. . . Such sketches, rude and imperfect as
they are, delineate the predominant character of the savage nations.
If they are peaceable and inoffensive, the drawings usually consist of
local scenery and their favorite diversions. If the band are rude and
ferocious, we observe tomahawks, scalping-knives, bows and arrows, and
all the engines of destruction.--A Mandan bow, and quiver of arrows;
also some Ricara tobacco-seed, and an ear of Mandan corn: to these were
added a box of plants, another of insects, and three cases containing a
burrowing squirrel, a prairie hen, and four magpies, all alive." . . .
The articles reached Mr. Jefferson safely and were long on view at his
Virginia residence, Monticello. They were subsequently dispersed, and
some found their way to Peale's Museum, Philadelphia. Dr. Cones, the
zealous editor of the latest and fullest edition of Lewis and Clark's
narrative, says that some of the specimens of natural history were
probably extant in 1893.
Chapter VII -- From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone
Up to this time, the expedition had passed through regions from which
vague reports had been brought by the few white men who, as hunters and
trappers in pursuit of fur-bearing game, had dared to venture into these
trackless wildernesses. Now they were to launch out into the mysterious
unknown, from which absolutely no tidings had ever been brought by white
men. The dim reports of Indians who had hunted through some parts of the
region were unreliable, and, as they afterwards proved, were often as
absurdly false as if they had been fairy tales.
Pages:
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69