Bill Speiden's Weekly Articles
Lewis and Clark This Week | March 7, 2005 | Back
By Bill Speiden, Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center
Article 14 of the series
The Corps, living with the Mandan Indians in the winter of 1805, learned much about the Indian way of life, which fulfilled the Indians’ needs and was compatible with the environment. One of the purposes of the expedition was to open commercial ties with the Indians. Although some Indians welcomed the thought that the Americans could supply them with guns, ammunition and other manufactured products like iron tomahawks and cooking utensils in exchange for furs, most tribes the Corps met were skeptical or outright hostile because of the threat of their trade systems being interfered with by the Americans. Despite the fact that the Corps survived all Indian encounters, rarely, if ever, was their presence and motives accepted without question.
Smallpox:
Indians had no or little resistance to smallpox and other European-introduced diseases. From the 1500’s, with the introduction of smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, etc., Indian populations were decimated, making domination by the Europeans much easier. Death levels often reached 80% and in some cases 100%.
For example in the upper Missouri (now North Dakota) the Mandans in 1780 were estimated to number between 30,000 to 40,000 people. A smallpox epidemic was introduced, inadvertently, in the early 1780’s by French Canadian trappers/traders, which reduced the Mandan population to 2,000 to 3,000. In 1801-1802 another epidemic hit the Mandans, reducing their population to less than 2000, which was close to the population level when the Corps of Discovery arrived in 1804. Ascending the Missouri from the Arikara villages, the Corps passed a number of empty Mandan villages abandoned by the greatly reduced population.
Later, in 1837, when steamboat traffic reached the upper Missouri River, another epidemic of smallpox hit the Mandans, reducing their population to less than 250.
Charbonneau quits:
The interpreter Charbonneau and husband of Sacagawea, refused to go with the Corps on the Captain’s terms and quit.
From the Lewis and Clark Journals week of March 7, 1805:
March 8: "…visited by the Greesey head & a Riarca [Arikara] today, those men gave Some account of the Indians near the rockey mountains…" Captain Clark
March 9: "…walked up to see the Party that is making pirogues, about 5 miles above this, the wind hard and Cold…on my way up I met The Main Chief of the manitarres [Hidatsa village] with four Indians on Thier way to See us…Sent the interpeter back with him and proceeded on my Self to the Canoes found them nearly finished, the timber verry bad [lots of cracks and knots], … I wind[went] to the upper mandan Village & Smoked a pipe the greatest mark of friendship and attention with the Chief and returned on my return found the Manitarree Chief about Setting out on his return to his village, having recieved of Captain M. Lewis a medel Gorget armbands, a Flag Shirt, Scarlet &c. for which he was much pleased." Captain Clark
March 10: " we are visited by the Black mockersons, Chief of the 2d Manatarre Village and the Chief of the Shoeman Village or Mah ha hâ V. those Chiefs Stayed all day and the latter all night and gave us man[y] Strang accounts of his nation &c this Little tribe or band of menitaraies Call themselves Ah-nah-hâ-way or people whose village is on the hill. nation formerleyed [formerly] lived about 30 miles below this but was being oppressed by the Asinniboins & Sous were Compelled to move 5 miles the Minitaries, where, the Assinniboins Killed most of them those remaining build a village verry near to the Minitarries at the mouth of Knife R[iver] where they now live and Can raise about 50 men, they are intermixed with the Mandans and Minatariers - the Mandans formerly lived in 6 large villages at and above the mouth of the Chischeter or Heart River five Villages on the West Side & two on the East one of those Villages on the East Side of the Missouri & the larges [lodges] was intirely Cut off by the Sioux & the greater part of the others and the Small Pox reduced the others." Captain Clark
March 11: "…We have every reason to believe that our Menetarre interpeter, (whome we intended to take with his wife, as an interpeter through his wife to the Snake [Shoshone] Indians of which nation She is) has been Corupted by the Companeys [Hudson Bay and North West Company – Canadian fur traders] &c. Some explenation has taken place which Clearly proves to us the fact, we give him to night to reflect and deturmin whether or not he intends to go with us under the regulations [agreement made] Stated." Captain Clark
March 12: "our Interpeter Shabonah [Charboneau] detumins on not proceeding with us as an interpeter under the terms mentioned yesterday. he will not agree to work let our Situation be what it may not Stand a guard, and if miffed with any man he wishes to return when he pleases, also have the disposial of as much provisions as he Chuses to carrye. In admissable and we Suffer him to be off the engagement which was only virbal." Captain Clark
March 13: "a fine day visited by Mr. Mckinsey one of the Clerks of the N W Company, the river rising a little – many Inds. Here today all anxirty [anxious] for war axes the Smiths [blacksmiths] have not an hour of idle time to Spear…" Captain Clark
Next week, Charbonneau has a change of heart; and the knowledge of a secret technology, previously harbored by the Indians, is shared with the Corps by a French trapper/trader who had long lived with the Indians.
Note: The Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center in Charlottesville has a full-scale keelboat in the Rivanna River and is striving to create a hands-on Center for kids of all ages to explore what Lewis and Clark discovered.