OCR Text |
Show iOO thing to eat, which we of course gave them. At seven am\ .t half miles is a willow island on the north: ami anotlw~ on the same side iive miles beyond it, in the mHldle of the l'Jver between highlands on both sides. At eighteen and a half miles is an island called Grouse islancl, on which are the ''alls of an old village: tlte island bas no timber, but is covered with grass and wild rye, aml owes its name t~ the nu~bt>r of grouse that frequent it. "re then went on till our JOUrney for the day was twenty-two miles: the country presented the same appearance as usual. In t.he low timbet·cd ground ncar the mouth of the Sawawkawna, we saw t.be tracks of large white bear, and on Grouse island killed a female blaireau, and a deer of tl1e black-ta.iled !'pecies, the largest we have ever seen. Monday, October 8. 'Ve lJrocecdcd early with a cool northwest wind, and at two antl a half miles above Grouse island reached the mouth of a m·eek on tbc south, then a . ' small willow island, which divides the current equally; and at four and a l1alf miles came to a river on tl1e southern side where we baited. This river, which our meridian altitude fixes at ~5° 39' 51' north latitude, is called l)y the Ricaras Wetawhoo; it rises in the Black mountains, and its bed which flows at the mouth over a low soft slate stone, is one hundretl and twenty yartls wide, but the water is now confined within twenty yards, and is not very rapid, discharging mud with a small proportion of sand: here as in every bend of the river~ we again observe the red berries resembling currants, which we mentioned before. Two miles above the Wet.awhoo, and on the same side, is a small river called Maropa by the Indians; it is twenty yards in width, but so dammed up by mud that the stream creeps through a channel of not more than an inch in diameter, and discharges no sand. One mile further we reached an island close to the southern shore, from which it is separated by a deep channel of sixty yards. About half way a number of Ricara Indians came out to see us. We stopped and took a Frenchman on board, Up the JUissouri. 1 0i wllo ac_eompanied ~s past the island to our camp on the north s1de of the I'IVer, which is at the distance of twelve miles f1•om that of yesterday. Ca{)tain Lewis tben returned with four of the party to see the village; it is situated in the centre of the island, near the southern shore, under the foot of some high. bald, uneven hills, and contains about sixty lo~ges. The island itself is three miles long, and covtwed WJth fields in which the Indians raise corn, beans, and potatoes. Several Frenchmen living among tJ1ese Indian~ as interpr~tcrs, or traders, came back with captain Lewis, and particularly a Mr. Gravelines, a man who bas a~quired the l~nguage. On setting out we had a low prair~ e covered w1th timber on the north, and on the south h1ghlands, but at the mouth of the 'Vetawhoo the southern country c?anges, and a low timbered plain extends along the south, while the north has a ridge of barren hills tlut·ing the rest of the day's course. . Tuesday, 9th. The wind was so cold and high last mght and during all the day, that we could not assemble the Indians in council; but some of the party went to the vilJa~ e. We received the visits of the three princit•al chiefl:l With many others, to whom we gave some tobacco, and told them that we would speak to them to-morr·ow. 'fhe names of these c~iefs were first, Kakawissassa or Lighting Crow; second chief Pocasse or Hay; third chief Piaheto or Eagle's Feather. Not••·V "I tl tst and .m g t 11 e h1. gb waves, two or t·h ree squaws rowed to us in little canoes made of a sinoole buffa~oe skin, stretched over a frame of bouoohs inter:o-ven hke a basket d · 1 1 5 , , . ' an Wit l t 1e most perfect comtlosurc. I he obJect which appeared to astonish the Indians most was captain Clark's servant York, a remarkable stout stron~ negro. They had never seen a being of that colour, and therefore flocked r ound h"1 m t o exanu.n e the extraordm. ary monster. By way of amusement he told them that he had once been a wild animal, and caught and tamed by his master, and to convince them, showed them feats of strength |