First Across the Continent | Page 7

crossing the
equator require all their comrades, who have not been "over the line" to
submit to lathering and shaving, so the Western voyageurs merrily
compelled their mates to submit to similar horse-play. The great river
was also the mark above which explorers entered upon what was called
the Upper Missouri.
The expedition was now advancing into a region inhabited by several
wandering tribes of Indians, chief of which were the Ottoes, Missouris,
and Pawnees. It was determined, therefore, to call a council of some of
the chiefs of these bands and make terms of peace with them. After
some delay, the messengers sent out to them brought in fourteen
representative Indians, to whom the white men made presents of roast
meat, pork, flour, and corn-meal, in return for which their visitors
brought them quantities of delicious watermelons. "Next day, August
3," says the journal, "the Indians, with their six chiefs, were all
assembled under an awning formed with the mainsail, in presence of all
our party, paraded for the occasion. A speech was then made,
announcing to them the change in the government, our promises of
protection, and advice as to their future conduct. All the six chiefs
replied to our speech, each in his turn, according to rank. They
expressed their joy at the change in the government; their hopes that we
would recommend them to their Great Father (the president), that they
might obtain trade and necessaries: they wanted arms as well for
hunting as for defence, and asked our mediation between them and the
Mahas, with whom they are now at war. We promised to do so, and
wished some of them to accompany us to that nation, which they
declined, for fear of being killed by them. We then proceeded to
distribute our presents. The grand chief of the nation not being of the
party, we sent him a flag, a medal, and some ornaments for clothing.
To the six chiefs who were present, we gave a medal of the second

grade to one Ottoe chief and one Missouri chief; a medal of the third
grade to two inferior chiefs of each nation; the customary mode of
recognizing a chief being to place a medal round his neck, which is
considered among his tribe as a proof of his consideration abroad. Each
of these medals was accompanied by a present of paint, garters, and
cloth ornaments of dress; and to this we added a canister of powder, a
bottle of whiskey, and a few presents to the whole, which appeared to
make them perfectly satisfied. The air-gun, too, was fired, and
astonished them greatly. The absent grand chief was an Ottoe, named
Weahrushhah, which, in English, degenerates into Little Thief. The two
principal chieftains present were Shongotongo, or Big Horse, and
Wethea, or Hospitality; also Shosguscan, or White Horse, an Ottoe; the
first an Ottoe, the second a Missouri. The incidents just related induced
us to give to this place the name of the Council Bluffs: the situation of
it is exceedingly favorable for a fort and trading factory, as the soil is
well calculated for bricks, and there is an abundance of wood in the
neighborhood, and the air being pure and healthy."
Of course the reader will recognize, in the name given to this place by
Lewis and Clark, the flourishing modern city of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Nevertheless, as a matter of fact, the council took place on the
Nebraskan or western side of the river, and the meeting-place was at
some distance above the site of the present city of Council Bluffs.
Above Council Bluffs the explorers found the banks of the river to be
high and bluffy, and on one of the highlands which they passed they
saw the burial-place of Blackbird, one of the great men of the Mahars,
or Omahas, who had died of small-pox. A mound, twelve feet in
diameter and six feet high, had been raised over the grave, and on a tall
pole at the summit the party fixed a flag of red, white, and blue. The
place was regarded as sacred by the Omahas, who kept the dead
chieftain well supplied with provisions. The small-pox had caused great
mortality among the Indians; and a few years before the white men's
visit, when the fell disease had destroyed four hundred men, with a due
proportion of women and children, the survivors burned their village
and fled.

"They had been a military and powerful people; but when these
warriors saw their strength wasting before a malady which they could
not resist, their frenzy was extreme; they burned their village, and many
of them put to death their wives and children, to save them from so
cruel an affliction, and that all might go together to some better
country."
In