INDIAN TRIBES.
"The villages near which we are established are the residence of three
distinct nations,--the Mandans, the Ahnahaways, and the Minnetarees. The
Mandans say, that, many years ago, their tribe was settled in nine
villages, the ruins of which we passed about eighty miles below. Finding
themselves wasting away before the small-pox and the Sioux, they moved
up the river, and planted themselves opposite the Ricaras. Their numbers
are very much reduced, and they now constitute but two villages,--one on
each side of the river, and at a distance of three miles from each
other. Both villages together may raise about three hundred and fifty
men."
AHNAHAWAYS.
"Four miles from the lower Mandan village is one inhabited by the
Ahnahaways. This nation formerly dwelt on the Missouri, about thirty
miles below where they now live. The Assinaboins and Sioux forced them
to a spot five miles higher, and thence, by a second emigration, to
their present situation, in order to obtain an asylum near the
Minnetarees. Their whole force is about fifty men."
MINNETAREES.
"About half a mile from this village, and in the same open plain with
it, is a village of Minnetarees, who are about one hundred and fifty men
in number. One and a half miles above this village is a second of the
same tribe, who may be considered the proper Minnetaree nation. It is
situated in a beautiful plain, and contains four hundred and fifty
warriors. The Mandans say that this people came out of the water to the
east, and settled near them. The Minnetarees, however, assert that they
grew where they now live, and will never emigrate from the spot; the
Great Spirit having declared, that, if they move, they will all perish.
"The inhabitants of these villages, all of which are within the compass
of six miles, live in harmony with each other. Their languages differ to
some extent; but their long residence together has enabled them to
understand one another's speech as to objects of daily occurrence, and
obvious to the senses.
"All these tribes are at deadly feud with the Sioux, who are much more
powerful, and are consequently objects of continual apprehension. The
presence of our force kept the peace for the present.
"Almost the whole of that vast tract of country comprised between the
Mississippi, the Red River of Lake Winnipeg, the Saskatchawan, and the
Missouri, is loosely occupied by a great nation whose primitive name is
Dahcotas, but who are called Sioux by the French, Sues by the English.
They are divided into numerous tribes, named Yanktons, Tetons,
Assinaboins, &c. These tribes are sometimes at war with one another, but
still acknowledge relationship, and are recognized by similarity of
language and by tradition."
RELIGION.
"The religion of the Mandans consists in the belief of one Great Spirit
presiding over their destinies. This Being must be in the nature of a
good genius, since it is associated with the healing art; and the Great
Spirit is synonymous with Great Medicine,--a name also applied to every
thing they do not comprehend. They also believe in a multiplicity of
inferior spirits. Each individual selects for himself the particular
object of his devotion, which is termed his Medicine, and is either an
invisible being, or more commonly some animal, which thenceforward
becomes his protector, or his intercessor with the Great Spirit. To
propitiate the Medicine, every attention is lavished, and every personal
consideration is sacrificed. 'I was lately owner of seventeen horses,'
said a Mandan; 'but I have offered them all up to my Medicine, and am
now poor.' He had in reality taken them into the plain, and, turning
them loose, committed them to the care of his Medicine, and abandoned
them.
"Their belief in a future state is connected with a tradition of their
origin. The whole nation, they say, once dwelt in one large village
underground. A grape-vine extended its roots down to their habitation;
and the earth, being broken round its stem, gave them a view of the
light. Some of the more adventurous climbed up the vine, and were
delighted with the sight of the earth, which they found covered with
buffaloes, and rich with every kind of fruit. Returning with the grapes
they had gathered, their countrymen were so pleased with the taste, that
the whole nation resolved to leave their dull residence for the upper
region. Men, women, and children ascended by means of the vine; but,
when about half the nation had reached the surface, a corpulent woman,
who was clambering up the vine, broke it with her weight, and, falling,
closed up the cavity. Those who had reached the surface, thus excluded
from their original seats, cherish the hopes of returning there when
they die."
INDIAN MANNERS.
The following extract imparts some traits of Indian manners:--
"Nov. 22.--This morning, the sentinel informed us that an Indian was
about to kill his wife near the fort. We went to the house of our
interpreter, where we found the parties, and, after forbidding any
violence, inquired into the cause of his intending to commit such an
atrocity. It appeared that, some days ago, a quarrel had taken place
between him and his wife, in consequence of which she had taken refuge
in the house where the wives of our interpreter lived. By running away,
she forfeited her life, which might be lawfully taken by the husband. He
was now come for the purpose of completing his revenge. We gave him a
few presents, and tried to persuade him to take his wife home. The
grand chief, too, happened to arrive at the same moment, and reproached
him with his violence; till at length husband and wife went off
together, but by no means in a state of much apparent connubial
felicity."
THE WEATHER.
"Dec. 12, 1804.--The thermometer at sunrise was thirty-eight degrees
below zero; on the 16th, twenty-two below; on the 17th, forty-five
below. On the 19th, it moderated a little. Notwithstanding the cold, we
observed the Indians at the village engaged, out in the open air, at a
game which resembles billiards. The platform, which answered for a
table, was formed with timber, smoothed and joined so as to be as level
as the floor of one of our houses. Instead of balls, they had circular
disks made of clay-stone, and flat like checkers."
THE ARGALI.
"Dec. 22.--A number of squaws brought corn to trade for small articles
with the men. Among other things, we procured two horns of the animal
called by the hunters the Rocky-Mountain sheep, and by naturalists the
argali. The animal is about the size of a small elk or large deer; the
horns winding like those of a ram, which they resemble also in texture,
though larger and thicker.
"Dec. 23.--The weather was fine and warm. We were visited by crowds of
Indians of all description, who came either to trade, or from mere
curiosity. Among the rest, Kagohami, the Little Raven, brought his wife
and son, loaded with corn; and she entertained us with a favorite Mandan
dish,--a mixture of pumpkins, beans, corn, and choke-cherries, all
boiled together in a kettle, and forming a composition by no means
unpalatable.
"Dec. 25.--Christmas Day. We were awakened before day by a discharge of
fire-arms from the party. We had told the Indians not to visit us, as it
was one of our great Medicine-days; so that the men remained at home,
and amused themselves in various ways, particularly with dancing, in
which they take great pleasure. The American flag was hoisted for the
first time in the fort; the best provisions we had were brought out; and
this, with a little brandy, enabled them to pass the day in great
festivity."
THE BLACKSMITH.
"Dec. 27.--We were fortunate enough to have among our men a good
blacksmith, whom we set to work to make a variety of articles. His
operations seemed to surprise the Indians who came to see us; but
nothing could equal their astonishment at the bellows, which they
considered a _very great Medicine_."
THE DYING CHIEF.
"Kagohami came to see us early. His village was afflicted by the death
of one of their aged chiefs, who, from his account, must have been more
than a hundred years old. Just as he was dying, he requested his
grand-children to dress him in his best robe, and carry him up to a
hill, and seat him on a stone, with his face down the river, towards
their old village, that he might go straight to his brother, who had
passed before him to the ancient village underground."
THE MEDICINE-STONE.
"Oheenaw and Shahaka came down to see us, and mentioned that several of
their countrymen had gone to consult their _Medicine-stone_ as to the
prospects of the following year. This Medicine-stone is the great oracle
of the Mandans, and whatever it announces is believed with implicit
confidence. Every spring, and on some occasions during the summer, a
deputation visits the sacred spot, where there is a thick, porous stone
twenty feet in circumference, with a smooth surface. Having reached the
place, the ceremony of smoking to it is performed by the deputies, who
alternately take a whiff themselves, and then present the pipe to the
stone. After this, they retire to an adjoining wood for the night,
during which it may be safely presumed all the embassy do not sleep;
and, in the morning, they read the destinies of the nation in the white
marks on the stone, which those who made them are at no loss to
decipher. The Minnetarees have a stone of a similar kind, which has the
same qualities, and the same influence over the nation."
THE INDIANS' ENDURANCE OF COLD.
"Jan. 10, 1805.--The weather now exhibited the intensity of cold. This
morning, at sunrise, the mercury stood at forty degrees below zero. One
of the men, separated from the rest in hunting, was out all night. In
the morning he returned, and told us that he had made a fire, and kept
himself tolerably warm. A young Indian, about thirteen years of age,
came in soon after. He had been overtaken by the night, and had slept in
the snow, with no covering but a pair of deer-skin moccasons and
leggings, and a buffalo-robe. His feet were frozen; but we restored
them by putting them in cold water, rendering him every attention in our
power. Another Indian, who had been missing, returned about the same
time. Although his dress was very thin, and he had slept in the snow,
without a fire, he had not suffered any inconvenience. These Indians
support the rigors of the season in a way which we had hitherto thought
impossible."
SUPPLIES OF FOOD.
"Our supplies are chiefly procured by hunting; but occasional additions
are made by the Indians, sometimes in the way of gifts, and sometimes in
exchange for the services of the blacksmith, who is a most important
member of the party.
"Feb. 18.--Our stock of meat is exhausted, so that we must confine
ourselves to vegetable diet till the return of our hunters. For this,
however, we are at no loss, since yesterday and to-day our blacksmith
got large quantities of corn from the Indians who came to the fort.
"Sunday, March 3.--The men are all employed in preparing the boats. We
are visited by a party of Indians with corn. A flock of ducks passed up
the river to-day.
"Wednesday, 13.--We had a fine day, and a south-west wind. Many Indians
came to see us, who are so anxious for battle-axes, that our smiths have
not a moment's leisure, and procure us an abundance of corn."
HUNTING BUFFALOES ON THE ICE.
"March 25, 1805.--A fine day, the wind south-west. The river rose nine
inches, and the ice began breaking away. Our canoes are now nearly
ready, and we expect to set out as soon as the river is sufficiently
clear of ice to permit us to pass.
"March 29.--The ice came down this morning in great quantities. We have
had few Indians at the fort for the last three or four days, as they are
now busy in catching the floating buffaloes. Every spring, as the river
is breaking up, the surrounding plains are set on fire, and the
buffaloes tempted to cross the river in search of the fresh grass which
immediately succeeds to the burning. On their way, they are often
insulated on a large cake or mass of ice which floats down the river.
The Indians now select the most favorable points for attack, and, as the
buffalo approaches, run with astonishing agility across the trembling
ice, sometimes pressing lightly a cake of not more than two feet
square. The animal is, of course, unsteady, and his footsteps insecure,
on this new element, so that he can make but little resistance; and the
hunter who has given him his death-wound paddles his icy boat to the
shore, and secures his prey."