The red fox (Canis fulvus) is very handsome, and at the same time common, though by no means so numerous as the wolves. The grey fox (Canis cinereo-argenteus), and the cross fox (Canis decussatus), are likewise found here. The black or silver fox (Canis argentatus), is met with sixty or seventy miles further north, but it is occasionally seen here, and the skin is highly prized, being sold for sixty dollars.
The prairie fox is frequently seen, but the panther and the wild cat are not often found. Beavers become more numerous on the Missouri and its tributaries the higher they are ascended, and the Indians catch them in considerable numbers; their skins are much valued by the Whites. I saw one beautifully spotted with white; yellowish-white and pure white beavers are not unfrequently caught on the Yellow Stone.
There are, likewise, many interesting species of birds, among which are the turkey-buzzard, the stone falcon, the owl (a very hardy bird, which remains here throughout the whole of the rigorous winter), the Carolina parrot, the humming-bird (Trochilus colubris), wild pigeon, woodpecker, magpie, and many others. There are many interesting species of reptiles in this part of the country, and I much regretted that I was not here in the summer time, when, of course, they are more abundant and various. Several kinds of turtles frequent the Missouri and the prairies. {333} I was told that many species of lizard abound in summer, especially phrynosoma, of which there are many on the Yellow Stone, at Fort Union, and in the Valley of the Stone Walls. I was much surprised at not seeing a single animal of the lizard kind on my voyage on the Missouri. Of snakes there are many species; the black snake is not found here, but the Coluber proximus (Say) is abundant, as well as the Coluber eximus. There is only one kind of rattlesnake, which is very common, and of a considerable size. Of frogs there are several kinds, of which the Rana pipiens (Schreb.), is the most beautiful; small tree frogs likewise abound, and after a shower of rain, the ground is frequently quite covered with young frogs. Even many of the Whites believe that these little animals fall from the sky; they imagine that the rainbow draws the frogs up into the air at one end, and that they fall in a mass to the ground with the rain.
But few species of fish frequent this part of the Missouri; among them are two kinds of cat-fish, the pike, sturgeon, gold-eye, and occasionally the buffalo (catastomus). Doubtless there are many more species, but they have not been noticed by the inhabitants, and it is very difficult to procure them. Numerous insects of various species abound here, to the great annoyance of the inhabitants, such as mosquitoes, and innumerable grasshoppers, which quickly devour the plants in the prairie, and are themselves the food of many kinds of animals during the summer.
To give a complete picture of the country about Fort Clarke, we must subjoin an account of the numerous Indians who inhabit this territory; namely, the three tribes of the Mandans, the Manitaries or Gros Ventres, and the Arikkaras, the latter of whom were absent during our sojourn here. In order to make the narrative of our long residence at this spot (which will be given in the sequel) more intelligible, I shall annex, in the three following chapters, the information I collected respecting those three Indian nations.
FOOTNOTES:
[172] Fort Mandan was occupied by Lewis and Clark during the winter of 1804-05, the preceding winter having been spent by them in camp on Wood River, Illinois, opposite the mouth of the Missouri. Fort Mandan was begun November 3, 1804, and abandoned April 7, the following spring; see Original Journals, i, pp. 216-283.—Ed.
[173] After reading the pages of Lewis and Clark's journals, one has slight respect for Charbonneau's qualities, either mental or moral. It is to be regretted that Maximilian relied so much upon the testimony of this interpreter in his account of the Mandan and Minitaree Indians. For a sketch of what is known of this interpreter's life consult our volume vi, p. 32, note 3.—Ed.
[174] For Fort Clarke and James Kipp see our volume xxii, p. 344, note 317, and p. 345, note 319 respectively.—Ed.
[175] This is an evident error for 1823—the well-authenticated date for Leavenworth's Arikkara expedition.—Ed.