VOYAGE FROM FORT CLARKE TO FORT UNION, NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE YELLOW
STONE RIVER, FROM THE 19TH TO THE 24TH JUNE
Ruhptare, the second Village of the Mandans--The Villages of the
Manitaries on the Knife River--Interview with the
Manitaries--Winter Villages of that Nation--Remarkable
Hills--Mountain L'Ours qui Danse--Little Missouri
River--Territory of the Assiniboins--Kiasax and Matsokui, two
Blackfeet Indians--The Grizzly Bear--Interview with the
Assiniboins--The Bighorn--Muddy River, Lewis and Clarke's White
Earth River--Yellow Stone River--Fort Union.
On the 19th June, the Assiniboin left Fort Clarke, with a high, cold
wind, and clouded sky; the thermometer, at nine in the morning, being
at 60-1/2 deg. The chiefs, and other Indians, had come on board, and
also Kiasax, a Blackfoot Indian, who wished to return to his own people.
The country, on the south bank, appeared to us to have some
resemblance with many parts on the banks of the Rhine; but, on the
right bank, there soon appeared those singular hills, resembling
fortifications. At ten o'clock, we came to Ruhptare, the second Mandan
village, on the south bank, which is situated in a plain a little
higher than the river. All the inhabitants, in their buffalo dresses,
were collected on the bank, and some had taken their station on the
tops of their huts to have a better view: the whole prairie was
covered with people, Indians on horseback, and horses grazing. In the
low willow thickets on the bank, the brown, naked children were
running about; all the men had fans of eagles' feathers in their
hands. The village was surrounded with a fence of palisades; and, with
its spherical clay huts, looked like a New Zealand Hippah. Here, too,
there were high poles near the village, on which skins and other
things were hung, as offerings to the lord of life, or the sun, and
numerous stages for the dead were scattered about the prairie. As we
proceeded, the whole population accompanied us along the steep bank on
foot and on horseback, followed by many of their large wolf dogs. The
[pg. 178] country was pretty open and flat. We saw before us the fine
broad mirror of the river, and, at a distance on the southern bank,
the red mass of the clay huts of the lower village of the Manitaries,
which we reached in half an hour. The Missouri is joined by the Knife
River, on which the three villages of the Manitaries are built. The
largest, which is the furthest from the Missouri, is called Elah-Sa
(the village of the great willows); the middle one, Awatichay (the
little village), where Charbonneau, the interpreter, lives; and the
third, Awachawi (le village des souliers), which is the smallest,
consisting of only eighteen huts, situated at the mouth of Knife
River.[335] While we were examining this interesting country, and
receiving from Charbonneau many particulars respecting these villages,
in which he had lived for more than thirty years, our Indian
companions were sitting or lying about the fire, smoking their pipes.
Among them was Dipauch (the broken arm), a tall, stout man, with whom
I frequently came in contact in the following winter. His long, thick
hair was bound together in a large queue, and on his breast he wore a
silver gorget, which he had received as a present from the Whites. The
expression of his countenance was agreeable, whereas that of Berock
Itainu (bull's neck), a similar colossus, the inseparable companion of
the former, was gloomy and less pleasing. Both were six feet high, and
Berock Itainu wore his hair tied together in a knot upon his head.
Mato-Tope (the four bears), the eminent Mandan chief, whom I have
before mentioned, and Charata-Numakshi (the chief of the wolves), were
also present; and I purchased from the former his painted buffalo
dress, which had hitherto been his medicine (_i.e._ charm), which he
highly valued as a _souvenir_ of his brother, who had been shot by the
enemy. Our cookery pleased them much; they were fond of coffee, and
sugar was a great delicacy; but they cannot make maple sugar like the
Indians in the woody country, because the trees are neither numerous
nor strong enough to produce this article.
When we turned our eyes from the dark brown inhabitants to the
surrounding scenery, we saw, on the banks, grey hills, with level
prairies and willow thickets next the river, and the country, in
general, was rather flat than mountainous. The hills were partly
depressed at the top--a feature which is almost peculiar to these
hills. At noon the sun burst forth, and the thermometer was at 76 deg.,
with a high wind. The south bank of the river was now animated by a
crowd of Indians, both on foot and on horseback; they were the
Manitaries, who had flocked from their three villages to see the
steamer and to welcome us. The appearance of this vessel of the
Company, which comes up, once in two years, to the Yellow Stone River,
is an event of the greatest importance to the Indians; they then come
from considerable distances to see this hissing machine, which they
look upon as one of the most wonderful medicines (charms) of the white
men. The sight of the red-brown crowd collected on the river side, for
even their buffalo skins were mostly of this colour, was, in the
highest degree, striking. We already saw above a hundred of them, with
many dogs, some of which drew sledges, and others, wooden boards
[pg. 179] fastened to their backs, and the ends trailing on the ground,
to which the baggage was attached with leather straps. The Indians
hastened through the willow thicket, and, altogether, stood opposite
to us on the steep, low, sandy bank, where they were so crowded that
we, every moment, expected to see the sand give way.
The most attractive sight which we had yet met with upon this voyage,
now presented itself to our view. The steamboat lay to close to the
willow thicket, and we saw, immediately before us, the numerous,
motley, gaily painted, and variously ornamented crowd of the most
elegant Indians on the whole course of the Missouri. The handsomest
and most robust persons, of both sexes and all ages, in highly
original, graceful, and characteristic costumes, appeared, thronged
together, to our astonished eye; and there was, all at once, so much
to see and to observe, that we anxiously profited by every moment to
catch only the main features of this unique picture. The Manitaries
are, in fact, the tallest and best formed Indians on the Missouri,
and, in this respect, as well as in the elegance of their costume, the
Crows alone approach them, whom they, perhaps, even surpass in the
latter particular. Their faces were, in general, painted red, in which
the North Americans agree with the Brazilians, and many other South
Americans; their long hair hung in broad flat braids down their backs;
on the side of each eye, they had hanging, from the forehead, a string
of white and blue beads, alternating with tooth shells, and their
heads were adorned with feathers, stuck in the hair.
The expression of their remarkable countenances, as they gazed at us,
was very various; in some, it was cold and disdainful; in others,
intense curiosity; in others, again, good-nature and simplicity. The
upper parts of their bodies were, in general, naked, and the fine
brown skin of their arms adorned with broad, bright bracelets of a
white metal. In their hands they carried their musket, bow and
battle-axe; their quivers, of otter skin, elegantly decorated, were
slung over their backs; their leggins were trimmed with tufts of the
hair of the enemies whom they had killed, with dyed horse-hair of
different colours, and with a profusion of leather fringe, and
beautifully embroidered with stripes of dyed porcupine quills, or
glass beads, of the most brilliant colours. These handsome, robust
men, showing their remarkably fine white teeth as they smiled, gave
free expression to their feelings; and the unnatural and ugly
fashions, as well as the different costumes of the white people,
probably afforded ample matter for satirical observations, for which
these children of nature have a peculiar turn. All these Indians were
dressed in their very finest clothes, and they completely attained
their object; for they made, at least upon us strangers, a very lively
impression. Many of them were distinguished by wearing leather shirts,
of exquisite workmanship, which they obtain by barter from the Crows.
Several tall, athletic men were on horseback, and managed their
horses, which were frightened by the noise of the steam-boats, with an
ease which afforded us pleasure. Urging them with their short whips in
the manner of the Cossacks, with the bridle fastened to the lower jaw,
they, at length, pushed the [pg. 180] light, spirited animals through
the willow thicket, till they reached the river, where these fine bold
horsemen, resembling the Circassians, with their red-painted
countenances, were regarded with great admiration. Many of them wore
the large valuable necklace, made of long bears' claws, and their
handsomely-painted buffalo robe was fastened round the waist by a
girdle. In general they had no stirrups, but sat very firmly on the
naked backs of the horses, and several rode on a saddle resembling the
Hungarian saddle. Among the young women we observed some who were very
pretty, the white of whose sparkling hazel eyes formed a striking
contrast with the vermilion faces. I regret that it is impossible,
by any description, to give the reader a distinct idea of such a
scene, and there was not sufficient time for Mr. Bodmer to make a
drawing of it. The following winter, however, afforded us an
opportunity, in some measure, to supply this deficiency.
[Illustration: A Blackfoot musical instrument]
The chiefs of the Manitaries came on board for a short time; among
them were old Addi-Hiddisch (the road maker), Pehriska-Ruhpa (the two
ravens), Lachpizi-Sihrish (the yellow bear), and several others, and
with them the Blackfoot Kiasax, in his best dress, who was to make the
voyage along with us. He was accompanied by his Manitari wife, who
carried a little child, wrapped in a piece of leather, fastened with
straps. She wept much at parting from her husband, and the farewell
scene was very interesting. While this was going on, an Indian, on the
shore, was employed in keeping off the crowd with a long willow rod,
which he laid about the women and children with a right hearty good
will, when, by their curiosity, they hindered our _engages_ and crew
in loosening the vessel from the shore. The vessel, however, was ready
to start; Mr. Kipp, Charbonneau, the interpreter, and the Manitari
chiefs, took leave, and hastened to land, on which the Assiniboin
proceeded rapidly up the Missouri. The Indians followed us, for a
time, along the bank; about thirty of them formed an interesting group
on horseback, two sometimes sitting on the same beast. As the willow
thickets on the banks ceased, we had a good view of the prairie, where
many Indian horsemen were galloping about; herds of horses fled from
the noise of the vessel. The friends and relations of Kiasax and
Matsokui--for we had taken another Blackfoot on board--followed the
vessel longer than any of the others; they frequently called to them,
and nodded farewell, to which Kiasax answered with a long wooden
pipe, upon which he played a wretched piece of music.[336] This Mandan
pipe, which the Indians, on the Upper Missouri, frequently use, is
from two and a half to three feet long, rather wider at the lower end,
and has a hole on the upper side, which is alternately opened and shut
with the finger. By way of ornament, an eagle's feather is fastened
[pg. 181] to the end of the instrument with a string, which is generally
a medicine or talisman of the owner. Kiasax set a high value on his
pipe, which he held constantly in his hand, and would not sell on any
terms. A violent storm, accompanied by heavy rain, compelled us to lay
to, for ten minutes, on the left bank, where the river is bounded by
steep high hills. At this spot Major Pilcher had formerly established
a trading post for the Crows and Assiniboins.[337] There were, at that
time, no such posts further up the Missouri, but it has since been
abandoned, and no trace of it is now to be seen. Before us was a fine
extensive view of romantic gradations of the tongues of land, singular
mountain tops and cones; and, on the grey chain of hills, we again saw
the black horizontal parallel strata of the bituminous coal, which
accompany, without interruption, the course of the Missouri. This
black fossil has often been examined, with the hope that it might be
employed as fuel, but it is unserviceable, has a very bad smell, and
is of no use even for blacksmiths' work.[338] These black strata have
evidently undergone, in former times, the action of fire; and we
everywhere observed, on the ridges of the hills, clay or clay-slate
formations, either in the shape of cones, or angular, like
fortifications. Many of these pyramids are perfectly regular, and
stand on a broad basis, furrowed by the water; some are square, and
others regularly flattened. The strata of bituminous coal extend along
the base of most of them; all these singularly-formed rocks have,
doubtless, been elevated by the action of subterraneous fire. The
evening sun illumined the grotesque pyramidal hills, and their shadows
gave us a clear idea of their forms. The northern declivity of the
mountains was partly covered with bushes; the southern, almost always
naked and bare. Towards nightfall we passed the winter village of the
Manitaries,[339] situated in a forest, which, at this time, was
without inhabitants, and then came to a tongue of land on the right
hand, with a high, steep, rocky bank, on which Mr. Sandford once
found, in the month of April, great numbers of serpents, which he
estimated at several thousands. They appear to have consisted of two
species only, which, by their description, were, doubtless, the _Col.
sirtalis_ and _flaviventris_ of Say. All the holes and pits in the
sides of the rock, and between the blocks of stone on the bank, are
said to have been full of them. In one small ravine they lay coiled up
in balls; several hundreds of them were killed, the Americans, in
general, having an antipathy to these animals. Bradbury, too, mentions
large heaps of serpents, under stones, along the Missouri, but at
another season of the year. That serpents must abound in these parts,
seems to be proved by the name of a small stream, which is called
Snake Creek. Half a mile from this place, the Miry Creek flows, from a
flat meadow;[340] on the hills beyond we saw some antelopes.
On the following morning, the 20th of June, we perceived, in a forest
on the bank, fifteen Indians, and soon afterwards four large elks,
which would have been a welcome prey to the hunters, had they been
aware of their being so near. One of the strata of black coal on the
generally flat hills of this part of the country had lately been on
fire; we did not, however, perceive any smoke.
[pg. 182] After ten o'clock, having taken in fuel, we came to singular
hills, flattened at the top, which are called L'Ours qui Danse,
because it is said the Indians here celebrate the bear dance, a
medicine feast, in order to obtain success in the chase.[341] At noon
there was a high cold wind while the thermometer was at 70 deg. The
country was rather flat, and the river was bordered by green forests;
on the right bank, in particular, the wood was beautiful, lofty, and
dark. Here we observed many traces of beavers, such as gnawed trees
and paths leading to the water's edge. Our hunters gradually returned
to the bank; they had shot two Virginian deer, an antelope, and a
prairie hen. Mr. Bodmer, who returned to the vessel much fatigued and
heated, brought with him a stone[342] of the shape of a battle-axe,
which had been found in the prairie.[343]
[Illustration: Stone battle-axe]
Continuing our voyage, we saw the buffaloes hasten away, and moored
our vessel at twilight to some trees on the north bank. All over the
plain there were deeply trodden paths of the buffaloes. On the morning
following, the 21st, the river had risen considerably, and brought
down trunks of trees, branches, &c., which covered the surface, and
gave our vessel some violent shocks: strips of wood, and desolate
hills, without any vegetation, appeared. On the southern bank we came
to a green spot at the mouth of the Little Missouri,[344] which is
reckoned to be 1670 miles from the mouth of the Great Missouri. The
chain of blue hills, with the same singular forms as we had seen
before, appeared on the other side of this river. In the forests roses
in full blossom formed a thick underwood, which was traversed by the
path of the buffaloes. Before noon we reached the territory of the
Assiniboins, and were, at this time, at Wild Onion Creek.[345] Kiasax
(l'ours gauche--left-handed or awkward bear) had permitted Mr. Bodmer
to take his portrait, without making any objection, whereas Matsokui
(beautiful hair) was not to be persuaded to do so, affirming that he
must then infallibly die. It turned out in the sequel that he was to
die, and Kiasax to return, unhurt by the enemy. The latter had adopted
the costume of the Manitaries, but at the same time wrapped himself in
a Spanish blanket, striped blue, white and black, which, as well as a
metal cross, which he wore suspended round his neck, was a proof of
the intercourse between the Blackfoot Indians and the Spaniards near
the Rocky Mountains. These two Indians appeared to be very quiet,
obliging men. Thus, for instance, they never [pg. 183] returned from an
excursion on shore, without bringing me some handfulls of plants,
often, it is true, only common grass, because they had observed that
we always brought plants home with us.
We lay to about three miles below Goose Egg Lake. A white wolf
accompanied the steam-boat as it proceeded. We came to the canal which
joins Goose Egg Lake to the Missouri, which I was unable to examine,
as the steamer did not stop. Here the river makes a great bend, which,
as well as that near Fort Lookout, is called by some Canadians Le
Grand Detour.[346] Early on the following morning, the 22nd, we saw
wild animals of various kinds, such as buffaloes, elks, and Virginian
deer. The wild geese with their young suffered us to approach pretty
closely, because, at this season, they moult their long wing feathers.
About ten o'clock we had an alarm of fire on board: the upper deck had
been set on fire by the iron pipe of the chimney of the great cabin.
We immediately lay to, and, by breaking up the deck, the danger was
soon over, which, however, was not inconsiderable, as we had many
barrels of powder on board. We had scarcely got over this trouble,
when another arose; the current of the swollen river was so strong,
that we long contended against it to no purpose, in order to turn a
certain point of land, while, at the same time, the high west wind was
against us, and both together threw the vessel back three times on the
south coast. The first shock was so violent, that the lower deck
gallery was broken to pieces. Our second attempt succeeded no better;
part of the paddle-box was broken, and carried away by the current. We
were now obliged to land forty men to tow the vessel, for which
purpose all on board voluntarily offered their services, even the two
Blackfeet overcame their natural laziness. Beyond this dangerous
place, we took on board the hunters whom we had sent out. They were
covered from head to foot with blood, and hung about with game, having
killed two elks. The effect of the current and the wind upon our
vessel continued for a long time. It was often thrown against the
alluvial bank, so that the deck was covered with earth, and the track
of our vessel clearly marked along the clayey sand bank. After four
o'clock we stopped at a narrow verdant prairie in front of the hills,
to fell wood: several pretty plants, among which was a juniper with
the berries still green, were found here. The cat bird, the wren and
blackbird animated the thickets, and we observed also the great curlew
(_Numenius longirostris_). A very large elk horn of twelve antlers had
been found; a number of them lie about in all the forests and
prairies, of which no use is made. In the afternoon we saw in the
prairie of the north bank a large grizzly bear, and immediately sent
Ortubize and another hunter in pursuit of him, but to no purpose. Soon
after we saw two other bears, one of a whitish, the other of a dark
colour, and our hunters, when they returned, affirmed that they had
wounded the largest. Harvey had shot an elk, and brought the best part
of it from a great distance, and with considerable exertion, to the
river. From this place upwards, the grey bear became more and more
common; further down the river it is still rare. Brackenridge says, it
is not found below the [pg. 184] Mandan villages, but this is not quite
correct. Near the prairie where we saw the bears, is the mouth of
White Earth River, called by Lewis and Clarke, Goat-pen River.[347]
Here we crossed the Missouri, and lay to for the night on the south
coast, where some of our people landed to set traps for the beavers.
Harvey had the good fortune to catch, during the night, a young
beaver, which he brought on board alive, on the following morning, the
23rd. The iron trap had broken one of the legs of the little beaver,
and with all our care we could not keep it alive. The surrounding
country on the banks of the Missouri, which is here very broad, again
showed the singularly formed angular hills flattened at the top like
tables: several pretty prairies, in which the white artemisia and
other beautiful plants grew, extended at the foot of the eminences, on
the declivity of which the buffalo berry and the creeping juniper were
common; henceforward the clay cones were partly burnt as red as
bricks, which was a clear proof of their origin. Many of them had
parallel horizontal stripes, projecting a little, of harder sandstone
strata, which had resisted the influence of the elements more than the
intermediate strata of clay and sand.
The vessel laying to, about eleven o'clock, near a wood on the south
bank, we suddenly perceived on the north bank some Indians, who
immediately called to us. They were the first Assiniboins that we had
met with; they sat upon the bank waiting for the boat which Mr. Mc
Kenzie sent to them. After a short pause they came on board the
steamer, and proved to be Stassaga (le brecheux), who was well known
to Mr. Mc Kenzie, with seven of his people of the branch called by the
French, Gens des Filles.[348] The chief, a robust, thick-set man,
rather above the middle size, wore his hair tied behind in a thick
queue, and cut short in front; he had bound across the crown a slip of
whitish skin; in his ears he had strings of blue and white glass
beads; round his neck a collar of bears' claws; the upper part of his
body was wrapped in a red woollen shirt; his legs were quite bare, but
he had a pair of handsomely embroidered leggins which he put on when
his people left the vessel. He was wrapped in a buffalo robe, and had
in his hand a musket, and an eagle's wing for a fan. Another robust
man had smeared his face, about the eyes, with white clay. The rest of
these Indians were neither well formed nor well dressed, but dirty and
slovenly. Their hair hung in disorder about their heads; some of them
had made it up into three plaits; their legs were mostly bare; only a
couple of them had leggins. One of them, with a Jewish physiognomy,
wore a white wolf skin cap. Some of them were marked with two parallel
tattooed black stripes from the neck down the breast; the upper parts
of their bodies were naked, but they were wrapped in buffalo robes.
Most of them had guns, and all, without distinction, bows and arrows,
the latter in a quiver or bag made of skin, to which also the case for
the bow is attached, as shown in the woodcut.[349]
As the Assiniboins are a branch of the Sioux, Ortubize was able to act
as interpreter. They were made to sit down round the great cabin, and
the pipe circulated; they likewise [pg. 185] received abundance of food,
which seemed to please them much. They said that since they came to
these parts in the spring, they had suffered much from want of food,
buffaloes being scarce. They intended shortly to leave this part of
the country, but the chief wished to go with us to Fort Union, which
we allowed him to do. After they had been shown about the vessel, the
steam-engine of which greatly excited their attention, though they
suppressed any mark of surprise, they were landed in a lofty poplar
grove on the north bank.
After dinner, we proceeded along the side of a prairie, where we heard
the note of the great curlew. The valley of the river was bounded on
both sides by very remarkable whitish-grey, obliquely stratified
ridges, with singular spots of red clay, and bushes in the ravines; at
their feet was the prairie, covered with pale green artemisia; and on
the tongues of land, at the windings of the Missouri, there were fine
poplar groves, with an undergrowth of roses in full bloom,
buffalo-berry bushes, and many species of plants. On the mountains we
again saw naked rounded cones of earth, as if they had been thrown up
by moles, and, on the tops of some of them, a little turret, or cone,
while their sides were rounded by the rain water, or marked with
parallel perpendicular furrows.
On our further progress up the river, we saw, for the first time, the
animal known by the name of the bighorn, or the Rocky Mountain sheep,
the _Ovis montana_ of the zoologists. A ram and two sheep of this
species stood on the summit of the highest hill, and, after looking at
our steamer, slowly retired. These animals are not frequent
hereabouts, but we afterwards met with them in great numbers. We here
took on board some cord wood, which the different trading posts had
employed their _engages_ to get ready for the steamboat.
On the 24th, in the morning, we found the banks wooded, and beyond the
thickets were the chain of hills, in the middle of which were strata
of the colour of red bricks. Cones of that colour, and sometimes
detached grey figures, with a red base, crowned the heights. Many
varied colours showed that these eminences must have undergone the
action of fire. About eight o'clock we came to the mouth of Muddy
River (the White Earth River of Lewis and Clarke), which issues from a
thicket on the north bank.[350] In this part we saw smoke on the
bank, and, soon afterwards, some Assiniboins, one of whom fired three
shots to attract our attention: others soon came up, and we took them
on board. They were robust men, with high cheek-bones, well dressed,
all in leather shirts, their legs mostly bare, and their hair hanging
smooth about their heads; one of them took off the leather case of his
bow, and wrapped it round his head like a turban, so that a little
tuft of feathers, at one end of it, stood upright. Following the
numerous windings of the Missouri, from one chain of hills to another,
we reached, at seven o'clock in the evening, the mouth of the Yellow
Stone, a fine river, hardly inferior in breadth to the Missouri at
this part. It issues below the high grey chain of hills, and its mouth
is bordered with a fine wood of tall poplars, with willow thickets.
The two rivers unite in an obtuse angle; and there [pg. 186] is a sudden
turn of the Missouri to the north-west; it is not wooded at the
junction, but flows between prairies thirty or more miles in extent.
Herds of buffaloes are often seen here; at this time they had left
these parts: we saw, however, many antelopes. At the next turn of the
river, towards the right hand, we had a fine prospect. Gentle
eminences, with various rounded or flat tops, covered with bright
verdure, formed the back-ground; before them, tall poplar groves, and
willow thickets on the bank of the river, whose dark blue waters,
splendidly illumined by the setting sun, flowed, with many windings,
through the prairie. A little further on lay Fort Union, on a verdant
plain, with the handsome American flag, gilded by the last rays of
evening, floating in the azure sky, while a herd of horses grazing
animated the peaceful scene.[351]
As the steamer approached, the cannon of Fort Union fired a salute,
with a running fire of musketry, to bid us welcome, which was answered
in a similar manner by our vessel. When we reached the fort, we were
received by Mr. Hamilton, an Englishman, who, during the absence of
Mr. Mc Kenzie, had performed the functions of director,[352] as well
as by several clerks of the Company, and a number of their servants
(_engages_ or _voyageurs_), of many different nations, Americans,
Englishmen, Germans, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards, and Italians,
about 100 in number, with many Indians, and half-breed women and
children. It was the seventy-fifth day since our departure from St.
Louis, when the Assiniboin cast anchor at Fort Union.
The Yellow Stone, being one of the principal affluents of the
Missouri, receives several considerable streams, of which the
following are the chief:--
1. The Bighorn River (_La Grosse Corne_).
2. The Little Bighorn River (_La Petite Grosse Corne_).
3. The Tongue River (_La Riviere a la Langue_).
4. The Powder River (_La Riviere a la Poudre_).
The Yellow Stone is called, by the Canadians, La Roche Jaune. Warden
calls it Keheetsa, but I do not know where he got this name. Lewis and
Clarke say it has no name. The names given it by most of the Indian
nations signify Elk River.[353]
FOOTNOTES:
[335] Knife River, called by the French Riviere de Couteau, and by the
Indians Minah Wakpa, is a prairie stream, whose course is in general
east, entering the Missouri in Mercer County, North Dakota. The town
of Stanton is now on the site of the third village, Awachawi--ED.
[336] See p. 361, for illustration of a Blackfoot musical
instrument.--ED.
[337] This fort of Pilcher, built for the Missouri Fur Company about
1822, was about eleven miles above the mouth of Knife River, and named
Fort Vanderburgh. Not proving profitable, it was maintained but a
short time. See another mention in our volume xxiii, chapter
xxiii.--ED.
[338] See article by O. D. Wheeler, in _Wonderland_ (1904), on the
recent development of the lignite coal area of North Dakota.--ED.
[339] It was a custom of the Minitaree, maintained until 1866, to
leave their permanent village each winter for a spot where fuel was
convenient, and there build log-cabins, very warm and secure, as
winter quarters. They thus preserved both the fuel supply, and the
game in the neighborhood of their summer home.--ED.
[340] Miry Creek appears to be the present Snake Creek, in McLean
County, North Dakota, the one which Maximilian designates as Snake
being a small run from a cliff which was known as Snake den. See
_Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, p. 291.--ED.
[341] See description of bear-dance, with illustration, in Catlin,
_North American Indians_, i, pp. 242-245.--ED.
[342] These stones are generally granite, not sharp, but rounded in
front; are used by the Indians to break the large bones of the
buffaloes, of the marrow of which they are very fond. Stones closely
resembling these are found among the Blackfoot Indians.--MAXIMILIAN.
[343] See p. 361, for illustration of a stone battle-axe.--ED.
[344] The Little Missouri is the most important North Dakota affluent
of the Missouri, above the Cannonball. It rises on the northwestern
slopes of the Black Hills and flows north for some distance, thence
turning northeast and east to enter the main river in Williams County.
It is a broad but shallow stream, impregnated with alkali.--ED.
[345] Wild Onion Creek was so named by Lewis and Clark because of the
quantity of that plant growing upon its bordering plains. Within
Garfield County, North Dakota, it is now denominated Pride Creek.--ED.
[346] Goose Egg Lake, so named by the explorers "from the circumstance
of my [Clark] shooting a goose on her nest on some sticks in the top
of a high cotton wood tree in which there was one egg," is now Cold
Spring Lake (_Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i,
pp. 304, 305). The great bend (Grand Detour) is still so named, but is
much wider than the lower bend, being nearly ten miles across, and
over twenty around the curve.--ED.
[347] Coues, _Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, p. 274, identifies Goat
Pen Creek with Upper Knife River. Maximilian's identification of this
stream as the present White Earth River appears to accord better with
the _Original Journals_ (i, p. 313). The White Earth rises in Coteau
des Prairies, and flows directly south into the Missouri. Lewis and
Clark applied the name to a river farther up, near the forks of the
Yellowstone. See note 348, _post_, p. 372.--ED.
[348] For the Assiniboin see our volume ii, p. 168, note 75. They
separated from the Wazikute gens of the Yanktonnai Sioux before the
middle of the seventeenth century. The Dakota stigmatize them as
"Hohe" (rebels). Lewis and Clark name three bands of these people, of
whom they heard along the Missouri--Gens de Canoe, Gens des Filles,
and Gens des Grand Diables. The Gens des Filles (girl band) was
composed of about sixty tents, its head chief being Les Yeux Gris
(Grey Eyes). See United States Bureau of Ethnology _Report_, 1894-95,
p. 223.--ED.
[349] See p. 287, for illustration of bows, arrows, and quiver.--ED.
[350] The White Earth River of Lewis and Clark, now Muddy River, is a
northern affluent of the Missouri, taking its name from the mud by
which its mouth is choked. Above the mouth it is a clear and partly
navigable stream, flowing through a valley nearly five miles wide,
fertile although treeless. It enters the Missouri in Buford County,
having the town of Williston at its mouth.--ED.
[351] Fort Union was the most important post of the American Fur
Company on the upper Missouri. It was commenced in the autumn of 1828
(Maximilian says 1829), being at first known as Fort Floyd--another
Fort Union existing higher up the river, which was abandoned, and the
property transferred to the fort at the mouth of the Yellowstone. The
actual site was five miles above the meeting of the rivers, on the
north bank of the Missouri; see _Larpenteur's Journal_, i, pp. 50, 68.
The fort was injured by fire in 1832, but substantially rebuilt, Wyeth
(1833) pronouncing it superior to the Oregon forts of the British
companies. Maintained until 1867, it was finally abandoned, part of
its effects being transferred to the government post Fort Buford, some
miles below.--ED.
[352] Our knowledge of Hamilton is chiefly derived from the pages of
Larpenteur, who says that the former was an English nobleman, whose
real name was Archibald Palmer. Having become involved in some
difficulties, he assumed the name James Archdale Hamilton, and having
formed acquaintance with Kenneth McKenzie was sent by the latter as
book-keeper to Fort Union, where he took full command during
McKenzie's frequent absences. Hamilton was at this time about fifty
years of age, punctilious in manner, particular in dress, and both
respected and feared by his subordinates. Later he reverted to his own
name and returned to St. Louis, becoming cashier for the American Fur
Company, and dying in that city.--ED.
[353] The French form for the name of this great river (Roche Jaune)
was in early use; Chittenden (_Yellowstone National Park_ (Cincinnati,
1895), pp. 1-7) thinks it a translation of the Indian term, derived
from the predominant color of Yellowstone Canon. The first use of the
English form appears to be in the writings of David Thompson, the
English explorer (1798). See Elliott Coues, _New Light on the Early
History of the Greater Northwest_ (New York, 1897), i, p. 302. The
Crow Indians had a name for this stream, signifying "Elk."
The reference is to D. B. Warden, _Statistical, Political, and
Historical Account of the United States of North America_ (Edinburgh,
1819), i, p. 93.--ED.