we were visited by all the principal Chiefs of the Menetarras to take their leave of us at 2 oClock we left our encampment after takeing leave of Colter who also Set out up the river in Company with Messrs. Dickson & Handcock. we also took our leave of T. Chabono, his Snake Indian wife and their Son Child who had accompanied us on our rout to the pacific Ocean in the Capacity of interpreter and interpretes. T. Chabono wished much to accompany us in the Said Capacity if we could have provailed the Menetarre Chiefs to dcend the river with us to the U. States, but as none of those chiefs of whoes language he was Conversent would accompany us, his Services were no longer of use to the U States and he was therefore discharged and paid up. we offered to convey him down to the Illinois if he Chose to go, he declined proceeding on at present, observing that he had no acquaintance or prospects of makeing a liveing below, and must continue to live in the way that he had done. I offered to take his little Son a butifull promising Child who is 19 months old to which they both himself & wife wer willing provided the Child had been weened. they observed that in one year the boy would be Sufficiently old to leave his mother & he would then take him to me if I would be so freindly as to raise the Child for him in Such a manner as I thought proper, to which I agreeed &c.—we droped down to the Big white Cheifs Mandan Village 1/2 a mile below on the South Side, all the Indians proceeded on down by land. and I walked to the lodge of the Chief whome I found Sorounded by his friends the men were Setting in a circle Smokeing and the womin Crying. he Sent his bagage with his wife & Son, with the Interpreter Jessomme & his wife and 2 children to the Canoes provided for them. after Smoking one pipe, and distributing Some powder & lead which we had given him, he informed me that he was ready and we were accompd to the Canoes by all the Village Maney of them Cried out aloud. as I was about to Shake with the Grand Cheifs of all the Villages there assembled they requested me to Set one minit longer with them which I readily agreed to and directed a pipe to be lit. the Cheifs informed that when we first came to their Country they did not beleive all we Said we then told them. but they were now Convinced that every thing we had told them were true, that they Should keep in memory every thing which we had Said to them, and Strictly attend to our advice, that their young men Should Stay at home and Should no go again to war against any nation, that if any atacted them they Should defend themselves, that we might depend on what they Said, and requested us to inform their great father. the also requested me to tell the Ricaras to Come and See them, not to be afraid that no harm Should be done them, that they were anxious to be in peace with them.
The Seeoux they Said they had no dependance in and Should kill them whenever they Came into their Country to do them harm &c. I told them that we had always told them to defend themselves, but not to Strike those nations we had taken by the hand, the Sieoux with whome they were at war we had never Seen on our return we Should inform their great fathe of their conduct towards his faithfull red Children and he would take Such Steps as will bring about a lasting peace between them and his faithfull red children. I informed them that we should inform the ricaras what they had requested &c. The Grand Chief of the Mineterres Said that the Great Cheif who was going down with to see their great father was a well as if he went also, and on his return he would be fully informed of the words of his great father, and requested us to take care of this Gt. Chief. we then Saluted them with a gun and Set out and proceeded on to Fort Mandan where I landed and went to view the old works the houses except one in the rear bastion was burnt by accident, Some pickets were Standing in front next to the river. we proceeded on to the old Ricara village the S E wind was so hard and the waves So high that we were obliged to Come too, & Camp on the S W Side near the old Village. (18 mils)
[Clark, August 18, 1806]
Monday 18th August 1806. moderate rain last night, the wind of this morning from the S. E. as to cause the water to be So rough that we Could not proceed on untill 8 a.m. at which time it fell a little & we proceeded on tho the waves were yet high and the wind Strong. Saw Several Indians on either Side of the river. at 9 A.M. I saw an Indian running down the beech and appd. to be anxious to Speak to us I derected the Canoes to land. this Indian proved to be the brother of the Chief we had on board and Came down from his Camp at no great distance to take his leave of his brother. the Chief gave him a par of Legins and took an effectunate leave of his brother and we procedeed on haveing previously Sent on 2 canoes with hunters to kill Some meat at 2 P. M we overtook the Canoe hunters, they had killed three deer which was divided and we halted and Cooked Some dinner on the Sandbar. wind Still high and from the Same point. The Chief pointed out Several places where he Said his nation formerly lived and related Some extroadinary Stories of their tredition. after Dinner we proceeded on, to a point on the N E. Side opposit the remains of an old Mandan village a little below the enterance of Chiss-che for River and the place we Encamped as we assended this river 20th of October 1804 haveing come 40 miles today. after landing which was a little before night the hunters run out into the bottom and Killed four deer. The winds blew hard from the S. E. all day which retarded our progress very much after the fires were made I set my self down with the big white man Chiefe and made a number of enquiries into the tredition of his nation as well as the time of their inhabiting the number of Villages the remains of which we see on different parts of the river, as also the cause of their evacuation. he told me his nation first Came out of the ground where they had a great village. a grape vine grew down through the Earth to their village and they Saw light Some of their people assended by the grape vine upon the earth, and Saw Buffalow and every kind of animal also Grapes plumbs &c. they gathered Some grapes & took down the vine to the village, and they tasted and found them good, and deturmined to go up and live upon the earth, and great numbers climbed the vine and got upon earth men womin and children. at length a large big bellied woman in climbing broke the vine and fell and all that were left in the Village below has remained there ever Since (The Mandans beleive when they die that they return to this village) Those who were left on earth made a village on the river below and were very noumerous &c. he Said that he was born in the Village Opposit to our Camp and at that time his nation inhabited 7 villages as large as that and were full of people, the Sieoux and Small pox killed the greater part of them and made them So weak that all that were left only made two Small villages when Collected, which were built near the old Ricaras village above. their troubles with the Scioux & Pawnees or Ricaras Compelled them to move and build a village where they now live.
he Said that the Menitarras Came out of the water to the East and Came to this Country and built a village near the mandans from whome they got Corn beens &c. they were very noumerous and resided in one village a little above this place on the opposit Side. they quarreled about a buffalow, and two bands left the village and went into the plains, (those two bands are now known bye the title Pounch, and Crow Indians.) the ballance of the Menetaras moved their village to where it now Stands where they have lived ever Since-
[Clark, August 19, 1806]
Tuesday 19th of August 1806 Some rain last night and this morning the wind rose and blew with great Violence untill 4 P. M and as our camp was on a Sand bar we were very much distressd with the blows of Sand. I directed the hunters to proceed on down the bottom and kill and butcher Some meat and if the wind Should lie that I should proceed on down to their Camp &c. Capt. Lewis'es wounds are heeling very fast, I am much in hope of his being able to walk in 8 or 10 days-. at 4 P. M the wind Seased to blow with that violence which it had done all day we Set out and proceeded on down. the hunters which was Sent out this morning killed 4 Elk & 12 deer near the river we came too and brought in the most of the flesh and proceeded on to a Sand on the N E Side and Encamped. the wind rose and become very Strong from the S. E. and a great appearance of rain. Jessomme the Interpreter let me have a piece of a lodge and the Squars pitched or Stretched it over Some Sticks, under this piece of leather I Slept dry, it is the only covering which I have had Suffecient to keep off the rain Since I left the Columbia. it began to rain moderately Soon after night. The Indians appear well Satisfyed with the party and mode of proceedure. we decended only 10 miles to day Saw Some Elk and buffalow on the Shore near where we Encamped. the Elk beginning to run. the Buffalow are done running & the bulls are pore.