A Brief History of South Dakota/Chapter 7

by Doane Robinson

CHAPTER VII

LEWIS AND CLARK WITH THE TETONS

All along the way Lewis and Clark took celestial observations to ascertain the latitude and longitude. They also kept a record of the temperature, with a mercury thermometer made for them in St. Louis by a French physician and scientist named Dr. Sauguin. They fell in with the doctor when they arrived at St. Louis; and he gave them much valuable information and assistance and told them how important it was that they should have a thermometer. The good captains had not the slightest idea what a thermometer was, but the little doctor hurried about to find the materials out of which to make the instrument. Not in the Mississippi valley could he find the glass or the quicksilver, till finally he bethought himself of his wife's French plate-glass mirror, and, in spite of her protest, he scraped the quicksilver from the back of it, melted up the mirror, and made from it the stem of the thermometer, into which he poured the quicksilver he had scraped from the looking-glass. This was soon properly graduated, or scaled to degrees of heat and cold, and, judging by what we now know of the temperatures of the Missouri valley, was reasonably accurate. From such circumstances as the foregoing the student will understand how primitive was the outfit of the explorers.

When Lewis and Clark arrived at the Teton or Bad River, near where the village of Fort Pierre is now located, they found there a delegation of Indians, about fifty or sixty in number, who represented a large camp some two or three miles up the Teton River. These Indians were Minneconjou Tetons, a branch of the Sioux, under the
Jefferson Medal given to a Chief by Lewis and Clark
From "Wonderland," 1900 leadership of Black Buffalo, a man quite famous in his time. Pierre Dorion, the guide to the expedition, had been left at Yankton for the purpose of taking a party of Yankton chiefs down to Washington to council with the President, so the party was without an interpreter, except a French boatman who could speak very little Sioux and no English. Communication with the Indians was therefore difficult and unsatisfactory.

It was not the intention of the captains to stop long with the Tetons, for they bore a bad reputation, and it is evident that the explorers were more or less afraid of them; so they held a hasty council, made a speech, smoked a pipe, and prepared to go on. As had been done at Yankton, each of the chiefs was given a medal, a United States flag, a laced uniform coat, a cocked hat and feather, and some small presents were distributed among the other men. Each of the Indians was given also a quarter of a glass of whisky, which they seemed to like very much.

But when the party made ready to proceed up the river, the Indians promptly protested. Three of them seized the cable which held the boat, and another put his arms around the mast. Lewis and Clark were told flatly that they could not go on. The Indians stood about, drew their arrows from the quivers, and were bending their bows, when Captain Clark drew his sword and made a signal to the boat to prepare for action. The little cannon, called a swivel gun, which was mounted on the bow of his boat, was swung about so as to cover the Indians, and twelve of the men sprang to the assistance of Captain Clark. This action had the desired effect, for the Indians withdrew for a council. The party got off with the boats, but two of the Indians waded in after them and were taken on board. They went out into the stream and anchored off Marion's Island, which they named Bad Humored Island.

The next morning the chiefs sent a message to them expressing sorrow for the occurrence of the previous day and desiring them to remain over for a feast and council, which the captains determined to do. Captains Lewis and Clark were each met at the shore by ten young men, with a robe highly decorated, and were carried in state, on these robes, to a large council house, where they were placed on dressed buffalo skins by the side of the grand chief.

The hall or council room was in the shape of three quarters of a circle, covered at the top and sides with

A Modern Camp of the Sioux

skins well dressed and sewed together. Under this shelter sat about seventy men, forming a circle about the chiefs, before whom were placed a Spanish and a United States flag. There was left a vacant circle 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. Near by was a large fire on which provisions were cooking.

There was now a long council of talk, and then a great feast was served; it consisted largely of dog meat, this being a favorite dish among the Sioux and used in all festivals. There was also a preparation of buffalo meat and potatoes of which the captains partook, but they say that as yet they could eat only sparingly of the dog.

Thus the day was passed until twilight, when everything was cleared away for the dance. A large fire had been made in the center of the house, giving at once light and warmth to the ballroom. The orchestra was composed chiefly of ten men who played on a sort of drum or tambourine formed of skin stretched across a hoop, and made a jingling noise with a stick to which the hoofs of deer and goats were hung. A third musical instrument was a small skin bag with pebbles in it. Five or six young men also sang.

The women came forward highly decorated, some with poles in their hands on which were hung the scalps of their enemies, others with guns, spears, or other trophies taken in war by their husbands, brothers, or other relations. Having arranged themselves in two columns, one on each side of the fire, as soon as the music began they danced toward each other till they met in the center, when the rattles were shaken, they all shouted, and then returned to their places. In the pauses of the dance some man would come forward and recite in a low guttural tone a little story or incident, either martial or ludicrous. This was taken up by the orchestra, who repeated it in a higher strain, while the women danced to it. The dances of the men were always separate from those of the women; they were conducted in very nearly the same way, except that the men jumped up and down instead of shuffling as did the women.

The harmony of the entertainment was disturbed by one of the musicians, who, thinking he had not received his due share of the tobacco presented by the captains,

Sioux Squaw in Native Dress (Modern)

put himself into a passion, broke one of the drums, threw two of them into the fire, and then left the band. But no notice was taken of the man's conduct, and the dance was kept up till midnight; then four chiefs escorted the captains to their boats and remained over night with them on board.

The captains took close notice of many of the habits, customs, laws, and fashions of the Sioux, which they set down in their journal. The following quoted at large from their journal is of great interest as indicating one of the police customs of the Sioux in their primitive life:—

"While on shore to-day we witnessed a quarrel between two squaws, which appeared to be growing every moment more boisterous, when a man came forward, at whose approach every one seemed terrified and ran. He took the squaws and without any ceremony whipped them severely. On inquiring into the nature of such summary justice we learned 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 police of the village is confided to two or three of these officers, who are named by the chief and remain in power some days, at least till the chief appoints a successor. They seem to be a sort of constable or sentinel, since they are always on the watch to keep tranquillity during the day and guard the camp in the night. The short duration of the office is compensated by its authority. His power is supreme, and in the suppression of any riot or disturbance no resistance to him is suffered; his person is sacred, and if in the execution of his duty he strikes even a chief of the second class, he cannot be punished for this salutary insolence. In general he accompanies the person of the chief, and when ordered to any duty, however dangerous, it is a point of honor rather to die than to refuse obedience. Thus, when they attempted 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 the chief would have induced him to release his hold. Like the other men his body is blackened, but his distinguishing mark is a collection 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 morning when the captains' royal guests arose, they carefully wrapped up the blanket upon which they had slept and carried it away with them. There was nothing irregular about this, and it is the custom of the Teton Sioux to this day. When an Indian is invited to a feast, it is his privilege to carry away all the remnants left upon the table, and if he remains over night, he takes with him, as a matter of course, the blankets upon which he has slept.

So pleased were the captains with the entertainment they had received, that they decided to remain for another day of it, and traditions of that day of dance and feast and carousal are still handed down among the descendants of the Tetons who took part in it. Captain Clark was accompanied by his personal servant, a colored man named York, who was a great curiosity to the Indians. York was intensely black and the Indians were very greatly astonished when they discovered that they could not wash the color off. He was a man of wonderful strength and in this day's entertainment he won the unbounded admiration of the Indians by his exhibitions of prowess.

However, it was necessary to bring the fête to a close, and on Friday, the 28th of September, the captains determined to proceed on their journey. But when the time for starting came, the Indians were as unwilling to have them go as they had been in the first place. A long line of the warriors sat down upon the cable which held the boats to the shore, and it was only with threats and coaxing and bribery that they were finally induced to let the party proceed. Black Buffalo accompanied them, intending to go to the Rees with them, but when up in the neighborhood of the Cheyenne River, the boat in which he was riding struck a log and came very near overturning. This mishap greatly alarmed the old chief, who demanded that he be placed upon the shore. His demand was granted and he returned to his people.

At the mouth of the Cheyenne the party found a trading post operated by John Valle, a St. Louis trader, who told them that he had passed the last winter three hundred leagues up the Cheyenne River near the Black Hills.

On October 8 the party reached the Ree villages at Grand River. There they found several French traders—Pierre Garreau, who had then resided with the Rees for fourteen years, Mr. Gravelines, and a Mr. Tabeau. Several councils were held, and the usual presents given. Supposing that it would be as agreeable to the Rees as to the other Indians, the white men offered them whisky, but they indignantly refused it, saying that "they were surprised that their Father would present them a liquor which would make them fools." The explorers remained with the Rees two days and seem to have had a most enjoyable time.

On the 13th, having proceeded up the river, they passed the mouth of Spring Creek, in what is now Campbell County, and named it Stone Idol Creek, because they were told that a few miles back from the Missouri there were
Sacajawea, Interpreter for Lewis and Clark in 1805-06
Statue at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1903 two stones resembling human figures and a third which looked like a dog, and that these stones were worshiped by the Rees. The Indians told this legend of these rocks: "A young man was deeply in love with a girl whose parents refused their consent to the marriage. The youth went out on the prairie to mourn over his hard fate. A sympathy of feeling led the lady to the same spot, and the faithful dog would not cease to follow his master. After wandering together and having nothing to live on but grapes they were at last changed into stone, which beginning at their feet gradually invaded the nobler parts, leaving nothing unchanged but a bunch of grapes which the woman holds in her hands to this day. Whenever the Rees pass these sacred stones, they stop to make some offering of dress to propitiate the gods."

On that day Lewis and Clark passed out of what is now South Dakota. They went on that autumn as far as the Mandan villages above Bismarck on the Missouri, where they built a post and spent the winter. The next year, 1805, with great hardship, they crossed the mountains and reached the Pacific Ocean. Remaining at the mouth of the Columbia until spring, they turned back and reached the north line of South Dakota on the 21st day of August, 1806, precisely two years from the date when they entered South Dakota on the upward trip. They stopped with the Rees for a short visit, but hastened by the Teton country without attracting attention. They had no desire to meet Black Buffalo, fearing that he would again attempt to detain them. The Yanktons were friendly, but they spent little time with them, being in great haste to reach civilization again. At Elk-point they met Mr. James Aird carrying goods to the Yanktons, and he supplied them with provisions of which they were in great need, and gave them the first information they had had from the outside world for more than two years. They reached St. Louis early in September, and their return was a source of great rejoicing to all the people of the United States.