By the latter part of February, the party were able to get their boats
from the ice. These were dragged ashore, and the work of making them
ready for their next voyage was begun. As the ice in the river began to
break up, the Mandans had great sport chasing across the floating cakes
of ice the buffalo who were tempted over by the appearance of green,
growing grass on the other side. The Indians were very expert in their
pursuit of the animals, which finally slipped from their insecure
footing on the drifting ice, and were killed.
At this point, April 7, 1805, the escorting party, the voyageurs, and
one interpreter, returned down the river in their barge. This party
consisted of thirteen persons, all told, and to them were intrusted
several packages of specimens for President Jefferson, with letters
and official reports. The presents for Mr. Jefferson, according to the
journal, "consisted of a stuffed male and female antelope, with their
skeletons, a weasel, three squirrels from the Rocky Mountains, the
skeleton of a prairie wolf, those of a white and gray hare, a male
and female blaireau, (badger) or burrowing dog of the prairie, with a
skeleton of the female, two burrowing squirrels, a white weasel, and the
skin of the louservia (loup-servier, or lynx), the horns of a mountain
ram, or big-horn, a pair of large elk horns, the horns and tail of a
black-tailed deer, and a variety of skins, such as those of the red fox,
white hare, marten, yellow bear, obtained from the Sioux; also a number
of articles of Indian dress, among which was a buffalo robe representing
a battle fought about eight years since between the Sioux and Ricaras
against the Mandans and Minnetarees, in which the combatants are
represented on horseback.
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