Part 8

During the latter part of July, 1823, the Long expedition reached a village of this tribe then standing in the vicinity of Lake Traverse, in the present Traverse County, Minnesota. In the narrative of the expedition very little is said regarding the appearance of the encampment, which may not have offered any peculiar features, but much was said concerning the dress and ways of the inhabitants. In part the narrative states: "The principal interest which we experienced in the neighbourhood of Lake Traverse, was from an acquaintance with Wanotan, (the Charger,) the most distinguished chief of the Yanktoanan tribe, which, as we were informed, is subdivided into six bands. He is one of the greatest men of the Dacota nation, and although but twenty-eight years of age, he has already acquired great renown as a warrior." As the party neared the establishment of the Columbia Fur Company, on the border of the lake, "a salute was fired from a number of Indian tents which were pitched in the vicinity, from the largest of which the American colours were flying. And as soon as we had dismounted from our horses, we received an invitation to a feast which Wanotan had prepared for us." Three dogs had been killed and prepared for the great occasion. "We repaired to a sort of pavilion which they had erected by the union of several large skin lodges. Fine Buffalo robes were spread all around, and the air was perfumed by the odour of sweet scenting grass which had been burned in it. On entering the lodge we saw the chief seated near the further end of it, and one of his principal men pointed out to us the place which was destined for our accommodation; it was at the upper end of the lodge." (Keating, (1), I, pp. 429-432.)

Arranging the skin covers of several large tipis in such a way as to form a single shelter, to serve as a ceremonial "lodge," was the custom of many tribes, and other instances will be mentioned. But another and more elaborate form of structure was used by the tribes just mentioned. In 1858, when describing certain customs of the people then living along the course of the Minnesota and in the vicinity of Lake Traverse, Riggs referred to the sacred dance and said: "Among the Dakotas a most remarkable society exists which is called _Wakan wachepe_, or Sacred Dance, of which the medicine sack is the badge. It may be regarded as the depository and guardian of whatever they esteem as _wakan_, or sacred." He then related the contents of the bag and the meaning of the ceremony, and continues: "A large skin lodge is usually occupied as the center of operations, the door of which is made wide by throwing up the corners. From this, on each hand, extends a kind of railing, some thirty or forty feet, on which skins are thrown. The entrance is at the farther end. All around the inside of this sanctum sanctorum and along the extended sides sit those who are called to the dance. Beyond this and near the place of entrance is a fire, with great kettles hanging over it, which are filled with dried buffalo meat or other food; and near by lay several packs or bags of the same, which are consecrated to the feast. The whole village are gathered around and are looking over or peeping through the holes in the barricades." Much was then told about the strange and curious ceremonies enacted within the lodge. (Riggs, (1), pp. 505-506.)

Leaving the encampment in the vicinity of the post of the Columbia Fur Company, the Long expedition moved northward, and when just beyond Lake Traverse, while traversing the prairies on July 27, 1823, "passed a party of squaws engaged in conveying to their camp some slices of fresh meat to jerk; their fellow labourers were dogs. Each of the dogs had the ends of two poles crossed and fastened over the shoulders, with a piece of hide underneath to prevent chafing. The other extremities dragged on the ground. This sort of vehicle was secured to the animal by a string passing round the breast, and another under the abdomen; transverse sticks, the ends of which were fastened in the poles, kept these at a proper distance, and supported the meat. This seems to be the only mode of harnessing dogs, practised among the Sioux; we believe, they never use them in teams, as is customary with the traders." (Keating, (1), II, pp. 9-10.)

The expedition soon arrived at Pembina, near the international boundary, where it would appear they found the two characteristic forms of native habitations in use by the Indians. A drawing was at that time made by Seymour and used as an illustration in the narrative, showing the "two different kind of lodges used by the northwest Indians," the first being the skin lodge of the prairie tribes, and "of this nature are all the lodges used by the Dacotas;" the second were the bark-covered structures of the Ojibway, "who for the most part live to the north-east of the buffalo regions." To this latter class must have belonged the habitations of the Siouan tribes before they were forced from their early homes among the forests and lakes to the eastward.

When referring to the two characteristic forms of habitations it will be of interest to quote from the writings of one who traversed the country more than a century and a half ago, when all was in its primitive condition, but, like many writers of that period, he failed to give details which at the present time would prove of the greatest value. He wrote: "The Indians, in general, pay a greater attention to their dress and to the ornaments with which they decorate their persons, than to the accommodation of their huts or tents. They construct the latter in the following simple and expeditious manner.

"Being provided with poles of a proper length, they fasten two of them across, near their ends, with bands made of bark. Having done this, they raise them up, and extend the bottom of each as wide as they purpose to make the area of the tent: they then erect others of an equal height, and fix them so as to support the two principal ones. On the whole they lay skins of the elk or deer, sewed together, in quantity sufficient to cover the poles, and by lapping over to form the door. A great number of skins are sometimes required for this purpose, as some of their tents are very capacious. That of the chief warrior of the Naudowessies was at least forty feet in circumference, and very commodious.

"They observe no regularity in fixing their tents when they encamp, but place them just as it suits their conveniency.

"The huts also, which those who use no tents erect when they travel, for very few tribes have fixed abodes or regular towns or villages, are equally simple, and almost as soon constructed.

"They fix small pliable poles in the ground, by bending them till they meet at the top and form a semi-circle, then lash them together. These they cover with mats made of rushes platted, or with birch bark, which they carry with them in their canoes for this purpose.

"These cabins have neither chimnies nor windows; there is only a small aperture left in the middle of the roofs through which the smoke is discharged, but as this is obliged to be stopped up when it rains or snows violently, the smoke then proves exceedingly troublesome.

"They lie on skins, generally those of the bear, which are placed in rows on the ground; and if the floor is not large enough to contain beds sufficient for the accommodation of the whole family, a frame is erected about four or five feet from the ground, in which the younger part of it sleep." (Carver, (1), pp. 152-154.) Though lacking much in detail, nevertheless the preceding notes are of historical interest and value, describing as they do the primitive habitations which were reared and occupied by the native tribes living in the upper Mississippi Valley about the middle of the eighteenth century. Skins of the elk and deer were evidently used as coverings for the conical tipi, which seems to prove the lack of a sufficient number of buffalo skins to serve the purpose, although farther west, beyond the timbered country, where buffalo were more easily obtained, their skins were made use of and covered the shelters of tribes by whom they were hunted.

YANKTON.

When the expedition under the leadership of General Atkinson ascended the Missouri, during the summer of 1825, he wrote regarding the Yankton: "The Yanctons are a band of the Sioux, and rove in the plains north of the Missouri, from near the Great Bend, down as far as the Sioux river. They do not cultivate, but live by the chase alone, subsisting principally upon buffalo. They cover themselves with leather tents, or lodges, which they move about from place to place, as the buffalo may chance to range. They are pretty well supplied with fusees, and with horses, and a few mules. They are estimated at 3,000 souls, of which 600 are warriors. They are comfortably habited in frocks, or shirts of dressed skins, and leggings, reaching to the waist, of the same; they use besides, robes of buffalo skins, which are frequently beautifully wrought with porcupine quills, or painted tastefully; are friendly to the whites, but make war upon almost all other tribes, except those of their own nation. Their trading ground is on the river Jaques." (Atkinson, (1), pp. 8-9.) On June 17 the party arrived at Fort Lookout, a post of the American Fur Company, and four days later, "on the 21st, the Tetons, Yanctons, and Yanctonies, three distinct bands of the Sioux Nation, having arrived, a council was opened, and, on the 22d, a treaty concluded with them." This great gathering of the tribes, with their numerous skin-covered tipis, would have presented a sight similar to that witnessed and described by Catlin just seven years later, in the vicinity of Fort Pierre.

An excellent description of the skin-covered tipi of the Sioux, but of the structures of the Yankton in particular, is contained in Maximilian's narrative. Writing on May 25, 1833, he said the "Sioux Agency, or, as it is now usually called, Fort Lookout, is a square, of about sixty paces, surrounded by pickets, twenty or thirty feet high, made of squared trunks of trees placed close to each other, within which the dwellings are built close to the palisades.... About ten leather tents or huts of the Sioux, of the branch of the Yanktons or Yanktoans, were set up near the fort.... All these Dacotas of the Missouri, as well as most of those of the Mississippi, are only hunters, and, in their excursions, always live in portable leather tents.... The tents of the Sioux are high pointed cones, made of strong poles, covered with buffalo skins, closely sewed together. These skins are scraped on both sides, so that they become as transparent as parchment, and give free admission to the light. At the top, where the poles meet, or cross each other, there is an opening, to let out the smoke, which they endeavor to close by a piece of the skin covering of the tent, fixed to a separate pole standing upright, and fastened to the upper part of the covering on the side from which the wind blows. The door is a slit, in the front of the tent, which is generally closed by another piece of buffalo hide, stretched upon a frame. A small fire is kept up in the centre of the tent. Poles are stuck in the ground, near the tent, and utensils of various kinds are suspended from them. There are, likewise, stages, on which to hang the newly-tanned hides; others, with gaily-painted parchment pouches and bags, on some of which they hang their bows, arrows, quivers, leather shields, spears, and war clubs.

"We paid a visit to Wahktageli in his tent, and had some difficulty in creeping into the narrow, low entrance, after pulling aside the skin that covered it. The inside of this tent was light, and it was about ten paces in diameter. Buffalo skins were spread on the ground, upon which we sat down. Between us and the side of the tent were a variety of articles, such as pouches, boxes, saddles, arms, &c. A relation of the chief was employed in making arrows, which were finished very neatly, and with great care. Wahktageli immediately, with much gravity, handed the tobacco-pipe round, and seemed to inhale the precious smoke with great delight.... The conversation was carried on by Cephier, the interpreter kept by the Agency, who accompanied us on this visit.... The owner of a neighbouring tent had killed a large elk, the skin of which the women were then busily employed in dressing. They had stretched it out, by means of leather straps, on the ground near the tent, and the women were scraping off the particles of flesh and fat with a very well-contrived instrument. It is made of bone, sharpened at one end, and furnished with little teeth like a saw, and, at the other end, a strap, which is fastened round the wrist." (Maximilian, (1), pp. 148-152.) A drawing by Bodmer, reproduced by Maximilian on page 151 of the work cited, is here shown as figure 2. It represents a small group of tipis, of the type mentioned in the narrative, and on the right, in the rear, is a tripod with what appears to be a shield suspended from it. The bone implement mentioned as being used by the women to remove particles of flesh from the skin of the recently killed elk belonged to a well-known type which was extensively used throughout the region. It was formed of the large bones of the leg of the buffalo, elk, or moose. Many old examples are preserved in the National Museum, Washington.

When dealing with the agents of the Government the Yankton would gather on the plains around Fort Pierre. Just 20 years after Maximilian's visit to the upper Missouri a small party passed down the river, and on October 18, 1853, entered in their journal: "We reached Fort Pierre about 12 o'clock m.... Two days before our arrival at this place, the main body of the Yankton Sioux, in number some twenty-five hundred, had left for the buffalo country. They have been here to receive their presents from the government. Two more bands are expected in a few days." (Saxton, (1), p. 267.) And some days later, while continuing down the Missouri: "The prairies are burning in every direction, and the smoke is almost stifling."

TETON.

The Teton, moving westward from their early habitat to the east and north of the Minnesota, were encountered on the banks of the Missouri by Captains Lewis and Clark when they ascended the river, during the early autumn of 1804. On September 26 of that year the expedition reached the mouth of Teton River (the present Bad River), which enters the Missouri from the west at Pierre, Stanley County, South Dakota. Here stood the great village of the Teton, concerning which Sergeant Gass gave a very interesting account in his journal: "We remained here all day. Capt. Lewis, myself and some of the men, went over to the Indian camp. Their lodges are about eighty in number, and contain about ten persons each; the greater part women and children. The women were employed in dressing buffaloe skins, for clothing for themselves and for covering their lodges. They are the most friendly people I ever saw; but will pilfer if they have an opportunity. They are also very dirty: the water they make use of, is carried in the paunches of the animals they kill, just as they are emptied, without being cleaned.... About 3 o'clock we went aboard the boat accompanied with the old chief and his little son. In the evening captain Clarke and some of the men went over, and the Indians made preparations for a dance. At dark it commenced. Captain Lewis, myself and some of our party went up to see them perform. Their band of music, or orchestra, was composed of about twelve persons beating on a buffalo hide, and shaking small bags that made a rattling noise. They had a large fire in the centre of their camp; on one side the women, about 80 in number, formed a solid column round the fire, with sticks in their hands, and the scalps of the Mahas they had killed, tied on them. They kept moving, or jumping round the fire, rising and falling on both feet at once; keeping a continual noise, singing and yelling. In this manner they continued till 1 o'clock at night, when we returned to the boat with two of the chiefs." (Gass, (1), pp. 45-46.)

In the journal of the expedition is a very full account of the events which transpired during the two days spent at the Teton camp, but only part will now be quoted, sufficient to describe the place of meeting: "Captain Lewis went on shore and remained several hours, and observing that their disposition was friendly we resolved to remain during the night to a dance, which they were preparing for us. Captains Lewis and Clark, who went on shore one after the other, were met on landing by ten well dressed young men, who took them up in a robe highly decorated and carried them to a large council house, where they were placed on a dressed buffaloe skin 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 skins well dressed and sewed together. Under this shelter sat about seventy men, forming a circle round the chief, before whom were placed a Spanish flag and the one we had given them yesterday. This left a vacant circle of about six feet 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: a large fire, in which they were cooking provisions, stood near, and in the centre about four hundred pounds of excellent buffaloe meat as a present for us." Then followed several addresses by the chiefs; offerings of dog meat to the flag "by way of sacrifice," and the smoking of the pipe of peace. (Lewis and Clark, (1), I, pp. 84-86.) The entire ceremony proved of the greatest interest. Then followed an account of the habitations standing in the village: "Their lodges are very neatly constructed, in the same form as those of the Yanktons; they consist of about one hundred cabins, made of white buffaloe hide dressed, with a larger one in the centre for holding councils and dances. They are built round with poles about fifteen or twenty feet high, covered with white skins; these lodges may be taken to pieces, packed up, and carried with the nation wherever they go, by dogs which bear great burdens. The women are chiefly employed in dressing buffaloe skins: they seem perfectly well disposed, but are addicted to stealing any thing which they can take without being observed." (Op. cit., pp. 88-89.)

During the year 1832 George Catlin remained for some time at and near the mouth of the Teton, where a few years before had been erected a station of the American Fur Company, which was soon given the name Fort Pierre. "The country about this Fort is almost entirely prairie, producing along the banks of the river and streams only, slight skirtings of timber.... On my way up the river I made a painting of this lovely spot, taken from the summit of the bluffs, a mile or two distant, showing an encampment of Sioux, of six hundred tents of skin lodges, around the Fort, where they had concentrated to make their spring trade; exchanging their furs and peltries for articles and luxuries of civilized manufactures." (Catlin, (1), I, p. 209.) And he continued (p. 211): "I mentioned that this is the nucleus or place of concentration of the numerous tribe of the Sioux, who often congregate here in great masses to make their trades with the American Fur Company; and that on my way up the river, some months since, I found here encamped, six hundred families of Sioux, living in tents covered with buffalo hides. Amongst these there were twenty or more of the different bands, each one with their chief at their head, over whom was a _superior chief_ and leader, a middle-aged man, of middling stature, with a noble countenance.... The name of this chief is Ha-won-je-tah (the one horn) of the Mee-ne-cow-e-gee band, who has risen rapidly to the highest honours in the tribe."

About this time a "grand feast" was prepared by the Indians in honor of the Indian agent and the several Americans who were then at Fort Pierre, including Catlin. A sketch of the gathering is shown in plate 23, _a_, after the illustration in Catlin's narrative, but it may be of interest to know that the original painting is now in the National Museum, Washington. Describing this scene, Catlin wrote:

"The two chiefs, Ha-wan-je-tah and Tchan-dee ... brought their two tents together, forming the two into a semi-circle, enclosing a space sufficiently large to accommodate 150 men; and sat down with that number of the principal chiefs and warriors of the Sioux nation." The several Americans were "placed on elevated seats in the centre of the crescent; while the rest of the company all sat upon the ground, and mostly cross-legged, preparatory to the feast being dealt out. In the centre of the semi-circle was erected a flag-staff, on which was waving a white flag, and to which also was tied the calumet, both expressive of their friendly feelings towards us. Near the foot of the flag-staff were placed in a row on the ground, six or eight kettles, with iron covers on them, shutting them tight, in which were prepared the viands for our _voluptuous_ feast. Near the kettles, and on the ground also, bottomside upwards, were a number of wooden bowls, in which the meat was to be served out. And in front, two or three men, who were there placed as waiters, to light the pipes for smoking, and also to deal out the food." (Op. cit., p. 228.) The account of the ceremony which soon followed proves the gathering to have been one of much interest, and to the Indians one of great moment. The arrangement of the two large tipis so as to form a single shelter recalls the site of the gathering near the shore of Lake Traverse only a few years before. It is to be regretted that Catlin did not leave a more detailed description of the appearance of the great encampment as it was at the time of his visit, but he devoted much of his time to painting portraits of the Indians, of which he prepared a large number.

Although Catlin found representatives of many bands of Sioux gathered about on the plain surrounding Fort Pierre, nevertheless the comparatively permanent village of the Teton was near the mouth of the stream of that name. Maximilian, who ascended the Missouri during the spring of 1833, arrived at Fort Pierre late in May, and in his journal said: "The Sioux, who live on Teton River, near Fort Pierre, are mostly of the branch of the Tetons; though there are some Yanktons here." (Maximilian, (1), p. 150.) He elsewhere mentioned that "the tents are generally composed of fourteen skins," therefore consider the great number of buffalo required to furnish coverings for the lodges mentioned by Catlin. Maximilian wrote on May 30, 1833, near Fort Pierre: "Round an isolated tree in the prairie I observed a circle of holes in the ground, in which thick poles had stood. A number of buffalo skulls were piled up there; and we were told that this was a medicine, or charm, contrived by the Indians in order to entice the herds of buffaloes. Everywhere in the plain we saw circles of clods of earth, with a small circular ditch, where the tents of many Indians had stood." (Op. cit., p. 157.) These were evidently the remains of the encampment seen by Catlin the preceding year.

A sketch of Fort Pierre as it appeared July 4, 1851, is given in plate 23, _b_. This was the work of the young Swiss artist, Friedrich Kurz, and is now reproduced for the first time. The small groups of Indians, the tipis standing near the fort, and the rolling prairie in the distance are all graphically shown.