United States or Tanzania ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
I reproached them very Severely for not attending to what had been Said to them by us in Council in the fall of 1804 and at different times in the winter of 1804 & 5, and told them our backs were Scercely turned befor a party followed and killed the pore defenceless snake indians whom we had taken by the hand & told them not to be afraid that you would never Strike them again &c. also mentioned the ricers &c.
It would be distressing to a feeling person to See our Situation at this time all wet and cold with our bedding &c. also wet, in a Cove Scercely large nough to Contain us, our Baggage in a Small holler about 1/2 a mile from us, and Canoes at the mercy of the waves & drift wood, we have Scured them as well as it is possible by Sinking and wateing them down with Stones to prevent the emence waves dashing them to pices against the rocks- one got loose last night & was left on a rock by the tide Some distance below without recving much damage. fortunately for us our Men are helthy.
passed the creek and over a high rocky hill and encamped in the upper part of a large bottom. The horses feet are very sore many of them Can Scercely proceed on over the Stone and gravel in every other respect they are Sound and in good Sperits. I saw two black bear on the side of the mountains this morning.
Lewis came down with the Canoes rear in which the Indian, as Soon as they Saw the Squar wife of the interperters they pointed to her and informed those who continued yet in the Same position I first found them, they imediately all came out and appeared to assume new life, the sight of This Indian woman, wife to one of our interprs. confirmed those people of our friendly intentions, as no woman ever accompanies a war party of Indians in this quarter- Capt Lewis joined us and we Smoked with those people in the greatest friendship, dureing which time one of our Old Chiefs informed them who we were from whence we Came and where we were going giveing them a friendly account of us, those people do not Speak prosisely the Same language of those above but understand them, I Saw Several Horses and persons on hors back in the plains maney of the men womin and children Came up from the Lodges below; all of them appeared pleased to See us, we traded some fiew articles for fish and berries, Dined, and proceeded on passed a Small rapid and 15 Lodges below the five, and Encamped below an Island Close under the Lard Side, nearly opposit to 24 Lodges on an Island near the middle of the river, and the Main Stard Shor Soon after we landed which was at a fiew willow trees about 100 Indians Came from the different Lodges, and a number of them brought wood which they gave us, we Smoked with all of them, and two of our Party Peter Crusat & Gibson played on the violin which delighted them greatly, we gave to the principal man a String of wompon treated them kindly for which they appeared greatfull, This Tribe can raise about 350 men their Dress are Similar to those at the fork except their robes are Smaller and do not reach lower than the waste and 3/4 of them have Scercely any robes at all, the women have only a Small pece of a robe which Covers their Sholders neck and reaching down behind to their wastes, with a tite piece of leather about the waste, the brests are large and hang down verry low illy Shaped, high Cheeks flattened heads, & have but fiew orniments, they are all employed in fishing and drying fish of which they have great quantites on their Scaffolds, their habits customs &c.
The country on either side is high broken and rockey a dark brown hard rugid Stone intermixed with a Soft white Sand Stone. the hills contain Coal or cabonated wood as below and Some Scattering pumistone. the Sides of the river is bordered with coars gravel, which in maney places have washed either together or down Small brooks and forms bars at Some distance in the water, around which the current passes with great valocity. the bottoms between hills and river are narrow and Contain Scercely any timber.
I gave him a Small piece of tobacco and he went off Satisfied. the evening was Cold and disagreeable, and the nativs Crouded about our fire in great numbers in so much that we Could Scercely Cook or keep ourselves worm. at all those Lodges of the Chopunnish I observe an appendage of a Small lodge with one fire, which Seames to be the retreat of their women in a certain Situation. the men are not permited to approach this Lodge within a certain distance, and if they have any thing to Convey to the Occupents of this little hospital they Stand at the distance of 50 or 60 paces and throw it towards them as far as they Can and retire.
The 2d Chief of the 2d Mandan Village took a miff at our not attending to him perticelarely after being here about ten day and moved back to his village The mandans Killed twenty one elk yesterday 15 miles below this, they were So meager that they Scercely fit for use Mrs. La Roche & McKinsey Clerk to the N W. Compy. visit us. Mr.
Some of those horses in pided with large spots of white irrigularly scattered and intermixed with black, brown, Bey or Some other dark colour, but much the larger portion are of a uniform Colour with Stars, snips, and white feet, or in this respect marked much like our best blooded horses in the U, States, which they resemble as well in fleetness and bottom as in form and Colour. the nativs Suffer them to run at large in the plains, the Grass of which furnish them with their only Subsistance, their owners takeing no trouble to lay in a winters Store for them, but they keep fat if not much used on the dry grass of the plains dureing the winter. rain scercely ever falls in those plains and the Grass is Short and but thin. the nativs appear to take no pains in Selecting their male horses from which they bread, in Short those of that discription which I have noticed appear much the most indifferent. whether the horses was originally a native of this Country or not, it is out of my power to determine as we cannot understand the language of the nativs Sufficiently to ask the question. at all events the Country and Climate appears well adapted to this Animal.
The evening is Cool and windy. great number of the nativs of the different villages Came to view us and exchange robes with our men for their Skins- we gave Jo Colter Some Small articles which we did not want and Some powder & lead. the party also gave him Several articles which will be usefull to him on his expedittion. This evening Charbono informed me that our back was scercely turned before a war party from the two menetarry villages followed on and attacked and killed the Snake Indians whome we had Seen and in the engagement between them and the Snake indians they had lost two men one of which was the Son of the principal Chief of the little village of the menitarras. that they had also went to war from the Menetarras and killed two Ricaras. he further informed me that a missunderstanding had taken place between the Mandans & minetarras and had verry nearly come to blows about a woman, the Menitarres at length presented a pipe and a reconsilliation took place between them
Shields, G. Shannon William Bratton, Labiech, Windsor, H. Hall, Gibson, Interpreter Shabono his wife & Child and my man york; with 49 horses and a colt. the horses feet are very sore and Several of them can Scercely proceed on. at 5.
Word Of The Day