History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 8

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998

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HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

copied. It is an association of most active and brave young men, secured by a vow never to re- treat before any danger, or give way to their enemies. In war they go forward without shel- tering themselves behind trees or aiding their natural valor by any artifice. This punctillious determination not to be turned from their course became heroic, or ridiculous, a short time since when the Yanktons were crossing the Missouri on the ice. A hole lay immediately in their course which might easily have been avoided by going around. This the foremost of the band disdained to do, but went straight forward and was lost. The others followed his example, but were forcibly prevented by the rest of the tribe. These young men sit and encamp and dance to- gether distinct from the rest of the nation; they are generally about thirty or thirty-five years old. Such is the deference paid to their courage that their seats in council are superior to those of the chiefs, but, as may be supposed, such indiscreet bravery would soon diminish the numbers of those who practice it ; so that the band is now re- duced to four warriors who were among our visitors. These were the remains of twenty-two who composed the society not long ago, but in a battle with the Kite Indians of the Black Mountains eighteen of them were killed, and these four were dragged from the field by their companions."

From the Yanktons the party obtained its first idea of the organization of the Dakota Sioux ; crude enough it was, but nevertheless somewhat in line with what we now know about it. (See the analysis of the Sioux in Chapter III of this work.) The following is Lewis and Clarke's interpretation :

The Sioux or Dacorta Indians originally settled on the Mississippi, and called by Carver Madowes- ians, are now subdivided into tribes as follows:

First, the Yanktons. This tribe inhabits the Sioux, Desmoines and Jacques rivers and numbers about two hundred men.

Second, the Tetons of the Burnt Woods. This tribe numbers about three hundred men, who rove on both sides of the Missouri, the White and the Te- ton river.

Third, the Tetons Okandandas, a tribe consisting

of about one hundred fifty men, who inhabit both sides of the Missouri below the Cheyenne. (I am not able to identify this band with any of the modern bands of Tetons. They may have been the Oglallas or Uncpapas.)

Fourth, Tetons Minnakennozzo (Minneconjous), a nation inhabiting both sides of the Missouri above the Cheyenne river and containing about two hun- dred fifty men.

Fifth, Tetons Saone. ( These were doubtless the Blackfeet.) These inhabit both sides of the Mis- souri, below the Warreconne. (This stream is now called Beaver creek and falls into the Missouri from the east, through Emmons county, North Dakota.) They consist of three hundred men.

Sixth, Yanktons of the Plains, or Big Devils (Yanktonais), who rove on the headwaters of the Sioux, Jaques and Red rivers and number five hun- dred men.

Seventh, Wahpatone, a nation residing on St. Peters, just above the mouth of that river, and num- bering two hundred men.

Eighth, the Mindawarcarton, or proper Dacorta, or Sioux Indians (M'dewakantonwan.) These pos- sess the original seat of the Sioux and are properly so named. They rove on both sides of the Mississippi about the falls of St. Anthony, and consist of two hundred men.

Ninth, the Wahpatoota, or Leaf Buds ( Wakpeku- ta.) This nation inhabits both sides of the St. Peters below the Yellowwood (Yellow Medicine), amounting to one hundred fifty men.

Sistasoone. This nation numbers two hundred men and reside at the head of the St. Peters.

As will be observed, this would give to the Sioux at the beginning of the last century a total fighting strength of twenty-five hundred fifty men. There is excellent reason for the belief that Lewis and Clarke underestimated the strength of the Sioux, as they did that of most of the tribes with which they came in contact.

Having remained in the vicinity of Yankton from Monday, the 27th of August, until Satur- day, September Ist, the expedition proceeded up the river. They speak of the chalk rock bluffs, just west of Yankton, as White Bear cliffs, from the circumstance that a White Bear was recently killed in a cave in the side of the precipice. That night they camped on the lower end of Bon- Homme island and the next day remained there to examine the supposed prehistoric earth-work, a description of which will be found in Chapter

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Il of this history. They went on, on the 3d, without noteworthy incident, camping on the Nebraska side and on the 4th passed the Niobrara and camped on the west side just above that stream.

Neither did the 5th or 6th bring to them any adventure, but upon Saturday, the 8th, at a "round mountain on the south side" they found their first prairie dogs and enjoyed great sport in attempting to capture one. Into one of the holes they poured five barrels of water without filling it. They managed to secure one or two specimens. On the 8th they reached the Pawnee House, Trudeau's trading post, which was lo- cated on the north side of the river just above Fort Randall. The journal says, "We reached a house on the north side, called the Pawnee House, where a trader named Trudeau wintered in 1796-7." This would indicate that the post had been abandoned, but it is pretty certain that it was again occupied and trade carried on with the Poncas and Pawnees from that point for many years. The house is said to have been burned in 1816.

Sunday they made fourteen miles through prairies covered with buffaloes and groves filled with elks and on Monday, when near Bijou hills, they found the petrified remains of a plesiosaurus, forty-five feet long, stretched on the top of a knoll. On the return trip, two years later, they stopped and gathered up a portion of it and sent it to Washington where it has been completely restored and is still kept in the national museum.

Sunday, August 26th, while encamped on the bottom below Meckling, their two horses strayed away and the boy, George Shannon, was sent in pursuit. Seventeen days had elapsed without word from him and the captains admit that they were becoming uneasy about his safety. On Sep- tember IIth, when just above the Bijou Hills, he showed up with one of the horses, the other having given out and he had been compelled to abandon it. He had exhausted his supply of ammunition and was almost starved. While the party was encamped at Yankton and having a big carouse with the Yanktons he had passed them and kept on up the river. Finally coming to the

conclusion that he was ahead of the party, he turned back and found them as stated. They encountered a spell of bad weather on the 12th, 13th and 14th and did not reach the mouth of White river until the 15th. They spent the 14th searching for a volcano which they were in- formed, when down at St. Charles, Missouri, they would find on the south shore at about this point, but were disappointed.

They say that "at the confluence of the White and the Missouri is an excellent position for a town, the land rising by three gradual ascents and the neighborhood furnishing more timber than is usual in this country." They describe American island, at Chamberlain : "The island bears an abundance of grapes and is covered with cedar ; it also contains a number of rabbits." The next day, Sunday, the 16th, they remained in camp at the site of old Fort Lookout while they repacked their goods and mended their boats. Monday was also occupied in the same way and on Tuesday, the 17th, resumed their journey without incident until the 19th when they came to three streams entering the river near to each other called "the three rivers of the Sioux." Here they say the Sioux generally cross the river at this point and that "it is neutral ground where enemies may meet without molestation the same as at Pipestone." Crow creek must be one of the streams referred to in the journal. On the 20th they made the circuit of the big bend. Captain Clarke and two hunters crossed the narrow gorge, while the rest went around with the boats. They found it to be two thousand yards across the gorge. While encamped that night near the north side of the throat of the bend they had a thrilling experience. "Between one and two o'clock the sergeant on guard alarmed us by crying that the sandbar on which we lay. was sinking. We jumped up and found that both above and below our camp the sand was under- mined and fast falling in: we had scarcely got into the boats and pushed off when the bank under which we had been lying fell in, and would have certainly sunk the two pirogues if they had remained there. By the time we reached the opposite shore the ground of our encampment

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

sunk also." On the 22d they reached Loisell's post, located on Cedar island, thirty-five miles below Pierre. The journal says: "On the south side of this island is a fort and large trading house built by a Mr. Loisell who wintered here during the last year in order to trade with the Sioux, the remains of whose camps are in great numbers about this place. The establishment is sixty or seventy feet square and picketed in with red cedar." Patrick Gass describes it more minutely : "There was a stockade built of upright posts thirteen feet high. This stockade was about seventy feet square and enclosed the post proper, which was a log building forty-five and a half by thirty-two and a half feet, one story high. The post was equally divided into four rooms, one for a wareroom, one for trade, one a common hall and the last for residence purposes." Captain Chittenden says: "Loisell's post was probably the first trading establishment built in the Sioux country along the Missouri river. It was thirty-five miles below Pierre. Loisell was in possession in 1803-4. * *

* This was prob- ably the real Fort Aux Cedres, which is so known in the narratives of the times. Several authorities speak of it as an old Missouri Fur Company post, but if so it was possibly the one which burned in the spring of 1810, for no such post is mentioned by Bradbury or Breckenridge in 1811, or by Leavenworth in 1823."

On the 24th, while out hunting, one of the men had the only remaining horse stolen by In- dians. Soon the party was joined by five In- dians who claimed to have no knowledge of the animal, but assured them that it should be re- turned. That evening they arrived at the Teton river, the present site of Pierre. The next morning a council was held with the principal chiefs. Black Buffalo seems to have been the head man. They had left Pierre Dorion at Yank- ton and were therefore unable to carry on a very facile conversation. They, however, gave the chiefs some medals and to Black Buffalo a lace uniform and a cocked hat and feather. "We then invited the chiefs on board and showed them the boat, the air gun and such curiosities as we thought might amuse them. In this we succeeded

too well," says the captain's journal, "for after giving them a quarter of a glass of whiskey, which they seemed to like very much, and sucked the bottle, it was with much difficulty we could get rid of them. They at last accompanied Cap- tain Clarke on shore in a pirogue with five men ; but it seems they had formed a design to stop us, for no sooner had the party landed than three of the Indians seized the cable of the pirogue and one of the soldiers of the chief put his arms round the mast ; the second chief, who affected in- toxication, then said that we should not go on, that they had not received presents enough from us. Captain Clarke told them he would not be prevented from going on; that we were not squaws, but warriors ; that we were sent to them by our great father, who could in a moment ex- terminate them. The chief replied that he too had warriors, and was proceeding to offer per- sonal violence to Captain Clarke, who im- mediately drew his sword and made a signal to the boat to prepare for action. The Indians, who were surrounding him, drew their arrows from their quivers and were bending their bows, when the swivel gun in the boat was instantly pointed towards them and twelve of our most determined men jumped into the pirogue and joined Captain Clarke. This movement made an impression on them, for the grand chief ordered the young men away from the pirogue and they withdrew and held a short council with the warriors. Being unwilling to irritate them, Captain Clarke then came forward and offered his hand to the first and second. chiefs, who refused to take it. He then turned and got into the pirogue, but had not gone more than ten paces when both of the chiefs and two of the warriors waded in after him and they brought them on board. He then proceeded for a mile and anchored off a willow island, which from the circumstances that had just occurred we called Bad Humored island."

Patrick Gass describes the foregoing incident in detail and says Captain Lewis got the Indians to leave the bateau, which was anchored out in the river, by telling them that he had a large quantity of small pox in the hold. This tribe, the captains' journal says, were Teton Okan-

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dandas, which I am unable to identify with any of the present day bands. All of the traditions of the Sioux tell us at that period the Two Kettle band lived about the mouth of the Teton. The Two Kettles call themselves the Oohenopa, and the Lewis and Clarke name may have been a misinterpretation of this, as we have seen that they misunderstood many of the Sioux words, even so simple a one as Dakota itself, which they spelled Dacorta.

The courageous conduct of the white men on Tuesday seemed to have made an excellent im- pression upon the Indians, for the chiefs begged for an opportunity to show their good will and the captains complied. The tribe was therefore assembled at a point on the west bank of the river about three miles north of the Teton. Cap- tain Lewis first went ashore and assured himself that the disposition of the Indians was friendly, when he returned to the boat and himself and Captain Clarke then landed together. At the shore they were met by a committee of young Indians with gaily decorated buffalo robes who took them up separately and carried them to the council house where they were given seats by the side of Black Buffalo. The hall or council room was in the shape of three-quarters of a circle, covered at the top and sides with well-dressed skins neatly sewed together. Under this shelter sat about seventy men, forming a circle around the chief, before whom were placed a Spanish flag and the United States flag given them the previous day. This left a vacant circle of about six feet in diameter in which the pipe of peace was raised on two forked sticks about six or eight inches from the ground and under it the down of the swan was scattered. There was also a large fire over which about four hundred pounds of buffalo meat was cooking as a present to the white men. After a harangue. in which Black Buffalo approved the conduct of the captains, a feast was spread, preceded by smoking the peace pipe. The feast consisted of dog, buffalo meat and a kind of root resembling the potato. Following the feast the hall was cleared and a grand dance ensued. "The or- chestra was composed of about ten men who

played on a sort of tambourine formed of skin stretched across a hoop, and made a sort of jingling noise with a long stick to which the hoofs of deer and goats were hung; the third instrument was a small skin bag with pebbles in it : these, with five or six young men for the vocal part, made up the band. The women then came forward highly decorated, some with poles in their hands on which scalps were hung, others with guns, spears or different trophies taken in war by their husbands, brothers or connections. Having arranged themselves in two columns, one on each side of the fire, as soon as the music began they danced toward each other until they met in the center, when the rattles were shaken and they all shouted and returned to their places. . They have no step, but shuffle along on the ground ; nor does the music appear to be anything more than a confusion of noises, distinguished only by hard or gentle blows upon the buffalo skin : the song is perfectly extemporaneous. In the pauses of the dance any man of the company comes forward and recites, in a low gutteral tone. some little story or incident, which is either martial or ludicrous, or, as was the case this evening, voluptuous and indecent ; this is taken up by the orchestra and the dancers who repeat it in a high strain and dance to it. Sometimes they alternate, the orchestra first performing, and when it ceases the women raise their voices and make a music more agreeable, that is. less in- tolerable than that of the musicians. The dances of the men, which are always separate from those of the women, are conducted in very nearly the same way, except that they jump up and down instead of shuffling, and in the war dances the recitations are all of a military cast. The harmony of the entertainment had nearly been disturbed by one of the musicians, who, thinking he had not received a due share of the tobacco we had distributed during the evening. put himself into a passion, broke one of the drums, threw two of them into the fire and left the band. They were taken out of the fire; a buffalo held in one hand and beaten with the other by several of the company supplied the place of the lost drum and tambourine and no

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

notice was taken of the offensive conduct of the man. We stayed until twelve o'clock at night, when we informed the chiefs that they must be fatigued, and retired, accompanied by four chiefs, two of whom spent the night with us on board. While on shore we saw twenty-five squaws and about the same number of children, who had been taken prisoners two weeks ago in a battle with their countrymen, the Mahas. In this en- gagement the Sioux destroyed forty lodges, killed seventy-five men, of which we saw many of the scalps, and took these prisoners ; their ap- pearance is wretched and dejected; the women too seem low in stature, course and ugly, though their present condition may diminish their beauty. We gave them a variety of small articles, such as awls and needles, and interceded for them with the chiefs, to whom we recom- mended to follow the advice of their great father to restore the prisoners and live in peace with the Mahas, which they promised to do."

Then follows in the journal an extended de- scription of the personal characteristics, habits and dress of this tribe, being quite minute and detailed. The journal then proceeds : "While on shore today we witnessed a quarrel between two squaws, which appeared to be growing every moment more boisterous, when a man came for- ward, at whose approach every one seemed ter- rified and ran. He took the squaws and, with- ont any ceremony, whipped them severely. In- quiring into the nature of such summary justice, we learnt that this man was an officer well known to this and many other tribes. His duty is to keep the peace and the whole interior of the village is confided in two or three of these of- ficers, who are named by the chief and remain in power some days, at least until the chief ap- points a successor ; they seem to be a sort of constable or sentinel and guarding the camp in the night. The short duration of their office is compensated by its authority; his power is supreme and in the suppression of any riot or dis- turbance no resistance is offered to him ; his per- son is sacred and if in the execution of his duty he strikes even a chief of the second class he can not be punished for his salutary insolence.

In general they accompany the person of the chief, and when ordered to any duty, however dangerous, it is a point of honor to die rather than to refuse obedience. Thus, when they at- tempted to stop us yesterday the chief ordered one of these men to take possession of the boat. He immediately put his arms around the mast and, as we understood, no force except the command of a chief would have induced him to release his hold. Like the other men, their bodies are black- ened, but their distinguishing mark is a col- lection of two or three raven skins fixed to the girdle behind the back in such a way that the tails stick out horizontally from the body. On his head, too, is a raven skin split into two parts and tied, so as to let the beak project from the forehead."

The next day they stayed near the same place. Their guests, the two chiefs, according to the Indian custom, carried off the blankets upon which they had slept and that night they stayed for another dance. Though the journals assert that the men did not indulge in lascivious conduct until they arrived among the Rees, local tradition, both at Yankton and at Pierre, among the Yank- tons and the Tetons respectively, is that the so- journs at these points were simply debauches. There are mixed bloods still on the river who proudly point to that occasion as the root of their family tree. Again they took some head men to the boat with them and by a mishap lost their anchor and in the mix-up which followed the Indians became greatly alarmed.

The next morning, the 28th, when they got ready to start the chiefs refused to leave the boat and when finally they had got rid of all but Black Buffalo and were ready to set sail, a lot of the warriors sat down on the rope which held the boat to the shore. This so irritated the cap- tains that they were about to fire upon them when the old chief explained that they only wanted more tobacco. "We had already refused a flag and tobacco to the second chief who had de- manded it with great importunity, but willing to leave them without going to extremities we threw him a carot of tobacco, saying to him 'You have told us that you are a great man and have in-

HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

fluence ; now show your influence by taking the rope from those men, and we will then go on without any further trouble.' This appeal to his pride had the desired effect. He went out of the boat, gave the soldiers the tobacco and pulling the rope out of their hands delivered it on board and we then set sail." That day and for several days afterward they were constantly accosted by the Tetons, who wanted to ride with them or to secure presents, but they would not pay any at- tention to them. October Ist they arrived at the mouth of the Cheyenne and there came upon the trading house of John Valle and met Valle and a young Frenchman in his employ. From Valle they got some information about the Cheyenne which would have done credit to Pierre Dorion himself. Valle told them he had passed the pre- vious winter three hundred leagues (nine hun- dred miles) up the Cheyenne, under the Black mountains. One hundred leagues from its mouth it branches, one branch coming from the south, the other, at a distance of forty leagues from its juncture, entering the Black mountains, which are very high, covered with great quantities of pine and in some parts the snow remains all sum- mer. They passed along up the river, being almost daily hailed by Indians and noting the abandoned Ree towns, but meeting with no ad- ventures of note. On the 4th it turned very cold and the next morning there was a white frost. On the 6th and 7th they passed abandoned Ree towns, the huts in perfect preservation and canoes and domestic implements lying about as if ready for use upon return of the owners. One of these was on the east side at the mouth of what is now called Steamboat creek and the other on the west at the mouth of the Moreau, but by the expedition called Pork creek. On the 8th they came to the mouth of Grand river, which the Rees called Wetawhoo, and also the Oak creek, and upon Grand River island encountered their first settlement of Rees. "The village is situated in the center of the island and contains sixty lodges. The island itself is three miles long and covered with fields in which the Indians raise corn, beans and potatoes. Several French- men living among these Indians as interpreters

came back (to the camp) with Captain Lewis, and especially a Mr. Gravelines, a man who has acquired the language. The next day the wind was so high that they could not hold a council, but some of the party went to the village and the three principal chiefs visited the camp. These chiefs were Lightning Crow, Hay, from whom a creek in the vicinity is named, and Eagle's Feather. "Notwithstanding the high waves two or three squaws rowed to us in little canoes made of a single buffalo skin stretched over a frame-work of boughs woven like a basket, and with most perfect composure. The object which seemed to astonish the Indians most was Captain Clark's servant, York, a remarkably stout, strong negro. They had never seen a being of that color and therefore flocked around him to examine the extraordinary monster. By way of amusement he told them that he had once been a wild animal and was caught and tamed by his master, and to convince them showed them feats of strength which, added to his looks, made him more ter- rible than we wished him to be.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 8

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 998

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998