WINTER SOJOURN AT FORT CLARKE, FROM NOVEMBER 8TH TO THE END OF 1833
Present State of Fort Clarke--Mr. Mc Kenzie's Journey--Peace
between the Mandans and the Yanktonans--Ravages of the Cholera
on the Lower Missouri--Mato-Topé--Sih-Chida--Return of my
People to Fort Union--Sih-Sa--Narrative of Dipauch--Completion
of our New Dwelling--Visit to a Winter Village of the
Manitaries--The Great Buffalo Medicine Fête--Juggleries
of the Manitari Women--Visit to the Winter Village of the
Mandans--Festivity on the Sale of the Dance of the Half-shorn
Head--Hunting Excursion--Cold Snow-storms--Accounts from St.
Louis--Dance of the Ascho-Ochata--Violation of the Peace
by the Sioux--Christmas Festivals--Dance of the Women of
the White Buffalo Cow--News from Fort Union--Scarcity of
Provisions--Employment of the Dogs for drawing Sledges--Dance
of the Half-shorn Head in the Fort--Departure of Mr. Kipp to
Fort Union--Increase of the Cold.
No important change had taken place at Fort Clarke during our absence.
We found there, besides Mr. Kipp the director,[2] and his family,
two interpreters, Belhumeur for the Mandan language, and Ortubize
for the Sioux; the former was a half-breed Chippeway, and did not
speak the Mandan language as well as Mr. Kipp.[3] Besides these men
and their families there were in the fort only six white _engagés_,
one of whom was a smith: some of them were married to Indian women.
We unfortunately missed Mr. Mc Kenzie, who had left only four days
before to return to Fort Union.[4] We had received, through him, a very
welcome packet of letters from Germany, which I found here. As I had
written to Mr. Mc Kenzie, requesting him to provide us with a winter
residence at Fort Clarke, in order more closely to study the Indian
tribes in the neighbourhood, instead of accepting his invitation to
pass that season with him at Fort Union, where we should have been
accommodated in a far more comfortable and agreeable manner, he had
had the kindness to give orders for completing a new building at Fort
Clarke, in which we were to reside. This order unfortunately came too
late, and it was necessary to finish the work in a hurry in the month
of November, when the frost was very severe, particularly during {413}
the nights, so that our dwelling, being very slightly built, afforded
us, in the sequel, but little protection from the cold. The large
crevices in the wood which formed the walls, were plastered up with
clay, but the frost soon cracked it, so that the bleak wind penetrated
on all sides. Our new house, which was one story high, consisted of two
light, spacious apartments, with large glass windows; we inhabited one
of these rooms, while the other served for a workshop for the carpenter
and the joiner. Each room had a brick chimney, in which we burnt large
blocks of green poplar, because, for want of hands, no stock of dry
wood had been laid in for the winter. The consequence was, that we were
obliged to send men every morning, with small carts or sledges, for
some miles into the forest, to fetch wood for the daily consumption,
which in the intense cold was a truly laborious task. An _engagé_ who
was employed in our service brought the wood covered with ice and snow
into our room, which considerably increased the cold which we already
experienced.
As our lodging was not habitable for some time after our arrival, and
there was no other room in the fort, Mr. Kipp received us in the small
apartment which he himself inhabited with his family, and, though
our beds were removed in the morning, yet our presence made it more
difficult and troublesome to find accommodation for the numerous Indian
visitors who came every day. The stores of the fort were at this time
well filled; there were goods to the value of 15,000 dollars, and, in
the loft, from 600 to 800 bushels of maize, which a great number of
Norway rats assiduously laboured to reduce. Some changes had taken
place among the Indians in the vicinity of the fort. At the time of my
first visit, in the summer of 1833, the Yanktonans[5] had expressed
a wish to make peace with the Mandans and the Manitaries, in which
they did not succeed at that time, but accomplished it in September.
Two hundred tents of those Sioux had then been pitched in the prairie
behind the village; they remained there three or four days, and some
traces of their camp still remained. There had been feasting and
dances, and Fort Clarke was crowded the whole day with Indians of the
three tribes. At this time the prairie in the neighbourhood of the
fort was desolate and deserted; part of the Indians had already gone
to their winter villages in the forest; many, however, remained in the
summer villages, and we had plenty of Indian visitors during the whole
winter.
Unpleasant news was received from the United States. The cholera had
again broken out at St. Louis, and carried off a great number of
persons. It had been brought, by the steam-boats, to the trading-posts
on the lower Missouri; at Bellevue, Major Dougherty's post, seven of
the ten white inhabitants had died in a few days.[6] The major himself
had been very ill, but had happily recovered. Several persons were
likewise carried off at the post of Major Pilcher, formerly that of
Mr. Cabanné.[7] This dangerous disease had not penetrated to that part
of the country where we were; but, as there was too much reason to
apprehend that it might extend so far, Mr. Mc Kenzie had taken a young
physician with him to Fort Union.
{414} Our first employment was to go on hunting excursions into
the prairies round the fort, which afforded us an opportunity of
collecting the seeds of the dried plants of the prairie. On one of
these excursions, when Mr. Bodmer and Mr. Kipp had gone out together,
they happened to separate, when a couple of Indians approached the
former with their bows bent, and uttering the war-whoop; he cocked his
double-barrelled gun and prepared to defend himself, when Mr. Kipp came
up, and relieved him from these unwelcome visitors, the Indians taking
flight as soon as they perceived him. Fresh scaffoldings for the dead
were erected in the vicinity of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, several Indians
having died of the hooping-cough, which was very prevalent. Every day
we saw inhabitants of the summer villages removing, with much baggage,
laden horses and dogs, to the winter villages. Among other things they
carried the strange dresses belonging to the several bands, such as the
buffalo heads of the band, Berock-Ochata, and a live owl, which they
keep as a fortune-teller. Other Indians dragged dead dogs by a strap,
probably as a bait to catch wolves or foxes. We heard, in the village,
loud lamentations, and saw the women working at the erection of a
scaffold for a woman who had just died.[8]
On the 13th of November, early in the morning, several Indians arrived,
who related, with much gravity, that in the preceding night they had
observed an extraordinary number of falling stars, all moving in a
westerly direction, which they said was a sign of war, or of a great
mortality, and asked Mr. Kipp what he thought of it. Many other Indians
visited us, of whom several were in mourning, that is, rubbed over
with white clay, and all of them spoke of the ominous phenomenon. They
were much pleased with Mr. Bodmer's Indian drawings, and asked us many
questions about their enemies, the Blackfeet. Among our most constant
visitors were the distinguished chief, Mato-Topé, and Sih-Chida (the
yellow feather). The former came with his wife and a pretty little
boy, to whom he had given the name of Mato-Berocka (the male bear).
He brought his medicine drum, painted red and black,[9] which he hung
up in our room, and so afforded Mr. Bodmer an opportunity of making
a drawing of it. Sih-Chida, a tall, stout young man, the son of a
celebrated chief now dead, was an Indian who might be depended on,
who became one of our best friends, and visited us almost daily.
He was very polished in his manners, and possessed more delicacy of
feeling than most of his countrymen. He never importuned us by asking
for anything; as soon as dinner was served he withdrew, though he
was not rich, and did not even possess a horse. He came almost every
evening, when his favourite employment was drawing, for which he had
some talent, though his figures were no better than those drawn by
our little children. Ortubize, the interpreter, had moved, with his
family, to the post of Picotte, a trader among the Yanktonans, where
he was to pass the winter.[10] The people who had been sent thither
returned, on the 14th of November, with the information that the Sioux
were dispersed in the prairie, and that they had made capital bargains
with them for beavers' skins. At our post we had to encounter the
mercantile opposition of Messrs. {415} Soublette and Campbell, whereby
the price of the buffalo skins was very much raised.[11] As our armed
men now consisted of seventeen _engagés_, Mr. Kipp went to work and had
my Mackinaw boat drawn to land, and secured from the ice, a task which
the people had much difficulty in accomplishing. The 15th of November
was the first day we saw ice in the Missouri; the sand banks were
covered with a wide, thick sheet of ice and the river was still open,
no aquatic birds had been seen for a long time; while, on the other
hand, small flights of _Fringilla linaria_, which travels southward in
the winter appeared in the prairie.
On the 16th November Mr. Kipp sent the men who had come down with me
back, on foot, to Fort Union. They took with them two dogs, which
drew well-laden _travails_ (sledges), and hoped to arrive there in
about nine days. We had a visit from the wolf chief, Charata-Numakshi,
accompanied by half-a-dozen Manitaries,[12] among whom was a tall,
stout fellow, named Tichinga; his hair was tied in a thick knot on
his forehead; to this was attached a piece of leather, so ornamented
with fringes that his eyes were almost concealed, and he could hardly
see. At midday, I saw the first flight of the snow bunting (_Emberiza
nivalis_), on the Missouri. They pass the winter here in the prairie
bushes, and live upon such seeds as they can pick up. Sih-Sa (the red
feather), the young Mandan Indian who, during the day, takes charge
of the horses belonging to the fort in the prairie, came back to-day,
having painted his whole body with spots of white clay. I asked him why
he had done this? to which he replied, that he was thereby enabled to
run faster. We likewise received a visit from a Mandan of half French
extraction, named Kipsan-Nüka (the little tortoise), whose father was
a French Canadian. He affirmed that he had formerly spoken both French
and English, but he had entirely forgotten both. Neither his features
nor his colour differed materially from the other Indians, whose
manners, customs, and dress he closely followed. Every evening brought
me a visit from Dipauch, who came to tell me all the legends and
traditions, as well as the religious views of his people--conversations
which interested me much, and which frequently lasted till late at
night. Among his auditors were several young people, who sat listening
with the most riveted attention to the disjointed sentences of our
narrator; while Mr. Kipp, with great patience, performed the office of
interpreter.
On the 17th of November we were visited by an old chief, Ahda-Miga (the
man without arms), who, however, has no longer any influence among
them. The bowl of his tobacco-pipe was made of an old iron gun-barrel.
Mr. Kipp had many similar bowls made by the smith, which he sold to the
Indians for six dollars. Dipauch and his friend, Berock-Itainu (the
bull's neck), who was his inseparable companion, were presented with
bowls of this kind, made in the form usual among the Indians. In the
evening a white wolf approached so closely to the fort, that he was
fired at from the gate, and attacked by our dogs.
On the 22nd of November we took possession of our new apartment,
which was now completed, except that the whitewashed walls were still
damp, and the constant wind generally {416} filled it with smoke. We
were, however, thankful to have space to carry on our labours, to
which we now applied with great assiduity, to make up for the time we
had lost. The large windows afforded a good light for drawing, and
we had a couple of small tables and some benches of poplar wood, and
three shelves against the walls, on which we spread our blankets and
buffaloes' skins, and reposed during the night. The room was floored;
the door was furnished with bolts on the inside, and the fire-wood,
covered with frozen snow, was piled up close to the chimney. We all
felt indisposed soon after we took up our abode in this lodging, and
were obliged to have recourse to medicine, but this was, probably,
to be ascribed principally to the way of living and the state of the
weather; for Sih-Sa and other Indians had bowel complaints, catarrh,
and violent coughs, for which Mr. Kipp gave them medicines. I examined
all the medical stock of the fort, and found neither peppermint nor
other herbs, which would have been serviceable at this time; only a
handful of elder flowers, and rather more of American camomile, which
has a different taste to the European. There were some common remedies,
but unfortunately we were without a medical man. Snow-storms, with a
high west wind, had set in, and on the 23rd the country was covered
with snow, and the Missouri froze for the first time on that day, below
the village of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, and it is remarkable that it was
frozen on the very same day in the preceding year. We saw the Indian
women, as soon as the river was covered with ice, break holes in it,
to wash their heads and the upper part of their bodies. The Indians
had brought many beaver skins for sale, of which Mr. Kipp purchased
eleven large ones, in exchange for a horse and some red cloth; the
remainder, for which they demanded another horse, they took back with
them. We had a visit from a young Mandan who had a bag made of the skin
of the prairie dog, containing some pieces of a transparent selenite
from which these Indians extract a white colour by burning it in the
fire. Mato-Topé had passed the evening with us, and, when we went to
bed, laid himself down before the fire, where he soon fell asleep. On
the following morning he rose early, washed himself, but left his two
buffalo skins lying carelessly on the floor, for us to gather them up,
these Indians taking every opportunity to be waited on by the Whites.
As we were molested during the night by numerous rats, we put my little
tame prairie fox into the loft above us, where some maize was kept,
and here he did excellent service. This pretty little fox afforded us
much amusement during the long winter evenings. He was nearly a year
old, but still liked to be caressed and played all kinds of antics to
attract notice.
Several wolves, which the Indians had brought to me, were laid down
near the fort, after they had been stripped of their skins, but we did
not succeed in alluring one of their species by this bait. Dreidoppel,
on his excursion, had killed a couple of wolves, which he allured by
imitating the voice of a hare, and then shot with his fowling piece.
The hares had now put on their white winter coats, and could scarcely
be distinguished from the surrounding snow. They {417} were seen
sitting singly on the hills, and we took them for buffaloes' skulls
when there was no snow on the prairie.
On the evening of the 25th of November we were alarmed by information
that some hostile Indians were near the fort. Dipauch and
Berock-Itainu, who were called the soldiers of the fort, immediately
took their arms, cautiously opened the gate, and discovered a Manitari,
who was concealed near one of the block-houses, from which he was soon
driven rather roughly. At this time, Charbonneau came to invite us to a
great medicine feast among the Manitaries, an invitation which I gladly
accepted.[13]
On the morning of the 26th we had fine weather and a clear sky, very
favourable for our expedition. At nine o'clock, Bodmer, Charbonneau
and myself set out, on foot, with our double-barrelled guns and the
requisite ammunition, accompanied by a young Manitari warrior. We
proceeded up the Missouri in a direction parallel with the river,
leaving Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush on our right hand, and taking the way to
Ruhptare which runs along the edge of the high Plateau, below which
there is a valley extending to the Missouri, covered with the maize
plantations of the Mandans, with some willow thickets and high reeds.
On the left hand the prairie extended to the hills: it was covered
with low, withered, yellowish grass, and presented a barren, desolate
appearance. After proceeding about an hour, we came to a stone,
undoubtedly one of those isolated blocks of granite which are scattered
over the whole prairie, and which the Indians, from some superstitious
notion, paint with vermilion, and surround with little sticks, or rods,
to which were attached some feathers. This stone, and many similar
ones in the prairie, are considered, by many Indians, as medicine; but
I was not able to learn what ideas they entertain concerning the one
here described. A little farther on, in a small ravine which crosses
the path, there was an elm, the trunk of which was painted in many
places with vermilion; rags, stained with vermilion, were suspended
from it, together with a little bag containing some of the same colour,
as a sign that the tree was sacred or medicine. A covey of prairie
hens rose, with loud cries, from this ravine. At this spot 1000 or
1200 Sioux had attacked the united Mandans and Manitaries thirty years
before, but lost 100 of their people. One of those Indians was afraid
to proceed on this path, because he suspected that a wolf-pit, or trap,
might be in the way; but the partisan, or chief, wishing to shame
him, went before, and actually fell into such a pit, with sharpened
sticks at the bottom, by which he was killed. From this place we came,
in about half an hour, to the Mandan village, Ruhptare, which is now
totally abandoned. The construction of the huts and medicines, the
stages for the dead, everything, in short, is just the same as at
Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, only a much greater number of the stages stood
near the huts, and flocks of ravens sat upon them. To the left of the
village there is a little hill, which was quite covered with these
strange erections, and poles with offerings suspended from them.
{418} We went through the village, in the centre of which there is a
circular space, with the representation of the ark of the first man,
and the figure of Ochkih-Hadda on a pole before the medicine lodge. We
soon came to the bank of the river, and saw three Indians attempting
to cross the ice of the Missouri, which had scarcely been frozen
over twenty-four hours. Charbonneau went first, and we followed him
on the path marked out by some poles stuck in the ice. While we were
proceeding, carefully examining the ice with the butt-end of our guns,
we were overtaken by the old Mandan chief, Kahka-Chamahan (the little
raven), who wore a round hat, with a plume of feathers, and who now led
the way.[14] After we had passed the Missouri we met, on the beach,
some elegantly dressed Mandans, with whom we did not stop to converse.
We turned to the close willow thicket which skirted an extensive
forest on the north bank of the river: the path led through it, in
many windings, till we reached the winter village, Ruhptare, which
is closely surrounded by a thicket of willow, poplar, ash, cornus,
and elm. Here the chief took leave of us, as we could not accept his
invitation to his hut. We saw the women everywhere busy in tanning
skins, and carrying wood. Most of the high trees in the forest had been
cut down; but there was a shrub-like symphoria, with rounded elliptical
leaves, and small bunches of whitish-green berries, which, when quite
ripe, are of a bluish-black colour. This plant grows in great abundance
as underwood in all the forests in these parts. Vitis, celastrus, and
clematis, were entwined about some of the trees, but the wild vine was
nowhere thicker than a little finger. There are many open spots in the
wood, covered with thin grass and other kinds of plants, and also reeds.
We followed the winding path through this intricate wilderness, to
the hills, which bound the prairie, at the foot of which we proceeded
parallel to the Missouri: they are partly clay hills, of angular
forms, from which marshy springs issue in many places, all which were
at this time frozen over. Several of these places were covered with
extensive thickets of reeds, and at the foot of the hills there were
some bushes, among which the Indians had set fox-traps, which they
endeavour to conceal with brushwood and buffaloes' skulls laid on it.
We here saw some Indians, and heard the report of their guns. At the
foot of the hills we saw the foot steps of the Virginian deer, but
we observed only a few birds, chiefly crows, ravens, snow buntings,
and the coal titmouse. When we had gone about half an hour, the hills
receded from the river, and as soon as the wood terminates, the wide
prairie extends along the Missouri, where we lately visited, on our
arrival, Ita-Widahki-Hischa (the red shield). We proceeded for several
hours through the desolate plain, which was covered with yellow,
withered grass, now and then broken by gentle eminences, where bleached
buffaloes' bones, especially skulls, are scattered about. We met with
a couple of Indians, heavily laden with skins, resting themselves,
who immediately asked us for tobacco. We had here an opportunity of
seeing the wolf pits, in which the Indians fix sharp stakes, and the
{419} whole is so covered with brushwood, hay, and dry grass, that it
cannot be perceived. As our feet began to be very painful, we sat down
to rest near a stream, now almost dry, bordered with high grass, which
at this time was lying on the ground. As I was no longer accustomed to
such long journeys on foot, I had asked Mr. Kipp for horses for this
journey, but there were none in the fort at that time. Our European
boots and shoes had wounded our feet, and it was with much pain that
we ascended the pretty steep hills which now again came nearer to the
river. I obtained from Charbonneau a pair of Indian shoes, in which I
found it easier to walk, but the thorns of the cactus, which grew on
the hills, pierced through them, and caused me pain in another way.
Towards evening, when we descended from the hills to the river, we
again came to an extensive wood on the banks, in which one of the
winter villages of the Manitaries is situated. We had, however, to
walk several miles along a very winding path before we reached it.
Being extremely tired, and our feet sore and wounded, it cost us some
exertion to get over fallen trunks of trees, sharp stones, &c., in the
way. The scenes which are inseparable from the dwellings of the Indians
soon appeared; slender young men, galloping without saddle, who were
driving their horses home from the pasture; women cutting or carrying
wood, and the like. A young Indian joined us, who immediately offered,
out of civility, to carry my gun, which I did not accept. He was an
Arikkara, who had been captured, when a child, by the Manitaries--a
good-tempered, well-behaved young man. He was tall and slender, with a
pleasing countenance, long, narrow eyes, and a slightly curved nose.
[Illustration: Plan of Minitaree medicine feast]
[Illustration: Club, with carved head]
It was nearly nightfall when we reached the Manitari village, the
large huts of which were built so close to each other that it was
sometimes difficult to pass between them. We heard loud lamentations
as we approached, and learnt that a child had just died, and that a
corpse had been deposited, a few days before, on poles placed in the
boughs of a tree. At the farther end of the village was the residence
of Mr. Dougherty[15] a long, low, log-house, divided into three
apartments, of which that in the centre was used for a storehouse,
the northern apartment being assigned to the family, and the southern
to the _engagés_. We were received with much kindness, and, being
thoroughly tired by a fatiguing journey of, at least, nine leagues, we
were truly glad to rest our weary limbs before a blazing fire. A number
of Manitari Indians were assembled, who, however, gradually retired
whilst we took some refreshment, not having tasted anything since we
breakfasted at Fort Clarke. It being reported that herds of buffaloes
were at no great distance, a party of Indians resolved to give them
chase on the following day, and to implore the blessing of heaven upon
their undertaking by a great medicine feast. Notwithstanding the pain I
suffered in walking, the prospect of witnessing so novel a scene was so
exciting that I immediately set out about seven o'clock in the evening,
accompanied by Dougherty and Charbonneau, to see the Indian ceremony,
which was instituted by the women. Between the huts, in the centre of
the village, an elliptical {420} space, forty paces or more in length,
was enclosed in a fence, ten or twelve feet high, consisting of reeds
and willow twigs inclining inwards.[16] An entrance was left at _a_;
_b_ represents the fence; _d_ are the four fires, burning in the
medicine lodge, which were kept up the whole time. At _e_ the elder and
principal men had taken their seats; to the right sat the old chief,
Lachpitzi-Sihrisch (the yellow bear); some parts of his face were
painted red, and a bandage of yellow skin encircled his head. Places
were assigned to us on the right hand of the yellow bear. At _f_,
close to the fence, the spectators, especially the women, were seated:
the men walked about, some of them handsomely dressed, others quite
simply; children were seated around the fires, which they kept alive by
throwing twigs of willow trees into them. Soon after Charbonneau had
introduced us to this company, six elderly men advanced in a row from
the opposite hut, and stopped for a moment at the entrance of the great
medicine lodge.
They had been chosen, by the young men, to represent buffalo bulls,
for which they afterwards received presents. Each of them carried a
long stick, at the top of which three or four black feathers were
fastened; then, at regular intervals, the whole length of the stick
was ornamented with small bunches of the hoofs of buffalo calves, and
at the lower end of the stick were some bells. In their left hand
they carried a battle-axe, or war club, and two of them had a stuffed
skin which they called a badger, and used as a drum. They stood at
the entrance, rattled their sticks incessantly, sang alternately,
and imitated, with great perfection, the hoarse voice of the buffalo
bull. They were followed by a tall man, whose physiognomy strikingly
resembled that of a Botocudo. He wore a cap, trimmed with fur, because
he had been formerly scalped in a battle. He represented the director
of the ceremony and the leader of the old bulls, behind whom he made
his appearance. The bulls now entered the medicine lodge and took
their seats at _c_, near the fence, behind one of the fires. In front
of them they laid the badger, which is equivalent to what is called
the tortoise in the Okippe of the Mandans.[17] Each of the bulls fixed
his weapon in the ground before him; two of them had clubs, with a
head, on which a human face was carved.[18] Several young men {421}
were now employed in carrying round dishes of boiled maize and beans,
which they placed before the guests. These dishes were handed to each
person successively, who passed them on after tasting a small quantity.
Empty wooden dishes were frequently brought and placed at our feet, the
reason of which I could not, at first, comprehend, but soon learned
from my neighbour, the Yellow Bear. As soon as the provision bearer--a
tall, handsome, very robust, and broad-shouldered man, wearing only
his breechcloth, ornamented at the back with long tufts of hair--came
to take away one of these empty dishes, the old chief held his hands
before his face, sang, and made a long speech, which seemed to me to
be a prayer uttered in a low tone of voice, and then gave him the
dish. These speeches contained good wishes for success in hunting the
buffalo, and in war. They invoke the heavenly powers to favour the
hunters and the warriors. In this manner two dishes were sometimes
placed before us, and we also exerted ourselves in uttering good wishes
in the English and German languages, which the Indians guessed from our
motions, though they could not understand our words. If the speech was
lengthy, they were specially gratified; the provision bearer stopped,
listening very attentively, nodded his satisfaction, and passed his
hand over our right arm from the shoulder to the wrist, and sometimes
over both arms, and then again spoke a few words expressive of his
thanks. In this manner the ceremony of the repast lasted above an hour;
every person present partook of it, and offered up their good wishes
for a successful buffalo chase. Meantime, the young men, in the centre
of the space, prepared the tobacco pipes, which they brought first to
the old men and the visitors; they presented the mouth-piece of the
pipe to us in succession, going from right to left: we each took a
few whiffs, uttered, as before, a wish or prayer, and passed the pipe
to our next neighbours. Among those who carried the dishes and pipes,
there was another young man who had been scalped, and who also wore a
cap; he had received many wounds in the attack made by the Sioux on
the Manitari villages, and had been left on the field as dead. The
pipe bearers often turned their pipes towards the cardinal points,
and performed various superstitious manœuvres with them. The six
buffalo bulls, meantime, sitting behind the fire, sang, and rattled
the medicine sticks, while one of them constantly beat the badger
skin. After a while they all stood up, bent forward, and danced; that
is, they leaped as high as they could with both their feet together,
continuing to sing and rattle their sticks, one of them beating time
on the badger. Their song was invariably the same, consisting of loud,
broken notes and exclamations. When they had danced for some time, they
resumed their seats.
The whole was extremely interesting. The great number of red men, in a
variety of costumes, the singing, dancing, beating the drum, &c., while
the lofty trees of the forest, illumined by the fires, spread their
branches against the dark sky, formed a _tout ensemble_ so striking
and original, that I much regretted the impracticability of taking a
sketch of it on the spot. When the ceremony had continued a couple of
hours, the women began to act their part. A {422} woman approached her
husband, gave him her girdle and under garment, so that she had nothing
on under her robe; she then went up to one of the most distinguished
men, passed her hand over his arm, from the shoulder downwards, and
then withdrew slowly from the lodge. The person so summoned follows
her to a solitary place in the forest; he may then buy himself off
by presents, which, however, few Indians do. This honour was offered
to us, but we returned to the lodge, after having made a present, on
which pipes were again handed to us. The fires already burnt dim, many
Indians had retired, and we asked the old chief, whether we might be
permitted to do the same? At first he refused, but, on our repeating
the question, he gave us leave. On other occasions, when circumstances
allow all the inhabitants of the village to unite, many additional
ceremonies take place; more dances are performed, and each of the
bands dances that which is peculiar to itself, which could not be
done to-day. The dance of the old buffalo bulls, with entire buffalo
skulls, is said to be very interesting. This festival always continues
for four successive nights, and, even on this occasion, the rioting and
noise continued uninterruptedly throughout the night.
On the following morning, the 27th of November, the weather continued
bright and clear. I observed in the thickets near the dwelling of
Dougherty, large numbers of the little coal titmouse, but no other bird
except the _Picus pubescens_. A number of Indians congregated very
early around our fire, one of them having even ventured to take up his
night's quarters with us. The Yellow Bear and the man who was scalped
came early, the former to beg for some coffee; he looked miserable and
faint, as if he were in want of food, and had a black silk handkerchief
tied round his head. The scene outside was very animated: we observed
many very handsome young men, in fine new dresses, some of whom
were playing the game called billiards, and on the river, which was
now quite frozen over, many children and young people were amusing
themselves with sliding and other gambols. Some women were bringing
wood from the forest, others cutting holes in the ice to procure water,
and some playing with a leathern-ball, which they flung upon the ice,
caught it, and then threw it into the air, catching it as it fell. At
noon the thermometer was at 47°, but a high wind arose, and we were
obliged to pass the whole day under shelter of Mr. Dougherty's roof,
where we witnessed many very interesting scenes, the apartments being
visited by a succession of Indians throughout the day.
The following day was spent in the same manner. The younger people,
half naked, again played upon the ice, and I paid a visit, accompanied
by Charbonneau, to the Yellow Bear. Mr. Dougherty had formerly resided
in the hut which he now inhabited, and for which he had to pay 80 or
100 dollars. The beds, consisting of square leathern cases, were
placed along the sides of this spacious hut, and the inmates sat
round the fire variously occupied. The Yellow Bear, wearing only his
breechcloth, sat upon a bench made of willow boughs, covered with
skin, and was painting a new buffalo robe with figures in vermilion
and black, having his colours standing by {423} him, ready mixed, in
old potsherds. In lieu of a pencil he was using the more inartificial
substitute of a sharp pointed piece of wood. The robe was ornamented
with the symbols of valuable presents which he had made, and which
had gained the Yellow Bear much reputation, and made him a man of
distinction.
About twenty Manitaries had gone to hunt buffaloes, and as we had no
meat, we waited with no small degree of impatience for their return.
Our fast was of longer duration than we liked, for it was late before
a few of our hunters arrived, and the scalped man brought us some
meat, so that we did not get our meal till evening. At nightfall, a
handsome young man came to us, accompanied by two girls, it being the
custom of the Indian youths to stroll about in this manner. They had
not been long in our room, when somebody knocked at the door, on which
the two girls crept into Charbonneau's bed to hide themselves, as they
suspected it was some of their friends come to look after them; but it
proved to be only a messenger from Charbonneau, who, wishing to procure
us a pleasant diversion for the evening, let us know that the women in
a certain hut were about to perform a medicine dance; and, availing
ourselves of the intimation, we hastened to the spot without loss of
time.
On the left hand of the wooden screen at the door of the hut a fire was
burning, and before it were spread out skins upon some hay, on which
five or six men were seated in a row, one of whom beat the drum, and
the other rattled the schischikué. They were more than usually vehement
in the performance of this music; the drummer especially exerted
himself to the utmost, and all the rest accompanied him with singing.
Some elderly women were seated near the wall; a tall, robust woman,
however, especially attracted our attention; she was standing in the
centre of the hut; her dress consisted of a long yellow leather robe,
trimmed with a quantity of fringes, and ornamented with pieces of red
and blue cloth. We took our places to the right of the musicians, just
in front of a number of spectators, consisting of women and children,
who were prevented from pressing forward by a young man, who made use
of the official dignity of a stick, with which he was invested for the
occasion. The woman standing in the centre pretended that she had a
head of maize in her stomach, which she would conjure up, and again
cause to disappear. We had come rather too late, for the ear of maize
had already disappeared; but Charbonneau spoke to the people, to whom
we gave ten carrots of tobacco, and the trick was repeated. Our tobacco
was thrown on a heap of roasted buffalo ribs, which were piled up on
willow boughs, and there it remained till the end of the ceremony, the
object of which was to procure a good crop of maize in the succeeding
year. The din of the music now recommenced with renewed vehemence, and
four women began to move. They waddled like ducks, making short steps,
with their feet turned inwards, and keeping time to the quick beat of
the drum; while their arms hung down motionless by their sides. The
medicine woman danced alone near the fire, to which she {424} sometimes
put her hands, and then laid them upon her face. At length she began to
totter, to move her arms backwards and forwards, and to use convulsive
motions, which became more and more violent. Now, as she threw her head
backwards, we saw the top of a white head of maize fill her mouth, and
gradually came more forward, while her contortions greatly increased.
When the head of maize was half out of her mouth, the dancer seemed
ready to sink down, when another woman advanced, laid hold of her and
seated her on the ground. Here, supported by her companion, she fell
into convulsions, and the music became overpoweringly violent. Other
women brushed the arm and breast of the performers with bunches of
wormwood, and the head of maize gradually disappeared; on which the
juggleress rose, danced twice round the hut, and was succeeded by
another female. After this second woman had danced in the same manner,
a stream of blood suddenly rushed from her mouth over her chin, which,
however, she extracted from a piece of leather that she held in her
mouth. She, too, was cured of her convulsions as she lay on the ground,
and then danced around the fire. Other women came forward and danced
behind one another, which concluded the ceremony.
Almost all these people pretended that they had some animal in their
stomach; some a buffalo calf, others a deer, &c. The scalped man told
us that he had a buffalo calf in his left shoulder, and often felt it
kick. Another, who pretended that he had three live lizards in his
inside, complained to Charbonneau that these animals gave him pain, on
which Charbonneau gave him a cup of coffee, but as this remedy did not
relieve him, a cup of tea was given him, and this produced the desired
effect. Notions of this kind are so common among the Indians, and they
are said to have so firm a hold on the faith of the people, that it
would be labour lost to attempt to convince them of their folly.
On the 29th of November, during which we continued in the Manitari
village, the whole forest was covered with hoar frost; all the woods
on the banks were clothed in white, and the red youths were sporting
on the ice; the whole forming an interesting and animated scene. Mr.
Bodmer painted several animals and birds for the Indians, such as
cocks, eagles &c., which they pretended would make them proof against
musket balls. In the evening Mr. Bodmer and Dougherty again went to the
medicine feast, but the women did not, on this occasion, make their
appearance, for which nobody, not even Charbonneau, who was so well
acquainted with the Indians, could assign any reason. After dark our
house-door was twice forced open, and we again observed how much more
rude and savage the Manitaries are than the Mandans. Dougherty, who
did not yet possess a fort, and was obliged to live among the former,
suffered greatly from their importunity and rudeness; he was afraid
even to give them a refusal, lest he might thereby bring upon himself
greater inconveniences, for a continued and close intercourse with
these people is always attended with danger. We had not been able to
borrow horses to {425} return to Fort Clarke; but, on the 30th, Mr.
Dougherty succeeded in obtaining one, and Durand, a clerk of Messrs.
Soublette and Campbell, who had arrived on horseback, returned with us,
and allowed Mr. Bodmer to ride with him.
At nine o'clock we took leave of our kind hosts, Dougherty and
Charbonneau, and set out on our return. In the forest-village belonging
to the inhabitants of Ruhptare, we stopped at a hut, in which Garreau,
an old trader of Messrs. Soublette and Campbell, resided.[19] There was
an abundance of meat hanging up in this hut, as they had had a very
successful buffalo hunt. From this place I sent back my horse; but
Durand, though with great difficulty, got his across the frozen river;
the poor beast was nearly exhausted, it often slipped, and sometimes
fell down. At twilight we reached Fort Clarke, where, during our
absence, good news had been received of the cessation of the cholera in
St. Louis and the neighbourhood.
During November the weather had, on the whole, been tolerably pleasant:
a few days were stormy, with some snow and slight frost; and this kind
of weather continued at the beginning of December. A high stage of
strong posts was erected in our court-yard, where a part of the stock
of maize was deposited, thereby to protect it from the voracity of the
rats. It was defended from the rain by the leather covering of Indian
tents.
The Mandan village near the fort was now entirely forsaken by the
inhabitants. The entrances to the huts were blocked with bundles of
thorns; a couple of families only still remained, one of which was
that of Dipauch, whom Mr. Bodmer visited every day, in order to make
a drawing of the interior of the hut.[20] Instead of the numerous
inhabitants, magpies were flying about, and flocks of snow buntings
were seen in the neighbourhood about the dry plants of the prairie,
where the Indian children set long rows of snares, made of horsehair,
to catch them alive.
Belhumeur had been sent several times to the prairie, and had brought
back buffaloes' flesh; but the animals were so far off that we could
not always be supplied, and were forced to live on hard dried meat
and boiled maize; our beverage consisted of coffee and the water of
the Missouri. Dreidoppel had killed several wolves, prairie dogs, and
prairie hens; the Indians had brought me some white hares and other
smaller animals. One of our dogs was shot in the foot by an Indian,
with an arrow. Neither the motive nor the perpetrator of this hostile
act could be discovered.
[Illustration: Heads of sledge dogs]
[Illustration: Plan of Mandan hut]
[Illustration: Mandan, in bull-dance costume]
Having been invited by the Indians to the winter village, to be
present at a great medicine feast, we proceeded thither, on the 3rd
of December, in the afternoon. Mr. Kipp took his family with him,
and Mato-Topé and several other Indians accompanied us. We were all
well armed, because it was asserted that a band of hostile Indians
had been seen among the prairie hills on the preceding day. Our
beds, blankets, and buffalo skins were laid on a horse, on which Mr.
Kipp's wife, a Mandan Indian, rode. Thus we passed, at a rapid pace,
through the prairie, along the Missouri, then below the hills, which
are pretty high; and I cannot deny that, in the valleys and {426}
ravines, through which some small streams that we had to pass flowed,
our whole company looked anxiously to the right and left to see
whether any enemies would issue from their ambush. We had to pass a
narrow gorge behind a little thick copse, where many Indians had been
killed by their enemies. After proceeding about an hour and a half
we reached the village in the wood, which is the winter residence of
the inhabitants of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush. We stopped at the hut of Mr.
Kipp's father-in-law, Mandeek-Suck-Choppenik (the medicine bird), who
accommodated us with a night's lodging. The description of this hut may
serve for all the winter huts of these Indians.[21] It was about twenty
paces in diameter, and circular: _h_ is the fence or wall of the hut,
supported inside by strong, low posts, on which rests the vaulted roof,
which has a square hole to let the smoke escape; _g_ is the entrance,
protected by two projecting walls covered above. At _f_ is the door,
consisting of a piece of leather stretched on a frame. At _d d_ there
is a cross wall of considerable height, made of reeds and osier twigs
woven together, to keep off the draught of air. At _e e e_ there is
another cross wall, only three feet high, behind which the horses
stand; _a_ is the fireplace, round which, at _c c c c_, are the seats
of the inmates, consisting of benches formed of basket-work, covered
with skins; _b b b b_ are four strong pillars which bear the roof, and
are very well united above by cross beams. At _i_ there was a large
leather case for the beds in which the family slept. A chain, with a
large kettle, was suspended from the roof over the fire, to cook our
supper, consisting of very pleasant flavoured sweet maize. The master
of the hut was absent, but his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, received
us very kindly. We had still a little time before the commencement of
the medicine feast, which consisted of the dance of the half-shorn
head, which the soldiers sold to the raven band. This feast was to last
forty nights, and the son-in-law of our host was among the sellers. We
sat around the fire and smoked, while the drum was beat in the village
to call the two parties together. After seven o'clock we repaired to
the medicine lodge; it was entirely cleared, except that some women
sat along the walls; the fire burned in the centre, before which we
took our seats, near the partition _d d_, with several distinguished
men of the band of the soldiers. At our left hand, the other soldiers,
about twenty-five in number, were seated in a row; some of them were
handsomely dressed, though the majority {427} were in plain clothes.
They had their arms in their hands, and in the centre were three men,
who beat the drum. On the right side of the fire stood the young men of
the raven band, who were the purchasers; they were obliged to satisfy
the soldiers, who were the sellers, by making them valuable presents,
such as horses, guns, powder and ball, blankets of different colours,
kettles, &c.; to continue the feast forty nights; to regale them, for
that time, with provisions and tobacco, and offer their wives to them
every evening. The soldiers had consented to these terms, and the
festival took place every evening in the following manner:--
We had all taken our seats before the band of the sellers arrived; but
we soon heard them singing, accompanied by the drum, and they entered
with their insignia; these consisted of four poles, or lances, seven
or eight feet long, the iron points of which resembled sword blades,
and were held downwards; the rest of the instrument was wrapped round
with broad bands of otter-skin, like that of the Blackfeet,[22] and
decorated at the point and other places with strips of skin: two of
these poles are curved at the top. The others were a club with an iron
point, painted red and ornamented with feathers; then three lances,
decorated alternately with black and white feathers;[23] and, lastly,
a very beautifully ornamented bow and quiver. These nine insignia
were brought in, the soldiers, however, stopping, at first, near the
door behind the cross wall. When they had remained for some time in
this position, singing and beating the drum with great violence, they
entered, placed the lances against the wall, and fixed the club in the
ground near one of the pillars that supported the hut; after which
they all took their seats near the wall. While the singing and dancing
were continued alternately for some time, the purchasers filled their
pipes and presented them to all of us in succession. We took one or two
whiffs; they did the same, and carried the pipe round to the left hand,
but offered it only to the visitors and to the sellers. This smoking
continued a long time, during which each of the guests received a small
cake of sweet corn baked in fat. In about half an hour two of the
soldiers rose and danced opposite each other. One of them was a tall,
powerful man, with a weak, effeminate voice. He wore nothing but his
robe and leggins, but without any ornaments; he took the club and held
it firmly in his left hand; his right hand hung straight down; he bent
his body forwards and danced, that is, he leaped with his feet close
together, keeping time with the music. The head and legs of the other
dancer were very handsomely ornamented, but the breast and shoulders
were bare. He took one of the first four lances, which he held in both
hands, and the two men then danced, or leaped, opposite each other. In
a few minutes the first dancer put the lance aside and sat down, while
all the other members of this band uttered the war-whoop, accompanied
by the quick beating of the drum, now and then shouting aloud. Silence
then ensued; the man with the club addressed the purchasers, called
them his sons, and enumerated some of his exploits; after which he
presented to them the war club. One of the purchasers called him his
father, passed his hand along his arm, took {428} the weapon from
his hand, and put it in its place again. The other dancer again came
forward, did the same, spoke of his exploits, and presented the lance
to a man or son of the other band, who received it with the same
ceremony, and put it also in its place again. There were singing and
dancing in the intervals, but no schischikué was heard. Two other
soldiers then rose, related their deeds, how they had stolen horses,
taken a medicine from the enemy, and the like, and presented two of
the insignia to the purchasers. When this had been done four or five
times, the women of the raven band rose; four of them threw aside their
robes, snatched up the lances, carried them successively out of the
hut, and, some time after, brought them in again. They hastened to
pass by us, and some of them appeared to feel ashamed. This ceremony
was repeated twice: these women then came, passed their hands down the
arms of the strangers and of the fathers, took up their robes and went
out, in the same manner as has been related in the medicine feast of
the Manitaries. When they returned the second time, Mr. Kipp rose to go
away, and I followed him. Some of the women were fat and corpulent,
others very young, and one but little past childhood.
This feast was continued in the same manner forty nights. During the
purchase of the dance of the half-shorn head, the buffalo medicine
feast, which continues four nights, was celebrated in another hut. We
retired to the hut of the Medicine Bird, smoked our cigars, and lay
down in our clothes to sleep on buffalo skins spread on the floor. The
weather was frosty, and it was very cold even in the hut; the Indians
set a watch, during the night, that they might not be surprised by
their enemies.
On the 4th of December, early in the morning, we left the village;
we did not keep along the hills, but took another path through the
thickets, which led in some places over frozen marshes, which were
partly covered with reeds. The wood, which was spangled with hoar
frost, is very much cleared, and contains but few large trees. A
high, cold southeast wind blew in the prairie, and afterwards became
violent. At eight o'clock we reached the fort, where we much enjoyed
a hot breakfast. Several Mandans came to see us, among whom was the
strongest man of this nation, named Beracha-Iruckcha (the broken
pot), whom no one had yet been able to overcome in wrestling, though
he had been matched with white men, negroes, and Indians, remarkable
for their strength. Sih-Chida and Maksick-Karehde (the flying eagle),
also visited us; the latter was the tallest man among the Mandans, and
belonged to the band of the soldiers.[24]
Snow had already set in, yet still the buffaloes did not come nearer,
and we were in want of fresh meat, and of tallow to make candles;
and all the meat we could get was obtained from individual Indians
returning from the chase. In the environs of the fort there were,
at this time, wolves, foxes, and a few hares, and during the night
we heard the barking of the prairie wolves (_Canis latrans_, Say),
which prowled about, looking for any remnants of provisions. In our
excursions {429} we everywhere met with wolves, foxes, hares, weasels,
and mice, especially on the banks of the streams, and set snares of
iron wire, in order to learn what species of mice could bear this
winter weather. Our snares were often carried away by the wolves and
foxes, but we frequently caught the _Mus leucopus_, which is especially
the prey of the weasel. If any one imitate the voice of the hare, in
order to attract the wolves, a number of magpies immediately come
and settle in the neighbourhood. Scarcely any kinds of birds were
found in the forest but _Pica hudsonica_, _Picus pubescens_, _Parus
atracapillus_, _Fringilla linaria_, and _Tetrao phasianellus_, of which
several were shot.
On the 10th of December, Charbonneau returned to the service of the
American Fur Company, and took up his quarters in the fort, which gave
me an opportunity to have much conversation with him respecting the
Manitaries, with whom he was well acquainted. On the 11th, Dreidoppel,
with his rifle, shot a prairie wolf (_Canis latrans_) on the ice of the
Missouri, which crept into a burrow, where he could not get at it. He
was returning to the fort, when a couple of Indians called after him,
who had dragged the animal alive from its retreat, and brought it to
our lodging, when Mr. Bodmer made a sketch of the head.[25] On the 13th
of December, when Fahrenheit's thermometer was at 17°, several birds of
the species _Bombycilla garrula_ were brought to us: they are found in
these parts during the summer also, and are said to breed here, which I
think is doubtful. I obtained many wolves from the quite white to the
perfectly grey, common variety, which the Indians sold for two rolls of
tobacco a-piece. They also often caught ermines in horsehair snares,
which they sell dear. As we continued to be in want of fresh meat and
tallow, we had to send people for these necessaries to the Indian
villages, and Mr. Kipp likewise went thither in his sledge, in order
to trade. On one occasion his horse broke through the ice, so that it
remained for an hour in the water, and was quite benumbed. An extremely
cold storm from the north had blown away the wooden screen from our
chimney. On the 15th of December, and on the preceding evening, we had
a heavy fall of snow, which ceased when the wind veered a little to the
north. At eight o'clock the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer was at
14°. The appearance of the prairie at this time was very remarkable,
resembling the sea agitated by a terrible storm. The extensive surface
of the snow was carried by the wind in a cloud; it was scarcely
possible for the eye to bear the cold blast which drove the snow before
it, and enveloped us in a dense cloud, above which the sky was clear,
and the tops of the prairie hills were visible. We were, therefore, the
more sensible of the enjoyment of our bright fire, seated about which
we passed our time agreeably in various occupations. About this time
the enemy had stolen six horses from the Manitaries. We had been for
some time without meat, when the Indians, hunting at a considerable
distance, at the forks of Teton River,[26] killed fifty-five buffaloes.
On this occasion, Mr. Kipp's horse was lost, which, bridled and saddled
as it was, had joined a herd of buffaloes; and two foals had perished
in the cold.
{430} On the 16th the mercury was at 2°, Fahrenheit, below zero.
For some time past the water in our room was frozen every day,
notwithstanding the large fire which we kept up. Towards the 19th of
December, the weather was again fine; in a few days there was snow,
and the Missouri rose so high that it partly overflowed the ice that
covered it. Some of Mr. Soublette's people arrived from St. Louis,
which they had left on the 14th of October, and confirmed the accounts
which we had already received of the cessation of the cholera. They
told us that, in October, the snow was fifteen inches deep on the
banks of the Konzas River, and that the party escorting the caravan
from Santa Fé had been so closely hemmed in by the Indians (probably
Arikkaras), that they had been compelled, by want of provisions, to
slaughter fourteen of their horses.[27]
On the 22nd of December, a number of white maggots were found under
a piece of poplar bark, which were completely enclosed in ice, but
all came to life when they were warmed at the fire. On the 23rd, the
mercury was at 10° Fahrenheit, above zero; the sky was bright and
clear, the wind blew from the east, the icy covering of the river
smoked and the woods were covered with hoar frost. The ravens came near
to the fort to pick up food; the wolves, in consequence of our frequent
excursions, had retired to a greater distance.
On this day, at noon, we heard the drums of the Indians, and a crowd
of their people filled the fort. At their head were fourteen men of
the band of the bulls, from Ruhptare, distinguished by their strange
costume.[28]
{431} The whole head was covered with a wig, consisting of long plaits
of hair, which hung down on every side, so that even the face was
completely concealed. The appearance of these men was very singular in
the cold weather, for their breath issued from between the plaits of
hair like a dense vapour. They wore in their heads feathers of owls,
ravens, and birds of prey, each of which had at the tip a large white
down feather. One of them had a very handsome fan of white feathers on
his head, doubtless the entire tail of a swan, each of the feathers
having at the tip a tuft of dyed horsehair. They were closely enveloped
in their robes, and had bow-lances ornamented with feathers, coloured
cloth, beads, &c., and most of them had foxes' tails at their heels.
Some of these men beat the drum, while they all formed a circle, and
imitated the bellowing of the buffalo bulls. After they had danced
awhile, some tobacco was thrown to them, and they proceeded to the
village in the forest further down the river, taking off their wigs.
The frozen Missouri was covered with Indians on this occasion, and
presented an interesting scene. At this time the Sioux stole from the
prairie thirty-seven horses belonging to the Mandans. On this day
Dreidoppel had dragged the entrails of a hare about the prairie, and
then concealed himself; he soon saw six wolves follow the scent and
approach him; but it was so cold that he could not wait for them. Our
cook, a negro, had a violent dispute with an Indian from Ruhptare, who
had taken a piece of meat out of his pot, and the affair might have led
to unpleasant consequences. The Indians of that village are the worst
of the Mandans. Several articles had been stolen, which was nothing
uncommon among our worthy neighbours, for even the wife of Mato-Topé
had pilfered something in our room.
On the 24th of December, and on the preceding night, there was a very
strong cold wind from the northwest (Fahrenheit's thermometer +12½°),
which blew all the hoar frost from the trees. Many Indians knocked
violently at our door, and attempted to force it, as we did not open
it immediately. About four o'clock Papin and three other _engagés_,
with seven horses, arrived from Picotte's post among the Yanktonans,
which they had left two days before, and told us that they had there
found 200 tents of the Yanktonans. At midnight the _engagés_ of the
fort fired a volley to welcome Christmas day, which was repeated in the
morning: the 25th of December was a day of bustle in the fort. Mr. Kipp
had given the _engagés_ an allowance of better provisions, and they
were extremely noisy in their Canadian jargon. The poor fellows had had
no meat for some time, and had lived on maize, boiled in water, without
any fat. Pehriska-Ruhpa, a robust Manitari, who had long lived among
the Mandans, visited us, and soon afterwards Mato-Topé, but they took
no notice of each other, as they were not on good terms, and the former
immediately withdrew. He promised to have his portrait taken in his
handsome dress.[29]
At noon there was a concourse of Indians in the fort: the woman's band
of the white buffalo cow came to perform their dance.[30] The company
consisted of seventeen, mostly old women, {432} and two men, with the
drum and schischikué; the first of these two men carried a gun in
his hand. A stout elderly woman went first; she was wrapped in the
hide of a white buffalo cow, and held, in her right arm, a bundle of
twigs in the form of a cornucopia, with down feathers at the top, and
at the lower end an eagle's wing, and a tin drinking vessel. Another
woman carried a similar bundle. All these women wore round their
heads a piece of buffalo's skin in the form of a hussar's cap, with a
plume of owl's or raven's feathers in front, some of which were dyed
red; only two of them wore the skin of a polecat; all the men were
bare-headed. The women were uniformly painted; the left cheek and eye
were vermilion, and they had two blue spots on the temple near the
right eye.[31] All except the first wore painted robes, and two of them
only had the hairy side outwards. When they had formed a circle the
music began in quick time; the men sung, and the women who were dancing
responded in a loud shrill voice. In their dances they rock from side
to side, always remaining on the same spot. After they had been dancing
for some time there was a pause, when the dance recommenced. Only the
oldest of these women, most of whom were exceedingly plain, had the
tattooed stripes on the chin which are peculiar to this band.
They had scarcely left us, after receiving a present, when three
_engagés_ arrived with letters from Fort Union. They informed us that
Mr. Mc Kenzie had built a new fort at the mouth of the Rivière aux
Trembles, which he had called Fort Jackson, and appointed Mr. Chardon
director.[32] Up to the 15th, when these messengers left Fort Union,
the weather had been very mild; the river was quite free from ice,
and no snow had fallen. Mr. Mc Kenzie invited me to visit him at Fort
Union, but the inclemency of the weather rendered such a journey
extremely unpleasant. The wind had blown down all the pickets at Fort
Union, and some Indians, probably Gros Ventres des Prairies, had shot
a white man on the Yellow Stone. Information had been brought by some
Indians that Doucette, when on a journey from Fort Mc Kenzie to the
Kutanas, had been shot by the Blood Indians.[33]
On the 26th of December the wind blew the snow into the air and
obscured the sky. With a temperature of 12°, Fahrenheit, early in
the morning we observed a rainbow among the clouds of snow, with a
parhelion in the centre. We dispatched a number of letters, which were
forwarded on the 27th by _engagés_, from station to station, down the
river. Four men, with two sledges, and a number of horses, were sent
from the fort, two of whom were to receive a supply of fresh meat
for use at the trading post of the Yanktonans, from which they were
expected to return in four days. Sih-Chida brought us the paper which
his father, at that time the first chief of the Mandans, had received
from General Atkinson and Major O'Fallon, several years before, when a
treaty of friendship and commerce was concluded with the Indians.[34]
This document was written on large paper in the English and Manitari
languages. Most of the Indian names, which were doubtless given by
Charbonneau, were incorrectly written. As we had now {433} no meat,
our breakfast consisted of coffee and maize bread, and our dinner of
maize bread and bean soup. Our people caught an Indian dog in the fort,
intending to put him in a sledge, but he was so wild and unruly, bit
and howled so furiously, that it was long before they could obtain the
mastery. An _engagé_ then knelt upon him to put on the harness, but
when this was done he discovered that he had killed the poor dog.
These dogs, if they are not broken in, are quite unfit for the sledge;
when, however, they are accustomed to the work, they draw a sledge
over the snow more easily than the best horse. If the snow is frozen,
they run over it, where the horse sinks in, and they can hold out much
longer. They can perform a journey of thirty miles in one day; and if
they have rested an hour on the snow, and had some food, they are ready
to set out again. A horse must have sufficient food, frequent rest, and
a good watering place, and when it is once tired it cannot be induced
to proceed. I have been assured by some persons that they had made
long journeys, for eight successive days, with dogs, during which time
the animals did not taste any food. In the winter, when the Indians
go to hunt the buffalo, they drive, in light sledges, over the frozen
snow, into the midst of the herd; the Indian, with his bow and arrows,
sits or kneels down in the sledge; and dogs that have been trained,
cannot be held back when they perceive the buffalo herd. In the north
three good dogs are seldom to be purchased for less than 100 dollars.
A single dog, when it is very good and strong, costs sixty or seventy
dollars; on the Missouri, however, they are by no means so dear.
On the 28th December, about noon, we again heard the Indian drums:
several soldiers announced the band which had lately purchased the
dance of the half-shorn head. The whole company, very gaily and
handsomely dressed, soon afterwards entered the fort, followed by a
crowd of spectators. About twenty vigorous young men, with the upper
part of the body naked (having thrown off their robes which they wore
at their entrance), painted and ornamented in the most gaudy manner,
formed a circle in the court-yard of the fort. Their long plaits of
hair were covered with reddish clay. One eagle's feather, or several
other feathers, were fixed transversely in the hair; others had a long
plait hanging down, with five or six brass rosettes, in the manner
of the Sioux; several had a bunch of owl's feathers hanging down,
necklaces of bears' claws and otters' tails, wolves' tails at their
heels, red cloth or leather leggins, often painted, or with bells
fixed to them; they had a looking-glass suspended from the wrist, or
the waist, and carried the several insignia of the dance, such as the
long hooked sticks, or rods, adorned with otter's skin and feathers,
the straight rod, covered with red cloth[35] &c., and had guns or
bow-lances in their hands. One of them wore a long feather cap, with
horns and strips of ermine on his head; another sat on horseback, and
was daubed with yellow clay, and bleeding wounds were painted on his
body: he carried a bow and arrows, without a quiver; his leggins were
of red cloth, trimmed with a row of bells. His horse was likewise
painted, {434} and the bridle ornamented with red and black cloth. The
three musicians belonged to the band of the soldiers. They were dressed
in shabby blanket robes. As soon as the drum was beat, the dancers bent
their bodies forward, leaped up with both feet together, holding their
guns in their hands, and the finger on the trigger, as if going to
fire. In this manner they danced for about a minute in a circle, then
gave a loud shout, and, having rested a little, began the dance again,
and so on alternately. Some tobacco was thrown on the ground before
them, after which they soon broke up, took up their robes and went to
Ruhptare, where they danced and passed the night, and then exhibited
their performances among the Manitaries.[36]
Mr. Kipp had received orders from Mr. Mc Kenzie to go to Fort Union,
and he accordingly made the necessary preparations for this winter's
journey. He purchased, from the Indians, eighteen dogs; and the
getting sledges in readiness caused some bustle in the fort.
On the 29th of December, the thermometer, at eight o'clock in the
morning, was at 19° Fahrenheit, and the high northwest wind was
so cutting that we could not hold it out long in the prairie.
Notwithstanding this, the dogs were collected, and harnessed with
considerable difficulty, as they made much resistance. Mr. Kipp
travelled with five Indian sledges, with a sufficient number of
well-armed _engagés_. Charbonneau accompanied him on what is called a
cariole (a convenient wooden sledge, drawn by one horse), in order to
purchase meat for us of the Indians. The appearance of the caravan was
very amusing, for many of the dogs, not trained to this service, jumped
from one side to the other and could not be brought into order but by
the use of the whip. The three dogs which drew the principal sledge
had, on their collars, a large double bow, covered and ornamented with
red, yellow, blue, and white fringe, to which a bell was suspended.[37]
About noon the snow storm increased, and it was so cold in our
apartment that, notwithstanding a good fire, we were unable to work.
The high wind drove the snow through the crevices in the walls and the
doors, and the whole place was filled with smoke. The thermometer at
noon was 14° Fahrenheit. The night, too, was stormy, and on the 30th
the hurricane from {435} the west roared exactly as at sea; a great
deal of snow lay in our room, and the water was frozen. In the prairie
we could not keep our eyes open on account of the excessive glare:
exposure to the weather was painful both to man and beast. It was
hoped, however, that it would soon cause the herds of buffaloes to come
nearer to us; but this expectation was not realized though it was said
that there were many at the post of the Yanktonans. Our horses were
obliged, during this dreadful weather, to walk about the whole night in
the court-yard of the fort, with a mass of ice and snow on their backs.
As Gautier, an old _engagé_, was bringing wood into the room, and the
door remained open a short time, Mr. Bodmer's colours and pencils
froze, so that he could not use them without hot water. Writing, too,
was very difficult, because our ink was congealed; and, while the side
of our bodies which was turned to the fire was half roasted, the other
was quite benumbed, and we were often forced to rise in order to warm
ourselves. The cook had his ears frostbitten in going to the river to
fetch water.
To add to our chapter of misfortunes, news was received that the
Yanktonans had stolen some horses from the Mandans, and killed several.
This was the fourth time that these Indians had broken the peace
concluded in the preceding September, and the Mandans were so incensed
at their treachery that they were disposed to recommence the war.
This day Mr. Kipp got no further on his journey than the Manitari
village, because some of his dogs had broken loose and run away, and
several of his people had their faces frostbitten. The last day of the
year was clear and cold: at eight o'clock in the morning the mercury
was at 16½°, by Reaumur's thermometer, below freezing point: a vapour
rose from the river. Towards noon the wind again blew high, the frozen
snow crackled, and no animals, not even wolves or ravens, were to be
seen. Before this weather set in, the Indians had ridden fifteen miles
into the prairie, where many of them were almost frozen to death, but
were recovered by being wrapped up in blankets, and laid before the
fire.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Part III of our reprint of Maximilian's _Travels_ begins with
chapter xxviii of the original London edition (1843).--ED.
[2] For Fort Clark and its custodian, James Kipp, see our volume xxii,
p. 344, note 317, and p. 345, note 319.--ED.
[3] Simon Bellehumeur, probably this interpreter's father, was in
1804 a North West Company's voyageur on upper Red River. One of the
same name also acted as express and scout in the time of General
Alfred Sully's campaign (1864) through the Little Missouri Bad Lands.
See Montana Historical Society _Contributions_, ii, pp. 314-330; and
_Larpenteur's Journal_, ii, p. 362.--ED.
[4] For Kenneth Mc Kenzie, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p.
45, note 25. Fort Union is noticed in our volume xxii, p. 373, note
349.--ED.
[5] See our volume xxii, p. 305, note 263, for account of the Sioux
bands, of which the Yanktonai was one of the largest. They were
inclined toward peace with the United States although tradition relates
that one of these bands participated in the sieges of Forts Meigs and
Stephenson in the War of 1812-15. Their habitat was the Upper James
River, above the Yankton. They are divided into two bands, Upper
and Lower Yanktonai, the former being now located on Standing Rock
reservation, North Dakota, the latter near Crow Creek agency, South
Dakota.--ED.
[6] For Major Dougherty, see our volume xiv, p. 126, note 92; for
Bellevue, xxii, p. 267, note 221.--ED.
[7] Pilcher is noted in our volume xiv, p. 269, note 193; Cabanné, in
volume xxii, p. 271, note 226.--ED.
[8] For burial customs, see our volume xxiii, p. 360, note 329.--ED.
[9] See Plate 81, figure 17, in the accompanying atlas, our volume
xxv.--ED.
[10] Honoré Picotte was a French-Canadian who came to the Missouri
about 1820, and entered the Columbia Fur Company. Afterwards (1827-30)
he was a member of the French Fur Company; and when that was merged
in the American Company he became a partner in the Upper Missouri
Outfit. He had much influence with the Sioux, among whom he married,
and for many years was stationed at Fort Pierre (see our volume xxii,
p. 315, note 277). Audubon met him at this post in 1843; and in later
years he had charge of the annual voyage of the trading steamer to
the upper river. In 1846 Father De Smet was his guest at Fort Pierre.
About two years later Picotte retired from the active business of the
company, and removed to St. Louis. In the early days of the trade, he
had a brother associated with him; and his half-breed son, Charles F.
Picotte, was a noted figure in early Dakota history. See South Dakota
Department of History _Collections_, ii, pp. 246-248.--ED.
[11] For Sublette and Campbell, and the rivalry of their company with
that of the American Fur Company, see our volume xxiii, p. 198, notes
154, 155.--ED.
[12] For this chief, see our volume xxii, p. 345, note 318.--ED.
[13] A sketch of Charbonneau is found in our volume vi, p. 32, note 3;
consult also _Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_,
vii, pp. 329, 330; see also index to that work.--ED.
[14] Lewis and Clark made (1804) this Mandan second chief of the
village of Ruhptare. Upon the return voyage of the explorers, two years
later, he agreed at first to accompany them to the United States, but
later, through jealousy of another Mandan chief, refused. See _Original
Journals_, i, pp. 212, 216; v, pp. 341, 343.--ED.
[15] Joseph Dougherty, for whom see our volume xxiii, p. 218, note
167.--ED.
[16] See p. 25, for plan of Minitaree medicine feast. See also our
volume xxiii, p. 334.--ED.
[17] For this instrument, see our volume xxiii, p. 325, note 293.--ED.
[18] See p. 25, for illustration of club with carved head.--ED.
[19] Garreau settled among the Arikara Indians at an early day (about
1785), being probably the first white settler in South Dakota. Lewis
and Clark found him in the Arikara villages on both their outward and
return journey--_Original Journals_, i, pp. 7, 272; v, p. 355. His son
Pierre was a noted interpreter, being for many years located at Fort
Berthold. See _Larpenteur's Journal_, i, p. 124, for his portrait; see
also Boller, _Among the Indians_, pp. 181, 182, 245-248.--ED.
[20] See Plate 52, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.
[21] See accompanying ground-plan of Mandan hut.--ED.
[22] See our volume xxiii, p. 113, for Blackfeet badge of Prairie-dog
band.--ED.
[23] See our volume xxiii, p. 113, for badge of Raven band.--ED.
[24] See Plate 53, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv; the
figure in the background represents Maksick-Karehde (the Flying Eagle);
that in the foreground, Sih-Chida (the Yellow Feather).--ED.
[25] See our volume xxiii, p. 247, for head of this animal.--ED.
[26] Teton River, so named by Lewis and Clark from that tribe of Sioux
Indians, was originally called by the Dakota Watpa Chicha, a term
translated into the modern Bad River. It is a South Dakota prairie
stream, between White and Cheyenne rivers. Its forks were probably at
the entrance of Frozenman's Creek, its largest northern tributary.--ED.
[27] For the Santa Fé trade, see preface to our volume xix; the caravan
for 1833 went out under the leadership of Charles Bent, and brought
back large returns. See _Niles' Register_, xliv, p. 374.--ED.
[28] See p. 37, for portrait of a Mandan, in bull-dance costume. For
an account of this band or company, see our volume xxiii, pp. 294,
295.--ED.
[29] See Plate 56, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.
[30] See previous mention of this union in our volume xxiii, p.
297.--ED.
[31] For a representation of this costume, see Plate 28, in the
accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.
[32] Fort Jackson was built by Chardon (for whom see our volume xxiii,
p. 188, note 144) in December, 1833. It was sought thereby to intercept
the Assiniboin and Cree tribesmen who came from the Saskatchewan
Valley, thus getting possession of their furs before they reached the
rival traders of Sublette and Campbell's opposition. Chardon took
twenty men with him from Fort Union, and built a post fifty feet
square, naming it in honor of the president of the United States.
The post was not long maintained. In 1845 Larpenteur made a camp on
Poplar River, but does not mention any preceding fur-trade station
thereon.--ED.
[33] For this expedition, see volume xxiii, pp. 153, 154.--ED.
[34] For a brief account of this expedition of 1825, see our volume
xxiii, p. 227, note 182. The treaty is given in _Treaties between the
United States and the Several Indian Tribes 1778 to 1837_ (Washington,
1837), pp. 356-359. Sih-Chida was son of the chief known commonly as
Four Men.--ED.
[35] See badges of Prairie-Dog and Raven bands in our volume xxiii, p
113.--ED.
[36] For the dance of this band, see Plate 25, in the accompanying
atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.
[37] See illustration, p. 37, for heads of sledge dogs.--ED.