A "Medicine" Lodge. 427 



" June 7. We are now at Fort Clark and the Mandan 

 village ; a salute was fired from the Fort in honor of our 

 arrival, and we answered it The Fort is situated on a 

 high bank, quite a hill ; here the Mandans have their 

 mud huts, which are not very picturesque, and a few en- 

 closed fields, where they grow corn, pumpkins, and 

 beans. We saw more Indians here than at any other 

 place since we left St. Louis ; they have about one hun- 

 dred huts, and they resemble the potato winter-houses 

 in our Southern and Eastern States. As we approached 

 the shore, every article that could be taken conveniently 

 was removed from the deck and put under lock and key, 

 and all the cabin-doors were closed. The captain told 

 me that last year, when he was here, the Indians stole 

 his cap, shot-pouch, hone, and such like things. These peo- 

 ple appeared very miserable ; as we approached the land- 

 ing they stood shivering in the rain, wrapped in buffalo- 

 robes and red blankets ; some of them were curiously be- 

 smeared with mud. They came on board, and several 

 shook me by the hand, but ' their hands had a clammi- 

 ness that was quite repulsive ; their legs were naked, feet 

 covered with mud ; and they stared at me with apparent 

 curiosity because of my long beard, which also attracted 

 the Indians at St. Pierre. It is estimated that there are 

 three thousand men, women, and children, who cram 

 themselves into these miserable houses in winter ; they 

 are said to be the ne plus ultra of thieves, and most of the 

 women are destitute of virtue. 



" At the request of the interpreter, one of the Indians 

 took me into the village to see the Medicine lodge. I 

 followed my guide through mud and mire to a large hut, 

 built like all the rest, but measuring twenty-three yards 

 in diameter, with a large square opening in the centre of 

 the roof six feet long by four feet in width. We entered 

 this curiosity-shop by pushing aside an elk-skin stretched 



