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Show 178 THE MANITARI VILLAGES ON KNIFE RIVER. country was pretty open and flat. We saw before us the fine broad mirror of the river, and, at a distance on the southern bank, the red mass of the clay huts of the lower village of the Manitaries, which we reached in half an hour. The Missouri is joined by the Knife River, on which the three villages of the Manitaries are built. The largest, which is the furthest from the Missouri, is called Elah-Sa (the village of the great willows) ; the middle one, Awatichay (the little village), where Charbonneau, the interpreter, lives; and the third, Awachawi (le village des souliers), which is the smallest, consisting of only eighteen huts, situated at the mouth of Knife River. While we were examining this interesting country, and receiving from Charbonneau many particulars respecting these villages, in which he had lived for more than thirty years, our Indian companions were sitting or lying about the fire, smoking their pipes. Among them was Dipauch (the broken arm), a tall, stout man, with whom I frequently came in contact in the following winter. His long, thick hair was bound together in a large queue, and on his breast he wore a silver gorget, which he had received as a present from the Whites. The expression of his countenance was agreeable, whereas that of Berock Itainu (bull's neck), a similar colossus, the inseparable companion of the former, was gloomy and less pleasing. Both were six feet high, and Berock Itainu wore his hair tied together in a knot upon his head. Mato-Tope (the four bears), the eminent Mandan chief, whom I have before mentioned, and Charata-Numakshi (the chief of the wolves), were also present; and I purchased from the former his painted buffalo dress, which had hitherto been his medicine (i. e. charm), which he highly valued as a souvenir of his brother, who had been shot by the enemy. Our cookery pleased them much; they were fond of coffee, and sugar was considered a great delicacy ; but they cannot make maple sugar like the Indians in the woody country, because the trees are neither numerous nor strong enough to produce this article. When we turned our eyes from the dark brown inhabitants to the surrounding scenery, we saw, on the banks, grey hills, with level prairies and willow thickets next the river, and the country, in general, was rather flat than mountainous. The hills were partly depressed at the top-a feature which is almost peculiar to these hills. At noon the sun burst forth, and the thermometer was at 76°, with a high wind. The south bank of the river was now animated by a crowd of Indians, both on foot and on horseback ; they were the Manitaries, who had flocked from their three villages to see the steamer and to welcome us. The appearance of this vessel of the Company, which comes up, once in two years, to the Yellow Stone River, is an event of the greatest importance to the Indians; they then come from considerable distances to see this hissing machine, which they look upon as one of the most wonderful medicines (charms) of the white men. The sight of the red-brown crowd collected on the river side, for even their buffalo skins were mostly of this colour, was, in the highest degree, striking. We already saw above a hundred of them, with many dogs, some of which drew sledges, and others, wooden boards |