louis to Santa Fe, and the late attacks on the caravans are ascribed to the of these deserted villages The principal chief of the Arikkaras, when they retired fro 167] the Missouri, was called Starapat[303] (the little haith bloody claws), and generally La Main pleine de Sang, ill be mentioned in the sequel

The Arikkaras, or, as they are called by the Mandans, Rikkaras or Rees, Les Ris of the Canadians, are a branch of the pawnees, froe, which is very easy for a German to pronounce, is said to be a proof of this affinity Their nu whom 500 or 600 are able to bear arms The wife of La Chapelle, the interpreter for that nation, was an Arikkara; she had a round full countenance, and rather delicate sht yellowish complexion It is affirmed that the women of this nation are the handsomest on the Missouri Manoel Lisa, a well-known fur trader, had for now reh the place is still called Manoel Lisa's Fort[304] The prairie was to-day more verdant and pleasant than yesterday A mountain, with soave it some diversity

Here we suddenly saw, on the bank, a man, who fired his musket three times, and at first took him for an Indian; but another soon appeared, in a ses_ or travellers of the Company, ere dispatched from the Upper Missouri, with letters for Mr Mc Kenzie We took the on the beach In the distance, on the left, there was a chain of mountains, with numerous summits, near which Cannon-ball River flows; and, nearer to the Missouri, a chain of flat hills, level at the top, with hbourhooda high tree in a poplar wood, entirely covered with turkey buzzards, as in Brazil; towards evening we passed Beaver Creek (Riviere au Castor), the Warananno[306]

of Lewis and Clarke[307]

On the 14th, in the , the sky was clouded, and the wind very bleak On the west bank of the river a ravine was shown us, where, seven or eight years before, the Arikkaras had shot seven whitea loaded Mackinaw boat up the river

After we had passed an island, which is not marked in Lewis and Clarke's map, we observed two isolated table mountains in the prairie, on the west bank, which are not far from Cannon-ball River; and we then came to an aperture in the chain of hills, froh, issues[308] On the north side of the mouth, there was a steep, yellow clay wall; and on the southern, a flat, covered with poplars and s This river has its naular sand-stone balls which are found in its banks, and in those of the Missouri in its vicinity They are of various sizes, froularly on the bank, or in the strata, fro 168] when the river has washed away the earth; they then fall down, and are found in great numbers on the bank Such sand-stone balls are met with in many places on the Upper Missouri; and former travellers have spoken of them Many of them are rather elliptical, others are more flattened, and others flat on one side, and rather convex on the other Of the perfectly spherical balls, I observed some two feet in diameter On the steep bank of the Missourifrom the narrow strata of the yellow sand-stone A mile above the mouth of the Cannon-ball River, I saw nothe night, our people were obliged to keep off, with long poles, the trunks of trees that ca able to prevent our receiving shocks which made the whole vessel tremble

[Illustration: Antlers of deer]

On the 15th, the river had risen nine inches, and brought down much wood and foam, which was expected, for it is reckoned that, in the month of June, the Missouri is twiceof the snow in the Rocky Mountains The weather was serene and warm As early as half-past five o'clock , on the eastern bank, a chain of table hills, quite flat at the top, which extends to a pretty considerable distance The river turns, to the ard, towards this interesting chain, which is called the Mountains of the Old Mandan Village, because, at the place where it is traversed by the river, such a village is said to have formerly stood At nine o'clock we stopped on the western bank to repair the daave our hunters time to make an excursion a few ave the signal for departure The current of the river was now very strong, so that we could proceed but slowly We cae, which was situated, at the foot of the hills, in a fine , were the only ree here at the tirass now covered the place which had once been the scene of busy Indian life: only a colony of ss, that had built their nests in the neighbouring hills, gave some animation to the scene We were now in the territory of the Indian tribe of the Mandans[309] A little further up,four of our hunters sitting on the level ground, which was covered with poplars; one of theinian deer, and wounded a large elk, which had escaped; soon after, Messrs Bodued and heated; they had gone a great way, and very nearly missed the steamer Mr Harvey had killed a black-tailed or mule deer[311] They had169] head and skin, with some of the flesh of the one killed At the next place, where we reached the hills, an isolated sule Head; these hills were beautifully illu about on the in the river On the eastern bankthe ruins of an old trading house, and many traces of beavers Near the mouth of Apple Creek we took in wood, and saw, on the left hand, the continuation of a chain of hills, of very singular forht ss flew over the river at an early hour, and a large beaver appeared a the hich we shot at without success The 16th of June set in with a high northeast wind, accompanied with rain We soon reached the mouth of Heart River,[313]

but the wind drove our vessel towards the bank, and ere obliged to lay to at six o'clock; and it was not till the evening that the wind so far abated as to allow us to continue our voyage The next ht of the butte Carree[314] In thethickets, on the bank, a very fine buffalo bull stood within half musket-shot; our people fired, but to no purpose Soon after, , in the prairie, two e animals of this species; and, in the course of the day, perceived a great nuht down several dead buffalo cows A little before theCreek,[315] the Missouri is half a ht o'clock we reached the place where a Mandan village had formerly stood[316] The Sioux, froo, killed most of the inhabitants, and destroyed the huts The prairie hills fores, perfectly resee of the thickets, were but just [pg 170] beginning to unfold their buds It is probable, however, that they had suffered by a fire in the prairie After we had passed, alternately, prairies, with their hills, steep clay banks, and stripes of forest, we prosecuted our voyage till dusk, and lay to near a largethicket, on the eastern bank, when some musket shots were suddenly heard, the flashes of which were evidently seen Mr Mc Kenzie immediately supposed that it was an Indian war party, which people, in general, avoid, as they do not much trust them We consulted as to be done Many shots follohichthe custoreat deal of powder; and we soon perceived, aures of the Indians in their white buffalo robes As nobody knew the intentions of these people, we looked forward to thewith so out that they were come with peaceable intentions, and wished to be taken on board Ortubize, the interpreter, telling us that they were Sioux, of the branch of the Yanktonans, we conferred soe of planks was thrown across to the shore Twenty-three, for the most part tall men, came on board, and were e cabin They ca of 300 tents, which was in the neighbourhood; they generally lived on the banks of the Chayenne, which falls into the Red River, near the Devil's Lake, and the sources of St Peter's River[317] They had been hunting in the neighbourhood, and shot some buffaloes The Yanktonans are represented as the erous of all the Sioux, and are stated frequently to have killed white enerally come to the Missouri in the winter, but at this season it was a mere chance that we met with them They weredishevelled hair, in which some wore feathers as indications of their exploits The upper parts of their bodies were generally naked, merely covered with the buffalo's skin, or blanket; but their whole dress was plain and indifferent, as they only ca excursion The chief of these people was Tatanka-Kta (the dead buffalo), astature, with a very dark brown, expressive countenance, and his hair bound together over the forehead in a thick knot; he was dressed in a unifors and collar, and ornas, such as the traders are used to give, or to sell to such chiefs as they desire to distinguish In his hand he had the wing of an eagle for a fan

After we had smoked with these Yanktonans all round, the chief opened, before Mr Mc Kenzie, a bag, with old pemmican (dry meat powdered), by way of present, and then rose tohands, successively, with all persons present, he said, with esticulation, and in short sentences, bethich he appeared to be reflecting, ”that the whole body of the 300 huts was under the principal chief, Jawitschahka; that his people had been forood terms with the Mandans, but had been at variance with them for about a year, on account of the ain; that with this view [pg 171] they had sent three of their people to the Mandan villages, but did not know the result; and, therefore, were very desirous of the mediation of Mr Mc Kenzie; that they happened to be near the river, when they perceived their father's shi+p, and were come to visit him; that to be able to supply the Fur Company with more beaver skins, they wished to have liberty to hunt on the Missouri, and on that account peace with the Mandans was of importance to them They hoped, therefore, that Mr Mc Kenzie would intercede for them, and allow them to accompany him” The ansas--”That if, like the other tribes of their nation, who lived constantly on the Missouri, they would, in future, conduct themselves properly, and never kill white men, he would attempt all that lay in his power; but he bade them consider ould be the best for theo alone by land to the Mandan villages, as he did not kno theymen of the Mandan tribe” These Indians showed us a beautiful skin of a young, white, female buffalo, which they intended as a present for the Mandans, by whohly valued They had already sent them a white buffalo calf Our visitors were afterwards taken into another apartment, where refreshht The next , however, they went ashore, and proceeded to Fort Clarke on foot

During the night there was a violent teloomy, damp, and windy We left at an early hour the place of the , from which it elve ht of us, walked through the prairie, where they frightened a herd of ten or twelve wolves, which had long aambols At half-past seven we passed a roundish island covered s, and reached then the wood on the western bank, in which the winter dwellings of part of the Mandan Indians are situated; and saw, at a distance, the largest village of this tribe, Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, in the vicinity of which the whole prairie was covered with riders and pedestrians[318] As we drew nearer the huts of that village, Fort Clarke, lying before it, relieved by the back-ground of the blue prairie hills, castaff[319] On a tongue of land on the left bank were four white roups upon the bank, and the discharge of cannon and musketry commenced to welcoainst the gently sloping shore, where above 600 Indians aiting for us Close to the beach, the chiefs and uished warriors of the Mandan nation stood in front of the asse whom the most eminent were Charata-Numakschi (the wolf chief), Mato-Tope (the four bears),[320] Dipauch (the broken arm), Berock-Itainu (the ox neck), Pehriska-Ruhpa (the two ravens), and some others They were all dressed in their finest clothes, to do us honour As soon as the vessel was iven us their hands, sat down in the stern cabin The pipe went round, and the conversation began with the Mandans, by the assistance of Mr Kipp, clerk to the A post at Fort Clarke;[321] and with the Manitaries, by the help of the old interpreter, Charbonneau, who had lived thirty-seven years in the villages of the latter people, near this place[322] Mr Mc Kenzie caused the proposal of the Yanktonans to be sub deliberation, replied that they could not possibly accept these proposals of peace, because the Yanktonans were much too treacherous; that, however, no harht depart unmolested

Most of the Indians in our cabin were stout, tall men, except Mato-Tope, as of middle stature, and rather slim I shall have occasion to say uished chief They had their weapons, such as muskets, boar clubs, and battle axes, in their hands, and also fans of eagles' wings, and wore buffalo robes, which, on the inner side, are painted reddish-brown, or white, and adorned with coloured figures They let their hair hang down at length, considering it as an ornament Sometimes it is divided into plaits, and daubed with a reddish clay However, I refrain, at present, fro these Indians, of whoth The Mandans, Manitaries, and Crows, of which tribe there were now seventy tents about the fort, differ very little from each other in their appearance and dress; they are, however, taller than the Indians on the Missouri e had before seen, and their features ular than those of the Sioux

We soon went on shore, and exaures, of who on the ground; the men, some on horseback, so their observations on the white strangers Hereremarkably tall and handsome men, and fine dresses, for they had all done their uthty Crows[323] rode on beautiful panther skins, with red cloth under them, and, as they never wear spurs, had a whip of elk's horn in their hand These mounted warriors, with their diversely painted faces, feathers in their long hair, bow and arrows slung across their backs, and with a musket or spear in their hands, the latter of which isscene This reers with curiosity, and we conversed with thens, but soon proceeded to the fort, which is built on a smaller scale, on a plan si posts or forts of the Coency, but more rudely constructed Immediately behind the fort there were, in the prairies, seventy leather tents of the Crohich we immediately visited[324]

The tents of the Crows are exactly like those of the Sioux, and are set up without any regular order On the poles, instead of scalps, there were s like streamers in the wind We were struck with the nus of all colours, of which there were certainly froers, and it was not without difficulty that we kept the 173] some old Indian women assisted us We then proceeded about 300 paces in a north-west direction froe of the Mandans, Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush[325] This village consisted of about sixty large hemispherical clay huts, and was surrounded with a fence of stakes, at the four corners of which conicalof wicker-work, and embrasures, which serve for defence, and command the river and the plain We were told that these cones or block-houses were not erected by the Indians themselves, but by the Whites Three miles further up the river, and on the sae of the Mandans, called Ruhptare, consisting of about thirty-eight clay huts, which we could not then visit for want of tie, the stages, on which these Indians, like the Sioux, place their dead, lay scattered[326]