The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 Part 50

In Box No. 3.

nos. 1 & 2 The Skins of the Male & female Antelope with their Skelitons. & the Skin of a yellow Bear which I obtained from the Scions

No. 4. Box Specimens of plants numbered from 1 to 67.

Specimens of Plants numbered frome 1 to 60.

1 Earthen pot Such as the Mandans Manufacture and use for culinary purposes.

Box No 4 Continued

1 Tin box, containing insects mice &c. a Specimine of the fur of the antelope.

a Specimon of a plant, and a parcel of its roots highly prized by the natives as

an efficatious remidy in Cases of the bite of the rattle Snake or Mad Dog.

In a large Trunk

Skins of a Male and female Braro, or burrowing Dog of the Prarie, with the Skeliton of the female.

1 Skin of the red fox Containing a Magpie.

2 Cased Skins of the white hare.

1 Minitarra Buffalow robe Containing Some articles of Indian Dress

1 Mandan Buffalow robe Containing a dressed Lousirva Skin, and 2 Cased Skins of the Burrowing Squirel of the Praries.

13 red fox Skins

4 Horns of the Mountain Ram or big horn.

1 Buffalow robe painted by a mandan man representing a battle fought 8 years Since by the Sioux & Ricaras against the mandans, menitarras & Ah wah bar ways (Mandans &c. on horseback)

Cage No. 6.

Contains a liveing burrowing Squirel of the praries

Cage No. 7.

Contains 4 liveing magpies

Cage No. 9.

Containing a liveing hen of the Prarie

a large par of Elks horns containing by the frontal bone-

[Clark, April 4, 1805]

April the 4th 1805 Wednesday a bl.u.s.tering windey Day the Clerks of the N W. Co. leave us we are arrangeing all things to Set out &c.

[Clark, April 5, 1805]

April the 5th 1805 Thursday we have our 2 perogues & Six Canoes loaded with our Stores & provisions, princ.i.p.ally provisions. the wind verry high from the N W. a number of Mandans visit us to day

[Clark, April 6, 1805]

April the 6th Friday Sat.u.r.day 1805 a fine day visited by a number of mandans, we are informed of the arrival of the whole of the ricarra nation on the other Side of the river near their old village. we Sent an interpreter to See with orders to return imediately and let us know if their Chiefs ment to go down to See their great father.

[Lewis, April 7, 1805]

Fort Mandan April 7th 1805.

Having on this day at 4 P.M. completed every arrangement necessary for our departure, we dismissed the barge and crew with orders to return without loss of time to S. Louis, a small canoe with two French hunters accompanyed the barge; these men had a.s.sended the missouri with us the last year as engages. The barge crew consisted of six soldiers and two ____ Frenchmen; two Frenchmen and a Ricara Indian also take their pa.s.sage in her as far as the Ricara Vilages, at which place we expect Mr. Tiebeau to embark with his peltry who in that case will make an addition of two, perhaps four men to the crew of the barge. We gave Richard Warfington, a discharged Corpl., the charge of the Barge and crew, and confided to his care likewise our dispatches to the government, letters to our private friends, and a number of articles to the President of the United States. One of the Frenchmen by the Name of Gravline an honest discrete man and an excellent boat-man is imployed to conduct the barge as a pilot; we have therefore every hope that the barge and with her our dispatches will arrive safe at St. Louis. Mr.

Gravlin who speaks the Ricara language extreemly well, has been imployed to conduct a few of the Recara Chiefs to the seat of government who have promised us to decend in the barge to St. Liwis with that view.-

At same moment that the Barge departed from Fort Mandan, Capt. Clark embaked with our party and proceeded up the river. as I had used no exercise for several weeks, I determined to walk on sh.o.r.e as far as our encampment of this evening; accordingly I continued my walk on the N.

side of the River about six miles, to the upper Village of the Mandans, and called on the Black Cat or Pose cop'se ha, the great chief of the Mandans; he was not at home; I rested myself a minutes, and finding that the party had not arrived I returned about 2 miles and joined them at their encampment on the N. side of the river opposite the lower Mandan village. Our party now consisted of the following Individuals.

Sergts. John Ordway, Nathaniel Prior, & Patric Ga.s.s; Privates, William Bratton, John Colter, Reubin, and Joseph Fields, John s.h.i.+elds, George Gibson, George Shannon, John Potts, John Collins, Joseph Whitehouse, Richard Windsor, Alexander Willard, Hugh Hall, Silas Goodrich, Robert Frazier, Peter Crouzatt, John Baptiest la Page, Francis Labiech, Hue McNeal, William Werner, Thomas P. Howard, Peter Wiser, and John B.

Thompson.

Interpreters, George Drewyer and Tauasant Charbono also a Black man by the name of York, servant to Capt. Clark, an Indian Woman wife to Charbono with a young child, and a Mandan man who had promised us to accompany us as far as the Snake Indians with a view to bring about a good understanding and friendly intercourse between that nation and his own, the Minetares and Ahwahharways.

Our vessels consisted of six small canoes, and two large perogues. This little fleet altho not quite so rispectable as those of Columbus or Capt. Cook were still viewed by us with as much pleasure as those deservedly famed adventurers ever beheld theirs; and I dare say with quite as much anxiety for their safety and preservation. we were now about to penetrate a country at least two thousand miles in width, on which the foot of civillized man had never trodden; the good or evil it had in store for us was for experiment yet to determine, and these little vessells contained every article by which we were to expect to subsist or defend ourselves. however as this the state of mind in which we are, generally gives the colouring to events, when the immagination is suffered to wander into futurity, the picture which now presented itself to me was a most pleasing one. entertaing as I do, the most confident hope of succeading in a voyage which had formed a darling project of mine for the last ten years, I could but esteem this moment of my departure as among the most happy of my life. The party are in excellent health and sperits, zealously attatched to the enterprise, and anxious to proceed; not a whisper of murmur or discontent to be heard among them, but all act in unison, and with the most perfect harmony. I took an early supper this evening and went to bed. Capt.

Clark myself the two Interpretters and the woman and child sleep in a tent of dressed skins. this tent is in the Indian stile, formed of a number of dressed Buffaloe skins sewed together with sinues. it is cut in such manner that when foalded double it forms the quarter of a circle, and is left open at one side where it may be attatched or loosened at pleasure by strings which are sewed to its sides to the purpose. to erect this tent, a pa.r.s.el of ten or twelve poles are provided, fore or five of which are attatched together at one end, they are then elivated and their lower extremities are spread in a circular manner to a width proportionate to the demention of the lodge, in the same position orther poles are leant against those, and the leather is then thrown over them forming a conic figure.

[Clark, April 7, 1805]

7th of April Satt.u.r.day 1805"

a windey day, The Interpreter we Sent to the Villages returned with Chief of the Ricara's & 3 men of that nation this Chief informed us that he was Sent by his nation to Know the despositions of the nations in this neighbourhood in respect to the recara's Settleing near them, that he had not yet made those arrangements, he request that we would Speek to the a.s.sinniboins, & Crow Inds. in their favour, that they wished to follow our directions and be at peace with all, he viewed all nations in this quarter well disposed except the Sioux. The wish of those recaras appears to be a junction with the Mandans & Minetarras in a Defensive war with the Sioux who rob them of every Spece of property in Such a manner that they Cannot live near them any longer. I told this Chief we were glad to See him, and we viewed his nation as the Dutifull Children of a Great father who would extend his protection to all those who would open their ears to his good advice, we had already Spoken to the a.s.sinniboins, and Should Speeke to the Crow Indians if we Should See them &c. as to the Sioux their Great father would not let them have any more good Guns &c. would take Care to prosu Such measurs as would provent those Sioux from Murding and taking the property from his dutyfull red Children &c.--we gave him a certificate of his good Conduct & a Small Medal, a Carrot of Tobacco and a String of Wompom--he requested that one of his men who was lame might decend in the boat to their nation and returned to the Mandans well Satisfied

The name of this Chief of War is Kah-kah, we to-Raven brave.

This Cheif delivered us a letter from Mr. Taboe. informing us of the wish of the Grand Chiefs of the Ricarras to visit their Great father and requesting the privolage of put'g on board the boat 3000 w of Skins &c. & adding 4 hands and himself to the party. this preposeal we Shall agree to, as that addition will make the party in the boat 15 Strong and more able to defend themselves from the Seoux &c.