Plan of Mandan hut
Mandan, in bull-dance costume
Having been invited by the Indians to the winter village, to be present at a great medicine feast, we proceeded thither, on the 3rd of December, in the afternoon. Mr. Kipp took his family with him, and Mato-Topé and several other Indians accompanied us. We were all well armed, because it was asserted that a band of hostile Indians had been seen among the prairie hills on the preceding day. Our beds, blankets, and buffalo skins were laid on a horse, on which Mr. Kipp's wife, a Mandan Indian, rode. Thus we passed, at a rapid pace, through the prairie, along the Missouri, then below the hills, which are pretty high; and I cannot deny that, in the valleys and {426} ravines, through which some small streams that we had to pass flowed, our whole company looked anxiously to the right and left to see whether any enemies would issue from their ambush. We had to pass a narrow gorge behind a little thick copse, where many Indians had been killed by their enemies. After proceeding about an hour and a half we reached the village in the wood, which is the winter residence of the inhabitants of Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush. We stopped at the hut of Mr. Kipp's father-in-law, Mandeek-Suck-Choppenik (the medicine bird), who accommodated us with a night's lodging. The description of this hut may serve for all the winter huts of these Indians.[21] It was about twenty paces in diameter, and circular: h is the fence or wall of the hut, supported inside by strong, low posts, on which rests the vaulted roof, which has a square hole to let the smoke escape; g is the entrance, protected by two projecting walls covered above. At f is the door, consisting of a piece of leather stretched on a frame. At d d there is a cross wall of considerable height, made of reeds and osier twigs woven together, to keep off the draught of air. At e e e there is another cross wall, only three feet high, behind which the horses stand; a is the fireplace, round which, at c c c c, are the seats of the inmates, consisting of benches formed of basket-work, covered with skins; b b b b are four strong pillars which bear the roof, and are very well united above by cross beams. At i there was a large leather case for the beds in which the family slept. A chain, with a large kettle, was suspended from the roof over the fire, to cook our supper, consisting of very pleasant flavoured sweet maize. The master of the hut was absent, but his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, received us very kindly. We had still a little time before the commencement of the medicine feast, which consisted of the dance of the half-shorn head, which the soldiers sold to the raven band. This feast was to last forty nights, and the son-in-law of our host was among the sellers. We sat around the fire and smoked, while the drum was beat in the village to call the two parties together. After seven o'clock we repaired to the medicine lodge; it was entirely cleared, except that some women sat along the walls; the fire burned in the centre, before which we took our seats, near the partition d d, with several distinguished men of the band of the soldiers. At our left hand, the other soldiers, about twenty-five in number, were seated in a row; some of them were handsomely dressed, though the majority {427} were in plain clothes. They had their arms in their hands, and in the centre were three men, who beat the drum. On the right side of the fire stood the young men of the raven band, who were the purchasers; they were obliged to satisfy the soldiers, who were the sellers, by making them valuable presents, such as horses, guns, powder and ball, blankets of different colours, kettles, &c.; to continue the feast forty nights; to regale them, for that time, with provisions and tobacco, and offer their wives to them every evening. The soldiers had consented to these terms, and the festival took place every evening in the following manner:—
We had all taken our seats before the band of the sellers arrived; but we soon heard them singing, accompanied by the drum, and they entered with their insignia; these consisted of four poles, or lances, seven or eight feet long, the iron points of which resembled sword blades, and were held downwards; the rest of the instrument was wrapped round with broad bands of otter-skin, like that of the Blackfeet,[22] and decorated at the point and other places with strips of skin: two of these poles are curved at the top. The others were a club with an iron point, painted red and ornamented with feathers; then three lances, decorated alternately with black and white feathers;[23] and, lastly, a very beautifully ornamented bow and quiver. These nine insignia were brought in, the soldiers, however, stopping, at first, near the door behind the cross wall. When they had remained for some time in this position, singing and beating the drum with great violence, they entered, placed the lances against the wall, and fixed the club in the ground near one of the pillars that supported the hut; after which they all took their seats near the wall. While the singing and dancing were continued alternately for some time, the purchasers filled their pipes and presented them to all of us in succession. We took one or two whiffs; they did the same, and carried the pipe round to the left hand, but offered it only to the visitors and to the sellers. This smoking continued a long time, during which each of the guests received a small cake of sweet corn baked in fat. In about half an hour two of the soldiers rose and danced opposite each other. One of them was a tall, powerful man, with a weak, effeminate voice. He wore nothing but his robe and leggins, but without any ornaments; he took the club and held it firmly in his left hand; his right hand hung straight down; he bent his body forwards and danced, that is, he leaped with his feet close together, keeping time with the music. The head and legs of the other dancer were very handsomely ornamented, but the breast and shoulders were bare. He took one of the first four lances, which he held in both hands, and the two men then danced, or leaped, opposite each other. In a few minutes the first dancer put the lance aside and sat down, while all the other members of this band uttered the war-whoop, accompanied by the quick beating of the drum, now and then shouting aloud. Silence then ensued; the man with the club addressed the purchasers, called them his sons, and enumerated some of his exploits; after which he presented to them the war club. One of the purchasers called him his father, passed his hand along his arm, took {428} the weapon from his hand, and put it in its place again. The other dancer again came forward, did the same, spoke of his exploits, and presented the lance to a man or son of the other band, who received it with the same ceremony, and put it also in its place again. There were singing and dancing in the intervals, but no schischikué was heard. Two other soldiers then rose, related their deeds, how they had stolen horses, taken a medicine from the enemy, and the like, and presented two of the insignia to the purchasers. When this had been done four or five times, the women of the raven band rose; four of them threw aside their robes, snatched up the lances, carried them successively out of the hut, and, some time after, brought them in again. They hastened to pass by us, and some of them appeared to feel ashamed. This ceremony was repeated twice: these women then came, passed their hands down the arms of the strangers and of the fathers, took up their robes and went out, in the same manner as has been related in the medicine feast of the Manitaries. When they returned the second time, Mr. Kipp rose to go away, and I followed him. Some of the women were fat and corpulent, others very young, and one but little past childhood.
This feast was continued in the same manner forty nights. During the purchase of the dance of the half-shorn head, the buffalo medicine feast, which continues four nights, was celebrated in another hut. We retired to the hut of the Medicine Bird, smoked our cigars, and lay down in our clothes to sleep on buffalo skins spread on the floor. The weather was frosty, and it was very cold even in the hut; the Indians set a watch, during the night, that they might not be surprised by their enemies.
On the 4th of December, early in the morning, we left the village; we did not keep along the hills, but took another path through the thickets, which led in some places over frozen marshes, which were partly covered with reeds. The wood, which was spangled with hoar frost, is very much cleared, and contains but few large trees. A high, cold southeast wind blew in the prairie, and afterwards became violent. At eight o'clock we reached the fort, where we much enjoyed a hot breakfast. Several Mandans came to see us, among whom was the strongest man of this nation, named Beracha-Iruckcha (the broken pot), whom no one had yet been able to overcome in wrestling, though he had been matched with white men, negroes, and Indians, remarkable for their strength. Sih-Chida and Maksick-Karehde (the flying eagle), also visited us; the latter was the tallest man among the Mandans, and belonged to the band of the soldiers.[24]
Snow had already set in, yet still the buffaloes did not come nearer, and we were in want of fresh meat, and of tallow to make candles; and all the meat we could get was obtained from individual Indians returning from the chase. In the environs of the fort there were, at this time, wolves, foxes, and a few hares, and during the night we heard the barking of the prairie wolves (Canis latrans, Say), which prowled about, looking for any remnants of provisions. In our excursions {429} we everywhere met with wolves, foxes, hares, weasels, and mice, especially on the banks of the streams, and set snares of iron wire, in order to learn what species of mice could bear this winter weather. Our snares were often carried away by the wolves and foxes, but we frequently caught the Mus leucopus, which is especially the prey of the weasel. If any one imitate the voice of the hare, in order to attract the wolves, a number of magpies immediately come and settle in the neighbourhood. Scarcely any kinds of birds were found in the forest but Pica hudsonica, Picus pubescens, Parus atracapillus, Fringilla linaria, and Tetrao phasianellus, of which several were shot.
On the 10th of December, Charbonneau returned to the service of the American Fur Company, and took up his quarters in the fort, which gave me an opportunity to have much conversation with him respecting the Manitaries, with whom he was well acquainted. On the 11th, Dreidoppel, with his rifle, shot a prairie wolf (Canis latrans) on the ice of the Missouri, which crept into a burrow, where he could not get at it. He was returning to the fort, when a couple of Indians called after him, who had dragged the animal alive from its retreat, and brought it to our lodging, when Mr. Bodmer made a sketch of the head.[25] On the 13th of December, when Fahrenheit's thermometer was at 17°, several birds of the species Bombycilla garrula were brought to us: they are found in these parts during the summer also, and are said to breed here, which I think is doubtful. I obtained many wolves from the quite white to the perfectly grey, common variety, which the Indians sold for two rolls of tobacco a-piece. They also often caught ermines in horsehair snares, which they sell dear. As we continued to be in want of fresh meat and tallow, we had to send people for these necessaries to the Indian villages, and Mr. Kipp likewise went thither in his sledge, in order to trade. On one occasion his horse broke through the ice, so that it remained for an hour in the water, and was quite benumbed. An extremely cold storm from the north had blown away the wooden screen from our chimney. On the 15th of December, and on the preceding evening, we had a heavy fall of snow, which ceased when the wind veered a little to the north. At eight o'clock the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer was at 14°. The appearance of the prairie at this time was very remarkable, resembling the sea agitated by a terrible storm. The extensive surface of the snow was carried by the wind in a cloud; it was scarcely possible for the eye to bear the cold blast which drove the snow before it, and enveloped us in a dense cloud, above which the sky was clear, and the tops of the prairie hills were visible. We were, therefore, the more sensible of the enjoyment of our bright fire, seated about which we passed our time agreeably in various occupations. About this time the enemy had stolen six horses from the Manitaries. We had been for some time without meat, when the Indians, hunting at a considerable distance, at the forks of Teton River,[26] killed fifty-five buffaloes. On this occasion, Mr. Kipp's horse was lost, which, bridled and saddled as it was, had joined a herd of buffaloes; and two foals had perished in the cold.