Fort Mandan (winter) — Joseph Whitehouse: January 20, 1805
Some of the men visited the nearby Mandan or Hidatsa villages and reported being treated very well, with the inhabitants providing plenty of food. After eating, the hosts offered a bowl of food to a buffalo head they worshipped, asking it to bring living buffalo so they could obtain meat. Whitehouse remarks that the natives hold many strange and unusual ideas and remain ignorant of the explorers' customs, but are quick and clever within their own ways and self-regard.
Some men went up to the villages, they informed us that
they all used them verry well. gave them pleanty to eat, &
when they had done eating they gave a bowl of victuls to a
bufFalows head which they worshiped, & S? Eat this So that the
live ones may come in that we may git a Supply of meat.
Some of them & indeed the most of them have Strange & un-
common Ideas, but verry Ignorant of our forms & customs,
but quick & Sensible in their own way’& in their own con-
ceit &c &c. ^
^ There is nearly half a page blank after this entry, across which a line is drawn to
indicate the break, in time. — Ed.
HAPTER VI
FROM NEAR MARTHA’S RIVER TO THE
MUSSELSHELL
May 1-22, 1805
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Some men went up to the villages. They informed us that the people all treated them very well, gave them plenty to eat, and when they had finished eating, they gave a bowl of food to a buffalo's head which they worshiped, and said, "Eat this, so that the live ones may come in, that we may get a supply of meat." Some of them, and indeed most of them, have strange and uncommon ideas, and are very ignorant of our forms and customs, but they are quick and sensible in their own way and in their own conceit, etc., etc.
[There is nearly half a page blank after this entry, across which a line is drawn to indicate the break in time. — Ed.]
CHAPTER VI
FROM NEAR MARTHA'S RIVER TO THE MUSSELSHELL
May 1-22, 1805
This modernization is AI-generated for accessibility. The original above is the authoritative version.
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