The flotilla of boats goes around the Big Bend of the Missouri and soon after meets the Lakota Sioux. The encounter goes badly for both. On 14 October, they enter present-day North Dakota and soon after invite Too Né (Eagle Feather) to travel with them. He tells about the Arikaras and the many abandoned villages they are passing. Ten days later, they reach the Knife River Indian Villages, council with the Mandans and Hidatsas, and find a site to spend the winter.
The Barge
Barge, keelboat, or just 'the boat'?
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Meriwether Lewis listed a “Keeled Boat” in his pre-expedition shopping list, but after he finally got it, he and the other journalists of the Corps of Discovery simply called it “the boat” (190 times) or, less often, “the barge” (32 times).
Hidatsa Territory
Becoming the Fort Berthold Reservation
After leaving Fort Mandan on 7 April 1805, the expedition traveled for several days through Hidatsa territory. Much of that area would become the Fort Berthold Reservation of the Three Affiliated Tribes, a coalition of Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara.
Synopsis Part 1
Washington City to Fort Mandan
by Harry W. Fritz
The Corps of Discovery, as it would be called, or the “corps of volunteers for North Western Discovery,” as Lewis put it, epitomized the rising glory of the United States—its sense of limitless possibilities and unparalleled opportunities.
Fort Randall Dam
Wolf tricks
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Here, Sergeant Gass went out with one of the hunters to retrieve the meat and hide of a buffalo the man killed the previous evening. The hunter had left his hat on the carcass “to keep off the vermin and beasts of prey,” apparently believing the scent of a human would scare them away”
September 11, 1804
Shannon found!
While moving up the Missouri, they come across Pvt. Shannon who has been missing for 22 days. Wearing a red shirt, Sgt. Ordway has a close encounter with a bison bull, and the rain wets his powder.
September 12, 1804
Troublesome Island
In present South Dakota, the barge nearly turns over. They then head up the wrong side of Troublesome Island and must turn back. Lewis adds two plants to his collection.
September 14, 1804
Pronghorn and jackrabbit
As the men move the boats up the Missouri below present Oacoma, South Dakota, Clark kills a pronghorn, and Pvt. Shields kills a white-tailed jackrabbit. In his natural history notes, Lewis describes each.
The Big Bend of the Missouri
Around the 'Grand Detour'
by Joseph A. Mussulman
The huge meander called the Big Bend, or Grand Detour, had been a well-known Missouri River landmark for many years when the Corps of Discovery arrived at its lower bend on 19 September 1805.
September 21, 1804
Camp washes away
At the Big Bend of the Missouri, the men barely escape as the sandbar they are camping on washes into the river. They continue up the Missouri camping near present Joe Creek Bay, South Dakota.
Pierre by Air
Standoff
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Lewis and Clark first met the Teton Sioux on 25 September 1804. One of Jefferson’s primary political objectives for the expedition was to create a peace treaty and trade agreement them, the most potent military and economic force on the lower Missouri.
Lakota Sioux Difficulties
Tough times at the Bad
by James P. Ronda
Ignorant of plains politics, Lewis and Clark barely averted disaster in their encounter with Black Buffalo’s people—an article by James P. Ronda from a keynote address to the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Pierre, South Dakota, August 2002.
Bad ‘humered’ Island
Change of heart
by Joseph A. Mussulman
On the evening of 25 September 1804 after a negative encounter with the Lakota Sioux, the Corps camped on a nearby island Clark called “bad humered Island.” The next morning, the Indians had a change of heart.
September 26, 1804
Teton Sioux ceremony
Clark and Lewis are ceremoniously carried into a Lakota Sioux village where they are feted with food and music. Clark sees several recently captured Omaha prisoners and asks for their return.
October 1, 1804
The Cheyenne River
At the Cheyenne River, the captains meet trader Jean Vallé who tells them about that river. Clark finds that buffaberries make a delightful tart, and Lewis adds three specimens to his plant collection.
October 6, 1804
Empty Arikara village
The expedition comes to a recently inhabited Arikara village. Walking the shore, Lewis observes several types of birds while the boats struggle to navigate the numerous Missouri River channels.
October 7, 1804
Grizzly bear tracks
At the mouth of the Moreau, the travelers encounter their first grizzly bear tracks. They also see an empty Arikara village. Below present Mobridge, South Dakota, they camp by an island with many grouse.
October 10, 1804
An Arikara council
At Sawa-haini above present Mobridge, South Dakota, a council with the Arikaras is held. The standard speeches and gifts are given, Lewis demonstrates his air gun, and York hams it up for the locals.
Fort Yates
Hunting party
by Joseph A. Mussulman
The Corps observed an Indian strategy for hunting game. As men on horseback herded pronghorns—”goats or Antelope,” Clark called them—into the river, boys swam among them and killed some with sticks, while others on shore shot them with bows and arrows.
October 17, 1804
Too Né tells stories
The barge is towed six miles against a headwind before the expedition stops for the day below the Cannonball River. Clark learns that pronghorns swim the river in a twice-yearly migration.
October 18, 1804
Passing the Cannonball
In passing the Cannonball River in present North Dakota, a ‘cannon ball’ is selected as a new anchor. Clark learns that most Arikaras avoid liquor, and Lewis adds prairie wild rose to his plant collection.
October 20, 1804
Pursuits and escapes
Below the Heart River Clark in present North Dakota, Clark sees On-a-Slant, a Mandan village abandoned due to Sioux attacks. Cruzatte wounds a grizzly and bison, and the unlucky hunter is chased by both.
Bismarck and Mandan
The main attraction
by Joseph A. Mussulman
The Corps of Discovery arrived in the vicinity on 20 October 1804, having worked their way some 1,450 miles up the Missouri in 155 days. That day, wildlife was the main attraction.
October 24, 1804
Mandan cordiality
The morning brings snow and rain. Near present Washburn, North Dakota, the captains and Arikara chief Too Né are greeted by a Mandan chief and with great cordiality and ceremony, smoke the pipe.
October 27, 1804
Ruptáre
At the second Mandan village—Ruptáre—they hire free trader René Jusseaume as an interpreter. They camp opposite Mahawaha, the Awaxawi Hidatsa village at the mouth of the Knife River.
October 30, 1804
Sheheke's introduction
Sheheke and one other come to the expedition’s camp at the Knife River Villages having missed yesterday’s council. Clark and eight men head up the river in search of a place to spend the winter.
November 1, 1804
Dropping downriver
Ruptáre, second Mandan village, ND Clark takes a group down the river to find a suitable site for winter quarters. Lewis, with the main party, arrives at camp after dark.
