August 30, 1806
Saturday 30th of August 1806
Capt. Lewis is mending Slowly. we set out at the usial hour and
proceeded on very well a fiew miles Jo Field who was on the Shore being
behind I derected one of the Small Canoes with R. Fields & Shannon to
continue on the point of a Sand bar untill he corns up. I took 3
hunters and walked on the N E Shore with a view to kill Some fat meet.
we had not proceeded far before Saw a large plumb orchd of the most
deelicious plumbs, out of this orchard 2 large Buck Elks ran the
hunters killed them. I Stoped the Canoes and brought in the flesh which
was fat and fine. here the party Collected as many plumbs as they could
eate and Several pecks of which they put by &c. after a delay of nearly
2 hours we again proceeded on downwards passed 3 Small Islands and as
we were about to land at the place appointed to wait for the 2 fields
and Shannon, I saw Several men on horseback which with the help of a
Spie glass I found to be Indians on the high hills to the N E we landed
on the S. W. Side and I sent out two men to a village of Barking
Squirels to kill Some of those animals imedeatily after landing about
20 indians was discovered on an eminanc a little above us on the
opposite Side. one of those men I took to be a freinch man from his a
blanket Capoe & a handkerchief around his head. imediately after 80 or
90 Indian men all armed with fusees & Bows & arrows Came out of a wood
on the opposite bank about 1/4 of a mile below us. they fired of their
guns as a Salute we returned the Salute with 2 rounds. we were at a
loss to deturmin of what nation those indians were. from their hostile
appearance we were apprehensive they were Tetons. but from the Country
through which they roved we were willing to believe them eithe the
Yanktons, Ponars or Mahars either of which nations are well disposed
towards the white people. I deturmined to find out who they were
without running any resque of the party and indians, and therefore took
three french men who could Speak the Mahar Pania and some Seioux and in
a Small canoe I went over to a Sand bar which extended Sufficently near
the opposite Shore to Converse. imedeately after I Set out 3 young men
Set out from the opposite Side and Swam next me on the Sand bar. I
derected the men to Speak to them in the Pania and mahar Languages
first neither of which they could understand I then derected the man
who could Speak a fiew words of Seioux to inquire what nation or tribe
they belong to they informed me that they were Tetons and their Chief
was Tar-tack-kah-sabbar or the black buffalow This Chief I knew very
well to be the one we had seen with his band at Teton river which band
had attempted to detain us in the fall of 1804 as we assended this
river and with whome we wer near comeing to blows. I told those Indians
that they had been deef to our councils and ill treated us as we
assended this river two years past, that they had abused all the whites
who had visited them since. I believed them to be bad people & Should
not Suffer them to cross to the Side on which the party lay, and
directed them to return with their band to their Camp, that if any of
them come near our camp we Should kill them certainly. I lef them on
the bear and returned to th party and examined the arms &c. those
indians seeing Some Corn in the Canoe requested Some of it which I
refused being deturmined to have nothing to do with those people.
Several others Swam across one of which understood pania, and as our
pania interpreter was a very good one we had it in our power to inform
what we wished. I told this man to inform his nation that we had not
forgot their treatment to us as we passed up this river &c. that they
had treated all the white people who had visited them very badly; robed
them of their goods, and had wounded one man whome I had Seen. we
viewed them as bad people and no more traders would be Suffered to come
to them, and whenever the white people wished to visit the nations
above they would Come Sufficiently Strong to whip any vilenous party
who dare to oppose them and words to the Same purpote. I also told them
that I was informed that a part of all their bands were gorn to war
against the Mandans &c, and that they would be well whiped as the
Mandans & Menetarres & had a plenty of Guns Powder and ball, and we had
given them a Cannon to defend themselves. and derected them to return
from the Sand bar and inform their Chiefs what we had Said to them, and
to keep away from the river or we Should kill every one of them &c. &c.
those fellows requested to be allowed to Come across and make Cumerads
which we positively refused and I directed them to return imediately
which they did and after they had informed the Chiefs &c. as I Suppose
what we had Said to them, they all Set out on their return to their
Camps back of a high hill. 7 of them halted on the top of the hill and
blackguarded us, told us to come across and they would kill us all &c.
of which we took no notice. we all this time were extreamly anxious for
the arival of the 2 fields & Shannon whome we had left behind, and were
Some what consd. as to their Safty. to our great joy those men hove in
Sight at 6 P.M. Jo. Fields had killed 3 black tail or mule deer. we
then Set out, as I wished to See what those Indians on the hill would
act. we Steared across near the opposit Shore, this notion put them
Some agitation as to our intentions, some Set out on the direction
towards their Camps others walked about on the top of the hill and one
man walked down the hill to meet us and invited us to land to which
invitation I paid no kind of attention. this man I knew to be the one
who had in the fall 1804 accompaned us 2 days and is Said to be the
friend to the white people. after we passd. him he returned on the top
of the hill and gave 3 Strokes with the gun he had in his hand this I
am informed is a great oath among the indians. we proceeded on down
about 6 miles and encamped on a large Sand bar in the middle of the
river about 2 miles above our encampment on Mud Island on the 10th
Septr. 1804 haveing made 22 miles only to Day. Saw Several Indians on
the hills at a distance this evening viewing us. our encampment of this
evening was a very disagreable one, bleak exposed to the winds, and the
Sand wet. I pitched on this Situation to prevent being disturbed by
those Scioux in the Course of the night as well as to avoid the
Musquetors-. Killed 9 whistleing squirels.
