Missouri River near Heart River, approaching Mandan — John Ordway: October 24, 1804

on passed a Bottom on N. S. covered with fine Timber Such
as oak & large Cottonwood, &. C. 12 o. C. we halted at an Is1
on N. S. where we found a hunting camp of the Mandan Nation of
Indians, the chief we had on board Spoke to the chief of this party
1 Modern Heart River, which joins the Missouri a short distance below and
across the river from the city of Bismarck.
2 At or near the site of the town of Mandan.
3 Coues locates the camp near Sanger, Oliver County. Wheeler (I, 192),
on the other hand, locates it near Washburn.
4 Probably Ordway intended to write “Rabbit Berries”; “called by the French
graisse de bufile or buffalo-fat.” Biddle.
158 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [Oct. 25
[and] told them our business & they had Some handsome women
with them, at 2 o. C. we proceeded on passed the Is1 where the
River cut [four or five words of Ms. too worn to read] which for-
merly used to be 10 miles Round by its cutting across forms the
Is1 Camped on the N. S.1 4 of the natives came to our camp
but did not remain with us but a Short time.